A Tale of Two Cindies
Shortly after American soldier Casey Sheehan was killed in Iraq, his family received the obligatory form letter from President Bush, offering his condolescences.
The mother, Cindy Sheehan, felt that was too impersonal to do her personal pain justice, and needed more from the Commander in Chief who sent her first-born son into harm's way.
Now, there had been some griping from the Bush-hating anti-war crowd in the past that suggested the President was steering clear of meeting with grieving families and wounded veterans, but that was not true. Such meetings were simply done quietly and without fanfare, and when that was confirmed, the griping, naturally, stopped, and, as usual, the ultra-critical crowd moved on to something else to gripe about (with no apologies).
Anyway, the Sheehan's were one such family that had the distinct privilege of personally sharing their grief with the Commander in Chief face-to-face.
Such a privilege is made possible by the relatively low amount of KIAs as compared to the amount incurred in previous large-scale conflicts (e.g. LBJ could not be expected to personally pay his respects to tens of thousands of grieving families).
The Sheehan's were comforted, and pleased.
Pat Sheehan, the father, said: "We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us."
That's right. He didn't have to.
Mrs. Sheehan seemed to have received a similar sense of closure: "I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."
The Sheehans also met with other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support, and Mrs. Sheehan knew she was in the company of kindred, Gold Star spirits:
"It's hard to lose a son," she said, "but we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."
The closure made them feel whole again:
"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Mrs. Sheehan said.
She had also asked the President to make her son's sacrifice count for something.
That can only be accomplished upon succesful completion of the mission he died for.
Fast forward a bit. Something happened to her that now makes her think that the thing her son's sacrifice can count for is how much it can be exploited to advance the vile anti-war agenda, the goal of which is not an end to war, but an end to the Bush Presidency.
She is now demanding a second meeting with the President.
For what? The woman warrants a restraining order at this point.
You decide:
Earlier this year during a rally at San Francisco State University, Mrs. Sheehan declared:
"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. We’re waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!"
And:
"We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."
On April 27, 2005, she rabble-roused:
"They’re a bunch of fucking hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..."
And:
"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bullshit, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?"
And:
"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that it’s so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war."
And:
"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog shit in Washington, we will impeach all those people."
And:
"Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full well that my son, my family, this nation and this world were betrayed by George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agendas after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy … not for the real reason, because the Arab Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy."
Gee, that sounds familiar.
And I would think that these statements alone would make the Secret Service derelict in duty if they allowed her to get within spitting distance of the President:
She called the President "that lying bastard" and "that maniac."
She said she only appeared calm because:
"...if I started hitting something, I wouldn't stop 'til it was dead."
There's your left-wing peacenik for ya!
Congratulations, Mrs. Sheehan. You just got yoursef a special place on the FBI's watchlist!
The following three statements are right out of the Michael Moore playbook:
1) On a July 12 posting on the left-wing website DailyKos.com, Sheehan ranted that she was protesting on behalf of "all our brave souls (American or Iraqi) who have been murdered by the Bush crime family. I told my Congressman that he needs to speak out against the lies and murder."
2) In a conference call with antiwar bloggers last week, Sheehan said that, were it not for the Internet, America "would already be a fascist state."
3) She called the election last year, which can boast of the largest turnout of free voters in the history of Democracy, with not one incident of violence, and all charges of rigging by the Diebold Company debunked, as "the election, quote-unquote, that happened in November."
This is no longer Mrs. Sheehan, Gold Star mom. She is now "Cindy," a cause celebre for outfits like Moveon.org and Code Pink, and has set up "Camp Casey" outside the Crawford Ranch, demanding a second meeting with the President.
For what? What does she want to say now that she didn't feel compelled to the first time around?
Maybe we can get an idea of what she has in mind from what she said in a recent speech directed at the President:
"You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East."
M-hm. Don't forget the "Sixteen Words," "Abu Ghraib," and "The Downing Street Memo."
BUT WAIT! Leftist Maureen Dowd said in a column that her moral authority is "absolute," due to her familial bond with Casey.
But what, then, of the "absolute moral authority" of Casey's aunt and godmother, who emailed this to The Drudge Report:
"Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish."
Here is the statement:
"The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.
Sincerely,
Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins."
"Well they don't count!" snort the anti-war crowd who are trying to elevate Mrs. Sheehan as a singular but universal icon, before snidely pointing out that the president himself has his own set of blood relations who have written statements against him, so what about that?
But in the time it takes to untangle that brain-teasing illogic (a tried-and-true delaying tactic of the liberals), it is added:
"And besides, they're not the parents!"
Wel, the other parent--Pat Sheehan-- is filing for divorce.
Realizing that the abandonment of Mrs. Sheehan by all of Casey's relatives and the husband, to boot, is not quite the iconic singularity the anti-war crowd had in mind, they snorted: "Well, the stress of Casey's death is what caused the estrangement."
In other words, it's the war's fault, stupid (and, by extension, of course, President Bush's, who ordered it).
But they're lying. Mr. Sheehan was fed up with his wife's politics and the vile crowd she started hanging around with.
It's Moveon.org's fault.
But nevermind all that. "Cindy's" absolute moral authority is absolute because she's the mother, America, you know, "God, Mother, and Country?" "Mom and apple pie?"
Okay, ya got me there. And that's a brilliant--if not shameless--political maneuver.
What's a gentleman to do?
Well, he can ask, "But what about the thousand-plus other mothers who lost their sons or daughters in Iraq? Why aren't they flocking to her side?"
Because they want nothing to do with her, or especially with the movements that support her, like Moveon.org and Code Pink, which they think dishonor their children's sacrifice (as well as their Commander in Chief).
Do they have the same "absolute moral authority" that Ms. Dowd crowned "Cindy" with?
No? Why not?
If "Cindy" has the "absolute moral authority" of being a Gold Star mom, and so should have every whim and political desire catered to, what about the "absolute moral authority" of the other moms with offspring who have given the last full measure of devotion and who wish she would just go home?
A conservative California-based group, Move America Forward. produced a national television commercial to say Sheehan does not speak for military families. Group founder Deborah Johns, whose son is a Marine and is featured in the ad, said she believes Sheehan's crusade discredits the soldiers serving in Iraq:
"Cindy Sheehan certainly doesn't speak for me, our military families or our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," Johns says in the ad.
Mrs. Sheehan has been proselytized and being used by the anti-war crowd to get digs on Bush, that's all. And she's bought their brainwashing propoganda hook, line, and sinker, and willing to lead the charge.
And her son Casey's death is used to do it.
The mother, Cindy Sheehan, felt that was too impersonal to do her personal pain justice, and needed more from the Commander in Chief who sent her first-born son into harm's way.
Now, there had been some griping from the Bush-hating anti-war crowd in the past that suggested the President was steering clear of meeting with grieving families and wounded veterans, but that was not true. Such meetings were simply done quietly and without fanfare, and when that was confirmed, the griping, naturally, stopped, and, as usual, the ultra-critical crowd moved on to something else to gripe about (with no apologies).
Anyway, the Sheehan's were one such family that had the distinct privilege of personally sharing their grief with the Commander in Chief face-to-face.
Such a privilege is made possible by the relatively low amount of KIAs as compared to the amount incurred in previous large-scale conflicts (e.g. LBJ could not be expected to personally pay his respects to tens of thousands of grieving families).
The Sheehan's were comforted, and pleased.
Pat Sheehan, the father, said: "We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us."
That's right. He didn't have to.
Mrs. Sheehan seemed to have received a similar sense of closure: "I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."
The Sheehans also met with other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support, and Mrs. Sheehan knew she was in the company of kindred, Gold Star spirits:
"It's hard to lose a son," she said, "but we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."
The closure made them feel whole again:
"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Mrs. Sheehan said.
She had also asked the President to make her son's sacrifice count for something.
That can only be accomplished upon succesful completion of the mission he died for.
Fast forward a bit. Something happened to her that now makes her think that the thing her son's sacrifice can count for is how much it can be exploited to advance the vile anti-war agenda, the goal of which is not an end to war, but an end to the Bush Presidency.
She is now demanding a second meeting with the President.
For what? The woman warrants a restraining order at this point.
You decide:
Earlier this year during a rally at San Francisco State University, Mrs. Sheehan declared:
"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. We’re waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!"
And:
"We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now."
On April 27, 2005, she rabble-roused:
"They’re a bunch of fucking hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..."
And:
"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bullshit, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?"
And:
"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that it’s so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war."
And:
"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog shit in Washington, we will impeach all those people."
And:
"Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full well that my son, my family, this nation and this world were betrayed by George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agendas after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy … not for the real reason, because the Arab Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy."
Gee, that sounds familiar.
And I would think that these statements alone would make the Secret Service derelict in duty if they allowed her to get within spitting distance of the President:
She called the President "that lying bastard" and "that maniac."
She said she only appeared calm because:
"...if I started hitting something, I wouldn't stop 'til it was dead."
There's your left-wing peacenik for ya!
Congratulations, Mrs. Sheehan. You just got yoursef a special place on the FBI's watchlist!
The following three statements are right out of the Michael Moore playbook:
1) On a July 12 posting on the left-wing website DailyKos.com, Sheehan ranted that she was protesting on behalf of "all our brave souls (American or Iraqi) who have been murdered by the Bush crime family. I told my Congressman that he needs to speak out against the lies and murder."
2) In a conference call with antiwar bloggers last week, Sheehan said that, were it not for the Internet, America "would already be a fascist state."
3) She called the election last year, which can boast of the largest turnout of free voters in the history of Democracy, with not one incident of violence, and all charges of rigging by the Diebold Company debunked, as "the election, quote-unquote, that happened in November."
This is no longer Mrs. Sheehan, Gold Star mom. She is now "Cindy," a cause celebre for outfits like Moveon.org and Code Pink, and has set up "Camp Casey" outside the Crawford Ranch, demanding a second meeting with the President.
For what? What does she want to say now that she didn't feel compelled to the first time around?
Maybe we can get an idea of what she has in mind from what she said in a recent speech directed at the President:
"You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich. You tell me my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East."
M-hm. Don't forget the "Sixteen Words," "Abu Ghraib," and "The Downing Street Memo."
BUT WAIT! Leftist Maureen Dowd said in a column that her moral authority is "absolute," due to her familial bond with Casey.
But what, then, of the "absolute moral authority" of Casey's aunt and godmother, who emailed this to The Drudge Report:
"Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish."
Here is the statement:
"The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.
Sincerely,
Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins."
"Well they don't count!" snort the anti-war crowd who are trying to elevate Mrs. Sheehan as a singular but universal icon, before snidely pointing out that the president himself has his own set of blood relations who have written statements against him, so what about that?
But in the time it takes to untangle that brain-teasing illogic (a tried-and-true delaying tactic of the liberals), it is added:
"And besides, they're not the parents!"
Wel, the other parent--Pat Sheehan-- is filing for divorce.
Realizing that the abandonment of Mrs. Sheehan by all of Casey's relatives and the husband, to boot, is not quite the iconic singularity the anti-war crowd had in mind, they snorted: "Well, the stress of Casey's death is what caused the estrangement."
In other words, it's the war's fault, stupid (and, by extension, of course, President Bush's, who ordered it).
But they're lying. Mr. Sheehan was fed up with his wife's politics and the vile crowd she started hanging around with.
It's Moveon.org's fault.
But nevermind all that. "Cindy's" absolute moral authority is absolute because she's the mother, America, you know, "God, Mother, and Country?" "Mom and apple pie?"
Okay, ya got me there. And that's a brilliant--if not shameless--political maneuver.
What's a gentleman to do?
Well, he can ask, "But what about the thousand-plus other mothers who lost their sons or daughters in Iraq? Why aren't they flocking to her side?"
Because they want nothing to do with her, or especially with the movements that support her, like Moveon.org and Code Pink, which they think dishonor their children's sacrifice (as well as their Commander in Chief).
Do they have the same "absolute moral authority" that Ms. Dowd crowned "Cindy" with?
No? Why not?
If "Cindy" has the "absolute moral authority" of being a Gold Star mom, and so should have every whim and political desire catered to, what about the "absolute moral authority" of the other moms with offspring who have given the last full measure of devotion and who wish she would just go home?
A conservative California-based group, Move America Forward. produced a national television commercial to say Sheehan does not speak for military families. Group founder Deborah Johns, whose son is a Marine and is featured in the ad, said she believes Sheehan's crusade discredits the soldiers serving in Iraq:
"Cindy Sheehan certainly doesn't speak for me, our military families or our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," Johns says in the ad.
Mrs. Sheehan has been proselytized and being used by the anti-war crowd to get digs on Bush, that's all. And she's bought their brainwashing propoganda hook, line, and sinker, and willing to lead the charge.
And her son Casey's death is used to do it.
posted by John | 9:30 PM
6 Comments:
Thank you for the information. It was information and that is what is needed. Fox news shows (you know which ones I am talking about), have a little to much noise and not enough facts...I still watch them and like them, but this was great. Maybe now that Mrs. Sheehan is going home to be with her mother things will settle down.
Thanks again,
Colette in Ga.
You're welcome Thehere. Thank you for visiting.
Yes, I heard about Mrs. Sheehan's mother. I feel for the woman: she lost a son to war, she's going through a divorce, and now her mother had a stroke.
On top of all that, she got herself mixed up with the vultures at Moveon.org and Code Pink.
I beg your pardon. I meant "You're welcome Colette." :)
John,
I really feel for Mrs. Sheehan. She let her emotions destroy her brain, and really it is sad to watch. It is one thing to oppose a war, it is quite another to say some of the idiotic things she has said. Then there are those that encouraged her. Shame on them. (IF they can actually feel that emotion.)
I do not believe that trying to make a feudal people into a modern republic can work. I do believe that whether you are "fer it or agin it" we, as a nation, must now follow through and do our collective best, as our people are over there and need to know that we support not just them, but their mission. This collection of silly nay-sayers have lost all credence with intelligent people, and it boggles my mind that they can prompt her to make comments, that, in later life, will torment her, and do so with a clear conscience.
I feel bad for her son's death (and about your blog being spammed, too), but honestly, I think she's either out of mind, or she knows exactly what she's doing, in which case her behavior is absolutely inexcusable. One thing is to disagree with the war or even to say that you hate the President (your constitutional right), but it's completely different to go around spreading conspiracy theories, stuff that young children will listen to and absorb.
James, I feel for Mrs. Sheehan as well, particularly, of course, for the loss of her son, but I am angered that--typically-- the Left siezes on that emotion and exploits it in order to override Reason.
That is precisely what Hillary does in her invocation of "The Children." She holds them out as a shield before her to fend off any attacks on her policies or intentions.
i.e. "It's for 'The Children.' Are you against 'The Children?'"
Just so with Mrs. Sheehan. "What, are you against moms, and moms who lost their 'child' to war, at that?"
It's manipulation.
"I do not believe that trying to make a feudal people into a modern republic can work."
It's tough gambit, but something had to be done to shake up the status quo.
There's the potential for Balkanization, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the borders were artificially drawn and imposed, anyway, early in the Twentieth Century. In any case, Iraq has been neutralized as a regional, military threat and will be kept busy with infighting for awhile while they slog towards the 21st Century.
Iran is exploiting the situation, however, and I suspect they're entertaining ideas of a Greater Persia.
"I do believe that whether you are "fer it or agin it" we, as a nation, must now follow through and do our collective best, as our people are over there and need to know that we support not just them, but their mission."
Yes indeed. And the gambit is winnable, but it would really help morale--an important factor in military endeavors-- if we, as a nation, were united in resolve.
The anti-war crowd knows what it's doing. It's trying to recreate the domestic political situation of lowering morale by subversive dissent that served them well during the Vietnam War.
They don't want the mission to succeed.
Irina, I feel bad for her too, but the sympathy is eroding by the things she says, the crowd she hangs out with (and who have undoubtedly proselytized and coached her), and by the disgust I feel by the obvious exploitation of her status and attempted manipulation of those feelings to coerce people to jump on the antiwar bandwagon, which is simply anti-Bush.
Post a Comment
<< Home