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
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6 comments
