Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who has set up a vigil near President Bush's ranch, said Tuesday that she was "very disturbed" that a local resident had mowed down hundreds of small crosses bearing the names of other dead American soldiers, and that her now 10-day protest was "only the beginning" of what she described as a growing national movement to bring all American men and women home from the war.
Ms. Sheehan also said she would soon be moving her increasingly crowded roadside encampment, named Camp Casey after her son, to a large tract even closer to the president's ranch. "A kind gentleman from down the road offered us the use of his property," Ms. Sheehan told reporters on Tuesday night. Ms. Sheehan identified the man as Fred Mattlage, whom she described as a distant cousin of Larry Mattlage, a local resident who fired a shotgun across the road from the encampment on Sunday afternoon.
The above is from Elisabeth Bumiller's "Protester Vows to Continue Her Vigil Near Bush Ranch" in this morning's New York Times. The only thing I'll quibble over in her story is that she refers to the previous meetings and notes Sheehan's criticism that Bully Boy referred to her repeatedly as "Mom." (Which really is offensive if you think about it -- Sheehan's lost a child and here's a stranger calling her "Mom.") Bully Boy did do that but there was more to the meeting (including one of Sheehan's daughter's comments to Bully Boy) but the mainstream media has boiled it all down to "He called her 'Mom!'" Bumiller's not the first to do it (and probably won't be the last).
Overall, I think it's the most straight forward piece she's written all year.
Now let me get back to that "Mom" ref because I thought it was rude (and still do). She's not Bully Boy's mother. But I knew a kid, growing up, who had a dog Taffy. Taffy gave birth to a litter of puppies. One was huge and it another one died leaving two. Taffy would carry the puppies around with her, moving them one at a time by the nape of their necks. (Yes, you know the procedure.) So here's the thing. For "laughs," this kid would whimper and Taffy would rush around looking for the whimpering. The kid thought she was looking for the two dead puppies. I have no idea what Taffy was looking for. But, intended or not, calling Cindy Sheehan "Mom" repeatedly isn't just a bad attempt at being "familiar" or some sort of technique to avoid remembering (or learning) her name, it's honestly rather cruel (intentionally or not).
And if we can stay on the possible meaning of words (intended or not) by the Bully Boy, can we noted his idiotic claim that he's not meeting with Cindy Sheehan to get on with his life? Get on with their life is something that people who've suffered a loss like Sheehan attempt to do.
BuzzFlash has their latest Wings of Justice Award. Click here to find out who won.
Brandon e-mails to note this from Danny Schechter's latest News Dissector:
Reporter Seymour Hersh was on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night warning that a new "tet offensive" type escalation in Baghdad is feared by Washington insiders.. (Three car bombs killed 43 people at a bus station in Baghdad today…80 reported hurt)…He says the delay in the writing of the Constitution is just a effort by politicians to shake down more money from the billions the US is pouring into that country..He pictures the negotiations of the work of people living in the Green Zone and cut off from the rest of the country….He also said that he thinks the White House wants out before the Congressional elections next year and is feverishly searching for a pretext for leaving….
Here's the scheduled topic for this morning's Democracy Now! (thanks to Rod):
As Israel's disengagement from Gaza enters Day 3 we continueour coverage of the withdrawal.
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