[Marxism] Sheehan says she's glad Bush didn't meet with her

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sounds like Cindy Sheehan has learned the lesson a lot of working people
learned in Moscow in 1905 when they appealed to the Tsar.  Fortunately
at less cost to herself, thanks to the relationship of forces in the US.
This is a great human being who has stood up for herself, her son, and
principle in a way that has changed US politics.  We should love her
forever, no matter what happens in the future.

MSN.Com has a beautiful picture of Cindy Sheehan right now on its
website.  Those who can copy, obtain the original, and spread it around
should do so.
Fred Feldman


  MSNBC.com
Anti-war mom glad she didn't meet Bush
Sheehan says president's refusal to meet has 'galvanized peace movement'

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:09 a.m. ET Aug. 31, 2005


CRAWFORD, Texas - A woman who led an anti-war protest for nearly a month
near President Bush's ranch said Tuesday that she's glad Bush never
showed up to discuss her son's death in Iraq, saying the president's
absence "galvanized the peace movement."

Cindy Sheehan's comments came as war protesters packed up their campsite
near the ranch and prepared to leave Tuesday for a three-week bus tour.

"I look back on it, and I am very, very, very grateful he did not meet
with me, because we have sparked and galvanized the peace movement,"
Sheehan told The Associated Press. "If he'd met with me, then I would
have gone home, and it would have ended there."

Sheehan and about 50 other peace activists arrived in the one-stoplight
town Aug. 6, the day after she spoke at a Veterans for Peace convention
in Dallas. She and a few others spent that night in chairs in ditches,
without food or flashlights, off the main road leading to the
president's ranch.

The Vacaville, Calif., woman vowed to stay until Bush's monthlong
vacation ended unless she could question him about the war that claimed
the life of her 24-year-old son Casey and more than 1,870 other U.S.
soldiers.

'Love and support'
Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the first day,
but the president never did - although he has said that he sympathizes
with her and acknowledged her right to protest. His vacation is to end
Wednesday, two days early, so he can monitor federal efforts to help
victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.

Sheehan's vigil attracted crowds of other anti-war demonstrators. Most
stayed a few hours or days at the original roadside camp or at the
second, larger site about a mile away on a private lot offered by a
sympathetic landowner.

The massive response has transformed her life, she said.

"I thought our country was going down, down, down. I thought nobody
cared about our children killed in the war, but millions care, and
millions care about our country and want to make it better," she said.
"The love and support I've received give me hope that my life can
someday be normal."

The protest also sparked counter rallies by Bush supporters who accused
Sheehan of using her son's death to push the liberal agenda of groups
supporting her. Critics also said the anti-war demonstration was hurting
U.S. troop morale while boosting the Iraqi insurgency.

Many Bush supporters pointed out that Sheehan never spoke against Bush
or the war when she and other grieving families met the president about
two months after her son died last year.

Anti-war tour
Sheehan said she was still in shock over Casey's death during that
meeting. She said she became enraged after independent reports disputed
Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein had chemical and
biological weapons - a main justification for the March 2003 invasion.

After leaving Crawford, protesters will spread their message on a
three-week "Bring Them Home Now Tour" with stops in 25 states. Buses on
three routes will meet in Washington, D.C., for a Sept. 24 anti-war
march.

Sheehan will leave the tour next week to spend time with her family,
including her mother who recently suffered a stroke, which caused
Sheehan to miss a week of the protest.

C 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
C 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9137815/


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