Mrs. Sheehan speaks
 

What are we to make of Mrs. Sheehan's demand for a second meeting with President Bush? She claims she wants an explanation of why her son died, but she acknowledges that her mind is already made up. This is an excerpt of a speech she gave Monday, as transcribed on the Web site of an outfit called Veterans for Peace, describing how she conceived of her protest (quoting verbatim):

I'm gonna tell them, "You get that evil maniac [the president] out here, cuz a Gold Star Mother, somebody who's blood is on his hands, has some questions for him."

And I'm gonna say, "OK, listen here, George. #1, you quit, and I demand, every time you get out there and say you're going to continue the killing in Iraq to honor the fallen heroes by continuing the mission; you say, except Casey Sheehan.'_"

"And you say except for all the members of Goldstar Families for Peace' cuz we think not one drop of blood should be spilled in our families' names. You quit doing that. You don't have my permission."

And I'm gonna say, "And you tell me, what the noble cause is that my son died for." And if he even starts to say freedom and democracy' I'm gonna say, bullshit.

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. You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy.

Cuz, we're not freer. You're taking away our freedoms. The Iraqi people aren't freer, they're much worse off than before you meddled in their country.

You get America out of Iraq, you get Israel out of Palestine

- quoted in Opinion Journal

While I respect Mrs. Sheehan's grief, and the need to act out on it, I can't help but wonder if she realizes how many hundreds of thousands of men already died, just so she could have the privilege of protesting the way she is.

Sooner or later, she's going to realize that nothing she says, nothing she does, is going to change the fact that her son enlisted, and was not drafted, and that life will go on. I hope she finds peace in her journey, without hurting those around her.

Good points, honeychile.

This woman's loss of her son has been turned into a travesty by the folks who are controlling her.
How very cynical of them. They don't care about Casey, or Mrs. Sheehan, but they do care about advancing their hatred of the President.

FYI- she is now saying that she should not have to pay taxes ever again.... Because he son died.

I'm terribly terribly sorry that her son was killed, but she is bordering on exploitation now. I have no respect for that.

As a veteran myself, I find it awful hard to believe that she wasnt prepared for this.

Guess what, Ma? The military's purpose is to serve the country. Sometimes, that means going to war. Sometimes, going to war means people die for your freedom. Period.

If you dont like the way the country is being run, GTFO. Your son did a noble thing, and you're stepping all over his name and his grave by making it look like the work he did was trash. I'll bet he's frowning down at your stupiditiy right now.

Nobody has to agree with me. Nobody has to agree with anybody when it comes to war and politics. But the fact remains that the military is a vital part of this countries survival, and the freedom that we have. The people who have the courage to go into the military GIVE YOU the freedom to talk your trash about the government. Those people know of the risks of joining the service and those who claim they dont didnt do their research and they are idiot (Weekend Warriors who are pissed off about going into active duty, I'm talking to you).

I'll never forget the day that, 2 months after returning from the middle east, how some @$$hole asked me if I was proud of serving in Vietnam #2. I couldnt believe the audacity of him to say such a thing. Guess what people? We have freedom here because of our troops, and along with that freedom is your right to leave. Be glad you arent in a surpressed country where you cant leave without fear of persecution. You should be thankful for what you've got here in the US - and if you aren't, then flee to canada like the coward that you are (no knock on canada, just using a very common example).

Ma needs to get off her soapbox and get over it. Nothing she says or does is going to bring her son back. She doesnt want to pay taxes anymore? Makes you wonder if she's a deadbeat looking for attention.

I thought this deserved to be quoted. I agree with you, and congrats to have the guts to say what you feel. There are so many loud mouths with bad things to say about the war, our government, and our president. It is nice to see someone be so outspoken for the other point of view. Thank you.

Thanks, Bush!
 

I think you all should just shut your traps and leave the grieving mother alone. :rolleyes:

Re: Thanks, Bush!
 

And I think the greiving mother needs to actually do some grieving rather than getting her 15 minutes of fame in the spotlight. Other grieving mothers have managed to do so, why's it so hard for her?

Yeah, Thanks Bush! And thanks to the rest of the folks out there who were smart enough to keep him in office!

www.protestwarrior.com <-- Kick@$$ site

Re: Thanks, Bush!
 

When you need a press secretary to simultaneously grieve on CNN, MSNBC and Fox, you're fair game.

Re: Re: Thanks, Bush!
 

I wonder what she's going to do in 3 weeks when he goes back to D.C. Hopefully she'll just stop, but I doubt it.

Also, since when did she become the expert on the Isreal/Palestine issue??? How is that at all relevant to her son's death? Soapbox much, lady?

Re: Re: Thanks, Bush!
 

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

I may not agree with you politically, but I do respect you, especially because you served our country. However, comments like that bother me a bit. After all, you fought for our freedom to disagree with our government (among many other things, of course). So the idea that the US should be homogenous and totally behind our government just doesn't follow. I do understand your points about her milking her fame and all... and for someone to speak to you about "Vietnam #2" is totally out of line. I just don't really appreciate being told to leave if I don't agree with the current administration. That's all.

I feel bad for her.
 

As a mother of three, I don't ever, ever, want to know what pain this lady is experiencing. :( But when I hear about her asking not to have to pay taxes... that's suspect. Sad as this is, no compensation will ever bring him back - so why ask for one - esp. when he chose to enlist in the military? :( I could see if we were drafting.... At this point, I don't think she's acting rationally at all & is probably running on sheer rage. Those closest to her should advise her to refrain from making any further public statements until she & her family has had some time to heal.

Agree 100% with this. Last thing I checked, they said we were fighting this war for freedom, among other things. Seems that people like to conveniently "forget" that. I'm not sure where along the line the concept of freedom became so selective.

If we don't have the freedom to disagree with this country and people are telling those who disagree to GTFO, then what on earth are these men and women fighting for?