<p>It’s almost midnight on the East Coast…another Groundhog Day is about to begin. He’s still our President.</p>
<p>Mr. B, sorry but being a “grieving mother” does not give her a license to spew venom about a president or an entire country without opening herself up to scrutiny in terms of exactly what she is saying and who is behind her saying these things. Were you aware that one of the people who has been involved with coordinating your hero’s activities from day one was one of the people who orchestrated the violent protests against the WTO in Seattle a few years ago?</p>
<p>If she truly did want to just meet with the president to “get some questions answered” she would have behaved like someone who wanted to meet with the president (again). Obviously, this was never her real intent.</p>
<p>Poetsheart, we obviously disagree on many things, especially on the Iraq war, but I do want to commend you on your open-mindedness on many issues and your ability to look beyond politics and see what is the right thing to do. I suspect that you and I will likely continue to disagree on aspects of what the right thing to do may be, but I will value your viewpoint as one untainted by politics.</p>
<p>yes some anarchists from out of the area did show up as well as people who took advantage of the situation and yes police got really out of hand with tear gas and pepper spray- and such but the majority intended to be a peaceful protesthttp://<a href=“http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/12/02/riots/index.html”>www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/12/02/riots/index.html</a>
so are you saying that the anarchists who stormed Seattle are involved in the anti war protests?
My daughters high school was in the thick of the demonstrations- I am pretty aware of what actually went on</p>
<p>Yes. She coordinated with Lisa Fithian before she even went to Crawford and Fithian has been with her ever since. Fithian was one of the organizers of the WTO violence. Here is what the New York Times Magazine wrote about Fithian in November of 2003:</p>
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<p>also:</p>
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<p>We can spew venom about the president all we want…that is our democratic right, and you say we don’t have that right…then what the (&%# are we fighting for…</p>
<p>My, but you have to stretch to find anything to make Cindy not perfect…and did you know the president has people that torture others…yes he does…he has supporters that are right wing fanantics who want all blacks killed…yes he does…everyone in the public eye has people that support them that are bad, and I am not necessarily agreeing with you about Fithian, so by your logic, if someone has support of a “bad” person, we shold not support that person…well, gee the Presdient himslef has some pretty fringe supporters himself, so by your logic…</p>
<p>But as always, the Presidenint in your eyes is omnipotent. Pretty scary thought.</p>
<p>
You have a right to say any foolish thing that you want. But I would appreciate it if you not put words into my mouth that I never said.</p>
<p>And if everyone who disagrees with the president has his personal life scrutinized, what kind of democracy is that…sounds a bit like facsism to me. So if you speak up, your whole life is open to analysis- and that is the kind of democracy we are fighting to protect? A country that dissent is questioned, where a group of people that disagree with this war are called unpatriotic and nation haters…are we to walk lock step with this administration in all they say and do? Is that what you expect? is that what the founding fathers wanted? Didn’t they print pamphlets that were considered treasonous? </p>
<p>If you want lock step agreement with an administration, find another country. In America, dissent, protest, disagreement are necessary and is what we supposedly fighting to give the People of Afghanistan and Iraq. We can spew all we want, and we should be able to without having our every move, every past event scrtinized by the thought police. Spew spew spew. </p>
<p>When the Presidents house is in perfect order, the people that work for him are perfect and ethically not challenged, that the republican party cleans house- Kentucky, Ohio, and the like, then, maybe they can talk.</p>
<p>Again we are a democracy…we can spew all we want without feer of having our lives under a microscope by those that find disagreement with this administration somehow unpatriotic</p>
<p>I don’t find disagreement with this administration to be unpatriotic, but I do often find it to uninformed and unserious.</p>
<p>“sorry but being a “grieving mother” does not give her a license to spew venom about a president or an entire country without opening herself up to scrutiny in terms of exactly what she is saying and who is behind her saying these things”</p>
<p>SO you didn’t say that? That those that spew venon have to be aware that their live wil be scrutinized…got it…</p>
<p>Obviously you have no clue about how free speech or a democracy works. Cindy and you are free to make any outragious claims as you want. Those who disagree with you are equally free to do so. In so doing they can point to the outragious nature of your statements and inform others about who the wolf is underneath the sheep’s clothing. Freedom works in both directions.</p>
<p>And, I find those that agree with all the administration does to be uniformed as well. And not very open to even the possiblity that this administration can and has made mistakes. And yeah, there are and were mercenaries that our goverment paid in Iraq. Suprise!!</p>
<p>With more poor in this country than ever before, percentage wise and pure # wise, this administration is doing so well, I want to cry.</p>
<p>We should be able to do so without fear of having our whole lives scrutizined and being demonized by those that find our disagreement distasteful. That is not democracy. it is very close to fascism. </p>
<p>But, keep thinking you believe in freedom and democracy. it doesn’t show.</p>
<p>CGM, your meretricious take on Hayden’s “mercenaries,” along with your silly claims about fascism exemplify why I generally consider your POV to be unserious.</p>
<p>What aspect of Cindy’s life other than that which is germaine to her protests has been scrutinized and demonized here? If you fail to see the relevance of Cindy being backed from the very beginning by radical groups then I think you are being willfully blind. If you fail to see virulent anti-American statements as being relevant to exposing her real agenda then you have fallen into the abyss of the far left cult.</p>
<p>BTW, there are many Bush policies that I disagree with, so please stop implying that I am in lockstep with everything that he does.</p>
<p>Published on Sunday, August 21, 2005 by the New York Times
The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan
by Frank Rich</p>
<p>
[quote]
Cindy Sheehan couldn’t have picked a more apt date to begin the vigil that ambushed a president: Aug. 6 was the fourth anniversary of that fateful 2001 Crawford vacation day when George W. Bush responded to an intelligence briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States” by going fishing. On this Aug. 6 the president was no less determined to shrug off bad news. Though 14 marine reservists had been killed days earlier by a roadside bomb in Haditha, his national radio address that morning made no mention of Iraq. Once again Mr. Bush was in his bubble, ensuring that he wouldn’t see Ms. Sheehan coming. So it goes with a president who hasn’t foreseen any of the setbacks in the war he fabricated against an enemy who did not attack inside the United States in 2001.</p>
<p>When these setbacks happen in Iraq itself, the administration punts. But when they happen at home, there’s a game plan. Once Ms. Sheehan could no longer be ignored, the Swift Boating began. Character assassination is the Karl Rove tactic of choice, eagerly mimicked by his media surrogates, whenever the White House is confronted by a critic who challenges it on matters of war. The Swift Boating is especially vicious if the critic has more battle scars than a president who connived to serve stateside and a vice president who had “other priorities” during Vietnam.</p>
<p>The most prominent smear victims have been Bush political opponents with heroic Vietnam r</p>
<p>The Swift Boat vets have yet to be refuted, Weenie. Pointing out that a bereaved eccentric having a public nervous breakdown is, well, what she is, can hardly be called a smear. But, yeah, isn’t it amazing what dreck can be published in a major daily–THE major daily–under the dictatorship of Bush-Hitler. When will those darned fascists in the administration ever crack down?</p>
<p>The Swift boat have been refuted, many times, but hey, whatever.</p>
<p>The Swift Boat people were perfect and right in all aspects, and the Bush haters are always wrong</p>
<p>Got it…why bother with someone who sees Bush as omnipotent</p>
<p>The Bush Cult lives and thrives…swell</p>
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By whom? They have been “smeared and scrutinized by their opponents,” but who showed them to be liars? I don’t think anyone here has ever called the president “omnipotent,” which suggests to me that you should consult your Funk & Wagnell.</p>
<p>driver:
Did you even bother to read the article? Sorry, but it doesn’t sound like it…</p>