More Cindy Sheehan Updates

The voices of American "morality" have begun parading around on a Cindy Sheehan smear campaign. Media Matters is tracking the evolution of the smear (via Brad Blog) and shows that it all originates with Matt Drudge's purposeful distortion. Numerous people have shown that Drudge deceptively quoted Sheehan out of context. Diane Barney, editor of the The Reporter, which published the 2004 story that Drudge used in his smear, has denounced Drudge's claim and said, instead:

We don't think there has been a dramatic turnaround. Clearly, Cindy Sheehan's outrage was festering even then.

The truth is on the record. The right wingers who repeat the smear lie knowingly in order defame Cindy Sheehan and the love she has for her son. The m.o. is the same as always, but in this case it particularly loathsome.

Bitch PhD hits the right chord, posting the picture of Casey Sheehan at right and noting that her son is about the same age as Casey is in the photo and that

If my idealistic little boy ever joined up, only to be sent to his death under false pretenses in a war of aggression, you're damn right I'd want to hold the person that sent him and lied about why accountable.

And heaven help anyone who tried to impugn my love for my child because of it.

For up to minute updates on Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, TX, and on the news coverage of Cindy, see AfterDowningStrreet.org. UpbeatDefiance also has frequent updates on Cindy Sheehan's vigil. That last link is via Shakespeare's Sister, who has called for blogswarm to drown out the drone of the right wing echo chamber.

I almost forgot to mention: Clear Channel is sponsoring an anti-Cindy Sheehan barbecue in Crawford this Saturday: free coke and burgers and Cindy bashing. Soldiers from the Fort Hood area have a special invitation to get in on the Cindy bashing action.

Meanwhile, Cindy's demand for justice and accountability continues to inspire and draw people to Crawford, TX to support her. There are plain civilians, like these two women (via Body and Soul):

The idea of making a spontaneous trip to President Bush's vacation ranch was born when Julie Decker read a newspaper article a couple of days ago and immediately called her good friend Tiffany Strause.

The story was about a Northern California woman whose son had been killed in Iraq and who subsequently decided to camp out in front of Bush's Texas ranch until she got a face-to-face meeting with him.

Yesterday morning, a day after reading the piece, Strause, who lives in San Marcos, and Decker, who lives in Carlsbad, were on a plane to Crawford, Texas, to join the woman in her vigil.

They intend to stay, they said, until Bush – who is on vacation at the ranch for the next five weeks – agrees to meet Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville in person.

Neither of the two women knows Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son, Casey, an Army specialist, was killed in Baghdad in April 2004. Neither has a child, much less one who has been killed in Iraq. And neither had been active in the anti-war movement. They hadn't attended any "protests or peace rallies or anything like that," Strause said. "Both of us are very busy."

But they share with Sheehan the firm belief that the war is a colossal mistake. And when they heard about Sheehan's story, "it was like the straw that broke the camel's back," said Strause, 29, who works as a consultant in the computer industry.

And military families are arriving in Crawford, from all over the country, to stand with Cindy.

Members of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out are beginning to arrive in Crawford, Texas to add their voices to Cindy Sheehan’s, calling for a meeting with President Bush and for troops to be brought home now.

The following Gold Star and Military Families Speak Out members are available for interview:

Celeste, Dante and Raphael Zappala of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Celeste and her son Dante arrived in Crawford on Tuesday August 9; son Raphael will arrive Friday night August 12. Celeste's son Sgt. Sherwood Baker (Dante and Raphael’s brother) was the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman to die in combat since World War II. He was killed in action in Baghdad on April 26, 2004 while searching for non-existent WMD's. Celeste is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

Tammara Rosenleaf of Belton, Texas arrived in Crawford on Tuesday, August 9th. Tammara's husband serves in the Army, stationed at Ft. Hood, and will be deploying to Iraq this fall.

Lietta Ruger of Bay Center, Washington will be arriving in Crawford Wednesday morning, August 10th. Lietta's son-in-law and nephew serve in the 1st Armored Division of the U.S. Army and are currently in Germany. They have both served extended 15-month tours of duty in Iraq; they are both under stop-loss orders and due to re-deploy to Iraq this fall.

Linda and Phil Waste of Hinesville, Georgia will arrive in Crawford Wednesday morning August 10th. Linda and Phil have 3 sons and 2 grandchildren (a grandson and a granddaughter) who are active-duty military. Together, they have already spent a total of over 57 months on tours of duty in Iraq. Several of these children/grandchildren are currently serving in Iraq, and have served extended and multiple deployments.

Jean Prewitt of Birmingham, Alabama will arrive in Crawford on Wednesday morning, August 10th. Jean’s son Private Kelly Prewitt was killed in action during the first few weeks of the war in Iraq, on April 6, 2003.

Valarie Fletcher of Seymour, Missouri is driving to Crawford and arriving Wednesday evening, August 10. Valarie's son serves in the Marines and will be deploying to Iraq at the end of this month.

Sherry Bohlen of Scottsdale, Arizona is driving to Crawford and arriving on Wednesday evening, August 10. Sherry’s son serves in the Army and deployed to Iraq on June 10, 2005.

Rebecca Bahr of Scottsdale, Arizona is driving to Crawford and arriving on Wednesday evening August 10. Rebecca's daughter serves in the Marines and is currently stateside.

Caryn Unsicker of Silvis, Illinois is driving to Crawford and arriving Wednesday evening, August 10. Caryn's son serves in the Marines, currently stateside.

Anne Sapp and her daughters Lydia (age 17) and Mary (age 8) of Billerica, Massachusetts will be arriving in Crawford on Thursday morning, August 11th. Anne's husband/Lydia and Mary's father is a Staff Sergeant in the Massachusetts National Guard and currently serving in Iraq.

Barbara Porchia of Camden, Arkansas will be arriving in Crawford on Thursday morning August 11th. Barbara's son, Army Reservist Private 1st Class Jonathan Cheatham, was killed in action in Baghdad two years ago, on July 26, 2003.

Sue Niederer of Pennington, New Jersey will be arriving in Crawford on Thursday morning August 11th. Sue's son, 1st Lieutenant Seth Dvorin, was killed in action near Iskandariyah, Iraq on February 3, 2004. Sue is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

Kristin Williams and Matthew Williams of Dallas, Texas will be arriving in Crawford this weekend (August 13-14). Matthew Williams is an Iraq War Veteran who served as a combat medic for one year in Iraq (2003-2004). He was honorably discharged from the Army. Kristin is his sister.

Bill Mitchell of Atascadero, California will be arriving in Crawford in the next several days. Bill's son Sgt. Michael Mitchell was killed in action in Sadr City, Iraq on April 4, 2004, along with Cindy Sheehan's son Spc. Casey Sheehan. Bill is a co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

Mimi Evans of Hyannis, Massachusetts will be arriving in Crawford on Tuesday, August 16th. Mimi's son serves in the Marines; he will be deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in the next two weeks.

Eric Blickenstaff of Portland, Oregon will be arriving in Crawford early next week. Eric's brother Spc. Joseph Blickenstaff served in the Army and was killed when his Stryker vehicle rolled into a ditch on December 8, 2003 in Balad, Iraq.

UPDATE: Anti-Cindy BBQ canceled (at least for now) "due to lack of local interest."