NOW. Politics & Economy. Perry Jeffries | PBS

NOW. Politics & Economy. Perry Jeffries | PBS: "David Brancaccio talks with Iraq war veteran Perry Jefferies about the controversy stirred up by Cindy Sheehan's vigil near the President's ranch, and Jefferies's hometown, in Texas. "

The Memphis Flyer : A Crawford Diary:

The Memphis Flyer :: the mid-south's news weekly: Cover Stories: Cover Stories: A Crawford Diary:: "Editor's Note: Memphian Cheri DelBrocco, who writes the 'Mad as Hell' column for the Flyer's Web site, spent several days last week at Camp Casey, the site adjoining President Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch, where a vigil is being kept by Cindy Sheehan, mother of one of the almost 2,000 Americans killed so far in Iraq. Joined by increasing numbers of sympathizers and members of the media, Sheehan continues her quest for a conversation with the president and for an answer to a question which reduces to a simple premise: Why are we in Iraq?

Day One:

August 16th - As my friend and sidekick Deborah Brackstone and I roll down I-35 into Waco, Texas, in our rented Chevy Malibu, we pass the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Museum and wonder about the Texas sense of humor. A huge purple skull holding a sickle sticks out of a double-wide trailer. Deborah, who's from Cordova, is coming to Crawford, Texas, seeking the truth about the war in Iraq, this administration, and Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother of a dead soldier, who wants to meet with President Bush. And so am I.

Crawford is approximately 18 miles west of Waco. We remind ourselves to look for the David Koresh compound in Waco on our return from Crawford. There's not much in Crawford except a couple of home-cooking restaurants, a few dozen homes with "I support the President" signs and banners in the yard, three or four churches, and, at the railroad tracks, a corner grocery. In front of the store is a flatbed truck loaded with a huge reproduction of the Liberty Bell flanked by concrete replicas of the Ten Commandments." (more)

WATCH VIDEO:David Rovics After the Revolution

I had the opportunity to make a short with David Rovics in NY
(during the 2004 Republican National Convention). - Doron

Crawford Update: Cindy Sheehan Returns to Crawford, Confronts President Bush In National Television Ad

"Spot Features Cindy Sheehan Directly Addressing Bush With Numerous Questions on the Iraq War

“How many American lives must be lost to justify your war?”

Crawford, TX— Cindy Sheehan, whose son, Pvt. Casey Sheehan was killed in Iraq last year, has resumed her vigil in Crawford, and Gold Star Families for Peace announced that their television ad would go to a national cable audience beginning today.

The ad features Sheehan asking the President, “ . . .how many American lives must be lost to justify this war?” Over the past three weeks, Sheehan has been joined by numerous other mothers and family members who have lost loved ones in the Iraq war, at Camp Casey, just outside the President’s Texas ranch.

The ad, paid for by Gold Star Families for Peace, will begin to air on CNN and Fox News nationwide, with an initial buy of $67,000.

The ad has been running in the Waco, TX, market covering Crawford, and also aired during the President’s visits this week to Salt Lake City and Boise. The group of military families will continue to demand a meeting with the vacationing President at his ranch in Texas, and wherever he travels.

Later today, Sheehan and other Gold Star Family for Peace members will receive Casey Sheehan’s combat boots, delivered to Crawford as part of the American Friends Service Committee’s traveling exhibit, “Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of War,” a traveling exhibition of combat boots representing soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict. The boots, which Sheehan had donated for the exhibit, were removed from its current display in Philadelphia.

Sheehan says they put the TV ad together because the airwaves seemed to be the only alternative.

AD TRANSCRIPT:

Cindy Sheehan speaking to President Bush

Mr. President, My name is Cindy Sheehan. On April 24, 2004 my son was killed in Iraq.

He was only 24 and he died in his best friend’s arms. Casey was so good and so honest-- why can’t you be honest with us?

You were wrong about the weapons of mass destruction-you were wrong about the link between Iraq and Al Queda—you lied to us and because of your lies my son died.

Mr. President I want to tell you face to face how much this hurts. I love my country, but how many more of our loved ones need to die in this senseless war? How many more soldiers have to die before we say enough?"

BBC NEWS | Americas | Protest mother back at Bush ranch

BBC NEWS | Americas | Protest mother back at Bush ranch: "A mother whose son died while serving in Iraq has resumed her protest outside President George W Bush's Texas ranch.
The Californian woman had to interrupt her anti-war campaign six days ago to look after her elderly mother after she suffered a stroke.

Cindy Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey was killed in action in 2004, started her protest on 6 August.

She has vowed to stay put during Mr Bush's month-long holiday there and hopes he will meet her.

Ms Sheehan returned to the camp near Crawford just hours before the president, who earlier this week made impassioned speeches on the importance of the war on terror. "

The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan - New York Times

The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan - New York Times: "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."

Cindy Sheehan Is Working To Bring Our Troops Home - BuzzFlash Interview

Cindy Sheehan Is Working To Bring Our Troops Home - BuzzFlash Interview: "Casey Sheehan re-enlisted with the Army in August of 2003, knowing that his unit would eventually be deployed in Iraq. Casey, a Humvee mechanic with the 1st Calvary, was killed in Sadr City on April 4th of this year. He was only 24 years old. He is and forever will remain an American hero.

Casey's mom, Cindy Sheehan, is a hero too. Angered that her son was sent to fight and die in an unjust war for reasons that have proven to be lies, Cindy is speaking out about the Iraq invasion. Cindy has joined other moms and families who have lost loved ones in the conflict to tell Americans about the true costs of the war. Their group, Real Voices (http://realvoices.org/rv/index.html), is running television ads featuring the voices of Americans like Cindy speaking directly to President Bush about the impact of his failed policies and lies. "

Folk Singer Supports Anti-War Protesters

CRAWFORD, Texas -- Joan Baez was against the Vietnam War and she showed it _ appearing at marches, once even blocking the entrance of a military induction center.

The folk singer is against the Iraq war, too, and she showed her support Sunday to protesters camping out near President Bush's ranch.

Peace activist and singer Joan Baez arrives at Cindy Sheehan's anti-war camp near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2005. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (Lm Otero - AP)
Baez took to the stage for about 500 people on an acre lot offered by a landowner who opposes the war, performing such classic peace anthems as "Song of Peace," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

Not far way is the camp started by Cindy Seehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq.

"In the first march I went to (opposing Vietnam) there were 10 of us. This is huge," Baez told the relatives of fallen soldiers before performing just up the road from the ranch.

For Baez, an anti-war movement was inevitable.

"It was the final tear for the overflow and you can't stop running water," she said. "Cindy's was the final tear."

Photo: Peace activist and singer Joan Baez arrives at Cindy Sheehan's anti-war camp near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2005. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (Lm Otero - AP)