Little Rock criminal defense lawyer John Wesley Hall reported on his wife's experience at Camp Casey in Crawford last week on TalkLeft.
My wife, from a long line of anti-war protestors, whose father fought in the Pacific in WWII and came home to protest the Vietnam War outside Nixon's San Clemente Western White House, just returned from two days protesting at President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch.My wife had to go to Crawford. Her high school sweetheart from the Laguna Beach High School class of 1965 was one of the first draftees to get to Vietnam and be killed. Her family grieves his death to this day.
She reported that the pro-Bush supporters were taunting Cindy Sheehan just before Sheehan departed "We don't care." I was appalled and couldn't believe it. No, she was dead serious. She was tearing up talking about it. It was, in fact, reported at DailyKos here.
A Hispanic Gold Star woman took a letter for Laura Bush signed by many of them as far as she could make it, and left the letter with some flowers in the street because no one would take it. The government goon told her to "pick it up." The woman replied: "You pick it up. We pick up the bodies of our sons, fathers, brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces after they die. The least you can do is pick up a letter."
The LA Times had a great editorial noting that while Bush can meet with his moneyed donors, Cindy has paid for her access in blood, yet he won't meet with her.
The Pro-Bush and Anti-war demonstrators are all coming to Crawford. The people of Crawford, with two notable exceptions, are staying out of it.
The people of Crawford are not at all like the yahoos firing the gun into the air shooting "doves" or the chain and pipe [knuckle] dragger who knocked down the crosses and flags symbolizing the dead who really could have hurt somebody in the dark.
The people of Crawford who had the chance made a point of talking to those who were leaving the vigil, noticing buttons and bumper stickers, and they generally seemed supportive of the anti-war movement, or at least didn't like the President.
A convenience store operator commented favorably on a button I picked up in Michigan two years ago and gave to my wife saying "Dissent is Patriotic." He wanted to talk. "Bush is a poser," he said. "He's not from around here. He wears cowboy boots to look the part, but he's not. Once his Presidency is over, he'll go back to where the money is." She gave him her "When Clinton lied, nobody died" button.
(Remember, Bush only bought that ranch in 2000. As they say in Texas, "Big hat, no cows.")
Another lady in the same store said "Don't worry about his neighbors, honey. They're just a bunch of inbreds. The rest of us here are not like that."
Thank you Crawford for your hospitality.
Body count: US, 1874; total coalition forces, 2068