Gold Star & Military Families Arrive in Crawford, Texas, Call on President

[sabra]

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=51528


Gold Star & Military Families Arrive in Crawford, Texas, Call on President Bush to Meet with Cindy Sheehan and All of the Families, and to Bring Troops Home Now


CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- 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. Celeste and her son Dante arrived in Crawford on Tuesday Aug. 9; son Raphael will arrive Friday night Aug. 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, Aug. 9. Tammara's husband serves in the Army, stationed at Ft. Hood, and will be deploying to Iraq this fall.

Lietta Ruger of Bay Center, Wash., will be arriving in Crawford Wednesday morning, Aug. 10. 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.

more @ link

[AtLiberty]

1. Shrub is in Aurora, Illinois this morning...

...on his "working" vacation.

His administration has mastered the art of stalling in their favor, but this is one time when it just won't work. Every hour which passes makes aWol look worse. It's a no-win situation for him no matter what; talking to Cindy & Co. ASAP in the least painful.

A REAL man would go out and face those people.

[Dhalgren]

11. This is really going to put the Glorious Leader on the spot.

If he talks with these terrorists...er...Gold Star Mothers, now, it makes him looked as though he caved to pressure - and Glorious Leader can't be seen as that weak! But if he doesn't meet with them, it will make him look worse and worse (PR-wise) as the days drag on. What is a Dictator to do?

Seriously though, I just hope he doesn't have his SS troops hurt any of them - that is still a possibility... He can't have them arrested, that would be too much for his image to bear. He could just run away to Camp David and hide there, that seems to be more his speed...

[Javaman]

14. Be prepared for this not to end well...

Granted the worse, absolutely worst thing they could do is hurt someone there. That not only would be a PR failure but it would truly mark the end of morons* reign of terror.

But I wouldn't put a damn thing past these idiots. After they have threatened them with the "busy road" stupidity, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they continued to try other various forms of intimidation.

Welcome to the dictator ship of the chimp*

colossal failure*

[Judi Lynn]

20. Anyone who would DREAM of threatening them with a road "accident"

would be capable of doing it, as well. Their threat was so far beyond acceptable levels of communication to people with differing political viewpoints.

It would not be beyond their capabilities to create the appearance of an "accident," I'm certain.

Surely hope the people standing outside will be extremely guarded at all times.

[Bandit]

17. What is a Dictator to do?

Arrest them and break up the protest. It will be hot for a few days but then it will blow over. The right wing echo machine will say it was just a group of loonies and malcontents and they were getting too close to the pResident. National Security you know.

[cliss]

19. You're right. He simply can't win.

It's interesting that Bush has met his match against someone who would be considered "powerless" in his power elite. This is not George Soros, or John Kerry, or some other super-wealthy contender. It's a mom. A woman, who has lost her son. Bush can't do battle against her because she's holding all the aces.

And I can tell you he will not meet with her. I heard Cindy Sheehan on AAR yesterday, and she plans to do more than just ask a few questions. She's going to go right to the heart of the war in Iraq.

Bush knows he has no answers. So -- fiddles while Crawford Burns. This is going to finish him, by the way.

[ninkasi]

24. He hid on 9-11, too

He flew all over the country on 9-11, instead of making a show of strength by talking to the American people. Some macho man, is he, hopping around, looking for a safe bunny hole to cower in til the danger is past.

[ixion]

2. It's about time the 'news' services start covering this

it's only been going on for nearly a week. :eyes:

[KyndCulture]

3. Oh this is just great! So many more families..... YES!

the press can't smear them all!

[Waya]

5. The more....

.....the merrier.
I dunno about how well the Main Stream Media will cover this, but I know William Rivers Pitt from truthout.org is heading down there. So at least we'll get to hear the truth.:P

[unhappycamper]

4. Damn! I'm so proud of these Patriots. n/t

[KyndCulture]

6. I know, I am too...

I'm just a gooey teary mess this morning! The more I read the more hope I seem to have.

[cry baby]

7. They inspire me to tears, too.

I love them for their courage and wisdom.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. But aren't these mourining families an un American security risk?

[gratuitous]

12. Not until Thursday

That's when they'll become a threat to national security. :shrug:

Stupidhead has brought about this entire situation, and his complete refusal to meet with anyone not on his donor list or who otherwise advances his agenda has made it so that people who want or need to see the president (no matter how personally distasteful or inconvenient it is to work around Stupidhead's schedule) have to resort to these measures.

Being president means being president of ALL the people; not just the oil executives and other robber barons and monied elites.

[hippiechick]

9. dupe thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1687928&mesg_id=1687928

:hi:

[sabra]

10. This is an update on that press release

Yesterday they announced that the families are joining, today they have arrived.

peace :-)

[hayu_lol]

13. After five years under our LAME leadership...

our grassroots has something to focus on. This is what the power of the people can do.

Havent heard a peep about this from the DLC have we?

[ray of light]

18. nor should we! it's not politics and the longer it stays

that way the better it is for for cindy and for us!

[catmandu57]

15. If I were thirty years younger

I would have been on the road there two days ago, as it is I can only wish them well, come on youngsters this is your time.

[zanne]

16. Are there any pictures available?

I admit I haven't been keeping up, but I'm having trouble finding pictures of the scene in Crawford.

[uppityperson]

21. More military families arriving is GREAT!

[leftchick]

22. Americans join mom in waiting for Iraq answers

http://www.suntimes.com/output/marin/cst-edt-carol10.html

<snip>

The Iraq war is not a positive. That's why for two years we haven't been allowed to view soldiers' flag-draped coffins coming into Dover Air Force base. That's why the president keeps the cost of this war out of the official annual budget document, relegating it to supplemental appropriations instead. And that's why the administration would rather use terms like "coalition forces" rather than actually name the countries supporting us. After all, just how many troops do we really think can be supplied by Albania, Azerbaijan and Estonia?

Sadly, for most of us the Iraq war has become terrible noise in the background of our lives. It doesn't really reach us except when we turn on the television or open the newspaper or check our e-mail. That's where it pops up much like an unwelcome Internet ad that we can make disappear with a click. The problem is that it keeps popping up.

We are only a third of the way through August, and 31 more soldiers are dead. Car bombs. Insurgent attacks across the country. Carnage in the cities as well as in the countryside.

Thousands more of our wounded are coming home to rehabilitate their broken bodies and in some cases, tortured minds.

http://www.meetwithcindy.org/



Sign the petition....

http://elandslide.org/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=cindy

[Dhalgren]

23. Oh man, that hits right to the heart of the matter!

That sign you have - "Bush met with him; why not her?" Is great and to-the-point!