Cindy Sheehan: Land of Hope

[babylonsister]

Posted in its entirety with permission.

Land of Hope
Cindy Sheehan


My recent trip to Turkey opened my eyes further to anti-American hatred. As more and more people in the occupied countries of Afghanistan and Iraq are being killed by American troops or by violence that didn’t exist before America existed in their countries, the intensity of the hostility is escalating along with the escalating violence. At a “peace” conference that I attended in Istanbul I was appalled when attendee after attendee rose up from the audience to commend my fellow panelist, an Iraqi scientist, on the insurgency in Iraq which was giving the world “hope” by staving off the self entitled “mightiest military in history”. I was as appalled because a violent insurgency was applauded as I am appalled that a violent regime in DC is still in power to continue devastating the world which encourages people to place their hope in the Iraqi resistance.

I want to live in a country that gives hope to the world. I want to live in a country that decreases world instability instead of foments and celebrates it. I want to live in a country that listens to its citizens and not the lobbyists of the war profiteers. I want to live in a country that doesn’t use its precious sons and daughters to kill other people’s precious sons and daughters. I want to live in the USA and that’s why I want Bloody George and Doomsday Dick to be impeached.

I had the honor over this past weekend to travel the state of Vermont (in the Yellow Rose of Texas VFP and Camp Casey Bus) with impeachment activists which included Dan DeWalt who began the impeachment movement in Vermont, John Nichols who is an associate editor of The Nation magazine and author of The Genius of Impeachment which puts the impeachment of the Bush Regime in crystal clear historical focus; along with three superbly intelligent and articulate Iraq Vets Against the War: Drew Cameron, Matt Howard and Adrienne Kinne.

We made 13 stops across Vermont (which is bigger than it looks) and found ourselves settling into a routine. First the Iraq Vets would speak. Adrienne was an Arabic linguist for 10 years and knew the intelligence that our country was gleaning from such sources as Ahmed Chalabi was false because she, using her brain, figured out that he had much to gain from the invasion of Iraq. When she brought this up to her commander he accused her of not supporting their unit or the mission. Adrienne now works in a VA hospital in Vermont and hears tragic tales of why our vets have PTSD. Stories of soldiers who were driving down the road in a sandy country that they had no business being in one minute and who awaken to find themselves covered in blood with a body parts in their laps, not knowing if it was their own or one of their buddies.

Matt, a Marine, and Drew, a soldier told horror stories of lack of body armor, lack of enough food and the killing of innocent women and children. The young vet’s points basically boiled down to this: as our VA hospitals are falling apart and soldiers are committing suicide, because even if the harmed soldier wanted to, they can’t get a bed in a VA facility, the illegal occupation of a country that Bloody George wants to make worse is creating more damaged veterans that will be refused, or criminally delayed treatment from the very government that hurt them in the first place.

John Nichols would then arise and talk about the founding of our country and the genius of the founding fathers that built impeachment into our constitution which mentions impeachment six times and God zero. Impeachment was our founder's way of insuring that no branch of the government, but especially the executive branch got to powerful or tyrannical. With the fire of an evangelist, John would relevantly quote Jefferson, Madison and Adams with alacrity and wisdom. Then John would introduce me.

By the time I would speak, the crowd had heard about the atrocity and senselessness of war. John would give them the historical back ground and reasons for impeachment (ie: starting wars of aggression based on lies; torture; Katrina; spying on Americans without permission; and torture to name a few) and my job was to put impeachment into the present day and explain future implications.

My imperative for impeachment does not come out of a sense of revenge. If I wanted revenge, I would be calling for something more harmful than impeachment. Justice is one of the reasons that I want impeachment. Peace is one of the reasons that I want impeachment. Accountability is one of the reasons that I want impeachment, but the overriding reason that I want impeachment is for the future.

I believe that a mammoth amount of Americans think that Vietnam was a wrong-headed war and that atrocities and crimes against humanity were committed. However, the main architects of that disgusting crime of that century, left their offices to go on to lead happy and healthy lives of ease. Johnson went back to Texas to bar-be-que; Nixon returned to California to golf; Mc Namara went on to be president of the World Bank (which seems to be a reward for planning horrid wars); and Kissinger is back in the saddle advising the cowboy of killing. If even one of the above mentioned murderers had been impeached and imprisoned, maybe George would not have thought that he was above the law and maybe he wouldn’t have felt so comfortable leading our country into disaster a la the war that he spent a lot of time avoiding himself.

It is urgent and necessary that we impeach the criminals who inhabit the highest offices of the world to insure the future peace of the world.

Impeachment is absolutely mandatory so that the crooks be held accountable for their crimes so America can be the shining city on the hill that the rest of the world can look towards with hope and confidence in her wisdom.

Impeachment is a constitutional requirement which must not be expediently avoided and must be set back on the table as first course.

Dozens of towns in Vermont will be voting on impeachment resolutions in their town meetings this Tuesday, March 6th as a people's antidote for the political temerity of Congress. If Congress won't do their constitutional duty, then, we the people will.

Vermont, the world is watching. Be the glowing beacon that leads our country down a path of justice and peace.

The hope of the world is counting on you.









Cindy Sheehan is the mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan who was killed in Bush's war of terror on 04/04/04.
She is the co-founder and president of Gold Star Families for Peace and The Camp Casey Peace Institute.

[shance]

1. Cindy - a voice of reason amidst the highly insane, disassociated chorus.

Thank you once again Cindy for caring as much as you do.

[az chela]

2. I have waited 3 years after my son died and wasnt going to post

this but because of Cindy and Babylon sister I am dedicating this to my son Robert A. Grawey
I want to thank the lady who posted this and I discussed telling my son's story with her because after what has happened at Walter Reed I have to say that this is one of many Va hospitals that have treated our troops like dirt.
My son was in the army and he had checked into the domiciliary at the va hospital here because he had a drinking problem.
He stayed at the DOM for 2 months and was doing great and he came to my house sept 26th which was my younger son's b'day.After dinner him and I went to the county fair and had a wonderful time.I took him back to the dom and he called the next day and said he wasnt feeling very good.I told him it was probably from the dust at the fair as he had ashma.He called a couple of days later and was still sick and was just going to stay in bed.I called him several times and he could barely talk and I told him to get the nurse to look at him.He called the nurse but she didnt bother to check on him.A few days later he called and he was so sick he could barely talk and hadnt eaten for several days.I told him to have someone take him to the va hospital there and he checked into the er.They told him he had sinus and gave him sinus pills ,no check up ,no anti-biotics and told him that it wasnt an emergency so he didnt see the dr.they just had him taken back to his room.
The next day my husband went up to the va to see Bob and he was burning up with fever,soaking wet and very white.The Dr looked at him and said he was ok.They gave him some antibiotics and once again sent him to the room altho the hospital was a short walk from the dom they didnt even bother to check him in.That afternoon my husband went back up there and took our son to the hospital and they still werent going to check him in til my son said his leg was throbbing.When they looked at his foot it was black.Rigamortous had set in and they took him by ambulance to the hospital here in town.He called me from the er and I was there in 10 minutes and they had already taken him into the operating room and the surgeon said he doubted he would live thru the night as he had thrown several clots from his lungs.He was in surgury for 6 hours and then ICU for 3 days til the Va took him to their hospital in Tucson so they wouldnt have to pay the hospital here any more money.
My husband and I came home amd threw some stuff in our motor home and headed to Tucson.We were there almost 2 weeks and my son had to have his foot amputated.He had to have 6 more surguries in the next few months and they did skin grafts to cover the end of his leg.It was like a nightmare that just wouldnt end.
I contacted an attorney that the DAV recommended so that we could make them admit guilt and he could get disability.
It took over a year but w
he finally settled for 30,000 dollars and the attorney said she could get him over 1000 dollars a month but that if he took that much he would have to pay the 30 thousand dollars out of his check til he paid back the 30 thousand .He ended up getting 800 a month which was not enough to live on.
3 years ago after being in a wheel chair and in constant pain he went to the Va hospital in Boise where they were going to amputate part of his leg.While he was waiting for the surgury he didnt have a place to stay that he could afford so he contacted the Va in Spokane who said he could stay in the dom there.He rode for 8 hrs on a bus and then took a cab to the va where he spent the day being sent from one dept to another only to be told that night that he could not stay there.He had no money so he wheeled himself a mile and a half to town and called me on his calling card that I sent him every 2 weeks.He was tired and scared, crying, and didnt know what to do,this was my son the ex biker who weighed 200 lbs and was 6ft 2". I told him to look around and see if he could see someone to ask where the bus station was.He saw a taxi driver who told him and I told him to stay there and I would call the bus station and see about getting money sent and getting him a ticket.Luckily the bus station had a place where I could wire him money and he was 2 blocks away.I told him to go to the greyhound and get the money and a bus ticket and call me.He went to the western union and got the money and then the ticket.The first bus back to Boise was in the morning and I told him to sleep in his wheel chair in the bus station as he was in a very bad part of town and to eat out of the machines if there was no restaurant but to not miss his bus.He spent 8 hours the next day riding the bus back to Boise.
He went back to the va and they put him on methadone and died 3 weeks later.The coroners office said it was an accidental overdose of methadone,he died in his sleep and the toxicolgy report said there were no other drugs or alcohol and not a lot of methadone around 2 pills.
He wanted to die because the va had made him feel less than human!!!!!!!

[babylonsister]

3. az, it was brave of you to post this!

:hug:
Did you ever find out what made your son sick in the first place? Poor young man, it sounds like he suffered, and the VA didn't help. :-(
Thank you for sharing.

[az chela]

4. It was because of you and Cindy and all the vets that are

suffering that I finally got the courage to sit down and write it.All I know is he died from the methadone the va gave him but he had just given up.He was supposed to have his leg cut off 2 weeks later and he just didnt want to be an invalid anymore.
He was always the life of the party

[midnight]

5. Good God. I keep coming to DU hoping to see that this

administration has been removed. What they have done to your beautiful family is and should be investigated. Keep all records. Maybe not now, but soon there will be an opportunity to get some restitution. I'm so glad you and Cindy have meet. So many lives destroyed by greed. So hard to fathom that just over 6 years ago we were all in a much better way.

[az chela]

6. The big question is can it ever be undone what bush and

cheney and condi have done.They are all so evil and have destroyed so many lives.I only hope that they will soon be gone.
Being friends with Cindy had helped me to go on

[az chela]

7. I have all his records,I called Boise and they said they didnt

Know where they were and I said I will call back tomorrow so you have24 hrs to find them.When I called the next day I was told the lawyer had them.I told them to connect me to the lawyer and was told by the lawyer that he couldnt send them to me.I told him that since i had full power of attorney for my son he better send them or he they would be subpoened by my attorney.
I recieved them 3 days .It is a stack at least 4 inches thick.

[bananas]

8. link to the follow-up thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=347409&mesg_id=347409

:cry: :hug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. . . .

:cry: