Sheehan Urge Supporters to Take Action

[NVMojo]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Activist Cindy Sheehan told supporters at a peace forum Saturday that troops would get out of Iraq if millions of U.S. citizens took the simple step that she did outside President Bush's vacation home last summer.

"Anybody could do what we did in Crawford, Texas. We just went down and sat down," Sheehan told the crowd of several hundred people, with Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn in the front row.

She urged them to loose their apathy and do something. "We have to get so freakin' fed up with what's going on that we all go and sit down," Sheehan said.

Sheehan, a Berekley resident whose 24-year-old soldier son died in Iraq, attracted hundreds of anti-war protesters to her makeshift camp near Bush's ranch in August.

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2006/jan/07/010702419.html

[paineinthearse]

1. I don't get it

Has DU turned into FR? Is this how we regard the heroine of Crawford? Zero interest in 1 hour?

K&R anyway. And thanks, NVMojo.

p.s. Join 7 other DU'ers who over the past 24 hours have read Cindy's latest.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=183718&mesg_id=183718

[Freedom_from_Chains]

11. I think the following may sum up why there is no interest

"As for Bush's "everything changed" argument, despite what the White House and its propagandists would like us to believe, everything didn't change after 9/11. Sure, air travel is slightly less convenient than it once was. Otherwise, however, very little is different for most Americans. We are still obsessed with celebrity and are woefully ignorant and apathetic about events occurring around the world. We still drive obnoxiously large trucks and SUVs while insisting that gas be something approaching free. We surround ourselves with gadgets and trinkets without giving a second thought about who made them and under what conditions. In short, we remain just as selfish, complacent, fat and dumb as we were before 9/11."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/06/01/07_complacent.html

[Warren Stupidity]

17. That about sums it up. eom.

[paineinthearse]

20. Are you saying, in a sense, "We have met the enemy....."?

"We have met the enemy, and he is us"
Walt Kelly

http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/wehavemetthe.html

Evil or upsetting forces exist within, not without. 1
‡ This is a twist on Oliver Hazard Perry’s words after a naval battle: “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The updated version was first used in the comic strip “Pogo,” by Walt Kelly, in the 1960s and referred to the turmoil caused by the Vietnam War.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

29. You know when I was a kid my father use to tell me

Son, if you want to know who you're worst enemy is all you have to do is look in the mirror. I use to think, "Uh, what's that crazy old man talking about," and finally about 20 years ago I got it.

[0007]

26. We remain just as selfish, complacent, fat and dumb as we were before 9/11

and 2000 years before 911.

[AverageJoe]

2. K & R

:kick:

Kicking for Cindy!

[xxqqqzme]

3. been doing other stuff

not been here much the last 10 days - Wht is K&R?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. Kicked and Recommended.

[zann725]

19. Kick and Recommended! too

n/t

[az chela]

5. We all have to act now

If we continue to let this government get away with murder and stealing from us,not only our money but our kids and we do nothing than we are to blame along with them.
This war has to be stopped this corrupt government has to be stopped.The raping and pillaging of this planet has to stop.If we dont stop them and just sit idly by while this continues we will all be destroyed.One woman started a movement to make her son's death have meaning.To stop the killing!!!!At first everyone is going oh yah cool she is really doing a great job.Do we expect her to do it all alone ??Cindy is on the road almost every day trying to get people involved,to carry on for her son,to make his death matter!!!T o hold responsible the people who took his life.What about your sons,what about your daughters???Where will it all end if we dont get off our asses and stand up and once again make america proud!!!
God bless you Cindy,you have made such a difference and I hang my head in shame for the people who think it is your job alone to stop this senseless killing.
If you truly love this country and our lost freedom fight back!!!

[Dunvegan]

6. This is Cindy, v. 2.0...and she's right.

My husband went to film her book signing here in San Francisco at a local bookstore, and that's her message.

The vigils were good. But the Bush Administration ignores them.

We have to go (my words) all Rosa Parks on their corrupt behinds.

Cindy said sit down where they have to move you: In front of federal buildings, recruiters, and congress persons' homes and offices.

As Cindy was one of the last people to speak with Rosa before she passed, I accept the mantle as being passed.

She's right, you know.

Kicked and recommended.

[Hapameli]

7. LET'S DO IT!!! They told us two months ago!

"...During Saturday's talk, Ellsberg said both the Vietnam war and the war in Iraq were based on lies, referring to the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Ellsberg also sent out a special message to people working in the federal government today, urging them to speak up now about possible government misconduct they witness relating to the Iraq war.

The Harvard graduate, who has praised government whistleblowers who leak information about the Iraq war, said he wishes he had leaked the Pentagon Papers earlier, possibly ending the war sooner.

"I still wish I had done it," he said.

Ellsberg also criticized todays media for its coverage of the war in Iraq, particularly for not keeping tabs of the Iraqi casualties since the conflict began two years ago. Just focusing on the lost American lives is not enough, he said, pointing to a headline in a newspaper about four U.S. soldiers who died.

The author also rallied peace activists to stay vigilant in their cause, saying "It all depends on you."

OUT OF IRAQ Events today and next week! Get active if you aren't already! Search for an event nearby: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-11122005-569340.html

[rodeodance]

14. they risk their jobs.

Ellsberg also sent out a special message to people working in the federal government today, urging them to speak up now about possible government misconduct they witness relating to the Iraq war.

[Karenina]

8. Hmmm...

:kick:

[northerdar]

9. Apathy is such an addiction

Fear keeps it from breaking out. Perhaps in the coming months many Americans will confront their fears and decide to get off their butts and open their mouths. Hopefully having the Jack Abramoff, Cunningham and Russian scandals become more known Americans will see the LIGHT. Perhaps that pedophile connection from the 80's that Discovery Channel was not able to air will suddenly resurface to the masses....Americans don't like their children messed with. I think this would be the nail in the coffin for the BUSH Cabal.

[Hekate]

10. Kick this

Bless Cindy's brave and true heart.

Hekate

:kick:

[Smarmie Doofus]

12. Nothing but respect for Sheehan..... but:

"These people, they're not going to change unless they see us out in the streets," she said at the forum that organizers said was among dozens of town hall-style events held across the nation.


I don't think more demos are going to make a difference. 10 million people demonstrated at the outset of the war and the plan went on.

Nothing short of a *general strike* will make much of a difference. Sad to say.

[rodeodance]

13. i think many have taken in the rhetoric of getting out of Iraq by Bush

[livvy]

15. Another kick.

:kick:

[Marleyb]

16. apathy kills

what would Martin Luther King do?


http://benfrank.net/blog/f/sotu-mlk.pdf

[Cults4Bush]

18. Apathy will be the death of us all!

Cindy has never been more right.

[paineinthearse]

21. For all the "sit on your arse" whiners and complainers, the apathetic

See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x80937

I'll probably be tombstoned for this, but I am sick and tired of the lack of interest for calls to action displayed here by a high number.

I am sick and tired that so few participate in the ACTIVIST HQ.

I am sick and tired that support for the CSPAN GROUP was limited to 3.

I am sick and tired that my dail John Conyers posts never received much support.

I am sick and tired of 9/11 posts being buried in their own ghetto, ineligible for "greatest" nominations".

I am sick and tired of heros like John Conyers and Cindy Sheehan being given so little regard.

Get out from your computers, let's get active in real life, people!

[Tuesday_Morning]

23. I hear ya.

Kinda weird - the apathy around here lately.Maybe it's a post-Christmas slump. I know I'm feeling sluggish.

I personally don't believe that people are apathetic. I'm in South Florida and everyone I know is talking about how pissed they are, how bad Bush is, etc. But I do have a sense that people are sitting around with their fingers crossed: "Oh, I hope these investigations make a difference."

That's great. I do, too, but that hope, that wait-and-see attitude absolves you of responsibility:

" I don't have to do anything. I don't make a difference. But hopefully, Fitz will deliver."

My mantra is: Do a little something every day. I think of my kids. My kids' future kids. I think of this beautiful, beautiful planet. And I can't just sit back and cross my fingers.

[paineinthearse]

32. PRC

We had 100+ for Bonifaz and others in the Peoples' Republic of Cambridte last Friday night. There were 136+ similar events nationwide. Got nice emails from John (ADS), David Swanson (ADS) & Tim Carpenter (PDA) after the event.

Made me feel better.

[katinmn]

22. Kick!

[WhiteTara]

24. Rep Moran says that this is what we should do also

he called them vigils. I watched a Moran/Murtha town meeting on CSPAN. the people's questions were pointed and this was Moran's opinion of what should we do. So, I say, Go Cindy. I'm thinking when I can sit down and join her.

[babydollhead]

25. kick

[cyberpj]

27. Without a draft threatening all of us there w/never be a huge anti-war

movement again.

Add that to the corporatization and republicanization of our news media which keeps legitimate opposition opinions and actions from "us" and today's anti-war movement has been effectively marginalized.

Today's college youth are not feeling threatened by war or Bush.

And those are the boots-on-the-ground activists we need to make an impression.

[Citrene]

28. The words of Mario Savio come to mind.............

Mario Savio's speech before the FSM sit-in

Editorial note: This is the conclusion of Mario Savio's memorable speech, before Free Speech Movement demonstrators entered Sproul Hall to begin their sit-in on December 3, 1964. His climactic words about "the operation of the machine" have been quoted widely ever since, out of context, as the existential emblem of the FSM. (Or mis-quoted, since he said "passively" rather than "tacitly.") The beginning of Savio's talk -- about the technical details of the failed negotiations and the administration's reprisal --has never been transcribed. We hope to make it available soon, for it provides a fuller view of the balance of thought and feeling in his speech, and in the FSM.

" We have an autocracy which runs this university. It's managed. We asked the following: if President Kerr actually tried to get something more liberal out of the Regents in his telephone conversation, why didn't he make some public statement to that effect? And the answer we received -- from a well-meaning liberal -- was the following: He said, "Would you ever imagine the manager of a firm making a statement publicly in opposition to his board of directors?" That's the answer! Now, I ask you to consider: if this is a firm, and if the Board of Regents are the board of directors, and if President Kerr in fact is the manager, then I'll tell you something: the faculty are a bunch of employees, and we're the raw material! But we're a bunch of raw material that don't mean to have any process upon us, don't mean to be made into any product, don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone! We're human beings!



There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!



Now, no more talking. We're going to march in singing "We Shall Overcome." Slowly; there are a lot of us. Up here to the left -- I didn't mean the pun."

http://www.fsm-a.org/stacks/mario/mario_speech.html

[jazzjunkysue]

30. Here's one quick, easy, free call you can make to do your part.

Join PDA's National Call for Accountability January 9th Supporting Rep. Conyers


This is Laura Flanders at the Town Hall Meeting in Brooklyn yesterday.

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=...

Support Bush & Cheney Censure

Help PDA answer Rep. Conyers' call by participating in our National Call for Accountability Day on January 9th. Tens of thousands of PDA members and other concerned citizens will call Members of Congress, urging them to cosponsor three bills: H.Res.635 to create a select committee to investigate and to make recommendations on grounds for impeachment, H.Res.636 to censure Bush, and H.Res.637 to censure Cheney.

This is EASY! No money. No marching. Just pick up the phone. This will make a difference, and John Conyers is asking for our help. Let's give it to him.

Call your Congressperson. The link above will take you to your rep's number. This will take just a couple minutes and it could save your country.

I spent 4 hours on trains yesterday getting myself to Brooklyn to attend the Town Hall Meeting. All I'm asking in return is one phone call, urging your congressperson to support bills H.Res.635, H.Res.636, and H.Res.637, to investigate and censure and impeach Bush and Cheney.

If you really care, you'll make this call. No excuses. This is a representative government, and your call will really help put pressure on the GOP, EVEN IF this resolution doesn't pass. How many times have you said "The Dems never do anything?" Well, we're the dems, and we've got to do something.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Please follow that link and make the call. Please keep this kicked.

Amen.


http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6537

[Dunvegan]

31. I'll be calling Monday morning...lucky me, my Rep is Pelosi...

...I love calling her office, the staff is so congenial and upbeat.

[Dunvegan]

33. Called Pelosi...what a wonderful and attentive staff she has!

...added I've voted for her in every election she's ever run in...and am looking forward to an opportunity to vote for President Pelosi.

[jazzjunkysue]

34. Here's one call you can make today for Conyers:National Call Day

Join PDA's National Call for Accountability January 9th Supporting Rep. Conyers


This is Laura Flanders at the Town Hall Meeting in Brooklyn yesterday.

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/callalert/index.tt?alertid=...

Support Bush & Cheney Censure www.congress.org

Help PDA answer Rep. Conyers' call by participating in our National Call for Accountability Day on January 9th. Tens of thousands of PDA members and other concerned citizens will call Members of Congress, urging them to cosponsor three bills: H.Res.635 to create a select committee to investigate and to make recommendations on grounds for impeachment, H.Res.636 to censure Bush, and H.Res.637 to censure Cheney.

This is EASY! No money. No marching. Just pick up the phone. This will make a difference, and John Conyers is asking for our help. Let's give it to him.

Call your Congressperson. The link above will take you to your rep's number. This will take just a couple minutes and it could save your country.

I spent 4 hours on trains yesterday getting myself to Brooklyn to attend the Town Hall Meeting. All I'm asking in return is one phone call, urging your congressperson to support bills H.Res.635, H.Res.636, and H.Res.637, to investigate and censure and impeach Bush and Cheney.

If you really care, you'll make this call. No excuses. This is a representative government, and your call will really help put pressure on the GOP, EVEN IF this resolution doesn't pass. How many times have you said "The Dems never do anything?" Well, we're the dems, and we've got to do something. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Please follow that link and make the call. Please keep this kicked.

Amen.


http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/6537