User:Jordgette/Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan (born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. Cindy Sheehan attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch—a stand that drew both passionate support and angry criticism. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008. She is a vocal critic of President Barack Obama's foreign policy.

Personal life
Cindy Sheehan was born in Inglewood, California in 1957. Her father worked at Lockheed while her mother raised her family. She graduated with honors from Cerritos College and studied history at UCLA. She worked as a youth minister at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vacaville, California for eight years, and also coordinated an after-school program for at-risk middle school children for the City of Vacaville. In 1977 she married Patrick Sheehan, in Norwalk, California; they had four children, including Casey Sheehan (born in 1979), who was later killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004. Patrick Sheehan filed for divorce on August 12, 2005, citing irreconcilable differences.

Anti-war campaign
Sheehan states she initially questioned the urgency of the invasion of Iraq, but did not become active in the anti-war effort until after her son's death. Sheehan and other military families met with United States President George W. Bush in June 2004 at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, about three months after her son's death. In a June 24, 2004 interview with the Vacaville Reporter, published soon after the meeting, she stated, "We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled. The President has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached." She also stated that President Bush was "... sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis. I know [he] feels pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of God."

Sheehan gave another interview on October 4, 2004, stating that she did not understand the reasons for the Iraq invasion and never thought that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States. She further stated that her son's death had compelled her to speak out against the war.



For the presidential inauguration in January 2005, Sheehan traveled to Washington, DC to speak at the opening of "Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cost of War," a traveling exhibition created by the American Friends Service Committee that displays pairs of combat boots to represent U.S. military casualties. She also traveled with the exhibition to other locations and donated her son Casey's boots, stating, "Behind these boots is one broken-hearted family."

Sheehan was one of the nine founding members of Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization she created in January 2005 with other families she met at the inauguration. It seeks to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and provides support for families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

Sheehan attracted international attention in early August 2005, when she traveled to President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, just outside Crawford, Texas, demanding a second meeting with the President. She told members of Veterans for Peace, "I'm gonna say, 'And you tell me, what the noble cause is that my son died for.' And if he even starts to say freedom and democracy, I'm gonna say, bullshit. You tell me the truth. You tell me that my son died for oil. You tell me that my son died to make your friends rich...You tell me that, you don't tell me my son died for freedom and democracy." She also vowed not to pay her federal income tax for 2004 because that was the year her son was killed.

Camp Casey
On August 6, 2005, Sheehan created a makeshift camp in a ditch by the side of the road about three miles (5 km) from President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, Texas and announced her intention to stay (sleeping in a pup tent at night) until she was granted a face-to-face meeting with the President. Sheehan started her protest the day the President started a planned five-week vacation. The encampment was publicized widely by the Mintwood Media Collective on behalf of Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out. A few days later, the media began referring to Sheehan's camp as "Camp Casey."

Sheehan spent most of the next four weeks in Crawford. On some days as many as 1,500 supporters visited Camp Casey, including members of the U.S. Congress, as well as several notable actors, singers, and civil rights activists.

Gold Star Families for Peace, of which Sheehan is a founding member, released a TV commercial featuring Sheehan, broadcast on Crawford and Waco cable channels near Bush's ranch. The group conducted a walk to a police station just outside Bush's ranch and delivered a bundle of oversized letters written by them to First Lady Laura Bush, appealing to her as a mother to support their movement.

On August 16, Sheehan moved her camp closer to the Bush ranch after being offered the use of a piece of land owned by a supporter, Fred Mattlage.

In late August, Sheehan stated that she would continue to campaign against the Iraq war even if granted a meeting with Bush. She also announced the Bring Them Home Now Tour, to depart on September 1 and arrive in Washington, DC, on September 24 for three days of demonstrations. The tour, which covered 42 cities in 26 states, was publicized by the Mintwood Media Collective, and garnered international media coverage. On the third day, Sheehan and about 370 other anti-war activists were arrested for demonstrating on the White House sidewalk.

Sheehan's actions led supporters such as Rev. Lennox Yearwood, CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus, to describe her as "the Rosa Parks of the antiwar movement." Sheehan also gained the label of "Peace Mom" from the mainstream media.

Political activism since August 2005
In September 2005, Sheehan moved into the Berkeley, California home of Stephen Pearcy and Virginia Pearcy , where she lived for just over a year, during which time she wrote two books. Also that month, Sheehan met with Senator John McCain, and later called him a "warmonger." Between 2005 and 2007, Sheehan attended several anti-war events in Sacramento organized by the Pearcys. Also in September 2005, the Bring Them Home Now Tour was organized by Gold Star Families for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans For Peace. Inspired by Sheehan and frequently including Sheehan as a speaker, it was a rolling anti-war protest against the Iraq War, beginning in Crawford, Texas, traveling three routes across the country (with rallies along the way) and culminating in a rally in Washington, DC later in September 2005.

On October 24, 2005, Sheehan said that she planned to speak at the White House and then tie herself to the fence. She and 28 others were arrested in a sit-in at the White House on October 26.

Sheehan went to London in early December 2005 and was interviewed by BBC Radio 4 and by The Guardian. On December 10, Sheehan addressed the International Peace Conference, organized by the Stop the War Coalition. Later in the evening, she attended the London Premiere of Peace Mom, a play written by Dario Fo (Literature Nobel laureate) about her, in which the role of Sheehan was played by Frances de la Tour. On December 13, Sheehan traveled to Ireland, where she met Irish Foreign Affairs minister Dermot Ahern. She voiced her objection to U.S. aircraft refueling at Shannon Airport, stating, "Your Government, even though they didn't send troops to Iraq, are complicit in the crimes by allowing the planes to land and refuel."

On January 31, 2006, Sheehan wore a T-shirt reading "2,245 Dead. How many more?" to Bush's State of the Union address and was removed and arrested by Capitol Police. Additionally, Beverly Young, the wife of Representative Bill Young (R., Fla.), was told to leave because she was wearing a T-shirt that read "Support the Troops: Defending Our Freedom." (As a matter of policy, visitors to Congress are not allowed to wear clothing displaying type of any kind.)

On March 7, 2006, Sheehan was arrested in New York "after blocking the door to the U.S. Mission to the U.N. offices" during a protest with Iraqi women against the war.

In April 2006, City Lights published Sheehan's book Dear President Bush, in which she wrote about Martin Luther King Jr., civil disobedience, U.S. foreign policy, Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans, military recruitment, her son Casey’s death on his fifth day in Iraq, soldiers who resist, and her transformation into an advocate for peace. Howard Zinn wrote the introduction.

Several organizations planned a hunger strike to begin on July 4, 2006 ; Sheehan stated she would participate. On July 5, Sheehan appeared on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews to discuss the war and her upcoming hunger strike. On the show, she called Bush "the biggest terrorist in the world" and "worse than Osama Bin Laden," and conceded that she would rather live under Venezuela's Hugo Chávez than Bush. Later that month, Sheehan purchased 5 acre of land in Crawford, Texas, near Bush's private residence.

In September 2006, Sheehan released her memoir, entitled Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through Heartache to Activism. The book recounts her experience of losing her son, along with fantasies of suicide and revenge against Bush, and her transformation into an anti-war activist. Also included in the book are criticisms of several other politicians, including: Senator John McCain, whom she accuses of lying to the media about his private statements to her; John Kerry, whom she says she regrets voting for; and Hillary Clinton, whom she calls a "powermonger."

On May 26 and May 28, 2007, Sheehan posted two messages to Daily Kos announcing that she was leaving the Democratic Party after the Democratic-controlled Congress passed a bill authorizing the continued funding of the war in Iraq. She also submitted her resignation as the "face" of the American anti-war movement, stating that she wanted to go home and be a mother to her surviving children. However, on July 3, 2007, in response to President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence, she announced her return to activism. She focused on her Congressional campaign in 2008.

In August 2009, Sheehan protested at Martha's Vineyard during President Barack Obama's stay there. According to ABC News: "Sheehan invoked Senator Ted Kennedy's passing as part of her message, noting that he was firmly anti-war and how he said his proudest vote as a senator was his 2002 vote against the Iraq war." On October 5, 2009, Sheehan was arrested with 60 others at the White House protesting President Obama's continuation of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She told CNN: "I think the mood of the country and the mood of our movement is getting a little bit more desperate, and (that) this will be the time to be able to translate our tireless activism and work for peace." On December 10, 2009, Sheehan protested on the streets of Oslo, Norway, as President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.

On March 20, 2010, Sheehan was again arrested in front of the White House, along with seven others, after they defied orders by officers of the United States Park Police to clear the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue. On July 12, Sheehan and four other activists were on trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia stemming from the arrests. The government decided not to try three others arrested that day, and had their cases dismissed. Sheehan and two others were acquitted of crossing a police line, while the other two were found guilty.

On May 2, 2011, Sheehan released a statement indicating that she considers the death of Osama bin Laden to be a hoax, stating: "If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid." She referred to America as a "lying, murderous Empire" and told Americans, whom she called "brainwashed," to "put [their] flags away."

Congressional election campaign
In July 2007, Sheehan announced that she would run against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for Representative of California's 8th District, based on Pelosi's failure to attempt impeachment of Bush. Up until her run for U.S. Congress, Sheehan lived outside Pelosi's district, in Dixon, California; however, she moved to San Francisco's Mission District after declaring her candidacy. Earlier, in 2006, she had spoken of ambitions to challenge Dianne Feinstein for her seat in the United States Senate.

Sheehan ran on a platform of single-payer health care, media reform, overturning all free trade agreements, repealing the Patriot Act, renewable energy, nationalizing oil and electricity, ending the War on Drugs, legalizing cannabis, ensuring all talks in the Middle East are fair to all parties, ending torture, closing Guantanamo Bay detention camp, overseas commitment to cleaning up Superfund sites, ending deregulation, ending No Child Left Behind, and legalizing same-sex marriage. Sheehan lost the 2008 election to the incumbent Pelosi. In a seven-way race, Sheehan came in second with 46,118 votes (16.14%) to Pelosi's 71.56%.

Political views
Sheehan is a socialist, having worked closely with the Socialist Alternative beginning in 2010, appearing at events hosted by the party and its international affiliate, the Socialist Party in the United States and Britain. Sheehan has articulated revolutionary socialist and democratic socialist positions and called for a united socialist campaign for the United States presidency in 2012. She has stated that Karl Marx "was one of the most brilliant thinkers and political/social philosophers in modern history."

Criticism
An editorial in Slate by Christopher Hitchens criticized Sheehan, calling her "a vulgar producer of her own spectacle, and an embarrassment to her family and at best a shifty fantasist." Hitchens also called her analysis of the 2003 Iraq War as taking "a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive" and ridiculed her claim about speaking in the name of her son.

In a 2005 segment of political commentator Bill O'Reilly said Sheehan was never a protestor, but a "a political player, whose primary concern is embarrassing the president."

World Net Daily has published multiple op-eds critical of Cindy Sheehan.

In 2011, an article in The Village Voice criticized her belief that Osama bin Laden was not dead writing that, "she appears to have really lost it."