My wife and I took my UT freshman- to- be son and his girl friend with us. It was his gf's first protest. It is always good to promote family values. It was quite inspiring to meet with Gold Star mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters and their supporters. Some impressions. There was plenty of shade available, so after Houston it didn't seem that hot. Spent about 8 hours out there with the hundreds of people gathered there. What was interesting was that so many of the folks running the thing have very strong personal relationships with Cindy, who apparently inspires great loyalty. I had heard Cindy on the radio on Pacifa, KPFT 90.1 in Houston and she sounded so genuinely nice. Unfortunately Cindy went back to Cal as her mother had a stroke, so she was not there this weekend. The Bush Ranch refused to even accept a letter yesterday that the Gold Star mom's attempted to deliver in person to the guards at the Bush rRanch's gate. Met a working class Gold Star mom who with several of the other mom's had rented a hotel room for just the day just so they could take a shower for the first time in days after camping out. Met two Latino's both had signs with their dead son's pictures on them with the name "Torres". I assumed the two fathers were from the same family. No,it turns out there are 37 Torres's killed between Iraq and Afghainstan. Over 500 Latinos have been killed. One Torres father was from Chicago, the other from DFW. Surprisingly there was some good entertainment last night with Steve Earle, Larry's MacMurtray's (sp?) son. Supposedly Joan Baez is coming today. Even though we had no spare clothes and had to get gf back to Houston we were sorely tempted to try and stay and see Joan Baez. I urge all you in Austin, DFW,Houston and other places in striking distance to go out there Sunday, next week or next weekend. You won't be disappointed. The energy generated by so many positive people from around the country is phenomenal. They will be there at least till Bush ends his latest 5 week vacation around Labor Day.
Positive people?? Holding up pictures of dead people in some sort of effort to insult the president isn't positive.
That isn't their objective. Their objective is to either find a reason for the war in Iraq, or stop other family members from being killed in war they don't believe was necessary. The dead people's pictures are their own family members and it is presumptuous of you or anyone else to tell them how their grief should or shouldn't motivate them as long as it is peaceful and law abiding.
It's amazing how some people are more upset by what they perceive to be impolite or inappropriate behavior than they are by a government whose lies and exaggerations lead to thousands of deaths.
How dare she hold up a picture of her dead son to disparage the man that sent him to die based on lies. What a Negative Nellie!
glynch - This weekend I'm at my parents house just west of Waco - about 5-10 mins from the Western White House. I may join the counterprotestors later today. It's ridiculous that Cindy is going against her son's wishes (well, before she cut bait and left...). He's probably rolling over in his grave thinking about it. I'm definitely going to drive out there today to check it out. I'll provide a conservative's perspective later this afternoon.
texx, your omniscient opinions about what her son's wishes were or what he might be thinking now are about as r****ded and insensitive as you can get. She may not represent all the families of those who have lost their lives, but for you or anyone to disparage even one mother or father of anyone who gave their life for their country is sick and pathetic.
That would be James McMurtry, glynch, Larry McMurtry's son. His father, of course, is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Lonesome Dove, and numerous other excellent novels and screenplays (The Last Picture Show, for example) I've met James a few times... his son is a friend of my own 14 year old. They just started high school. James is very, very good... has his own style, which is hard to pull off these days. Great that you made the trip and thanks for the report! Bring back some memories? I need to go up there. Keep D&D Civil!!
Off topic, but is it really any harder to have your own style now than at any other prolonged time in this country?
That I'm having a little fun with you. If you are comparing "styles" of your contemporaries, then it's really not "easy" to have your own "style," but far easier than if you compare the styles of you and your contemporaries to those of the past. Then having your own style becomes very, very difficult, IMO. But the train is really running off the track here. Have you ever listened to James McMurtry? He's good, and he lives under the shadow, in his own way, of a very famous father... not something easy for many to deal with, which would be yet another topic, I guess. Keep D&D Civil!!
You honestly believe this drivel? That's just flabbergasting to me. I don't know where to start with that mess. "Their objective is to either find a reason for the war in Iraq.." HUH?? The reasons for the war in Iraq have been clearly stated over and over again by the president and other members of the government, if these are the parents of soldiers and they don't even know the reason for the war in Iraq, then they are not paying any attention and are certainly not doing the memory of their children any good. As for "stop other family members from being killed in war they don't believe was necessary", well, here's a tip. Talk to those family members. If they actually agree with you, then tell them not to join the military. As far as I know, going in the military isn't exactly like choosing a college, you don't get to pick and choose when and where you fight. And antagonizing the president at his home is not a real effective way to change policy either. And I know the dead people's pictures are their family members which makes it all the more shameful they are making their own children who aren't there to speak for themselves into political pawns because they don't like the current occupier of the white house. My opinion would be the same regardless of what party the president is, would yours? Somehow I doubt it. 90 percent of the posts bashing the president here are just that. You people don't like President Bush personally, you've decided that he's evil, and if he saved your own life you'd find some way to find fault with the way he did it. It's what my favorite talk show host Mark Davis calls "pure political bigotry."
I give credit where credit is due. Most posters do too. It's funny how you find Cindy Sheehan's reason for protesting so hard to believe yet you swallow the crap that comes from GWB's mouth.
When I was growing up, people actually showed the president respect. I guess I should just accept that we're living in the age of disrespect and self-gratification above all.
Or you should respect the fact that refusing to question the powers of government, and calling that "respect," is a thinly-veiled desire for facism.
Bush is a man, an American. So am I. So, I'm sure, are you. He earns whatever respect he garners, but when it comes down to it, he is an American, not better than any other, and no worse, unless other Americans find him to be so. The office of the Presidency deserves enormous respect, but that respect is enlarged or diminished by those who inhabit that office. I won't place a President, who I feel diminished the office of the Presidency through his actions, on any pedestal. You may disagree, we may disagree, but that is one of the great things about America and Americans... we are allowed to do that. Keep D&D Civil!!
But THAT's not what I call respect. There is a difference between questioning the powers of government and the kind of vicious insults that I hear and read thrown at the president.
