Cindy Sheehan Arrested Before Bush Speech- Page 2

[Sing a Song With Me]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 8:12am

You people are actually surprising me. She was sitting there.
Sitting there. She was not jumping up and down or being anything BUT subtle.
She was wearing a t-shirt. A t-shirt with a number on it. As you say, the cameras would have found her. She apparently had no intentions of leaping to the stage and wrestling the podium out of the death grip Shrub no doubt had on it to keep his liquor down.
And you guys are saying she should have used her common sense? Common sense tells me I could wear a t-shirt with a number on it and, though offended, a GOOD Administration would not have attempted to have me thrown out of the room.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:09am

Here's the sounce of the media's confusion: This picture was taken earlier in the day at a protest, at which Cindy wore the t-shirt in front of the banner below.

She was still wearing the t-shirt when she was arrested but she was not traveling with the banner.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:22am

I wonder how embaressed her poor son would be if he knew....

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:26am

Or proud.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:34am

As much as GMA covered the (p)resident's speech from last night this morning, I don't recall any mention of her arrest.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:37am

Embarrassed? I think not. As PJ said, Proud is more likely.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:44am

I wonder how embaressed her poor son would be if he knew....


what a disgusting comment. I am behind her 100% and would like to think my Mother would do the same thing. Kudos to her. No wonder my Canadian friends are moving back to Canada when one gets arrested for wearing a t-shirt. The appropriate thing to do would be ask her to leave, which IS legal.

This administration is becoming more and more like Nazi Germany every day...HEIL BUSH!

Updated On: 2/1/06 at 10:44 AM

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 10:54am

They punish those who take pictures of the coffin of the war dead. They arrest those who report on the number of the war dead. They ignore initial requests for resources as the war starts in order to try and win the war on the cheap.

They give the Medal of Freedom to the idiot who helped spin the intelligence.

They give the World Bank to one of the architects of this fiasco.

He talks to God about his political decisions

Anyone see a pattern or practice?

Most might diagnose with with some sort of reality-avoidance mental illness.

Bush - Got Lithium?

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 11:39am

What Really Happened at the State of the Union

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/06/02/con06043.html

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Cindy Sheehan

Dear Friends,

As most of you have probably heard, I was arrested before the State of the Union Address tonight.

I am speechless with fury at what happened and with grief over what we have lost in our country.

There have been lies from the police and distortions by the press. (Shocker) So this is what really happened:

This afternoon at the People's State of the Union Address in DC where I was joined by Congresspersons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, Lynn brought me a ticket to the State of the Union Address. At that time, I was wearing the shirt that said: 2245 Dead. How many more?

After the PSOTU press conference, I was having second thoughts about going to the SOTU at the Capitol. I didn't feel comfortable going. I knew George Bush would say things that would hurt me and anger me and I knew that I couldn't disrupt the address because Lynn had given me the ticket and I didn't want to be disruptive out of respect for her. I, in fact, had given the ticket to John Bruhns who is in Iraq Veterans Against the War. However, Lynn's office had already called the media and everyone knew I was going to be there so I sucked it up and went.

I got the ticket back from John, and I met one of Congresswoman Barbara Lee's staffers in the Longworth Congressional Office building and we went to the Capitol via the undergroud tunnel. I went through security once, then had to use the rest room and went through security again.

My ticket was in the 5th gallery, front row, fourth seat in. The person who in a few minutes was to arrest me, helped me to my seat.

I had just sat down and I was warm from climbing 3 flights of stairs back up from the bathroom so I unzipped my jacket. I turned to the right to take my left arm out, when the same officer saw my shirt and yelled; "Protester." He then ran over to me, hauled me out of my seat and roughly (with my hands behind my back) shoved me up the stairs. I said something like "I'm going, do you have to be so rough?" By the way, his name is Mike Weight.

The officer ran with me to the elevators yelling at everyone to move out of the way. When we got to the elevators, he cuffed me and took me outside to await a squad car. On the way out, someone behind me said, "That's Cindy Sheehan." At which point the officer who arrested me said: "Take these steps slowly." I said, "You didn't care about being careful when you were dragging me up the other steps." He said, "That's because you were protesting." Wow, I get hauled out of the People's House because I was, "Protesting."

I was never told that I couldn't wear that shirt into the Congress. I was never asked to take it off or zip my jacket back up. If I had been asked to do any of those things...I would have, and written about the suppression of my freedom of speech later. I was immediately, and roughly (I have the bruises and muscle spasms to prove it) hauled off and arrested for "unlawful conduct."

After I had my personal items inventoried and my fingers printed, a nice Sgt. came in and looked at my shirt and said, "2245, huh? I just got back from there."

I told him that my son died there. That's when the enormity of my loss hit me. I have lost my son. I have lost my First Amendment rights. I have lost the country that I love. Where did America go? I started crying in pain.

What did Casey die for? What did the 2244 other brave young Americans die for? What are tens of thousands of them over there in harm's way for still? For this? I can't even wear a shirt that has the number of troops on it that George Bush and his arrogant and ignorant policies are responsible for killing.

I wore the shirt to make a statement. The press knew I was going to be there and I thought every once in awhile they would show me and I would have the shirt on. I did not wear it to be disruptive, or I would have unzipped my jacket during George's speech. If I had any idea what happens to people who wear shirts that make the neocons uncomfortable that I would be arrested...maybe I would have, but I didn't.

There have already been many wild stories out there.

I have some lawyers looking into filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the government for what happened tonight. I will file it. It is time to take our freedoms and our country back.

I don't want to live in a country that prohibits any person, whether he/she has paid the ulitmate price for that country, from wearing, saying, writing, or telephoning any negative statements about the government. That's why I am going to take my freedoms and liberties back. That's why I am not going to let Bushco take anything else away from me...or you.

I am so appreciative of the couple of hundred of protesters who came to the jail while I was locked up to show their support....we have so much potential for good...there is so much good in so many people.

Four hours and 2 jails after I was arrested, I was let out. Again, I am so upset and sore it is hard to think straight.

Keep up the struggle...I promise you I will too.

Love and peace soon,

Cindy

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 11:58am

She is right, America is becoming a dictatorship.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:04pm

great letter, sounds like an amazing woman.

[Sing a Song With Me]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:06pm

I wouldn't say she sounds like it, she is an amazing woman.
and our media's bizarre desire to "report" on things as they happened created so many over-the-top possibilities of what actually happened that to hear her tell it makes it beyond mundane.
And I have little doubt she's right.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:09pm

oh sheesh, it's a figure of speech

[Sing a Song With Me]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:12pm

I know, and I was simply using a bolder one.
She is an amazing woman.

[DG]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:15pm

This adequately exposes the 'state of our union' - certainly more than any of the sound-bites coming out of that man's mouth.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:25pm

Cindy Sheehan is like the dumb kid in high school that the bullies could always get to do stupid stuff. The dumb kid would always think he was cool and that everyone liked him.

But hey, people want her to run for the Senate. Keep it up Cindy!!

[Sing a Song With Me]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:28pm

Care to back that up? If pressed, I'd say you were more accurately describing that moron who's occupying (and in a hostile manner) the office of our President.

[Magdalene]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:28pm

Nice letter, but I don't buy it--she was told beforehand that no protesting is allowed---waht did she think her t-shirt was? NO PROTESTING means just that, and her t-shirt is a protest. This stuff is not allowed in the building, by ANYONE. her first amendment rights weren't violated---she herself said she unzipper her jacket, so how could security know what her t-shirt said? I feel badly about her son, as I do about all who die in war, but I think she's a bit off.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 12:34pm

"Care to back that up?"

Meeting with Hugo Chavez???? Do you need any more examples?

[beacon1]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:14pm

One T-shirt in a sea of people in the 5th gallery section...

[beacon1]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:14pm

One T-shirt in a sea of people in the 5th gallery section...

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:24pm

I certainly don't believe that she as naive as her letter sounds regarding the response to her t-shirt (which stated a fact, not an opinion, btw).

If they had allowed her to stay, the current administration would have demostrated that they welcomed dissenting opinions, rather seeming as though they are living in their own little bubble.

The White House blew an incredible chance to appear magnanimous.

That certainly wouldn't have hurt his approval ratings.
Updated On: 2/1/06 at 01:24 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:24pm

There is precedent for removing people. It happened during the Clinton years.
History repeats itself

[beacon1]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:27pm

sounds like they were dealt with a bit differently.

Anyhow, why don't they give them the option to cover up what they are wearing?

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 2/1/06 at 1:31pm

Hmmm....let's decide which:


Updated On: 2/1/06 at 01:31 PM