Cindy and GSFP take it to the Ranch 
Cindy rallies the troops before we loaded up the cars and the Veterans for Peace Impeachment Tour Bus.
On the Bus with Cindy was GSFP member Amy Branham, a contingent from the Veterans for Peace conference,Iraq Veterans against War and Vietnam Vets for Peace.
We caravaned to the Crawford Peace House where we were joined by the members of the Crawford Peace House and Code Pink. We took some time to center ourselves and strategize on the goals of the action.
Sheriff Lynch arrainged to escort the group to the Ranch and set some ground rules for us. Unfortunately, the main rule, not to walk on the road and only to walk in the ditch next to the road was a condition set that I feel was designed to fail. There was a point along the ditch where our options were for 50 citizens to do a tightrope walk along a 6 inch stretch of grass, walk in the waste high grass in the ditch with the rattle snakes or to walk on the road. Unfortunately we could not hold up our end of the deal and some of the marchers were forced to walk in the road..(with the media). We were prevented at this point from going further because we broke the agreement.
After sitting along the side of the road a large part of our forces could not stand the heat any longer and headed back to the Peace house to regroup. They were prevented once they left from returning to us. This resulted in us having to go fall back to a spot about 1 mile from the ranch. If we wanted to eat and have water we had to go back. After drawing our line in the sand we began the vigil. We had for the first few hours minimally 10 Secret Service agents watching us. About 3 hours into the vigil all the SS disappeared and a very odd man appeared yelling at us "are you going to do the same thing to the Iraq war soldiers as you did to the Vietnam vets?" We assured him that we supported the soldiers. He had all the usual NeoCon combacks. He wanted one of us to take a picture of him for Rush
We also were advised several times by the SS that if we remained where we were we could get hurt. That the locals get drunk and speed through the area
Support Letters Thank you Cindy for confronting bush, it is a supreme act of cowardice on his part that he has refused to meet with you thus far. I would be surprised if he ever does, but that doesn't diminish your efforts to bring to the attention of the American people the fact that their self-elected commander in chief has no heart and no courage as well as no common sense. I wholeheartedly support your efforts and your goals!
Mrs. Sheehan, I am very sorry for the loss of your son. What you are doing is true,
noble and just. Please keep up the good work and God's Speed.
God bless you for standing up for what's right. Thank you for all that you do - you are a hero, too. Gail Dear Gold Star Families, Please share my deep gratitude to your organization, Cindy, and the other protesters at Crawford. Saw coverage from AP, Reuters, and even at least one of our local news affiliate in Louisville.
You are the highest example of courage and are giving the greatest honor for our service people[le by telling the truth and helping guarantee they are never sent into an illegal, immoral war for the profits of the Oil Corporations again.
May your efforts bring peace and healing,
I am not part of a military family, but I aggressively support Cindy
Sheehan's "visit" to Bush.
I protested against the viet nam war, and never thought that I would be
in the same position again in my lifetime. I am 60 years old.
I would love to see and support continued action organized on a national
level. I don't see that being done.
Bush is keeping this war going to support his oil company buddies, and
cheney's old company friends.
this is a true disgrace.
I am afraid there will be a blood bath in Iraq when we leave on the
innocent civilians, but there is already a blood bath against our children.
We must make the choice now to bring our kids home.
I'd like to express my condolences to you and all families accross the nation who have lost loved ones in this immoral war. You have my complete support in all your efforts to convince this nation that Bush has been lying to the American people about the "necessity" of this war.
I want to give you all my sincere and deepest thanks for having the guts and the faith to stand up and call a liar a liar. I cannot contribute financially to the cause at this time but as soon as I am able, I will. You're starting the revolution, and others will be emboldened by your courage and they will come out and add their voices. God bless and be with you, all.
Thank you for raising awareness regarding this obscene war. Our son is currently stationed in Tal Afar, Iraq (Army), and I grow angrier each day about his deployment. I am also angry that statistics about wounded soldiers are scarce, never mind the deaths and maiming of innocent Iraqis. Any way you could incorporate the issue of the wounded warriors and innocent Iraqi into your message?
I too am getting more and more frustrated in an administration that won’t listen to the voice of the people. I did my duty and served my country during the Vietnam fiasco and luckily came home in one piece.
Right from the beginning of the Bush presidency I saw that he was angling for a reason to invade Iraq. I agree he used false pretenses to get us into it. Beside the myth of WMD and the supposed 9/11 connection, what audacity he shows in bragging about the right of anyone outside any country to force a Regime Change. I don’t like Sadam, his history, or his actions one bit – but just like in Cuba – if the people are tired enough of him – they need to effect a change.
Please know I support you and am sad about the loss of your loved ones. Maybe their deaths will lead to this country to finally waking up to the hoax pulled over on it – That would surely be a blessing.
I want to express my support for Ms. Sheehan and tell her how much I appreciate what she and the others with her there in Crawford Texas are doing. Every picture that gets in the paper, every quote that ends up on TV is doing so much good. For every person like me who actually writes in to you, there are a hundred others who feel the same and a thousand others who will over time, thanks to your actions.
I live not far from George Bush's ranch in Crawford, and I am one among many
Central Texans who believe the President got us into the war in Iraq under
false pretenses, and that many young men, women and children have died
unncessarily because of the President's terrible, arrogant mistakes.
I support you in your efforts to protest this bloody war. My husband and I,
however, are concerned that with a premature wholesale pullout of US troops,
Iraq will fall into chaos and be plunged into a bloody civil war, allowing
terrorist elements to gain a stronghold, and potentially destabilizing the
whole middle east. There are no easy solutions to the mess President Bush
and his hawks got us into, but I applaud you for taking a stand. Your voices
need to be heard, and if there are more of you, and if the polls continue to
show eroding support for Bush on the Iraq issue, he will no doubt be
pressured into moving out of Iraq as quickly as possible, to try to save the
White House for the Republicans' next election.
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Limbaugh. We complied. Strange thing then happened. About 4 SUV surrounded our encampment and close to 20 SS agents spread our around us. Two well manicured men approached Cindy. They introduced themselves as Joe Deputy Chief of Staff and Steve Hadley, National Security Advisor. The President had sent them out to speak to us. They asked Cindy what she wanted from the President and of course she told them. It felt to me as if they thought they were going to confront a Haus Frau. They didn't expect what they got. They kept towing the party line and Cindy kept shooting them down with undeniable facts. I think they left a bit suprised at who they were dealing with.
Oh...the man who was yelling at us....as soon as the SS arrived he stated "my job here is done" and drove away. I think he was sent to see how quickly our buttons could be pushed.
frequently. The only people we saw speeding in the area were the SS. I staed the entire night and the most threatening vehicle that came by, besides the SS, was a golf cart that zipped by at about 2 am tooting it's horn. We at the time felt that the Secret Service warnigs were actually veiled threats.