Home > Camp Casey protest grows to 705! Rumors of pending arrests false

Camp Casey protest grows to 705! Rumors of pending arrests false

by Open-Publishing - Friday 12 August 2005
16 comments

Demos-Actions Wars and conflicts USA

William Pitt is blogging live at truthout

The sun is finally beginning to set behind a small line of trees, and the crowd has begun to thin out. The official count for today’s gathering was 705, not counting press. Given the fact that we are in a drainage ditch by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, that is a great number.

It will grow tomorrow again.

Thursday 11 August 2005
6:34 PM

Update: the Saturday rally at the Peace House will be at noon, Texas time.

It might be in the local football stadium.

Thursday 11 August 2005
5:35 PM

A couple of coming events. There will be a rally at the Crawford Peace House on Saturday, details to be announced. On Sunday, there will be a meditation/interfaith service at the House at 1:30PM.

Thursday 11 August 2005
5:22 PM

I may sound like a bit of a heretic saying this, but I have a rogue nerve tingling a concern right now.

Until today, the group here was relatively small, everyone knew each other and everyone was entirely on the same page.

Now there are a bunch of new folks here, and they all mean well, but a number of them appear to be interested in dragging the whole thing towards whatever other cause inspires them.

There is Pamphleteer Guy with his anti-theocracy newspaper buttonholing everyone he can find to buy his paper. There are the young radicals who are arguing with themselves about what actions they can take, whether or not those actions have anything to do with Cindy.

There is nothing wrong right now. I just hope the people who have just come, and the people on the way, remember to be down for the main cause that started this. It would be a real tragedy if this turned into an ANSWER rally, with everyone rocking their own rallying cry. Right now this is laser-focused. It needs to stay that way.

It is a good thing this has gotten big. Don’t get me wrong. But if you’re coming, pledge to stick to the main tent.

Thursday 11 August 2005
5:06 PM

Another sudden influx of cars and again this quiet, desolate spot endures a traffic jam.

The Reverend Johnson is here to give a seminar on nonviolent protest. The folks here could give that seminar all by themselves.

Thursday 11 August 2005
4:20 PM

Here is the latest information from Buddy Spell, the house attorney for Camp Casey:

"We’ve met for the last hour with two representatives of the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office - Lt. Side Franklin and Sgt. John Kolinek." The legal team, comprised of Louisiana and Texas attorneys, and the Sheriff’s office have a deal with the shared stated goal of having no one arrested, period. And we are prepared to say that any rumors of pending arrests of anyone at Camp Casey are false."

Also, Buddy has informed us that the Texas Civil Rights Project has found contributors of portalettes so that the protesters are able to have bathroom facilities on site. They expect the bathrooms will be delivered within the next few hours.

Buddy states that there are about 400 people total around the triangle. Roughly 100 media personnel and 300 protesters. He says that he has met Argentinean, Asian, German and BBC news people.

Families and supporters are building a mock-cemetery around the original tents. They have been working on the project since 6:30 AM this morning. There is a huge awning above the tents. Families on site have crosses for their children right up front, the rest are comprised of crosses for others killed in the war. They are filling up along the road, about 50 to 70 yards long, 3 deep.

Buddy relates that he and the rest of the legal team feel confident enough with the deal made with the local Sheriff that the Texas legal team was able to leave, which leaves Buddy and Annie on site as house attorneys for the protesters.

Pictures should be forthcoming, if they are not up already. NOGoddess from politicalswitchboard.com will be getting them up as soon as possible.

Thursday 11 August 2005
4:11 PM

I think I am going to be on with Randi Rhodes at 4:30 Texas time. Tune in.

Thursday 11 August 2005
3:59 PM

The port-o-potty has arrived. And there was great rejoicing.

Thursday 11 August 2005
3:54 PM

The walk-up, it turns out, did not happen. The bedlam after the press conference made it not a feasible action. For now.

It is hot, damned hot. But there are guitars going and songs are being sung. The press truck with the satellite is still here. The fire ants have hopefully gone to hell where they belong. And the line of crosses stretches further down the road.

Thursday 11 August 2005
3:35 PM

Barry Crimins is here. Got damn.

The soldiers who did the walk-up aren’t around right now. Cindy’s spokesman is likewise unavailable because his wife is suffering heat stroke. I will catch up on the letter thing and get a statement when I can. I know they are aware of it.

The cars parked along the side of the road are stretching beyond view, and more are coming. The crosses in the Arlington West cemetery stretch nearly as far. Everyone is settling in for the remains of another day here in the ditch.

Thursday 11 August 2005
2:26 PM

We are on the road back to the site after stopping for some supplies. I will get answers to this relatives letter thing, and also to catch up on the thing I couldn’t report on before. Basically, several Iraq vets were going to walk up to the ranch gate to see if they could talk to someone inside.

We will be there shortly.

Thursday 11 August 2005
2:26 PM

We are on the road back to the site after stopping for some supplies. I will get answers to this relatives letter thing, and also to catch up on the thing I couldn’t report on before. Basically, several Iraq vets were going to walk up to the ranch gate to see if they could talk to someone inside.

We will be there shortly.

Thursday 11 August 2005
1:41 PM

A letter is floating out from some right-wing radio host allegedly from Casey Sheehan’s godmother, which has been signed by "various grandparents and cousins" etc. The letter attacks Cindy and says the family stands with Bush. I am heading back to camp and will ask her about it. The letter is signed Cherie Quarterolo.

Sounds like some crap. The swift boating of Cindy begins.

Thursday 11 August 2005
11:54 AM

We are back at the hotel to get our video uploaded, and so I can put some stuff on the forty fire ant bites my feet will be taking home as a souveneir. Ouch.

Today was the biggest day of this event so far. I am not sure how the whole health inspector thing is going to shake out, but the sheriff has said to several reporters that no arrests are planned. We will see if that holds true.

Back soon.

Thursday 11 August 2005
10:55 AM

I walked in the grass and my feet got attacked by fire ants. I am hating Texas right now.

Thursday 11 August 2005
10:47 AM

I am destroyed. Cindy and the other families of the fallen just had their press conference. By the end, all were weeping. All denounced the war, Bush, and demanded the troops be brought home. It ended with these families just holding each other, surrounded by flowers and cameras, to the side of the Arlington West cemetery that has been erected here.

We will get our footage of this up as soon as we can.

Thursday 11 August 2005
10:25 AM

The health inspectors are poking around in every tent, backed up by the sheriff and a deputy. They are surrounded by clicking cameras.

Thursday 11 August 2005
10:18 AM

The police have brought in a health inspector. Maybe they think campers are pooping on private property. Not happening. Everyone goes to the Peace House.

Thursday 11 August 2005
10:13 AM

There are six police cars stacked up down the road with their dome lights going. Methinks our distinguished visitors may be on the way.

Thursday 11 August 2005
9:52 AM

There is a large gathering of press here waiting for the conference. Lawyers are here with Complaints to be filed regarding infringement of First Amendment rights. The cars keep coming and coming. Another convoy of cops and trucks just went slamming by.

Something very interesting is also about to happen. Can’t write about it yet. Stay tuned.

Thursday 11 August 2005
9:15 AM

There is a smoking gun right here in camp.

It has been reported that the US started bombing Iraqi sites well before the so-called diplomacy was completed, to deplete Iraq’s war capabilities, and also to goad Saddam into a war. For many, this is prima facie evidence of a war crime.

Tim Goodrich, Air Force veteran here in camp, participated in that bombing while in Iraq. We have an interview with him which will be up later today.

Thursday 11 August 2005
8:19 AM

The crowd here is growing exponentially as the sun gets higher. Lots of press and cameras, lots of tent moving and reorganization. The cars are stacking up. Old school organizers are teaching the younger folks how to do the do.

A big black pickup just came into the camp and is sitting here leaning on his horn. He was not being blocked. It went on for a good couple of minutes. The natives are getting restless.

Thursday 11 August 2005
8:19 AM

An Iraq war veteran named Goodrich has arrived with his decorations and salad bar on his camo shirt. It is warming up.

Thursday 11 August 2005
8:19 AM

Light dawns on marble head. Those fourteen SUVs that went by were probably Condi and Rummy running the gauntlet, or the press corps getting delivered to the Bush house.

We are back at the site. A large contingent of military families is coming in, and the camp press conference is in about two hours.

Thursday 11 August 2005
7:21 AM

The sun came up hazy this morning, with the sky divided between blue and high clouds. It feels like a hot one coming on, in more ways than one

I got a call from the campsite at five thirty this morning. Apparently, fourteen white Secret Service SUVs went blasting up the road. It was almost certainly either a security shift change or augmentation, but it made all the demonstrators cat-nervous.

We are getting coffee and are on the way in.

Thursday 11 August 2005
1:10 AM

It is after one and the concerns have passed. We are packing it in for the night, again. Cindy is telling stories and the others are slowly drifting back to their tents.

We will be here first thing in the morning for the arrival of Condi and Rummy and we will do this all over again.

Question for the night: Who will get arrested first, Cindy or Osama?

"Our true mission is
to bring attention to the occupation of Iraq
and bringing our troops home."

"The Bush administration does not have the support
of the majority of America, we do."
— Cindy Sheehan

resources to show support of Cindy

Forum posts

  • Cherie Quarterolo? Even the name sounds fake...

    And yes Cindy, most Americans DO support you, and 99% of the rest of the world!!

    I’m another military mom, four of us coming from Ohio to Crawford, yes folks, it is THAT important.

    • Nope, Cherie Quarterolo is a real name. She is Casey’s aunt. That side of the family is mostly Republican and would like to bask in the glory of Casey’s heroism. Cindy and others like her, who realize there is nothing honorable about dying for a lie, are spoiling the "joy" of some members of her family, armchair generals, and others who enjoy the "rush" that comes with "being at war" with an "enemy" and rallying ’round the flag. There are still many soldiers in Iraq who also feel this way. However, many are beginning to awaken to the fact that what we are doing is just plain wrong. No matter how "high" it may make you feel to be "charging the enemy," the Iraqi people are NOT our enemy. We need to look in the mirror and discover that we have met the enemy and he is we! Bonnie Klein

    • There are two kinds of you people out there:

      Anti-Americans, and pathetic dupes of anti-Americans

      The first group should be prosecuted; while the second should be pitied for being so cynically used.

      And all of you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves.

      America will win the war against Islamofascism and the anti-American Left, both home-grown and world-wide.

      Next case...

    • It took a few years to derail the criminal aggression against Vietnam, but sensible thought prevailed. Just wondering how long the current one will last. And these people call themselves ’christians’?

    • Why is it that so many who want to get rid of Islamofascism see no problem with Christian-based fascism?

      And for the record, I’m Christian myself...

      — Emi Briet

    • Christianity is just mind control. These people are true Christians because they practice mind control to the max. Look at how well they control 100s of millions of people.

    • Their "Christianity" is just something to hide behind. They no more follow Christ than did Hitler.

    • If we were to believe that the world doesn’t learn from its mistakes most of the time, the insane backing of the war by Christians shouldn’t be too surprising. What was the purpose of the Crusades? Who claimed African Americans were nothing more than "animals" and ended up being the most cruel to their slaves as a result? Christianity has always been about two things: "spreading the word" ...by any means necessary... and spreading its domain (not the same thing as spreading the word...this one’s more closely linked to acquiring greater power).

      Am I saying "all Christians are that way"? Of course not. That would be stupid. I’m only referring to cult Christianity, what most people consider Christianity.

    • You’re right about those "two types" - you’ve just got the wrong bearing on your moral compass. The REAL ANTI-AMERICANS are the spineless chickenhawks in the Bush administration, writing non-constitutional, anti-American war criminal policies ordering our troops to torture and murder - and these Rovian Bush-Cult followers are doing that under the authority, etus and auspices of MY AMERICAN FLAG! The one that I served in the US Army for, the one my father served for during Vietnam conflict and the one my grandfather served for - and was wounded for - in the European theatre under the command of General Patton, we AL took a vow to serve, protect and defend the US Constitution. So did this so-called President. We just took OUR OATH seriously! Those Bush war criminals who spit on the Copnstitution and who drag our flag thru the sickness of Abu Ghraib and Gitmo are the people who hate America.

      We REAL AMERICANS are the people who aren’t afraid to speak THE TRUTH to FASCISTS - and some of us will be down in Crawford - tomorrow morning, I’m an Honorably Discharged veteran of the US Army and I’m a well-informed, liberal, free-thinking VOTER AND ACTIVIST. I’m your worst nightmare.

      You brave members of the GOP’s Fighting Keyboard Battallion from Camp FOX News had better keep their brainwashed asses at home. This is the kind of work we REAL FREEDOM-LOVING AMERICANS do best. For US, "freedom" MEANS SOMETHING, and so does the word "AMERICA".

      George W. Bush is a cowardly, worthless, AWOL, neo-con. The man you Republicans worship more than Jesus is nothing but a fake 5 gallon cowboy - in a real 10 gallon hat, hiding in his house from a grieving mother, and 6 or 7 of us REAL MEN are going down to Crawford to tell him so. We’ll be at Camp Casey tomorrow morning at 0900, you Repugnicants will all be home watching "FOX and Friends", surfing for Porter Wagner MP3s, beating your kids, frustrating your wife with your lack of interest and picking your nose with the same finger you use to pick your butt.

      Try to Have as Nice of a Day as You Possibly Can
      (bein’ as pathetically brain bleached as you obviously are)

      - Click the Link Below -
      (or cut & paste into your address bar)

      http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/

    • Click this - IDF mercenaries are in Iraq

    • F**K YOU, A-HOLE !

      I notice you didn’t have the gutts to identify yourself.
      There are Two kinds of YOU People out there.
      Professional Political Agent Provocateurs-Intel Agents
      & The ZIONIST NEO-CONNED DUPES!
      Both of YOU are the REAL Dupes!

      The Party that You Support is guilty of HIGH TREASON
      and Mass Murder!
      So, it is YOU who are Anti-American! And Dupes of Anti American and Anti-Christ !
      Real Christians Do Not Support Mass Murder , Fool, Dupe!
      Do you think that Jesus Christ is for Mass Murder and a Bogus War on Innocent
      people?

      You are the one who is Duped. And on the wrong side, either for money and greed
      or you are just terribly ignorant.
      There is no excuse or justification for cold- blooded Mass- Murder.
      And I know that you have been taught that somewhere along in your life.
      When the Nazi’s supposedly did it to the Jews, and the Jews whined
      and bellyached about it ad nauseum, demanding money money money
      and recompense, did you or did you not get on the band wagon and say
      Those poor poor Jews..So mistreated...

      And yet, here is a Fasist Nazi Meglomaniac willing to sacrifice everyone
      else’s children except his own to a Bogus war that He and his whole
      family profit in, and his VP, and the rest of his Cabal!

      No Excuse! Zero,Zip,Nunca, Nein, NONE for this BOGUS,OILigarchic,
      ZIONAZIST COMMANDER-IN -THIEF’s BOGUS WAR ON TERROR
      and The Commander -In-Thief’s Bloodlust,&
      MASS MURDER!
      Way to go, Cindy, You and those who are out there taking a stand for
      those who have been sacrificed on both sides and also, hoping to stop
      more senseless slaughter and death of the children of this land and others,
      You all deserver to be Commended and a whole lot more!

       Trinity 
      THE TOWER:PART5
      http://hometown.aol.com/oldhipchic1959/page3.html

    • The answer to your kind is very simple, and it starts with writing down this number 1800-872-2769. If you are so supportive of Bush & the neocongang, why are you still in the US? I know your excuse: too old to volunteer. Dont worry, just call that number and find out yourself how desperate the army is to keep this war rolling. Or, an even better idea: send your kids, grandkids, nephews, nieces or anyone you love dearly from your family, village, town, city...You and your kind want the war fueled by other families kids, all you have to offer is a big mouth full of ... labelled patriotism. It is a shame that ignorance is given a mic and a seat in most Us media to promote hatred and feed simple minded people like YOU with poisnous cliches.
      If you are a true American Patriotic take a closer look at the reasons they started this war for and surely you will comprehend that being against war and the killing of american kids in a foreign land is also patriotic.

  • How can anyone call themselves a patriotic American and support what Bush and his Neocons have done?

    I hate to be the one to wake you brainwashed redneck morons up. But your country is one of the prime causes of terrorism.

    Clearly you people believe that Bush and his gang of thugs are the moral majority. However, the moral majority lies scared in their homes not knowing what to do without getting arrested for being a terrorist. Those of you hiding, now is the time to rise up against fasism. Take back the country that was once the proudest nation on the planet.

    The real terrorists are in the shadow government that runs the United States. They do not have the best interests of the country in mind. Their greed has clouded their minds. Your own children are being used and abused for the sole purpose of terrorism. How can you be so blatantly ignorant? Wake up and use your minds to think for yourselves - if you can.

    It is hard to admit that you are wrong. But you are wrong if you support Bush and his greedy warmongers. In time you will realize this. I hope it is not too late for this to come about.

    Look at the job situation. WHere have all the jobs gone? China, Pakistan, India, Malasia, Korea, and Japan. Why? Becaue your greedy corporate world decided to dump YOU for cheeper labor. What they forgot was that if you don’t have jobs, you don’t buy products. Fight back. Boycott. Do not buy that which is made offshore.

  • .... Rosa sat in a bus decades ago and changed the world in USA ... Now it is the time to seat on this camp and change America one more time ! Do not miss this golden opportunity !
    A fellow Canadian with best wishes to the friends south of the border .

  • The "war on terrorism" is not only a war on innocent people in other countries; it is a war on the people of the US: on our liberties, on our standard of living. The country’s wealth is being stolen from the people and handed over to the super-rich. The lives of the young are being stolen..

    • All you duel citizen zio-nazis why aren’t you lined up at the recruter’s office to sign up for the war in Iraq? This war is for your benefit, your leaders in this country wanted it. Oh I forgot you just kill women, little children, and unarmed men. You like to run over young girls with bulldozers and kill U. S. Navey personel with unmarked airplanes also.