Exploiting a mother’s grief

The sad story of Cindy Sheehan continues to get headlines. For those who don’t know, Ms. Sheehan’s son Army Spc. Casey Sheehan was killed while serving in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan has decided to stage a protest in front of President Bush’s ranch in Crawford Texas to demand an audience with him in order to berate him with her anti-war talking points.

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 my son died to spread the cancer of Pax Americana, imperialism in the Middle East. You tell me that, you don’t tell me my son died for freedom and democracy.

Bored reporters at the ranch are giving her air time since they have nothing else to report on. Even Fox News is asking if the President should grant her an audience.

Here’s what you haven’t heard. Cindy Sheehan did get an audience with the President in June of 2004 (hat tip James Taranto).

After that meeting she told a reporter:

“I now know he’s sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis,” Cindy said after their meeting. “I know he’s sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he’s a man of faith.”

Quite different from what she is saying a year later while acting as if the meeting never occured.

So President Bush isn’t ducking grieving parents. Let’s acknowledge the real story. An anti-war activist is using her son’s memory for her political agenda. She had her meeting with President Bush and now wants another chance to say what she choose not to say before.

Hey! You don’t sell Amway!

The couple wanted for killing a prison guard during a jail break was arrested early this moring. Jennifer Hyatte ambushed two guards as they were leading her husband out of a court hearing in Kingston, Tennessee. One of the guards died during the escape.

The couple was arrested after cab driver Mike Wagers told police where they were staying. He had driven them from Kentucky to a hotel in Ohio not realizing they were wanted. But something about their story made him suspicious.

As they were driving, the fugitves told him they were going to an Amway convention. That was the give away. When asked about what raised his suspicion Wagers said, “they didn’t strike me as the Amway type because to be honest they weren’t very pushy about their product and I’ve dealt with them before so — that was my only real suspicion.”

What gave them away is that they weren’t obnoxious enough about selling Amway. The lesson here is that if you are trying to blend in, don’t pose as an Amway salesman.

It’s all the President’s fault

The DNC has issued a press release using President Bush’s excellent results from his annual physical as an opportunity to criticize him for his policies. The Anchoress gave the DNC a good lesson in what an appropriate response would have been.

Instead of showing maturity as The Anchoress suggested, the DNC claims that the president’s “personal habits indicate that physical fitness is not just fun and games for him. Don’t our kids deserve the same opportunities to be physically fit? President Bush should stop running from his responsibility and make sure that all American children have access to physical fitness programs.”

Again, the DNC doesn’t stop to think about the stupidity of their statement. That’s because the president doesn’t rely on a government program to get fit. He gets off his ass and works out six days a week. That means that all these women and children already have exactly the same opportunities to be physically fit that President Bush does.

Now really DNC, how many people have been whining to you that they would be physically fit if only there was a government program that would fund their (lack of) effort? There was a recent time in this country when kids played sports outside instead of sitting in front of a Playstation simulating sports.

The DNC also shows how little they respect they have for women in their press release. In the press release they not that unreturned surveys of women asking about interest in college sports are assumed to be an indication of no interest. Seems reasonable. But the DNC seems to think this is some form of discrimination. They believe that women can’t be trusted to return the survey if they actually are interested so we can’t just assume that they aren’t interested if they don’t bother to return the survey. The nanny state at its finest. They know the women are interested even when the women aren’t.

But the DNC may have a point overall. Admittedly I’m a little overweight now. If only Honeybun would understand, it’s not my lack of motivation. It’s President Bush’s lack of funding my physical fitness. The DNC understands that I’m not responsible for getting outside and doing some physical activity. I can’t get on the excercise bike in the basement without a government grant. Come on Honeybun, don’t blame me. Blame the President. It’ll make us both feel better. Right?

It’s like having the DNC around so I can blame my faults on the government. Yep, life is good.