I Support Cindy Sheehan

When the news came down on Memorial Day that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was resigning as the "face" of the anti-war movement it was painful to read, but it didn't surprise me that much. Like Cindy, I am opposed to the Iraq War which led me to join the Jonathan Tasini campaign for U.S. Senate in January 2006. He ended up as the only candidate opposing Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primary to challenge her support for the Iraq War. Cindy Sheehan endorsed his candidacy and I had the privilege of meeting her last June. Why do I say privilege? No other American citizen who opposed the Iraq War tried as hard as her to help bring an end to the Iraq War. In her resignation letter on her DailyKos blog titled "Good Riddance Attention Whore" she points out for everyone exactly what she sacrificed:

I have spent every available cent I got from the money a "grateful" country gave me when they killed my son and every penny that I have received in speaking or book fees since then. I have sacrificed a 29 year marriage and have traveled for extended periods of time away from Casey’s brother and sisters and my health has suffered and my hospital bills from last summer (when I almost died) are in collection because I have used all my energy trying to stop this country from slaughtering innocent human beings. I have been called every despicable name that small minds can think of and have had my life threatened many times.

Besides the reasons above, it basically comes down to the two party system in this country called Democrats and Republicans. During her campaign to end the Iraq War she held Democrats to the same standard as Republicans which led her to receive the same treatment from Democrats that Republicans gave her. Cindy is absolutely right when she says: .

It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don’t find alternatives to this corrupt "two" party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don’t see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person’s heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?

When the Democrats won control of the House and Senate in November 2006 they won the election based on opposition of the Iraq War. Even though not all of the anti-war Democrats won their primary, Cindy Sheehan was still responsible for the jolt in the anti-war movement that ultimately helped put the Democrats over the top. Everyone expected a Democratic Congress to put effort into helping end the Iraq War as soon as possible, but sadly this week they backed down by providing more funding for the war without any withdrawel date. The day after the Democrats passed more war funding Cindy Sheehan announced she was leaving the Democratic Party in her DailyKos blog titled "Dear Democratic Congress". She was absolutely right when she said:

There is absolutely no sane or defensible reason for you to hand Bloody King George more money to condemn more of our brave, tired, and damaged soldiers and the people of Iraq to more death and carnage. You think giving him more money is politically expedient, but it is a moral abomination and every second the occupation of Iraq endures, you all have more blood on your hands.

Cindy ended her blog by saying she was leaving the Democratic Party. Here is exactly how she put it:

The Camp Casey Peace Institute is calling all citizens who are as disgusted as we are with you all to join us in Philadelphia on July 4th to try and figure a way out of this "two" party system that is bought and paid for by the war machine which has a stranglehold on every aspect of our lives. As for myself, I am leaving the Democratic Party. You have completely failed those who put you in power to change the direction our country is heading. We did not elect you to help sink our ship of state but to guide it to safe harbor.

When you are a Democrat and you disagree with the Democratic party you have a tough choice to make. Would you hold your nose, sacrifice your personal principles, and pull the lever for a candidate just because of party affiliation, or would you ignore party affiliation and vote for a candidate that you agree with? That's a tough decision to make because if you decide to vote for a "Third Party" and talk about it you are treated like shit. Just imagine if someone asked what your favorite color was on a survey and the only choices given were Red or Blue when your favorite color was Green. Wouldn't you feel like you cheated yourself?

Cindy Sheehan is absolutely justified for holding Democrats to the same standard as Republicans, and I wish more voters were like that. Unfortunately for the anti-war movement there is a lot of blind party loyalty and blind candidate loyalty that damages candidates who take real stands on issues to change the world. For example, Hillary Clinton supported the Iraq War and beat an anti-war Democrat (Jonathan Tasini) in New York, which is one of most liberal states in the country where the majority of New Yorkers oppose the Iraq War. In the two days between the blog posts of Cindy quitting the Democratic Party and her resignation as the face of the anti-war movement I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that the decision to resign was based on the fact that she had sacrificed so much already and if she were to continue the same path she would have to deal with more personal attacks from Democrats. It just wasn't worth it for her, and I am not surprised.

In conclusion, Cindy Sheehan was a regular citizen just like everyone else who set out to make change to the best of her ability. She was a mother grieving the death of her son that tried to channel that grief into something positive. Ending the Iraq War. Before anyone thinks of attacking Cindy Sheehan just ask yourself, (whether you are a Democratic, Republican, or any party) would you make the same sacrifices as Cindy Sheehan?

Why the "Opie and Anthony" Suspension Scares Me

When Don Imus was fired a little over a month ago this action sent a direct message to radio hosts around the country to watch what they say or else they will be fired. When the firing happened I thought this was just a one time scenario that was bad and the issue of policing the radio waves would be swept under the rug. I was wrong. Since the firing of Don Imus two other shock jocks have been fired. Jeff Vandergrift and Dan Lay who hosted "The Dog House with JV and Elvis" were fired by CBS Radio because they made a prank call to a Chinese restaurant which was offensive. I don't have much of a problem with this, but what I do have a big problem with is the recent suspension of "Opie and Anthony" on XM satellite radio.

"Opie and Anthony" were suspended for 30 days for airing a segment in which a guest expressed desire to have sex with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as well as First Lady Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. I don't listen to "Opie & Anthony" at all, but I cannot understand how this is a problem on satellite radio where it's supposed to be a safe haven for free speech. Here is what XM radio had to say regarding the suspension:

According to XM "comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday's broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter." The decision to suspend the duo was "to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them."

My big problem with that explanation is the fact that it wasn't even "Opie and Anthony" that made the comments, but it was one of their special guests named "Homeless Charlie". So does this suspension mean that radio hosts are now vulnerable to being suspended or fired for comments not even being made by them? This question applies to "terrestial" radio as well as satellite radio. This should not even be an issue though because this is satellite radio with no federal restrictions. You can analyze what was said about whether you think it's disgusting or not, but the bottom line is that it should be fair game because it's on satellite radio. XM customers are paying money to listen to "Opie and Anthony", and more likely than not everyone who was listening knew what to expect from their show.

Since this suspension was on satellite radio where it's supposed to be free from regulation I am starting to get nervous about our freedom of speech. Have we come to the point in society where we can't accept or turn the dial when we hear something edgy we don't like? The way I see this whole thing is that this will cause suppression of freedom of speech that put's radio hosts on egg shells whenever they want to express something out of the norm or with edgyness.

With our freedom of speech starting to get attacked on the radio waves let's hope this does not spread to the internet.

UPDATE 6:30pm: My apologies to those that wanted to leave a comment. I didn't realize comments were disabled. They are now enabled and feel free to comment!