ARS on Twitter
RSS
With the greatest pride I have served
Posted by Raven on August 19th, 2005
Another Mom is speaking out, taking a stand against the Cindy Sheehan’s of the country. No words can ever take away the loss of a son to war…but this comes pretty close to how I would react…
WEST CHESTER, Ohio – The mother of a Marine killed in Iraq urged mourners Wednesday not to let their anger and sadness turn them against the U.S. fight in Iraq.
“Honor me in this way,” Kathy Dyer said during a memorial service for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Dyer, 19, of the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale.
At the funeral at Tri-County Baptist Church, Kathy Dyer delivered what she believed would have been her son’s own message: “It has been with the greatest pride I have served . . . fighting to preserve freedom.”
She said he would want mourners to continue supporting the troops in the war against terrorism.
Dyer and eight other Marines from Columbus-based Lima Company were among 14 killed Aug. 3 in the deadliest roadside bombing of U.S. troops in Iraq.
The company is part of the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, which has been hit hard by attacks that have killed 16 members in recent weeks.
Dyer urged support for the troops in Iraq a day after the parents of Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder II, another Ohio-based Marine killed in Iraq, urged Americans to voice their opposition to the war in Iraq.
Later Wednesday, vigils were planned across the country in support of Cindy Sheehan, a slain soldier’s mother who has been camping outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. She has promised to stay for his monthlong ranch visit unless he meets with her and other grieving families.
At Dyer’s funeral, about 1,000 mourners were told about the kindness and drive of the college-bound honor student who had a lifelong interest in the military. Relatives said he chose the Marines as a way to serve his country and challenge himself.
“He saw this as just another way to measure himself, another test,” said his father, John Dyer. “Chris didn’t want to be less than the best at anything.”
Janet Hertlein, whose son Michael grew up with Dyer, said Dyer loved the Marines.
“Chris and all those over there are fighting for all of us,” Hertlein said.
August 19th, 2005 at 5:18 pm
God I love American politics at the moment. The extreme divisions between left and right, the name calling, war, domestic agendas that don’t exist anymore, the complete closed mindedness of both major parties and my personal favourite, the complete loss of any respect around the world…Shocking really for a nation that still claims to be the worlds only super power whilst the chinese and russians are holding joint military exercises. But anyway…
In regards to Mrs. Sheehan, good for her. She may be a publicity hound and a bit mentally expired, but at least she figured out a way to provoke some discussions about what direction our country is taking. All the while leaving the likes of fox and the nytimes on the sidelines whilst people start to ask the questions that could result in actual change of course for the USS America.
August 20th, 2005 at 12:32 am
I am not sure that she has provoked discussion about the direction of our country as much as left wing publicity tactics & media bias.
However, to return to the subject of the post. Thank-you for posting this article Raven. The truth is, while I feel very much for Mrs. Sheehan, she is not the only parent to lose a child & there are many others who lost a child who continue to support this effort to bring democracy to the Middle East & eliminate the scourge of terrorism.
The WSJ Opinion Journal also featured an article by the father of a fallen soldier who disagrees with Cindy Sheehan. The article you posted & this one as well as many other illustrate the effects on media bias. She is but one of many, but the media choses to cover only her. Why?
August 20th, 2005 at 1:51 am
Someone please tell me that “media bias” and “left wing publicity” is a joke? NY Girl, there are so many reasons why this is news. To use the phrase media bias explicity implies that the majority of all media outlets only cover one side of the story. This doesn’t appear to be the case in America at all, each side has its own media and quite conveniently disreagrds the important notion of “just the facts”. These days news depends on what station or newspaper one is looking at. Quite disgusting really.
Cindy Sheehan is news. Here are the facts – the woman is waging a protest two miles away from the presidents holiday home as she’s disagrees with administration policy towards Iraq. It has gained momentum and attracted a large following to the sleepy area of Texas and inspired others across the coutnry to hold anti-war rallies. Thats facts. No intruding with her supporters and the “real story” etc…If I remember the values of journalism from back when it had credibililty, that was how the story would be reported. And individuals were considered smart enough to make their own opinion based on the facts. Now its just a giant mudslinging competition.
Anyway, apologies for the long note, I haven’t engaged in any type of political commentary in some time and am really flabbergasted as to how the American psyche has ended up in such a rotten state. People have morphed into political schoolchildren fighting on the playground when no teachers are around…
August 20th, 2005 at 5:27 am
Fun Monkey. Yeah, when I read your comments, I actually DO think of a monkey.
It’s really funny how the left can actually say there’s not an extreme liberal bias in the MSM when most of the major newspapers and all 3 TV networks that supply the news most of the population watches every evening, plus most U.S. news magazines take the liberal viewpoint to major extremes.
You know what’s interesting about that? Despite being bombarded with all the lefty spins, omissions and often outright lies, the left is so fucked up it STILL can’t win elections. Why do you think Bush got reelected? Because the majority of Americans wanted that big lefty monkey Kerry to be president?
Now, as for that sick, wretched woman, Cindy Sheehan: Only a pathetic, desperate bunch of bloodless, self seeking political pimps and general purpose toilet cakes would use someone like her–that’s right, USE– to score some cheap political points. The fact that the MSM completely ignored all the other parents whose children had died in Iraq and who were disgusted by Sheehan speaks volumes about media bias.
August 20th, 2005 at 7:20 am
Well Seth, you certainly are an opinionated chap. Hmmm, already into personal attack mode followed by a rant about the left, the media and george.
I was talking about was the fundamentals of journalism (media) and its decline into partisian political warfare rather than reporting. Just as there is a seperation of church and state, quickly eroding mind you, there is also a seperation between journalism and conjecture. Both the left and the right and everyone in between seems to have forgotten some of these basic tenents.
The capacity of people like yourself “spin” one thing into something completely different is commendable albeit misguided. I suppose its the American way though. As for inferring that I am a liberal – shame on you, biatch. Probably have more benefits from a republican government than you do! Asshat. Anyway, enough of the name calling.
I wonder, is it possible these days to be a conservative believing in personal responsibilty and at the same time not be in full agreement with the policies of the current administration? Or is that something akin to treason? If history is recalled correctly, myself and every citizen of the USA is allowed to make criticisms and engage in free debate. However, given the climate and statements such as yours, one wonders if its worth it all….
August 20th, 2005 at 8:41 am
Mr. Monkey;
I got your attention, I suppose, in attack mode.
These are the facts: If you go to any of the conservative media venues, you will find a better balance — you will generally see at least some reference to “the other side of the story.” That’s called reporting, even if it is executed with bias. They also check their facts.
If you go to the MSM, you find that they completely ignore anything, no matter how newsworthy, that does not wholly cater to whatever it is they want the public to believe. They print or broadcast any piece of information, for example, that they feel makes Bush look bad without so much as first confirming it. That’s how “Rathergate” and the false Koran flushing brouhahas began. From there, things accellerated to lefty politicians ridiculously comparing GITMO with gulags and the killing fields of the Pol Pot regime. Did the MSM have any comment? No, they simply made sure that the accusations received coverage in such a way as to convey that the idiots were speaking with “authority.” When Bush said in a state of the union speech that the al Qaeda terrorists who had been captured or killed were no longer a threat, Maureen Dowd wrote in her column that Bush had said that al Qaeda was no longer a threat. Period. Within a day, a large segment of the liberal media had accepted that as gospel and reported it as news(I guess they hadn’t done their job as reporters and listened to the address themselves). When the NYT received a barrage of feedback on it, no retraction was printed, in her next column Dowd kinda sorta slipped in the full quote, real quiet like. But by then, the damage had been done, a seed had been planted in the minds of a lot of people who, without seeing or hearing any retraction, probably still believed the misquote as the truth.
I could go on and on, but I don’t care to use up all of Raven’s bandwidth and in any case it’s nearly 5:30 am here.
One more:
When positive things happen in Iraq, you never read about them in the New York Times, but when American soldiers are killed, “the newspaper of record” makes sure we know the running body count from day 1, and the left crows jubilantly, feeling they’ve scored some victory or other over Bush.
The liberal claim that the MSM is not profoundly biased toward the left is becoming extremely tiresome.
By accenting the loony things lefty politicians say, fortunately, the MSM is actually helping elect increasingly more Republicans, since Americans, even in the “flyover zone,” are smart enough to know when someone’s insulting their intelligence.
I leave you with this, then bid you good morning:
A day or two prior to the death of Christopher Reeve(during the final says of the 2004 Presidential campaign), John Edwards said that if Kerry was elected President, “the lame will get up and walk. Christopher Reeve will get up out of his wheelchair and he will walk!”
August 20th, 2005 at 9:45 am
Brunch: 8/20/2005
Real Teen has issued a call to action against the ACLU.
Stop the ACLU! wants to buy an ad.
Jo’s Cafe wants something different on the menu.
Raven (And Right So!) says not all military parents agree with Cindy.
Area417 looks at Democrats and v…
August 20th, 2005 at 9:54 am
Seth,
Thanks for the clarification. However, your post demonstrates exactly some of the things wrong with the entire system that do not gel with the fundamental spirit of America.
Your post highlights the issues presented by MSM and conservative sites. I truly believe we need to overhaul the media juggernaught on both sides and return to a system where integrity was a hallmark of our media output post 1920’s. Again, I repeat, to me it’s not so much an issue of left vs. right, but a way of thinking that is quickly reducing our ability to process and make decisions. Case in point, you rely on conservative media to deliver the truth – myself and most educated people like yourself, routinely examine all sides of an issue before making an informed decision or arguement one way or the other. Sometimes the right gets it wrong. Just curious, seen any WMD’s laying around? And before you jump on the blame game bandwagon with that last sentence, I will quickly ask should I not question the current administration’s decisions based on performance history?
I will leave with this. Business as usual is not news. News happens when something out of the ordinary takes place. Cindy Sheehan is indeed newsworthy. Watching the Sheehan media debacle from the sidelines and evaluating the coverage from all parties again just makes me feel that as a society we have dumbed down to the point of lunacy. That makes me sad. A nation so polarised and divided becomes hardly capable of maintaining a true course forward.
August 20th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
I will agree with Fun Monkey to this extent: Cindy Sheehan is “news.”
She is news in the same fashion that a suicide leaper on the ledge of a high-rise is — she attracts media attention and the curiosity and voyeurism of a public that cannot resist the temptation to watch someone exhibit bizarre self-destructive behavior.
But she adds nothing to the debate — NOTHING — that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseam by others with more creds. And to that extent, she is being used, willingly and consciously.
And soon enough she will either become an annopying pest as she continues with her “look at me” campaign (adently assisted by Michael Moore) or she will slip beneath the surface never to be heard from again.
August 20th, 2005 at 3:25 pm
I dont need to type very much except to say fun is a total idiot.
August 20th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
Look at the big brain on Nadorn. I suppose it’s true, rather be an idiot than a narrow minded prat. But hey, no worries.
It must be that working and living across the globe
has made me question a few more things at home. Shame on me for seeing as many different viewpoints as possible, drawing my own conclusions and then raising them in a public forum. If that’s being an idiot, I would hate to meet you.
I agree with wavewider completely. Cindy will be out of the news and a complete has been within a week. My bet is nervous breakdown, possibly some type of pain killer addiction. Either that or her mom kicks the bucket and she is out of Texas to collect the inheritance.
August 20th, 2005 at 8:19 pm
Fun Monkey is too open minded, look his brains are falling out. Next Saturday Cindy Sheeshit is going to get her answer
August 20th, 2005 at 8:32 pm
I was reading where someone said the media was not bias. Why did I see Cindy S____brain on TV today but nothing about the 30,000 plus that rallied pro bush and pro support the troops today in Criple Creek, Colorado.
Its not bias. huh huh huh huh BS
August 20th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
Ahhhh Fun Monkey is a dodger and weaver! Moving target, are ya brotha!! Agent provocateur….devil’s advocate….questioner of prevailing opinion?!? Careful, sleight typist, you are among highly discerning and critical thinkers who can strip you bare and eat your entrails while you watch! But in the mantime, sit back, have a Fosters and remember to thank God you’re an American citizen.
August 21st, 2005 at 3:48 am
hehehe..Drink a fosters? Are you smoking crack? Thats not even beer! :razz:
Dodger and Weaver maybe, probably just more practical. I seriously don’t believe that selling my soul for an ideology that remains untested in history is worth it. Devils Advocate? Nah, not really. Interested and curious is more like it. Generally I do tend to avoid the politics blogs as they are definitely full of “highly discerning and critical thinkers able to strip me bare and eat my entrails” – sounds fun by the way. Joy.
The exposure on a professional and personal basis of working for an american global solutions company has forced me to work with people primarily in Europe, Apac, South America and the Scandies to implement and drive forward our strategic business objectives. Has that influeced my thinking? Definitely. Would I rather not have had the exposure and possibly be less informed about a larger role America has within the world? Hell no.
And as someone who supports the troops, understands that early withdrawal is not an option, e.g. the rythym method relied on by so many usually as unintended consequnces, votes conservative, believes that people hold their own destiny not a bloated government (although some democratic social systems are a tad bit enviable), not quite happy with the republican party as a whole and believe some changes might be for good, I guess does make me middle of the road and too open minded. But fark it, I will still my ground.
August 21st, 2005 at 7:13 am
Oh dear me, this is my last post here. The Sunday TImes today out of London sums up Cindy Sheehan:
“Cindy won’t hurt Bush but the big boys will”
Sheehan went after Bush’s kids: “If (Bush) thinks that it’s so important for Iraq to have a US-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war . . . We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dogshit in Washington, we will impeach all those people.”
Oh dear. She has every right to speak her mind; and every right to grieve for her son; and every right to oppose the war. But she is an extremist. Someone who wants to impeach litter cops in Washington for a war that deposed one of the grisliest dictators of modern times is not someone to take seriously.
…..The Sheehan left wants swift withdrawal from Iraq, whatever the consequences. It wants Democrats back in power. It can’t wait for another election; and it still believes that something was rigged about the last one. When you read the anti-war blogs or a New York Times columnist, you get the sense it actually wants Iraq to fall apart, or Al-Qaeda to regroup, or another terrorist atrocity to succeed. Hurting Bush is the overwhelming, empowering imperative.
…..But there is another opposition — more grown-up, less volatile and therefore more effective. You can see it in the very measured way in which Senator Hillary Clinton has visited US troops in Iraq, and argued for higher troop levels and more careful diplomacy.
….It was the determination of adult Republicans and a handful of similarly grown-up Democrats who averted the abolition of the Senate filibuster earlier this year. They also helped encourage the White House to nominate John Roberts, a sane, careful jurist, to the Supreme Court rather than an ideological knuckle-dragger. They have begun to exercise real influence over Iraq policy as well. They know Bush has another three years and that mindless protest will not save Iraq or win the broader war. They want to help: putting more troops if necessary into Iraq, monitoring more closely the training of Iraqi security forces, correcting some of the more glaring errors of judgment in Bush’s inner circle.”
Fantastic read by Andrew O’Sullivan.
August 21st, 2005 at 9:23 am
Oh come now Monkey, leaving so soon?!? And we were just getting acquainted!
Thanks for the piece in the London Sunday — seems to put it all in perspective, doesn’t it?
Try Wizbang while you’re surfing.
August 21st, 2005 at 2:24 pm
I wonder if the media is going to start publizing the father who pulled out the cross with his son’s name on it from Cindy Meathead’s shameful use of other peoples children without with permission. The father has a camp of his own near tne Bush ranch to counter the protest. Come on Non Bias Media and tell the world of this camp supporting Bush. It is going to get real big next Friday.
August 22nd, 2005 at 1:39 am
ok Wavemaker, i couldn’t resist. My inner dark and evil streak is actually having a field day with Cindy Sheehan and the antics. Joan Baez held a concert and Camp Quail off and running. Here’s what I’m thinking:
Taking a few bets and making some money off the foot soldiers from each side on the timing and outcome of the riot and physical fight looming betwen the two. Its bound to happen. As of Monday morning, I believe the Camp Sheehan outnumbers the Quail camp by a ratio of 9:1 so I am afraid to say the liberals would win based on sheer strength of numbers at the moment. I’d put a fiver at 3:2 on liberals, and as an outside longshot, 7:1 on the war loving Camp Quail to beat the hell out of the left.
Please bear in mind I haven’t taken any mitgating factors into account, such as past right/left physical clashes win/loss, windspeed, weaponry (it is Texas afterall, which could affect the odds, but a couple of liberals still probably know how to use a gun), weather conditions, etc…
Let me know what you think.
August 22nd, 2005 at 5:54 am
So, we’ve made it back to Monday …
Today’s dose of NIF – News, Interesting & Funny …
August 22nd, 2005 at 10:02 am
LOL Monkey! The notion of peace-loving, anti-war zealots beating the shit out of the war supporters in Bush’s front yard is too much. Peaceful people indeed. Baez’s appearance is almost too cartoonish to believe — when I saw the piece I thought it was satire.
OK, I’ll put a fiver on more peaceniks than warmongers being arrested for disturbing the peace/trespassing/failure to disperse. If there is ONE physical altercation between the two camps, I pay off 3:2. If a gunshot is fired, I’ll pay 4:1 if it comes from warmongers and 30:1 if it comes from the hippies.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
[...] Raven (And Right So!) says not all military parents agree with Cindy. [...]