Much to my dismay, I found the following hateful Chain Letter in my email inbox today:
Ever wonder what the expression "stuck on stupid" meant?
Well here is an example:
That intro was followed by this picture:
Then the author goes on to attack Cindy as a mother:
The grinning idiot clinging to Je$$e Jack$on is Cindy Sheehan... the sob sister protesting the war at Bush's ranch, who lost her son in the war, the same son she gave up in her divorce when he was 7 years old.
And by the way if you wonder why she has so much free time ... she is going through another divorce right now and guess what? She is giving up custody of another son.
As Forest Gump once wisely proclaimed, "Stupid is as stupid does."
As repugnant as that is, it gets even worse. Follow me to Page Two.....
The Chain Letter then proceeds to trash Cindy for not having a monument installed on Casey's grave:
What Is This Picture?
Obviously, it's a picture in a cemetery. What cemetery and whose grave?
Sadly, it's the grave of Casey Sheehan. After two years, and a DoD payment of $250,000 to the "Peace Mom", Cindy Sheehan has not had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's grave. And, she doesn't even have to pay for one, the DoD will provide one:
"The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world. For all deaths occurring before September 11, 2001, the VA may provide a headstone or marker only for graves that are not marked with a private headstone.
Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for internment of cremated remains."
Apparently she can find time to protest on at least 3 continents, get arrested various times, go on vacation in Hawaii, have photo ops with the Marxists in Venezuela, but can't seem to find the time to properly mark her son's grave.
Please DO pass this one along.
Understand that I am not a big Cindy Sheehan fan. I think her intentions are noble, but she's become a circus-sideshow, which detracts too much from the core message. That's my opinion, anyway. But I still find this utterly repulsive. Swiftboating at it's worst...Character assassination.
I'm not here to defend Cindy. I don't know if she was a good mother or not. Frankly, I don't think it's any of my damned business....Or their's, either. Nor is it my place to explain why the family hasn't placed a marker on Casey's grave...Assuming that it IS Casey's grave. That is another personal/family matter. Cindy will have to respond for herself.
But I am going to post some rebuttals, as an outside observer, on the claims made in this vicious assault:
1) Yes, grave markers are available at no charge through the VA. I can personally vouch for that claim. But, if I were Cindy Sheehan, the LAST thing I would want on my son's grave would be a "soldier" headstone provided by the United States Military. And privately purchased monuments are very expensive...Several thousand dollars in most cases. I doubt if Cindy has that kind of money.
2) Why is this Cindy's responsibility anyway? As I recall, Casey also had a father. And if their claims in this poison pen letter are true...That she gave up custody of Casey at a young age...then shouldn't it be his father's responsibility to put up a headstone? Seems to me they want to have their cake and eat it too.
3) Who says she received the $250,000 death benefit? Again, if she gave up custody, wouldn't that payment have gone to HIS FATHER?
That's all I have. This really disturbed me, and I needed to vent. I just wanted to share with you all, as if you weren't already aware, the kind of vile personal attacks these neocon swiftboaters are capable of.
We can expect more of this as we get closer to November 2006. I'm feeling queasy already.