Casey Sheehan's Insurance Money

Cindy Sheehan is using some of the insurance money she received when her son Casey was killed in Iraq to buy five acres of land in Crawford, Texas. She needs a place to stage her August protest against President Bush.

As if she hasn't disgraced Casey's memory enough, she's actually using some of the money from his death to hold her anti-Bush circus of extremists.

CRAWFORD -- As President Bush prepares to spend some vacation time at his ranch here, not all is peaceful within the peace movement that has doggedly criticized his war policies for the past year.

The Gold Star Families for Peace says on its Web site that its members will again flock to Crawford in August to protest Bush's wartime decisions. Leader Cindy Sheehan is again demanding to meet with the president -- a replay of a year ago -- garnering worldwide attention and making Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier, the most familiar face of anti-war protesters.

But Sheehan and Mark Mattlage, owner of the 1-acre property where protesters have been allowed to gather, have had a falling out over scheduling and increased costs for liability insurance.

So, Sheehan has purchased a 5-acre plot in Crawford, saying she did so with some of the insurance money she received after her son, Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq.

"We decided to buy property in Crawford to use until George's resignation or impeachment, which we all hope is soon for the sake of the world," Sheehan said in a newsletter, scheduled to be sent to her supporters today. "I can't think of a better way to use Casey's insurance money than for peace, and I am sure that Casey approves."

Now an official resident of Crawford, like Bush, Sheehan predicted in the newsletter that she and her supporters will "enjoy a cordial relationship with everyone."

I'm truly sorry that Sheehan lost her beloved son. However, just because she has suffered does not mean she should be considered off limits in terms of criticism. She does not have that immunity. She does not have absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq because of her loss.

Therefore:

What a radical Left nut!

"George's resignation or impeachment..."

Was Casey hoping that his Commander in Chief would be impeached?

I don't know.

I don't think he would have re-enlisted in August of 2003, DURING the Iraq war, if he believed that Bush was a criminal or the war was wrong.

This is interesting.

I didn't know much about the person who let Sheehan use the land near Bush's ranch to hold her protest/ media fest last summer. I was under the impression the individual was a supporter of Sheehan's extremism.

Apparently not.

...Mattlage, who no longer lives near Crawford, said he is a registered Democrat but has not opposed Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. He said he did not lend his land to the protesters for political reasons. Instead, Mattlage said, he was worried that someone would get hurt if anti-war advocates continued to assemble just off Prairie Chapel Road, leading up to the president's ranch.

...He said he did not charge for the use of the land but did require the protest group to reimburse him for the cost of liability insurance, initially amounting to between $700 and $800. For subsequent gatherings, including Thanksgiving and then Easter, Crawford Peace House paid to put in electrical and water lines.

Mattlage said he had no idea so many Sheehan supporters would gather on his property, and he acknowledged some of what the protesters said about Bush and the U.S. in the war made him cringe.

"I did not want a Jane Fonda incident," he said, referring to the actress's 1972 visit to a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft camp that earned her the famous nickname "Hanoi Jane."

Last summer, I didn't see any of that in the lib media. I think it would have been an angle of the story worth reporting.

Despite some misgivings, the business relationship between Sheehan and Mattlage was friendly and, at times, jokingly flirtatious, according to an exchange of e-mails between the two, provided to the Star-Telegram by Mattlage.

The relationship began to sour somewhat, he said, when he recently learned on the group's Web site that protesters planned to return to Crawford in August. He said he did not agree to let them use the land at that time because it coincided with his family's plans to hunt doves. He said he also did not want Sheehan to use his property when Bush was at his ranch. "I just didn't want his vacation to be interrupted. It was out of respect for the president," Mattlage said.

He said he eventually agreed to let Gold Star Families for Peace use his land in August but only with the understanding that, because of the expected huge crowds, liability insurance costs were going to increase significantly to between $5,500 and $6,000. Mattlage said that, on the advice of his lawyer, he also told the protest group to sign a "hold harmless" agreement that would further free him of liability if something went wrong.

In a newsletter e-mailed to Mattlage and protest organizers on June 23, Sheehan told Mattlage, "I cannot in good faith accept the terms that you and your lawyers are holding us hostage with. ... I fear we will have to find alternatives to using your land ..."

Good grief!

"Lawyers holding us hostage..."

What is that?

Mattlage, in a phone interview, said Sheehan had initially agreed to pay the higher insurance costs. It made him mad, he said, when she later sent an e-mail to organizers suggesting he was holding her "hostage."

Mattlage sent his one-time friend an e-mail back that said, "You can go away now."

And Sheehan replied: "Okay. Bye."

Really strange, isn't it?

Would Casey want his mom to be doing all this?

I have no idea. I'm sure he loved his mom.

Given that Casey re-upped, I'm also sure he was committed to his mission and loved his country.