Life During Wartime

As you read this, the night grows cold in a makeshift encampment a few clicks from the road to George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. The president is on a five-week vacation and Mrs. Cindy Sheehan, a California mother whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, is bringing one single question to the commander-in-chief.

Central Coast Dad At 'Camp Casey'

Sheehan is receiving assistance, "in solidarity," from a grieving father on the Central Coast and more than 100 supporters from across the country, 24/7. She says, "the thing that matters to me is that my family--Casey's dad and my other three kids--are on the same side of the fence that I am."

A Cox News Service story sets the scene. "Sleeping on a cot nearby is Bill Mitchell, an Army veteran from Atascadero, California, a city near the coast midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mitchell's son, Michael, was killed in the same ambush as Casey Sheehan.

"Our sons died together," Mitchell said. "They didn't know each other, but they flew home together. That picture [of flag draped coffins on a military plane] in the Seattle Times on April 7th last year that got all the publicity? Mike and Casey were in that picture.''

Protesters Arrested On A Country Road

Five protesters in a caravan to join others at the protest site, were arrested when they arrived in Crawford about 7 p.m. The cars came to a stop when they reached a line of about 35 officers blocking Prairie Chapel Road at the city limits.

Mrs. Sheehan and her supporters according to current reports, appears to be expressing her grief in a lawful manner. However, there are a small number of counter-protesters, who say "she should go home" and stop trying to "demoralize our troops."

Sheehan's statement on The Huffington Post blog says "this is George Bush's accountability moment."

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