Dada's "Mother-of-the-Week, Month, Year!" (or however damn long it takes)

On Saturday, Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, marched towards the ranch where George Bush is vacationing for 33 days. Enroute, she and her supporters were stopped by local sheriffs, who pushed them into a ditch with fire ants in 100 degree heat. Undeterred, Sheehan said, “I am not leaving until I meet with George Bush and he answers my questions about the death of my son. This is the beginning of the end of the war in Iraq.”

Stationed outside Bush's Crawford "ranch", she has thus far received the cold shoulder from the president. He did send two of his mouth pieces to meet with and listen to her. They told her before press cameras, "Many of the hundreds of families the president has met with know their loved one died for a noble cause and that the best way to honor their sacrifice is to complete the mission."

Unplacated, Cindy Sheehan vows to continue to hold vigil at Bush's Crawford ranch until the president, himself, comes forward and meets with her face-to-face.

Sheehan merely has some simple questions she'd like Bush to answer: “Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for? And, If the cause is so noble, why don’t you send your twins?”

She also has one demand of Bush. “Honor our sacrifices by bringing our nation's sons and daughters home from a war based on lies and deceptions.”

Somehow I'm not optimistic the president will meet with Cindy Sheehan. We've seen this time and again during the course of his "reign". Dissent is always kept at a distance, with "free speech zones" set up beyond the president's ears and eyes. His public speeches are stacked with carefully screened audiences who applaud on cue.

Despite this, Sheehan is determined to enhance the pleasure of Bush's vacation over the next month by staying the course of its duration while others' sons and daughters die for the president's "noble cause" in Iraq. She has been joined by peace activist members of Code Pink who are undertaking a hunger strike in sympathy to Sheehan's cause.

Were I able to speak with Cindy Sheehan and her small entourage of supporters outside Bush's vacation ranch I would say, "Be not discouraged by the president's failure to appear before you. That may require more courage than he possesses. For each of you standing vigil there, millions of Americans stand with you in absentia, in spirit and awe at your determination to remember your son."

Cindy Sheehan is Dada's "Mother-of-the-Week, Month, Year." There's no more noble cause than her actions as a way to honor Casey and every fallen soldier in Iraq!

Cindy Sheehan is co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace. For further information, visit here.