Guest blogged by Chris Floyd

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot} Once again I am honored to introduce a masterful contribution from one of the English-speaking world's most literate truth-tellers, the honorable Chris Floyd. An American journalist living in England, whose column on world affairs, "Global Eye", is published weekly in The Moscow Times, the proprietor of the excellent blog Empire Burlesque, and a good friend of both The BRAD BLOG and The Whispering Campaign, Chris Floyd joins us once again, to share a column that was published in Friday's Moscow Times. And this time he has brought a spark of hope.

Here's Chris:

In his inaugural speech last January, President George W. Bush repeatedly invoked images of unbridled, ravaging destruction as the emblem of his crusade for "freedom." Fire was his symbol, his word of power, his incantation of holy war. Mirroring the rhetoric of his fundamentalist enemies, Bush moved the conflict from the political to the spiritual, from the outer world to the inner soul, claiming that he had lit "a fire in the minds of men."

But words are recalcitrant things; they have their own magic, and they will often find their own meanings, outside the intentions of those who use them. Bush has indeed inflamed the minds of men --- and women --- with his military crusade. But it is not the "untamed fire of freedom" that scorches them: it is the fire of grief and outrage at the lies that have consumed the bodies of their loved ones. This bitter flame burns in the rubble of blasted houses in Iraq and in the quiet, leafy suburbs of America, where the dead are mourned and the mutilated are left as the enduring legacy of Bush's cruel, wilful and unnecessary war.

This "fire in the mind" has now found its own symbol, in the unlikely figure of Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain American soldier. Here again, Bush's war-rousing words have gotten away from him. Sheehan's campaign --- which began as a lonely vigil outside Bush's vacation ranch and has now spread across the country --- centers on a single, simple request: that Bush explain to her what he means when he describes the war as "a noble cause."

Sheehan is no professional activist, no savvy insider or political junkie. She's an ordinary citizen, whose unadorned speech has none of the sweep and grandeur of Bush's expensively tailored rhetoric. But she has one thing that his professional scripters can never put in the presidential mouth: truth.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The BRAD SHOW continues, LIVE and RAW and coming to you direct from Crawford, Texas.

LISTEN LIVE via:The IBC Radio Network
or at WhiteRoseSociety (Option 1)
or WhiteRoseSociety (Option 2)

This promises to be a very big day. Air America will be broadcasting with us beginning at 6pm Central Time; other networks are planning to broadcast along with us as well. For more details, click here.

URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations ... and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

But as always, we depend on you. So please Visit The BRAD STORE and/or Donate via Credit Card or PayPal and/or Donate via Snail Mail.

LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item to join in!

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The BRAD SHOW returns, LIVE and RAW and coming to you direct from Crawford, Texas.

LISTEN LIVE via:The IBC Radio Network
or at WhiteRoseSociety (Option 1)
or WhiteRoseSociety (Option 2)

This promises to be a very big day. Air America will be broadcasting with us beginning at 6pm Central Time; other networks are planning to simulcast as well. For more details, click here.

URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations ... and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

But as always, we depend on you. So please Visit The BRAD STORE and/or Donate via Credit Card or PayPal and/or Donate via Snail Mail.

LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item to join in!

AlaskaGyrl has been doing some tremendous photo blogging from Camp Casey.

Here's a quickie of Otie and I not long after we arrived in Crawford, figuring out how the hell we're gonna be able to get on the air the next day:

We look considerably older and much more tired by now

And, for those of you who heard my interview with him the other day, here is "CNN News Director" Isaac Green:

(Too bad he's not really the CNN News Director, their work would probably be a hell of a lot better!)

Click on the pics for more details...And check out all of AlaskaGyrl's terrific stuff from Camp Casey!

In the spirit exemplified by the Peace House in Crawford, Texas, Saturday Night radio "competitors" Laura Flanders of Air America Radio and Brad Friedman of The BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO are announcing an historic partnership as they broadcast their programs together this Saturday Night from on the ground in Crawford!

The BRAD SHOW has been the only LIVE broadcasting "organization" on the ground at Camp Casey to air continuous live daily coverage of the events, voices and news surrounding Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan's "standoff" with George W. Bush.

The BRAD SHOW has now broadcast over 26 hours of live radio across four different radio networks since last Monday, including exclusive uninterrupted coverage of Joan Baez' performances from Camp Casey and Cindy Sheehan's late-night comments to supporters.

Friedman's interview with Sheehan on Thursday was her first one-on-one interview since returning to Crawford, Texas after travelling to Los Angeles to care for her mother who suffered a stroke last week.

This weekend's broadcast schedule is the most ambitious to date, with the handsome Mr. Friedman, scheduled to broadcast atleast eight hours on both Saturday and Sunday, including the planned simulcast with Air America's comely Ms. Flanders.

Friedman's daily broadcasts begin at HIGH NOON in Crawford, TX each day (1p ET, 12p CT, 11a MT, 10a PT). The Flanders/Friedman portion of Saturday's programming will begin at 6pm Central time and will be broadcast over the IBC Radio Network, White Rose Society, KPFTX.org, OmRadio.com and Air America Radio via The BRAD SHOW's miraculous tin-can and string technology powered by one exhausted hamster running around in a wheel constantly since Friedman arrived in Texas last Monday.

The BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO is a co-production of Friedman's The BRAD BLOG and Internet news site RAW STORY in cooperation with IBC Radio Network.

Friedman, who interrupted his vacation to travel to Crawford and tell the truth since Rush Limbaugh is a liar, is exhausted, hot, but happy to be speaking truth to power...as long as his voice holds out.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Here's a disturbing report from Editor & Publisher:

American Legion Declares War on Protestors --- Media Next?

On the contrary, Mr. Cadmus: It would be tragic if the freedoms our veterans fought so valiantly to protect were denied to the citizens whose freedoms were supposedly being protected.

It's a shame that the American Legion leadership doesn't seem to understand any of this ... but we haven't given up hope. Someday they may come to their senses. But at the moment they are still locked into the bullshit they were fed more than thirty years ago:

What is clear to this citizen blogger is that Mr. Cadmus has no idea who our real enemies are.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The BRAD SHOW returns, LIVE and RAW and coming to you direct from Crawford, Texas.

LISTEN LIVE via:The IBC Radio Network
or at WhiteRoseSociety (Option 1)
or WhiteRoseSociety (Option 2)

Yesterday, technical difficulties interrupted Brad's interview with Rep. John Conyers and forced the postponement of at least one other planned interview. Today, if the radio- and democracy-gods are with us, Brad will have a live interview with Arianna Huffington ... so please join us for the broadcast!

Highlights from yesterday's show will be available soon in the BRAD SHOW Archives. For more details, click here.

URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations ... and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to Jason Thompson of Capitol Hill Blue, the obscene and abusive (supposedly "former") alcoholic who inhabits the Oval Office has been even more obscene and abusive lately than ever. Enjoy a few excerpts from Thompson's article of August 25th:

But don't worry. He's still a compassionate conservative, driven by Christian values. Same as he ever was.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Here is a selection of some of the latest videos from Camp Casey.

Most cable networks carried this morning's press conference at Camp Casey. Cindy gave an update on her mother's condition and remarked about how the protest had grown while she was away. Video (Windows Media)

On Wednesday night, Cindy spoke to the crowd of supporters and responded to personal attacks from the right-wing media. DemocracyNow! and LinkTV provided this video clip. The BRAD SHOW broadcasted the event live and The BRAD BLOG has made the entire audio of her speech available for download. Video (Windows Media)

DemocracyNow! and LinkTV have also provided a short clip of Joan Baez performing at Camp Casey on Wednesday night. Video (Windows Media)

The pro-war group Move America Forward claims to be a grassroots movement but Keith Olbermann has exposed their connections to the GOP on MSNBC. The group was actually started by the Republican party and still uses the same PR firm to this day. It's pretty sad when you don't even have enough support for a real grassroots movement. We wonder if the pro-war protesters are also paid by the Republican party. CrooksandLiars has the Video

Toolz of the New School blog posted this interesting video of Move America Forward pro-war operatives verbally assaulting a peace activist. It appears that Rush Limbaugh's tactics are now on a GOP sponsored bus tour that will be arriving in Crawford this weekend. Once again, the right-wingers seize the "moral low ground." Video (Windows Media)

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

Our friends at The RAW STORY have recently posted a very detailed article by British journalist Michael Smith tracing the manipulation of intelligence leading to the false claims on which the war against Iraq was supposedly "justified".

Here's a sample:

It's not light reading, but if you are seriously interested in learning about what happened, and why it happened, it's essential; I urge you to read entire article: Exclusive: Downing Street reporter dissects pre-war Iraq intelligence

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

The BRAD SHOW returns, LIVE and RAW and coming to you direct from Crawford, Texas.

LISTEN LIVE via:The IBC Radio Network
or at WhiteRoseSociety (Option 1)
or WhiteRoseSociety (Option 2)

Today (if all goes well) Brad's special guests may include Rep. John Conyers and Arianna Huffington.

For more details, click here.

URGENT REMINDER: The BRAD SHOW is still supported primarily by listener donations ... and we still need more listeners and more contributors! So please pick up the phone, or send some e-mail, and tell a few friends about The BRAD SHOW. You (and they) will be glad you did.

LIVE OPEN THREAD BLOGGING below: click on the "comments" link at the bottom-right corner of this item.

Following Joan Baez' performance, Cindy Sheehan made her first public statements since returning to Camp Casey in Crawford, TX.

She spoke about the media attacks on her, and at length about Casey. Both moving and at times, funny.

As broadcast LIVE Exclusively on The BRAD SHOW via RAW RADIO's Special Edition of "Operation Noble Cause". Here's the MP3...

(Thanks David Edwards and Otie Maclay for the sound, Jeff Patterson of NotInOurName.net for the picture and DreamFactoryINK.com for getting out the word!)

(Click photo for Windows Media Video...By Desi Doyen)

Join us tonight at www.BradShow.com for LIVE uninterrupted coverage of tonight's Joan Baez performance in Camp Casey. Publicly, the word is that Sheehan will not speak publicly until tomorrow at 10:30am CT tomorrow, however The BRAD BLOG has been told that she will likely speak at tonight's Baez performance, at least briefly. We will be there to cover it LIVE...Hopefully.

After arriving at the camp, and viewing the enormous new painting of Casey, her son who was killed in Iraq, she was somewhat overcome from both that and the heat.

We will begin broadcasting our Special Edition of our Special Edition of The BRAD SHOW tonight at 9p CT (10p ET, 8p MT, 7p PT)...

We'll once again have EXCLUSIVE LIVE coverage of the Joan Baez Performance along with Cindy Sheehan's return to Camp Casey this evening on The BRAD SHOW. We'll post the time as soon as we know it. Best guess, 9pm CT.

Arianna Huffington will be our LIVE guest on tomorrow's daytime version of The BRAD SHOW beginning at 12noon Central Time.

Sheehan has just pulled up to Camp Casey 2...Photos and video now here...

UPDATE: Live BRAD SHOW coverage of Baez, Sheehan and the events on the ground in Camp Casey, uninterrupted at 9pm CT (10p ET, 8p MT, 7p CT)