Driver of truck apprehended and will be charged today
By David Edwards on 8/16/2005, 7:00am PT  

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Last night, around 10 PM local time, a pick-up truck ran over about 500 crosses at Camp Casey in Crawford, TX. The crosses, provided by Arlington West, each represent a soldier who has died in Iraq. The Associated Press published a preliminary story on the desecration of the memorial crosses early this morning.

Japhet Els and Emily Sharpe of truthout.org reporting from Crawford:

About an hour ago, wegot a phone call from our friends up at Camp Casey saying that the line of gravemarkers along the road (Arlington West) had been run over. People there said that as they were talking to a few members of the press, a pick-up truck came down the road and stopped at the fork by the edge of the tents. The driver then jumped out and attached a pipe to the undercarriage with a chain and began to "swerve into the line of crosses," said Tammara Rosenleaf from Montana. "Then we heard the pipe being dragged over the gravemarkers and the pick-up's wheels crushing them."

Out of the 800 crosses, 500 were knocked down and 100 are irreperable. However, the driver was arrested by the local authorities. This is a prime example of how the Crawford sheriff's department has helped to protect us and our freedom of speech over the past week and a half. A big thank you to them!

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Now, more than ever, is the time for us to come together. We need your voice and your help to bring America closer to an ideal that all of us hold in our hearts. Cindy Sheehan is bringing us closer to that ideal and demonstrating its power to change this country.

This morning, NBC's Today show reported that the driver will be charged later today with criminal mischief. This video from NBC's Today show provides a drive-by view (Windows Media) that really highlights the destruction of the cross memorials.

Today may prove to be bring even more challenges as a few local residents vow to challenge Camp Casey in the Waco courts.

Bloomberg has the following report:

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) --- Some residents of the corn and cattle town of Crawford, Texas, are expressing resentment as hundreds of anti-war protesters descend upon President George W. Bush's adopted hometown.

After nine days of watching as one woman's protest has grown into a national event, dozens of the farmers and ranchers neighboring Bush's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch plan to petition a county court in nearby Waco tomorrow, according to one, Pete Martinka. They want to prevent anyone from parking or stopping within two miles of the makeshift campsite erected by Cindy Sheehan, a 48-year-old woman from Vacaville, California, whose son, Casey, was killed in the war in Iraq.

``She's pitching tents on private property,'' said Martinka, who lives on the 104-acre Lazy Czech Ranch near the Bush property. Erecting signs prohibiting stopping and parking would halt traffic jams on the narrow country road and would ``keep the riff-raff out of our hair.''

This morning in an interview with Air America, Cindy Sheehan said that a sympathetic neighbor, who was appalled by the gun shooting incident, has offered an acre of nearby land. Camp Casey should be soon be moving to a safer location.

Scott Galindez reports for truthout.org:

The highlight of the day had to be the pig farmers. These three old boys looked like they walked off the ranch down the road (wouldn't want to compare anyone to the rancher across the street). These guys were from West Texas. They are very angry with the play rancher down the road a few miles and are behind Cindy one hundred percent. These guys drove their tractors to DC to protest "The Pig Tax". One of these farmers happened to have a cousin with a ranch closer to George and land that Camp Casey can move to. Like Cindy said another Camp Casey miracle...

To find out what you can do to support Cindy and Camp Casey, visit MeetWithCindy.org and consider hosting or attending a prayer vigil this Wednesday night.

You can also donate to the hard-hitting Velvet Revotution ad campaign running in Crawford papers that highlights the hypocrisy of the neo-con "chicken hawks".

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