Sheehan Quits Anti-War Movement: It Was Bound to Happen Since Anti-War Coalitions Have No Unity

The Democratic cave-in on Iraq War funding deadlines has claimed another one of their former allies: anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan, who grabbed headlines over her protests at President Bush's Texas ranch, quit the anti-war movement and left the Democratic Party.

Some were leaping for joy at news of her packing it in; I was not among them. All I feel is sadness.

She was not in good health to begin with--after all, she had lost her son Casey in Iraq--plus her marriage broke apart, her relationship with her surviving children was on the ropes, and her finances were melting down. These were statements from Sheehan herself in her letter of farewell.

And she was egged on by the Democrats, who attended her rallies and sang her praises. But when she began criticizing them for the same things that she was criticizing the Bush Administration for--namely ending the war--they tossed her over their shoulders like an empty beer can. Goodbye. The end.

I criticized her for going beyond the scope of the anti-war movement and joining the liberal "I hate George Bush" crowd and meeting with Venezuela's communist president and other left-wing thugs. She became a side-show and severely undermined her own message to the point that she lost major credibility with those who might have supported her, had she stayed on topic.

I feel sad for her; she made some very bad decisions based on her anger and it's visibly taken a toll over the last two years. I hope she recovers her health and gets her personal life back on track.

USS Pueblo Still Intact and Being Used By North Korea for Anti-American Propaganda Purposes

North Korean officials took a surprised U.S. delegation aboard a captured U.S. Navy spy ship on Monday, saying it represented "...continued U.S. aggression against North Korea."

Governor Bill Richardson said it was a pure propaganda move on the part of the North Koreans.

The USS Pueblo was captured in January 1968; it's crew was held for eleven months before being released by North Korea. They kept the ship and have used it for "anti-American education" ever since.

North Korea has dangled returning the ship to the U.S. Navy in exchange for a high-level visit from the U.S. Secretary of State, but that has been flatly refused by the U.S. government. The U.S. Navy still has the Pueblo on the books as an active unit, and does want it back, but the current level of tension between the U.S. and North Korea has made it impossible to facilitate a transfer.

The Pueblo is the only U.S. warship under the control of a foreign power, and was the first ship to be captured since 1941, when invading Japanese forces captured the USS Wake in Shanghai's harbor.