Camp Casey

  I've been back from Texas for almost a week.  The internet access to my house is turned back on, and I'm able to start updating this site again.

  The experience at Camp Casey taught me many profound lessons; the most important one was this:  Nothing is impossible when you work from a space of love.

  With that in mind, I'm going to get back into journalism by blogging on this site.  Blogs are the future of reporting, and activist blog-reporters are the next trend for news-gathering in this country.  Brainshrub.com is going to be a part of this revolution.

  The old "counterpoint" system is going to remain a staple of Brainshrub.com and I have ideas on how to improve and expand on it.   Brainshrub will continue to be a "progressive news portal with counterpoints," but it's going to have a greater orientation for news-reporting.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

Buddy Spell is one of Cindy Sheehan's lawyers. He and his wife are here at Camp Casey helping to make this action as smooth as possible.

When they left Louisiana they left their 7-year old daughter, Sarah, with a friend in Washington Parish. (In LA, counties are called "Parishes")

Due to the hurricane, they have lost all contact with their friend and they fear the worst. The Spells are frantic for solid information about the state of Washington Parrish or their daughter.

If you have solid information about what is going on in Washington Parrish, please call 612-578-0130. This is the cell-phone number of Alex, a close friend of the Spells. I have full permission from the families, mods and Admins to post this personal information.

The reason I have to post a telephone number is because internet access out of Camp Casey is spotty at best. Due to the nature of this emergency, he can't spend time monitoring his PM box and emails.

Please keep this thread kicked. I will post in this thread when we have the information we need.

Do not call the number unless you have solid, first hand information about the state of Washinton Parrish or Sarah Spell.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

I'm to tired to make a full report today and the internet network may be taken down tomorrow before I can post again, so this could be my last post from Camp Casey.

###

I just took part in a beautiful ceremony. The conservatives on the other side of the ditch joined us in a memorial vigil for the fallen solders in Iraq. As a peace-offering, they donated a 20-foot pole with two flags on it: The American and a "Fallen Soldiers" flags. (The "Fallen Soldiers" banner has a white background with a rifle planted in the ground and a helmet over the stock.)

We prayed together, lit candles and sang patriotic songs. There wasn't a dry eye in Camp Casey, it was wonderful. At the end of the ceremony, as the flags and pole where returned to the pro-Bush side, we shouted: "Thank you!, We love you!, You are good Americans!"

For the record, it was the conservative side who who volunteered to donate the flags and pole when they heard we were having a memorial vigil. In my opinion, the reason they did this was that they recognized that we love America, and the soldiers, just as much as they do.

If Cindy's protest has started a dialog between us, it was worth the effort.

###

A group of veterans has already left for New Orleans to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The word is that the Louisiana National Guard is in Iraq, so the veterans have started mobilizing to take up the slack.

There are still about 300 people here, mostly folks who have been here the longest. Ann Wright made an announcement this afternoon that the packing-up will begin tomorrow with the removal of the crosses at camps one and two on Tuesday morning.

###

A woman dropped her car keys in one of the port-o-johns earlier this evening. (Before the ceremony) Jeff the marine got them out for her. She laughed so hard that the entire camp caught a case of the giggles.

###

Rebekah has been offered a paid job as the chef for the "Bring Them Home Now" tour. Details still have to be hashed out, but they really love her cooking. Who can blame them? For example, today we had baked salmon w/ lemon & garlic, wild rice w/ shiitake mushrooms, almonds & green onion, lightly sauteed summer squash and french-braised bison . (The bison was a gift from Colorado.)

James invited me to join the bus tour as the official blogger & network apprentice, but I really need to go home. I miss Asheville and I'm getting homesick.

###

  By the way, as with all my posts from Camp Casey, this has not been edited for punctuation or spelling. hawk doves dove

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

The Bush supporters were out in force yesterday. I didn't spend much time observing the pro-war sheep, but I do have some observations:

1) There were approximately 2000 Bush supporters in Crawford on Saturday. I was surprised at how few people showed up! The majority of them where gone by the time the sun went down.

WTF? I thought they supported the president? Today there can't be more than 150 Bush supporters left at Camp Qualls or opposite Cindy's ditch.

For their gun-toting, war-mongering, beer-bellied, flag-waving, bible-thumping behavior... they don't have the stamina of one mom armed only with her sons empty combat boots.

2000 is about the same number of people we had in the Camp Casey Two tent on Saturday. There were another 500 pro-peace Americans at the ditch and Crawford Peace House.

You wouldn't know this from the Associated Press, who reported "a few hundred" Cindy supporters. I'm tempted to comment that this is another example of how corporate media alters the facts in order to appease a radical pro-war element.  But perhaps the Associated Press simply has a systemic drug problem within it's staff that makes thousands of people look like hundreds?

Just in case you are curious, as of today, there are about 1200 pro-peace Americans here. I can say this with 100% certainty because I have an amazing super-power that many AP reporters apparently don't have. This power is called: "eye-sight". With the incredible gift of "eye-sight", I am able to approximate how many people are at an event.

  Someone give me a cape or a job at the AP.

2) The Bushistas were given pre-manufactured "Support Our Troops" (SOT) placards. I suspect the conservative think-tanks finally woke up to the way they have lost the words "patriotism" and "Support our troops." It seemed that every man, woman, child and pet had a SOT poster. They were obviously over-compensating for something.

I don't know how many SOT posters it takes to resurrect a soldier from the dead, but I'm sure the boys on the front-line will be proud to carry one of these plastic signs once they get back from Iraq. That is, if they don't get their arms blown off first.

Real patriots are people who don't want to see American soldiers killed for a pack of lies. Bush-supporters professions of support are as thin as the plastic posters they carry.

###

For the first time in the eleven days I've been here, the weather is actually bearable. Overcast, but non-threatening, clouds have kept the brunt of the sun off our backs. I may actually go to bed tonight smelling vaguely human.

###

I want to introduce two new friends I've made who don't get much media coverage, but their efforts have made a world of difference to people here at Camp Casey.

James: The official Camp Casey network guy. A former programmer, he quit his job so he could be stand with Cindy full-time and make sure the internet is up and running properly. If it wasn't for him, there would be no pod-casting, email or blogging to the outside world from Camp Casey.
Furthermore, James equipment is boosting cell-phone signals so that people can have half-decent conversations for radio & media interviews.

Rebekah: The primary weekday kitchen manager for Camp Casey II. (Not to be confused with Rebbecca Mac Niece, the videographer I've been helping.) Rebekah is a semi-employed caterer who can take command of an ad-hoc field kitchen filled with volunteers and make it purr like a kitten.

Yesterday James, Rebekah and I were taking some time off behind the kitchen talking about what we were going to do after this action ends. There are many people here having this conversation right now. It's a bit like the conversations I used to have with my friends in my last year of High School.

James has been offered a job to with a charity that will teach the rural poor how to use computers for activism.  He tells me that he doesn't know what his salary is going to be, but it's supposed to be fairly low.

Rebekah will probably be homeless by the time she gets back to her apartment in Wendel, Massachusetts. Her bio-fuel car is falling apart, and I doubt it will make it out of Texas. (Note: She told me she just got it fixed today, but I still doubt it will make the 2000+ mile trek to the Northeast.)

As for me, Ivo said he might have a job for me helping churches with their software applications and Charley's wife is going to hire me for SEO work.

The tragedy of our lives is that the work that we feel most passionate about pays squat.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

The days are ruled by flies, but once the sun goes down the crickets take over. I've never seen more crickets in one place my whole life. When you walk across the Camp Casey II tent at night, they scurry away through the straw-covered floor like black self-propelled marbles.

I like crickets. They are cuter than flies and they don't live in poop. As an added bonus, many cultures believe that crickets bring good luck. Many new arrivals mistake the crickets for roaches, and they yelp in surprise when they see them in such abundance.

The crickets aren't asking for any recognition, but I'm going to credit them for at least some of the good luck we've had on this trip. For example, three days ago someone spilled water all over Rebecca's computer. It was completely ruined.

Fortunately, we met a computer consultant named Karl earlier this week. When he found out about our plight, he FedEx-ed us a free replacement Mac. I'm writing this this post from the computer he donated.

God bless Karl and the cricket who sent him to us.

###

I think the corporate press has finally realized that they actually need to spend some time in the camp if they want a story. Up until now, the Washington Press pool haven't left their base-of-operations at the middle school up the road. But now I can see photographers wandering around trying to get something other than the standard "Cindy walking to a press conference" pictures.

There is a rumor floating around that Randi Rhoads will be here unofficially this weekend. I love Randi, she is my radio goddess. She and Amy Goodman are the only two "celebrities" that I want an autograph from.

I tried to get Amy Goodman's autograph last week when DemocracyNow was here, but when we made eye-contact I got gushy and couldn't speak. It was like I was Wayne Campbell or Garth Algar and it was all I could do to stop myself from crying out: "We are not worthy!"

###

Ann Wright, the camp coordinator, has alerted us that they are estimating 1500-2000 new pro-peace Americans will be joining us this weekend. Currently there are about 500 people here.

The organizers have been working over-time to cooperate with law enforcement. Last night a friend and I were about to drive to a neighboring town for a beer, when one of the Camp Casey security volunteers found out what we were up to. She flagged us to the side of the road and gave us a long lecture about not returning intoxicated.

While the warning was un-necessary, (We had no intention of getting drunk, let alone returning to the camp under the influence.) it was obvious by the tone of her voice that the event leaders were on hyper-alert of anything that might cause problems.

As far as I know, the only overtly stupid thing anyone from our side has done is vandalize a huge RW poster on the side of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" souvenir shop in Crawford.

While I think this is funny as hell, it was stupid, stupid, stupid. Anything we do to irk the radical pro-war element is going to cause problems later down the road. The focus should be on Cindy's demand to have the president explain himself, not a sophomoric act of vandalism that breaks the trust that so many have worked hard to build.

I have heard that the locals complain of hippies knocking on local homes asking to use the shower, or Peace House campers picking on pets, or the shuttles running people off the road. I don't understand where these rumors are coming from! The line for the shower is never that long, Liberals are famous for loving animals, and, speaking as a shuttle-driver myself, we are constantly drilled with this rule: Above all else, respect the local traffic.

It doesn't matter if the rumors are false, the locals are desperate to paint us as rude so that they can justify their own belief system. The way to get through to these people is by being kind and stick to our values.

So help me God, if I hear of anyone on my side even kidding about agitating the locals I'll turn them in myself.

By the way, the trip I took to the neighboring town with my friend was in a bio-diesel powered vehicle.

###

A new moon-bat rolled into town this morning. He's trying to convince people that the government is assassinating people by manipulating the traffic lights so that activists get into fatal collisions.

He has a pile of printouts that he's showing people as "evidence." I met him at about 8:30am. He was so straight-faced about the governments nefarious plan it was difficult to not laugh in his face.

Moon-bats don't last long out here. They tend to hang around the Peace House a few days before being politely asked to go home.

### end ###

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

• Blood pressure cuffs
• Stethoscopes
• Crutches

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

I saw Cindy Sheehan in the Waco airport on her way back to Camp Casey yesterday. She was immediately surrounded by media like bees to a flower.

Cindy was the last person to get off the plane. The arrivals out of the gate were surprised at the all the cameras that greeted them in the airport. Jokingly, the press cheered these first travelers... it was a funny scene until an older conservative in the back of the crowd (And right behind me) started yelling:

"Booooo! Boooo! Go home!!!"

This guy didn't realize that Cindy hadn't disembarked yet. He looked like such as asshat that I almost felt sorry for him.

When the Bush supporter realized that he was heckling the wrong woman, he turned to two of his friends and tried to convince them to chant "God Bless W" when the real Cindy arrived.

I turned to him and his compatriots and said, as politely as I could: "Yes, please do that. I would love to get a camera shot of a belligerent screamer among a group of happy people. Let me get out of your way so that the press pool can get a good shot of y'all."

The guy shot me the nastiest look I've ever received, but my comment deflated the willingness of his friends to join him in his chant.

When Cindy walked through the gate, there were a few people who booed and hissed, but I don't think Cindy was able to hear them over the cheers of her supporters.

A few moments later in the lobby of the airport, Cindy was giving quick statement to the assembled media and activists, when the airport intercom interrupted with the following message: (Paraphrasing)

"Welcome to Waco Texas:  Bush country. Passengers going to Dallas, flight 1234, please prepare to board at gate 2."

This elicited a few cheers from the anti-peace supporters in the airport. I'm sure they thought they got a good zinger in, but all it did was make Cindy's presence even more dramatic for the media.

Once Cindy and the media frenzy had passed, I remined behind in the airport. I gave in to a sudden urge to yell "YAHOO!" and jump in the air.

###

I'm starting to get the hang of this place. I know where to get a shower, where to do the laundry, where to get coffee and how to deal with the flies.

Rebecca and I have been documenting a marine named Jeff Key for the day. Jeff is an incredible individual, and we captured some powerful footage of him on his way to the airport to greet Cindy.

I dare anyone to tell Jeff to his face that he doesn't love this country. He is the most patriotic man I've ever meet in my life. His love for the Marine Core, America and our freedoms was so profound, I found myself tearing up when he spoke.

Here is a man who has been in combat in Iraq. He is no couch potato patriot:  When his country asked him to risk his life to defend this country, he did it with a smile and to the best of his ability. 

Oh, and by the way: He's gay.

So I guess if you're a religious conservative, he's a bad influence on the rest of the armed services and he's going to hell.

###

I've noticed that the conservatives on the other side of the ditch are losing the terminology they have used to justify their agenda.

They no longer use "We support our troops" without the caveat "and President Bush."

I've noticed that that the flag waving has subsided a bit, and they've started using the Presidential Seal a lot.

There are more crosses and Jesus references than ever, it's as if they have realized that patriotism is no longer their exclusive domain, so they are retreating to the fundamentalism where they know they are safe. (The religious Liberals are working at cracking that nut, soon they won't have crosses to hide behind either.)

The silence of the open prairie is driving the conservatives mad. They are constantly blaring RW radio from their car stereos, and they hooked up a loud generator across from the ditch to power a gaudy display of Christmas lights and loud ultra-conservative music.

I suspect that they are using obnoxious noise to pull a "Noreiega" on us. What they don't understand is that we are enjoying it. From our perspective, Camp Casey is a kind of sweat-lodge ceremony, where we are collectively being purified in order to take the fight to the rest of the world. These attempts at provoking us are excellent training on how to deal with rest of America.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

So much to say, so much to say. Where to start?

I will start by telling you that the organizers are requesting that you leave your animals at home if you plan to visit us. I know, your little fluffy dog is very well behaved, but Crawford is simply to hot for most domestic animals. You will hurt, if not kill, your pet. There are rattle-snakes in the grass here, and I'm not talking about the Republicans.

###

As usual, I am writing from the back of the tent at "Camp Casey II" on a borrowed laptop via wi-fi connection. I don't know if I'll ever want to blog indoors again. Something about being outside while surfing the internet makes blogging seem like a miracle.

I have just been handed a half-melted ice-cream sandwich; I'm typing with one hand and munching cold vanilla bliss with the other. Ice-cream at the end of a hot, Texas day is the most glorious food in the world.

###

People who have been here a while will mark the number of days they have been here on their name-tags. It's the closest thing to rank that anyone has around here.

Ann Wright, the closest thing to a "leader" here, can be seen walking around with her head still wet from a shower, helping to do dishes and giving administrative advice to the Peace House.

###

I've sweat so hard today that there are wide salt-marks on my shirt. Most of the day has been spent the day running around as an assistant to Rebecca Mac Neice.

Rebecca is a joy to work with. She is the only professional videographer here who has camped out full-time and developed a good relationship with both sides of the Iraqi War. The raw footage is so damn good, I'll be amazed if she doesn't win awards for it.

###

I'm a bit surprised about how few liberal media organizations are represented here. Considering how much they are praising the activities of Cindy Sheehan, you'd think they'd bankroll a few reporters to write from here. DemocracyNow left days ago, AAR is nowhere to be seen and the only person still broadcasting live with any regularity is Brad's radio show.

My regular site has gotten so many hits, that people are staring to sent me emails thanking me for blogging and helping give the Peace Movement a vehicle. IMHO bloggers are getting to much credit for covering the event. The only hard-core bloggers I've meet here so far are myself, TruthOut and BradBlog. There are rumors that Markos Moulitsas from the Daily Kos is here, but I haven't seen him.

The real force behind the media coverage are the common citizens here who are writing letters, urging friends to contact their congresspeople, and taking telephone calls from media organizations to lazy to send a reporter to do it in person.

Case in point: The only major publication I've meet in the six days I've been here is Eric Pfeiffer, a columnist for the National Review. Let me repeat what I just wrote just in case you think I'm kidding: A columnist for The National Review.

What this means is that resistance to the Iraq war is not being driven by progressive media or by bloggers. It's organic and much more mainstream than anyone cares to admit.

There is no attempt to co-ordinate the message by IVAW, Gold Star Mothers for Peace, MoveOn, Not In Our Name or Code Pink. It's all being done organically by common citizens. Bloggers and indie-media bloggers are spreading the information fast, but we aren't driving it.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

Last night I wrote on my blog "I shouldn't be here" because I have to go back home to find another job after my current contract runs out. I wanted to stay longer, but I simply couldn't afford it.

The people I came here with decided to go back to Asheville at 9:00am today. Unless I could find a way to justify staying here, I'd have to join them. It was breaking my heart.

This morning, while I was brushing my teeth at the Peace House, I got a call on my cell-phone. The caller was a former employer of mine who has been reading my blog to see what's been going on with the protest.

"It seems like such a shame for you to go home when you don't want to just because of money," she said. "I'd be happy to help you out. How much do you need to stay at Camp Casey?"

I gave her the a dollar figure I needed to afford to pay my bills and stay.

"No problem. You stay down there and do what you have to."

The lesson to everyone: Come to Crawford! The Lord is blessing people who make the effort to be here.

###

  I am again writing this from the "Camp Casey II" tent in Crawford, Texas. 

I've spent the day washing dishes, shuttling people back and forth between camps, blogging and lugging equipment for Rebecca. (A videographer I'm helping out.)

I'm dehydrated, but I don't know why since I've taken extra care to drink lots of water. With all the exercises and sweating I've done to date, I'll be surprised if I haven't lost at least ten pounds by the time I get back home.

Most people have gone home, there are about 200 people left. In my mind there are four groups of people:

The bliss-ninnies: These are the folks who have just arrived from the road. Most of them are so agog at what they are seeing, and they have so many questions, that they wander around in a state of confused bliss.

The Adjusted: These are activists and citizens who are working hard to pull this off. After you go through the bliss-ninny phase, you get bord pretty quickly without some chore. Eventually everyone goes to the Peace House and is given a responsibility.

The Press: The Corporate Media only stay for a few hours a day, if they come at all. (I saw an AP reporter stop by earlier to talk to Joan Baez.) Indie Media is here, but it's light. I think AAR broadcast from here earlier.

As far as I know, BradBlog, Truthout & Brainshrub are the only serious bloggers here. (Apologies if there are more, but I haven't seen them.)

The moon-bats: I hate to admit it, but we on the Left have nut-balls also. For example, there is a former military guy wandering around trying to convince people that the US govt used neutron bombs in Baghdad.
I'd say there are about 3 "certified" moon-bats here. When there were more people, they blended in with the crowd. Now that the numbers are thinner, their behavior can be a bit disruptive.

###

I will elaborate on this more later, but this whole event is matriarchal. It is being run by mothers, sisters and wives. I suspect this is why everything is running so smoothly.

Decisions are made by formal consensus. I've seen this kind of process before, but it's very advanced here.

###

This post was not edited. (I'm borrowing this computer, so I don't know how much time I can use it.)

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |

  I shouldn't be here.  We four Ashevillians were supposed to head back to North Carolina this morning.

  When we gathered at the van for the return trip, Rebecca said that she wants more footage and she may be here for another week.   Ivo felt that he had become so intrical to the Peace House's kitchen that he didn't want to leave them in a lurch until everything was in someone else’s hands.  Charley said that he had no compelling reason to go back home, and he wouldn't mind another day.

  As for me, I didn't want to leave either; but I have to get back to Asheville and find regular employment ASAP.  I am helping Rebecca, but I don't know  if I can justify staying much longer.

  We decided to stay another day.  Tomorrow at 8:30am, we will have another meeting and decide if we will leave.  (Rebecca has said that she will not go home with us tomorrow, but she can find another ride.)

  I want to stay with Rebecca and do sound work, but I have a doctors appointment and a "Bee Keeping" class that Althea bought for my birthday.  I'd hate to miss it.

###

  Last night I told another blogger the details behind the "Providense" picture.  He's posted the cliffs-notes version of the tale on his site "upbeatdefiance."

###

  A quick word as to where I'm blogging right now.:

  The blogging room at the Peace House was shut down after someone tried to hack the network.  The wi-fi connection was set back up at "Camo Casy II" where I am using a borrowed laptop to post this.

  I am in the middle of no-where, in the back of a large tent, blogging.  Technology is grand.

  It's 10:30pm (My time)  Joan Baez performed earlier.  Right now I can see Jeff Miller perform his one-act play "Eyes of Babylon."

###

  I spend most of the afternoon at a beautiful waterfall in Crawford at a community park. The water is great. People are gathering there to get respite from the heat.  There are 30-foot high sheer cliffs around the waterfall that you can jump off of into the pool below.

  I met a girl named Rebekah at the waterfall.  She's one of those women I used to pine for when I lived in Florida:  The kind of girl that makes you want to quit your job, put on a back-back and hike to Alaska.

 She's also the kind of person who probably has a trail of broken men behind her.

  I've been on that trip before, so I guess I'll pass on this one.

###

  My brother called me this afternoon and extolled me to come home and not miss my doctors appointment.   He's right. 

  On the other hand:  I could move the doctors appointment, re-enroll in Bee-keepers school and stay to help Rebecca.

  I guess I'll start my day at the ATM and see how much money I've got.  If I can pay the bills for August, I'll consider staying.

###

  This blog entry has not been edited or spell-checked.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
| | | | | | |