Lies of Omission

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The same story that rendered this little gem from Cindy Sheehan also has one heck of a finish. Via the Tucson Citizen:

Sheehan is a Californian whose soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.

Along with winning supporters, she has provoked vitriolic reactions as Americans disagree over the war. Sheehan clarified an oft-quoted remark that has brought intense criticism.

When she said, "This country isn't worth dying for," she was referring to Iraq, she said.

"I believe America is worth dying for."

Sadly, that isn't the truth. It isn't even close. From Lee Kaplan's article "SFSU Hosts a Terrorist" we draw the full quote, in context:

Cindy Sheehan followed this act. Wearing a sweatshirt advertising the website for United for Peace and Justice, Sheehan was interviewed outside just before the meeting by an ABC-TV news reporter. Sheehan said then that military recruiters should not be allowed on college campuses, maintaining they trick naïve 18-year-olds with offers of money and scholarships. Tragically, Cindy Sheehan lost her son Casey who was in the Army and was killed two weeks after arriving in Iraq. She claimed he was promised a job as a chaplain’s assistant although once in the service was placed in a combat role and killed, certainly a moving story – one she exploits to promote venomous anti-Americanism. “George Bush and his neo-conservatives killed my son,” she said tearing up a bit. “America has been killing people on this continent since it was started. This country is not worth dying for.” [italics mine]

She was obviously talking about America not being worth dying for. Iraq was never part of the conversation.

What is even more interesting about this Tucson Citizen article is that it appears to have been created by lifting selected pieces of this Arizona Republic article using what your elementary school teacher would have considered plagiarism, but journalists call precis. The Citizen staff apparently didn't think the Republic article was biased enough, and so they slanted it even further left by picking an choosing which parts of the Republic article to quote.

Cindy Sheehan blatantly lied to try to cover up her anti-Americanism. The Arizona Republic and Tucson Citizen must have known the Kaplan article was the source of the original claim, and yet refused to challenge Mrs. Sheehan’s historical revisionism.

They seem to be operating on the unwritten rule, "You lie, and I'll swear to it."

No wonder newspaper readerships are in decline.