Cindy Sheehan made headlines in 2005 when she staged a lengthy
anti-war protest outside of former U.S. President George W. Bush’s Texas ranch. Since then, the
California woman known as "The Tornado" by the Secret Service, has pitched tents in the
nation’s capital, ran for Congress against Democratic powerhouse Nancy Pelosi and been arrested multiple
times fighting for a cause she firmly believes in.On Monday, the nationally known anti-war activist
stood on the hardwood floors of the Happy Badger in downtown Bowling Green as part of a 90-day cycling
ride from her son’s grave in California to the nation’s capital. She calls her ride the "Tour de
Peace."Her ride began April 4 from her son’s, Casey Sheehan, grave in Vacaville, Calif., and will
conclude on July 3 in "WashedUp DeCeit," Sheehan’s nickname for Washington, D.C. Her son, a
24-year-old Army Specialist, was killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004."We have struggled for
so long, it’s hard for us to believe there is a better way," Sheehan told the crowd.She has several
ideas for a better way, which took the form of a list of demands. The demands are: to end wars; to end
immunity for U.S. war crimes; to end suppression of civil rights; to end use of fossil fuels and nuclear
power; to end persecution of whistle blowers; and to end partisan apathy and inaction."Just think
of all the trillions of dollars we have spent on the wars for empire," Sheehan said. "Can you
all think of something we can do with that money here? How about not closing schools?"Sheehan said
the money being spent on war takes away from social services, education, infrastructure and health care,
for example."We spend trillions of dollars of our valuable resources on these wars. And that’s what
we need to link together."On fossil fuels, Sheehan decided to sell her car seven years ago. She
walks, bikes or uses public transportation."I had such negative feelings about partaking in the
fossil fuel economy," she said.But Sheehan isn’t naive to think she would simply bike to D.C. and
have these demands met."We think it’s about journey of Tour de Peace rather than the destination of
‘WashedUp DeCeit.’"Despite group efforts over the last nine years, Sheehan said, not a lot has
changed."I think the biggest problem is that every two to four years, our movements get derailed by
elections," she said."People get so divided, so polarized especially around presidential
elections."The latest example of this, she said, was Barack Obama’s election, which nearly halted
the anti-war movement."We should fit our activism to our own principles – no matter who is in
office," Sheehan said.For more information, visit: www.tourdepeace.org