Gold star-vation?

Cindy Sheehan was on Hardball yesterday. She is such a study in contradictions. Soft spoken, with smiling eyes, she resembles the favorite homeroom mother. However, I don't know many homeroom mothers who stand next to Hugo Chavez and call our president the "biggest terrorist in the world."

If you are so inclined, the video is here.

I don't understand hunger strikes, really. I understand prayer and fasting, but the Bible is pretty clear that we are to do that in private. Cindy Sheehan is a Christian, so I think she might already know that.

O‘DONNELL: Cindy, you have just begun a two-month hunger strike.

Isn‘t this really just more of a publicity stunt?

SHEEHAN: No, actually it‘s not. It‘s a moral reaction to an immoral war. Thousands of people all over the world are joining us. And hunger strikes have proven to be effective tools in civil disobedience and changing policy.

I am pretty sure, however, that a hunger strike is not civil disobedience. As to the success in affecting policy change-- that is usually in the case of prisoners, where the imprisoning authority doesn't want egg on its face. (ie, Mahatma Ghandi)

O‘DONNELL: But why go stand side-by-side by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela? Why do that? I mean, it sounds like—would you rather live under Hugo Chavez than George Bush?

SHEEHAN: Yes. You know, Hugo Chavez is not a dictator like you introduced him. He‘s been democratically elected eight times, and he‘s not anti-American.

Well, let's see here. Mr Chavez's own words...

"They murdered him.Viva Filiberto! ... Let's follow his example."

"They're making deals with the Devil, the Devil himself,"

Yeah. He's just misunderstood. Incidentally, I can only find 4 election results, and he has threatened to run for an unconstitutional third term. Of course, this is only if "the people" want it.

The icing on the cake, for me, was Ms. Sheehan's assertion that she would rather live under Hugo Chavez than George W. Bush. If I didn't want to go see my mom so badly, I would give her a ticket.