Cindy Sheehan's Swing Through Town

Peace activist and military mom Cindy Sheehan is in town today and tomorrow. She'll be at the Coventry Road library this afternoon, at the Akron main library this evening, and at St. Coleman's Church on the near west side tomorrow night. I plan on catching her at one of those places. Her final appearance is at an especially appropriate venue. St. Coleman's has long been a locus of anti-war activity and other progressive causes, and is also home to a prominent radical priest, Fr. Bob Begin. The incomparable Mike O'Malley, perhaps my favorite Plain Dealer writer, recently wrote this sparkling profile of him, highlighting his most recent accomplishment, fending off the unfathomable plan to close the parish.

We've taken note of Sheehan here a few times before. Almost four years ago, I joined my friend Bill and thousands of others, including Sheehan, for a march on Washington, opposing the Iraq war. It didn't have much effect, as you probably know by now (thought it did result in a rather less earth-shattering development, the first-ever photo we published here). We also took note of her mounting frustration with the American public's apathy over the war and her--well, arrogance--as she considered a run for Congress. It'll be interesting to see what she has to say now that this seemingly endless war continues to grind on, years after the public's attention has moved on to more crucial things, like the death of a child-molesting pop star.