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Despite gunshots, mother vows to continue antiwar vigil
Texas Undaunted by counter rallies and even a neighbor's gunshot blasts into the air, a woman whose son was killed in Iraq said she would continue her antiwar demonstration near President George W. Bush's ranch here for three more weeks.
"We can't give up, no matter how hard it gets," Cindy Sheehan said Sunday, more than a week after she started the protest in memory of her 24-year-old son, Casey.
Sheehan's makeshift campsite along the road leading to the ranch has grown to more than 100 people, and hundreds more have stopped by to show their support.
On Sunday, as 60 people in Sheehan's group held a religious service, a neighbor, Larry Mattlage, fired his shotgun twice into the air. Sheriff's deputies and Secret Service agents rushed to his house but did not arrest him.
"I ain't threatening nobody, and I ain't pointing a gun at nobody," Mattlage said. "This is Texas."
Mattlage said that he was initially sympathetic toward the demonstrators, but that they had blocked roads in the area and caused traffic problems.
He said he fired his gun in preparation for the dove-hunting season, but when asked if he had another motive, he said, "Figure it out for yourself."
Sheehan said she was not concerned with her own safety, but she has told others to be aware that "this could get physical, even though we are peaceful."
"I think we knew of the risks when we came down here," said Sheehan, a Californian. "I'm surprised we haven't had more of that since we're in Bush country." Sheehan says she will not leave until the president meets with her during his monthlong ranch visit, or until his vacation ends.
Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but has not said that he will meet her.
Biking with the champ
Bush is getting plenty of bike time during his ranch vacation and next weekend he gets to hit the trails with Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, The Associated Press reported from Waco, Texas.
Armstrong said on ABC television that he would travel to Crawford next Saturday to ride mountain bikes with the president around Bush's ranch.
"It's a dream scenario for me," Armstrong said. "Now that President Bush doesn't run anymore, he rides his mountain bike fanatically."
Armstrong said that although the president certainly could not beat him, he was impressed with how seriously Bush took the his new sport.
"I know people who have ridden with him," Armstrong said. "I can tell you he's one very competitive guy."
Armstrong spent some time during the Tour de France with John Kerry, Bush's Democratic challenger in the 2004 race for president, who followed in a car during the final time trial.
Armstrong said he was not taking sides in politics, even though he was opposed to the war in Iraq.
"As a survivor, I think we would be better spending money on an illness like cancer," said Armstrong, who has had testicular cancer.
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