WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is entering an emotionally charged dispute between the grieving father of a Marine who died in Iraq and the anti-gay protesters who picket military funerals with inflammatory messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers.”

The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters’ message, no matter how provocative or upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

The justices will hear an appeal from a Marine’s father to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters after they picketed outside his son’s funeral in Maryland four years ago. Members of a Kansas-based church have picketed military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The funeral protest dispute was one of three cases the court said it would hear in the fall. The others involve whether parents can sue drug makers when their children suffer serious side effects from vaccines and NASA’s background checks on contract employees. The government says the decision in the NASA case could throw into question the background checks routinely done on all federal government workers.

The protest lawsuit stemmed from picketing by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., outside the funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md. Snyder died in March 2006 when his Humvee overturned.

The funeral was one of many that have been picketed by Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members of his church. One of the signs at Snyder’s funeral combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.

Other signs carried by church members read, “America is Doomed,” “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” “Priests Rape Boys” and “Thank God for IEDs,” a reference to the roadside bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Snyder’s father, Albert, sued Phelps, his daughters and the church and won a verdict of more than $11 million for emotional distress and invasion of privacy. The judge reduced the amount to $5 million, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the signs contained “imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric” protected by the First Amendment.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a defendant in the lawsuit and one of Phelps’ daughters, said she is pleased the case is going to the Supreme Court. “We get to preach to the conscience of doomed America,” she said in an interview Monday. “I am so excited that I can’t tell you how good it is.”

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By Mark Sherman – The Associated Press
Monday Mar 8, 2010

EDITORIAL: Our troops are saddled with dangerous rules of engagement

The recent battle in Marjah in Afghanistan’s Helmand province was a key test case for new rules of engagement that emphasized protecting civilians rather than killing insurgents. The town was taken, but whether that was because of the new rules or despite them remains to be seen.

The rules of engagement are probably the most restrictive ever seen for a war of this nature. NATO forces cannot fire on suspected Taliban fighters unless they are clearly visible, armed and posing a direct threat. Buildings suspected of containing insurgents cannot be targeted unless it is certain that civilians are not also present. Air strikes and night raids are limited, and prisoners have to be released or transferred within four days, making for a 96-hour catch-and-release program.

In Marjah, the enemy quickly adapted to the rules, which led to bizarre circumstances such as Taliban fighters throwing down their weapons when they were out of ammunition and taunting coalition troops with impunity or walking in plain view with women behind them carrying their weapons like caddies. If World War II had been fought with similar rules, the battles would still be raging. Paradoxically, America’s most successful post-conflict reconstructions were in Germany and Japan, where enemy-occupied towns like Marjah were flattened without a second thought.

U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the NATO commander, said, “The Afghan people are at the center of our mission. In reality, they are our mission.” Yet protecting civilians is difficult in an unconventional conflict in which the battlefield has no front lines. As an anonymous Pentagon planner told Time magazine, “It’s harder to separate the enemy from the people when they are the people.” Helmand province is part of the Taliban’s core area; they see the fight as homeland defense.

The fact that the Taliban routinely torture and kill noncombatants as a matter of policy is not only lost in this debate, it is deemed irrelevant. The Taliban’s excesses are discounted because the Taliban are the bad guys. Coalition troops are the good guys and are held to a higher standard.

Unfortunately, the higher the United States raises the bar, the more difficult the fight becomes, and the more that is promised, the greater mistakes count. On Feb. 14, 12 people, six of them children, were killed when two U.S. rockets slammed into a home outside Marjah. On Feb. 22, an air strike in Uruzgan province killed at least 21 civilians. Both of these events have exacerbated tensions inside the country, and Gen. McChrystal made a televised apology for the Uruzgan incident.

The fighting has wound down in Marjah, which may or may not validate the rules of engagement. Most of the local Taliban either melted away to the frontier or simply put down their weapons and are still there. The true test will come when NATO implements rules of disengagement. When coalition forces pull out, Marjah may well go back to being the Taliban stronghold it always has been, and those who cooperated with NATO and Afghan government authorities will be held to account.

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Democrats Mired in Ethics Swamp They Vowed to Drain
March 6, 2010
FoxNews.com

The “Swamp Creatures” Have Come Home To Roost.
Creature Pelosi can you spell hypocrite?

The party that vowed to “drain the swamp” if given control of Congress finds itself sinking into the muck nine months from Election Day, when every member of the House and 36 Senate seats will be chosen.

In the past year, the scandals that have rocked the Democratic Party range from the conduct of governors in Illinois and New York to paternity problems for a former presidential hopeful to House ethics investigations that have resulted in one longtime lawmaker giving up his powerful gavel and a freshman congressman abruptly resigning.

Climate Scientists Plan to Hit Back at Skeptics
March 05, 2010
FOXNews.com

In private e-mails obtained by The Washington Times, climate scientists at the National Academy of Sciences say they are tired of “being treated like political pawns” and need to fight back in kind.

This is a view of the Amazon basin forest north of Manaus, Brazil. A U.N. report stated that global warming is threatening the forests — a statement that was recently discredited.

Undaunted by a rash of scandals over the science underpinning climate change, top climate researchers are plotting to respond with what one scientist involved said needs to be “an outlandishly aggressively partisan approach” to gut the credibility of skeptics.

In private e-mails obtained by The Washington Times, climate scientists at the National Academy of Sciences say they are tired of “being treated like political pawns” and need to fight back in kind. Their strategy includes forming a nonprofit group to organize researchers and use their donations to challenge critics by running a back-page ad in the New York Times.

“Most of our colleagues don’t seem to grasp that we’re not in a gentlepersons’ debate, we’re in a street fight against well-funded, merciless enemies who play by entirely different rules,” Paul R. Ehrlich, a Stanford University researcher, said in one of the e-mails.

Some scientists question the tactic and say they should focus instead on perfecting their science, but the researchers who are organizing the effort say the political battle is eroding confidence in their work.

“This was an outpouring of angry frustration on the part of normally very staid scientists who said, ‘God, can’t we have a civil dialogue here and discuss the truth without spinning everything,’” said Stephen H. Schneider, a Stanford professor and senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment who was part of the e-mail discussion but wants the scientists to take a slightly different approach.

Pinned down at dawn in a kill zone and running low on ammunition, the company-sized patrol made an urgent plea from a remote spot in eastern Afghanistan: Send help.

Then they made it again. And again. And again.

Nearly two hours after the initial call for help, helicopter air support arrived — but not before the unit took heavy casualties. The delay occurred because Army officers back at the tactical operations center refused to send help and failed to notify higher commands that they had troops in trouble. In the end, three Marines, a Navy corpsman and a soldier were dead, along with eight Afghan troops and an interpreter.

Those are the findings of a new investigation into the Sept. 8 ambush involving a team of U.S. military trainers embedded with Afghan troops in Kunar province.

But even though the deaths of the team members were the result of “negligent” leadership — “contributing directly to the loss of life” — it appears no one involved in the botched planning or execution of the mission will get more than a letter of reprimand for contributing to the deaths of five fellow service members.

Three Army officers were cited as a result of the incident, but their names, ranks and units were not disclosed. Officials with Combined Joint Task Force 82 in Afghanistan, which oversaw the unit, have declined to say whether any of them may face more serious discipline, and whether any of them have been relieved of command.

“I’m still pro-military, but it’s a tragedy if these officers get off so lightly with just a reprimand,” said Susan Price, the mother of Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, who was killed in the ambush. “Why are they still in command? Where the hell are these officers, and why did they get just a slap on the wrist?”

The incident occurred as 13 U.S. military trainers, 60 Afghan soldiers and 20 border police officers traveled early in the morning to the remote village of Ganjgal to meet with village elders, according to a report by a McClatchy News journalist traveling with the unit when it was ambushed.

“The absence of senior leaders in the operations center with troops in contact in the … battlespace, and their consequent lack of situational awareness and decisive action, was the key failure in the events of 8 September 2009,” the report says. “The actions of … senior leaders were clearly negligent.”

Killed were Kenefick, Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson Jr., 1st Lt. Michael Johnson and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Layton. The soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, died Oct. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington from wounds he sustained in the attack.

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By Dan Lamothe – Staff writer
March 3rd, 2010

Canada Beats United States 3-2 in Overtime in Men’s Hockey
(AP)

The United States, not picked to win a medal and seeded 4th out of 12 at the beginning of the winter Olympics, took powerhouse and gold medal favorite Canada into overtime before finally losing 3-2. The spirit of our American boys shined as our boys tied a hard fought game with only 24.4 seconds left to play in regulation time.
Congratulations to our neighbors to the North.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Sidney Crosby scored 7:40 into overtime and Canada beat the United States 3-2 on Sunday to earn its second men’s hockey gold medal in the last three Olympics.

Crosby’s shot from the lower part of the left circle eluded goalie Ryan Miller, the tournament MVP.

The United States had forced overtime on Zach Parise’s goal with 24.4 seconds left in regulation

Two DHS Agencies Reportedly Lose 1,000 Computers In One Fiscal Year
FOXNews.com
February 24, 2010

Two agencies within the Department of Homeland Security reportedly lost nearly 1,000 computers in fiscal year 2008, costing taxpayers approximately $13.3 million.

According to documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act by Todd Shepherd of the Independence Institute, inventories of lost, stolen and damaged equipment indicate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lost at least 985 computers combined.

CBP’s total inventory of lost and stolen equipment, or 1,975 pieces, totaled $7.5 million; ICE’s inventory, meanwhile, was 1,547 items, equating to a loss of $5.8 million.

“When I look at these inventories with my own eyes, page after page, I still think there’s a good chance that we’re dealing with some significant security breaches, and possibly insider theft,” said Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute. “You really have to look at these inventories, and go through them page after page to get an idea off how obnoxious these losses are.”

CBP reportedly insists that none of the lost computers contained sensitive or classified date. Other losses, according to the Independence Institute, include 235 night vision scopes by CBP officials and an “international harvester vehicle truck” — valued at $116,349 — on behalf of ICE officials.

Rest in peace Charlie…

My two cents:

In a time when the Cold War between the US and Russia was at a heated point, Mr Wilson did what anyone who wanted to see Russia fail would have done. Unfortunately, helping defeat Russia in Afghanistan did come with a price but one that could have been avoided if we would have followed through and help to rebuild the war torn nation of Afghanistan… The result of not building Afghanistan up then, is the price we pay today.

A statement today from Secretary Gates regarding the death of this American Patriot:

“I had the unforgettable experience of knowing Congressman Wilson when I was at CIA and he was working tirelessly on behalf of the Afghan resistance fighting the Soviets. As the world now knows, his efforts and exploits helped repel an invader, liberate a people, and bring the Cold War to a close. After the Soviets left, Charlie kept fighting for the Afghan people and warned against abandoning that traumatized country to its fate — a warning we should have heeded then, and should remember today.

“America has lost an extraordinary patriot whose life showed, once more, that one brave and determined person can alter the course of history. My condolences to Barbara and the rest of the Wilson family.”

An interview with Charlie regarding Afghanistan:

Good night Charlie. My prayers for his soul and the family he left behind.

From today’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Charlie Wilson, the rowdy, fast-living East Texas congressman who worked to secure clandestine arms for Afghan resistance fighters in the 1980s, died of cardiac arrest Wednesday in Lufkin, Texas, three years after receiving a heart transplant. He was 76.

After complaining of physical distress, Wilson was being driven to a hospital when he was transferred to a passing ambulance, longtime friend Buddy Temple told the Lufkin Daily News. The 12-term Democratic congressman was pronounced dead at 12:16 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

Wilson’s singular efforts against the Soviet occupation nearly trumped his public image as a hard-drinking, womanizing politician who had earned the nickname “Good Time Charlie.”

One of his gambits involved flying a Fort Worth belly dancer, Carol Shannon, to Cairo to win the support of Egyptian officials for a weapons transfer. He later crossed from Pakistan into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan dressed as a mujahedeen fighter. On one of his dozen trips to Pakistan, he brought along his then-girlfriend, former Miss World USA Annelise Ilschenko.

Wilson reportedly masterminded the tripling of the CIA’s budget for covert operations in Afghanistan. The agency ended up honoring the larger-than-life representative for his machinations, which were chronicled in George Crile’s book “Charlie Wilson’s War. A Tom Hanks film by the same name made the Lufkin politician a household name.

“Charlie Wilson led a life that was oversized even by Hollywood’s standards,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. “Congressman Wilson was fiercely devoted to serving his country and his fellow Texans.”

Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, called Wilson “bigger than life.”

“It was a privilege for me to know and work with him,” he said.

Although representing a slice of ultra-conservative East Texas, Wilson was never defeated by Bible Belt candidates espousing family values and piety He held a liberal stance on social issues, supporting civil rights, minimum wage increases and abortion rights while hiring a conspicuous number of female staffers before it became common. To all of this he added hawkish views on defense.

His office in Lufkin dealt effectively with constituent problems and, at election time, handed out domino sets embossed with Mr. Wilson’s name.

In the 1990 election, a Republican challenger named Donna Kay Peterson, a West Point graduate with a fundamentalist Christian platform, attacked Mr. Wilson at church gatherings for his playboy antics. Wilson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at the time that his District 2 constituents knew he enjoyed the company of women. They also knew he wasn’t an adulterer since he was amicably divorced.

Despite predictions of a tough contest, Mr. Wilson won easily and remained in office until leaving politics in 1996 after serving 24 years in Congress. At a retirement function in Lufkin, he apologized for his behavior.

Voters and supporters, including lumber magnate Arthur Temple, sometimes disapproved of the party animal image, but they couldn’t dislike the tall, lanky politician with the good-ol’-boy demeanor who graduated eighth from the bottom of his class at the U.S. Naval Academy.

He’d brought a VA hospital to Lufkin, and his local office knew how to untangle a retiree’s Social Security problems.

After leaving politics, Wilson worked as a lobbyist in Washington until retiring five years ago and returning to Lufkin. In 1999 he married a former ballerina, Donna Alberstadt.

The Temple family remained loyal and presented the University of Texas at Austin with a $500,000 challenge grant in 2008 to endow a professorship in Wilson’s name. And $536,000 more was raised for the proposed Charlie Wilson Chair in Pakistan Studies after Pakistani-Americans responded to the fund drive. A search for an scholar to fill the position begins in September, UT said Wednesday.

A dozen UT professors opposed the chair when it was proposed, noting Wilson’s involvement in the cold war in South Asia .

In retrospect, Wilson himself expressed mixed feelings about his role. He has been quoted as saying he felt guilty that some of the arms he helped secure might have ended up in the hands of the Taliban. He also opposed the Iraq invasion, saying it diverted U.S. attention from the real fight in Afghanistan .

Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.

Militants Stage Attack on NATO Trucks in Pakistan
January 28, 2010
FoxNews.com

Note to Mr. Drone: Please send these Islamic scum-bags, that are resposible for the attack on NATO troops, to the “cornfield”.

KARACHI, Pakistan — Police say suspected militants have staged a rare attack in southern Pakistan against trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan, wounding three people.

Police official Mohammed Ali says the militants attacked the trucks with guns and grenades early Thursday as they traveled on a main highway on the outskirts of the southern city of Karachi.

Up to 75 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan arrive at Karachi port and then head north.

Militants have carried out a wave of attacks against the supply trucks in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, but such attacks are rare in Karachi.

Tonight we are going to talk a little bit more about the State of the Union in my own humble opinion.

Then when President Obama is done flapping his gums we will be joined by

Debbie Lee – Gold Star Mother – Director of Military Relations
Based in Surprise, Arizona, Debbie Lee is available for comment in-studio and for phone interview anytime both before and after The President’s address. Debbie Lee is the mother of U.S. Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee, who was the first SEAL killed in the war in Iraq. Marc gave his life for his buddies in Ramadi, Iraq in August of 2006 and since then Debbie has devoted her life to carrying on Marc’s legacy and supporting his fellow troops as they fight to keep America safe in the war on terror. Debbie has worked with Move America Forward since 2006 and traveled to Guantanamo Bay in 2008 and Baghdad, Iraq in 2007. During that trip to Iraq Debbie had the unprecedented opportunity to visit the base in Ramadi where Marc served, and which now carries his name (Camp Marc Lee).

Click HERE to join us

msnbc.com News Services
January 25,2010

BAGHDAD – Iraq on Monday executed Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein’s notorious cousin known as “Chemical Ali,” for the poison gas attacks that killed more than 5,000 Kurds in 1988.

News of the hanging came shortly after three suicide car bombs struck downtown Baghdad. It was not immediately clear whether the attacks were linked to the execution of al-Majid.

“The death sentence against Ali Hassan al-Majid has been carried out today,” government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

Rocket Strike at Afghan Base Wounds 8 NATO Troops
January 25, 2010
FoxNews.com

KABUL — A rocket strike at the major international NATO military base in southern Afghanistan wounded eight foreign service members — four Bulgarians and four Romanians, Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Mladenov, said Monday.

The rocket hit inside Kandahar Air Field on Sunday evening, said Flight Lt. Wendy Wheadon, a spokeswoman for the international force.

The attack occurred as Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolai Mladenov visited 270 Bulgarian troops who guard the inner zone of the Kandahar airport, the ministry said. Mladenov was about 400 yards from where the rocket hit and was not hurt.

The base was hit by rockets before, though rarely with enough precision to wound people. Wheadon said the last time a rocket struck inside the base was early December when no one was hurt.

Three wounded Bulgarians were transported to Germany for further treatment, while the fourth was released Sunday, according to the country’s Defense Ministry.

In Bucharest, the Defense Ministry confirmed two of its soldiers were hurt in the attack. One left the military hospital Monday and the other was in stable condition, it said. It was not immediately clear why NATO and Romania had conflicting numbers of wounded troops.