We're Sorry, World,...

Hell, if the Obamessiah can do it,....

Received this by e-mail from The PokerMistress:



This 'Letter of Apology' was written by Lieutenant General Chuck Pitman, US Marine Corps, Retired:

For good and ill, the Iraqi prisoner abuse mess will remain an issue. On the one hand, right thinking Americans will abhor the stupidity of the actions while on the other hand, political glee will take control and fashion this minor event into some modern day massacre.

I humbly offer my opinion here:
I am sorry that the last seven times we Americans took up arms and sacrificed the blood of our youth; it was in the defense of Muslims ( Bosnia , Kosovo, Gulf War 1, Kuwait , etc.)

I am sorry that no such call for an apology upon the extremists came after 9/11.

I am sorry that all of the murderers on 9/11 were Islamic Arabs.

I am sorry that most Arabs and Muslims have to live in squalor under savage dictatorships.

I am sorry that their leaders squander their wealth.

I am sorry that their governments breed hate for the US in their religious schools, mosques, and government-controlled media.

I am sorry that Yasser Arafat was kicked out of every Arab country and high-jacked the Palestinian 'cause.'

I am sorry that no other Arab country will take in or offer more than a token amount of financial help to those same Palestinians.

I am sorry that the U. S. A. has to step in and be the biggest financial supporter of poverty stricken Arabs while the insanely wealthy Arabs blame the USA for all their problems.

I am sorry that our own left wing, our media, and our own brainwashed liberal masses do not understand any of this (from the misleading vocal elements of our society like radical liberal professors, CNN and the NY TIMES).

I am sorry the United Nations scammed the poor people of Iraq out of the 'food for oil' money so they could get rich while the common folk suffered.

I am sorry that some Arab governments pay the families of homicide bombers upon their death.

I am sorry that those same bombers are brainwashed thinking they will receive 72 virgins in 'paradise.'

I am sorry that the homicide bombers think pregnant women, babies, children, the elderly and other noncombatant civilians are legitimate targets.

I am sorry that our troops die to free more Arabs from the gang rape rooms and the filling of mass graves of dissidents of their own making.

I am sorry that Muslim extremists have killed more Arabs than any other group.

I am sorry that foreign trained terrorists are trying to seize control of Iraq and return it to a terrorist state.

I am sorry we don't drop a few dozen Daisy cutters on Fallujah.

I am sorry every time terrorists hide they find a convenient 'Holy Site.'

I am sorry they didn't apologize for driving a jet into the World Trade Center that collapsed and severely damaged Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church - one of our Holy Sites.

I am sorry they didn't apologize for flight 93 and 175, the USS Cole, the embassy bombings, the murders and beheadings of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, etc....etc!

I am sorry Michael Moore is American; he could feed a medium sized village in Africa .

America will get past this latest absurdity. We will punish those responsible because that is what we do.
I am sorry the Barack Hussein Obama may be elected president of the United States when he doesn't have a clue on how to be a strong Commander-in-chief in a world filled with Muslim extremists who will do whatever it needs to do to destroy the lives of civilized people while killing innocent men, women and children in order to bring a change that is beneficial to all Islamic terrorists worldwide.

I am sorry that voters on the liberal left don't understand the frightening changes that are taking place
in the Muslim world and what these changes will do to this world in which we live.
I am sorry that the Democratic Party has been highjacked by Socialists and Communists right under the very noses of those who take pride in calling themselves democrats.

We hang out our dirty laundry for the entire world to see. We move on. That's one of the reasons we are hated so much. We don't hide this stuff like all those Arab countries that are now demanding an apology.

Deep down inside, when most Americans saw this reported in the news, we were like - so what? We lost hundreds and made fun of a few prisoners. Sure, it was wrong, sure, it dramatically hurts our cause, but until captured we were trying to kill these same prisoners. Now we're supposed to wring our hands because a few were humiliated?

Our compassion is tempered with the vivid memories of our own people killed, mutilated and burnt amongst a joyous crowd of celebrating Fallujahans.

If you want an apology from this American, you're going to have a long wait! You have a better chance of finding those seventy-two virgins.

Chuck Pitman
Lieutenant General, USMC

Pass this on to your friends if you agree.
If not, I am sorry I offended you by passing on the facts.


Cross-posted at WRITEMARSH!

A Belated Happy Birthday!

The TrekMedic, of all bloggers, should have known better, but Captain America reminded him of an important birthday this weekend:




Just sit back and enjoy this:

Veterans' Day,....

To All of the Men and Women of the United States Armed Forces:

Thank You!



And don't forget,...for those who don't come back whole, Project Valour-IT needs your help.

Give until it hurts!

Buy stuff to show your support!


That is all!

Hoo-ahh!

The TrekMedic Joins the Marines

As you can see along the right border, the TrekMedic has joined the Marines' team for Project Valour-IT.

Project Valour raises money to provide voice-activated computers for our wounded vets.

You can click here to learn more!

Time to Do Our Heroes a Solid! Help This Marine's Family

Father of Marine Killed in Iraq Sues Church for Cheering Death, Appeals to Public Online for Help

The family of a Marine killed in Iraq has sued a Baptist church for picketing their son's funeral and is turning to the Internet to drum up support.

Albert Snyder, the father of fallen Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, took the stand this week in the Baltimore trial against the Westboro Baptist Church and testified that protesters waving signs at Matthew's burial made him nauseous. He'd wanted a private service for his son.

"They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family," Snyder said on the stand Wednesday. "They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

The Snyder family's suit against the church — whose members have picketed the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming the deaths are punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality — could cost close to $100,000, the law firm representing them said. That's why Albert Snyder is asking for the community's help on the Web site www.matthewsnyder.org.

"This would be a significant financial drain on them," George Werner, a spokesman for the Barley and Snyder law firm (no relation to Matthew Snyder's family), told FOXNews.com. "They're looking for support both emotionally and financially to fund the case against the church. The family concluded that reaching out to the public would help in both ways and be very beneficial."

Werner said it isn't known how much the litigation will cost but estimated it will be somewhere under $100,000. If the trial drags on or there are appeals, it could be more.

"Any excess money will go to benefit veterans returning from the war in the form of a scholarship. No donations will be paid to me," Albert Snyder writes on the Web site. "Your money will be put to good use."

The result to date has been good, said Werner — in part thanks to the Web campaign — though he couldn't provide specific numbers in terms of donations and traffic to the site.

"It's another way of getting their message out," he said. "From a very broad perspective, (the response) has been very, very encouraging."

Albert Snyder, of York, Md., is seeking unspecified monetary damages for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress as a result of the Topeka, Kan., church's protest at his son's funeral in Westminster in March 2006.

The church's protests have inspired several state laws and a federal law about funeral protests, but the Maryland suit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

Matthew died March 3, 2006, at age 20 from a non-combat-related vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq. His father said in press interviews at the time that his son was killed when the Humvee he was traveling in rolled over. He'd served with the 1st Marine Logistics Group in the Marine Expeditionary Force in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Asked Wednesday about a sign that read "Thank God for dead soldiers," Albert Snyder said he thinks about it daily.

"I see that sign when I lay in bed," Snyder said.

Asked about statements issued by the group that his son was raised to support the "Roman Catholic monstrosity" and then sent to fight for the "United States of Sodomy," Snyder said "they have no right to do this to people they didn't know."

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jonathan Katz focused on obituaries and death notices and questioned Snyder on whether they said the funeral services were private. Snyder replied that the notices said friends and family were welcome, but admitted that he did not know all of the 500 or so people who attended.

The case tests the limits of the First Amendment right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett instructed jurors at the start of testimony Tuesday that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements.

Bennett said the jurors must decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection."

Church members said they are motivated by the fear of God and their need to warn America about its moral decay, rather than a desire to hurt anyone.

Katz told jurors Tuesday the protests took place 1,000 feet away from St. John Catholic Church, where the funeral was held, down a hill and out of sight and hearing from participants.

Snyder said American military personnel are in Iraq fighting for freedom of speech; "they're not fighting for hate speech." One photo showing a child holding a sign at the funeral protest was particularly disturbing, the father said.

"I pray for their children. Their children need help. To be brought up with that kind of hatred," Snyder said.

"My God is a loving God," Snyder said, adding later, "I don't look for hatred in the Bible."

The church's founder and pastor, Fred Phelps, took the stand after Snyder and prompted a strong admonition from Bennett when the pastor said he had not considered whether children would see a sign carried by protesters with the words "Semper Fi Fags" and two stick figures that appear to be engaged in sodomy.

"No, it's an irrelevancy," Phelps said.

Bennett then interjected sharply.

"Just answer the question, sir. Don't determine what's relevant or not relevant. You just answer the question," Bennett said.

Phelps said he chose to use the term "fag" in the group's signs because it comes from scripture, but could also have used Sodomite or dog. When asked by Katz why the group made a "Semper Fi Fags" sign, Phelps said it was in response to the need for a warning to the country "that your wicked ways are going to be your doom shortly."

FOX News' Catherine Donaldson-Evans and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Semper Fi! Do or Die! Gung-Ho! Gung-Ho!

A member of the extended TrekFamily makes the news!

Comrades in arms in the real world
They used to play war together. Now it's no game.
By Samuel Dangremond
Inquirer Staff Writer

Lt. Strieby (L) and Cpl Toms (R)

Stephen Strieby and David Toms used to play "fort" every sunny afternoon in Tabernacle when they were in middle school 11 years ago. Now, their childhood fantasies have become a reality: The two are serving in the United States Marine Corps.

Toms, a corporal, has been deployed to Iraq twice. Strieby, who graduated from Florida State University in April, was commissioned as a second lieutenant and will soon head to Quantico, Va., for further training.

And it's not a big surprise, because Toms and Strieby always took their playtime pretty seriously.

"They kept our neighborhood safe from all the bad guys," said Terry Nichols, who lived next door to the Striebys before they moved to Atlanta when the boys were in high school. "They were always out there patrolling."

The boys set up log forts around Strieby's backyard on Sherring Way and found rug fragments and other adornments by searching through trash that neighbors left for the garbagemen on the sidewalk every Wednesday, Strieby said.

Their "luxury fort" was called Fort Freedom. It featured a radio and was bigger than the outpost forts closer to the road on the edge of Strieby's property, he said.

On a typical summer day, the boys would dress in full camouflage gear and steel combat helmets for their mock battles.

"We'd fight the Germans in the afternoon, then we'd fight the Vietnamese in the evenings," Toms said.

The gear had been handed down from their fathers. Toms' father had served in the Army, Strieby's had been a Marine.

"Now that I'm older and actually using this [gear], it's kind of miserable carrying it all around, but as kids, we loved it," Strieby said. "The helmets were hot, but we loved it."

Strieby and Toms had real weapons to carry during their play patrols, including an antique bazooka and hand grenades, all nonworking, of course. But the boys did carry real ammunition in their BB guns.

One afternoon, a family gathering by Nichols' pool was interrupted when her mother-in-law felt a stinging pain in her ankle.

Toms had hit her with a BB, Nichols said, but she recovered immediately and forgave him.

"The boys were very apologetic," she said, adding that she likes to tease Toms now by asking if his aim has improved since then.

Strieby moved to Atlanta right before Toms went to Shawnee High School in Medford, but the two kept in touch, said Toms' mother, Barbara.

"The love of the military and the love of the Marines just continued on with the boys as they grew," she said.

Although the thought of her son and Strieby joining the military crossed her mind, she said she never really expected them to do it.

Toms enlisted after graduating from high school in 2003, while Strieby went to Florida State University, where he was part of the Marine Corps ROTC.

Strieby was there to see Toms graduate from boot camp and become a Marine in 2003, and Toms was there to give Strieby his first salute upon receiving a commission in April.

Both Marines said the military had been their passion growing up, and enlisting was simply a natural progression from the days of their childhood role-playing.

Toms looks back on his military experience positively.

"It was quite a trip," he said. "I was honored to served my country. . . . I definitely felt some progress was made while I was over there" in Iraq.

He said he hopes to go to college and become a high school history teacher after he leaves the Marines in September.

Although they didn't see each other often during their high school years, their friendship has been strengthened by the bond they share as Marines, Strieby said.

"It's like nothing has changed," he said. "When we're laughing about things, it's like we're 12 years old again, laughing about something that happened in a video game."

Strieby calls Toms his "brother" and hopes they will live close to each other when they get older. That way, he said, his children would be able to get to know their "Uncle David."

Until then, Toms and Strieby will get to keep patrolling and protecting as they did when they were childhood friends, except that now their guns have real bullets instead of BBs, and their field of battle is a little larger than Strieby's Tabernacle backyard.

"I'm living the dream," Toms said. "Even since I was little, I've wanted to serve my country."