In Berkeley, that person — Bradley Manning — is considered a hero.

An Army private jailed for allegedly leaking sensitive military data is a hero and should be freed, according to a resolution under consideration by the Berkeley City Council.

The council is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to declare its support for Pfc. Bradley Manning, who’s suspected of providing WikiLeaks with classified military documents and a video depicting an Army helicopter attack in Baghdad in which 11 civilians were killed.

Manning, 22, currently in the brig in Quantico, Va., faces 52 years in prison if convicted. Manning has not commented on his guilt or innocence.

“If he did what he’s accused of doing, he’s a patriot and should get a medal,” said Bob Meola, the Berkeley peace and justice commissioner who authored the resolution. “I think the war criminals should be the ones prosecuted, not the whistle-blowers.”

The proposed resolution originated from the same commission that declared the Marine Corps “unwanted intruders” in Berkeley in 2008. The council’s ensuing approval – and reversal – ignited some of the city’s most raucous protest in years and prompted more than 25,000 e-mails to City Hall.

This time, however, the commission’s vote was not unanimous. The resolution passed on a 7-3 vote, and it’s likely to be just as contentious when it meets the City Council.

… Berkeley’s proposed resolution thanks Manning “for his courage in bringing the truth to the American people and the people of the world.”

The courage of the men and women in uniform currently defending the freedom of the Berkeley buffoons doesn’t matter. Berkeley moonbats have a long history of attacking the military, and the Marine Corps in particular. When a Marine Corps recruiting center opened in Berkeley, all hell broke loose, with Code Pink leading the way. The center was vandalized twice. Protestors started a near riot and attacked the police. The same commission looking to honor Bradley Manning passed a resolution, along with the City Council, calling the Marines “uninvited unwelcome intruders”.

Considering Berkeley’s anti-military history, it’s not altogether surprising that they would choose to honor someone like Bradley Manning. What exactly did Bradley Manning do that was do despicable? Well, he is allegedly the person who gave Wikileaks access to thousands upon thousands of files which have been released and are potentially harmful to our military.

The first to debut was the “Collateral Murder” video, which showed the deaths of two Reuters journalists who had chosen to embed with terrorists. This caused a firestorm of controversy against our military, which was once again smeared and slandered as being made up of ruthless, cold-blooded murderers.

Wikileaks then proceeded to release 90,000 pages of classified documents, which outed Afghan informants. This was unforgivable. The bravery of our United States troops is known and appreciated by most Americans, but many underestimate the danger that Afghan civilians put themselves in when they choose to work with us to bring the Taliban down. These informants, if discovered, will be murdered. Their families will be murdered. They took an incredible risk, and displayed unbelievable courage and bravery, and were rewarded by being sold out by a gay soldier who apparently felt like he was teased too much. (Because, you know, if someone hurts your feelings in high school you should definitely betray your country, put your fellow troops at increased risk, and sell out Afghan informants whose lives are on the line.) It’s reprehensible, and if any of these informants are killed, it’s Bradley Manning who has their blood on his hands.

Of course, saying all of this is like preaching to the choir. Most Americans find Manning’s actions to be despicable. Not the residents of Berkeley, however. No, to them Manning’s a hero. Someone to be honored. (This is also likely to be the only time that Berkeley ever sees fit to honor an American soldier.) Interestingly, this news report comes fresh on the heels of the news that Al Jazeera is now going to be broadcast over Berkeley radio waves.

These people don’t just drink the moonbat Kool-Aid, they bathe in it.

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Yesterday, I wrote about Wikileaks outing of hundreds of Afghan informants, whose lives are now at stake. Early on in the game, Private Bradley Manning was the suspected informant for Wikileaks, having already supplied them with the doctored “Collateral Murder” anti-American propaganda video. Well, it turns out that Manning may indeed be the person who supplied Wikileaks with these classified documents, as there is allegedly evidence to tie Manning to the documents.

Know what that means? it means he’s a traitor.

Investigators have found concrete evidence linking Pfc. Bradley Manning with the leak of classified Afghanistan war reports, a U.S. defense official said.

A search of the computers used by Pfc. Manning yielded evidence he had downloaded the Afghanistan war logs, which span 2004-2009, the official said. It isn’t clear precisely what that evidence is.

… The investigation is also looking at who might have helped Pfc. Manning provide the documents to WikiLeaks, a Web-based group that earlier this week released 76,000 secret reports from Afghanistan.

Alan Murray interviews Floyd Abrams, the legendary first amendment attorney, about the recent WikiLeaks disclosure and its relationship to the Pentagon Papers case.

Because of the focus on civilians who may have aided Pfc. Manning, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department have been brought into aid the investigation, which is being led by the Army Criminal Investigation Command.

Defense officials are also combing through Pfc. Manning’s computers in a bid to figure out what other material he may have stolenas they try to anticipate what other material WikiLeaks may have.

WikiLeaks says it has at least 15,000 more Afghanistan documents the group withheld until some details could be redacted.

Military officials said the documents already released contain names of Afghans who have aided the allied force, information that could potentially endanger some of those people.

Manning has endangered the lives of not only hundreds of Afghan informants, but of our soldiers as well. He’s directly aided our enemies in facilitating the release of these documents and of the “Collateral Murder” video. They’ve become a rallying cry for Al Qaeda and the Taliban, who are threatening revenge strikes now.

He should be tried for treason, and if found guilty, face a traitor’s death. He’s aided our enemies and put our troops and our allies in harm’s way. If anyone dies because of these documents, it will be a direct result of Manning’s actions, and he needs to be held responsible.

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Hundreds of Afghan civilians who worked as informants for the U.S. military have been put at risk by WikiLeaks’ publication of more than 90,000 classified intelligence reports which name and in many cases locate the individuals, The Times newspaper reported Wednesday.

The article says, in spite of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s claim that sensitive information had been removed from the leaked documents, that reporters scanning the reports for just a couple hours found hundreds of Afghan names mentioned as aiding the U.S.-led war effort.

One specific example cited by the paper is a report on an interview conducted by military officers of a potential Taliban defector. The militant is named, along with his father and the village in which they live.

“The leaks certainly have put in real risk and danger the lives and integrity of many Afghans,” a senior official at the Afghan foreign ministry told The Times on condition of anonymity. “The U.S. is both morally and legally responsible for any harm that the leaks might cause to the individuals, particularly those who have been named. It will further limit the U.S./international access to the uncensored views of Afghans.”

One former intelligence official told the paper that the Taliban could launch revenge attacks on “traitors” in the coming days.

Shame on Julian Assange. I’m just curious — does he have any idea the situation these informants are in? The risk they take in working with us? If discovered, they will be murdered. And it’s likely that they’ll see their families murdered, too. It’s such an incredible risk to take, and there’s such bravery in these informants, it makes me sick to my stomach to think that they have been betrayed. Betrayed by one of our own, the very people that they are helping. These people may very well die because of Julian Assange’s little act of treason, and it disgusts me. Even if they survive, it’ll be because they were moved, and they’ll be unable to continue helping us. And who would want to take their places, knowing that our previous informants had been outed?

Wikileaks whined earlier this year about collateral murder, and now, that’s exactly what they’re about to be party to. This is reprehensible, and I’m just curious — exactly how far will Obama allow this man to go before putting a stop to it? These brave Afghans are putting their lives at risk by helping us, because they have the audacity to want a better country than the one they currently have. And Julian Assange just signed their death warrants. I rarely say this, but God — I hope he burns in hell for this. He has blood on his hands, and I swear to God if he is not arrested then there is no justice in this world. Oh, wait, that’s right — he’s in hiding, the miserable little coward, behind the skirts of the Swedish government. So he can do all of this — published classified documents, put the lives of our informants at risk, hamper the war effort in Afghanistan — with no consequences.

Confederate Yankee reports that there’s a familiar traitor that may also be responsible for this.

The real suspected traitor in this mess is U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, the analyst who bragged to a white hat hacker that he had stolen over a quarter-million military and diplomatic documents and sent them to WikiLeaks. Manning was taken into custody earlier this year after being fingered by the military as the source of the Apache gun camera footage Assange turned into a propaganda film called “Collateral Murder” that Assange used for fund-raising and not a little self-promotion. Manning is also the primary and obvious suspected leaker of these documents, which may be part of the $250,000 he stole.

I argued back in June that Manning should be charged with treason. If he is found to be the source of those documents, his only choice should be between rope, bullets, or a needle.

I couldn’t agree more. Both Manning and Assange need to be held accountable for the treason they’ve committed.

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A U.S. citizen who lived in Turkey is among the nine people killed when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish aid ship heading for the Gaza Strip, officials said today. The victim was identified as Furkan Dogan, 19, a Turkish-American. A forensic report said he was shot at close range, with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian news agency.

Of course, he was just an innocent high school student wanting to bring aid to Gaza, right? Uh, no. At best, he is a terrorist sympathizer. He was in the company of 40 Al Qaeda terrorists. What more do you need to know? Any American involved with Al Qaeda is a traitor in my book. He got himself into his own mess. They were apparently hoping for martyrdom and pre-planned the violent altercation, so it isn’t exactly like this was just some innocent peace activist kid wearing burkenstocks and waving a peace sign.

Me frankly, I agree with Confederate Yankee. He was born to Turkish parents here and then left at the age of two. He allegedly never returned. This kid is an American on accident, someone who is technically a citizen but is not a legitimate part of our country. The media knows this, but now they have a brand new angle to spin. Not only did Israel murder innocent peace activists, but they murdered an American, too. To which I call BS.

American or not, if you pal around with terrorists, then you deserve to die like one. And this kid did. Bravo! I hope he’s enjoying his 72 virgins.

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He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1999, and served in Fallujah as a sergeant in 2004. Before being disharged in 2006, he was demoted to corporal for bringing a pistol he purchased in Iraq to the United States. He now portrays himself a libertarian conservative, and has even earned the endorsement of Ron Paul (surprise surprise). His shady background shows that he isn’t a conservative at all, that he was a poor NCO, and an awful excuse for a Marine.

After leaving the Corps, he joined Iraq Veterans Against the War. They’re a nasty little group. They’ve issued bomb threats against the Gathering of Eagles and threatend to assassinate Michelle Malkin. They’re the organization that gave us fake Army vet Jesse Macbeth. This is the group that Adam Kokesh aligns himself with. IVAW blames the war in Iraq on “corporate profiteering” and claim that the military is “broken”. It’s also extremely similar to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which was little more than a communist front group that held the views that America is an imperialist nation, and that our soldiers who aren’t against the war are murderers.

But don’t think that he’s some innocent bystander. Adam Kokesh has participated in some pretty disgusting stunts. He distributed a Islamophobic flyer on the George Washington University campus, but made it appear that the Young America’s Foundation printed and distributed the flyer. He also repeatedly protested wearing his Marine Corps uniforms. He flew to Germany and urged soldiers stationed there to go AWOL. He was arrested in 2007 for defacing public property. He would parade around in uniform holding an upside-down American flag:

He would also march in uniform for mock patrols during anti-war protests. When a Marine Corps major contacted him about wearing the uniform during protests, Kokesh responded by telling the Major to “please, kindly, go f*ck yourself”.

His actions after he joined IVAW caused the Marine Corps to reduce his honorable discharge to a general discharge. Yet Kokesh still represents himself as a sergeant who received an honorable discharge.

I spoke to the New Mexico Republican Party’s communications director today about his running in the primary as a Republican. The problem is that anyone who is a registered Republican can choose to run in a primary race. There’s nothing that can legally be done to keep him from identifying himself as a Republican, despite the fact that he holds absolutely no conservative or Republican principles. He talks like a patriot now, but what about his actions over the past six years? Apparently, we’re supposed to just forget all about them, and there are apparently plenty who are willing to do that. Kokesh is now appearing on Fox News with Judge Napolitano. He’s been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, the 912 Project, and of course, Ron Paul. He’s being praised as a “constitutional candidate”, which is utter bull considering he encourages members of the military to break their oath to always defend the Constitution. The man is a disgrace to the country and especially to the Marine Corps.

Yet he’s raising money. He’s getting attention.

There’s another option for District 3 Republicans: Tom Mullins. He deserves our support, and Kokesh deserves to be exposed as the anti-military, anti-American traitor that he is. If you know anyone who lives in New Mexico, make sure to pass this on and get the word out. We can’t let Kokesh get away with such a blatant lie. His home is not in the Republican Party, and unfortunately, the only way to ensure that is to make sure he does not get elected. So help us expose him for the traitorous fraud he is.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Cross-posted at The Green Room and Stop the ACLU.

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Not so long ago, Adam Gadahn, who has both Jewish and Catholic ancestry, was growing up on a goat farm in Orange County, California. Now he’s been charged with treason against the United States — “perhaps the most serious offense for which any person can be tried under our Constitution,” according to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty.

But Gadahn, aka Azzam al-Amriki or “Azzam the American,” 28, is accused of deliberately making the choice to leave his country and join al Qaeda, providing “aid and comfort” to the country’s most determined enemy.

Announcing the charges at an afternoon press conference at the Justice Department Wednesday, the Deputy Attorney General asserted that “in fact Mr Gadahn is the first person to be charged with treason against the United States since the World War II era.”

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Santa Ana, California, includes a second charge of providing material support to a terrorist organization.

But it is the treason charge that is most serious; in fact, it is so unusual that it is the only crime specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. In the entire history of the country, only about 40 individuals have ever been charged with the crime. The charge of treason carries a maximum possible penalty of death, but the decision whether to seek the ultimate penalty will not be made until Gadahn is apprehended and brought into court.

The FBI has him listed as one of their Top Ten Most Wanted Terrorists, and also lists his many aliases:

Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, Abu Suhail Al-Amriki, Abu Suhayb, Yihya Majadin Adams, Adam Pearlman, Yayah, Azzam the American, Azzam Al-Amriki

And now, he’s been captured.

Coincidentally, a video featuring Gadahn was just released today. You can see it here; in it, he praises Nidal Hassan (the Fort Hood shooter) and encourages other Muslims in the military to follow suit. JWF has a pretty good timeline of events.

The question now is, what will happen to Gadahn? If he’s handed over to the United States, its hard to not be worried when we have a president like Obama in office. It’s undeniable that he has, at the absolute least, given aid and comfort to our enemy. Will Obama be sure to get him a lawyer first? Read him his Miranda Rights and make sure he’s got a teddy bear to keep him comfy in his prison cell? The penalty for treason is death, but what are libs going to do? To them, even lethal freakin’ injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Frankly, if I had my way, Gadahn would be castrated, hung, and then drawn and quartered. Publicly, too.

But where should Gadahn be tried?

Knowing Obama, he’ll probably give him a nice civilian trial in federal court. Or will he? He’s reversed Eric Holder’s decision to give KSM and the other 9-11 conspirators a federal trial. In this case, though, would a federal trial be the best option? Considering the indictment for treason against him from 2006, a federal trial might not be a bad idea. He is a civilian, after all, and proving treasonous activity won’t exactly be difficult. The problem would be the sentencing. Even if he is convicted and sentenced to death, will he be able to just sit in a jail cell for decades until we finally get around to executing him? Jose Padilla was tried in a federal court and only got sentenced to 17 years and 4 months in prison. There’s also the possibility of an appeal with a federal trial. That can’t be allowed to happen. He needs to be convicted quickly and executed even more quickly. Would a military tribunal accomplish that?

The sad part about all of this is that we should be celebrating. Unfortunately, we have a president who we know is not concerned first and foremost for the safety of the country. Were President Bush still in office, no one would be worried that the president would be hemming and hawing about what to do. Obama, right about now, is probably worried about who he should betray: the American people or the liberals he represents. Obama has a serious chance here to redeem himself with the public. He needs a political victory, and bad. This would give it to him, and it would give him the patriotic, tough, strong appearance that Bush always had. Obama comes across as a pansy ass; this could be the first step towards changing that. The pathetic thing is that his reputation and a political victory are probably the only reasons he would act tough on this issue. If he thought being lenient would make him look better, that’s probably what he would do.

Here’s hoping that, for once, Obama will forget about his socialist liberal base and do the right thing for the country.

UPDATE: There’s been confusion over whether or not Gadahn is who was captured. It seems that if it wasn’t Gadahn, then it was some other American traitor who deserves to get executed mercilessly. The AP has updated their story, and Pakistani officials are saying that an American who has been charged with treason was captured. Sounds like Gadahn, right? But US officials haven’t confirmed the story.

Two Pakistani officers and a government official said Sunday that an American charged with treason for working with al-Qaida had been captured, a development that could deliver another significant blow in the U.S.-led battle against the terror network.

U.S. defense, intelligence and law enforcement officials could not immediately verify the reported detention of Adam Gadahn, a 31-year-old spokesman for al-Qaida who has appeared on videos threatening the West, including one that emerged earlier Sunday.

The reported arrest of Gadahn follows the recent detention of several Afghan Taliban commanders in Karachi, including the group’s No. 2. Those detentions have been seen as a sign that Pakistan, which has been criticized as an untrustworthy ally, was cooperating more fully with Washington.

Some observers were cautious about giving credence to the claim that Gadahn was in custody as reports emerged that the man arrested might instead be a Taliban militant leader. There was no way of independently verifying the arrest or identity, and detentions of terror suspects in Pakistan are often surrounded by conflicting reports.

So, is it Gadahn or isn’t it? Frankly, if Pakistani officials are saying it is an American who was charged with treason, it sure as heck sounds like it is Gadahn. And if US intelligence operatives weren’t involved in this capture, then how would they know whether it is or isn’t Gadahn?

Either way, an American traitor was caught and that’s reason to celebrate, whether it is Gadahn or not… unless of course Obama messes it all up and throws away an opportunity to execute a traitorous dirtbag.

Cross-posted at Stop the ACLU.

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And with that, let’s dive into the liberal reaction to Obama’s speech, shall we? (As always when we’re dealing with liberal bloggers, caution for language.)

One DUmmy commenter brought out the draft line, always a popular one:

I have an 11 year old nephew. I’m afraid when he is 18 he will be drafted and sent to fight and die in fucking Afghanistan. If Obama is re-elected my nephew will be 18 when Obama leaves office. Obama has given no indication that he has learned the lessons of Vietnam. I have no reason to expect anything different.

I am SOOOOOOO hoping there is a viable Dem candidate to oppose Obama in the next primaries.

There’s no evidence that a draft is even being considered, but hey, don’t let that stop your paranoid delusions, right? Liberals need a reason to oppose this war, because nothing could ever possibly be worth fighting and dying for to them — and especially not protecting an awful country like the United States.

Chris Matthews actually called West Point the enemy camp. Yes, really:

Another DUmmy claimed that this was all a grand conspiracy cooked up by Cheney and McChrystal… or something.

Cheney accused us of “dithering” because he wanted Democrats to own this failure, he will now no longer have to take responsibility for Afghanistan. McChrystal tag-teamed him. The president capitulated. I see Drudge is already calling this “Obama’s war”, and no doubt the sycophantic media will fall close behind. It’s now our failure, not theirs.

Good job! Outmaneuvered by the right wing again. What a spectacular fucking failure.

There was the prerequisite “Afghanistan is the next Vietnam!!!!!!” anguish — just like the liberals were saying seven years ago about Iraq.

Why doesn’t he get it!

Why doesn’t he get that there is NO VICTORY to be “WON” in Afghanistan?

Afghanistan is this nation’s next Vietnam.

I am so disappointed, BUT it’s not the first time.

I do however believe that he is still head and shoulders above hillary clinton and the john mccain/sarah palin ticket.

But that seems little comfort at this point.

WTF Obama!!!!! Are you kidding me?

Democrat Russ Feingold isn’t happy:

I do not support the president’s decision to send additional troops to fight a war in Afghanistan that is no longer in our national security interest. It’s an expensive gamble to undertake armed nation-building on behalf of a corrupt government of questionable legitimacy. Sending more troops could further destabilize Afghanistan and, more importantly, Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state where al Qaeda is headquartered. While I appreciate that the president made clear we won’t be in Afghanistan forever, I am disappointed by his decision not to offer a timetable for ending our military presence there. I will work with members of both parties and both houses of Congress to push for a flexible timetable to reduce our troop levels in Afghanistan, as part of a comprehensive strategy to combat al Qaeda in the region and around the world.

Over at the HuffPo, Scott Kurashige is shocked and disappointed that Obama would do this… even while admitting that he knew that Obama was going to do this. I think the best part is where he admits that no one voted for Obama based on his policies.

[H]ere we find ourselves a year later confronting the promise of more war. War: that most dehumanizing and destructive act which threatens the annihilation of all that is beautiful in the world.

True, Obama did warn us during the campaign that he would focus our national defense on Afghanistan rather than Iraq. So this order should not come as a total surprise.

Still, it was never Obama’s policies that were most inspiring. Hillary’s policy proposals were not that different and some of them were even superior. What moved diverse millions of Americans in an unprecedented manner was Obama’s ability to channel the spirit of Dr. King and the progressive movements that have expanded our humanity.

… While Afghanistan is not Vietnam, the urgency for peace is even greater today. And yet protest is not enough. We need to overwhelm the White House with our love. The love that Dr. King called agape–the love for humanity that leads men and women to go to any length to create the beloved community.

We need to replace those currently surrounding the president–advisers whose job is to prepare for, plan, and wage war–with real peace experts, with women and men whose mission, purpose, training, and experience are devoted to understanding and implementing Dr. King’s vision of creative nonviolence.

In 2008, the “yes, we can” millions did something the pundits once deemed impossible. Hope triumphed over fear.

That battle was won, but the war rages on.

The Kossacks are out in full force against Obama too, but this post by a wannabe politician caught my eye.

It is wrong to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

… When we escalate an indefinite occupation of Afghanistan… when we send unmanned bombers into nuclear-armed Pakistan… when we construct cement fortresses in Iraq… we only engender hatred, create new enemies, and propel a dangerous narrative that we are at war with the entire Muslim world.

… In Congress, I would vote to end the war funding and, instead, combat the real enemy in Afghanistan:

Poverty.
According to the charity Oxfam, unemployment in Afghanistan hovers at 40%. Some 250,000 Afghans are refugees in their own country, another 3-milllion are exiled in Pakistan and Iran. Inside landlocked Afghanistan, hunger and disease threaten to ravage the country.

What should we do?

I would vote to partner with indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) to put people to work growing alternative crops: apples and apricots

Yes… if only Afghanis had more fruit and more money, then surely all terrorism would immediately cease.

There were arguments against supporting the troops as you protest them:

here’s the thing though. helping a soldier in a way they could immediately see and feel… how about orders to ship stateside tomorrow? think they’d see and feel that immediately?

i know a few soldiers, as i’m sure you do too. and the ones i know would all rather have the war be over tomorrow than chex mix.

i still donated 2 old phones through the “cell phones for soldiers” program. but maybe it was just to make myself feel good, right?

WARNING: THIS COMMENT MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN SARCASM.

One Kossack just could not understand why someone would enlist in wartime anyways:

It’s a sincere confusion. I am in a similar position, and have done work helping feed homeless veterans for a long time, but many were from draft era Viet Nam.

Why do people join the military during war times?

I’ve always wondered this.

Can others who have been in the military explain it to me, because I’ve always wondered but never really asked before, and it’s a slightly awkward question.

I’m trying to figure out how to support the troops while actively opposing this war, and to not in any way make the two mutually exclusive.

Please, if you’re reading this, and have joined the military during the past 8 years (when it’s been clear that we’ve been in a state of war), can you share your reasons for joining?

I’ve mainly only ever heard the oppositional viewpoints. Usually quite loudly, at that, and in strident tones.

I want to understand so I can know how to better support you.

My entire family are religious pacifists, so pretend I’m like a naive Quaker, or something to that effect…

I do have a few friends who signed up, but all in the mid-90′s now. One is in Afghanistan, and several are in Iraq. But I’m not sure any are Democrats. Just people I knew from high school.

Thank you for your insights. This is new terrain for me.

Gee, I don’t know… maybe some people actually believe in fighting for their country, defending our freedoms. Maybe some people actually want to bring justice to the animals of Al-Qaeda who unleashed the hell of 9-11 on us. That’s impossible for liberals to understand, though, isn’t it?

It’s funny. During the entire Bush presidency, Afghanistan was the forgotten war to liberals. They howled about Iraq, and they initially said that we needed to be focusing on Afghanistan because Osama bin Laden planned 9-11, and that’s where he was, and Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with it. Now, with the Iraq war won and the focus moving to Afghanistan, liberals are howling that we aren’t going to lose there now.

They just can’t stand to see us win. When they say Afghanistan will be another Vietnam, I think what they mean is that they want another Vietnam. I think liberals want us to be humiliated and for tens of thousands of our troops to die. Then they can all act smug and superior, as if they knew this would happen all along, can cry their crocodile tears for the military families, and try to press for “peace” in the future.

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“When history calls, history calls.”

Historic legislation to expand U.S. health care and control costs won its first Republican supporter Tuesday and cleared a key Senate hurdle, a double-barreled triumph that propelled President Barack Obama’s signature issue toward votes this fall in both houses of Congress.

“When history calls, history calls,” said Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, whose declaration of support ended weeks of suspense and provided the only drama of a 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee. With her decision, the 62-year-old lawmaker bucked her own leadership on the most high-profile issue of the year in Congress, and gave the drive to remake health care at least a hint of the bipartisanship that Obama seeks.

At the White House, Obama called the events “a critical milestone” toward remaking the nation’s health care system. He praised Snowe as well as Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the committee, and declared, “We are going to get this done.”

Get that? Who cares about the policy or the legislation or the costs? It’s all about making history. But then, usually Congressional committees usually write the actual legislation first. In the case of Obamacare, there was only a summary to be passed.

Of course, she could still vote against the actual bill when the time comes. But then she’ll lose her status as the Democrats’ go-to gal for legislation that could ruin America and needs “bipartisan” support — and there’s always the chance to make history that she just can’t deny.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

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Marine Captain Richard Lund recruits college students and graduates as candidates for officer positions in the marines. But carrying out that job in Berkeley is not always an easy task.

He has listened to a variety of complaints from members of the anti-war group Code Pink in recent weeks.

“We are so shocked and horrified that the Marines have come to Berkeley to prey on our children,” said Zanne Joi, a Code Pink member.

Last week, the Code Pink group protested by defacing the recruiting center and calling the recruiters liars.

In the face of all this, one might ask why would any recruiter want to come to Berkeley?

Lund says that the office is close to the UC Berkeley campus and a BART station that it is convenient for recruits.

But what about the Berkeley attitude?

“It was a little bit of a consideration,” Lund said. “But this is my home. This is America. I’m from the Bay Area. I don’t mind being in any city, any neighborhood. To me it’s all home.”

The Marines did receive a couple of visitors who approve of their presence.

“It seems to me by trying to shut down recruiting on or near college campuses, you’re really violating the principles of free speech. And I find that repugnant,” said Berkeley resident Nancy Klein. “But we have to be a little bit crazy here, it’s kind of our persona.”

Here is how they defaced the center:

And the complaints the article spoke of? Code Pink wacko Diane Budd, who apparently was one of the organizers of the attack, was rather open on their motives, and it wasn’t just to complain:

Donning pink hats, T-shirts and badges, a group of 10 braved rush-hour traffic on Shattuck Avenue to protest against the recruitment office located at 64 Shattuck Square.

“If there are to be no wars, there can be no warriors,” said Dianne Budd, one of the organizers.

“We found out a few days ago and decided to make their lives miserable,” she said, pinning up “RECRUITERS LIE, CHILDREN DIE” posters on the office windows. “We want people to know that it’s here and we want to shut them down. If people had been in there we were ready to hand out information about GI rights. We just want to speak the truth.”

As Budd and her fellow organizers held a pink banner with “No military predators in our town” written on it, hundreds of cars, buses and trucks honked their support and waved.

No one came to drag the protesters away as they stood waving banners and talking for almost two hours.

“It’s my first-amendment right,” Budd said smiling. “Who’s going to stop me?”

They sure got a nice, warm welcome from the moonbats inhabiting Berkeley. And remember, don’t ever, EVER, question their patriotism.

Richard Lund, the recruiter in charge of the center, is firing back though. He wrote an open letter to the Code Pink wackjobs. Unlike just about anyone in Code Pink, he was intelligent, reasonable, calm, collected, and uninsulting (and in my opinion, makes them look even stupider than they make themselves look all on their own). Here’s an excerpt, but be sure to read the entire thing:

While the protest that you staged in front of my office on Wednesday, Sept. 26th, was an exercise of your constitutional rights, the messages that you left behind were insulting, untrue, and ultimately misdirected. Additionally, from the comments quoted in the Berkeley Daily Planet article, it is clear that you have no idea what it is that I do here. Given that I was unaware of your planned protest, I was unable to contest your claims in person, so I will therefore address them here.

First, a little bit about who I am: I am a Marine captain with over eight years of service as a commissioned officer. I flew transport helicopters for most of my time in the Marine Corps before requesting orders to come here. Currently, I am the officer selection officer for the northern Bay Area. My job is to recruit, interview, screen, and evaluate college students and college graduates that show an interest in becoming officers in the Marine Corps. Once they’ve committed to pursuing this program, I help them apply, and if selected, I help them prepare for the rigors of Officer Candidate School and for the challenges of life as a Marine officer. To be eligible for my programs, you have to be either a full-time college student or a college graduate. I don’t pull anyone out of school, and high school students are not eligible.

…

Next, scrawled across the doorway to my office, you wrote, “Recruiters are Traitors.” Please explain this one. How exactly am I a traitor? Was I a traitor when I joined the Marine Corps all those years ago? Is every Marine, therefore, a traitor? Was I a traitor during my two stints in Iraq? Was I a traitor when I was delivering humanitarian aid to the victims of the tsunami in Sumatra? Or do you only consider me a traitor while I am on this job? The fact is, recruitment is and always has been a part of maintaining any military organization. In fact, recruitment is a necessity of any large organization. Large corporations have employees that recruit full-time. Even you, I’m sure, must expend some effort to recruit for Code Pink. So what, exactly, is it that makes me a traitor?

The fact is this: any independent nation must maintain a military (or be allied with those who do) to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. Regardless of what your opinions are of the current administration or the current conflict in Iraq, the U.S. military will be needed again in the future. If your counter-recruitment efforts are ultimately successful, who will defend us if we are directly attacked again as we were at Pearl Harbor? Who would respond if a future terrorist attack targets the Golden Gate Bridge, the BART system, or the UC Berkeley clock tower? And, to address the most hypocritical stance that your organization takes on its website, where would the peace keeping force come from that you advocate sending to Darfur?

Finally, I believe that your efforts in protesting my office are misdirected. I agree that your stated goals of peace and social justice are worthy ones. War is a terrible thing that should only be undertaken in the most dire, extreme, and necessary of circumstances. However, war is made by politicians. The conflict in Iraq was ordered by the president and authorized by Congress. They are the ones who have the power to change the policy in Iraq, not members of the military. We execute policy to the best of our ability and to the best of our human capacity. Protesting in front of my office may be an easy way to get your organization in the headlines of local papers, but it doesn’t further any of your stated goals.

Michelle Malkin is asking for any Bay Area patriots to go to the recruitment center and show your support:

It would be nice if folks in the Bay Area could show up and counter-protest the Code Pinkos and show Capt. Lund some support. As they say: Eagles Up!

If you aren’t too fond of counter-protesting, or perhaps you don’t think you have the time, you can still show Capt. Lund some support. Stop by, thank him for his service. Make a phone call to the recruitment center to say thank you, let him know that what he’s doing is appreciated. If you can spare an hour or two though, show the Code Pink moonbats what real patriotism is and counter-protest.

Hat Tips: Michelle Malkin, Stop the ACLU

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Apparently, our troops in Iraq are not worthy of the wonderful and magnificent Kucinich’s presence (emphasis mine):

After praising Syria following a meeting in Damascus with President Bashar Assad, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich declared he will not visit troops in Iraq during his Middle East tour because he considers the American military presence in Iraq to be illegal.

“I feel the United States is engaging in an illegal occupation … I don’t want to bless that occupation with my presence,” Kucinich said in Lebanon, according to the Associated Press. “I will not do it.”

The Ohio congressman accused the Bush administration of destabilizing the Middle East and praised Syria for receiving Iraqi refugees.

“What most people are not aware of is that Syria has taken in more than 1.5 million Iraqi refugees,” Kucinich said, according to the AP. “The Syrian government has actually shown a lot of compassion in keeping its doors open and being a host for so many refugees.”

Those soldiers are just beneath him, see? Unworthy to lick his boots, let alone lay eyes on him.

Visit Iraq… sheesh. Why on Earth would a wonderful Democrat like him do that, when he can visit a terrorist state like Syria and undermine U.S. policies instead? I mean, Syria is right there with Iran in aiding terrorists in Iraq, not to mention giving all kinds of support to Hezbollah and Hamas. No wonder Kucinich loves them so much! They want to destroy the United States, too!

Again… this is what we call treason. Giving comfort and aid to enemies of the United States used to land you in front of a firing squad.

Not so in the kinder, gentler United States. Larry Craig is dangerous, and Kucinich isn’t.

We should all kneel at his altar, and pray to be worthy of him blessing us with his presence immediately… or maybe we can pray at a different altar for him to come to his senses, resign, and apologize to our troops and the American people for being such a traitorous asshat.

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