I hope you don’t mind me writing you and updating you on Chris’ return home. I’m not sure I can cry any more tears and remain strong for my family too without talking with somebody. My head is in a spin and my heart aches as we start the process of bringing Chris home. Today Natalie, Caroline, Ryan and I were flown to Dover Air Force Base to witness the dignified transfer ceremony. It is the ceremony where our men and women in uniform take heroes and render honors as they return to American soil. I’ve had to do some difficult tasks in my life and Army career, but I have to say that standing there in the rain and cold and watching our military men and women take loving care of my son, like they have with the thousands who have preceded him was about too much to bear. It was too much for Caroline, she collapsed at seeing her beloved husband and Ryan’s daddy, in a flag draped transfer case, being unloaded from the plane and put into the van which has taken Chris to the mortuary unit to prepare him for his trip home.

I was moved by the reverence and care the honor guard, the general officer, the chaplains the mortuary staff, the security detail and even the military families on Dover Air Force Base gave to Chris and my family on the way to and from the flightline and during the transfer. I can’t imagine where these people find the strength to do this over and over again. They too, are truly heroes-military and civilian alike.

But I thought you should also know about the other heroes we ran into today, because they made my heart swell with love and pride, even as it was breaking. It started with the United check-in clerk who moved or bumped somebody out of premium seating to ensure that Natalie and I could sit together on the flight to Philadelphia. It continued with the flight attendant who leaned over and whispered some tender words to my wife as she sat crying on the plane, holding the picture or her “baby and his baby” (Chris and Ryan) that I shared with you.

Then came the cascade of wonderful gestures, messages and visitors who were ensuring that my kids, family and friends who could not go with us, were being comforted and feeling the love and reverence for Chris that we received today. Finally I have to say two final events happened which made my soul soar and my tears start anew.

First, Caroline told me, that a gentleman on her flight overhead her talking with her military escort about Chris’ death and he politely asked Caroline to speak with him at the arrival gate when she got off the plane. When she got off the plane, the gentleman was standing there and he said he owned a business and he always supported the troops and he wanted to help her out. He placed several folded bills in her hand and said “buy something nice for your baby.” Then he walked away without introducing himself. Caroline put the bills in her pocket and went to baggage claim. Later today, Caroline was telling us about this kind gesture and she pulled out the folded bills. She said, “I think he gave me twenty dollars.” She was wrong. He had given her five hundred dollars. Natalie and I started crying for a stranger who’s only wish was to do something nice, without recognition or reward. When I decided to share this story with you, that ‘s when the second event occurred. I read all of the comments under Chris’ picture and the outpouring of care, concern and reverence that the readers of KisP offered to us. I couldn’t stop crying. We are overwhelmed that so many people took the time to offer a part of their heart in an effort to save ours. You all are heroes to me and my family. And I guess this brings me to my main point. What a wonderful country this is, surrounded by people who offer their treasure, their service, acts of simple kindness and even their hearts to help a stranger in need. I am confident we will prevail against the evil that is plaguing humanity. Thank you for putting Chris’ sacrifice into perspective for me. I think I might even get through these dark times.

May the Almighty God bless and keep you and reward you in this life and the next.

Mike

Rev. Al Sharpton is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who Sharpton charged on Saturday had inaccurately portrayed his role in a famous 1991 New York riot.

The latest spat between the two public figures concerns an op-ed Limbaugh published in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning. In it, the radio host fires back at critics who said Limbaugh was too divisive to become owner of the St. Louis Rams’ football franchise—an argument advanced most vocally by Sharpton, who even wrote a letter to the league commissioner last week asking him to reject Limbaugh’s bid.

Limbaugh’s op-ed on Saturday attempts to answer almost all of those original arguments, but he also takes a shot at Sharpton’s remarks specifically. He writes:

“It didn’t take long before my name was selectively leaked to the media as part of the Checketts investment group [which was bidding for the team]. Shortly thereafter, the media elicited comments from the likes of Al Sharpton. In 1998 Mr. Sharpton was found guilty of defamation and ordered to pay $65,000 for falsely accusing a New York prosecutor of rape in the 1987 Tawana Brawley case. He also played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews “diamond merchants") and 1995 Freddie’s Fashion Mart riot.”

Sharpton, however, said in a statement obtained by CNN that Limbaugh’s recollection of the facts was “blatantly wrong.” From the statement:

“Mr. Limbaugh’s blatant and defamatory statements regarding the Crown Heights Riots falsely give the impression that Rev. Sharpton was present during the violence…

A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are ‘deceptive’.

The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm bust, residents claimed yesterday.

The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra.

If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts, residents said.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - From photographs of the wreckage, Richard Moore figured the odds were extremely poor that anyone survived the fiery plane crash in Alaska’s Denali National Park. Remains were spotted in the burned tangle of metal. Then the park ranger medic got word that the pilot of the Cessna 185 had walked 20 miles for help, despite significant injuries, following the crash that killed his passenger, wolf biologist Gordon Haber. Rushing to respond, Moore braced for the worst, but found Daniel McGregor to be alert and in good spirits, although he had serious burns to his face and hands. The pilot’s clothing was burned as well.
...
McGregor walked about 16 miles before he encountered two campers. The three walked another four miles to where the campers had parked their car, then drove more than an hour to McGregor’s home, where he called his family and Alaska State Troopers....
...
A flight plan indicated Haber and McGregor were looking for wolf packs. Haber, an independent biologist, was a frequent visitor to Denali and for years pushed for greater protections for the wolves when they venture outside park boundaries where they can be trapped and hunted. The 6-million-acre park has about 100 wolves and more than a dozen wolf packs.

Yep, protecting the wolves from a nice, safe airplane.
Good thing the local wolf packs knew he was a friend, eh?

This is a hoot.
via Chrissie

U.S. President Barack Obama touches the forehead of a student during a visit to Martin Luther King Charter School during his first presidential visit to New Orleans October 15, 2009.

We see what you did there.  Knock it off.

Let’s look at this statement as a prime embodiment of the whole, currently popular, ”raaaaacist” meme.

But Limbaugh has long history of the same insults and race baiting, to the point of declaring he hoped the President of the United States, a black man, fails.

rly? 

Your primary evidence to support such sentiments as “bigot,” “anger and offend me,” “insults,” “race-baiting” and “nasty” is that one man so disagrees with the policies of another that he hopes the policy-maker fails to implement those policies.  And that you term ”raaaaacist?”

Your phrasing [”...declaring he hoped the President of the United States, a black man, fails."] implies that to question or disagree with “a black man” is, in itself, raaaaacist.  Skipping right over the notion that policies have nothing to do with the race of the person who originates or supports them, your statement assumes that Obama’s policies spring directly from the black half of his persona and then declare that they must be sacrosanct because of that.  rly?

As if “a black man,” in his childlike simplicity, could not manage to support his own policies in a national discussion and would need the paternal protection of *cough*white*cough* pundits like yourself.  rly? Did you just say that out loud?  In print?

I suggest that is the most disagreeable form of racism.  You are suggesting this nation treat someone differently—regardless if it is more harshly or more gently—simply because of his race.  But you compound the insult by suggesting that we must treat this person more gently, adding the implication that Obama—because of his race—would be incapable of defending his own freely made choices.

To refuse to give an individual the respect of taking his policies seriously enough to address them directly and to withhold any fact-based/Values oriented criticism simply because of his race is, on my planet, a deadly insult.

But you do what you will.

To suggest that others follow your lead is reprehensible and compounds the insult.  To make that suggestion into a meme which has, for significant parts of the ”intelligentsia,” become a societal norm which they are attempting to impose on an entire nation, is reprehensible.  And, I sincerely hope, disingenuous.  For, if that is truly your feeeling, I doubt you should be allowed to leave the building.  Street traffic would frighten and confuse you and the task of feeding yourself would confound you to the point of tears.

Yet More:  I was taking the quote above as representative of a wide range of writers and ‘turfers across the media and directing my remarks at the broader meme.  As I clicky over and find out that this particular author is a black man, I believe we are in deeper trouble than I feared.

quote found via Ace

In a strange twist to an already complicated legal situation, artist Shepard Fairey admitted today to legal wrongdoing in his ongoing battle with the Associated Press.

Fairey said in a statement issued late Friday that he knowingly submitted false images and deleted others in the legal proceedings, in an attempt to conceal the fact that the AP had correctly identified the photo that Fairey had used as a reference for his “Hope” poster of then-Sen. Barack Obama.

“Throughout the case, there has been a question as to which Mannie Garcia photo I used as a reference to design the HOPE image,” Fairey said. “The AP claimed it was one photo, and I claimed it was another.”

New filings to the court, he said, “state for the record that the AP is correct about which photo I used...and that I was mistaken. While I initially believed that the photo I referenced was a different one, I discovered early on in the case that I was wrong. In an attempt to conceal my mistake I submitted false images and deleted other images.”

In February, the AP claimed that Fairey violated copyright laws when he used one of their images as the basis for the poster.  In response, the artist filed a lawsuit against the AP, claiming that he was protected under fair use. Fairey also claimed that he used a different photo as the inspiration for his poster.

After Fairey’s admission, a spokesman for the Associated Press issued a statement saying that Fairey “sued the AP under false pretenses by lying about which AP photograph he used.”

Fairey said that his lawyers have taken the steps to amend his court pleadings to reflect the fact that “the AP is correct about which photo I used as a reference and that I was mistaken.”

Shouldn’t any money obtained from his “art” rightfully belong to the AP now?

I just received the news that our “Annoying Mike” lost his son in the line of duty today in Afghanistan. I don’t know what details Mike’s comfortable with me sharing at the moment. As soon as he’s able to let me know I’ll pass them on.

and bumped

I don’t have the details yet on Chris’ death.  I was told it was an IED.  Chris is my oldest son, 28 years old and a father for his little boy Ryan and husband to Caroline, his wife.  I have attached a picture of Chris and Ryan, who turned one year old last month while his daddy was in Afghanistan.  The picture was taken on the day of his departure.  This was Chris’ 4th tour in harm’s way-once to Kosovo, twice to Iraq and now Afghanistan.  He is a SGT in the Military Police Corps.  I’m also including a hyperlink to an article which made me very proud of my son.  It won’t be hard to figure out our family name, but that’s ok-it’s time I came out of the shadows and started advocating for my son and his comrades. ...

...Please keep Chris, Caroline, Ryan and my family in your prayers.  We have another son, Jordan, who was inspired by his older brother’s love of country and the service to join the Army as well.  He is scheduled to deploy next year....

Shortly before I left for the California trip, Mike and I chatted briefly about all of us doing our little something for his son and his unit and I’d asked Mike to give me a beminder after I got back.

We never got a chance. So now, I’d like to offer Mike and his family any support we can give…

While I know that you don’t know Chris or for that matter, even me, I have felt a kinship with you and the folks at KisP. I appreciate all that you have done and all that you will do for our troops. Please pass on my thanks to all who been tolerant of my rants and quips, but more importantly, for all that they have done for our men and women in uniform.

God bless you.
“Annoying Mike”

God bless you, Mike. While I am at a loss for words I hope you know that my broken heart is with you…

the most annoying things on the web

# 1: Larry Hill