Good day Gold Star Families, I was contacted today from the Gold Star Mothers in Houston with a disturbing report that has taken place here recently. It involves a photograph taken by a journalist of a young Marine, LCpl Joshua Bernard from Portland, ME who was hit by a rocket. The picture is quite graphic & disturbing. Sadly, this young-dedicated Marine lost his life. LCpl Bernard's father asked that this picture not be published. The president of the Assoiciated Press, Mr. Tom Curley ran the photo any way. This picture was published in many national & international papers. The article accompanying the picture of course defends the reason for publishing such a graphic picture. I personally can not sit by quietly without posting my own dismay at such disrespect. If you would like to submit your own feelings, please do so by posting to info@ap.org God's blessings to you all & remember, Freedom is not free! It comes at a very high price. It should never be taken for granted. Hugs to you all, KIM
Kimberly Rairdan
Our email-
Mr. Tom Curley
Your organization recently published a photo of LCpl. Joshua Bernard who was hit by a rocket while serving our nation in Afghanistan. I understand that this Marines father had requested that the photo not be published. Your organization ignored this request.
This is one of the more despicable acts of total disregard of a fallen Marines parents wishes and disrespect of a fine Americans supreme sacrifice for his country.
As a parents of a fallen soldier we have long harbored disgust and contempt for the press. Your method to attract readership has failed and I will do all I can to bring your organizations lack of morality and decency into public view.
Shame on you Mr. Curley.
JC and Pam Colnot
Gold Star Parents and Co_Founders www.ourfallensoldier.com
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Obama plans to bring 9/11 self proclaimed mastermind to VA.
Dear Military Families United Member and Supporter, Military Families United has just learned that the President is planning to bring Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and his co-conspirators to Alexandria, Virginia for trial. This decision is not only dangerous but risks the lives of the more than 12,000 people who live and work within a mile of the courthouse and jail, and it makes our nation’s capital ground zero for the next terrorist attack.
These terrorists have already implemented an attack that killed nearly 3,000 innocent people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC. It defies logic to relocate these terrorists a mere five miles from the Pentagon, a location where they have already hit.
We cannot allow this happen!
It's not too late to change the President's mind. We need you to call the White House and tell the President to keep terrorists off of our soil. We need you to send this email to all of your friends and family and ask them to take action by calling the White House or signing our online petition: www.DontFreeTerrorists.org. Please tell the President that this decision will hurt not only the families of all of those lost on 9/11 but all of our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Call President Obama at 202-456-1414 NOW
We appreciate everything that you have done to help Military Families United and this cause but we need your help now more than ever. As Americans and military families we cannot stand quietly by and allow President Obama to endanger our national security by putting campaign promises above protecting our homeland.
We need your help! Donate to Military Families United to help us continue to hold the President accountable for these dangerous and reckless actions.
These terrorists have already implemented an attack that killed nearly 3,000 innocent people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington DC. It defies logic to relocate these terrorists a mere five miles from the Pentagon, a location where they have already hit.
We cannot allow this happen!
It's not too late to change the President's mind. We need you to call the White House and tell the President to keep terrorists off of our soil. We need you to send this email to all of your friends and family and ask them to take action by calling the White House or signing our online petition: www.DontFreeTerrorists.org. Please tell the President that this decision will hurt not only the families of all of those lost on 9/11 but all of our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Call President Obama at 202-456-1414 NOW
We appreciate everything that you have done to help Military Families United and this cause but we need your help now more than ever. As Americans and military families we cannot stand quietly by and allow President Obama to endanger our national security by putting campaign promises above protecting our homeland.
We need your help! Donate to Military Families United to help us continue to hold the President accountable for these dangerous and reckless actions.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Obama Admin. Proposes Possible Freeing of Gitmo Detainee
Obama Administration Proposes Possible Freeing of Gitmo Detainee Mohammed JawadJuly 30, 2009 ABC NewsPolitical Punch
President Obama's Justice Department Wednesday night proposed a way for District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle to order the freeing of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad, a writ of habeas corpus that will give Justice Department officials 22 more days to determine whether or not they can try Jawad in a criminal court in the U.S.
Jawad was arrested by Afghan police in December 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade into a vehicle containing two US troops and an Afghan interpreter. It's unclear how old Jawad was at the time, but he was almost certainly 17 years old or younger. Jawad confessed to Afghan police that he had committed the crime, but later told US officials that he only did so because he had been tortured by them, likely making the evidence unusable under President Obama's new rules for detainees.
The Justice Department says it has "newly available evidence" of Jawad's "involvement with the grenade attack on two U.S. servicemen." But the Justice Department isn't asking for more time to investigate the new evidence.
"We have informed the judge in this case that we will not contest the writ of habeas corpus and that we are not detaining Jawad in order to conduct a criminal investigation of his actions," Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said in a statement. "Instead, we have informed the court that there are a number of steps the government must undertake to comply with Congressional reporting requirements before any transfer can take place. In the meantime, Department prosecutors are investigating whether they can make a criminal case against Jawad, an effort that is proceeding separate and apart from his habeas case.
Miller said that the Obama administration "made a dramatic break with the policies of the past by rejecting the use of torture without exception or equivocation and making it clear that we will not rely on statements obtained through such methods. This case is one of more than a hundred initiated during the last several years that continue to work their way through the federal courts. It is clear that, in addition to serving as a recruiting tool for terrorists, the status quo left behind by the previous administration at Guantanamo is legally unsustainable, which is why we are working to close Guantanamo and develop a new legal framework to govern detention policy that is grounded in the rule of law and will strengthen our national security."
Under the Obama administration's proposed writ of habeas corpus for Jawad, the US government would "no longer treat petitioner Mohammed Jawad as detainable under the Authorization for Use of Military Force…" The government would be given seven days to submit the Congress the proper notification for Jawad's release in Afghanistan. Fifteen days after that, assuming Jawad is not brought up on criminal charges, the government would "promptly release petitioner Jawad from detention at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay and transfer him to the custody of the receiving government."
The Pentagon has asserted that Jawad in December 2002 "attempt(ed) to commit murder in violation of the law of war, by throwing a hand grenade into the passenger compartment of a vehicle transporting U.S. or Coalition Forces," namely Army Sgts. Michael Lyons and Christopher Martin, and interpreter Assadullah Khan Omerk.
"I received shrapnel and burns all along my left side," Martin later told a National Guard publication. The blast shattered his right eardrum, broke bones in his feet and left leg, and sprayed shrapnel into his eye, arm and leg. Lyons had similar injuries as well as damage to an artery in his right leg. Omerk had a head wound.
According to the Combatant Status Review Board report, Jawad, originally from Miran Shah, Pakistan, was recruited by six men attending the local Qari mosque to clear Russian mines in Kabul, Afghanistan. Affiliated with the Hezb-E-Islami organization, a terrorist group with long-established ties to Osama bin Laden, Jawad attended a "Jihad Madrassa" where he prepared to fight on the front lines. He attended a training camp in late 2002 where he received instruction on how to use AK-47s, shoulder-held rocket launchers and grenades, and he "told a senior Afghani police officer that he was proud of what he did and if he were let go, he would do it again."
The Pentagon said that according to Afghan policeman who witnessed the attack, there was only one suspect involved. In addition, the Pentagon said that a member of the Afghanistan National Security Council reported that Jawad "stated none of the people who trained him were around and he acted alone in the grenade incident." Jawad "also stated he was trained to target Americans and the Afghanistan government," the Pentagon said.
Jawad admitted having been there, but pleaded innocence. "I am not the person who threw the grenade," he said.
"I was there," he told the tribunal. "A person gave me something, but I did not know what the object was that the person gave me." After the incident, a "shopkeeper told me that it was a bomb and that I should go and throw it in the river. I put the thing back in my pocket and I was running and shouting to say 'Stay away, it's a bomb.' When I got close to the river, people [the police] caught me."
The Afghan police "tortured me. They beat me. They beat me a lot. One person told me, 'If you don't confess, they are going to kill you.' So I told them anything they wanted to hear. I told them anything they wanted me to say. By forcing me, beating me, and scaring me, I confessed."
Jawad's journey began, he said, when his uncle gave him money to go to the market in Pakistan. At prayer time he went to the mosque, where he was approached by a man who offered him a job to clear mines in Afghanistan, offering him 12,000 Pakistani Rupees to do the job. Whisked away by the man and another to a training camp, Jawad said, he was given "two small pills each day, which made me sleepy and forget my family. Two men came and told me to fire guns they said everybody does this and it is fun...They gave me injections in the leg and I hallucinated about many things, like my nose coming off and giving my ear to people. They showed me how to use the grenade, how to throw the bomb."
Jawad said that before the grenade incident, "they gave me orange chewing gum, chocolate candy and a tablet. When I took this pill I didn't know what I did. I was out of my mind. I couldn't think clearly."
During his detention at Gitmo, Jawad was subjected to sleep deprivation, according to his attorney, Air Force Major Reserve David Frakt, who referred to records indicating that prison guards had transferred Jawad "from cell to cell 112 times over a two week period, shackling, moving and unshackling him on average every two hours and fifty minutes," according to Human Rights First. "Just several months earlier, Jawad had attempted suicide."
The ACLU says that Jawad is one of two Guantanamo prisoners the US "has charged with war crimes for acts allegedly committed as juveniles...Jawad's former military prosecutor, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, supports the ACLU's legal challenge, and has stated that there is 'no credible evidence or legal basis' to justify Jawad's detention and prosecution, and that his release presents no risk."
But Military Families United holds the opposite view.
Referring to Jawad as "a terrorist who attacked and wounded two U.S. soldiers and an Afghan citizen in a grenade attack," Navy Commander Kirk Lippold (Ret.), former commander of the USS Cole and a senior fellow at Military Families United, asked, "How many more terrorists does the President need to release before he realizes the threat they pose to our troops? Our country and the brave troops that protect it should not be put at greater risk because vital national security decisions are being made to meet arbitrary deadlines and repay campaign debts to the ACLU. Americans ...We cannot allow terrorists to slip through our fingers because of misplaced and untrue political perceptions about Guantanamo Bay.”
Jawad's attorneys had requested that Judge Huvelle immediately order Jawad's release into the hands of the receiving government or "a neutral intermediary such as the International Committee of the Red Cross," but in a memorandum in support of their own proposed writ of habeas corpus, Justice Department officials say that isn't necessary since Jawad is currently being held in Camp Iguana, the least restrictive facility for Guantanamo detainees.
At Camp Iguana, the officials say, Jawad has "relative freedom of movement and opportunities for not only education, but also social interaction, physical exercise and recreational activities. Camp Iguana is a communal camp with wooden, hut-like living structures, which provide freedom to move about from different buildings designated for housing, prayer, library, laundry facilities, shower/bathroom, outdoor recreation, and lounge areas. Detainees also have free access to satellite television, books, newspapers, magazines, handheld games, puzzles, and art supplies."
Judge Huvelle is hearing the case this morning in Washington, DC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. plans to release AfghanBY MARISA TAYLORMcClatchy News ServiceJuly 30, 2009
The Obama administration on Wednesday said it plans to release a young Guantánamo detainee after military and civilian judges banned almost all evidence against him that they ruled was extracted through torture.Government attorneys, however, reserved the right to file new charges in federal court against Mohammed Jawad if they find evidence against him before he's freed.
The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle to grant them 22 days to release Jawad -- seven days to notify Congress of the release plans, as current law requires, and then 15 days until a cooling-off period mandated by law expires.
If no new charges are filed during that time, the government said it would promptly release Jawad. The Justice Department didn't specify where it would send him, but his lawyers say they expect he'd be returned to his native Afghanistan.
In a separate decision, another federal judge ordered a second detainee released late Wednesday because the government didn't have enough evidence against him.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department's handling of the Jawad case showed that the administration has ``made a dramatic break with the policies of the past by rejecting the use of torture without exception or equivocation.''
``It is clear that, in addition to serving as a recruiting tool for terrorists, the status quo left behind by the previous administration at Guantánamo is legally unsustainable,'' she said.
``We are working to close Guantánamo and develop a new legal framework to govern detention policy that is grounded in the rule of law and will strengthen our national security.''
Jawad's lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union said that while they're hopeful that their client will be sent home soon, they think the government should move more quickly.
``We're cautiously optimistic that they appear closer to recognizing that Mr. Jawad needs to be sent home as soon as possible,'' said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer with the ACLU's National Security Project.
Jawad was originally charged with throwing a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers in Kabul. A military judge ruled last year, however, that his confession to Afghan authorities had been coerced by torture. A federal judge in Washington earlier this month told Justice Department attorneys that without the confession they had no evidence against him and should consider sending him home.
President Obama's Justice Department Wednesday night proposed a way for District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle to order the freeing of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad, a writ of habeas corpus that will give Justice Department officials 22 more days to determine whether or not they can try Jawad in a criminal court in the U.S.
Jawad was arrested by Afghan police in December 2002 for allegedly throwing a grenade into a vehicle containing two US troops and an Afghan interpreter. It's unclear how old Jawad was at the time, but he was almost certainly 17 years old or younger. Jawad confessed to Afghan police that he had committed the crime, but later told US officials that he only did so because he had been tortured by them, likely making the evidence unusable under President Obama's new rules for detainees.
The Justice Department says it has "newly available evidence" of Jawad's "involvement with the grenade attack on two U.S. servicemen." But the Justice Department isn't asking for more time to investigate the new evidence.
"We have informed the judge in this case that we will not contest the writ of habeas corpus and that we are not detaining Jawad in order to conduct a criminal investigation of his actions," Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said in a statement. "Instead, we have informed the court that there are a number of steps the government must undertake to comply with Congressional reporting requirements before any transfer can take place. In the meantime, Department prosecutors are investigating whether they can make a criminal case against Jawad, an effort that is proceeding separate and apart from his habeas case.
Miller said that the Obama administration "made a dramatic break with the policies of the past by rejecting the use of torture without exception or equivocation and making it clear that we will not rely on statements obtained through such methods. This case is one of more than a hundred initiated during the last several years that continue to work their way through the federal courts. It is clear that, in addition to serving as a recruiting tool for terrorists, the status quo left behind by the previous administration at Guantanamo is legally unsustainable, which is why we are working to close Guantanamo and develop a new legal framework to govern detention policy that is grounded in the rule of law and will strengthen our national security."
Under the Obama administration's proposed writ of habeas corpus for Jawad, the US government would "no longer treat petitioner Mohammed Jawad as detainable under the Authorization for Use of Military Force…" The government would be given seven days to submit the Congress the proper notification for Jawad's release in Afghanistan. Fifteen days after that, assuming Jawad is not brought up on criminal charges, the government would "promptly release petitioner Jawad from detention at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay and transfer him to the custody of the receiving government."
The Pentagon has asserted that Jawad in December 2002 "attempt(ed) to commit murder in violation of the law of war, by throwing a hand grenade into the passenger compartment of a vehicle transporting U.S. or Coalition Forces," namely Army Sgts. Michael Lyons and Christopher Martin, and interpreter Assadullah Khan Omerk.
"I received shrapnel and burns all along my left side," Martin later told a National Guard publication. The blast shattered his right eardrum, broke bones in his feet and left leg, and sprayed shrapnel into his eye, arm and leg. Lyons had similar injuries as well as damage to an artery in his right leg. Omerk had a head wound.
According to the Combatant Status Review Board report, Jawad, originally from Miran Shah, Pakistan, was recruited by six men attending the local Qari mosque to clear Russian mines in Kabul, Afghanistan. Affiliated with the Hezb-E-Islami organization, a terrorist group with long-established ties to Osama bin Laden, Jawad attended a "Jihad Madrassa" where he prepared to fight on the front lines. He attended a training camp in late 2002 where he received instruction on how to use AK-47s, shoulder-held rocket launchers and grenades, and he "told a senior Afghani police officer that he was proud of what he did and if he were let go, he would do it again."
The Pentagon said that according to Afghan policeman who witnessed the attack, there was only one suspect involved. In addition, the Pentagon said that a member of the Afghanistan National Security Council reported that Jawad "stated none of the people who trained him were around and he acted alone in the grenade incident." Jawad "also stated he was trained to target Americans and the Afghanistan government," the Pentagon said.
Jawad admitted having been there, but pleaded innocence. "I am not the person who threw the grenade," he said.
"I was there," he told the tribunal. "A person gave me something, but I did not know what the object was that the person gave me." After the incident, a "shopkeeper told me that it was a bomb and that I should go and throw it in the river. I put the thing back in my pocket and I was running and shouting to say 'Stay away, it's a bomb.' When I got close to the river, people [the police] caught me."
The Afghan police "tortured me. They beat me. They beat me a lot. One person told me, 'If you don't confess, they are going to kill you.' So I told them anything they wanted to hear. I told them anything they wanted me to say. By forcing me, beating me, and scaring me, I confessed."
Jawad's journey began, he said, when his uncle gave him money to go to the market in Pakistan. At prayer time he went to the mosque, where he was approached by a man who offered him a job to clear mines in Afghanistan, offering him 12,000 Pakistani Rupees to do the job. Whisked away by the man and another to a training camp, Jawad said, he was given "two small pills each day, which made me sleepy and forget my family. Two men came and told me to fire guns they said everybody does this and it is fun...They gave me injections in the leg and I hallucinated about many things, like my nose coming off and giving my ear to people. They showed me how to use the grenade, how to throw the bomb."
Jawad said that before the grenade incident, "they gave me orange chewing gum, chocolate candy and a tablet. When I took this pill I didn't know what I did. I was out of my mind. I couldn't think clearly."
During his detention at Gitmo, Jawad was subjected to sleep deprivation, according to his attorney, Air Force Major Reserve David Frakt, who referred to records indicating that prison guards had transferred Jawad "from cell to cell 112 times over a two week period, shackling, moving and unshackling him on average every two hours and fifty minutes," according to Human Rights First. "Just several months earlier, Jawad had attempted suicide."
The ACLU says that Jawad is one of two Guantanamo prisoners the US "has charged with war crimes for acts allegedly committed as juveniles...Jawad's former military prosecutor, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, supports the ACLU's legal challenge, and has stated that there is 'no credible evidence or legal basis' to justify Jawad's detention and prosecution, and that his release presents no risk."
But Military Families United holds the opposite view.
Referring to Jawad as "a terrorist who attacked and wounded two U.S. soldiers and an Afghan citizen in a grenade attack," Navy Commander Kirk Lippold (Ret.), former commander of the USS Cole and a senior fellow at Military Families United, asked, "How many more terrorists does the President need to release before he realizes the threat they pose to our troops? Our country and the brave troops that protect it should not be put at greater risk because vital national security decisions are being made to meet arbitrary deadlines and repay campaign debts to the ACLU. Americans ...We cannot allow terrorists to slip through our fingers because of misplaced and untrue political perceptions about Guantanamo Bay.”
Jawad's attorneys had requested that Judge Huvelle immediately order Jawad's release into the hands of the receiving government or "a neutral intermediary such as the International Committee of the Red Cross," but in a memorandum in support of their own proposed writ of habeas corpus, Justice Department officials say that isn't necessary since Jawad is currently being held in Camp Iguana, the least restrictive facility for Guantanamo detainees.
At Camp Iguana, the officials say, Jawad has "relative freedom of movement and opportunities for not only education, but also social interaction, physical exercise and recreational activities. Camp Iguana is a communal camp with wooden, hut-like living structures, which provide freedom to move about from different buildings designated for housing, prayer, library, laundry facilities, shower/bathroom, outdoor recreation, and lounge areas. Detainees also have free access to satellite television, books, newspapers, magazines, handheld games, puzzles, and art supplies."
Judge Huvelle is hearing the case this morning in Washington, DC. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. plans to release AfghanBY MARISA TAYLORMcClatchy News ServiceJuly 30, 2009
The Obama administration on Wednesday said it plans to release a young Guantánamo detainee after military and civilian judges banned almost all evidence against him that they ruled was extracted through torture.Government attorneys, however, reserved the right to file new charges in federal court against Mohammed Jawad if they find evidence against him before he's freed.
The Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle to grant them 22 days to release Jawad -- seven days to notify Congress of the release plans, as current law requires, and then 15 days until a cooling-off period mandated by law expires.
If no new charges are filed during that time, the government said it would promptly release Jawad. The Justice Department didn't specify where it would send him, but his lawyers say they expect he'd be returned to his native Afghanistan.
In a separate decision, another federal judge ordered a second detainee released late Wednesday because the government didn't have enough evidence against him.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department's handling of the Jawad case showed that the administration has ``made a dramatic break with the policies of the past by rejecting the use of torture without exception or equivocation.''
``It is clear that, in addition to serving as a recruiting tool for terrorists, the status quo left behind by the previous administration at Guantánamo is legally unsustainable,'' she said.
``We are working to close Guantánamo and develop a new legal framework to govern detention policy that is grounded in the rule of law and will strengthen our national security.''
Jawad's lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union said that while they're hopeful that their client will be sent home soon, they think the government should move more quickly.
``We're cautiously optimistic that they appear closer to recognizing that Mr. Jawad needs to be sent home as soon as possible,'' said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer with the ACLU's National Security Project.
Jawad was originally charged with throwing a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers in Kabul. A military judge ruled last year, however, that his confession to Afghan authorities had been coerced by torture. A federal judge in Washington earlier this month told Justice Department attorneys that without the confession they had no evidence against him and should consider sending him home.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
ACLU AT IT AGAIN- STOP THIS NONSENSE NOW
ACTION ALERT: ACLU Fights To Allow Protestors At Military Funerals
Dear Friends,
As many of you know, my Michael gave his life in Iraq in 2005. The burial of my son was the hardest experience of my life and it is one that I know many of you have experienced with the death of your own son, daughter, husband or wife. I was fortunate that at Michael’s funeral there were no protestors. Many cities, states and even the federal government have protected the privacy of grieving families by creating a protective corridor around the funeral ceremonies and the families. Citizens are allowed to express their rights of free speech outside the corridor while the families are laying their loved one to rest. One such city that has protected the rights of grieving families is Maplewood , Missouri . Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined a lawsuit to sue Maplewood for regulating the funeral protests of our fallen Heroes.
My Michael fought and died for the rights of every American, the same rights that the ACLU now seeks to exploit. The ACLU will stop at nothing to drive an agenda that disrespects and degrades the service and sacrifice of our fallen Heroes and their families. Although these protestors have the right to protest and speak, freedom of speech cannot come at the cost of inflicting irreversible and irreparable harm on these families who have suffered so much. Every American should recognize just how wrong and hurtful these protests are for grieving families.
The current law banning the military protests clearly falls into the Constitution’s time, place, and manner restrictions on free speech. These protests are not only disrespectful to the service and sacrifice of our military, they pour salt into an open wound for those left behind. Our courageous men and women deserve more than to have their families' privacy disregarded and the honor of our fallen Heroes degraded for the sake of the ACLU's agenda.
ACLU needs to hear from us, real Americans who care about our troops and their families. We ask you today to call the ACLU and let them know that their disrespect for our troops and their families will not be tolerated.
To call the ACLU’s Headquarters call (212) 607-3300To find your local ACLU affiliate in your state click here
We appreciate all that you do for Families United and need your help to stop organizations that seek to dishonor our troops and their families.Sincerely,Merrilee Carlson, Chair - Shrek's Mom Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission
Dear Friends,
As many of you know, my Michael gave his life in Iraq in 2005. The burial of my son was the hardest experience of my life and it is one that I know many of you have experienced with the death of your own son, daughter, husband or wife. I was fortunate that at Michael’s funeral there were no protestors. Many cities, states and even the federal government have protected the privacy of grieving families by creating a protective corridor around the funeral ceremonies and the families. Citizens are allowed to express their rights of free speech outside the corridor while the families are laying their loved one to rest. One such city that has protected the rights of grieving families is Maplewood , Missouri . Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined a lawsuit to sue Maplewood for regulating the funeral protests of our fallen Heroes.
My Michael fought and died for the rights of every American, the same rights that the ACLU now seeks to exploit. The ACLU will stop at nothing to drive an agenda that disrespects and degrades the service and sacrifice of our fallen Heroes and their families. Although these protestors have the right to protest and speak, freedom of speech cannot come at the cost of inflicting irreversible and irreparable harm on these families who have suffered so much. Every American should recognize just how wrong and hurtful these protests are for grieving families.
The current law banning the military protests clearly falls into the Constitution’s time, place, and manner restrictions on free speech. These protests are not only disrespectful to the service and sacrifice of our military, they pour salt into an open wound for those left behind. Our courageous men and women deserve more than to have their families' privacy disregarded and the honor of our fallen Heroes degraded for the sake of the ACLU's agenda.
ACLU needs to hear from us, real Americans who care about our troops and their families. We ask you today to call the ACLU and let them know that their disrespect for our troops and their families will not be tolerated.
To call the ACLU’s Headquarters call (212) 607-3300To find your local ACLU affiliate in your state click here
We appreciate all that you do for Families United and need your help to stop organizations that seek to dishonor our troops and their families.Sincerely,Merrilee Carlson, Chair - Shrek's Mom Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Obama To Release Terrorist Into The U.S., Violating U.S. Law
Received this in our email, wanted all Gold Star Families and Friends to read- JC
Dear Military Families United Member and Supporter,
First, President Obama announced that he was closing Guantanamo Bay to fulfill two campaign promises without a plan on the future of the detainees. Then came the release of Binyam Mohammed, a terrorist who admitted to training at various al-Qaeda camps and has alleged to have plotted multiple attacks on American soil. After that came the announcement of two more GITMO releases, both of whom trained at al-Qaeda camps and met with Osama bin Laden. Today, Military Families United has learned that as many as seven GITMO detainees will be freed in the United States, which not only endangers the lives of American citizens but is a violation of U.S. law.
The seven terrorists, known as “Uighurs,” were captured on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and were trained at the al-Qaeda affiliated East Turkistan Islamic Movement (“ETIM”) Tora Bora camp. Many of you may recognize the name Tora Bora because in December of 2001, U.S. and Afghan forces were closing in on the location of Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Not so coincidentally the Uighurs were captured in the area around Tora Bora while Osama bin Laden was using an escape route from that region. And now these terrorists will be freed in the United States, no trial, no detention, no justice.
The release of these terrorists will not only endanger American citizens on our own soil but is against U.S. Law. U.S. law (8 U.S.C. 12 § 1182) which plainly states that any alien who had engaged in various forms of terrorist activity or training cannot be permitted into the United States. However, the Administration appears more concerned with the safety of these detainees than that of the American people and what our laws say.
We need your help to keep terrorists out of our country. If you haven’t signed our petition at DontFreeTerrorists.org, please do so today. Also, please send this email to 5 of your friends and family members to let them know about these newest developments.
Our brave men and women in uniform fought to capture these terrorists, only to be released onto US soil. We used to “fight them there, so we didn’t have to fight them here.” What kind of a message does it send our troops that while they are putting their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are chartering planes for those who they have captured to live in the very communities our military families live.
We need your help to let America know about the dangers of freeing suspected terrorists. We cannot allow our country be put in danger. Quotes from this morning’s papers:
“The Obama administration is preparing to free into the United States Chinese Muslims being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.” – Chicago Tribune
“Officials have not said where in the United States they (Uighurs) might live. But many Uighur immigrants from China live in Washington's Virginia suburbs, and advocates have urged that the detainees be resettled near people who speak their language and are familiar with their customs.” – Los Angeles Times PS- We know the media won't cover this story fairly. We are depending on you - and your ability to "spread the truth". Please continue to help us by forwarding this email to your friends and family and ask them to sign our petition. One person can make a huge difference. Please click on the link - www.DontFreeTerrorists.org and help us defend our country.
Dear Military Families United Member and Supporter,
First, President Obama announced that he was closing Guantanamo Bay to fulfill two campaign promises without a plan on the future of the detainees. Then came the release of Binyam Mohammed, a terrorist who admitted to training at various al-Qaeda camps and has alleged to have plotted multiple attacks on American soil. After that came the announcement of two more GITMO releases, both of whom trained at al-Qaeda camps and met with Osama bin Laden. Today, Military Families United has learned that as many as seven GITMO detainees will be freed in the United States, which not only endangers the lives of American citizens but is a violation of U.S. law.
The seven terrorists, known as “Uighurs,” were captured on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and were trained at the al-Qaeda affiliated East Turkistan Islamic Movement (“ETIM”) Tora Bora camp. Many of you may recognize the name Tora Bora because in December of 2001, U.S. and Afghan forces were closing in on the location of Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Not so coincidentally the Uighurs were captured in the area around Tora Bora while Osama bin Laden was using an escape route from that region. And now these terrorists will be freed in the United States, no trial, no detention, no justice.
The release of these terrorists will not only endanger American citizens on our own soil but is against U.S. Law. U.S. law (8 U.S.C. 12 § 1182) which plainly states that any alien who had engaged in various forms of terrorist activity or training cannot be permitted into the United States. However, the Administration appears more concerned with the safety of these detainees than that of the American people and what our laws say.
We need your help to keep terrorists out of our country. If you haven’t signed our petition at DontFreeTerrorists.org, please do so today. Also, please send this email to 5 of your friends and family members to let them know about these newest developments.
Our brave men and women in uniform fought to capture these terrorists, only to be released onto US soil. We used to “fight them there, so we didn’t have to fight them here.” What kind of a message does it send our troops that while they are putting their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are chartering planes for those who they have captured to live in the very communities our military families live.
We need your help to let America know about the dangers of freeing suspected terrorists. We cannot allow our country be put in danger. Quotes from this morning’s papers:
“The Obama administration is preparing to free into the United States Chinese Muslims being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.” – Chicago Tribune
“Officials have not said where in the United States they (Uighurs) might live. But many Uighur immigrants from China live in Washington's Virginia suburbs, and advocates have urged that the detainees be resettled near people who speak their language and are familiar with their customs.” – Los Angeles Times PS- We know the media won't cover this story fairly. We are depending on you - and your ability to "spread the truth". Please continue to help us by forwarding this email to your friends and family and ask them to sign our petition. One person can make a huge difference. Please click on the link - www.DontFreeTerrorists.org and help us defend our country.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Project Compassion
OFS- There are truly wonderful people and organizations in our country, Kennas' is one of them. Please visit her website- JC
Kenna Larra
In Honor Of All our fallen Heroes
Projectcompassion@manti.com
”Honor and Remember” - “Project Compassion” We love our Soldiers! We love our country and we cannot express enough love and compassion to the families of our fallen heroes. War does not discriminate – It breaks our hearts to see the faces of the fallen. We want to give this gift to you. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization! Over 1,450 portraits have been completed and shipped to the parents and or spouse - at no cost as this is a gift from one American to another!
Contact us directly at Projectcompassion@manti.com or go to www.heropaintings.com . If you have already had a portrait completed, we pray that you are enjoying the portrait and God Bless You.
Sincerely,
Kenna Larra
Kenna Larra
In Honor Of All our fallen Heroes
Projectcompassion@manti.com
”Honor and Remember” - “Project Compassion” We love our Soldiers! We love our country and we cannot express enough love and compassion to the families of our fallen heroes. War does not discriminate – It breaks our hearts to see the faces of the fallen. We want to give this gift to you. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization! Over 1,450 portraits have been completed and shipped to the parents and or spouse - at no cost as this is a gift from one American to another!
Contact us directly at Projectcompassion@manti.com or go to www.heropaintings.com . If you have already had a portrait completed, we pray that you are enjoying the portrait and God Bless You.
Sincerely,
Kenna Larra
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Your Action Required-
BREAKING NEWS: Obama To Release Another GITMO Terrorist
Dear Military Families United Member and Supporter, Last night, the Obama administration agreed to release yet another terrorist currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Ayman Saeed Batarfi, a Yemeni doctor, is a member of al-Qaida, supported the Taliban and has been an official of al-Wafa - another organization identified by the U.S. Government as a terrorist supporting group. The U.S. government had charged him with providing medical support to al-Qaida terrorists and he has freely admitted meeting with Osama bin Laden. As a medical doctor, he also worked closely with senior al-Qaida microbiologists while in Afghanistan and purchased medical equipment for al-Qaida.
He’s not the first
This is not the first terrorist that President Obama has set free. On February 23rd Obama released Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed was captured in Pakistan in April, 2002 and has admitted to training at various al-Qaida camps. He is alleged to have plotted multiple attacks on American soil and now he is free in England.
This frightening development means that we need your help more than ever. Please consider signing our petition below. If you’ve signed it already, please consider forwarding this email to friends and family.
Why is he being released?
Batarfi is being released not because he has been deemed innocent or no longer a threat, but because the evidence against him is not admissible in a civilian court. In other words, without your help, this could be the beginning of a disturbing trend that will prevent many of the remaining 240 GITMO detainees from standing trial and being brought to justice for their activities. Your voice can help stop this.
We need you!
As Americans and military families we cannot stand quietly by and allow President Obama to endanger our national security by putting campaign promises above protecting our homeland and our brave men and women in uniform. If this is frightening to you, please consider helping us fight once again. No timetable has been set for the Batarfi release so we have to take action now before he rejoins the fight to kill innocent people. We ask you to do three things:
Please visit www.DontFreeTerrorists.org and sign the petition that lets President Barack Obama know that we need to protect our country and keep terrorists locked up.
Please send this to every friend and family member you have today. It is incredibly important to grow our grassroots movement and we are relying on you to do it.
Donate Here
We need your help to let America know about the dangers of freeing suspected terrorists. Please forward this to your friends and family asking them to sign the petition. We cannot allow our country be put in danger. Quotes from this morning’s papers: “he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) had worked for a charity that had terrorist ties and that he had met with Osama bin Laden.” – New York Times (3/31/09) “Justice Department lawyers contend he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) was at one of al-Qaida's major battles, and not just as a charity worker.” – Associated Press (3/31/09)
“he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) was the chief medical adviser for a group designated a terrorist organization shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.” – Washington Post (3/31/09)
Dear Military Families United Member and Supporter, Last night, the Obama administration agreed to release yet another terrorist currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Ayman Saeed Batarfi, a Yemeni doctor, is a member of al-Qaida, supported the Taliban and has been an official of al-Wafa - another organization identified by the U.S. Government as a terrorist supporting group. The U.S. government had charged him with providing medical support to al-Qaida terrorists and he has freely admitted meeting with Osama bin Laden. As a medical doctor, he also worked closely with senior al-Qaida microbiologists while in Afghanistan and purchased medical equipment for al-Qaida.
He’s not the first
This is not the first terrorist that President Obama has set free. On February 23rd Obama released Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed. Mohamed was captured in Pakistan in April, 2002 and has admitted to training at various al-Qaida camps. He is alleged to have plotted multiple attacks on American soil and now he is free in England.
This frightening development means that we need your help more than ever. Please consider signing our petition below. If you’ve signed it already, please consider forwarding this email to friends and family.
Why is he being released?
Batarfi is being released not because he has been deemed innocent or no longer a threat, but because the evidence against him is not admissible in a civilian court. In other words, without your help, this could be the beginning of a disturbing trend that will prevent many of the remaining 240 GITMO detainees from standing trial and being brought to justice for their activities. Your voice can help stop this.
We need you!
As Americans and military families we cannot stand quietly by and allow President Obama to endanger our national security by putting campaign promises above protecting our homeland and our brave men and women in uniform. If this is frightening to you, please consider helping us fight once again. No timetable has been set for the Batarfi release so we have to take action now before he rejoins the fight to kill innocent people. We ask you to do three things:
Please visit www.DontFreeTerrorists.org and sign the petition that lets President Barack Obama know that we need to protect our country and keep terrorists locked up.
Please send this to every friend and family member you have today. It is incredibly important to grow our grassroots movement and we are relying on you to do it.
Donate Here
We need your help to let America know about the dangers of freeing suspected terrorists. Please forward this to your friends and family asking them to sign the petition. We cannot allow our country be put in danger. Quotes from this morning’s papers: “he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) had worked for a charity that had terrorist ties and that he had met with Osama bin Laden.” – New York Times (3/31/09) “Justice Department lawyers contend he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) was at one of al-Qaida's major battles, and not just as a charity worker.” – Associated Press (3/31/09)
“he (Saeed Abdullah Batarfi) was the chief medical adviser for a group designated a terrorist organization shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.” – Washington Post (3/31/09)
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