Care to guess the politics of whoever perpetrated this outrage?

The gravesite of a Southeast Texas Marine killed in Iraq has been vandalized just days after hundreds of mourners turned out for his funeral.

Lance Cpl. Jeremy Burris of Liberty was 22.

Burris died Oct. 8 when an explosive device went off in the Al Anbar province. His services were held Tuesday.

Workers at Cooke Memorial Cemetery on Friday discovered flags and posters had been torn apart, plus flowers were cast aside. The incident is under investigation.

I cannot even begin to express my horror and outrage over this evil deed.

My prayers are with the Burris family as they struggle with the new pain these America-hating cretins have perpetrated against them and their son, who gave his life for his country.

Here is coverage of Lance Corporal Burris' funeral earlier this week.

UPDATE: Haven't had a chance to get back to this one, but Lee's comment does lead me to link to this story -- which indicates the motive was greed, not hatred of the troops.

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Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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The awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor to a New Yorker didn't make the cut for the Paper of Wreckage.

The posthumous award of the nation's highest battlefield honor to a Long Island war hero has become an other black mark for the Gray Lady.

The New York Times carried not a whisper of news yesterday about the bestowal of the Medal of Honor to Navy Lt. Michael Murphy of Patchogue - the first time the honor has been given for action in Afghanistan.

How did other papers cover the story?

Every major daily paper in New York took note of President Bush's deci sion to bestow the first Medal of Honor of Operation Enduring Freedom on Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy - a Long Islander who gave his life for his country and his fellow SEALs.

Every paper but one, that is.

And it shouldn't be particularly hard to guess which one.

By now, most folks know exactly how much The New York Times despises the U.S. military.

Utterly shameful, that's the only way to describe this case of editorial malpractice.

Can we concede that Ann Coulter had it right about them?

Posted by: Greg at 06:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The New York Post puts it so much better than I could.

October 12, 2007 -- President Bush announced yesterday that the nation's highest military distinction will be awarded - posthumously - to a Long Islander of incredible valor.

Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Patchogue native and Navy SEAL, was deep in enemy territory in Afghanistan two years ago when Taliban gunmen ambushed his unit. Forsaking cover, he was shot as he scrambled into the open to send a distress signal back to the base.

He succeeded - but was killed in the ensuing gunfight.

Lt. Murphy will be the first to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in Operation Enduring Freedom. The president will present it to his parents at the White House on Oct. 22.

Make no mistake: Americans owe their freedom to all the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. But the courage and instant self-sacrifice that sustains their effort can be seen most clearly in heroes like Lt. Murphy.

His father told a reporter that he considers the medal "a public recognition of what we knew about Michael - of his intensity, his focus, his devout loyalty to home and family, his country and especially his SEAL teammates and the SEAL community."

No one could be more deserving of the honor.

All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Murphy - and New Yorkers can take special pride in the memory of a local hero.

Murphy, 29, was leading a four-man observation team in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains when they were spotted by Taliban fighters on June 28, 2005. During the intense battle, Murphy and two of his men — Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson — were killed, and a fourth man, former Special Warfare Operator 1st Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell, was seriously wounded but managed to escape. Luttrell was rescued days later.

Murphy, known as “Mikey” to his friends and family, shot and wounded, managed to crawl onto a ridgeline and radio headquarters at the nearby air base for them to send in reinforcements. Taliban fighters were closing in on the team’s position, shooting their weapons and firing rocket-propelled grenades.

“Mikey was ignoring his wound and fighting like a SEAL officer should, uncompromising, steady, hard-eyed, and professional,” Luttrell wrote in his recently published book, Lone Survivor, about his military experiences, his team and the events of that day and the deaths of his teammates, his friends.

What more can I add besides tears – tears of sadness, of admiration, and of pride that our nation produced a man who would “lay down his life for a friend”.

H/t Don Surber, Michelle Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 10:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But I guess not, if it gets in the way of liberal talking points.

After all, why else would the New York Times make so much of this criticism of the chief investigator of the so-called "war crimes" at Haditha -- which now appear to not have been crimes at all.

“When you have an investigating officer like Ware, who says ‘don’t go there if you can’t prove,’” your case, Mr. Solis said, “we’re left with what appear to be very reduced charges.” He added: “He’s aggressive, and he seems to make his judgments without regard for anything but the law. He must know that people — civilians, primarily — are going to howl about this, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern.”

I'm curious why this criticism would be made in the first place by Georgetown Law professor and former marine judge Gary D. Solis. After all, shouldn't the decision to bring or dismiss charges -- as well as the outcome of the case more generally -- be based upon the law and nothing but the law?

Is Mr. Solis suggesting that these trials should move forward anyway, despite the fact that it is obvious that the charges cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt? Does he really believe that we should put these American fighting men through a political show trial to please those who would use that trial to discredit the war? Such a position is disgraceful, and should result in the immediate reexamination of every case that Solis was involved with during his military service to determine whether or not justice was truly done.

And Lt. Col. Paul J. Ware, the investigator, gets it exactly right when he rejects holding such sham proceedings.

In an unusual departure from the analysis of the facts in Lance Corporal Sharratt’s case, Colonel Ware warned that putting marines on trial for murder without having the evidence to prove it could “erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq.”

More than that, it would legitimately call into question the military justice system -- and, for that matter, the entire criminal justice system in the United States. If we are going to begin to hold trials knowing there is insufficient evidence in order to satisfy the political agenda of a screaming mob, then we no longer have a criminal justice system.

Solis should be ashamed of himself -- but he won't be, because he has been pushing a rush to judgment since the Haditha charges were first made -- as should the New York Times, which included his comments in an article intended to sway readers to believe that respecting the due process rights of our servicemen is illegitimate.

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Posted by: Greg at 12:26 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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