Discussion with Anonymous.

I am a huge believer of free speech but not at the cost of someone else. Anonymous I have removed your comments from my recent post about a grieving Marine wife for a very big reason. That post links to her blog and if she has trackback on her blog will easily be found not only by her but by others grieving the loss of a very amazing man and a hero. I think your comments, especially when her grief is raw could cause her some pain and I don't want that. So I wanted to address you most recent comment here because I think it needs to be said and then I have no intent to respond again.

First comment:

Anonymous said...

Why do they do it? I don't know about you Lila but I read stuff like that and get so damned mad. All that hurt and pain...for what?

I sometimes think the best thing to do with those effing moslems is just drop a great big friggin bomb on them and walk away...

That poor woman doesn't deserve it.

This was my response:

Lila said...

No one deserves that kind of pain. To lose the love of your life in the first blush of marriage is a huge travesty. BUT my thinking is that no one small thought defines an entire group. I have met quite a few muslims who are as disgusted by the few using their religion to kill and maime. Catholics have done it. Even my church I love has had its few who used the faith as a war banner. The faith is not the one we fight against. It is those who make their mission in life the persecution and opression of others. We may not agree with the war or its reasons for starting but every soldier I know would say they have no regrets on serving and would do it again. Most are proud of their service because it is not about the mission it is about honoring a country that at the majority is hard working hard loving and free. Decemating a region goes against what they fight for.

This is the reply I found this morning when I got up.

Anonymous said...

I agree we have good moslems and bad moslems Lila...but we can't fight the bad ones and save the good ones. All we are doing is getting America's best men killed by the worst 3rd world human trash - and nobody pays the price more so than mom and the kids at home.

This warm fuzzy approach to war failed in Viet Nam, it darn near cost the war in Iraq - and it is failing miserably in Afghanistan.Can you imagine how WW2 would have turned out if we only targetted the 'bad' nazis? And argued endlessly among ourselves about exactly who those bad nazis were? If we gave them full benefit of the doubt, the luxury of human shields, and the benefit of endless 'due diligence' as we tried to gather enough evidence to justify a kill? They would have eaten us alive!

Hell, we aren't even trying to distinguish good moslems from bad ones anymore. They are radicalizing their youth against us right here in north America right now.Rabid imams and mullahs are actively preaching race hate. They've done the same in Europe and now they are doing it here. Yes, I know full well there are good moslems - but wherever their faith goes, bloodshed follows. And these supposedly 'good moslems' do nothing about it!They go quiet as church mice! If Americans pulled crap like this we would literally have a civil war over it.

That is what enrages me most about this. We can't deal with these people with kid gloves. Until we understand that, the man's death, the woman's grief, the children's loss - all of that hurt and pain and blood is for nothing.

Sorry for the rant Lila...but that woman's plight got me right in the heart. She doesn't even have the comfort of knowing that her husband's death was for a good cause. We deserve better than that.

Okay, Once again I appreciate free speech and different opinions. It is a right I employ regularly with this blog, with life, and with writing. That being said I do think there is a time and a place for rants. I think your rant is cowardly. I am pretty sure I speak for all 3 of us. You come to our blog and read and we love readers but you post on a blog connected to a grieving widow belittling the mission her husband died serving and you don't even have the guts to use your name or even take the time to consider what she would feel reading your comments.

Now to your rant itself. It is not our job to choose who lives or dies. What chooses that and I am willing to bet the men who served and are serving agree is weather or not they are the one pointing the gun, carrying the bomb, or shouting their rhetoric. There are proven reports of good Nazi's. Men who put on the uniform to save their own lives and that of their families and then used that uniform to run info to our allies, help Jewish families escape, or even hid Jewish families themselves. No people is defined by a label in my opinion and it is thinking and judging a complete group based on the misdeeds of some that is bringing the world down. Maggy had a very close friend who honestly was like family during her marriage to a soldier. This soldier fought hard for the US. He wore his fatigues with courage and pride and he never wavered from his commitment to this country and to the mission even during his deployment. He was Muslim. To belittle an entire group of people belittles his sacrifice for your right to bash him and it disgusts me. Before you spew hate take a moment to think. Think about who it could impact and who could be reading it. Remember when you do that the woman you feel bad for stands up with courage and pride in her husband. My nephew is serving overseas right now and while he is not in a combat zone I still worry and have pride in him and his service. I am proud of every member serving. They are not doing it to fight against any one but to fight for those who need them and for the country they love. Once again the mission isn't the issue. They see the big picture. White, black, Catholic, Muslim, Straight, or Gay. It doesn't matter to them. They serve to protect the ones they love and the country they love and the values they love.

So before you come onto our blog and anonymously rant about anyone or anything remember: While I am a firm believer of free speech on this blog my free speech trumps yours. If you can not show respect to our troops and their sacrifices then don't speak.

WikiLeaks = stupidity!

I have stated before that I am all about our rights. Free speech is a big one and one I support. I will never be able to state enough that personal responsibility and accountability has got to come in to play. Just because we can say or do something due to these rights we have been given does not mean that it is the right thing to do. Having rights and being right can be very different things.

Many are saying that this WikiLeaks thing is a free speech/free press thing. They have the right to say what they want. While I know other countries have many freedoms we enjoy I find it interesting that a group that is largely made up of non-Americans is hiding behind the First Amendment. The way I understand it is we have the right to say what we feel, follow the religion we choose, and the press has the right to report on what it chooses even if the government thinks national security may be threatened and does not have to reveal it's sources. Actually sharing stolen secret information in it's entirety doesn't seem to really fall into that category. I may be wrong. I don't know everything and with 2 sick kids have no time to actually research a ton though firstamendmentcenter.org and this page specifically on freedom of press was helpful and informative. I did look on wikipedia and found the last paragraph on international significance to be very interesting. I have been pretty impressed with the newspapers involved, at least the New York Times, because they have made sure to edit out info that puts lives at risk. They have shared info that has been embarrassing absolutely but they have made the effort to protect our interests and deserve commending for that.

Today on CNN I saw this article. Each day I have felt what I am sure millions have felt. A growing anger and even a dash of fear at the impact these "whistle blowers" could have on our security. Then today's article. To sum it up our State Department asked our diplomats from around the globe to identify key locations around the world that impact U.S. security. We are talking things like communications pipelines, chemical and mineral areas critical to our industry, dams, mines. The list goes on. CNN did not publish the list in an effort to maintain some semblance of security and I salute them for it.

As this has progressed over the last months I have wholeheartedly supported the espionage label. Sharing stolen documents, many labeled as secret and classified for a reason, with the public just reeks of at the very least a heavy disdain for the U.S. and at most a desire to see us destroyed. WikiLeaks and their lovely leader may not be pulling the trigger but they are handing the gun to someone who is more than happy to do so and in my book that is just as bad. This newest release seems to be sliding over that line from espionage into terrorism IMHO. Assange was already inching that way by distributing a large compressed encrypted "insurance policy" file. He said that he distributed the file with even more damaging info and that if the attacks on him and the website persisted he would release the key and unlock the information. What kind of whistle blower tries to blackmail people? I am beyond disgusted with this man and his organization. He is putting more lives than he can count at risk and he refuses to take any form of responsibility. All he is doing is being a good Samaritan and sharing with the public what they have the right to know. Please...... He is a bottom feeder who wanted to find a way to make a name for himself and this was the way he was going to do it. Hurt as many people as possible. How's that working out so far? It only gets better. Trust me.