Posted on 03/17/2006 4:01:35 PM PST by Gucho
By Leo Shane III - Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
Saturday, March 18, 2006
WASHINGTON — A Michigan congressman will introduce federal legislation to block protests during military funeral services in response to a Kansas church’s continued demonstrations at servicemembers’ burials.
Rep. Mike Rogers said he won’t officially submit the bill until later this month, but colleagues in Congress have already scheduled a hearing in early April and pledged their support for the measure.
The proposal would prohibit protests an hour before or after a funeral at any national cemetery, and force protesters back at least 500 feet from the grieving family. Penalties for violations still need to be worked out.
“When you go to a funeral, it’s difficult enough to show up and pay your respects to someone who died for their country without getting jeered, taunted and harassed,” said Rogers, a Republican. “There’s a difference between free speech and hateful, harassing speech.”
On Thursday, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., introduced similar legislation in the Senate, creating a 300-foot buffer zone and making violations punishable by up to five years in prison. Bayh’s bill would apply to “all funerals for soldiers who were killed in active duty service.”
Rogers began crafting the legislation after attending a funeral last week picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church, whose members have been demonstrating at military funerals across America.
The group insists that troops are being killed to punish the United States for embracing a pro-gay agenda, and usually wave signs with slogans such as “Thank God for IEDs” as mourners approach.
Rogers, a former Army officer whose brother has served as a soldier in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said even though he knew the group was coming he was incensed when he saw their protest.
“It was worse than awful,” he said. “It was darn close to being criminal.”
But Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the Westboro group’s founder, said the effort to block their protests is anti-American, since their demonstrations “are exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.” She promised a legal challenge if the bill becomes law.
“It’s so fitting that this nation, before the eyes of the world, is prepared to give away the freedoms it wants to spread to other countries,” she said. “We are witnessing the suicide of a once-great nation.”
Rogers said his measure was carefully crafted to withstand such a legal challenge, and he hopes it can serve as a model for states which have not passed protest laws yet. Currently five states — South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Kentucky — have already passed similar bills.
Phelps-Roper said her group has stopped protesting in those states because “those states needed a cooling-off period” but predicted their challenge to the federal bill would overturn all of the state statutes.
The group is scheduled to protest Rogers and “our Barney Frank Congress” in Washington next week. Lawmakers adjourned for a holiday break Thursday night, and won’t return to the city until March 27.
Ping to a great thread!
Thanks for the ping. :-)
Two US soldiers killed, one wounded in Iraq attack
18 Mar 2006 - 05:27:06 GMT
Source: Reuters
BAGHDAD, March 18 (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed and another wounded in an attack northwest of Tikrit on March 16, the U.S. military said in a statement on Saturday.
It said the soldiers were killed and wounded in an "indirect fire attack" on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, which is northwest of ousted former President Saddam Hussein's hometown.
The wounded soldier is being treated in a local military medical facility. The names of all the soldiers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin," the military said.
AlertNet news
By Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – An enthusiastic crowd of about 1,000 airmen, soldiers, sailors, Marines and civilians gave Vice President Dick Cheney a Lowcountry welcome as he traveled to Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., today to thank them for their support in the war on terror.
Cheney visited "Team Charleston," home of the 437th Airlift Wing, to praise the airmen who have been flying transport missions supporting the war on terror. The unit flies the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, a workhorse of operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan as it delivers troops and cargo to the theater.
The base also is home of the Air Force Reserve's 315th Airlift Wing.
The vice president met the crowd in an aircraft hanger, approaching the podium to the tune of "Hail Columbia" as Col. Glen Joerger, 437th Airlift Wing commander, introduced him to the group.
Cheney congratulated the servicemembers for their contributions in the war on terror and to humanitarian missions around the world.
"These are eventful times for our country, and Team Charleston is at the center of a great many critical assignments," Cheney told the group. "The work you do here -- every day and around the clock -- is helping to sustain the U.S. military in the war on terror. That war goes on; and thanks in part to all of you, it's a war that we're going to win."
Cheney also thanked family members who stand behind America's men and women in uniform. "Military service, both active and reserve, also makes many demands on spouses and on children," he said. "At this base, and in military communities all across the country, servicemen and women and their loved ones are making a lot of sacrifices for the nation. The American people are grateful to all of our military families."
During the ceremony, the vice president presented Bronze Stars Awards to three airmen for accomplishments during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Receiving the awards were Chief Master Sgt. Michael Schmiege of the 315th Civil Engineer Squadron, Chief Master Sgt. Ronald Owens of the 437th Mission Support Group and Tech. Sgt. Carl McCoy of the 437th Security Forces Squadron.
On the eve of the third anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Cheney noted the political successes taking place in Iraq, with a large percentage of Iraqis turning out to participate in national elections and yesterday's seating of the Iraqi parliament. He also praised advances being made by Iraq's security forces.
Senior Airman Jimmy Vines, a C-17 crew chief, told American Forces Press Service he was struck by Cheney's assertion that the United States won't put a timeline on the mission in Iraq and will see it through to success.
"Our strategy in Iraq is clear, our tactics will remain flexible, and we'll keep at the work until we finish the job," Cheney told the group. "Progress has not come easily, but it has been steady, and we can be confident going forward."
The vice president told the group terrorists look for weakness and that that the United States won't show them weakness. "And he told us that we're going to go after them so that they don't come to our streets," Vines said
Cheney said he's impressed by the armed forces and their commitment to carrying out this mission. "Each time I visit a military installation, I come away with renewed confidence in the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States," he said. "Each one of you has dedicated yourself to serving our country and its ideals, and you are meeting that commitment in a very challenging hour in American history."
Staff Sgt. Joseph Sparlin, also a C-17 maintainer, said he was struck "not so much by what (Cheney) said as by the fact that he came to our base to recognize us and thank us for what we do every day."
"It was nice to see someone at that high a level in the chain of command take time out of their schedule to tell folks basically that they're doing a good job and that he appreciates what we do," Sparlin said.
It's a message Sparlin said he and his fellow airmen hear pretty regularly from their commander and supervisors as they pull long hours on the job, but that takes on even more meaning coming from the vice president.
"He made us feel like what we're doing is making a difference and that what we're doing is for a bigger purpose," he said.
Vines agreed the vice president's visit made him feel proud of his work as an aircraft maintainer, which he admitted sometimes feels almost incidental in light of ongoing operations taking place around the world. "He made us feel really good about what we're doing for the mission every day," he said.
The vice president got a Lowcountry style reception at the Charleston base. "Everybody was whooping and hollering," Vines said. "It was really fun."
Related Sites:
Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
C-17 Globemaster III
Vice President Dick Cheney shakes hands with servicemembers at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. (Photo by Master Sgt. Mike Buytas, USAF)
Security forces discover 20 bodies in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, March 18 (KUNA) -- Iraqi security sources discovered 20 bodies Saturday in several neighborhoods of the capital, Baghdad, said a security source.
The source told KUNA that the bodies, whose identities were still unknown, were found in several locations in the city especially in the southern areas.
It added that all of the bodies were blind folded and tied up, with bullets' holes in their bodies.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=840014
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