Dissent is offensive

“Got 'em...

geeeeeeee, what a looker. Dick's a lucky guy.”

“Hmm... Distasteful.

But something has to grab peoples' attentions, I guess.”

“Check that bio.”

“And be sure to check the Gift Shop...

the Bumper Stickers! the Patriotic Thongs! LOL”

“The Right is full of bile”

“April 01, 2003
Grafton resident beaten for views on war, he says

By Scott Finn
STAFF WRITERCharleston Gazettte

A Grafton man is recovering from a beating he received after he expressed his opposition to the current war with Iraq in a bar.

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident, which took place March 21 outside McCauley’s Pub in Grafton. No charges have been filed.

Andrew Brown, 44, is a British veteran of the first Gulf War. He helped clear mines and booby traps from the route to Kuwait City, and later helped operate a mobile desalination plant.

Before the alleged attack, Brown said, he questioned the wisdom of going to war with Iraq so soon. He said he and other bar patrons called British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush “idiots.”

Brown said a friend warned him that he would be “jumped” when he left the bar because of what he said. On the way out of the bar, he said a man in “biker gear” confronted him and asked if he “had a problem with America.”

He said when he reached his car, someone hit him from behind with a blunt object, and then two people stood on his arms while another kicked his head. He suffered a broken nose and other facial injuries, and was treated at hospitals in Grafton and Morgantown.

Brown said he did not know his alleged attackers. He believes he was singled out because of his accent and his views on the war.

“When people are being attacked for expressing themselves, we’re in trouble,” he said. “Using violence for patriotism is a very feeble and poor excuse.”

He said his neighbors have been very supportive of him since the incident.

“This little group is not representative of Grafton, West Virginia or America,” he said”

“I think I'll keep quiet from here on in :o)”

“Good Idea.”

“Soldiers forced to bum smokes from Iraqi farmers

Associated Press
Apr. 2, 2003 09:00 AM

In Central Iraq - War is hell, especially when you run out of smokes. Some Marines fighting in central Iraq are getting desperate - for tobacco. It's been two weeks since the leathernecks left the relative luxury of their camp in Kuwait. They're running low on precious cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

Long gone are the days when cigarettes were included in combat rations. Officially, the U.S. military is smoke-free. Now, service personnel must buy their own, which is kind of tough in the middle of a firefight. So, the irritable Marines are reduced to bumming smokes from Iraqi farmers. Lance Corporal Brandon Phelps says an occasional cigarette break helps the Marines keep their sanity.”

“Nothin like a smoke at the end of a long patrol.”

“They stood on his arms and kicked his head, huh?

Hit him from behind?

I'd say those SISSIES aren't representative of real Americans.

Violent "patriotism" is just an expression of frustation and impotence typical of bullies.”

“No wonder civilians are getting mowed down. They're being robbed of their smokes.”

“I hope those guys aren't trading cartridges for smokes.


Hey, you did say Marines!”

“Actually Tom T., most bar fights/assaults start with someone getting sucker punched from behind, with 2-3 attackers. It's amazing how people get a reputation for being a tough guy, when truth be told, they would never fight someone face to face, one on one. But they're quick to jump you from behind...they usually beat women too. Real losers (the men, not the women they beat).”

“You can't judge pro-war people on the basis of a few drunken jerks coming out of a bar, anymore than you can judge anti-war people based on a few fringe protestors.

Most of us, whether pro-, anti- or wavering have a mix of noble of less noble reasons for feeling how we do: Courage, loyalty, love of country, sense of justice and fair play - no one side has a monopoly on these things.”

“
The peace front nearly turned
tragic when an angry trucker
drove into a crowd of
anti-war protesters.

citybeat.com”