Reader Roger sends this one:

Update: It’s official.

Shocker! The NBC lawyer who originally nixed the pro-troops ads is a big Dem donor.

More.

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You’ve all been following the moonbat-influenced decision by NBC to turn down pro-troops public service ads from Freedom’s Watch. If you haven’t seen the ads, enjoy:

The peacock network says the ads were too “political.” Because, you know, simply saying “thank you” to the troops and asking others to do the same is just like calling an American general a traitor or exploiting the death toll in Iraq…which MoveOn.org did in an ad that ran on the Today Show, according to Newsbusters.

After enduring a nationwide backlash, it seems NBC may be flip-flopping. Drudge reports:

Under pressure from outraged viewers, NBC has reversed its decision not to air the Freedom’s Watch ads thanking troops..

Stay tuned…to anything but NBC.

***

Reader Mike sends a photoshopped NBC logo. Got your own suggestions? Send ‘em in:

…The MilBloggers got an extra boost of attention after the news about the Army’s “crackdown” on blogs, with the overheated claim that the new operations security (OPSEC) and bandwidth rules cut off soldiers from their families and restricting people’s freedoms. An extra boost from whom, you ask? From the mainstream media they so seemingly despise…

Blackfive responds:

We don’t despise the mainstream media, Bill.

We. Just. Despise. You.

John Noonan at Op-For lays the smackdown:

We don’t simply “despise” the media like [a] bunch of uneducated racists. Or like Arkin despises the military. We back-slap when the MSM gets it right, we criticize when they get it wrong. It’s that simple.

But thank you to Arkin for providing us with a clear example of the type of drivel that we so forcefully counteract. Arkin was the only established MSM type to write on the conference without actually attending. It’s easy to have such an uninformed opinion when you’re too lazy to do the legwork, I suppose.

Meet Marine Sgt. Joshua J. Frazier:

Marine Sgt. Joshua J. Frazier, 24, from Virginia’s Spotsylvania County was killed by a sniper Monday as he stood on a rooftop in Ramadi, the Pentagon and his family said yesterday…

…Frazier believed so deeply in his mission in Iraq that he ignored pleas from his family and begged, pleaded and knocked on doors to get the Marines to send him back to Iraq. It was his third time in combat after previous tours in Afghanistan and Iraq…

…Frazier wanted to be a police officer after graduating from high school, but after Sept. 11, he decided he was going to join the Marines, Mallin said. His mother, Shelia Cutshall, tried to talk him out of it. So did Mallin. They told him not to make a rash decision in anger. They told him to wait a year.

Ten months later, Frazier told them he was still determined to become a Marine. His elder brother, who works for a defense contractor, also tried to persuade his brother to pursue jobs with the Marines that might reduce the risks of combat. But that was not for him.

“He wanted to be an infantryman. He wanted to be a grunt,” Mallin said. In telephone calls and notes from Iraq, he expressed concern about the men in his unit with wives and children. “You got the sense that if he could, he would send them home,” Mallin said. “He really was quite honorable and passionate about what he did.”

Mallin said his younger brother was “fed up” by the mounting doubts expressed back home. After returning from a seven-month tour in April, he began lobbying to go back.

“He begged. He pleaded. He asked for transfers,” Mallin said. “Everybody in the family wanted to talk him out of it. But they knew they couldn’t.”

More from the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star:

Aaron Mallin, 29, Frazier’s older brother, said Josh was proud of the difference he was making in Iraq. He once told Mallin, for instance, that his unit was serving in what has been described as the most dangerous intersection in the world.

Since Frazier and his fellow Marines moved in, he told Mallin, people could once again cross the street without being killed.

“And he was very proud of that,” Mallin said.

Dad Rick Frazier said his son’s strong will was what made him unique.

“That helped him get through life. He worked very hard at being an individual. But I think the most important thing I can say about my son was that he loved his family and we’ll sorely miss that part of him,” he said.

“He believed in the United States and believed what he was doing was right. He gave his life for what he thought was the right thing to do.”

Now, meet Seaman Manuel Ruiz:

Seaman Manuel Ruiz, 21, from Maryland’s Eastern Shore was among seven people killed when a Marine transport helicopter crashed in Anbar province Wednesday, his family said…

…In Ruiz’s hometown of Federalsburg, a farm community of 2,600, friends and neighbors tied red, white and blue ribbons to lampposts yesterday, and officials made plans to lower flags in his honor. But the gestures seemed inadequate.

“Our hearts are broken,” said Connie Blanchard, who works in the town hall accounting office. “He was a very brave and courageous guy.”

Ruiz, whose mother, Lisa, also served in the Navy, was 14 days into his second tour in Iraq when he died, said Adam Lusk, a family friend who fought back tears as he described Ruiz’s dedication to his job, helping to save lives. “He pretty much demanded to go back.”

In a small town where young people often seek the military life as a way to broaden their horizons, Ruiz also stood out as a talented and sensitive artist, said Marjorie Scott, who was Ruiz’s art teacher during his four years at Colonel Richardson High School. When he was back from his first tour, Ruiz visited the school in his Navy uniform.

“Any time he talked about the military, his eyes glistened,” she said. She said she had worried about him, but he assured her that he was fulfilling his calling. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C.

“He was well-trained, and he loved what he was doing,” Scott said.

More from WMDT:

It’s the phone call military parents don’t ever want to get, the call saying their son or daughter has been killed in the line of duty. Last night, a Federalsburg family got that call. Today, they are full of sorrow, but also full of pride as they remember Manuel Ruiz.

Lisa Ruiz, the mother of Manuel Ruiz, says “he was proud of what he was doing. He was happy, he loved his job.”

He was killed in a helicopter crash near Baghdad on Wednesday. He was a helicopter medic and was just beginning his second tour.

“He wasn’t on the list to go back, but he made them put him on that list.”

…”He knew he was serving his country, we’re proud of him.”

And meet Marine Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell:

Marine Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell 20, of Bel Air, Md., died Wednesday in Anbar province in what the Defense Department described as “supporting combat operations.”

Capital News Service reports:

A landing support specialist for 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Parcell often assisted in transferring supplies, food and ammunition.

Wednesday evening, her family was told by Marine officials that she was killed along with other Marines by a suicide bomber during a sensitive mission at a military checkpoint, said Ray Fender, a spokesman for the family.

Though the family does not know the details of what occurred, Fender said they were told Parcell was searching Iraqi women for explosives and had been able to detect a bomber.

The family wishes the Iraqi people no malice, Fender said. Their Christian beliefs dictate reaching out in love to them.

“We do not believe that Jenny’s life was taken. We believe that her life was given,” Fender said. “She was a good kid. Anyone would love to have her as their daughter.”

He called her “a good Marine” and said, “We’re so proud of what she’s done to serve with her country.”

Parcell attended middle school in Bel Air, Atwood said, and graduated from Fallston High School in 2004.

In late June 2004, she followed in the footsteps of her older brother Marine Cpl. Joseph “Joey” Parcell, 24, and enlisted in the Marines. She pursued college courses at Hartford Community College in Bel Air, before departing for boot camp on Jan. 2, 2005.

Determined to complete her college education, Parcell continued online study from her foreign posts, even while in Iraq, Fender said…

…A longtime member of Mount Calvary Free Will Baptist Church in Aberdeen, Parcell often volunteered in the nursery and helped prepare congregational dinners with her aunt, Martha Benton, a secretary in the church, Atwood said.

What do you call these troops, William Arkin?

Not “mercenaries.”

Not “arrogant and intolerant.”

The word is “patriots.”

Patriots.

In our house, we thank God for them every night.

Bet those ski trip amenities were nicer, eh, Arkin:

Just in tonight from Ft. Lewis via the Seattle P-I:

The court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada ended in a mistrial Wednesday.

The case’s judge, Lt. Col. John Head, declared the trial over after a day of wrangling over a stipulation of facts that Watada had signed before the trial and that would have been part of the instructions to the jury. The judge decided that Watada never intended when he signed the stipulation to mean that he had a duty to go to Iraq with his unit.

Again the issue was Watada’s views on the Iraq war — opinions that kept him from going with his unit to the conflict and that the judge didn’t want brought up at the court-martial.

Watada, a Stryker Brigade soldier, is the first commissioned officer to refuse to be deployed to Iraq. Watada’s unit left this sprawling base for Iraq in June, but Watada remained behind. He said he believes the war is illegal and that his duty is to not abide by illegal orders.

But Head tried to keep the court-martial from becoming a tribunal on the war and its legality and has ruled that Watada’s attorney cannot present witnesses to question the war’s legality. Outside the base, that has been the issue as peace activists from across the country have rallied to Watada’s side.

Watada is charged with missing movement to Iraq and with two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. Those last two charges result from statements Watada made against the war in a video tape released to reporters after he made his refusal to go to Iraq public and to a Veterans for Peace convention at the University of Washington.

He had been charged with two other counts of conduct unbecoming for interviews he gave. Prosecutors dropped those charged in return for Watada’s signing a stipulation that he had given the interviews. He also acknowledged in the stipulation that he didn’t go with his unit to Iraq, though he didn’t admit his guilt to the missing movement charge…

… “I see there is an inconsistency in the stipulation of fact,” the judge said Wednesday. “I don’t know how I can accept (it) as we stand here now.”

Because much of the Army’s evidence was laid out in the document, rejecting it would hurt its case, Head acknowledged. He granted the prosecutors’ request for a mistrial, which Watada’s lawyer opposed.

Seattle Times has more:

Head said the prosecutors could move to reopen their case which had already been completed on Tuesday. However, they declined to reopen the case, which would have been complicated by the jury already seeing the agreement that now had problems.

Instead, the prosecution moved for a mistrial which the judge then granted and tentatively scheduled a trial for mid-March.

In a new trial, Watada, 28, could face up to six years in prison if convicted of all the charges against him.

Watada and his cheerleaders are the subject of my column today, reprinted here with links.

***

Angry, left-wing Washington Post blogger William Arkin considers American troops in Iraq who believe in their mission “mercenaries” who are “naive” and should be thankful they haven’t been spit upon yet. Curdled Democrat Sen. John Kerry thinks those soldiers, who volunteer for service, didn’t “make an effort to be smart” and are “stuck in Iraq” because of their intellectual deficiencies. At the last anti-war spasm in Washington, liberal peace-lovers vandalized a military recruitment office — repeating an act of destruction taken by rock-wielding thugs across college campuses and at ROTC headquarters nationwide.

So, who inspires these troop-bashers? Whose courage do they cheer? Whom do they call “hero”?

Not the American soldier on the battlefield, willingly and freely putting his life on the line for his beliefs, his family, our country, security and freedom.

No, their idea of a military hero is Army Lt. Ehren Watada. Did Watada take a bullet for his comrades? Rescue innocent civilians from insurgent forces? Throw himself on a grenade? Ambush a terrorist sniper nest? No.

Watada’s the soldier who went on trial this week for defying orders to be deployed to Iraq — after volunteering for duty. For those deficient in English, here’s the meaning of volunteer: “To perform or offer to perform a service of one’s own free will.” Hundreds of anti-war groupies, including actor Sean Penn, showed up to cheer Watada.

Watada was scheduled to leave Fort Lewis, Wash., for his first tour of duty in Iraq last summer. Instead of getting on the bus with his fellow soldiers, he announced he would not go and denounced the war as “unjust” and “illegal.” He was the only military officer to refuse deployment to Iraq with Fort Lewis’ 4,000-member Stryker Brigade. The anti-war propaganda machine kicked into full gear for Watada, with coordinated press conferences in Tacoma, Wash., and Honolulu, where Watada grew up.

Some of Watada’s hometown neighbors are sick of his intellectual disingenuousness. Writing in Watada’s hometown newspaper, the Honolulu Advertiser, retired Col. Thomas D. Farrell, who served as an Army intelligence officer in Iraq in 2005-2006, retorted:

“How can anyone seriously claim that our military involvement in Iraq is illegal when both Congress and the U.N. have taken the steps to authorize it, and allow it to continue to this day? Lt. Watada argues that he has the right to make his own personal assessment, notwithstanding whatever Congress and the U.N. may do. If he’s right, why not make our personal assessments about how fast is safe to drive, or how much tax is our fair share? The answer is obvious: Anarchy would prevail, and the rule of law — the basis of all real freedom — would cease to exist.”

The only thing illegal here is Watada’s willful refusal to obey orders. Watada is just the latest in a line of losers abandoning their men, their mission and the rule of law. The left calls this “dissent.” The rest of us call it what it is: Desertion.

Many military observers say they smelled a rat when they first heard of Watada’s story. Watada graduated from Hawai’i Pacific University in 2003, joined the Army shortly after, went to Officer Candidate School and incurred a three-year obligation. Wrote Navy Officer Robert Webster:

“This guy graduated from college and then joined the Army, going to Officer Candidate school, after we had already started the Iraq campaign just to claim it was an ‘illegal’ war when his unit is called to go. Smells funny to me. In my mind, either the Army gave a commission to an idiot not aware of current events or he planned this all along.”

Soldiers making calculated political statements against their own troops?

Wouldn’t be the first time — cough, cough, John Kerry. Idiot or schemer, Watada deserves a stiff, strong penalty for his lawlessness. An excellent proposal put forth at the military blog Op-For:

“Relieve him of operational duties and send him to work at Walter Reed, to handle the in- and out-processing of wounded veterans.”

Yes, where the real heroes are.

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Previous:

A deserter, not a “dissenter”
Hakuna Watada
Anti-American idol Ehren Watada

Glenn Reynolds recommended this new documentary by former Marine, TV journalist, and milblogger J.D. Johannes last week, and I was able to watch it this weekend.

It is terrific. We’re featuring the trailer over at Hot Air–which WaPo weasel William Arkin and every member of Congress should be made to watch.

You can get the movie via Customflix right here. Johannes embedded with his former unit and brings you on the front lines and up close and personal with Marines who willingly go back again and again to Iraq in defense of our security and freedom.

Arkin calls them “young and naive” “mercenaries.”

The rest of us whose brains are not infected with BDS call them American heroes.

One of O’Reilly’s producers, Jesse Watters, caught up with Arkin and tried to get the journalist to answer some questions about his words.

LGF has the clip of Arkin balking.

So, we pay the soldiers a decent wage, take care of their families, provide them with housing and medical care and vast social support systems and ship obscene amenities into the war zone for them, we support them in every possible way, and their attitude is that we should in addition roll over and play dead, defer to the military and the generals and let them fight their war, and give up our rights and responsibilities to speak up because they are above society?

I can imagine some post-9/11 moment, when the American people say enough already with the wars against terrorism and those in the national security establishment feel these same frustrations. In my little parable, those in leadership positions shake their heads that the people don’t get it, that they don’t understand that the threat from terrorism, while difficult to defeat, demands commitment and sacrifice and is very real because it is so shadowy, that the very survival of the United States is at stake. Those Hoover’s and Nixon’s will use these kids in uniform as their soldiers. If I weren’t the United States, I’d say the story end with a military coup where those in the know, and those with fire in their bellies, save the nation from the people.

But it is the United States and instead this NBC report is just an ugly reminder of the price we pay for a mercenary – oops sorry, volunteer – force that thinks it is doing the dirty work.

Is he auditioning for a Daily Kos diarist spot? Is he jealous of Joel Stein?

“Obscene amenities?” What the…?!?!?! Amenities like this?

“A marine awakened others for guard duty in a house in Ramadi. With temperatures dropping to the 30s, the Americans and Iraqis clustered for warmth…”

Allah has exit questions.

John Hinderaker tries to decipher Arkin’s incoherence:

In other words, I guess, “screw them.” I still don’t get it, though: what is the “price we pay” for having a volunteer army? The fact that soldiers are disappointed if the folks back home don’t support their mission? Wow, that’s a heavy price all right!

Ed Morrissey:

Of course, the worst part of this — besides the incoherent writing style — is the characterization of the NBC report. Not one of the soldiers in the clip remotely suggested that Americans “give up their rights and responsibilities”. They didn’t say that George Bush should make everyone who opposes the war shut up, or else. They were asked about their take on people who say they support the troops but oppose the war, and they expressed their views.

Unfortunately, Mr. Arkin can’t handle free speech. He incomprehensibly calls them mercenaries because they volunteered for the military, and apparently because they have the audacity to offer their opinions when asked.. (By definition, a mercenary is someone who hires himself out as a soldier for a nation not his own.)

Arkin finishes by suggesting that America rethink what it owes the troops, so I’ll oblige. We owe them our support because they risk their lives to ensure that we retain our freedoms. They don’t get paid all that well to do it, either, but they do it because they love our country. I’m fine with them expressing their opinions when reporters stick cameras in their faces and ask for them, even if they don’t agree with me. I still respect them for what they do, which apparently is the difference between Arkin and myself.

Hugh Hewitt’s talking about Arkin’s column. (Hugh profiled Arkin, a Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Human Rights Watch activist, for the Weekly Standard here.)

Uncle Jimbo at Blackfive is not so polite.

Neither are some of the commenters at Arkin’s WaPo blog:

***

More reax:

Charles Johnson at LGF sez: “this latest blast of hatred shouldn’t surprise anyone.”

Milblogger John Noonan at Op-For: “I’ve lost all respect for the Washington Post, the newspaper that I grew up reading. How they can consider themselves a serious publication after dripping this excrement over their pages is beyond me. For shame.”

Dan Riehl ties it all together: “It’s official. The press has gone to war.”

Flashback: Remember this appallingly insensitive cartoon by WaPo’s Tom Toles that the Joint Chiefs of Staff protested?

Yeah, there’s definitely something in the water at the Washington Post.