# Dead soldier's home vandalized



## MikeL (1 Mar 2006)

Dead soldier's home vandalized

Kokomo, February 27 - For the family who lives in a modest home in Kokomo the fatal Iraq attack came last week. 

Then the attack at home followed. 

Vandals defaced the home of Sgt. Rickey Jones' family. Eggs were thrown and flags were stolen. Sgt. Jones, a Kokomo High School graduate, was one four soldier's with the 101st killed west of Baghdad last week. 

So who, one week before his burial in his hometown, would vandalize a fallen hero's house. Neighbor Robyn Ousley is at a loss to explain. 
"I have no idea. Somebody pretty, pretty awful." 

Another friend, Bill Swaggerty, says there is more than vandalism for the family to deal with. 

"They're calling here and saying 'I'm glad your son is dead' and it's wrong." 
The family's neighbors have closed ranks, bringing food and flying flags at half-staff. All are signs of respect for Sgt. Jones. 

But there is a threat of disrespect from out of state. 

The same Kansas church group that has been picketing soldier's funerals around the U.S. and Indiana will be in Kokomo too. The group claims U.S. soldier deaths are punishment for U.S. tolerance of Gays. 

Kokomo police will have extra security and are running extra patrols at the house. Swaggerty, a veteran himself, says he convinced Rickey Jones to join up. He can't believe Sgt. Jones' memory would be attacked in this way. 

"It's wrong. He would come home on leave. His friends (were) very respectful to my wife and my family. He was a very good kid." 
Swaggerty supports a move in the legislature to keep protesters back from military funerals. 

Neighbor Ousley agrees. "He just went over there for us. I think it is awful." 
Services for Sgt. Jones are set for next Monday. In the meantime Kokomo police have increased patrols around his family's house.

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4560753


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## muffin (1 Mar 2006)

That is just horrible - no one's family should have to endour that. 

Freedom of speech - done to death...
Right to Peacful Protest - yes I know....

...but calling the house and defacing their property - that is just plain Harassment. 

muffin


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## Shadowhawk (1 Mar 2006)

Words cannot express the anger I feel towards these cowards.  :rage: 



:mg:


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## zipperhead_cop (1 Mar 2006)

From the Criminal Code:
*27. Every one is justified in using as much force as is reasonably necessary

(a) to prevent the commission of an offence

(i) for which, if it were committed, the person who committed it might be arrested without warrant, and

(ii) that would be likely to cause immediate and serious injury to the person or property of anyone; or

(b) to prevent anything being done that, on reasonable grounds, he believes would, if it were done, be an offence mentioned in paragraph (a).*
And I would have to think that this sort of thing would require an awful lot of "reasonable force".  Also consider, from the Code:*232. (1) Culpable homicide that otherwise would be murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the person who committed it did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation.

What is provocation
 (2) A wrongful act or an insult that is of such a nature as to be sufficient to deprive an ordinary person of the power of self-control is provocation for the purposes of this section if the accused acted on it on the sudden and before there was time for his passion to cool.

Questions of fact
 (3) For the purposes of this section, the questions

(a) whether a particular wrongful act or insult amounted to provocation, and

(b) whether the accused was deprived of the power of self-control by the provocation that he alleges he received,

are questions of fact, but no one shall be deemed to have given provocation to another by doing anything that he had a legal right to do, or by doing anything that the accused incited him to do in order to provide the accused with an excuse for causing death or bodily harm to any human being.* 

So don't kill anyone.  Seems like "provocation" would apply.  

Oh, right...forgot the disclaimer...I am in no way encouraging or suggesting that violence is a good solution to a problem.  In fact, as a good Canadian, you should tolerate everything that is done to you, because we are a tolerant people.


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## muffin (1 Mar 2006)

Is that the Cdn or American Criminal Code??


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## zipperhead_cop (1 Mar 2006)

Canadian.  Always Canadian.


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## big bad john (1 Mar 2006)

The people who perpatrate or condone such actions are the lowest of the low.  This just disgusts me.  What type of total blithering idiot could inflict more pain on a family at such a time.


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## Spazz (1 Mar 2006)

just plain disgusting...


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## Sig_Des (1 Mar 2006)

:rage:

Sometimes, some people just deserve a 9 mm brain hemorrhage


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## Slim (1 Mar 2006)

I have a hard time believing that anyone really 'believes' that attacking the families of slain soldiers or disrupting their funerals is really in the best interest of the nation.

They have an agenda and think that if they are brazen and obnoxious someone will eventually listen....


BTW terrorists believe the same thing...A point to ponder.


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## Synthos (1 Mar 2006)

man I would truly enjoy meeting one of those activists... the activist wouldn't.


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## MikeM (1 Mar 2006)

What a bunch of fuck-sticks, they deserve to be tortured and hung in the streets.

Nothing beats justice like mob justice.

RIP Sgt.


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## futuresoldier (1 Mar 2006)

Well, I think that was just a bit harshly said,

But really there is no proper "humain" way to treat someone who did that.


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## Gunnerlove (1 Mar 2006)

The difference between the US bible belt and the Islamic hardliners is very small. They just can't seem to see past the blind hatred so as to team up and control the world.

I have no patience for either telling me how to think. 

Radical church group debussing in open, VT in effect, Adjust Fire.


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## karl28 (2 Mar 2006)

I am not sure whats worse the fact that this horrible act took place, or the fact that there are low liefs out there who are sick enough to do this to a family who is grieving. It's just sad and there is no excuse for this kind of cowardice . I hope that if the police catch these people that they lock them up and throw away the keys let em rot . I  personally think that its time that we revised the whole free speech thing this is going way to far . In a final note my thoughts and best wishes go to the family who are the victims in this tragedy


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## raymao (2 Mar 2006)

You can't call something a right if it damages someone else's rights in a more grievous manner. This is truly despicable.


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## Koenigsegg (5 Mar 2006)

I dont't understand why this super religious church is protesting at pretty much every soldiers funeral in the area.  Aren't religious people supposed to be tolerant of others?
People like this make me want to kill, or well, maybe just maime...


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## tomahawk6 (5 Mar 2006)

This church is very extreme. Indiana passed a law making these protests a felony. Not sure if the governor signed the bill yet. Bill has been signed. If Phelps shows up to protest he and his bunch will be arrested.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/7649781/detail.html?rss=ind&psp=news


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## Slim (5 Mar 2006)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> This church is very extreme. Indiana passed a law making these protests a felony. Not sure if the governor signed the bill yet. Bill has been signed. If Phelps shows up to protest he and his bunch will be arrested.
> 
> http://www.theindychannel.com/news/7649781/detail.html?rss=ind&psp=news



It shouldn't have been necessary but...good. If that what it takes to give the families of these heroes some peace in which to grieve.


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## IN HOC SIGNO (5 Mar 2006)

Koenigsegg said:
			
		

> I don't understand why this super religious church is protesting at pretty much every soldiers funeral in the area.  Aren't religious people supposed to be tolerant of others?
> People like this make me want to kill, or well, maybe just maime...



Because they are extremists. It would be a mistake to lump all "church or religious" folks together and blame them all in the same way as it is wrong to say that all Muslims are radical suicide bombers.

The majority of Spirituality/religion is a force for good in our world. We enjoy the freedoms and democracy we have today in our country because of our Christian/Judaic laws and work ethic. Unfortunately there are people out there who twist good into bad....right into wrong.

This was an appalling act which should be condemned and the perpetrators should be found and punished. The protesters should be banned and constrained from attending funerals. Let's all remember this when it happens here....we're always just a little behind whatever happens south of the border.

My prayers are with that grieving family.


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## Kirkhill (13 Mar 2006)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> Because they are extremists. It would be a mistake to lump all "church or religious" folks together and blame them all in the same way as it is wrong to say that all Muslims are radical suicide bombers.
> 
> The majority of Spirituality/religion is a force for good in our world. We enjoy the freedoms and democracy we have today in our country because of our Christian/Judaic laws and work ethic. Unfortunately there are people out there who twist good into bad....right into wrong.
> 
> ...



Well said.

The depths never fail to surprise.


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## big bad john (26 May 2006)

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1825647.php

Bill banning funeral protests clears Congress

By Rick Maze
Times staff writer


Just in time for Memorial Day, Congress has passed a bill banning protests within 150 feet or 60 minutes of a military funeral on federal government property.

Aimed at stopping both anti-war protests and a Kansas-based church that has used military funerals to push an anti-gay agenda, the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act is the federal equivalent of laws already passed by many states. The bill passed the House and Senate on Wednesday and is on its way to the White House.

  
“Vile, offensive and organized protests have taken place around this country at funerals of fallen service members,” said Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman. The bill, he said, “will allow families to grieve for the loss of a loved one in peace.”

Buyer said he has been in discussions with the White House about the possibility of a Memorial Day signing for the bill, which has bipartisan support.

Under the bill, protests and demonstrations would be barred within 150 feet of the entry or exit from a national cemetery 60 minutes before and 60 minutes after a funeral. It covers Arlington National Cemetery or any of the other 124 national cemeteries.

Violating the law would be a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The bill also recommends but does not require states to impose similar restrictions. Six states have enacted similar bans, and several others are considering restrictions. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the protest restrictions in one state, Kentucky.

“For the past few years, small bands of protestors have gathered at the funerals of fallen military heroes,” said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Ind., the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman. “The conduct of those protestors has been as outrageous as it has been unwelcomed.”

The main focus of the legislation is to block protests by a Topeka, Kan., church headed by the Rev. Fred Phelps, which has appeared at many funerals of U.S. combat casualties claiming the deaths are punishment for the lax attitudes about homosexuals. Phelps and his followers from the Westboro Baptist Church have carried signs saying, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who first introduced the bill, said he was not trying to inhibit free speech. He just wanted families to have the chance to “bury their American heroes with dignity and in peace,” Rogers said.


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## -Wysiwyg (27 May 2006)

Here's a link to a clip of a news cast with one of the nuts from Westboro Baptist Church.  I'm not sure how old it is, or if it's been posted - sorry if it was.

Be advised, it's not nice.  http://www.break.com/index/hannityloon.html


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## Kane (27 May 2006)

Absolutely disgusting. How dare these people do such things to the men and women who lay down their lives for the sole purpose of defending these people's rights and freedoms. If it were not for these soldiers who lost their lives, these nutcases would not even have the freedom of speech they seem to love making a mockery of.


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## military granny (27 May 2006)

Can anyone explain what the he** a soldier dieing for their country has to do with tolerance of gays???
Are these protesters suffering from terminal brain farts or what? They are saying that they are soooo religious and they are following the bibles teaching well you dumb asses the bible says love thy neighbor and treat others as you wish to be treated. So I guess this means when the find these scumbags we can go and destroy their houses burn their cars and if they have any thing that actually means something to them we can destroy it.


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## FormerHorseGuard (27 May 2006)

if i lived nearby i would be one of the first to help clean up the mess. that is just sick that  some one would do that to anyones house for any reason


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## Thompson_JM (27 May 2006)

hey Zip... whats the legality in using an airhorn to drown out their protests?

what about the legality of using said Airhorn about 2 inches from their face and ears? 

I really need to stop thinking these evil thoughts..... I'll just think about throat punching em instead...


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## zipperhead_cop (27 May 2006)

Not sure as to the legality in the USA, but you could probably get away with it here, albeit you would be probably be breaking a city noise by-law.  
Of course, a bunch of air horns isn't going to make for a very sombre funeral either, is it?  
I see something more along the lines of some huge mo-fo in a pink superhero suit, maybe called The Homovenger, show up masked, crease a few skulls with an iron re-bar then fade into the night.  Oddly, the assault investigation probably wouldn't be pursued too aggressively.  
These a-holes are looking for publicity, and the media give it to them.  Just a two bit cult out of Nowheresville, USA.  
Curious that they haven't tried their crap here in Canada, as we are starting to take a few war casualties, and as a country are very supportive of gay rights.  I'm pretty sure I can predict the outcome, though.  Hard to protest when your sign holding hand is broken, and you can't shout with a wired jaw.  

Um, I mean, VIOLENCE IS BAD.  DON'T HURT PEOPLE.  Right.  Bashing on then...


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## IN HOC SIGNO (27 May 2006)

Kane said:
			
		

> Absolutely disgusting. How dare these people do such things to the men and women who lay down their lives for the sole purpose of defending these people's rights and freedoms. If it were not for these soldiers who lost their lives, these nutcases would not even have the freedom of speech they seem to love making a mockery of.



What really offends me is that they are doing it and calliang themselves Christians. As Granny rightly points out this is not Christian behaviour. 
Shame on them...and I hope they get caught and prosecuted.


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## tomahawk6 (27 May 2006)

The Indiana legislature passed a law prohibiting protests at military funerals in time for it to apply to this soldiers funeral.


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## zipperhead_cop (27 May 2006)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> The Indiana legislature passed a law prohibiting protests at military funerals in time for it to apply to this soldiers funeral.



So did the ass parade show up?  Did anyone get arrested, or more importantly, pepper sprayed, tasered or get the RHSC treatment?


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## Shadowhawk (28 May 2006)

From the dillholes own admission .... 80% of the members are from her own family .... I suspect 
in-breading is the cause of their stupidity.

Cheers


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## tomahawk6 (28 May 2006)

They didnt show up,I guess they didnt want to test the new law which made it a felony to protest.


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## big bad john (5 Jun 2006)

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1849072.php

Fallen Marine’s father sues funeral protesters

Associated Press


GREENBELT, Md. — The father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters from a fundamentalist Kansas church filed an invasion-of-privacy suit against the demonstrators Monday.

It is believed to be the first lawsuit brought by a soldier’s family against Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., whose members routinely demonstrate at military funerals around the country.

Albert Snyder of York, Pa., the father of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, is seeking unspecified damages. The younger Snyder, 20, died March 3 after an accident in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. He was buried in Westminster, Md.


“We think it’s a case we can win because anyone’s funeral is private,” Snyder lawyer Sean Summers said. “You don’t have a right to interrupt someone’s private funeral.”

Members of Westboro say the military deaths in Iraq are God’s punishment for America’s tolerance of gays. They typically carry signs with slogans such as “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for IEDs,” a reference to the roadside bombs used by insurgents.

The church has inspired dozens of state laws banning funeral protests, including a Maryland law that did not go into effect until after Snyder’s memorial.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman for the small congregation, said it is the first time Westboro has been sued by a soldier’s family.

“We were exercising our First Amendment rights,” she said.


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## Scoobie Newbie (5 Jun 2006)

I hope he breaks their banks.


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## zipperhead_cop (6 Jun 2006)

If that is all that gets broken for these losers, then at least that is something.  I'm sure that their little cult of arseholes is very cost conscious and might have to be mindful of loosing money.  However, I'm betting it is a real trick to get money out of a registered charity. Maybe it would be better to take away their official church status and relegate them to fenced compound freak status.  That would be the best tactic with these scum.:threat:


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## Kid_Recruit (9 Jun 2006)

That's disgusting, the cowards that have done that should pay deeply. They defaced an honourable mans home and have disrespected his life. I hope that if they go to the cemetery where he's buried and try anything the priest has a rifle to teach them a lesson with.

RIP sarge


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## Bobbyoreo (9 Jun 2006)

I watched that chick on the news a few weeks back and she is right out of er!!! I've never seen someone that is so in need of a helmet. She did openly say they were mostly family members...so that has to get you thinking. Really sad people like this exist!!!


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## ExSarge (9 Jun 2006)

Some things never change. When I came home from Viet Nam I was spit on and called a baby killer in the San Francisco airport. Its a sad state of affairs, everything old is new again.


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## zipperhead_cop (9 Jun 2006)

Kid_Recruit said:
			
		

> That's disgusting, the cowards that have done that should pay deeply. They defaced an honourable mans home and have disrespected his life. I hope that if they go to the cemetery where he's buried and try anything the priest has a rifle to teach them a lesson with.
> 
> RIP sarge



Strangley, the clergy are not known for their graveside contact drill execution.  
Did your C&P not give you any thoughts towards taking time to reflect before hitting the [POST] button?


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## 1feral1 (9 Jun 2006)

I am yet again totally disgusted!


Wes


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## IN HOC SIGNO (10 Jun 2006)

zipperhead_cop said:
			
		

> Strangley, the clergy are not known for their graveside contact drill execution.
> Did your C&P not give you any thoughts towards taking time to reflect before hitting the [POST] button?



Thanks Zip...I was just having flashbacks to a former (uninformed) CO of mine who wanted me to carry a firearm. I had to get out the Chap Gen's directive on it to convince him that it really is against regs for the Padre to carry a weapon.


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## GO!!! (10 Jun 2006)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> Thanks Zip...I was just having flashbacks to a former (uninformed) CO of mine who wanted me to carry a firearm. I had to get out the Chap Gen's directive on it to convince him that it really is against regs for the Padre to carry a weapon.



I always thought it was more an issue of preference in camp, and in the field, Chaplains were expected to fire to protect themselves or an incapacitated or wounded soldier.

I'm sure that there are better ways to deal with these protesters though. A quick call to your nearest Christian Biker gang to get a few "counter protestors" could be one answer.


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## Zell_Dietrich (10 Jun 2006)

Well this group a long time ago did only protest at the funerals of gay people.  If a person died of AIDS or if they were stomped to a bloody smear on the ground or if they were stripped, horsewhipped and left to die. http://www.matthewsplace.org/ You could bet if your son or daughter was murdered in cold blood, brutally beaten for who they were, these people would be there at the funeral screaming at you.  Here is the official homepage for their church.  http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/index.html 

http://www.thecitizen.com/node/6376 has a brief summary on that church group.

Over time screaming at grieving mothers of gay people, people stopped paying attention.  It is hard to get your message out, or to suffer for your beliefs when you are passionately hated by one (in your mind) small group and the rest are only passively supportive of your cause.  No one really cared when they were only harassing “those people”, so they had to do something to get more attention.   

Earlier someone asked why they didn’t try something up here in Canada.  The answer is three fold 1) if Phelps came up here two minutes after he opened his mouth he would be arrested – it is illegal to advocate violence against an identifiable group. 2) He likely wouldn’t get in as he’d be here only to cause trouble 3) I’m not saying he and his group would be killed, but I am saying if his group pulled that stunt up here… well they wouldn’t even find the bodies. (i'm kidding on number 3)

IN HOC SIGNO,  this group no more reflects Christians than does al-qaeda reflects Islam. There is nothing to be done about these people,  try to argue with them,  they’ll hold to their beliefs more firmly.  Ignore them – it is what the gay community has had to do for the last 20 years or so.   I hope people who see this and are disgusted can now make the connection to how those other families have felt for the last decade or so,  the harassing phone calls, cat calls at the funeral – all tolerated by the larger community until people they care about were harassed.  

I apologies for my really rough posting,  but these people were given a free ticket to harass for so long and are only now being reigned in. Please forgive me if I sound bitter.


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## IN HOC SIGNO (11 Jun 2006)

GO!!! said:
			
		

> I always thought it was more an issue of preference in camp, and in the field, Chaplains were expected to fire to protect themselves or an incapacitated or wounded soldier.
> 
> I'm sure that there are better ways to deal with these protesters though. A quick call to your nearest Christian Biker gang to get a few "counter protestors" could be one answer.



No we are not allowed to carry arms at all. we must know how to make a weapon safe but not allowed to fire it. That's the official line.
Medics carry weapons to protect wounded but not Chaplains.


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## Lumber (11 Jun 2006)

Hello All,

Just thought you might want a little bit more reading on this particular group of inbread fanatics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

If you actually read into it, it can really get you worked up at how insanely radical and illogical these people are. 

Special Praise to the Patriot Guard, what you people are doing is both noble and honourable.


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