The email goes on to document how a group of Marines returning from Iraq were not allowed to enter the terminal at Oakland International Airport. It ends with this:
It felt like being spit on. Every Marine and soldier felt the message loud and clear, "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN OAKLAND!"
You know what's strange? Someone else got that same email:
This morning I received an email from the brother of a Marine in the unit referenced below. The email speaks for itself and raises some disturbing questions. While outside OC, it's an issue that is worth sharing. The text below is unedited, although I have removed the name of the Marine who authored the email:
Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal...
Now hold on: Is it a "Marine chaplain" or the "brother of a Marine"? Because they're the exact same emails. Complete with the "It felt like being spit on" finish.
And look! CNN is on the case too!
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two lawmakers asked Friday for a Department of Transportation investigation into a Marine's allegations that he and 200 other military personnel returning Thursday from Iraq were not allowed into the terminal at Oakland International Airport, but instead had to deplane 400 yards away.
"It felt like being spit on," the Marine, who was not publicly identified, wrote in an e-mail to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "Every Marine and soldier felt the message loud and clear, 'You are not welcome in Oakland.'"
Spitting on soldiers. Of course it's not the old Right Wing "Dems hate our troops - they spit on vets returning from Vietnam!" thing because, well, it's obviously an airport rule, or a military one. And there isn't anything about spit...except the word "spit." Check that: It is about Dems hating the troops. As long as it has "spit" and "soldiers" in the story, Michael Ledeen, and the rest of the Right Wing nuts-o-sphere, can feel that they've done their job: Smear (Democratic) Americans by any means necessary. Lie if you have to. And if you can find a way to use the words "spit" and "soldiers" - awesome!
Extra: And according to a commenter on this site, it's a noise rule at Oakland International Airport.
UPDATE II: This is gonna get ya. The email is on Ledeen's piece attributed to a Chaplain Brandon Harding. I googled the name:
"The message of Christ risen is sort of a metaphor for the Iraqi people," says Chaplain Brandon Harding, 32, of Point Mugu. "They were oppressed and downtrodden and like a savior, we've given them a chance at a better life."
Ow. [***And I amended the title, adding the "?". The email may be real - just misused.]
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