LETTER: You Should Be Ashamed Crane Interiors!

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This week a mother was challenged to obey a company policy or take an important phone call. By now, everyone knows that she took the phone call. The call was from her son Marine Lance Corporal Mark Rhyne who is serving in Afghanistan. Because of his duties, Corporal Rhyne does not have regular access to a phone or Internet services like other members of his unit might have. It could be weeks at a time before his family would hear from him. It’s not like he could pick up the phone and call when his mother wasn’t working; he had to use the satellite phone whenever it became available. His life is dictated by the military, not when it’s convenient for a company policy.

Before he left on this deployment, Teresa Danford told her son “I will stand in your steed while you are gone, I will stand.” And that she did! No mother should be forced to make such a decision when it comes to her children. Especially the 20-year-old Cannon County native who is serving to protect companies like the one Teresa works for. So Crane Interiors has a cell phone policy – what company doesn’t nowadays; it’s the time in which we live. But, we are also living in a time of war and these young boys, barely graduated from high school, have decided to step up and protect this country from crazies like the Sadaam Husseins and Osama Bin Ladens of today. Rules are in place for a reason – most employees get that – but the old adage saying is “rules are meant to be broken” and this is one of those occasions.

Does Crane Interior even know what patriotism means? Well, www.Dictionary.com defines it as “devoted love, support and defense of one’s country; national loyalty.” Did you see that one big word that is lacking from this company – SUPPORT. Just because Corporal Rhyne is the one serving does not mean we need to neglect the family he leaves behind or supports while he is deployed. The deployment effects everyone involved from grandparents, parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. If we don’t support them as well, what in the world are we doing then? It’s important for those service members to know that their families will be treated fairly and taken care of during their time away. If their community doesn’t stand up for them, who will?

Military life is not any easy lifestyle – ask any veteran or veteran’s family and they will quickly tell you. But, they will also tell you how comfortable they felt leaving their home knowing their families would be taken care of by neighbors, church members, military organizations, etc. Do you think people joining the military sign up to go to war? If you do you are sadly mistaken and need to go to a history class. The point is no one wants to go to war, but when duty calls they must go. It’s what they train for on a daily basis.

According to a News Channel 5 article, Larry Officer, the Human Resources Manager at Crane Interiors issued a statement, “It is our policy that there is to be no cell phones used during working hours due to safety concerns within a production environment. Employees are allowed to use cell phones during breaks and lunches. We have a communicated policy for all employees to be reached in case of an emergency.”

Does that not seem like the coldest statement you have ever read? It sounds like the company could care less that Teresa’s son is defending this country and is constantly in harm’s way and that because she broke this policy she needs to be reprimanded. How would you feel, Larry, if that was your son and that was the only time you would have been able to talk to him? I encourage you to answer that question. How would you feel if something happened to that young man and you prevented his mother from possibly her last communication with them? Would you want that on your conscience? How would you explain to Corporal Rhyne’s newborn son as he got older that you did not allow his grandmother to talk to his Dad because cell phones weren’t allowed and God forbid something happened to him? Not many people would want that kind of guilt.

Just as a side note: Back in late October/November Cannon County residents were asked by the Hilton Stone American Legion Post #279 Auxiliary Unit to donate supplies, letters, cards and other items for boxes to send to local troops for the holidays. The support was overwhelming and extremely appreciated and more than 50 boxes were shipped to two local soldiers and their units. One of those soldiers was Lance Corporal Mark Rhyne. How can a community come together and support these men, but a company can’t give a mother a break to talk to her son for a few minutes? Where’s the patriotism? Where’s the compassion?

Sincerely,
The Hilton Stone American Legion Post #279 Auxiliary Unit

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Members Opinions:
February 18, 2011 at 1:53pm
Yes, they should be ashamed! Any loving parent would have done the same thing! Teresa Danford, we wish you and your son nothing but the best.
February 18, 2011 at 2:32pm
Dear Crane,
This is one of those times when you say, Duh, we messed up and we will make it right. And you need to do it real quick and real public.
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February 18, 2011 at 3:21pm
Crane Interiors needs to rethink this decision. Was this employee fired over taking this phone call? Believe it or not, employees are real people and have lives and needs that need to be accomodated now and then.
February 18, 2011 at 4:47pm
I'm at a loss for words. What is this country coming to?? We want these men and women to defend us and we say we support them, but our actions speak otherwise. Shame on you Mr. Officer.
February 18, 2011 at 5:04pm
If my son were over there, I would have done the same thing. There is an exception to every rule and Crane Interior should use common sense and do the right thing for this woman. Her son is defending our freedom!
February 18, 2011 at 5:17pm
"We have a communicated policy for all employees to be reached in case of an emergency"---begs the question, so why didn't
Ms Danford remind her son to call the plant number if he had an oppportunity to call her during work hours?

My guess is that Crane would have been more than happy to call her to the phone had the policy been followed.

Wonder why people at work and during non-break or lunch hours have cell phones on anyway? To circumvent company policies, of course--no other reason. Phones should be off unless you are going to deliberately break some common sense ground rules that a company must have.

So lighten up Post #279 and readers. And that's a lot of horse hockey about "rules are meant to be broken"--about as dumb a statement as anyone can make. Tell that to the worker that bypassed some safety devices and had a hand or some fingers removed or lost an eye.

One other "protect this country from crazies like the Sadaam Husseins"---more b/s! we were in no danger from Saddam Hussian, or national security was not threatened.

What nitwit wrote this letter--glad I didn't join.



February 18, 2011 at 6:53pm
I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING THE MOTHER DONE. MR. OFFICER SHOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE LABOR BOARD. THIS SHOWS HE IS STRICTLY COMPANY A COMPANY MAN. 1000% PERCENT. PUT HIM IN THIS LADYS PLACE SEE WHAT HE WOULD. HE IS ADMINSTRATION THAT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERANCE THOUGH.
February 18, 2011 at 7:42pm
It seems evident to me(dailyreader) that you have no idea what it is to have a family member in te military. My son is and the only number they have for me is my home # and they don't care about any other numbers. On the same day Teresa got her call I received a text message from my son to wish me a Happy Valentine Day. That was by far the best gift I could have received and he isn't even in Afghanistan. Any company organization or etc. should have exceptions for times we are forced to endure on a daily basis. You have no idea how hard it is to watch your child get on a bus or plane and be gone and the only thing you can do is support them with everything in you. That means if they call you answer, if they write you write back if they make a wish you do everything in your power to make it happen. I am sorry for you because of all the fear we feel we cary a great deal of PRIDE.
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February 18, 2011 at 9:10pm
I agree with Marks mother, I would have answered the phone too. and crane should stand behind Teresa for the job she does for them. This is a policy that Must be changed .
February 18, 2011 at 9:43pm
I think dailyreader needs to pack his bags and head to Afghistan. I bet his family would not break the rules to take his calls if he has family. He never has a kind word alway negative about everything .I just bet he lives a very sad life. I could feel sorry for him but I don't. If my sons were in Afghistan I would break the rules of my company and answer the phone. Due to the fact I know how hard it is to get a call even if it is a emergency you never talk to a person it is always a answering machine. Ms.Danford tell your son THANKS FOR FIGTHING FOR OUR FREEDOM. Our prayers are with you and your son. You are a very brave lady to go against company policy.
February 18, 2011 at 11:05pm
This case is an exception when a mother is waiting for a call from her son in the military. This is not a situation where employees are BSing on the phone with friends.

I heard this on my local news in Oklahoma and I couldn't believe it. I feel sorry for your employees because they obviously work for a heartless company who really does not care about company morale. Have you ever heard about motivating and taking care of your employees? You would get more production out of them if you cared about the people making profits for your company.My advice to your employees, Find a better company to work for!! And a message to Daily Reader, the woman waiting on a phone call from her son wasn't breaking a safety policy where she was going to get her finger cut off or lose an eye you B/S jerk. You have obviously NEVER served for your country!
February 19, 2011 at 6:11am
I understand completely why Mark's mother answered that phone. My son is the other soldier to whom the Legion Post sent the packages. You better believe I answer that phone when I see a strange number calling. Our sons put their lives on the line every day, and do so proudly. By the way, they are not soldiers, they are "United States Marines". Hurry home Ryan and Jimmy. We love you.
February 19, 2011 at 6:43am
My Dear Kathiro, my brothers and I have racked up 65+years in the military. My mother at one time had a flag in the window with four blue stars. The Sullivan Act prevented us from having a riotous reunions in South Korea and South Viet Nam. We started with D-Day in Normandy and ended combat duty with one of the last flights our of Viet Nam. V-mail, airmail and phones calls from APOs all over the world were part and parcel of our lives. Noone can tell me how much my mother appreciated all!

Point is Crane, I am sure, would have gotten her to the phone in no time flat had she made them aware she might receive a call from her son in Afghanistan during work hours. Her intent, it seems from what is shown, was to circumvent the rules to begin with and for no real reason at all.

And a flippant, insipid comment like “rules are meant to be broken” only demeans the American Legion and its desire to serve veterans.
February 19, 2011 at 9:15am
If you go to Crane at qutting time you will see how many true American's work there. My mom worked there but had to quit because very few spoke english and when my father passed away I had to go there myself due fact all I could get was a recording. I would hate think of you dailyreader standing up for my FREEDOM.
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February 19, 2011 at 9:41am
I think it is very ironic dailyreader that in one article you are all about the rights of the teachers and the collective bargaining process and in another you are against the idea of a woman taking a phone call from her son in Afghanistan. Talk about one extreme to another.

How could I not understand that you and only you would have an issue with it? The self proclaimed Vietnam War protestor is now against a mother and a son having a conversation when he off fighting for our country and your right to spew your non-sense all over the websites.

You have moments when you can be sensible and understandable and then it is just like you lose all ability to function without trying to start an argument.

I want to point out also that you have lied about the Sullivan Act preventing you and your brothers from a "riotous reunion". There is no such thing as the Sullivan Act. There was never any law preventing siblings from serving together enacted by Congress and no President has ever issued any Executive order denying family members from serving together either.

I think calling the writer of the article a "nitwit" is uncalled for. The writer of this article has her opinion just like you.

Continuing to calling people names because you don't agree with their opinion should be cause to delete your account in my opinion and I think the people who read this site should call or write the Courier and demand it.

Kevin, you said you did not have the power to edit comments that are sent to you.

However, you do have the ability to refuse to print them. By allowing dailyreader or anyone else for that matter to call people names because they don't agree with their opinions is condoning it on behalf of the Cannon Courier in my opinion.

We read articles on this site and the paper about bullying and how wrong it is and then people are allowed to turn around and post derogatory comments in a manner that reflects the thing we say we are against.

Nothing is ever going to change in our community, state or country until the blame game stops and people start demanding solutions instead of insults.
February 19, 2011 at 10:35am
I hope that the contracts that keep the Crane doors open aren't impacted by Cranes obvious lack of support for our troops. The message is loud and clear.

Larry Officer is a prime example of why our country is in such a sad state of affairs. Lack of common sense. If I were the owner of Crane I'd fire him on the spot.
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February 19, 2011 at 12:13pm
Dailyreader, take the hint from these posts and posts from other articles. I feel embarrassed for you sometimes.

Mudd, I am glad you pointed out that when you called Crane to tell your mom the news of your father's passing, all you got was a recording. How terrible for you and your family. Obviously Crane's policy for handling emergencies wasn't very effective, and kudos to Ms. Danforth for taking the call. I am extremely grateful to Lance Corporal Mark Rhyne for risking his life so that mine is safe, and I will in turn do anything I can to support his mother, including signing the petition mentioned on Channel 5 news.

Crane could really turn this whole situation into a positive thing for themselves, our community, and possibly other businesses. They could admit that the policy needs to be revised, restore Ms. Danforth's suspended pay, and rewrite the rules. This could easily inspire other businesses to follow suit, and highlight our town as innovative and supportive of our military and their families. And bullpen has it right, they need to do it "real quick and real public."
February 19, 2011 at 12:25pm
Corey: from a well recognized Veteran's magazine and an article therein:

"Questions have always surfaced in regards to a “Sullivan Act” which was proposed to prevent family members from serving in the same military unit or ship since the loss of the Sullivan Brothers in World War II.

Many military policies are in place that discourage family members from serving together."

And while the Act itself was not passed, the military policies of that day derived from that incident prevented all of us from serving in the same combat zone at the same time. And that was the reason that was given to us. Want to remind you Corey, I was there, and I did not see you around then.

It is obvious few of you have been in management postions and had to deal with employees who continue to bend the rules to their advantage. In the late stages of the Viet Nam War, I took dozens of phone calls from GIs getting off planes in California and immediately got their wives or mothers or fathers and even girl friends on the line for them. I am reasonably sure that Crane would have done the same for this women unless she was receiving calls with some frequency.

Cell phones in a factory setting, on continuously and being answered, while employees are supposed to be working shouldn't be, employees that don't want to follow the rules have no place in a working environment.
Those who say "rules are meant to be broken" are indeed lacking something upstairs. The same goes for those who maintain Saddam Hussian was a threat to our national security and integrity of this nation.

Has nothing to do with patriotism, just common sense in the work place and common sense in writing a letter to the editor.



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February 19, 2011 at 3:05pm
It is an outright lie to say the Sullivan Act prevented you and your brothers from all serving in the same combat zone because that also was never established. Here are the actual words sent to all ships on November 15th, 1944:

In recognition of the sacrifice and contribution made by a family which has lost two or more sons who were members of the armed forces and has only one surviving, and he is serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, consideration will be given to his return to, or retention in, the continental limits of the United States, except when he is engaged in nonhazardous duties overseas.

You can take your “well recognized Veterans magazine” and stuff it because neither you nor it knows what it is talking about. Nothing at anytime stated you and your brothers couldn't all serve in a combat zone at the same time. Again, you post a lie and it is getting bigger each time you post.

At least be man enough to admit that you lied and have been caught in it. And after you get done admitting that, you need to apologize to the writer of the article for calling her a "nitwit" and to the people of Cannon County for continuously trying to start trouble for no other reason than to satisfy your own morbid sense of contributions to the Cannon Courier website.

Everyone can see through your futile attempt to change the subject to Saddam Hussian and divert attention away from the fact that you have no regard to a woman talking with her son who is defending our country. I believe I speak for a lot of people when I say you are more than welcome to go live in Bagdad or Afghanistan or any other country for that matter since you see nothing good in ours.

And again, I say to everyone who reads his posts need to call or write the Courier office and demand his account be deleted.
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February 19, 2011 at 4:21pm
All she had to do was follow the rules---something she has had a problem doing at Crane and even when she worked at Movie Gallery. She was always complaining about how her life was and the ppl she worked with at Crane. Always wanted ppl to feel sorry for her when herelectric was cut off cause she had to pay her cell phone bill. Why she was evicted and moved into her sisters. You jst dont know her. Always wanting attention.
February 19, 2011 at 4:57pm
Corey: I was in Korea in 1952 and my brother, a Captain (an veteran of WWII), was teaching at West Point and wanted to get his ticket punched with Korea on it. He was told at that time, since I was already there, they would not release him from his present assignment until I rotated back to the ZI. That he did and then later when he was in Viet Nam (1967-68), my younger brother volunteered for Viet Nam and was told virtually the same thing and wound up in Thailand instead.

mgamm5 has summed it up nicely.



February 19, 2011 at 6:29pm
If your kid was putting his/her life on the line, would you ignore the call? If you say yes, you are an ignorant S** of a B****
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February 19, 2011 at 9:55pm
you just have to know this woman she is stuck in the 60s and she is very different!she should have talk to crane and had a plane when her son called to start with. this whole thing has gotton way out of control.she is not who she presents herself to be.OH POOR ME let me rain on your day if i can!i to have a daughter in the USAF but she knows we all have rules to go by.they teach them that first thing.
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February 19, 2011 at 9:59pm
SHAME ON YOU, CRANE INTERIORS! Apparently you don't appreciate the sacrafice our fighting men and women make overseas fighting to protect YOU and preserve the rights YOU have in a FREE society! Nor, apparently, do you appreciate that those sacrafices are not limited to just the service members, but to their family members as well. A mother, your employee, takes a once-a-month phone call from her son stationed in Afghanistan and you reward her with a 3 day suspension? You heartless B*st*rds!!! You have shamed the great state of Tennessee! You have made a mockery of your state's motto, the volunteer state. Maybe your heartless management should volunteer to do the right thing and suspend your zero tolerance cell phone policy in this extreme circumstance, or would that require you to think??? The rest of the country wouldn't want you to sprain a brain muscle over what is such a no brainer to the rest of us. Oh, I'm sorry, that must be the problem, YOU HAVE NO BRAINS!
February 20, 2011 at 1:17am
This is just a fine example of how companies feel about their employees. A company does not care about you, your family, or what situation you are in. They only care about how much money you can make them with your production. If I was the owner of any company that buys products from Crane I think I might have to find a new company to do business with. This is an outrage and I think any one of us would have taken a call from our son in that same situation, including the management at Crane.
February 20, 2011 at 6:27am
Corey, you missed your calling. You would have excelled as a censor in a dictatorship. Better admonish kscheffler for calling someone a bad name.

Fortunately poopie and mgamm5 have recognized the really of the incident and stepped forward.
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February 20, 2011 at 6:31am
daily the Sullivan Act did not prevent you from doing anything because there was no such act, nor did it have anything whatsoever to do with siblings serving in combat together.

The U.S. Military has allowed siblings to serve in the same country/area during hostile engagements after the Sullivan brothers got killed in EVERY single war, police action and involvement we have been in since they were killed.

For you to say it prevented you and your brothers from serving in combat together or from reuniting in some way is a proven lie. Someone may not have wanted to be around you is the reason why you never got together. Ever think about that possibility?

It just goes to show how really warped you can be sometimes trying to convince yourself along with everyone else something that is absolutely false.

Thanks for serving. Thanks for your brothers as well. Now quit dishonoring them and your service by lying!

And be a man and apologize to the writer of the article for calling her a “nitwit”.
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February 20, 2011 at 6:55am
dailyreader, having an opinion is one thing. I am all for you and everyone else having it. Name calling is something altogether different.

If you can't respect the people for having an opinion different than yours and not resort to name calling to try and enhance your self-proclaimed intelligence and belittle them, then yes I do have a problem with you and anyone else that does it.

It is a form of bullying and I can't stand people like you who try to stomp on other people’s feelings to try and make yourself look superior.

I find that pathetic and something I am more than glad to fight against every time you do it. Especially for people in my county, that I know while you live in Rutherford and have no business here.

Write your opinion, spread your mantra, try to convince others your beliefs, but quit the name calling or call me and we can talk about it like men.
February 20, 2011 at 8:19am
Maybe this will put some light on this subject for everyone, then maybe some of you hateful posters will take a step back and do some real thinking. My son was KIA in Afghanistan in 2009, at the time I was working at a company with a no cell phone policy, since we had to go thru security at the door, there was no way to violate it. Thanks to this policy, I missed the last phone call that I would have ever gotten from my son. Oh yes the company was very much aware that my son was serving. My son tried to call me before he went on the mission that resulted in his death, however I was at work without my cell phone. The last time I had spoke to my son was in LATE AUGUST, he was killed October 1. However the same company allowed another employee to have a cell phone because his daughter was on a transplant list. I can honestly say that had I been able to, I would have had my phone glued to my ear daily, just to be able to hear my son's voice, yes I sure would. I will never hear his voice again, never see or touch him again. Try considering the fact that you are all able to post on this board freely, and then consider that I missed my last call. Kudo's to you Teresa for taking that call!!!! I would give anything to have one more from my son.
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February 20, 2011 at 9:18am
ok ok she won---she got her pay and her suspension lifted...but her son knows he can only call when he gets that phone---so does she --ppl--all she had to do was hey when my son calls i need to talk to him cause hes over seas---thats it they would have worked with her. she knew this and ignored it to answer the non permitted cell phone. more than likely because her son cant calculate the time diff to know his mama at work. i nean he could barely run a cash register when he left for training. i deleted him from my facebook friends because of his foul mouth that his mama blamed on the marines--wellnaw cause he had that foul mouth when he left. anyway she got what she wanted so let it go!!!
February 20, 2011 at 10:01am
@ mgamm5....you obviously have a personal vendetta against this woman. you should be just as ashamed of yourself as Crane...and you obviously don't know the whole situation because yes the company was aware of her son being over seas. I certainly hope that you are never put into the same situation as a military mom, spouse, or child. God help you if you are. You obviously have no compassion in your heart, and need to make yourself feel better by making others feel bad. I have to say "HELL YEAH SHE WON" and I am so glad that she did. She has become the voice for a very very large group of mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses etc. that will back her, and praise her for her courage to fight for herself and her son. Whether he is able to calculate time difference or not, does not matter HELLO!!!! he had to call from a satelite phone that may get to him once a month!!!! He used that chance to talk to his mother!!!! Get over your hateful self, and wake up to the reality of the many military families in this country. Step back and think about what you would do !!!!!! You are the perfect example of what is wrong with this country, lazy, uneducated and un patriotic Americans who sit back and complain in ignorance while others do what you do not have the courage or will to do. It makes me sick and disgusts me to know that MY SON DIED for people with the ungrateful, un educated mentality like yours.
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February 20, 2011 at 12:51pm
This woman's personal life and character is not the point, and it is very sad that small-minded people have spoken about it. The point is to institute change, not only for her but for other miliary families as well. Look at the bigger picture. I could care less what her personality is- all I see is that her flesh and blood is giving his life to protect mine, and as a mother she deserves that phone call anytime she can get one. If her son reads this, I hope that he knows that the majority of us give great honor to him and his family, and I hope that he can overlook the pettiness of a few.
February 20, 2011 at 5:13pm
Quotes for Post 279:
"protect this country from crazies like the Sadaam Husseins"

“rules are meant to be broken”

They wasn't any need to protect this country from Saddam Hussian since he had no WMDs and certainly no capacity to attack us and for someone to say and promote this idea, can only mean that individual is lacking the ability to make a rational judgment based on facts presented not only prior to the invasion but verified after the occupation.

For someone to add, in the same letter, that rules are meant to be broken only reenforces that inability.

Perhaps Corey you are correct. My observation that the writer was a nitwit or stupid may have been indeed an incorrect description of those who promote these beliefs and concepts. I do so apologize herewith.

Secondly, I never questioneed my brother's reason for not joining me for some warm sake and kimchee nor have I ever questioned my other brother on his reason for not getting into Saigon. I believed each of them when they told me what happened. If you wish to call them liars then that is your priviledge.


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February 20, 2011 at 7:06pm
daily, I am sure Saddam continues to appreciate your support. He was given "rational" options and used poor judgment in making his selections. Crane too has admitted using poor judgment. Why you are unable to accept that is perplexing.
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February 20, 2011 at 9:37pm
daily, I have to admit I did not read the writer's statement about Saddam until now. However, I did not interpret it the way you have portrayed it to be.

I will say also, I agree with you that the U.S. did not need protection against Saddam while he was in power because at any time we could have crushed him had we truly wanted to. As was shown very quickly during the war. I believe it could have been much worse had we truly wanted it to be.

People like you never understand that it isn't just about protecting us against people like Saddam, it is also about protecting the people who can't protect themselves like the Kurds who Saddam practiced genocide against regularly. You ever hear of a man called "Chemical Ali"?

When you are one of the biggest kids on the block like the United States is, you have two choices in the world. Be the bully or protect people from the bully.

In my opinion removing Saddam was the correct thing to do and one that will certainly be proven in history as time progresses. I am quite certain the people he no longer has the ability to kill will certainly appreciate it! If you don’t believe me, charter a plane and go over there and ask them yourself.

Imagine how much we could have helped the millions of Jews prior to WWII had we allowed them to enter into the U.S. before Hitler marched them off to the death camps. Imagine how we could have changed the lives of untold numbers of people had we simply had the courage to remove him from power before he caused the destruction, theft, rape and murder all of those innocent people and countries. Removing Saddam from power was the right thing to do despite the naysayers and detractors like you and the other bleeding hearts liberals.

Yours was a futile attempt at an apology at best. You could have simply said to the writer "I apologize for calling you a nitwit and it was uncalled for" and it would have been much more believable.

And for the record, I never called your brothers a liar. I called you one. And I stand by it because you lied and stated the Sullivan Act kept you apart which is a falsehood in every sense of the word.
February 21, 2011 at 7:09am
Mr Halpern, Saddam Hussian never had my support. My support always has gone to our troops whom I believe should never be sent into a war unless our nation's security and welfare was at stake.
I believe the conditions in Iraq did not warrant the sacrifaces tendered by our troops. I felt the same way about the Viet Nam War.

There are a great many dictators around the globe that need to be taken out and replaced with a govennment more receptive to the people's needs but I never felt this nation should expend the lives of our men and women to do nation building just for the sake of nation building.
When we are threatened and endangered by all means.

That belief does not make me a sympathizer with the Saddam Hussians of this world but someone who has a great deal of respect for the lives of our military personnel.

The analogy with Nazi Germany????


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February 21, 2011 at 7:28am
daily, neither the troops, nor the people or organizations who support them such as Post #279, have the luxury of not supporting the mission.
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February 21, 2011 at 9:17am
The analogy with Nazi Germany is one that you should easily understand daily if you truly are a student of history as you proclaim.

Hitler had millions killed using chemical warfare and Saddam did the same thing. All proven, all accurate, and both needed to be stopped.

Saddam never has the ability to hurt, kill, rape, murder, or torture anyone, anywhere, at any time in the future.

If you cannot see that as a good thing and one that was needed then I truly feel sorry for you.
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February 21, 2011 at 1:04pm

I said,in my most current post, that it would be the last one on this topic. But, I can't help but weigh in now.

WMDs are always thought of in the nucular sense. But, in cold reality, a WMD can be anything used to kill a great number of people at the same time. Truly, gas and bullets, in the hands of Hitler's military,
were WMDs. Saddam's henchmen used anything available IE bullets ,swords, fire, whatever was at their disposal. Thus, it can hardly be successfully argued that A WMD can only be a nuculear device. Corey; with all respect, Saddam had the ability, and used it, to do all all those things that you mention. But, I'm throughly confused. how on earth did the basic issue turn into this?
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February 21, 2011 at 1:22pm
"But, I'm throughly confused. how on earth did the basic issue turn into this?"

Likely because I allowed dailyreader to weigh in.
February 21, 2011 at 3:07pm
Mr Halpern, when I weighed in, my comments dealt with what was said in the letter.

Few, if any wanted to discuss the letter but only what I had said.

Was I in error by expressing my opinion and then later defending myself from the vindictiveness of some readers?

If so, then I sincerely apologize to you personally, to the Courier, and to the Courier's on line readers.

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February 21, 2011 at 4:51pm
daily it is a simple formula:

"vindictiveness begets vindictiveness"

If you read above, you started it and then seem to wonder why it got turned around on you.

I will say to you that this was a MUCH better apology than before and one I can accept very readily and am happy to see you write!

brawley,

Saddam got introduced into this because the writer of the article used him concerning young boys defending against the "crazies" like him and dailyreader took that and tried to deflect the "vindictiveness" as he calls it from himself on to an entirely different argument about how we didn't need protection from Saddam.

I weighed in on Saddam because I felt like we did the right thing by removing him from power despite the fact the WMD's didn't materialize as we were told.

Like you I don't view WMD's as merely nuculear bombs. He still had chemical warfare capabilities and could have easily given those to someone who could and would have used them against Americans. Not to mention the genocide he was practicing in the late 70's and 80's on the Kurds using chemicals like Hitler did in WWII.

We did get totally side tracked from the original intent of this article. We tend to do that from time to time when someone is trying to deflect our attention from one thing to another because they can't focus on the matter at hand.
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February 21, 2011 at 6:15pm
Where is the compassion and understanding for an employee that has a son in Afghanistan? What is wrong with this picture? Dailyreader you need to walk a mile in her shoes. Do you understand that?
February 21, 2011 at 6:36pm
I have been fascinated by this discourse! The topic has most certainly wavered around! I enjoy it when the editor gets involved! This is journalism! This is awesome.
February 22, 2011 at 9:04am
With the Courier’s permission, I would like to explain why I reacted as I did to the letter.

The latest figures I saw on the war in Iraq have 4,439 of our military dead along with 32,033 wounded, 20% of those with serious brain and spinal injuries. The Iraqi civilian casualties range from the UN report of 50,000 to over 100,000 dead, ABC News with over 100,000 and other estimates of much higher.

“protect this country from crazies like the Sadaam Husseins"

Saddam was an evil dictator and did gas and kill his own people and the United States allowed companies here to furnish him with chemicals that were used in the manufacture of the mustard gas that did the killing. As long as Saddam was our buffer to the growing threat we saw in Iran, he was our evil dictator and Rumsfeld was our emissary to him. And we had him marginalized after the Gulf War.

Threat to the region, threat to our national security, U-235 enrichment, aluminum tubes for nuclear warfare, chemical and biological weapons at the ready, ties to al-Qaeda–--all pretty much debunked both prior to and after the war but hyped enough by those who wanted the war to where many actually believed the hype.

I did not.

And even now, some are still floating that threat from Saddam as a reason for the war. We should be greatly concerned that our nation isn’t taken into another war where marginal information is used to engage our troops in life and death struggles.

My respect for those who served in that war and the one in Afghanistan is without bounds.

“rules were meant to be broken” coming from a quasi-military civilian organization?

The whole structure of the military, from the raw recruit’s first command to that received by the top general from the Commander-In-Chief is based on strict adherence to the “rules.”
Rules in the military are not there to be broken. Perhaps the only military man to do so consistently and get away with it for some time was MacArthur.

That explains why I reacted like I did and when Mr. Farmer says policies were in place to deal with emergencies, I did not feel he would lie about something as serious as this.


I would like to comment on the Nazi Germany analogy but I have probably worn out my welcame as it is.

Thank you Mr. Halpern and the Courier. I appreciate.
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February 22, 2011 at 12:41pm
daily, letter writers did not make reference in the letter to Hussein in an attempt to justify the war. They and the troops they support do not have the luxury of justifying, or being opposed to, military action. Your nitpicking of that statement is nonsense. Again I ask you, if Crane has issued an apology, amended it policy, and moved on, why can't you do the same?

Now, as for Operation Iraqi Freedom, I think the results speak for themselves. Everyone is aware of what went down. Everyone is entitled to their opinion as to whether it was "worth it" or not. You accomplish nothing by attempting to belittle those who did think it was worth it, and still do.
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February 22, 2011 at 7:06pm
You almost had it dailyreader. You almost were able to let it go by apologizing for another inept, sarcastic, name calling tirade and move on.

But, I see you are like an addict who needs their fix. You just can't say I was wrong and I am sorry for my sarcasm and name calling without one more feeble attempt at glory in your own mind.

I find you more pathetic with each attempt you post trying to redeem yourself of your obtuse sense of reality. You just can’t seem to get enough rope can you?

I have never read anyone in more dire need of a library card to actually read about real history versus making it up or one who is in more need of a psychiatrist to relieve some of their emotional issues.

This article was about Crane and their inept decision of handling a five minute problem and somehow you turned it into Saddam Hussein and showed your inept ability to keep your own nose where it belongs.

February 23, 2011 at 7:17am
Corey, I make no apologizes for saying what I did. I said if I was in error of during so (on the Courier's on-line web site), then I apologize to all involved.
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February 23, 2011 at 11:51am
OK I am not real sure what you meant in this last comment daily.
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