Trackposted to Michelle Malkin, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, and basil’s blog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
From Emperor Misha I over at the Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler we discover that SGT Hess of the 1st CAV, currently serving his country in Iraq, was wondering whether discount-mats.com in WI would ship to an APO, so he inquired politely prior to placing an order.
Here’s the reply he got:
From: contact@discount-mats.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Feedback: from discount-mats.comSGT Hess,
We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq.Bargain Suppliers
Discount-Mats.com
Unfortunately this is not another internet hoax, as Snopes.com has already verified this story as true.
A military spokesman says it’s not unusual that a company won’t ship to an APO address. But I do think it is unusual that a company spokesperson would write such a vicious email.
APO (Army Post Office or Air [Force] Post Office) and FPO (Fleet Post Office) addresses are part of a military mail system used for exchanging mail with US personnel stationed outside the United States.
The web site belongs to Faisal Khetani. Imagine that, an Arabic name. What a surprise. And yes, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Khetani is a Muslim.
The website has, strangely, started having “technical difficulties” as of this morning.
A Vice President with Bargain Suppliers, the website’s parent company, confirms the email was sent. He says the employee who sent it is being held accountable and will be dealt with.
Newsradio 620 WTMJ out of Milwaukee says that the employee who sent the inflammatory email has been fired – of course without mentioning their name or relation to the owners of the company.
In case you have any opinions or thoughts about this situation that you would like to discuss with either Khetani or Discount-Mats.com you can reach them at the addresses listed below.
414-736-8394
contact@discount-mats.com
Bargain Suppliers
3259 S.106th Street
West Allis, WI 53227
As usual the unhinged Left are coming out to champion the inflammatory email. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Anti-war and free speech advocates were equally offended, by the widespread criticism of the company and the individual who responded to the soldier.
“This is a matter of free speech,” said Julie Enslow, an organizer with Peace Action Wisconsin in Milwaukee. “It is totally irresponsible for radio stations and bloggers to attack a person for his personal political views.”
No, Julie, you are incorrect. Exactly how is it irresponsible for bloggers to attack a person for his personal political views? Would it be wrong to attack Osama when he tells others to kill as many Americans as they can? Would it be wrong to attack Hitler when he advised to kill six million Jews?
Yes, I support free speech. But I also support the concept that those that speak should be held accountable for what they say, and that those that speak must understand that others can be inflamed by what is said. Free speech does not do away with the responsibility coming from what is said.
This underscores a basic problem with the Left in that they think all opinions are to be protected and respected. Their concept of Moral Relativism, in which there is no Right or Wrong and only infinite degrees of Acceptance, is on its face incorrect. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists. They feel that “radio stations and bloggers” should not attack the views and actions such as the Holocaust, Stalinism, Nazism, Communism, apartheid, genocide, slavery, terrorism, … shall I continue? Would Julie protect a white person using the n-word in a crowd of black people?
No, Julie, it is not irresponsible to attack a person for his personal political views, but rather it is irresponsible when people do NOT stand up for Right and Wrong that Tyranny is allowed to flourish and Good People suffer at the hands of Evil. No, Julie, is it people like you that are irresponsible in shielding and protecting those that speak and act in harmful ways.
By the way, Julie, aren’t you a member of the group that is selling “Impeach Bush and Cheney”, “War is Not the Answer”, and “No War on Iraq” yard signs? Could it be that you have an ideological agenda here, something more than just protecting someone’s “personal political views”?
Peace Action Wisconsin
1001 E. Keefe Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53212
414-964-5158
www.PeaceActionWI.org
website@peaceactionwi.org
Bargain Suppliers, Discount-Mats.com, Faisal Khetani
1 response so far ↓
1 Webloggin // Jan 23, 2007 at 6:38 pm
No Sale : U.S. Based Retailer Tells Soldier To 'Pull Out Of Iraq'
It seems to me that the only free speech issue here is that anti-war activists don’t like the fact that pro-military supporters got a voice in this case. It’s fine to protest the war, but protest the actions of those who protest the war and suddenl…