Pond scum

How contemptible is this:

The family of a Marine who was killed in Iraq is furious with Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll for showing up uninvited at his funeral this week, handing out her business card and then saying "our government" is against the war.

Rhonda Goodrich of Indiana, Pa., said yesterday that a funeral was held Tuesday at a church in Carnegie for her brother-in-law, Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, 32.

She said he "died bravely and courageously in Iraq on July 10, serving his country."
...
[Lt. Gov. Knoll] sat down next to a Goodrich family member and, during the distribution of communion, said, "Who are you?" Then she handed the family member one of her business cards, which Goodrich said she still has.
...
What really upset the family, Goodrich said, is that Knoll said, 'I want you to know our government is against this war,' " Goodrich said.

Michelle Malkin has updates here and here. Greyhawk has more, and he ties in two other exploiters of soldiers' funerals, Michael Moore and Fred Phelps (the "God Hates Fags" guy).

Greyhawk's info on Phelps is a must read, as is the post he links to at USS Neverdock. It seems that Phelps isn't some "religious right" nut after all, he's a "religious left" nut: Democrat, civil rights lawyer (now disbarred), long-time Al Gore supporter and fundraiser, candidate for governor and senator of Kansas in Democratic primaries. The Phelpses were Gore's guests at the '93 and '97 inaugurals.

So, was Knoll's behavior more or less contemptible than this?

Vandals are compounding the grief of a Tri-state soldier's family.

Not even 24-hours after Private First Class Tim Hines's wife and family said goodbye at his funeral, American flags that had adorned their Fairfield yard were piled beneath a car and burned.

Hines' sister-in-law woke up to hear her car alarm around 5:30 a.m. and saw her car on fire.

As firefighters brought the fire under control they discovered a pile of around 20 American flags underneath the car.

Neighbors say Hines' wife's family had flags line their front yard and on the porch.

Those were taken as well as flags in neighboring yards.

Hines was injured in Iraq and flown to Walter Reed Hospital in the Washington, D.C. area, but succumbed to the injuries before he could return home.

Hines' wife Katy is eight-months pregnant with their second child. She buried her husband on Friday.

Katy Hines had just moved back into her parents' home and woke up to find her sister's car consumed by flames.

Discuss. Propose appropriate punishments for each case. Extra points awarded for creativity.