Drudge is linking this story:

Automotive supply chain Pep Boys fired a Tucson store manager because his military Reserve duties took him away from work, according to a federal lawsuit filed here.

It may not be an isolated case. Several other reservists fired from Pep Boys in Tucson and Pennsylvania have contacted a military advocacy group with similar complaints....

In the Tucson case, Erik Balodis, then a store manager at the 7227 E. 22nd St. Pep Boys, was fired after being called to a U.S. Naval Reserve exercise in June 2002. Balodis, a father of two young children, was unable to find work for five months....

Under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act and Arizona state law, an employer may not terminate an employee who is called to active duty....

You know what folks? The Dixie Chicks don't hate America. Barbra Streisand doesn't hate America. Pep Boys, if what's being alleged here is true, hates America.

There's a detail in the story that I find shocking. I really want to believe this is a typo:

The suit cites a letter sent to the Naval Reserve by Pep Boys, dated Sept. 11, 2001, requesting Balodis "be exempted from any impending call to active duty as a result of the tragic and senseless acts of terrorism. ... While I recognize Mr. Balodis' commitment to protect and serve the nation, I must also make you aware that he holds a critical position in the Corporate Structure of Pep Boys."

Is this accurate? Did Pep Boys actually have the gall to send a letter on September 11, 2001, demanding exemption from the requirement to protect the job of a reservist?

If Ben & Jerry's had done something like that, you'd never hear the end of it.

I'm opposed to the war, but I am not opposed to the people who might have to fight it. This is wrong.

(A footnote: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act became law in October 1994. Yes, this happened when we had a Democratic president, House, and Senate.)