I got this in an email from Don Carl this morning. Apparently there’s something in the First Amendment of the Constitution that protects lying, butt pirates from facing up to their malfeasance (SFGate link);
An elected official charged with falsely claiming he earned the military’s highest honor has filed a motion to dismiss the federal case against him on free speech grounds.
In reference to the Hillary Clinton plant, Keith Kerr at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate the other night, David Horowitz received this email (h/t Atlas Shrugs);
In spite of my current distractions at home I am forced to enter the public arena to express my outrage at the current republican debate as managed by CNN. Gay Keith is not a brigadier general. He is not even an active duty retired army officer. He spent his years as a reservist solely in the state of California military bureaucracy. His bio is published in the gay organization dedicated to voiding the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy.
For details. You must note that Kerr was retired from the inactive army reserves in the grade of colonel. With the exception of a few years served on active duty as a lieutenant his entire service was in the reserves in California. He was placed in retired reserve status with the California National Guard reserves and promoted to brigadier general in that federally unrecognized status.
It damn sure is tough to be a lying sack o’shit in the age of the internet, ain’t it? In case you don’t remember who General Kerr was, Michele Malkin can refresh us;
The tallest plant was a retired gay vet, one “Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr,†who questioned – or rather, lectured – the candidates on video and in person about the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell†policy that bans open gays from the military.
Funny. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell†was exactly the policy CNN adopted in not telling viewers that Kerr is a member of Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual- Transgender Americans for Hillary.
Hot Air has “CNN Defending their Vetting Procedures“
I’ll begin this with some background for the first time readers who will not have the energy to bother checking my “About” page before they email me with their false outrage. I spent twenty years in the Airborne and Bradley Infantry – I wore maroon, black and green berets all within the first six years of my career. I volunteered last year to go back on active duty – after being out for 14 years – because my country asked me. My son is currently an Air Force Staff Sergeant on active duty, my father was in the Navy during the Korean War, my niece (Army Reserve) and her husband (USMC) were both tapped for active duty service Iraq. All of my friends are or were on active duty. I have no friends who haven’t been on active duty. I’m no “chickenhawk”. Period.
So why did I say all of that? Well, I just finished reading the latest at Chickenhawk Express and it got my blood boiling and I’ve got some things to say that I can get away with, while people like Rush Limbaugh can’t get away with saying.
There’s a common thread that runs through all of these IVAW folks – they’re proven liars and sociopaths. This one that Robin wrote about, Clifton Hicks, is no different. At Hick’s IVAW “Back to Baghdad” fantasy tale about his so-called service in Iraq, he starts out telling lies;
I grew up in Savannah, Georgia, right near Fort Stewart, and I’ve always remembered what a big deal it was when 3rd ID came home in ’91.
If Hicks remembered the 3ID coming home, he lived in Germany because that’s where the 3ID called home at the time. The 24th Infantry Division came home to Fort Stewart in 1991. Anyone living in Savannah, Georgia at the time would have known that. The people in Savannah loved their 24th Division – many of the members of that division were from Savannah. Hicks is lying.
So we get treated to more lies about this cumbubble’s so-called service;
We were tucked away in the shittiest part of the base, behind two concrete walls and a canal, about a mile and a half from all the luxurious MWR facilities that we either weren’t allowed in or never had time to visit. We occupied old Iraqi Army barracks that besides being poorly built were of course plagued by rats and giant camel spiders who pestered us relentlessly. We lived off of junk food, MRE’s, and the rancid, fly ridden slop from our DFAC when we were desperate. A health inspector actually came by one day and demanded that our DFAC be shut down, but the Squadron Commander and Sergeant Major fought it and they stayed open.
That, my friends, is an outright lie. No commander, nor sergeant major, would tolerate unsanitary conditions in their mess hall. No squad leader, platoon sergeant, first sergeant would tolerate it. Mess sergeants are proud of the way they can feed nourishing food anywhere under any conditions. “Rancid, fly-ridden food” would never get to a soldier’s mouth. Having been an Infantry Platoon Sergeant, I know how important chow and sanitary conditions are to the successful completion of the mission.
Now let’s look at this picture from Hick’s photo gallery at IVAW;
Hick’s calls the photo “My First Notch” implying that as an M1 driver, he killed the driver of the vehicle with his tank. The only problem is that the photo is taken from the gunner’s position on the M1. If there is indeed a dead person in that car, and if indeed the M1 killed him, the photographer wasn’t driving the tank.
In another interview, Hicks described “the wedding incident”
Hicks is haunted by his activity in Iraq. He talks about what he calls the “wedding party incident.” His unit was on patrol when they heard shooting between US armed forces and what they thought were Iraqi insurgents. While Hicks prepared to go house to house in search of the enemy, what he discovered instead was a wedding. Some of the men had been shooting rifles into the air, as is customary during family parties and celebrations. Three people from the wedding were shot; a six-year-old girl was killed. When the platoon sergeant called the command center to report the incident, “all they said to us was ‘Charlie Mike,’ a stupid Army acronym for continue mission.”
So, if that’s true, why didn’t Hicks report it higher? We all know what happened at Haditha when innocents were killed. If Hick’s conscience is bothering him, why doesn’t he give testimony to the incident instead of just yapping like a yorkie?
In Hick’s Letter to Vets for Freedom;
How come nearly every single one of you people that I’ve seen or read about are Lieutenants and Sergeants? When I look at your little war pictures and read your poorly written bio’s my vision is overflowed with images of lazy, incompetent, cowardly Officers with a handful of brain-dead NCO’s to do their dirty work, as usual. I wonder where you boys all served?
So only Hick’s service can be considered heroic, I suppose. Anyone else was just a pogue. Funny, but while I served in the Infantry, I thought Cav pukes were pogues – the difference between me and Hicks; I grew out of it and honor everyone’s service.
I have to snicker, though. He calls VfF members’ bios poorly written and then writes the awkward “…my vision is overflowed with images….” phrase. Editorial kharma got him.
I suspect that Hick’s application for CO status stemmed from something more than what I can find. Some kind of childish misbehavior that he was trying to escape. I’m sure I’ll find it eventually – because there’s always a backstory to CO filings – in a volunteer military, people of coscience just don’t join.
I had a soldier transferred to my platoon from another company where he had misbehaved. When he found out how tough life was going to be in my platoon, he threatened to file as a concientious objector unless we transferred him back with his buddies. I, of course, told him to file – I didn’t give a tiny little rat’s ass what the little punk did. But the sergeant major caved and transfered him to appease the little punk. The soldier went to the war and came back – so much for the “conscience” part of being a CO.
Another soldier – the commander’s driver, if I’m not mistaken – went AWOL the morning we were scheduled to deploy to Iraq. When he called the commander, he claimed to be a CO – but it turned out that he just didn’t want to leave his German girlfriend unsupervised. He did 18 months at hard labor for thinking with his “other” head.
Adam Kokesh, whom I’ve written about extensively here, was busted for smuggling an Iraqi pistol back from the war. Hardly the actions of someone who “questioned” the war. It was only after the Marines busted him a rank and then denied him the opportunity to return to Iraq did he suddenly decide the war is immoral.
Lt. Ehren Watada, the youngster who volunteered for the Army didn’t become a CO until he’d been in the Army for three years – joining after the war in Iraq began. The little known fact is that Watada’s father had been a draft dodger during the Vietnam War. So, a logical person could conclude that Watada had joined the Army just to demoralize the troops – and to insure Democrat support in future elections.
Those are the phony soldiers – the guys who turn their sociopathic behavior into something marketable to the eager press willing to pay in exposure and feed the phony soldiers’ need for attention. But attention away from their crimes and misbehavior, portraying themselves as noble men, when the truth is that they are nothing more than snake oil salemen.
Scumbags all. These people don’t understand the concept of “selfless service” because in every action they take, it’s all about them. That’s why there are no conscientious objectors anymore – just a bunch of self-promoting morons with bouts of John F. Kerry syndrome.
And yes, because they don’t think like me, they’re wrong – because they don’t want the war in Iraq to end. If the war ends, they’re just another footnote in the history books and maybe a “where are they now?” interview in twenty years or so.
UPDATED: I forgot to add the link to The Sniper where my new buddy Thus Spake Ortner inspired this whole Hicks thing (from me, Robin and lately, GI Jane) in the first place. Compared to TSO and Robin, my rant is just a footnote.
Well, I was just sitting here doing the people’s business this morning when I get an email from my buddy COBDanny at Crotchety Old Bastard who writes me that out in Berkeley Californ-eye-ay, there was a protest. Of course, I’d linked to Gateway Pundit’s story yesterday about it. But Danny pointed me to Blackfive who pointed me to Neptunus Lex where I found the SFGate story on the protest;
“None of us is pro-war! I’m pro-defense,” Kevin Graves, 50, of Discovery Bay shouted at one protester. Graves, whose son Army Spc. Joseph Graves was killed in Baghdad in July 2006, continued, “My son died so you and I can stand here and disagree.”
In an interview, Graves said, “I think they’re misguided,” referring to Code Pink.
But David Santos, 15, of Oakland, said the conservative element was on the wrong side of the issue.
“They represent the social base that’s giving rise to this imperialistic war. Their so-called patriotic attitude,” he said, “just shows their blatant disregard for humanity and what the flag stands for. The very fact that they’re holding it up is enough for us to be out here.”
David Santos, 15, of Oakland doesn’t even shave, yet he’s got the world all figured out already – moreso than a father who has sacrificed his son for the country’s security. I wonder where David Santos’ father is – David Santos probably wonders the same thing.
But the part COB emailed me about is coming up;
Graves yelled at another protester, Pablo Paredes, 26, of Oakland and mocked him for his long hair. “Are you a soldier? They wouldn’t let you looking like that,” he said.
Paredes said later that he had served five years in the Navy and that people of color like himself bore the brunt of military service.
“I think the color of my skin shouldn’t make me be on the front line,” Paredes said, adding that he left the Navy because he refused orders and opposed the war in Iraq.
Say huh? Well, it turns out that Pablo Paredes has a Wikipedia page (I can only assume that Pablo was the only fellow interested enough in himself to write it, so I’m going to use it as a reference) and after reading it, I think I know Pablo pretty well;
Paredes tried unsuccessfully to switch to the military police in order to avoid involvement in the war. Paredes then applied for discharge as a conscientious objector on January 4, 2005 but was denied by the Navy in July of that year.
After deserting and missing movement, he returned to the Navy on December 18, 2004. The same day he made a statement to local press saying that he was fully aware of the possible repercussions of his decision.
According to this, he deserted and missed movement and then returned to the Navy December 18, 2004. Then he filed for conscientious objector status January 4, 2005. So, actually, he went through the process backwards – by the time he filed for CO, he was already a criminal who’d broken laws and CO was his way out of the charges – the Navy refused him CO after he’d tried to use it as an excuse to get out of being punished. In fact, the civilian courts have refused two appeals, according to the Wikipedia entry.
So like Adam Kokesh who turned against the war when the Marines busted him for smuggling a pistol back from iraq on his first tour, Paredes turned against the war when his own derelict behavior caught up to him. So what’s the first thing he drags out?
“I think the color of my skin shouldn’t make me be on the front line,” Paredes said…
A whole boat full of people went off to war – a crew – but unless that boat was full of strictly brown people, Paredes doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Neptune Lex probably said it well enough;
After having enjoyed peacetime service in Japan you deliberately missed ship’s movement and shirked your duty to avoid a very minimal risk in sailing to the Arabian Gulf. You don’t get to claim front line service when you bailed on your shipmates and forced someone else to cover your watch, to take your spot on the line.
Paredes is accustomed to misleading people. Take this Democracy Now statement that’s repeated around the internet in several other websites;
Paredes was convicted in a court-martial on Wednesday. However a judge decided Thursday not to sentence him to jail – instead he will face three months of hard labor.
Um, how is a three months sentence at hard labor in court martial procedings not jail time? If it was an Article 15 (or Captain’s Mast, I think the Navy calls it) there probably wouldn’t be jail time involved, but not in a court martial conviction. What a bunch of tools.
Paredes, keep your mouth shut – you don’t even know why you were convicted let alone how. You let empty-head spazzes like Paul Rockwell give you legal advice – and then on top of it all, you blame the fact that you’re brown as a reason to get out of going to war. (wasn’t that a line from the South Park Movie – Operation Human Shield). I’m pretty sure you were going to be a long way from any shooting – you’re one of those weinies who can’t stand being at sea, or out in the field on weekends – that’s what really scared you – no off time to play with the girls (or boys…or whatever).
After years of shore duty in Japan, you couldn’t stand the thought of actually doing your job – that’s why you missed movement. If it had been your conscience, you’d have applied for CO right after we went to war. The anti-war movement accepted you because there’s no one there who ever had to accomplish anything, no one whoever counted on them to do their job, or shoulder their own load – so you fit right in with them. And the chicks probably have hairier legs than yours, too.
You can’t fool the real troops, paredes – that’s why I nominate you to join the ranks of Phony Soldiers.
Yesterday, the Washington Post headlined the paper with news that operations in Iraq were working and it seemed that our goals there attainable. That “al Qaeda in Iraq Reported Crippled“. Thinking it odd that Washington post would allow such a thing to be published in their pages, let alone on the front page, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop – and it turns out it was twelve pairs of combat boots.
This morning we’re greeted on the pages of the Washington Post by the headline “The Real Iraq We Knew” written by 12 former Army Captains. They’re names and times of service in Iraq;
This column was written by 12 former Army captains: Jason Blindauer served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Elizabeth Bostwick served in Salah Ad Din and An Najaf in 2004. Jeffrey Bouldin served in Al Anbar, Baghdad and Ninevah in 2006. Jason Bugajski served in Diyala in 2004. Anton Kemps served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Kristy (Luken) McCormick served in Ninevah in 2003. Luis Carlos Montalván served in Anbar, Baghdad and Nineveh in 2003 and 2005. William Murphy served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Josh Rizzo served in Baghdad in 2006. William “Jamie” Ruehl served in Nineveh in 2004. Gregg Tharp served in Babil and Baghdad in 2003 and 2005. Gary Williams served in Baghdad in 2003.
I don’t intend to disparage their service, but I will point out that none have been there since the “surge” started – the latest service listed as “2006” – the “surge” didn’t even begin until November 2006 when troops began arriving and operations didn’t begin until late February 2007.
The 12 former captains write;
Against this backdrop, the U.S. military has been trying in vain to hold the country together. Even with “the surge,” we simply do not have enough soldiers and marines to meet the professed goals of clearing areas from insurgent control, holding them securely and building sustainable institutions. Though temporary reinforcing operations in places like Fallujah, An Najaf, Tal Afar, and now Baghdad may brief well on PowerPoint presentations, in practice they just push insurgents to another spot on the map and often strengthen the insurgents’ cause by harassing locals to a point of swayed allegiances. Millions of Iraqis correctly recognize these actions for what they are and vote with their feet — moving within Iraq or leaving the country entirely. Still, our colonels and generals keep holding on to flawed concepts.
How do they know? They haven’t been there since the surge began – they haven’t heard (apparently) that the Washington Post declared yesterday that al Qaeda is “crippled” and the Mahdi Army has all but disbanded. The “flawed concepts” have all changed since last year – with a new strategy and a new commander.
Iraq’s institutional infrastructure, too, is sorely wanting. Even if the Iraqis wanted to work together and accept the national identity foisted upon them in 1920s, the ministries do not have enough trained administrators or technicians to coordinate themselves. At the local level, most communities are still controlled by the same autocratic sheiks that ruled under Saddam. There is no reliable postal system. No effective banking system. No registration system to monitor the population and its needs.
They write that the infrastructure of Iraq is in bad shape – none of that could have improved significantly over the last year? The sheiks are joining the US forces in battling their common enemy al Qaeda – that’s all changed in the last six months.
If this letter was written a year ago, it might have been more significant – but now, it’s just a recitation of conditions long-ago passed. If this letter were written by 12 Captains currently serving in Iraq, it might be more significant – but these are all FORMER captains, none of whom have been in Iraq for more than a year.
The main reason conditions were so bad in Iraq last year was because of ill-considered actions by people like the latest “gang of 12” and Congress who’ve been threatening to pull the troops out of Iraq – why should Iraqis commit to a cause when their main protectors (we’re the ones with the guns and the only people they can really trust right now) are always on the verge of abandoning them – especially since we have a history of abandoning people to evil doers around the world in the last half-century.
President Bush proved, last November, that the Iraqis have his guarentee we’re not going to withdraw during his tenure – despite what the media and the Democrats say. That’s why the Iraqis are suddenly on our side, too. Like I said, this letter is nothing more than 12 former military people vying for jobs with political think tanks – and the left is a more attractive place to find think tank jobs – because you don’t have to think.
They end their letter calling for a draft as our only way to win. Anyone currently serving on active duty doesn’t want draftees in their units. Period. Who needs a bunch of smelly ex-hippies trying to dodge work and patrols? But, then that should be apparent – given the source of this letter.
I’ll bet a dollar to a donut, I get all kinds of hits today from those 12 former captains googling their own names. Anyone got a donut they want to lose?
Uncle Jimbo of Blackfive weighs in, Greyhawk at the MilBlogs says that NCO write better op/eds than captains and the Left is waiting for us to call them “Phony soldiers”. Murdoc Online arrives at my conclusion on the “12 Captains” draft proposal. Confederate Yankee thanks the 12 captains for their history lesson. Curt at Flopping Aces calls the WaPo piece “the dirt which buries our victory”.
I’m tired of the “phony soldiers” story and that seems all that’s on the blogs this weekend. Even EJ Dionne at the Washington Post blogs that (surprise!) he’d take the word of Media Matters over that of the cacophonous opposition of those of us who’ve listened to Rush for decades.
Wes Clark (h/t Hot Air) has decided that Rush shouldn’t be on Armed Forces Radio – but it was because of the popular demand of the troops that Rush was added to AFRTS broadcasts back in 1994 (when they were abandoned by the then-current administration). Shouldn’t it be by popular demand that Rush is removed by the line-up or is Wes Clarke the sole arbiter of what the troops should have for entertainment?
But regardless, Kos diarist dlawbailey has taken Rush’s “phony soldier” controversy as a signal that the Left can bash troops at will now (h/t to LGF, Uncle Jimbo and Sparta. dlawbailey even takes potshots at Pete Hegseth’s wife’s appearance in an attempt to undermine the good works of Vets for Freedom. And spouting off about stuff he doesn’t understand (like ROTC training and military service) including the one glaring point that Uncle Jimbo caught the weasel on – the 101st hasn’t been a parachute unit since the early 70s. When I was stationed in Panama, they used to show up for the unit training at Jungle Operations Training Center in their blue berets instead of the maroon berets of every parachute unit in the Army. I was stationed there 1976-1978, so it’s been that long that the 101st has been “dopes on a rope” (a derisive phrase used only by paratroopers when referring to the 101st and their special training requiring them to slide down a rope to arrive at the cutting of battle by air. I’ll add that it’s not acceptable for non-airborne personnel to use the term and my use of the phrase is not a signal for Leftist diarists to begin referring to the noble troopers of the 101st Airborne Division as “dopes”).
Since I also spent a few years teaching ROTC (at the University of Vermont), I can also add that not every cadet gets to go to Airborne School – the detachment is assigned a number of slots and there aren’t ever enough slots for everyone. Participation in political organizations while in an ROTC detachment isn’t limited by Army regulations – so cadets can join any organization to which they are drawn just like any other college student. Cadets aren’t confined by the UCMJ – dlawbailey should do a little research before wrapping himself/herself in minutae he/she doesn’t understand.
Peckerwood dlawbailey complains about Hogseth’s lack of training – anyone who has spent a month in a TO&E unit knows that a bright and shiney new El-Tee has already had a few years of training at whatever college they attended, six weeks at Advanced Camp (if they’re ROTC), six months of their Basic Officers’ Course and ancillary training (Ranger School, Airborne, etc.).
It’s not unusual for someone in a National Guard unit (like Hegseth) to not be Airborne or Ranger because of the rare times those particular officers get a slot at school. Unlike the idiots at Kos, the Army puts more stock in experience than schooling. The Basic Airborne Course – although it’s a great honor to be among the finest soldiers in the history of the world – isn’t a leadership school. Aside from being physically and mentally rigorous, the main prerequisite for the course is the student’s ability to obey the Law of Gravity at varying heights – nothing about leading troops in combat. I’ve even had leg Ranger LTs; they’d graduated from Ranger School, but not the Basic Airborne Course. Just the luck of getting school slots – that’s all.
It seems that the “phony soldier” phony signal has turned loose the moonbats everywhere. Newsbusters reports that one-in-five Democrats thinks it’s a good thing if the US loses the war in Iraq. Wha??? Unless one-in-five Democrats are al Qaeda sleeper operatives, that should make the DNC think whether they want the votes of that constituency or not.
Newsbusters also reports that members of the mis-named “Think Progress†have taken to praying – that the President and Vice-President die. In the words of a member named ‘Uncle Ho’ (clearly a misinformed person just for chosing that nom de plum); “I pray for Bush, and Cheney too. I pray that both die suddenly to free us from their neo-Nazi ruleâ€. Yep, neo-nazi rule. Even after viewing the repression of the monks in Burma, the Left still thinks we’re ruled by nazis here.
Speaking of which, Kate took pics of the latest Buddist protests in DC at the Myanmar, Chinese and Indian embassies yesterday. Why aren’t more of the Left getting involved against REAL injustice instead of this manufactured phony soldiers crap?
But that’s not it. Crotchety Old Bastard (who tells us his son is still kickin’ ass in Iraq as a member of the Red Falcons – best wishes to him from this old trooper, too) writes that Medea Benjamin, the head shriveled up, barren old bag of Code Pink has made the brave decision to forego the protections she recieves from the Constitution. Who does she think she’s kidding? Does she think we’re going to put her on a raft in the Pacific Ocean and tie it off with a 12-mile rope on the Santa Monica pier? Dumbass.
And Code Pink has taken to bravely assaulting recruiters who, generally can’t defend themselves the way they’ve been trained according to Marooned in Marin. And those goofballs in front of Walter Reed every Friday night protesting the war? Well, it turns out that because we’re winning the war in Iraq, their voluntary participation has waned and according to Chickenhawk Express, Michele Malkin and the Free Republic, protesters are being drafted by the unions and forced to participate – even though they’re not exactly sure why they’re there.
As I predicted three months ago, the Left and their anti-war politics are failing and they’ve succumbed to the same tactics of al Qaeda – attacking innocent people who can’t defend themselves (apparently, according to Crotchety Old Bastard, al Qaeda is even adopting the tactics of Democrats and attacking the dead, too). Just like the tactic isn’t working for al Qaeda, it’ll bring a ugly end to the anti-war screwballs, too, but not before there are a bunch more casualties – on both sides.
UPDATED: It seems Uncle Jimbo, a retired special warfare operator of some reknown, started a diary on Kos and has been banned for – get this – being a pedophile. All he did was bust on the Koskommies for the aforementioned diarist’s post busting on an honest-to-goodness bronze star awardee’s career (and wife, by the way). The comments on Jimbo’s diary post are really beyond the pale. The closest comment to anything supporting the troops is when one commenter called Markos a “a f*king veteran”. Like I said – the politics of bad taste.
I remember when students were people who recognized that they knew nothing and they sought out schools which were accredited, and hired learned, trustworthy people to teach them the things they do not know. But that’s all changed now, I guess. Students think they know what’s best for them to learn, and who are the people that are the best to teach them. (Washington Times)
It’s going to take more than getting fired to stop former professor Ward Churchill from teaching at the University of Colorado.
The ex-professor was back on campus Tuesday at the invitation of students to teach an unsanctioned course, “ReVisioning American History: Colonization, Genocide and Formation of the U.S. Settler State.”
Always a popular figure on campus, Mr. Churchill, 52, was met with applause by the 30 or so students and well-wishers who attended the first session.
“This course is an entirely voluntary exercise for all parties involved,” Mr. Churchill said. “It carries no credit, fulfills no institutional requirements, involves payment of no tuition, entails no paycheck to its instructor.”
Student organizers reserved a classroom at the Eaton Humanities Building for the unofficial course. According to the syllabus, Mr. Churchill will teach every Tuesday evening through the month of October, with class topics to focus on colonialism, genocide and racism.
So, despite the fact that Churchill is a lying, plagerizing, phony soldier, phony Indian, there are still some students that think he has something to offer them in the way of an education. The students have decided who best can teach them and what they want to learn. That’s why we have a generation of Psychology majors and Art History majors who can’t write and form an intelligent thought – because the inmates are running the asylum.
Yeah, I heard the story about Rush Limbaugh calling people “phony soldiers”, I’ve watched the video, I’ve read the blogs – I know what he said, I don’t need it explained to me. He was talking about Jesse Macbeth – the best known fake veteran of this war, so far. Prairie Pundit is waiting for a Macbeth phony soldier squad to embrace him. Who thought this scrawney twirp was a Ranger?
And who thought this was the career of an E-fricken-four?
Limbaugh was talking about Scott Thomas Beauchamp who told phony stories about impossible events that happened to him before he set foot in Iraq. You’d think The New Republic would be smart enough to steer clear of the Limbaugh controversy, but, nope.
Limbaugh was talking about Tom Harkin, the Senator who likes to tell war stories about a war he was never in. He’s talking about Harry Reid, who suddenly feels like the troops have been slighted (not when he called them losers and suggested they quit fighting, though). They can’t condemn Iran for killing our troops, but they can summon the guts to condemn Limbaugh (Hot Air) – how fricken brave.
Limbaugh is talking about John Kerry who took a movie camera to Viet Nam (at a time when even most really rich people didn’t have movie cameras) and “re-enacted” his battles – and threw someone’s medals over some fence. And made up stories about what he’d wished he done in Viet Nam. Then makes a “botched joke” about how stupid the troops are. More on the original phony soldier, John Kerry from Sweetness and Light.
Limbaugh was talking about John Murtha who hides behind his fake 30 years of service (half of which he spent in Congress, and all except one year, he spent defending Johnstown, PA from being awash in beer in his “special infantry” unit) while taking pot shots at the folks who are actually doing the heavylifting he couldn’t summon the testicular fortitude to accomplish. Need I mention his “pink badge of courage“?
Here’s another phony soldier, Al Gore who had a body guard either because he was an E-4 journalist or a Senator’s son. I spent a year in Panama as an Army journalist and I never had a body guard. My friend, Gary, spent a few years as a journalist in Germany and didn’t get a body guard – so you tell me;
Apparently his bodyguard was to protect Gore from himself.
Limbaugh is talking about Jon Solz, who flew off the handle at a soldier in uniform at the Yearly Koz, yet a picture of Solz in his uniform is on his website (which is now closed because Solz has apparently foresaken his own band of phony soldiers) – doing nothing more than the young buck sergeant at the Yearly Koz.
Limbaugh is talking about Adam Kokesh – the dimwitted bubblehead who claimed he’d been discharged when he hadn’t, who made false claims about the war all because he’d been busted smuggling an Iraqi pistol back from the war and the Marines wouldn’t extend him the honor of returning to the war. And then makes false claims about the recruiter that recruited him. Kokesh still calls himself “Sergeant Kokesh” even though he was busted to private years ago. All the while he’s using his GI Bill to get an education.
I meet phony soldiers nearly everyday – they’re everywhere. Just the other day I saw some homeless bum walking around with a cammie jacket and a ton of patches sewn on it – none of which had anything to do with another. But the Left loves them – the Left defends them. The Left protects them. And this how they treat the troops with whom they disagree;
So this Clinton-funded Media Matters gaggle with admitted liar David Brock at the helm doesn’t need to tell me what to think about Limbaugh – nothing Limbaugh says can compare to those phony warriors on Capitol Hill – and the ones the Left seems to attract.
Michele Malkin is all over Tom Harkin and Crotchety Old Bastard is mopping up Harry Reid. Gateway Pundit is dragging out phony soldiers from every closet – here, here and here. Melanie Morgan at Move America Forward mentions a few more phony soldiers that I’ve forgotten,