From News Busters:
In a televised interview with former CBSer Marvin Kalb, retired CBS anchor Dan Rather stated that his network will not allow him to continue to pursue the story of President Bush’s Air Guard service.
“Straight-up, no chaser, no,” the exiled anchor said when asked if he would consider filing a story about it on the “60 Minutes” news magazine since he continues to believe in it.
“CBS News doesn’t want me to do that story. They wouldn’t let me do that story,” Rather said, declining to elaborate further. (See it in WMV or RealMedia video.)
Rather also expressed suspicion about bloggers’ role in publicizing CBS’s mistakes in the whole Memogate affair.
“There are some strange, and to me, still mysterious things, certainly unexplained things that happened about how it got attacked and why, even before the program was over,” Rather said, adding that his network was derelict in not “knowing enough of how quickly bloggers could strike.”
Well, far be it for me to throw cold water on a perfectly good conspiracy theory, but I happen to know for a fact that Bill Ardolino—one of the bloggers who spearheaded the probe into the authenticity of the memos—could’ve been persuaded to drop his investigation for a sixer of Bud Light and a couple of DiGiorno mushroom and black olive pizzas. Charles Johnson? Probably would’ve taken a titanium bike lock and a harmonica. The Powerline guys? Just ask them nicely.
So, y’know, as secretive cabals go, this was hardly the Knights Templar CBS was up against.
No, this has nothing to do with conspiracies or corporate power plays. Instead, what’s going on here is that Rather is betting on the true believers to salvage his reputation —something he knows will only happen so long as he provides them with that kernel of doubt necessary to keep the story alive. And what better way to supply that doubt than to hint that powerful interests are at work behind the scenes, colluding to smother the Truth.
It’s shameful and arrogant, sure. But then, this is Dan Rather we’re talking about.
(h/t Ace)
I don’t remember the timeline, but didn’t that Freeper actually post his suspicions 45 minutes or so after the airing? Not that it makes much difference, but the whole conspiracy theory is less appealing if the right-wing cabal didn’t tip its hand by showing foreknowledge.
Except for one little thing, this does make a great conspiracy theory. Rovian agents plant memos with just enough truth to get picked up by CBS, they get trashed as obvious fakes, and the ensuing backlash silences (such a sinister word) a powerful journalist who has a years-old personal beef with the Bush family.
The one little thing, of course, is that the memos were so obviously fakes. No one but a lunatic could have thought those would actually make it on network teevee.
You’re forgetting your Foucault’s Pendulum, Jeff. Every secretive cabal is the Knights Templar!
I heard Lucy Ramirez was raped and murderd at the SuperDome.
Matt, there was time zone confusion because the Freeper board is a west coast thing, but the guy doing the debunking was on the east coast, thus if you were a dumbshit, you might think the east coast guy either used a time machine or got a little too excited about his fax from Karl Rove.
I saw those PDFs before too much had been said about them, and knew immediately that it was a threshold moment. I’m 40 and grew up with typewriters in high school and half of college, with word processors and computers just coming on to the geek crowd. To anyone my age who has used both, those PDFs were lock-tight DNA-quality evidence that the documents were fake.
What really shocked me was not that cBS had gone ahead with these, but that apparently there was no one employed at cBS under the age of 45 who might have seen these and said, “Uh, wait a minute, guys…” I mean, you’d think a few MTV washouts might have been tossed across the Viacom landscape. But I guess they are called the Matlock Network for more than just their viewership.
Even the liberal engineers where I work were not stupid enough to try and defend cBS to me. It was a blissful two weeks where they stared at their toes and kept their pie holes shut. These PDFs were unspinnable amongst engineers.
Fantastic – think about Eco’s central plot point here – an imagined conspiracy/hoax that only deceives those already inclined to conspiracy, who desperately want to believe anything and everything but the simple truth.
It is freaking eerie when Rather et al imitate art like this – what’s next, the Spanish Inquisition? Because no one expects that, you know….
As tt said. I’m thirty-nine and I have used carriage return typewriters (pretty standard issue back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s). Typewriters used courier font, which exagerrated the width of letters by using really enlarged feet. This is because a carriage return typewriter moved a tenth of an inch with each keystroke. Thus each letter, be it i or m was on a hammer a tenth of an inch wide and something had to be done so that words would flow together and not look wierd with some letters far apart and others close together.
Times New Roman letters are set close to one another without worrying about the tenth of an inch spacing because computers do not have to deal with a mechanical carriage return. Thus a typewritten document is visually distinguishable from a modern word processor document, and only an obsessive true believer would continue with this story.
Rather appears to be just that sort of driven, revenge-obsessed, true believer. May he crash-and-burn forever.
POLL:
WHOSE SET UP DAN RATHER?
A) Karl Rove
B) Da Jews
C) Halliburton
(Results will be published at DailyKos on September 28, 2005)
Dan’s ever so tenuous grasp on reality seems to be down to its last pinky.
The only member of a not so secret cabal here is Dan the Man himself. It appears that he is certified, card carrying, self deluded member of the TinFoil Hat Brigade. This finally explains the “Kenneth, what’s the frequency” story. On a clear day I hear he gets great UHF reception as well.
Bugs said it best: “What a maroon”
I’d go one step further. Dan Rather’s continued employment at CBS News was probably conditioned on his not pursuing any TANG story related to Bush.
While Rather may be beyond embarrassement by his pursuit of fake, but accurate stories, CBS certainly is not.
And the best part? It adds CBS News management to the conspiracy theory, for all the tinfoil hat nutjobs.
What’s the frequency, Jeff?
Those “mysterious things, certainly unexplained things,” Dan? Those are called people.
Oh, and I suppose in your grandpa moment you didn’t realize, the reason CBS won’t let you “do that story” is because you don’t actually do stories. You read other people’s stories on tv. CBS fired those people, Dan.
Holy hand-grenade, Jeff, I tend not to mention the t word (or whatever you call it), but this time it was “people.” Yes, that was sorta my point.
forget for a moment the kerning and proportionality.
A typewriter is a mechanical device. The way the columns lined up, the line spacing, everything about those documents screamed ‘laserjet’.
What bothers me most about the forgeries was the incompetence of the forger. Had the writer/creator of the memos simply used a frigging daisywheel printer to print them up then the story would have taken a completely different turn.
What bothers me most about CBS is that they’re lying pig-eyed sacks of crap.
I was talking about this to a liberal (but not moonbat) friend of mine a while back, and I expressed the opinion that “Rather got of easy”. He agreed, saying something like, “I have no problem if someone wants to dump on the Bush administration, but you can’t go on the air with obviously faked documents like that.”
So there are at least some people even on the left who aren’t buying into that business.
“What bothers me most about CBS is that they’re lying pig-eyed sacks of crap.”
You and me both, brother.
perhaps cBS is just tired of throwing money at this particular lunacy? didn’t I read somewhere that Ms. Mapes worked this story for 5 years? Someone was paying her salary and expenses for those years, and I’d guess it wasn’t Mr. Rather.
You know, Dan could be right. I have, in my possesion, the fax that Roosevelt got from the CIA warning him about Pearl Harbor.
So you know, these things do happen.
Cover-ups that is.
Yeah, I had anti-Bush acquaintances who were embarrassed by this too.
Unfortunately, they never really made the next logical jump: if CBS and Rather defend something this obviously fake so aggressively, what does that imply about the rest of their news?
So where was Bush during 1972-1973?
A $10,000 reward went unclaimed for anyone who could prove his active National Guard service during that period (http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/bush_guard.html).
But thats not the story I guess. Rather’s facts were not airtight.
-Stockpiles, anyone?
So, it’s Snake-bit Dan in an atmosphere of fear with fearsome snakes.
At least that Shiela Nevins said she’d punch the snake when Dan is close to tears discussing his work and his lip quivers. Unlike those CBS boss snakes at. Who are down with the snakes in some kind of snake club.
(Is it true that Ardolino can strike with authority at beer and mushroom-and-black-olive pizzas from distance of 3 times his body length?)
Dudackattack, Rather’s facts were less than air tight. They were forgeries.
Dan Rather is little more than a bitter old man, who is quickly being overcome by his delusions. The sanity of anyone who believes the coverage of Katrina was “one of television news’ finest moments” certainly deserves to be questioned. I suspect that soon only personal grooming habits will distinguish him from the homeless man Kramer & Newman auditioned for rickshaw driver (“The government!!!”)
Goddamit, where’s my check, Rove?!
So where was Bush during 1972-1973?
At times, it’s almost arguing with someone who’s a confirmed believer in Bigfoot, or UFOs, or whatever is the paranormal theory du jour – no matter what proof one offers, no matter how many times Occam’s razor slices straight to the heart of the matter, it just doesn’t seem to make a dent.
I’m beginning to think Bush-Derangement-Syndrome is more of a faith than a pathology.
Errr… that should be, “At times it’s almost like arguing”
I know, I know, preview…
“Rather’s facts were less than air tight. They were forgeries. “
Like these?
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/03/14/sprj.irq.documents/
-Yet ALL of the media bought the story – Has Powerline put their feet to the fire when it came to that twisted agenda ?
Which lie is of greater consequence?
And the other question still remains, where was Bush in 1972-1973? Some of us are still curious since the media dropped the whole AWOL issue after Rather got hosed.
Imagine if ALL media fabrications got this much attention -Swift Boat Veterans ring a bell? How about a Clinton Body Count?
Nah. Of course not.
“There are some strange, and to me, still mysterious things, certainly unexplained things that happened about how it got attacked and why, even before the program was over,†Rather said.
Mr. Rather: I’m sure it’s very mysterious and unexplained – to you – that people would question your authority and authenticity. Welcome to a new age where everyone has a voice and you are no longer the sole keeper of imparted wisdom. Welcome to the day where news is made and reported by anyone and everyone. Welcome to a time when information is available through a vast medium you frankly don’t even begin to understand. Welcome to the 21st century, which is no longer yours. Goodbye, Dan.
So Rather got pimped out by his sources (Rove??), big deal. Can anyone really say that the story is not true? Bush has walked away from every single responsibility he has ever had so why should anyone be surprised that he walked away from the national guard. I really don’t even care about that, I never have but it is the fact that he has condemned all of these national guard troops to back to back deployments in a fake war that really tends to irritate those of us in the reality based community.
What did the Swifties lie about?
The “Clinton Body Count” was a fringe fever swamp document that was dismissed by the media out of hand or used as a club to beat normal conservatives over the head when the mood struck.
We didn’t invade Iraq and depose a murderous, terror supporting tyrant because of a few memos whose authenticity has been challenged. We freed 25 million people from his insanity and are in the process of making the middle east a saner place because our national security needs demand that that swamp get drained in order to kill the terrorist mosquitoes whose nasty habits have become impossible to ignore any longer.
You tell us, Duck: where was Bush from 1972-73? I imagine he as in a variety of different places, doing a number of things. The question, as posed, seems a little vague.
Behold: the MSM media’s standard for reporting a scandalous story about a conservative.
“Well, can you prove that my preconceived notions and resulting fantasies aren’t true?”
That stuff worked before the advent of the New Media, but that dog won’t hunt no more, lefties. Have a nice day.
…those of us in the reality based community.
What color is the sky in this community, KB? From which direction does the sun rise?
The Swift Boat Veterans were a “media fabrication”? Damn. I thought cloning was a long way off, but manufacturing more than 250 complete humans? That’s an amazing feat. Too bad the media wasted it on creating aging Vietnam-era veterans and not on beautiful dancing girls or something.
What other “responsibilities” did Bush walk away from, KB? He finished college, has been married for years, didn’t leave any single moms fending for themselves. I’m not following you on this trail of wonton irresponsibility.
How come the craziest motherfuckers on the Internet always claim to be “reality-based?” I don’t think that word means what they think it means.
Well, Dan is now free to join O.J. Simpson. Together, they can travel from golf course to golf course pounding back shots of Wild Turkey and searching for The Truth. (Sounds like the basis of an Updike novel, doesn’t it?—Rather Run.)
Looks like Dan’s already started.
OMG Jeff – Immediately return that big foam finger to Dan will ya?
Oh, ‘reality-based’? Uh, no. Although I do applaud your ability to see through your large intestine.
Bookends For A Career
#1
#2 The TANG forgeries
I’m not stupid enought to think a man who became famous by lying, and ended his career with a massive lie while trying to change the outcome of a Presidential Election, is anything but a liar.
Bruce,
That’s perfect. Amen.
“What did the Swifties lie about? “
FOX exposed anti-Kerry vets’ flip-flopping
http://mediamatters.org/items/200405050004
I’ll repeat that. </b>FOX<b>.
Not exactly the bastion of liberal media.
“You tell us, Duck: where was Bush from 1972-73?”
“ I imagine he as in a variety of different places, doing a number of things..”
Well, if we want to stick to that standard…
http://www.awolbush.com
-Thats a start but no serious inquiry has ever been taken. Again, the reward for proof of his service was never claimed.
“We didn’t invade Iraq and depose a murderous, terror supporting tyrant because of a few memos whose authenticity has been challenged. We freed 25 million people from his insanity and are in the process of making the middle east a saner place because our national security needs demand that that swamp get drained in order to kill the terrorist mosquitoes whose nasty habits have become impossible to ignore any longer.”
Fine. Prove to everyone here that our original intent for the invsion of Iraq was to “free its people” “Depose a dictator” and “kill the terrorist mosquitoes”. Feel free to locate any offical proclamation to the American people that those were the reasons we went to war.
-We’ll just have to throw out the “Imminent Threat” justification in the process.
While you’re it…
Explain why we did nothing when the tyrant committed his worst atrocites with our tacit support:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/index.htm
Or why we did nothing when Hussein shot at a U.S. Navy Frigate in 1987:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/USS-Stark-(FFG_31)
“Bigfoot, or UFOs,”…Yeah. OK.
You do realize that Bush wan’t President in 1987?
Hey, troll, Dudackattack–this is a thread about Dan Rather. Go start your own blog, and invite people to comment on your “theories” rather than coming over here and wasting Jeff’s bandwidth.
It’s called common courtesy. Try it out.
Cheers.
Hey, woo, it’s one of those Allah head-bang moments!
I can’t respond, I’m laughing too hard.
Why didn’t we do anything about the Stark? Easy, we did, the next year when a plan didn’t identify itself 20 miles out, we shot it down. It just so happens we made a mistake, it was Iran Air 655. Remember that? Our mission in the gulf at that time was to keep the sea lanes open for tankers, it was a very active area, a war zone, we were in the middle.
If we’re talking conspiracies, then maybe you should ask yourself this question, if the US was selling Iraq all of its arms, why did they shoot the Stark with a French-made Exocet missle from a Russian-built plane?
As Dan would say, “Porridge, Dudackattack. porridge.”
Dudackattack, do you listen to yourself? The president said over and over again that Iraq wasn’t an imminenet threat, yet. Do you honestly believe he didn’t? Do you honestly believe that Kerry didn’t make any statements about Christmas in Cambodia? Do you honestly believe that the Rather documents weren’t forgeries? Do you honeslty believe that every intelligence agency in the world didn’t think Saddam was actively prusuing nuclear weapons? Do you honestly believe that president Clinton didn’t claim that regime change in Iraq was a US goal? Do you honeslty believe that GW Bush was president in 1987? Do you honeslty believe that David Brooks is fair and impartial? Do you honeslty believe that freeing twenty five million people from a facist dictatorship is bad? Do you honestly believe any of this stuff?
I apologize for feeding the troll. Won’t happen again. If I had known he was going to pull out the “no imminent threat” trope, I wouldn’t have done it.
Ugh.
Man, it must kill you guys that your divinely appointed king is legally a deserter. Personally, I would like to know what got Bush and his buddy Jim Bath (who later arranged the deal with Osama bin Lauden’s brother Salem to start Bush’s first oil company) grounded at the same time for the same reason. I’m guessing it had something to do with coke.
Of course the documents were fake. What about the information in them?
Okay John, you’ve proved it. You don’t listen to yourself. Glad we cleared that up.
Oh come on now, which one of you is impersonating a troll? ‘Fess up now!
Which documents? The Dan Rather fakes or the French intelligence fakes?
Damned moonbats are whining about so much they’re getting their lies crossed.
John Gillnitz, summarized:
”The memos were fake but accurate.”
Ah. The venerable ‘fake but accurate’ charge.
Yes let’s pull that one out, dust it off, give it a shave, and put it back on display. Proving once again that ‘reality-based community’ has much in common with a 5-year-old on Christmas eve. Both are certain that if they’re very good, a mysterious and supernatural individual will bring them presents.
Both want a Malibu Barbie, but that’s beside the point.
Dudackacttack,
What the heck, exactly, does “original intent” have to do with anything?
The original ‘intent’ of the Civil War had precious little to do with the Emancipation Proclamation. The intent of responding to Pearl Harbor had absolutely zilch to do with invading Tunisia.
What is this ‘orginal intent’ you speak of? Is it like original sin, a philosophical/theological construct derived from an attempt to understand human nature?
Please do tell.
TW: off, as in “Are we capable of getting off this quixotic AWOL kick any time in the forseeable future?”
“Fake but accurate”… That’s not even true, while Bill A. and Charles J. were concentrating on the typography, others of us were looking at the content of the memos. These couldn’t be replicas of any real documents because the terms used (“OETR” was my personal jihad), the dates and the general context of many of the memos made no sense.
That’s not even true, while Bill A. and Charles J. were concentrating on the typography, others of us were looking at the content of the memos. These couldn’t be replicas of any real documents because the terms used (“OETR” was my personal jihad), the dates and the general context of many of the memos made no sense.
Well, not to mention the fact that one of the memos had the subject line “CYA.” Now tell me – what sort of idiot writes a “CYA” memo acknowledging that the memo is indeed expressly to CYA? Bill Burkett is an idiot.
Cut him some slack jack, he’s had the brain fever.
Burketts’s a poor sick brain-damaged fool.
Rather walked into this with blinders. And nobody warned him about the !!SNAKES!!
You know, my Dan Rather has been trouble-free since the day I got it. You all need to take yours back to your dealer and get it repaired or replaced, or maybe upgrade to a Sam Donaldson. Those are nice units, very entertaining.
Man, it must kill you guys that your divinely appointed king is legally a deserter.
Boy, you got me. Bush’s court martial really keeps me up at night, wondering why I didn’t vote for Kerry.
Oh, wait…
A couple of responses then I’m off this thread before the rest of the tinfoil hat brigade has another hissy fit.
The jist of my first and follow-up responses:
The Wingnut Double Standard:
1.) Lying about something that is possibly true:
Dan Rather using bogus source documents to prove that Bush may have been AWOL:
BAD. VERY BAD.
RESULT: Rather -canned.
2.) Lying about another thing that is possibly true: In this case the government using bogus source documents to prove that Iraq is pursuing WMD’s:
GOOD.
CONSEQUENCE: War. (and the inconvenient 1900+ American Servicemen dead).
As with the other cases I cite with Kerry, Clinton and the run-up to the war, the biggest liars often go without scrutiny. On the other hand anyone who calls out such perpetrators for their mendacity is crucified.
In other words:
Rathergate – Small potatoes.
War – A REALLY SERIOUS F’N BIG DEAL.
What are the Right’s priorities?
The fake yellowcake documents were not used as justification for going to war, not by Bush. There was other evidence that showed Iraq was attempting to purchase uranium from Niger, and that evidence was used (as it should have been) as justification for war.
As far as Bush going AWOL, you’ve got nothing. Nothing. It’s all lies and baseless innuendo.
So yeah, I think my priorities are straight.
Gos,h Dudackattack considering you have spent the better part of this thread tacitly arguing for the continuation of Sadaam’s riegn, perhaps that is a question you should ask yourself. is there any facist, murdering regime you don’t support? I’m just curious.
Every time I think the parodies of the left are getting too over-the-top and vicious, an actual lefty manages to come along and show that they’re right on target.
You simply can’t parody the left anymore.
It’s a pity, really.
If you are an avid Bush voter (a 38 percenter) you have looked beyond his lack of intelligence, his inability to speak clearly, and the cruelty of his policies. You have convinced yourself that his “aloofness†is funny and endearing because he is cool under pressure and confident about his abilities. You tell yourself that his false bravado and tuff talk are manly and thats exactly what America needs to get it in shape after those weak “feel-good†Clinton years. Bush is a man ordained by GOD to be King and every mistake that he has made is someone else’s fault or he is just having to put things back together after the UNGODLY 90’s. The 38% who live mostly in the South don’t see anything wrong with the fact that when unscripted he can’t seem to utter an intelligible sentence, that his cowboy image and his brush clearing are fake, or that the majority of his policies are damaging to their own lives. He is still one of them. There is nothing wrong with the fact that he had to hold hands with Cheney during the 9/11 testimony, something that has never occurred in the history of our judicial system. Even the fact that he has to constantly defer to his parents when he gets himself in trouble and his mommy defends him like she is talking about a 10 year old delinquent child. How weird is that? To acknowledge all that has happened and accept the fact that he was responsible would be psychologically devastating to the 38% of people who still defend him. That is why despite overwhelming evidence they refuse to believe that things could be this fucked up. They can’t and they won’t.
I’ve been saying it for years: There’s no parody like self-parody.
“Even the fact that he has to constantly defer to his parents when he gets himself in trouble and his mommy defends him like she is talking about a 10 year old delinquent child.”
That bit of armchair psychobabble was ridiculous, so let me respond in kind. I think this sentence cuts to the heart of the matter… KB’s mommy didn’t love him, and he’s jealous that Barbara supports her son.
Rather than get into my relationship with my mommy, I will say it as simply as possible. Who on this blog or anywhere else in the neo-con-job world can honestly say that they are completely satisfied that Lt. George W. Bush fulfilled his obligation to the air national guard and to his country? I don’t want any of this “well he got a honorable discharge” bullshit either. I want to see if all you patriots hold this man to the same standard that he holds the current national guard troops on their 3RD FUCKING ROTATION IN IRAQ!
Yeesh, KB, it’s a good thing you folks on the left don’t stereotype people or anything.
You started the psychobabble, pretending you know me, so don’t whine when I pretend to know you.
Yes, I’m satisfied he fufilled his obligations. You don’t have any proof that he didn’t. He’s run for major state and national offices several times now and he was a target of partisan journalists the whole time, and you still have nothing. Mapes and Rather worked for five years to get this story, and what did they come up with? Ludicrously obvious forgeries.
You’ve got nothing. As Rather might put it, you got the skillet hot, the butter sizzling, then found you had no possum to fry.
Matt you sound defensive bro, not real convincing. I just want you guys to take a good look at yourselves. Believe me I’m a real lefty and it took me a while to realize what a disaster Bill Clinton was. I honestly believe that true “conservatives” are capable of governing effectively but the Bush administration has been toxic to this country and the sooner you guys acknowledge that fact the better. Stop making up excuses for George W. Bush, people have done that his entire life. This is exactly why he has failed at just about everything he has done yet he is so detached from reality he doesn’t even realize how much of a failure he is. Your whining is not going to change that and it’s pretty fucking pathetic to be making up excuses for a 59 year old man. This is not a pep rally, this is real, this is life and death and the time for the talking points is over.
KB, when you’ve got something more about Bush’s service record than your absolute blind certainty that it’s been falsified in some way, you let us know. I for one appreciate knowing such things and I’ll be angered and unhappy.
However, as for your assumption that you know me or how I feel about Bush because I support the war? GFY. You’re lumping together tens of millions of people and then assuming you know everything about them. You’re a fool and blowhard and you’d be first in line to decry the plight of the Iraqis if we really did pull our troops out and leave the country to the likes of a new Saddam.
OH MY GOD THE SCALES HAVE FALLEN FROM MY EYES!!! BUSH=TEH SUX0RZ!!1! THANK YOU, BRAVE KB!!!
I hereby declare that I am through with making excuses for Bush. You hear that KARL? THROUGH!
I will no longer tolerate his failing at EVERYTHING HE HAS DONE IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE!
Through, I tell you. No more, that’s it, through.
This is a perfect illustration of why torture is not useful as an interrogation tactic. See what people will say just to get KB to shut up.
Ok, this is real (subliminal man: fake documents), you’re reality-based (sm: batshit crazy), we get it.
Two terms as Governor of Texas, two terms as President. If that’s failure, what’s success?
Bush failed in business several times. So what? You seem to think that is evidence he skipped out on the national guard. It isn’t.
Lots of Presidents failed at being something other than politicians. Truman was a failed haberdahser. Reagan was a bad actor. Jefferson nearly ran his plantation into bankruptcy. So what?
No one in this thread is making excuses for anyone other than Dan Rather.
Good point BLT I stand corrected. Just because you support the war does not mean that you support Bush. As far as me decrying the plight of the Iraqi Citizens, I have a DD214 that already has an award for being mobilized and serving on active duty in “The Global War on Terrorism”. But you know what? It speaks volumes about the policy that when I came back they couldn’t even figure out whether to call the campaign medal “Operation Iraqi Freedom” or “Operation Enduring Freedom”, I guess they hadn’t “focus grouped” it enough. Thats pretty sad ain’t it..
KB, that’s not writing. That’s typing. You’re just ranting, dude. No facts, not even a coherent argument. Just spewing your rage and anger at Bush and then ludicrously accusing others of getting “defensive”.
And I CANNOT FRIGGIN’ BELIEVE that we are STILL talking about this asinine non-story with TANG. Jay-zus. Been there and done that. Like three times. Got the tee-shirt, etc.
Move on.
Sound familiar, lefty?
We need the “Aw, not this crap again” picture or the Ironsides look of disdain from Lilek’s site to post. Cause this is just…well, day-um.
Well now we’re getting somewhere, KB. Thanks for the bio background.
Project much?
What’s always sort of amazed me about littlebrains like KB is how absolutely convinced they are that the stuff they’ve been hearing in their little echo chamber is compelling.
I don’t want any of this “well he got a honorable discharge†bullshit either. I want to see if all you patriots hold this man to the same standard that he holds the current national guard troops on their 3RD FUCKING ROTATION IN IRAQ!
Unlike the present Guard troops serving in Iraq, GWB wasn’t on active duty status when he was in the TANG and, therefore, served under different standards.
As for a DD Form 214, I don’t believe you have one.
TW: word, as is never take the word of someone who says he’s in the military but doesn’t know the basic rules of service.
“GWB wasn’t on active duty status when he was in the TANG and, therefore, served under different standards”
That response is so squirmy, it just proves how pathetic he was or you are take your pick. He got out of going to active duty and didn’t even have enough respect for his country or the people that kept him out of combat to attend his weekend drills. He walked away from his responsibility. As far as my military service is concerned, I don’t have to prove anything to you. I don’t know if you were in the military or not but from the tone and substance of your snide comment I hope you at least served your country. At least chicken-hawk-fighting-keyboardists like you could serve as an admin (71L or 74F) or personnel specialist.
“they couldn’t even figure out whether to call the campaign medal “Operation Iraqi Freedom†or “Operation Enduring Freedomâ€Â
Um, there are two separate campaign medals for OIF and OEF. You get whichever one is on your orders. KB – Your claims will be more plausible with a bit more research.
You’re the pathetic one, boy. I was actually in the Air Force Reserves (and Active Duty) and did several posts on my blog about this very subject last year. FYI, the Guard and the Reserves operate under the same rules when not activated, except for the fact that they have a different commander-in-chief.
DD Form 214 and retirement orders available upon your polite request.
TW: this, as in you don’t want to tangle with this one, child.
KB,
As for my careers, I was an aircraft armament systems specialist, a German linguist, a Russian linguist and a medic.
I’m also a member of the NRA and a native of South Central Los Angeles. So that means I can cuss you out in three languages, shoot you and patch your know-nothing ass up if I’m feeling all charitable-like.
TW: street, as in he’s bringing mine out.
JESUS H CHRIST, AN AIR FORCE PUKE IS ACTUALLY TRYING TO PUNK ME!!! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING? Why don’t you go through a real basic training first? OK,OK I believe you please don’t scare me like that. No need to prove your tuff, I’m sure you are a real blood drinker.
*note* This in no way impugns the character or toughness of all other Air Force Veterans, just this feckless asshole.
No, little boy, your elder has punked before you even opened your mouth.
TW: certain
Sigh.
KB, nobody here really buys that you served. Most veterans I know are pretty mellow and coherent.
KB: you might want to click on Juliette’s name, go over to her blog, and read a bit before you go too much further… Friendly suggestion.
I see that you’re not asking for any links about the “AWOL” research done, nor for any paperwork, little boy. Who’s the punk, little boy
And what is it exactly that makes me “feckless?” Is that a new word you just learned and decided to trot out for rhetorical purposes?
Let’s see how not-feckless you are, little boy. Go to my site and type AWOL into the search engine.
BTW, only a little boy would call a woman he does not know names. You are a disgrace to any of the services. Period.
TW: Herself. LOL
Hah hah hah! Oh, KB, you do NOT want to mess with Juliette.
TW: Five, as in minutes I’d give you against her.
If you have all these street credentials and you have served this country in all of the capacities that you state then how can you support Bush’s war? Either you are lying or you must not have been deployed for Iraqi/Enduring Freedom. As far as the street stuff goes come down my block anytime but just to let you know I will be the sexy black man in the patrol car working the evening watch protecting your ass. You need your ghetto pass revoked.
Amazing!
Hey Farmer Joe, she’s the one saying she can take it to the streets cursing and shooting. I work the streets and I know a phony when I see (read) one. Juliette your AIR FORCE is impressive but your should add to your resume “hopeless Bush apologist”. I guess you’re the one that they send out when everyone else gets their asses kicked with the truth. Give me a break about the AWOL stuff if you can defend Bush’s military record with a straight face, your own service means nothing to you.
I don’t need a ghetto pass because I don’t live in a ghetto. Never have.
I’m not doing your work for you. I have two years of blogging about this (and other stuff). Suffice it to say that during my thirteen years of active duty, I knew nothing about Guard/Reserve service and how it worked. After eight years in the Reserves, now I do.
And those capacities (AFSCs) are part of why I am for it. (For, obvious reasons, some of them I can’t go into.) I’d go if I could, even after doing my twenty.
I see that you will not investigate the work I did. Are you afraid that you’ll be proven wrong? So much for who is feckless.
I take that back Juliette you are not a phony, thats too bourgeois. I will put it in the street vernacular, you’re a sell-out.
Oh, goody, now he’s a cop. When does he become an astronaut?
Don’t hate John, just move out of your mothers basement and get a girlfriend. Damn I hate it when I have to go that low. Thats the mushy liberal in me I guess.
LOL!
And you’re a little boy, KB. Come back when you grow up and learn how to argue your postion instead of…whatever it is you’re trying to prove here.
::::how original, calling a black conservative a sell-out::::
TW: blood, as in you won’t see any more of the child’s blood today. It just wouldn’t be sporting.
Don’t feel bad, KB—it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, from people perhaps even phonier than you are.