The Mainstream Liberal Media (CBS, CNN, ABC) is barking about a court decision ordering the Pentagon to "find and make public by next week" any previously unreleased military records pertaining to one BUSH, GEORGE W. 1LT from over 30 years ago. This particular soldier received an Honorable Discharge which he properly disclosed on his job application(s) since then.
This court decision resulted from the Aggressive Press (AP), a large consortium of MLM and other media players (not however, Widows Media Player 6.1) making a demand for the records under the Freedom of Information Act.
Fair enough. If those records are public records and the AP wants to sift through them, I say go for it. Whatever we didn't know about 1LT George W. Bush prior to and since the 2000 election might be important. On the other hand, records over 30 years old might not be very relevant. What about his "Permanent Record" from college, high school and grammar school? Maybe he mishandled a BB gun when he was little and almost put his eye out!
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Let's say, for the sake of argument (and I can indulge in this because I'm a blogger - even if I'm not wearing any pajamas) that 1LT George W. Bush did get preferential treatment - doesn't that reflect badly on his superior officers? And if that reflects badly on his superior officers, isn't that an indictment of the entire National Guard? And doesn't that accuse the United States Military of rampant corruption? Well, you can do what you want to us, AP, but I'm not going to stand here while you bad-mouth the United States of America!
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One of the key issues raised in CBS's "Fake but Accurate" doctrine is that 1LT George W. Bush did not completely fulfill his 6-year commitment to the National Guard so he could go work on some political campaign in Alabama. Based on various reports, and some could even have been accurately faked, this early discharge ran about 6 months. His commanders apparently had the authority and latitude to grant such a request, and in so doing conferred upon him (did anyone say this?) an Honorable Discharge.
From what I understand, early discharges weren't terribly uncommon. In fact, another reserve lieutenant, LT John F. Kerry, USNR, was granted the early discharge he requested so he could go work on some political campaign in Massachusetts!
Excerpted from the Boston Globe (ellipsis and emphasis mine):
John Kerry returned from Vietnam in April 1969, having won early transfer out of the conflict because of his three Purple Hearts. He asked for a cushy assignment - service as an admiral's aide - and was given precisely that job in Brooklyn. Kerry had thought about running for public office long before he had gone to Vietnam. But when he returned from the war, he wasn't greeted as a hero, like the soldiers of his father's generation. Kerry found that being a veteran could be a drawback, especially in Eastern Massachusetts, where he hoped to run for the US House...
When Kerry returned to the United States...the number of protests was surging. But during this time, Kerry was still a naval officer and not publicly protesting the war...
John Kerry flew (former RFK speechwriter and anti-war organizer Adam) Walinsky around New York to deliver speeches against the war. Kerry did not wear his uniform and did not speak at the events, but the experience helped convince him that he wanted to become a public leader of the antiwar movement. On Jan. 3, 1970, Kerry requested that his superior, Rear Admiral Walter F. Schlech, Jr., grant him an early discharge so that he could run for Congress on an antiwar platform...
The request was approved, and Kerry was honorably discharged, which he said shaved six months from his commitment.
But for all his Vietnam heroics and patrician background, Kerry was, politically speaking, a nobody. He gave up on a three-month 1970 bid for Congress in Massachusetts' Third District,... when it became clear the Rev. Robert F. Drinan would instead get the Democratic Party nomination.
So, has the AP filed a demand under the Freedom of Information Act for the military records of one Kerry, Jean Effing, LT?
Many have suggested, some demanded that Jean Effing Kerry sign the one-page document authorizing the release of his military record. What is he hiding that the AP doesn't want to see?
Note: The Boston Globe link is the 3rd of a series of 7 articles from June, 2003 that are so profoundly revealing, I'm quite surprised I found them again. The excerpt above is next to a picture of Kerry being arrested - any records requested on that?
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