But The Ninth Circus Says It's Okay To Lie

There is nothing that will get me fired up more then these stories of phony vets. Normally the guys over at This Ain't Hell do all the heavy lifting on these sort of stories and do their best to expose these phonies, but lately it has gotten harder, not easier, to prosecute these cases under the Stolen Valor Act.

Recently the ninth circuit in CA, the most overturned court in the country and one which has received reprimands from the Supreme Court for their nonjudicial activities, ruled that lying about military service is not a punishable offense and instead protected under free speech.

Well this example of free speech cost the taxpayers $16 million. Fortunately he was tried in a court that doesn't take such accepting view of posing as a vet when you're not.

A man claiming to be a disabled vet was convicted Wednesday of ripping off the government for $16 million in federal contracts.

A Manhattan federal jury said John Anthony Raymond White and his firm, Mitsubishi Construction Corp., bid on contracts the VA awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.

White at times claimed he hurt his back while a Navy ROTC; other times he said he was in Special Forces.

The jury concluded he was always a fraud - and he faces up to 75 years in jail and $3.7 million in fines when sentenced.

'One-legged Warrior of Ashoqeh'

The spirit, determination, and sheer guts of today's soldiers never ceases to amaze and impress. I know much has been written and said about how this current generation of Americans just doesn't have the same gumption as those of previous generations, but then along comes a story like this to prove that maybe, just maybe we ain't in as bad a shape as we think. Granted the military is naturally going to attract a different breed of person anyway just by the very nature of the deadly serious business they are engaged in, but still you have to revel in the intestinal fortitude of an individual like now CPT Dan Luckett.

Long story short. While serving in Iraq his HMMV was hit by an VIED, the type that is tied to Iran, which severed the toes of one foot and amputated one leg. CPT Dan is back on active duty, and not only on duty but serving in Afghanistan and performing his duties.

Capt. Brant Auge, Luckett's 30-year-old company commander, said Luckett was as capable as every soldier in his company, and treated no different.

"He's a soldier who just happens to be missing a leg," said Auge, who is from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. "He tries to play it down as much as possible, he doesn't like to bring a lot of attention to it."

On one of those early patrols, Luckett took to a knee and his pants leg rode up a little bit, revealing the prosthetic limb to a shocked group of Afghan soldiers nearby, Auge said. One gave him the nickname, the "One-legged Warrior of Ashoqeh."

Terrorists Are Not Gay

Strange, isn't it, what will get people all riled up?

The anti-gay bias is disturbing, also, he said.

"It's ugly, as well, and it's sorry to see anybody expressing such unfortunate and strong bias against gay people," he said.

That anti-gay bias he is talking about stems from a video posted by somebody, allegedly a soldier, although I can recall the video years ago, of some soldiers on patrol in Iraq and kidding around with some Iraqi kids. At the time it was an indication of the improving conditions in Iraq, because obviously our troops had too much time on their hands and were having some fun.

In one scene some soldiers can be seen bantering with the kids and one asks if they are going to grow up to be terrorists and the kids give a thumbs up. Everybody involved knows these kids didn't understand a word that was said, but what has the civil rights types all bollocks up like a constipated Marlon Brando, is asking the kid if he was going to be gay.

Yup. Asking or kidding somebody about their sexual orientation is much more offensive then accusing them of wanting to grow up to be a terrorist.

In light of the actions of the gay community and their supporters in California after the defeat of the gay marriage legislation I think the connection is fairly valid.

So anyway, another young service member or members are being called onto the carpet for doing something that their counterparts sitting in a college somewhere in America would dismiss as being really amateurish in light of the crap that goes on in frat parties every week.

You know, I am tired of all the people who have such thin skin that they get offended when the color of the bands in their rainbow doesn't meet their expectations and I wish people would just tune them out and leave them blathering to themselves in the corner of the room.

I guess it is okay to have gays in the US military but don't you dare accuse the terrorists of being gay. I guess this attorney is a big supporter of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Just for the record, suicide bombers do not discriminate based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. There is no such thing as a 'smart' IED.

They Love Obama! They Really Love Him!

Students burn an effigy of President Barack Obama in protest at American troops allegedly desecrating a copy of the Koran Photo: AP

Afghan police open fire after protesters burn effigy of Barack Obama

Afghan police opened fire to disperse up to 1,000 protesters in Kabul on Sunday after they burned an effigy of President Barack Obama in protest at American troops allegedly desecrating a copy of the Koran.

The protesters blocked roads at Kabul University and outside the national parliament with some shouting: "Death to America! Down with Israel!" Several students threw stones at riot police, but there were no reports of casualties. Zabiulllah, one of the demonstrators, who were mainly students, said "the people behind this humiliation should be arrested."

One banner displayed by the crowd said: "No to democracy. We just want Islam."

US forces have denied burning a copy of Islam's holiest book while carrying out a raid last week in Wardak province, south-west of the capital.

Captain Elizabeth Mathias, a spokeswoman for the coalition, said an investigation had found the allegation was Taliban propaganda.

She said: "We did not burn a Koran ... It is unfortunate that the protesters believe a Taliban rumour."

Security remains tense in the capital after President Hamid Karzai agreed to face his rival Abdullah Abdullah in a second round of voting on Nov 7. Both men said yesterday they were determined to press ahead with the election despite hopes in Washington that they might come to an agreement over the make-up of a future government that would dispense with the need for a second vote.

The Ministry of Truth & Reconciliation was unavailable for comment.

Via The Telegraph

H/T Esther @ Islam in Europe

Jackbooted Trained Killers Invade Indonesia

Yesterday was supposed to be some sort of protest day against military recruiting stations, which seems to pretty much been a dud and only a little vandalism. What however is sticking in my craw is that when I saw the video exhorting the masses to protest military recruiters and recruiting stations they were making the case using the same old tired stereotypes of the military that have become so ingrained in American psyche that things like this are overlooked.

This is in response to the recent typhoons and tsunamis in Indonesia, you know the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. And this isn't the first time we have come to their aid.

Rear Adm. Richard Landolt, who arrived Tuesday in Padang, the largest city in the quake zone, told The Associated Press that three Navy ships were on their way, full of supplies, food and heavy equipment that can be used to clear roads and excavate collapsed buildings.

“There is a huge valve that is about to turn on,” he said. “There is going to be a terrific ramp-up of operations out here.”

Landolt said two naval ships were expected to arrive in the next day or so. A supply ship has also been cleared to begin operations with four helicopters large enough to carry 30-40 people or equipment to areas that cannot be reached by land, he said.

Also Tuesday, 69 U.S. troops — including 11 doctors — flown in from Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Japan opened up a 300-bed field hospital outside Padang’s main medical facility.

Yes, this is the same military filled with homicidal maniacs, filled with a blood lust, and indoctrinated with continuous waves of propaganda designed to make them willing cannon fodder for "illegal" wars.

I am the last to advocate the use of the military for every humanitarian crises that arises, but on the other hand often times they are the only ones who can restore some sense of order and begin to establish stability while civilian organizations can get ramped up and assume the duties.

Would these anti military folks also push to quit recruiting people who also perform these types of missions? In reality we all know that if the only thing the military did was humanitarian missions these yard birds would not have anything to complain about. The fact is the primary purpose of the military is to protect the citizens of the country they represent and to destroy any enemies who threaten it's citizens.

I just get torqued when these types of stories are ignored by the anti military (notice I didn't say anti war)crowd. Never has there been an institution which is so ignored when it is not doing it's intended purpose, or more maligned when it is.

BTW the voice on the video asking for the protest is that of Matthew Chiroux, who refused deployment to Iraq. In other words as long as he was safe in his bed stateside he had no problems serving, however when it became time to put the training and the taxpayer dollars to work instead of manning up he wanted his mommy. After being exposed as coward he did the only thing he could do, took up with a group of similar cowards and while still enjoying the freedoms paid for at the expense of better men and women then he, went on the attack against the organization that exposed his personal character flaws.

REJECTED! Or Birth of a Moonbat

This is not news to me since I did my time in hell known as recruiting back in the 90's, but every time I have brought it up in an argument I have always had to rely on my anecdotal evidence. My personnel experience back then was about 4 out of every 10 would qualify. Now since CBS is giving their seal of approval on it I guess that lends some sort of credibility to my claims. What am I saying? CBS lends credibility? How about this. I can corroborate the assertions put forth in this piece.

Put it another way: Only three out of 10 young people between the ages of 17 and 24 even qualify to serve in the Army, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

The rest are ineligible either because they didn’t graduate from high school, have a police record or are not physically fit.

Besides the physical fitness, which we can actually work with, my experience was that most were disqualified for medical reasons. All those drugs teachers pump into your kids like Ritalin disqualify them. Drugs to handle their other psyche failings like Zoloft also disqualify them.

But it seemed no matter how many times I tried to present these sort of things to moonbats it was poo-pooed. It is also why a draft would never work. I think a lot of these moonbats may in fact be closet wannabee military types that got turned down, and rather then have walk around with the word REJECTED tattooed on their forehead they became anti-war wackos. It gives them cover for not being good enough to join and allows them to strike back at the institution that told them no.

American Propagandist In Sveden

After getting in the obligatory jabs at the US, Billy McCormac, of the Swedish think-tank Timbro, takes Swedish public television to task for their bias and sloppy reporting.

Swedish television viewers sold short on Iraq
[....]

Every day we learn of new suicide bombings, roadside blasts, kidnappings, mayhem and brutal slayings. Civilians, innocents, servicemen and –women are gone forever. It literally never ends.

That good news has become a scant commodity in Iraq is scarcely an understatement. This dearth of glad tidings has been compounded by the U.S. military’s buffoonish attempts at hero-making— Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman spring immediately to mind — in an attempt to bolster support for the war at home.

Reports of progress on the ground or of heroic deeds by American soldiers have, unfortunately, become worth their weight in pyrite. Indeed, any silver lining remaining on this inky cloud is amply sprinkled with nitric acid to see if it turns green. (Note: metallurgic metaphors officially end here.)

Against this backdrop it was hardly surprising when Sweden’s public television network recently aired a highly skeptical segment on the U.S. military’s chance discovery of a nightmarish, Iraqi-government-run orphanage charged with the care of special-needs children.

In a routine sweep, American soldiers had found and rescued 24 emaciated boys dying a slow and agonizing death in appalling squalor and unimaginable filth, some cruelly chained to iron beds. The soldiers recorded the grisly scene with a digital camera.

CBS Evening News reporter Lara Logan — a seasoned war correspondent with Kevlar-vest experience from conflicts in Kosovo and Afghanistan — broke the shocking story, which of course spread furiously across the airwaves and Internet.

And though Sweden’s nine o’clock news anchor expressed appropriate disgust and dismay at the images of defenseless children sadistically starved to brink of existence, it took only seconds for reporter Stina Blomgren to call into question the journalistic integrity of the photos. After all, U.S. servicemen had taken them. Blomgren then noted, ominously, that no one knows how CBS got their hands on the images.

Where was this moron when the Qana Red Cross ambulance incident was exposed?

Blomgren asked an American journalism professor living in Sweden, Karin Becker, to comment on the journalistic aspects of the story. Becker began by declaring that the pictures were not taken by professional journalists, but rather by men in uniform.

Soldiers, said Becker, view the mainstream media as anti-military and therefore use alternative channels to bring their story to audiences at home.

10 to 1 she wonders, "Why?"

Blomgren was quick to add that U.S. command is more than happy to portray its soldiers saving innocent children, not least given the Iraq invasion’s tremendous unpopularity, the high military death toll in recent weeks, and the ongoing troop “surge” meant to restore order and get things back on track.

If either of these nitwits is competent, I'm the high rabbi of Mecca and Medina.

The story depicts American soldiers as heroes and humanitarians, the journalism professor explained. Thus she implored the media to handle these pictures—aired by American media outlets and originating with American soldiers—with extreme care. In other words, the orphanage story may be a staged and/or well-timed public relations stunt.

Herr Dr. Josef Goebbels is mighty proud of ya, darlin'.

Though I believe a healthy journalistic skepticism to stories emanating from armed conflicts is warranted and crucial, it would appear that this rigorous treatment extends almost exclusively to positive news.

If memory serves me well, Swedish television did not consult journalism professors when the media began airing the stomach-churning images of prisoner abuse at the hands of Americans stationed at Abu Ghraib — photos taken by soldiers. And I’m fairly confident that Swedish reporters did not wring their hands over the journalistic integrity of these images or over how they had found their way into the hands of American media outlets.

But this is beside the point. If Swedish television was so deeply concerned about the origin or journalistic integrity of the story, then why not interview the journalist that had broken it? Unfortunately for its viewers, Swedish television did not interview CBS Evening News correspondent Lara Logan — the one person who could pull back the curtain on these events.

Thankfully, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, who “turns a critical lens on the media” each week as host of CNN’s Reliable Sources, did just that. Logan tells Kurtz that the source was not the U.S. military, presumptively angling for feel-good spin.

In fact, Logan didn’t find out about the orphanage rescue until a week after the fact. The baffled soldiers who had freed the 24 boys had, wrongly, assumed that the media were keeping a lid on the story, but it was U.S. command that had kept things on the QT.

Logan contacted the U.S. military and “hit a wall.” She was told to get permission from the Iraqi labor ministry to do the story because the Iraqis had “the lead.” Officials told Logan to go this route because it was Iraqi soldiers that had rescued the boys.

When Logan pointed out that she had seen no Iraqi soldiers in the photos taken that day, she was magically granted a two-hour interview with an American general. He gave her the green light. That this story was told is a testament to the dogged perseverance of a seasoned journalist.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Swedish reporters should switch off their critical faculties or rubber-stamp good news about America’s war effort. What I am saying is that Swedish audiences would benefit from journalism that covers all the bases. A little follow-through wouldn’t hurt either. Tragically, most Swedes who saw that newscast are left with an incomplete picture.

On a final personal note. Whatever one’s opinion of the war in Iraq, the servicemen who saved 24 disabled from a horrible death deserve respect and acknowledgment. Karin Becker says that this story “portrays” them as heroes and humanitarians. But to think of them as anything else would be callous and cynical.

These individuals represent the overwhelming majority of the U.S. military: honorable men and women willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Let’s not lose sight of this fact.

Billy McCormac is head of publishing and communications at the free-market think tank Timbro.

Sure don't recall this half-wit professor spilling such bile when good ol' BJ Bill - without the consent of Congress - was bombing the former Yugoslavia. Wait a minute - Moonbat U was in mothballs back in the day. Nevermind.

UPDATE: July 17 -- Swedish public television has issued a laughable defense of their biased and slipshod reporting.

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The following was first reported in February but is well-worth repeating.

Camel-counting Season Underway in Sweden

Round up your camels, alpacas, llamas, dromedaries and yaks: the Swedish Board of Agriculture is conducting a census of curious beasts.

All municipalities in Sweden have been asked to count their even-toed ungulates and yaks following an increase in the number of people importing these animals.

The Board of Agriculture is interested in finding out the quantity of such creatures in the country as well as the nature of their stay here.

Do they, for example, share pastures with animals more common to Sweden, such as sheep and cattle? And, if so, is there any risk of disease?

"We are mainly doing this because we want to avoid diseases likes tuberculosis spreading to other animals, such as cows for instance," spokeswoman Anna Olsson told The Local.

Jean-Pierre Kerry was unavailable to pontificate on this overt effort to profile certain residents of Sweden.

As if the Swedes would give a flying eff what he thinks.