October 15, 2004

• THE CHICKENHAWKS
  As this election winds up, things are getting very nasty. There is one pattern that's pretty clear; the Iraq War seems to have been decided upon by a political group who mostly had no military experience but have, during this campaign, attacked Democrats for not "supporting our troops".
  Here's a partial listing of the military service of those envolved:
  See a pattern any where, with the chickenhawks?

  Democrats
  * Richard Gephardt: Air National Guard, 1965-71.
  * David Bonior: Staff Sgt., Air Force 1968-72.
  * Tom Daschle: 1st Lt., Air Force SAC 1969-72.
  * Al Gore: enlisted Aug. 1969; sent to Vietnam Jan. 1971 as an army
  journalist in 20th Engineer Brigade.
  * Bob Kerrey: Lt. j.g. Navy 1966-69; Medal of Honor, Vietnam.Lost a leg.
  * Daniel Inouye: Army 1943-47; Medal of Honor, WWII. He lost an arm.
  * John Kerry: Lt., Navy 1966-70; Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V,
  Purple Hearts.
  * Charles Rangel: Staff Sgt., Army 1948-52; Bronze Star, Korea.
  * Max Cleland: Captain, Army 1965-68; Silver Star & Bronze Star,
  Vietnam. Lost both legs and an arm.
  * Ted Kennedy: Army, 1951-53.
  * Tom Harkin: Lt., Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
  * Jack Reed: Army Ranger, 1971-1979; Captain, Army Reserve 1979-91.
  * Fritz Hollings: Army officer in WWII; Bronze Star and seven
  campaign ribbons.
  * Leonard Boswell: Lt. Col., Army 1956-76; Vietnam, DFCs, Bronze
  Stars, and Soldier's Medal.
  * Pete Peterson: Air Force Captain, POW. Purple Heart, Silver Star
  and Legion of Merit.
  * Mike Thompson: Staff sergeant, 173rd Airborne, Purple Heart.
  * Bill McBride: Candidate for Fla. Governor. Marine in Vietnam; Bronze
  Star with Combat V.
  * Gray Davis: Army Captain in Vietnam, Bronze Star.
  * Pete Stark: Air Force 1955-57
  * Chuck Robb: Vietnam
  * Howell Heflin: Silver Star
  * George McGovern: Silver Star & DFC during WWII.
  * Bill Clinton: Did not serve. Student deferments. Entered draft but received #311.
  * Jimmy Carter: Seven years in the Navy.
  * Walter Mondale: Army 1951-1953
  * John Glenn: WWII and Korea; six DFCs and Air Medal with 18
  Clusters.
  * Tom Lantos: Served in Hungarian underground in WWII. Saved by Raoul
  Wallenberg.

  Republicans

  * Dick Cheney: did not serve. Several deferments, the last by marriage. Seven deferments. Seven.
  * Dennis Hastert: did not serve.
  * Tom Delay: did not serve.
  * Roy Blunt: did not serve.
  * Bill Frist: did not serve.
  * Mitch McConnell: did not serve.
  * Rick Santorum: did not serve. Probably took time out of his homophobia.
  * Trent Lott: did not serve. Hey, he needed the time to practice his racism.
  * John Ashcroft: did not serve. Seven deferments to teach business.
  * Jeb Bush: did not serve.
  * Karl Rove: did not serve. Probably spent it studying Machiavelli.
  * Saxby Chambliss: did not serve. "Bad knee." The man who attacked
  Max Cleland's patriotism.
  * Paul Wolfowitz: did not serve.
  * Vin Weber: did not serve.
  * Richard Perle: did not serve.
  * Douglas Feith: did not serve.
  * Eliot Abrams: did not serve.
  * Richard Shelby: did not serve.
  * Jon! Kyl: did not serve.
  * Tim Hutchison: did not serve.
  * Christopher Cox: did not serve.
  * Newt Gingrich: did not serve.
  * Don Rumsfeld: served in Navy (1954-57) as flight instructor.
  * George W. Bush: failed to complete his six-year National Guard; got
  assigned to Alabama so he could campaign for family friend running
  for U.S. Senate; failed to show up for required medical exam,
  disappeared from duty.
  * Ronald Reagan: due to poor eyesight, served in a non-combat role
  making movies. *And then confused the movies with real life.
  * B-1 Bob Dornan: Consciously enlisted after fighting was over in Korea.
  * Phil Gramm: did not serve
  * Bob Dole: Army, WW2, 2 Purple Hearts and Bronze Star. Lost use of one arm.
  * John McCain: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart
  and Distinguished Flying Cross. POW
  * Dana Rohrabacher: did not serve.
  * John M. McHugh: did not serve.
  * JC Watts: did not serve.
  * Jack Kemp: did not serve. "Knee problem," although continued
  in NFL for 8 years.
  * Dan Quayle: Journalism unit of the Indiana National Guard.
  * Rudy Giuliani: did not serve.
  * George Pataki: did not serve.
  * Spencer Abraham: did not serve.
  * John Engler: did not serve.
  * Lindsey Graham: National Guard lawyer.
  * Arnold Schwarzenegger: AWOL from Austrian army base.

  Pundits & Preachers

  * Sean Hannity: did not serve.
  * Rush Limbaugh: did not serve (4-F with a 'pilonidal cyst.')
  * Bill O'Reilly: did not serve.
  * Michael Savage: did not serve.
  * George Will: did not serve.
  * Chris Matthews: did not serve.
  * Paul Gigot: did not serve.
  * Bill Bennett: did not serve.
  * Pat Buchanan: did not serve.

  * John Wayne: did not serve.
  * Bill Kristol: did not serve.
  * Kenneth Starr: did not serve.
  * Antonin Scalia: did not serve.
  * Clarence Thomas: did not serve. Needed the time to study harassment of women.
  * Ralph Reed: did not serve.
  * Michael Medved: did not serve.
  * Charlie Daniels: did not serve.
  * Ted Nugent: did not serve.

  Why is it that old men with little or no military experience are often the most willing to send young men (and women nowadays) into combat situations with no clear plan or reason, and are so often reluctant to back out of intolarable situations?

  • 10:57 pm
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