 |
SwiftVets.com
Service to Country
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
 Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 2:28 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
This is probably the last you'll see of this in the NY Times as the newly "rehabilitated" Richard Blumenthal returns to the hustings as the demo nominee...
| Quote: | Blumenthal Says He Is Sorry for Vietnam Claims
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
The New York Times
May 24, 2010
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, whose acknowledgment last week that he had misrepresented his Vietnam record overshadowed his nomination as Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, has apologized.
“I have made mistakes and I am sorry,” he said in a statement e-mailed to The Hartford Courant by a campaign aide on Sunday night. “I truly regret offending anyone. I will always champion the cause of Connecticut’s and our nation’s veterans.”
<snip>
“At times when I have sought to honor veterans, I have not been as clear or precise as I should have been about my service in the Marine Corps Reserves,” Mr. Blumenthal said in the statement on Sunday, The Courant reported. “I have firmly and clearly expressed regret and taken responsibility for my words.”
<snip>
The leading Republicans vying to face him are Rob Simmons, a former representative and Vietnam veteran, and Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment. The primary is Aug. 10.
The New York Times - cont'd |
He has "...taken responsibility for his words". What a truly remarkable, exceptional human being he must be...actually taking responsibility for his words. A man of such integrity must surely be a shoo-in come November.
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
LewWaters
Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004
Posts: 4042
Location: Washington State
|
| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 8:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Isn't this the usual Democrat tactic when caught?
First, deny you did it, then cry you were misquoted, then apologize for mispeaking, then ignore it.
_________________
Clark County Conservative |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
zinfella
Rear Admiral
Joined: 19 Aug 2004
Posts: 708
Location: Mesa, Az
|
| Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 9:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| LewWaters wrote: | Isn't this the usual Democrat tactic when caught?
First, deny you did it, then cry you were misquoted, then apologize for mispeaking, then ignore it. |
Then you declare it settled when it comes up again.
_________________
No whiners! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TEWSPilot
Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 1235
Location: Kansas (Transplanted Texan)
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TEWSPilot
Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 1235
Location: Kansas (Transplanted Texan)
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Navy_Navy_Navy
Admin
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
|
| Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 10:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The comments to that story are just as delicious as the story! LOL!
Go ahead - splurge! (Just) Desserts as good as this are worth it.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
TEWSPilot
Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 1235
Location: Kansas (Transplanted Texan)
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 9:16 pm Post subject: Lying Liar's Additional Layer Of Lying |
|
|
| Quote: | Blumenthal’s latest story unravels
posted at 10:12 am on June 18, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
printer-friendly
A month ago, the New York Times exposed Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s serial exaggerations and fabulism regarding his military service in the Vietnam era. Blumenthal had on several occasions either implied or outright claimed that he had served in Vietnam during the war, when in fact he had never left the US at all. The Democratic nominee for the US Senate had also characterized his service as “active duty,” when the only active duty Blumenthal served was while in training. For the most part, however, these revelations didn’t disturb his standing in the polls, and Democrats heaved a sigh of relief … until this week.
Blumenthal attempted to put the best possible spin on the controversy in an interview this week with the Connecticut Mirror, which prompted a second look at Blumenthal’s claims by the New York Times yesterday. At the center of the new spin was a claim by Blumenthal to the Mirror that his recollection of his draft number was that it was high enough to keep him from being drafted, and that therefore his enlistment in the Marine Reserves was motivated entirely by a desire for patriotic service:
Blumenthal, whose educational and employment deferrals kept him out of the draft from 1965 to 1970, joined the Marine Reserves in 1970, when he says his draft number was probably high enough to keep him out of the military. He said he does not remember, however, the number he drew in the draft lottery.
According to a table published by the Selective Service System, Blumenthal’s birth date of Feb. 13 was the 152nd date drawn in the December 1969 lottery, which covered men born from 1944 to 1950. Blumenthal was born in 1946. The highest lottery number called for possible induction was 195.
Well, Blumenthal may recall that differently, though. And if he was mistaken at the time about his draft number, his explanation would still hold, right? Unfortunately, Blumenthal himself has refuted that explanation. In an Associated Press profile of Richard Blumenthal from October 5, 2002 titled “The Enigma of Connecticut’s Most Public Public Official,” Blumenthal admitted that he knew he had a low draft number, emphasis mine:
At a time when American youths were burning draft cards, Blumenthal enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves. He said he enlisted because he had a “pretty low draft number.”
Blumenthal did not go to Vietnam. Records from the Marines, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, said he performed no active duty, although recruits are technically on active duty while training.
Blumenthal insists he did six months of active duty. With the Marines, he studied administration and was classified as an “Admin Man.”
Even back then, his explanations didn’t add up. At any rate, Blumenthal’s sudden inability to remember his draft number and the reason for his enlistment — which he recalled with clarity less than eight years ago — is yet another clumsy attempt to get himself off the hook for his fabrications in the years since. Neither the Mirror nor the Times bought that explanation; both researched the claim and found it dubious. This admission from October 2002 should once and for all confirm Blumenthal’s lack of honesty and integrity on this issue.
One more time, though, let’s make clear what exactly is at issue. Service in the Marine Reserves was and is honorable service to the nation. Using legal deferments to put off or avoid military service during the draft era is nothing more than working within the system to meet one’s goals. Lying about the nature and conditions of one’s service and doing so repeatedly, however, exposes Blumenthal as a man who probably doesn’t deserve the public’s trust in high positions. If he’s continuing to lie about this, what happens when Blumenthal gets to the Senate? Are we to believe he’ll suddenly transform into a modern-day George Washington at the cherry tree?
Update: I should have consulted Jules Crittenden on writing the headline.
Lying Liar’s Additional Layer Of Lying
|
Until today, I didn’t know my draft number either because I didn't ever sign up for Selective Service. It’s in the low 50s (won’t say exactly because I don’t want anyone sending me a birthday present). At the time of the lottery, I was a 2nd Lt on active duty in the USAF via the RESERVE Officer Training Corps, which was the only way to receive a commission besides going to the (fairly new) USAF Academy or OCS or a couple of other methods I may have missed. The day of the lottery, I was probably flying a training mission during my 53 week Undergraduate Pilot Training course with the goal of going to Vietnam. I had to undergo one more flight training program in the specific aircraft I would fly over there, but I had a volunteer statement on record, as did most of the other RESERVE Officers I served with, and we all joined specifically to go to Vietnam…and win. Too bad the politicians who sent us didn’t share our committment and our goal. The 13 year old kid our squadron “adopted” and who lived in our hooch served more honorably than Blumenthal because at least he didn’t lie about being a “war veteran”…although, I guess he actually was since he was there during the rocket and mortar attacks.
_________________
Find the perfect babysitter, petsitter, or tutor -- today! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
