*Standing at attention, right arm at ninety degree angle*
“I, Herbert C. Thiel, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
*Lowers arm, considers solemnity of the moment. He had the option of saying, “I…affirm…” but it comes out the same. It is a promise. An oath. A conscious decision to give whatever is necessary.*
“You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” John Kerry – Democratic presidential hopeful for 2008
Well, if anything were to ever be able to sway me to vote a straight party ticket, it would be this. All of the candidates of this party, in one way or another are NOT for real people and are out of touch with reality. From not comprehending the Second Amendment to insulting the troops they are all clueless. Oh, his apologists are already trying to do damage control for the major spokesperson, a former and possibly future presidential candidate, showing us the attitude expressed by most of the major members of his party. I was furious, but there you have the attitude of the left in a literal nut-shell. This is your Democratic Party. He hastily arranged a news conference in Seattle (a very fitting location since the people there are so hateful to the military anyway. They still think it’s the 60’s there and that they can get by with spitting at soldiers.). After calling the Republicans “assorted right-wing nut jobs.” (I guess it’s okay to lump all Republicans together. His saying that made me realize that all Democrats are probably alike as well.)
Kerry then said: “I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy.”
Well, no, duh, sir. Who didn’t know that, but then he had the nerve to prove his disrespect for the intelligence of the military people around the world by trying to play it off, saying the comment in question was, “a botched joke about the president and the president’s people, not about the troops…and they know that’s what I was talking about.” Who knows sir? Oh, yes. We absolutely know what you were saying. We heard you sir. We heard the tone in your voice, your inflection. We know.
Anyone who has ever served in any capacity who has heard this ought to be outraged. Anyone who has loved ones in harm’s way ought to be furious. I decided that, even though he is moving, I would call my buddy SSG (ret) Carter R. King. Here’s someone who has been “boots on the ground” in Iraq 3 times (plus numerous other assignments around the world) and survived being blown up by a roadside bomb. He became apoplectic and I thought he was going to have a stroke in his medical condition.
“OH! MY! GOD! He is F****** smoking crack! There are 300 million citizens and only 130 thousand of them are qualified to be where they are. If you want to give your readers a polite answer from me on my thoughts, you can say I reacted with, ‘Scornful disdain’ otherwise you can just quote me straight up.”
Staff Sergeant King was not the only one to express scornful disdain. Our Commander-In-Chief responded, “Our troops did not enlist because they did not study hard in school or do their homework. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots.”
GOP Sen. John McCain, a decorated Vietnam veteran, said while campaigning for Republican candidates in Indiana that “the suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq is an insult to every soldier serving in combat today.”
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., “Our soldiers risk their lives in the face of grave dangers on the battlefield, and no one who chooses to courageously and selflessly defend our country can be considered ‘uneducated.’”
The National Commander of The American Legion, Commander Paul A. Morin, called on Sen. John Kerry to apologize for suggesting that American troops in Iraq are uneducated. “As a constituent of Senator Kerry’s I am disappointed. As leader of The American Legion, I am outraged. A generation ago, Sen. Kerry slandered his comrades in Vietnam by saying that they were rapists and murderers. It wasn’t true then and his warped view of today’s heroes isn’t true now. And while we are on the topic of education, why doesn’t the senator and his comrades in Congress improve the GI Bill so all of today’s military members – reserves and guard included – can achieve the educational aspirations that the senator so highly values?” Morin said. “The senator’s false and outrageous attack was over-the-top and he should apologize now.”
AMVETS National Commander Thomas C. McGriff, “For the Senator to suggest that today’s United States military is made up of uneducated men and women who didn’t ‘study hard’ or ‘make an effort to be smart’ is ridiculous and appalling. The men and women in uniform today make up the most advanced, highly-educated force ever seen. To suggest otherwise is a slap in the face to every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman who has spent countless hours working to better him or herself. This is also an insult to every person and organization who has worked tirelessly to provide our troops and their families with education benefits. Senator Kerry should retract his remarks and apologize immediately,” McGriff said after listening to comments made by Senator Kerry at a political rally in Pasadena, Calif., Monday. “It is especially outrageous coming from a member of the U.S. Senate.”
That is the Democratic Party and a presidential hopeful, representative of what the Party really believes. A vote for anyone with a (D) behind their name is telling everyone that has ever served in the US Military exactly what you think of us. Now we all know.
