Posted on 04/29/2011 3:16:46 PM PDT by Silly
THOUGHTLESS THOUSANDS TWEET WITHOUT EXAMINING THE FACTS
Donald Trump, we are learning today, sought student and medical deferments during the Vietnam war, according Selective Service records obtained by the Web site The Smoking Gun. He received the deferments before his draft number came up.
He got student deferments, allowing him to complete his education, and was later disqualified for medical reasons; by the time his number came up, he wasn’t required to serve.
Somehow this is supposed to be a big deal.
Nowhere in the story is it asserted that he lied or stretched the truth to avoid service. Neither does it say any doctor lied about his health, or that he really wasn’t in school when he said he was. Nor is it claimed Trump, his family, or his friends used any sort of influence to help him. No illegal or irregular actions by Trump the student are claimed. Only that he got deferments, which are legal.
The worst The Smoking Gun can come up with is a sin of omission, decades after the war: “[t]he word “deferment” was not mentioned by Trump during his chat...” in a TV interview Tuesday on WNYW. The story doesn’t come right out and claim that he lied; such a statement wouldn’t hold up. But by innuendo, and even by the very words “smoking gun,” they are trying to play a game of gotcha. If a gun is smoking, doesn’t that mean a crime (or lie) occurred?
The real failed attempt to paint Trump as a liar is as follows: Trump says that, while at Wharton, he was watching as they did the draft numbers and he got a very high number they never got to.
(Excerpt) Read more at loudcitizen.org ...
In other words, even if Trump had served, he would have been guilty of war crimes.
“He got student deferments, allowing him to complete his education, and was later disqualified for medical reasons; by the time his number came up, he wasn’t required to serve.”
I knew quite a few people from that era and nobody “wanted” to be drafted to Vietnam.
It is typical of many on the left to denounce the horrible Vietnam war, rewrite its history, praise anyone who protested it, and denounce anyone in leadership who contributed to it — while employing a double standard by accusing those that oppose them of being “draft dodgers.” Creepy John Kerry went further, shaming the men he served with and our country in general, claiming that atrocities he described were “not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command...”
More leftist BS. No one cares about this issue anymore unless the guy was heading to Canada to avoid service. Military service also does not automatically make one a virtuous candidate. Rep Patrick Murphy was an Iraq vet who was caught cheating near the end of his failed ‘10 reelection.
Sounds a lot more honorable that receiving a Purple Heart for a surface wound and using that an excuse to leave (John Kerry).
Maybe The Smoking Gun can find 0bama’s Selective Service records. Maybe they’ll find his college records.
I’d like to see his application to the Illinois State Bar.
I think military experience is invaluable but unfortunately today's crop of candidates for the most part lack that outstanding trait...
I applaud anyone who had a way to avoid going to a cesspool war called Vietnam. This was a blatant attempt to destroy the lives of 55,000 + lives of Americans for no sane reason.
Almost to a man, the Vietnam Vets that I know volunteered to go. They thought it was the right thing to do.
(Which has little to do with the story, but much to do with our changing ideas of right and wrong).
I think America needs to see Trump's medical deferment papers.
Cough them up Donald.
Doncha' think it's much better that way?
Doncha' think it's much better that way?
My brother VOLUNTEERED for the ARMY during Vietnam. He served with honor and is now a very productive citizen with a family and the American dream.
IMHO he is more qualified to be POTUS than anybody I know.
There isn't one person in DC that is qualified to tie his shoes.
I spent 4 years in college and 2 years in grad school. Everyone who was attending college during those times was given an educational deferment. There was nothing wrong with it. It simply was standard practice. If you got a deferment, you were eligible to be drafted at a much later age. As I recall, the age jumped from 26 to around 35.
Those who did not go on to college were eligible for the draft. Most either enlisted or were drafted. By the way, in those days, whether one was drafted or not depended upon which draft board district they were registered in. Some districts had so many young men, they were able to meet their annual quota via enlistments. So, no one was drafted. Other districts fell well short and had to draft a lot of young men. That was far more unfair than the educational deferment system.
When I graduated, I was going to be drafted. I tried to enlist. Turns out I did not pass the physical due to a medical condition. I was classified 1Y which meant I could only serve during national emergencies.
Looking back, I wished I had been able to serve. However, I do not consider myself or others with similar experiences to be lacking in patriotism or valor.
Vietnam was not a war fought by draftees, like WWII was, the Vietnam military was overwhelmingly volunteers.
See post 18, Vietnam was the war of the volunteer soldiers, WWII was the draftee war.
Very true. The tale that most of our troops in Vietnam were draftees is just another leftist myth. But it is true that the “privileged” tried every loophole to keep there precious lilly-white a$$es from being shot at. Gone were the days when people believed privilege brought responsibility.
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