Posted on 02/06/2004 3:58:26 PM PST by Hon
I just got off the phone about an hour ago with Brig. Gen. William R. Turnipseed. He is the sole source for the four year old story that Bush was AWOL during his National Guard service.
Mr. Turnipseed is very unhappy with the way what he said "casually" four years ago has been twisted by the "Bush haters" (his words) in the media, especially the Boston Globe (who first reported the story) and the New York Times.
In a nutshell here is what happened, according to Turnipseed. Back in 1972 his Alabama National Guard unit received a letter from Bush (who was in the Texas Nation Guard) asking if he while he was in Alabama do some equivalancy training with the Alabama unit.
Turnipseed said that this request was as a matter of routine turned over to his administrative assistant, Lott, who wrote back to Bush, giving him the dates of the next unit drills. Lott told Bush he could report for those dates.
Neither Turnipseed nor Lott can now remember whether Bush appeared for these drills or not. Turnipseed says he himself might not have even been around the base at the time, so he wouldn't know one way or the other. And he says he has always said this.
The points Turnipseed wanted to stress are these: Bush was never ordered to report for duty to his unit. Since Bush was in the Texas National Guard and Turnipseed was in the Alabama National Guard, he couldn't have ordered him even if he had wanted to. But he didn't want to.
He (or his assistant, Lott) simply gave Bush the dates he could report if he wanted to do equivalency training with them. There were no orders given. If he showed up or didn't show up, it wasn't their concern.
Additionally, Turnipseed says that he never once said anything about Bush being "AWOL." He said it isn't even a term used in the National Guard. And anyway, as already noted, Bush's training record was not his concern, but the Texas National Guard's.
He said that since the Texas National Guard gave him an honorable discharge it shows that he fulfilled his training requirements.
Turnipseed said that the media has constantly misrepresented what he said and edited him so as to make Bush look bad.
He also said that he had no idea who Bush was, and that he certainly didn't do him any special favors. Nor would he have.
He said that when he first spoke to the Boston Globe reporter about this four years ago he didn't realize he was talking to a "Bush hater."
Turnipseed is a strong Bush supporter. He said that he has been contacted many times especially recently, by "Bush haters" in the media, who try to get him to say that Bush was AWOL. Once they realize that he won't cooperate they lose interest in talking to him. When they do quote him, they say he is backpedaling--even though he is still saying the same exact thing he told them four years ago.
He has been recently asked to go on with Peter Jennings and NBC's Dateline, but he is concerned that they will edit him in such a way as to misrepresent his story again. I have been in touch with Fox news, in hopes that they will have somebody talk to him and try to present his story fairly.
Bottom line, this whole AWOL story was media spin from the git-go. The Boston Globe reporter simply cherry picked Turnipseed's comments and totally misrepresented him--to make Bush look bad.
And the media are still doing it four years later. They should be ashamed--but they have no shame. They have only their agenda.
Well, when it starts showing up on the Grapevine and H&C and Limbaugh and Hannity and so forth, they'll know.
Of course, some of the subversive bastards are probably reading this thread right now.
So there's a downside to this?
The media has well established that Vietnam veterans can suddenly revert to being crazed killers. The stench of body odor has been noted as a frequent trigger mechanism.
The reek of hypocrisy and the disgusting sight of unwashed hair do it to me every time. My instant karma runs over Moore's dogma.
Cuz Iiiiiiiii ain't got noboooooooody.
Nobody, votes for me
Nobody, nobody
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii'm so sad and looooooooooonely
Sad and lonely, sad and lonely
Won't some rich mama, come and take a chance on me
Cause I ain't so rich
And I can't win in November!
Can't beat Dubya!
Time will tell if you are real, but it seems credible, at the least.
How did you find this place, this Free Republic?
What was John Kerry's role in the decision to teach young kids about "fisting" in the Massachusetts schools? Did he support these "fistgate" conferences which were presented by militant homosexuals and their sponsors in the teachers union? HAS KERRY EVER TAKEN CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM THESE SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS?
JOHN KERRY NEEDS TO "COME CLEAN" on these matters.
But mostly, John Kerry needs to explain his role in this disgusting scandal. Does Kerry support the teaching of homosexual "fisting" and other practices to public school children? WHAT IS Kerry's stand on "fisting"???
It is the responsibility of America's reporters and columnists to ask these tough questions and never stop until Kerry fully explains his role.
John Kerry needs to "come clean" NOW!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.