Posted on 09/08/2004 4:39:18 PM PDT by Howlin
Have at him!
Sorry I'm late. What memos?
Vietnam Veterans are accusing Kerry of legal TREASON over on Hannity and Coomes on FOX news right now, tee hee
No, it was the hurricane coverage. At the time he was the news director for a Houston TV station and he decided that he would give live reports to viewers as the storm hit. In many ways, Rather's idea began news operations obsession with local weather as it proved very successful at attracting viewers.
Dan's move attracted the attention of CBS News and they hired him to work for them.
I went to church (Wed eve church) so I missed it. If I was home, I would've watched the Hawaii detective show.
Now that you say that, I guess I've heard that part of Dan's past, as well. As long as Blather makes a living out of making up history on other's, I thought he was fair game!
I haven't heard squat about that
ok....who won? andre I hope!
Even better. Another "urban legend" destroyed!
Oh ok .. I hadn't heard about a hurricane coverage
Thanks for the info
What the heck is going on...?
ken
I just got my copy of Unfit for Command in the mail today. Wow is it a great read. Makes your blood boil, the way Kerry self-promoted himself with his video camera and his private diary. Hero Kerry, a creation of fantasy. He's a hero in his own warped mind.
Please post it and we can deconstruct it.
Re #83 If it can be done, a Freeper will. BTW, thanks for all you do to out Dan...
Rather tried to make a "blockbuster" out of a 15 minute segment on "60 mins", by exposing some papers on President Bush's National Guard service, which where "previously NEVER SEEN". It's CBS's version of a Kitty Kelly hit.
My take is that it's going to be difficult to question a dead man as to what he meant by the memos or even if they were written contemporaneously.
On the other hand, I'd say that CBS released the most damaging quotes in the most ominous context possible. So let's look at them:
...The first memo is a direct order to take "an annual physical examination" – a requirement for all pilots
Big deal. He was "ordered" to take a physical. This could have meant ordered in "Do this or else" or it could have been ordered as in "I'm ordering you show up for your quarterly dental cleaning". I'm sure the whole memo won't look like an absolute order.
...Another memo refers to a phone call from the lieutenant in which he and his commander "discussed options of how Bush can get out of coming to drill from now through November." And that due to other commitments "he may not have time."...
Again, what's the big deal? Bush calls him analyzing his options on alternate service during a period he is busy at work. That happens all the time in the reserves. Reservists do have full time jobs. And if there were something more damaging about this conversation, it would have been mentioned
...Killian's memo, titled 'CYA' reads he is being pressured by higher-ups to give the young pilot a favorable yearly evaluation; to, in effect, sugarcoat his review. He refuses, saying, "I'm having trouble running interference and doing my job." ...
Here he says he got pressure from above but refused to comply. It doesn't say that he got pressure from Bush. It also doesn't define what "pressure" means. Perhaps some of the higher ups who knew Bush's dad was a politician made some requests on Bush's behalf without Bush's knowledge. Even so, the memo says that he refused to bow to the pressure, and there is nothing negative in Bush's actual records, so you got to go with the official record here.
...More difficult to brush off are two official memos that seem to contradict previous White House statements.
One "orders" the president to report for a physical. The White House has said the physical was "not necessary" because the president stopped flying.
So he was ordered to get a physical if he intended to keep flying, but he knew he would not be flying again so he didn't get it. Perhaps his commander ordered him to get the physical without knowing what Bush's long range plans were. Again, I find it difficult to believe that a commander "ordered" him to something that was routinely scheduled anyway
And where the White House says the president's flying status was revoked simply for missing that physical, the memo points to both the missed physical and "failure to perform to (USAF/TexANG) standards...
I'd have to have details defining what "failure to perform to (ASAF/TexANG) standards means. Otherwise this is just hot air. This is the only thing that could be anything, but if it was already part of Bush's official record, I'm sure it's been looked over. If it was part of this guys personal files, how could it have been "official".
So at best they have one memo that may raise a small question with the Anybody But Bush hatemongers. For the rest of us, I can't see this as any big deal. Of course, the media is part of the ABB hatemongers, so they could whip it up nonstop until the election if they want. But ultimately, I can't imagine this will make any difference to the voters.
"After the interview each side accused the other of an ambush. Our campaign felt CBS purposely misled them on the content of the interview; CBS said that the Bush campaign deliberately planned an attack. I do believe we came out the winner: CBS reported getting complaint calls; ours were of support.
"I was there and, believe me, there was no plot or plan to attack. But you can just take so much. I really do feel that CBS news programs often start an interview with an unflattering opener, and in this case, an untrue one. This puts many interviewees on the defensive. George often has to remind me of that when I see an interview featuring a political opponent and I'm taking some comfort in their unease. George forgives to a fault, but he will never trust Dan Rather again." --Barbara Bush in her 1994 book, Barbara Bush: A Memoir.
Wrong. Here's one listed from the Texas Military Miltary Museum:
Bobby Hodges, of the TEXAS ANG flew the F102 in Vietnam the same month that W reported for duty!
The stupids feft-wing Kerry sycophants won't report this kind of stuff. It doesn't fit Dan Rather's HATE BUSH template:
---------------
Major General Bobby W. Hodges enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1953. After primary, basic and advanced pilot training, he spent two and a half-years at Misawa Air Base, Japan, with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. While stationed at Misawa, he was a member of the 4th Fighter Squadron’s Rocket Team flying F-86D’s. In Far East Air Force competition, the team placed second and General Hodges tied for first place in the individual category.
In September 1957, General Hodges became an air technician with the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group stationed at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas. He served in a variety of command and staff positions and in January 1968, he was named Deputy Commander for Operations and Base Operations Supervisor.
In July 1968, General Hodges began a 90-day voluntary tour of duty in Southeast Asia. He participated in the “Palace Alert” program of the Air Force, a program using Air National Guard pilots flying F-102 interceptor aircraft in Southeast Asia. During his tour of duty, General Hodges flew 51 combat missions out of South Vietnam and Northern Thailand for a total of 101 combat flying hours.
In May 1969, he assumed command of the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group and under his command the unit carried out its air defense mission of the upper Texas Gulf Coast in an exceptional manner. He also assumed command of Ellington AFB as an additional duty when the Air Force closed out its host base responsibility in March 1975. He continued in this dual role until his reassignment as commander of the 136th Air Refueling Wing, Texas Air National Guard, Hensley Field.
Under General Hodges command, the 136th Air Refueling Wing accomplished two significant deployments to the European Theater. During those deployments, General Hodges was cited for outstanding leadership as the wing accomplished 356 tactical airlift employment sorties, carrying 701.6 tons of cargo, 2,056 passengers and dropped 1,374 paratroopers…with no safety deviations.
On 14 June 1984, General Hodges was selected to be the Commander, Texas Air National Guard at Camp Mabry, Austin Texas, and served in this position until 1 December 1984. He was then assigned as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Airlift Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In this capacity, General Hodges functioned as the liaison officer between the Air National Guard and the Military Airlift Command until his retirement on 31 December 1989.
General Hodges was a command pilot with over 7,400 flying hours, of which 4,250 hours has been flown in single-engine jet fighter aircraft. His decorations and awards included the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, two Air Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Lone Star Distinguished Medal, and numerous other Federal and state awards.
General Hodges is life member of the National Guard Association of Texas. He served on the board of directors of NGAT for three years (1967-1969), and is a charter member of the Texas Guard Legislative Task Force.
General Bobby Hodges was truly a dedicated patriot and citizen-soldier who for more than 44 years provided outstanding leadership and distinguished service to his state and nation.
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