A veteran in need (Steve Gardner swift boat veteran speaking out is broke - needs our HELP)

Washington Times ^ | December 1, 2004 | editorial

[Former Military Chick]

Steve Gardner spoke his conscience when it mattered, but now he's down and out. If you don't remember him, Mr. Gardner was the swift boat veteran who said John Kerry trumped up his wartime heroics and fabricated his "Christmas in Cambodia" story. He was the only person to both serve on Mr. Kerry's boat and criticize Mr. Kerry during his campaign, and was also the longest-serving enlisted man under Mr. Kerry's command. Now we hear that he is broke. As he told the Chicago Sun-Times recently, he is "doing little bits here and there to pay the bills."

How did he get that way? In March, Mr. Gardner was fired from his job with an insurance outsourcing company the day after an unflattering article about him appeared in Time magazine. The company, Millennium Information Services Inc. of Itasca, Ill., has denied any wrongdoing, saying Mr. Gardner's firing and the elimination of his job had been planned weeks earlier. Millennium insists the timing was coincidence. But Mr. Gardner says the employee who sent the e-mail firing him had just lauded his performance a week earlier, and that he has seen the company advertising to fill his former job. He hasn't recouped any money from his contribution to the best-seller "Unfit for Command" either, since its proceeds went to families of veterans, POWs and MIAs.

We have "whistleblower" laws in the United States to protect truth-tellers in government and business, but we have none for political debate. It's clear Mr. Gardner was a political whisteblower in the debates leading up to election 2004. Mr. Gardner knew a side of Mr. Kerry's service less flattering than what the senator's repeated allusions to his service record or his "reporting for duty" salute at the Democratic National Convention would suggest.

[Former Military Chick]

Bravo to the Washington Times, for bringing this to the attention of their readership.

Shame on those who do not do the same.

America Supports You

[conshack]

There was a thread yesterday that covered this. I understand they have established a collection mechanism to help him out. Seems like FReepers are coming through again.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

It's an editorial, not an op-ed.

From the Washington Times.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

In my opinion, they're the best national newspaper-yes, I know it sounds like a bit of a stretch to call them that-this side of the Wall St. Journal.

However, I'm not much for personal finance, commodities trading, diversifying my portfolio and other such matters, so I'll stick to Wesley Pruden & Co.

[Former Military Chick]

Washington Times

[Former Military Chick]

ping

[Coldwater Creek]

Did you read the rebuttal that the company that Steve Gardner worked for put out yesterday.? Someone posted it here on FR. They are denying that he was fired, only let go because of cutbacks. Supposedly there were other managers layed off the same day.