Quick Heads Up: Did I Hear Right? Hackworth Called Cheney a Draft Dodger?

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

My ears might have deceived me. Did I hear correctly on the Sean Hannity Show? Did Hackworth call Cheney a draft dodger?

[El Gato]

more like Audie Murphy-itis. It happens.

And a lot worse case than Audie Murphy ever had.

[umbagi]

thanks for your kind words. Actually, I do believe that most of the people who work to get their candidates elected are good people and believe in what their doing. And most politicians probably start out with honorable intentions. They just stay in DC or their state capital's too long. They need to serve one or two terms, get out, and live under their legislation like the rest of us. And then they can get a real job or start a real business - which would make a real contribution to our country.

I am only a small l libertarian. I could never bring myself to join the LP and I'd choose death over being a democrat. I don't expect to find some perfect party that I agree with on everything. If the Republican party would just move back to the right a little bit. Whatever happened to the concept of limited government? Eliminate one litte agency. I know Pres. Bush has a lot on his plate, but just one little step towards old fashioned conservatism is all I ask.

I can't disagree with a word of that...

Wow, there are a lot of us! Maybe we could get together and start our own -- nah, crap, they've tried that... I'm just glad Nader does it, too!

u

[sneakypete]

There was no draft call-up back when Cheney was 18.

Yes there was. Why else would he have needed the deferements he had?

[jwalsh07]

The key word there is "automatic".

Possibly so. All I know is that when I registered for the draft I was automatically assigned 2S as a college student.

[jo6pac]

I *think* I hear what you're saying; although (IMNSHO) it's an argument of semantics.

I wouldn't fault Hack for calling him a draft dodger, though. A couple years in the military incombat arms would have been good for Cheney and good for the military he now rules. I'd bet there'd be a different policy toward homos and females. Experienced military guys are justly resentful of leaders with no experience engineering PC in the DoD. That's probably lot of where Hack is coming from when he calls him a dd.

[sneakypete]

If you have "other priorities," then it's a mockery to say you're "serving" when you do nothing but the SAFE things...

Amen. When you say you had "better things to do",you are also saying YOU are "better" than the people who DIDN'T have "better things to do".

[El Gato]

Nor does Saddam pose a threat to the survival of the Republic.

Your opinion of course. If he provides or has provided the like of Al Queda with bugs or gas or a nuke or three, he may not threaten the survival of the nation, but he does threaten lots of American lives. The man tried to have a former President of the US killed, what more must he do? Thomas Jefferson sent warships to deal with the Barbery pirates, and they certainly weren't any threat to the survivial of the young United States, but they were threats to individual American ships and sailors.

[frnewsjunkie]

It was automatic. Check out the link.

If a young man was in college, they were automatically put on deferment as long as their grades were satisfactory.

Just like when a young man gets married... it is an automatic different classification.

The 1971 thing was something different.

I lived it then... I remember... the man with an experience is not at the mercy of the man with an argument. :)
And....Check the link.

[Mo1]

believe 'Hack' got off the train following 'Nam'. Pretty hard coming out of a war that your own goverment did'nt even try to win.

I can understand his concerns about war and our government .. but this is not the 1960's .. and President Bush is not like Johnson or Clinton ..

[sneakypete]

That story about Hackworth has been proven by him and later the military to be false and it was a hit piece on him because the troops use him as a whistleblower.

WRONG! Hackworth had to change his "I love me" web page to reflect the reality of being caught lying about his awards and decorations. Besides the DFC,he also falsly claimed to have been a Ranger. How many LTC's do YOU know who would be mistaken about being Ranger qualified?

[sneakypete]

Too bad, your father and grandfather had real wars to serve in.

VN wasn't a "real war"? It sure seemed like a war to me! It also seemed like a war to the combat vets of WW-2 and Korea that I knew there.

[Texasforever]

Because the deferments were automatic. I was in exactly the same boat as Cheney, I was born in '40, I was married with 2 kids and working full time and going to school. I did not "apply" for any deferment and I even went to Kansas City for a physical but I was not called up. I sure as hell did not have "connections".

[frnewsjunkie]

What year were you 2S? If it was after 1966, the *automatic* part ended Jan 1966.

2S means you were granted school deferment.

1A means you are headed to the military.

[AmishDude]

Didn't seem like it at the time.

I'm sure it didn't. But this is an intellectual exercise and there's no need to excessively confuse the issue with additional cases.

And where were you stationed?

Having been blessed with polka-dotted skin, the treatment required would make it rather difficult to serve, but my brother spent 4 years at Dover AFB.

[jo6pac]

...the answer to the first is most likely that he just went to college because he wanted to better himself, or party hearty or whatever, but not to dodge the draft.

Why can't your assumption include he also might not have wanted to be drafted.

[jwalsh07]

1971. It was automatic. You proved enrollment you were 2S. Take it from me, I was there.

[sneakypete]

Not all of them served,

WRONG! They ALL served. The war was IN this country,and as political leaders of the revolution,they WERE serving.

were they unqualified Many (most?) were,due to their age and lack of military experience. You can hardly expect a 60 year old farmer to serve as a infantry private.

or cowards?

NOBODY who signed the Declaration of Independence can be called a coward by ANYBODY. They all effectively painted a target on themselves when they signed.

[jwalsh07]

1A means you are headed to the military.

I headed for the Army in 1975 as an enlisted man.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I don't know about the Ranger tab but his DFC was in his jacket but not on record with the service so he took it down from his "I love me page".