deserter in chief

[rone]

(via ratphooey) I'm not Michael Moore's biggest fan, but you should read this. Money quote (from MoveOn.org):

Bush was apparently absent without official leave from his assigned military service for as little as seven months (New York Times) or as much as 17 months (Boston Globe) during a time when 500,000 American troops were fighting the Vietnam War. The Army defines a "deserter" — also known as a DFR, for "dropped from rolls" — as one who is AWOL 31 days or more.

I don't see how anyone can vote, in good conscience, for George W. Bush given this information, added to all of the things he's done. If he's done such a good thing for Iraq, he can go run for president there. We don't want him here anymore.

Comments

[tongodeon.livejournal.com]

Factcheck.org has a good, fact-filled article (http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=131) about whether Bush is a deserter or not.

My opinion is that Bush may or may not have missed some time, but if he did go missing it apparently wasn't a big enough deal for the Army to file paperwork or keep a record of the problem. When he left the National Guard he didn't get DFR for going AWOL as implied by Moore: he "requested and was granted special permission to end his six-year hitch eight months early."

There are enough huge, non-debatable problems with Bush that we don't need to waste our time pursuing minor or fictional ones. Doing so dilutes the message and undermines credibility on other issues.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

That site rules. Thanks, Søren.

I shoulda stuck by my "Michael Moore is a windbag" guns.

[tongodeon.livejournal.com]

That site rules. Thanks, Søren.

Factcheck.org kicks much ass on all sides. I've seen them raking pretty much everyone over the coals without regard to party at one time or another. That's my only political affiliation: I'm in the "stop the bullshit and just tell me what's actually going on" party. And currently that party is DEFINITELY not the one Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld are in.