This morning at Drudge:
VIDEO: KERRY WARNS STUDENTS: EDUCATE YOURSELF, OR YOU'LL GET STUCK IN IRAQ...
VIDEO: BUSH: KERRY COMMENTS 'INSULTING AND SHAMEFUL'...
Iowa candidate asks Kerry to cancel visit...
*Kerry Pulls Out Of Minnesota Appearance...
**No Casey/Kerry In Philly...
TN Harold Ford asks Kerry to apologize...
MORE DEMS PILE ON...
VIDEO: IMUS TO KERRY: 'Please stop it. Stop talking. Go home, get on the bike'...
The joke gone wrong spin isn't flying. Because it doesn't make sense. From "Jummy", in the comments at Hot Air ;
of course, a shorter route to disproving kerry’s spin is to try to parse bush into kerry’s statement:“education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you [may become a president who get’s our country] stuck in Iraq.”
i mean, honestly.
And, that's not all. IMAO Exclusive: John Kerry Testifies About Troop Stupidity Before Congress
Powerline examines the popular mythology that the US military is recruited from the poor and stupid of America. (The "soldier-victim of the rich and powerful" stereotype fits nicely with that other false construct of the left - the characterization of soldiers as "children".)
The stereotype of the poor, dumb soldier is firmly entrenched among liberals of the Vietnam era. We often see it repeated by younger liberals today, even though the stereotype has no application whatever to our current volunteer army, which is demonstrably equal, at least, to the civilian population in talent and accomplishment.Why are liberals so determined to hang on to these discredited stereotypes of the past? I suspect it is because the young men and women who serve in the armed forces are a constant reproach to liberals' facile, politically-motivated pronouncements on foreign policy. Iraq is a disaster (never mind that I voted for it)! But the young men and women who are stationed there don't think so. They re-enlist in remarkable numbers; a large majority believe in their mission; and they are working hard, risking their lives, and making considerable progress on many fronts. So it's helpful for liberals to think: what do they know? They're only soldiers--they must be dumb!
This analysis by the Heritage Foundation dispels that notion in its entirety;
In summary, the additional years of recruit data (2004–2005) support the previous finding that U.S. military recruits are more similar than dissimilar to the American youth population. The slight differences are that wartime U.S. military enlistees are better educated, wealthier, and more rural on average than their civilian peers.Recruits have a higher percentage of high school graduates and representation from Southern and rural areas. No evidence indicates exploitation of racial minorities (either by race or by race-weighted ZIP code areas). Finally, the distribution of household income of recruits is noticeably higher than that of the entire youth population.
Demographic evidence discredits the argument that a draft is necessary to enforce representation from racial and socioeconomic groups. Additionally, three of the four branches of the armed forces met their recruiting goals in fiscal year 2005, and Army reenlistments are the highest in the past five years. A draft is not necessary to increase the size of the active-duty forces. Our analysis using Pentagon data on wartime volunteers effectively shatters the case for reinstating the draft.
Finally, this post at The Torch touched on "the myth of the unlettered grunt" last month;
While higher education as an ideal has lagged within the CF until recently, strategic planning is a fairly specific skill set, and one which the military takes great pains to develop in a staff officer. Not only do many of the senior officers (and I mean that precisely: Major through Colonel and their naval equivalents) I know personally have post-grad degrees, they have real-life experience applying the academic to the practical in some of the most rigourous circumstances imaginable. They don't set up shop in the ivory towers of academia, they learn for the express purpose of applying their knowledge.
Update - The apology isn't flying, either.
It's not just common liberal thinking in the US that soldiers are stupid worthless dregs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061027.cover28/BNStory/Front/home
from the G&M article: "His fellow soldiers were younger men who had given up dead-end jobs in fast-food joints and paper mills to join the lowliest ranks of the military."
It's not a great leap of logic that people who can not understand the value of honour, duty and self-sacrifice attribute these worthy ideals to the ignorance they so aptly demonstrate.
This falls in nicely with the the point made not so long ago about how the Democrats and our own NDP like to say that they "Support Our Troops" because they want to "bring them home" without ever actually talking to the soldiers themselves to see how they feel - to see if bringing them home "supports" their wants and beliefs. Doing such a thing is beyond the prevue of leftists because they feel that soldiers are beneath (i.e. "dumber than") the enlightened intellectual left.
Local police and FBI officials said they expect the transfer of between 10,000 and 20,000 troops to Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas, to bring more members of the Folk Nation gang into contact with a criminal group that is already well-established in the area, Barrio Azteca.
Troop Shortages Help Neo-Nazis Infiltrate US Military, Group Says
As the U.S. military struggles to shore up recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq, it is failing to enforce its own zero-tolerance policy on neo-Nazis and other hate groups, according to a report today by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As such, the group says, racist extremists in the armed forces number in the thousands, quoting one Defense Department investigator as saying, “We’ve got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad.”
Remember this when the military comes to your door for your guns.
neutralsam, Shhhhh, the grownups are talking.
All the facts from The Torch, the Heritage Foundation, etc. about the higher intelligence and education of modern Western militaries (both enlisted and officers) is irrelevant to the John Kerrys, the Jack Laytons and the mass of Leftoids of the West.
Because the members of the militaries are volunteers, because they willingly fight wars for their countries, because they live under a traditional Western moral code of Duty, Honor and Country, they are the opposite of the Leftoid value system and worldview.
Since this Leftoid value system and worldview is derived from bigoted, closed, circuitous logic, these servicemen and women have-in the Leftoid mind-proven themselves intellectually inferior. No amount of attempted logical discourse will persuade one of these leftist extremists out of this view, this secular nihilist theology.
As for what John Kerry said two days ago, for once he accidentally told the truth. He showed exactly what he really thinks of men and women of the military. It's also the default view of the Left. (As noted by Zip in his reference to the Globe & Mail article, which shows essentially the same view as that of Kerry.)
Maybe Kerry should disappear and check himself into run-off-at-the-mouth rehab. Then blame it on shell shock and get Ted Kennedy to say he knew about Kerry's affliction but turned a blind eye out of respect.
At Kerry's website, the section titled "Future Events" has disappeared.
Where does that come in after the troops run over some kid in the street cause he/she couldn't get out of the way in time? Or is it after some troops sneek out at night dressed like Iraqis and rape and kill some little girl then burn her and her family? Maybe dragging some old guy out in the middle of the night a shoot him in the head and plant a weapon next to him?
I am from the same Army that Kerry wants to slander. I am a Field Grade Officer that has a B.S. degree and I am 1/4 of the way to my graduate degree. I would never vote for this guy!
I think it was indeed a botched joke. A Freudian botch. He botched the joke by instead saying something he really believed.
The joke is that with 2,685,713 people in the US serving in the military he has just pissed off one of the US's largest employers.
Keep talking John, you're doing great.
"What I meant to say" didn't work for Mel Gibson so why should it work for Swift Boat Kerry?
if u think kerry is bad, try dealing with your average hr idiot in the province of ontario...the majority of them r lib/ba types, left over from the 60's...one look at my 8 yrs service, and that puppy is shredded...as well, i have been trying to get recognition of my military education from the ontario college system....how do u spell NIGHTMARE!!!
A couple of posts at Lurch's own blog:
-------------------------------------------------
Chris (the other Chris):
In 1971, our troops were murderers per John Kerry. Now they are just ignorant. I guess he's mellowing out a bit in his old age.
Posted by Chris (the other Chris) | October 31, 2006 4:31 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Todd Caron:
Where would we get the idea that Kerry disrepects our soldiers?
Dec. 4, 2005 on Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer.
Sen. Kerry: "And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women..."
Maybe the senator just had his Botox shot and couldn't speak correctly.
Posted by Todd Caron | October 31, 2006 4:31 PM
Not to worry, Iggy, the hairdo that walks like a Liberal, has the same opinion of the rest of us, the great unwashed.
he will lead us out of the wilderness , out of the Redneck Sea. Oh wait, that is going towards Isreal.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear.
If John Kerry tries to run for President again, he will run into us (VietNam vets), and we are a brick wall.
I posted many times about this during the presidential campaign. But let me just remind everyone that John Kerry was a prominent member of the radical student body underground during the 1960s. He kept the company of various individuals and groups who were committed communists in the New Left.
We know all about his ridiculous pretense at military service (4 months in country?), and he walked out with more fruit salad that Sgt York or Audie Murphy. This is absolutely ludicrous, as any veteran can tell you. And then while surrounded by his New Left buddies, he charged us all with atrocities.
John Kerry is not a popular guy with veterans in the United States.
And I want to just say a word about this insane discussion that goes on in regards to education and military personnel.
There used to be a joke that NCOs (non-commissioned officers) would pull on new recruits. The NCO would have all the new recruits lined up, standing there in their slack-jawed, long-haired, dope-smoking persona, and he would bark,
"How many men here have been to college?!?"
A few people would raise their hands.
"All right," barked the NCO, "you college men go out there and police the area. Pick up the cigarette butts and trash. The rest of you watch and see how it's done!"
From the point of view of military missions, much that passes for civilian education is virtually useless.
"Jenkins!"
"YESSIR!"
"Jenkins, where the hell are you from!"
"I'M FROM TEXAS SIR!"
"Jenkins! After Marcel Proust wrote Remembrance of Things Past, what was his next book??"
"SIR! THAT WOULD BE IN A BUDDING GROVE, SIR!"
"Jenkins, that is correct! You will look after the machine gun."
The majority of military duties required training. Very few personnel who join already know how to handel weapons systems, how to set up ground cover, have experience flying on and off aircraft carriers, or throwing hand grenades. It is not unusual for some recruits never to have fired a gun. (An odd thought for a Texan, but it's true.)
So in all honesty, I really fail to see how relevant it is for a recruit to know what a doppler shift is or to have read the letters of de Maupassant. And this constant harangue about the idea that some recruits have not gone to college is simply irrelevant.
A couple of months ago, Fortune magazine came up with its list of the richest men in the world, and half of them had never gone to any college of any sort. A psychologist from Orange County was on Dennis Prager's show the other day, and he said that the university a person attends has no bearing on how successful they will be after college.
I think this entire chain of reasoning that continues to try to find some link between military participation and college courses is very often completely misplaced.
Greg, the "Who here has been to college" bit was priceless. Anyone who has ever donned a uniform knows never to volunteer or raise their hands. Either that or they learn pretty quick. I always liked to send the new kids down to stores for a bucket of prop wash;-)
I honestly don't know what people see in john ketsup... err kerry. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw the SOB.
The left rejects tribalism as an arcane expression of ancient human behaviour. It is not. We all witness the destructive effect of unchecked tribalism throughout the world, but this also reminds us of the power and importance of tribalism. Tribalism is rejected as low-brow and anti-intellectual by the left. The truth is it is neither; it is simply the way humans are wired. This is why John Kerry and his ilk dislike the military. It is an organization that shows why tribalism survives in this modern era. It survives because it is a powerful agent for action and cohesion..
The bonds of people by land, blood and tradition, are powerful. This may seem silly to those that owe no allegiance to anyone or anything, but instead govern their lives by what suits their own interests best, but these people are separated from the roots of tribalism by their wealth and their avarice for power. They have nothing to give, only to take. That is why they are despised by the military and ridiculed by so many who intuitively feel the space between the façade of the left and its actions.
O/T but I thought you Canuckians would like to see this. I love that last bit.. "Definately gonna know who the Canadians are from here on oot, that's for sure".
Canadian soldiers kick taliban butt
How many years of education does it take to become so intellectually lazy that you fuck up a George Bush joke.
I mean, really. There was no need to "study hard", "do your homework", or even "make an effort to be smart". All he had to do was know enough basic English to read the joke written on the paper in front of him.
Well put, Greg.
Let's not overlook that many kids enter the military with the brains, but, not the maturity or means for college at that point in their lives. Many kids come from backgrounds without dads and structure. The military gives them the assets they lack - structure, discipline, maturity and the GI Bill to use for college.
My husband, a Vietnam veteran, entered the Marines at age 18. He will tell you that it was where he found his focus in life. The GI Bill took him through both undergraduate and law school after his discharge.
The WWII vets were the wealth creators in this country. Few had college degrees when they were inducted. They weren't stupid because 49% of the college enrollment in 1947 were veterans. I just looked that figure up. Pretty astounding.
Remember this when the military comes to your door for your guns.
Sam, you pathetic birdbrain, the LIBERALS took the guns away.
cnn: Reporting that Kerry has apologized to troops
Greg:
You make some good observations.
Most civilians have little or no understanding of the capabilities and background provided by Armed Forces training. Weapons and fieldcraft are only a very small part of what is learned by, and expected from a soldier.
-Technical competence in a variety of trades,
-Competent "followership" (if you have to ask...)
-Leadership under any concievable circumstance, up to and including life-and-death decisions,
-Human Resources and people management,
-Technical and communications-based writing skills.
(to name only a few.)
Most of these skills are learned, if not mastered, both by formal training and a priceless and unique process of "osmosis". In many cases, these are skills not available to civilians at all.
What would the equivalent college degree be for training an infantry company, seeing to all their critical needs, and leading them into battle?
What college degree is equivalent to taking the responsibility of Chief Engineer on a warship? Or care and management of 150 people? (not the same as a civilian freighter, or a manufacturing plant)
There's a lot of the old attitude of "Joined the Army? Couldn't get a real job, eh?" still out there.
Many members of the CF I have met and worked with are very intelligent, indeed.
Lettered or unlettered.
I have also met many "lettered" people who were complete idiots, or that I wouldn't follow down to the mailbox, let alone into battle.
"Cannon fodder" has no place in the modern military today. Even many junior ranks would rate "master" in a civilian trade.
Kerry displays his ignorance when expounding this view. Chretien and Trudeau felt the same way, as do much of todays MSM-types. They need not directly articulate this view, it comes through anyway.
*sigh*
In John Kerry's little mind anyone who would risk his neck for his country is,... by definition, STUPID.
Right?- not neutral, not uncle, not sam.
did he really say this 'stuck in iraq' thing ?
oooooh, oh no no no no no. no, thats over the line. thats always unacceptable.
get the fuk outta here mr kerry.
sadly a lot of what is presented in college and university is WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG.
but nobody is doing anything about it.
here in ontario, the budding little pointed heads are not taught so much as the utterly vital, inescapable, key and paramount rule of investing in real estate.
and what would that be? especially for a first timer?
dont sign ANYTHING until you consult a real estate attorney.
the biggest purchase in their life and they have to do it the sink-or-swim fashion.
deplorable.
Pleece hup me 0 i voatd fur jon kary in tha las elecshun!
John Kerry is just too tiresome. I'll bet if he wasn't married to the Heinz Harridan, he wouldn't be a blip on the horizon. He's a self-centred, smug, condescending, joyless nincompoop with chronic foot-in-mouth disease. Maybe he's got nice hair, but that's the only thing that's "nice" about him.
Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that Mr. Ketchup (h/t Texas Canuck) is stupid, too?
Good on the soldiers: Too bad they can't spell...LOL!!!!
Reported at The Drudge Report:
"Kerry told students in California on Monday that if they study hard they could do well but if they did not, 'you get stuck in Iraq.' His office said he misread his remarks and intended to say 'You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.'"
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Too bad the guy CAN'T READ his own notes. Who didn't study hard? Who got stuck in Stupid?
What a pile of crap. Even IF he'd said what he said he'd MEANT to say...does it all depend on what "stuck" means?...the joke still isn't...funny.
The fact is, George W. Bush graduated from Yale with better marks than John Kerry. 'Pot calling the kettle black, I'm afraid. When ISN'T John Kerry guilty of this?
"I really fail to see how relevant it is for a recruit to know what a doppler shift is"
It is relevant if that recruit becomes a meteorologist or radar operator for the military.
"What college degree is equivalent to taking the responsibility of Chief Engineer on a warship?"
Probably the equivalent would be a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering.
An army can always use physicists, engineers, chemists, and other such hard-science disciplines. Probably not much use for degrees in women's studies or art history though.
One has to wonder whether John Kerry was speaking from experience when he said if you don't do well at school, you will end up in the military in a place like Iraq. After all, Mr Kerry spent some time in the military - is that how he got there himself?
Jon Scarry,
Jist triken and treetin the truups.
New Brunswick [Canada] aboriginal killed in Iraq
never questioned wisdom of the war
FREDERICTON (CP) - A Mi'kmaq mother whose son was
killed in action with the U.S. army in Iraq says he
never questioned the controversial war or his
participation in it. ...-
cnews
I think Kerry was attempting to explain to the audience that college keeps you out of the draft.Unfortunately, he forgot that the troops in Iraq are there by choice. Living in high places obviuosly starves the brain of much needed oxygen.
Kerry lives off ketchup. He's on a sugar high all the time. No wonder he can't think.
Kerry's comment were no accident.
He was speaking to a very LIB/Left crowd and told them the kind of shit the wanted to hear.
Forgetting of course that there is no such thing as a closed audience in this day.
Stupid is as Stupid does...........
'been around the block: "a self-centred, smug, condescending, joyless nincompoop".
How wonderfully put and not a single curse or swear word.
An intelligent person working for a liberal US paper is disgusted:
"Why Kerry sucks"
www.damianpenny.com/archived/008024.html
Mark
Ottawa
I bet a fictional Joe Democrat would assess the intellectual worth of a commercial airline pilot as very high indeed.
My guess is that it is much more difficult mentally (and certainly physically) to pilot a high performance fighter jet with multiple weapons systems and (in some cases) the ability to take-off and land on a carrier.
I don't imagine they save those positions for the guys who couldn't get a job at the local Burger King....
Of course Letterman had his top 10 list tonight and guess what the topic was. Kerry's excuses.
Opening remarks :John Kerry is the only person who can lose an election he is not even running in: I wonder how many veterans and current members of the military and their families will NOT vote democratic because of this. It is not the first time he has maligned the military, starting in 1971, before Congress. The majority of the democratic leadership think the same as he does. As for a college or university education, that used to something to aim for. Not anymore. Too many draft dodgers and 60 hippies are tenured there to poison the minds of our kids. Again, notice the similarity of Kerry and Iggy. The big difference is that Kerry marries verrrrrry rich women, divorces and finds a richer one. How much longer before he is up for re-election to the senate. He should be impeached, and voters in the US better think again if they believe giving the dems control will improve anything. Kerry will still be in the senate for 2 more years. Pelosi as speaker is as scarry as Hedy as liberal leader.
Iggy didnt marry into money. He is wanting the biggest prize in Canada, that is the liberal dream of marrying the Canadian Federal Treasury.
The GIs keep their sense of humor despite JOHN KERRYS vast amount of stupididy
U.S. Military begins using Kerry flap for
recruitment! (POSTER INSIDE)
3w.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1731022/posts
E-Mail Ballots for Military Questioned [DEMS TARGET MILITARY VOTE AGAIN]
drudge ^ | November 2, 2006 | AP
AP article can't be posted (per Admin Moderator). Here's the link: ap.org ...-
free republic