Which American TV News Org. Will Be 1st To Question Bush on AWOL Charge?

[David Zephyr]

None of them ever had any qualms about asking Bill Clinton about oral sex and discussing it for 24 hours a day, did they?

So, which of the Corporate News outlets will actually put a microphone to the President of the United States, not his spokespersons, but the Chimp himself, and ask the big questions about his A.W.O.L. from the National Guard during the War in Vietnam where over 50,000 Americans died?


Hear the words of Jack London from 1908 in the Iron Heel:

"Not a word that he uttered will see print. You have forgotten the editors. They draw their salaries for the policy they maintain. Their policy is to print nothing that is a vital menace to the established...The press of the United States? It is a parasitic growth that battens on the capitalist class. Its function is to serve the established by moulding public opinion, and right well it serves it." --- The Great Jack London, a Hero of David Zephyr

[Stephanie]

1. Attn Corporate News - here, we've done the research for you:

I made one post, for easier copying, from the links posted in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1047177#1047181

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http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php

The pundits immediately went berserk after the debate. As well they should. Because they know that they -- and much of the mainstream media -- ignored this Bush AWOL story when it was first revealed by an investigation in the Boston Globe (in 2000). The Globe said it appeared George W. Bush skipped out in the middle of his Texas Air National Guard service -- and no charges were ever brought against him. It was a damning story, and Bush has never provided any documents or evidence to refute the Globe's charges.

George W. Bush was missing for at least a 12 month period. That is an undisputed fact. If you or I did that, we would serve time.

Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii and a World War II veteran, joined with Vietnam vets Sen. Max Cleland and Sen. Bob Kerrey to challenge Bush on the gaps in his military record. "The question is, where were you, Governor Bush? What would you do as commander-in-chief if someone in the National Guard did the same thing? At the least, I would have been court-martialed. At the least, I would have been placed in prison," Inouye said.

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The definitive site - a comprehensive collection of links, articles and official documents:

http://www.awolbush.com/

Where were you in '72?
Most of us remember...Bush does not...

So, while the news networks have sat on this explosive story for months, it's well documented that George W. Bush never showed up for National Guard duty for a period of approximately one year, possibly more, in 1972-1973. Despite all the talk about "honor and dignity," Bush seems to have a problem meeting his commitments.

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http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/3671

FINALLY, THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSH'S MILITARY SERVICE RECORD
George W.'s Missing Year

Marty Heldt is a farmer. He told us, "I spent 17 years as a brakeman before moving back to the farm. That job had some long layovers that gave me a lot of time to read and to educate myself." He lives in Clinton, Iowa.

Nearly two hundred manila-wrapped pages of George Walker Bush's service records came to me like some sort of giant banana stuffed into my mailbox.

I had been seeking more information about his military record to find out what he did during what I think of as his "missing year," when he failed to show up for duty as a member of the Air National Guard, as the Boston Globe first reported.

The initial page I examined is a chronological listing of Bush's service record. This document charts active duty days served from the time of his enlistment. His first year, a period of extensive training, young Bush is credited with serving 226 days. In his second year in the Guard, Bush is shown to have logged a total of 313 days. After Bush got his wings in June 1970 until May 1971, he is credited with a total of 46 days of active duty. From May 1971 to May 1972, he logged 22 days of active duty.

Then something happened. From May 1, 1972 until April 30, 1973 -- a period of twelve months -- there are no days shown, though Bush should have logged at least thirty-six days service (a weekend per month in addition to two weeks at camp).

<The documents are available at: http://users.cis.net/coldfeet/document.htm >

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Paul Krugman:

http://truthout.org/docs_03/050703G.shtml

Mind you, it was funny. At first the White House claimed the dramatic tail-hook landing was necessary because the carrier was too far out to use a helicopter. In fact, the ship was so close to shore that, according to The Associated Press, administration officials "acknowledged positioning the massive ship to provide the best TV angle for Bush's speech, with the sea as his background instead of the San Diego coastline."

A U.S.-based British journalist told me that he and his colleagues had laughed through the whole scene. If Tony Blair had tried such a stunt, he said, the press would have demanded to know how many hospital beds could have been provided for the cost of the jet fuel.

But U.S. television coverage ranged from respectful to gushing. Nobody pointed out that Mr. Bush was breaking an important tradition. And nobody seemed bothered that Mr. Bush, who appears to have skipped more than a year of the National Guard service that kept him out of Vietnam, is now emphasizing his flying experience. (Spare me the hate mail. An exhaustive study by The Boston Globe found no evidence that Mr. Bush fulfilled any of his duties during that missing year. And since Mr. Bush has chosen to play up his National Guard career, this can't be shrugged off as old news.)

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<Right click and copy link location - it's so long it distorts the page>
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/One_year_gap_in_Bush_s_Guard_duty+.shtml">Boston Globe

One-year gap in Bush's National Guard duty
No record of airman at drills from 1972-73
By Walter V. Robinson, Globe Staff, 5/23/2000

AUSTIN, Texas - After George W. Bush became governor in 1995, the Houston Air National Guard unit he had served with during the Vietnam War years honored him for his work, noting that he flew an F-102 fighter-interceptor until his discharge in October 1973.

And Bush himself, in his 1999 autobiography, ''A Charge to Keep,'' recounts the thrills of his pilot training, which he completed in June 1970. ''I continued flying with my unit for the next several years,'' the governor wrote.

But both accounts are contradicted by copies of Bush's military records, obtained by the Globe. In his final 18 months of military service in 1972 and 1973, Bush did not fly at all. And for much of that time, Bush was all but unaccounted for: For a full year, there is no record that he showed up for the periodic drills required of part-time guardsmen.

Bush, who declined to be interviewed on the issue, said through a spokesman that he has ''some recollection'' of attending drills that year, but maybe not consistently.

From May to November 1972, Bush was in Alabama working in a US Senate campaign, and was required to attend drills at an Air National Guard unit in Montgomery. But there is no evidence in his record that he did so. And William Turnipseed, the retired general who commanded the Alabama unit back then, said in an interview last week that Bush never appeared for duty there.

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http://bushwatch.org/bushgate2.htm

JUNIOR AWOL ON DRUGS?

"THE Republican frontrunner for the White House, George W Bush, was suspended from flying as a young pilot for failing to take a medical examination that included a drug test.
"Documents obtained by The Sunday Times reveal that in August 1972, as a 26-year-old subaltern in the Air National Guard, Bush was grounded for failing to "accomplish" an annual medical that would have indicated whether he was taking drugs....While he has consistently admitted to a "misspent youth", Bush has evaded questions about cocaine or other drug use, implying only that he has not taken illegal substances since 1974, the year after he left the Air National Guard....

"Bush was not required to face drug tests when he first entered the reserve unit as a Yale graduate in 1968. It was only at the end of 1971 that the US Air Force, facing a backlash against drug-fuelled escapades in Vietnam, introduced a screening policy. In April 1972 the Pentagon implemented a drug-abuse testing programme that required officers on "extended active duty", including reservists such as Bush, to undergo at least one random drug test every year. The annual medical exam that year included a routine analysis of urine, a close examination of the nasal cavities and specific questions about drugs....

"Bush was said to have been unable to take the medical because he was in Alabama while his doctor was in Houston. his campaign official, however, said Bush was aware that he would be suspended for missing his medical as soon as he left Houston because the air force was unable to process his new status before the August deadline for the test. "It was just a question of following the bureaucratic procedure of the time," he said. "He knew the suspension would have to take place."

"William Turnipseed, a retired general who commanded the Alabama unit at the time, said Bush never appeared for duty. Two commanders at Ellington air force base in Houston said in his record they were unable to perform his annual evaluation covering the year from May 1, 1972 to April 30, 1973. "Lt Bush has not been observed at this unit during the period of this report," they wrote.

"...Chris Lapetina, a former marine and Democratic political consultant, said controversy about the medical exam could hurt Bush's chances among several voting blocks, including pensioners and veterans. Many servicemen would be upset if they thought a possible future president had avoided an obligatory military examination that included a drug test, he said. "When someone doesn't take a physical in the military there's got to be very good reason," Lapetina said. "It looks like he made a decision not to take it because the alternative was unpalatable." " --Sunday Times (UK), 6/17/00

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<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A59151-2000Jun25¬Found=true>

Records of Bush's Ala. Military Duty Can't Be Found
By Wayne Slater
Dallas Morning News
Monday, June 26, 2000; Page A06

AUSTIN –– After a thorough search of military records, George W. Bush's presidential campaign has failed to find any documents proving he reported for duty during an eight-month stint in Alabama with the Texas Air National Guard.

But a spokesman expressed confidence Saturday that inquiries will turn up former Guard members who can corroborate Bush's having been there.

"He specifically recalls pulling duty in Alabama," spokesman Dan Bartlett said of Bush. "He did his drills."

<snip>

"I can't remember what I did, but I wasn't flying because they didn't have the same airplanes. I fulfilled my obligations."

In May, retired Gen. William Turnipseed, the former commander of the Alabama Guard unit, said Bush did not report to him, although the young airman was required to do so. His orders, dated Sept. 15, 1972, said: "Lieutenant Bush should report to Lt. Col. William Turnipseed, DCO, to perform equivalent training."

"To my knowledge, he never showed up," Turnipseed said last month.

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http://www.agitproperties.com/chickenhawk.html

Please read the scathing letter from Captain Maureen Griswold, (who lost her brother Scott to the Vietnam War debacle), to KB toys about their bush (non)action figure. Here's a brief excerpt:

"Note: AWOL and absent without leave' and desertion (defined as AWOL beyond 30 days), are actual crimes with NO STATUTES OF LIMITATION."

Other links to bush's (non)duty are provided on the linked web page and within the letter of Captain Griswold.

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On the lack of coverage
http://www.uaw.org/cap/01/news/day3media.html

Let me give you some statistics," responded panelist Paul Begala, "I worked for Bill Clinton in 1992 and …in anticipation of this very question, I looked this up on Nexis. There were 13,641 stories about Bill Clinton 'dodging the draft' …and there were 49 stories about Bush and the National Guard," Begala said.

And here is a timeline.

http://uggabugga.blogspot.com/2003_01_12_uggabugga_archive.html#87590816

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Bill Burkett:

May 28, 2002
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

Pausing to Reflect After Memorial Day: Were George W. Bush's National Guard Records Scrubbed? Bill Burkett Should Know. The Nation Deserves the Truth.

(See http://199.96.2.183/contributors/2002/05/24_supreme.html to understand the context of this letter to BuzzFlash.com from Bill Burkett. It is also recommended that you read these two important postings from the Democrats.com archives: http://www.democrats.com/display.cfm?id=171 and
http://www.democrats.com/display.cfm?id=154)

Additional BuzzFlash Note: Major General Daniel James was head of the Texas National Guard at the time of the alleged scrubbing of George W. Bush's National Guard records. He was appointed by George W. Bush to be commander of the nation's Air National Guard -- and was confirmed by the Senate last week.

A Letter to BuzzFlash.com from Bill Burkett, formerly of the Texas National Guard:

In regards to the BuzzFlash contibutor piece, "SUPREME IRONY" (http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/2002/05/24_Supreme.html)

This BuzzFlash reader gets it closer to right than anyone has since 1998 when I broke the Bush AWOL story as a whistleblower.

I hope that more information will be coming soon as a few journalists are now asking questions that should have been asked in 1998.

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/2002/05/28_Scrubbed.html

* * *

Also from the Veterans for Peace website:

What do you say?
By Bill Burkett
Online Journal Contributing Writer

March 19, 2003—I've sat in total grief for the past three years, watching the institutions of America being spent as if they were lottery winnings.

I don't want to say it, "But I told you so."

In January of 1998 and what seems like a full lifetime ago, I was stricken by a deadly case of meningoencephalitis. I was returning from a short duty trip to Panama as a team chief to inspect the hand over of Ft. Clayton to the Panamanians. I had been 'loaned' from the senior staff and state planning officer of the Texas National Guard to the Department of the Army for a series of these special projects after angering George W. Bush by refusing to falsify readiness information and reports; confronting a fraudulent funding scheme which kept 'ghost' soldiers on the books for additional funding, and refusing to alter official personnel records .

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/what_do_you_say_032203.htm

Who is Bill Burkett?

Lt. Col. Bill Burkett completed 28 years of decorated service and was medically retired from the US Army National Guard in 1998 after suffering meningoencephalitis on return from an assignment in Panama. From 1995 until his illness, Burkett served as State Plans Officer for the Texas Army National Guard and Governor George W. Bush. After refusing to follow direct orders involving falsifying readiness reports, Burkett sought "whistleblower" status for reports involving anti-Semitic activity; personnel fraud; readiness fraud and the alteration of the personal military file of Governor George W. Bush. Lt. Col. Burkett is currently the plaintiff in his appeal to the US Supreme Court in the case of Burkett v. Goodwin, Taliaferro, Meador, et al, in regard to the retaliation against him following breaking the Bush records issue. Lt. Col Burkett served as a War Plans Officer during Operation Desert Storm and functioned as a senior trainer in conducting simulations exercises for deploying troops.

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David Neiwert:

http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2004_01_18_dneiwert_archive.html#107489673457218778

Bush blew off his commitment to the Texas Air National Guard by failing to take a physical, and thereafter failing to report to his superior officers at his old unit for at least seven months. His flight status was revoked, and he never flew again -- at least, not until the Lincoln stunt.

These facts have never been disputed since they were uncovered, and in fact were acknowledged by Bush's spokespeople. Moreover, as Joe Conason has already noted, Bush actually falsified this aspect of his service in his ghost-written autobiography, A Charge to Keep, describing his pilot's training in some detail, then concluding: ''I continued flying with my unit for the next several years." In fact, Bush was suspended from flying 22 months after he completed his training -- a period that does not even generously fit Bush's description.

Several of Bush's former superiors in the TANG -- most of whom remain on friendly terms with the president -- have defended his service and suggested that there was nothing wrong with Bush's behavior in what for most other servicemen would be considered a fairly clear case of dereliction of duty.

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[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Don't worry. They won't

As far as they are concerned, it is a non-issue. It doesn't involve a Democrat.

[RedSock]

3. if it get longer legs

someone has to bring it up at a press conference

i say msnbc

[Stephanie]

4. That's true - Howard Dean spoke in a LOUD voice last week

He was smiling and laughing, true, but didn't that LOUD voice say something about his temperament? Didn't it indicate that he had a temper? Isn't his temper very bad? Isn't he a bad man?

And Kerry - his hair is French. Kerry is French. Kerry is bad, and unpatriotic.

[Cleita]

5. I say none because no reporter like Helen Thomas, who

has the cojones to ask that question will be allowed within one hundred feet of him.

[David Zephyr]

6. Helen. Another Great Texan Journalist!

She towers over them all, Cleita!

[LosinIt]

7. Comedy Central?

We're waiting for it.

[0007]

8. None other than Comedy Central

[RapidCreek]

11. I'll go with comedy central...

Pretty friggin sad when the news one can glean from comedy skits is more accurate than that comming out of Brokaw kaw kaw kaw's beak.

RC

[Demeter]

9. Maybe The BBC or the CBC

I only look to Brits and Canadians for political news these days--since Canada is within driving distance, it works for me.

[1gobluedem]

10. PBS?

Shouldn't PBS be on this list? They aren't a commercial network but they are a network.

[Catherine Vincent]

12. I voted none.

Now if Sam Donaldson was still the WH correspondent, he would probably ask. I mean...he did ask Clinton about Juanita Broderick and that 20 year old off and on rape accusation, surely he would ask about Bush* and his awol.

[OneTwentyoNine]

13. Bawhaha--News Org question ANYTHING about Chimp?? eom

[EV1Ltimm]

14. none

it's not going to happen.

[HootieMcBoob]

15. don't hold your breath n/t

[cybildisobedience]

16. put me down for none

And I'll take it one step further -- if any of the Dem candidates DO make an issue of this, they will be crucified in the media. Look at what they're trying to do to Clark for not "killing that snake," as Brokaw put it on MTP yesterday. And Clark didn't even say it-- Michael Moore did.
They'll be merciless.