Rev.Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery

[keep_it_real]

<snip>

"Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery, earning three White House letters of commendation.

Dick Cheney, born in the same year as Wright, received five deferments--four while an undergraduate or graduate student and one as a prospective father. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used their student deferments to remain in college until 1968. Clinton did not serve, and Bush was on active duty in the National Guard for two years. If time in uniform is any measure, Wright, much more than Cheney, Clinton or Bush, embodies Obama's ideal of "Americans have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1734809,00.html

[cliffordu]

1. Right - He was given three citations by the white house, I believe.

[stray cat]

2. Theres a picture in the thread below of him during surgery

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5689232

[mac2]

13. I worked in surgery no one gave me three medals.

Even saved a life or two.

Is he running for public office?

[stray cat]

23. Sorry - I guess you have to come in at 3am and work on a president

[mac2]

27. Oh that makes everyone who works in surgery a hero?

Who the blank cares? There are bigger heros in this country. "Helping" work on a President is the critical word here. Get real.

[Fovea]

47. Yes. Everyone who works in Surg is a hero.

Compared to an investment banker or CEO of Bear Stearns.

[cliffordu]

31. You didn't have to put up with LBJ.....

:rofl: :rofl:

[mac2]

36. No worse than that...

Real average Americans.

[keep_it_real]

52. I was too young to understand what LBJ was about

[mac2]

66. I wasn't.

He cried on TV when talking about the dead military in Vietnam.

The excuse for this war and actions are so similar to that period. It's all a lie.

Except the young aren't in the streets since they don't have a draft. The media covered the protests unlike today.

My brothers both served and survived Vietnam and the Korean war.

[keep_it_real]

72. To have survived Vietnam and the Korean war - all I can say is damn

As an expression of incredulousness.

[mac2]

77. One served in the Naval Air Force and the other the Air Force

If they had been Army their chances of survival would have been lower. One was a Naval Chief officer and the other a Lieutenant computer expert (air controller and surveillance). They were not drafted but decided to chose (volunteer) before they were Army ground forces.

[MADem]

33. It's customary for senior leaders to give Letters of Commendation or Appreciation

to medical personnel who assist them during their hospital stays. It's a simple matter for your aide or secretary to get the list of people who assisted from the hospital (in LBJ's case, Bethesda) and whip up a nice letter. It means the world to those who get them, and any letter that's from a flag or above is worth points for advancement.

Getting one from a President is doubly good; you have an autograph (especially if he signed it while still in the hospital--the auto pen ones don't count) and it's a slice of history.

[RazBerryBeret]

3. but, do you think

"he love America as much as you do"?????????

:sarcasm:

good post.

[stray cat]

5. Volunteering to serve in Vietnam and serving inner city Chicago

yes - I think he has me beat.

[RazBerryBeret]

6. sorry, that was a reference to

Stephanopolus's debate question...

but Rev. Wright has me beat too....

[stray cat]

11. I knew you meant it sarcastically - it was a good statement

The media and repubs have done pastor Wright, the church, Obama and the American people a dis-service.

Best

[mac2]

78. Ya by allowing religion to enter the political debate.

[Condem]

4. I'm in tears.

[keep_it_real]

8. I truly understand your tears; the bull shit will make you cry

[Condem]

10. Thank you, keep it

[Cali_Democrat]

7. What the media and conservatives have done to this man is DESPICABLE.

It's a shame Hillary supporters support the tearing down of a true American patriot.

[LakeSamish706]

15. It was enlightening to see him on with Bill Moyers... I really like this man...

and he is tough and will be ok after the despicable treatment that he has received from this (SO CALLED) media - What a bunch of ass wipes.

[keep_it_real]

73. Sounds like a good theam for a TV ad

[mac2]

9. So what!!

[LakeSamish706]

16. Aren't you on the wrong site? Seems to me you should be over on the other site...

that ends with a "U"?

[mac2]

20. What the other side of not discussing the issues except

through that Obama minister? Cross over to the light and vote for Obama you mean?

[sandnsea]

12. And we let another serviceman be smeared

In fact, this time, the Clintons led the way instead of standing on the sidelines like they did last time. Well, if you don't count the time they smeared Kerry over a joke, and then turned around and said she was under sniper fire.

We The People have got to organize and fight this stuff.

[mac2]

24. Is the Reverend running for public office...what smear?

Get off the stage is not a smear.

Go home and stop bother we who are not members of your church. Oh I hear a Jehovah Witness at my door. I have to go.

[FlaGranny]

85. Maybe he would stop bothering us if we stopped

bothering him? He's the one whose been vilified and you want him to just accept it and go home and shut up about it?

[keep_it_real]

50. You are right, in terms of smear, this deserves a TV ad

[keep_it_real]

75. You can believe there are a lot solders watching and taking note

And would beat anyone down, in person, who spoke against Rev. Wight the service man, the solder who serviced LBJ after surgery.

[noel711]

14. No matter how you judge his preaching....

His life story is incredible...

this is a man who has given to others,
first thru military service,
then through his medical services,
and thru his community service to Chicago,
and to his church.

No matter if you agree with his perspectives,
he is a brilliant man. Scholarly, deeply introspective,
with a varied life experience..
yet with the ability to communicate on many levels,
especially to give voice to those oppressed.

A colleague of ours heard him speak at his seminary graduation,
(and do not assume it was some crack-pot fly-by-night school,
but my alma mater, one of the most highly respected main line
seminaries in the country).

Bill Moyers did a terrific job. Anyone who listened to
this interview heard a totally different man than the one
portrayed in the Faux News Misrepresentation.

YOu may not agree, but he is indeed provocative,
engaging, and scripturally informed. He is a man that
makes the listener think... he challenges the listener,
and that adds to his controversy. His message isn't the
par-boiled 'christian' cartoon: "Love Jesus, wave the flag,
and we'll all be happy." Not at all..

Time will tell how the MSM twists his words again.

[mac2]

18. Get off the stage Reverand we have an important election

which the candidates have yet to discuss important issues. We are losing our democracy and borders but you are every where we turn.

If your fans what to hear your opinions, etc. invite them to your church or big home.

You are not running for public office nor do you deserve the media attention. It is a smoke screen.

[noel711]

41. Uh, Mac, Wright didn't push his way into the media...

It was the MSM who played that soundbyte
over and over again....

This controversy was not his idea. He tried to lay
low but this issue will not go away.

He was invited to speak to Moyers, a good forum for Wright
and these issues. If you don't like him, don't watch Moyers.
And then complain to Fox/MSNBC/CNN when they revisit this
issue every 5 minutes.

No, he's not running for office, but he does have a voice
in his defense.

[mac2]

55. A controversy set up by media to divert attention.

Don't you get it. Impeach Bush and Cheney. Get out of Iraq and bring our military home. We need National Health care seniors are losing their homes. Unemployment and poverty numbers grow larger everyday. We are destroying our precious park lands, etc.

Who cares about Rev. Wright in the media except those who want to use his "splaining to do". We get him instead of real news and concerns of the American people. Yes...get off the stage.

[stillcool]

84. You are right...

He did not deserve the media attention. Eviscerating this private citizen by playing selected excerpts 24/7 for 3 weeks..from a sermon..out of 30 years of sermons amounted to a public lynching. Why should this private citizen be allowed to defend himself against the slanderous charges brought against him. Free Speech is only free if you are aligned with the right candidate.

[cliffordu]

28. YEP!!

[Window]

62. Excellent post.

:thumbsup:

[Condem]

17. Fuck his preaching.

[stray cat]

19. Huh?

[Condem]

21. You want clarification, dmordue?

Fuckin God damn religion should have NO part in this election. Did I dream up the seperation of church and state?

[stray cat]

25. What about compassion and service - does that have no place as well

maybe you should vote republican. Or how about the definition of patriotism versus nationalism. I guess you also mean fuck you Martin Luther King and damn the segregation you ended?

[Condem]

29. No, dmordue, you should

the evangelicals live on this happy horseshit.

[mac2]

30. Again is the Reverand running for public office?

[LakeSamish706]

35. Who the fuck let all you Hillbotts out tonite? Someone man that trap door and lets do...

a sweep up on isle #4.

[Condem]

40. Hillbots, LakeSamish706?

I'm an Obama man but you can stick religion right up your ass. It should be NO factor.

[LakeSamish706]

43. Well it is a factor and a very good man got screwed by both the media and the Clinton...

campaign. I do agree that religion has no place in politics, but I never put it there either and I will be damned if I will stand by and see a good man screwed over by 4 fucking sound bites played over and over without some of the good stuff that he stands for....

[Condem]

45. So, what do we do, Lake?

[LakeSamish706]

48. We stand behind both Rev. Wright and Barack Obama and piss on the rest that...

try to run him down. Yes he said some things that may have been inappropriate, but having not put them together with all of the good things that he has both said and done is way unfair.

[Condem]

53. It's bigger than that, Lake

He NEVER should have had to make that speech. If he was white, it wouldn't be an issue. We are a fucked-up country. The amount of ignorance continues to astound me.

[LakeSamish706]

58. I agree, but I am going to say that I am proud of Barack for not throwing Rev. Wright...

under the bus. Barack handled it the best way that he could given the circumstances. If (more like when) he becomes the nominee the Repugs. are going to throw more than the kitchen sink at him and you will see McCain try to play the game of staying above the fray and let his hit team do the damage. You can bet the Rev. Wright thing will be brought up plenty and hope that the Obama campaign dredges up all of the dirt available on McCain.

[Condem]

59. Lake

That's a personal characteristic of Obama. THAT'S why I'm voting for him.

[mac2]

64. Sounds like the justification the RWers make about their

candidate and ideas. Force it on them.

Boot click.

[keep_it_real]

71. The least I can say is that, you are a good person; I am lost for words otherwise

[keep_it_real]

70. No, but he sure is being used by Hill running for office

[mac2]

79. Then get off the stage.

[mac2]

65. And do those who support Obama know it?

[TomClash]

22. Let's call it what it is - a white racist double standard

The happy design of those who use race to divide and conquer. Cui bono?

[mac2]

32. Oh please.

[TomClash]

39. What an impressive retort! nt

[keep_it_real]

56. Those who are awake and aware know that divide and conquer is the game

[mac2]

60. Right you are.

WHAT ABOUT THE ISSUES? THE MEDIA WOULD RATHER TALK ABOUT REV. WRIGHT THAN DISCUSS WHAT WE THE PEOPLE WANT FROM OUR CANDIDATES.

[cbayer]

26. Reverend Wright is a good man.

He is just a political liability. It is very, very sad.

[mac2]

34. Who said he wasn't a good man?

He is hanging on the coat tails of Obama to get attention. Get off the stage.

[LakeSamish706]

37. Why don't you get off the stage... Your becoming bothersome. n/t

[mac2]

57. I'm not keeping the media from talking about real issues.

Maybe you should try and do it.

[Forkboy]

42. Damn him for explaining himself instead of letting Fox News soundbites do it for him.

The nerve!

:eyes:

[Terri S]

44. Hanging on Obama's coattails to get attention?

Yeah, I'm sure he's just loving getting death threats for soundbites out of sermons he gave years ago. This man's been serving the community for decades. Caring for the poor and oppressed used to be considered a good quality.. actually quite a liberal quality. He was doing it quite well for decades without needing political 'coat tails' to come along and disparage all the good things he's done with his life.

[mmonk]

38. Yep. He's done more than these flag pin "patriots" ever thought

about doing for their country,

[keep_it_real]

54. flag pin "patriots" - you invented a new political term

[mmonk]

63. Really? Nobody's been using that?

Cool.B-)

[mac2]

67. Now I'm confused.

Should I or shouldn't I wear my flag pin. If I do what does it mean? Whose side am I on?

[keep_it_real]

68. It depends - does the flag pin mean symbol instend of substance?

[mac2]

69. Just by looking I'm supposed to know that?

[JI7]

46. didn't Clinton use him when he was in trouble over the lewinsky thing

and brought in a bunch of religious people to show he was getting help or some other shit ?

wasn't Wright one of those who went there for him ?

[noel711]

49. Did you notice that Wright didn't throw Clinton under the bus...

and he could have brought that up?

That he, Wright, was there in Bill's hour of utmost need,
and they said nothing in defence of him when the shit hit the fan...

[LakeSamish706]

51. Yes he did and he also invited him to the White House! n/t

[mac2]

76. Who knows if the whole Lewinsky thing wasn't a

cover for the NAFTA vote then in the Congress? It was a stupid scandal and the media milked it not talking about what was about to hit our democracy and destroy it.

Conservatives have been trying to get it past the Congress for years. They succeeded under Clinton and the Republican Congress. It is unconstitutional and the people decide on trade and the goals...not a few trade delegates or the President himself behind closed doors. That is not democracy.

Congress with permission of the people control trade (as directed in the duties section of the Constitution).

[bhikkhu]

61. He heard JFK's "ask not what you can do for your country" speech

and that is what moved him to quit school and join the Marines. That he served as a medical corpsman and was distinguished enough to have assisted with LBJ's surgery speaks volumes.

[MethuenProgressive]

74. Was that while the government was inventing AIDS to commit genocide on people of color?

If time in uniform is any measure, Wright, much more than Cheney, Clinton or Bush, embodies Obama's ideal of "Americans have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

When did Obama serve?

[mac2]

80. Not the government but the Neo Cons whose plan is

to have their PNAC. That includes a genocide of sorts.

[rucky]

81. MLK was a hero, but it took LBJ to make it happen...

and it took Rev. Wright to make LBJ happen.

[mac2]

82. Rev. Wright did it all and is the reason for LBJ?

It took a team to make it happen. LBJ had a Congress and the American people who made the MLK dream come true. Now Bush and Conservatives of today are destroying it.

If the reverand is going to run for public office (or his church member Obama), he is not a hero of democracy. He is a product of a theocracy wanting power for himself and his religious group. It's all about him and not the election and things we need to do right now to save it.

[NJmaverick]

83. I thought this was the best part of the article

Wright's critics have confused nationalism with patriotism. Nationalism is the uncritical support of one's country regardless of its moral or political bearing. Patriotism is the affirmation of one's country in light of its best values, including the attempt to correct it when it's in error. Wright's words are the tough love of a war-tested patriot speaking his mind--one of the great virtues of our democracy. The most patriotic thing his nation can do now is extend to him the same right for which he was willing to die.