A couple of months ago, I received the following email from my step-dad:
Hello everyone, As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.
As the Soldiers were lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.
So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you. I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheer leaders than from Senator, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.
If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.
In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier
Yesterday, I was on PolitiFact.com and I discovered the following report:
Just after Sen. Barack Obama visited Afghanistan during his recent trip abroad, a scathing e-mail from a captain at Bagram Air Base spread virus-style, infecting blogs and inboxes across the country.I rarely (if ever) respond to anti-Obama emails I receive, but I thought I should inform my step-dad of the truth. The following is what our banter consisted of as a result.
"As you know I am not a very political person," the attack begins. "I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to ‘The War Zone’. I wanted to share with you what happened."
What happened, according to the author — who is reportedly a Utah Army National Guard intelligence officer — is that Obama went straight from his plane to a bulletproof vehicle, then to a meeting with a general, ignoring a line of soldiers waiting to shake his hand.
Afterward, Obama went to the Clamshell, a recreation tent, so photographers could take pictures of him playing basketball, the e-mail says. "He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service," the author wrote.
"I just don’t understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief," the self-described apolitical officer says. "It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country."
For good measure, he adds: "What you see in the news is all fake."
What about what you see in your inbox?
We've examined chain e-mails in depth, and found a great many contain falsehoods. This is unexceptional in that regard.
Obama and the two senators with him did not brush off the troops, said Capt. Christian Patterson, a spokesman for the Army's Combined Joint Task Force-101 (CJTF, in Pentagon speak) at Bagram Air Field.
"There were three members of the congressional delegation and they did stop and take time to shake hands with service members here," Patterson said.
In fact, briefings "were delayed as the senators took time to shake hands, speak to troops, and pose for photographs," said a press release issued by the Army.
And that bit about blowing off the troops for photo ops on the basketball court? "Sen. Obama did not go to the 'Clamshell' recreational tent or play basketball during his stop here," the press release says. (Obama played basketball with troops at a prior stop in Kuwait.)
"His itinerary was set by CJTF-101 prior to the visit," the press release continues. "While CJTF-101 cannot say if this blog is authentic, the comments in it are inappropriate and factually incorrect."
We were unable to speak directly with the e-mail's author, identified in most versions of the e-mail and in published accounts as Capt. Jeffrey S. Porter of the 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion. Patterson said military policy prohibited him from saying whether or not a Jeffrey Porter was serving at Bagram.
The Army Times reported that it corresponded with Porter, who asked them to "delete my e-mail and not forward it after checking my sources some of the information that was put out in my e-mail was wrong. This e-mail was meant only for my family." The New York Daily News reported a similar exchange but did not identify the e-mail author by name.
But because the military directly and unequivocally contradicted the most damaging allegations at issue — that Obama shunned troops on various occasions, including on his way to a photo opportunity on the basketball court — we rule this claim False.
The initial email I sent:
A few months ago you sent me an email authored by Cpt. Jeffrey S. Porter, stating Obama ignored soldiers and refused to shake their hands when he was there this summer. You know I don't usually respond to the conservative emails I get (although I do read them all), but I feel compelled to respond to this one. I think it is of the utmost importance that we show our overseas troops that we respect them and what they're doing there - that we take care of them for taking care of us. I think it's very important to take them seriously and show them respect, so it kind of disappoints me when people take advantage of the national sentiment to support our troops and they exploit it for propaganda.
I'm not trying to prove you wrong or argue with you - although we don't agree on much politically, I think we both have appreciation and respect for our troops, which is why I thought you should read what I discovered for yourself.
Him: "Democrat's spin."
Me: "It's a nonpartisan fact check. Do you really think everything is a conspiracy?"
Him: "Who are you?"
Me: "That, my friend, is for me to know and you to lose sleep over."
Him: "Crawl back into your eco green VW bus with your peace stickers and "Nixon Lied" sticker... Hillary!" [For the record, I do not drive an eco green VW bus with stickers all over it - I drive a Honda with an Obama sticker on the back]
Me: "Hahaha! I will! Wanna go for a spin?"
Him: "That would be a waste of 2 natural resources..."
Me: "Good point. I'll just check facts all day instead."
Him: "POLR...."
Me: "Better to know the facts than to spread false ones... It takes more effort to seek the truth than it does to assume the truth doesn't it? I'd say people on the POLR are the ones who buy into everything they read/hear without putting forth the effort to determine what's true and what's false. Then again, that's probably just my bleeding heart talking..."
Him: "What's POLR?"
Me: "I thought you were referring to the path of least resistance."
Him: "I was... I just could not remember what it meant... I had to Google it when you used it."
Me: "Hahaha! Stop it! My sides hurt! You are by far my favorite person to banter with."
Him: "Must be that Republican inside you trying to get out."
Me: "You're killing me, Smalls! It's just really hard to find a Republican who's wits match mine - I think that's why I enjoy it so much."
Him: "Exorcise more. Let the demon out."
Me: "Are you referring to my inner-Republican as a demon? Funny, I probably would have chosen the same exact word."
That was the point at which he decided to get back to work, so it was the end. It totally put me in a fantastic mood though. My step-dad has a lot to do with my passion for politics. In 2004, when he found out that I was supporting Kerry, he jumped right on the opportunity to grill me every chance he got. Unfortunately for both of us, the only real reason I could give him for supporting Kerry was that he was better than Bush. As far as I was concerned, it was really a choice between the lesser of two evils. Although I didn't give him a whole lot to challenge, we still talked politics daily (I worked for him, so the office was a constant Bush/Kerry debate before electio day). Since he was very smart, informed, and well-spoken, I learned the importance of being well-informed and checking the facts - I wanted nothing more than to hold my own in a debate against him. If he hadn't forced me to talk to and battle with him every day, if he hadn't made me feel dumb when I stated false information and propaganda - I wouldn't have realized the importance of being knowledgeable.
I really do think he has this goal to "convert" me into a Republican - maybe it's because I always remind him that my vote cancels his out. Either way... I love the guy. Even though he's a Republican... Ewww! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment