Wash Post with some new info on Bush AWOL issue...??

The candidates are playing this issue like a fine violin... :)
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7372-2004Feb2?language=printer

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Reached in Montgomery yesterday, Turnipseed stood by his contention that Bush never reported to him. But Turnipseed added that he could not recall if he, himself, was on the base much at that time.

Bush returned to Houston after the election, and again his service is vague in the records. His officers at Ellington Air Force Base wrote in May 1973 that Bush could not be given his annual evaluation, because he "has not been observed" in Houston between April 1972 and the following May. Ultimately, another officer states in a subsequent document that a report for that one-year period was unavailable for "administrative reasons."

acting like it is a non-issue.

We can be grateful for the little things they do. I think this is just the beginning of this story, at least I hope so.

That the indie media - with only a fraction of the Post's resources - covered extensively years ago. Pathetic. The only consolation is that the AWOL story is finally in play.

All of this shit was laid out in detail in Hatfield's book. Hatfield's sources warned him repeatedly that he was going into dangerous terroritory and to keep looking over his shoulder.

Allbaugh and Bartlett were Bush's 'communication point people' during the period the right wing was grooming BushGate for the WH campaign.

'We will bring honor and integrity to the White House - and with our suits on'.

The original thread is here:

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

This was originally posted by anarchy1999:

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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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last week - the guys on there claimed this was all flushed out and dealt with in 2000.

(that's what they would like people to think).

After it was brought up to Clark at the debate a little more than a week ago in the Moore/deserter comment - I knew it was a big issue to the Fright Wing, as the post debate commentators (Gamblin' Bill Bennet, the dominatrix user, and another RepubliCON) both brought that issue up right away....

...is the one who was the point person on Bush's guard service. I believe it is Bartlett who went through the military records to see what was there. And yes, there are charges that some documents are missing.

I think that a lot of people turned blind eyes to Republicans in 2000. They were pretty sick of Clinton and his "exploits".

Bush wasn't REALLY running against Gore in 2000. He was running against Clinton. This time around, Bush is running AGAINST HIMSELF. That is, he has a paltry record that he must overcome to be re-elected.

This time around, I think all of those people who were just plain sick of Clinton (I know a LOT of them) will be a LOT more skeptical of Bush. These issues will begin to buzz and take traction where they were ignored before.

Bush can spin unemployment numbers all he likes. That won't work when people KNOW about the number of people unemployed and underemployed in their community. When it was just the Blue-Collars who were having their jobs shifted away, it was easy to conceal among a lot of swing voters. Not anymore. He can't hide that. Democrats need to make everybody aware that THEY'RE NOT ALONE.

Democrats must break away from the DC clan and return to CORE democratic values. They MUST RENOUNCE WTO and NAFTA openly. They will take a BIG hit from PAC money. But the message will carry the day. Yell NO NAFTA, NO WTO at the top of your voice and the people will do the rest for you.

What! A BLOW JOB! Please!

But there were things I simply DID NOT approve of.

1) The whole Monica Lewinsky thing.
2) Selling missle technology to China. If the China satellite launches were going BOOM they shoulv'e been launched by NASA.
3) The head of White House security who was nothing more than a thug.
4) The midnight pardons for some VERY questionable characters.
5) NAFTA and WTO. Yes, I know that these initiatives were started under Bush I. But he actively pushed them.
6) Campaign finance scandals (yes they WERE overhyped).
7) Lincoln bedroom hotel.
8) The "missing" records, that were miraculously "found" later.
9) Their association with money launderers (McDougles).
10) Their association with Wal-Mart.
11) Clintons failure to investigate all the drug running in Mena. That was a Bush/Iran Contra operation. His failure to investigate suggests some complicity. Starr was pulled off the issue by REPUBLICANS!!!!!


I did like how he held the line on environmental exploitation and regressive taxation. I like that he solved some foreign affair issues with good diplomacy and some smart bombs. Overall, I think he was an "OK" president. But in other ways he really let us down.

Now I betcha you think Ken Lay stayed there during Clintons 8 years in office?

The Campaign finance scandals? LOL Were they overhyped like you say or were they real... I betcha you're going to mention the Buddist Temple?

The head of White House security who was nothing more than a thug.
Links on that one please....


The (McDougles)..You're kidding right... You talking about that 70 million dollar investigation that netted nothing?... You talking about that deal at Whitewater that the Clintons lost money on?

And last but not least, the er...Monica Lewinsky thing... Now how do you think that thing (a personal matter between two consenting adults) got so blown out of proportion. Have you ever heard of the book, The Hunting of the President? Read it and you might learn something about your so-called scandels!

...said something to me once that continues to resonate:

"Yeah, most reporters use the internet for two things... day trading, and buying crap on eBay." :)

"What would happen to a guard person today who dies the same thing as * did. Would they let them make it up after the war is over?"

Only if they were to pledge to work on the Bush re-election campaign, or in a hotly contested Senate race would they be allowed to make up missing 12 months...