About Cunningham... from a wannabe fighter pilot.

I grew up an Air Force brat, my dad flew fighters through the 80s and 90s. I was so into following his footsteps that I literally knew enough that I could drill my Dad on enemy weapons systems, talk to him about specific flight profiles for different kinds of weapons, logged as many hours on a simulator as any civilian not working for the military. I didn't become a pilot though, poor eyesight and a growing discontent with authority plus my math skills left something to be desired. Thats my background without any identifying specifics.

Duke was an idol of mine growing up, any kid who wanted to be a fighter jock knew who he was and knew his notorious air battles inside and out. He was a damn good pilot, but had a really talented G.I.B. (Guy In Back) as well. Truly they study the Dukes exploits in cadet classes both JROTC and ROTC.

So when an old idol falls sometimes it can make you hate on them a little more than usual, the personal betrayal factor is upped a notch or two so to speak. Now I had stopped having the duke as an idol by the time I got into college and opened up my mind and found a liberal inside waiting to get out. However I still had a gross amount of respect for the man due to his military career. When word started bubbling up about his corruption I was of the mind of "another corrupt repuke, oh well" as I started to pay attention I got more and more infuriated. His bribes and kickbacks came from defense contractors.

To put it shortly, he took bribes from defense contractors in return for helping to secure ids for those contractors. The only reason a contractor would bribe is if their work is not good enough to win a bid on its own.

What that further implies is that hero ace Duke Cunningham shorted our troops on the best possible equipment they could have to push through a second rate start up company so that he could line his patriotic pockets with silver and gold. While a future war would could bring extra casualties because of the corrupt decisions the dip shit duke made!

That pisses me the fuck off. That makes me wish I was the same age as that fascist fuck so I could kick his traitor ass. He betrayed current and future military! He will get no repentance from me. He is a sick fuck on a par with a child molester in my books. The guy made his entire life from a tour in Vietnam with the military, to sit back and screw them this way after all this time is reptilian at its base and beyond a stab in the back to the military it is truly as disgusting a case of treachery by a hero as I have ever seen.

Fuck you Duke! I hope you get your come uppance in prison. I hope you cry like a baby while your cell mates laugh with glee. I hope the blandness of the food tastes twice as bad when you remember all the gourmet delicacies you slobbered down on the bloody backs of the troops you helped to harm. I hope you are miserable and that every day you wish you would have just had your ass shot down, better a hero in flames than a traitor in jail. You are scum and deserve every bad thing that is going to happen to you.

Sincerely,
a former admirer
(go fuck yourself, really really hard)

And full of venom.
Just like I like them.

I loved the Freepers yesterday making excuses for him.
Like it was OK, and he should just be forgiven because he's a war hero.

Al Gore, or John Murtha. Hypocritical bastards.

let the Navy have some target practice

so hard to realize your former icon is a mere mortal full of human foibles. I'm glad he fessed up and exposed his remaining shred of dignity. But you are out there, and I'm sure you aren't alone. :hug:
If life was easy, it wouldn't be interesting or a learning experience.

His dad was the base commander in Wiesbaden and flew missions in 3 wars.

Venturing into freeperville, I read the most outrageous statements: those "patriots" actually claim that Duke deserved his riches because of his service to our country.

My father-in-law is turning over in his grave!

And one that, curiously, seems to have gone right by the media. Cunningham was steering work to second-rate contractors who provided less bang for the buck and sold inferior products or services. The practical result is that our troops in the field are less prepared, less equipped, than they should be. And Cunningham lined his pocket with millions of dollars while hurting our nation's military readiness.

Fortunately for the Freeperati, Rush Limbaugh is spending three hours a day, every day, telling them that it's no big deal. Although I suspect Rush might think it was a little more important if his nuts were on the line and he was wondering if his rifle was about to jam or his air support might not be able to find his unit.

I can't take this Orwellian doublethink from wingnuts anymore.

Its this kind of shit that gets troop killed (and civilians... "manufacturer defects" and all). Yet we are unpatriotic for wanting this scum and all others like him in the pen.

Support your troops mean support your ego to those freaks.

While I expect you and the OP are correct, there exists the possibility that the bribe was not because the work was second-rate, but rather because the company was not large enough to take advantage of economies of scale.

Larger companies have more infrastructure that enables them to produce items at a lower per-item cost than smaller companies, even though the final product from the smaller company may be better.

I admit I don't know enough about MZM or the other companies involved to know if this is the case, but I think the conclusion that their product is second-rate should not be set in stone.

Russian fighter jets are BETTER than the US has!

just asking.....

remember this CSMonitor article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1128/p01s04-wosc.html?s=u2

snip

"But there are some signs that America's premier fighter jet, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, is losing ground to the growing sophistication of Russian-made fighter planes, and that the US should be more wary about presuming global air superiority - the linchpin of its military might.

"The Sukhoi is a ... better plane than the F-16," says Vinod Patney, a retired Indian Air Force marshal, and former vice chief of air staff. "

more...

Thanks.Recommended

backgrounds....only my Dad was Navy Aviation and I grew up hooked on the aroma of JP4...bad eyesight washed me out of Navy flight school and eventually Air Force Flight school.

I don't feel the same rage. I feel sadness at Cunningham's failure as a human being...and embarrassment that I respected him so much.

wasn't for the turn this country has taken.

I really really hope that my seething anger subsides someday. Today just aint that day though...

My empathy to you.

And I'm with you on hoping Cunningham gets his in spades!

Here's hoping this is just the tip of the iceberg we will see melting away into dirty water very soon.

would be if it was the only way to receive consideration from Congressman regardless of how good their work was.

Which is even more depressing.

Worked for a university in Northern Cal in a program for disadvantaged students. Back in the days when he and all the other repukes were trying to do away with the Dept of Ed, imagine that. Met with him in Santa Rosa to lobby on behalf of ED programs. As a former Navy airdale, all he could talk about was Topgun this, Topgun that. Major league asshole, not too bright either. Needless to say, the trip and the effort were a waste of time. Hated him ever since. Believe me, he never was, nor should be, anybody's hero. Sorry about your previous disillusionment.

He doesn't even get it now that he's going to jail.

You nailed it. He's done some real damage.

discuss him, interesting:

http://dukecunningham.org/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=353&t=353

Thanks much for that, I wish freeperville would check out what his old compatriots have to say about him.

Those aren't sour grapes, those are facts.

Not much an officer apparently.

You were right that I might like it. It really does show another side of the story.

It also shows that many on the left would never stoop to swiftboating though they very well could've when it came to him.

Thanks again for that site.

He remembered everyone else it seems, especially himself.

On edit, that is soldierS, plural.

:applause:

who takes a $700,000 loss on the deal in a hot housing market so that the contractor's company can make out like a bandit with a no-bid, or fake bid, contract on inferior merchandise.

Stripes had a front page headline on Nov. 18, 2005

Army, Marines recall 18,425 armored vests

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=32255&archive=true

I wonder what sort of bennies Point Blank Body Armor, Inc. paid to its congresssional client to win its bid for this inferior product.

:thumbsup: