Friday, September 28, 2007

The Real Deal

Blue Girl directed me to a very interesting story about Rush Limbaugh, who called veterans opposed to the war phony soldiers. Of course, this is the same Rush Limbaugh who threw a fit about the Moveon.org Petraeus ad, calling it "contemptible" and "indecent." Apparently anyone in the military is above criticism as long as they agree with Rush's brave belief that we should be in Iraq "as long as it takes." And I use the term 'we' loosely, as I believe the closest Rush has ever gotten to combat was watching We Were Soldiers with surround sound.

When I was a kid I watched Rush with my dad every morning when he was still on TV and always found him pretty funny and clever. Over the years I didn't have a very concrete opinion about him, I just knew him as the kooky conservative radio host who defended Bush at every turn (and hey, so did I). What did Rush and I have to lose when the war in Iraq started in 2003? I didn't have any family in the military, and all my friends were too young to even enlist. Why not go kick the shit out of a country, as long as someone else was doing it?

This was the last time Rush and I would agree on the war, so here's my opinion of you, Rush: you're as smart, selfless and courageous as I was as a 17 year old high school senior.

You make a good point that people who joined the military during the war knew they were going and shouldn't be against it. As I've seen since I joined in 2004, everyone in the military is gung ho to a certain extent, at least in the beginning of their career. I was part of a large group of new guys who got to a unit that just got back from a year long deployment. After our hazing sessions became less and less frequent in the following months, we listened to the stories all of them were telling, of vicious firefights and rescue missions. We all wanted to do our part, we all wanted to get some too. We were going to see what it was like to take a life. Too bad Rush missed his chance to do so, or maybe he'd be singing a different tune. In 1992, ABC newsman Jeff Greenfield posed a question to Rush, asking if he had ever served in the military during the Vietnam War. Here is what Rush had to say:

I had student deferments in college, and upon taking a physical, was discovered to have a physical- uh, by virtue of what the military says, I didn't even know it existed- a physical deferment and then the lottery system came along, where they chose your lost by birth date, and mine was high. And I did not want to go, just as Governor Clinton didn't.


As a phony civilian hoping to be a phony soldier, I tried to enlist in the military after I graduated high school in 2003. In 2002 I had a Nissen fundoplication operation to repair a hiatal hernia caused by severe acid reflux, preventing esophageal cancer later in life. I was immediately flagged on my attempt to enlist because of this surgery, as there was a chance that a physically stressful job such as Army infantry would complicate it. I had to be cleared by the surgeon general before entering the service. As the war kept on, so did I. I waited for a little over a year to get my results back: I would finally be able to join despite the surgery I had two years prior. As Rush found after dropping out of his first year of college at Southeast Missouri State University in 1969-1970, he found himself on draft status. Nothing that a claim of an old football injury or a boil on the ass can take care of, though! The medical deferment he was referring to was a pilonidal cyst, which apparently is a clump of severely ingrown hairs. That barred him from enlistment, and I'm sure he was ecstatic. After all, there was a war on. Here's a first hand account of the surgery that was done to correct it. She claims that in eight weeks, it was perfectly healed. Rush is willing to sacrifice the lives of Americans in Iraq but not his own ass (literally) in a simple surgery. I waited a year to get in, and he didn't try. Boy, do I really give an effort at being a phony soldier!

Speaking of phony soldiers, I wanted to show Rush a few that I know:

Phonies

This was taken on a rooftop during a firefight on March 24 in Baqubah. One guy lost a leg up to his knee and another lost a foot in an IED blast that day. Talk about sacrifices! Out of seven Americans on that rooftop, one is going to reenlist! The rest decided to get out to avoid going to Iraq again, despite what Mike from Olympia, Washington said on your show about what real soldiers say, like "they want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country." All I see is a bunch of phonies!



Phony!

This is Matt tugging on a buried wire connected to a massive IED underneath the road. In Baqubah they were so prevalent that the explosive ordnance disposal dudes couldn't take care of them all in the city, so we started finding them and blowing them up ourselves. Matt just finished his second tour, in which he was deployed a total of 27 months. This coward that followed wires to huge bombs in the road is getting out in a few months. And that's a good thing, as this military could use a lot less phony soldiers.




Phony!

Here's Bill, digging up a grave containing a woman with her two daughters in a field in Baqubah. They were executed by gunshot and buried in the same hole. We took turns digging as the brave men of the Iraqi Army watched and joked. Bill also served 27 months in combat and like Matt, will be getting out of the Army in a couple months. Good riddance, phony!





PHONY!

I'm not above self-criticism. This is me on the last patrol we did in Old Baqubah on August 20. Like a coward I stayed in Iraq only fifteen months. We heard rumors that the 1920s might ambush us on our last patrol. Too bad they didn't, or they would've sent a lot of phonies home in body bags!




Get your ass back to Iraq phonies!

This picture makes me sick to my stomach. I photographed a bunch of cut-and-runners boarding a plane during a pit stop in Ireland on our way back to the states on September 12. Hello, don't they know there's a war going on? These phonies left Iraq before the job was done! Seriously, we need soldiers who want to be in Iraq for as long as it takes.

And finally:






This is Chevy in Baghdad. Brian Chevalier was going to reenlist but decided against it before he was killed on March 14 during our first mission in Baqubah. His phony life was celebrated in a phony memorial where everyone who knew him cried phony tears. A phony American flag draped over his phony coffin when his body came home. It was presented to his phony mother and phony daughter.

I would be in awe if I ever met a real life soldier, and not a phony one like Bill, Matt or Brian Chevalier. Thank you, Rush Limbaugh, for telling me the difference. I hope your ass is ok.

AH

396 comments:

1 – 200 of 396   Newer›   Newest»
Blue Girl, Red State said...

Thanks for the hat tip! Awesome post! I hope it gets picked up - you should crosspost it at OOIBC, if you haven't already.

Anonymous said...

Excellent post! Thanks to you and your comrades for your phony sacrifice. "General Betray Us" makes the news, but where is the outrage on Rush Limbaugh's (Senor Vicodin) phony soldier comment. I think he owes everyone in uniform an apology!

Leadership-Not Likership!

Anonymous said...

Thank you phony soldier. I remember sitting around with the phony soldiers that could have been their fathers. We spoke of our fathers and the battles of the big one. We called ours "the long one". I hope when this mess is over you will not do as we did and shut up about what a stupid thing it is. We were the winter soldiers, from a Thomas Paine pamphlet. Look it up.
Talk about it. Believe in the promise of America. It is no crime or shame. The crime is betraying the trust we have in that promise.
Always remember: Democracy is a participatory team sport. As with any sport, the better you know the rules the better your team performs. Stay in touch and help each other through low spots. Hold your head up and make sure your children learn from you. Teach them better than we taught you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your service. Some of the guys in your photos look so young...

google: Ron Paul, see what he thinks of the war.

Eric said...

Dude, every single hair (ingrown or not) on your ass is worth much more than Rush Windbag and his fellow chickenhawks. And the same goes for your brave friends, no matter what their opinion on this insane war. Keep up the fine work.

Unknown said...

I knew there was a reason I stopped listening to Rush years ago. Well said, Alex!

Love,

Dad

Mister Roboto said...

Here's a video by LisaNova you might appreciate called "LisaNova Does Rush Limbaugh".

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post from a fellow phony soldier. This phony soldier drove convoys all over Iraq 3 months after having knee surgery. This phony soldier also ended up with phony shrapnel is his phony back. I'd like to meet Rush and stick my phony foot up his phony Pilonidal cyst.

Unknown said...

Dude, thank you for your service, but you may want to actually go and listen to what Rush said. He called people like Jesse Macbeth and the guy who wrote the fake New Republic accounts from Iraq, "phony soldiers". You being against the war and still their says more about your patriotism than anything else, so don't think that those who aren't there and do support the war feel like you are less of a soldier.

Keep up the good work and stay safe!

Anonymous said...

Excellent job. Listening to stories from men and women like you and hearing about the Chavaliers of the world make me seriously regret my 2000 vote for Bush and my vocal support of the invasion. I feel like a real shit bag.

Thank you for doing the job I'd never have the balls to do. Thank you and I'm sorry.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your service, and this insight. You may see that your "phony" accusation is a bit off base once you actually hear what was actually said - but this ditto-head thanks you regardless.

Come home safe.

four legs good said...

Oh my.

My cousin is on his 4th tour (pilot) and I'd like to win the lottery so I could charter a plane and take Rush and drop him in the middle of Baghdad.

And Fred, bite me, you ditto-head asshole.

Anonymous said...

Get your facts strait before you start accusing Rush of calling service men or women "phony soldiers" if they are opposed to the war in Iraq. If you had actually listend to his radio talk show you would have learned that he was specifically speaking about someone who was never a member of the U.S. military. A person who was trying to pass themselves off as a soldier that was against the war in Iraq.

As a 10 year vet that served in the first Gulf War, it really pissed me off when someone who hasn't served their country pretends to have any opinion about what it takes to defend our country in terms of commitment.

Please do your research before taking the word of our nations undoubtably liberal media. If you are one of the many liberal democrats within our country that is determined to lose this war just so it makes our current president look bad, you're a fool. Putting our tails between our legs and running home before we've achieved victory (in terms of establishing peace in Irag) will hurt our country for many years past the next few presidents. Whether they be Republicans or Democrats.

Do yourself and our service members justice by doing your research before taking the word of any political parties agenda.

Anonymous said...

alex. you're amazing. i'm in aw over your ability to put people to shame. now, i have, like our pal Rush, never been anywhere near war, but anyone who steps up, who doesn't blindly follow what he's told to believe, is no phony. whether you agree with the war or not, anyone who has put their life on the line for this war is a hero, and even more respect for those who have educated themselves enough to form their own opinions.

and my final word on this subject is:
whoever says we should be in this war for the long haul, should get off their lazy asses and fight for what they believe in. what hypocrites.

Anonymous said...

Rush should be thought of as a potential weapon of mass destruction - you never know when a drug-addled flatulant gasbag might explode.

John Rohan said...

I'm an Iraq veteran myself (you can check out my own photos on my blog) and have to agree with the previous anonymous poster. You have been duped by Media Matters. They disseminated only the first part of Rush's conversation and cut out the second part. He was talking about fake soldiers like Jesse Macbeth, who pretended to be an Army Ranger. You can hear the whole thing here:
http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/iblog/C168863457/E20070928194023/index.html

Anonymous said...

You scum. America rewards its TRUE heroes with monetary rewards. Look at our "heroes," wealthy sports and entertainment stars who are paid many million sof dollars for their heroic acts.

And, Rush Limbaugh, a multi-millionaire. Rewarded well. A true patriot and American hero as evidenced by the rewards he receives from the American economic system.

And, look at his preferential treatment when outed as a drug addict. Even America's legal system rewards its TRUE heroes by not judging them as harshly as you mere commoners.

What do phony soldiers get paid? A MINUTE amount compared to America's TRUE heroes such as Rush Limbaugh.

Mr. Phony Soldier, you should respect your betters such as Rush. Look at the multitude of commoners hanging on to every word slithering out of Limbaugh's large mouth.

It is time for the masses of commoners, especially you phony soldiers, to accept your place in society and respect your betters. Do so or be labeled unAmerican.

Anonymous said...

"As a 10 year vet that served in the first Gulf War, it really pissed me off when someone who hasn't served their country pretends to have any opinion about what it takes to defend our country in terms of commitment."

You mean like some of these people?

http://www.awolbush.com/whoserved.html

Poppie said...

Even if the pretext is incorrect regarding Rush's statements, Why would any THINKING person give his opinion any more weight than any common junkie. Phoney soldier I am so sorry this country is easily deluded by the Rush's and Bush's. Having lost most of my phoney family in Vietnam, 5 cousins, I can say I know the phonies. It is the chicken hawk bastards who never held a weapon against another man.
Thank you for serving and may the memories not haunt you as they did my friends from viet nam

Diane said...

Great post.

Anonymous said...

To the anonymous soldier who suggests that anyone who hasn't served should have no opinion about waging wars: I wondered if you think it would be a good idea for the military to be more democratic, in the sense that instead of having the President send everyone off to war, that enlisted members would have frequent votes amongst themselves to determine when and which conflicts to get involved in.

Since only the boots on the ground should have an opinion, it only makes sense to ensure that only they get to make the decisions.

Anonymous said...

Great Post! Thanks for your service.

Anonymous said...

You obviously did not listen to the entire Rush Limbaugh broadcast, talking about the media finding a guy who was kicked out of basic training and then was talking trash about all you real soldiers. Listen to what he really said. He was supporting the real troops and admonishing the media for finding liars and using thier false stories to help the Democrats.

FastMovingCloud said...

"You obviously did not listen to the entire Rush Limbaugh broadcast, talking about the media finding a guy who was kicked out of basic training and then was talking trash about all you real soldiers."

This bullshit explanation was the one the Cyst gave after being called on his crap. It might wash if hadn't used the plural "Soldiers" and if he hadn't expressly refered to any that speak out against the current administration. Sheesh! Don't you think it is way past time to stop drinking the Kool-aid?!

FastMovingCloud said...

Oh, and thanks, phony soldier, for your real life service and for this post.

Anonymous said...

Followed a link in a DailyKos diary to your blog and all I can say is: OUTSTANDING!

(Hey Rush - suit up or shut up.)

Anonymous said...

it really pissed me off when someone who hasn't served their country pretends to have any opinion about what it takes to defend our country in terms of commitment.


Yeah, fuck Rush Limbaugh. Oh, you weren't talking about him?

Anonymous said...

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Anonymous said...

That was the most powerful post I've read this year. God bless the phony soldiers, both those that gave their phony lives and those that came out alive - and still phony.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant...

Anonymous said...

And let's not forget Rush being enthusiastically in favor of prison sentences for illegal drug users - until of course he was arrested for using illegal drugs.

It's a national disgrace that this fat a$$ loudmouth gets praised for slandering soldiers.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you're home.

Anonymous said...

Dude-

If you had actually listened to Rush, you'd find the "phony soldier" was Jesse MacBeth.

He was a PHONY. He said he did stuff and saw stuff which was a lie.

Jim Klenke said...

Very moving. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

"If you had actually listened to Rush, you'd find the "phony soldier" was Jesse MacBeth."

That is at best an incorrect statement and at worst an outright lie. While that line of argument has already become the standard conservative defense for Rush's rancid comment, the facts show otherwise. See: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/054557.php

Good post, Army of Dude.

Anonymous said...

It was not an outright lie.

I listen to Rush. You listen to a bunch of liberals telling you what they want to hear.

If you jump on the media bandwagon and dump on Rush, on this matter concerning Jesse MacBeth who DID NOT serve as an Army Ranger - who LIED about atrocities he never saw - then you're just part of the ignorant masses who could well make up a mob.

You're just launching on your soapbox and you probably voted for Kerry who also LIED about war atrocities HE never saw in Vietnam!

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the Limbot appologists whining their pathetic brain washed asses off.

Jill said...

Great post, Alex, and I've linked to it. I'd love to see every soldier rise up against this fat bag of gas. Your post goes a long way towards achieving that. It's angry, funny, and heartbreaking.

Anonymous said...

Terrific post, Dude. I found you through Daily Kos. Right now, you're at the top of the front page. Ya big phony.

Anonymous said...

From an actual free-thinking individual! lol

Rush: The morning update on Wednesday dealt with a soldier, a fake, phony soldier by the name of Jesse MacBeth who never served in Iraq; he was never an Army Ranger. He was drummed out of the military in 44 days. He had his day in court; he never got the Purple Heart as he claimed, and he described all these war atrocities. He became a hero to the anti-war left. They love phony soldiers, and they prop 'em up. When it is demonstrated that they (anti-war left) have been lying about things, then they just forget about it. There's no retraction; there's no apology; there's no, "Uh-oh, sorry."

What we have here is not a march of "limbots" but one of ignorant people who hate people who don't march lockstep with their brand of liberalism.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Limbaugh parroted the line on the air yesterday, telling his critics, "I never said what you think I said." As part of his explanation about being literal, and not metaphorical, Limbaugh cited Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) as one of the veterans who deserves the "phony" label. That would be the same Murtha who earned the Bronze Star with Valor device, two Purple Hearts, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal. -Talking Points Memo

As an earlier poster said, stop drinking the koolaid. Also, if you check out Media Matters you will see that they post entire transcripts of Limbaugh in order to give fuller context. Rushbo is full of crap, he unambiguously insulted any and/or all military personnel and veterans against the Iraq Debacle. Stop defending the undefendable guys. - Just a humble vet which means my opinion counts more (not).

Anonymous said...

Wow. First, thank you thank you thank you for your service. It cannot be said enough. Second thank you for this post. It brought tears to my eyes. If the chickenhawk wingnuts could read this and even spend a day in your boots this war would be over, and we'd think carefully before sending brave people like you into harm's way. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Hey Man,

Thanks for doing what you doing.

I'm sorry that people have such idol worship with Rush that they can't just admit when he's done something wrong.

We all say stupid things. Why can't his listeners and acolytes simply disagree with him on this point, and then move on?

I listen to radio shows, and I don't agree with everything they say.

Rush Listeners: You don't have to be in monolithic lockstep with every word he says. If he says something stupid like he said, disagree with him and move on.

I read the transcript that began with the caller before Mike (who was also named Mike). All Rush could do was doubt that the guy was a Republican- because he asked Rush how long we would be in Iraq.

We can all agree that Macbeth was a charlatan, but that doesn't excuse Rush's behavior.

Dittoheads! Grow a pair, a spine, and your own brain.

Anonymous said...

Curious that the outrage from the right is over a comment supposedly taken out of context, when the whole context is of "phony soldierS". Got that? "SoldierS" with an "s" at the end, which, appled to most nouns in the English language, implies multiple soldiers.

So, for who, besides Jesse Macbeth, does the label "phony soldiers" also apply?

Anonymous said...

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709280009

Nice creative editing, Rush. Suck it, Limbots.

Anonymous said...

To All The Limbaugh Apologists--

The exact phrase from the transcripts I have seen is "phony soldiers."

Unless this MacBeth fellow you describe is actually several different people, then you don't exactly have a point here.

Also, I really love how y'all always accuse those who criticize Limbaugh of being duped by (a) Media Matters, (b) the lib'rul media, (C) MoveOn.org, etc.

And THEN you proceed to parrot Libaugh's rationale word-for-freaking-word. Every one of you. The EXACT same talking points.

In other news, irony has been officially declared dead.

Anonymous said...

Amazing post, man. My hat is off to you.

bhagamu said...

CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined --

CALLER 2: A lot of them -- the new kids, yeah.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you're going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you're going there or Afghanistan or somewhere.


There ya go! Direct transcript. I think it's pretty damn clear exactly who is being talked about.

Anonymous said...

Hey fugitive: Read Media Matters? And you want to say I have to stop drinking the Kool-aid?

I read their report, and they did not report Rush's show accurately!

So who's drinking the Kool-aid on this drive-by media show on "phony soldiers?"

I'd say it's you.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. I didn't realize until I read your post that we have such a great need for phony soldiers to fight Bush's phony war against terrorism.

Now I understand.

Anonymous said...

Nice try Bhagamu, but that is NOT the whole context of "phony soldier" NOR is it the expansion of the term applied to Jesse MacBeth who IS a PHONY to other notorious phonies like Murtha and Kerry and Obama who have impugned our troops.

Anonymous said...

More to the point, why does someone who dodged military service get to call other people "phony soldiers"?

Anonymous said...

I think you are being very unfair and mischaracterizing the ailment.

What happened was that the boil tried to enlist, but was told it couldn't because it had a Rush Limbaugh growing out of it. I assure you that this is a serious condition and no laughing matter.

m00nchild said...

I am humbled and grateful that you have done and risked what I cannot. I used to be antiwar in the sense that I hated the military as this big bad awful yuck.

Years back I had a long conversations with a soldier, who like you, risked his life on many occasions, because he wanted to do what was right. Not what some authority told him was right, but what he believed was right.

Listening to him taught me a great deal about understanding the real bravery of soldiers. It's not the guns they carry, it's what they do despite the guns -- what most people cannot do.

I will not address Limbaugh. I will only address your bravery and the soldiers you know or have known.

You humble me. And I support you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your service.

Keep up the pressure on this flatulent gasbag. It's time he got that cyst shoved right up his ass, so it comes out his mouth.

Rush Limbaugh is a Coward.
Rush Limbaugh is a Fake.

He represents the very worst this country has to offer, and the people that believe his garbage are deluded fools.

The Seminole Democrat said...

God Bless. By the way:
Here's dumbass Bush's attack on MoveON:

At a White House news conference earlier Thursday, Mr. Bush denounced the ad as "disgusting" and said he was disappointed that more Democrats did not condemn it.

"I felt like the ad was an attack not only on Gen. Petraeus but on the U.S. military, and I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democrat party spoke out strongly against that ad," he said.

Mr. Bush said that led him to conclude that "most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org, or more afraid of irritating them, then they are of irritating the United States military!


Now, here is his attack on Rush, from his mouthpiece Dana Perino: (from TPM)


Perino said: "The President believes that if you are serving in the military that you have the rights that every American has which is you're free to express yourself in any way that you want to. And there are some that oppose the war, and that's okay."

Pressed specifically about Rush's "phony soldiers" phrase, she added: "It's not what the President would have used, no."


Notice the difference? They truly believe that the American people are all idiots.

Smearing war heroes (Kerry, Cleland) or Generals (Casey, Abazaid), and now, MOST of the active duty soldiers--is perfectly fine as long as you are republican.

If they are PHONY soldiers, why not let them come home, Rush? Your draft-dodging coward ass can take their place.

Anonymous said...

Mark, it would be one thing to repeat Rush's talking points word-for-word. It would be another thing for you to do that after baselessly accusing others of getting their talking points from MMFA.

You want to accuse John Kerry and Jack Murtha of being "phony soldiers", bring it on.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic, beautiful post. It needs to be sent to Fatass Lying Limbaugh and I'm sure it already has been.

Leave it to the Dittoheads to follow the loser right over the cliff. It's painfully obvious from the transcripts posted right here in the comments that Limbaugh meant to smear any soldier who criticizes the war.

Your fat idiot of an Emperor has no clothes, guys. Man up and face reality for a change.

- mercury

Anonymous said...

"How serious is the problem of 'phony soldiers?' Congress last year passed legislation to allow prosecution of people who claimed medals that they had not earned. It passed both the House and Senate unanimously. It was introduced by Congressman John Salazar (D-CO), whose press release on the measure lists several phony heroes."

http://influencepeddler.blogspot.com/2007/09/limbaugh-on-solid-ground-on-phony.html

Sorry Kossacks ... but this goes way beyond Jesse MacBeth ... have faith though ... given the stubborn refusal of the left to acknowledge their gross negligence in defending Private Beauchamp ... I'm certain you all won't bother swallowing your pride anytime soon ... truth be damned ... !

Anonymous said...

Influencepeddler link from above: Click me!

bhagamu said...

Mr. Anon Poster right above me:
Which political party passed that legislation, again?

Unknown said...

Thank you for serving.

Anonymous said...

Gee bhagamu ... can't you read well enough to notice the party affiliation listed after Salazar's name ... seems obvious enough to me ..

But wait ... there's more ... !

Didn't Congressman Salazar originally vote for the Iraq War and subsequently vote NOT to withdraw troops ... ?

Hmm ... he must have been hoodwinked by the ever eloquent and conniving and dastardly and brilliantly manipulative President Bush ... !

No Democrat in their right mind ever would have voted for the war had it not been for Bush's evil mind control ray gun ... !!

*rolls his eyes*

Put down the kool-aid and back away from your keyboard sir ...

Anonymous said...

Sorry Kossacks ... but this goes way beyond Jesse MacBeth ... have faith though ... given the stubborn refusal of the left to acknowledge their gross negligence in defending Private Beauchamp ... I'm certain you all won't bother swallowing your pride anytime soon ... truth be damned ... !

From what I can tell, the influence peddler link doesn't actually address whether or not it's okay to call soldiers phony on the public airwaves.

It merely says that there are some phony soldiers. We can all agree that it's wrong for people to do that.

However, it's fairly clear from Mike's comments that the discussion is about soldiers who are against the war, not soldiers who are faking being soldiers.

We can condemn people who would misrepresent their service. Bill O'reilly is pretty good at implying that he was in the military, even though he wasn't. Macbeth- he's scum. Soltz- I can't tell where he's done anything wrong, other than be against a war that 70% of the country is against.

It's time for Dittoheads to be able to think for themselves for just a second. I don't care what political stripe you are. If you're conservative, that's great- it's nice to have a diversity of opinions. I do wish that the opinions were more independently arrived at.

Scott Supak said...

Look at all the phony comments from people whose support for the troops is so phony because we want to make them leave that glorious country we're still liberating from the evil doers who attacked us.

What? The people who attacked us are where? And we're where?

Great job, guys. Great job there, under the worst of circumstances, and here on the airwaves fighting against the evil doers who got us there, and got us stuck there.

Anonymous said...

Otto:

Are you really suggesting that Limbaugh was categorically demeaning any and all soldiers opposed to the war as phonies ... ?

Really ... you think he's that dimwitted ... ?

Who are you kidding but yourself and other left wing ideologues ... ?!

Anonymous said...

"where everyone who knew him cried phony tears"

Some of us who didn't know him, but learned about him just now, shed some too.

Thanks for telling little pieces of some of the stories.

Anonymous said...

Phony to Limbaaaaaaa means it does not fit HIS reality. Let us face facts. Limbaaaa's reality is "Me, myself and I" and prescription drugs. And through broadcasting, to spread hate and make money.

HOW MANY MORE of his "type" are out there that aggressively sleazed the rest of us who knew bushs war was just plain wrong from the start, and they said that WE were the "unpatriotic" ones, and WE "did not support the troops". And you can start with the President.

As a Vet, every time I heard that from a chickenhawk, my gut was filled with detest. Especially hearing it from Limbaaaaa, awol man, Hannity....you know the list.

Eventually people show their real colors. Limbaaaaa is an entertainer NOT a serious, believable, substantive, honest, worthy or ever, factually correct broadcaster. The pressure on that boil on his ass, still affects his brain today while he sits on it and sprews pathetic rants.

God Bless Dude. Stay safe. Thanks for your writings and your patrioticism. You can bring some reality back to those who are truly the phony and pathetic ones.

Semper Fi

Anonymous said...

"It's time for Dittoheads to be able to think for themselves for just a second."

HA HA HA! That's pretty rich coming from a typical representative of the crowd that can't wipe their ass without checking first with Kos, MediaMatters, MoveOn, Code Pink, etc. for what to think, do or say next.

"Liberalism is a mental disorder."

How true.

Anonymous said...

Edward and other Rush supporters--nope. Not what he said. Yes, you can go back and see the thing about Jesse MacBeth is up on the site.

But here's the deal. The transcript was CHANGED AFTER THE EVENT. I've seen the original transcript on a screen save. It was CHANGED AFTER RUSH STARTED GETTING HEAT. IN other words, he changed his words to other words.

Would he have bothered if people hadn't gotten outraged?

What do you think? Nope, me neither.

Anonymous said...

Those are a lot of "phony" soldiers, but on to more "serious" issues.

Do you think Limbaugh has picked all those ingrown hairs out of his ass? That strikes me as being "real" combat duty and not the fake crap with IEDs, mortar fire, gun fire, grenade launchers and dead/wounded men and women. LOL!

Anonymous said...

"HA HA HA! That's pretty rich coming from a typical representative of the crowd that can't wipe their ass without checking first with Kos, MediaMatters, MoveOn, Code Pink, etc. for what to think, do or say next."Liberalism is a mental disorder."How true."

HEY RUSH, NICE OF YOU TO CHECK IN AND POST!

Anonymous said...

thank you for your service.

Anonymous said...

It's unfathomable that some on here are trying to say that this is a story generated my the media to HELP democrats!! Have any of you ever watched the news? Any news? Off your rocker.

Anonymous said...

This blog is teaching me more about the Iraq war and the people involved in it than 4 years of American professional media.

Why is that?

Thank you very much for this and all your insights.

PattyP said...

Anonymous poses a question...

Otto:

Are you really suggesting that Limbaugh was categorically demeaning any and all soldiers opposed to the war as phonies ... ?

Really ... you think he's that dimwitted ... ?


Yes.

This has been another edition of Simple Answers to Stupid Questions.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting your blog entry, and thank you for your service.

The service is good enough for other families' kids (my brother is serving.) Why isn't it good enough for the Bush twins? I'd bet we'd see a much quicker conclusion to this war.

I can't imagine the risk you take posting your opinion about the war. Thank you.

TXsharon said...

Hey, fellow Texan here. We are proud of you Phoney Soldier.

Best, Phoney Patriot.

Anonymous said...

The real truth is always that anyone who has actually been in the military - whether in wartime or not - is opposed to war afterwards. Only people like Rush who have studiously avoided military service can support war.

Simply put, the U.S. needs to make sure that its politicians and talk show hosts are all military veterans. It would substantially decrease the number of wars the U.S. starts in the future.

Anonymous said...

I want all of you to come home NOW. The Iraquis will never get it with regards to standing up and running their own country and your lives are not worth the risk.

Unknown said...

"When I was a kid I watched Rush with my dad every morning when he was still on TV and always found him pretty funny and clever."

What television station? As I recall, Limbaugh was always on evenings/late night.

Where was he competing with Couric while you were eating your Cheerios?

Rook said...

You are my blogging God, A of D! Great post. Sorry I didn't discovery you sooner. A mistake I have now corrected.

Keep serving with Pride, Honor, and distinction. You do our country proud.

Unknown said...

and why are so many comments by righteous folks who list themselves "anonymous"?

C'mon. You want limbaugh to toe the line... gut up and do it yourselves.

PattyP said...

Well this is too funny:

Top Military Officials are a Disgrace to Those They Lead by Col. David Hunt (Warning! Links to foxnews.com!)

A former soldier accusing current soldiers of... wait for it... BETRAYAL! And on FAUX News no less!

I wonder how far the shockwaves from all the Limbots' simultaneously exploding heads will reach. It will probably trigger the Indian Ocean tsunami warning system.

Anonymous said...

Dear Army of Dittohead Defenders:

Please explain Limbaugh's comments on John Murtha.

Um, yes, that sound you hear is of us waiting....

Da' Buffalo Amongst Wolves said...

I just commented/posted a link to Juan Cole's Informed Comment (waiting for moderation)

I think you'll be interested in this radio commentary by Travus T. Hipp (Korean war vet)/Cabale News Service:

[September 28 2007] Travus T. Hipp Morning News & Commentary: Hemroids On The Rectum Of Progress - Right Wing Talk Radio…

Anonymous said...

Dude,
Thank you for the brilliant post.
Glad to see you made it back home safely.
And, screw Rush and all the ignorant ditto-asses that have been stinking up this thread.

fahrender said...

wear your phoniness proudly, soldier!
and .... never change!

Anonymous said...

fuckin' A

Thanks for your service ya phony bastard :p

Skip Rohde said...

Welcome back home! Making the transition from a war zone to civilian land, where they're more concerned about Britney Spears than IED's, is just as tough as the other way around. I wish you the best.

Outstanding response to Rush! That drug-addled fat fuck needs to have his microphone shoved up his ass. You did a pretty good job of doing it, too.

Well done on your blog and your tour, and welcome home!

Polly said...

Thank you for your service. Although I was in the USAF for 10 years, it was during the Cold War, so I have only a glimmer of an idea of what it means to serve in a war zone. Thank you for your courage and commitment.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your service and risking your life.

I listened to Rush Limbaugh's radio broadcast (on September 26, 2007). He was refering to any soldier that wanted to "pull out" as a "phony solder" A few days later he decided to change that context and so he lied during his broadcast on September 28 and said he was referring to

"I was talking about a genuine phony soldier. And by the way, Jesse MacBeth's not the only one....How about Jack Murtha... "

This Rush has no shame. First he lies. And then call Jack Murtha --a marine in 1952 volunteer for Vietname war, awarded the Bronze star and TWO Purple Hearts, and now is serving in Congress -- Rush infers that Murtha is a "phoney Soldier" !!! Rush should be fired and we should be cheering.

tc said...

god bless Army of dude-and all you other Iraq vets reading this-and 'nam vets, and Korea vets, and WWII vets, and Gulf War vets; you guys didn't ask why or whether a task was appropriate. You did what your country asked. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Rush and his listeners are phony Americans.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about the ditto heads here. You got the story right. They don't do their own research, they just suck on Rush's teet.

"Limbaugh's actual explanation for what happened, of course, is also thoroughly bogus. As the transcript clearly shows, he used the phrase "phony soldiers" in direct response to his caller's complaint in general that we "never" hear from "real soldiers" who oppose the war, only troops who "spout" against the war "in the media."

What's more, even Limbaugh's caller took Limbaugh to be referring to antiwar troops in general. After Limbaugh used the phrase, the caller responded: "Phony soldiers. If you talk to any real soldier and they're proud to serve, they want to be over in Iraq, they understand their sacrifice and they're willing to sacrifice for the country." The caller himself understood Limbaugh's meaning perfectly: You're not a real soldier if you oppose the war; "any" real soldier "wants" to be in Iraq. "

Unknown said...

TC said...

"When I was a kid I watched Rush with my dad every morning when he was still on TV and always found him pretty funny and clever."

What television station? As I recall, Limbaugh was always on evenings/late night.

Rush used to come on at 6:30 a.m. back in the mid-1990's in Dallas on the local Fox affiliate, Ch. 4. Alex and I would watch while getting ready for work/school. He was actually pretty funny back then.

Alex's Dad

tc said...

and those of you defending (I don't know how-do you really think Rush would defend you?) Rush's comments, remember the snit y'all have been in over the last couple weeks over the criticism of the use of a military figure in David Petraeus? You don't think you should maybe just respect military views?

Anonymous said...

It would appear that you need to either take a BSEP class or buy hooked on phonics...because your reading comprehension and listening skills suck.

I heard the show in question...Rush said nothing close to what you and the whole KOS/DU/HuffPo moonbat universe are claiming.

He was referring to the Jesse MacBeth's that IVAW and other anti-troop organizations hold up as "heroes" who oppose the war.

INsted ot replying on bullshit hack websites like Media Matters to tell you what you should think...try listening for yourself next time.

It'ss save you the embarassment of making yourself look like a jackass in front of other soldiers and your chain of command.

Anonymous said...

You guys quit picking on Rush. He can't help it. The Pilonidal cyst is actually a tail that never manifest.

Anonymous said...

BREWER: Democratic Senator John Kerry is demanding an apology from Limbaugh, whose comments he calls "disgusting and an embarrassment."

RUSH: That's really rich. John Kerry, whose own soldiers, his own personnel, fellow soldiers in those Swift Boats, at least many of them who said he was lying about his supposed heroics, this is the same John Kerry who went out and insulted the intelligence of the troops, thereby torpedoing his own 2008 presidential candidacy. His statement includes these words: "This disgusting attack from Rush Limbaugh, cheerleader for the chicken hawk wing of the far right is an insult to American troops." I was not talking, as Contessa Brewer said here, about the anti-war movement generally. I was talking about one soldier with that phony soldier comment, Jesse MacBeth. They had exactly what I'm going to play for you. It's Michael J. Fox all over again. Media Matters had the transcript. But they selectively choose what they want to make their point. It runs about three minutes and 13 seconds, the entire transcript, in context, that led to this so-called controversy.

RUSH ARCHIVE: It's not possible intellectually to follow these people.

CALLER: No, it's not. And what's really funny is they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media.

RUSH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER: The phony soldiers. If you talk to any real soldier and they're proud to serve, they want to be over in Iraq, they understand their sacrifice and they're willing to sacrifice for the country.

RUSH: They joined to be in Iraq.

RUSH: It's frustrating and maddening, and why they must be kept in the minority. I want to thank you, Mike, for calling. I appreciate it very much.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092807/content/01125106.member.html



Now THAT is the actual conversation and the original context of the comment.

NOT the total fabrication that was posted by Media Matters that is causing all of this fake outrage on the left.

Anonymous said...

thanks for your service and this post...always interesting to hear a perspective from actual (or phony) soldiers

this post also provided some humor for my Saturday morning: reading the lame attempts of the most loyal Limbaugh supporters to defend every last little thing he says...the level of blind devotion is pretty alarming

Alex Horton said...

I can't believe there was a debate over what he said! Even the transcript some dude provided as "the REAL transcript" was word for word with the one from Media Matters! Fuck!

Just look at it, you silly people. He uses the term "phony soldiers" and the caller said that real soldiers want to be in Iraq and know their sacrifices and such. So if real soldiers want to be in Iraq and see the mission through, and there's a group of soldiers who don't want to go to Iraq (a great deal many), what would you call them? The opposite of real, I would imagine!

I like the notion I was "duped" by the liberal media. I hadn't heard of Media Matters until I read the story I linked (I apologize for not being part of the blogsphere at large and all the titty baby arguments about Move on, Media Matters, Kos and others).

AH

Anonymous said...

Well said. Chickenhawks like bill orally, limbaugh, bush, cheney, etc.. are not in short supply because they are experts at staying safe, while others do the work. That entire country isnt worth what weve lost. Come home safe, there aint no such thing as a coward over there.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
INsted ot replying on bullshit hack websites like Media Matters to tell you what you should think...try listening for yourself next time.
September 29, 2007 12:18 PM


Who in their right mind would waste the time listening to hours upon hours of flatulent blats trumpeting from the mouth of Rush's Limbaugh?

Trying to reason with dittoheads is like trying to reason with some moron with a mouthful of turds "Turds taste awesome! Think for yourself!"

Anonymous said...

When I first visited this morning, I forgot to add: I can't wait to share this post with my phoney vet husband.

Jeff, you've raised one heckuva young man. I'm proud of him, as no doubt you are also. =o)

Statistikhengst said...

Nice post, keep it up.
Come home when you have finished your tour (if you are not already home) - no reason to stay until 2030.

And thanks for your phony work.

Anonymous said...

Bravo!
Excellent excellent post, that made me cry.

It will be up to our brave Americans in uniform to save us from starting a war with Iran.

FOXP2 said...

What more is their to say?Excellent post. I wrote a small article with trackback on my blog.

I am taking some advanced Microsoft courses at the local techincal college. Two of my classmates are phony disabled veterans. One walks with a phony cane. The other has phony hearing loss from IEDs.

I hope the hits keep coming to your site and minds keep opening.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes, Media Matters makes mountains out of molehills, but one thing they don't do, is level their accusations out of context. Nearly every time, they provide context in the form of quotes and clips.

Besides, while they were undoubtedly talking about real phonies in the media, it's worth noting that the comments that Rush and his caller made clearly indicate that if the troops don't support the Iraq War, don't come back wanting to go right back in, that they're phonies, too.

So what does this indicate? The overall message is only those who support this war or whatever war they're trying to support are authentic patriots and veterans.

And as such, only those authentic Americans and soldiers get to participate with full standing in the debate. At least, that's what Rush and his fellow chickenhawks want to allege.

Anonymous said...

What a powerful piece of writing and photojournalism. I came here from a link on Daily Kos also. i write to thank you, Alex, and all the phony soldiers working alongside you, for serving honorably in a difficult time.

Rush loves all the troops? Rush respects military service? Are you frakking kidding me? Let's just look at a partial list of veterans who have been defamed by the cheerleader for the chicken hawk wing of the far right: Jack Murtha, Max Cleland, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Charlie Rangel, Dick Gephardt, Gray Davis, Wes Clark, and Ted Kennedy.

The Rushbots are getting more and more desperate as they are painted into a corner by the facts. They can't see the truth right in front of their noses because that would mean they'd have to admit their fearless leader is nothing more than a liar and they are nothing more than sheep who mindlessly swallow whatever crap he serves them on any given day.

I can only hope that someday they'll break free of the GOPropaganda and think for themselves and feel embarrassed for drinking the kool aid for so long.

Thanks and blessings to you and all the phony soldiers, especially the ones who didn't make it home. You represent the best of what we are.

Unknown said...

I think I'm going to nominate this for blog post of the year, which means something coming from a guy that reads blogs for an hour a day.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Rush is about as low as anyone can get.

That said, I disagree with all those who thank you for your "service". In my view, the war does America a great DISservice, boosting Al Queda and destroying our standing around the world.

If the war is wrong, the warriors are doing wrong. Cheney and his puppet aren't actually waging the war, the military is.

The only patriotic thing to do is get out and convince as many buddies as possible to do the same.

THAT would be a service to our country.

Darryl Phillips (not anonymous)

Anonymous said...

I have been to Iraq twice this year. I am a civilian, and I never realized the agony of our troops until I went to Iraq. Now I cry a lot when I read this stuff.

I guess I am not only a phony, I am a phony civilian.

Those SOBS like Limbaugh ought to go to Kalsu for a month. His ass problem is healed, I am pretty sure.

Frank Staheli said...

Yeah, Rush is an idiot, but I don't see how you can use that rationale for saying that MoveOn.org was right in using the phrase "Betray Us". That was much more despicable than Rush.

Cujo359 said...

Thanks to you and all the other phony soldiers out there. I'm at an age where you all look like kids to me, and yet you've had to do and experience things I hope I never have to. Stay well, and hold onto that attitude. Questioning authority is the one thing of value we learned from my generation's war.

Terrible said...

Great post Alex!! Thanks for speaking out! As a veteran I was every bit as disgusted as you by Rush Limbaugh's disgusting characterization of honest decent hardworking American armed forces service members as "phonies".

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing this, I never listen to Rush, I can't stand people who pretend they are patriotic when in reality they are not!
Mary

Anonymous said...

I recall how none of the short-peckered ones on the left ever once mentioned Duke Cunningham's outstanding war record as a combat pilot when they were howling for his blood. Anything goes for the gutless left when they smell blood in the water for a Republican. Democrat of Louisiana Jefferson gets caught with 90 grand of cash in his freezer? Hey, it's hard out here for a pimp! Where's the media on that one? Too busy chasing after Imus and Rush.

And can anyone of the limp-dick left explain to us all how it was than John Kerry used four ginned-up Purple Heart awards to leave his buddies to rot in Viet Nam after he was there only four months??? None of his injuries were sever enough to require hospitalization. One injury was a little splinter in his forearm that a doc pulled out with a tweezers and slapped a bandaid on it. And he gets a Purple Heart for THAT??? A real man would have stayed with his troops and stuck it out for the full tour. Kerry's a pussy, plain and simmple.

And irregardless how many medals Murtha got in the war, now he's a senile old fuck who trashed out his fellow marines over Haditha, going on TV to accuse them of horrible war atrocities before the investigations were even started! And now, they're all getting the charges dropped over the bullshit Democrat-pushed accusations, and the coward Murtha won't even admit he fucked up. Where's Media MAtters on that one??? But you on the left suck his and Kerry's dick every chance you get! It';s part of your job description, to hate America first.

Anonymous said...

I, like others followed a link from dKos. I want to thank you first for your service, and second for sharing your stories and pictures.

You are a very gifted writer and I will seek out your posts often now that I've been introduced.

Thanks, again. hu

Douglas V. Gibbs said...

The liberal press took the entire thing out of context. If you had listened to Rush's entire show you would have known that the phony soldier comment came from the before talked about Jesse MacBeth. Jesse was at one time the Left's media darling, because he claimed to be an Army Ranger that saw the horror of war, and was willing to talk about how horrible it was in Iraq. He smeared the military, and the Leftwing Media ate it up. Thing is, he's a liar. Oh, he'd been in the Army, but was let go after 44 days of bootcamp - basically he couldn't hack it and was lashing out at the military as a result. He is a phony soldier. But you see, the leftwing media kind of left out that part in which indicated that he was referring to soldiers that are like Jesse MacBeth - phony soldiers that make claims they are real soldiers, and then tell horrific tales that are nothing more than horrific lies. But you see, if you were well informed, you would have known that. I am a veteran and I understand the importance of the war, and how the left tends to twist things by leaving out the important parts.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_092807/content/01125106.guest.html and
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836820/posts and
http://hotair.com/archives/2006/05/22/anti-war-video-bogus/ and
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/05/18/breaking-anti-war-fraudster-jesse-macbeth-arrestedupdated-with-statement-from-va-whistleblower/ and
http://hotair.com/archives/2007/09/21/jesse-macbeth-i-admit-it-im-a-filthy-liar/

Steve-O said...

I HEARD the REAL conversation, as painful as it was. Rush is still a big fat idiot! Where in the hell are all the Manson-ites with guns when you need 'em? What this country needs is a few good shooters with guts to take out these bloviating scumbags.

Unknown said...

Frank,

At least the MoveOn ad had a question mark. It said in fact "General Petraus or General Betray Us?"? It wasn't making categorical statements except factual ones based on earlier highly inaccurate statements he'd made that were in line with Bush administration claims. So it was a question. Will the general be honest with Congress and the American people or will he puppet claims by Bush administration officials.

For the anonymous dittoheads: Jesse MacBeth was not mentioned in the Rush Rant until well after (Several paragraphs in the full transcript.) Rush and his caller had been condemning soldiers critical of the war as being phony. No, he was not the original subject of the call.

Anonymous said...

To the oh-so-brave "anonymous" who seems more fixated on penises than the facts of the matter:
1. Almost every article I read mentioned that Duke Cunningham was a pilot and the model for the "Top Gun" movie. So what? Does it lessen his corruption and betrayal of his oath of office? Are you saying that decent citizens shouldn't want him out of office?

2. Likewise, I believe decent citizens should also want Jefferson out of office, but the trial is delayed by arguments made by Hastert and others. (Remember trials? They're in the constitution.) I've seen many articles about Jefferson - if you missed them, you're not paying attention.

3. The Navy says Kerry's Purple Hearts were legitimate. Take it up with them if you disagree.

4. You do seem rather obsessed with male sex organs in a conversation that had nothing to do with sex.

Dude, thank you, both for your service and your truths.

Anonymous said...

1) Thanks for your service.

2) He wasn't talking about you, nor any actual soldiers.

3) He was talking about Jesse MacBeth. Liar. Phony soldier. Watch the video, if you dare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm84gOXkZaY

4) Remember: You all are supposed to be the reality based set. For gaia's sake, at least be true to yourselves.

Ciao.

Anonymous said...

Interesting thing about that YouTube video link from the anonymous above - it's Rush's explanation after the fact. Show us the original that differs from the transcript posted, and we might believe you. The transcript is pretty clear - Limbaugh was responding to a caller, discussing a previous caller who said he was a veteran and opposed the war.

Anonymous said...

Right. After the fact he plays the actual dialog that others emended to serve the purpose of smearing him.

Do better.

Anonymous said...

El - Your not smart enough to see that I was implying that your type of leftys are puny and impotent, as in you don't swing any weight, you just run your mouth like an Al gore toilet stuck on flush. Thanks to your reply, Now we know your mind is on dicks 50% of the time.

Anonymous said...

Past awesome.

Unknown said...

From the beginning of this debacle, I was worried for the soldiers going to Iraq. They say that War Is Hell, and it's clear that Alex and every other member of the Armed Services who've served in Iraq have been to HELL.

I comment your courage for having been there, and commend your SANITY for not wanting to go back!

As for the pathetic assholes such as Limbaugh who denigrate your service and your sanity, I'm sure that they'll get more than enough time in hell to reflect.

Matt Browner Hamlin said...

Thank you for this phenomenal post.

Thank you for your service and for the service of all your friends.

I'm glad you made it home and my heart goes out to you and the families of your friends and comrades who did not.

Anonymous said...

Why All The Phonyness?

Outstanding post.

Thanks to you and your comrades for the phony sacrifice. Well, time for me to close this phony comment. Have a phony evening out there in phony land.

Oh by the way I did two phony tours in OIF and OEF. Been phony there done phony that!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
El - Your not smart enough to see that I was implying that your type of leftys are puny and impotent, as in you don't swing any weight, you just run your mouth like an Al gore toilet stuck on flush. Thanks to your reply, Now we know your mind is on dicks 50% of the time.

Senator Craig, so good to see you!

Craig, by the way is a self-described conservative.

As are Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, Matt Sanchez, Jeff Gannon.....

I guess the difference between those people and "leftys" is that they have dick on the mind 100% of the time, don't they?

Anonymous said...

johnny - Just like male brothel operator Barney Frank and the pedophile Massachusetts Democrat pal of Kennedy and Kerry, the late great Gary Studds. With a name like that, he could have made a fortune in the MTV era making flicks with his 16-year old male interns. The only difference between him and Foley is that Democrat Studds got caught doing the same thing and got a comittiee chair out of it, while the Republcians did the right thing and gave him the boot. But your comfortable beign a hypocrit, and we all know that to liberals, it's not whether it's right or wrong, it's how you FEEEEL about your self afterwards. Oh, almost forgot to ask, Did any of those Republicans ever leave a young woman to drown like a rat in his car becuase he was driving drunk??? That's cool, if you have a 'D' after your name, you've got the hookup from the libs. And...whose party is is that still has a sitting Senator that is a member of the Ku Klux Klan? (Hint for those who have public school educations - his state is west of Virginia).

Leftys like you have dick on the mind 110% of the time. Not about sex, but how to dick the taxpayers in this country out of more money to give away to your worthless labor unions, trial lawyers, government employees, public school teachers, unlimited abortions, banning all religion excpet Islam, porn education in the schools, and on and on and on...

Unknown said...

Wow, Anonymous. Having a dick makes some one brave? Really?? That's some amazing logical skillz you have there.

AOD, thank you for your service. I wish the war wasn't happening and you didn't have to serve--but thank you. And thank you for posting.

Given other things Rush Limbaugh and his associates have said in the past, it is incredibly obvious that yes, he does believe that a solder who is against the war is somehow less of a soldier and less of a patriot than one who is for it. This wasn't a lone comment out of the blue--the man has a history of expressing similar opinions.

Anonymous said...

no, nenya, but having a short limp one makes you a liberal. just ask Hillary...

Anonymous said...

...and if Bill had been taking care of her needs like he should have, she wouldn't be such a bother to all of us now, trying to work her out her frustrations on the whole damn country. She should just hit him up side the head with a skillet and she'd feel better and leave the rest of us alone.

Anonymous said...

From one phony to another... keep up the good work.

I was lucky, I got to be a phony at Walter Reed and Madigan. All my fellow phonys came home in one piece.

Edward: I did listen to what Rush said.

Here's the transcript:

CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.


That was after this part.

RUSH: Oh, come on, here we go again. I utter the truth, and you can't handle it so you gotta call here and change the subject. How come I'm not also hitting Republicans? I don't know a single Republican or conservative, Mike, who wants to pull out of Iraq in defeat.

He goes on to tell the caller that he's lying when he says he's a republican.

So the "phony soldiers" comment was a blanket statement about those soldiers who say, in public, the war is buggered.

Rush never named a name, and the caller didn't say phony.

In his clarification he included Sen Murtha.

And the White House press secretary, today, condemned him for it.

So yeah, that's it, he was attacking couple of people he didn't mention; using words the caller didn't say, right after saying a different caller couldn't be either a republican, or a veteran; because he opposed the war, and it was all a manufactured flap because anyone should have known it was all about the people he didn't mention.

If this was the first time Limbaugh had done something like this, I might let it slide, but that sort of covering his ass is SOP for him.

So me, I assume he meant what he said, when he said it.

Anonymous said...

Sir,

I was linked to this by another blog I read. From one Rush would undoubtedly call a "phony citizen," thank you for your service and sacrifice, and I pray you and your brothers and sisters will come home soon. I would rather see this country defended by you and your comrades than by the likes of Rush and his ilk any and every day.

Constitutionalist said...

From another grey haired phony, guess my life and existance is phony and why should Rush have worried as if there was anything to fear right....the bullets (for me it was stolen claymores) were also phony. Why sweat it?

Anonymous said...

Dear "Phony," I want to thank you and all the other current soldiers and veterans of this war, and other phony soldiers who fought in past wars, like Al Gore, John Kerry, John Murtha, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Bob Kerrey, Max Cleland, John Warner, hell all the phonies, for your service. Unfortunately our public discussions are dominated by the likes of a drug-addled obese criminal like Rush Limbaugh and a fake-populist racist like Bill O'Reilly and a voting-fraud chickenhawk like Ann Coulter and a dumpy, keyboard warrior like Jonah Goldberg, and dominated by people who couldn't serve but can shoot friends in the face, like Dick Cheney, and Mr. AWOL-in-Texas-and-Boston himself, the "Commander Guy" "Decider" George W. They want to use you phony soldiers so that they can have war and more war. And more war still. They orgasm wars. They don't care what the cost is to this nation. They don't care that they're destroying our military. They don't even give a damn about making sure you all have firearms that work or the proper gear or well-armored tanks. They don't give a damn about you! They only care about oil and power and getting their way. And now they, along with Joe Lieberman and John Kyl and the other neocons, want a war in Iran. And they'll have you phony soldiers drop the bombs and you phony soldiers fight the Iranians and you phony soldiers attacked in Iraq. And they will laugh all the way to the bank. Now who're the real PHONIES?

Anonymous said...

Leftys like you have dick on the mind 110% of the time. Not about sex, but how to dick the taxpayers in this country out of more money to give away to your worthless labor unions, trial lawyers, government employees, public school teachers, unlimited abortions, banning all religion excpet Islam, porn education in the schools, and on and on and on...

Dear sick sad Rethuglican, the most pathetic thing is that your beloved party is stealing our Treasury and future cold. They are blowing money like coke addicts in Iraq, in a war in which nearly 4,000 phony soldiers according to your hero Vicodin-and-Viagra sex freak Rush Limphog have died. Yes, your party is gutting our future borrowing from Communist China and shipping jobs to India and moving business to Dubai and you complain about Democrats, but then you very stupid people, the 28% dead-ender George W-loving fascists, will still drink the Koolaid when the rest of us have left you in the dust. Keep believing this crap, and when you decide to take a break, sign up for military service and do us all a favor. We'll thank you after you've finished your phony tour!

Anonymous said...

What'd you do, copy n' paste your brilliant comeback off the DemDipShitNoBrain website ? "Rethuglican," that's juvenile as shit LOL! you guys here suck, i'm off to find more lively and imaginative liberals to fuck with. And thanks for the career advice, I'll join the military as soon as I grow up. See you morons down the road.

Anonymous said...

Wow. This post just smacks of phoniness.

Rush and his ilk are just way too reality-based to appreciate the phony sacrifices being made every day by poseurs and imposters such as yerself.

June Butler said...

Alex, thank you for your service.

I'm asking permission to use a couple of your pictures on my blog to link to this post. It's a non-profit, personal blog. I admire so much what you have written over the past years.

This is one fine answer to the blabbermouth.

Click on my name if you want to see my blog before you answer. I understand if you'd rather that I not use your pictures.

Anonymous said...

Rush is a phony human.

Thanks for your service, and that of all your fellow phony and real soldiers. Many of us on the left believe you have all done much more than you were asked to do because the Bush administration screwed things up so badly (whether by incompetence or on purpose), and the liberation has gone south.

You all get to carry the burden, and to be allowed to continue to do so is what some call "supporting the troops".

I wish you all the best, and hope you get home safely soon.

Anonymous said...

The only thing that's phoney about this post is the author of it, probably another Sen. Murtha type.

Or probably a pussy like liberal Max Cleland.

So y'all can go back to your DemDipnShit.com site and get some more of your stupid tlaking points, you dumbfuck leftists. God I hate you people. They should hang all you traitors.

Steve said...

Tell it like it is. This is a great post. From a 24-year retired Air Force officer. You rock.

Anonymous said...

And a phony God Bless you--to the phony soldiers!

You have spoken more truth than Rush Lintball ever has.
Of course he never states fact--only opinion, then spews hate.

Then again I don't listen to him much--it has the same effect as food poisoning.

God Bless all our troops and may they all come home soon---safely!.

SUEB0B said...

You made me cry so hard. Look into Chevalier's beautiful eyes...that hit me hard.

Thanks for your honesty.

Alexander Wolfe said...

Thanks for serving and making us Texans proud.

Unknown said...

Great story. Thanks for your service. I too did two years over in Iraq as a phony soldier. Oh well. All for nothing. Welcome to Votevets!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

The only thing that's phoney about this post is the author of it, probably another Sen. Murtha type.

Or probably a pussy like liberal Max Cleland.

Jesus fucking Christ, you people are scum. Read the previous posts of this blog, morons. Dude has put his life on the line to protect you, show some respect.

Anonymous said...

Right wing chicken hawks make a profession about attacking the brave men and women on uniform who disagree with them. Limbaugh is just the latest in a long litany which goes back to the hatchet jobs they did in 2004 and with a war hero, Cleland. I'm sick of it. I don't give a flying (%(#$ if a soldier agrees or disagrees with the war in Iraq. You deserve our respect because you put your lives on the line doing what you believe in.

If someone wants to fight a war in Iraq, then lets really fund it with taxes not tax cuts for the rich. Ask the rest of America to put some skin in the game, small though it is. And take care of veterans rather than given the rich tax cuts and saying that incompetents are doing a 'heck of a job' in the Veterans administration. And let's ask Americans to put their bodies where their mouths are by bringing back the draft.

I'm tired beyond measure of handing piles of borrowed money to Blackwater mercenaries and screwing soldiers.

Even beyond this, how about fighting the real war in terror in Afghanistan where the people who planned 9/11 are laughing at us while they take back the country.

I've got to stop now, my blood pressure is probably 250/100.

The Minstrel Boy said...

ya'll did pretty good, especially considering that you're phonies and shit. i spent the day with the command sergeant major of the local guard. we met because i play at the funerals of the phony soldiers from my turf that get themselves blown up and stuff (probably phony ass goldbricks or simple skylarkers).

the fucked part is that we got to put them in real graves.

rush limbaugh makes me puke. you phonies make me proud.

great job kid. great fucking job.

Nathan said...

Thank you for your post. I used to listen to Rush too at a similar age, and while I haven't gone through anything like what you have in the intervening time, my experience has shown the man to be hypocritical and repugnant.

Someone should really start a phony website to gather together enough phony soldiers to make phony phone calls to Rush's phony, phony show (sorry, I don't know what else to call it). With enough phony soldiers and phony planning, you might be able to break through his army of screeners and ask some Uncomfortable Questions of El Rushbo. Of course, you'd need some airtight way of ensuring that all of your callers were phonies in uniform, true and complete traitors all of them to the stars and stripes.

It might be more trouble than it's worth, and it might just be a comforting fantasy on my part that it could work. Besides, giving a gasbag like Rush attention is bound to inflate his ego. But, eh, it's something to think about. What he said should not be allowed to slide into obscurity.

On a side note, I didn't like the "Betray Us" ad either. But guess what? The "liberal" media covered it, and not this (so far...).

Keep doing what you're doing.

OtherDoug said...

I guess my brother is a phony soldier, too, since he retired after his tour in Iraq with the National Guard. Hey, he was only 50 years old. He could've done two or three more tours instead of taking some cushy job in a VA hospital. I'm guessing he had it too easy as a non-com in a supply unit driving convoys all over.

I looked into how I could be a phony soldier, but the Army wasn't really interested in a 40 year old with only one kidney. Can't say that I blame them, I'd have been a real phony.

Thanks for your service. However you stand on the war, you have my respect and admiration.

Anonymous said...

Good job.

Anonymous said...

From one vet to another, thanks for your service.

I'm sure Rush can clear all this up on Monday by simply announcing that OF COURSE, he respects the patriotism of ALL members of the armed forces, past and present, INCLUDING those who disagree with him and with the President. Soldiers who oppose the war are GREAT AMERICANS, just like those who support it.

I'm sure he'll say that. And then he'll condemn Fox for its hit piece saying "Our generals are betraying our soldiers."

In fact, I'm sure ALL the dittoheads will do the same ... right?

Right?

Anonymous said...

I wonder why anyone would be surprised about the "phony soldier" lines by Rush Limbaugh. After all, this is the same crowd who had their behinds soft and warm in the U.S. when the Vietnam war was on, and then flamed senator Kerry over his war record. Remember the swift boat campaign, anyone?

Alex, just you wait... In a few years, some "Baqubah vets for truth" will tell you that you were never even there.

Unknown said...

AOD-

Welcome Home. I'm glad you made it home safely and are sharing your thoughts & experiences. People need to know your truth.

My son served in OIF for 384 days. Unlike you, Ken's welcome home was in a flag covered box, with the sounds of Final Roll Call, TAPS and a volley of gunshots at Arlington National Cemetery.

I wonder if Rush Limbaugh has ever visited Section 60 at Arlington to see America's son's and daughter's buried there. It doesn't matter if they were phony by his description; they died serving their country.

Rush Linmbaugh and his ilk don't know the meaning of service.

It's time to bring the troops home and to take care of them when they get here. It's the least we can do.

Anonymous said...

This post sucks as a former Soldier and Platoon Sergeant I am ashamed of you and hope you get your facts straight next time.. Rush is the man!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I've had your site bookmarked forever and haven't come for a look because I'm a coward. I was afraid I'd see a post announcing your death. Soldier, I'm damned glad you made it home safe.

Thank you for serving your country, both by performing your duties in Iraq, and by speaking out. My dad, a Vietnam vet, taught me that you can disagree with the mission but still serve your country when called. You guys are all doing an incredible job in an impossible situation. Now it's our turn: we need to listen to you, and get this country back on track.

We owe you.

John Rohan said...

Hey FastMovingCloud,

It wasn't Rush Limbaugh who gave the "BS" explanation. It was people who decided to actually hear what the guy said. In the very NEXT sentence Rush was speaking about Jesse Macbeth, who was recently sentenced to jail.

Folks, don't believe everything you read on the internet. You were duped by Media Matters on this one. Once again, I recommend you all listen to the unedited Rush Limbaugh segment here:

http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/iblog/C168863457

Anonymous said...

Another ditto head screeched:

"Oh, almost forgot to ask, Did any of those Republicans ever leave a young woman to drown like a rat in his car becuase he was driving drunk???"

No, but a Republican woman struck and killed her boyfriend in a drunk-driving accident!

Who was that, you ask?

Hint: she occupies the other side of W's bed.

Anonymous said...

"Unless this MacBeth fellow you describe is actually several different people, then you don't exactly have a point here."

Actually, he's one of several different phonies. Think Scott Thomas, for one.

The real question is why the media wants to publish stories from MacBeth and Thomas, but not from Army of Dude. And the reason is because Army of Dude is risking his life while the phonies are telling us that Army of Dude is pillaging and plundering.

Anonymous said...

Good, honest post... Proud of you young man. You're being a real human being in a situation that is not very humane at all times... Maybe you should request to Rush if you could be on his "phony show" so he can explain to you how "phony" you are!

Carlos said...

Outstanding post. Limbaugh is a Grade-A hypocrite. Nothing phony about that. I cut and ran after 21yrs of service. Should I have signed up for another nine? Fuck that. And fuck Rush.

I applaud your service and sacrifice – Phony though it was ;-)

Semper Paratus

Anonymous said...

"Rush I hope your ass is ok"

There's an easy way to find out: just look above his shoulders.

Unknown said...

So where, exactly, does Rush mention Jesse MacBeth in these exchanges, Rush apologists? You are all as big a pack of liars and cowards as your fatass, draft-skipping, drug-using idol.

Unknown said...

Here's a verbatim transcript -

LIMBAUGH: Mike in Chicago, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER 1: Hi Rush, how you doing today?

LIMBAUGH: I'm fine sir, thank you.

CALLER 1: Good. Why is it that you always just accuse the Democrats of being against the war and suggest that there are absolutely no Republicans that could possibly be against the war?

LIMBAUGH: Well, who are these Republicans? I can think of Chuck Hagel, and I can think of Gordon Smith, two Republican senators, but they don't want to lose the war like the Democrats do. I can't think of -- who are the Republicans in the anti-war movement?

CALLER 1: I'm just -- I'm not talking about the senators. I'm talking about the general public -- like you accuse the public of all the Democrats of being, you know, wanting to lose, but --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, come on! Here we go again. I uttered a truth, and you can't handle it, so you gotta call here and change the subject. How come I'm not also hitting Republicans? I don't know a single Republican or conservative, Mike, who wants to pull out of Iraq in defeat. The Democrats have made the last four years about that specifically.

CALLER 1: Well, I am a Republican, and I've listened to you for a long time, and you're right on a lot of things, but I do believe that we should pull out of Iraq. I don't think it's winnable. And I'm not a Democrat, but I just -- sometimes you've got to cut the losses.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you -- you --

CALLER 1: I mean, sometimes you really gotta know when you're wrong.

LIMBAUGH: Well, yeah, you do. I'm not wrong on this. The worst thing that can happen is losing this, flying out of there, waving the white flag. Do you have --

CALLER 1: Oh, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying anything like that, but, you know --

LIMBAUGH: Well, of course you are.

CALLER 1: No, I'm not.

LIMBAUGH: Bill, the truth is -- the truth is the truth, Mike.

CALLER 1: We did what we were supposed to do, OK. We got rid of Saddam Hussein. We got rid of a lot of the terrorists. Let them run their country --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, good lord! Good lord.

[...]

CALLER 1: How long is it gonna -- how long do you think we're going to have to be there for them to take care of that?

LIMBAUGH: Mike --

CALLER 1: How long -- you know -- what is it?

LIMBAUGH: Mike --

CALLER 1: What is it?

LIMBAUGH: Mike, you can't possibly be a Republican.

CALLER 1: I am.

LIMBAUGH: You are -- you are --

CALLER 1: I am definitely a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: You can't be a Republican. You are --

CALLER 1: Oh, I am definitely a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: You are tarnishing the reputation, 'cause you sound just like a Democrat.

CALLER 1: No, but --

LIMBAUGH: The answer to your question --

CALLER 1: -- seriously, how long do we have to stay there --

LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes!

CALLER 1: -- to win it? How long?

LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes! It is very serious.

CALLER 1: And that is what?

LIMBAUGH: This is the United States of America at war with Islamofascists. We stay as long -- just like your job. You do everything you have to do, whatever it takes to get it done, if you take it seriously.

CALLER 1: So then you say we need to stay there forever --

LIMBAUGH: I -- it won't --

CALLER 1: -- because that's what it'll take.

LIMBAUGH: No, Bill, or Mike -- I'm sorry. I'm confusing you with the guy from Texas.

CALLER 1: See, I -- I've used to be military, OK? And I am a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: Yeah. Yeah.

CALLER 1: And I do live [inaudible] but --

LIMBAUGH: Right. Right. Right, I know.

CALLER 1: -- you know, really -- I want you to be saying how long it's gonna take.

LIMBAUGH: And I, by the way, used to walk on the moon!

CALLER 1: How long do we have to stay there?

LIMBAUGH: You're not listening to what I say. You can't possibly be a Republican. I'm answering every question. That's not what you want to hear, so it's not even penetrating your little wall of armor you've got built up.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Another Mike, this one in Olympia, Washington. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER 2: Hi Rush, thanks for taking my call.

LIMBAUGH: You bet.

CALLER 2: I have a retort to Mike in Chicago, because I am a serving American military, in the Army. I've been serving for 14 years, very proudly.

LIMBAUGH: Thank you, sir.

CALLER 2: And, you know, I'm one of the few that joined the Army to serve my country, I'm proud to say, not for the money or anything like that. What I would like to retort to is that, if we pull -- what these people don't understand is if we pull out of Iraq right now, which is about impossible because of all the stuff that's over there, it'd take us at least a year to pull everything back out of Iraq, then Iraq itself would collapse, and we'd have to go right back over there within a year or so. And --

LIMBAUGH: There's a lot more than that that they don't understand. They can't even -- if -- the next guy that calls here, I'm gonna ask him: Why should we pull -- what is the imperative for pulling out? What's in it for the United States to pull out? They can't -- I don't think they have an answer for that other than, "Well, we just gotta bring the troops home."

CALLER 2: Yeah, and, you know what --

LIMBAUGH: "Save the -- keep the troops safe" or whatever. I -- it's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.

CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined --

CALLER 2: A lot of them -- the new kids, yeah.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you're going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you're going there or Afghanistan or somewhere.

CALLER 2: Exactly, sir.

Unknown said...

Also - to clarify for those who are temporally challenged - the original broacast that caused the stir occurred on Sept 26. Limbaugh came up with the excuse that he was referring to MacBeth on a program aired two days later. What's worse, on that program he played what he called a complete transcript of the 9/26 show that he claimed exonerated him, yet the clip he played omitted over a minute and a half of the original show, including the most damning statements he made to the callers. That's your hero's integrity, ditto-heads. He simply lies about what he meant, lies about what he said, and then airs a doctored transcript to defend himself. Anyone who defends this guy is as big a douchebag as Rush himself.

Anonymous said...

ha, ha, ha, cough..ha, ha, ha...

Anonymous said...

Your entire post is "Phony" because, as you yourself said, you quit listening to Rush years ago and obviously did not hear his comments first-hand. Before you blog a response to someone, take a little effort to actually know what your talking about! Rush's phony soldier wasn't phony simply because he didn't support the Iraq war, he was phony because he was booted out of the service after 40-something days and therefore really didn't serve. You are just an idiot tool of the fringe left spreading misinformation and lies.

Anonymous said...

Just came across your blog. FANTASTIC JOB! I will be reading regularly now - keep up the pressure on Rush "I need more blue babies" Limbaugh!

Anonymous said...

The Anguish of Being Conservative

Imagine how painful it must be to be a Rush Toady, a self-proclaimed Christian and Compassionate Conservative today. The Republicans are "The Party of Lincoln," afterall. I picture them like shipwreck victims, all clamoring for space on a lifeboat called "Righteousness," figuring out how to blame the shipwreck on "the MSM," the "lunatic left," and lefty websites.

Anonymous said...

Four basic arguements the right uses to keep us in Iraq

1) Appeal to Patriotism

2) Appeal to Authority

3) Appeal to Honor

4) Appeal to Pity

Stay. Sit. Die.

While soldiers and civilians die, the National Review says “Stay.” In retrospect, it was inevitable: Conservatives have finally articulated a policy position so simple-minded it can be understood by a dog. First these “intellectuals” told us that there were WMDs. Then they said Iraq was linked to 9/11. Then they said we were “spreading democracy” in Iraq. Now they’re supporting insurgents against the legitimate government of Iraq.

They will literally say or do anything to support the will of their leaders. And they dare to talk to the rest of us - and our troops - as if we were recalcitrant poodles.

meanwhile rush limbaugh calls our soldiers phony...

had enough yet?

Anonymous said...

Yellow hankie Republicans?

Is there not some chosen curse,
Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven, Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man Who owes his greatness to his country's ruin? - Joseph Addison


two more quotes from:

The Chickenhawk War...


…"I'd like to import the ability that the Brits are doing to export and deport a bunch of hate-rhetoric filled mullahs and imams that are stoking anti-American sentiment. Wouldn't it be great if anybody who speaks out against this country, to kick them out of the country? Anybody that threatens this country, kick 'em out. We'd get rid of Michael Moore, we'd get rid of half the Democratic Party if we would just import that law. That would be fabulous. The Supreme Court ought to look into this." - Phony American Rush Limbaugh sphincter of steely resolve…

"As you can probably see I was injured myself, not here at the hospital but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won." george bush blathering at walter reed

Anonymous said...

Ah Jeez, Ireally don't want to get involved with this. It reminds me of the old saying never wrestle with a pig. All that hapens is you get dirty and the pig enjoys it.
oh yeah, good post dude. It brought back some of my phony memories. Viet Nam class of 1969.
footsore

Anonymous said...

"So y'all can go back to your DemDipnShit.com site and get some more of your stupid tlaking points, you dumbfuck leftists. God I hate you people. They should hang all you traitors."

Funny how you people always talk about freedom not being free, protecting our rights, blahblahblah. Then, when you don't like the way a conversation is going, dissenters should be hanged. I guess freedom of speech isn't included in your fascist vision for America. What's both great and sad about this country is no matter how much you disgust me, I have to tolerate you. I'm crossing my fingers that cosmic justice somehow gives you a really good smack for me.

Anonymous said...

"Rush Limbaugh is a great American"

- George W. Bush, commenting on reports Rush Limbaugh was a drug addict


kinda says it all...

Quaerendo Invenietis said...

I perceive the "retorts" here as well as rushs words the modern digital equivalent of spitting on our soldiers. I perceive all hostile responses to the legitimate questions asked of patreaus to be the same. In THIS country, we CAN question ANY offical in ANY capacity - that is why were in iraq right? so they can have OUR freedom?

Rush has done no less than physically spit on every soldier who has served, taken wounds or died in this insane trade bush has made with the saudis to trade our soldiers' blood for their oil profits (EIGHTY dollars a barrel).

God bless you and all your brothers in arms who stand up to this budding dictatorial tyranny. Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito (Latin: Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it)

Anonymous said...

George W. Bush: The Known Unsoldier

and his ass kissing side kick rush limbaugh sphincter of steely resolve

two dimbulbs who call the shots and are never in the line of fire

Anonymous said...

Awesome post, phony Alex! Thank you so much for serving and for blogging! I was referred here by a commenter at our discussion on gather.com (http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977130189#comments)

I, too, was challenged to listen to Rush's explanation. I have now listened to the clip initially posted by MediaMatters (apparently not edited), the Rush Limbaugh "Anatomy of a Smear" show-opener from Friday (which I am pissed that I missed live even though I was in the car most of the day), and Rush's clip of the Wed show (apparently edited). I have read both websites and some of the news articles and blogs.

My conclusion is that Rush's explanation is pretty darned weak. Whether or not he talked about that fake soldier before or after does not change the fact that when the caller had said that people who oppose the Bush/Republican "war" policies "never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media," Rush said "the phony soldiers". First off, Rush claims that he was talking about one specific fake soldier - the singular and plural don't jibe at all. Second, that explanation would only work if one soldier had "come up out of the blue and talk(ed) to the media." That is obviously not true - there are soldiers home from Iraq, soldiers in Iraq, generals in the Pentagon, etc.

I am prepared to say that - IN HIS MIND - he was not calling all soldiers who oppose the war "phony soldiers". However, that is not what he told his listeners. Either in the initial broadcast or in his bombastic "anatomy of a smear" follow-up.

If he had just said that he was thinking of Jesse McBeth (one man, when there are plenty of people who falsify their military credentials for all types of purposes, pro-, anti-, personal, etc), it would not have got the attention that it has.

But, I'll take a guess as to why he didn't admit to not being clear: (1) he cannot admit that he makes a mistake - he tells people all the time how perfect he is; and (2) he wants to try to use this as an example of how nasty the big, bad liberals and the big, bad media is. (We have to rally against them! We're the victims!)

The TWO flat out nastiest parts about his initial comment and subsequent response are that he actually DOES take comments by people he opposes (be they Dems or Republicans) out of context. All the frickin' time. It is what he perfected, and the model that Hannity and others have used so successfully in caricaturizing Democrats.

Second, he is claiming to be victimized by those who are not giving him credit for what was in his mind when he made the comment; at the very same time, he is re-hashing his attacks on Kerry (the pre-election joke), Durbin, and others, for NOT CLEARLY EXPRESSNG WHAT WAS ON THEIR MINDS!

THE HYPOCRISY IS SIMPLY STUNNING!!!

Anonymous said...

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.
And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
1 January 1970
Dak To, Vietnam
Listed as KIA February 7, 1978

Ronald said...

Thanks for your service! You might even want to consider listening to Limbaugh's actual tape, which I did several times, just to note that he was referring to one specific soldier when he made the "phony soldier" comments. He went to great lengths to reference his comments and note that this phony soldier never had the qualifications he claimed (IE a Ranger) and was never in the theater of operations to see the alleged atrocities. He washed out in the first 44 days.

Anonymous said...

for all those who voted for bush the second time and especially the die hard 28% and ditto heads who still champion this loser I offer this:

In a report published by the Lovenstein Institute of Scranton,
Pennsylvania,
http://www.lovenstein.org/

detailed its findings of a four-month study of the intelligence quotient of President George W. Bush. Since 1973, the Lovenstein Institute has published its research to the educational community on each new president, which includes the famous "IQ" report among others. There have been twelve presidents over the past 50 years, from F.D. Roosevelt to G. W. Bush, who were
rated based on:

1. scholarly achievements
2. writings that they produced without aid of staff
3. their ability to speak with clarity, and
4. several other psychological factors which were then scored using the Swanson/Crain system of intelligence ranking.


The study determined the following IQs of each president as accurate
to within five percentage points. In order by presidential term:


142 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
132 - Harry S Truman
122 - Dwight David Eisenhower
174 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy
126 - Lyndon Baines Johnson
155 - Richard Milhous Nixon
121 - Gerald R. Ford
175 - James Earle Carter
105 - Ronald Wilson Reagan
098 - George Herbert Walker Bush
182 - William Jefferson Clinton
091 - George Walker Bush

In IQ order:
182 - William Jefferson Clinton
175 - James Earle Carter
174 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy
155 - Richard Milhous Nixon
147 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
132 - Harry S Truman
126 - Lyndon Baines Johnson
122 - Dwight David Eisenhower
121 - Gerald R. Ford
105 - Ronald Wilson Reagan
098 - George Herbert Walker Bush
091 - George Walker Bush

The six Republican presidents of the past 50 years had an average IQ
of 115.5, with President Nixon having the highest at 155. President
George W. Bush rated the lowest of all the Republicans with an IQ of
91. The six Democrat presidents had IQs with an average of 156, with
President Clinton having the highest IQ, at 182. President Lyndon B.
Johnson was rated the lowest of all the Democrats with an IQ of 126.
No president other than Carter [D] has released his actual IQ 176).


Among comments made concerning the specific testing of President G. W.
Bush, his low ratings are due to his apparently difficult command of
the English language in public statements, his limited use of
vocabulary [6,500 words for Bush versus an average of 11,000 words for
other presidents], his lack of scholarly achievements other than a
basic MBA, and an absence of any body of work which could be studied
on an intellectual basis. The complete report documents the methods
and procedures used to arrive at these ratings, including depth of
sentence structure and voice stress confidence analysis.


All the Presidents prior to George W. Bush had at least one book
under their belt, and most had written several white papers during
their education or early careers. Not so with President Bush," Dr.
Lovenstein said. "He has no published works or writings, which made it
more difficult to arrive at an assessment. We relied more heavily on
transcripts of his unscripted public speaking.

Lilith63 said...

who cares what a fat, over paid AWOL asshole sais? Show your respect for the soldiers that are really doing what they think is protecting our country.

And then apologize for letting this tyrannical administration lie them into this war and lose their lives or limbs, or families.

Thanks to all of the soldiers who enlisted with good intentions and sorry that those intentions were exploited!

President, HMC said...

To the poster that said
"As a 10 year vet that served in the first Gulf War, it really pissed me off when someone who hasn't served their country pretends to have any opinion about what it takes to defend our country in terms of commitment."

Is this guy so clueless that he doesn't realize that his comment applies to:
Dick Cheney
Paul Wolfowitz
Richard Perle
Tucker Carlson
Bill Crystal
Tony Snow
and
Rush Limbaugh

Here is the transcript from the phony solider clip:

From the September 26 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Mike in Chicago, welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER 1: Hi Rush, how you doing today?

LIMBAUGH: I'm fine sir, thank you.

CALLER 1: Good. Why is it that you always just accuse the Democrats of being against the war and suggest that there are absolutely no Republicans that could possibly be against the war?

LIMBAUGH: Well, who are these Republicans? I can think of Chuck Hagel, and I can think of Gordon Smith, two Republican senators, but they don't want to lose the war like the Democrats do. I can't think of -- who are the Republicans in the anti-war movement?

CALLER 1: I'm just -- I'm not talking about the senators. I'm talking about the general public -- like you accuse the public of all the Democrats of being, you know, wanting to lose, but --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, come on! Here we go again. I uttered a truth, and you can't handle it, so you gotta call here and change the subject. How come I'm not also hitting Republicans? I don't know a single Republican or conservative, Mike, who wants to pull out of Iraq in defeat. The Democrats have made the last four years about that specifically.

CALLER 1: Well, I am a Republican, and I've listened to you for a long time, and you're right on a lot of things, but I do believe that we should pull out of Iraq. I don't think it's winnable. And I'm not a Democrat, but I just -- sometimes you've got to cut the losses.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you -- you --

CALLER 1: I mean, sometimes you really gotta know when you're wrong.

LIMBAUGH: Well, yeah, you do. I'm not wrong on this. The worst thing that can happen is losing this, flying out of there, waving the white flag. Do you have --

CALLER 1: Oh, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying anything like that, but, you know --

LIMBAUGH: Well, of course you are.

CALLER 1: No, I'm not.

LIMBAUGH: Bill, the truth is -- the truth is the truth, Mike.

CALLER 1: We did what we were supposed to do, OK. We got rid of Saddam Hussein. We got rid of a lot of the terrorists. Let them run their country --

LIMBAUGH: Oh, good lord! Good lord.

[...]

CALLER 1: How long is it gonna -- how long do you think we're going to have to be there for them to take care of that?

LIMBAUGH: Mike --

CALLER 1: How long -- you know -- what is it?

LIMBAUGH: Mike --

CALLER 1: What is it?

LIMBAUGH: Mike, you can't possibly be a Republican.

CALLER 1: I am.

LIMBAUGH: You are -- you are --

CALLER 1: I am definitely a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: You can't be a Republican. You are --

CALLER 1: Oh, I am definitely a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: You are tarnishing the reputation, 'cause you sound just like a Democrat.

CALLER 1: No, but --

LIMBAUGH: The answer to your question --

CALLER 1: -- seriously, how long do we have to stay there --

LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes!

CALLER 1: -- to win it? How long?

LIMBAUGH: As long as it takes! It is very serious.

CALLER 1: And that is what?

LIMBAUGH: This is the United States of America at war with Islamofascists. We stay as long -- just like your job. You do everything you have to do, whatever it takes to get it done, if you take it seriously.

CALLER 1: So then you say we need to stay there forever --

LIMBAUGH: I -- it won't --

CALLER 1: -- because that's what it'll take.

LIMBAUGH: No, Bill, or Mike -- I'm sorry. I'm confusing you with the guy from Texas.

CALLER 1: See, I -- I've used to be military, OK? And I am a Republican.

LIMBAUGH: Yeah. Yeah.

CALLER 1: And I do live [inaudible] but --

LIMBAUGH: Right. Right. Right, I know.

CALLER 1: -- you know, really -- I want you to be saying how long it's gonna take.

LIMBAUGH: And I, by the way, used to walk on the moon!

CALLER 1: How long do we have to stay there?

LIMBAUGH: You're not listening to what I say. You can't possibly be a Republican. I'm answering every question. That's not what you want to hear, so it's not even penetrating your little wall of armor you've got built up.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Another Mike, this one in Olympia, Washington. Welcome to the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER 2: Hi Rush, thanks for taking my call.

LIMBAUGH: You bet.

CALLER 2: I have a retort to Mike in Chicago, because I am a serving American military, in the Army. I've been serving for 14 years, very proudly.

LIMBAUGH: Thank you, sir.

CALLER 2: And, you know, I'm one of the few that joined the Army to serve my country, I'm proud to say, not for the money or anything like that. What I would like to retort to is that, if we pull -- what these people don't understand is if we pull out of Iraq right now, which is about impossible because of all the stuff that's over there, it'd take us at least a year to pull everything back out of Iraq, then Iraq itself would collapse, and we'd have to go right back over there within a year or so. And --

LIMBAUGH: There's a lot more than that that they don't understand. They can't even -- if -- the next guy that calls here, I'm gonna ask him: Why should we pull -- what is the imperative for pulling out? What's in it for the United States to pull out? They can't -- I don't think they have an answer for that other than, "Well, we just gotta bring the troops home."

CALLER 2: Yeah, and, you know what --

LIMBAUGH: "Save the -- keep the troops safe" or whatever. I -- it's not possible, intellectually, to follow these people.

CALLER 2: No, it's not, and what's really funny is, they never talk to real soldiers. They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media.

LIMBAUGH: The phony soldiers.

CALLER 2: The phony soldiers. If you talk to a real soldier, they are proud to serve. They want to be over in Iraq. They understand their sacrifice, and they're willing to sacrifice for their country.

LIMBAUGH: They joined to be in Iraq. They joined --

CALLER 2: A lot of them -- the new kids, yeah.

LIMBAUGH: Well, you know where you're going these days, the last four years, if you signed up. The odds are you're going there or Afghanistan or somewhere.

CALLER 2: Exactly, sir.

Anonymous said...

"There is a core of anger in the soul of almost every veteran, and we are justified in calling it bitterness, but the bitterness of one man is not the same thing as the bitterness of another. In one man it becomes a consuming flame that sears his soul and burns his body. In another it is barely traceable. It leads one man to outbursts of temper, another to
social radicalism, and a third to excesses of conservatism."

- WW I veteran Willard Waller in 1944, anticipating the return of the troops from WW II

Anonymous said...

Sweet Jeebus - it's truly stunning to witness exhibit such willful ignorance.

Seriously, my lefty countrymen, take a step away from the keyboard and take a look in the mirror - sadly, you are morphing into the enemy. A laughable, pathetic enemy, but an enemy.

Anonymous said...

Regardless of how he tried to "qualify" it Rush's comment was DESPICABLE and an INSULT to the troops!

Being Rush AVOIDED SERVICE himself he should LAY OFF THE TROOPS that DISAGREE with his WAR-MONGERING rhetoric!

I spent 20 plus years active. Hands-on Dealt with some of the deadliest stuff known to man and it's FOOLS like RUSH that are making the use of that stuff MORE LIKELY!
He apparently wants to disregard THAT FACT and make-believe that his raving, insults and bluster will somehow make the world better.

INCITING DIVISION and anger NEVER resolves disagreements.
But then again it's NOT about that with Rush It's about RATINGS and "LOOK AT ME" for him no matter WHO he injures.
He's the modern day ROMAN downfall ENTERTAINMENT - no more than that.
Divert the people from reality so they don't see the contrived horrors occurring around them.
It seems it's always the "liqueur officers" (see the Pat Robertson posts) and the "I wudda gone BUT" group that push FOR war - probably to assuage their GUILTY CONSCIENCE or to cover up an uncomfortable truth they can't accept - self interest came FIRST.

The people that see the REAL EFFECTS and SUFFERING KNOW there needs to be a BETTER non-war SOLUTION.

ALL WAR-MONGERS who NEVER SERVED or first- hand EXPERIENCED a WAR are PHONIES!!

Anonymous said...

I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
...
I'm a tool of the government
and industry too
for I am destined to rule
and regulate you
...
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me Yet?
I'm the slime oozing out from your
radio i'm rush limbaugh sphincter of steely resolve


with apologies to Frank Zappa

Anonymous said...

"I tell people don't kill all the liberals. Leave enough so we can have two on every campus - living fossils - so we will never forget what these people stood for."

- Rush Limbaugh, Denver Post, 12-29-95

Anonymous said...

"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I don't need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."

George W. Bush, Washington Post, 11-19-02

Anonymous said...

Fuck Rush Limbaugh. After he shaves his ass, of course.

Anonymous said...

I sat in Iraq with a bunch of those phony soldiers back in 03. Then I supported a bunch of those phony soldiers as a civilian for General Dynamics in Tal Afar in 04, and 05. I too cried phony tears every time 3/2 SBCT had a casualty. Piss on Rush Limbaugh

Anonymous said...

“Gather the facts as quickly as you can. Then distort them at your leisure.” Mark Twain


while on the matter of sphincters of steely resolve and their chickenhawk CommanderInChief...

lets not forget the matter of dubya's national guard duty desertion...

"The absence of evidence is NOT the evidence of absence."

"You lookin' for Lt. Bush?"

"He's at that desk down there, dogfightin' dust bunnies!


ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... cough...ha, gasp for air, ha, ha, burp... ha, ha, fart...

Anonymous said...

What does Rush expect? If a phony president wages a phony war for phony reasons, I suppose you are going to get some phony soldiers.

Oh wait, those are real soldiers fighting a phony war for a phony president.

You should consider having your own radio shown. Unlike pimplebutt, you've earned it.

David Valentine said...

To the many posters who felt that Rush was taken out of context. Please feel free to research Most of what Rush says, you will find that the sheer volume of his comments on mis-quoted, biased and out of context statements made by others is what makes up most of his shows. So, if you're going to play the "fair fight" card about context and quotes, then after reviewing most of Rush's work you will see, you lose. As for the Phony Soldier, Excellent Post, may you server the remainder of your tour in a safe and comfortable place. You deserve the best we can offer you.

David

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