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CO-01 (Denver)
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CO-02 (Boulder-ish)
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
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April 06, 2010 08:08 PM UTC
57 Comments
Seems more like an excuse to bring up Gardner’s crypto-birtherism.
Gardner’s quote is a story, Lt. Col. Larkin is a story, but I’m failing to see how they are connected enough to be brought up in context with one another.
for Gardner to take an unequivocal stance, which he didn’t. Probably good politics but maybe not.
Neither Col. Lakin nor the Gardner campaign have mentioned the other in this affair.
The connection was entirely a construct by the Colorado Independent’s reporter. So while we’d all like to see Gardner take a strong stand rebuking the Col., this really is more of advocacy journalism, not straight, factual reporting.
It does seem Col. Lakin has visions of Jack Nicholson playing him in a remake of “A Few Good Men”. From the Greeley Tribune article, it is clear he didn’t get this crazy idea from his folks.
This comes from their blog, not their main article pages. Like you said Harry, good blogging, but not great journalism.
Plus, Gardner had a chance to comment and declined, which makes the meat of the story fairly accurate. It’s like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of political reporting–the mere asking of the question (observation) changes the outcome.
would Cory subordinate himself to a President whom he has yet to unequivocally declare “legitimate”?
You mean, the way the separation of powers makes the president the boss of Congress? Huh?
The article is featured on their front page, although it is under the Blog section. If newspaper blogs are where it is accepted practice to relax journalistic standards of objective reporting, then to me it’s similar to putting an editorial on the front page (we know how well that worked for the Post).
Many readers (and some journalists) have difficulty enough distinguishing factual reporting from opinion pieces.
Online journalism appears to be accelerating that trend.
Like Pols said, the original reporting was done in the Tribune. The reporter, John Tomasic, uses that as his basis for the blog post, and then extrapolates it into the question of whether Gardner will denounce it.
How CI works is there are blog posts on the right side, with main articles in the left side that take up most of the page. The blogs usually have some color, and are decidedly more slanted or opinionated. I would bet most people who go to CI on a remotely regular basis understand that nuance.
But the fact is that the cat is now out of the bag. Whether or not these stories are related enough to merit a story is pretty much irrelevant.
I still get ink stains on my hands every morning.
If the Post put their blog on the front page of their print edition, I would’ve recognized the new paradigm.
It’s not how well geezers like myself blog, but the fact that we blog at all that is amazing 😉
Do you believe a soldier has the right to defy a direct order for overseas deployment because that soldier believes, in his own mind, the President of the United States is illegitimate? Mr. Gardner’s answer would say a lot about his belief in the rule of law.
Lt. Col. Lakin has defied the order of a superior officer, not the President. Does Mr. Gardner believe soldiers have the right to pick and choose which orders to obey?
…..that would be here:
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/usdb/
Maybe this insolent shit managed to fly under Rumsfeld, but SecDef Gates has no qualms about burning a lite colonel to the ground in order to instill order and discipline.
Perhaps if LTC Lakin would consider his next duty assignment in disciplinary barracks garb, busting big rocks into little ones and sharing a cell with a former junior enlisted infantryman who was busted by a field grade officer, he might retract his current dumbass statements.
He’s not defying an order because he believes it commands him to commit an illegal act (he is obligated to defy illegal orders), but rather because he has recounced the United States of America, as embodied in his chain of command (no matter how he rationalizes it)!
The far right has taken their seditious, treasonous rhetoric and behavior one step further now: They have produced a high ranking military officer who questions the legitimacy of the civilian government of the United States of America.
That’s really quite extraordinary.
..they come from someone in his immediate chain of command. There’s a Colonel and a One-Star General somewhere above him ordering him to grab his gear and get on the plane.
If he does not follow the lawful orders of the chain of command, then that’s a violation or Article 87 of the UCMJ.
To wit: “”Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design misses the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Maximum punishment:
(1) Design. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 2 years.
(2) Neglect. Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.
If he’s trying to defy all orders (direct and indirect)given to him by the CiC, then that means he also is refusing his base pay, separate rations, housing allowance, specialty pay, reenlistment bonus,commissary and exchange privileges and pretty much anything else he does in the military, since those authorizations also (indirectly) come from the CiC.
But I’m pretty sure he’s cashing his paychecks while he’s running his mouth….
is that this has really irritated someone further up his chain of command, and they are going to come down on him very, very hard.
I think it’s a lot worse than “not following orders.” He’s declaring non-recognition of the civilian government! I don’t know of any case of a military officer doing that since the Civil War.
Granted, he’s not taking up arms against the government he doesn’t recognize, but still….
..is the Appeals Court Database (which I can’t link to outside the bldg.)
But here:
http://cases.justia.com/us-cou…
Bottom Line Up Front – Bullshit on you LTC. Pack your gear and get on the plane, or pull your rank off and head to Leavenworth.
Your choice.
“Conduct unbecoming an officer.”
One can be sure that there would have been no equivocation on the part of any Republican had an officer refused to deploy to Afghanistan or to Iraq on the grounds that President Bush was not the legitimate Commander on Chief by virtue of not having won legitimately in 2000. They would not only have condemned the officer’s action but would have demanded that every Dem denounce and condemn as well. It seemed that not a week went by in the early 2000s without Rs demanding Dems denounce, renounce and condemn something or someone.
In both cases, once the candidate was declared the winner and sworn in he became the legal legitimate president and Commander in Chief regardless of personal opinions entertained by individuals. Whether the likes of Corey Gardner and Lt. Col. Lakin entertain doubts is not legally relevant at this point. Lakin absolutely should be court martialed for refusing to obey legal orders.
Someone who has risen to Lt. Col. Lakins rank and position should know better than to attempt such an action.
How someone with this record:
can believe the birther tripe is beyond me.
has sunk to the level of being seduced by the crazies and the political pimps who pander to them. Perhaps there is a medical/mental competence issue in play here.
Hawaii certified that he was a natural born citizen when he filed his candidacy. The 50 states approved because they put him on their ballots. Congress approved the vote of the electoral college without challenge. And the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court approved in swearing Obama in on Inauguration Day. No legal suit to obtain “further proof” of Obama’s birth details is even remotely likely to proceed in the face of this record.
Every level of government has validated Obama’s legitimacy. He is the Commander in Chief regardless of whether or not Lt. Col. Lakin believes it; he deserves (and will undoubtedly receive) the legal and career punishments he is asking for by failing to obey legal orders.
That should definitely do it.
The short form with a raised seal that is what you get when you ask for a copy of your birth certificate in all states that I know of and which is accepted as valid for all purposes requiring a birth certificate, including passports, proving citizenship, registering students, etc. has been posted on the internet .
Hawaii, which I understand has gone digital and will release nothing other than this form, has certified that this does indeed reflect the facts of the case, that Obama was born in Hawaii.
The only people still raising the ghost of a possibility of room for doubt are the crazies, the woefully ignorant, the haters and the pols who pander to or exploit them.
The most charitable construction to put on Lakin’s refusal to recognize President Obama as his lawful Commander in Chief is that he is suffering from some mental illness or impairment which would make him unfit to continue to serve. Otherwise, despite his record of service, he is now a traitor, pure and simple.
Oh making Colorado proud in the eyes of the nation. Sigh… Will these people ever give it up?
with nutty notions. But, we are getting so close to overtaking Mississippi in the race to the bottom that is epitomized by cuts to education that I won’t be surprised. As long as we have Wadhams to encourage folks like Gardner, that Kerr guy, McFinished, etc…
Surely you jest.
that keeps the nuts falling close to the tree
“Don’t call me Shirley”
” No thank you, I don’t wear one ”
the Naked Gun 2.5
n/t
At long last, is there no decency left? Will no one defend the us constitution and the legitimate president?
Is the papal throne more important than the elected president of the American people?
Hear that thunder? That is honorable men and women rolling over in their graves down at the end of Sheridan…down at Fort Logan.
LTC Terry Lakin
Liz Cheney
Coincidence?
Take an insignificant point and blow it sky high regardless of the consequences. They have a talent for creating their own undoing.
Isn’t this in effect going AWOL during a time of war? The guys who deploy are the heroes. It is kind of weird that Republicans were clamoring for more troops and berating Obama for not acting fast enough or sending more (40,000 was the minimum they wanted). Even if this joker hates Obama, he should have believed in the mission of winning the Global War On Terrorism and volunteered to go. I can’t imagine any scenarios where Larkin isn’t ruined by his mindless hatred.
….but he actually has to either leave his unit with the intent of avoiding duty, or refuse to deploy with them on the day they’re scheduled to get on the plane.
In any event, his career is over. Even in these desperate times, an LTC who flips a bird at the chain of command is going to get a really REALLY bad OER report out of it.
Its been over thirty years since I served in the military. A little rusty on CMJ.
Would anyone demand to see Obama’s birth certificate if he were a white man? I’m in the 6th decade of my life and cannot remember any of the white presidents – Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush I, W, and Clinton – ever being asked for their birth certificates. Interesting that the first black, rather multi-racial, president gets hounded about this.
Evidently, the Senate passed a resolution saying that McCain was a “natural born citizen.”
At the time of McCain’s birth, his citizenship status wasn’t codified clearly. Based on the circumstances of his birth, no person in their right mind would think that he’d be anything other than a natural-born citizen of the U.S.A., but the law was less than 100% clear. I don’t think the resolution was out of order, or out of line.
The way I understand it the generals responsible for that area of combat evaluated the situation and determined the troop levels. Does Larkin really believe it’s Obama’s Afghan strategy? It is kind of spitting in the face of the Pentagon planners and those who gave their lives in combat to chose politics over service to his country.
His strategy is so transparent that it is embarrassing. He wants to be court marshaled so he can demand in court to a conservative approved birth certificate which of course doesn’t exist because no certificate Obama produces will be good enough.
The Pentagon shouldn’t fall for this political ploy. They should issue him a dishonorable discharge and get rid of him. They should also cancel his pension. This conservative failed to serve his country in a time of need choosing politics as his highest priority so he shouldn’t be rewarded with a pension. Get rid of him and humiliate him by publicly rebuking his betrayal of those who served and died.
If Gardner has any hopes for winning in November he had better distance himself from this true traitor ASAP.
after being reduced in rank , probably to Pvt. E-1, and serving some time in the brig. I’m not sure I’d go so far as canceling his pension because I’m not sure what the law is on that area. On the whole, pensions are the main reason men and women make a career out of the military and I wouldn’t want to send the wrong message to future soldiers. But Pvt. Lakin needs to follow the first rule of being in the brig: Don’t pick up the soap.
It wasn’t that long ago that this kind of behavior was considered desertion regardless of the excuse.
How is this guy any different from a conscientious objector? Both claim to be exceptions from the rules based on their ethical values. In Larkin’s case it is a whole hog embracing of the Republican religion of victim-hood and grievance. The zealots can’t heap enough scorn and hatred on conscientious objectors for shirking their duties but they consider this guy a martyr because he wants to shirk his duties. Go figure.
A Conscientious objector is an honorable position, recognized by law. You have to meet certain standards, and can’t be selective: i.e., sure, I would have served in World War II but I disagree with the war in Iraq. Today, of course, no one is forced to join the military and a true C.O. just doesn’t sign up.
Lakin, however, took an oath to uphold the constitution, the same one I did, and like me, learned the chain of command and has to obey its lawful orders. His current position is wholly dishonorable, namely I won’t serve because I don’t like the president.
so the difference between a true CO and lakin is simply that Lakin isn’t conscientious. His actions are dishonorable and he deserves to be cashiered.
I’ve thought about this pension thing and while what you say makes sense to me, emotionally I would want to take his pension and give it to a fund that supports widows of men killed in Afghanistan. If he won’t deploy than let him involuntarily help those who did by forfeiting his pension to them if he had earned it.
As I understand it, if you get to 20 years, you get 50% of base pay. Anything short of 20 (and Lakin says he has 18 years), gets you nothing. I may be wrong, but I think if he gets the boot, regardless of the “honor” or “dishonor” he gets nothing. That appears to be where this is headed.
In that case, you’re right. I know a lot of guys who left with less than 20 and they get nothing. In the vietnam era I knew a former lt. col. who had been RIFFED short of his 20 and he was serving out hte last few years as a sergeant to vest his pension. More power to him. But if Lakin is dishonorably discharged short of 20, he gets nothing and has only his own stupidity to blame.
If that is true, he’s within 2 friggin years or less of getting 50 % pension for the rest of his life, but he just can’t help himself ?
Total doofus IMHO.
…of which I want to thank the Chickenhawk Republican’t party for redo’ing retirement pay, and stripping away free health care for retirees and military family members in 1994.
He’s still a dumbass, regardless of how much money he’s throwing away.
it’s 50 pct of base pay at 20, but none of the allowances, which brings the total down to about the 35 pct. Maybe its different now, but 50 pct of base pay worked out to about 35 pct of pay and allowances anyway. Of course, when I served, George Washington was still commander in chief. But anyway you cut it, LTC Dumbass, soon to be Pvt Dumbass, has cut his own throat.
…as I did, had I stayed in.
Everyone who enlisted after 1994 gets the lesser amount.
if Gardner in any way, shape or form gives comfort and aid to this traitor. Photos of troops in Afghanistan and an the voice over in a deep voice saying “Terry Larkin said NO to serving his country and Rory Gardner agreed with him. Tell Rory Gardner that Americans are tired of Republicans saying No to serving their country. Vote for someone who still believes in America. Vote for Betsy Markey”. It could be some wicked twisting of the knife if Gardner even hints at supporting Larkin’s political stunt.
On the other hand if Gardner repudiates the guy he ticks off the birthers and radical fringe of his party which for some reason Republicans are obsessed with pleasing. Larkin could be a real albatross for Republicans. Democrats could make the publicity really uncomfortable for a lot of patriotic Americans having to be confronted with such traitorous behavior.
when none of our conservative friends even bother to comment on this topic. When Libertad/Twinkie takes a pass you know Larkin has no real support for his treason. In 2001 Republicans were telling disgruntled Democrats to get over it because Bush won. Somebody should give Larkin the same advice but it is probably already too late to save his career.
Certainly way too late.