Gordon Duff and reality; unacquainted entities

| April 1, 2010

Last time I checked, the 2008 election ended back in 2008, but Gordon Duff, the crazy old coot uncle of the internet veteran community, thinks “Time has come for John McCain to make some public disclosures.” I’d have thought that time would have been before the election, but I may be wrong. For absolutely no reason, Duff makes this proclamation;

Most famous John McCain quote: “You know why Chelsea Clinton’s so ugly? Because her dad is Janet Reno.”

Like so much blather I read from the Left these days, this quote seems to have no connection to McCain. The only cites I can find to this are from the Crooks and Liars, TPM, Think Progress crowd so I don’t know where they got this.

Then Duff runs off a laundry list of questions he feels McCain should answer;

1. Why did you have your service record and POW debriefing classified FOREVER?
2. Did you provide military secrets to North Vietnam as stated by Colonel Edwin Hopper of Army Intelligence?
3. Did you narrate 32 propaganda broadcasts for the North Vietnamese and give interviews to communist papers as is stated at www.mccainbetrayspows.com?
4. Why have you kept your Presidential Pardon secret? Did you know that you are the only person serving in Congress with a Presidential pardon?
5. Was Colonel Hopper accurate when he accused you of providing flight paths and altitude information to North Vietnamese gunners, to help them shoot down American planes?
6. Are you aware that Colonel Ted Guy was in the process of preparing treason charges against you when you received your presidential pardon?
7. Why did you work to end all POW inquires? Why are you referred to as the Manchurian Candidate by POW/MIA groups?

John McCain has no authority to classify or declassify his records. Ever. Government classification of ANY document is under the authority of the President or his agents. In fact any President can change the classification of any document contrary to his predecessors.

For questions 2 and 3 the answers are the same; read the Code of Conduct, and let’s see your proof, Duff.

For number 4; If John McCain has secret pardon, how do you know about it? The only internet reference to John McCain and a presidential pardon are in reference to a pardon for dead boxer. 20 pages on Yahoo and I read them all. Of course the headline of the story begins “McCain Wants Pardon…” so that’s all Dugg needed tp read.

Numbers 5 & 6 have the same answer – did they? You seem to have the answer, let’s see your evidence, Gordo.

#7; You talk like you know something the rest of us don’t know. Let’s have it.

Actually, Duff’s entire post comes from the Democrats’ Final Hour attempt at “swiftboating” McCain – more than likely, Dugg got his talking points from this PRWeb press release which mentions a “blanket pardon” of all POWs, I can’t find a cite for that pardon, though – and if there was indeed a “blanket pardon” no rational person could think that only McCain was affected.

And even if McCain did give information to the Vietnamese, that’s covered in the Code of Conduct. I know Duff is a military expert with his 18 months in the Marines leaving as a PFC – the smartest PFC ever. But Section 6(g) of the Code of Conduct recognizes that military members aren’t supermen…or Gordon Duff, combat S-3 clerk Marine;

g. The best way for a prisoner to keep faith with country, fellow prisoners and self is to provide the enemy with as little information as possible.

“…as possible” being the operative phrase here.

I wonder if Duff has a list of questions like that for John Kerry or Wesley Clark, or Ann Wright.

Category: Antiwar crowd, General Whackos

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TSO

The two things that struck out to me when I read earlier is his slams against Bud Day, and his citing to that guy who was dogging McCain, who I actually looked up, and Susan Katz Keating did an entire article in her book on what a shitbag this guy was. Ted Sempley I believe was his name, and apparently he made no bones about using the MIA POW issue to make tons of cash.

Sean

Duff calls himself a 100%disabled Veteran Combat Marine?

Was he the one you were asking about last week?

S-3 so he was a TOCrat…..

1IDVET

Janet Reno is Chelsea’s dad?
There is a striking resemblance…

ponsdorf

TSO: The late Ted Sampley was a friend. NOT A SHITBAG!

More like Col. Harry Riley. Maybe misguided, but well intentioned. Contact Larry Bailey about Ted. Jonn can hook you up.

BTW, I have no/zero/nil idea about Ted’s financials.

1stCavRVN11B

Good call Ponsdorf. Ted Sampley did more throughout his years for the POW/MIA cause than McCain ever thought about. Me personally, I have no use for McNasty. Especially when he cozied up to Teddy Kennedy and John Fn Kerry on so many issues. That said, many of the things that Gordon Duff cites I’ve never heard before and do not believe as true.

Rurik

Sorry, TSO, but I believe you are totally off base, and your comments about Sampley are shameful. You have invoked the memory of a man no longer alive to defend himself, and inserted him into a controversy originally about one Gordon Duff (of whom I confess to never having heard), seemingly on the authority of Susan Katz Keating. Claims of evidence, which is not seen. After googling Ms. Keating, I still am unsure of her background other than having authored a book. It is precisely becaue I have no more POW creds than she, that I avoid depating that controversial issue; there are honorable heroes on both sides of it. I have known/known of Sampley since the early 1980s, and I have never seen any evidence to suggest he was making “tons of cash”.
Sampley was one of the first to rally to the defense of the Viet Nam Wall in 2007, and was the first to get an organizing website on line, even before GOE, I was involved with him and them from late January 2007. Ponsdorf was too. AT that time Sampley became involved against controversies with the “Operation Fire For Effect” group of promoters. The latest round of attacks on Sampley originated from his refusal to genuflet before McCain. I stood with him opposing the nomination, but then regretfully joined the non-campaign after the nomination. I differed with Sampley over his intransigence, but respected him. Other posters here suggest that Sampley was not the sole source of opposition to Mac, giving the lie to Keating. Inserting Ted Sampley into this debate gratuitously in order to call him a “shitbag”, is truly sameful, and invites unkind speculation about the motives of those making the accusations.

Sean

Is this the Sampley who assaulted a McCain Staffer?

And tried to kill motorists in 1986 by pouring oil on the roadway before Bar closing time? only the Police found it before some poor motorists did?

And wasnt he the guy who said Commander Edwin B. Tucker’s body was on display in a glass case in Hanoi for 15 years, and his family had to swear to secrecy to get it back?

He defended Bobby Garwoods actions as simple survival but claims McCain is a traitor?

Sorry Sampley may have at one time been honorable, now he’s a Moonbat.

ponsdorf

Sean said: Sorry Sampley may have at one time been honorable, now he’s a Moonbat.

Ted is dead. You can dance on his grave if you like. He won’t care. I’ll leave that to you.

TSO

Relax guys, I was basing it on what I read on that one page, I don’t know the man, and never did. I did a google, and that was what came up. Also, there is a symbiotic relationship to them bashing Bud Day, and my returning the favor.

Get pissed at me all you want, it doesn’t bother me, but note I said her book said what a shitbag he was, not that I did, because I never met him.

IronKnight

I have never been:
-captured
-physically tortured
-starved
-psychologically tortured
But I have been in combat and face the possibility of those things (don’t forget to add losing my head).
I know that I had the responsibility as a soldier to resist my captors for as long as possible. But, I also knew that I was not expected to die for any “secrets” I knew; not that I know any great secrets.
I believe that everyone is different; we all react to stress and have different thresholds for pain and agony. That makes people human, not weak.
Unless someone can present some really good evidence that McCain just gave over the information, and then you know; had permanent damage done to his body to persuade the US that he was tortured, I will give Mc Cain the benefit of the doubt that someone with his experiences deserve.
Now, that does not give McCain a free pass on his politics (last I looked he was elected after separating from the military), but that’s another discussion.

Oh, and TSO was comenting on the contents of a book and not his own personnal opinion, even if Sampley was a freind and war hero.
Let’s keep our eye on the ball and discuss Mr. Duff and his accusations.

FOMSG

What Iron Knight said.

donkeydick

i have lived in and have been a registered voter in az for over 30 years, personally i do not like john mccain but i respect both his naval service and his former pow status
several years ago i believe it was 1999 or so there was a group passing out pamphlets at the az state capitol that were spewing the same type of bs. it appeared to me that they were trying to accuse mccain of treason the reality of the situation is that he was a pow and did return with honor i have never heard of any former pow make an accusation on any other pow of treason, like i said personally i don’t like him but i vote for him because i usually cross party lines to vote for vets

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