This Ain’t Hell and the Stolen Valor Act

| January 12, 2016

TSO is currently writing an explanation of the 9th Circuit Court’s decision yesterday in the Elven Swisher case, so I won’t get into that, I’ll let the lawyers get down in the legal weeds. But, of course, Dallas “Witless” Wittgenfeld, the second greatest legal mind in the country has determined that, somehow, the Swisher decision of the 9th Circuit means the end of the Stolen Valor Community, because the 9th Circuit said that Stolen Valor is “free speech” and that’s it’s legal. The work that we do has nothing to do with the government or with the law – we are only about the Truth. Even if the Supreme Court says that the 9th Circuit was correct and that the government can’t regulate stolen valor, that doesn’t stop us from telling the truth.

When the Supreme Court overturned US v. Alavarez a few years back, they acknowledged our participation in the Stolen Valor realm when Justice Kennedy wrote;

The remedy for speech that is false is speech that is true. This is the ordinary course in a free society. The response to the unreasoned is the rational; to the uninformed, the enlightened; to the straight-out lie, the simple truth.

[…]

Society has the right and civic duty to engage in open, dynamic, rational discourse.

[…]

The American people do not need the assistance of a government prosecution to express their high regard for the special place that military heroes hold in our tradition. Only a weak society needs government protection or intervention before it pursues its resolve to preserve the truth. Truth needs neither handcuffs nor a badge for its vindication.

In other words, people have a right and a duty to do that which the government can’t do. Although the court has said that the government can’t punish people for wearing awards and uniforms and making statements that are false, that doesn’t mean that we can’t expose them to the world for being liars.

I find it difficult to believe that Dallas Wittgenfeld, a Vietnam veteran and a former drill sergeant, would celebrate the court’s decision, but that’s just how shallow his intellect is. Shallow enough to associate himself with a fake petty officer with a sketchy and sordid history, both as a veteran and as a civilian.

The bottom line is that nothing the courts decide impacts that which we do here. Of course, phonies will all interpret the decision as Wittgenfeld did and we’ll see another explosion of phonies like we did when the Supreme Court overturned Alvarez, thinking that they now have the government’s blessing to be phonies. We are not the government. The court’s decision may have made stolen valor legal in the eyes of the government, they haven’t made what we do illegal.

Category: Stolen Valor Act

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nbcguy54ACTUAL

This just gives us more targets of opportunity.

Of course, the use of certain unearned decorations to obtain “tangible” benefits remains illegal.

GDContractor

Too bad Justice Kennedy stopped short and did not enumerate the remedy to 10 gallons of shit in a 5 gallon purple spandex bucket.

ChipNASA

Mark my words….

HOLD ON, Here we GO!!!!!!

/fuckers.

Silentium Est Aureum

So the shit flinging monkeys down in Florida are still emailing you?

Huh. You’d think someone who claims they need a RO because they’re being stalked wouldn’t poke the fucking bear, but that’s just me.

Veritas Omnia Vincit

Fraud is and always was a crime…lying not so much, but as we’ve seen countless times the people who lie about their service do so for a particular benefit…often a quite obvious “tangible” benefit which usually makes their lies prosecutable under fraud statutes.

Somebody wants to lie about being something they weren’t ought to expect that being called a liar will be the eventual outcome. Should they lie for profit they should expect to be prosecuted, unless of course they’re part of our government in which case they’ll most likely just get re-elected.

Old98Z

Just made another donation to this site for their efforts to address Stolen Valor.
Despite the number of wingnut and troll posts to this site ( I sincerely hope there is some /s …)
The staff of this site deserves respect and support for trying to address the issue.
I’m a short time lurker and poster but will support the issue of bringing posers to light.

Climb to Glory

DullAss Wittgenfeld’s intellectual depth is about as deep as a lug nut. Actually he probably has the same amount of brain power as a lug nut.

HMCS(FMF) ret.

Memo to QuEeFeRs… ever hear of the Supreme Court? They’ll get a look at this decision, I’d bet on that.

As for you and your butt buddy Danni-boi…. just go have a few more DRG cocktails and play “hide the rodent” in your rectums. Maybe practice your perp walk…I’m sure that it will come in handy for both of you very, very soon.

Old Trooper

Rectum?? Damn near killed ’em!!!

Bwahahaha!!!!! Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week! 🙂

Sandman

Do you think there ‘stop’ word is Armageddon, or Honorary?

Silentium Est Aureum

Cometh. Gotta be cometh.

AnotherPat

If DW celebrates the Court’s decision, doesn’t that mean he is admitting to stealing Valor?

Reb

ANOTHER…did you forget? That’s all the clown does..lie, drink, bullshit, drink, cometh in his mouth, drink,?

Hondo

Certainly seems that way to me.

Reb

Either way..keep telling the truth….JONN, et al, YOU speak for those who died…I wouldn’t expect anything less if I was one…

DefendUSA

That witless asshole is the biggest shit stain on earth. It not for me to judge, but I have an opinion. I am sorry youse guys have to keep dealing with him. Fuck the 9th Circus Court.

Reb

DEFEND..
EACH person on mother earth is born to do a job. Y’all did it serving our country. The TAH Team, Jonn, TSO, etc, were given a extra job and their doing a DAMN GOOD JOB FINDING SCUM AND BACKING IT WITH EVIDENCE ?✌

Sapper3307

The DRC will be breaking out the good stuff tonight. Dollar store antifreeze and chasseing down the neighbor’s Pomeranian for some love.

Hacksaw

I’ve been exposing as many as possible. In fact, I have Mary checking on one for me right now. These posers are scum bags and need all the publicity we can dish out about them.

Airdale USN

Just keep doing what you do best!!! Busting the poser!!!

Youngredhorse

Does this mean Paul Fultz can parade around his tiger tanks without any repercussions?