Jim Webb declines award
Former Senator James Webb was set to be recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy until some of his fellow alumni got angry about the award because of some comments he made back in 1979, according to the Washington Post;
But critics said the selection of Webb — a highly decorated Marine veteran, 1968 academy graduate and recent presidential candidate — was unacceptable because of his history of disrespecting women. They pointed primarily to an article published in Washingtonian magazine in 1979 in which he criticized women attending the academy and said that a dormitory there was a “horny woman’s dream.” The article, headlined “Women Can’t Fight,” was written by Webb after he left the military and while he was a popular academy professor.
Yeah, my wife is still mad at me for some shit I said or did back in 1979, too. Women like to drag shit up from your past, for some reason.
Anyway, Webb declined the award;
“From conversations with the Alumni Association, including information passed down from top Navy leadership in the Pentagon, it is clear that those protesting my receipt of this award now threaten to disrupt the ceremonies surrounding its issuance,” Webb said. “I am being told that my presence at the ceremony would likely mar the otherwise celebratory nature of that special day, and as a consequence I find it necessary to decline to accept the award.”
[…]
Retired Navy Capt. Wendy Lawrence, who graduated from the academy in 1981 and went on to become a helicopter pilot and astronaut, said Tuesday night that Webb made the appropriate choice in declining the award.
“Unless you were at the academy at the time, it is hard to understand how damaging this article was, and how lasting the impact was,” she said. “Here it is 38 years later, and we are still talking about it.”
Yeah, whatever.
I’m no Webb fan, although I did carry a dog-eared copy of “Fields of Fire” in my rucksack for years, but, it is time for the perpetually outraged to get over shit that is 38 years old.
Thanks to Chief Tango and Mick for the tip.
Category: Navy
Get over it? Areyoukiddingme? If Code Pink can’t get out of the 1960s, how do you expect these other silly bitches to get over anything at all?
I’m still carrying a grudge against my sister from 1957. Now and then, i remind her about it.
Hell hath no fury……;-)
Why does the woman always get the last word in, in an argument?
Because the next word out of the man’s mouth starts the next argument.
Perpetually outraged indeed.
Last night, wife comes home from her job at the VA. Get’s angry about incident 35 years ago when we were active duty….Me I’ve got to have the last word. Look up dick head. That’s my picture. Yeah, married for 37 years. She’s still putting up with my shit. Did I luck out? Hell yes!
I’ll see your 37 years and raise ya 7 years.
Yup 44 years going on a hunert……
I’m a few months short of being married 46 years to the best woman I can imagine. How she put up with me and my bullshit is beyond my understanding.
you guys are my fucking heroes! My first anniversary is next Saturday and I’m already about to toss her out.
I have 10 years on you!
Why?
Because we are women. Hear us roar!
It is like the man who was sitting on his porch drinking beers and crying.
His wife came out and asked him: what was the matter?
He replied that he was thinking back about the time, 25 years ago, her dad had caught them on the back porch and gave him two choices: (1) Marry my daughter or (2) I will have you arrested for having sex with my underage daughter and you will spend the next 25 years in prison.
The wife said she remembers that; but why is he crying?
He replied: “I just figured it out; if I had chosen prison I would be a free man today.”
One day a woman phoned her husband while she was shopping in a mall and asked where he was. His reply was “Do you remember the Jewelry Store where you saw that necklace years ago that we just couldn’t afford then?” she replied “Yes, honey!” as tears began to well up in her eyes as he replied “Yeah, I’m in the bar next door having a couple of drinks.”
My sister still reminds me of the time I drew a mustache on her Tiny Tears doll…when I was 7.
She’s looking for an apology. Ha. Snowball meet Hell.
But…stuff like this is not limited to the ladies. When I was a beat cop, I got sent to a call where the guy proceeded to tell me how he had an argument with his uncle 35 YEARS before and that he was convinced said uncle was still mad at him and wanted to “get him”. Sigh. Sometimes I miss the crazy bastards I used to run into…NOT.
No shit! I forgot my girlfriends birthday and she never said a word. 8 months later we were in bed almost asleep and she said
“did you notice I didn’t get you anything for your birthday”?
“yeah, I guess”
“that’s because you didn’t get me anything for mine”!
If you have to drag shit from 40 years ago out to feign outrage, well….
Seriously, less than a decade later, Webb was implenting huge strides in fleet integration, which had a direct impact on opening up combatant vessels and billers to women in the early 1990’s.
Suck it up, buttercups.
Billets.
Fucking autocorrect.
You guys don’t understand. Women carry grudges to their graves. The grudge lasts well beyond menopause and even crops up when faced with senile dementia.
you say that like there is supposed to be a difference between menopause and dementia. Couldn’t prove it by my wife…and that is according to HER.
I always thought that a good Woman will always forgive and forget BUT she’ll never forget what she forgave.
BTW, just re-read “A Sense of Honor” by Webb in October. It was a pretty good read. Liked it better when I first read it, was still thinking about the Academy at the time.
If the Dims had nominated Webb, he’d be president (IMHO). Nah, they had to go with Wide Load.
Agreed. Webb is the one Democrat candidate I could have voted for and felt pretty good about doing it.
Slightly off topic: Now that the election is over, Hillary is sporting a new fashion look. She’s apparently decided to deep six the whole pantsuit thing in favor of butched-up black leather.
The only Wide Load update I am interested in is who will serve as her pall bearers. Benghazi.
I’d hit it!
Her new look is fabulous!
If you’re into the whole strap-it-on-the-bulldog, and call The Weener’s wife kinda thing…
Well, she was in San Fran Sicko. Had to blend in
Reading y’alls comments sure makes me appreciate the wonderful woman to whom I am married.
We take that “Do not let the sun set on your anger” verse and the “forgive one another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” stuff seriously. And we have a wonderful marriage because of it.
IMHO, these snowflakes are engaging in Fake Outrage. Like their Fake News and Fake Concern and…
HEAR, HEAR!!
Okay, I’m going to use your use of whom to share, with the world, the secret to knowing when to use who or whom. Fahgetabout object of the preposition and that sort of rule stuff. That doesn’t always work anyway. So, here’s the secret: if there is a question posed in the use of who or whom, answer the question with a pronoun. The pronoun answer will always tell you whether who or whom is correct because who pairs with he, she, we and they while whom pairs with him, her, us, and them. if there is no question, make one up. To who/whom is Graybeard married? The answer is that Graybeard is married to her. You would never say, “Graybeard is married to she.” If you would, I can’t help. Okay, kids, let’s try another. Who did you vote for? “I voted for he.” I don’t think so. “I voted for him (or her.)” Therefore, the correct choice was whom, not who, as in, “For whom did you vote?” or “Whom did you vote for?” Speaking of whom, you are cautioned not to ask for whom the bell tolls. The answer is? The answer is that the bell tolls for me or him or her or us. The bell does not toll for I or he or him or we. So, of course it’s whom, not who.
Again, if who or whom is not used in a question, make up a question and then answer it with the pronoun that makes sense.
It’s easy as shit once you do it a few times and, when you learn it, you will not believe how frequently who and whom are confused by newsies and other ‘learned’ people. It’s also worth a point or two on the ACT and SAT.
Ugh. “The bell does not toll for I or he or she or we.”
Bitch, please.
– A Marine infantryman 38 years later
Retroactive punishment for a thoughtcrime from 40 years ago. How “enlightened.”
Like him or hate him (and I’ve always liked him) Webb has a pretty distinguished career – Marine officer, best selling author, a short stint as Navy secretary, Assistant SecDef, Senator and (briefly) candidate for president. One more award wouldn’t really add to his already impressive resume, nor would declining said award detract from it.
Webb should have told them to cram it, but he appears to be too polite and/or professional to do that (though I like to think that’s exactly what was on his mind.)
With perhaps Capt. Lawrence as the exception, I’d guess most of the shrieking harpies and PC-addled beta males howling at Webb aren’t fit to shine Webb’s shoes.
and what else from 38 years ago outrages people? Bill still smoking pot and chasing every skirt? Teddy Kennedy’s drunken murder? Funny how outrage only manifests itself in the public eye about conservative types… guess the libs never did any wrong. In ’79 no one gave a shit about anything but race relations…16 hours of mandatory HREO training just to get into Germany. CDAAC came later…women’s discrimination – uh, never.
And for every Wendy Lawrence, there’s a Kara Hultgren.i
Webb isn’t my kind of guy when it comes to politics, but let me put this USNA award business in perspective. Webb is a recipient of the Navy Cross, Silver Star, and a Purple Heart. He is a former US Senator and Secretary of the Navy. He is a successful author. He taught at Harvard, as well as the USNA. Those are the highlights. Now, who the hell ever heard of the USNA’s distinguished grad award/whatever and who gives a crap about it? A couple of dozen dames and a fag or two who couldn’t hold a candle to Webb’s accomplishments.
Yeah no kidding he was one of the better grads to come out of the place. He screwed up decades ago when his thinking was not at all uncommon. It isn’t as though he joined the Klan. If I had been awarded a Silver and a Cross I’d call it good too.
Get over it? Let me know how that works our for Jane Fonda…some shit you don’t get over…that’s just how it is.
I’ll never get over Macho Grande either….
I think a single off-color sentence (and not necessarily an inaccurate one at that) is at least a few steps removed from treason.
It was an entire article as I understand it explaining why women didn’t belong at the academy.
I could be wrong, maybe it was a single sentence….I can think of a few other douchebags whose single sentences got them in a shit ton of trouble….your words are your words and sometimes they fucking bury you later. Senator Byrd apologized a million times for being in the KKK, some forgave him some never will…
You tell some women they don’t belong, maybe they don’t forgive either….I get it.
I was referring to the “horny woman’s dream” thing, but fair point.
I thought the Clinton White House was a horny woman’s dream?
I am a big fan of Jim Webb the war hero and novelist.
Much less of a fan of Jim Webb the politician.
Ditto
I would’ve had voted for him to be POTUS, over the rest of the field of candidates at the beginning of the presidential election cycle in either party….HE was the most qualified of ALL of them that were in it.
But it seems the DNC and the media colluded during the debates to ignore him, he was barely asked any questions on his policy ideas, in fact they went out of their way to ignore and stifle him during the early debates, since the fix was in for the corrupt “bitch of Chappaqua”.?????…
Jim Webb has a proven record of achievements, including stressful combat situations, like NONE of the others that were running for POTUS in both parties(Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Stars & Purple hearts)+ he was Sec.of the Navy, asst.sec of defense for reserve affairs, a senator for the state of VA, an author and an honorable professional man…who can own up to his perceived politically incorrect transgression, even if it was 38 yrs ago…SMH
But instead we were stuck with the choice of a bloviating twittering babbler or the corrupt incompetent lying “bitch of Chappaqua”, neither of them worthy of the job of being POTUS, IMHO
I don’t know about any of you my fellow brother & sister veterans, but I am sic of non-vets or a pseudo vet in the White House, instead the last 24+years we have had, 1 draft dodger,currently 1 with a nefarious medical deferment, a shammer who failed to report for Air N.G. duty, and a beta queer slacker organizer, plus a congress & senate with far too many dumb assholes and dip shitz….
and we wonder why???????, since it is quite obvious to those who have grasp on reality why the country is in the shape it’s in ? SMH
Well, you and I disagree on the need for a veteran in the Oval Office, not to mention plenty of other points as well, I’m sure,.. but I’d have voted for Webb as well. I remember with dismay watching the debate, and the reaction to it, where a leading Presidential candidate was praised for naming half the country -meaning Republicans- as an enemy she was proud of having, and yet Webb was ridiculed for his response.
Compare and contrast:
Question: “You’ve all made a few people upset over your political careers. Which enemy are you most proud of?”
Clinton: “Well, in addition to the NRA, the health insurance companies, the drug companies, the Iranians. Probably the Republicans.”
Webb: “I’d have to say the enemy soldier that threw the grenade that wounded me, but he’s not around right now to talk to.”
When you’re running for President and you label half the fucking country -people who aren’t bad people, they just disagree with you- an enemy, you should close up shop right then and there. Instead, her base loved it. I wasn’t sure about Clinton beforehand, but that’s what sealed the deal for me. Presidents come from a particular party, but they serve a whole country.
Actually, Webb’s reply, while humorous, was not responsive to the question in context of the question’s “political careers” qualifier. Wide Load’s answer was just plain foolish.
I know who will receive next year’s USNA Distinguished Graduate Award: CAPT Lisa Nowak, USNA Class of ’85…
The crazy diapered astronaut? Hadn’t though about her in a while.
They say women never forget…..
So something that happened 40 years ago is still relevant, but the Benghazi coverup was old news (what difference, at this point, does it make?) after a few short months????
Yeah, THAT makes sense.
It may have been an insensitive, stupid thing to verbalize publicly, but saying that a USNA dormitory being a horny woman’s dream might not be totally inaccurate…
(heading for the bunker)
Outraged at 38 yr old comments but Fat Lennie’s buddies are a credit to the ring knockers association.
Combat Vet bad.
Ass kissing turds good to go.
OK Got it.
Does it never occur to the “Sensitive Persons Club” that a mind can change over time? Or that an old opinion may have been honestly arrived at?
How about the idea that women DON’T belong in combat?
You don’t change society by bitching about one person’s opinions.
I think the idea that women don’t belong in combat is lost on me. Mostly because I served with women in combat and it was never an issue.
I can’t say they did any better then men but they certainly did no worse. I knew some who have paid the ultimate price. I could never dishonor their sacrifice by belittling their gender as though they were less capable or important because they did not have a penis.
That is the mindset of our enemies.
Women have served as warriors for throughout history. Some cultures don’t support it as well as others. American culture is extremely progressive in regard to gender equality compared to most of the rest of the world.
I smell bullshit.
By all means feel free to expound on that.
Sure. It is highly unlikely that you served with women “in combat.” However, it is possible. And given how relatively few women were “in combat” in Iraq and Afghanistan and how very few died as a result of being “in combat,” for you to have known “some” of those women is beyond credibility. Their combat deaths spanned years, there were never two from the same action, and, of course, they included members of different branches and were nearly all–if not all–members of different units. If I am wrong, I will apologize, so feel free to identify the women you knew who lost their lives in combat.
Hey 2/17, it coulda happened. Maybe the “Old Maj” (I assume Major) was in command of that convoy of maintenance POG’s that took the wrong turn and was ambushed, resulting in death of the one female and the capture of Jessica Lynch. When I was in the viet of the nam, I commanded all those 7 females that died in not combat. If anyone believes that they need to call me cuz I have some bridges for sale.
Tell me more about these bridges.
Let’s see, I served for 22 years active duty and two years reserve spanning late 1980’s through early 2010’s with a break in service for college. Should be obvious I didn’t serve in the same unit the whole time.
Yes, I did serve in the 11th ADA Brigade 00-02′. However I did not deploy with them.
I also did two tours on MTT’s. On both of my MTT tours I observed women in combat. Firstly with our PTT that shared our AOR. These were MP’s with the commander being a female and several of her soldiers being female as well. They did the same daily shitty patrols in the same shitty areas we were in. They were doing a job (working with the corrupt police) I would never want to do.
On my second MTT tour (rebranded as STT for some reason) we had a female medic assigned to us.
On several occasions on both deployments they came under direct fire. They did their jobs. That is all you can ask of anyone. They even did their jobs well. The medic didn’t freak when treating casualties, the female MP gunner didn’t ball up and start crying. No man jumped in front of bullet or an RKG 3 to save them.
If that doesn’t fit in to your personal world view for how life is I don’t know what to tell you. The media is full of many examples of this very thing.
I can prove where I was, what jobs I was working and that I was in combat. That is easy with papers. I can’t prove who I knew, or what other people did. So I won’t try. You can accept my apocryphal stories or not.
More military women have died in the GWOT then died in Vietnam and Korea combined. Many were KIAs. I say they have earned their place at the table. If you want piss all over their honorable service then go ahead. Just keep in mind who that really reflects upon.
You started off fine but then wrote, “If that doesn’t fit in to your personal world view for how life is I don’t know what to tell you.” That’s where I knew that smell was indeed bullshit. You said that you knew women who fell in combat. I suspected that you did not but, instead, were using that to bolster your view that but for penises, there is no differentiating between men and women in combat. You invited me to expound on my smelling bullshit. I accepted your invitation. And nothing you wrote in response supports that you knew women who Fell in combat. Sure I can Google, too, and learn the names of the handful of women who exchanged fire with the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of whom were killed. What they did and the sacrifices they made is not in dispute and never was. Only your claim that you knew them was. And clearly you did not.
The only thing is clear is that your sole data point is that female combat deaths are rare therefore it is somehow impossible that I should be able to have known any of them?
That is a bunch of horseshit, also known as a straw man.
I think it is a sad commentary on the state of political correctness run amok that someone that has been a SECNAV and a Senator has to decline an honor by his alma mater for comments made almost forty years ago. Absolutely ridiculous. One of the first things I learned as a history major was not to fall into the folly of judging historical figures through the prism of today’s cultural norms. And yet today, we are destroying and denying our history every day at the alter of political correctness.
Word. And I am not a fan of Sen. Webb, or any other Demonrat.