November 14, 2015

There's a name for this argument Debbie Wasserman Schultz is making about Hillary Clinton's story of trying to enlist in the Marines.

It's "fake but accurate."

Watch the video of Andrea Mitchell pushing for an explanation for why Hillary is going around making this claim that's quite unlikely to be true and that WaPo's fact checker has given 2 Pinocchios. DWS begins by impugning the very asking of the question: "Why on earth are we talking about this?" Mitchell stands her ground. Obviously, we're talking about it because Hillary Clinton is using her personal story in her current campaigning for President. DWS shifts to presenting the story as illustrating something that is true (that women have struggled over the years with acceptance into the military). In that light, the details of whether the story is real doesn't matter as long as it works to understand a problem that is real.

ADDED: Here's the WaPo fact checker piece. It not only shows the fakeness of Hillary's story, but it also undermines the "fake but accurate" presentation, because it doesn't even illustrate the general problem accurately. Excerpt:
Women have been part of the Marines since 1918, and were deployed to Korea in the 1950s. “By the height of the Vietnam war... about 2,700 women Marines served... both stateside and overseas,” according to the Women Marines Association. “By 1975, the Corps approved the assignment of women to all occupational fields except infantry, artillery, armor and pilot/air crew.”
And: "A former Marine lawyer, who was actively recruiting for the JAG at the time, says it is 'ludicrous' to suggest someone with Clinton’s skills would have been rejected. Since the draft had ended, 'we were frantic for lawyers,' he said, declining to be identified. Neither age nor eyesight would have been issue, he added. Many of the newly recruited lawyers were at least 26 years old and eyesight was only an issue for pilots, he said."

71 comments:

Michael K said...

Hillary can draw on her Marine experience in the debate tonight when asked how she will prevent another Paris in New York City.

Lie.

Sebastian said...

"the details of whether the story is real doesn't matter as long as it works to understand a problem that is real."

But "fake but accurate" is itself fake.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

As Rush might put it: Andrea Mitchell performs a random act of journalism.

AllenS said...

She doesn't have to be a Marine to dodge sniper fire. So, there's that.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

What diff? CBS News is rehearsing tonight's debate and openly stating they are preparing to interview the next president. Selection made.


Compare/contrast to over-the-top hostility at CNBC's R-debate.

Sal said...

Hillary's story about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia was simply to bring social awareness to how harmful bullets can be to women's health.

Humperdink said...

Hillary had as much desire to join the Marines as she would joining the pro-life movement today.

rhhardin said...

Derbyshire takes on the college follies of the week, very nicely. podcast.

David Begley said...

Hillary just needs to leave us alone and go away.

If we had an honest DOJ she would be indicted by now for gross negligence in handling national secrets.

chickelit said...

There's a debate tonight? Who is she "debating"?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

What difference, at this point, yadda yadda yadda. The movie Truth stars Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett, and is a ridiculous lie. Hollywood made it, though, so that's what people will believe. Facts not only don't matter, an insistence on facts, reason, and logic is the hallmark of the reactionary in the minds of the Left (and, of course, to most Americans these days). Logic, afte rall, is counterrevolutionary, so you'd better drop it and learn that it's feelings and emotions that matter now.

Anyway, maybe it's Hillary's "emotional truth" and we all just need to work on our empathy. I mean, it's "her truth" so if the objective facts don't support it then so what. Someone wrote that we as a society used to call people who insisted on believing "their truth" schizophrenics, but of course now "my truth" is taught on every college campus.

Ipso Fatso said...

Hillary is as much of a Marine as she was a Yankee fan, or named after Sir Edmund Hillary, or that she tried to join NASA as an astronaut. And the beauty of Hillary is that she will be the next president of the US of A with the votes of people like Ann Althouse. Is this a great country or what,as Bill Ayers asserted.

walter said...

It's a "composite" history.

MisterBuddwing said...

It not only shows the fakeness of Hillary's story...

Forgive the pedantry, but is there really such a word as "fakeness"? Shouldn't that be "fakery"?

Original Mike said...

Yeah, but that story about being named after Sir Edmund Hillary, that's true, right?

Michael K said...

Well, if she was named after Hillary, that means she is only 62. What is not to like ?

Of course, she is well into Medicare but who's counting?

bleh said...

Presidential candidates of both parties used to run on their military service to demonstrate their patriotism and selflessness. Now in the Democratic Party it's smart politics to make false accusations against the military. Hillary thought she could get a twofer: be a victim of the white male power structure and demonstrate her willingness to serve. Of course it's a lie.

Her husband was a draft dodger, let us not forget.

rehajm said...

WaPo's fact checker column is editorial, not objective fact checking. It deserves four Pinocchios for using the term fact checking.

Clintons should automatically be awarded two Pinocchios just for opening their mouths.

Bob Boyd said...

DWS: Hillary lies to us for our own good because she knows how important it is for us that she become President.

Fred Drinkwater said...

I am rarely offended by anything. In this case, what with 4 family members being Marines, one killed on duty, I'll make an exception.
Debbie and Hillary, you are evil.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

And Carson was ridiculed for saying he turned down an offer to West Point from General Westmoreland, a completely plausible event, considering his scholastic and ROTC record, and for calling it a scholarship. It's not a "scholarship", they say, because it has conditions, as do all scholarships, including the football scholarships that Mizzou players could lose if they don't practice or play, and those "scholarships" are not for anything scholarly at all.

madAsHell said...

There's a debate tonight? Who is she "debating"?

Clint Eastwood's empty chair!!

walter said...

"But Jones was more than just an avid nature lover. He was an influential political figure in northern Arkansas and helped a man named Bill Clinton establish a presence years and years before he went on to become leader of the free world in 1993.

Murry has now written a book about not only her father’s life, but his interaction with Clinton and even a history of the move that saw the National Park Service develop the Big Buffalo into the nation’s first national river.

In “He Ain’t Our Bill No More” (Outskirts Press, Inc.) Murry recounts her father — he was named after famed explorer Sir Edmund Hilary — and his struggles to provide for a family of nine children he never thought he would father."

here

MayBee said...

" In that light, the details of whether the story is real doesn't matter as long as it works to understand a problem that is real."

Not so much "in that light", but with that spin.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

@ Chickel-
There's a debate tonight? Who is she "debating"?

Saturday debate. Which Saturday - I don't know? I don't think they want anyone to know. It will be a media crutch for Hillary anyway, but they still cannot take any chances. Minimal viewership is best.

Patricia said...

Glenn Kessler gives Hillary two Pinocchios for a story that is most likely entirely false. The writer of the fact check for Carly Fiorina's largely accurate claim of going from secretary to CEO awarded two Pinocchios but Kessler increased it to three. I don't know how the two ratings can be reconciled.

Skeptical Voter said...

Ah Shrillary; it's true that--starting in 1969, the military (including the USMC) was desperate for lawyers. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) was amended in 1969. Article 15--which allows for company level punishment administered by the unit commander was deemed a nonjudicial procedure. As I recall, the worst punishment that a company commander could impose was something like 30 days restriction to barracks. It was called Article 15 in the Army, "captain's mast" in the Navy. After August 1, 1969 a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine facing an Article 15 proceeding was entitled to legal counsel. Ergo demand for military lawyers went waaaay up! How do I recall all this so clearly? In August, 1969 I was sweating away in basic training at Fort Polk Louisiana. I'd been practicing law in San Diego when my 1-A classification came along. While I was willing to do my military bit, I preferred to join the California National Guard's version of the Dan Quayle Brigade. I promised to keep Riverside California (home of my infantry company) safe from the dreaded Chicomm Menace.

Sooo--there I was at Fort Polk. There was one other enlisted lawyer (from the Kansas National Guard) in my training company. We were both directed to report to the company commander's office, where we were offered an Army JAG commission as a Captain. Well actually we were told we could stop sweating on the machine gun and mortar training ranges, and go up to the JAG office on base and work as clerks until a slot in JAG school in Charlottesville, VA came up.

These offers were being made throughout the Army's training camps as they swept the ranks for trainees with a law degree. And to sweeten the offer, the Army promised that (A) you would not have to serve in Viet Nam; and (B) you would spend the entire four year term required of a JAG officer at the base where you agreed to "sign up".

Those of you who know Leesville Louisiana (home of Ft. Polk) might realize that promise "B" was not attractive to a Southern Californian with a wife and an infant daughter. Now if I'd been at Ft. Ord in Monterrey, it might have been an inducement.

So yeah--the USMC with its need for more JAG officers might have been interested in and even willing to take a pathological liar like Hillary into their ranks. And since every Marine--be he or she cook, baker, artilleryman, tanker or gunner is first and foremost a rifleman, Hillary could have returned fire at Tuzla.

Rob said...

Rather than poke fun at Secretary Clinton for supposedly making up a story, perhaps we should consider the possibility that she suffers from dementia. She is 68 years old, and she's suffered head trauma. A little compassion, people.

walter said...

Rumor has it Sanders will be on the attack this time. With this act of bad manners en cycle, Maybe he'll light a roll of Berno like a defiant/in solidarity Molotov cocktail and accidentally hit Hil with it.

For Hil, will the "3AM call" bit return?:
"Can you get that Huma? You're closer.."

Anonymous said...

My wife was older than Hillary when she was commissioned a JAG, with glasses. The story is complete BS.

Beyond the slurs on the Marines, is it reasonable that Hillary, who passed the Arkansas bar, followed Bill to the state, got a job teaching at the UA Law school, bought a house and married Bill in 1975 was simultaneously was planning to leave all that behind (and Bill) to join the USMC? in a few months he was going to be the State AG. Not exactly a portable job...

incredible.

cubanbob said...

Andrea Mitchel committed no act of journalism. Rather instead an artful misdirection on her part. See I'm a real journalist, I uncovered an untruth regarding Hillary to show my journalistic stature while I studiously avoid real investigation in to Hillary's numerous scandals. But then again what can one expect from the Nothing But Crap network.

MAJMike said...

Yeah. I was almost a door gunner on the Space Shuttle.

William said...

She didn't want to join the Marines to be no stinking lawyer. Frankly, such assumptions are sexist. Hillary was not a girl who was ever afraid to get her hands dirty and join with men in their hardest labor. No, Hillary wanted to be a grunt who was in on the action. Her ultimate goal was to become a sniper and get a bit of her own back against those bastards who tried to kill her in the Balkans. Bernie Sanders will make all this clear in the debate tonight.

cubanbob said...

The Drill SGT said...
My wife was older than Hillary when she was commissioned a JAG, with glasses. The story is complete BS.

Beyond the slurs on the Marines, is it reasonable that Hillary, who passed the Arkansas bar, followed Bill to the state, got a job teaching at the UA Law school, bought a house and married Bill in 1975 was simultaneously was planning to leave all that behind (and Bill) to join the USMC? in a few months he was going to be the State AG. Not exactly a portable job...

incredible.

11/14/15, 11:12 AM

Wow! Didn't know that. Hillary is brazen even when she doesn't have to be and for no worthwhile gain.

SteveR said...

Mitchell interviewing DWS about HRC. Ok that's like grading your own test.

amielalune said...

Patricia at 10:44:

You really don't know? Or were you being facetious?

Just in case, there's a three-word explanation: Hillary Democrat, Carly Republican.

Skipper said...

Hillary and Dan Rather attended the same school of truth telling. Fake but accurate.

MisterBuddwing said...

Mitchell interviewing DWS about HRC. Ok that's like grading your own test.

And in this case, the student got a failing grade from the teacher.

I'm morbidly fascinated at how obsessed some conservos are with never, ever giving the Lamestream Media any credit whatsoever for anything.

Bob Boyd said...

Speaking to a group of Seventh Day Adventists, Hillary said that in college she'd had a summer job helping archaeologists shovel 5000 year old wheat out of a pyramid in Egypt and that if a Republican was elected President it would drag the Adventists back to the early morning of the sixth day.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Congenital liar.

Rusty said...

The people on the left hand side of the bell curve will believe it.
They're the ones that count.

John Henry said...

One of the things that jumped out at me was the recommendation that Hilary join the "dogs", supposedly meaning the Army

I read a lot of military history, bios and novels and I am unfamiliar with this word in this context. Dogfaces and doggies, sure. I don't recall ever hearing soldiers referred to as "dogs".

I do know "Top dog" as a term for the Sgt in charge of a unit.

Anyone here familiar with the term?

I would also point out that strictly speaking, dogface only refers to Army infantry, not soldiers in general.

OTOH, I am familiar with the term for Marines. Short for "Devil Dog". I've heard that as long as I can remember, though not that often.

John Henry

John Henry said...

Paul Fussell, who served in the infantry in WWII, wrote a book called "Language in wartime" that is excellent discourse on the language soldiers use.

For example, why the insistence on excessive adherence to regulation is "chickenshit" rather than "Horseshit" or "bullshit"

Or the various meanings conveyed by SNAFU, FUBAR, and FUBIT

He has a chapter on the demeaning language used about and by soldiers. For example "dogtag" vs "identity disc" "dogface" and doughboy. Unit "patches" rather than insignia or the British "flash", puptents, fox holes and many more.

Gonna have to pull it down and reread what he said about dogfaces to see if he mentions the use of "dog" as a synonym.

John Henry

Amexpat said...

DSW was even worse on the CNN interview with Dana Bash. She had a grotesque, tortured look on her face. Her eyes were blinking furiously. It looked like her head was going to explode.

jr565 said...

So lets have the media and more importantly the dems/libs apply the same standard to facts that they want to apply to Ben Carson and his story about the belt buckle.

John Henry said...

Bob Boyd said...

if a Republican was elected President it would drag the Adventists back to the early morning of the sixth day.

Before the whole megillah with the apple? That would actually be a good thing. Perhaps, with what we know now, it would have played out differently.

That means women would not menstruate so it might be bad for the single mom, minimum wage workers at P&G et al who would not have jobs.

And since progressive women enjoy their menstruation so much....

Naaah.... Perhaps you are right. Going back to the morning of the 6th day might not be such a hot idea.

John Henry

MacMacConnell said...

Hillary needs to change her Marine story. She needs tell it that she wanted to be a Marine pilot. That's the only reason for her to be turned down at the time.

Had she actually inquired about enlisting, with her Ivy law degree, the Marines would have sent a limo to pick her up. It would have been a huge feather in the recruiter's cap and file and probably a bonus..

Wince said...

Bill Clinton had Whitman's "Leaves of Grass". Behold, Hillary's literary inspiration:

The Sky
- by John Wayne

The sky is blue
the grass is green
Get off your butt
and join the Marines

David said...

Hillary is a liar? As she would say, this is old news.

Also stupid to think that a lie like this could stand up.

Michael K said...

"how obsessed some conservos are with never, ever giving the Lamestream Media any credit whatsoever for anything."

Are you referring to the shortest list in the world ?

That would be the list of mainstream media credits.

John Henry said...

Rob said...

and she's suffered head trauma.

Why not call it what it is? What her medical team told the press was that it was a "cerebral venous thrombosis"

Or, in the words of the American Stroke Association a "Stroke".

What are the probabilities of a stroke victim ever recovering 100%? Michael K? This sounds like your area of expertise. My son the MD, lots of expertise and a number of papers on rehab of elderly stroke victims, says almost never.

Not that they are non-functional. Just that they almost never come all the way back.

Having had one stroke, she is also at more risk for having another one.

Hilary is damaged goods. We've long known that ethically, She is now also damaged good medically.

Do we really want a repeat of the Wilson presidency where Wilson's wife was essentially president for a year or so after his incapacitating stroke?

John Henry

Anonymous said...

Mac McConnell said...
Had she actually inquired about enlisting, with her Ivy law degree,


I even doubt the story based on her choice of words and yours. Enlisted women enlist.

Lawyers inquire about obtaining a commission...

sane_voter said...

DSW was even worse on the CNN interview with Dana Bash. She had a grotesque, tortured look on her face. Her eyes were blinking furiously. It looked like her head was going to explode.

Dana Bash to me has a strange face as well. I think she needs to add a few more pounds.

eltee said...

There's a debate tonight?

Brando said...

When someone lies in a way that could help them (if not caught) they are despicable but you can understand them. When the lie serves no purpose though, it just reveals they have a serious mental problem.

This woman is actually deranged. What purpose could this lie have served? Considering joining the Marines doesn't earn you any points, and no supporter of the military is going to credit her if this was believed.

This is a sick, dangerous person. Out of compassion someone should gently talk her out of this race so she can get the help she needs. It couldn't have been easy being married to a creepy rapist all those years.

Annie said...

It couldn't have been easy being married to a creepy rapist all those years.

It is because of that sick, dangerous mind, that she remained married to that creepy rapist. She helped him cover his crimes and she attacked his victims. By doing so, she enabled him to assault other women.

Not to mention, her also blaming the 12 year old victim of rape, to get the perp, she volunteered to represent, off with a slap on the wrist. And then cackled about it.

She is an awful human being.

Dagwood said...

For Hil, will the "3AM call" bit return?:
"Can you get that Huma? You're closer.."


I raffed.

Michael K said...

What are the probabilities of a stroke victim ever recovering 100%? Michael K? This sounds like your area of expertise. My son the MD, lots of expertise and a number of papers on rehab of elderly stroke victims, says almost never.

Well, having had one in 2011, my opinion might be a trifle biased. I had an unusual one with the injury being in the pons cerebellum, which usually results in paralysis. I was talking and alert but have amnesia for three days. It took me a couple of months to completely recover but I drove back to California from Tucson after about two weeks.

I think recovery is possible, obviously, but what she had is in another area and may result in damage that is more in an area of thought and judgement. Of course, it may be hard to detect loss on judgement in Hillary.

The question is why she had the thrombosis which seems to have been venous, from what I understand. Maybe it was trauma, such as a drunken fall. We just don't know. Somebody probably knows and that will not be revealed until after she is no longer a viable candidate. Also, I would be slow to sell life insurance to someone with that kind of knowledge about Hillary.

avwh said...

"Do we really want a repeat of the Wilson presidency where Wilson's wife was essentially president for a year or so after his incapacitating stroke?"

To a huge chunk of the left, that's probably a feature, not a bug - if it puts Bill back in charge. If, OTOH, it puts Huma in charge - maybe not so much.

cubanbob said...

If Hillary was stripped of all fakery would anything be left?

eric said...

Why are the Democrat debates on Friday and Saturday nights?

The Godfather said...

So the Marines turned her down, which makes her qualified to be commander in chief?

Do I have that right?

chickelit said...

The Godfather said...
So the Marines turned her down, which makes her qualified to be commander in chief?

Do I have that right?


It's OK, Godfather. The Clintons are not known for carrying a grudge. Except for Drudge. A Drudge Grudge. Fence sitters considering voting for Hillary should ask themselves what life without Drudge would be like.

Drago said...

It's a good thing Hillary wasn't accepted.

That helo with Brian Williams would have been far too crowded.

Rosalyn C. said...

A little of my own experience: back in 1979, which is after the Hillary story, I went into a Navy recruitment center across the street from the Pennsylvania Academy of Art on Broad St. in Philadelphia, where at the time I was a student. I took the entrance test and apparently did very well, getting nearly a perfect score. The recruiter wanted to send me over to take the test for officer training since I already had advanced degrees. But then he said confidentially, "It's too bad you're a woman because with a score like this and your education you'd go far in the military." Yeah, I was shocked but not surprised. Long story short I never pursued a military career because I sensed I'd have a hard time with the culture in the military and the ban on homosexuality.

Now, you might say why would someone who is bisexual and was going back to study studio art at a prestigious art school even take an entrance exam for the military at age 28 to begin with? You might even accuse me of lying. The fact is, I was going through a lot of grief with my parents over my career choice and was going through a rough patch at school, feeling discouraged about my future. My teachers had not yet offered me a scholarship or shown much appreciation for the work I had been doing, which they did some time later. I am patriotic and the military offered a secure path, so I considered it. The entire effort consisted of me walking across the street and taking a test. NBD.

I don't know Hillary Clinton but my own personal experience leads me to believe her, that she may have had some misgivings about committing her life to Bill. The military would have offered another path with security and advancement. There is no telling what some recruiter might have told her "confidentially."

David said...

Tonight Andrea Mitchell flat out said that Obama had lost his nerve in 2012 when he erased the "red line" that he had told Assad not to cross. And she explicitly connected that with the present surge of ISIS.

I could not believe my ears. Someone must have kidnapped the real Andrea Mitchell and substituted a body double.

ken in tx said...

The fact that Andrea Mitchell and someone at CNN both brought up this topic tells me that the word has gone out that the MSM can stand down on covering for Hillary. I wonder why.

Gahrie said...

I could not believe my ears. Someone must have kidnapped the real Andrea Mitchell and substituted a body double.

Probably the actor who played Dobby in the Potter movies.

Gahrie said...

I don't know Hillary Clinton but my own personal experience leads me to believe her

Why would anyone ever believe Hillary, about any subject for any reason?

The woman has a track record.

Achilles said...

R. Chatt said...

"I don't know Hillary Clinton but my own personal experience leads me to believe her, that she may have had some misgivings about committing her life to Bill. The military would have offered another path with security and advancement. There is no telling what some recruiter might have told her "confidentially."

1. You know Hillary. You know she is a liar. If you read this blog you are informed enough to know this.

2. Feigned ignorance about Hillary, and your own "confidential" story pretty much end any credibility in the rest of the post. Recruiters tell everyone "confidentially" there are some things in the military that aren't fun. You are not special.

"Long story short I never pursued a military career because I sensed I'd have a hard time with the culture in the military and the ban on homosexuality."

Everyone that joins the military has a hard time with the culture. The military is not really much fun but it is absolutely necessary. If you have a 4 year degree a recruiter will move mountains to get you signed up.

When someone told you how hard it would be you chose not to join. But saying that is much harder than saying "they hate womenz."

John Henry said...

But then he said confidentially, "It's too bad you're a woman because with a score like this and your education you'd go far in the military."

I call bullshit. I call that based on having served 8 years in the Navy.

I call that based on having taught, among other things, human resources management courses for 22 years at SNHUs satellite campus. Many of my students were officers they were VERY concerned about equal opportunity. Some of that was because they believed in it, all of them because failure to cross any t or dot any i would be a career stopper.

Many of my students were women officers. One was a full captain who later became a rear admiral. (She had a doctorate in some kind of computer technology and had served under Grace Hopper) I had a couple of other captains who I don't know if they got their flags. Some were Commanders and other ranks. All seemed to have done pretty well for themselves.

There were still some positions women could not aspire to at that time. There still are today. But I call bullshit on a woman not being able to do well in the Navy. Double bullshit on a recruiter telling you that.