Continuing coverage of the Lakin verdict today at CAAFLOG:
- Maureen Dowd’s NYT column on Lakin trial
- Erstwhile Lakinista website distances itself from his defense
- United States v. Lakin liveblog III
- United States v. Lakin liveblog IV
- United States v. Lakin liveblogging, Day Two wrap
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part I
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part II
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part III
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part IV
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part V
- Lakin court-martial day two, Part VI
Lakin then gave an unsworn statement in question-and-answer format, taking more than an hour to explain his conduct. He said he understands the Army is not the place to get answers to his questions, and admitted that he made the wrong call in thinking it was. He was in tears during parts of his unsworn, and said he would prefer jail time to dismissal from the service.
I hope he will get jail time too, but I would prefer that he be dismissed from the service. We can probably find a gay doctor that isn’t a coward to replace him… 😉
I hope that he serves one day in prison and then Obama pardons him, invites him over to the White House for an adult beverage and then shows him a copy of his long form birth certificate. 😉
Surely you don’t think birthers will say President Obama is pardoning Lakin because he’s a nice guy. They will just spin that into another one of their tall tales of how he’s doing it to hide “the truth”.
An illegal president could not pardon him – sorry.
All joking aside, I fear for Obama’s safety.
I think an example needs to be made out of him and that he receives the maximum and harshest sentence possible, including dismissal and hard time at Leavenworth.
The broader issue at hand is soldiers coming up with any personal or political excuse in the world to disobey orders. That is completely destructive and needs to be discouraged and squashed down as quickly and harshly as possible.
I would like to see him apologize to the president for his bizarre behavior and baseless accusations. That would at least show that he has some remorse for his attacks on the president. He’s only sorry now because things didn’t go his way in court, and he will lose everything he’s worked for for the past 17 years.
There was an obot infestation over at Dr. Kate’s today (one of them tried to start a rumor about Dr. Kate being arrested with the High Priest of Hate (‘Dr’ Manning) and another debunked the ‘COLB for out-of-state births’ argument). Be sure to check it out before she has a chance to clean house…
http://drkatesview.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/standing-with-lt-col-terry-lakin/
And Citizen Wells threw a hissy fit at Maureen Dowd:
http://citizenwells.com/2010/12/15/maureen-dowd-on-lakin-court-martial-usurper-in-chief-obama-propaganda-ministry-ny-times-dowd-cant-handle-the-truth/
Plus Dr. Kate talks about the Lakin trial on Revolution Radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drkate/2010/12/16/revolution-radio-live-from-ft-meade-ltc-lakin
Do they delete posts they don’t like there, slart? I guess mine will get deleted then
Dr. Kate moderates heavily, but I’m guessing she has limited or no access until she returns from the trial. That thread is the most overt obot activity I’ve ever seen on Dr. Kate’s site. I’m listening to the radio show now – it’s like they were at a completely different trial (which matches the completely different universe they seem to inhabit…).
“Please, Mr. Wizard!! I don’t want to be a birther any more. Can you change me back to a doctor???”
Did anyone believe me? Was there panic?
(I am a naughty boy)
One or two people definitely bought it at first (although Dr. Kate’s is a veritable cannonical example of Poe’s law in action so sometimes it’s hard to tell) until some of the regulars questioned you and Dr. Kate posted that she would be on web radio later – I thought the aftermath was pretty amusing though…
These folks should really not be showing so much glee that they successfully ruined the life of previously honorable Army doctor.
They baited him and reeled him in, hook, line, and sinker.
And oh what a sinker. In the old days Cold War, countries tried compromise their opponents military to gain some advantage and it usually involved sex, drugs, gambling and lots of cloak and dagger.
Now it just takes a couple of @sseholes with a computer, a wild imagination, and a bit of persistence to reach the 1 in 100,000 guy that will fall for their crap.But they aren’t getting any advantage one way or another are they? WND might be making money, I suppose, but Apuzzo and Berg and Taitz and et. al. can’t really be getting much from their Pay Pal button can they?
Are they just in it for the kicks? Is this all just a Discordian stunt that has been supersized?
These guys know that the stuff they are pushing is excrement. They KNOW it. Apuzzo has read this site and been lectured to, he KNOWS he is not pushing reality. Berg knows it. Jensen knows it. OK, Taitz propbably doesn’t know in which direction the sun rises.
What are they getting out of it? I just don’t get why they would purposely set out to ruin a man’s life like this.
I really just don’t get
They are trying to incite a lone wolf. See Orly Taitz.
The parallels between the anti-Obama rhetoric on the Right, including the birthers and the Tea Party, are too close to the rhetoric directed against Kennedy in the early 1960s for my taste. There were even catcalls attacking him for riding in the heavily armored, low mpg Presidential limousine when he was first inaugurated on the grounds that it wasn’t ecologically friendly! It’s as if a lot of the Right *wants* America to undergo the trauma of an assassination again, with all the agony it entails.
I agree with the anonymous guy who said that he didn’t care if the Secret Service drove the President around in a Sherman tank as long as they kept him safe.
Just because Apuzzo has been lectured to here doesn’t mean that he believes he is wrong. Has it occurred to you that all of these people believe that they are right? I am not saying that they are right, but that they believe they are right. They are the ones who have actually gone to court and not sat behind a keyboard (see one of Doc’s new posts). IMO, they all want to be the one who makes history. I don’t know about Jensen. He has not been a name in this until recently and got way in over his head concerning military law.
The birthers over at the Citizen Wells site are up in arms….Blaming Maureen Dowd because she did not give the birther spin on the issue….
Maureen Dowd on Lakin court martial, Usurper in Chief?, Obama propaganda ministry, NY Times, Dowd can’t handle the truth
“Why has Obama, for over 2 years, employed numerous private and government attorneys to avoid presenting a legitimate birth certificate and college records?”…Citizen Wells and millions of concerned Americans
“I would engage you in a battle of wits but I would attack an unarmed opponent.”
After interviewing CDR Charles Kerchner, DR. Kate and other eyewitnesses to the LTC Terry Lakin court martial, I watched the History Channel series on Nazi Germany. Their timing was once again stellar. As I watched the Nazi regime gain power by force of hand and word, Nazi like and Orwellian word smithing and propanganda coming from the Obama camp and the mainstream media came to mind.
Maureen Dowd, writing for an arm of the Obama propanda ministry provided her “insight” regarding the first day of the LTC Terry Lakin trial. As reported on the Citizen Wells blog, CDR Kerchner and Dr. Kate stated that Maureen Dowd laughed when the guilty plea to some charges was made by LTC Lakin.
Here is the “report” from Maureen Dowd and the NY Times. Achtung!
“Usurper in Chief?”
“Originally, Colonel Lakin and his frenzied supporters had wanted to reveal the Ultimate Truth, what they consider the biggest hoax ever perpetrated — that a foreigner, a “Usurper in Chief,” had seized control of the Oval Office.
But then the military judge, Col. Denise Lind, denied a request for President Obama to testify and for his birth certificate to be entered into evidence.
So now the Birthers consider the court-martial part of the dastardly conspiracy. “This whole trial looks like a sham,” said Orly Taitz, a tall blonde California dentist, lawyer and leader in the Birther movement. “I was raised in the Soviet Union. This was worse than what I’ve seen in the Soviet Union.”
If Lakin ever envisioned his court-martial as the slingshot that could bring down a presidency and prove that the Birthers are heroes rather than loonies, he had given up that dream by the time he entered a guilty plea and backed up a not guilty plea with a technicality.
The balding, gray colonel may not have truly changed his beliefs. But he looked small and shaken as he admitted to disobeying orders from his boss, Gordon Roberts, a Medal of Honor recipient. He murmured “Yes, ma’am” over and over in a low voice as the precise Judge Lind pressed him on whether he understood that “the dictates of conscience do not justify disobeying a lawful order.”
Sobered by the prospect of a dishonorable dismissal, losing his pension and serving hard time, as well as facing a panel of military superiors in dress uniforms, Colonel Lakin said the winter had been “a confusing time, a very emotional time for me.” His shoulders slumped, he offered excuses about how he had gotten conflicting advice from lawyers — his defense was underwritten by Birthers.
“I understand that it was my decision, and I made the wrong choice,” he told the judge.
His civilian lawyer, Neal Puckett, said Lakin is innocent of the charge of “missing a movement.” Simply because he missed U.S. Airways Flight 1123 on April 12, which was supposed to be the start of his journey to Fort Campbell, Ky., to join his unit, the lawyer argued, does not mean he couldn’t have gotten another flight or driven.
This was an attempt to get him off on a technicality because Lakin had stated back then that he had no intention of joining the unit at all.”
“But, in the end, the court-martial offers one big truth: President Obama doesn’t have to show Terry Lakin anything. The colonel should have followed orders.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/opinion/15dowd.html?_r=1&ref=maureendowd
Wanna bet?
Here’s one for you, Maureen Dowd, someone who thinks it is funny when a dedicated military officer puts it on the line for his country. Someone who obviously has no regard for the US Constitution
Report on or answer this question:
Why has Obama, for over 2 years, employed numerous private and government attorneys to avoid presenting a legitimate birth certificate and college records?
You obviously won’t.
Why.
You can’t handle the truth!!!
http://citizenwells.com/2010/12/15/maureen-dowd-on-lakin-court-martial-usurper-in-chief-obama-propaganda-ministry-ny-times-dowd-cant-handle-the-truth/
CW, even more over the top makes comparisons to Lakin and the infamous Lt. Calley….
““In my humble opinion, LTC Terry Lakin’s facts and justification for refusing illegal orders
are just as strong as those that Lt Calley faced in My Lai.
In the My Lai example, the scope was smaller.
In the Obama example, he can put his finger on the nuclear trigger.
You tell me that LTC Lakin had an easier decision.”
1. Both Calley & Lakin were military officers faced with the dilemma of following questionable orders.
2. In Calley’s case, the issue was clear. If he did not question orders, civilians would be killed.
3. In Lakin’s case the issue is clear. If Obama is not eligible (and there is no evidence that he is), then all being killed in foreign wars, subject to harm due to diminished security and trust and potentially under his command would die under illegal circumstances and perhaps needlessly. I believe that the most concerning issue is having a non eligible person with control over the detonation of nuclear weapons.
4. Lt. Calley was criticized for not disobeying illegal orders.
5. LTC Lakin is being court martialed for disobeying illegal orders.
Peter Boyles, you cannot be that dull witted. Is this just about power, control?
What Boyles has done for me is strengthen the resolve that we need better news reporting in this country. That is something we will explore.
Wells
Boyles, call me.”
http://citizenwells.com/2010/12/14/peter-boyles-call-me-citizen-wells-boyles-rude-and-unattentive-citizenwells-call-in-experience-december-14-2010/
Some examples of the droppings over in the CW zoo….
citizenwells
December 15, 2010 at 3:25 pm
I let Maureen Dowd have it this morning.
I have just thrown down the gauntlet on Beck & Anderson Cooper.
After chatising TheBlaze yesterday for not covering the Lakin Cout Martial, they covered it today with a Cooper video that discredits and insults LTC Lakin and concerned Americans.
They are toast!
misstickly
December 16, 2010 at 9:44 am
Thank you, Mr. Wells! Dowd is a POS judgmental toad who has never lifted a finger for anyone. And she’s a racebaiting, hypocritical piece of garbage who exploits feelings of racial injustice to suit her political needs. What a hideous woman–on the inside!
Trash, she’s just trash. Dangerous trash. Of course we have every right to question the POTUS whether he’s a proven pathological liar like Obama or just your regular liar like the rest of them. It’s wrong of Dowd to place the identity of the entire black ommunity in Obama–because even SHE knows he’s a liar, and an admitted “disappointment.” She knows he’s a Chicago thug and now, if Obama’s exposed for the thug criminal he is, she has set up the black community to project that failure on themselves and it’s so reckless and unfair.
She’s lost her GD mind!
–end rant–
From the Lakinista site…
Countdown to Court Martial
Today at his Court-Martial, Army LTC Terry Lakin pled guilty to four specifications of refusing to obey lawful orders, one of which was then dismissed as duplicative. In so doing, he stood before Judge Lind and over and over told her that he was wrong to have disobeyed his orders, which were lawful.
He then pled not guilty to the most severe charge against him, missing the movement of US Air Flight 1123 on 12 April 2010. His sole defense to that charge is that he was never ordered to board that flight, but instead that his orders required him to report to Ft. Campbell, KY and did not specify the means of transportation.
His new lawyer — who has not been working with us — convinced Terry that by changing his strategy and abandoning any argument about Obama’s eligibility, he would be able to plead for mercy tomorrow when he is sentenced.
Terry was able today, and will be able tomorrow, to explain that he was motivated by his concerns about eligibility, but of course by pleading guilty he abandons any opportunity to appeal, and thus any chance that the appellate courts would reverse Judge Lind’s rulings.
The Lakin case may now never provide an answer to the questions the nation has as to the eligibility of Barack Obama to be Commander-in-Chief. However, Terry cannot be blamed for doing what he believes is in his, and his family’s, best interests and of course Terry had the courage and fortitude to put himself in jeopardy in the first place. We wish him all the best tomorrow as the trial continues to its conclusion.
There are no words to express my sadness.
Thank you all for your love & support all these long months. God help us all for the injustice of it all & the echoes of utter silence from most Americans.
http://www.safeguardourconstitution.com/news/update20101214.html
Once upon a time, I was willing to accept that possibility. What I don’t accept is that they are insane (with one possible exception).
No sane person can immerse themselves in this stuff for that long and not learn from it. I know there are various proverbs that bely this opinion, like Einstein’s definition of insanity, or the difference between mice and men (when put in a maze and trained to find the cheese down one path, eventually mice will try different paths when you move cheese).
Now I know we have to be careful about seeing conspiracies, but really, businessmen get thrown into jail for “conspiracy to fix prices” on less evidence than we have here. Bigots get thrown into jail for “conspiracy to deny civil rights” on less evidence than we have here.
What we don’t really have here is evidence of what crime they are committing, other than a crime against common decency.
Some of them probably believe they are right. I would place the delusional Orly Taitz in that category. But I’m convinced that others are merely determined to keep stirring the pot in a continuing effort to de-legitimize Obama in the eyes of the public. And some, such as WND and Pest & eFail, have a financial interest in keeping the birther movement alive.
Apuzzo has been lectures BECAUSE he is wrong.
And yeas they probably do think they are right. The flat earthers also think they are right, as do the holocaust deniers, the moon landing hoaxers, and a whole spat of conspiracy nutbags throughout history.
When you choose to believe the ridiculous, despite easy and obvious access to the substantive and objective evidence that refutes the ridiculous, that is called willful ignorance.
That people like Apuzzo engage in willful ignorance is no reason to pay them respect, especially when that willful ignorance cost a LOT of taxpayer dollars that could otherwise go to people who need and deserve it, and when their ridiculous rantings serve to disparage and libel honest people.
If you believe, preach, and litigate ridiculous things, you should expect to be ridiculed.