Department Of Not Making Any Sense: So, secret-leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning's lawyers now tell us that because he was a gay soldier back when admitting it would have meant getting sent down via a less-than-honorable discharge, that "contributed to mental and emotional problems that should have barred him from having access to sensitive material."
Riiiiiight. The old, "it's your fault that you didn't know I was deeply troubled and thus failed to keep me away from classified material" defense, plus I'm sure all the other gay soldiers who served under DADT -- you know, the ones that just did their damn soldiering like all their peers? -- must rilly rilly appreciate you claiming to be so spinelessly stressed by the situation that you had to go pass a fat ton of Officially Secret stuff to WikiLeaks. Yeah, that must make a nice impression.
I am, generally, not a big fan of secrecy, especially the kind of bureaucratic "routine secrecy" that stamps TOP SECRET on the General's lunch menu and files it next it planned troop movements; I generally approve of people following the dictates of their conscience -- but dammit, kid, it doesn't happen for free: you do it, you stand ready to pay the price. The price for a soldier who spills secrets is kinda high. Doesn't matter who that soldier might lust after, the price is still the same. It doesn't matter what his motivations were at all. He swore an oath; he knew the consequences and he made his choice.
(I have publicly disapproved treating him any worse than any other prisoner, especially while awaiting trial -- because that ain't the way civilized folk do things.)
Too stressed out? Pfc. Manning, if you're all bent up over that, it's a pity you never met Oliver Sipple. He might have had somewhat to say about that kind of stress.
I have to wonder what the gay community makes of Manning and his "defense". After years - decades - of trying so hard to prove that being gay doesn't make a whit of difference in a person's ability to soldier, here we have a (omitted) little (censored) (redacted) who has sold out his country and claims that he did it because he's gay.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to Sipple, Harvey Milk comes across as rather less of a sympathetic character than the left and the gay community has made him out to be. How revolting: he "outed" Sipple as what amounts to a PR stunt.
Any port in a storm I guess.
ReplyDeletePVT Manning should receive a fair trial and, if found guilty, a public execution for his treason. His sexual orientation means absolutely nothing.
I'm guessing that if convicted (likely on a lesser charge than treason) he will get a bit of prison time amounting to a slap on the wrist because of that orientation, although the reason will not be admitted.
I'm getting more and more cynical in my old age.
docjim505,
ReplyDeleteMilk's actions re: Sipple prove the maxim that you can never trust a crusader if you get caught up between them and their cause.
Well, the defense is reaching for the only thing left in its bag-of-tricks.
ReplyDelete(Kinda like the guy who killed his parents requesting lenience because of his status as an orphan.)
It looks like desperation.
One does wonder why Big Army let him "leak" so much for so long. I remember getting into the .."Craps" one time back in the '80s because some piece of "Confidential" Paperwork blew away while we were doing a Burn Bag run on a windy day. But when it was found, and they were pointing fingers, I was able to point back and say "Not My Dept., ask them why it wasn't shredded first."
ReplyDeleteAll that this proves is that people are people regardless of sexual orientation. Character has nothing to do with who you love or how you make love.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've heard Manning called out for being a traitor. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel that he is being treated unfairly while in confinement, however vile and heinous his alleged crimes.
So far as I can tell, the "different" treatment this little turd is getting is because he is on suicide watch. He certainly seems the type prone to overly dramatic acts, and the left is certainly prone to exaggeration and misinterpretation whenever anyone they dislike does...anything.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit I haven't been giving the case anything approaching my full attention.
Tam,
ReplyDeleteYep.
What surprises me is that Sipple apparently stayed friends with Milk. Go figure.
I have to agree with Larry; and Sipple was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Milk 'needed' a patsy...
ReplyDelete