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Smart As You, Johnny
New York Sun ^ | 11/2/06 | Larry Schweikart (LS)

Posted on 11/02/2006 7:49:02 AM PST by LS

Senator Kerry's comments about uneducated people being "stuck" in Iraq — essentially calling the men and women of the American military stupid — is one of the political blunders of the age. Seldom does a candidate single-handedly sink his party once, let alone twice, though William Jennings Bryan came close. Mr. Kerry may have done so.

Worse, it's simply not right to promote the idea that soldiers are dumb or even undereducated. New York Times reporter Chris Hedges asserted, "poor kids from Mississippi … who could not get a decent job … joined the Army because it was all we offered them." In reality, however, the American military — yes, even the foot soldiers — is the most educated in history and better educated than the American public on average. Annually, thousands of top honor students take the military entrance exams. The recruitment test, which all inductees must pass, includes questions that many Ph.D.s would miss, and I would gladly hold a contest pitting any 10 American Army soldiers, randomly selected, against any 10 public school teachers on a standardized test.

(Read the remainder of the article at the Sun)

(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: election2004; elections; kerry; republicans; votegop
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To: LS

Congratulations! Great article. My nephew is a US Army recruiter and the difficulty is to find enough persons to pass the tests.
BTW, if we accept Kerrys 'intentions' to disparage President Bush and his administration, I'd like to see the credentials Jerry Doyle talked about yesterday on his radio show. They will blow you away! What impressed me most was the fact they all had real jobs before joining the Bush Administration.
Anybody got em?


41 posted on 11/02/2006 8:13:47 AM PST by griswold3 (Ken Blackwell, Ohio Governor in 2006- No!! You cannot have my governor in 2008.)
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To: upcountry miss; GregB; pattty; soloNYer; cgk; Watery Tart; StoneGiant; mom4kittys; 21stCenturion; ..

Infrequent but I think justified use of the Snowflakes' ping list. Great editorial by fellow FReeper, LS.


42 posted on 11/02/2006 8:14:15 AM PST by Bahbah (Shalit, Goldwasser and Regev, we are praying for you)
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To: LS

Applause!!! Beautifully written. A clear message...and a heck of a closing!


43 posted on 11/02/2006 8:15:48 AM PST by SueRae
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To: LS

Leo Garza's 'Nacho Guarache' 11/02/2006

http://www2.mysanantonio.com/opinion/cartoonarchive/leo.cfm

44 posted on 11/02/2006 8:17:21 AM PST by SwinneySwitch (J F'n K-beyond your expectations!)
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To: SueRae

Sue, they made me tone it down. I actually used the words, "Kerry lied." They wouldn't let me say that.


45 posted on 11/02/2006 8:17:37 AM PST by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: LS
I would gladly hold a contest pitting any 10 American Army soldiers, randomly selected, against any 10 public school teachers on a standardized test

I love it! Smack 'em upside the head with the truth until it gets through...

46 posted on 11/02/2006 8:18:06 AM PST by The Electrician ("Government is the only enterprise in the world which expands in size when its failures increase.")
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To: LS

GREAT JOB FRiend!


47 posted on 11/02/2006 8:18:23 AM PST by DollyCali (Don't tell GOD how big your storm is -- Tell the storm how B-I-G your God is!)
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To: LS
"Gang, this is my first truly national editorial."

Congratulations! It is a great one.

48 posted on 11/02/2006 8:19:40 AM PST by A Citizen Reporter (Sign at World Series in St. Louis, October 27, 2006 "The Experts are Idiots")
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To: Bahbah; LS

Thanks, Bahbah.

Great op ed, LS.

Kerry's Prussian "liberal, aristocratic lens" is right on target.


49 posted on 11/02/2006 8:19:49 AM PST by bwteim (bwteim = begin with the end in mind)
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To: LS
Gpod piece -- congratulations!

Too often overlooked fact from you article:

The only category of heroes where the current military seems to come up short is in celebrities. Unlike World War II, where Hollywood sent its brightest stars — Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, just to name a few — and hundreds who would later be stars, the current crop of Hollywood heroes only knows how to look tough on screen

50 posted on 11/02/2006 8:20:43 AM PST by maryz
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To: LS

BUMP!


51 posted on 11/02/2006 8:21:30 AM PST by maggief
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To: LS

"poor kids from Mississippi … who could not get a decent job … joined the Army because it was all we offered them."

"..all we offered them." Ivory tower writers for the New York
Times, despite evidence to the contrary from all of history, still believe the human was not equipped by their creator to live and prosper in their environments using their brains even if everything seemed against them.


52 posted on 11/02/2006 8:22:18 AM PST by billhilly
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To: StarFan; Dutchy; alisasny; BobFromNJ; BUNNY2003; Cacique; Clemenza; Coleus; cyborg; DKNY; ...
Great editorial by FReeper LS!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

53 posted on 11/02/2006 8:23:08 AM PST by nutmeg (National security trumps everything else.)
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To: Bahbah; LS

Thanks for the ping Bahbah!

LS- this is one big BINGO! Well done:)


54 posted on 11/02/2006 8:23:35 AM PST by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: Bahbah

Thanks for the ping! I pinged my biggest list here also...


55 posted on 11/02/2006 8:23:50 AM PST by nutmeg (National security trumps everything else.)
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To: nutmeg

Thank you, nutmeg. This is most worthy of exposure.


56 posted on 11/02/2006 8:25:15 AM PST by Bahbah (Shalit, Goldwasser and Regev, we are praying for you)
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To: LS

Wow! Congrats :)


57 posted on 11/02/2006 8:25:52 AM PST by visualops (artlife.us)
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To: HitmanLV

A few years back my family decided to play a game of trivial pursuit and my husband and I were on a team against my daughter and son-in-law,15 year old son. Now my husband and I were not college graduates and both my daughter and son-in-law were. They were laughing at how they were going to walk all over us. Well as you can imagine we kicked their butt. We laughed so hard and the more we laughed the madder my daughter got. I know people who are college graduates and they know nothing about anything. My daughter used to edit medical journals for a hospital and she was always amazed at the poor grammar of the doctors. She is also dating a guy who was in the Army for five years and he is in college now hoping to become a lawyer. God bless him,he was a Sargent in Iraq.


58 posted on 11/02/2006 8:26:21 AM PST by red irish (Gods Children in the womb are to be loved too!)
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To: LS
Great editorial. Congratulations!!


This is from http://www.dummocrats.com/archives/2004_10.php. Someone else understood the essence of Kerry, way back in 2004.

59 posted on 11/02/2006 8:26:25 AM PST by syriacus (MJ Fox tells the US, "Show me you love ME, baby, by giving up YOUR life for ME.")
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To: Fishtalk

One can do a lot worse than join the military.

It has been a great career.


60 posted on 11/02/2006 8:26:39 AM PST by CPT Clay (Drill ANWR, Personal Accounts NOW.)
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