Dems turn backs on truth to further agenda (The Smearing of Rush Limbaugh)

TownHall.com ^ | Saturday, October 6, 2007 | Kathryn Jean Lopez

[SkyPilot]

Accused Phony War Hero in Court Today in Texas

The way he told it, David McClanahan, of Fort Worth, Texas, had been wounded in combat three times in Iraq, awarded three Silver Stars and even nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Today, McClanahan, a nursing student at West Texas A&M, appeared in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, on charges he made up his hero's tale. McClanahan did not enter a plea and was released on bond after being advised of the charges against him. The arraignment is now scheduled for June 13.

His lawyer, Brooks Barfield, says McClanahan will enter a plea of not guilty.

A federal grand jury indicted McClanahan last week under the newly passed Stolen Valor Act, which makes any misrepresentation of military service awards a federal crime, punishable with up to a year in prison.

"This is quite an egregious offense that he held himself out as a war hero," Assistant United States Attorney Christy Drake told the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Photos: Medals of Dishonor

The grand jury indictment grew out of the work of amateur Web sleuths Chuck and Mary Schantag, who run the Web site POWNetwork.org.

They were asked by a Texas veterans group to do a service record check on McClanahan before he was named guest speaker at the group's yearly banquet.

According to Jack Barnes, who heads up America Supports You in Amarillo, Texas, McClanahan told him he had been awarded three Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts, the Legion of Merit and a nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor for combat bravery in Iraq.

"We just embraced this young man. His story was so real," recalled Barnes.

But the Web site sleuths, the Schantags, found McClanahan had served two years in the Navy and four years in the Army, from which he was discharged as a private with no medals of valor.

"His claims were too good to be true and turned out to be 100 percent false," said Mary Schantag. "Instead of his record being filled with heroism, there was no record of any of the accomplishments he had claimed."

She quickly passed along the findings to the FBI. "We were shocked" by the Schantags' discovery, said Barnes. "We can't believe the young man would present himself as a war hero to our group when our nation is at war and we have men and women making the ultimate sacrifice for our country," Barnes, himself a Navy veteran, told ABCNews.com.

"He's gotten himself in a hell of a mess, and I'm disappointed by it," said Dan Adams, president and CEO of Cal Farley's Boys Ranch of Amarillo, Texas, where McClanahan attended.

Just last year, McClanahan was awarded a college scholarship worth $3,500 a semester by Cal Farley's, which is a home and school for troubled youth.

"He did pad himself as a war hero here and appeared before the scholarship committee in uniform and wearing medals," Adams told ABCNews.com. He added that McClanahan also showed off a letter he claimed was signed by President Bush, nominating McClanahan for the Congressional Medal of Honor.

In its indictment, the federal grand jury charged Richard "David" McClanahan with two misdemeanor counts of knowingly and intentionally falsely representing himself as having been awarded decorations or medals authorized by Congress, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. The grand jury also charged McClanahan with making a false financial statement in connection with the indictment, a felony.

[MeekOneGOP]

Bump! Bump! Bump!

[Grampa Dave]

John, when do liberals stop lying?

[SkyPilot]

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor Michael Weilbacher: Weilbacher pleaded guilty this past February to a federal charge of wearing military medals that were not awarded to him. He was sentenced to two years of probation, 120 hours of community service at a military organization and fined $3,000.00. (HomeOfHeroes.com)

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor Michael Bramlett: In December 2006, Bramlett pleaded guilty to a federal charge of wearing a Marine Corps uniform as well as decorations, medals, badges and ribbons without authorization. He was sentenced to six months in federal prison without parole. (P.O.W. Network)

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor Theodore Bantis: Bantis pleaded guilty in September 2006 to a federal charge of wearing military awards without authorization. He was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison and fined $5,000. (HomeOfHeroes.com)

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor Louis Lowell McGuinn: Arrested in April of this year, McGuinn was federally charged with wearing unauthorized service medals and badges, including those for distinguished service: the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. (HomeOfHeroes.com)

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor Raymond John Gauthier: After wearing medals to which he was not entitled, Gauthier pleaded guilty in April 2007. He was sentenced to five years of probation and had to issue a public apology. From now through the year 2011, Gauthier must report to work at a jail on every Memorial Day and Veterans Day. (Florida State Attroney's Office)

Phony Military Heroes: Medals of Dishonor David McClanahan: Wounded in Iraq three times, awarded three Silver Stars and nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor was the story McClanahan liked to tell of his military service. But in reality, he had served two years in the Navy and four years in the Army, from which he was discharged as a private with no medals of valor. McClanahan was indicted in May on two federal misdemeanor counts of knowingly and intentionally falsely representing himself as having been awarded medals authorized by Congress and on a felony count of making a false financial statement in connection with the misdemeanor charges. (ABC News)

[Guenevere]

bttt

[Grammy]

It is very interesting to me how this process of deception has progressed. We started with small stretches of the truth (which were allowed by the media and a polite society who generally disdains looking someone in the eye and saying “you liar”)which led to more and larger stretches of the truth which led to small lies (still not called on it) until now we have outright bald faced straight up lies. Not “stretches”, not “misunderstandings” not “spin” but straight out lies. It is time for our polite society to look at these jerks and call them what they are. LIARS.

[Enterprise]

Yer preachin' to the choir there brother.

PBS - Propaganda By Socialists.

NPR - National Partisanship Radio.

[devolve]

[Chaguito]

All the response will be for naught. The point is that these people make these stupid charges, knowing that they are untrue and not caring. Because when the topic of “fairness” comes up next year, they will refer back to it as if it were the truth, and there will not be enough heat generated to refute it. The people of our great land will accept it as established truth. There, wasn’t that easy?

[Lancey Howard]

___________________________________________________

Michael Ramirez is the best editorial cartoonist out there!

[blackie]

Good stuff ~ thanks!!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[stand watie]

of COURSE they DO.

that's why freedom-LOVING people call them : DIMocRATS!!!

TRUTH, HONOR or DECENCY is NOT a portion of their "agenda".

free dixie,sw

[randita]

What you’ve described is typical of the thinking and behavior of most liberals, esp. of that age. That’s why Democrats are so successful at conning them into believing that Republicans want to take all their SS away.

[GeronL]

Media Matters, Harry Reid, Tom Harkin, Move On and Vote Vets have one thing in common, they are all owned by George Soros

[GeronL]

it wasn’t just a lie, they were trying to bring him down. They posted the lie at Media Matters and then the Senators introduced the resolution, well planned IMO. They just thought we were stupid, like how they always got away with it before talk radio and the internet

[GeronL]

if they didn’t lie they would be getting 10% of the vote

[driftless2]

"I don't believe any of it"

Your aunt sounds suspiciously like one of my close Dem friends. One time when he was railing about how the rich never pay any taxes I recited the facts to him about how the richest one percent pay thirtyseven percent of all income taxes, the top twentyfive percent pay eightyfive, etc. He looked at me for a second or two and then said "I don't believe that". They don't want to believe that. To acknowledge the truth would force them to make cataclymic changes in the way they look at life, and they're not willing to do that. So they argue from ignorance. Like all Dems and libs.

[freekitty]

LOL

[freekitty]

Right you are.