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The only person who might believe Bill Clinton's spin is Bill Clinton.

Here's some history Mr. Bill can't whitewash...
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Military leaders warn troops not to criticize Clinton

The Associated Press

10.21.98

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WASHINGTON — Military leaders are reminding troops they must avoid "insulting, rude or disdainful" comments about President Clinton, and that even repeating jokes about the commander-in-chief and Monica Lewinsky could subject them to prosecution under military law.

The warnings, both official and unofficial, came in response to a spate of newspaper columns and letters to the editor in recent weeks written by military officers with harsh criticisms of Clinton's conduct.

Responding to a brief report that some Marines were circulating an e-mail petition for Clinton's impeachment, the service's No. 2 general dispatched an electronic directive of his own.

"You must emphatically discourage any such actions," Gen. Terrence Dake wrote to Marine generals earlier this month. "It is unethical for individuals who wear the uniform of a Marine to engage in public dialogue on political and legal matters such as impeachment."

The general noted that Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits such conduct. "We are not politicians. We are not a corps of lawyers. We are warriors, nothing more, nothing less," said the memo.

This week, a Marine Corps major denounced Clinton in a column published by the independent newspaper Navy Times, while an Army colonel criticized the president in a letter to the editor in a similar publication.

"One should call an adulterous liar exactly what he is — a criminal," wrote Maj. Shane Sellers, a 20-year Marine veteran.

Army Col. John R. Baer lambasted Clinton in a letter published Oct. 12 in the Army Times, also an independent paper, and urged the commander-in-chief to stop issuing signed letters of appreciation to officers when they retire.

In the Air Force, an article explaining the rules has gotten wide e-mail circulation, officials said. It was initially printed in a base newspaper at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.

"With the release of Independent Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's report ... Americans are involved in a great debate over what it means for the country. Because of President Clinton's role as commander in chief of the military, however, Air Force members aren't allowed to discuss the president in the same manner as civilians," said the article, written by Capt. Brian Bengs of the base's staff judge advocate's office.

Bengs wrote that Article 88 "expressly prohibits any commissioned officer from using 'contemptuous words' against the president." Also, "repeating jokes about the president could make a military member subject to prosecution, depending upon the joke," the article stated.

The base's military justice chief was quoted as saying military law "defines contemptuous language fairly broadly ... (and) it includes language which is insulting, rude or disdainful."

An officer using such language faces a maximum penalty of dismissal, confinement for one year and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Enlisted men and women face similar restrictions under military regulations, the article stated.

Air Force officials said the article in The Warren Sentinel is not considered an official statement, but has proven helpful in explaining the issue.

"It is unofficial guidance being provided by a member of the base's judge advocate general's staff. People passed it on, because it was a clear statement of what the regulations are," said Air Force spokesman Lou Timmons at the Pentagon.

The article said expressions of opinions that are purely private conversation would not be affected. But it recalled that a general was reprimanded by the secretary of the Air Force several years ago for joking in a public speech about Clinton's lack of military experience.

Defense Department spokesman Kenneth Bacon, asked whether Defense Secretary William Cohen was concerned about the incidents, said Cohen has found military men and women more concerned about pay, retirement and the quality of their lives than about Clinton.

No Pentagon-wide directive needs to be sent out, Bacon said, because the troops understand they must abide by military law.

"This is a volunteer military. No one is forced to abide by the rules. If they don't want to abide by the rules, they can get out of the military," he said.

Tom McCoy, law professor at Vanderbilt University, said that like a lot of First Amendment issues, the validity of military restrictions on speech "is not crystal clear."

Early legal cases involving free-speech rights of soldiers suggest that enlistment in the military means automatic forfeiture of one's rights, McCoy told free! But more recent cases suggest that soldiers don't give up all of their rights.

"They only give up so much as is required by the nature of the job they are supposed to do or is required for good order and discipline and effective performance of the mission of the military," he said.

McCoy said that while soldiers might be able to debate the platforms of candidates for public office, they wouldn't be able to speak defiantly against a superior officer.

Criticism of Clinton sits on the borderline, McCoy said. Although Clinton serves as the commander-in-chief of all of the nation's armed forces, he doesn't impose orders on the military on a regular basis.

"I might also draw a distinction between private and public disrespect," McCoy said. "In the traditional military chain of command, they do talk about their superior officers, but they don't publish it in the newspaper."

Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but I get irritated when people use Grant as a counterpoint example of a poor president.

Grant was much more than a War Hero. He had as much if not more personal integrity, morals and ethics than any other president we have ever had. He was the single biggest fighter and supporter of Civil Rights for all to include modern day presidents such as LBJ. He fought some of the toughest battles that our nation has ever faced, and refused to back down one inch.

One day Grant will get the full recognition he deserves.

You're kidding right?

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY.

THE DAYS WHEN HE CAN FOOL THE MASSES WITH SPIN ARE GONE!!!!