I Support Josh. You Support Josh. So Should Jim Talent. Tell Him.
After all the campaign's dirty tricks in 2004, I thought I had seen it all. Was I ever wrong. Turns out the Swift Boat Veterans could have learned a thing or two about ruthlessness from Missouri Senator Jim Talent.
I read today about Jim Talent's efforts to slander and demonize a young veteran of the war in Iraq, a man named Josh Lansdale. That young man's only transgression, the act for which Jim Talent thinks he should be publicly branded as a liar, was that he fought bravely in the war on terror and then spoke out at home about the mistreatment of veterans.
Some of you may have seen Josh's ad on television. In it, he talked about how when he returned home from the middle east with an injured leg and post-traumatic stress disorder he waited more than six months for an appointment with a Veterans' Administration doctor. His wait was the result of cuts to veterans' programs made by Bush and the Republican Congress-- cuts that Talent supported.
When Talent should have been apologizing to Josh, his campaign manager Lloyd Smith instead went so far as to call Josh's claims "a fraud":
“McCaskill can settle this right now by providing the media with the
veteran’s appointment schedule as verified by the Veterans
Administration Medical Center in Kansas City. If she doesn’t,
Missourians are entitled to believe the ad is a fraud and that
McCaskill is not telling the truth.â€
Some of us may remember that Lloyd Smith ran George W. Bush's 2004 campaign in the state of Missouri. The same George W. Bush who refused repeatedly to provide documents that would prove he showed up for national guard duty in Alabama. Now Smith's defaming as a "fraud" a young man who actually served in wartime and was injured in the line of duty.
As if that weren't enough, Talent got some of Missouri's Republican state legislators to join in on kicking Josh while he was down.
Even though the ad has been off the air for at least a week, a group of pro-Talent veterans — including state Reps. Jack Jackson, R-Wildwood, and Jim Avery, R-Crestwood — gathered in front of the Soldiers Memorial Tuesday afternoon to blast the ad, McCaskill and Lansdale.
“I think that commercial is simply not true,'’ said Jackson. “I believe that Claire McCaskill did not verify her facts.'’
How disgusting. Jim Talent and his buddies support the troops only when they defer to the GOP's talking points. If they deviate from the President's political line, they are quickly cast aside as "liars" and "frauds", made into fodder for the GOP's high-powered media meat-grinder and their service to our nation is written off as an inconvenient footnote.
For Jim Talent's political handlers, a veteran who comes back home and interferes one iota with the re-election campaign is one whom they'd prefer have never come back from the war at all.
Josh needs to know that the overwhelming majority of Missourians support his service and his equally difficult stand against cuts to veterans' funding. Those of us who support Josh should make sure that Senator Talent ought to be supporting him too, instead of attacking him as a cheap political defense.
I support Josh. I'll be calling Jim Talent's office first thing tomorrow morning, and I encourage anyone who values the commitment and sacrifice of our military veterans to do the same. Here's how:
1. Call Jim Talent's office at (202) 224-6154.
2. Tell his staffer "I support Josh Lansdale, and want to know why Jim Talent doesn't support injured veterans like Josh."
3. Post a comment to this post, addressed to Josh, to relay your support for Josh and thank him for his brave service.
I support Josh, and am tired of politicians like Jim Talent attacking patriots like him from their money-stuffed thrones in Washington DC. I'll bet you support Josh, too. We can all speak up to make sure that Jim Talent doesn't try to play this kind of sad, deceitful and immoral politics ever again.
Call (202) 224-6154. Tell them you support Josh.
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Howe's right on
Truth never matters in politics, what a fucking drama. Neither of the politicians gives 2 shits about service members or Vets unless it can get them elected. POLITICS. I hope that Howe doesn't get too caught up in this shit because it is what it is, BULLSHIT. My guess is that neither of the sleaze balls has served or had children who served, because very few acting in Congress has. Your guess is as good as mine as why Lansdale got caught up in this mess. I would like to think it was for honorable reasons but we know better than that, Mr. Slick always looking for a way to get over. Shit, that’s what I liked about him. But as far as Lansdale’s recollection of the cat box, I am just as livid as Howe is. You know as well as me that Howe’s family has made the ultimate sacrifice and for all the right reasons, “Your Brother On The Left and Your Brother On the Right.†It’s too bad this trash had to come from one of our own because it does nothing but trivialize what “everybody†has left behind. My only hope is that the truth will shine on the true hero’s who paid with their blood and I can only hope that I can live my life with as much Honor, Courage and Selflessness as people like Darren Howe and all the others before him have. What’s sad is the election will blow over and the shit won’t change, whom ever is elected. Surely Lansdale got caught up in the glitz and glam of politics, but does that really surprise you? If I can borrow a quote, “War Is Hellâ€
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Rescue One Leads The Way…
G MONEY
Lansdale
I support Steve and Gary 100%. I , too, was fooled until Steve set me straight. Josh, you can say that since I left in November, I didn't experience everything the unit went through. That is true. However, Steve, Gary and the commander kept me posted by e-mail and phone about what was going on. None of them has any reason to lie or exagerate. They have my backing, 100%!
Terry Klahn SSG (RET) USAR
Got any Raid, Mr. Temple?
I'm thinking looking at the various poster's time line that you have some termites in here...
I'm going to point out to all or one of you people (whichever description applies to all of you, including unknown) that you have absolutely no credibility and no proof.
Now. On to the polls.
Vote McCaskill! Dump Talent on his pointy little head!
Lansdale
Lansdale,
The fact of the matter is you're a lying turd. Perhaps everyone would like to hear what you REALLY did in Iraq and about how you lied about your activities in the KC Star news story. PTSD? From what, playing combat video games? Chasing female MP's? Dodging platoon sergeants to get out of work?  I hope you can back up your BS, cause there might be some inquiries as to your activites soon. You don't tell the truth about what you did in Iraq, why should anyone believe anything else you say?Â
"I responded to the UN Embassy bombing" - Like hell you did. And even if the 487th WAS going to go, you WERE NOT on the list. You pulled no-one out of burning buildings, you responded to NO mortar or rocket attacks since you drove a water tanker and were at the airfield station, there were NO helicopter crashes on base that we responded to, there was 1 car bomb incident and I know for a fact that you were not there. I can name everyone who WAS. NO SOLDIERS were killed in any structure fire we had. matter of fact, I can only recall you going to 1 fire, and you got the tanker stuck in the mud and never made it.Â
Ever since you were assigned to go with us, all you cared about was making yourself look like some bigshot. Butler had you pegged from day one and I should have listened to him. The whole 487th ENG DET knows what you're doing now, and they're ready to tell the real story.
reply to this
First of all, the KCSTAR report wrong and didnt tell the story correctly. I informed them that it was wrong and that they should put in corrective actions. I did not tell them anything other than what the the unit was involved in. I never said I was involved in any of that. I did however, say that the unit was put on alert for certain circumstances. These articles were not about praise for me, but for praise of the accomplishements of the 487th and for poeple to understand that there are veterans that suffer from ptsd and they need help. I understand you are bitter about what has happened to you and your family in the past. Sorry about your loss. But dont sit here and try to demonize me. This isnt about what I did in Iraq, other than my ankle and PTSD. If you're wondering about the ptsd, you might want to read into the symptoms before trying to say that I dont have it. My political ads ( the issues at hand) were true and I have the documentation to prove them. If you want to come up and look at those SSG, you are more than welcome to. Best regards to you and your family.
blah blah
You demonized yourself and I don't give a damn about your records. You lied. having worked with the news agencies before, I know they can take stuff out of context. HOWEVER, there were quotes around your statements. I ask again, just what the hell did you do over there that caused you to have PTSD? It wasn't missing meals, sleep or going outside the wire with anyone. This also is most certainly about what you did in Iraq. If you are claiming PTSD from all that "action" you were in, you are a FRAUD. I re-read the article and I see a lot of BS from YOU.  Hey, it's OK though. Drill was the 4th and the 5th of this month and  487th members all know about what you're doing now. The whole 89th RSC is looking at what you're doing.Â
Don't whine to me about PTSD symptoms. I know more about stress than you ever will. I'm bitter becasuesome lying POS is using my unit's name to get his glory when he didn't do anything. I have nothing but pride in my son's actions for what he did. It takes a lot of balls to re-enter a burning bradley to help rescue teammates when your own life is in jeopardy. DO NOT even talk about what his family has been through. You are BENEATH every other soldier that has fought, died or at least TOLD THE TRUTH.
51 MIKEIf you have no idea wh
51 MIKE
If you have no idea who this is, its JOSH. First off, I wanted to say that this issue isnt about my time in Iraq or what I did while I was over there. Some would like to think so or even write about it in these political blogs.  What I spoke out about was about what happened upon my return. Im not glorifying anything I did while over, because I dont want to take away from any soldiers who did something great. Many gave their lives and I didnt. God Bless those who did give their lives and their families. Keep them in your prayers. I believe many on this blog have taken a lot personally. Please understand that this is not about 15 minutes of fame or an attempt by me trying to get my name out there. This to me, is about veterans getting what they were promised and rightfully deserve from our govt. When I returned home, I did (and still ) have issues with my right ankle and PTSD. It did take over 6 months to see a Primary Care Dr. You are probably wondering now why I didnt release my medical records too, right? Well, I gave a press conference awhile back, with several other trusted veterans. All of those veterans did in fact, see those records. Thats why they stood beside me on my claim.  I wasnt going to release anything to the press. I wasnt going to let them have access to my personal records so they could become public record. That would be absurd. I would have to say, that not many of you would do it either. Now you say, you became a person of politics and made a claim...You should expose them.. Well, I couldnt disagree with you more. I am not running for public or private office. My family is not running for office, and my close friends arent running for office. Remember, I am just a veteran that has a voice and is willing to speak out when politicians do us wrong. Our voice will be heard. I hope that you folks will remember all of those veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I could have the opportunity to write these blogs and other presses. They are in our prayers....
Real veterans and service members please stand up
To think one day our military and service members would be just that -- members serving -- instead of members being manipulated, would be a grand day. Instead, politics, power, money, and influence in their worst forms plunder the honor it is to serve. The bottom line? Our pro-military (not pro-military member) Rethugs will savage anyone or anything that gets in the way of politics, power, money, and influence. This isn't about Josh afterall -- it's about all of us taking the time to care for one another, to be Christlike (if we insist we are Christians) -- compassionate and sacrificing. Rethugs are failing miserably at this, despite their Christian Nationalism. Â
So, fellow service members and veterans -- Christians and people of faith -- will you stand up and be counted in this debate? Will you choose honor, courage, and commitment, compassion and sacrifice over politics, power, money, and influence? Your soul, and the very soul of your country may depend upon it.
Lansdale
I wouldn't be too quick to support this guy. I was in Iraq with him. He shouldn't even be involved with the VA.  I know what he did and what he didn't do. the whole unit knows what's going on now. I saw his claims as to what he did in Iraq and they are lies. I WAS THERE. Our commnder, First Sergeant and the others are pissed. Josh, youre 15 minutes of fame will soom be over.  Phone calls and letters have been initiated. You are a disgrace to the REAL veterans who are fighting for thier benefits and need care. SO SAYS I"
SSG Steve Howe, Retired./487th ENG DET./US Army Reserve
Asst Fire Chief and NCOIC of Balad Air Base Fire Protection , Iraq 2003-2004
Lansdale
I back Steve 100%. If you don't believe the other people printing that Josh Lansdale lied about his tour in Iraq, at least believe the people that was there with him. I was the Fire Chief/1SG for the unit. I didn't read anything where they were asking for his medical records directly, but they were asking for his schedule for his appointments to visit the VA. Why not produce that. Probably because it he didn't have one. I think myself and my asst chiefs would remember all the aircraft crashes. Ummm,  only one and we didn't even respond to that because the Army decided to let the bird burn. The only people we treated for any type of injuries was 2 of our own fire fighters that had heat injuries because of the extreme heat and all the gear we have to wear. No one was pulled from any building. Josh did not make it anywhere near Baghdad other than maybe in his dreams. And in closing, I don't remember him breaking any bones. There might have been a sprain to his ankle but without seeing his records, I don't even remember that, and I took care of all of the unit's records. So in closing, believe what you want to, the unit members know the truth.Â
Gary Kuehn SFC/AGR  Retired