"No Spin" - "Mis-Speaking" & Flat Out Lies!

#16 May 24, 2010

Part 1

The following copy provides the public statements of two figures recently in the news; Campbell Brown of CNN and Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General of Connecticut. The first is a refreshing splash of "No Spin" straight up truth telling that is rare in our land today. The second is from a NY Times article published May 17, 2010. The reader is fully capable of assessing the integrity or lack of same in both statements.

I have . . . always marveled whenever a television anchor says that he or she pays no attention to ratings. I’m pretty sure the last time any anchor could honestly ignore ratings was well before I was born. Of course I pay attention to ratings. And simply put, the ratings for my program are not where I would like them to be. It is largely for this reason that I am stepping down as anchor of CNN's Campbell Brown. To be clear: this is my decision, and one that I have been thinking about for some time. As for why, I could have said that I am stepping down to spend more time with my children (which I truly want to do). Or that I am leaving to pursue other opportunities (which I also truly want to do). But I have never had much tolerance for others’ spin, so I can’t imagine trying to stomach my own. The simple fact is that not enough people want to watch my program, and I owe it to myself and to CNN to get out of the way so that CNN can try something else. (Campbell Brown speaking to the issue of her leaving CNN, May, 2010).

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he landed a coveted spot in the Marine Reserve, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. He joined a unit in Washington that conducted drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.

Many politicians have faced questions over their decisions during the Vietnam War, and Mr. Blumenthal, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, is not alone in staying out of the war.

But what is striking about Mr. Blumenthal’s record is the contrast between the many steps he took that allowed him to avoid Vietnam, and the misleading way he often speaks about that period of his life now, especially when he is speaking at veterans’ ceremonies or other patriotic events.

Sometimes his remarks have been plainly untrue, as in his speech to the group in Norwalk. At other times, he has used more ambiguous language, but the impression left on audiences can be similar.

In an interview on Monday, the attorney general said that he had misspoken about his service during the Norwalk event and might have misspoken on other occasions. “My intention has always been to be completely clear and accurate and straightforward, out of respect to the veterans who served in Vietnam,” he said.

(Update - Blumenthal received the nomination for the Democrats regardless of his lies. This says much about Democrats in CT and also about Blumenthal. TRAGIC! 05/22/10).

Part 2

The Evangelical Community is currently in the throes of a disgraceful display of double talk and duplicity in the case of Prof. Ergun Caner at Liberty Seminary in Lynchburg VA. Prof. Caner apparently, to use his language, has 'mis-spoken' in a multitude of areas on his CV & his resume. Rather than stepping up and providing clarity to these issues by answering the questions being posed , now by a whole host of entities, he has taken the posture of silence.

What exacerbates this fiasco is the tepid and tragic response of Elmer Towns and the University's leadership (sic??). I need not repeat that message here, it is available all over the pages of newspapers and magazines world wide. They first said there was no error or sin in Prof. Caner's conduct. Then, when the pressure came to bear, they suddenly decide they ought to conduct an inquiry.

The Muslim community is involved. The local Lynchburg paper did a front-page spread on this matter. No matter how this matter ends, damage of irreparable magnitude has been done.

In August of 1974 Richard Nixon taught this nation a principle. We are all sinners and we sin - - not 'mis-speak', but flat out lie. He did. If he would have stepped up and humbly asked the nation to forgive him I believe he would have been granted that most necessary grace from the American people.

However, that window remains open for a brief time. When it closes, no light shines through those portals ever again. Such is the case in Lynchburg. Sad. Kudo's to Campbell Brown. May her tribe increase!