A senior Pentagon official has rejected as false and misleading recent media headlines, based on an AP story, depicting military recruits receiving waivers as 'ex-cons.' An example is this story: Military Accepting More Ex-Cons.Said Bill Carr, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy:
"For those who have a felony waiver, not only are they not ex-cons, they are not felons for the most part. If one is charged with a felony offense, even if the charge is dismissed or the conviction is reduced to a misdemeanor, even under those circumstances the waiver still goes forward under our rule, simply so that we can be sure that the person, as a whole person, is going to be a good fit in the military. And so assertions that we're discussing ex-convicts are simply false, and frankly for a felony waiver we're typically not even discussing felons."
Carr made the remarks in a recent interview on rightANGLE, the TV show that this NewsBuster hosts. In comments made subsequent to the show, Carr observed:
"Society generally has a stereotypical view of felons as hard-core convicts. The majority of felons allowed to serve do not fit this stereotypical image. The press has headlined these as 'ex-cons,' yet in many of these cases imprisonment was not part of equation and the felony circumstance is a single instance and does not represent a criminal propensity.
"While the term 'felony' conjures up a vision of a person who served state or federal prison time for a serious or violent criminal act, the truth is that the vast majority, with only a few exceptions, are juvenile offenses that result in a fine or unsupervised probationary periods. In many cases the charges are eventually dismissed after such probationary periods. The Services do not recognize dismissal after the fact, and many waivers are run on such cases."
Carr offered the following examples of recruits having received "felony waivers," mentioning that these cases were selected at random:- A 15-year old trying to "smoke out" bees in a hive accidentally set the hive on fire, and in turn, the house close to the tree is damaged. He was charged with and convicted of arson and sentenced to probation. He is now 21 or 22-years old with no other record, yet is counted in the "felony waiver" category.
- At age 12 a youth broke into his neighbor's shed. He takes a bike; is arrested and charged with breaking & entering and theft. He is now 23 yrs old, with no other charges -- counted as a felony waiver.
- A person was charged with two DUI's. At age 17 he was charged under zero tolerance laws despite not being at the DUI threshold. He had another DUI at age 19. He is now 37 years old, with no other record.
- Two kids got into a school fight at age 14. The police charge both of with aggravated assault with intent to commit bodily harm (one used shoe to kick the other one) and the applicant was charged with use of a deadly weapon (shoe). The applicant is now 18 and has no other charges, yet is listed as a felon. He does one year probation, then charges are dismissed. Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) is commonly used in states like Maryland to allow a "no record for juvenile cases." However, the military still requires a waiver for such an offense.
Webcasts of Mark's rightANGLE TV available here. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Com'on Mark, you know you're
February 17, 2007 - 07:54 ET by ThisnThatCom'on Mark, you know you're being totally unfair to the MSM. They don't give anybody a break, and everyone knows that. You want examples? Look at how they have really come down hard on Obama ("I don't do heroin") and Clinton ("I didn't inhale"). Yeah, I know these two aren't ex-cons; and they didn't serve in the military; but even though they both "back the troops", don't you think they've been really mis-treated?
Two words......Sandy Burglar!
February 17, 2007 - 12:05 ET by gfrrmanTwo words......Sandy Burglar!!!
Mark, great thread.. thanks.
February 17, 2007 - 09:10 ET by rimskyMark, great thread.. thanks. As usual the msm (AP) paints a broad landscape picture of an issue that, IMO, isn't even NEWS. But that's their MO. They are forever trying to find angles from which they can continue to portray our war effort in a bad light. In this case it's a sense of desperation on the part of the Military and their recruiting efforts, which again, IMO, isn't accurate.
Thanks, rimsky. Sec. Carr
February 17, 2007 - 09:15 ET by Mark FinkelsteinThanks, rimsky. Sec. Carr has twice been a guest on my show, and does an outstanding job of presenting the Pentagon view on a variety of issues. Great point about boot camp, by the way!
"The military also does not h
February 17, 2007 - 09:11 ET by rimsky"The military also does not have programs that help convicted felons adjust to military life, according to a new study commissioned by the center, Belkin said."
Yes they do.. it's called BOOT CAMP!
Also, a big, big problem is C
February 17, 2007 - 09:21 ET by ThisnThatAlso, a big, big problem is Congress. Here's a quote: "Our armed forces are under incredible strain, and the only way that they can fill their recruiting quotas is by lowering their standards," said Rep. Marty Meehan, a Massachusetts Democrat who has been working to get additional data from the Pentagon. "By lowering standards, we are endangering the rest of our armed forces and sending the wrong message to potential recruits across the country."
This kind of crap spewing from this so-called representative is uncalled for. It shows how totally ignorant these people are. This is the same person that insists that our prisons are too full and that felons need to be re-habilitated. The problem is, we have no news reporters anymore that are willing to challange such statements and point out these inconsistancies.
This is a typical tactic.Kind
February 17, 2007 - 10:54 ET by BlondeThis is a typical tactic.
Kind of like the anti-war Rangle calling to reinstitute the draft.
And the media pushes the notion as being legitimate, instead of identifying it as nothing more than a cheap political shell game.
Mark, we all know this Canard has been part of the attack.
February 17, 2007 - 11:12 ET by acaiguanaMark, we all know this Canard has been part of the attack.
And these people say the 'support our troops.'
Well, there is an entire set of weapons in the arsenal of attack on our soldiers. Let's see.
1. Torture (we do that all the time, just love that torture thingy).
2. Felons (Can't get a decent army together today because no one supports this war and by gosh we'll just have to resort to lowering standards).
3. Low standards (The military does have in fact the highest level of education among its members in the history of the Republic so we can't really refute that fact, so we'll just claim that since they can't get anyone to join, they lower standards - yeah that'll work).
4. Bad Economy forces victims into military (sorta stands on its own, doesn't it?)
5. Our children at war (Aside from being totally insulting to the troops - but what the hey? They ain't gonna vote Democrat anyway. And the majority of Americans haven't talked to a real soldier in a long time anyway so they will believe it).
6. Bring back the Draft (Logical stand resulting from the above assumptions being thrown out for Americans to base their decisions on).
7. If 'bringing back the Draft' is too silly even for nuts to accept, then we'll hammer - Improperly Equipped - suicide mission because we don't give our Army impervious Body Armor and impervious Tanks and Jeeps). That'll work, huh?
8. Indifference to the 'safety' of our troops. If that painting of the leadership doesn't discourage people from joining we'll just...
9. CALL THEM MERCENARIES.
I could just go on for about another 1,000 words, but the point is so easy to make and the position so easy to expose, I suppose I assume everyone gets it in everyday life. But poll numbers say otherwise.
Sad and frustrating.
ACA
...
Hillary Clinton says: "I want to take those profits."
The thing I find truly irrita
February 17, 2007 - 19:09 ET by BDThe thing I find truly irritating is that the same people who claim they Support our Troops while not supporting their mission would never dream of encouraging their children our young acquantences to enlist.
Charlie Rangel has never encouraged his young democratic staffers to join the Army Reserve while they work for him, though he has encouraged the use of a draft.
Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon? Right.....
The military is, and will remain a conservative bastion just due to this factor...
I'm a little confused here,
February 17, 2007 - 12:35 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsI'm a little confused here, isn't it the Democrat Party that has been recruiting ex-cons?
D
Want your elected reps to know what you think? Go to Congress.org, it's real easy.
You can also send faxes to your reps for free from NumbersUSA.
DFTT, convicted felons and th
February 17, 2007 - 20:29 ET by MikeBDFTT, convicted felons and the deceased are two of the Democrat Party's biggest constituencies. The latter of these two is the reason a conservative should never, ever say, "I'll vote for a Democrat over my dead body", 'cause you just might.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
Is there any low out there
February 17, 2007 - 13:35 ET by Dave RIs there any low out there that is considered too low by our enemy within liberal media? All the MSM seems to want to do is disparage our military personel at every available opportunity, and when the opportinity isn't readily available they go out of there way to create one.
How utterly sad and demoralizing it must be for our people in uniform, and not just those serving in Iraq, but all over the world, who stand ready to defend this country from any threat to our rights and freedoms, and this includes the freedoms the MSM enjoys.
What a bunch of mindless ingrates!
I hate newspapermen.....I regard them as spies.....If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast. -Gen. William T. Sherman
The MSM and Dems treat the t
February 17, 2007 - 19:38 ET by garvinThe MSM and Dems treat the troops as if they are not Americans first, but personal toys for them to play with.
Precisely.Just like Bella Pel
February 17, 2007 - 19:43 ET by BlondePrecisely.
Just like Bella Pelosi tried to do with her "personal" aircraft.
Let the witch walk back to San Fran.
Mark,The irony is clear. As l
February 17, 2007 - 20:58 ET by NeoConfirmedMark,
The irony is clear. As long as you're anti-war, you're past matters not (Murtha, Bird, Kennedy, Kerry, etc). But if you are stupid enough to join the military and fight this illegal war, you must have a rap sheet.
NC, besides having a rap shee
February 18, 2007 - 16:42 ET by MikeBNC, besides having a rap sheet, U.S. Military recruits must also have done poorly in school and/or have been caught in dire financial straights. So, the military, according to the dumbocrats is made up of poor, stupid criminals. Oh, by the way, the dumbocrats support our soldiers. HAH!
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
And don't question their pa
February 18, 2007 - 16:45 ET by Eric TurnerAnd don't question their patriotism!
ET,I would never do such a th
February 18, 2007 - 16:51 ET by NeoConfirmedET,
I would never do such a thing.
I fully support their patriotism.....I just don't agree with their mission!
MikeB,These 21st Century McGo
February 18, 2007 - 17:02 ET by NeoConfirmedMikeB,
These 21st Century McGovern hippies actually believe that they're style of 'debate' (whining in the streets with signs badmouthing their president and military) is what makes this country (ya know, the one they disagree with) great.
Good grief....
NeoC,Did you see this NB blog
February 18, 2007 - 17:10 ET by BlondeNeoC,
Did you see this NB blog from a couple of weeks ago?
Talk about old McGovern hippies....you've gotta click on the links to the pictures...they're a riot. "Ducks for Peace" and "Just Poop" (no one here ever did figure out exactly what that was supposed to mean).
Check it out.