# Oh give me a fucking break. Duhbya's military records. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 24, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622 "2004-07-24T01:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/1 "2004-07-24T01:48:05Z")
Now they have been found undestroyed??? > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon on Friday released newly discovered payroll records from President Bush’s 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, though the records shed no new light on the future president’s activities during that summer. > > A Pentagon official said the earlier contention that the records were destroyed was an ``inadvertent oversight.’’ > **[Latest news from around the world | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world)** > > Latest World news news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice Inadvertent oversight??? Oh well. Just when I thought they could’nt get any screwier. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/2 "2004-07-24T01:59:24Z")
What? You were pissed that were destroyed, now you’re pissed that they weren’t actually destroyed but only temporarily lost? Or are you more pissed at this? > [@](#): > > The Pentagon on Friday released newly discovered payroll records from President Bush’s 1972 service in the Alabama National Guard, though the records \*shed no new light \* on the future president’s activities during that summer Why a new thread on this? Why not add a post to the old one? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/3 "2004-07-24T02:02:24Z")
Funny that they show up right before the Democrat’s nominating convention, conveniently providing some lightweight ammo. If any spin’s involved, it’s probably not from the direction you’d prefer. Nothing new is revealed. This simply supports old allegations. Nationally, it’s probably only going to generate a tiny fizzle for a tiny duration. Sorry, this leaves my hackles pretty darn flat. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/4 "2004-07-24T02:09:34Z")
The point is not the records themselves. But they swore to us they had been destroyed. Remember? Now they aren’t destroyed? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/5 "2004-07-24T02:09:54Z")
Guess we all can say goodbye now. I get the feeling **Reeder** will be history once [Coldfire](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5088561#post5088561) sees this. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/6 "2004-07-24T02:17:45Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Guess we all can say goodbye now. I get the feeling **Reeder** will be history once [Coldfire](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5088561#post5088561) sees this. Can you read? ``` * About Bush, and; * Not primarily about politics. ``` and this is pure politics. Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/7 "2004-07-24T02:20:11Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Guess we all can say goodbye now. Nah, that’d be unjustified. Bush’s long witheld war records are a legitimate topic of political discussion, and derison. It’s pretty damned obvious now that Bush shirked his duty, and that’s a damn good motive for this months long paper chase. It remains to be seen whether anyone cares that the CiC is a slacker, in addition to his many other flaws. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/8 "2004-07-24T02:28:45Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Can you read? > > ``` > * About Bush, and; > * Not primarily about politics. > > ``` > > and this is pure politics. That’s a matter of opinion. And has, as previously noted, this has already been done. Someone should bury you in a pile of chad. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/9 "2004-07-24T02:31:00Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Nah, that’d be unjustified. Bush’s long witheld war records are a legitimate topic of political discussion, and derison. > It’s pretty damned obvious now that Bush shirked his duty, and that’s a damn good motive for this months long paper chase. It remains to be seen whether anyone cares that the CiC is a slacker, in addition to his many other flaws. How is any more obvious now? The records _shed no new light_?? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/10 "2004-07-24T02:32:29Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > That’s a matter of opinion. And has, as previously noted, this has already been done. Someone should bury you in a pile of chad. Already been done? They just today said the records weren’t really destroyed. Got a link? Of course you don’t. Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/11 "2004-07-24T02:34:46Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > How is any more obvious now? The records _shed no new light_?? You can’t read either?? It’s not about the records…it’s about them suddenly not being destroyed. Damn, I’m surrounded by idiots who can’t read. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/12 "2004-07-24T02:44:22Z")
**Reeder** , just for shits and grins, just answer this question. Isn’t it possible that Bush hasn’t any control over these records being lost or found? I know it strains belief to the max on your part. And it’s possible, too, that this is not the case. But I am a veteran myself. Right now someone in St. Louis could be making paper airplanes with my military record. I’d never know about this, and I’d be powerless to stop it. There are literally thousands of veterans in America who have been screwed out of important benefits because of lost or incomplete records. This is a common and tragic story, and yet the President’s case is somehow unique and nefarious? This doesn’t make much sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/13 "2004-07-24T02:53:13Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Isn’t it possible that Bush hasn’t any control over these records being lost or found? No, it’s not. If Bush had no control over the records it would not have been necessary for AP to file a lawsuit in order to obtain them. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/14 "2004-07-24T02:59:56Z")
Well, it appears friend Reeder is on some sort of apparently masochistic mission to alienate everyone, even those who are essentially in agreement with him, and may even be on some sort of subconscious suicide by mod mission. But you know what the worst thing is that you can do to a masochist? That’s right, _nothing_! 😃 Maybe if we all just start to ignore him, it’ll stop his fun and he’ll go away on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/15 "2004-07-24T03:01:07Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Already been done? > > They just today said the records weren’t really destroyed. > > Got a link? > > Of course you don’t. I was referring to **spooje** : “Why a new thread on this? Why not add a post to the old one?” The “old one” being the original military record thread. And you say _I_ cant read? > [@Squink](#): > > No, it’s not. If Bush had no control over the records it would not have been necessary for AP to file a lawsuit in order to obtain them. Hey, it’s the Government. Filing lawsuits to obtain records is SOP. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/16 "2004-07-24T03:09:34Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > It’s not about the records…it’s about them suddenly not being destroyed. > > . OH MY GOD!!! It’s a vast right-wing conspiracy! Just not a very good one, I guess. Christ, this sounds an awful lot like a record keeping error. General ineptitude of low level government employees. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/17 "2004-07-24T03:10:51Z")
Sure, I didn’t realize Bush was a full time archivist, in addition to his other duties. :rolleyes: BTW, what military records of mine do you think you thing you have a right to read, **Squink**? I’ll let you in on a little secret, it ain’t that many. According to the National Archives, a veteran’s service records are protected by the Privacy Act. Unless a release is granted, all that can be legally released is: Name Service Number Rank Dates of Service Awards and decorations Place of entrance and separation If the veteran is deceased: Place of birth Date and geographical location of death Place of burial. I don’t care how many damn lawsuits you file, you’re not getting around these provisions. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/18 "2004-07-24T03:22:37Z")
**Reeder** , from one future Kerry voter to another, **SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY.** ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/19 "2004-07-24T03:26:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > **Reeder** , from one future Kerry voter to another, **SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY.** Not completely though. I like knowing things like this and I often check the Dope before reading any other web site. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622/20 "2004-07-24T03:27:04Z")
It is such a term of art, so subtly done. “No new information” Nothing to see here, move along, you looky-loos. Fact of it is, no new information was required by those of us who see a history of a privileged person who felt no need to be vexed by rules and regs. It could have been worded differently, and still be precisely accurate: no evidence has surfaced that might contradict the suggestion that the valiant Lt. GeeDubya was treated with extraordinary tenderness and compassion. If the same sort of stern and iron-assed adherence to the letter of the rules had been applied to him as was applied to several other men of my own acquaintance…I would have been very pleasantly surprised. I am a pessimist, I am seldom surprised. Sometimes ambushed, never surprised. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-give-me-a-fucking-break-duhbyas-military-records/256622.md?page=2)