• RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,PepeLePew13, 03:17 PM, 02-12-13
  • RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,dabo, 03:31 PM, 02-12-13
• RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,Starshine, 03:20 PM, 02-12-13
  • RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,jbug, 04:04 PM, 02-12-13
    • RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,Snidget, 06:56 PM, 02-12-13
• RE: Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle,Estee, 03:59 PM, 02-12-13
• Gun Control,dabo, 05:40 PM, 02-12-13
  • RE: Gun Control,PepeLePew13, 06:42 PM, 02-12-13
    • RE: Gun Control,jbug, 08:44 PM, 02-12-13
      • *Evil Grin*l,foonermints, 11:41 PM, 02-12-13

LAST EDITED ON 02-12-13 AT 03:33 PM (EST)

Well, we did discuss about Chris Kyle's death buried well down in this thread.

The question is, why is it such a big deal about whether the President or someone else properly acknowledged the service or death of a former soldier? (As heroic as he was in his four tours in Iraq, he did make a very questionable decision to take a PTSD-riddled guy to a gun range)

I can't get into the politics of whether the President should go and honour this person and not that person etc., but I don't think it's really the public's business about who gets honoured or not.

FWIW, Bush was known for not attending public services for deceased soldiers either (rather, he chose to meet some families privately but didn't meet all of them) while Obama was more known for paying his respects in person when the soldiers killed in duty were brought to Dover Air Force Base. That was Bush's choice to handle it in that manner, while it's Obama's choice to handle it in his own manner. Personally, I think that Presidents have better things to do than to travel halfway across the country to pay respects to a former soldier who didn't die while serving the country but instead died because of a questionable decision. I also don't think Obama needed to be going to Chicago to pay his respects at the girl's funeral (he didn't go - Michelle apparently did).

Incidentally, what was Obama doing during Kyle's funeral? He was handing out a Medal of Honor to a living soldier at the same time, recognizing a current soldier for his service.

ETA: As Starshine accurately pointed out, many many many veterans die every day. Why would Obama recognize Kyle over many of the other ones? Kyle is a former soldier, Obama was recognizing a different soldier at the same time of the funeral.

It seems it was Sarah Palin who raised this ruckus. I can understand the Palins paying tribute to Chris Kyle since Todd Palin and he were on Stars Earn Stripes together. And, of course, any opportunity to take a potshot at Obama, get herself in the news again. And just before the State of the Union.

Not to make light of this mans death, however about 1800 veterans die a day in the US, to single one out amongst so many deserving heros would be very arbitrary surely?

I understand your point that so many die every day; and many in the line of duty.
I guess I was just wondering why he doesn't seem to have even acknowledged this man. And I think this would be different than acknowledging every veteran. This man was very well known and "the most lethal sniper in American military history, with 160 confirmed kills" (wikipedia).
We might say that this one veteran should not be any different from any other veteran that dies.
Then, neither should the young girl that died be any different than the 4 year old toddler who was playing with a handgun and shot himself in Memphis.

Where or how do we make distinctions?
What criteria do we use?

Well, usually someone that one has a connection with tends to trump someone that you don't know.

I assume someone in all of the White House staff, Presidential or First Lady, probably had something to do with deciding which hometown kids happened to be invited to the inauguration to sing. It isn't like they just leave it up to chance. Just like Palin makes a bigger deal over someone her family was on a reality TV show than those few of us remaining who have not.

Beyond that is usually is who will get you on the news/get ratings and how much money the victim's family (or mangers and agents) has to spend on doing the media tour.

It may depend on what media you, or Palin, sampled. Around here someone getting killed by a Chicago gang-banger even if we have seen them on TV barely blipped. We got more media coverage of the Sniper-dude, but probably because we have a lot of veterans here, and a lot of them have PTSD, and who, and how they are being helped has some immediacy to our daily lives.

I never know (wikipedia not-with-standing) how much of any story of military prowess is about selling books and TV shows (or getting elected) vs how much is really the truth of the matter. Fog of war often allows for there to be some flexibility in how one counts things up.

*removes worm*

*cuts off barb*

*straightens hook*

*walks away*

LAST EDITED ON 02-12-13 AT 05:44 PM (EST)

Well, first of all, we don't know what Obama may have done privately in regard to Kyle's death.

He may have decided it would be disrespectful to say anything about it that would make news and become a political issue.

https://leaksource.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/murdered-navy-seal-chris-kyle-was-obama-gun-control-foe/

In one of his last interviews just two weeks before his death, Kyle told Guns.com that he was against Obama’s gun control agenda.

Had Obama or Biden or anyone close to them said one thing about Kyle that even had a hint of the gun control agenda, Palin et al would have jumped on it.

I think Palin has made a mistake by making an issue of this now, she has opened the door for Obama to not only mention Kyle but also do so in relation to the gun control agenda.

Let's see what happens.

http://thetruthbyrcoldguy.blogspot.com/2013/02/murdered-navy-seal-chris-kyle-was-obama.html
edited to ad a link that links

Here's a link to today's Medal of Honor ceremony.

http://us.cnn.com/2013/02/11/politics/medal-of-honor/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Recognizing a living soldier with the Medal of Honor in the presence of the families of 8 deceased soldiers involved in the same battle trumps a funeral for a former soldier who had a political axe to grind with the President, I'd think.

I don't have any problem with Obama not going to the service. I never said that he should have.

I'm glad he can acknowledge a Medal of Honor recipient. I'd like to think it wasn't just a photo op for him; but like most Presidents, these opportunities can't be missed.

just that he doesn't seem to have acknowledged this veteran in any way.
Kyle died on Feb 2nd. There has been time to make a statement.
But like Snidget said, maybe he figured he'd be damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Aside from your penchant for guns, young lady, I advise this remedy.

foonermint: Hello Nanny State!