On Slime And Gullibility

Brad over at Just Citizens names Jess(i)e MacBeth Nimrod of the Week. Boy, is he kind.

Today, the Army ran a check on Mr. MacBeth’s credentials. It turns out, not surprisingly to anybody with half a mind, that Mr. MacBeth has NO Army service record. Anywhere. Period. This is a direct quote given to me by Army spokesman John Boyce:

“Initial research by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg shows no Soldier with the name of Jesse Macbeth having ever been assigned to the Special Forces or the Army Rangers — which are, in fact, two separate disciplines. This appears to be some sort of hoax. No Soldier by that name at Fort Lewis to our knowledge, in the past, either. Of course, the line about "go into the Army or go to jail" is vintage TV script not heard since the 1960s. There are also numerous wear and appearance issues with the Soldier's uniform — a mix of foreign uniforms with the sleeves rolled up like a Marine and a badly floppy tan beret worn like a pastry chef. Of course, the allegations of war crimes are vague, as are the awards the Soldier allegedly received.”

I’m sure that this simply means that the Army is covering up Jesse’s involvement in the entire affair.

The kind of damage a twit like this can do is incalculable. He smears decent and honorable men and women doing a difficult job. His slime gets passed around and believed by the gullible who want so badly to prove the "evil intent" of the men and women who serve. And even though he has been revealed to be a fraud, some of the gullible will continue to eat up a full, heaping plate of his slime and regurgitate it to other gullible people. Even if they acknowledge the MacBeth lied, they'll still try to maintain he spoke a "higher truth."

But thanks, Jess(i)e for helping discredit your fellow travelers. Because average people in this country will be sickened by what you tried to pull off. I wouldn't show your lame face anywhere where someone who supports the troops can recognize you.

There is a cautionary tale here, though. Those of us who support the military must be sure we are quoting reliable sources when we pass information on the war and on our troops. We don't want to get caught believing a charlatan.

UPDATE: Allah Pundit has THE roundup.