As former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle tells the story, he sucker-punched 55-year-old Jesse Ventura in a bar in September 2006 and then ran away – but Ventura, an honorably discharged Vietnam veteran who completed SEAL training himself,* insists the criminal assault “never happened,” and he’s willing to clear Kyle’s name.
“If a former governor within the SEAL community had been knocked down and … assaulted, it would have traveled through the SEAL community like wildfire,” Ventura pointed out in a radio interview with broadcaster Alex Jones, underscoring the fact that the alleged incident was never heard of prior to Kyle’s recent media tour to promote his new book, American Sniper. “He never hit me; I don’t even know who he is…. I want to clear his name because he’s confessing to assaulting me, and it didn’t happen.”
Ventura, a former Minnesota Governor, long-time professional wrestling performer, and movie actor who has become an outspoken peace activist, was en route to Mexico when Kyle made the allegations during an interview on “The O’Reilly Factor” to plug American Sniper. At the time of his retirement in 2009, Kyle was considered the most lethal sniper in U.S. history, credited with 255 kills – all of them involving Iraqi insurgents who, it should be noted, were fighting on their home soil to expel a foreign army of occupation.
“It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don’t regret it,” Kyle, a native of Odessa, told the publication Texas Monthly. “My regrets are for the people I couldn’t save: Marines, soldiers, buddies. I’m not naive, and I don’t romanticize war. The worst moments of my life have come as a SEAL. But I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job.”
According to Kyle’s account, the confrontation with Ventura occurred at McP’s Irish Pub, a popular SEAL hangout near the Naval Special Warfare Center, in September 2006. Although Ventura insists that he has no recollection of the incident, he says that he may have been at the bar – whose owner is one of Ventura’s former instructors – to attend a function at the SEAL facility.
In an interview with Sirius Radio personalities Opie and Anthony, Kyle claimed that Ventura, who made no secret of his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and his support for anti-war Republican presidential contender Ron Paul), “was bad-mouthing the war, bad-mouthing Bush, bad-mouthing America…. He told us that we were killing innocent people over there, men women children [and] that we were murders … [and] then he said that we deserved to lose a few guys.”
Ventura supposedly made those remarks despite the presence of family members of slain SEAL Michael Monsoor, who died on September 29, 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq. Monsoor, who smothered a grenade with his body to save his colleagues, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. As Kyle told the story on “The O’Reilly Factor,” Ventura was asked to tone down his comments, but simply became louder and increasingly disrespectful – so he slugged the 55-year-old man in the face.
“That happened? You knocked him out?” Bill O’Reilly asked.
“Well, I knocked him down,” Mr Kyle responded, explaining that rather than sticking around to see how Ventura would respond, he fled the scene – acting on the wisdom of a SEAL Master Chief who supposedly taught him to “Punch and run.” The story left self-styled tough guy O’Reilly was visibly giddy with admiration, despite the fact that what Kyle described was a cheap shot of the sort that would be taken by a bullying punk, rather than the heroic take-down of a marauder. This assumes, of course, that the incident ever happened.
As Ventura points out, “nobody goes to McP’s alone,” and if Kyle is telling the truth, there should be witnesses to his criminal assault. While the ex-Governor’s concern to clear Kyle’s name is most likely facetious, there is a serious question about his credibility. Only 160 of Kyle’s 255 claimed sniper kills have been confirmed; if he has invented the story of his less-than-valiant face-off with Jesse Ventura, or embellished it beyond recognition, how reliable are the war stories he is peddling in his new book?
More importantly Kyle isn’t merely a guy peddling a book: He’s also a major player in Craft International, a Homeland Security contractor involved in training domestic law enforcement agencies, where he will have ample opportunity to teach SWAT operators and other police personnel the same “Punch and run” ethic he claims to have displayed in his encounter with Jesse Ventura.
To hear Gov. Ventura’s interview with Alex Jones, go here.
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*The original version of this story described Ventura as a “retired SEAL”; as a commenter below observed, that description of his military career has been disputed, a fact acknowledged in the revised language above. Republic magazine appreciates the correction.
January 10th, 2012 at 5:39 am
You do realize this whole story was a MADE-UP FARCE by a sick, twisted baby-killer, right? This event NEVER HAPPENED! Ventura has demanded retractions from all agencies who have printed this LIE and he is pursuing legal action against the LIAR in question. Ventura has called on all Navy Seals who “witnessed” the attack to come forward and has provided the name of the bar owner for anyone who wants to actually FACT-CHECK this LIE. I guess “America” is not the great country you think it is, nor are you a “great” person or intellect for believing everything you read and hear. Why don’t you retract this lie and show yourself to be better than the trtaitor and baby-killer who was PROMOTING A BOOK and LYING to get sales. Great guy, huh?
January 10th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Whether he is lying about punching Ventura or not, if he had 165 confirmed kills in Iraq, good for him. Wish he’d killed a 1000 times that many Muslims.
January 10th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Fact check this. Jesse was NEVER a member of the Seal team so he can’t be retired from it. Since you told that lie how can we believe any of the rest of this story?
January 10th, 2012 at 12:09 pm
“Fact check this. Jesse was NEVER a member of the Seal team so he can’t be retired from it. Since you told that lie how can we believe any of the rest of this story?”
I appreciate your correction, and have made note of it above. Thanks!
January 10th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
“Whether he is lying about punching Ventura or not, if he had 165 confirmed kills in Iraq, good for him. Wish he’d killed a 1000 times that many Muslims.”
Since every one of those kills took place in the context of an illegal, unconstitutional war, each of them was an act of criminal homicide. That’s hardly a commendable record.
January 11th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Unlawful wars upon countries that never did America any harm is reprehensible and this sub par sniper should be tried and convicted of murder for carrying out unlawful criminal actions. Additionally all those involved should be tried as well including the POTUS and his cabinet, all contractors and agencies.
PAX AUT BELLUM!
January 11th, 2012 at 11:02 am
this total fabrication, including WG’s crappy comment(troll) is BS. and if a penny is made on this lie , then all monies should go to jesse ventura PERIOD. and all you warmongering armchair generals GET A FREAKING JOB!
January 11th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
I’m sick and tired of people saying “that was my job”, if your job requires you to violate the OATH you swore on a BIBLE to uphold and defend against enemies foreign and domestic then you are an ignorant, lying, disease and an embarassment to all Americans and what freedom really is. Real men don’t follow orders that violate their oath!
January 11th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I am not impressed with this person. I am a vet and I shit you not when I say.. most who have the core in them will not do this kind of crap. To me this man honor is FUBAR.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Chris, when you face your God with your clear conscience, and God asks you, “What part of ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ did you not understand,” what will your well-thought-out answer be?
January 12th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
SenorPlaid: you need to educate yourself on the bible. The word “kill” is more accurately translated “murder” and given the Lord himself gave direct orders to kill thousands of people during war in the Old Testament I think it’s quite obvious he doesn’t have a blanket prescription against any killing.
Whether the iraqi war is just or not is another matter, but don’t play fast and loose with the Holy Bible.
January 12th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Jesse Ventura wasn’t a SEAL, but he was a UDT frogman, predecessor to the SEALs. Check it out. It’s not like it’s hard to find. It’s not like the guy isn’t a vet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Navy_career
January 12th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
First of all, for all the people leaving comments like “HE’S NOT A NAVY SEAL!! HOW DARE HE!!!” do yourselves a favor and call up McP’s Bar and Grill in Coronado, CA ask some SEALS yourself if he’s a SEAL or not instead of blowing a gasket and regurgitating your cyber bombs all over his videos and articles.. ya might even get to talk to when of his old SEAL team buddies.. he went through the Indoctrination he’s a trained SEAL.. If I joined the Marine Corps, went through boot basic and OCS doesn’t mean I’m not a Marine because I didn’t pop any Iraqis I’d still be a Marine. Secondly Jesse said it was bull, nobody else mention this only 6 years later this guy comes up with this stuff? I think he’s probably looking for some Publicity for his Book and draw attention, Bill O’riely like him and there’s enough for me not to trust him.
January 12th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
PaulP: Which just demonstrates what a ridiculous book of self-contradicting, barbaric, bronze-age fairy tales your “Holy” bible really is. Time for you to grow up and leave your imaginary sky-pal behind. Let’s define morality by rational and intelligent means, not the poorly translated ramblings of an ancient tribe of simple desert nomads.
January 12th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
THATS RIGHT MEAN GENE,IT NEVER HAPPENED…I WAS’NT THERE!!!!!!!!!
January 13th, 2012 at 10:12 am
I see this article is listed as NEWS but is written as a editorial. How come?
January 13th, 2012 at 11:27 am
Like nearly every periodical of its kind — from neo-con outlets like National Review, The Weekly Standard, and The New Republic, to right-leaning magazines such as The New American — Republic is a journal of news and opinion. We report on current events and offer a perspective. Thanks for your feedback!
January 13th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Jesse Ventura: Idiot 9/11 denier and clown.
William Grigg: Idiot wannabe journalist and clown.
Chris Kyle: My new hero.
January 13th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
I don’t get these comments being made about “A war America should not have been in”??? Are you serious?? Did Saddam not invade an innocent country and rape murder and pillage Kuwait?? Did Saddam not gas thousands of his own people?? Did Saddam not try and kill a former President by firing a missile?? Did Saddam not break every UN Resolution he agreed to??? Was Saddam not hell bent on acquiring WMD’s??
So why were in Iraq?? YOU KNOW THE ANSWER NOW!
January 13th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
“I don’t get these comments being made about `A war America should not have been in’??? Are you serious??”
I certainly am, and assuming that you are posing questions our of sincere curiosity, I’ll answer them.
“Did Saddam not invade an innocent country and rape murder and pillage Kuwait??”
Actually, he invaded two innocent countries — Iran and Kuwait — the first with the active support of Washington, the second with Washington’s tacit approval. The U.S. had no right to abet either invasion, and no right to intervene in the latter. People who felt a moral imperative to restore the Kuwaiti Emir were perfectly free to enlist in that cause as mercenaries, but the U.S. government had no moral, legal, or constitutional authority to involve our country in that conflict.
“Did Saddam not gas thousands of his own people??”
It’s pretty clear that attack was carried out by the Iranian government, rather than Iraq. Furthermore, this occurred at a time when Saddam was a client of Washington, and his bio/chem arsenal was being built with Washington’s support (remember the 12/83 Rumsfeld-Saddam handshake?). As late as 1989, the first Bush administration — long after the gas attack in question — was providing direct military support for Saddam’s regime, which makes that atrocity a very dubious casus belli.
Besides, didn’t the U.S. government gas and incinerate “its own people” at Waco? Would that justify a Chinese invasion to redress that hideous crime?
“Did Saddam not try and kill a former President by firing a missile??”
Actually, the claim was that Iraqi agents attempted to use a car bomb, and as a result, the Clinton administration ordered a cruise missile attack against the Iraqi Intelligence Service HQ. Frederick Whitehurst of the FBI crime lab concluded that the evidence supporting the charge against Iraq was inconclusive and most likely doctored. Assassinating a head of state is a crime, of course — one Bush himself had attempted during the 1991 attack on Baghdad. If Saddam did try to kill Bush, he was retaliating for Bush’s own assassination attempt.
“Did Saddam not break every UN Resolution he agreed to???”
We shouldn’t be in the UN, much less enforce Security Council resolutions. Do you really think Americans should kill and die on behalf of the UN? Furthermore, if we’re going to get in the business of punishing nations for defying UN Security Council resolutions, we’re going to be carpet-bombing Israel pretty soon, which would be a really bad idea, wouldn’t it?
“Was Saddam not hell bent on acquiring WMD’s??”
Actually, he gave up his WMD (meaning nuclear weapons) program after the first Gulf War.
“So why were in Iraq?? YOU KNOW THE ANSWER NOW!”
Obviously, the “answer” isn’t to be found in any of the matters addressed above. Iraq never attacked or threatened the United States in any way. Congress never declared war, as the Constitution requires; in fact, Congress expressly *refused* an opportunity to pass a declaration in 2002.
There was no moral, legal, or constitutional justification for the war, which has left thousands of Americans dead, tens of thousands wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead or displaced, devoured at least a trillion dollars we didn’t have, and cultivated generations of enmity that will make life miserable for our descendants for the next couple of generations. Other than that, it was a *swell* idea, I suppose.
Thanks for your feedback!
January 13th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
William Grigg just destroyed the neo-con talking points HDNKR repeated after hearing them on Rush/Hannity/Levin.
By the way, the ratings have plummeted for all three of those shows lately.
January 14th, 2012 at 1:35 am
(1) At the time Ventura served in Vietnam, UDTs and SEALs were separate, though closely related (both went through BUD/S training). Since then, the two categories have been merged into one; those who had been UDTs were redesignated SEALs. So to say that Ventura is merely a UDT and *not* a SEAL is already an ignorant statement.
(2) In any case, *since* Vietnam, Ventura did his reserve duty in SEAL Team One (yes, designated SEAL at the time), so there’s no use quibbling about nomenclature. He’s a SEAL. [cite: http://www.militaryhub.com/military-people.cfm?id=42 ]
(3) But don’t take *my* word for it! Captain Larry Bailey states:
JESSE VENTURA — SEAL OR NOT?
Jesse Ventura went through UDT/SEAL Class 58 in 1970 and was assigned to UDT-12, where he spent three years (including three deployments to Subic Bay, Philippines). As a UDT frogman, he operated in Viet Nam waters and earned the US Viet Nam Service Ribbon. He undoubtedly, like so many UDT men of that era, went ashore in Viet Nam for short periods of time. After he was released from active duty in 1973, he joined Reserve SEAL Team ONE. The point here is that all graduates of BUD/S are referred to within the Naval Special Warfare community as SEALs. They received the same training, whether they went to SEAL Teams or Underwater Demolition Teams. The case made by Commander Salisbury on Fox News Channel recently is without merit; Jesse Ventura is a SEAL by any definition.
– Larry Bailey, Captain, USN (Ret.)
[cite: http://web.archive.org/web/20021202124021/www.authentiseal.org/jesse.htm ]
January 14th, 2012 at 3:38 am
By the way, Captain Larry Bailey retired from the U.S. Navy in 1990 after a 27-year career as a SEAL officer. His most significant military assignment was as Commanding Officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center, where all Navy SEALS undergo basic and advanced training.
Bailey has some credibility in this matter, like AuthentiSEALs.org (which was created specifically to expose fake SEALs).
Whereas the above commenter “ken,” who told you “Jesse was NEVER a member of the Seal team so he can’t be retired from it” — which you took note of as a “correction” — just how credible and “correct” does he turn out to have been, Mr. Grigg?
Would you like to reconsider that “correction”?
January 14th, 2012 at 3:43 am
Got it straight from one of the McPs bartenders who was there when it happened: Ventura got decked.
January 14th, 2012 at 9:51 am
@John — Please send me the contact info (WNGrigg [at] MSN [dot] com) so I can do a follow-up story. Thanks!
@Raven — The correction, as I wrote it, took into account the fact that the characterization of Gov. Ventura as Vietnam-era SEAL has been “disputed,” which was the most economical way of addressing the controversy without getting into the details you describe.
January 14th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
@William Grigg: Your site, your rules. Sure.
But it sounds to me like… hosting a debate between mainstream geographers (with NASA photos) and Flat-Earth crackpots, and only reporting the outcome as: “Shape of Earth: disputed.” There’s a false equivalence implied, as though the evidence balanced out evenly.
Your article still states that Ventura “completed SEAL training himself,” but what Bailey — who’s in a position to *know* — verifies is that (after his UDT service in Vietnam) Ventura also did his reserve duty *on a SEAL Team*. Actually wore the trident on duty, no fakery involved. (Don’t diss reserve duty; many of the US forces serving in the recent war, and the Gulf War before that, were reservists.)
So there is no honest “dispute.” There is the known truth — that Ventura’s a retired SEAL — and there is a known falsehood. Trying to compromise between the two is like trying to compromise between food and poison; the poison always wins.
If it were *your* honor involved, would weasel words satisfy you? Or would you want a clear vindication of yourself and an equally clear repudiation of the lies?
Then what, as an honorable man, should you do now?
January 14th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
If this UDT=SEAL business is too abstruse for anyone, imagine (not an exact parallel, I know) going to an Air Force veterans convention and trying to tell any *Army Air Corps* veterans that they don’t belong there.
Well, the Army Air Corps *had its name changed* to the Air Force, so those who had served in the Army Air Corps are now *recognized as* veterans of the Air Force.
Maybe that makes it clearer how, when the UDTs and SEALs were *merged into one*, those who had *served in UDTs* are now *recognized as* SEALs.
(Quite aside from whether they *also* served on SEAL Teams, as Ventura did.)
January 14th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
@Dave: Yep, no other SEALs have come forward to corroborate that story — let alone verify they were SEALs — and the bar owner (a verifiable person) doesn’t corroborate it, either.
But John says he heard from a *bartender* that it’s true, and by crookie that’s good enough! Because a bartender doesn’t need to present SEAL credentials to anyone!
Oh, *I* heard from a friend of a friend, from her sister’s boyfriend’s cousin, that his neighbor’s uncle’s barber heard while shaving some guy’s noggin, from some man beneath a towel (wrapped by the other barber) that *he* heard from his granny while stocking shelves inside her larder, that *she* heard at her kaffeeklatsch in gossip with the ladies, that *they* heard through the window whilst visiting the Bradies, and so I know for very sure that what I say is true, or else how dare I pass it on and tell it now to you?
January 14th, 2012 at 3:23 pm
I see mnay left wing liberal dingbats posting here.
If Jesse Ventura wasn’t punched in the face, he should have been. Thge guy is a whacko loser who is a 9-11 truther.
If I heard him spout off the way he did, I would have punched that overweight blowhard in the face and not run away but wait for another shot should he wake up from being smoked.
1982-1992 US Navy
January 14th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
@James Ziolkowski: As for “dingbats” posting here, let’s check the facts:
You say “Whacko loser”. The record says *decorated* veteran, *successful* wrestler (for 11 years!), *successful* screen actor, *successful* mayor who then *successfully* campaigned for governor, giving state citizens annual rebates on their sales taxes etc. Even leaving aside his subsequent TV career — do *you* have a success rate anywhere near that, James? Where can we all find your online biography to confirm it? If not, don’t you think you come off a bit like a Chihuahua yipping “loser” at a Rottweiler… from a safe long distance?
You say “If I heard him spout off the way he did…” — wait. If you DIDN’T hear him spout off, HOW DO YOU KNOW HE DID? That’s more than you can attest to, Bub. You’re taking Kyle’s word for it, but no-one else has come forward to support Kyle’s story *in any detail*, not what Kyle says Ventura said, not what Kyle says Kyle did, nothing. Yet all this supposedly took place in the middle of a crowd of SEALs and grieving family members, who — if Kyle was telling the truth — should have eagerly verified his story. NOT ONE HAS. Years have passed. Crickets still sing. Draw the obvious and unavoidable conclusion.
Why are we believing anything Kyle says *even about his own performance record* beyond what can be verified by others? Now that it seems he’s a self-inflating liar, his sniping stats are as likely to be false as everything else — which means that “believe him because he’s a hero” is circular logic and untrustworthy. It may be Kyle, not Ventura, who should have been under suspicion of “Stolen Glory” all this time.
And oh yeah, yeah, you woulda coulda shoulda punched Ventura… yip yip yip…. you coulda taken out Schwarzenegger and Stallone with the other hand at the same time… yip yip yip….
January 14th, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Mr. Grigg: As a follow-up to my previous post. I am a recently retired career military officer that served 24 years on active duty. I served both in Coronado and San Diego and I am familiar with McPs and the people who work there. In late ’06 while on active duty I was returning to San Diego from holiday leave via commercial air. On the same flight was an employee of McPs that I recognized. We talked. During our conversation the employee shared with me that Jesse Ventura had been to McPs a while ago and that during this visit Ventura had been punched by a Navy SEAL. Days later, however, while at McPs, Greg, the owner, denied such a thing had ever happened. I’ve heard nothing more of this incident until recently in the news. To this day I have no reason to believe the employee on the plane with me had any reason to concoct such a story.
January 15th, 2012 at 1:54 am
@William Grigg: So does it look to you like an actual name or any contact info will be forthcoming?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend_of_a_friend
Friend of a friend (FOAF) is a phrase used to refer to someone that one does not know well, literally, a friend of a friend.
In some social sciences, the phrase is used as a half-joking shorthand for the fact that much of the information on which people act comes from distant sources (as in “It happened to a friend of a friend of mine”) and cannot be confirmed. It is probably best known from urban legend studies, where it was popularized by Jan Harold Brunvand. …
January 15th, 2012 at 3:05 am
And one other point for the “woulda-punched-him, Kyle-style” braggarts of the ‘Net — who “woulda” walked into a SEAL-trained and decorated war-veteran’s response, honed by 11 years of professional wrestling, and have been lucky if they survived the experience — Walter Mittys that you are, forget it.
But if, say, Chuck Norris had been there, “woulda” HE have punched Ventura?
No.
How do I know that? How can I know that? Do I read minds?
No.
But some things come along with being a 10th Dan in Tang Soo Do, and a member of multiple martial arts federations. Chuck Norris is sworn “never to misuse” his training; to “be a champion of freedom and justice” (which precludes beating up people for their opinions as though you were a brownshirt); and to “build a more peaceful world” — because, truly, the purpose of this training is NOT to mass-produce thugs and create havoc on the streets!
So when you see someone bullying around, bragging and threatening about how he’ll punch people he disagrees with — that’s a dead give-away.
January 16th, 2012 at 3:22 am
Synthetic dramedy:
Cynthia Dermody
Tries to call mobs down on Ventura’s head.
Oopsie! they turn on her!
Tempers that burn aver,
She’s the “Unpopular Speaker” instead!
January 16th, 2012 at 8:03 am
I am not saying the punching event happened or not. What I will say is a lot of things are quiet well after the fact even when dozens know what happened.
Think Herman Cain affairs / harassment.
Bill Clinton / Jennifer Flowers.
Corporate problems with product that take years to uncover (even though 100′s know).
Fraud / ponzi schemes that many know about that are never come out for years (Enron, Bernie Maddoff etc.
All of these events never came to the media’s attention until late in the game. This too COULD be the same situation.
Give it some time to see if anyone comes forward. It is possible Chris Kyle punched another loudmouth bald goon. I’m from MN. If Jesse was punched, he deserved it.
January 16th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
@SteveH: Affairs generally take place in the bedroom, and corporate frauds in the boardroom, both with doors closed to outsiders specifically to keep the secret among the complicit — not out in public to let a crowd of angry offended hostile witnesses see and hear everything, so they can tell the news, the law, and the rest of the world.
You say, “Give it some time to see if anyone comes forward.” Um, supposedly this took place in September 2006, over five years ago now. The only named person who’s come forward on the record is Chris Kyle himself. Should we wait another five years?
Considering how many ‘Net debates would have been crawling with corroborative sockpuppets by now, why hasn’t one of the Astroturf organizations (used to produce floods of “grass-roots” letters, e-mails, and phone-calls) been tapped for witnesses to support Kyle — more witnesses than McPs could actually hold? Why wait so long?
Where’s a good echo-chamber when you need one?
January 16th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
If Cris Kyle is telling the truth were is the police report ? In the interview he said the cops were there !
January 18th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Yes, Jesse was a frogman and demolitions expert. That’s where he learned about Thermite Paint! Alex Jones says that Jesse used to believe what the government told us, then he heard Mcnamara speak publicly about how the Gulf of Tonkin incident was staged to involve the US in Vietnam. Jesse lost his mind and now thinks everything is a conspiracy. If you have your own, you should contact him so he can put it on his show about conspiracies. He’s so into it he’s made a business of it, just like good ole Alex Jones. “Thank you for your service!” jiz buckets.
January 18th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Yeah, @Keg, nobody here ever heard of straw-man arguments before, of attributing “beliefs” to other people which they don’t really hold.
Gee, like, what is it Rick Santorum says about Obama? “Obama wants to amend the Constitution to redistribute wealth!” Except Obama isn’t saying that himself, Santorum obviously isn’t his designated spokesman, and — hey, amending the Constitution is a job done by members of Congress (like Santorum), anyway, not by the President — so Santorum’s the nutcase in this specific story, not Obama, because it’s all a complete lie that Santorum clearly thinks Americans are stupid enough to believe.
Meanwhile Santorum blasts Mitt Romney for “outright lies and hypocrisy.” It is, as the old saying has it, enough to make a cat laugh.
January 19th, 2012 at 5:45 am
@Raven Santorum is running PsyOps on his opponents. It’s obvious!
January 19th, 2012 at 6:59 pm
From the end of the article: “More importantly Kyle isn’t merely a guy peddling a book: He’s also a major player in Craft International, a Homeland Security contractor….”
And Craft really, really needed publicity help, considering its calamitous choice of name.
Well? Think about it. Google the company name, if its mistake wasn’t obvious.
208,000 hits, of which any actually about this company are the pitifully few needles scattered throughout a giant haystack of hits on companies named “_____ Craft International” — fill in the blank with Accu-, Aero, Auto, Cellar, Child, Connoisseur, Furniture, Global, India, Jewel, Jiffy, Kitchen, KPC-Master’s, Melic, Mine, Nutri, Ocean, Petal, Posh, Pro Master, Space, Stage, Stone, Sun, Surf, Top, Turf, Unique, U2, VG, Village, for an incomplete sampling from the first Google page.
Yeah, just plain “Craft” does not stand out well in that crowd.
Some kind of jumping up and down and shouting “Look at me!” appears to have been called for, and applied.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:33 am
This is the first article I’ve ever read on this website. I have absolutely no opinion on this topic. Yet I can safely say it’s the most biased article I’ve ever read in my entire life. The author, William Grigg, should be fired for failing to maintain a balanced presentation of the information, it’s unethical and alienates readers that don’t want to be spoon-fed an agenda. I’m genuinely angry about how clearly his personal opinion resonates throughout the article, and as someone only looking for the truth I demand this publication to hold itself to higher moral standards. Seriously Grigg, you’re a joke of a writer. Signed, Really pissed off reader
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:32 am
Peter Hanneman, I appreciate your feedback — but given that your letter offered no specifics and didn’t even mention the subject of the article above, I’m left with the impression that your comment was a species of cut-and-paste spam. If you have more substantive complaints about the way the information was presented (mentioning as much as a single detail would be useful, for instance), please feel free to write back. Thanks!
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Let’s get a few things straight.
a. Janos (Ventura) technically, was never a SEAL. They were seperate entities. SEALs came from the UDT world, starting in 1961. As such, there were UDT’s and there were SEALs until they eventually merged in 1983. At the time Ventura (Janos) served all UDT’s and SEALs went through BUDS, then they split off into different specialties. So, using basic Algebraic expression All SEALs were UDT, but not all UDT’s were SEALs.
b. Keyboard cowboys and socialist asshats that like to call Soldiers, Sailors, etc… “babykillers” deserve no consideration whatsoever. They are nothing but iconoclastic cowards who hide behind the anonymity of the internet to take shots at people who have more courage in their toe jam thna these keyboard commandos have in their entire body. War is hell. You do what you are told and go where you are sent and o what you have to make sure that you and your brothers and sisters make it through to gp home one day. a 23 year old woman with a grenade is just as dangerous as a 23 year old man with a hand grenade.
c. I don’t give a rodents crimson cornhole who you are, how old you are, etc… If you walk into a situation where people are mourning a fallen comrade and make stupid assed statements like that, somebody, and maybe several somebodies, will knock you on your ass. And if I had been there, I would have been like everyone else and pulled a Schultz too “I know nothing, I saw nothing, I heard nothing”.
I am sick and tired of watching these cowards shopw up in places like this and making judgements on events they know nothing about and making accusations concerning things, people and events they don’t, themselves, have the balls to get involved with.
January 22nd, 2012 at 11:25 pm
“If you walk into a situation where people are mourning a fallen comrade and make stupid assed statements like that, somebody, and maybe several somebodies, will knock you on your ass. And if I had been there, I would have been like everyone else and pulled a Schultz too `I know nothing, I saw nothing, I heard nothing.’”
So far it’s not been established that Jesse Ventura did anything of the kind. If there is reliable corroboration of Chris Kyle’s story, I’d be more than eager to do a follow-up — but once again, if his story is accurate, sucker-punching and then running is a tactic that didn’t exactly leave him covered in glory.
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Any of you ever listen to the “Opie & Anthony Show”?
Would you be looking to promote your credible literature from that platform?
Jeez…
January 24th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
this sniper fancies himself a hero. years ago soldiers didn’t go around bragging like this. my great-uncle survived iwo jima and we never knew it until a documentary came out about the battle. he’d say to the tv “ah shut up” if he heard modern soldiers blabbing about their combat. i find this guys stories of how awesome he is a bit dubious. and were all 200+ kills verified combatants? and years ago, real soldiers didn’t want anything to do with a sniper. they considered them cowards because they never had to get into trenches and into the real fight. and the military disbanded snipers in between wars because generals and the top brass never had respect for snipers. they thought it an eerie job and didn’t like only it was part of the ugliness of war. snipers only became regular military only fairly recently. what’s he bragging about? he blew people away from a mile away and never fought the front lines like my great-uncle who tell this guy to just shut up and live your life. this guy is trying to sell books and create a myth about himself.
January 25th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Funny how a guy goes to war to protect the freedoms all Americans enjoy and then comes back and punches someone in the face when they exercise that freedom.
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:56 pm
“all of them involving Iraqi insurgents who, it should be noted, were fighting on their home soil to expel a foreign army of occupation.”
What?? You are a complete dolt. You have no proof of this. Actually, the evidence speaks otherwise. Iraqi insurgents were less common in Iraq at the time of this sniper’s service than were non-Iraqi insurgents. Yes, there were far more foreign fighters in theater than there were Iraqi citizens. So the evidence suggests that you are completely wrong in asserting that “all of them [involved] Iraqi insurgents who, it should be noted, were fighting on their home soil to expel a foreign army of occupation.”
You’re a anti-American liar, plain and simple.
February 3rd, 2012 at 11:54 pm
“You have no proof of this. Actually, the evidence speaks otherwise. Iraqi insurgents were less common in Iraq at the time of this sniper’s service than were non-Iraqi insurgents.”
The best evidence to support what I said actually comes from Kyle himself, who has described how the very first “insurgent” he killed (murdered, actually) was an Iraqi woman:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kyle-usn-ret/american-sniper_b_1237669.html
“Yes, there were far more foreign fighters in theater than there were Iraqi citizens.”
That’s true, but not in the sense you intend: There were tens of thousands of *American* who had illegally invaded that country, who were obviously “foreign fighters” — unless we are to assume that armed Americans sprung spontaneously from Mesopotamian soil.
“You’re a anti-American liar, plain and simple.”
You appear to be a truth-aversive fool — and my love for America doesn’t require me to embrace the lies and crimes of the evil Regime ruling it.
February 4th, 2012 at 9:38 pm
SS Spook: “I am sick and tired of watching these cowards shopw up in places like this and making judgements on events they know nothing about and making accusations concerning things, people and events they don’t, themselves, have the balls to get involved with.”
good point and your summary is spot on. My son-in-law who is ex-Army knocked some a-hole liberal on his ass for making similar type of stupid statements in a local bar. Only the cops showed up and asked alot of questions, they eventually figured out what happenned and told my son-in-law “they had his back”. This type of occurrence has happenned where some guy mouths off and gets popped happens fairly frequently and it never makes the news, because it is not newsworthy. Just another stupid lib mouthing off. BTW my sis’ has her business across from McP’s and has lunch there regularly. She told me about this incident a couple years ago- again it was never newsworthy cause Ventura is old news and is pretty much regarded as a joke in the community. Jesse who ?
February 6th, 2012 at 11:01 am
ft,
It sounds like the man who was assaulted by your son in law should contact the local prosecutor’s office and file charges against your thug of a son in law. He should also contact the IA of the police department and file charges against the cops.
If your son in law has such poor control of his temper that he assaults a man for expressing an opinion he doesn’t like, maybe you should look at getting your daughter out of danger.
February 26th, 2012 at 10:19 am
This degenerated idiot sniper a sick murder sniper swine is a liar. Jessey Ventura would crash his testicles and throw to rats. Many this arerican sicko soldiers and snipers are trained liars and murderers same as the US government with crack head in white house.
March 19th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
I’m not a 9-11 truther and conspiracy nut like Jesse’s girl is. I also served my country for ten years. I’m a very successful stock investor.
April 15th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
I just read the book ‘American sniper” by Chris Kyle and I loved it.
Some stupid liberal called him a baby killer but Kyle didn’t kill any babies, just hard core Islamic Jihadists that were out of kill Americans or innocent Iraqi’s or Afghans.
Yellow bellied, cowardly liberals should just shut their trap.