OK, I know I've already submitted my last post in this thread, but this one really is my last post. Reason being, Craig Roberts responded yesterday to my e-mail requesting the reason for lack of media coverage of their event, so I thought I'd pass it along. I redacted my personal information as well as his personal e-mail address, and italicized the content of the e-mail. Van Man, you're right - we ought to be spending time with our hands on the steering wheel instead of the keyboard.
RE:Yup, we're for real
Saturday, January 24, 2009 11:53 AM
From:
"Craig Roberts" <[email protected]>
Add sender to Contacts
To:
[email protected]
Hey! Good morning, xxxxxx,
I didn't get your follow-up email until this morning after it was forwarded to my home email, so I apologize for the delay in responding.
Here is my answer to the "doubting Thomases". (Some of it is redundant, so please excuse the bit I've already sent you).
(I do wish the guy had at least stuck his head in the door
.)
All the best,
Craig
>
> A cynic could conclude that this year’s /Salute to Heroes/ /Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ was planned and executed strictly for the amusement of conspiracy theorists.
>
> Here are the facts: The American Legion, as it has on every inauguration evening since 1953, hosted the/ Salute to Heroes Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ on January 20^th . The quadrennial event is co-sponsored by fourteen veterans service and military service organizations and honors recipients of the Medal of Honor. Forty-seven of these heroes attended this year’s event.
>
> President Obama was invited but did not attend. Vice-President Joe Biden did appear, however, and was very warmly received. From The American Legion’s point of view, the new President’s absence was understandable considering the unprecedented logistical challenges presented by the vastly increased number of visitors to this inauguration and the necessary attendant security measures. The National Adjutant of The American Legion states that, as an organization, The Legion does not feel offended or “snubbed” by the President’s failure to appear.
>
> There are those who doubt the event occurred. Twelve-hundred attendees, including the Commandant of the Marine Corps, (now former) Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake, TV actress and featured speaker Marg Helgenberger, and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, would dispute this. However, the misconception can be explained readily. The site of the /Salute to Heroes/ /Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ was changed this year from its traditional venue, the Capital Hilton Hotel near The White House, to the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel on Ninth Street, NW. There two other Renaissance Hotels in the District, so a misplaced telephone call to verify the event’s existence could have been made easily. Even a call to the correct hotel could lead to the dissemination of misinformation. Many staff members at the Renaissance were unfamiliar with the veterans affair, since it had never been conducted there before. At least one young lady who answered a phone inquiry was on duty the evening before to witness the large crowds gathered for an inaugural event staged by an Illinois delegation, but had the following evening off and did not know of the /Salute to Heroes/. It is also true that, for reasons unknown, the /Salute to Heroes/ did not appear on at least one published list of inaugural events and, finally, as Fox News reported, another veterans event was cancelled a few days earlier due to fiscal irregularities. It would be easy for a careless observer to confuse the two.
>
> Press coverage of the event was lacking simply because the President did not attend. The press, on inauguration day, follows the new President or at least intercepts him during his travels. A /Washington Post/ reporter was credentialed for the event, but stated that she intended to dedicate her time to interviewing Medal of Honor recipients for a feature story to be published at a later date. Another /Post/ reporter asked to attend with a companion, but had to change her plans at the last moment due to transportation problems. A /Military Times/ reporter also cancelled at the last minute for similar reasons. The American Legion itself will publish a feature story about the event in its monthly magazine, but that will not appear until spring. The absence of mention of the event on The American Legion website is due to the fact that The Legion’s leadership did not wish to become hastily embroiled in a hastily commenced adversarial controversy surrounding the President’s failure to appear. As one Legion official has stated repeatedly, ”the /Salute to Heroes/ is about Medal of Honor recipients, not the President.”
>
> It cannot be denied that many attendees and observers were disappointed, and some angered, by the President’s absence. Again, please consider again the logistical reasons cited earlier and the fact that, except for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama is the /only /President to have not served in the armed forces since the /Salute to Heroes/ was initiated. Therefore, he may not be sensitized enough to appreciate fully the perceived importance of this event to many in the military and veterans communities.
>
>
RE:Yup, we're for real
Saturday, January 24, 2009 11:53 AM
From:
"Craig Roberts" <[email protected]>
Add sender to Contacts
To:
[email protected]
Hey! Good morning, xxxxxx,
I didn't get your follow-up email until this morning after it was forwarded to my home email, so I apologize for the delay in responding.
Here is my answer to the "doubting Thomases". (Some of it is redundant, so please excuse the bit I've already sent you).
(I do wish the guy had at least stuck his head in the door
.)All the best,
Craig
>
> A cynic could conclude that this year’s /Salute to Heroes/ /Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ was planned and executed strictly for the amusement of conspiracy theorists.
>
> Here are the facts: The American Legion, as it has on every inauguration evening since 1953, hosted the/ Salute to Heroes Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ on January 20^th . The quadrennial event is co-sponsored by fourteen veterans service and military service organizations and honors recipients of the Medal of Honor. Forty-seven of these heroes attended this year’s event.
>
> President Obama was invited but did not attend. Vice-President Joe Biden did appear, however, and was very warmly received. From The American Legion’s point of view, the new President’s absence was understandable considering the unprecedented logistical challenges presented by the vastly increased number of visitors to this inauguration and the necessary attendant security measures. The National Adjutant of The American Legion states that, as an organization, The Legion does not feel offended or “snubbed” by the President’s failure to appear.
>
> There are those who doubt the event occurred. Twelve-hundred attendees, including the Commandant of the Marine Corps, (now former) Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake, TV actress and featured speaker Marg Helgenberger, and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, would dispute this. However, the misconception can be explained readily. The site of the /Salute to Heroes/ /Inaugural Banquet & Ball/ was changed this year from its traditional venue, the Capital Hilton Hotel near The White House, to the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel on Ninth Street, NW. There two other Renaissance Hotels in the District, so a misplaced telephone call to verify the event’s existence could have been made easily. Even a call to the correct hotel could lead to the dissemination of misinformation. Many staff members at the Renaissance were unfamiliar with the veterans affair, since it had never been conducted there before. At least one young lady who answered a phone inquiry was on duty the evening before to witness the large crowds gathered for an inaugural event staged by an Illinois delegation, but had the following evening off and did not know of the /Salute to Heroes/. It is also true that, for reasons unknown, the /Salute to Heroes/ did not appear on at least one published list of inaugural events and, finally, as Fox News reported, another veterans event was cancelled a few days earlier due to fiscal irregularities. It would be easy for a careless observer to confuse the two.
>
> Press coverage of the event was lacking simply because the President did not attend. The press, on inauguration day, follows the new President or at least intercepts him during his travels. A /Washington Post/ reporter was credentialed for the event, but stated that she intended to dedicate her time to interviewing Medal of Honor recipients for a feature story to be published at a later date. Another /Post/ reporter asked to attend with a companion, but had to change her plans at the last moment due to transportation problems. A /Military Times/ reporter also cancelled at the last minute for similar reasons. The American Legion itself will publish a feature story about the event in its monthly magazine, but that will not appear until spring. The absence of mention of the event on The American Legion website is due to the fact that The Legion’s leadership did not wish to become hastily embroiled in a hastily commenced adversarial controversy surrounding the President’s failure to appear. As one Legion official has stated repeatedly, ”the /Salute to Heroes/ is about Medal of Honor recipients, not the President.”
>
> It cannot be denied that many attendees and observers were disappointed, and some angered, by the President’s absence. Again, please consider again the logistical reasons cited earlier and the fact that, except for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama is the /only /President to have not served in the armed forces since the /Salute to Heroes/ was initiated. Therefore, he may not be sensitized enough to appreciate fully the perceived importance of this event to many in the military and veterans communities.
>
>
