JACK'S BLOG
|
|
Army LifeJUSTICE DOESN'T COME CHEAP. Just read the most recent letter that I received from the family and friends of Michael Behenna. You'll see. What's even more tragic is that the opposition is well funded. They have the full faith and credit of our broken government funding the fight to keep Michael locked away. Is it fair? Of course not, but justice isn't supposed to be fair, just impartial. In case you are new to this story, please take a moment and use the following links to catch up. Otherwise, skip them and read the letter which begins below the image of Michael. Original Posting: Who is more deserving of justice than the men & women who fight to defend our freedom? Update 1: Parole hearing scheduled Update 2: Parole denied Update 3: Government dragging its feet in responding to Supreme Court Update 4: Is justice delayed justice denied in the case of Lt Behenna? Update 5: Justice plods ahead slowly: Lietenant Behenna's case in conference at the Supreme Court To the thousands of Michael supporters,
My name is David Wahl. I am the father of Michael Behenna’s girlfriend Shannon Wahl and run the DefendMichael.com website. I have known Michael for several years going back to when Michael and Shannon first started dating. I attended Michael’s officer school graduation at Fort Benning, his Ranger school graduation, and his deployment to Iraq from Fort Campbell. I was in the courtroom for Michael’s trial for premeditated murder at Fort Campbell, including the moment when a jury of seven non-combat officers convicted him of unpremeditated murder. I witnessed the stunned look of betrayal on Michael’s face. I was in that same courtroom again three weeks later when the trial judge denied a request for a mistrial on a Brady law violation (the government had withheld evidence.) And I was in the small room at the back of that courtroom with Michael and his family for his last thirty minutes of freedom before he was taken away. These past four years that Michael has sat in a small prison cell at Fort Leavenworth have been a tortuous journey for those closest to him – but as you can imagine, most of all for his parents Vicki and Scott. They have endured the emotional pain of seeing their son treated as a criminal at the hands of a broken and blind military justice system, of five hour drives to ‘celebrate’ birthdays and holidays in a noisy visitation center, of the heartbreak of one court ruling after another go against Michael, of bizarre prison rules that change from visit to visit and which make civilian prisons look like Club Med. But beyond the emotional toll that the Behenna’s have carried is the financial burden of taking on the United States government that has unlimited resources at their disposal (our tax dollars hard at work.) Starting with the original trial to the CAAF appeal which we lost by a narrow 3-2 vote the Behenna’s have spent well over $400,000 in their fight for their son’s freedom. I know that so many of you have already graciously stepped forward and lightened this financial burden, but unfortunately a significant shortfall remains. And if the Supreme Court decides to hear Michael’s case that shortfall will grow by at least another $100,000. The Behenna’s are a proud family and asking for financial support is not something they are comfortable doing, especially given how many people are in need today, including so many fellow Oklahoman’s devastated by the recent tornados. So I humbly ask each of you who believe in Michael’s cause, to consider giving a few dollars to his legal fund, which can be found on his web site at www.defendmichael.com. If each one of the thousands of supporters of Michael gave $20 then the Behenna’s would be able to cover most of the current deficit. Donations can be made through PayPal on Michael’s web site, or if you prefer you can mail a check directly to his Michael’s defense fund at: Michael Behenna Legal Defense Fund c/o Jack Dawson, co-trustee 100 Park Avenue, Second Floor Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102-8099 Please know that your support for Michael, whether in the form of a donation, a card, or a letter, is appreciated more than words can say. For Michael and his parents this difficult journey has only been possible because of the outpouring of support from all of you. It has sustained them in their darkest hours, of which there have been many. Finally, please keep Michael in your thoughts and prayers as we await the ultimate decision by the highest court in the land on whether they will hear Michael’s case. I remain, now and forever, a proud supporter of a young man who some day I hope will be my son-in-law. Respectfully, David Wahl www.defendmichael.com
0 Comments
Oh Dark ThirtyI'VE BEEN HAMMERED a few times in my life. Not many, but enough to know better. However, a recent email from a friend reminded me of one of my earliest misadventures. No, he didn't write about drinking. He sent me an email featuring photos of unusual recycling projects. Now, what the hell does recycling have to do with drinking, I hear you cry. Well, look at the item in the lower left hand corner of this montage. Those appear to be vases fashioned from bottles. When I was a young man, barely into my majority (in fact, I may not yet have been 21), I was drinking some Michelob with my friends and we attempted to make drinking glasses from the beer bottles. Please, before you castigate me for my choice, I had not yet developed a palate for the better brews. Indeed, that brings to mind a funny story that I heard not too long ago. (Please forgive the aside.) The story that came to me claimed that Michelob was crafted by assistant brewers during a strike. They failed several times before the company founders allowed them to bottle their product. The beer that they discarded was simply dumped into the streets and flowed down the gutters. Thus, it became known as “gutter beer”. The beer that they bottled was named Michelob. I'm not claiming that the story is true. However, if I had my way, all of the beer crafted by the mass marketers would flow in the gutters. I like ale that is found at the micro breweries now flourishing across the United States. But, I digress... As we drank our Michelob in that distant time, I shared another story with my friends. I had heard that a glass could be fashioned from the Michelob bottle by following these simple instructions:
Had the first bottle merely shattered, the experiment might have ended there. Unfortunately, it didn't. In fact, it broke leaving a perfectly smooth lip around approximately ninety percent of the bottle. At the point where the string had been tied into a knot, a jagged peak extended above the lip of the “glass”. Success was close enough at hand to encourage us to try again. And, we tried again with every one of the remaining bottles in the six pack. I was then sent to buy another. Every attempt produced the same results, just close enough to success to encourage us to try again. Another bottle. Another six pack. I lost count. Fortunately, we lived in the country and only the trees were in any danger as I traveled back and forth. Well, the trees and the woodland animals. Well, those and my car. My father's car, actually. I would really like to know if anyone else attempted this trick, however, please don't tell me you succeeded. I would like to enjoy a safe and sane holiday weekend. By the way, don't forget to pause for a moment of silence for those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” so that you too could enjoy it. 5/20/2013 2 Comments Justice plods ahead slowly: Lieutenant Behenna's case in conference at the Supreme CourtArmy LifeThis is the fifth installment in the continuing saga of the imprisonment of an American infantry officer for "murdering" a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan. If you are new to this story, you may review my previous postings: Original Posting: Who is more deserving of justice than the men & women who fight to defend our freedom? Update 1: Parole hearing scheduled Update 2: Parole denied Update 3: Government dragging its feet in responding to Supreme Court Update 4: Is justice delayed justice denied in the case of Lt Behenna? The following was broadcast by Lt Behenna's parents in an email: To all the thousands of Michael supporters,
Michael's case, including the Petition, the Government Response, and the Reply to the Government Response, is now complete and before the Supreme Court. The Supremes have set Michael's case to be initially discussed at their conference on May 30th which is ironically during the 50th Anniversary of Brady vs Maryland (the Supreme Court case demanding that prosecutors disclose all beneficial information to the criminally accused). During the conference, four out of the nine Supreme Court Justices must vote to hear the case in order to grant certiorari. If certiorari is granted in Michael's case it would be the first time the Supremes would have granted a service member's appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF). Needless to say, anxiousness will abound for the next few weeks and prayers are certainly welcome. We should have the Court’s decision sometime during the first week of June. If the Court grants certiorari, Michael’s case would proceed through a briefing process, oral arguments, and a decision by the Supreme Court hopefully before the end of the year. We can't thank you enough for all the encouraging cards and letters that you sent to Michael for his birthday. As Michael told us this past weekend it is these cards and letters that help him navigate the sometimes helpless and hopeless thoughts that have haunted him these past four years behind prison walls. He reads every card and letter sent to him, but given his prison schedule of work, exercise time, meals and early lights out he unfortunately does not have time to send out very many thank you notes. For this he sends his apologies and hopes a day will come soon when he can thank all of you in person. If you did not see the Mother's Day tribute to Vicki last Sunday in the Oklahoman, hopefully the attached video and article will describe the huge appreciation we have for all your support and what your individual words of encouragement have meant to Michael and our whole family. Vicki's Mother's Day Video - http://newsok.com/multimedia/video/2372015906001 Vicki’s Mother's Day Article - http://newsok.com/behenna Bless you all for your support of our son, Scott & Vicki Behenna www.defendmichael.com KoreaIT'S TOO EASY to clutter a good story with distractions. This is especially true when writing historical fiction. My desk became littered with tantalizing notes accumulated during the two years that I researched the background of Cuba and Castro's revolution. It was so tempting to use them all, but I refrained from cramming most of them into Rebels on the Mountain. Instead, I turned them into blog postings. That way I didn't feel the time was wasted. I've been having the same problem with my research on the Korean War. The Tootsie Roll story came by way of my brother-in-law. How could I resist including it? It's an endearing piece of trivia. Unfortunately, the epic tale of the U.S. Marine's escape from the Chosin Reservoir won't find its way into my tale. It was tempting. I have even had the honor of spending some time with one of the “Chosin Few”. My upcoming novel Behind Every Mountain is not a war story, not in the classic sense. Much like Patton, which also wasn't a classic war story, my novel is about a soldier and focuses on the process of becoming a soldier. The central conflict of the story will be “the first kill”. Only sociopaths lack an aversion to taking a human life. Most of us who enter combat need an overwhelming incentive to overcome that aversion. Although I never killed anyone I could have. In my case, anger overcame the aversion and I went looking for an enemy to kill. The opportunity occurred one night when I was the officer in charge of a sector of our base camp perimeter. Ordinarily, the field of fire outside the camp's berm would have been lit by illumination rounds fired at regular intervals by Division Artillery. However, we had none that night. A cluster of barrels containing CS gas had been stored in our sector that night. Someone decided that there was a risk of gassing the base camp if a flare fell into their midst. Thus, we were left in the dark. Most people have never truly experienced the dark, at least, not most Americans. Those who live in wilderness areas or have sailed far from shore, understand what I'm talking about. However, those who live in cities, suburbs, or even small towns, are rarely in the dark. I'm talking about the kind of dark when you have to lay down so that you can see objects silhouetted against the sky. Add a solid cloud cover to block moonlight and starlight, and even that trick won't help. Our guards couldn't lie on the ground. They sat atop bunkers looking down on the open field surrounding the base camp and its rows of barbed wire and land mines. Without the light of illumination rounds, they had only their hearing to rely on. One of my guards heard something hit the wire near his bunker and called it in. We sat side by side for about a quarter of an hour listening until I decided to launch a hand-held flare. We studied the ground by its dim light, counting shadows that might have been someone lying on the ground until the flare extinguished itself. We waited five minutes and then launched another. It seemed to both of us that shadows had moved. I then called Division Artillery to inform them that we had potential enemy contact and requested illumination rounds. They denied the request stating that they would not respond unless I could “produce a body”. That's what I went looking for.
After contacting the other bunkers and ordering them to hold their fire unless authorized, I and a sergeant went looking for a body. After moving about a hundred meters beyond the berm, we separated and lay down on the ground. We soon saw the silhouette of a person stand, run a few meters, and drop to the ground. I whispered to the sergeant asking if he had seen it. He responded that he had. The sergeant was carrying a grenade launcher and I ordered him to fire a round in the area of the sight we had seen. I never hesitated, nor did he. We didn't find the body but the sound of the grenade exploding brought the division chief-of-staff to my sector wanting to find out what was going on. After I explained, my sector was lit up like a birthday cake. We had illumination rounds for the rest of the night, many illumination rounds. I suppose that the risk of a sapper tossing a satchel charge among the barrels of CS gas was greater than any possibility of an illumination round on a parachute drifting on top of them. So, what else beside anger could help a soldier overcome a person's innate aversion to taking a human life? That is the question that I've been exploring. This is the fourth update in the continuing saga of the imprisonment of an American infantry officer for "murdering" a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan. If you are new to this story, you may review my previous postings: Original Posting: Who is more deserving of justice than the men & women who fight to defend our freedom? Update 1: Parole hearing scheduled Update 2: Parole denied Update 3: Government dragging its feet in responding to Supreme Court The following was broadcast by Lt Behenna's parents in an email: To all the thousands of Michael supporters,
Just a quick update to let you know that the Government filed their Response to Michael's Petition before the Supreme Court. Michael's lawyers now have ten days to file a Reply to the Government's Response. The Supreme Court will then set Michael's case for Conference (hopefully by June) and decide whether to grant Certiorari which means a review by the whole Supreme Court. For the Supreme Court justices to grant Certiorari from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces would be the first time a military petition has reached this stage - so prayers for discernment for these nine Justices are certainly welcomed. An encouraging tidbit was that Michael's case was selected by the Supreme Court Blog as the petition of the day for May 1st - http://www.scotusblog.com/2013/05/petition-of-the-day-446/ We ask that you spread this email and please continue to tell Michael's story. Have your friends and neighbors sign Michael's petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/MBehenna/petition.html . If they want to further assist, please have them contact their Congressional Representatives and Senators and let them know that Michael has served enough time in prison and deserves the same freedom you and I all enjoy. To locate your state’s Representative's / Senators click on the following link: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml Lastly, Michael will ‘celebrate’ his 30th birthday on May 18th behind the prison walls of Fort Leavenworth. We’d like Michael to receive no less than 500 birthday cards and well wishes to let him know that despite this being his fifth birthday in prison he is anything but forgotten. You can mail your cards to: Michael Behenna 87503 1300 Warehouse Road Ft. Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304 Bless you all for your support of our son, Scott & Vicki Behenna www.defendmichael.com “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (John F. Kennedy) “The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next.” (Ursula Le Guin) 5/4/2013 2 Comments Has the government infringed on our right to privacy? Or just our anonymity in public places?AmericaDESPITE THE CAPTURE of the Boston Bombers, many people have been decrying the infringement on privacy in the techniques used to identify and apprehend the culprits. Thousands of photos and videos were analyzed during the investigation. Virtually everyone in the area of the bombing or transiting it was identified. Was this an infringement on their privacy? Does anyone have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place? NYPD Police Commission Ray Kelly doesn't believe there is. He wants more video cameras in more public places. In an interview on WNYC, he opined that the Boston Bombing “takes privacy off the table”. Was privacy in a public place ever “on the table”? Constitutional scholars have been debating the right to privacy for almost as long as there has been a Constitution. An article appearing on the website Exploring Constitutional Conflicts offers an excellent overview of this issue. The U. S. Constitution contains no express right to privacy. The Bill of Rights, however, reflects the concern of James Madison and other framers for protecting specific aspects of privacy, such as the privacy of beliefs (1st Amendment), privacy of the home against demands that it be used to house soldiers (3rd Amendment), privacy of the person and possessions as against unreasonable searches (4th Amendment), and the 5th Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination, which provides protection for the privacy of personal information. In addition, the Ninth Amendment states that the "enumeration of certain rights" in the Bill of Rights "shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people." The meaning of the Ninth Amendment is elusive, but some persons (including Justice Goldberg in his Griswold concurrence) have interpreted the Ninth Amendment as justification for broadly reading the Bill of Rights to protect privacy in ways not specifically provided in the first eight amendments. However, your appearance at a public place is hardly private, is it? If it were, eyewitness testimony might be barred at trials. Indeed, some might argue that eyewitness testimony should be barred. It has been proven highly unreliable. Many innocent persons have been incarcerated on the weight of faulty eyewitness memories and perceptions. For best viewing, scroll right and enlarge to full screen after starting the video A recent program on the National Geographic Channel, Brain Games, also clearly demonstrated this fact. After viewing it, I was seriously left in doubt that I would ever volunteer eyewitness testimony. I can sing commercial jingles that appeared on television in the 1950s, but I can hardly remember what I ate for breakfast. It's a common complaint of my age. No, I think that I prefer having video cameras record occurrences in public places. How about you? 5/2/2013 2 Comments What happens when a amateur attempts to emulate a professional? I'm still no Brad CrandallWritingI WROTE THIS blog posting more that a year ago and it still attracts interest. A couple readers have gone so far as to offer additional material and I want to share it with you (and with their permission). SHAKESPEARE WROTE THAT we are all actors on a stage. I can't disagree. However, I believe that he might have agreed that not all of us are equally good actors. I'm not referring to our goodness or badness in a moral or ethical sense. Rather, I am commenting on our ability to play a role that anyone else would pay to see. This lesson was driven home to me this week as I attempted to record myself reading a passage from my novel,Rebels on the Mountain, to produce a book trailer. During a previous life, when I was in the advertising and PR business, I had the opportunity to direct many commercials. This gave me the privilege of working with some fine talent. One of the best was a voice actor named Brad Crandall. Brad's farewell address on WNBC New York Radio Brad moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where I was apprenticing at an ad agency, after wheedling out of his contract with NBC in New York. Brad had been a host on NBC's hugely successful Monitor that aired for 40 continuous hours every weekend. It was the forerunner of talk radio that dominates AM programming these days. It took me several years to sift through the various excuses that Brad gave for walking away from his lucrative contract. The truth is, I don't think that he felt that he deserved the success. Brad had been born into poverty. His father was a railroad conductor and the family lived in poverty near the tracks that stretched across Kansas. He outgrew their resources and quit school to join the Marines just as World War II was ending. Stationed in China, he was assigned to the Armed Forces Radio network and became an on air news reader. While there, Brad studied the voice of William Conrad who was then appearing as Marshall Matt Dillon on the radio production of Gunsmoke. Brad practiced emulating Conrad's magnificent baritone until it became his own voice. Upon completion of his tour of duty, Brad became a gypsy radio host. He hopped from one station to another across the country, pausing only to enlist for a brief tour of duty in the Army and serving in Korea. When the war there ended, Brad landed in a station in Montreal, Canada. He told me that he lived on peanut butter sandwiches and milk that he kept on the window ledge outside the radio station's studio. I never did find out where he slept. He worked there until producers at NBC heard him and invited him to New York. The poor boy from Kansas now found himself hobnobbing with famous personalities in the New York theater district. Their favorite eatery was Sardi's (I'm guessing that his caricature still hangs there among those of still famous personalities). He spoke of the antics of his Monitor co-hosts, Art Buchwald, Henry Morgan, Skitch Henderson, and others. One of my favorite tales is when the staff at Sardi's took revenge on one of their company. The man would always jokingly order a peanut butter sandwich in a voice that could be heard throughout the restaurant, and then quietly place his “real” order with the waiter after the “gang” had their laugh. One day, the waiter took off with the order before he could change it. Soon, an entourage emerged from the kitchen: two busboys pushing a cart with a huge carved-ice bear cradling fresh berries in its cupped paws; two others pushed another cart bearing a heated chafing dish; and a third contained a silver tray covered by a large silver dome. Four chefs followed the procession. Upon arrival at their table, one chef created preserves from the berries. Another took roasted peanuts from the heated chaffing dish and hand ground them using a mortar and pestle. The third sliced the bread. And, the fourth assembled his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The waiter happily presented him with his very sizable bill. Brad's humble beginnings revealed themselves in his reactions to his fans. Jonathon Bush, a visitor to this website, shared the following postcard that his mother received from Brad. Jonathon wrote: Here are scans of both sides of the postcard Brad sent to my mom in 1968. As I think about this, my mom probably sent away for a picture/autograph at my urging. We listened pretty religiously, and I was a big fan--probably because I was able to stay up until the end of the show, which I think was midnight. Another reader, D. T. Nelson provided a link to a website where we can hear recordings of Brad's show from WNBC... You can hear your friend Brad Crandall (and many other broadcasting greats) here at the "Sounds of Monitor" page on the Monitor Beacon web site: You can read more comments by visiting the original blog posting "I'm no Brad Crandall" I know that Brad enjoyed his riches – to a point. Unfortunately, he never reconciled himself to such success without laboring for it. Much like Clark Gable, whose father never approved of “play-acting” as respectable work, Brad looked for other ways to make his life seem purposeful. Thus, I believe I became one of his many “projects.” He salvaged me from a disastrous marriage and sheltered me while I recovered. He then went so far as to arrange a meeting with the woman who became my wife (now married almost 36 years). Unfortunately, once I began achieving my own success, he went in search of other projects and we lost track of each other. Several years after his death, I heard that Howard Stern had honored Brad. Howard was asked who had influenced him as a role model in broadcasting and he mentioned Brad. Over the years that we were active friends, I employed Brad for many of my projects. “One-Take” Brad we called him. I only ever heard him flub a line once in many hours in the recording studio. I wish I could say the same. I suppose that I wouldn't be as critical had I not worked with a great talent like Brad. I needed nineteen takes to get an acceptable recording of myself reading a passage from my novel, Rebels on the Mountain. Even then, I cringe when I listen to it. I'm no Brad Crandall. Still, I feel that I have a better chance of connecting to my readers if I present myself, warts and all, reading my own work. Click here to hear me. OMG, I've lost sixty pounds since I recorded this trailer. I better redo it. There are also some vocal flubs I need to clean up. As I said, I'm no Brad Crandall...
|
More than 500 postings have accumulated since 2011. Some categories (listed below) are self explanatory, others require some explanation (see below):
CategoriesAll America Army Life Blogging Cuba Election 2012 Election 2014 Election 2016 Entrepreneurs Food Good Reads History Humor Infantry School In The News Korea Middle East Oh Dark Thirty Opinion Sea Scouts Short Story Sponsored Survey Technology Television Terrorism Today's Chuckle Veterans Vietnam Writing Explanations |
Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 Jack Durish All rights reserved
|
Web Hosting by iPage
|