31. ghb being godless heathen brian. so clever for a heathen. are you sure you got HEATHEN blood?

N Danielson at 11:30AM on Jul 31st 2008

32. This should definitely be investigated. I'm not sure about the facts of the case, as the original blog entry at www.lavenajohnson.com doesn't seem to mention the more brutal parts of the story:

From http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html:
"...In an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dr. Johnson pointed to indications that his daughter had endured a physical struggle before she died - two loose front teeth, a "busted lip" that had to be reconstructed by the funeral home - suggesting that "someone might have punched her in the mouth."
...
(KMOV) Reporter Matt Sczesny spoke with LaVena's father and examined documents and photos sent by Army investigators. So far from supporting the claim that LaVena died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the documents provided elements of another scenario altogether:
* Indications of physical abuse that went unremarked by the autopsy
* The absence of psychological indicators of suicidal thoughts; indeed, testimony that LaVena was happy and healthy prior to her death
* Indications, via residue tests, that LaVena may not even have handled the weapon that killed her
* A blood trail outside the tent where Lavena's body was found
* Indications that someone attenpted to set LaVena's body on fire" (March 6, 2007)


KMOV's story of Feruary 21, 2007 is summarized at http://www.kmov.com/news/asseenonnews4/stories/kmov_localnews_070221_lavenajohnson.229c4b1a.html

I would hope that there would be some way that the FBI could obtain jurisdiction for this case. The military is not in the business of investigating and prosecuting crimes, and I would think that alone raises conflict of interest issues (their interest is primarily in closing the case, not justice - at least for crimes in a war zone). My biggest worry would be about chain of custody and evidence contamination.

(Yes, I do watch too much "Law & Order" and "CSI"...)

Toad at 11:37AM on Jul 31st 2008

33. Thanks Cenk. If the facts as you and others have presented them are true, it is a terrible indictment of the military and the media.

It is my opinion that as a nation, we could care less about the young men and women who are serving our country, especially those who comprise the lower enlisted ranks.

randy at 12:08PM on Jul 31st 2008

34. It is my opinion that as a nation, we could care less about the young men and women who are serving our country, especially those who comprise the lower enlisted ranks.
randy at 12:08PM on Jul 31st 2008
xxxxx
It is my opinion that "select fringes" of our nation could care less about our heroes.

Ramone at 12:47PM on Jul 31st 2008

35. This is the saddest thing I have ever read! Who would hurt one of our soldiers like that...not even an animal would viciously hurt another human that way and she was a soldier for our country! Suicide? Lets just say this, if this is the kind of cover up our military will do for their own, somebody who put their life on the line to defend our rights, why would anyone want to join our military? It could be you next time....why hasnt this been brought up to the supreme court or to our commander in chief? Dont give me this bullshit about he has more important things to worry about, this needs to be investigated thoroughly and this girl needs some justice!

Shelley at 1:04PM on Jul 31st 2008

36. A murder is a murder where ever they are. So yes
they need to be taken to court and found guilty.
Terrible world not just in war. We have terrible
things happen all over. And it needs to be taken
care of.I did not even hear about this one. Guess
the media does not say much of anything today.
Just what is the job of the media today?

jc at 1:51PM on Jul 31st 2008

37. It is my opinion that "select fringes" of our nation could care less about our heroes.
xxxxx

No Ramone, it is much more wide spread than a few select fringes. As a nation we care nothing about our military because it is a "volunteer" military which, to a large measure, is comprised of people from the more desperate economic ranks of our society.

The people who decide and vote to send our troops in harms way usually have no connection with the military (unless of course they are associated in some way with government contractors). Their sons and daughters don't serve, and neither do the sons and daughters of the opinion makers and trend setters in the media and other influential venues and institutions. The result is that the decision to go to war is sometimes made quite caviliarly knowing that the cost in lives and injuries will be confined to the least influential segment of the population.

randy at 2:00PM on Jul 31st 2008

38. Darren, I sure hope you keep your promise. I'll never have to hear from you again. Now if only you could get your nose out of their asses long enough to take a breath, maybe you could get your hate-mongering heroes to take a similar stand.

Captain Negative. at 2:12PM on Jul 31st 2008

39. Randy no offense but that is rehashed talking points and is merely an opinion. It is well known how the far left "fringe" feels about our troops including this blogger.

Ramone at 2:49PM on Jul 31st 2008

40. Ramone, I never take offense at an objection stated with civility and sincerity.

My aforementioned post my very well be rehashed talking points, but that doesn't make it any less valid.

Not everyone who professes concern about our soldiers actually care about them. Evidence for that could be found in the reticence that some lawmakers had in supporting the recent GI Bill. Talk is cheap, but caring means putting your money where your mouth is. Both John McCain and president Bush expressed concern that supporting the GI Bill would be too costly. But both of them supported the lavish tax cuts given to the wealthy during a time of war. They didn't believe that there was anything too costly about that. I bet you can count on one hand the sons and daughters of the wealthy elite who actually serve in the military. And why would they, in their view the military is for losers, a last ditch effort for those whose only other option is working at the local Wal-Mart.

I agree with you that there are those on the fringe left who go bonkers every time the military is mentioned. But make no mistake, the current crop of chicken hawks and draft dodgers responsible for the war in Iraq care very little about our soldiers.

randy at 5:02PM on Jul 31st 2008

41. so what yall are saying is that there will never be a sitcom like hogan's heroes or m*a*s*h about the iraq war.

Louis IX KingofFrance at 5:03PM on Jul 31st 2008

42. Bobby
You read about this horrible crime and what bothers you is not the crime but how Cenk reports it. I thank him for bringing it to light and am outraged by it. You are only irritated that he criticized the administration. I'm a republican and nothing he said bothers me. He actually makes a good point, that something this outrageous occurs and for three years nothing is done about it. I think your mind is warped that you read this and care more about the messenger than the message.

Brian at 5:11PM on Jul 31st 2008

43. >>>42. Bobby
You read about this horrible crime and what bothers you is not the crime but how Cenk reports it. I thank him for bringing it to light and am outraged by it. You are only irritated that he criticized the administration. I'm a republican and nothing he said bothers me. He actually makes a good point, that something this outrageous occurs and for three years nothing is done about it. I think your mind is warped that you read this and care more about the messenger than the message.

Brian at 5:11PM on Jul 31st 2008>>>

Brian,

Go plant a guilt trip on someone else, I'm not biting.

I addressed the message of the article as best I could with what was disclosed. If you're ok with the article being written in phony sympathetic tones with a hidden message of blame Republicans for this one too, perhaps you're not as conservative (which I doubt anyway) as you think. I don't have a problem defending against Cenk's shit journalism. In my first comment I qualified my displeasure saying Cenk didn't allow for discussion of the real topic. "It's always a loaded deck with this asshole"! That means he can't even deliver a message like this without assigning a hidden notation to cause conflict. Others noted that as well. I'm assuming if the article had asked Democrats (alone) to search their hearts why they don't care about the troops, you or them would be ok with that?

Either you've got a learning disability or you can't read beneath the surface for secondary intent which is painfully obvious ALL THE TIME. I know Cenk is a flaming no mind radical liberal but he's also an instigative trouble maker who doesn't want healthy dialogue. Maybe you need to re-read it again & my comments slowly.

I've challenged two other people to show how any of this should be directed toward Republicans. Would you like to try? I mean you're a loyalist to the party I can see.

For the third time I'll explain again, I called for "FURTHER INVESTIGATION" may be needed. In simple terms, that means it sounds like the evidence needs to be looked at by an outside unbiased investigative team or more closely by the military. I've only read what Cenk put up & two other online articles, how much inside information do you have pertinent to the case? There actually could be more than meets the eye.

It's tiring responding to someone like yourself making accusations when it's obvious you skimmed it all & got out of it what you wanted to. Address a direct quote of mine if you're in attack mode, at least I can make sense of it & mount a defense....

Glad you're voting for McCain though (wink)**

Bobby at 7:22PM on Jul 31st 2008

44. Randy,
1st. you need to take eco 101. by giving tax breaks to the "rich" ... remember those are the folks who employ us... frees up more money to give us jobs and pay raises. Why would you give a tax break to someone who doesn't pay taxes ie: the poor.

2. McCain has 2 sons serving in Iraq as I type.

3. I came from a well off middle class family... I never "wanted" for anything growing up, and I am proud to sit here and type.. I SERVED 22 YEARS!!!
I am not poor, never have been ... never will be.
You have no idea what you are talking about. It is quite obvious by your babblings that you have never served and have the back bone of a jelly fish. You sit at your keyboard talking down to people like you are some sort of demi-god, a "know it all" when you probably don't even know what time it is in this world or yours.

Get a life... better yet... join the military, they will teach you to be a MAN!

oh, and before you go getting on your high horse. I am a retired disabled FEMALE veteran. Get a life.

Allie at 8:44PM on Jul 31st 2008

45. From Obama's own website. He should have read this before his photo op trip.Obama will surrender as planned in Iraq with out any care as to what happens. He could care less about the troops as his 2 canceled trips to see the wounded troops prove. His empty suited words about caring for our wounded troops and their VA benefits are nothing but hot air.

March 2008: Obama Said He Would Give Senior Military Leaders Opinions Great Weight In Implementing His Iraq Plan But As Commander In Chief Would Make His Own Assessment Of The Situation. Obama was asked “what weight will you give to the counsel of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] commander, the combatant commander on the ground in Iraq and current intelligence chiefs on the ground in Iraq regarding an immediate phased withdrawal?” Obama said, “I will give their counsel great weight. But, as commander in chief, it is my responsibility to make my own assessment of the situation. We must send a clear signal to the Iraqi political leadership that we are leaving Iraq on a timeline. Doing so will put pressure on those leaders to begin to resolve the political impasse at the heart of this civil war. But I also want to be clear about another thing. I am worried our Army is overstretched and that we have asked an awful lot from our military families. Many in our senior military leadership are worried about a plan that will keep 130,000 troops on the ground in Iraq for the foreseeable future. So, as commander in chief, I will also have to take into consideration the counsel of other senior military leaders who may be concerned that Iraq is undercutting our ability to confront other security challenges.” [Washington Post, 3/2/08]

http://www.barackobama.com/factcheck/

I agree that almost nobody knows about this, but Mr. Obama should have known if he was listening

Arnold at 9:58PM on Jul 31st 2008