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Hardrock69
03-17-2006, 09:52 AM
Former officer and veteran criminal lawyer turns in his wings and writes critical letter to Bush about his misguided policies destroying America.
17 Mar 2006

By Greg Szymanski

A former U.S. Navy officer has sent President Bush a sharp message, sending his military shoulder boards and aviator wings as a symbolic gesture of disgust in a recent letter addressed to the White House.

Former Navy pilot, lawyer and public defender for more than 20 years, Joseph DuRocher, 68, of Orlando, Florida, finally threw in the towel on the Bush administration, saying he was fed up "to the hilt," especially with torture and abuse policies condoned by the President related to the Iraq War, as well as an economic and environmental agenda destroying the country he loves.

"I became so frustrated with what has transpired in our country, I had to do something. Everybody can do something and I decided to turn in my wings," said DuRocher in a phone conversation Thursday from his Orlando home.

"Besides the torture and illegal detention issues I strongly oppose based on my 20 years as a criminal lawyer, I find it hard to believe that Americans accept the fact that Bush has somehow been ordained as a religious savior of sorts, using this as justification to invade and attack countries without just cause. This is totally unacceptable from a legal and from a humanitarian point of view.

And in defiance of Bush policies, in what military men consider the worst possible insult, DuRocher sent back his wings on March 10 in a sharply worded letter recently addressed to Bush.

About the symbolic nature and meaning behind turning in his aviator wings, he said:

"To remain silent is to let you (Bush) think I approve or support your actions. I do not. So, I am saddened to give up my wings and bars. They were hard won and my parents and wife were as proud as I was when I earned them over forty years ago. But I hate the torture and death you have caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving them up makes me cry for my beloved country."

The following is a copy of the entire letter sent by DuRocher, indicating just how deeply Bush support is dwindling across the heartland:

Dear Mr. President:

As a young man I was honored to serve our nation as a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the U. S. Navy. Before me in WWII, my father defended the country spending two years in the Pacific aboard the U.S.S. Hornet (CV-14). We were patriots sworn "to protect and defend".

Today I conclude that you have dishonored our service and the Constitution and principles of our oath. My dad was buried with full military honors so I cannot act for him. But for myself, I return enclosed the symbols of my years of service: the shoulder boards of my rank and my Naval Aviator's wings.

Until your administration, I believed it was inconceivable that the United States would ever initiate an aggressive and preemptive war against a country that posed no threat to us. Until your administration, I thought it was impossible for our nation to take hundreds of persons into custody without provable charges of any kind, and to "disappear" them into holes like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib and Bagram. Until your administration, in my wildest legal fantasy I could not imagine a U.S. Attorney General seeking to justify torture or a President first stating his intent to veto an anti-torture law, and then adding a "signing statement" that he intends to ignore such law as he sees fit. I do not want these things done in my name.

As a citizen, a patriot, a parent and grandparent, a lawyer and law teacher I am left with such a feeling of loss and helplessness. I think of myself as a good American and I ask myself what can I do when I see the face of evil? Illegal and immoral war, torture and confinement for life without trial have never been part of our Constitutional tradition.

But my vote has become meaningless because I live in a safe district drawn by your political party. My congressman is unresponsive to my concerns because his time is filled with lobbyists' largess. Protests are limited to your "free speech zones", out of sight of the parade. Even speaking openly is to risk being labeled un-American, pro-terrorist or anti-troops. And I am a disciplined pacifist, so any violent act is out of the question. Nevertheless, to remain silent is to let you think I approve or support your actions. I do not.

So, I am saddened to give up my wings and bars. They were hard won and my parents and wife were as proud as I was when I earned them over forty years ago. But I hate the torture and death you have caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving them up makes me cry for my beloved country. Joseph W. DuRocher

To better understand his service to his country, to the cause of justice and to his community, DuRocher's abbreviated biography is enclosed.

Joseph W. DuRocher grew up in California and Florida, graduating from Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, FL in 1956. He attended Villanova University on an academic scholarship, earning a B.S. in Economics in 1960. He was commissioned in the U.S.Navy and designated as a Naval Aviator. Until his Honorable Discharge in April 1965 he flew helicopters off aircraft carriers stationed in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.

The University of Florida College of Law awarded Mr. DuRocher the Juris Doctor degree in 1967. In the same year he was admitted to practice and founded the firm of Panico and DuRocher in Orlando. In January 1970 the Orange County Bar Association named him director of its ? Legal Aid Society. Governor Askew appointed him Judge of the Juvenile Court of Orange County in October 1971. He left this judicial post in September 1976 to establish the firm of DuRocher and Walsh engaging in the private practice of criminal, juvenile and family law.

In 1980, Mr. DuRocher was elected Public Defender of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, comprised of Orange and Osceola Counties, FL. He was elected to four additional terms, retiring in January 2001. During these twenty years the Office of the Public Defender grew to employ over eighty attorneys, process over thirty thousand cases a year and manage an annual budget of over seven million dollars. In 2000 the Orange County Bar Association presented him its criminal law award as Footsoldier of the Constitution. The American Bar Association presented him its 2001 Charles Dorsey Award in recognition of his exemplary legal career and his devotion to serving the poor and underprivileged. Since retirement Mr. DuRocher has taught as an adjunct professor at both the University of Central Florida and the Barry University School of Law. In July 2003 the Orange County Bar Association called him to act as Interim Executive Director. He held this post until December 2003. The Barry Univ. School of Law presented him their Allies for Justice Award for 2005.

Mr. DuRocher studies, writes and teaches in the fields of criminal law, human rights and ecology. He is an active member of the First Unitarian Church of Orlando, Amnesty International and of other professional and social justice organizations. Since 1961 he has been married to Dr. Rosemary DuRocher and is the father of grown children: Beth, John and Michael, and grandfather of Kalinda and Kenai. He and Rosemary have companion Standard Poodles: Blazer and Boxer.


http://www.arcticbeacon.com/17-Mar-2006.html

Sarge's Little Helper
03-17-2006, 09:52 AM
Buck Fush!

Cathedral
03-18-2006, 12:53 AM
And when he got them sounds of someone making airplane noises in an apparent nose dive were heard coming from the oval office.

Like he cared that this guy gave up his wings?

And monkees will fly out of my butt...

It was a very hard gesture for that vet, but too bad he sent them to an empty heart....which makes sense, it goes with the empty head.

FORD
03-18-2006, 01:30 AM
Originally posted by Cathedral
And when he got them sounds of someone making airplane noises in an apparent nose dive were heard coming from the oval office.

Like he cared that this guy gave up his wings?

And monkees will fly out of my butt...

It was a very hard gesture for that vet, but too bad he sent them to an empty heart....which makes sense, it goes with the empty head.

or an empty life, according to certain British philosophers......

An empty heart means a empty life
Yeah an empty heart like a empty life
Oh, it makes you feel like you wanna die
Like you wanna die ..... - Jagger/Richards 1964

Maybe that's been Chimpy's problem all along? He wants to plunge the entire world into war so he can die?

Cathedral
03-18-2006, 02:24 AM
It would be cheaper if he just took his ass to see the fucking Wizard.
Following the yellow brick road shouldn't be all that tough, seeing as it streaks right up his back.

FORD
03-18-2006, 03:09 AM
Originally posted by Cathedral
It would be cheaper if he just took his ass to see the fucking Wizard.
Following the yellow brick road shouldn't be all that tough, seeing as it streaks right up his back.

http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/u/Y/bushies_wizardofoz.jpg

I would form my own opinions,
Ignore my crazy minions,
And go with what was sane.
The people, they’d be happy,
And the world would be less crappy,
If I only had a brain.

Instead I kill Iraqis,
And I choke on little snackies.
The market’s down the drain,
With the trouble I been causin’.
The people stopped applausin’.
God, I wish I had a brain.


And I can’t justify
Why our country goes to war.
You may wish that you had made vote to Gore.
But it’s too late, until ‘04!

‘Til then I run the nation.
I’m causing devastation.
I’m causing lots of pain.
My expression’s blank and airy.
Boy, the future’s looking scary.
‘Cause I just don’t have a brain.

Cathedral
03-18-2006, 04:31 AM
Originally posted by FORD
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/u/Y/bushies_wizardofoz.jpg

I would form my own opinions,
Ignore my crazy minions,
And go with what was sane.
The people, they’d be happy,
And the world would be less crappy,
If I only had a brain.

Instead I kill Iraqis,
And I choke on little snackies.
The market’s down the drain,
With the trouble I been causin’.
The people stopped applausin’.
God, I wish I had a brain.


And I can’t justify
Why our country goes to war.
You may wish that you had made vote to Gore.
But it’s too late, until ‘04!

‘Til then I run the nation.
I’m causing devastation.
I’m causing lots of pain.
My expression’s blank and airy.
Boy, the future’s looking scary.
‘Cause I just don’t have a brain.

ROTMFFLMMFAO that is the funniest thing....Oh crap dude, the laughter you just gave me with that is mucho welcome, thank you.

Damn, i need air!

frets5150
03-18-2006, 05:24 AM
Fuckin Chimp didn't even read the letter it went right into the waste basket.
:rolleyes: