thedrifter
07-12-09, 07:06 AM
Marine at center of debate
E-mail circulating online alleges President Obama was "insensitive" while visiting troops
By ERIN JAMES
The Evening Sun
Posted: 07/11/2009 10:28:13 PM EDT
A Delone Catholic High School graduate and decorated veteran of the war in Iraq has become the subject of a national controversy debated on the pages of conservative blogs and mostly debunked on Web sites like FactCheck.org and Snopes.com.
U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. David Borden is the subject of an e-mail written by his father - but distributed across the Internet without the Bordens' permission - that criticizes President Barack Obama for what David Borden Sr. called an "insensitive" June 1 visit with wounded soldiers and Marines at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
The e-mail alleges that Obama arrived at the hospital 3½ hours late and never asked the wounded veterans their names or how they were injured.
"He entered the room with the wounded warriors and quickly shook each of their hands while he was photographed," the e-mail reads. "Dave Jr. has met among his many visitors the people who really care about the military. All he remembers from the Obama visit is a weak handshake."
Those claims, however, have been declared "mostly false" by Snopes.com - a privately run Web site that researches the origins of rumors, myths and urban legends.
According to Snopes, Obama was 40 minutes late and spent an hour visiting with the soldiers and Marines. He also presented two Purple Hearts and personally recognized 90 hospital staff members during the visit, the Web site reports.
To back its own claims, the Web site mainly uses three sources - an
Associated Press story about the Obama visit, a Navy News Service report and the research of another myth-busting Web site, FactCheck.org.
FactCheck.org - a "nonpartisan," nonprofit organization "that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics" - also published a story about the e-mail and highlighted what it called "factual inaccuracies" in Borden's e-mail.
Reporter Andrew Karter spoke with Master Sgt. Joseph Liptok, deputy director of the Marine Corps liaison office at the medical center, about Borden's e-mail. Liptok was present at Obama's June 1 visit.
According to Karter's report, Liptok said the description of Obama's visit in the e-mail is "absolutely not" accurate.
"He had a conversation with each Marine individually," Liptok said. "He made conversation and took a group photo, and one with each individual, then met the inpatients and outpatients."
Liptok also told Karter that the chain e-mail now being forwarded and posted on Web sites is an altered version of the original and that the views in the e-mail are not those of 1st Lt. Borden.
Reached by phone Friday, David Borden Sr. confirmed that he did in fact write an e-mail about Obama's visit and sent it to several friends. The e-mail was not intended to be seen by anyone else, he said.
"Somebody - I don't know who it was - sent it on," Borden said, adding he never gave permission for the e-mail's distribution.
Since then, Borden said he has heard from numerous members of the media, including a reporter from The Washington Times.
"It's been a tough diversion, especially for my son," Borden said. "They were my comments, not his."
But, when asked for more information, Borden declined to answer further questions and said he would be disappointed if The Evening Sun chose to publish a story about the controversy. He also said his son would not be available for comment.
"We'd rather just have it go away," Borden Sr. said. "No one needs to know any more about it."
A 1999 Delone graduate, the younger Borden, 28, was severely wounded Jan. 19, 2008, in a suicide-bomb blast while serving in Ramadi, Iraq.
As a result of the blast, Borden's right leg had to be amputated from the knee down. Other injuries include two broken forearms, a ruptured bladder, collapsed lung and hearing loss in his left ear. About 150 ball bearings from the bomb struck him.
He received a Purple Heart for his service.
Less than four months after the incident, Borden had already undergone 18 surgeries. At the time, Borden and his father were the subjects of an Evening Sun story on the Marine's recovery.
On Friday, his father said Borden had undergone another surgery Thursday.
Just because Borden and his father are not elected officials does not mean that the e-mail's contents should not be vetted by professionals at an organization like FactCheck.org, said Brooks Jackson, the site's director and founder.
Jackson said FactCheck employees chose the Borden e-mail to investigate after receiving numerous questions about its contents from readers.
"We've gotten literally dozens of copies of that Borden e-mail, so we know it's being widely distributed, widely believed and widely repeated," Jackson said.
He said setting the record straight is an important function, particularly in the age of the Internet. The Web site often investigates rumors about Obama but also has researched the origins of false information that was spreading about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign, Jackson said.
Jackson said FactCheck staff did attempt to reach both Borden men but were unsuccessful.
"Unfortunately, from our standpoint, from our readers' standpoint, we don't have their firsthand account of what happened because they didn't choose to give it to us," Jackson said. "What's clear is that what's in that e-mail is wrong. People should stop forwarding it."
Ellie
E-mail circulating online alleges President Obama was "insensitive" while visiting troops
By ERIN JAMES
The Evening Sun
Posted: 07/11/2009 10:28:13 PM EDT
A Delone Catholic High School graduate and decorated veteran of the war in Iraq has become the subject of a national controversy debated on the pages of conservative blogs and mostly debunked on Web sites like FactCheck.org and Snopes.com.
U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. David Borden is the subject of an e-mail written by his father - but distributed across the Internet without the Bordens' permission - that criticizes President Barack Obama for what David Borden Sr. called an "insensitive" June 1 visit with wounded soldiers and Marines at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
The e-mail alleges that Obama arrived at the hospital 3½ hours late and never asked the wounded veterans their names or how they were injured.
"He entered the room with the wounded warriors and quickly shook each of their hands while he was photographed," the e-mail reads. "Dave Jr. has met among his many visitors the people who really care about the military. All he remembers from the Obama visit is a weak handshake."
Those claims, however, have been declared "mostly false" by Snopes.com - a privately run Web site that researches the origins of rumors, myths and urban legends.
According to Snopes, Obama was 40 minutes late and spent an hour visiting with the soldiers and Marines. He also presented two Purple Hearts and personally recognized 90 hospital staff members during the visit, the Web site reports.
To back its own claims, the Web site mainly uses three sources - an
Associated Press story about the Obama visit, a Navy News Service report and the research of another myth-busting Web site, FactCheck.org.
FactCheck.org - a "nonpartisan," nonprofit organization "that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics" - also published a story about the e-mail and highlighted what it called "factual inaccuracies" in Borden's e-mail.
Reporter Andrew Karter spoke with Master Sgt. Joseph Liptok, deputy director of the Marine Corps liaison office at the medical center, about Borden's e-mail. Liptok was present at Obama's June 1 visit.
According to Karter's report, Liptok said the description of Obama's visit in the e-mail is "absolutely not" accurate.
"He had a conversation with each Marine individually," Liptok said. "He made conversation and took a group photo, and one with each individual, then met the inpatients and outpatients."
Liptok also told Karter that the chain e-mail now being forwarded and posted on Web sites is an altered version of the original and that the views in the e-mail are not those of 1st Lt. Borden.
Reached by phone Friday, David Borden Sr. confirmed that he did in fact write an e-mail about Obama's visit and sent it to several friends. The e-mail was not intended to be seen by anyone else, he said.
"Somebody - I don't know who it was - sent it on," Borden said, adding he never gave permission for the e-mail's distribution.
Since then, Borden said he has heard from numerous members of the media, including a reporter from The Washington Times.
"It's been a tough diversion, especially for my son," Borden said. "They were my comments, not his."
But, when asked for more information, Borden declined to answer further questions and said he would be disappointed if The Evening Sun chose to publish a story about the controversy. He also said his son would not be available for comment.
"We'd rather just have it go away," Borden Sr. said. "No one needs to know any more about it."
A 1999 Delone graduate, the younger Borden, 28, was severely wounded Jan. 19, 2008, in a suicide-bomb blast while serving in Ramadi, Iraq.
As a result of the blast, Borden's right leg had to be amputated from the knee down. Other injuries include two broken forearms, a ruptured bladder, collapsed lung and hearing loss in his left ear. About 150 ball bearings from the bomb struck him.
He received a Purple Heart for his service.
Less than four months after the incident, Borden had already undergone 18 surgeries. At the time, Borden and his father were the subjects of an Evening Sun story on the Marine's recovery.
On Friday, his father said Borden had undergone another surgery Thursday.
Just because Borden and his father are not elected officials does not mean that the e-mail's contents should not be vetted by professionals at an organization like FactCheck.org, said Brooks Jackson, the site's director and founder.
Jackson said FactCheck employees chose the Borden e-mail to investigate after receiving numerous questions about its contents from readers.
"We've gotten literally dozens of copies of that Borden e-mail, so we know it's being widely distributed, widely believed and widely repeated," Jackson said.
He said setting the record straight is an important function, particularly in the age of the Internet. The Web site often investigates rumors about Obama but also has researched the origins of false information that was spreading about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign, Jackson said.
Jackson said FactCheck staff did attempt to reach both Borden men but were unsuccessful.
"Unfortunately, from our standpoint, from our readers' standpoint, we don't have their firsthand account of what happened because they didn't choose to give it to us," Jackson said. "What's clear is that what's in that e-mail is wrong. People should stop forwarding it."
Ellie