Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media?

[MissusDe]

Barack Obama played the "me too" game during the Friday debates on September 26 after Senator John McCain mentioned that he was wearing a bracelet with the name of Cpl. Matthew Stanley, a resident of New Hampshire and a soldier that lost his life in Iraq in 2006. Obama said that he too had a bracelet. After fumbling and straining to remember the name, he revealed that his had the name of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek of Merrill, Wisconsin.

Shockingly, however, Madison resident Brian Jopek, the father of Ryan Jopek, the young soldier who tragically lost his life to a roadside bomb in 2006, recently said on a Wisconsin Public Radio show that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it. Yet Obama continues to do so despite the wishes of the family.

Radio host Glenn Moberg of the show "Route 51" asked Mr. Jopek, a man who believes in the efforts in Iraq and is not in favor of Obama's positions on the war, what he and his ex-wife think of Obama continually using their son's name on the campaign trail. (h/t D. Keith Howington of www.dehavelle.com)

Jopek began by saying that his ex-wife was taken aback, even upset, that Obama has made the death of her son a campaign issue. Jopek says his wife gave Obama the bracelet because "she just wanted Mr. Obama to know Ryan's name." Jopek went on to say that "she wasn't looking to turn it into a big media event" and "just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself." Apparently, they were all shocked it became such a big deal.

But, he also said that his ex-wife has refused further interviews on the matter and that she wanted Obama to stop wearing the reminder of her son's sacrifice that he keeps turning into a campaign soundbyte. This begins at about 10 minutes into the radio program.

TRANSCRIPT

    Brian Jopek: Because of some of the negative feedback she's gotten on the Internet, you know Internet blogs, you know people accusing her of... or accusing Obama of trying to get votes doing it... and that sort of thing.

    Radio Host Moberg: Yeah

    Jopek: She has turned down any subsequent interviews with the media because she just didn't want it to get turned into something that it wasn't. She had told me in an email that she had asked, actually asked Mr. Obama to not wear the bracelet any more at any of his public appearances. Which I don't think he's...

    Moberg: It has been a while since he's brought it up.

    Jopek: Right. But, the other night I was watching the news and he was on, uh, speaking somewhere and he was still wearing it on his right wrist. I could see it on his right wrist. So, that's his own choice. I mean that's something Barack Obama, that's a choice that he continues to wear it despite Tracy asking him not to... Because she is a Barack Obama supporter and she didn't want to do anything to sabotage his campaign, so, if he's still wearing the bracelet then, uh, that of course is entirely up to him.

    Moberg: Maybe there's a difference between wearing it and making a point to bring it up in your speeches?

Even the snow job that the radio host tried to pull off to cover for Barack's refusing the wishes of the family of the KIA soldier who's bracelet he wears doesn't pass the smell test. After all, now that Obama has made it a big point in the debates, I guess the silent observance of Sgt. Jopek is no longer so silent and Obama is back to exploiting the death of a soldier even when he was asked NOT to do so by that soldier's parents.

To pile insult onto injury here, the Mother doesn't even want to force the issue of telling Obama to stop exploiting her son because she wants to see him win the election. Obama is not only taking advantage of this brave soldier's death, he is taking advantage of the good wishes of the man's Mother who doesn't want to hurt the campaign.

And, why is the media not playing this story? The radio show on which this interview is heard happened all the way back in March. How is it the media missed this? Is it because they are also don't want to hurt Obama's campaign?

I can only say that if the parents of the soldier whose bracelet John McCain is wearing had said in public that they want him to stop wearing their son's bracelet the news would have been coast to coast, and wall to wall, not just ignored in Madison, Wisconsin.

Obama's use of this soldier that fell in the line of duty is tainted by his ambition and callousness. And the media is letting him get away with it.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/09/28/family-told-obama-not-wear-soldier-sons-bracelet-where-media

[richpo64]

It's all about Barry.

The fundemantal dishonesty of democrats is simply disgusting. They will do, or say anything to further their thirst for power.

[Michael Tee]

Sounds very suspicious; why can't the mother speak for herself?  Probably because she got beaten to a pulp for giving Obama the bracelet in the first place, and doesn't want to give the bastard the opportunity to inflict any more damage on her.  I'd want to be 100% certain this wasn't a spousal abuse case and the willful infringement of the wife's Constitutional rights before I gave the husband any credence whatever.

[Xavier_Onassis]

If you don't want a politician to wear your son's bracelet, do not give it to a politician to wear.

When a politician does anything even remotely different today than he did yesterday, thousands of Richiepoos climb to the top of their chickenhouse before dawn and start crowing "flip flop! flip flop! flip flop!"

[BT]

Sounds very suspicious; why can't the mother speak for herself?  Probably because she got beaten to a pulp for giving Obama the bracelet in the first place, and doesn't want to give the bastard the opportunity to inflict any more damage on her.  I'd want to be 100% certain this wasn't a spousal abuse case and the willful infringement of the wife's Constitutional rights before I gave the husband any credence whatever.

Please check the ex-wife's medical history and get back to us.

[richpo64]

>>Sounds very suspicious; why can't the mother speak for herself?  Probably because she got beaten to a pulp for giving Obama the bracelet in the first place, and doesn't want to give the bastard the opportunity to inflict any more damage on her.  I'd want to be 100% certain this wasn't a spousal abuse case and the willful infringement of the wife's Constitutional rights before I gave the husband any credence whatever.<<

Come on. Seriously.

Can't we find some sane liberals? Are there any?

I mean, this really points to some kind of illness. I'm sorry but for crying out loud. This isn't debate anymore. This is just sick. How are we expected to respond to this?

Damn.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I mean, this really points to some kind of illness. I'm sorry but for crying out loud. This isn't debate anymore. This is just sick. How are we expected to respond to this?


I think shutting the f*ck up would be a start.
A bracelet is not an important topic for anyone.

[Michael Tee]

BT knows as well as I do that neither of us can check the mother's medical history and even if we could, it might reveal nothing, since many cases of domestic abuse go unreported.

Normally, if a mother gave the bracelet to a politician, it should be up to the mother to request it be returned if politically exploited and up to the mother to protest to the media if the politician ignores her.

I find the mother's public silence to be highly suspicious.  My suspicion is that the father and not the mother is the one objecting.  Since the mother is publicly silent I postulated that the father had silenced her with physical abuse, probably the likeliest explanation for why he, and not she, is making this media circus in the first place, and why she is not speaking out against him.

[BT]

I find the mother's public silence to be highly suspicious.  My suspicion is that the father and not the mother is the one objecting.  Since the mother is publicly silent I postulated that the father had silenced her with physical abuse, probably the likeliest explanation for why he, and not she, is making this media circus in the first place, and why she is not speaking out against him.

You didn't postulate, you accused.
Your "probably" wiggle wording was insufficient for the vitriol attached to the rest.

This is the more likely reason for her silence:

Brian Jopek: Because of some of the negative feedback she's gotten on the Internet, you know Internet blogs, you know people accusing her of... or accusing Obama of trying to get votes doing it... and that sort of thing.

It's not like over the top vitriol is unheard of from anonymous posters on the net.

[Xavier_Onassis]

What we know is that Mccain cared enough to wear a bracelet, however much that is, and so did Obama.

The fact that the mother gave Obama the bracelet and the father wants him to stop wearing it does not mean he doesn't care.

This is a silly non-issue anyway.

[Michael Tee]

<<You didn't postulate, you accused.>>

I'm not going to quibble with you over semantics.  An accusation would not be qualified by "probably."  It's the "probably" that makes it a postulation.

<<Your "probably" wiggle wording was insufficient for the vitriol attached to the rest.>>

"Probably" means exactly what it says, there are other possible explanations, but the likeliest is that the husband has terrified his wife into silence by physical abuse.

<<This is the more likely reason for her silence:

<<Quote
<<Brian Jopek: Because of some of the negative feedback she's gotten on the Internet, you know Internet blogs, you know people accusing her of... or accusing Obama of trying to get votes doing it... and that sort of thing.>>

LOL.  Sure it is, BT.  Well we have YOUR opinion on the likeliest explanation of this story and we have mine.

<<It's not like over the top vitriol is unheard of from anonymous posters on the net.>>

Yeah and it's not like husbands haven't abused their wives physically before over gifts of personal jewellery  given to handsome, charismatic black men.  RACISM is alive and well in the U.S.A.  Sexism is alive and well.  Domestic violence is alive and well.  You've got it all.  THAT'S what makes my explanation so much more likely than yours.

[BT]

So ..... are you still beating your wife?

[sirs]

lol......touche'

[Brassmask]

Of course, this has already proven as an utter lie.  Of course.  AGAIN.  Lies from the RIGHT.

I listened to Hannity for a few minutes today and he was so scatter shot, hair-on-fire lying, he couldn't even remember what he wanted to have happen.

Nothing but just out and out lies now from the right.  AGAIN.


More egg on the wingnutosphere's face Hotlist
by kos
Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:51:40 PM CDT

So Jonah Goldberg and his fellow wingers are in a tizzy about Obama wearing that commemorative bracelet.

    It was meant as a sign of respect, but now conservatives are saying Sen. Barack Obama's invocation of his "hero bracelet" bearing the name of a fallen soldier is being done against the family's wishes, based on comments made months ago by the soldier's father.

Jonah Goldberg, who has never made an argument with any care, commanded, "Take Off the Bracelet, Senator". But, as always, they were wrong.

    Tracy Jopek of Merrill told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb.
    Jopek criticized Internet reports suggesting Obama, D-Ill., exploited her son for political purposes.

    "I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet," she said.

    Jopek acknowledged e-mailing the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates. But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet.

These wingers still think they own the troops and their memories. They believe that those ultimate sacrifices are only theirs to be wielded for propaganda purposes when necessary. But of course, they're wrong.

As usual.


http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/9/28/21132/6013

[sirs]

ROFL...Brass has a conniption of a conservative pundit daring to speak truth to his perceptions, then posts a post from an even further leftist lying pundit, Kos.