Marine investigated for calling Obama "the enemy"
a V-USA news and commentary exclusive
Wed, 14 Mar 2012
by: Tom Kovach
An eight-year Marine has come under Pentagon investigation for referring to Barack Hussein Obama II as "the enemy", and posting on his Facebook page that he will not obey "unlawful orders" from Obama.
Sergeant Gary Stein is the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots page on Facebook. Since news of the investigation broke recently, his page now has more than 14,000 members.
Marine Corps officials are conducting an investigation to determine whether Sgt. Stein is in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Article 134 is the "general article", which covers unspecified acts deemed to be prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the military. The charge is that Stein made "comments disloyal to the president of the United States". Under the principles of law, one defense strategy would be to argue that Obama is not the president (because he is not eligible under the Constitution), and therefore negative comments about him are not subject to the UCMJ.
Stein has "dug in", and he is holding his ground. During a recent interview on KUSI-TV News in San Diego, after describing the Article 134 charge, Stein explained that he had taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. "I never swore an oath to be loyal to the president of the United States," he said.
Contrary to what many outsiders might think, military members have not only a right, but also an "affirmative duty" to refuse any "unlawful orders". This is a standard defense in the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM). Three weeks prior to Obama's inauguration, I explained this in detail in a column called "The Obama Oxymoron". The scenario presented was that a USAF Security Policeman could legally deny Obama access to get aboard Air Force One*, because the SP would be protecting a command facility from an unlawful usurper. (* The same would be true for a Marine guarding access to the Marine One helicopter.) A flight surgeon in the Army, LTC Terry Lakin, used this legal argument to refuse an order to deploy to Afghanistan. A military judge illegally ignored the MCM rules. Lakin was sentenced to confinement at Fort Leavenworth and lost his Army career (just short of retirement).
When more of our active-duty troops realize that they might need to risk their individual careers for the good of the country, then Obama's regime will be in trouble. Not every judge will break the law to protect Obama. Not every commander will file a charge against a subordinate for doing what is right. Sergeant Gary Stein is not alone in his views about Obama.
But, for now, his is a forward position. He needs resupply and reinforcement, ASAP.
This is one more example of why every Constitution-supporting voter -- especially our military members and veterans -- should break the two-party logjam and help to elect America's Party presidential candidate Tom Hoefling.
a V-USA news and commentary exclusive
Wed, 14 Mar 2012
by: Tom Kovach
An eight-year Marine has come under Pentagon investigation for referring to Barack Hussein Obama II as "the enemy", and posting on his Facebook page that he will not obey "unlawful orders" from Obama.
Sergeant Gary Stein is the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots page on Facebook. Since news of the investigation broke recently, his page now has more than 14,000 members.
Marine Corps officials are conducting an investigation to determine whether Sgt. Stein is in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Article 134 is the "general article", which covers unspecified acts deemed to be prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the military. The charge is that Stein made "comments disloyal to the president of the United States". Under the principles of law, one defense strategy would be to argue that Obama is not the president (because he is not eligible under the Constitution), and therefore negative comments about him are not subject to the UCMJ.
Stein has "dug in", and he is holding his ground. During a recent interview on KUSI-TV News in San Diego, after describing the Article 134 charge, Stein explained that he had taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. "I never swore an oath to be loyal to the president of the United States," he said.
Contrary to what many outsiders might think, military members have not only a right, but also an "affirmative duty" to refuse any "unlawful orders". This is a standard defense in the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM). Three weeks prior to Obama's inauguration, I explained this in detail in a column called "The Obama Oxymoron". The scenario presented was that a USAF Security Policeman could legally deny Obama access to get aboard Air Force One*, because the SP would be protecting a command facility from an unlawful usurper. (* The same would be true for a Marine guarding access to the Marine One helicopter.) A flight surgeon in the Army, LTC Terry Lakin, used this legal argument to refuse an order to deploy to Afghanistan. A military judge illegally ignored the MCM rules. Lakin was sentenced to confinement at Fort Leavenworth and lost his Army career (just short of retirement).
When more of our active-duty troops realize that they might need to risk their individual careers for the good of the country, then Obama's regime will be in trouble. Not every judge will break the law to protect Obama. Not every commander will file a charge against a subordinate for doing what is right. Sergeant Gary Stein is not alone in his views about Obama.
But, for now, his is a forward position. He needs resupply and reinforcement, ASAP.
This is one more example of why every Constitution-supporting voter -- especially our military members and veterans -- should break the two-party logjam and help to elect America's Party presidential candidate Tom Hoefling.
Tom Kovach (rhymes with "watch") lives near Nashville, is a former USAF Blue Beret, and has written four books plus news reports and columns for several online publications. Tom is an inventor, a horse wrangler, a certified paralegal, and former network talk-radio host. He has also run for Congress, and is the national chairman of Veterans United to Save America (V-USA). To learn more about the author, click: www.TomKovach.US.
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