Comments on: Thank you for your service. https://habitablezone.com/2015/02/05/thank-you-for-your-service/ Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:11:46 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: bowser https://habitablezone.com/2015/02/05/thank-you-for-your-service/#comment-32271 bowser Sun, 15 Feb 2015 02:55:01 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=48776#comment-32271 I think the guy is sympathetic in the extreme. He needs help, he deserves help and I hope he can learn from his mistakes. We all have to. However, he doesn't get a pass. Albert Einstein didn't either, and he was accomplished in his way. The only "passes" go to folks like Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, and that ilk. I think the guy is sympathetic in the extreme. He needs help, he deserves help and I hope he can learn from his mistakes. We all have to.

However, he doesn’t get a pass. Albert Einstein didn’t either, and he was accomplished in his way. The only “passes” go to folks like Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, and that ilk.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2015/02/05/thank-you-for-your-service/#comment-32264 ER Sat, 07 Feb 2015 14:07:45 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=48776#comment-32264 His severe sentence was the result of his participation in Vietnam Veterans Against the War, his refusal to turn state's evidence against any of his friends or acquaintances, and the efforts of University officials who lobbied publicly for clemency in his case, and who had the audacity to speak out on his behalf. Because of his Silver Star notoriety, he was an embarrassment to the authorities and they were determined to destroy him. His offense was not "drug-related", it was political. V.V.A.W. (the largest and most active political group on campus) was a reminder that anti-war sentiment at USF was not the whining of those who refused to fight, but the testimony of those who already had. There were a lot of Vietnam Vets on campus in those days and although most were apolitical, they were often sympathetic to those who were. I have no details on his "gun running" arrest, but I suspect it wasn't about organized arms smuggling. I got the impression from the wording of his arrest record that one of the people in the car he was riding in had a weapon. I don't even know if any convictions resulted from that case, it was just a bit of flotsam I stumbled on on the net. I have only documentary evidence of Tim's bravery in combat. But as far as his character is concerned, there is no question as to his, I knew him personally. His severe sentence was the result of his participation in Vietnam Veterans Against the War, his refusal to turn state’s evidence against any of his friends or acquaintances, and the efforts of University officials who lobbied publicly for clemency in his case, and who had the audacity to speak out on his behalf. Because of his Silver Star notoriety, he was an embarrassment to the authorities and they were determined to destroy him. His offense was not “drug-related”, it was political. V.V.A.W. (the largest and most active political group on campus) was a reminder that anti-war sentiment at USF was not the whining of those who refused to fight, but the testimony of those who already had. There were a lot of Vietnam Vets on campus in those days and although most were apolitical, they were often sympathetic to those who were.

I have no details on his “gun running” arrest, but I suspect it wasn’t about organized arms smuggling. I got the impression from the wording of his arrest record that one of the people in the car he was riding in had a weapon. I don’t even know if any convictions resulted from that case, it was just a bit of flotsam I stumbled on on the net.

I have only documentary evidence of Tim’s bravery in combat. But as far as his character is concerned, there is no question as to his, I knew him personally.

]]> By: bowser https://habitablezone.com/2015/02/05/thank-you-for-your-service/#comment-32263 bowser Sat, 07 Feb 2015 06:19:50 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=48776#comment-32263 There is no doubt this guy served above and beyond, and then above and beyond that. And usually we equate bravery with character. Not always so, it seems. Marijuana is mostly illegal and NOT necessary for survival. Running firearms across borders is not a requirement for survival. Those are options, with consequences, and one should be willing to accept the consequences of our actions. It's not as though he was stealing milk for his children. I don't know if you're making that case or not. Certainly this person is a sympathetic person, and one's heart goes out to him. What comes to my mind is the necessity of prison reform. There is no goddamned reason prisons shouldn't be reasonably pleasant with a heavy emphasis on character development and occupational training. Somewhere he needs to learn to live within society, and the Baptist church might be a sorry place to try that. There is no doubt this guy served above and beyond, and then above and beyond that. And usually we equate bravery with character. Not always so, it seems.

Marijuana is mostly illegal and NOT necessary for survival. Running firearms across borders is not a requirement for survival. Those are options, with consequences, and one should be willing to accept the consequences of our actions. It’s not as though he was stealing milk for his children.

I don’t know if you’re making that case or not. Certainly this person is a sympathetic person, and one’s heart goes out to him. What comes to my mind is the necessity of prison reform. There is no goddamned reason prisons shouldn’t be reasonably pleasant with a heavy emphasis on character development and occupational training. Somewhere he needs to learn to live within society, and the Baptist church might be a sorry place to try that.

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