We saluted former Marine Sergeant Dakota Meyer for his heroism in Afghanistan, boldly charging into a kill zone not once but five times to rescue his threatened and fallen friends and allies. You might have thought you’d learned all you needed to know about the man right there and then.
But you’d be mistaken:
A former Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor bowed out of his quest Tuesday to join the New York City Fire Department after a federal judge denied his request to extend the application deadline for all aspiring firefighters — not just him.
The judge had been willing to grant a 24-hour application extension for Sgt. Dakota Meyer, who saved the lives of 36 people during an ambush in Afghanistan two years ago. Meyer missed the FDNY’s application deadline because he was busy with official Medal of Honor commitments and ceremonies, said Keith Sullivan, his attorney.
But when the city offered to reopen the application process to the public, Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis refused, saying a brief extension would create a risk of “adverse impact” on minority groups who are under-represented in the ranks of the FDNY. Instead, the judge agreed to grant Meyer a one-day exception because he is “one exceptional individual.”
That didn’t seem fair to Meyer, who charged five times in a Humvee into heavy gunfire in the darkness of an Afghanistan valley to rescue comrades under attack from Taliban insurgents.
“Dakota refuses to compromise his values,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “He said he would like to thank the city of New York and the people who have shown him so much support, but he couldn’t in good conscience take a one-person exception. He will apply for the exam when it’s given again in four years.”
So, the city of New York loses out on a chance to add a hero to its ranks. But the risk to diversity, thank God, has been averted.
(On which topic, a graph from Mark Steyn’s book “After America” bears paraphrasing: “Diversity” is morally neutral. A group of five upper middle class liberal white women who listen to NPR is not diverse. The same five women joined by Sudan’s leading clitorectodomist is more diverse, but the group is not the better for it.)
They should give Meyer that judge’s job; the world would be a better place for it.
All I can say about his actions is, “Well done, Marine!”
That judge is the same one who ruled that FDNY MUST hold two of every five spots for blacks and one of every five for hispanics. Could be four blacks and one hispanic. Could be three hispanics and two blacks, could be two blacks, one hispanic, one asian, and one white. But there had to be two blacks and one hispanic in every five hires or advancements.
I’m mystified that extending the deadline for all somehow is a risk to diversity, but granting a lone exception isn’t.
Sgt. Meyer is the epitomy of the word honor. Shame the same can’t be said for the judge.
“Diversity”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. (HT to Princess Bride)
(somebody had to do it)
Honor, Courage, Fidelity. Dakota Meyer epitomizes everything that each Marine strives for.
Judge Garaufis, on the other hand, epitomizes everything that most of us “West of the Hudson” see as being wrong with New York.
One again, New Yorkers, you get exactly what you deserve. You have lost the services of a genuine American hero, but, you got a bobby prize. Just one more New York politician who is far more interested in “diversity” than he is in justice or serving the people.
Didn’t an Admiral somewhere recently say that “Diversity” was the Navy’s NUMBER ONE priority. Not merit, readiness, war-fighting capability, or anything like that, no siree! Gee, I wonder in which atrophying NATO Navy THAT Admiral belonged? Couldn’t possibly be ours, right?
As Paul Harvey (God rest his soul) use to say, “And now here is the rest of the story…”
Way to go Marine…..working for Maxim Magazine must come with some AWESOME fringe benefits ! Yowza….
Dakota Meyer, who became the first living Marine since Vietnam to be awarded a Medal of Honor earlier this month, will soon have another title to add to his post-war resume: a spot on the masthead at Maxim magazine.
Maxim has hired Meyer as a military adviser, The Cutline has learned. In the newly created paid position, Meyer will contribute to Maxim’s military coverage–in print and online–and represent the magazine at events, including its annual Super Bowl weekend party.
President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Meyer on Sept. 15. The 23-year-old Kentucky native was credited with saving 36 lives during a six-hour firefight with the Taliban that killed five U.S. soldiers.
It might seem at first glance that Maxim has hurriedly brought Meyer on staff in order to capitalize on the publicity from his Medal of Honor. But the brass at Maxim insist that’s not the case.
Maxim’s executives have been talking about bringing Meyer on for more than a year. They initially met with the Afghanistan war hero when he was among the rivals taking part in the magazine’s first Maximum Warrior competition for elite veterans. Joe Mangione, CEO of Maxim publisher Alpha Media Group, was in attendance at the Medal of Honor ceremony.
And the magazine–which is popular on military bases for, let’s say, its titillating, male-centric content–has actually ramped up its coverage of the military over the last few years.
Maxim also plans to publish a special issue–”Maxim Salutes the Military”–in November, with a portion of the proceeds going to Meyer’s charity for children of Marines.
Talk about a sweet gig for a Marine!
I don’t know. He may have to put up with covers like this,
http://www.thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/maksim-magazine-s-meghan-mccain-cover-t6765.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egAMgNY84do
I always think of that clip when I think of diversity drivel.
If you thought that clip was funny you must be racist.
And I thought it was really funny, and a little bit sad too.
I love Dennis Leary.
A very funny guy…quintessential Boston Irish by way of Worcester. Best
” Wicked pissah ” as we in BAWSTON would say…..now if we could get the RED SOX to pull their heads outta their arises, we would be happier…..
[...] via Hero Update « Neptunus Lex. [...]
Every time I read something new about this young man, the more impressed I am.
Semper Freaking Fi!
I couldn’t take a thing away from Sgt. Dakota, but I’d think anyone who passed the NYFD exam and signed up to run into buildings and fight fire to save lives would merit “exceptional” in relation to the rest of the population. I guess that’s why I’m not an elite federal judge.
As I have said many times, the biggest scoff laws we have in our society are the Police, Prosecutors and Judges. I’d really like to be proven wrong, but they keep proving me right every time I turn around.
I’ve heard Cincinnati police testify that they were, for example, forced to pick the best two of 8 illiterate applicants to the police force and put them on.
Downhill, throttle up.
Some cities/counties have slots open for cops/firefighters but only whites have applied.
So the slots are unfilled.
Feel safer now?
Between the Mayor and Judges like this one, it’s no wonder the residents of NYC are voting with their feet.
Lex, YOU get a HotAir link on MY subject! Mumble, mumble, grump, grump, whimper, pout, mule-lip.
A Marine doing what they do. The right thing; no matter the cost, no matter who is watching, no matter what others might think. Once a Marine, Always a Marine.
The Courts over the years have struck down those racial quotas and those Anglos punished by leftist busybodies have cleaned up tort-wise in court after court.
Only Bloomie’s New Yawk would ignore such a symbol of American exceptionalism.
From a former Army Airborne grunt, I salute the Leatherneck.
Sgt. Meyer epitomizes the American spirit and esprít de corps.
He truly DID go far and away beyond the call of duty.
I thank God that America still produces such intrepid men.
~(Ä)~
Boy, if such a cosmopolitan bastion of tolerance and progress as New York City needs to have its fire department strictly allocated by race, one can scarcely imagine how much worse the racism is in the vastly less enlightened parts of the country.
(The funniest thing about this is that the “problem” causing the racial imbalance is almost certainly nepotism and patronage, not discrimination. But God forbid the city put a stop to that.)
We owe it to Sgt. Meyer and his fellows to work as hard as we can to return this country to its founding principles and values. His service and sacrifice were extraordinary, as are those of everyone who serves in the military. Let’s not let that go to waste.
[...] He’d served with men who’d been firemen there and his grandfather was a fireman. He missed the deadline to apply by a day, but the city attempted to re-open acceptance of applicatio… A judge ruled that reopening wouldn’t allow all possible applicants an equal chance, since [...]