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Gregory Bull / AP
The Marines say Staff Sgt. Gary Stein will be discharged for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook. He has since apologized to the president.
Sgt. Gary Stein, the 26-year-old Marine who learned Wednesday he would be discharged for his online comments criticizing President Barack Obama, wishes he could take it back.
“People ask me, ‘Would you go back and change those words?’ I would most definitely,” Stein told msnbc.com. “I would articulate my point better.”
On March 1, Stein wrote on a closed forum for active-duty meteorologists and oceanographers that he would say "Screw Obama" and not follow all orders from him, according to Courthouse News.
“Obama is the economic enemy,” he wrote in the post. “He is the religious enemy ... He is the ‘fundamentally change’ America enemy … He IS the Domestic Enemy.”
Marine who criticized President Obama on Facebook to be discharged
Five minutes later, another Marine took down his post, but not before someone Stein knew took a screen shot and forwarded the comment to Stein’s superiors.
Stein had already been warned about a Facebook page he had started in 2010, which he named Armed Forces Tea Party.
“They said, ‘All we ask is that you write that the views are not that of the Marine Corps or the Department of Defense,’” Stein said. He said he put up the disclaimer that day.
The Facebook page, which had six moderators, including Stein, included posts about contraception, gays in the military, pundit Keith Olbermann and Obama. One post included a photo of Obama with the word, “Jackass” written underneath. Stein said that was not his post.
Service members are, according to Directive 1344 of the Department of Defense, allowed to express personal opinions on political candidates, but not as representatives of the Armed Forces.
Last month, a three-member military panel recommended that he be booted from the Marine Corps. On Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo accepted their recommendation that Stein be dismissed for violating military law.
Stein said he repeatedly told Marine Corps officials he would shut down the Facebook page and not speak with the press if they allowed him to complete his contract, which ends in three months, but they refused.
“I think they’re trying to use me as an example,” Stein said. “Senior officers don’t want to hear, ‘You were the person who let this Gary Stein situation get out of hand. I think there might have been peer pressure among the senior enlisted.”
Maj. Michael Armistead, a Marine Corps spokesman at Camp Pendleton, could not confirm whether this negotiation took place.
Stein, an Arizona native, has been a Marine for nine years and was deployed to Iraq from 2005 to 2006. Although he regrets his post, he still believes his online activity should be protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Still, he said he would caution other service members to think before posting their opinions.
“I’m not telling them to zip it up or shut up; be conscious of what you post,” he said. He said he believes the Marine Corps should clearly rewrite the rules for social media in the wake of his dismissal.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Stein sounded tired. A former weather forecaster, he lost his security clearance and started working as a scheduler on a rifle range at Camp Pendleton. He said his wife’s grandmother died Tuesday night and he was diagnosed Monday with a throat disease. He said the Marine Corps is waiting to discharge him so that he can go through treatment.
“It’s been a rough day,” Stein said. “I’m disappointed. Not only in the Marine Corps, but in myself.”
Watch US News videos on msnbc.com
He said he plans to go through treatment and tend to his wife and 4-year-old daughter. He has been a licensed real estate agent for two years; last night he posted a house for sale on his personal Facebook page.
He also wrote on Facebook that he would not accept racist or vulgar posts.
“I will ban you and you will never be on the page again,” he said.
And he said he has also apologized to the president.
“If he was in front of me right now, I would salute him, say, ‘Yes, Mr. President, No, Mr. President,’ and when I walked away, I would still disagree with his policies. But those are two separate things.”
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No great loss to the military. Brainwashed right wing tools are not going to make good ambassadors around the world, and since that is what our military does now, we're better off without him. It's a positive sign that he was turned in my his own group, though. Maybe they aren't all ignorant knee-jerk reactionaries who take orders from Limbaugh et al.
Gee, you sound semi literate, the key word being semi.
He is a far greater loss to the Corp than that murdering muslim pos at Ft Hood and he's still on our dime. Funny how this got processed so quick don't ya think?
I'm sure he does regret it - everyone regrets costly, stupid mistakes... The proof will be in the pudding if he stops saying stupid inflammatory things going forward... Then he will have learned something from his mistake which is always the only benefit.
Seems like most of the comments here support the decision to kick this guy out of the Marines, and I agree. Keep in mind though, he will be a Million Dollar a year "military expert " talking head on FOX within a week of his discharge. So maybe he figured this out ahead. Or maybe he's just a dumbs#!t.
i hope he is a millionaire. he said what he believes. good job standing up for your belief.
If these were HIS beliefs, he should have resigned, quit, or otherwise left the Marines as soon as he could after Pres. Obama was sworn in. That way, he would not have had to spit on his own oath that he took when he enlisted. Since he did not leave, I believe he was spouting off things he didn't even understand. But he liked the attention he was getting from some extremists on the right and decided to continue, even after being ordered to stop. He is a mental juvenile and has not served the Marines or his country with honor.
whocares,,,,, I frigging care!
What he said was flatly wrong & unpatriotic... We don't need dishonorable millionaires running around this country... They've cost enough trouble in America
Ted Nugent the millionaire draft dodger isn't even allowed on base anymore for his unpatriotic comments
Hammer60
No one resigns or quits from the military. The only way to leave is to go AWOL or serve your time with honor. What he did is definitely not honorable. Sentence is justified.
Why do you need a security clearance to be a weather forecaster?
i hear romney's still lookin for a vp ; maybe this guy needs to apply ; i mean even those political news broadcasters know he'll just be a laughing stock rooting for romney.
Dear Mr. Stupid ex-Marine: You got what you deserved, FIRED.
Good job. Semper fi, dude!
Do hookers need security clearance, especially the day before the Big O arrives?
God help us all to stop acting like a bunch of vultures, ready to pounce on anyone who make a mistake. Yes, he made one. You never have? The only ones who never made a mistake are the ones who never did anything. Enough already. Your continued ranting accomplishes nothing, reflects poorly on you, and does not help anyone.
Richard: Yes, we all make mistakes. However, how many people in the military post hateful and treasonous remarks on Facebook? Those types of mistakes affect all of us. He deserves the criticism he is receiving, especially after being told to stop this behavior.
richard ; i bet you are one of the guys in florida rooting for the killer of that teenager.
The trouble is that he kept 'making mistakes' even after being told to stop making them! He's obviously either a retard or stone deaf.
Maybe he made a mistake, but what has happened to FREEDOM OF SPEECH? It sounds too much like communism to me when a person cannot speak their opinion. People in this country do not realize how much they are losing their freedoms. It no longer looks like the America I was born into about 60 years ago.
Michigan Sue: People in the military don't have the right to post treasonous remarks about the CIC. It's not about freedom of speech.
What freedoms are we losing?
weareinbettershape - Your comment is totally wrong in its assumption, uncalled for and reflects only your nasty, ignorant attitude. Have fun, idiot!
Richard???? This is not about making a mistake. He was warned about his mistake and advised to repair it--he did not. So this is about honor, pure and simple. Honor! That's all.
Richard, he didn't make a (as in single) mistake. He was told to stop a lot. He wouldn't listen. He got in trouble for it.
Good Job Marine!
Apologise, with fingers crossed behind your back.
In other words - LIE. How honorable.
When you are trying to serve a so called Commander in Chief, yes, LIE.
He does all the time, why can't we?
You can... just be ready to accept the consequences.
obama is a pathetic excuse for a human being.
See, you never hear of a Democrat in the military getting dismissed for insulting a republican President. These kinds of things only happen to Republicans.
The typical Rush martyr approach, completely devoid of facts...
Well, should be pretty easy to prove me wrong considering you only need one example. Give it a shot...
Democrats are, on the whole, quite a bit smarter than this nitwit, and like many of the posters above, realize that there is a time and place to articulate your opinions, and a time and place not to. But if your point is that Republicans get treated differently (and worse) than Democrats, uh really? You have some proof of that? What about Bradley Manning? I guess he's a mistreated and misunderstood Republican, huh? Sheesh!
Haha, no, the point was as stated, namely that Republicans tend to be more boisterous and as a whole, more hateful than Democrats; thus, the reason why they often tend to be the ones being publicly reprimanded for such behaviors when it goes too far. It hasn't even been that long since so called General McChrystal took the easy way out of his position in much the same fashion, rather than simply throwing his hands up in the air and saying "I quit, I'm not the man for the job." Instead, he plays the "victim" card by making it appear that the President was so "sensitive" he had to fire him, but of course, he, McChrystal, knew what the POTUS had to do following the comments he deliberately made to that scandalous magazine.
I'm signed in to my Facebook account. I'm not in the military so it doesn't matter who reads this comment.
Please stare at the news photo of Gary Stein that is attached to this "MSNBC" story. It shows Gary, more than a month after he typed "screw Obama" on FB, inside a courtroom wearing a suit and tie.
The photograph is arousing me because I have a "suit and tie sexual fetish."
Mr. Stein, if you are reading this, please email me at entersignin@yahoo.com
You are very handsome. I don't care if you called Obama the devil. I care about what lies behind your handsome facade.
Anyone who reprimands me on this blog had better not express support for gays in the military. If they can talk about their fantasies, why can't I talk about mine ?
You go, girl...but you had better be the breadwinner in this relationship!
All I will surmise is that you have wierd and wacho fantasies, but each his/her own????
Libs, answer this:
This soldier was wrong, but why would a US President make the following statement other than to race bait?
"If I had a son, he would have looked like Trayvon" Really? This is the second time this President has used his position as a bully pulpit BEFORE knowing all the facts! Furthermore, does anyone on this BB honestly believe he would of said such a thing if Mr. Trayvon (excuse me, "the child") was white? Remember, it was Obama's white mom that stuck by him while his black dad ran wild and free...truth really is stranger than fiction.
Wats-
Try sticking to the topic at hand, just once. You never can.
Watson: How is that race baiting? No, he would not have said that if Trayvon Martin was white; that would have been ridiculous. However, his comment was not race baiting. I could see saying something like that regarding the tragic death of a young boy. Moreover, he didn't discuss who was to blame, etc.
Talk about race baiting; your last comment fits that bill.
Mary - Wait a minute, ridiculous? Obama is half WHITE (why do you think I mentioned his mum's ethnicity?) and you know that he wouldn't have even been made aware of the incident if Mr. Trayvon were white. If you think otherwise, I have a bridge for sale...(-;
Lee, "you never can" please "show me"
Typical radical rightist: He STILL won't accept that it was all his own fail/fault.
" “I think they’re trying to use me as an example,” Stein said. “Senior officers don’t want to hear, ‘You were the person who let this Gary Stein situation get out of hand. I think there might have been peer pressure among the senior enlisted.”"
Listening to all these IDIOTS on the right got you ousted out of the Marines. They go on and you take the fall! You got what you deserve Idiot. Have a nice life loser! Go PRESIDENT OBAMA!
GOP - Golly, you forgot to mention ALL the idiots on the LEFT! There are far more, start with yourself and your typical lib ad hominem attacks. Yeah, GO Obama, GO AWAY, FAR FAR away.
Yes your are right I'm a Lib and proud of it. Seek life else where like FAUX News. Bahahahahahahaha!
GOP - YOu'll be bahha-ing when your man goes down hard! He'll be known as the worse US President "hands down" in history...watch and weep, or rather "whine" isn't that what you libs really do? whine like the weaklings you are, or maybe you can go and watch your libtard ABC, NBC while whining along with Wasserman Schultz, your pal Pelossi, and misfit crew.
Typical lib ad hominem attacks? Like your post at 71.1, or for that matter all your other inane nonsense?
Sorry my ass. I bet your daughter and wife are so PROUD of you now. When you signed up to serve the country, you swore you would protect the President (even if you dislike him) and the United States Constitution. No ifs or buts. If you want to be the next Jan Brewer then run for office.
Kumic - You wish you had the guts, integrity, and love of country Jan Brewer does!
But, hopefully not the lack of intellect, compassion, nor the need for a makeover that this turd JB has!
When you are a Marine, you know the rules. You keep your mouth shut and your opinions to yourself. He was a flippant idiot to criticize the President (any President!) on social media. I don't feel badly for him because he was warned. Everyone knows First Amendment rights don't apply to active-duty servicemen.
This loser like all retardicans spent too much time listenening to faux propaganda. And look where it got him. You retardicans should learn something from this but you are probably too far gone and still way too stupid even after this.
off - don't forget "libtards!" who listen to PBS, NBC, ABC "propaganda"
Want to be a marine then pull your big boy pants on and quit being a sissy lala. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
During the Bush adminstration, although I didn't agree with many of his polices, I never "wished he would fail" as many of the real Americans have professed since he was elected president. These sentiments are that of persons that represent the worst, regarding patriotism and love for country. The hatred and anger for President Obamna is very troubling. The language written and encouraged by this individual is probably quite mild when compared to what he and people like him utter when in the privacy of their own warped, disturbed and wicked minds. Although I doubt it this fellow Stein will probably use this lesson to validate his true hatetred for people who look like the president and me - his fellow marines (brothers in arms)!!
The USMC positioned noted, state sponsored and state tolerated media seem to be the next step. I am prohibited from making comments or posts on Yahoo one month at a time when I so much as mention Obama's name. Yahoo's tolerance for Obama bashing is zero with me. Government oversight of Yahoo and other media might be loosely related to Sergeant Stein's demise. I loved the story MSM carried regarding former VP Cheney's comments characterizing Obama as an unmitigated disaster. Does that mean Obama's heath care bill carriers can, or will, refuse to treat VP Cheney someday? Will delayed or non-treatment be politically sanctioned like Sergeant Stein's release from the marines? Scary, isn't it?
It is true this young fellow broke the rules of knowing that his COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! But I think the Pentagon also carries some burden in this situation. They ALLOW the airing of Rush Limbaugh and other people who constantly and hatefully down the President and anything that he tried to do. Sorry, but young folks eat this sort of idiocy up. Judgements are vague at best for some of these young people and confusion is bound to be there. So, first off, let's get it to the Commands that they bear some of the responsibility for this. It needs to be made very clear to each and every soldier just who they are protecting and who is in charge. We even have officers deciding they can go against commands now. Well, people the Tea Party and the Evangelicals don't run the military the top guy IS the President of the United States above all the Generals, Admirals and all of the lower grades. Got it? The President is their leader, Democrat or Republican. Sad that this is being skewed by free radio, piped right in by Armed Forces Radio!
You're right. Some people gorge everyday on this faux hysteria until they no longer see events through sane eyes. Arm themselves up to their eyeballs to protect their gun rights which aren't being threatened but have in fact been expanded under Obama. Feel the power of being manly men with guns and then go shooting unarmed teenagers (that guy feels sorry too btw). How dare that black man parade as our president..... Well, its because the majority of the country voted for him. That is the only qualification he needs to be CIC.
The really sad part, is the fact that he wants to take back, having spoke the truth. He's still welcome at my dinner table anytime.
Oh Gee!
Good for you!
The pedophile priests you like to worship probably would be too!
two peas in a pod!
The Uniform Code of Military Justice absolutely PWNS every single stupid attempt at Pubby Logic and spin.
THE UCMJ is based upon 300 YEARS of military History.
It doesn't matter WHAT you think Pubbies!
so get over it!
You don't mess with God boy!