Wow. I wonder if he was adopted? Not much in the way of brains in the rest of the family.

The second cousin once removed but he just hasnt been removed far enough

literally, just when you think you've seen, read or heard EVERYTHING!

if Idris Leppla's brother had gone off to Pakistan to join alQueda she'd probably be happy as a clam. but becoming part of the EVIL United States military???

ohmygawd!!

Paul,

You threw down the gauntlet and set an extremely high bar with your headline there.

But, goddamit, I think you might be right that this is the stupidest thing written on the web . . . at least for 2007.

... she's gettin' lit up in the comments section of the article:

"What next, an expose on "1 + 1 = 2" ?- WARN YOUR CHILDREN !"

"Has anyone arranged for a doctor or nurse to call this poor girl about every 30 seconds or so? She clearly needs to be reminded to breathe"

She's pretty dumb, all right. Almost Patty Murray dumb.

But "ever" is a long, long time. Check out some of our lefty commenters here, for examples of how high the bar is being constantly reset.

At least one thing is very incorrect in what she writes. If he has been there less than 2 years he can leave at any time, and he does not have to go through 13 interviews, and he sure as hell does not have to meet with the head of the Navy. If this was his first summer then he was going through basic, which a lot like any other military basic training program. Now that the academic year has began he can call home every night, if for some crazed reason he wants to put up with his mother's and sister's rants.

As a result, it appears the main purpose of the article is to try and smear the military. Note to dumb sister, talk with your brother, not the Navy. He can be out of there in 48 hours if he wants.

Right up there with the momma trying to get her son (who volunteered) out of the Army because he didn't know he might have to fight. Are these people born stupid or did their local liberal Moveon.org party (former democrat) ran school teach a class in stupidity? Inbred for a century or two could explain it.

Damn. Just DAMN. It is so hard for me to understand how someone could be SO FREAKIN' CLUELESS. It's truly amazing - in a scary way - that someone could be raised in America, get what is presumably a decent education, and get into college and not understand that the military academies are MILITARY.

And then - once she finally groks the purpose of our military academies, for her to hold them in ill regard -- nauseating. Her brother should disown her.

What a waste - this girl is pathetic.

I guess she will support him like liberals support the troops, she can hope for his failure so he can come home in disgrace.

I never even applied to the Air Force Academy, just talked to the liaison officer about it and other people. Everyone is up front.

I know that the Naval Academy isn't the same (even if I don't know how it is different) but the idea that ANYONE doesn't know about the basic training part of it, hair cutting, no calling or visiting home, and then freshman year daily-life elements before they go in... yes, it's the definition of stupid.

Sorry Idris. If you went to Columbia because you liked the idea of people thinking you must be smart... you just blew it. Big time.

It might not be entirely your fault. Chances are your brother lied... or at least sugar coated his decision in a way that would diffuse conflict and resistance at home.

I think that the 13 interviews and hoops to jump are BS but so is the idea that YOU or your MOTHER can start out-processing for your brother.

Or do you not realize that you just publicly declared him legally and mentally incompetent?

Oh... another stooopid thing...

Do you not have any CLUE how easy it is to get kicked OUT of the Academies?

Having spent a career in the military and the son of career military, I always try to remind myself that not everyone has a familiarity with that institution that almost everyone I've ever known has.

Then I run up against something like this girl, and realize there is no excuse for total ignorance of the most basic of known facts of one of our nation's oldest and esteemed institutions like the military academies.

It's not as if what they do at the service academies is the Manhattan Project.

Then think about the fact that her university, Columbia, is only about 48 miles from the USMA. And she had no idea what goes on there.

And liberals talk about conservatives having no intellectual curiosity.

Heheh, my favorite was the moonbat mom who was worried about her son, a US Army Ranger in Iraq.

So, she went to Iraq to make sure he was doing okay.

I'd be like, "mom? MOM!!!"

Idris -- With all due respect, you might want to memorize the line, 'Would you like fries with that?' Might help you after you graduate.

Yeah, those she and her friends are so smart, they need to be told not to play in traffic.

Like wow, you must be so smart!

Nothing in the article indicates that she was crossing the road when she shouldn't have been or suddenly jogged out into traffic.

Unless you know different, Wow, you're out of line.

She should call Columbia and demand her money back.

She should call Columbia and demand her money back.

I hate to say it, but I'm thnkin' it might be best her brother leaves Annapolis. With a backgroud like that he has the potential to turn out to be a later day Kerry.

On the other hand his staying in, then volunteering for Persian Gulf duty on board an, OMG, a floating War Machine would provide months of entertainment after Code Pink and the rest of the moonbats get a hold of them.

I just noticed her piece is the first of a four part series.

Jeebus, stupid times 4!

On the other hand his staying in, then volunteering for Persian Gulf duty on board an, OMG, a floating War Machine...

Wouldn't it just devastate the Columbia girl if her brother elected to be a Marine at the end of boat school?

What are you doing, wishing sis and mom have a heart attack John?

One other thing on the cluelessness of this idiot.

Unless something has drastically changed since I retired from the Service one has to be recommended by a U.S. Senator to be accepted to one of the service academes.

In addition, a potential student must submit his request to his Senators office anytime from January of their junior year through September of their senior year in high school.

So this young man knew long... long ago where he was going and what he was doing and his family was blindingly unaware.

MeThinks he's TRYING to get away and Sis better re-evaluate her relationship with the Bro.

'Cause it SUCKS. It's broken if not non-existent.

WAIT........!!!!!!!!1

Doesn't the Naval Academy offer a major in Orange Grove Management & Husbandry?

And YOU guys thought she was Schuuuutpid!!

"While we knew that someday he would be required to serve...."

What, did I miss the reinstatement of the draft?

The scary part is not that there are people so dumb they can write this stuff; what's scary is that there are people who read it and believe it.
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I just don't get it. What part of "United States Naval Academy" did she not understand? Even more painful is the question, "Does the Columbia Spectator have a proof-reader?" Gah!

There was a point in my life when I thought a college graduate was a de-facto "smart person". That illusion was crushed a long time ago. This girl does not surprise me in the least. I deal with people every day with college degrees in various fields and often wonder how some of them even remember to breathe. Somehow, many people think education somehow compensates, or is a replacement, for their lack of common sense and wisdom.

"While we knew that someday he would be required to serve...." What, did I miss the reinstatement of the draft?

If I'm not mistaken, I think graduates are required to serve at least four years after going to one of the academies. I believe that may be what she was referring to.

Which brings us to a whole new level of dumbness.

My fear is that these dumbsh*ts outnumber those with thinking brains.

Which brings us her to a whole new level of dumbness.

I like how she falls all over herself telling us how smart she is in the first paragraph. "See, I, a paragon of intelligence at Columbia, will tell you how bad the military is and you must believe me because I go to Columbia. Did I mention I go to Columbia?"

Remember the famous scenario where you have a room full of chimpanzees typing on type-writers and someday one will write Shakespeare?....well she's the one.

As a graduate of one of the other sevice academies, I can attest that they do not try to hide what they are from potential recruits. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The academies are very proud of their heritage and the people they produce. I applaud this kid for sticking to it and not allowing his idiot family to influence him.

This thing is so stupidly ignorant, I'm beginning to get paranoid about it. If this is not sibling rivalry in public and disgraceful flaunt, I'd like to know what it is. But why must the sins of the sister be visited on the brother, if this is what is going on? How make whole Frere Jacque?
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Please tell me this was a satire piece and Idris doesn't exist. Please.

The best comment in the threads at the original piece is:

"This article is a virtual pinata of asininity worthy of hyper-ridicule.
Tony Licari"

I think the real irony is that rightists could believe a leftist could be so ignorant, and yet.....
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Well, Idris is getting a proper ass-whuppin' in the comments section over there, anyway...

Poor girl, I hope she's not too embarrassed to discover that she hasn't been getting that "top-tier" edumcation that she expected (and that mummy and daddy paid for, no doubt).

Plus, after writing that article (and I simply can't wait for parts II, III, and IV), there's probably NOBODY in her little sector of the universe who's gonna say to her, "Wow, you must be smart."

Au contraire, Susan, she expects this to vault her into the top tier of candidates for Secretary of Defense in the incoming Progressive Administration we are all moveingon dot to.
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