More hot air from Congressman Gary Miller, GASBAG

     The OC Voice’s Norberto Santana, Jr. just posted about my amazingly corrupt Congressman, Gary Miller.
     In a story that appeared today in Harper’s Magazine, Ken Silverstein noted that Miller’s military service was very brief: from Sept. 7 to Oct. 30, 1967. That’s seven weeks.
     But, as Santana explains, there's a problem: for many years, “Miller's biography in congressional publications … has stated that he served in the Army from 1967 to 1968.” That sounds like two years. It doesn't sound like seven weeks.
     Confronted with Silverstein’s unwelcome factoid, Miller launched some oddly dubious damage control: “… Miller's press secretary clarified his military record in an email, stating ‘Congressman Miller volunteered to the U.S. Army and was Honorably Discharged due to medical reasons within a matter of months.’”
     Well, no. Not months. Weeks. Seven of 'em.
     Naturally, reporters have pursued the relevant military records to learn the nature of the "medical reasons" for Miller's discharge. But there’s a problem: “…finding documentation on Miller's time in the military is difficult. Even with social security numbers, dates and places of entry and separation, workers at the National Archives say they can't find Miller's records.”
     Santana notes—as we often have—that Miller is accustomed to controversy:

He's been involved in some hinky land transactions in his district and the congressional watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has repeatedly listed Miller as among the most corrupt members of Congress.

     Three years ago, our own Red Emma made a trip to Miller’s office to confront him about his views concerning the war and his failure to hold a forum to discuss the war with his constituents: Meeting with Congressman Gary Miller, GASBAG (April 12, 2007).
     Check it out. You'll enjoy Red's colorful and hilarious account.