Friday 28 February 2014

Give hero Marine his Medal of Honor


Marines in Sgt. Rafael Peralta's unit said they saw him pick up a grenade and hold it to his body.


Marines in Sgt. Rafael Peralta's unit said they saw him pick up a grenade and hold it to his body.






  • Ruben Navarrette: Sgt. Rafael Peralta, who died in Iraq, deserves the Medal of Honor

  • He says Peralta, by many accounts, smothered a grenade to save comrades

  • Some said Peralta, who was shot, couldn't have done it consciously

  • Navarrette: Many, including his comrades, think he deserves the medal




Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette


(CNN) -- Why only reach back to right a wrong from a half-century ago? Why not correct a travesty that is occurring right now?


I direct this question to President Barack Obama, who in March will award the Medal of Honor -- the nation's highest military honor for valor -- to a group of 24 veterans, only three still living, who should have been given the commendation decades ago. The men, who served over three wars, performed as heroes on the battlefield. But for 19 of the 24, the nation failed them. They had been passed over because of discrimination in the ranks.


The belated recognition is a wonderful gesture. But there is something more Obama should do.



Ruben Navarrette Jr.


The nation owes a Medal of Honor to Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a 25-year-old Marine from San Diego who died on November 15, 2004, when, according to many accounts, he smothered a grenade in Falluja, Iraq. He came to the United States as an immigrant from Mexico, and joined the Marines on the day he received his green card.


Absorbing a grenade blast to save other soldiers is the very definition of valor. It all but guarantees the Medal of Honor.


This was true for three other heroes: 22-year-old Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, who died this way on April 22, 2004, in Karabilah, Iraq; 19-year-old Army Pvt. Ross McGinnis, who died in Baghdad on December 4, 2006; and 25-year-old Navy SEAL Michael A. Monsoor, who died in Ramadi, Iraq, on September 29, 2006.


In Peralta's case, before the Marine covered the grenade, he had been shot in the head. And that fact fuels a debate.


There are those who believe that Peralta should not receive the Medal of Honor, claiming that the gunshot killed him instantly, and so he was already dead when he covered the grenade. That would make the smothering of the explosive an involuntary action that would not constitute heroism.


That group includes the last three secretaries of defense.


Recently, the Pentagon announced that it will not reopen the nomination for Peralta. According to a news release, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the Defense Department concluded that the evidence did not meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard necessary for the Medal of Honor.


Nevertheless, many disagree. Those who think that Peralta should get the Medal of Honor acknowledge that the Marine sergeant was shot but, point to assertions by a neurologist, two neurosurgeons and the surgeon for Peralta's battalion that the bullet was traveling at such a low velocity that it did not kill him instantly. They assert that he was able to reach out, scoop up the grenade, and place it under his body. That it was a conscious decision to give up his life to save comrades, and that it does amount to heroism.


I've looked at this case for several years and written about it numerous times. I'm in Camp No.2. I believe Peralta deserves the Medal of Honor.


This is also the point of view of the entire California congressional delegation, which pushed the Pentagon for years to reopen the nomination. (Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, himself a Marine combat veteran who presumably knows a thing or two about valor, led the push.) And it's also the view of Texas pathologist Vincent Di Maio, an independent forensic expert who looked at the evidence and reached a different conclusion than the one arrived at by the Pentagon. And, it's the opinion of the Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Central Command.


Furthermore, it is also the point of view of the real experts on what happened that day in Falluja: Peralta's comrades in Alpha Company, most of who joined the campaign for the Medal of Honor. They were there. And they don't need some bureaucrat behind a desk in Washington or some political appointee to tell them what happened. They saw it with their own eyes. Initially, all seven said they witnessed Peralta scoop up the grenade and sacrifice himself, and that it's because of that act of valor that they came home to their families, to weddings and children's birthday parties and anniversaries





W.H. to bestow highest honor to 24 vets

But the Washington Post last week reported that two former Marines who were with Peralta on the day he died have broken ranks with their colleagues. At least one is recanting his earlier statements. The two former Marines claim that the narrative about what happened that day advanced by the other Marines is not true, and that it was concocted by the rest of the squad to honor Peralta's memory.


They insist that the grenade exploded near Peralta but not underneath him. One of the former Marines, 30-year-old Davi Allen, who was close enough to Peralta to be wounded in the blast, spent years advancing the other version, and now he claims the new version is the truth. Was he not telling the truth then, or is he not telling it now?


Both Rep. Hunter and the Peralta family have challenged the Washington Post article, which they insist contains inaccuracies and factual omissions. While admitting in a letter to the Post that the eyewitness accounts "have always differed," Hunter accused the newspaper of ignoring "the full body of evidence" and inaccurately describing the situation that day in Falluja. Moreover, according to Politico, the allegation that Peralta's fellow Marines concocted an alternate narrative had already been reported in the Marine Corps Times. Yet a colonel assigned to investigate the case found no evidence to back up that claim.


It comes down to whom you believe. This much everyone seems to agree on: Those in the Corps used to call Peralta "a Marine's Marine." It sounds like it.


There is one more member of the Peralta Fan Club, an expected one: The Pentagon. In 2008, as pressure started to mount, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered the Peralta family a consolation prize: the Navy Cross. The citation read: "Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Sgt. Peralta reached out and pulled the grenade to his body.


That's right -- the very thing that his supporters have insisted all along. So the Defense Department adopts different narratives depending on the commendation? That makes no sense.


The Peralta family turned down the Navy Cross, and held out for the Medal of Honor. It never came.


President Obama, you don't have to look back a half-century to find a miscarriage of justice in our armed forces. Here is a perfect example. Now, do the right thing, and give a hero the recognition he deserves.


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette.



Spike Lee missed the point





  • Errol Louis: Spike Lee railed against gentrification in his old neighborhood

  • Lee has profited from the thing he decries. But he also missed point, he says

  • In many big cities, housing costs rise much faster than incomes

  • Louis: Fixing that gap requires more than racial finger-pointing




Editor's note: Errol Louis is the host of "Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel.


(CNN) -- There was an important kernel of truth buried in director Spike Lee's recent tirade against gentrification. New York City, like other big cities, has experienced a decades-long economic squeeze in which the cost of housing has soared while wage levels dropped, leaving middle-class families feeling pinched, punished and pushed out.


Lee's 10-minute, obscenity-laced rant about changes in his old Brooklyn neighborhood, Fort Greene, was deliberately offensive and, at times, incendiary (you can listen to it -- uncut -- here). He accused white newcomers to the area of being rude and disrespectful of local culture. And in this defense of Fort Greene, he sounds somewhat neighborly -- New York could always use a few more polite people -- until you think about it for a minute.


Who, exactly, determines what the local culture is? To whom is this deference or "respect" supposed to be rendered, and how? When can the "respect" bill be considered paid in full?



Errol Louis


And whatever happened to the idea that law-abiding citizens in a free society should be able to walk their dogs in the park, take yoga classes, sip overpriced coffee at the local café and otherwise go about their business without having their lifestyle choices judged, ridiculed or attacked?


Also, as I've noted elsewhere, it doesn't help Lee's case that he sold his own home for $1 million in the late 1990s and decamped to the wealthy Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he currently resides in a 9,000-square-foot palace that he bought in 2006 for $16 million and recently put on the market with a $32 million asking price. This is a man who made a fortune by promoting the hipness of black Brooklyn, relentlessly and profitably spurring on the very gentrification he now decries.


There was a better point Lee could've made.


The real phenomenon of gentrification worth talking about is a national crisis of housing costs that are climbing faster than the earning power of many residents. It's not confined to black neighborhoods, and it's happening all around the country, not just in New York.





Spike Lee rips NYC gentrification




Spike Lee on gentrification

In a fascinating report, Daniel Hartley, a research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, examined metropolitan areas to measure the number of census tracts where the housing prices moved from the lower half to the top half for that area.


Between 2000 and 2007, Hartley found, housing prices made that leap in 61% of Boston -- the most spectacular increase of any big city. Seattle ranked second, with 55% of the city's census tracts with low-cost housing moving into the pricier bracket. New York, came in third, with 46% of the city's cheaper housing turning not so cheap.


Hartley's price-based measurement of gentrification makes far more sense than racially charged anecdotal observations from Lee. Looking at these kinds of hard numbers also reveals that, in many cities, gentrification takes place without an ethnic shift. It's middle-class black homesteaders who are gentrifying the Bronzeville section of Chicago, for example. And South Boston is going upscale while remaining an Irish-Catholic bastion.


What makes gentrification a problem is that earning power for most people isn't keeping up with the rising cost of buying or renting a place to live. In New York, the cost of renting an apartment jumped 8.6% between 2007 and 2011 -- and in those same years, median household income dropped nearly 7%, according to a report by New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate.


That gap between income and rent is the true crisis of gentrification -- and to fix it will require going beyond ethnic and racial finger-pointing.


What we need is a national campaign to ensure that middle-class wages keep pace with the cost of necessities like food, health care and shelter. It won't make headlines like Spike's rant, but it might replace the heat of blame and resentment with the light of solutions.


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Errol Louis.



McConaughey: Already winning






Actor Matthew McConaughey is heavily favored to win the best actor Oscar on Sunday for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club." Here is a look at McConaughey's career, starting with the 1997 film "Amistad," pictured.Actor Matthew McConaughey is heavily favored to win the best actor Oscar on Sunday for his role in "Dallas Buyers Club." Here is a look at McConaughey's career, starting with the 1997 film "Amistad," pictured.

The 1993 film "Dazed and Confused" is one of the star's most beloved movies. McConaughey, in the foreground here with Rory Cochrane, quoted his stoner character when he accepted a Golden Globe in January: "Alright, alright, alright."The 1993 film "Dazed and Confused" is one of the star's most beloved movies. McConaughey, in the foreground here with Rory Cochrane, quoted his stoner character when he accepted a Golden Globe in January: "Alright, alright, alright."

McConaughey and Renee Zellweger are horrified in "The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in 1994. McConaughey and Renee Zellweger are horrified in "The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in 1994.

McConaughey hits the courtroom in the 1996 film "A Time to Kill." McConaughey hits the courtroom in the 1996 film "A Time to Kill."

McConaughey plays a sheriff in a small Texas town in the 1996 movie "Lone Star." McConaughey plays a sheriff in a small Texas town in the 1996 movie "Lone Star."

McConaughey and Jodie Foster explore other worlds in the 1997 movie "Contact."McConaughey and Jodie Foster explore other worlds in the 1997 movie "Contact."

McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez enjoy hijinks and love in the 2001 romantic comedy "The Wedding Planner." McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez enjoy hijinks and love in the 2001 romantic comedy "The Wedding Planner."

McConaughey and Kate Hudson find love in 2003's "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."McConaughey and Kate Hudson find love in 2003's "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

With 2006's "Failure to Launch," the actor further cemented his reputation as the romantic leading man.With 2006's "Failure to Launch," the actor further cemented his reputation as the romantic leading man.

McConaughey is a triumphant coach in 2006's "We Are Marshall."McConaughey is a triumphant coach in 2006's "We Are Marshall."

In 2009, he played a man haunted by his former loves in "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past."In 2009, he played a man haunted by his former loves in "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past."

The actor went indie -- and dark -- as a lawman/hit man in the 2011 film "Killer Joe." The actor went indie -- and dark -- as a lawman/hit man in the 2011 film "Killer Joe."

"The Lincoln Lawyer" in 2011 kept McConaughey deep in the drama as a conflicted attorney. "The Lincoln Lawyer" in 2011 kept McConaughey deep in the drama as a conflicted attorney.

A buff McConaughey shows off both his pecs and his dance moves in 2012's "Magic Mike."A buff McConaughey shows off both his pecs and his dance moves in 2012's "Magic Mike."

McConaughey plays big brother to Zac Efron in the 2012 film "The Paperboy."McConaughey plays big brother to Zac Efron in the 2012 film "The Paperboy."

McConaughey played a fugitive in the coming-of-age drama "Mud" in 2012.McConaughey played a fugitive in the coming-of-age drama "Mud" in 2012.

Critics have fallen head over heels for McConaughey's turn as Ron Woodroof, an electrician who battles to get the AIDS medicine he needs in "Dallas Buyers Club."Critics have fallen head over heels for McConaughey's turn as Ron Woodroof, an electrician who battles to get the AIDS medicine he needs in "Dallas Buyers Club."

The actor's time is brief but memorable in the 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street."The actor's time is brief but memorable in the 2013 film "The Wolf of Wall Street."

McConaughey has found success on the small screen this year, playing intense lawman Rust Cohle in HBO's "True Detective."McConaughey has found success on the small screen this year, playing intense lawman Rust Cohle in HBO's "True Detective."








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  • Matthew McConaughey is having a moment thanks to "Dallas Buyers Club"

  • He's up for the best actor Oscar

  • His career has evolved from playing a stoner to dark roles




Watch "CNN Spotlight: Matthew McConaughey" on Friday, February 28, at 10 p.m. ET.


(CNN) -- Matthew McConaughey is having one hell of a year. From almost stealing "The Wolf of Wall Street" despite being on the screen for only a few moments, to the critical acclaim and awards he's racking up for his turn in "Dallas Buyers Club," and did we mention a little thing called his hit HBO TV series "True Detective?"


The kid's definitely alright, alright, alright.


The handsome actor has evolved from goofy schtick in films like "Dazed and Confused" to romantic leading man in movies like "The Wedding Planner" to darker roles such as "Killer Joe" where he plays a police officer who moonlights as a hit man.


But it's his turn as Ron Woodroof, an HIV positive man who smuggles drugs to AIDS patients, that has already won McConaughey a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, and placed him on the road to gold at Sunday's 86th Academy Awards.


Oscars 2014: The nominees' list


The actor committed completely to the role, dropping more than 40 pounds and becoming nearly-skeletal. But it was the intensity of his performance that has several Hollywood pundits predicting him for a best actor Oscar win. McConaughey told GQ magazine he's enjoying this time in his life.


"I'm feeling very fulfilled," he said. "I'm in the clay in my career."


And his personal life, he added. In 2012 he married longtime girlfriend, model Camilla Alves with whom he has three children. He has frequently praised her for her support.


"We're a team," he recently told Variety in an interview. " I know it's not easy on her, though she does it with aplomb."


Alves supported him, he said, when he decided to take a break from acting to focus on their family. When he came back it was to take smaller roles that he was passionate about. During a recent appearance on "Inside the Actor's Studio," McConaughey said the time made him realize he wanted to "make some movies that I would pick out, that I would see."


It seems to have worked out well.