Trump and the Great Pershing Pig's Blood 'Hoax'

And if anyone knows pigs,
it's the Daily News.

The Alinsky Rule 5 ridicule is strong in those who wish to point and laugh at presidential candidate Donald Trump for repeating an "urban legend" about Gen. "Black Jack" Pershing quelling the Moro uprising by shooting some with bullets dipped in pig's blood.  [More]

The stories all point to Snopes dismissing it as a "legend," which is a different degree of standard than a hoax or a myth, which so many seem to be calling it as they point and laugh. The thing is, among those citing it as real were "Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham (D-Fla.)." Snopes presents further anecdotal evidence of Pershing "merely threatening to do as described," and also cites the 1938 book "Jungle Patrol," that seems to indicate credit for such tactics is a misattribution.

Here's the other thing for all those gleeful at seeing someone embarrassed by passing on an email hoax -- something many of us are guilty of, by the way. Per WikiLeaks, Dr. Larry Forness repeated the story in a document for his students that "was subsequently circulated within the US military."

Forness is "a professor at the American Military University who has "nine degrees, including three doctorates and two law degrees, with over half the degrees obtained via distance education. He completed his undergraduate training at Notre Dame and his advanced degree and training from prestigious universities such as Duke University and UCLA. He also earned two Law degrees (JD and LL.M.). A former Marine, Dr. Forness provides classified consulting to U.S. Military Special Operations units. Specialties include unconventional warfare and intelligence."

Now it could very well be that Prof. Forness is wrong-- he concludes by inviting readers to "verify it by any means you wish." It would be appropriate if he either sourced his information or admitted he never did.

That said, seeing it repeated by a professor at AMU and the Democrat Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee adds a bit more "gravitas" to this than just repeating an unsourced email from a pal. That none of those participating in the pile-on chose to acknowledge mitigating circumstances (assuming they even did the minimal checking to know about them) tells us much about the media and agendas.

As an aside, if I had Trump's money, I'd be tempted to buy the Daily News at fire sale prices, ax all the subversives, and turn it into an American newspaper.