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August 21, 2004

Kerry and The Bronze Star Controversy

John Kerry served aboard a 50-foot Swift boat in Vietnam and in less than four months in service he collected a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts. He received these awards due to his bravery and the fact that he was injured during duty.

The details of the events for which he was given the medals is what has become the centerpiece of his campaign; especially the riveting story of how he got his Bronze Star.

On March 13, 1969, a Swift boat that carried Kerry was returning from a Sea Lords operation along the Bay Hap River and an eruption of gun fires occurred after a mine detonated under another Swift boat. A soldier named Jim Rassmann was thrown off the Swift boat and was exposed to the incoming fire. Rassmann states, "John, already wounded by the explosion that threw me off his boat, came out onto the bow, exposing himself to the fire directed at us from the jungle, and pulled me aboard."

Larry Thurlow, a Swift boat skipper who was alongside Kerry during the raid, says that Kerry's story directly contradicts the accounts of other witnesses.

Did Kerry's boat come under enemy fire like he states? "I never heard a shot," Thurlow said in his affidavit, which was released by Swift Boats Veterans for Truth. Thurlow, also a member of the Swift Boats Veterans for Truth, claims that they were never under fire and that Kerry presented his own version of the events in the after-action report of what occurred that day.

As recounted in the affidavits of Van Odell, Jack Chenoweth, and Larry Thurlow, a mine did explode. The force of the explosion knocked several sailors into the river. While Kerry's swiftboat fled the scene, other swiftboats closed in to rescue the fallen sailors. Chenoweth and Thurlow started to pull sailors from the water. After the hostile situation was over, Kerry appeared and picked up Rassmann who was only a few yards away from being rescued by Chenoweth.

The only way that this matter can be resolved is if Kerry releases his entire military record and let it be open to public scrutiny. People like Rassmann still defend Kerry and believe that he earned those medals. Thurlow and other anti-Kerry veterans are still speaking out against Kerry and they consider him to be unworthy of the awards given to him.

Posted by Tuck at 10:06 PM | Comments (951)

August 11, 2004

Bush Administration Puts Our National Security at Risk

With terrorist threats at our mist, security is something that we do not have the luxury of losing especially if it's through recklessness.

When someone within the Bush Administration leaked to the media the existence of Pakistan informant Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, it put our security in jeopardy and decreased the chances of capturing actual terrorists. Last weekend, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice admitted that administration officials did leak Khan's name.

The administration later on mentioned that the information was based on data two to four years old. Some suggest that the timing on releasing such information was a politically motivated tactic to knock the opposition out of the headlines. Homeland security adviser Frances Townsend said: "It had nothing to do with the Democratic National Convention."

Khan was a computer expert for Al Qaeda turned informant who was not helping Al Qaeda officials but rather helping to catch them. The act of even giving his name away led to the permanent shut down of key sources of information about Al Qaeda's plans and activities. The Pakistani Government had no other choice but to take Khan out of the mission and hide him.

Also, not only did Khan's exposure bring turmoil within our country but allies around the world were outraged by Bush's lack of judgment. Now, this accidental leakage has damaged the sharing of information between us and our allies.

Was Bush and his administration making a hasty decision because of an insatiable desire for reelection?

Posted by Tuck at 09:01 PM | Comments (517)

August 06, 2004

IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

Bush states, "I say we have a strong economy, and it's getting stronger."

But recent job reports show that US employers hired only 32,000 extra workers; a shocker from the expected gain of 243,000. Even in June, the Labour Department said that net jobs are up just 78,000, far lower than the 112,000 initially estimated.

Rival candidate Kerry finds these results as evidence that Bush has mismanaged the economy. Bush, on the other hand, is optomistic and brushes aside the startling low job creation by saying, "We're moving America forward and we're not turning back."

Posted by Wild Bill at 09:54 PM | Comments (561)

August 05, 2004

Swiftboat Veterans for Truth is doing for John Kerry what Farenheit 911 did for Bush

Swiftboat Veterans for Truth is a group of veterans depicted in the photo above that were not happy with the idea of John Kerry using a picture of them in his campaign.

It has been reported on some sites that they have hired a lawyer and demanded John Kerry cease and desist from using the photo above as part of his campaign and included legal threats.

Swiftvets.com has become incredibly popular and the media rankings for the website have been soaring on Alexa. Today the SwiftVets site is ranked by Alexa as the #5,143 most visited site. This is an alltime high for that website, and it is falling right behind GeorgeWBush.com at #5,002 and way behind JohnKerry.com at #1,902.

JohnKerry.com website's Alexa rankings have been soaring ever since his aggressive campaigning in the battleground states began.

Interesting Statistics:
Swiftvets.com today reached 3 out of every 1000 internet users.
GeorgeWBush.com today reached 3 out of every 1000 internet users
JohnKerry.com is leading in political web traffic with 5 out of every 1000 users

Please post comments on what you think about this issue.

Posted by Elouise at 11:02 PM | Comments (649)

August 04, 2004

SoftVote Update Released. Download Now!

We want to thank everybody for sending us positive feedback. We have made minor enhancements to SoftVote and we encourage you to download the updated version. We appreciate everybody's support and expect more updates to be released soon.

Posted by Elouise at 12:18 PM | Comments (45)

August 02, 2004

Battleground Poll

Battleground Poll. As the election is drawing nearer the focus is on the battleground States. If you look at the map on softvote you can see by hovering over the battleground poll states who is ahead right now. Although this may change at any moment, many feel that the election will be won through careful campaigning in each battleground state. As the candidates go from one 2004 battleground election state to the other battle ground state the race gets tougher.

Visitors who are in the Battleground states please post your comments on the issues such as:

Which candidate is of better character?
Who will protect us better from terrorism?
Whose plan for the economy is better?

Posted by Tuck at 01:34 PM | Comments (443)

August 01, 2004

Bush Is Up In Election Results

President Bush is back in the lead. On the bush vs. kerry fight, SoftVote's Presidential Poll shows President Bush leading with 49%, where as Senator John Kerry is falling behind with 44%.

It has been a bitter election campaign for President Bush since his unpopularity among Americans has increased in the past weeks, but President Bush's senior strategists have vowed to use the month of August as the time to drive a vigorous anti-kerry campaign. They will make personal attacks to Kerry's campaign and show Kerry's opposition towards the war on terror.

Presidential Election results are still showing a neck-to-neck competition and judging from the Bush picture displayed above, Bush will be starting the month with a thumbs up.

Posted by Tuck at 09:46 PM | Comments (793)