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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 August 21, 2004 10:06 PM

Comments

I agree!! Kerry can end all this mud slinging IF he would release his records. ALL of them. He has only released a select few. Ones that really don't say much. He needs to release his medical records to show the wounds he received.

He has not been very truthful during his campaign. Of course, he has to brag about himself for campaign purposes but he and HIS supporters have been extremely critical of President Bush for a year! His supporters have called Bush a liar, a war monger etc. Kerry has never told them to stop! He has allowed the Hollywood crowd, Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 911 and moveon.org. To slander Pres. Bush without stepping in. Now he files this complaints? Do any of his campaign offices through out the nation have any "soft money" literature in them?

Kerry needs to step up and deal with it! If he is lying about what happened in Vietnam and after-He needs to be a man and admit it! He looks more guilty as the days go on. The longer he waits to release 100% of his military records the guiltier he looks!!

President Bush released his!! Come on Kerry release yours!!

Also, Kerry is the one who brought up Vietnam. He is the one riding on being a hero! The democrats had no problem with Clinton dodging-it was a non issue when he ran against Bush 41 (an officer during WW2) and Dole (wounded for life during WW2)but now it means everything?

Bush has always said that Kerry served honorably. He has never demanded the release of records or questioned his loyalty to America. He has never slammed him or called him hateful names. Kerry should take Bush's lead in how to treat your opponent!

The swiftboatvets have EVERY right to speak out! Just like Michael Moore, Ben Affleck, Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg etc. Why is it only ok to disagree with the President? Can't people disagree with Kerry and his people?

Posted by: Teresa G at August 21, 2004 10:49 PM

John Kerry has been telling us, that he is superior to President Bush, on the military service issue. (BUT) Kerry was in Vietnam for 4 months, and some (over 250 soldiers) disagree with his "statements". He said that the other swift boats left quickly, and his boat stayed to rescue Mr. Rassmussen. This is not true. If anyone doubts this, read the book, by the 250 swift boaters for truth. They knew him best!!!

Posted by: Chris at August 21, 2004 10:50 PM

The following was reported today. I don't think the Army gives out medals indiscriminately and I think it would be hard to self-promote ones self enough that commanding officers would be willing to recommend medals to people who don't earn them. The Swift Boat "Truth" is a pack of lies made up to damage Kerry's reputation further in the eyes of Vietnam Vets who perceived his postwar activities as "treason." It's interesting that Rood mentions the innovative approach Kerry devised to roust the snipers shooting at his boat -- and the response of the commanding officer at the time -- now retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann -- in opposition to the statement made by that officer after being influenced by Bush's campaign.

Reuters -- 8-21-04

William Rood of the Chicago Tribune said the tales told by Kerry's detractors are simply untrue.
"There were three swift boats on the river that day in Vietnam more than 35 years ago -- three officers and 15 crew members. Only two of those officers remain to talk about what happened on February 28, 1969," he wrote in a story on the newspaper's Web site.
"One is John Kerry ... who won a Silver Star for what happened on that date. I am the other."
Before now, Rood refused all interviews, wanting to put memories of war and killing behind him. "But Kerry's critics, armed with stories I know to be untrue, have charged that the accounts of what happened were overblown," he wrote.
"It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there," he added.
Kerry, a former Navy lieutenant, is a decorated Vietnam veteran. His war service is essential to his challenge to President Bush (news - web sites) as commander-in-chief as America faces terrorism and other threats.
Increasingly, veterans opposed to Kerry and allied with Bush, led by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, have tried to undermine Kerry's record and credibility.
Many are bitter that after returning from Vietnam, Kerry became one of the war's most prominent critics.
In the February 1969 operation, Rood said Kerry came under Viet Cong rocket and automatic weapons fire and devised an aggressive and unusual attack strategy praised by superiors.
In their book, "Unfit for Command," John O'Neill and Jerome Corsi accuse Kerry of exaggeration and said his attack on the ambush displayed "stupidity, not courage."
"The only explanation for what Kerry did is the same justification that characterizes his entire short Vietnam adventure: the pursuit of medals and ribbons," they alleged.
O'Neill issued a statement on Saturday saying Rood's criticism of "Unfit for Command" was "extremely unfair" and "an obvious political move." He said he had tried to interview Rood for the book, but Rood did not return phone calls.
Rood said ambushes were common, but the difference was that Kerry, in tactical command of the operation, had talked to Rood and other commanders about not responding as they usually did.
"We agreed that if we were not crippled by the initial volley and had a clear fix on the location of the ambush, we would turn directly into it, focusing the boats' twin .50-caliber machine guns on the attackers and beaching the boats," Rood said.
He said the first time they took fire Kerry ordered a "turn 90" and the three boats roared in on the ambush.
The plan worked. "We routed the ambush, killing three of the attackers. The troops, led by an Army adviser, jumped off the boats and began a sweep, which killed another half dozen VC, wounded or captured others," Rood said.
Rood said then-Capt. and now retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, the task force commander, congratulated the three boats, saying the tactic of charging the ambushes was a "shining example of completely overwhelming the enemy."
Hoffmann, who has since become a Kerry critic, now says what the boats did showed Kerry was impulsive to a fault.

(Additional reporting Kevin Drawbaugh and Jeremy Pelofsky)

Posted by: BK at August 22, 2004 12:42 AM

I would just like to say that I wasn't even a twinkle in my daddy's eye when vietnam happened, the past is the past, those men who served whether voluntarily or sent by the then President Nixon served honorably and got the medals that they deserved. Whatever happened then happened, im worried about our Economy and Jobs and Terrorism, not some war that happened almost 40 years ago

Posted by: james at August 22, 2004 02:00 AM

I think this is a tipcal Bush tactic His father did to Dukacus and He did to Mc Cain. They are cowards and have there rich friends do there dirty work.
Real good Christains aren't they.
They are a sorry bunch and we need to get them out of power. They have made the whole look at us and hate us.
Kerry is a fighter and will take care of him in the only way they understand.
Fight fire with fire.

this is just like the Veitnam was and we are still having back lash from it.
God only knows what will be the next mess we will be in. No more Bush. and Chenney.

Posted by: Norma Nocero at August 22, 2004 02:59 AM

I don't think you will ever prove this one way or the other, however the fact the infamous "Christmas Eve in Cambodia" has proven to be false, then I would suspect a lot more is false. The issue is what John Kerry did when he returned to the U.S. He lied about every soldier there. He and Jane Fonda were North Vietnam's most effective weapon. And because of them and others like them, we lost a war in which the soldiers never lost a battle. I know because I was there. I did not volunteer, I was drafted but I did my time and I do not considered my purple heart as something that I won. I got it because I screwed up. Not because I did something right. That is a big misconception. These Swift Boat Veterans feel the same as I and will do everything in their power to see that John Kerry commands nothing more dangerous than a rowboat because he has proven that he can not be trusted.

Posted by: David at August 22, 2004 09:49 AM

Who cares what happened in Vietnam. This is 2004 with a lot of serious issues and we need serious people to solve them. This ruse to keep people looking at ironieous problems will backfire.

Posted by: tom klumb at August 22, 2004 11:21 AM

This whole controversy could go away if Kerry would just allow his record to be released. Even the people who do such things (in charge of releasing such records) have said as much but they have no authority to do so. I think it is very telling that Kerry will try to discredit the Swift Boat Vets, get other people on his side, critizise GW Bush or do absolutely anything else, it appears, EXCEPT release his record. This tells me volumes. What's he hiding?

Posted by: Stephanie at August 22, 2004 11:35 AM

Letters to the editor
August 22,2004

One would think that the coming election is about whether or not John Kerry deserves his medals. To the extent that Vietnam is important in gaging the candidates? character, the fact is that Kerry volunteered and served while Bush and Cheney dodged. What this election should be about is George Bush, his policies and their consequences.

What have been the consequences of our president identifying an axis of evil and later saying that he loathed Kim Jong II of North Korea, calling him a pigmy? Has North Korea and Iran reduced their efforts to develop a nuclear deterrent to the United States threats, or have they increased such activities? Are
ad homonym attacks by a country?s leaders likely to encourage hostility by the offended leader? Today, we are hated or feared even by people from countries that three years ago held our country in high esteem. The people in the countries of Western Europe, as well as many concerned people in our own country, believe that the terrorist threat is acerbated by the policies of the Bush Administration.

It is not just the war in Iraq or the war on terrorism that cause others to fear and hate the United States. It is policies that are viewed as being dangerous to the safety and well being of the world. President Bush is not believed when he states that the world, and in particular, the United States is safer today than two years ago. Many believe that the Bush policy of pre-emptive or preventive attacks has the consequence of making not only the United States a target for terrorists, but other countries that support United States policies, such as the attack last year on Spain.

More than anything it is the unilateralism inherent in our relations with other countries, which is perceived as arrogant and acting without consideration of other nations and people. This unilateralism is reflected by our failure to sign on to the Kyoto Accords, opting out of the nuclear proliferation agreement, failure to sign on to the International Criminal Court, failure to support the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, the rejection of the United Nations Small Arms Treaty, and the Bush Administration?s overt undermining of the United Nations. All of this is perceived by much of the world as placing the interests of the United States above the interest of world peace and safety.

Add to his foreign policy initiatives his domestic policies of tax cuts, high deficits, and reductions in social services, and you have what the election should be about.
Harry E. Berndt

Posted by: h berndt at August 22, 2004 05:11 PM

Some not so random musings...

Mr. Berndt. The reason why President Bush has not signed on to the ICC, the Ottawa treaty, the small arms treaty and the Kyoto accords among others is because among other reasons they weaken our sovereignty, damage our economy while imposing unfair standards, subject Americans to hostile judgment and because they are incompatible with our own constitution. President Bush deserves our strongest congratulations for finding the moral courage to stand up to those who want to see us weak and helpless.

On John Kerry and his medals... I could frankly care less about what John Kerry did on the battlefield. Nothing could be less relevant to this campaign than John Kerry's medals or any accolades that President Bush won for his piloting skills, which were many. If he were looking for a promotion to full lieutenant, I would be interested but he is running for President, so I must look at what his leadership record is like, beginning with his testimony before the Fulbright commitee on April 22, 1971 and ending with his most recent Senate votes. Nothing else matters

Here is the only issue that should matter in a wartime election. On April 22, 1971, John Kerry testified under oath before the United States Senate and bore false witness against an entire generation of American soldiers. Thirty two years later, he returned to the United States Senate, this time as a member and stabbed another generation of American heroes in the back, casting one of only 12 votes against their body armor, their combat pay, benefits for their families and so much more. Why? Because the Senate would not consent to screw the whole nation with a tax increase.

John Kerry did heroic things in Vietnam. So did 550,000 other men including 55,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice and are now immortalized on the dark granite wall. But not even John McCain, an egomaniac if there ever was one, thinks that alone qualifies one to be President.

John Kerry betrayed and failed two generations of American soldiers. John Kerry has betrayed and failed us as citizens over and over again as a citizen. He cannot be allowed to be President. We must re-elect President Bush by a margin like those that Nixon and Reagan won. If we as citizens give Bush the reelection victory he has earned, then we will also send the Democrats a stern message that their extemist politics will not be tolerated and that if they wish to be trusted with leadership again, then they must join the Republicans in endorsing center-right policies.

Posted by: Michael P. Borgia at August 22, 2004 06:12 PM

We can go on forever with the "Who Struck John" discussion. What is indisputable is the betrayal of the veterans in the custody of the North Vietnamese. Not a second hand report...Kerry is on camera making these comments.

George W Bush stepped up before the U.N and laid it right on the line. This is seen as arrogance by the "woosie boys" who think that we have to go to other nations with our hat in our hands and perhaps tugging at a forelock to beg them for support.

I don't recall the United States asking for a permission slip from ANYONE after the attack on Pearl Harbor. With a little help from the Brits we manageg to kick the butts of the two most powerful, ruthless and dangerous military powere ever seen on this planet up to that time

I also do not recall the use of the term "arrogant" back at that time. We cared not one whit whether any other nation liked us or not and I don't think we should be intimidated or deterred by a bunch of corrupt ingrates who are referred to as our so called "allies". We must proceed, undeterred, in protecting the interests of the United States with the safety of our citizens as our foremost concern and not running in a popularity contest.

Posted by: Kevin at August 22, 2004 07:02 PM

The 1st reason that John Kerry's war record is important falls solely on Kerry's shoulders. He told everyone during the democratic convention to measure his ability to lead the country by his record of service in Vietnam, not his time as lt. governor, not by his ssenate voting record, but by Vietnam.

The 2nd reason it is important is because Vietnam was a critical turning point of American leadership. At a time when we were making strategic advances in the war in Vietnam, at a time when liberty for the South Vietnamese seem obtainable) John Kerry participated in a smear campaign against the military, the servicemen and the administration. The atrocities he cited he claimed were day to day occurrances. Totally unfounded and unture. We are currently facing the same choice and the same obligations in Iraq. Kerry says look at my record on Vietnam, and his response then was to cut and run. Is he telling us that he plans on doing the same thing? He did say he was going to pull the troops out of Iraq within 6 months, sounds like cut and run to me.

Just as our decision to leave Vietnam resulted in the Killing Fields, similar actions will occur in Iraq. We MUST help them secure their country, supress the insurgents and form their own version of democracy. This will not only be good for them but for us as well.

If there was a change in Kerry since the Vietnam war, it would be different, but the only thing changing is the stories Kerry tells about those events.

You see, history isn't just something that happened in the past, it is very much connected to where we are today. The events of the past have brought us to where we are. It has taken us 30 years to get over the notion that our veterans were baby killers and to speak about service in Vietnam as being something that was noble. John Kerry has reopened that debate and he reminds to many of the military who served honorably that he accused them of killing babies for pure pleasure.

There is a pattern of misrepresenting the truth, his own citations have been altered which is not a military policy. They've been reworded to make him sound more noble. Another misrepresentation, this begins to cast a shadow of doubt.

We must assess the whole Kerry, the Vietnam Soldier and the Senator and see if he is worthy of the title of President and Commander in Cheif. It's ALL important, not just what we want to think, but what the record really implies.

He has been a Senator who has not served faithfully on the committees he's been appointed to. He has been a Senator who has not been able to pass one single piece of legislation he proposed in 17 years. He voted in favor of NAFTA now he says he's opposed to it. And if he is truly against NAFTA bring home the HEINZ factories, that would certainly show his sincerity since currently 2/3 of the Heinz plants exist outside the United States.

Posted by: Jim Rodkey at August 22, 2004 07:19 PM

Thank you Michael Borgia! You said it all! You are right. Kerry is the one who has brought up his heroism in Vietnam. He opened himself up to it. He has chosen to run on it. Why? Because we are a nation at war. I believe that the vast majority of Americans support the military and the sacrifices they make. He saw that and hoped to win on that. He forgot about all the things he said and did after being a Naval Officer.

People don't seem to realize that in the world today we have to stand up for what is right! In Iraq, hundreds of thousands were killed. Why? Because Sadaam didn't like them. He had his own mother-in-law killed because she complained to him that she didn't get to see the grand kids enough! Sure there are insurgents over there. Because it is their ideological belief that there should be no freedom. Should we cower away? NO! Should we "make nice" and hope that they stay in their own little sect? They have proven they won't again and again. Not just Sept 11th but many times before that.

Do I think that we should be sad that Europeans are mad at us and don't like us? Did they before? Not really. Does anyone seem to know or care that France had a major deal with Sadaam for Iraqi oil? Why would they support taking him out of power? Who do you think they would turn to in a major catastrophe? Us. And we would go because we feel it is our duty. Even if they have snubbed us. Our soldiers would shed their blood for France if asked to. We have done it before.

Germany is now upset because they will lose money. LOTS of money from us. WE feed into their economy and we rent military bases from them. When we bring service men and women back to the states all that will be pumped into the American economy. Should we care? Should we leave our military over there to make peace with them? NO!

When has Russia ever liked us? Sure we sided with them in WW2 but we both had a common interest-getting rid of Hitler. Then we went into a long cold war.

The UN is a farce. For 12 years they allowed Sadaam to kick out the inspectors and be defiant. Now we hear of the Oil for Food scandal and Sadaam keeping billions of dollars that was supposed to go to the people of Iraq? That he bribed UN officials? No wonder! They had it good! They "pretended" to be doing their job in monitoring the world but they were receiving kickbacks from a notorious dictator! Do we REALLY want them to govern? Do we REALLY need their approval to do what is best for our nation?

I believe President Bush when he says..." You are either with us or you're against us."

So Harry, we are not hated...we ARE feared. Is there anything wrong with that? Doesn't it make you able to sleep at night thinking that Maybe just maybe a terror cell is having second thoughts about attacking the US because we are feared? Because they may get caught?

We believe that it is the right of all to have freedom. We have spent over 200 years spreading that message through out the world. We do not need to be adored by all. We do not need to kiss butt to our so called allies. They choose to bury their head in the sand and hope that the terrorists will pass them by...Have they? No. We need to be respected. That does not always mean liked. President Bush may not be "loved" over in Europe but I guarantee he is respected.

So to the Europeans who snub us? With friends like you- who needs enemies?

Bush has given our military a 21% pay increase since he went into office. He has raised the BAH and COLA's (basic allowance for housing and cost of living adjustments) to amounts that could actually pay for rent/mortgages like it is supposed to! I know this because we are a military family.

Kerry has opposed military pay raises through out his time in the senate. He hates the military today like he did in 1971. He should NOT be Commander-in-Chief!!

Stephanie-I agree with you. RELEASE THE RECORDS MR. KERRY!

Bush/Cheney 2004

Posted by: Teresa G at August 23, 2004 01:40 AM

I had a lot of questions about Kerry? He is the one that brought up Vietnam, not Bush.
1st question. He did not say one thing about his senate record but he said to look at his Vietnam's record. He has spent 20 years in the Senate. What is he hiding about his senate record. Is he ashamed of it?
The American people will probably never know the truth about what happened over in Vietnam. It has been 35 years. My second question is about the purple hearts. I have a lot of relatives that have served in the military. My father and several uncles served in WWII for the full length of the war. My father told me about shooting down a Japanese plane, so I know that he saw action. I have several relatives that have served for 20 to 25 years in the military and have seen action. Only one of them have received a purple heart and he was killed. One of my uncles that has served 25 years in the military (saw action in Korea and Vietnam), told me that nobody wants a purple heart. Here is Kerry served only 4 months but received 3 purple hearts. HOW SERIOUS COULD THESE WOUNDS BE? If he received them for scratchs, he should be ashamed of himself. These purple heart should be for people that really deserved them.

3rd question. Who takes a video camera to war and takes pictures of only yourself? My father has pictures of WWII but only of his friends. The pictures are of his friends and him clowning about. Not of one of the pictures are of anything serious.

4th question. After Kerry came back from the war, he testified before the Senate. He said that he was reporting from other people that he did not see those things that he reported. Why did Kerry report before the Senate and not the people that actually saw the things that happened. If he had been in a court of law, it would be said that he was reporting heresay. John O'Neill asked Kerry to give him the names of the people that actually saw these events. Kerry would not.

Kerry and Jane Fonda caused a lot of problems for the Vet from Vietnam. Both of them called the Vets "Baby Killers". When the Vets came back from Vietnam, they were ridiculed and spitted on. I believe that Kerry and Jane Fonda caused this.

During the 1992 campaign, the Democrats said that military and character does not matter. Now they do. The American people put up with CLinton for 8 years with his lying and not doing anything about the first WTC bombing or the Cole incident. Kerry is going to do the same thing. The terrorist want Kerry to win because they know that he will do nothing. With Clinton, the American people had the highest tax rate. At the end of his administation, we were going into a recession because of his taxes. Now the econmony is turning around because of Bush tax cuts and if Kerry get the election, he will get the credit for it. Then we will go into a recession because of his higher taxes. Kennedy and Reagan both had tax cuts and the econmony was good.

Also, Bush does not have a good military record but he did not go to another country like Clinton did. And as I remember reading either did Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, or Abraham Lincoln but they were good strong presidents.

Posted by: Kathy at August 23, 2004 02:07 PM

Senator Kerry deserves all of this as "he" was the one opening the door by attacking President Bush military service a few months ago. So, stop crying baby Mr.Kerry. If you lied about your purple hearts and stars, well, We , want to know the truth. I am an undecided voter and certainly will not vote for a liar...

Posted by: ricardo at August 23, 2004 03:15 PM

From what I understand, Pres. Bush's father was director of the CIA during the Vietnam war. Just from a security standpoint, Pres. Bush couldn't serve in Vietnam, fears of kidnapping, etc. if it were found out what his dad did for a living. Because he couldn't serve in Nam, he asked his dad what branch of service could he serve in where security would not be an issue. The National Guard's job is to help in national matters. He wanted to do something for his country, and as we all know, the Guard is a valuable branch to our country. Just look what their doing for the hurricane victims in Florida. Mr. Kerry's supporters have no problem saying something derogatory about Mr. Bush's service record. Not to mention, what is being said, sounds like these orgs, like MoveOn, are downgrading anyone in the Guard as though they serve no purpose, & Guard people should be irate.

Posted by: Connie Hehner at August 23, 2004 04:10 PM

Lets face it Kerry has kept this alive the commercials are only showing in a few states nothing like the onslaught of negative ads produced by pro Kerry groups if Kerry wasnt such a two face liar he like Bush would call for an end to all of these ads but Kerry wants to keep this story going because he has gained nothing by making promises that every knows he can not keep.

Posted by: wpnsgy at August 23, 2004 05:13 PM

Please consider the words of my brother, who served our country for 30 years and is a Viet Nam Vet. This is a letter he wrote to Robert Dole.

August 23, 2004

Dear Senator Dole,

I am a Viet Nam vet and retired U.S. Army Colonel. I wore my country’s uniform for over thirty years. For all those years I was a registered Republican and believe I am a conservative by nature. Your recent comments have caused me to write this letter.

I graduated from West point in 1966 and it was our class that lost the most graduates in the Viet Nam war. Rick Atkinson won a Pulitzer Prize telling the story of our class’s involvement in that war.

Earlier this month Walter Cronkite did a wonderful piece for NPR about the Gulf of Tonkin and the Tonkin Resolution. He tells how all but two Senators and every single representative in congress voted for the resolution that got us so heavily involved in Viet Nam. Senator Morse from Oregon verbalized his dissent. Forty years ago this month, this brave Senator stood and said that passing the resolution would cause us to be bogged down in Southeast Asia for years to come, thousands of lives would be lost, and in the end, we would end up doing exactly what the French did by saying we had had enough. How prophetic. Fifty-eight thousand lives later we finally opted out.

Over thirty of my classmates were killed in their youth fighting that war. They were my dear friends. Of all the things I experienced in combat, perhaps one of the most difficult was writing letters to the mothers of my soldiers who had just lost their son. Hindsight now tells us the war was a huge mistake.

I am proud of my thirty years in the military. And I am even more proud of the soldiers I had the honor to serve with. Most, but not all, served with dignity, pride, and competence. They were willing to fight and die for their country. All they asked was their country send them only if it was absolutely necessary.

When I returned from Viet Nam my young bride was thankful. We had dated and got engaged at West Point and she, like me, was saddened whenever we heard about the death of another classmate. One day she said to me. “I just don’t understand it. As far as I’m concerned, this war is nothing but old men sending young men to fight and die for the old men’s agenda”. She was right, of course, and thousands of people are now dead. Most of those soldiers believed what they did was absolutely necessary and there was no other way.

Today I read your comments in the paper. You seem to think an apology to Viet Nam vets is in order. If that’s the case, the one I’m looking for is from the people who sent us there in the first place.

I will close by thanking you for your service to our nation in World War Two.

Sincerely,

Mark...
(I am very proud of my brother, and you should also know, he is now voting for Kerry.)

Posted by: rsr at August 23, 2004 07:00 PM

rsr
It was worth ploughing through all the previous opinion and wishful thinking, masquerading as fact, to read your moving letter.

I will also be voting for Kerry. Given a choice of possibly incompetent and downright dangerous I will take the first option every time.

Posted by: steve j at August 23, 2004 10:42 PM

A lot of post here have commented about not caring about what happened during a war 40 years ago. Well that is not the issue. The issue is about Integrity and Honesty. Kerry has been talking out of both sides of his mouth and has been caught in to many lies. If he is lying now what do you think he will do if he makes it to the White House? All he can do is slander President Bush and he thinks that is gonna get him to the white House. If you are thinking about voting for Kerry then you need to read up on him and not listen to what he isnt saying in the news or his campaign speeches. It will open your eyes up to just how wishy washy this guy really is.

Posted by: Tom at August 23, 2004 11:36 PM

Military morale is highly dependent on the knowledge that the president cares about the military. John Kerry does'nt care about our troops. He has consistently worked aganist our military. His anti-war testimony to the Senate during Vietnam charged his own compatriots with heinous war crimes,and was later used by the North Vietnamese in demoralize our prisoners of war.
Amazingly, he later admitted he'd never witnessed any of the alleged criminal acts, and 19 of the 23 officers he served with have issued a press release denouncing him as a liar. He has continued to undermine the military as senator.
Throughout the 80's he consistently opposed the very weapon systems that our men and women are using to fight and win the war on terrorism. In the 90's he repeatedly voted to cut the defense budget. He recently voted aganist additional funding for our troops overseas, and the criticized the Bush administration for not supplying our troops with body armor.
As such, I'm amazed that anyone would support John Kerry for commander-in-chief. I don't trust John Kerry with our troops.

Posted by: Lori at August 23, 2004 11:51 PM

I think that the Bush family is up to their old tricks of dirty politics in smearing a Vietnam veteran like John Kerry. It is interesting that "W's" record of service in the National Guard was conveniently lost so the country could not see that he like Dan Quayle avoided the Vietnam War.

I didn't vote for Gore because I did not feel that he was intelligent enough to be president. I was told that Bush was no better. I won't make the same mistake again of voting for "W". Besides John Edwards is a better choice for Vice-President than that ugly Cheney.

Posted by: David at August 23, 2004 11:52 PM

Today George Bush steps out and repeats what he has been saying all along. He will not criticize the service of John Kerry and he is opposed to the swift boat ad and ALL 527 ads being used to attack both parties. Immediately the Dems role out their attack and say it isn't enough.

John Kerry and John Edwards refuse to condemn all attack ads, they want to pick and choose. John Kerry and John Edwards have participated in events where George Bush was belittled by name callingm and then when questioned they cried Freedom of Speech. This is so sad. Edwards attacked (translate that smeared-the very thing that they are accusing him of) saying it isn't enough.

What do they want? It wouold be illegal for Bush to demand the removal of the ads because that is co-operation and that is illegal. Bush has done the legal thing saying that ALL the ads should be stopped. John Kerry and John Edwards say that isn't enough, yet neither of them are asking for all the ads to stop. There has been a total of about 2.5 million dollars spent by the right for soft ads compared to the 62 million by the left groups. That's ridiculous.

There is no real proof that the President was behind the swift boat ad, just allegations. The latest from the Kerry group is an attack, a smear from the Kerry camp personally attacking the service of President Bush. WHO IS SMEARING WHO?

Posted by: Jim Rodkey at August 24, 2004 01:39 AM

THESE VETS SOUND LIKE CHILDREN, MEDALS ARE MEDALS. THERE IS ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO A STORY AND SOMEONE WILL ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING DEROGATORY TO SAY ABOUT THE OTHER SIDE. IT IS HUMAN NATURE. NOW LETS MOVE ON...I AM AN UNEMPLOYED, WOMAN WITH A MASTERS DEGREE. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LAND A JOB SINCE LAST FEBRUARY. I HAVE HAD MY RESUME REDONE BY A PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITER, I HAVE GOOD EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS IN MY BACKGROUND. I AM NOT ALONE, THERE ARE OTHER TEACHERS AND PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE DISINFRANCHISED BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF JOBS AND FUNDING THAT HAS BEEN CUT FROM SCHOOLS. WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?

Posted by: ROSE at August 24, 2004 04:40 AM

Mark,

Many of the people who fought in that war and died did not understand why they were there. That did not make it irrelevant. I have two uncles who served over there who to this day refuse to talk in-depth about what happened. They simply do not wish to see another generation of Americans exposed to the ugliness of war and the ugliness of a country who turned its back on them. Yet they still believe that going to Vietnam was necessary. To say Vietnam presented no threat is being far too shallow. Communism was the threat. The Soviet Union was the threat. My Uncle briefly mentioned several stand-offs with Soviet nuclear subs in Vietnam as they skimmed the waters looking for dead fighter pilots. Vietnam was an important part of the Cold War, and it was a war we won militarily but lost politically. For how Kerry tarnished the honor of his fellow servicemen before the Senate, there should be no forgiveness. There should be no Presidency for the man who holds a supreme position in the Hanoi Hall of Fame. I just can't see how anybody would vote for that man in good conscience. See if you can get your hands on a copy of the The New Soldier and find out just how ugly his anti-American rhetoric is.

Bush/Cheney 2004

Posted by: Ryan at August 24, 2004 04:46 AM

Dear Mark,

You should be proud of your brother. I know I am regardless of who he votes for . . .

As a member of the 75th Infantry Ranger Battalion (Benning: 69-70, Airborne/Air Assault) I trained some of America's best. As a Ranger, I served as a LRRP (Long Range Recon Patrol) during this period in our history.

I wore the uniform of the United States Army and regardless of what the far "left" might want us to think, I'm proud of those incredibly wonderful individuals I trained and fought with . . . I vote for them, and the memories I have of them that will eventually die with me . . . their faces, smiles, laughter and their pain is seared into my mind!

I'm sure there are others of us out here that likely share similar emotion. I suspect that we experienced more than Kerry could ever imagine and unlike many of my friends, fortunately I survived. They will be remembered on the "Wall". In memory of them, to vote for anyone that actually "spit" on us as Kerry did in 71' is unconscionable!

Even though I am a Democrat, I WILL vote for George W. Bush because Kerry labeled all of those that served including those on the "Wall". He so vividlyand and eloquently described all of us as murderous butchering thugs! Kerry should realize that, even though me may have saved one soldier life, his later efforts helped place many of those names on that wall too . . . now that's something we should remember Kerry for.

Like Hanoi Jane, I'm sure he's very proud of it!

Tom

Posted by: Tom at August 24, 2004 09:47 AM

First of all rsr,

tell your brother thank you for all he has done for this country. What he did was honorable.

Second of all,

how can any active or inactive military vote for kerry? It is obvious that kerry hates the military. He came back after only 4 months in Vietnam, and trashed every soldier in our military. My father served in the Navy during Korea, my brother is still in the Navy and went to the first gulf war. I am very proud of them for there service. It sickens me when I here what Hanoi kerry said about his fellow crewmates when he got back. If you have read any of my other post, you will see that I do not like kerry, for several reasons, not just about his half truths and out and out lies about Vietnam, but also because he wants to take away my tax cuts. My money that I work very hard to earn. Also because you never know where is coming from, meaning that he says that he is against killing children, but he voted for partial birth abortions. He was for the war, but voted not to fund it. He owns SUV's, but when he is with the environmental groups there not his there is families. If he could just take a stand, and not waffle so much, he might be in the lead by a bigger margin. Again tell you brother thank you for serving and protecting this great country. We are also proud of him!!!!

Posted by: David Lowery at August 24, 2004 10:13 AM

I read this editorial in a local paper today and I believe it holds very true to Mr. Bush and his policies.

At the start of George Bush’s presidency, he made a speech at his alma mater, Yale. One of his statements was “not bad for a C student.” Indeed, becoming president of the United States is heady. The question is, do connection and money denote judgment?

Our founding fathers did not create a theocracy — a government that was subjugated to the will of any church or religion. Many will argue today that we are a lesser country for it, yet the examples I see of theocracies have bred intolerance, hate and fear. Indeed, many talk of the evil fundamentalists of Islam — Iran, Taliban, Osama bin Laden.

Some will say that George is not trying to create a theocracy; in some respects, I agree. Republicans see religion as a convenient political tool, which they are prepared to use.

Many believe George Bush is a religious man, but with what religious values? Whenever I reflect on the ideal Christian, Christ comes to mind. I reflect on Christ’s life, and I see a man who did not lament over sex, who did not advocate just war and killing, who did not see peace as evil or un-American. Christ’s life did not take us down any of the paths George Bush or his political advisers prefer.

We seem to have a strange absence of humility in modern religion. The old concepts of “judge not, lest ye be judged” or “he will be judged on Judgment Day” are no longer adequate for modern believers.

As the world has seen many times, power is a drug hard to give up. The world has suffered dearly in men’s pursuit of it. My view is that Bush economics is un-Christian, for it rewards the few at the expense of the many — not what Christ taught.

Posted by: Louis (Canton, Ohio) at August 24, 2004 10:44 AM

It is unfortunate that your brother is making such a mistake Kerry stands for nothing he has never supported the Armed Forces in his Senate career even in the last year He voted to send the troops to Iraq but then voted against the funding to give them what they need. He has also voted against every one of our most effective weapons system. I urge you and your brother to research where Kerry really stands on these issues Thank your brother for his service but do not let the current hysteria cloud your judgement look at the record.

Posted by: wpnsgy at August 24, 2004 11:12 AM

It's funny how Kerry is basing this entire campaign on his "heroic" duty in Vietnam, when he left the war and supported the spread of communism. Kerry had a photo taken and put in the Ho Chi Minh Museum after the war as one of the men who helped win the war against the USA. It's absurd how he thinks his medals will win him the election and and brags about his "service" like no other. I know a retired US Army Col. who loves his country and loves the military but he will rarely speak of his awards... and he has seen much more action in Vietnam than Kerry, has been shot, and continued to serve tours in Nam, he NEVER went home and cried like sissy to end the war. That's a war hero to me, Kerry is cry baby who can't stand it when the truth comes out. I really hope people realize what the democrat party is all about as the Kerry camp. tries to push these lawsuits to silence free speech of people who are not supported by Bush, they are supported by truth.

However, I do think that Kerry did the right thing by going to Nam, but the way he reacted after 4 months and how he is portraying his service now is ridiculous. Bush served his country well by joining the Guard, and anyone who says that joining the Guard is just a way to slip out of the war is a fool and disrespects the entire armed forces.

I turned 18 this year and I am proud to say that I am a registered republican as are many of my friends. I fully support peace in Iraq and my friends and other soldiers that are there or will be going soon. I support fighting for what's right and not backing down due to peer pressure. I am not enlisted but I support all branches of service, including the Guard, as every one has their purpose and dedicated service to the US.

Posted by: Corsair at August 24, 2004 01:45 PM

Corsair, our country needs more young people like you. Please get your friends and other young people out there to exercise their right to vote.

Posted by: Stephanie at August 24, 2004 02:03 PM

No, Louis, you got it wrong. Go to the new testament and read the parable Christ told about the man who entrusted his sons with his money. Two of them went out and doubled their father's money, the third buried it and returned it to his father safely. The third son earned the scorn of his father for wasting his opportunity. Christ had no problem with money or profit, just with putting that before God. President Bush seeks to return America's wealth to Americans so that they may grow fruitful and successful in accordance with their talents, not the government.

"It's not the government's money. It's the people's money!" George W. Bush.

Posted by: Michael P. Borgia at August 24, 2004 03:07 PM

Tom- It is nice to see a response like yours. Politics are a rotten business. When you truly love your country and want what is best for it then you vote for who you think is best. I have always been a registered Republican but I know that if I agreed with another Candidate then I could too vote for that person. I would be willing to cross "party lines" but I know that is not the case in this election. President Bush deserves a re-election and is the best for the job. Thank you for speaking out!

Rose- You should really learn about internet etiquette. Don't post in all capitals-it looks like you are screaming at everyone. My brother was out of work for a year. He finally found a job working for the state of California. He had to take a paycut though. Sometimes you have to. I am looking at being a teacher and I have researched it online and there seems to be abundant jobs out there. Maybe you will have to move to find a job. My husband is military, we have to move about every 3 years whether we want to or not-that is life.
I also know teachers who are receiving bonuses because they have a national teaching certificate. Maybe do some research and find out.
You cannot blame Bush because you don't have a job though. Do you think that if Gore was in you would have one? 9/11 still would have happened. Our overinflated economy still would have burst and terrorism would still be happening around the world. He is a President-not a miracle worker. To guarantee a job for everyone and to make sure everyone has healthcare is called socialism and eventually communism. But then the government controls everything which a democracy is against. We are in charge of our own happiness!

Louis- Yes, Jesus taught love and humility. He taught us not to judge. So should we allow people to come and bomb us and destroy our way of life and just "turn the other cheek?"
Should we have allowed 2 million shiites to have been killed under Sadaam? Should we have allowed Japan to bomb us and turned the other cheek and allow Hitler to take over Europe? Should we have just kept paying taxes to England and allowed them to keep their colonies? Should we have allowed the South to keep men as slaves because we didn't want blood shed?
The wonderful thing about Christ is his love for all of us. No matter what we do or what religon we are he loves us unconditionally. I know that Bush feels the same way. We saw him speak after 9/11...(the only time in my lifetime that our country has truly been united...) You could feel it knowing that he was doing what he knew to be right. My husband was out on an aircraft carrier and I trusted President Bush to lead and guide the military to do what was right. I still trust him. He is defending our constitution. (Which by the way mentions God as does our Pledge of Allegiance) I believe that he prays for decisions he makes...as did George Washington.
Corsair-please get out and Rock the Vote for your generation. So many put clout in these Hollywood people that they will vote for Kerry just because Ben Affleck says it's cool! We need to get them to realize that their future is at stake!
Ricardo- Go do research. Look at Kerry's senate records and his web site. Think about what Bush has done for the country. Look at his website. Research it for yourself and make your decision.

Has anybody heard about the people who were double registered to vote in New York and Florida? About 60,000 people! (68% democrats and 12% Republicans) And the majority of them voted in both places in the 2000 election!

Posted by: Teresa G at August 24, 2004 04:01 PM

John Kerry will not ever begin to tell the truth about anything because he stands for nothing as mobil and fluid as the wind. Jump this way John Jump that way John is a real shame that a grown man can not tell when he is lying.

Posted by: Jerry O'Briant at August 24, 2004 05:21 PM

I heard about the double voters. So does that mean that Bush actually won by many more votes? I bet he did.

If you read Kerry's military records, you will see that the SAME DAY he received his third Purple Heart he applied for a thrice wounded - release! The SAME DAY!! What does that tell you? Tells me everything I need to know about him.

Posted by: Calamity Jane at August 24, 2004 05:34 PM

Calamity Jane
I bet you everything that it means that Bush won by more votes. If 68% of the 60,000 voted in New York and Florida that would be 41,000 votes in EACH state! Yikes! Isn't it amazing that 68% of those were Democrats? (not!) That is just sleazy business!

I will have to go and look at Kerry's records again. I am still patiently waiting for the medical records to come out. (yeah, that will be happening!) Or Teresa Heinz Kerry's tax returns. How about Kerry's first divorce papers? Honestly, all these people are trying to get Bush out and put Kerry in and what do they really know about him? Not much! Only what He says!

Doesn't any Democrat worry that the candidate they endorse is also being endorsed by the Dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong? Or that the biggest Marijuana club in the US (who just recently had their convention, or um party in Washington state) has come out and said that they need to get Kerry in office? That these people do not have the US in their best interest? That really worries me.

Just like a parent cannot be buddies with their teenager and his friends. They need to be a leader and an example to their kid. There will be times that your kid hates you because you have told them that they can't do something that would be harmful to them. Why? Because as a parent you have your child's best interest at heart. As a parent, we are not always liked, sometimes we are hated by the person who really truly loves us, our child. That is how i see Bush. He does the right thing. Not to be cool or fit in with the popular crowd. He has our best interest at heart. He protects us. He defends us. He wants us to grow and succeed. Why can't everyone see that?

Jerry O'Briant- I am not worried about Kerry realizing that he lies( he knows he does.) I worry about all the people voting for him NOT realizing that he lies!!

Let's all hope for a great Republican National Convention and a great big bump!!
Bush/Cheney 2004

Posted by: Teresa G at August 24, 2004 10:02 PM

Kerry would be the most decorated US soldier in the history of our country if he earned the medals he claims in only 4 months. More decorated than Audie Murphy, Omar Bradley, General Patton, etc. Does anyone really believe this? Maybe we should make a US stamp with his picture on it to celebrate his heroism? He's another liar in the long line of Dems.

Posted by: Rick at August 25, 2004 01:15 AM

I have not heard about the double voters. Where can we find more info?

Posted by: john at August 25, 2004 10:28 AM

The Wisdom of Solomon

King Solomon had an amazing knack for detecting the truth. It was a gift from God.

Two women had similar looking babies. One of the babies died and both mothers claimed the remaining child. Solomon had to discern which woman was the real mother. He called for a sword to divide the baby in half, giving each woman a part. The real mother relinquished her claim to save the baby’s life. Thus, the indisputable truth had been determined.

That type of wisdom is needed today. What about John Kerry and the swift boat veterans? Who is telling the truth? What would King Solomon do? In 1014 BC he applied the acid test and watched for a reaction. A real mother would do anything to save the life of her baby. A real war hero would defend his countrymen for which he risked his own life. True war heroes humbly understate their actions. They never “cash in” on them. To be sure, Solomon today would look only at a person’s actions following a war to know whether or not the claim of military hero was appropriate. Similarly, I believe Solomon would evaluate what the swift boat veterans had done in their lives since the incident to see whether they were trustworthy or not. The truth is born out by actions, not claims.

Anybody can claim anything about themselves. Did Al Gore really invent the internet, as he has claimed? Did Bill Clinton not inhale, as he has claimed? Solomon would know the truth. It is not hard to judge if you know what indicators to watch and if you know which acid test to use. The truth about Senator John Kerry versus the swift boat veterans is clear to those who seek it.

But King Solomon would likely ask a different question: Do all Americans really want to know the truth? Does it really matter to them? Therein lies the hope for this country’s future. I believe Solomon would know that in the 21st Century America, truth is no longer an absolute. Well meaning people believe lies every day. When each side is saying the other is lying, it is incumbent upon reasonable people to take the time and determine who is honest and who is not. Senator Kerry is either a war hero and great leader as he has claimed, or a charlatan and impostor as the swifties have alleged. Both sides can not be right.

My fear is that too many Americans just don’t care about truth and integrity. They will vote for their guy no matter what. When the truth becomes “situational”, we all lose. I encourage every one of us to utilize wisdom, not sound bites, this election season. Investigate for yourself. John Kerry or the swift boat vets. John Kerry or George W. Bush. In either case, our country will receive what it rightly deserves.

MILES MUZIO
Bakersfield, CA

Posted by: Miles Muzio at August 25, 2004 11:38 AM

I believe Kerry wants his own empire. He's done turned on the United States and our soldiers once, and he'll do it again. As long as Him and his empire is safe. I feel we need to think about what we are voting for. United States our country or Kerry's country. I believe he'll do anything to serve his self and not the United States.

Posted by: Naomi Bell at August 25, 2004 11:53 AM

Louis,I have info for you, fair and balanced, you decide:
The apostle Peter spoke of those who “despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (II Pet. 2:10). Some people utter outrageous slander against those in authority—for real or imagined wrongs. They “presume” that it is alright to do this, lacking the fear (“are not afraid”) necessary to hold them back in their attacks against dignitaries (dignities). Such people, themselves, lack even normal human dignity in this regard.

Have you heard the saying, “A little bird told me”? Wise King Solomon warned all to “Curse not the king, no not in your thought; and curse not the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which has wings shall tell the matter” (Ecc. 10:20). Besides the fact that slander is wrong, it is also foolish. Eventually, the “king,” or any leader, will hear what was said.

Paul wrote, “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men” (Titus 3:1-2). Does this verse describe you? Or do you reflect cynicism, bitterness, anger and accusation toward others? Paul's instruction is all-encompassing. He says, “Speak evil of no man.”

Be careful what you say and do, because God also inspired Solomon to record, “An ungodly man digs up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire” (Prov. 16:27). I have seen many people who traffic in gossip, innuendo, slander, storytelling and relentless character assassination of leaders of all kinds. They spew “fire” all over those that they attack, seeking to consume them. They presume that they are acting with impunity, even though God says they should fear speaking such evil (Rom. 13:4). They will not get away with this defamation!

Peter also gave important instruction about what God expects of Christians in their responsibility toward civil governments. He wrote, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with welldoing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men…Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (I Pet. 2:13-15, 17).

BTW, before it comes up, various popular “movements” have arisen, teaching the idea that “we do not really have to pay taxes,” or “paying income tax is unconstitutional.” Usually, this is accompanied by some kind of theological explanation for why this is really what God approves. It is NOT!

Here is what Christ said when asked this question. He was plain—impossible to misunderstand: “Tell us therefore, What think you? Is it lawful to give tribute [taxes] unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt you Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tribute money. And they brought unto Him a penny. And He said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Caesar's. Then said He unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left Him, and went their way” (Matt. 22:17-22).

Christ labeled the attitude of seeking to get around paying taxes as hypocritical and wicked. Those who cheat the government are absolute thieves! Of course, anyone can make a simple mistake. That is different. However, those who seek not to pay taxes are directly disobeying Christ's plain instructions.

Posted by: Navy Vet at August 25, 2004 01:12 PM

Vets' lawyer quits
Bush campaign
2nd link between group, GOP re-election effort
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:55 a.m. ET Aug. 25, 2004

An election lawyer for President Bush who also has been advising a veterans group running TV ads against Democrat John Kerry resigned Wednesday from Bush’s campaign.

Ginsberg’s acknowledgment Tuesday evening that he was providing legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth marked the second time in days that an individual associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign had been connected to the group, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent’s re-election effort.

On Saturday, retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier resigned as a member of the Bush campaign’s veterans’ steering committee after it was learned that he appeared in the commercial.

Ginsberg represented the Bush campaign in 2000 and became a prominent figure during the Florida recount.

The Bush campaign and the veterans’ group have said repeatedly that there is no coordination.

HOW MUCH MORE PROOF DO YOU PEOPLE NEED?

NOW WHO IS THE LIAR AND WHO IS NOT?

THIS IS THE SAME MAN THAT REPRESENTED THE FLORIDA RECOUNT!

THIS MAN WAS ADVISING THE SWIFT BOAT VETS AND ALSO THE BUSJ CAMPAIGN.

WHERE I COME FROM A SPADE IS A SPADE AND I NOW SMELL SEE A BIG ONE!

Posted by: Louis (Canton, Ohio) at August 25, 2004 02:05 PM

Miles,

Very well said, you have eloquently stated what everyone needs to do this election season.
You have put it into perspective. Thank you.

Posted by: David Lowery at August 25, 2004 02:09 PM

NAZI SYMPATHIZERS FUND ATTACKS ON KERRY

According to www.pimnews.com, William Regnery II, an heir to the Regnery publishing fortune is also a leading advocate of white nationalist publishing and moving into a new line of business: match-making for "heterosexual whites of Christian cultural heritage."

In an appeal to potential investors titled "Population is Destiny," Regnery wrote that the Caucasian dating service would be no ordinary money-making opportunity, but a chance to ensure "the survival of our race," which "depends upon our people marrying, reproducing and parenting."

According to Regenery, the dating service, will be the "first arrow in a business quiver" providing "services and products to whites."

Promoting white nationalism is nothing new for him or his family. His grandfather, William I, was an opponent of the U.S. siding against Germany in WWII. He signed incorporation papers for the America First Committee, an organization that opposed fighting Nazi Germany in World War II. His father, Henry, created Regnery Publishing, best known for publishing and promoting books written by right-wingers like Anne Coulter and G. Gordon Liddy.

William II has made his mark as a major fundraiser in radical right circles as the founder of the Charles Martel Society in 2001. The society publishes The Occidental Quarterly, an academic-looking journal filled with articles by white-supremacist luminaries such as Sam Francis, editor for the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens and Wayne Lutton of the hate group The Social Contract Press.

The society is putting together conferences, summer schools and a speaker's bureau — all designed to push Regnery's view that the white race is veering toward extinction.

As part of their effort, Regenery is doing everything it can to keep George W. Bush in the White House and the Congressional Republicans in power. It has published titled new book by John O’Neill and Jerome Corsi titled “Unfit for Command.” The book smears Kerry’s war record in an attempt to distract voters from George W. Bush’s dereliction of duty.

Posted by: Paul at August 25, 2004 04:18 PM

Louis,

This proves only that he was giving legal advice, not cooperation. If you read the whole story, which I doubt you did, you would have read that the lawyer did coordinate any campaign issues, he only gave legal advice. As I have posted before, you would vote for bigfoot if he were running against GWB. Please get rid of your anger and vote for someone we can trust to run this country the way Americans want it run, not how the world wants it run. Kerry will bow to any international pressure, and do what ever they want us to do. We will have another attack within a year if Kerry is elected. Oh did you read about the people who were registered to vote in New York and Florida, and most of them were dems who voted in both states. I guess the PRESIDENT won by a bigger margin then we thought. Go figure.

Posted by: David Lowery at August 25, 2004 04:30 PM

This group who calls themselves veterans for TRUTH who spread LIES disgusts me!

The record of both candidates speak plainly about their basic character...

Bush, who did not serve in vietnam, or earn any medals, because he never put himself in harms way. (Try to imagine George Bush Protecting our country against the Vietnamese Air Force.)

Kerry, who served, earned honors, and was wounded in battle.

Which one would you have preferred to have as a bodyguard in 1969?

Posted by: Tony Campanile at August 25, 2004 04:33 PM

It is amazing how much crying Kerry is doing over these commercials they are only showing in 3 states if there was not so much crying most people would never see them But Kerry doesnt want to stop his anti Bush groups to stop there advertising which is now over 60 million dollars as usaul Kerry says one thing and does another

Posted by: wpnsgy at August 25, 2004 04:46 PM

All you have to look at is who wants Bush out of office. Anarchists,terrorists, all members of the U.N.,France, and Germany, Osama bin Laden, all Palestinians,supporters of partial-birth abortion, supporters of gay marriage, anti-gun supporters,bleeding heart liberals, Hollywood (most,anyways}low-income people on the government dole,criminals, illegal aliens, Al Gore, Al Sharpton, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, John Dean, Wesley Clark, Barbara Streisand and so on and so on ad nauseum. I'm sure I have missed quit a few. Please feel free to help me out and add your own. In conclusion I would like to add a small background before I get lambasted for my inclusion of low income people in this list. I have been unemployed since shortly after 9/11 and have been doing temp-work and contract work as I can get it. I am a Cisco Certified Network Engineer and made excellent money. As you can understand, I now would be considered low income. This is not George Bush's fault, it is a direct result of the attack on 9/11. Believe this, and that is that the President of the United States can NOT create jobs, only business can. All he can do is create a business environment that allows businesses to do this. GW is doing it, and doing it well. I have been able to send out more resumes in the last 3 months than I have in the last 3 years, so as someone that job searchs at least 2 hours a day, I can see the economy turning around. I'll tell you this, I could get food stamps but I won't. I'd definitely be embarrased and have more pride than that. The standard of living I was used to has definitely changed, but I eat, I have a roof over my head and in general have it pretty good. I don't eat out, buy toys like all men like to, in other words, I don't have STUFF, but it's not bad. I was surprised at how well I can do with so little money. And how much money I wasted. But I will tell you now, IT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB TO SUPPORT ME, IT'S MINE, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!! If you think the government owes you a living, you are definitely lazy ,shiftless, and irresponsible. Needless to say I'll be voting George W. Bush in November, employed or not.
P.S. I used to be a registered Democrat while I was getting my info from the 6 0 clock news. When I started educating myself and served under Reagan off of Libya and Lebanon I saw the light and registered Republican. I have yet to meet a Democrat that knows the issues and can present actual facts . It's spin and innuendo and talking points. Prove them wrong and it's hate, you're an idiot, etc and then they bring up a talking point. I noticed .d and the others fall back and actually go to other forums after they have sparred with the knowledgable people on this site and got their you know what's whipped. When challenged they make personal attacks and switch subjects. All you guys keep up the good work. Naomi,Lowery,Dawg, Calamity, RickOh and others I'm sure I missed.

Posted by: Navy Vet at August 25, 2004 06:17 PM

From earlier CBS story-
CBS News Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts reports that while such double dipping is technically legal, it certainly presents an appearance problem, say election watchdogs. And it's not just a Republican issue: two Democratic attorneys, Bob Bauer and Joe Sandler, also consulted outside groups while working for John Kerry's campaign or party.

"There are serious issues on the table for both Democratic lawyers and Republican lawyers and they need to be examined," said Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21.

Posted by: chris at August 25, 2004 08:15 PM

Tony, like I said man, dissing the Guard is disrespecting the entire armed forces. If you serve , you serve. You could be marine on the front lines or a computer techinician at the HQ, either way you're doing your duty to the country. It's also almost unfathomable to win that many medals in such a short time, Kerry was obviously in it all for the political power he knew he'd have after he ran home, which is why he chose swift boats, since they were normally out of harm's way. He served, which is honorable, but he did it for entirely wrong reasons. And supporting communism after he ran back to the states? Hardly the type of guy I'd want in office.

It's obvious to me that the democrat party is run by a bunch commies, hypocrits, murderers, thieves, and liars. I DON'T want to live in a country run by those types of people. I want someone who will speak out against abortion, gay marriage, gun control, and communists, and that person is George W. Bush.

Read up on Kerry's record... he's a communist, and please, for the sake of my generation, don't vote communist.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39982
http://www.inreview.com/archive/topic/21296.html
http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2004/08/16&ID=Ar00100

John Kerry is reporting for duty, and he's sided with the enemy.

Posted by: Corsair at August 25, 2004 08:25 PM

If Kerry were not running on his Vietnam service record, I would agree with some of your letter writers. But he is and brags that his four months of active service will make him a much more effective commander-in-chief. Because of HIS obsession with the Vietnam War and what good publicicy it might bring to his campaign, it does become important.

What the Swift Boat Vets are telling the American people needs to be said. These brave men offered their service in Vietnam at the risk of their lives. Again, today, they offer their service at the risk of their personal lives because I have no doubt the Kerry "smear patrol" will attempt to discredit them through personal mud slinging. Their courage stepping forward has provided the American people with these truths.

Kerry claimed he received illegal orders to enter Cambodia. He claimed this happened over Christmas and that, while illegally there, he experienced a life-changing experience. Now Kerry admits that he never entered Cambodia. He simply spouted another untruth in order to validate his claim of illegal activities happening during the Vietnam War. God help us! This man is now running for the presidency of the United States!

Kerry admitted he might have obtained his first purple heart under false pretenses since he never came under enemy fire until nine days after he received this medal. Swift Boat Vets claim Kerry received the wound from a gernade that he (Kerry) threw at an innocent Vietnamese civilian in a boat loaded with rice. God help us! This man wants to be Commander-in-Chief!

Kerry gave aid and comfort to the enemy when he returned from his 4-month service in Vietnam. He gave testimony before the United States Senate about the atrocities committed by American military personnel against the Vietnemese. The enemy used this testimony to administer psychological torture on our brave American soldiers. What is even worse, his testimony which he now downplays, caused much of the American public to turn against these brave men. When they returned from war, many Americans spit on them, called them baby-killers and much worse. All directly related to Kerry's highly exaggerated testimony of atrocities. God help us! This man wants to appoint the next members of the United States Supreme Court!

Kerry can not run on his record. He voted against every military expenditure over the past years. Although he served in the military, he did not deem it necessary to provide our soldiers with the best weaponry our country could provide. Hell, he didn't even think that bullet-proof vests were necessary for them once he voted to send them to Iraq. Oh, I forgot, he voted for the war before he voted against it. How can any mother or dad of a military person consider voting for someone this short-sighted. God help us! This man might be responsbile for sending our troops into war!

Kerry consistenly voted to raise taxes. If elected, he plans to eliminate Bush's tax cut except "on the richest." How gullible can the American people be? He IS one of the richest. He is going to pay 50 or 60% of his millions to the American government? I don't think so. And what the hell does he mean when he says these tax cuts did not help lower income families. I am a retired person making way under 50,000 a year, and this tax cut provided a windfall for me. God help us! And this man says he knows now to keep our economy strong!

Finally, Kerry promises all things to all people (depending on who he is talking to at the moment). He has no real plan. He simply says that he will do things differently from Bush. He reminds me of the barker in the medicine wagon that traveled in the old west. These charlatans promised their medicine cured all. The medicine didn't and undoubtedly made their lives worse. Definitely sounds like a dose of Kerry.

Posted by: Jo Ann Turner at August 25, 2004 08:37 PM

Navy Vet- Wow! I think that is the best post I have ever seen! You nailed it! I wish you luck in your job search. I can tell you are a hard, honest man and deserve to find a good job. It is true, when you make less money, you tighten the purse strings. People don't understand that. I have been a single mom with a child that was premature and had special needs. I worked my butt off to provide. I went without buying new clothes, driving a new car etc. but I took care of my baby. You do the best you can. So on that note, let me add to your list.....Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Sprinsteen, Moby, Rebecca Romine-Stamos, Kevin Bacon, Kristen Durnst, Ben Affleck, Sean Combs, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Sheryl Crowe, Sean Penn, Richard Gere, George Clooney, Linda Ronstandt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Mahar, Alec Baldwin and the Dixie Chicks! Whew! I hope that people can add even more. I know that I have my own little protest I do not buy or see movies that have these idiots in them. Sure, my movie watching is dwindling but I have to make a stand somewhere!
Thank you again Navy Vet. Let's keep talking and hopefully some of the undecided's will read our posts, do their homework and vote Bush/Cheney 2004!

Posted by: Teresa G at August 25, 2004 09:03 PM

John-
Here is a link to the double vote story. you can also do your own search by putting in "double votes in New york and Florida.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/224449p-192807c.html

Posted by: Teresa G at August 25, 2004 09:22 PM

Louis,Paul and Tony,
Here is info I found that have links to your actual liberal sites to show you that Kerry's campaign is personally working with these 527 "Hate Bush" groups. So you can all go and read these and realize that you are in the wrong! I am sure that you will find some way to spin this, ignore or just not believe but trust me, Americans will realize that Kerry is the one who is promoting a smear campaign. He has been for close to a year! We all know if it wasn't for 170 million dollars spent on untruths and lies about Bush that this election would be the same as 1984 when Reagan beat the crap out of Dukakis! But back then...Democrats had a little bit of class....now they have lost it to envy and hate. The democrats are a dying party and they know it. They have no unity. They are all out for themselves and will stab each other in the back! Ed Koch, Zell Miller and more democrats are coming out in favor of Bush. They know! They see the writing on the wall. Kerry is not commander-in chief material. He was the best the Democratic party could cough up to run. The scary thing is a majority of the Democrats don't like Kerry. They are voting for him because they don't like Bush. So they are willing to throw are lives on the line, our country, our freedom for someone they don't really like? That is insane!!!! Read it and weep guys!

NewsMax Uncovers Kerry's Ties to Anti-Bush Groups
Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004
Even as Sen. John Kerry and his cheerleaders in Big Media try to associate President Bush with the modestly funded Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, they remain silent about the links Kerry and the Democrat party have to multimillion-dollar Bush-hating groups. But they cannot keep concealing these ties, because NewsMax has uncovered multiple examples.

Thanks in part to tips from readers nationwide who are outraged about the blatant bias of the media establishment, we have found the following:

From Democrats.org, a Web site of the Democratic National Committee, May 9, 2003:
?The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America's Future, and dozens of other groups representing millions of Americans to organize a massive public mobilization. On Wednesday, May 14, join us by calling and emailing your representatives in Congress to let them know that the majority of Americans oppose more irresponsible tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to the wealthiest sliver of Americans.?

?In their own words, DNC coordination with MoveOn.org,? noted a reader from Florence, S.C., one of several who sent this tip.

http://www.democrats.org/wvc/weekinreview/200305120002.html

'Kicking A**'

From the same Web site?s unironically named ?Kicking Ass: Daily Dispatches from the DNC,? here?s the ultimate in hypocrisy last Nov. 13 from one of Vermont?s more extreme ideologues:
?Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, took a short break from the 30-hour Republican hypocrisy-a-thon to come and see the results of the DNC's petition drive. We collected more than 310,000 signatures and comments from Americans who stand with Senate Democrats in the fight to keep ultraconservative ideologues off the federal bench.?

An accompanying photo has this caption: ?DNC Chief Operating Officer Josh Wachs (left), Senator Leahy, and Zack Exley from Moveon.org pose with the more than 310,000 signatures.?

http://www.democrats.org/blog/display/00010183.html

In its push to obstruct judges who follow the U.S. Constitution, DNC admitted elsewhere on its site that same day, ?The DNC is also conducting a major petition drive in partnership with MoveOn.org. More than 310,000 Americans have signed the petition to protect our courts ? with more than 172,000 of those signatures coming in the past 36 hours.?
http://www.democrats.org/news/200311140002.html

Posted by: Teresa G at August 25, 2004 09:50 PM

So many comments on here have nothing to do with fact. If you want to know who will best protect the Country look at the record One has a record of doing so One served with distinction in the late 60s then turned his back on his fellow servicemen spread lies about them Moved around liberal Mass. until he could get elected and has spent his carreer in politics voting against the Military. It is easy to decide.

Posted by: wpnsgy at August 25, 2004 09:52 PM

I am a US Army veteran from Texas who served during the Korean War era. I was lucky in that I was ordered to Germany rather than Korea but I was young then and I would have gone anywhere they ordered me. That's the life of a soldier. "Ours was not to reason why, ours was to do or die." I have been reading all the opinions presented in this Blog and I feel sorry for all our brothers and sisters who are confused and who feel they need to vote for George W. Bush. I would tell them that, in three years, GW Bush has already shown us what an incompetent "leader" he is. We don't need to see any more examples, do we? But to be honest, I saw enough of George when, as governor of Texas, he repeatedly demonstrated his negative attitude concerning labor unions and organized working people. Did you know that he wants to install regressive national sales tax for all Americans--he wants to remake the rest of the country in the image of my state of Texas. We don't want to see that, do we? Hell, Texas while being one of the wealthiest states in the country ranks near the bottom when it come to its working class. Look it up! The rest of the country would have to be nuts to want their progressive states to become like Texas. Lets just consider that and that's enough to decide once and for all to vote the Kerry/Edwards ticket. My best wishes to all.

Posted by: Abel P. Ochoa at August 25, 2004 10:01 PM

Some more random thoughts, because Abel's comments about President Bush's "incompetent" leadership cannot be allowed to stand. Enough about Kerry and his medals. In the end, the only issue here is who is the best leader so lets compare the records. This so called "incompetent" leader has....

Calmed and stabilized our stock markets after the worst crash since 1929. Not even then did any market lose 80% of its value. Now that Dow has gained almost 50% and the Nasdaq had nearly doubled from their post-Clinton recession lows.

Ended the worst recession in 20 years and made our economy the fastest growing in the industrial world thanks to well timed and fair tax cuts for all Americans.

Enacted the most historic reforms in education since Brown v Board desegregated the school system....working with Ted Kennedy.

United the nation first in its grief, then in resolve after 9/11...then toppled two of the world's most vile regimes and liberated 50 million people, while inflicting minimal causalties on both sides.

Moved both Afghanistan and Iraq to democratic governments in shocking time. Remember that it took 7 years and nearly 10,000 American lives after WW 2 ended to make West Germany a democracy...and well over one trillion dollars adjusted for inflation.

United France, Germany, Russia, and even Syria behind us in the need to force Sadaam Hussein to disarm and remake Iraq, not just once, but twice!

He imposed a compromise that Solomon would be proud of on the issue of stem-cell research, allowing federal funding for research on existing lines while refusing to kill any more unborns.

Rallying from the Clinton recession and 9/11, created 1.5 million jobs this past year...2.5 million according to hte more reliable Household survey including 629,000 last month alone!

Proposed a daring new energy strategy that plans to liberate us from foreign oil supplies over the next fifty years.

United our nation in grief, then renewed determination following the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia behind a daring new vision to take Americans back to the moon and on to Mars.

Made forty years of promises come true by finally modernizing Medicare to include a badly needed prescription drug benefit for seniors, which will save Medicare trillions over the coming decadess by preventing disease instead of treating it later.

Earned the respect of our true allies in the world and inspired even Japan and Germany to send troops abroad for the first time since WW 2. The French government may not like us....but they respect and fear us, which is better.

Enacted sweeping campaign finance legislation that many wringed their hands over for decades. Only Bush could get it done.

Opened a dialog to consider for the first time replacing the incredibly unfair, anti-growth tax system currently in place.

Opened a dialog to make some of our Social Security money our money...for us to decide what to do with.

Killed or captured as much as three-quarters of the Al-Queda terror network.

Brought detente to nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

Focused the world's attention on the growing atrocities in the Sudan.

Led the nation with clear vision, a steady hand and a steely resolve called for in these tough times. I have not always agreed with him, but I've always known where he is going.

President Bush wisely points out that there are times in our nation's history when little is expected of its leaders and that this is not one of those times. Therefore we cannot afford to elect such a leader....like John Kerry, who after 20 years in the Senate does not have one single solitary acheivement that he can call his own. No "Kerry Law". Even a walking corpse like Frank Lautenberg has a signature achievement to show for his 20 years in the Senate (the Lautenberg Law bans smoking on domestic airline flights). This is a time in our history where great things are expected and required of our president. Therefore we cannot take the risk of electing a man of negligible political achievement such as John Kerry.

We need a strong, steady leader to keep this nation safe and our economy growing. President Bush has earned the love, respect and admiration of this nation. So says one of his former fiercest critics, Sen John McCain. He has earned the respect of prominent Democrats such as Zell Miller and Ed Koch. He has earned my vote and I ask you to give him yours as well.

God Bless All....

Posted by: Michael P. Borgia at August 25, 2004 11:45 PM

Isn't it interesting that John Kerry is the only one telling the truth and 64 other Vets who were only a matter of yards away are liars? I put this in the "I didn't inhale" or "It depends on what is is" or "no controling legal authority" Democrap double speak.

Have you heard the changing versions about the Christmas in Cambodia(he now admits he wasn't there); how Kerry was the only one to stay in the river(he now admits he was the ONLY one to leave); or the story about his first Purple Heart(he now admits it may have been self inflicted when he put a granade into a barrel of rice); by the way, that injury required neosporin and a bandaide. And the fact that in Kerry's own diary he comments that nine days after that Purple Heart "It's been nine days and we still haven't taken fire"

It seems that 64 "liars" have caused Mr. Kerry to recall and recant his version of the facts a little differently.

Space constraints will not allow me list all the obvious Kerry versions of the truth. Want to know more about who he is? Read his first book,The New Soldier,(which he ordered the publisher to recall once he decided to enter the Presidental Race).

I'm a proud Veteran who served during Viet Nam and proudly display my "VETERANS AGAINST JOHN KERRY" sign.

Wake up people, this guy is a FRAUD!

Posted by: Gene Shepler at August 26, 2004 03:00 AM

YEA! FOR ABLE! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! NO MORE GW JR. I am sick of the GW JR. Texas Dictatorship in America as well!

VOTE: KERRY/EDWARDS 2004

Posted by: d. jones at August 26, 2004 03:45 AM

POW/MIA Family Members Against John Kerry
"Dedicated to the defeat of John F. Kerry, we are the families of American Servicemen listed as Prisoner of War or Missing in Action, left behind at the end of World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, and Vietnam War."

I was just notified of this new organization and web site. The "Who We Are" list reads like a who's who in the POW/MIA issue - Fanning, Matejov, Apodaca, Holland, Milliner, Mathes... with more families coming on board daily. They have some deeply serious issues with Mr. Kerry and I invite you to check it out. A number of families have posted pictures of their missing men along with personal comments. If nothing else, that alone is worth the visit.

A brief intro from their web site: "John Kerry abandoned our husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers in favor of trade and normalization of relations with Vietnam. His actions paved the way for the further abandonment of POWs and MIAs from World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War. John Kerry, as chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, ordered the destruction of committee documents, blocked avenues of investigation, and misrepresented progress on the POW/MIA issue to justify lifting of the trade embargo against Vietnam."

Jennifer sends on 09:01 PM | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

Posted by: fred mills at August 26, 2004 07:13 AM

Hi Abel
You are mistaken we do not feel that we have to vote for Bush but when you look at Kerrys record in the Senate in regards to the Military what is a current member to do. Please look at his voting record. If you agree the M1 A tank was a waste as well as most of the weapons that are currently in use then you should vote for Mr Kerry. As for me having seen them in use I know Kerry was wrong and despite what he is saying his record says something else.
I would also point out you speak a untruth in saying Bush wants to implement a sales tax he was discussing possibilities of reforming the current tax code. I suppose you believe there is no reform needed there like Mr Kerry

Posted by: wpnsgy at August 26, 2004 08:10 AM

Able P. Ochoa,

I guess you don't pay enough in taxes? You want more? Labor unions were good in the beginning, but they have outlived their usefullness. Now they are killing industry in this country, just look at the steel industry. Remember, George Bush is the only man in the history of Texas to be re-elected. Enough said.

B/C '04
Texans for Bush
Vote for President Bush in '04

Posted by: David Lowery at August 26, 2004 08:31 AM

Rose,
Do you want to know why you can't find a job? Really I can tell you, and I'll speak in a language you can understand. You really tweaked me with your arrogance.

FIRST OFF!! YOU CAN'T FIND A JOB BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO HIGH ON YOURSELF AND ARE NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT A JOB TO HELP YOU GET BY, UNTIL YOU DO FIND THE BETTER JOB. LOOK IN THE MIRROR, YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE. YOU WEAR THAT LIKE A BADGE OF HONOR BUT IT'S REALLY JUST A BIG CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER. COME OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND GET A JOB ANY JOB. I WOULD DIG A DITCH OR FLIP BURGERS TO HELP PUT FOOD ON MY FAMILIES PLATE, BUT YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY TOO GOOD FOR THAT.

SECOND THING. MEDALS ARE NOT JUST MEDALS. IF A MEDAL WAS AWARDED BY LIES AND MISREPRESENTING THE FACTS IT DEMEANS THE SAME MEDAL FOR THOSE WHO WERE AWARDED THEM FOR TRUE HEROISM, AND LOSS OF LIFE. SO WHAT/WHEN/WHERE AND HOW JOHN KERRY RECEIVED HIS MEDALS IS OF GREAT CONCERN TO ME. THE PURPLE HEART IS THE MOST SACRED MEDAL OF ANY MILITARY MEMBER OR VETREN AND IF SOMEONE RECEIVED ONE FOR SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS DEMEANS THE VALUE OF THE MEDAL. ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW ONCE JOHN KERRY'S OWN JOURNAL STATES 9 DAYS AFTER THE ACTION WHERE HE GOT HIS PH FOR A SCRATCH. WE RECIEVED NO INCOMING FIRE. YEAH NOW THAT THAT GETS OUT HE SAYS WELL MAYBE THAT FIRST PH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN EARNED.

It's typical of JK and the rest of his demorcatic mafia to lie and lie and then once caught say "oh well I made a mistake" He ran away from Vietnam using that medal. If it was got on fradulent means then he is just a coward and I DON'T WANT A COWARD AS MY PRESIDENT!!

Posted by: Devil Dawg at August 26, 2004 10:34 AM

I just had to complement Mr. Borgia on such a well-stated, comprehensive synopsis of what a wonderful job G W Bush has done! Thank you!
Bush/Cheney '04

Posted by: Stephanie at August 26, 2004 05:05 PM

50% of the population is below average intelligence.

That was the 50% that voted for George Bush in 2000

I hope that the current state of our economy, the hatred for America by most of our former allies, and the attempted loss of our civil rights under the Bush Administration has made a few of them a little wiser.

Kerry/Edwards 2004!

Posted by: Tony Campanile at August 26, 2004 05:11 PM

Michael P. Borgia,
Do you really believe the points you make? Unfortunately, most of them are false. Like, for example, in the stock market, I'm still losing at least $3,000 in comparison with what I had when George W. Bush first started his term and I have my investments in very conservative bonds, shares, etc. As to ending the worst recession in history, well try to explain that to the thousand of unemployed Americans. I can't believe you are saying that, give me a break! And George W. Bush has never fully funded his "No Child Left Behind" education reform program, so countless numbers of children are being left behind. As for uniting us after 9/ll, well we were united until George W. Bush made a preemptive attack on Saddam's Iraq and messed everything up. On top of that, we're still killing Iraqis daily in their country. Reminds me of when we attacked Grenada to avoid confronting Lebanon terrorists after hundreds of our marines were murdered. You claim we liberated 50 million souls but you're wrong there too, we merely traded dictators or do you think our man in Iraq was elected by the Iraqis? Well, I'm sorry to tell you but we placed Saddam in Iraq too and he was on our pay for a long time, up until he attacked Kuwait without our official permission which he thought he had. And let me correct you on something else, Germany was already a Democracy before Adolf Hitler came and messed them up. As for Bush's Energy strategy, well it's all about stealing Iraq's oil--do you think that's OK? And tell it like it is, Bush has lost us more top paying jobs than the number he has replaced at lower wages with no benefits. Knowledgeable people would laugh at you if you really believe what you are saying. I wrote another letter somewhere here on this Blog about people needing to have more than open eyes to be able to see--people need to open their minds too! You also need to have an open mind to be able to see reality and what I'm reading here is so bad that I sometimes wish that George W. Bush would win because we probably deserve him and the problems he's bringing about but I'd hate to see our children suffer merely because we're blind. The truth is, for example, that you're blind if you think that our Social Security and Medicare programs have been improved. That's like saying that what's good for powerful corporate and business interests is good for America--George W. Bush obviously believes that but look carefully at all the corruption that's happening all over the country and reconsider. Someone writing in this Blog somewhere mentions Halliburton's role in manufacturing our expensive weapons and bombs that are being used to destroy Iraq and is now also in charge of repairing it--all this thanks to our hard earned tax dollars! Hey, you need to open you mind as well as your eyes to really be able to see and if you do that you'll know to what degree George W. Bush is a negative incompetent and more. Think of all the money our children, grandchildren and perhaps even our great grandchildren are going to have to pay, thank to George and then reconsider your negative attitude. You'll do yourself and your family a big favor if you vote the Kerry/Edward's ticket. My best regards to you.

Posted by: Abel P. Ochoa at August 26, 2004 05:15 PM

Just an observation, posed with a question: What do Teresa G., Michael Borgia, Corsair, Navy Vet, David Lowrey, JoAnn Turner, wpnsgy, Gene Shepler and Fred Mills have in common (please forgive any misspellings)? Besides the obvious, that they are all conservatives, they are posting here with eloquence, courtesy, honesty and above all else, FACTS! I don't think it is coincidence that the only facts presented here in this blog are put forth by conservatives who are providing links, statistics, actual quotes and real evidence of their statements. All done without hate, anger, vitriol or insults. No wonder left-leaning Democrats hate the label "Liberal". I'm proud to be a conservative. I'm proud of those I stand with and I'm proud of my president. All of whom will be able to hold their heads high and rest with an easy conscience regardless of this election's outcome. Keep it up guys - Ronald Reagan said, "If you know what is right in your heart and you stand up for what is right, right will always prevail over wrong." He had an unwaivering belief in good conquering evil. This is the way its done, guys. BRAVO!

Posted by: Stephanie at August 26, 2004 05:30 PM

Why do I support Kerry and Edwards,

The economics and uncertainty of the 21st century don’t leave a whole lot of options.

I am personally tired of being bombarded daily by cheap lines and phrases from a President that wants to insult my intelligence by saying things such as “we are turning the corner”.

Where I come from ten’s of 1000’s of jobs have been lost and less than half are being replaced by low paying ones that do not provide benefits.

Foreclosures in my community are way up; bankruptcy is sky rocketing, seniors that relied on their retirement packages and benefits have now had them taken away because of all of the plant closings. These Seniors such as my parents have had to go back to work in their late 60’s and 70’s just to be able to get and be able to partially pay for some type of medical insurance.

You can find most of these senior’s now bagging groceries. I don’t anticipate George W’s parents ever having to bag groceries to pay for insurance.

I am also tired of news sources such as fox news that merely indoctrinate us with opinions. Individuals such as Bill O'Reilly, operating under a false pretense of ``journalism'' and claiming to be fair and balanced instead of being called “the extreme right slant”, are nothing more than pawns of the Republican Party rhetoric and it nauseates me.

Blue-collar jobs are being replaced by outsourcing. Everything seems to be made in China. And white-collar jobs that once seemed so safe in Middle America are being pulled away faster than a bloody steak dangling over a tiger cage in a zoo. Our President thinks this is all good for America.

Don’t tell me we have turned the corner, and don’t ask me to vote for this sitting president that has been more concerned with Iraq and rebuilding it than he has been about what is happening in our own back yard. Mr. Bush has visited Ohio over 25 times since being elected. Since he was elected 3 years ago I have watched 4 of the largest companies in my community close. Danner Press, LTV Steel, Republic Engineered Steel, and the Hoover Company, how do you replace the jobs and the shattered lives and dreams of all of these people?

Don’t talk to me about swift boats for truth, lets talk about real issues!

For example, it's illogical and backward-thinking to cut taxes for the wealthiest 2 percent of the population when that money is needed to fund public higher education, or a real no child left behind law.

Moreover, this tax cut has led to a record-high budget deficit. My children and grand children as well as everyone else’s will be responsible for that national debt, not Bush and the rich Republican politicians responsible for creating it.

The brave Marines and soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq while corporate executives in their 50s and 60s are making millions of dollars of profit for their companies that supply the war effort. But this raises no red flags to anyone, while George W. Bush look’s instead to gay marriage to capture the nation's attention while this injustice continues.

A U.S. Census report released Thursday says an additional 1.3 million people like fell into poverty last year, with a big increase in the number of poor children. The poverty level is defined as income less than $18,810 for a family of four.

The other facts just released are that the poverty level in this country is now backing up to 12.5% again and climbing. When George Sr. left office the poverty level in this country was 15.3% and when Clinton left it was at a 30 year low at 11.2%. So I ask what corner George Jr. has turned us toward. The facts the US census give don’t not lie.

I know a lot of you will write back and say this is all typical coming from a liberal, well the ones that are going to are going to. But first take the time to look up the history of what a liberal and conservative is and what the difference is between them and take a good look in the mirror.

Posted by: Louis (Canton, Ohio) at August 26, 2004 07:06 PM

To Abel...point by point

I believe every point I made because I have the historical facts to back me up.

I am sorry you lost money in the market. I for one did very well because I saw Clinton's house of cards coming down and got myself out in early 2000.

There are always "thousands of unemployed Americans" even in the best of times. Even at "full employment" the unemployment rate is usually between 4 and 6 percent.

On funding education....this president has increased federal funding for education nearly 48% in just four years, the fastest growth rate in history.

Your statements about Iraq blow me away. If we are disunited because of Iraq, then it is the liberals who are to blame, not President Bush. Liberals saw the afterwar was going to be difficult and used it a wedge. And we are not killing Iraqis, we are killing our terrorist enemy, some of whom may happen to be Iraqi, but many are not.

Traded dictators. Let's see you say that after Karzai faces election in October and Allawi in January. Let me remind you that George Washington became our first president by acclamation in the electoral college and did not face the voters until 1792.

What Germany was before Hitler came along is irrelevant to this conversation. We had nothing to do with that. What matters is what we did afterwards with it.

Who is stealing Iraq's oil? All that money is going into Iraq's treasury. And that's a fact!

As for losing top paying jobs? Baloney. The Department of Labor's own stats prove that real income is growing faster than the rate of inflation in a time of recovery for the first time in American history. That means more higher paying jobs, not lower. My own income has doubled under this president.

Has Medicare improved? I would ask many of my senior citizen neighbors who are already saving 25% on their prescriptions and will save much more in the years to come...and will live longer and healthier for it.

Did you know that Halliburton delivers mail, provides food and presents and supplies for our troops and that more than fifty of their employees have died doing so. So what if they are making a profit? That is what businesses are in business to do. No corporation in our history has been subjected to more "smear and fear" politics than this company...which invented the technique that put out the Kuwait oil fires.

We did not place Saddam in Iraq. The mess of the middle east is largely the fault of the Labour government that succeeded Churchill in 1945 and pulled out as fast as it could put a series of despots in charge of poorly organized countries. That charge is silly.

In closing, I will state it again....President Bush has...

Created the fasted growing economy in the industrialized world.

2.5 million new jobs

Freed 50 million people

Reformed our education system.

Began lifting the burden of prescription drug costs from our seniors.

Cut our tax burdens

Stablized and grown our markets.

Governed with vision and integrity.

Set us on a course for energy independence

Signed campaign finance reform

Detroyed or captured 3/4 of Al Queda's leadership.

Set up on a course to explore the moon and Mars.

Kept all of us, including my beloved three-year old son safe.

My eyes are open and the history is plain to see. God bless our President and may he see him to the victory in November that this brilliant, positive, optimistic but soft-spoken leader has so richly earned.

Please read my post. I did not say the worst recession in history but the worst in 20 years.

Posted by: Michael P. Borgia at August 26, 2004 07:13 PM

To Tony Campanile
Your spewing of hate and ignorance pretty much sums up which percentage of the population you are in.

Perhaps you should do some research on your own rather than relying on editorials posted on the internet by gloom and doomers.

We are not hated as much as you seem to think. Visit an Iraqi blog. See what the average Iraqis have to say. They are not spewing hate.

Which civil rights have you lost? You are at least the 50th misinformed person to spout this and more than likely will be at least the 50th who is unable to provide an answer.

Posted by: Calamity Jane at August 26, 2004 07:45 PM

Tony,

There's nothing quite like insulting those who disagree with you to make the point for them. Republicans aren't any less intelligent than Democrats not are they more intelligent. Republicans and Democrats alike make up a cross-section of America spanning all aspects of the cultural and intellectual levels.

You, however, by your broad insult have proved that your comments and statement hold little truth since the statement you used to set the argument is based on a lie. How can we trust anything you have to tell us?

John's Kerry lies to America are working. In spite of the fact that, in polls, over 80% of American's say they are better off then they were 4 years ago, less than 50% feel that the economy is in good condition. Who is selling that lie to the American's? It just keeps pouring out of the mouth of the guy who says he's the optimist-John Kerry. Most Republicans understand that the war in Iraq is about the war on terrorism. Yet, in the polls, most Americans distinguish between the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq. Thank you again, Mr. Kerry, for distinguishing the two as seperate issues. The fact of the matter is that the war in Iraq is about terrorism and the breaking down of the sanctuaries that harbor and assist terrorists.

FInally, the argument that Mr. Kerry is going to get our allies behind us, diminishes the countries that are part of the coalition in the war on terror and implies that they are not our allies. Most Americans do not realize how many countries are involved with us in this war, again, thanks to the lies and misrepresentation of John Kerry. France isn't with us and France is a known sanctuary for terrorists. They aren't a friend to America, they haven't been for years.

The war against terrorism in any country is necessary for the safety of the entire world and if you want to be talking about waging a sensitive war than think about it in terms that apply the sensitivity of the goal and objective of the war on terror. To free those who are opressed from the dominant and brutal regimes who murder their own people because of their hate and disdain for the opposing parties. Judging from the hateful remarks made by many of the liberals about America in the press and the many liberals in these blogs. I'm not sure that the Democratic party isn't to far from that form of hateful extremism. With all of their lawsuits to remove freedom of expression from those who oppose their views; with all of the activities of the ACLU to shutdown the free expression of Christian Faith; with all of the propaganda coming out of moveon.org and other left-leaning organizations America is being assaulted in the name of personal liberties.

You do not have a right to fly on an airplane, you do not have a right to a driver's licence, these are priveledges and priveledges can be inconvenienced for the sake of national security. If I have to wait an extra 30 minutes to board an airplane to prevent somebody who has decalred a personal jihad against my country and wants to use my plane to kill 3,000 people, then I have to wait and thank God for those who are doing the work that inconveniences me.

Posted by: Jim Rodkey at August 26, 2004 08:12 PM

wpnsgy,
John Kerry is a smart politician who can recognize that some weapons are no longer viable. Take the anti-missile missile that we are currently spending billions on when it's no longer necessary. Do you know that our military budget is as great as that of all the countries in the world combined? Yes, Cold War weapons would be viable weapons if we still had an enemy country like the old Soviet Union to worry about but, as you know, that's no longer the case. We are now the only super power left in the world and our main worry now is about terrorists who might carry suitcase-size weapons, etc. What we now need are devices that'll detect such destructive and killer weapons. Kerry recognizes that situations change and we need to look into the possibility of newer, more advanced and dangerous weapons which are smaller and perhaps easier to hide, but that have the potential to kill thousands of innocent victims. One thing that I would like to point out is that John Kerry is very open-minded and does listen to reason. How do I know? I read--if John Kerry sees that he's making a mistake, he is not afraid to change his mind and do what's appropriate. Regardless of what George W. Bush thinks, changing ones mind is not a sign of weakness--it's a sign of strength. As to getting a "regressive" national sales tax, it's common knowledge that "Right Wingers" prefer that kind of tax to the current progressive income tax. Without a doubt, George W. Bush would consider making such a change, as a reform.

Posted by: Abel P. Ochoa at August 26, 2004 09:09 PM

David Lowery,
So you think that Labor Unions have outlived their usefullness? I can see why you stand with George W. Bush--he thinks that way too. I respectfully disagree. I still think that Lech Walesa's Solidarity Labor Union in Poland was responsible for beginning the downfall of the Soviet Union. The truth is that we, as Americans can never be free as long as someone has the power to tell us, "it's my way or there's the highway" and that's George W. Bush's way of expressing himself. That's another way of saying, "You're either for me or you are against me." Frankly, I believe in good Labor Laws, Collective Bargaining and in having good labor union contracts that lawfully describe employee as well as employer responsibilities. No body, not even the President of the United States should have the power to arbitrarily and capriciously tell any American citizen that it's going to be his way or there's the highway. George W. Bush has obviously forgotten what it means to be a public servant--he is our employee--we are not his. He really need to be brought home to Texas where he won't be able to hurt our country more than he already has. As it is, our children, grandchildren, and perhaps even our great grandchildren are going to be stuck with paying for his irresponsible deficit spending. I don't know about you but I love my children and I think that's unfair to them. My warmest regards to you.

Posted by: Abel P. Ochoa at August 26, 2004 09:48 PM

Jim Rodkey

You are awesome!! Very well said. I am proud to be a fellow conservative and stand shoulder-to- shoulder with you in protecting and defending our great country.

Posted by: Calamity Jane at August 26, 2004 09:51 PM

Abel,
I fail the see the reasoning behind your logic... so you are telling us that because Kerry lies about one thing, then once confronted with the blatant lie, spins right around and spews out another lie, that that is a sign of STRENGTH? Please tell me you're kidding. I'm totally for GWB's style of saying one thing and sticking with it, that's a sign of strong character and integrity. GWB is steadfast and doesn't falter, which is why I like him as president.
You're also saying that we should simply weaken our defensive (strategic missile defense) and offensive (M1A battle tanks, A10 aircraft) because we're stronger than the rest of the world? You know what happened when we slacked off on military strength the first time? Pearl Harbor. Next, after showing absolutely zero initiative to fight terrorism, 9/11. You know the big winner of the Gulf War? M1a1 tanks, A10 warthogs, and F117 fighters. What happened when Clinton failed to provide our soldiers with the support they needed in Somalia? 29 of our men died because of political negligence. (http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8514/somalia.htm)
The soldier