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August 26, 2004
President’s Criticism of Kerry-Bashing Ads “Not Enough”; Dems Demand Corrective Ads Dramatizing "the Real Story By Jake Loscutoff
President Bush today publicly criticized a series of ads produced by outside groups attacking John Kerry’s Vietnam War record. Referring to ads produced by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the President said, “Heh heh, boys will be boys, won’t they? Well, all I can say is that I wouldn’t have done it if I were them.” The statement seemed to represent a shift away from the position reflected in the President’s previous public statement about the ads, in which he said, “I think the absence from the ads of my folksy voice saying ‘Ahm George Bush, and ah ahpprove this message’ should send an unmistakable, hard-hitting message that we didn't have anything to do with ‘em.” Democratic party officials expressed dissatisfaction with the President’s criticism of the ads. “Even pulling the ads off the air won’t undo the damage that’s been done,” said Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe. He demanded instead that the Republicans finance a TV spot reenacting the swift boat incident in its entirety “to show the true facts.” In the script for the ad, John Kerry is depicted as diving into the bullet-pocked Bay Hap River with the swiftness of a Michael Phelps answering the starting gun, grabbing four men at a time in his mighty sinewed arms, then valiantly shielding them with his chin while backstroking them to safety. McAuliffe also said that, “if he’s serious about setting the record straight,” George Bush would agree to portray one of the Vietcong attackers, who curses at and ultimately recoils from the superior valor of “this God-man who cannot be killed!” Finally, McAuliffe demanded that Vice-President Dick Cheney portray “the evil Dr. Wu-Tang, the diabolical puppet-master who destroys civilizations just to rebuild them for a profit.” McAuliffe admitted that this latter touch involved a bit of creative license, “but you know how it is when you’ve got all these Hollywood types who ‘just want to help.’” A Republican Party spokesman rejected the Democrats’ demand out of hand, despite reports that Vice-President Cheney found the role of Dr. Wu-Tang “intriguing.” If you enjoyed this satire by Jake Loscutoff, you can read more of his work at Broken Newz. What Can Political Junkies Learn From Professional Wrestling?
I'm not as big of a wrestling fan as I used to be (at one point I actually wrote a regular column and I did interviews with several pro-wrestlers, nobody all that big though), but I still watch the WWE semi-regularly. Well yesterday, the fellas over at Fraters Libertas were getting a LITTLE worried about a Republican bad guy, John Bradshaw Layfield, because... "Professional wrestling is an excellent barometer of the mood of the middle and lower socio-economic strata. And I've never heard of a wrestling crowd turning on a true blue, flag-waving son of the South. Could this be evidence of a growing anti-Bush backlash among the blue collar heartland?" However, they correctly concluded that the core thing that makes "JBL" used to generate heat (make the crowd hate him), was playing on class envy, not being a Republican. Which leads me to what I wanted to talk about -- what can politicians learn from wrestling? I know this sounds like an odd topic, but I agree that "professional wrestling is an excellent barometer of the mood of the middle and lower socio-economic strata" and if you screen out the apolitical characters, there are some interesting lessons about politics that can be learned by what the crowd likes and hates. For example... Wrestling fans hate rich, pampered, personas who brag about how much money they make & think that they're better than anyone else. John Bradshaw Layfield is a good example. So Mr. McMahon, Ted DiBase, and some other characters that weren't as popular like "The Mean Street Posse" & Tiger Ali Singh also fall into that category. One of the things they do to help establish "Heels" (bad guys) is have them establish limos. John Bradshaw Layfield for example has this huge, ostentatious limo with steer horns on the front of it. It's sort of his way of saying, "I'm richer than you and I think I'm better than you because of it". Application: Think of George Bush Sr. being painted as a rich, out-of-touch, guy who didn't even know how a super market scanner worked (not a true story, but it still hurt him). Also, I'm convinced that a big part of the reason that George W. Bush is considered more likable than Kerry (of course, both of them are filthy rich) is that Bush not only lives and vacations in little Crawford, Texas, he actually does things like cut brush. You don't picture a pampered rich guy cutting brush. On the other hand, Kerry has all those estates, the expensive mountain bike, and he goes on these exotic vacations where he's snowboarding and wind surfing. It makes people like him less. --- Here's one that some conservatives won't like as much: wrestling fans hate being preached at. There was this group of pretty average wrestlers who had a decent run on the undercard while calling themselves "Right To Censor". Their gimmick was that they dressed up in white shirts and ties and went around complaining about violence and nudity. For example, if one of the women got down to her bra & panties, they'd run out and cover her up which would drive the crowd insane. Interestingly enough, that group was based on Brent Bozell's Parents Television Council which endlessly complained about professional wrestling. Application: I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't tackle moral questions or issues, but if people feel as if you're trying to force your moral standards down their throat...let's just say they're not going to appreciate it. --- On the other hand, wrestling fans, particularly American fans tend to be very nationalistic. You will never go wrong talking up America or waving a flag around. Furthermore, the WWE made a big show of supporting the soldiers in Iraq. On the other hand, there's no easier way to gin up "Heat" than to trash the US as villains like the Iron Sheik, "The Russian Bear" Ivan Kolov, and the latest annoying foreigners, La Résistance (they're French, but shocker there, I know) have proven. Application: If you can point out to people how people like Ted Rall, Michael Moore, & Noam Chomsky trash America, you will permanently turn people off to their ideas. See? Wrestling isn't just about hot women having lingerie matches, guys hitting each other with chairs, and 6 and half foot tall goons pretending to beat each other unconscious; it's about POLITICS too =D Advertisement: The Call To Prayer by Jack L. Kemp and Jill Cohen Walker
“Imagine that immorality is legal and persecution of Christians is sport. Money and power belong to the elites, and national patriotism is dead. Despots who despise God rule over a world where evil is good and good is evil. Criminals are called freedom fighters, and children are the victims of acts spawned from depraved minds. Sin is a word relegated to ancient history. “Will humanity finally destroy itself through sin and corruption? Are the prayers of one faithful woman enough to start an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a worldwide battle for the souls of the unsaved? Will His people arise from a deep spiritual sleep and heed His call? “When governments try to stop God’s anointed, frontline warriors rise up to reach the unredeemed. Will their Spirit-filled efforts produce a major harvest of souls before the shout of the archangel and the trump of God?” A novel that weaves current and likely future events into fictional settings in a concise and honest fashion, this book is for serious and not-so-serious-minded conservatives and independents who want to know how “man proposes and God disposes.” A must-read before the election! Amazons reviewers say: Reviewer: ***** Could barely put it down! August 17, 2004 “The Call to Prayer is unbelievably relevant to today's world. Once the story begins to unfold, this gem is inspirational, informative and gripping! Jill Cohen Walker has proven in the past what a gifted writer she is. Now, they (Jill, together with Jack L. Kemp) have created a novel that is equal in magnitude to many other established authors...and the first time out! This is one book you will want to read and re-read. Can hardly wait to read the sequel!” Reviewer: ***** Outstanding Freshman Effort August 14, 2004 “This book is a wonder. Topically relevant and concisely-written, the plot builds speed like a freight train.” The book is available here.
August 25, 2004
Kerry Urges Bush To End Vietnam Attacks
 If you enjoyed this post by Allah, you can read more of his work at Allah Is In The House. PS: This is a real photo and the headline is from a real AP article. Basing Grades In College Mainly On Effort Instead Of 'Academic Quality'?
"Benedict College has fired two professors who refused to go along with a policy that says freshmen are awarded 60 percent of their grades based on effort and the rest on their work's academic quality. Benedict President David Swinton says the Success Equals Effort policy gives struggling freshmen a chance to adapt to college academics. He expects students to improve - the formula drops to 50-50 in the sophomore year and isn't used in the junior or senior year. But he says he's "interested in where they are at when they graduate, not where they are when they get here." Students "have to get an A in effort to guarantee that if they fail the subject matter, they can get the minimum passing grade," Swinton said. "I don't think that's a bad thing." Science professors Milwood Motley and Larry Williams defied that policy and Swinton dismissed them. Neither had tenure, which could have protected them from firing. Motley, a veteran five years at Benedict, said he didn't like concept from the beginning but went along with it grudgingly. Then he faced an academic dilemma of passing a student he thought had not learned course material. In his case, giving a C to a student with a high exam score of 40 percent was too much. "There comes a time when you have to say this is wrong," he said. ...Founded in 1870 to educate freed slaves, the college has been a haven for students who must overcome barriers to obtain higher education. The school's open admissions policy means many students arrive with poor study habits and weak high school records, Swinton said." There's so much wrong with this sort of thinking that I don't even know where to begin. First of all, any college where you can get a passing grade just by showing up & "making an effort" is a total joke as illustrated by the fact that you have professors being forced to give "a C to a student with a high exam score of 40 percent". You could have kids who think that we teamed up with the British to free ourselves from the Spanish in the Civil War of 1492 passing history class because they put in a "good effort". Oh -- but it doesn't matter because we should be "interested in where they are at when they graduate, not where they are when they get here". That sounds good in theory, until you realize that the clown running Benedict College defines "when they get here" as the first TWO YEARS of college; then you start to realize how nuts this whole concept actually is. "But Hawkins, they have to buckle down when they become a junior!" Well, what about the two years of "stupid" they're allowed to go through before they come a junior? I mean the kid who scored a 40 in that science class isn't going to somehow magically learn science in his junior year, right? Bottom line: College kids need to be challenged and there's really no way you challenge kids to learn when they know that 50%-60% of their grade comes from "effort". Furthermore, in the long run, effort in and of itself, doesn't mean very much. To hammer home that point, let me paraphrase a line Sean Connery said, in "The Rock"... "Losers always whine about how much effort they put in. Winners go home and screw the prom queen." Hat tip to Joanne Jacobs for finding this story. S.O.S. -- Presidential Campaign Overboard!
 Hat tip to the fine folks at Cox & Forkum for coming up with this one =D *** Update #1 ***: The Kerry campaign has tried every trick under the sun to deal with the Swift Boat Vets for Truth short of actually dealing with their very credible and damaging claims in any sort of substantial and serious matter (which incidentally is why they're not going to be able to make the story go away). Well today, Kerry dispatched Jim Rassman & Max Cleland to Bush's Crawford ranch in an effort to Well, it backfired, because for the first time, Team W. fired back at Kerry on what he did AFTER VIETNAM which will only help keep the Swift Boat Vets story alive (not that it needed any help). Just take a look at this... "Dear Senator Kerry, We are pleased to welcome your campaign representatives to Texas today. We honor all our veterans, all whom have worn the uniform and served our country. We also honor the military and National Guard troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. We are very proud of all of them and believe they deserve our full support. That’s why so many veterans are troubled by your vote AGAINST funding for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, after you voted FOR sending them into battle. And that’s why we are so concerned about the comments you made AFTER you came home from Vietnam. You accused your fellow veterans of terrible atrocities – and, to this day, you have never apologized. Even last night, you claimed to be proud of your post-war condemnation of our actions. We’re proud of our service in Vietnam. We served honorably in Vietnam and we were deeply hurt and offended by your comments when you came home. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it. You said in 1992 “we do not need to divide America over who served and how.” Yet you and your surrogates continue to criticize President Bush for his service as a fighter pilot in the National Guard. We are veterans too – and proud to support President Bush. He’s been a strong leader, with a record of outstanding support for our veterans and for our troops in combat. He’s made sure that our troops in combat have the equipment and support they need to accomplish their mission. He has increased the VA health care budget more than 40% since 2001 – in fact, during his four years in office, President Bush has increased veterans funding twice as much as the previous administration did in eight years ($22 billion over 4 years compared to $10 billion over 8.) And he’s praised the service of all who served our country, including your service in Vietnam. We urge you to condemn the double standard that you and your campaign have enforced regarding a veteran’s right to openly express their feelings about your activities on return from Vietnam. Sincerely, Texas State Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson That letter struck a PERFECT tone in so many ways. It nailed Kerry on what he did as a Senator & criticized what he did AFTER VIETNAM while praising his service, emphasizing how Bush is looking after soldiers, and supporting the right of the Swift Boat Vets for Truth to have their say. But, if you think that letter stung, if you think Kerry has had it tough so far, just wait until this goes live... "As controversy over John Kerry's Vietnam service holds center stage in the presidential campaign, a war veteran is about to release a television documentary with devastating testimony by former POWs of the demoralizing impact of the senators' war-crimes accusations more than 30 years ago. The production is scheduled to air in two weeks on the heels of a television ad by Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth, which charges Kerry with betrayal for accusing them of war atrocities during his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971. A source involved in the production, who said its makers are not prepared yet to release their names, told WorldNetDaily its title will be "Stolen Honor." The documentary has no official connection to the swiftboats group, the source said, but one of the POWs the film features is Paul Galanti, who appears in the group's second ad, released this week. Galanti, who spent more than six years in prison after being shot down south of Hanoi, says he first heard Kerry's testimony in late 1971 when it was broadcast by his Vietnamese captors over the public address system in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton." Jerome Corsi, co-author of the swiftboat vets' book, "Unfit for Command," said he has seen some of the taped interviews used in the documentary. "They are very, very powerful," he told WND. Corsi said the POWs in the new production tell how Kerry's April 22, 1971, testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was "thrown in their faces." Just imagine what this is probably going to be like folks. Just look at this Paul Galanti quote from the Swift Boat Vets ad... "In the 30-second TV spot, Galanti says Kerry "gave the enemy for free what I and many of my comrades in North Vietnam, in the prison camps, took torture to avoid saying. ... It demoralized us." Just imagine a whole documentary filled with POWs giving quotes like that, their voices cracking with emotion, talking about being beaten & tortured in a Vietnamese prison camp while their captors accused them of the most horrible atrocities imaginable and played John Kerry's Senate testimony as evidence. It's going to be brutal -- and you know what? Kerry ran as a war hero after lying about his war record & acting like Jane Fonda after the Vietnam war. That's why this whole Swift Boat Vets for Truth thing is nothing but karma coming back to bite Kerry in the behind and I just love it... Patton Vs. The Evil Stone Devil Of Doom
I've always liked an assortment of weird statuary -- gargoyles, foo dogs, and other bizarre looking creatures. Well, my dog Patton, really dislikes one of these freaky figures. He has growled at it before, doesn't like to get near it etc. This is what happened when I sat in a doorway and tossed one of Patton's balls into the room. Here's the pic of him trying to figure out whether to go after the ball or not...  I think the reason that Patton doesn't like it is because it's fairly large, has a face, and he can't figure out what it is. On the other hand, if I should die mysteriously inside of a locked room and the statue is in it, smash it, burn the chunks that are left, cover them in holy water, and bury them in consecrated ground just to be safe =D The Least Likely Automated Email Messages By The Chortler
Sorry, I cannot answer your message personally. Due to the number of Democrats asking me to stay in the presidential race I am unable to respond at this time. - Ralph Nader Oy vey! This is an automated message. But don't kvetch. I'll schmooze with you later. - Yasser Arafat Because I am so engrossed in trying to come to terms with all the factions in the current South Ossetian conflict I cannot answer your letter immediately. - George Bush I am out of the office until Thursday as I am following the Grateful Dead Reunion Tour. - John Ashcroft Thank you for sending an email. Due to all the fan mail praising us for our most recent film “Gigli,” we cannot respond to each letter individually. - Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez I'm out having a beer right now with my good friend Ken Starr. I'll write you as soon as I get back. - Bill Clinton Howdy yawl! I'm too busy doing this here campaignin' and eatin' grits to answer yawl's message right now. - John Kerry RENOWNED INTERNET GOSSIP COLUMNIST AWAY FROM COMPUTER SCREEN SEEKING SENSATIONISTIC STORY TO HELP DEMOCRATS IN ELECTION. - Matt Drudge Sorry we are currently experiencing a glitch in our new open source operating system and your message has been bounced back to you. - Bill Gates If you enjoyed this satire by the Chortler, you can read more of their work here. Advertisement: Shadow Patriot!
Mark Dubbin, the author of "Shadow Patriot" bought another main page ad on RWN to get the word out about his book. Here's the description of it from Amazon... "The events of 9/11 affected many things in New York and the Mafia was no exception. Business suffered for Don Remondini after the attack, but he wasn't about to let it go. The cowards who cost him would receive a message from the Family if he had anything to say about it. They would think twice about their actions in the future. That much was certain. Jim Pearce is Don Remondini's chief of security. As an Ex-Special Forces sniper, discharged from duty with diabetes, he is assigned to send al-Qaeda a powerful message from the Family. Operating outside the law, and using his CIA contacts, Shadow Patriot is a web of action and intrigue where the guilty will be made to pay, and payback can be a b*tch!" I've done ads for this book before and one of RWN's readers had actually read the book. Jay said the following, "I bought it after seeing the link to it on Amazon posted on here last time. The book itself is very short, only about 110 pages I believe. It was a little far fetched, but all in all a very good read." Here's what a couple of intelligent people on Amazon had to say about the book, Reviewer: A reader from Las Cruces, NM United States A wonderful story taking a different approach to the effects of 9/11, and how it was dealt with. Rather than sit back and complain about what happened on that eventful day, a plan was set to take out a terrorist cell. Neat idea and easy flowing writing. Makes for a good, sunny afternoon read. Reviewer: nicothefabulous from Littleton, CO United States And here's a review that's so silly, the reviewer should be beaten with a shovel...ehr, oh shoot, let's just make it a wet noodle so the lefties who read the page won't take me literally and think I'm encouraging you to beat people with shovels... Reviewer: 40r74 from Houston From Darth Vader to Bin Laden the dark side only serves itself. Violence only serves hatred and violence. War begets only war. The story of this book is worth reading for the knowledge but it is not something to be proud of. That review doesn't have anything to do with anything, I just found it to be such stereotypical leftist drivel that it was actually entertaining. In any case, if you're looking for some interesting fiction to read, check out "Shadow Patriot."
August 24, 2004
The Blogosphere Vs. The Mainstream Media On Kerry's Self Inflicted Purple Heart
From Right Wing News on May 5th, 2004.... "After first pointing out that Kerry claimed that he was hit by enemy fire, but actually appeared to have accidentally wounded himself by firing a mortar round at some nearby rocks... "What I saw was a small piece of metal sticking very superficially in the skin of Kerry's arm. The metal fragment measured about 1 cm. in length and was about 2 or 3 mm in diameter. It certainly did not look like a round from a rifle. I simply removed the piece of metal by lifting it out of the skin with forceps. I doubt that it penetrated more than 3 or 4 mm. It did not require probing to find it, did not require any anesthesia to remove it, and did not require any sutures to close the wound. The wound was covered with a bandaid." On August 19th, 2004 Chris Matthews & Jim Lehrer still seemed to be unaware that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are even claiming that Kerry's first Purple Heart is the result of an unintentionally self-inflicted wound. Now today, according to Fox News, the Kerry campaign is admitting that John Kerry's first Purple Heart may have resulted from a self-inflicted wound... "And questions keep coming. For example, Kerry received a Purple Heart for wounds suffered on December 2nd, 1968. But an entry in Kerry's own journal written nine days later, he writes that, quote, he and his crew hadn't been shot at yet, unquote. Kerry's campaign has said it is possible his first Purple Heart was awarded for an unintentionally self-inflicted wound." The blogosphere -- beating the mainstream media to the story by more than 3 1/2 months! Kerry Team Lines Up Witnesses to Senate Career by Scott Ott
The Kerry campaign ratcheted up its defense of the Democrat's Senate record today, producing several U.S. Senators to attest to John Forbes Kerry's presence during actual senate sessions. The media-blitz came on the same day that the campaign trotted out witnesses to Mr. Kerry's military exploits in Vietnam. Mr. Kerry, who was elected to the Senate in 1984, faces allegations that he rarely attended intelligence committee hearings, missed many votes and sponsored no significant legislation. But Sen. Edward M. 'Ted' Kennedy, D-MA, contradicted those claims. "I saw John on several occasions during the past two decades," said Mr. Kennedy. "I can't recall if I saw him in person, or on C-Span, but he looked very senatorial and appeared to be doing something...you know, for the people." Another senator, who insisted on anonymity, agreed with Mr. Kennedy. "I distinctly remember seeing John Kerry in the senate chambers on Christmas eve," said the unnamed senator. "That picture of him working through the Christmas break is seared....seared in my memory. He gave no thought to himself. His devotion was to the common people whom he served with valor." Red Ink Is Too "Scary" For Children To Deal With? Please...
It was bad enough when public school weenies banned dodgeball & even tag in a certain schools. But, even then I didn't realize how far these people were willing to go in their effort to turn our children into human veal (emphasis mine)... "When it comes to correcting papers and grading tests, purple is emerging as the new red. "If you see a whole paper of red, it looks pretty frightening," said Sharon Carlson, a health and physical education teacher at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton. "Purple stands out, but it doesn't look as scary as red." "....The concept of purple as a replacement for red is a pretty good idea," said Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, N.J., and author of five books on color. "You soften the blow of red. Red is a bit over-the-top in its aggression." "I do not use red," said Robin Slipakoff, who teaches second and third grades at Mirror Lake Elementary School in Plantation, Fla. "Red has a negative connotation, and we want to promote self-confidence. I like purple. I use purple a lot." ...Sheila Hanley, who teaches reading and writing to first- and second-graders at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Randolph, said: "Red is definitely a no-no. But I don't know if purple is in." ....Ruslan Nedoruban, who is entering seventh grade at his Belmont school, said red markings on his papers make him feel "uncomfortable." These teachers are going so far over the "sensitivity line" here that we're almost getting into "Twilight Zone" territory. What's next? Are they going to start sticking these kids into those plastic protective bubbles just to make sure they don't actually hurt themselves during the day? And what happens when the fragile little flowers who apparently can't even handle having their papers graded in red leave the protective cocoon of their school system and go out into the "dog eat dog" world? It's like tossing a flounder into a shark tank. These teachers are not doing these kids any favors by treating them like they're made of glass because they're leaving them unprepared for the rigorous scrum that is "real life". These kids need to be pushed and challenged, and it's hard to imagine any teacher who actually avoids using red ink because she thinks it's too "aggressive" demanding enough from these kids. America's children deserve better than this... Misc Vietnam Related Commentary For Aug 24, 2004
-- Normally, this would be a big story, but it seems to have gone largely unnoticed in all the Vietnam hubbub that's going on right now... "Scott O'Grady, the Air Force pilot who captured headlines in 1995 when he survived being shot down over Bosnia, on Friday said Sen. John Kerry committed "treason" during the Vietnam War. O'Grady, in an appearance with other military veterans coordinated by President Bush's re-election campaign, said Kerry helped push North Vietnam's proposals for the United States to withdraw at a time when the two countries were still officially at war. "I see that as treason," said O'Grady, who lives in Texas and has been speaking at veterans events for Bush around the country. He's now retired from the military. ....O'Grady said he was referring to Kerry's 1971 appearance before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In response to a question about how he proposed to end the war, Kerry mentioned that he was involved in peace talks in Paris. "I have talked with both delegations at the peace talks, that is to say the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government," Kerry told the panel, according to a transcript. A U.S. law prohibits citizens from negotiating with foreign governments on matters such as peace treaties." I wonder how many people know John Kerry was meeting with and talking up the proposals of the North Vietnamese even while our soldiers were dying in the field? -- This quote from Bob Dole is fantastic, "One day, (Kerry's) saying that we were shooting civilians, cutting off their ears, cutting off their heads, throwing away his medals or his ribbons. The next day, he's standing there, 'I want to be president because I'm a Vietnam veteran.' Maybe he should apologize to all the other 2.5 million veterans who served." -- Bob Dole Have you ever considered just how big of a transformation John Kerry has made over the years? He made his name originally as Vietnam war protestor, another Jane Fonda, another Ramsey Clark. He threw away his medals, smeared all the troops serving in Vietnam, & even met with the enemy -- in France of all places. Now today, as Bob Dole said, it's vote for me as "president because I'm a Vietnam veteran". That's really a fundamentally dishonest tactic and it's actually surprising that it took so long for him to get called on it publicly by someone of Bob Dole's stature. However, Bob Dole was only partially correct when he said, "But three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds. Three Purple Hearts and you're out." It's true that Kerry had very minor wounds, but he did bleed on multiple occasions. -- Have you noticed how differently the Swift Boat Vets for Truth (SBVFT) and the much, much, smaller group of vets for Kerry (KV) are being treated? The mainstream media... * ...is deeply skeptical of everything the SBVFT say, while what the KV say is treated as gospel. * ...has gone to bizarre lengths to try to tie the SBVFT to the Bush campaign. But, the Kerry campaign is keeping tight control over what the KV say and the media seems to have no problem with that. * ...has dug into the backgrounds of the SBVFT, openly questioned their honesty, and has passed along smears intended to reduce their credibility. On the other hand, I haven't seen any evidence that the media has even investigated the background of the KV. *...has attempted to impugn the credibility of the SBVFT by pointing out that they're backed by "Republican money". Yet, the ads run by the Kerry campaign featuring the KV are of course funded by "Democratic money". Moreover, do we know what sort of funds the Kerry campaign is spending on the KV? Are they taking care of plane fare, hotel bills, & expenses? Are they being given any "walking around money"? So why are the KV getting a complete free pass from the media while the SBVFT are getting the standard media "anal exam"? We all know why -- because the KV are helping the candidate the mainstream media favors and the SBVFT are hurting him. If the situation were reversed and a Republican President was being defended by a small group of vets by a group 10 times their size that said he was lying, you can bet the treatment of the two groups of vets would be exactly reversed. -- Just check out these 5 paragraphs from Mark Steyn's latest exquisite, yet lethal piece and I think you'll see why so many people consider him to be the finest columnist walking the earth today... "Pat Oliphant, who appears in the Washington Post and many other newspapers, offered a cartoon showing the Swiftees as Bush-backing deadbeats sitting round a bar b*tching: "I never seen Kerry do nothing hee-roic," says one loser. "D@mn right," says another. "You and me was right there in latrine maintenance. We orta know." The redneck spelling's a nice touch, ain't it? I wonder which of the anti-Kerry campaign's 254 Swift vets, including 17 of Lieutenant Kerry's 23 fellow officers, Oliphant thinks were in latrine maintenance. Maybe he's got in mind fellows like Paul Galanti, who appears in the latest anti-Kerry ad and whose plane went down over North Vietnam in 1966. He was held in the "Hanoi Hilton" Viet Cong POW camp until 1973. That's seven years getting tortured by the g**ks, only to be mocked by some lame-o cartoonist as a redneck latrine operator. I've never quite understood the preferred formulation of big-time Democrats – that "of course" they support our troops even though they oppose this war. But in practice they "support our troop" – singular – just Lieut Kerry and the handful of Swiftees willing to appear in public with him. The rest can go to hell and any of 'em impertinent enough to question the Senator are just "sleazoids" wading through their own backed-up latrine. I wonder if the Kerry campaign and its media cheerleaders have really thought this one through. Nothing the "sleazoids" say about Kerry is as bad as what he said about them 33 years ago in his testimony to Congress, when he informed the world that his comrades – his "band of brothers" – had "personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads" etc, throughout their time in Vietnam. Unlike John O'Neill's book, he didn't bother to give specifics: the US Army in general was rife with ear-severers. If you want to know why Paul Galanti is appearing in an anti-Kerry ad, it's because he first heard about this speech from his Viet Cong captors who cited it to try to persuade him and his fellow prisoners that resistance was now futile and they might as well cross over to the other side." |
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