Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: MrLars on August 11, 2004, 01:51:53 PM
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...to the Wall Street Journal regarding the SwiftVets:
Shame on the Swift Boat
Veterans for Bush
By JIM RASSMANN
August 10, 2004
I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of 1969. He and his swift boat crew assisted in inserting our Special Forces team and our Chinese Nung soldiers into operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of South Vietnam. I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his leadership, courage and decision-making ability under fire.
On March 13, 1969, John Kerry's courage and leadership saved my life.
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath.
When I surfaced, all the swift boats had left, and I was alone taking fire from both banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly swam under water as long as I could hold my breath, attempting to make it to the north bank of the river. I thought I would die right there. The odds were against me avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of the river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have seen me in the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn the boat around. Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on, and I was able to climb up a cargo net to the lip of the deck. But, because I was nearly upside down, I couldn't make it over the edge of the deck. This left me hanging out in the open, a perfect target. 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.
For his actions that day, I recommended John for the Silver Star, our country's third highest award for bravery under fire. I learned only this past January that the Navy awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat V for his valor. The citation for this award, signed by the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read, "Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." To this day I am grateful to John Kerry for saving my life. And to this day I still believe that he deserved the Silver Star for his courage.
It has been many years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, got married, and spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County. I retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long time since I left Vietnam, but I think often of the men who did not come home with us.
I am neither a politician nor an organizer. I am a retired police officer with a passion for orchids. Until January of this year, the only public presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this presidential election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the American people about John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage, about his vision and leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my life, and I would entrust John Kerry with the well-being of our country.
Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a great commander in chief.
Now, 35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in combat.
As John McCain noted, the television ad aired by these veterans is "dishonest and dishonorable." Sen. McCain called on President Bush to condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush ad. Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain's advice.
Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam.
But when the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have cleared, a man who volunteered to serve his country, a man who showed up for duty when his country called, a man to whom the United States Navy awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall and proud. Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat Veterans for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of smear campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift Boat Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame.
Mr. Rassmann, a retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, served with the U.S. Army 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam 1968-69.
My comment, I'd like to see a face to face meetup between Mr. Rassmann and those who are calling him a liar.
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Originally posted by MrLars
.My comment, I'd like to see a face to face meetup between Mr. Rassmann and those who are calling him a liar.
give this post a few minutes and there will be plenty of experts here that will also.
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Hmmm... Hadn't heard about McCain's reaction. Interesting.
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Well....
Where is VOSS I am sure he was there :D :D
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Originally posted by Sandman
Hmmm... Hadn't heard about McCain's reaction. Interesting.
Interesting, but not surprising since many of the same people attacked McCain also. At least they are bipartisan.
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Thanks for posting mrlars. Found it very informative and Jim Rassman is an awsome
American!
:D
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And he did it without a mouth guard to boot! chyah huh.
FYI did you know that Bush heroicially AND SINGLE HANDEDLY saved an intern with a potentially scarring paper cut on his index finger while working in Alabama during his "break" from defending the US from Soviet aggressions. After dousing the cut in Cold Turkey and sedating the intern, who was going into shock, with several lines of quality Columbian he had a taxi drive the kid to an Emergency room
Try that John squealing Kerry
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Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain's advice.
actually the bush camp has spoke out against ALL 527 group adds involving this campaign.
Not saying this guy is a liar but there is in FACT other people that were THERE on other boats within 10FT of this guy that say his version is inaccurate at best.
Dont just discount the other vets because they are against Kerry. There's 3 sides to every story.....his, theirs, and the truth!
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Quite right, Gunslinger. Mr. Rassmann’s letter should be taken for what it is; a sincere effort to support a man whom Mr. Rassmann feels saved his life, and at some risk to his own. From what I’ve read regarding Rassmann’s account and the accounts from the swiftboat vets present on nearby boats, the accounts don’t disagree on most of the facts. Rassman was indeed thrown into the water when a mine exploded close aboard (along with several other members of the boat that hit the mine). Those other men were picked up by another swiftboat, even before Rassmann was fished out. Where the accounts are at odds are in some of the details. The one member of Kerry’s crew that was there but doesn’t support Kerry has said that (a) Kerry’s swiftboat didn’t go back for Rassman immediately, but waited for the enemy fire to subside; (b) that Kerry’s wounds were partially (though unintentionally) self-inflicted. The contusion on his arm was a result of the mine that threw Rassmann from Kerry’s boat (being thrown against the pilothouse). However, he also had some shrapnel wounds in his buttocks. The later, according to this dissenting crewmember, were caused a bit earlier in the patrol, when Kerry fired a grenade into a rice sampan that was too close. As far as that goes, Rassmann doesn’t say explicitly that he was under fire when pulled to safety. However, he does indicate that he was in the water for some amount of time before hauling himself up the side of the boat, and then being assisted over the side by Kerry.
A regular charge by the Kerry camp and its supporters that these 200-plus men (the Swiftboat Veterans) who were in Kerry’s unit at the same time as Kerry did not “serve” with him. Thus they couldn’t have know him, couldn’t have seen anything that went on during these events, and thus their testimony is worthless. This is the most bogus argument I’ve ever heard. Anyone who has been in the military will recognize this as faulty logic. I was part of a maintenance team in my enlisted days. Yes, I spent a majority of my time with the same half-dozen people, but I pretty much knew all the other maintenance troops. I knew who was reliable, who was a goof off, and who was simply out to get promoted. In the case of the swiftboats, they rarely if ever went out on patrols alone (just like fighters and bombers don’t lone-wolf it). They were usually anywhere from a dozen yards to a hundred yards apart, and had a good view of what other boats were doing.
In the end, I wasn’t there, so I can’t know personally what happened. I do know that Kerry has already been proven to have lied a number of times about his activities during the war (reference the “Christmas in Cambodia, 1968” story). So, you have 10 guys that back Kerry’s version of events, and over 200 say different. They all need to be heard, and the people will then decide on election day who they believe. Why? Because Kerry himself has made his Vietnam service a central reason to vote him. That being the case, it is reasonable for the media to investigate it, however loath they may be to do so. Simply calling the Swiftboat Vets all liars does not make it so; neither should their charges that Kerry acted dishonorably be accepted at face-value.
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Originally posted by Sabre
I do know that Kerry has already been proven to have lied a number of times about his activities during the war (reference the “Christmas in Cambodia, 1968” story).
Reference this please. His comments on to congress spanned two presidents, Nixon and Johnson. Those comments regarding Cambodia are easily confused because of the transistion in '69.
Mr. Rassmann was SF, I suspect he knows hostile fire when he sees it and valor when it saves his life.
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Originally posted by MrLars
Reference this please. His comments on to congress spanned two presidents, Nixon and Johnson. Those comments regarding Cambodia are easily confused because of the transistion in '69.
Mr. Rassmann was SF, I suspect he knows hostile fire when he sees it and valor when it saves his life.
132 Cong.Rec. S3564-02
AMENDMENT NO. 1718
(Purpose: To restrict assistance to the Nicaraguan democratic resistance to humanitarian assistance, and for other purposes)
**************
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized.
Mr. KERRY. Thank you, Mr. President...
[...]
Finally, President Nixon, 1970. "In cooperation with the armed forces of South Vietnam, attacks are being launched this week to clear out major enemy sanctuaries on the Cambodian-Vietnam border."
Mr. President, I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the President of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia.
I have that memory which is seared-seared-in me, that says to me, before we send another generation into harm's way we have a responsibility in the U.S. Senate to go the last step, to make the best effort possible in order to avoid that kind of conflict.
Mr. President, good intentions are not enough to keep us out of harms way.
Well....
Richard Nixon did not become president of the United States until twenty-six days after John Kerry’s Christmas in Cambodia.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: CHRISTMAS IN VIETNAM
Despite the dramatic memories of his Christmas in Cambodia, Kerry’s statements are complete lies. Kerry was never in Cambodia during Christmas 1968, or at all during the Vietnam War. In reality, during Christmas 1968, he was more than fifty miles away from Cambodia. Kerry was never ordered into Cambodia by anyone and would have been court-martialed had he gone there.
During Christmas 1968, Kerry was stationed at Coastal Division 13 in Cat Lo. Coastal Division 13’s patrol areas extended to Sa Dec, about fifty-five miles from the Cambodian border. Areas closer than fifty-five miles to the Cambodian border in the area of the Mekong River were patrolled by PBRs, a small river patrol craft, and not by Swift Boats. Preventing border crossings was considered so important at the time that an LCU (a large, mechanized landing craft) and several PBRs were stationed to ensure that no one could cross the border.
A large sign at the border prohibited entry. Tom Anderson, Commander of River Division 531, who was in charge of the PBRs, confirmed that there were no Swifts anywhere in the area and that they would have been stopped had they appeared.
All the living commanders in Kerry’s chain of command—Joe Streuhli (Commander of CosDiv 13), George Elliott (Commander of CosDiv 11), Adrian Lonsdale (Captain, USCG and Commander, Coastal Surveillance Center at An Thoi), Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (Commander, Coastal Surveillance Force Vietnam, CTF 115), and Rear Admiral Art Price (Commander of River Patrol Force, CTF 116)—deny that Kerry was ever ordered to Cambodia. They indicate that Kerry would have been seriously disciplined or court-martialed had he gone there. At least three of the five crewmen on Kerry’s PCF 44 boat—Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch, and Steve Gardner—deny that they or their boat were ever in Cambodia. The remaining two crewmen declined to be interviewed for this book. Gardner, in particular, will never forget those days in late December when he was wounded on PCF 44, not in Cambodia, but many miles away in Vietnam.
Mr. Rassmann was SF, I suspect he knows hostile fire when he sees it and valor when it saves his life.
I wont dispute that but there were 20 other people there at the time and he himself admits he is underwater as much as possible.
again this is just one account from the story.
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Today,on my way to pick up some material, I heard a fella being interviewed. I left his rank and name at work. He said he was not assigned to the swift boats,but was assigned to the base. One of his jobs was to handle all after action reports for the swiftys based there.
He said there were several boats involved. A boat to the right and about 45 yards behind kerrys boat exploded a mine. In that boat the skipper and someone at stearn was blowen overboard. Another person at the bow of the third boat lost his grip and went over.
Rassmann was at the stearn of kerrys boat, upon rapid accelleration rassmann fell over the stearn. Rassmann wrote in the report that as he was falling he heard tramendous firing of automatic weapons. when he hit the water he took a deep breath to dive toward the bottom for protection from enemy fire.When he just had to, he came up for air, and there was no firing.
In the mean time the one boat was dead in the water.SOP in this case is for the other boats to shield the damaged one. Yes Rassmann did hear firing, it was the fiftys and one thirty opening up.SOP was each boat was given a side to to fire at. The damaged boat hit there side of shore with 1 fifty. The other 2 hit the other shore.Kerrys boat moved forward not firing. the move was to get away from enemy. At that moment everone thought they were under fire. After approx 2 min they all knew they were not under fire and stopped firing.
One boat picked up the other 2 in the water and was heading to Rassmann. In the mean time kerrys boat had turned around and started back. The boat that picked up the other 2 was just starting for Rassmann when kerry told them he would get him.
More than one was slightly wounded.
Only kerry ,Rassmann,and crew said they were under fire. All the others said they thought they were under fire, but they were not. Anyway I dont vouch for any of this. This guy said he heard all the hoop la and contacted the swiftys 2 weeks ago. They are now trying to verify his story,the guy said they didnt need kerrys records there were other ways to get all the reports.
He was asked how he remembered all this, he said what he did was boring and when something exciting happens it stands out. Seems 1 boat disagreeing with 3 others on enemy fire only, and a young LT making a big stink about a purple heart was exciting. He said no papers for purple heart came thru his office and he was still there after kerry went home.Couldnt speak to anything else.
whatever??
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LIES!!
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SEX.
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But thank goodness one is talking about Bush and Kerry's actual political platforms and records. :aok
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"Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam."
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During a session of Congress, Kerry remarked (and not for the first time) that he had spent Christmas 1948 inside Cambodia, and said the memory of being shot at by enemy soldiers celebrating was “seared…seared in my memory.” In a recently published official biography, Kerry says he spent that Christmas in Vietnam, approximately 55 miles from the Cambodian border; there is no mention of ever being in Cambodia. As recently as last week, Kerry’s campaign spokesman backpedaled further, saying that Kerry really meant that he had been “near” Cambodia, not “in” Cambodia. So, either he was lying to Congress then, or he’s lying now. Given Kerry’s own conflicting statements, and the voluminous testimony from others serving in his unit and in his chain of command (legal testimony in the form of sworn affidavits) that Kerry was never in Cambodia, I would say that his claims of being in Cambodia have been pretty well debunked.
Another area he has backpedaled in is in regards to his testimony before Congress back during the war about war crimes. In that testimony, he make sweeping claims that war crimes were nearly universal among US servicemen in Vietnam, and that the US had “laid waste” to South Vietnam. Recently, again, his campaign has come out with a statement that Kerry regrets some of what he said during those hearings (though which parts isn’t clear).
I would ask of all the Kerry supporters: If…IF these claims regarding Kerry’s behavior during and right after his service in Vietnam are true, do you still feel he is better qualified to lead this nation than President Bush?
Personally, it is Kerry’s record in the Senate for the past 20 years that disqualified him as a potential president, even before the current charges about his wartime record surfaced. Interesting how Kerry mentioned his four months in Vietnam something like seven times in his convention speech, but never talked at all about his accomplishments during twenty years as a senator.
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Originally posted by Sabre
Personally, it is Kerry’s record in the Senate for the past 20 years that disqualified him as a potential president, even before the current charges about his wartime record surfaced. Interesting how Kerry mentioned his four months in Vietnam something like seven times in his convention speech, but never talked at all about his accomplishments during twenty years as a senator.
SHACK![/SIZE]
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"Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a great commander in chief."
I think this says alot
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Originally posted by Sixpence
[B
I think this says alot [/B]
I think Kerry's Senate voting record says alot...( I have 40,000 more text if you care to read all of his flip flop on the issues, but I think you get my point)
Flip Flopped On Trade With China
In 1991, Kerry Supported Most-Favored Trade Status For China. “Sen. John Kerry said yesterday that he is breaking party ranks to support most-favored-nation trade status for China … ‘I think the president has some strong arguments about some of the assets of most-favored-nation status for China,’ Kerry said.” (John Aloysius Farrell, “Kerry Breaks Party Ranks To Back China Trade Status,” The Boston Globe, 6/15/91)
In 2000, Kerry Voted In Favor Of Permanent Normal Trade Relations With China. (H.R. 4444, CQ Vote #251: Passed 83-15: R 46-8; D 37-7, 9/19/00, Kerry Voted Yea)
Now Kerry Criticizes The Bush Administration For Trading With China. “Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Monday Americans workers were paying the price for President Bush's weak stance on trade with China and other countries. … On the bus tour, Kerry singled out the Bush administration's handling of trade with China and said that country was manipulating its currency.” (Caren Bohan, "Kerry Pledges Aggressive Trade Stance," Reuters, 4/26/04)
Flip-Flopped On Iraq War
Kerry Voted For Authorization To Use Force In Iraq. (H.J. Res. 114, CQ Vote #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, Kerry Voted Yea.)
In First Dem Debate, Kerry Strongly Supported President’s Action In Iraq. KERRY: “George, I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.” (ABC News, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Columbia, SC, 5/4/03)
Kerry Later Claimed He Voted “To Threaten” Use Of Force In Iraq. “I voted to threaten the use of force to make Saddam Hussein comply with the resolutions of the United Nations.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Announcement Of Presidential Candidacy, Mount Pleasant, SC, 9/2/03)
Now, Kerry Says He Is Anti-War Candidate. CHRIS MATTHEWS: “Do you think you belong to that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war, the way it’s been fought, along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?” KERRY: “I am -- Yes, in the sense that I don’t believe the president took us to war as he should have, yes, absolutely.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 1/6/04)
Flip-Flopped On Eliminating Marriage Penalty For Middle Class
Kerry Said He Will Fight To Keep Tax Relief For Married Couples. “Howard Dean and Gephardt are going to put the marriage penalty back in place. So if you get married in America, we’re going to charge you more taxes. I do not want to do that.” (Fox News’ “Special Report,” 10/23/03)
Said Democrats Fought To End Marriage Penalty Tax. “We fought hard to get rid of the marriage penalty.” (MSNBC’s “News Live,” 7/31/03)
But, In 1998, Kerry Voted Against Eliminating Marriage Penalty Relief For Married Taxpayers With Combined Incomes Less Than $50,000 Per Year, Saving Taxpayers $46 Billion Over 10 Years. (S. 1415, CQ Vote #154: Rejected 48-50: R 5-49; D 43-1, 6/10/98, Kerry Voted Yea)
Flip-Flopped On Patriot Act
Kerry Voted For Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was passed nearly unanimously by the Senate 98-1, and 357-66 in the House. (H.R. 3162, CQ Vote #313: Passed 98-1: R 49-0; D 48-1; I 1-0, 10/25/01, Kerry Voted Yea)
Kerry Used To Defend His Vote. “Most of [The Patriot Act] has to do with improving the transfer of information between CIA and FBI, and it has to do with things that really were quite necessary in the wake of what happened on September 11th.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Town Hall Meeting, Manchester, NH, 8/6/03)
Now, Kerry Attacks Patriot Act. “We are a nation of laws and liberties, not of a knock in the night. So it is time to end the era of John Ashcroft. That starts with replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time. I’ve been a District Attorney and I know that what law enforcement needs are real tools not restrictions on American’s basic rights.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Iowa State University, 12/1/03)
Kerry Took BOTH Sides On First Gulf War
Kerry Took BOTH Sides In First Gulf War In Separate Letters To Same Constituent. “Rather than take a side--albeit the one he thought was most expedient--Kerry actually stood on both sides of the first Gulf war, much like he did this time around. Consider this ‘Notebook’ item from TNR’s March 25, 1991 issue, which ran under the headline ‘Same Senator, Same Constituent’: ‘Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition ... to the early use of military force by the US against Iraq. I share your concerns. On January 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president the immediate authority to go to war.’ --letter from Senator John Kerry to Wallace Carter of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, dated January 22 [1991] ‘Thank you very much for contacting me to express your support for the actions of President Bush in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush’s response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf.’ --Senator Kerry to Wallace Carter, January 31 [1991]” (Noam Scheiber, “Noam Scheiber’s Daily Journal of Politics, The New Republic Online, 1/28/04)
Flip-Flopped On Gay Marriage Amendment
In 2002, Kerry Signed Letter “Urging” MA Legislature To Reject Constitutional Amendment Banning Gay Marriage. “We rarely comment on issues that are wholly within the jurisdiction of the General Court, but there are occasions when matters pending before you are of such significance to all residents of the Commonwealth that we think it appropriate for us to express our opinion. One such matter is the proposed Constitutional amendment that would prohibit or seriously inhibit any legal recognition whatsoever of same-sex relationships. We believe it would be a grave error for Massachusetts to enshrine in our Constitution a provision which would have such a negative effect on so many of our fellow residents. … We are therefore united in urging you to reject this Constitutional amendment and avoid stigmatizing so many of our fellow citizens who do not deserve to be treated in such a manner.” (Sen. John Kerry, et al, Letter To Members Of The Massachusetts Legislature, 7/12/02)
Now, In 2004, Kerry Won’t Rule Out Supporting Similar Amendment. “Asked if he would support a state constitutional amendment barring gay and lesbian marriages, Kerry didn’t rule out the possibility. ‘I’ll have to see what language there is,’ he said.” (Susan Milligan, “Kerry Says GOP May Target Him On ‘Wedge Issue,’” The Boston Globe, 2/6/04)
Flip-Flopped On Attacking President During Time Of War
In March 2003, Kerry Promised Not To Attack President When War Began. “Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts … said he will cease his complaints once the shooting starts. ‘It’s what you owe the troops,’ said a statement from Kerry, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. ‘I remember being one of those guys and reading news reports from home. If America is at war, I won’t speak a word without measuring how it’ll sound to the guys doing the fighting when they’re listening to their radios in the desert.’” (Glen Johnson, “Democrats On The Stump Plot Their War Rhetoric,” The Boston Globe, 3/11/03)
But Weeks Later, With Troops Just Miles From Baghdad, Kerry Broke His Pledge. “‘What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,’ Kerry said in a speech at the Peterborough Town Library. Despite pledging two weeks ago to cool his criticism of the administration once war began, Kerry unleashed a barrage of criticism as US troops fought within 25 miles of Baghdad.” (Glen Johnson, “Kerry Says Us Needs Its Own ‘Regime Change,’” The Boston Globe, 4/3/03)
Flip-Flopped On Death Penalty For Terrorists
In 1996, Kerry Attacked Governor Bill Weld For Supporting Death Penalty For Terrorists. KERRY: “Your policy would amount to a terrorist protection policy. Mine would put them in jail.” (1996 Massachusetts Senate Debate, 9/16/96)
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Originally posted by Sabre
During a session of Congress, Kerry remarked (and not for the first time) that he had spent Christmas 1948 inside Cambodia, and said the memory of being shot at by enemy soldiers celebrating was “seared…seared in my memory.” In a recently published official biography, Kerry says he spent that Christmas in Vietnam, approximately 55 miles from the Cambodian border; there is no mention of ever being in Cambodia. As recently as last week, Kerry’s campaign spokesman backpedaled further, saying that Kerry really meant that he had been “near” Cambodia, not “in” Cambodia. So, either he was lying to Congress then, or he’s lying now. Given Kerry’s own conflicting statements, and the voluminous testimony from others serving in his unit and in his chain of command (legal testimony in the form of sworn affidavits) that Kerry was never in Cambodia, I would say that his claims of being in Cambodia have been pretty well debunked.
This is all hearsay until you can post a link to the transcript of his testimony/speech to congress. Without that I'm afraid that this just sounds like a cut n' paste from the Hannity site.
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lol, shall we list the Bush flip flops?
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Let me ask the Lawyers out there. My wife is one, so I already know the answer.
If the Swift’s are lying, were is the slander/labial law suit.
Ahhh, there is none, maybe Kerry can't prove they are lying?
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"If the Swift’s are lying, were is the slander/labial law suit."
Really.
Which makes me believe the same applies to "9-11." If Moore is lying where is the slander/libel suit?
You'd figure with all this libel and slander there'd be suits galore and there'd be lawyers lined up from here to Howdy Beefburger waiting to get in on the action ($$$$).
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Originally posted by JBA
Let me ask the Lawyers out there. My wife is one, so I already know the answer.
If the Swift’s are lying, were is the slander/labial law suit.
Ahhh, there is none, maybe Kerry can't prove they are lying?
Your wife ever tell you that you don't telegraph your intentions by saying "I'm going to sue"?
Threatening a suit is just a schoolyard tactic. Filing a suit when you have all your ducks in a row is the proper way to go about it.
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Originally posted by MrLars
This is all hearsay until you can post a link to the transcript of his testimony/speech to congress. Without that I'm afraid that this just sounds like a cut n' paste from the Hannity site.
READ MY POST.....IT IS AN OFFICAL TRANSCRIPT FROM CONGRESS!
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As a public figure you must also prove malice. So it may be false ( such as, “Jennifer lopes had a boob job”) if I print it thinking it true with out intent to harm/malice then no case.
I find it interesting that the DNC has threatened the stations that ran the Ad with slander but not the swifies themselves.
see letter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1185782/posts
http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=8926
A group called ''Swift Boat Veterans for Truth'' has produced a commercial that will be seen in only a few targeted states due to lack of funding. The Kerry camp is in near hysterics over this one-minute ad. John Kerry claims the ad is packed with lies, but instead of suing those men who are in the commercial for slander and liable, he has threatened the television stations that are considering showing the swift boat commercial.
In an amazing breach of journalistic ethics, Michael Kranish --a reporter for the Boston Globe--wrote that one of the men in the group was retracting his statement against Kerry. This was quickly pronounced as totally untrue by Lieutenant Commander George Elliott who reported that the Kranish column was a complete distortion of his words and he stood by his original statement. What was exposed is that Kranish is on the DNC payroll and should not be reporting as an unbiased journalist on anything that concerns John Kerry. Is the Boston Globe aware that its reporter is also being paid by the Kerry campaign?
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Ripsnort,
Please post a link to that article you cut-and-pasted.
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I heard that the Doctor in the commercial who claims to have treated Kerry's 1st wound is not the Dr. on record. Could he be .....
A LIAR?
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Originally posted by midnight Target
I heard that the Doctor in the commercial who claims to have treated Kerry's 1st wound is not the Dr. on record. Could he be .....
A LIAR?
WRONG
He is a doctor heard him speak yesterday.
He was senior to the guy who singed the discharge, so he didn't have to sign the papers. But he was the guy who treated Kerry.
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MT, the person who signed the medical report was a physician's assistant (can't recall the proper navy term, but a corpsman in essence), working for the doctor who treated Kerry. According to the testimony of the doctor in question, and backed up by numerous members of this unit, there was only one doctor at the base where Kerry was treated, though he was supported by enlisted corpsmen. If true, it should be easy to verify via Navy records.