John Kerry History Page
In no way is this the views of 25th Aviation.org, It is strictly a research page of My Own , on one
man,by one man.
It is not a Republican Page, A Democrat page, a Dog Catcher Page, or anything else.
If someone can pass me along something positive about John Kerry that he has done for vets, or the
military I will promptly post that also , So send it in, I am all ears.
This is America, built on Dissent, right John?
Aaaah the smell of Napalm In The Morning.....Bring It On!
March 14 2008
Sen. Kerry Confronted About Winter Soldier II
Jason Mattera caught the surprised Senator in a cloud of lies easily proven wrong
By Ericka Andersen Posted in 2008
Sen. John Kerry is notorious for his anti-war stance and personal testimony against U.S. soldiers with whom he served in Vietnam. His story has been raked across news wires over the years but how often are his words challenged as lies? Jason Mattera, of Young America's Foundation, caught up with Sen. Kerry to confront him about the 1971 "Winter Soldier Investigation." Now, Iraq Veterans Against the War are instigating a second "Winter Soldier Investigation." The four day "investigation" begins today so Mattera asked Kerry if he had any advice for those activists. Not surprisingly, he said little, denied his own documented quotes and lied about criminal charges being filed as a result. The end of the encounter is the best part -- watch to see:
Also on YouTube.
***
Here’s the transcript:
Opening slate: On January 31, 1971, John Kerry organized the ?Winter Soldier Investigations,? a media event that falsely accused American soldiers of routinely raping, torturing, and murdering innocent Vietnamese civilians.
Second slate: From March 13-16, 2008, ?Iraq Veterans Against the War? has coordinated a second Winter Soldier Investigations in an effort to assail the U.S. Military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Third slate: On March 11, 2008, Jason Mattera of Young America?’s Foundation confronted Senator Kerry (D-MA) about Winter Soldier II and the Senator?’s shady past.
MATTERA: Hey, Sen. Kerry! Jason Mattera with Young America’s Foundation. How are you?
KERRY: Jason. How are you?
MATTERA: I was wondering: Do you have any advice for the new group of activists who are organizing Winter Soldier II?
KERRY: I haven’t [unintelligble] what they’re doing or where they’re at. I just don’t…
MATTERA: Do you think this crop of anti-war activists, do you there’ll be any frauds like Al Hubbard?
KERRY: I have no idea. I hope not.
MATTERA: Do you think that they will make slanderous accusations–accusing the troops of raping women, pillaging villaging, just like you did to the Fulbright committee?
KERRY: Uh, I didn’t make those.
MATTERA: You didn’t?
Audio clip, John Kerry, 4/22/71: [They told the stories at times] they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
Kerry claims Winter Soldier Investigations were substantiated by further investigation.
MATTERA: Did you ever verify those
KERRY (crosstalk): I’ve been misquoted about that hundreds of times.
MATTERA: So you never substantiated those charges before you–
KERRY: I proposed–I gave them to the committee because I felt that they ought to be investigated and that’s exactly what I said. These are the–many of those charges, incidentally, were subsequently verified by different entities.
Slate: No criminal charges were filed as a result of any of the [Army’s Criminal Investigative Division] investigations into Winter Soldier.
FrontPageMag.com, February 25, 2008
Slate: Much of the testimony that will be heard during the three days could not be corroborated by the Free Press in the ten days it had to run down each account.
Detroit Free Press, January 31, 1971
MATTERA: Could you sign the picture of the dedication the North Vietnamese created in helping–claiming you helped them win the war?
KERRY: No. No.
MATTERA: Do you have any thoughts?
KERRY (puts hand on Jason’s shoulder): Who do you represent?
MATTERA: Young America’s Foundation.
KERRY: Ohhh.
MATTERA: Does it bother you that the North Vietnamese created a memorial dedicated to you?
KERRY: It’s not dedicated to me.
Slate: At the Communists War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, John Kerry’s picture hangs in a section dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War.
End slate:
Reputations ruined.
Lives torn apart.
Servicemen maligned.
We can’t let lies like Kerry’s go unchallenged again.
***
January 10 2007
Former Dem nominee Kerry endorses Obama
By NEDRA PICKLER and ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writers 4 minutes ago
CHARLESTON, S.C. - John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, gave Barack Obama a timely endorsement Thursday, snubbing Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as his own vice presidential running mate.
Kerry came to South Carolina to embrace Obama, two weeks before the state's primary and with Obama needing a boost after Clinton's emotional victory over him in New Hampshire.
Quoting a black American hero in endorsing the man who hopes to be the first black president, Kerry told a cheering crowd, "Martin Luther King said that the time is always right to do what is right." Now is the time, Kerry said, to declare "that Barack Obama can be, will be and should be the next president of the United States."
The Massachusetts senator said there were other candidates he had worked with and respected but Obama was best able to bring Americans together.
"Who better than Barack Obama to turn a new page in American politics so that Democrat, independent and Republican alike can look to leadership that unites to find the common ground?" Kerry said. "That's what this is about."
Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the third contender in the Democratic presidential race, was Kerry's vice presidential running mate in 2004. Despite their political alliance, the two men were not close personally and differed behind the scenes on campaign strategy in a race that President Bush won.
Edwards responded to word of the endorsement with a diplomatic statement: "Our country and our party are stronger because of John's service, and I respect his decision. When we were running against each other and on the same ticket, John and I agreed on many issues."
Edwards defeated Kerry in the 2004 South Carolina Democratic primary. Kerry had considered running again but decided a year ago he would not.
Kerry dismissed Obama critics who say the Illinois senator lacks the experience to be president. And he took a swipe at Clinton, saying, "Some have suggested in this campaign that Barack is guilty of raising 'false hopes.' ... My friends, the only charge that rings false is the one that tells you not to hope for a better tomorrow."
In a debate in New Hampshire, the New York senator said in comparing her ability and Obama's to fulfill pledges to bring about change: "I think it is clear that what we need is somebody who can deliver change. And we don't need to be raising the false hopes of our country about what can be delivered. The best way to know what change I will produce is to look at the changes that I've already made."
Returning to the subject, Obama said when he took the microphone from Kerry: "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
Obama supporters were hoping the timing of Kerry's endorsement could give him a lift as he seeks to put his New Hampshire primary loss behind him. Obama also picked up the endorsement of South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson.
Obama praised Kerry's Vietnam War service, calling him a patriot and a man of conviction.
Kerry was Obama's political benefactor once before, selecting the relatively unknown Illinois senatorial candidate to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. It was Obama's first turn in the national spotlight and helped launch him on a remarkable ascent that has made him one of two leading contenders for the party's presidential nomination only four years later.
Kerry had withheld his endorsement, hoping to have an impact on the race and avoid the fate of fellow Democrat Al Gore, the 2000 nominee who endorsed Howard Dean in 2004 shortly before the former Vermont governor's campaign imploded. Gore has made no endorsement so far this year.
While Kerry has been close to Clinton's husband, the former president, he was incensed in 2006 when she chided him after Kerry suggested that people who don't go to school "get stuck in Iraq." Aides said Kerry meant to jab at Bush and say "get us stuck in Iraq," and that he didn't appreciate Clinton piling onto the criticism he was already getting for the remark.
Kerry's own hopes to run for president this year fizzled with that botched comment. For many Democrats, his words revived bitter memories of his missteps in 2004. troop withdrawal deadlines. In another area, he has backed environmental causes, writing a book with his wife on the issue.
Kerry should be able to provide some organizational and fundraising muscle to Obama.
Since losing the 2004 race, Kerry has kept a national network of supporters intact. He has an e-mail network of 3 million supporters, according to aides. He also has traveled extensively raising millions of dollars for Democratic candidates nationwide.
The Republican National Committee was dismissive about Thursday's endorsement, branding Kerry and Obama "liberal soul mates."
___
Associated Press Writer Andrew Miga reported from Washington. AP Writer Glen Johnson contributed to this report.
Excellent!! This should sink Obama, not help him
November 8 2007
Medal ofHonor Recipient Colonel Bud Day
My Dear Fellow Americans:
For the last few weeks, the "Liberal's War on America" has gone badly.
* MoveOn, the New York Times, and Senators who accused Gen. Petraeus of being a traitor and a liar have been exposed and repudiated;
* The media's attempted flim-flam to portray Iran's Terrorist Dictator as a "Statesman," tripped on Columbia University's red carpet;
* The brave combat Marines whom Congressman Murtha and the press eagerly charged with "cold-blooded murders" in Iraq are being found innocent, acquitted one by one.
The "War" is not going well . the "War On America," that is.
Those who claim they "Support the Troops" are finally being unmasked, shown for being the cowards they are. But, it won't be long before they regroup, begin their own "Surge" in this decades-long "War On America." We won't stand by quietly when they do; nor, should you.
My fellow POWs and I have long known the contempt the extreme Left has for our military. We felt the crush of rifle butts in our faces, beatings and unspeakable torture in the Hanoi Hilton Prison when we refused to kowtow to American traitors who traveled to these countries for propaganda "photo-ops" with our Communist jailors.
The so-called "anti-war movement," lead by the likes of Lt. John Kerry and his mentor, Sen. Ted Kennedy, also said they "supported the troops". What they didn't say is whose "troops."
We knew the answer then, we were witnesses and victims. It's the same today. They "support" America's enemies, any Communist Regime, Dictator or Terrorists that vow to kill and maim American soldiers and innocent civilians.
American soldiers in Vietnam were falsely accused of being a "barbarian horde," "rapists," "murderers," "drug addicts" and "baby killers."
Today, their sons, daughters and grandchildren serving in uniform stand accused of being "terrorists," "Nazis," "cold-blooded murderers," people who wantonly conduct "air raids on villages" bombing and killing civilians.
Every one of those spurious accusations were spewed from the Halls of Congress, most often by the same men and women who voted to send America's youth to war, only to denounce, vilify and abandon them later, when the opportunity for personal, political advantage presented itself.
When I and my fellow veterans - POWs, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Navy Swift Boat combat veterans alike - attempted to warn America about one of the most notorious turncoats from the Vietnam era, we were initially ignored by the mainstream media.
When the press and TV networks could no longer cover-up for John Kerry's very public treasonous conduct, we were accused of being "serial liars," shouted down by Leftist political campaign operatives disguised as "journalists." All the while the networks kept the film evidence of Lt. Kerry's betrayal under lock and key, where it remains hidden from the American public even today.
The recent treatment accorded Gen. Petraeus by the same radicals in Congress and the media was strikingly similar to our experiences in 2004. Before he uttered a single word, this highly decorated combat veteran, a man of great honor who has risked his life many times in the defense of our country, stood accused, disparaged and berated by a pack of power-hungry shirkers and slackers unworthy to polish his combat medals.
Veterans who attempted to expose Sen. Kerry in 2004 were treated no better. But, Kerry and his band of Leftist comrades had something special in store for me and my fellow POWs and their wives. We were sued repeatedly for three long years, forced to spend $1 million just to defend ourselves in several frivolous lawsuits.
What did we do to cause such a prolonged, vindictive assault? We told the truth no Mainstream Media news operation wanted the American public to know, then or now.
Dozens of my fellow POWs and their wives participated in a documentary, "Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal." In that film we said Kerry and his anti-war followers were liars and frauds working on behalf of our brutal Communists captors. Their collaboration with the enemy prolonged our captivity and the Vietnam War itself by years. Their vicious lies accusing us and all U.S. servicemen of being "war criminals" put our lives and the lives of Americans still fighting on the battlefield in grave danger.
Worse of all, Kerry's self-aggrandizing, false accusations against American soldiers who had born the brunt of the bleeding and dying in Vietnam, spawned the myths our young men and women in Iraq today are forced to defend against, even as they fight for their lives on the battlefield each and every day.
You can draw a straight line from the deceitful Leftist tactics used to bring America's defeat and dishonor in Vietnam to Iraq today.
America's military didn't lose the Vietnam War. Congress declared defeat, voted to abandon South Vietnam nearly two years after our last combat troops left. That sell-out, not only of our South Vietnam ally, but the nearly 60,000 Americans who gave their lives on the battlefield, ignited a genocidal holocaust throughout Southeast Asia that can still only be measured in the millions, an estimated three to five million innocent civilians brutally murdered.
We cannot let that happen again. We will not let that happen. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with us to prevent that from happening.
Three years ago, I and my fellow POWs and Vietnam combat veterans created a non-profit organization, " The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation". Our mission was simple, to set the record straight about the Vietnam War and those who served and fought there. Little did we know then we'd be slapped with multiple lawsuits for daring to uncover the layer upon layer of lies that constitute the false Vietnam History.
Nor, could we know then the Left's plans to use the same Vietnam blueprint for defeat in Iraq. Little wonder Kerry and his followers wanted to sue us into silence! But, we prevailed. We successfully defended against each of those lawsuits, all have now been withdrawn. And, we will not remain silent any longer.
Our research into the Vietnam War, most especially, those individuals and organizations responsible for creating the completely false history of Vietnam, is voluminous, factual and compelling. We have amassed a virtual library of records, documents and eyewitness testimony that proves, conclusively, the popular history of Vietnam is pure bunk, propaganda.
Once we get the truth out to the American people, there will be winners. Those winners will be every man and woman who has served in our Armed Forces. To them and their families, this is a war we cannot lose.
The "War On America" is just heating up again. What we do now will dictate America's future, whether it is one of victory over terrorism, or, decades more of defeat, humiliation in a lost, but noble cause.
God Bless You and America,
Col. Bud Day
May 8 2007
No Hearings From Senator John Kerry On Multi Billion Dollar Small Business Contracting Scandal, Says The American Small Business League
PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite years of complaints about the Bush Administration policies that have allowed Fortune 1000 firms to receive billions of dollars in Federal small business contracts, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman John Kerry has disappointed small business owners across America by declining to schedule hearings to investigate the abuses, according to American Small Business League.
In January of 2005, Kerry accused the Small Business Administration of, “Fostering an atmosphere that encourages widespread fraud and abuse in small business contracting.” Yet, he has to draft legislation to resolve the issue or schedule oversight hearings.
In Report 5-15, the SBA’s Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses as one of the biggest challenges facing the nation today. They also found large businesses that had illegally received federal small business contracts by fraudulently representing themselves as small businesses.
Investigative stories by ABC, CBS and CNN have uncovered firms like Boeing, IBM, BAE, Northrop Grumman, L3 Communications, Rolls Royce, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin have all received millions in U.S. Government small business contracts.
Since 2002, over a dozen federal investigations have found that fraud, a lack of oversight, regulatory loopholes and bureaucratic error have allowed hundreds of large businesses to receive billions of dollars in government contracts earmarked for small businesses. To date, no legislation has been passed to address the issue.
Small business owners and advocates point out that Senator Kerry’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee website seems to completely ignore the diversion of billions of dollars in small business contracts to Fortune 1000 firms.
Instead of focusing his attention on an issue that small business advocates believe has diverted over $60 billion a year in federal small business contracts to many of the largest firms in the country, Kerry has focused the Committee’s attention on issues small business owners feel are significantly less critical to their immediate survival, according to American Small Business League.
A Bush Administration policy set to go into effect in June will allow Fortune 1000 firms to receive federal small business contracts until the year 2012. So far, congress has not passed legislation to stop the policy from taking effect.
Small business advocates are hoping that Senator Kerry will draft legislation that will once and for all remove Fortune 1000 companies from all federal small business contracting programs.
MAJOR MARK A. SMITH
UNITED STATES ARMY (RETIRED)
 |
SUBJECT: NEVER AGAIN!
I write this letter not with a heavy heart, but with outright indignation. The statements in it are directed to all segments of the American body politic, media and just uncaring and wavering citizens. You are held up to ridicule by much of the world and it has nothing to do with our Government and military not bowing to the United Nations or some ‘ World Court.’ It is because of our lack of unity and the perception the average American does not know a thing about the rest of the world. That is unfortunately true. You were led by the very same personalities and organizations down the road to your willing defeat in Southeast Asia.Not the defeat of our valiant military and those of our allies but, yours.
NEVER AGAIN!
|
How easy are you to lead down the road to defeat?
Please allow me to refresh your memories. Contrary to what the media and politicians put out today I and my brave fellow warriors were participating in the Vietnam War when it was popular. Did our battlefield defeats, like the French, lead to a demand for us to quit and pull out? Oh no, it was you on the homefront who lost heart initially, listening to the very same voices you are listening to today. The claim was that American Soldiers and Marines could not find this elusive enemy and could not defeat him because this kind of war could not be won. We beat that five-foot tall, eighty five-pound sucker into dog dirt and our very own media called it a ‘defeat.’ Cronkite said it and you, not us but you, believed it then and too many of you darned fools believe it today. This time we will require truth and you will listen to us and not the mob.
NEVER AGAIN!
John Kerry is not your President today because of us, the real veterans of the Vietnam War. He was not ‘SWIFTBOATED’; he was knocked out by we who actually know what a low-life nobody of war he was in his few months in Vietnam. The ‘Swift Boats and POWs For Truth’ are not some right wing lobby, they are we and we are they. You want to use our dead, many of whom may be rightly laid at your and Cronkite’s feet? Not this time you uneducated in war fools. You want to make movies and then tell us you are experts on the real world? Sean Penn is a punk with no experience in the world, which allows him to sit in judgement on any real man. He is a pretender. That is his job! He, like Jane Fonda before him, has no special insight into politics or war. They are pretenders and it is their function to play real or imagined people and make themselves believable on the screen. But once again, they and you want to extend that to real life?
NEVER AGAIN!
You have the gall to allow Dan Rather to march out in front of you on the screen and proclaim himself a ‘former Marine’? He got the boot in boot camp and never made it to being a Marine.How dare you tarnish the image of a brave and legendary branch of service by allowing that quitter to claim he was one of them. You then want to hold up Murtha and Kerry as people to be listened to about the military and wars? They were the least of us and you want to shove them in our faces again and proclaim them ‘heroes’? Not this time boys and girls because we are not going to put up with it.
NEVER AGAIN!
You want to come to our wall and use it to make some political point and bring another generation to battlefield defeat? You are not going to shout us down this time. You come near that wall and it had better be with nothing but quiet respect. We do not ask this by appealing to you as fellow Americans. We know this does no good with your ilk. We require you to show respect to our fallen brethren, those still missing, and those serving today and to us. This is not a request, it is an order. An order from the only group with the authority to give it: US! We earned the right on terrible battlefields, for you to listen to us and not Fonda, Penn, Kerry or even a fallen honorable man’s mother. He is us and we are him and if he died, it was with us and not with you.
NEVER AGAIN!
In closing let me say that we by being who we really were on the battlefield, need not even raise our voices or fists to the mob. You shall by your very presence and bearing show you are greater men and women than any whom mount their podium. By merely looking them in the eye directly, you will say to those of ill intent on our sacred ground:
YOU SHALL NOT PASS, NEVER AGAIN!
God Bless you all, at home and on the battlefield and
God Bless America.
MARK 'ZIPPO' SMITH
Zippo Smiths NVA Hunting Club
RVN - 1966 to 1973
C Co. 1/506th BN 101 ABN
03/70 to 10/70
WIA / POW
1972 / 1973
1/24/2007
John Kerry NOT RUNNING for President 2008!!!!
(Mission Accomplished)
12/29/2006
Troops halp Jon Carry in Irak
On his visit to Iraq, Senator Kerry apparently got something like the silent treatment from the troops who are "stuck" there. WDAY's Scott Hennen quotes a message from a friend serving in Iraq:
This is a true story....Check out this photo from our mess hall at the US Embassy yesterday morning. Sen. Kerry found himself all alone while he was over here. He cancelled his press conference because no one came, he worked out alone in the gym w/o any soldiers even going up to say hi or ask for an autograph (I was one of those who was in the gym at the same time), and he found himself eating breakfast with only a couple of folks who are obviously not troops.
What is amazing is Bill O'Reilly came to visit with us and the troops at the CSH the same day and the line for autographs extended through the palace and people waited for two hours to shake his hand. You decide who is more respected and loved by us servicemen and women!
Scott comments:
Again I say..."GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS for all they do and all their sacrifice.
Kennedy won't wait indefinitely for Kerry's 2008 decision
December 11, 2006
WASHINGTON --Sen. Edward M. Kennedy isn't waiting much longer for fellow Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to decide whether he will again seek the presidency -- not that Kennedy is ready to abandon Kerry for someone else.
Kennedy told The Boston Globe on Monday that he had assumed Kerry would reach a decision by early 2007. Kerry, however, has yet to set a specific deadline for an announcement.
Even though Kennedy has said he would support another run by Kerry, the senior senator from the Bay State said Monday that he would not wait indefinitely for Kerry to make up his mind and has informed Kerry that he may get behind another Democrat for president.
"I was under more of the impression before that he was going to run and was waiting in time (to declare his candidacy), but now he's deferred that decision," Kennedy said. "I have no plans of supporting anyone else at this juncture. I'm also not going to just wait indefinitely until he's made a judgment or a decision."
Kennedy had kind words for two Democratic hopefuls, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, whom he called "formidable figures" connecting with rank-and-file Democrats.
David Wade, a Kerry spokesman, told the Globe that Kerry realizes that he must decide soon.
"He has no intention of waiting too long, kicking the can down the road, or holding this decision in limbo," Wade said.
Kerry delayed a decision about a 2008 race after he was widely criticized for what he called a "botched joke" aimed at President Bush and his handling of the Iraq war, a comment shortly before the November elections that Republicans deemed an insult to U.S. troops.
Dec 5, 2006
"Senator Kerry" , Damn you.
You are a bumbling idiot. My son, Cory, left the Computer Engineering Program at West Virginia University, a superlative educational institution, to volunteer to serve in the United States Marine Corps. He made it to Recon in less than one year, completing over a dozen schools, finishing with top scores in every single one of them. Cory, along with every Recon Marine, was/is a brilliant young man. They all volunteered - there is no draft as there was when you were in the Armed Forces. Cory, along with other Recon Marines, died as the result of an IED explosion in May, 2006. These men, along with their peers, are superior in intellect. How dare you d= ishonor them by your careless words. You are a stupid, self-absorbed, fool.
I am not speaking as a member of any political party - in fact, I support more democrats at this juncture than republicans. But I loathe the disdain you display for my son and those whose magnificent service was given for something they held so dear to their hearts - freedom.
I pray that your political future is doomed. You are a detriment to every democrat with whom you associate. If in deed, your words were, as you say, intended as a joke, then you are heartless. My son's life is certainly more than a joke. He and these almost 3,000 young men and women who have died with him, are much more valued and loved than to be used as pawns in your own petty political pundits.
You were not misunderstood. You were clearly heard and understood by us all. You were on national television. You are utterly disrespectful of our sons and of us, their families. I will work tirelessly to bring you down. You discredit every member of the Armed Forces. Not only are these troops more savvy than ever before in history, so are their commanding officers, many of whom have advanced educational degrees. You, John Kerry, are nothing but scum. Spare us from the further desecration of our troops and the superlative military minds that truly do serve our nation. Remove yourself from the limelight and step down from office, NOW.
VERY sincerely,
Mrs. Danna Swain Palmer,
Proud Mom of Fallen Marine, Cpl. Cory Leonard Palmer,
USMC, Recon.
8 Nov 2006
This came from a friend of mine who goes to my church. I wish everyone could see it.
I salute this young man and agree with him completely. I have a son-in-law who has served three tours in Iraq and was proud to do so. He feels exactly the same way this young Marine does. Thank God for them, for all the troops who serve their country.
Subject: Response to Sen Kerry
I think this should be shared with everyone...
Yesterday John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”
So I wrote him a letter:
I am a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I am currently on my second tour in Iraq, a tour in which I volunteered for. I speak Arabic and Spanish and I plan to tackle Persian Farsi soon. I have a Bachelors and an Associates Degree and between deployments I am pursuing an M.B.A. In college I was a member of several academic honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society. I am not unique among the enlisted troops. Many of my enlisted colleagues include lawyers, teachers, mechanics, engineers, musicians and artists just to name a few. You say that your comments were directed towards the President and not us. If we were stupid Senator Kerry, we might have believed you.
I am not a victim of President Bush. I proudly serve him because he is my Commander and Chief. If it was you who was President, I would serve you just as faithfully. I serve America Senator Kerry, and I am also providing a service to the good people of Iraq. I have not terrorized them in the middle of the night, raped them or murdered them as you have accused me of before. I am doing my part to help them rebuild. My role is a simple one, but important. You see Senator Kerry, like it or not, we came here and removed a tyrant (who terrorized Iraqis in the middle of the night, and raped them and murdered them). And we have a responsibility to see to it that another one doesn’t take his place. The people of Iraq are recovering from an abusive relationship with a terrible government and it’s going to take some time to help them recover from that. We can’t treat this conflict like a microwave dinner and throw a temper tantrum because we feel like it’s taking too long.
Senator Kerry, you don’t have to agree with this war. You don’t have to say nice things about those of us who choose to make sacrifices for the rights of every American rather than sit back and simply feel entitled to it. But please Senator Kerry, if you’re going to call me a stupid murdering rapist, stick by what you say. Don’t tell me that I misunderstood or that you would never insult a veteran because you’re one too. Having been there and done that does not give you a free pass to insult me.
My suggestion for you, Senator Kerry, is to remember that your speeches are recorded, and broadcast to us simpletons over here. You may want to write down what you want to say before you say it, maybe have somebody look at it before you say it and tell you what others might hear. Remember that we can’t read your mind, if there are any misinterpretations in what you say, it’s because you didn’t communicate clearly.
Good luck to you Senator Kerry, if nothing else it’s always entertaining to watch you try and climb out of the holes that you constantly dig for yourself.
Sincerely, Somebody who is watching his daughter grow up in photographs so that you can have the right to say whatever you want about him.
Sgt Aaron.......
5 Nov 2006
Kerry deletes data on cash for Dems
November 5, 2006
BY ROBERT NOVAK Sun-Times Columnist
As the furor widened over Sen. John Kerry's insulting remarks about U.S. troops in Iraq, his Web site pulled down a listing of $4.2 million in contributions he had sent this year to 36 candidates for Congress.
Kerry, eyeing another presidential candidacy in 2008, has traveled the country raising funds for key contests in Tuesday's midterm elections. The deleted information on the Kerry Web site displayed the photos of his beneficiaries: 18 Senate candidates receiving $3.2 million and 18 House candidates getting $1 million.
The largest contribution was $586,000 to Pennsylvania state Treasurer Bob Casey, who is running well ahead of Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. Information on the donation to Casey is being used by Republicans in the final days of the campaign.
1 Nov 2006
Scarborough: What is wrong with John Kerry?
Kerry has apologized for being "misinterpreted" about his remarks
COMMENTARY
By Joe Scarborough
Host, ‘Scarborough Country’
MSNBC
Updated: 4:09 p.m. CT Nov 1, 2006
Joe Scarborough
Host, ‘Scarborough Country’
"It’s sad. So sad.
It’s a sad, sad situation
And it’s getting more and more absurd
It’s sad. So sad. Why can’t we talk it over?
Oh it seems to me
Sorry seems to be the hardest word."
-- Elton John
What is wrong with John Kerry? What is missing from the Massachusetts senator’s makeup that will not allow him to admit that he’s human? And why did he wait so long to clean up a political mess that hurt his party in the short run and damaged his own long-term presidential prospects?
This is, after all, a guy who called the secret service member assigned to protect his life a “son of a bitch” for colliding with him on a ski slope. When asked later by a reporter about falling down, Kerry angrily declared, “I do not fall down.”
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006
John Kerry, Still One Step Behind
Once again, the former Presidential candidate deals with a gaffe by trying to compensate for his last mistake. Karl Rove is cheering
By KAREN TUMULTY
You've got to wonder about John Kerry's eye-hand coordination. His career is falling into a pattern. Whenever Kerry is confronted with a big decision, he tries to compensate for his last mistake. He voted against the first Iraq war, which turned out to be a success. So when the second one came around, he swallowed his misgivings and voted for it. That also turned out to be a mistake. So when it came time to vote for the $87 billion to fund the war that he had voted for, he produced what must be the single most damaging sound bite in modern political history by voting for it before he voted against it.
So now, when U.S. troops are suffering their worst casualties in nearly two years, he insulted them. Could Karl Rove have dreamed up a better October surprise than having the Democrats' most recent choice for Commander in Chief suggest that the men and women are dying there because they weren't smart enough to get into law school?
His initial impulse, predictably enough, was to fight back against the criticism. He didn't want to fall again into what turned out to be the biggest trap of 2004, when he failed to understand that a relatively small ad buy from a group that no one had ever heard of could be more damaging than he imagined. He was determined not to be "swift-boated" again. So he declared: "If anyone owes our troops in the fields an apology, it is the President and his failed team and a Republican majority in the Congress that has been willing to stamp — rubber-stamp policies that have done injury to our troops and to their families." But even Rand Beers, his national security adviser in the 2004 campaign, said: "It's unfortunate that Senator Kerry misspoke. No one who has ever been in combat would intentionally impugn our brave troops."
In other words, Kerry has managed on the eve of what could be a watershed election to remind pretty much everyone what it was they didn't like about the Democrats, and especially what they didn't like about him. It might have made more sense just to say he was sorry — for once to get ahead of a mistake, instead of trying to compensate for it the next time.
4/28/2006
Questioning John Kerry's Priorities
Anil Adyanthaya Thu Apr 27, 11:04 AM ET
On Saturday,
John Kerry celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of his Vietnam War testimony to the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He marked the occasion by giving a speech in Boston's Faneuil Hall and by penning an op-ed in The Boston Globe. The theme of both the speech and the op-ed was the value of dissent. Kerry's op-ed is noteworthy, both for what it said and what it did not say.
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First, what it did say. Kerry was particularly incensed by criticism of the generals who recently called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's firing. "We have even heard accusations that this dissent gives aid and comfort to the enemy. That line of attack is shameful, especially coming from those who have never worn the uniform." It is disturbing to hear a Democrat express a view as undemocratic as one arguing that certain arguments are off limits to "those who have never worn the uniform." But Kerry goes even further astray in his view of patriotism: "Patriotism does not belong to those who defend a president's position -- it belongs to those who defend our country, in battle and in dissent."
What a strange and self-serving statement. Defining the military as patriotic almost goes without saying. However, Kerry gives dissenters the same status, providing that they also "defend our country." Equating the patriotism of dissent and military service undoubtedly reflects Kerry's anti-establishment bias but is not an indefensible position. However, what to make of Kerry's refusal to acknowledge patriotism in those who support a president's policy but who have not served in the military? While Kerry's definition of patriotism conveniently excludes most civilian Republicans, it is still a curious statement for someone who is now in year four of his presidential campaign.
What Kerry left out of his op-ed is just as interesting. Kerry devotes a whole paragraph to listing the horrors he exposed through his Senate testimony: "I felt compelled to speak out about what was happening in Vietnam, where the children of America were pulled from front porches and living rooms and plunged almost overnight into a world of sniper fire, ambushes, rockets, booby traps, body bags, explosions, sleeplessness, and the confusion created by an enemy who was sometimes invisible and firing at us, and sometimes right next to us and smiling."
Yet he neglects to mention the most noteworthy parts of what he said about our military and this country in 1971:
* "They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."
* "We saw America lose her sense of morality as she accepted very coolly a My Lai and refused to give up the image of American soldiers who hand out chocolate bars and chewing gum."
* "We learned the meaning of free fire zones, shooting anything that moves, and we watched while America placed a cheapness on the lives of Orientals."
* "We watched the U.S. falsification of body counts, in fact the glorification of body counts."
Kerry has made similar accusations with respect to the Iraq War. In a December appearance on CBS News Face the Nation, he stated that "there is no reason . . . that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs." This dissent did not make it into Kerry's op-ed either.
Why did he leave these accusations out? Perhaps it is because even he realizes that there is certain dissent that is unpatriotic.
Massachusetts's other senator, Ted Kennedy, has also been very vocal in his opposition to the war. Saturday would have been a good occasion for Kerry to honor his colleague's dissent. But given the following Kennedy statements on the war, it is probably best for Kerry that he passed on the opportunity:
* "Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management."
* "This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud."
* "My belief is this money is being shuffled all around to these political leaders in all parts of the world, bribing them to send in troops,"
Can anyone seriously argue that any of these statements show a love or devotion to the United States?
I do not doubt that Senators Kerry and Kennedy love this country. For example, both served in the military. But it seems that for Kerry and Kennedy, their patriotism is at times overshadowed by other priorities. One such priority is retaking Congress and the White House. As the above quotes suggest, at times they seem more focused on attacking the Bush Administration than doing what is best for the country. None of these quotes represent positive contributions to national debate on the war. In such instances, it seems perfectly fair to question their priorities and their judgment if not their patriotism.
Where Kerry and Kennedy go wrong is that they do not seem to understand that there is a clear line between pointing out specific wrongs and the hyperbolic, generalized slander they have grown too fond of. There is a difference between exposing the criminal behavior undertaken by a few soldiers at Abu Ghraib and maligning the entire military by saying it now manages torture chambers. There is a difference between exposing abuses committed by individual soldiers and claiming that American soldiers, as a matter of course, terrorize Iraqi women and children. And there is certainly a difference between disagreeing with military strategy and claiming, without proof, that that strategy was chosen because of fraud and advanced through bribery.
To paraphrase Kerry: those lines of attack are shameful, especially coming from men who wore the uniform.
4/27/2006
War Vets’ Lawsuit Against Sen. John Kerry Heats Up
April 10, 2006Jim Kouri
by Jim Kouri, CPP
“Vietnam veterans will not be intimidated by John Kerry,” retired Air Force Colonel George “Bud” Day said in response to the Massachusetts Senator’s newly created legal expense trust fund to finance his court battles against a group of highly-decorated Vietnam War veterans.
Col. Day added, “Why one of the wealthiest men in the Senate would expect others to pay his lawyers and use questionable Senate privileges against veterans is shameful.”
Col. Day is chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF), a group of Vietnam combat veterans who sued Sen. Kerry for “conspiracy and defamation.” Day is the most decorated Air Force veteran alive, a Medal of Honor recipient, a veteran of three wars and a former Vietnam POW held captive for over five years.
Sen. Kerry recently filed papers with the US Senate creating a “legal expense trust fund” to handle costs associated with his defense in the VVLF lawsuit. This action appears to be questionable since he’s defending actions he undertook before he became a member of the US Senate and while he was running a presidential campaign which has nothing whatsoever to due with Senate business. Ironically, the account is named “Fund for Truth and Honor.”
“That’s his way of mocking us and all Vietnam veterans,” Col. Day remarked. “The concepts of truth and honor are utterly foreign to him. He’s forced to plagiarize our words.”
The veterans’ lawsuit stems from Kerry’s failed 2004 presidential bid when his campaign tried to prevent a documentary about Kerry’s 1971 anti-war activities from being broadcast on television and cable stations, or shown in theaters.
That film, “Stolen Honor: Wounds that Never Heal,” included interviews with Col. Day and several other Vietnam POWs. The film documented Naval Reserve Lt. Kerry’s portrayal of Vietnam veterans as “war criminals” before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Those accusations, the POWs said, were false, threatened their survival, and lengthened their captivity.
They also resented his use of the name “Genghis Khan” to describe the actions of the military. Senator Kerry is no different today. Recently, he said on national television that US soldiers “broke into Iraqi homes and terrorized women and children.”
Shortly after the documentary’s release in September 2004, Kerry campaign aides sued “Stolen Honor” producer Carlton Sherwood, a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award-winning journalist and decorated Marine Vietnam veteran. The lawsuits were followed by an assault on Sinclair Broadcast Group, which had announced plans to air the documentary. Kerry campaign-inspired ad boycotts, stockholders’ rebellions, and calls for FCC and FEC investigations eventually forced Sinclair to drop its planned airing of “Stolen Honor.”
In August 2005 Kerry supporters filed two additional lawsuits against Sherwood and VVLF POWs, claiming they “libeled” Kerry and other Vietnam veterans by questioning whether they witnessed or participated in “war crimes and atrocities” in Vietnam. However, Sen. Kerry admitted to committing “atrocities” during the Vietnam War, but was never prosecuted by the military for his admissions.
In response to Kerry’s attacks on these honorable men, the VVLF POWs and Sherwood filed a “conspiracy defamation” lawsuit against Sen. Kerry and one of his top campaign aides, Anthony Podesta. That suit charges Kerry and his campaign with scheming to censor “Stolen Honor,” attempting to prevent the American public from hearing Kerry’s true anti-war history and the consequences his actions had on the POWs languishing in prisoner camps, as well as other Vietnam veterans.
“We could not stand by while John Kerry used his underlings to sue us into silence,” Col. Day explained. “We could not allow this man to keep his hands clean while his surrogates did the dirty work, suing me and my fellow POWs because we spoke the truth about him.
What truly irks Col. Day and his fellow vets is the fact that Kerry is having US taxpayers foot his legal bills stemming from his anti-war comments and actions.
“It’s time he is held accountable. He must face those whom he falsely accused. It’s time America sees this man for [what] he really is, and the great harm he has done to many brave soldiers.”
(Special thanks to Colonel Bud Day, USAF (Ret.) for providing information for this article.)
3/15 2006
KERRY DISCHARGE - THE JIMMY CARTER LEGACY CONTINUES
ITE
Subject: KERRY DISCHARGE - THE JIMMY CARTER LEGACY CONTINUES
Words of Captain Donald L. Nelson, JAG corps USN ret I was on active duty as a U.S. Navy JAG when all of this was going on 25 to 30 years ago, and so was Mark F. Sullivan, who at all relevant times was the personal JAG to J. William Middendorf, then the Secretary of the Navy.
We are trying to break this absolutely true story nationwide, i.e., Fox News, C-Span, and hopefully the major networks. We are positive that John Kerry was one of those dishonorably dismissed from the Navy for collaborating with the Viet Cong after he was released from active duty but still in the Navy and for a totally unauthorized trip to Paris. He later got an "honorable" separation in 1978, some 12 years after joining the Navy, under President Carter's "Amnesty Program" for draft dodgers, and other malcontents who fled to Canada and Holland, among other places, to avoid military service to our country.
This is why he has refused, and continues to refuse, to release all of his Navy records: they reflect that he was Dishonorably Dismissed from the United States Naval Service. If they do not (which they do) he would have released them to the public. Again, he has not done so, because he well knows that the truth would kill his challenge to President Bush. If you would like to talk with me, I may be reached at telephone number (925) 964-0943 in Danville, California, or at DLNelsonSF@msn.com. Contact information for CAPT Sullivan is below.
Sincerely, DONALD L. NELSON CAPT, JAGC, USNR (Ret.)
Mark F. Sullivan Sullivan Taketa LLP 31351 Via Colinas, Suite 205 Westlake Village, CA 91362-4576 Tel. (818) 889-2299 mark.sullivan@calawcounsel.com
2/15/06
Sens. Clinton, Kerry are hypocrites on Iran
Posted: January 23, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Hillary Clinton last week blasted the Bush White House for downplaying the threat in Iran and for wasting time by outsourcing the negotiations to the E.U.-3.
Last year, Art Moore of WorldNetDaily.com investigated a Hillary Clinton fund-raiser that was scheduled for March 13, 2005, at the home of Gita Kashani. Moore reported that Kashani was a former member of the board of the controversial Iranian American Political Action Committee, a group that sponsored a technology conference in Iran with the cooperation of the Iranian regime. Iranian pro-democracy Iranians charged at the time that Kashani was considered a member of the Iranian American community in California who had collaborated with the mullah-led regime in Tehran.
When Moore questioned Ms. Kashani, she claimed: "I have no clue what her [Hillary's] policy toward Iran is," Ms. Kashani told WND.com. Still, when WND.com began investigating, Hillary's election committee cancelled the fund-raiser without providing an explanation why.
In "Atomic Iran," I documented the extent to which President Bill Clinton, and Sen. John Kerry in his 2004 presidential campaign, had accepted funding from New York financier Hassan Nemazee and had worked with the American Iranian Council – a group that many in the pro-democracy in Iran movement in the United States considered to be dedicated to legitimizing the mullahs and pushing to obtain normalized relations with the United States, ending all sanctions.
Federal Election Commission records show that Hillary Clinton took a $2,000 contribution on July 28, 1999, from Sheila Nemazee on behalf of the Nemazee Corporation. On Saint Patrick's Day in 2000, Secretary of State Madeline Albright addressed an AIC conference in Washington, D.C., apologizing for Eisenhower's role in the 1953 overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. As Madame Albright framed the issue:
As President Clinton has said, the United States must bear its fair share of responsibility for the problems that have arisen in U.S.-Iranian relations.
Albright pushed for the United States to ease restrictions on importing carpets and food products, including dried fruits, pistachios and caviar from Iran. Despite sanctions being in place, these trade restrictions remain eased, even today.
Yet, when pressed, those who are accused of supporting the mullahs tend to run for cover. Mr. Nemazee had sued Aryo Pirouznia, a pro-democracy Iranian-American freedom fighter who runs the Student Movement Coordinating Committee for Democracy in Iran, charging that Mr. Pirouznia had defamed him by charging that Nemazee was an agent for the mullahs. In sworn testimony given as a deposition in the lawsuit, Mr. Nemazee took a strong position against the mullahs, stating that he "would not trust this regime on the nuclear issue to have any intentions other than a weaponized program."
In the 2004 presidential campaign, Hassan Nemazee was one of John Kerry's top fund raisers, one of 60 people credited with raising more than $100,000 for Kerry's presidential run. In the first presidential debate in the 2004 election, held at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2004, John Kerry took the position that we should give nuclear fuel to Iran – the same failed policy the Clinton administration had used against North Korea. Here's what Kerry said about Iran:
I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, to test them, see whether or not they were actually working for peaceful purposes.
Still, Mr. Nemazee never called candidate Kerry to tell him that giving nuclear fuel to Iran would be dangerous and irresponsible. In his deposition, Mr. Nemazee pleaded that he would have no credibility on the issue with the Kerry campaign. "I have no knowledge on nuclear policy," he said under oath.
Last week, John Kerry too "flip-flopped," now saying that "Iran has made a dangerous and silly decision of confronting not just the U.S. government, but the entire international community." Kerry now evidently thinks we should bring Iran to the Security Council: "If all diplomatic channels fail, we have no choice but to take the issue before the international body."
John Spencer, a Republican who is running against Hillary Clinton for the Senate in 2006, has put out a press release charging that "Senator Clinton accepts money from supporters of Iranian mullahs." In the press release, Spencer cites $4,000 in contributions to Hillary's '06 Senate campaign from Hassan Nemazee. FEC records also show another $4,000 from Nemazee Capital Corporation, made in the name of Sheila Nemazee.
Spencer's press release also cites a Friday, June 3, 2005, fund-raising event that evidently was held for Sen. Clinton at the California home of Gita and Behzad Kashani. Spencer directly challenged that Sen. Clinton had been "accepting money from the supporters of the mullahs," concluding that "Sen. Clinton lacks the credibility to keep New York safe and she should return this tainted money."
We shouldn't hold our breath expecting either Sens. Clinton or Kerry to admit they have reversed their Iran policies, or to give back any money critics charge was raised from "pro-mullah" supporters.
Still, the American public should demand that these liberal Democratic senators quit trying to have the issue of Iran both ways. President Bush was soundly criticized by Democratic senators throughout 2005 for not building an overwhelming international coalition before the 2003 Iraq war. Now, when President Bush has worked with the E.U.-3 and the IAEA, agreeing to follow their lead in the negotiations with Iran, these same liberal Democratic senators accuse the administration of going too slow and "outsourcing" the talks. Isn't this a contradiction?
If President Bush had pressed forward unilaterally on the issue of Iran, Sens. Clinton and Kerry could be expected to show up in the well of the Senate arguing that his Iran intelligence information was likely as flawed as the intelligence had been on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
Sens. Kerry and Clinton have been supporters of the Iranian regime, especially when working with the U.S. supporters of the mullahs suited their campaign fund-raising purposes. Yet, when Iran defies the world by resuming uranium enrichment "research and development" at Natanz, Sens. Clinton and Kerry jump to the right, trying to "out hawk" even the Bush administration.
This hypocrisy has to stop. President Bush is moving toward Security Council action, while keeping the military option on the table. Democratic senators like Clinton and Kerry ought to be ashamed when they suddenly decide to talk tough on Iran. If Clinton and Kerry know no shame, they should be concerned that those of us who have researched for years their support of this corrupt Iranian regime will continue to speak out and expose their duplicity.
12/11/05
John Kerry Owes An Apology to Our Soldiers
By Aaron Goldstein (12/11/05)
I wonder if John Kerry sent a dozen long stemmed roses to Howard Dean. If not for Dean’s quip about not winning the war in Iraq during a radio interview, Senator Kerry might have spent most of this week defending his own ill advised remarks about our soldiers. Fellow Democrats might have been telling John Kerry to shut up rather than the DNC Chairman.
The day before Dean’s remarks, Kerry was being interviewed on CBS’ Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer (a full transcript of the interview can be found at www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/18/ftn/main856364.shtml). In response to a question concerning Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman’s support of the Bush Administration on the War in Iraq (more on that later), Kerry told Schieffer, “And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, break sort of the customs of the – of – the historical customs, religious customs.”
Wait a minute!
John Kerry believes that American soldiers are terrorizing kids? And women, too?
Where is John Kerry getting his information? From al Jazeera? MoveOn.org? Code Pink?
Does Kerry honestly believe that our soldiers enter the homes of Iraqi civilians for sport? If our soldiers have information that a terrorist or terrorists are inside a private home they must measures must be taken to remove the terrorist or terrorists. Measures must also be taken to protect innocent civilians who might also be inside the home. American soldiers do not enter homes with the intent to terrorize Iraqi women and children. They do so to stop terrorists from carrying out their objectives. In essence, our soldiers risk their lives to prevent more terrorism from happening. Why doesn’t Kerry understand this simple fact? If Kerry does have information that our soldiers acted improperly with Iraqi civilians doesn’t he, as a United States Senator, have an obligation to report this to the proper authorities? If Kerry does not have such information (and there is no reason to believe he does) then he is defaming our soldiers who have selflessly volunteered to put their lives on the line to protect our freedom and help Iraqis with the opportunity for theirs.
Kerry’s remarks suggest that he does not understand the mission in Iraq despite having journeyed there earlier this year. Joe Lieberman, on the other hand, clearly understands their mission. In his November 29th article for the Wall Street Journal titled, “Our Troops Must Stay”, (which can be found at www.online.wsj.com/article/SB11332307590108762.html)Lieberman notes that Iraqis will have voted thrice in less than a year. Lieberman praises the free and vibrant independent print and electronic press. He points out that once cynical Sunnis have chosen ballots over bullets. “None of these remarkable changes would have happened without the coalition forces led by the U.S.”, Lieberman wrote. And unlike Kerry, Lieberman does not view our armed forces as rogues who arbitrarily and capriciously wreak havoc with Iraqi children and women:
I cannot say enough about the U.S. Army and Marines who are carrying most of the fight for us in Iraq. They are courageous, smart, effective, innovative, very honorable and very proud. After a Thanksgiving meal with a great group of Marines at Camp Fallujah in western Iraq, I asked their commander whether the morale of his troops had been hurt by the growing public dissent in America over the war in Iraq. His answer was insightful, instructive and inspirational: “I would guess that if the opposition and division at home go on a lot longer and get a lot deeper it might have some effect, but, Senator, my Marines are motivated by their devotion to each other and the cause, not by political debates.
Somehow I don’t think terrorizing children and women is the cause to which our armed forces is devoted. I also believe there is a difference between someone who characterizes our military as “courageous, smart, effective, innovative, very honorable and very proud” and someone who characterizes our military as an organization “going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women.”
There is every indication that John Kerry wants another shot at becoming the 44th President of the United States. This entails being Commander in Chief of our armed forces. How does Senator Kerry expect to have the confidence of his armed forces if he believes them to be terrorizing children and women? Now perhaps our soldiers are strong enough in character and discipline to ignore Kerry’s blather. Yet Kerry’s remarks and those of other Democrats (save for Lieberman) might have a cumulative effect on the morale of our armed forces when it becomes a persistent part of our public discourse. Despite the assurances of the Marine commander with whom Lieberman broke bread our mission in Iraq is only as strong as the willingness of our populace to support it and the troops who are carrying it out. With this in mind, Kerry has a choice to make. He can either choose to continually sully the reputation of our armed forces to curry favor with the Left or he can choose to report for duty and lead our armed forces with steadfast support for its mission and the soldiers who carry it out. If Kerry chooses the latter he must first apologize to our soldiers in Iraq for his inappropriate and reckless remarks.
10/7
Vietnam Vets/Former POWs Respond to Slurs From Sen. Kerry's Staff
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PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation:
"I am irritated to be called a liar by the spokesman for someone who spent less time in Vietnam than I spent being tortured.
I would like to know what was false when I said that I was interrogated in 1971, told about the 'Winter Soldier Hearings,' told
that someone had recruited my mother to be associated with these people, and told that John Kerry organized it. Was Boris
(my interrogator) lying about Winter Soldier? Did these hearings not take place? Was John Kerry not involved? And while
the Kerry people are tossing around frivolous lawsuits claiming defamation, isn't it defamatory to say that someone is lying
if you can't prove it?" -- The Hon. James Warner, VVLF Board member and former US Marine Corps Captain held captive
in Vietnam for over 5 years "Who is this pipsqueak press boy Wade to question the honor, statements or credibility of
veterans who took real fire and POWs who took real torture? How dare he! How dare Kerry allow his taxpayer-funded office
to malign decorated veterans and call them liars. Of course, this is nothing new for Kerry -- his public life stems from vilifying
vets." -- Mary Jane McManus, VVLF Board member and wife of former POW Lt. Col Kevin McManus "John Kerry, through
his spokesman, David Wade, has brazenly labeled a group of POWs who dared to speak out with the truth about his
testimony to the US Senate and his crusade to brand American combatants as war criminals. I read the statement that
referred to us as 'serial liars' and claimed that the truth doesn't matter to us. On the contrary, this is all about the truth, and
it seems the only chance we have of letting the American people know the truth about the Vietnam War and the honorable
men who fought it is in a Federal court of law. -- Col. Ken Cordier, USAF (ret), VVLF Board member and POW for over 6
years To read the Washington Post story and quote from Kerry staffer David Wade, go to:
a copy of the suit filed by Mr. Sherwood and the VVLF, go to:
Vietnam Vets Versus Kerry
by Michael P. Tremoglie
07 October 2005
The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation is a plaintiff, along with Red, White, and Blue Productions, and Vietnam
veteran turned journalist Carlton Sherwood, in a defamation action against John Kerry and Tony Podesta.
The former presidenial candidate who, during his election campaign, proudly contrasted his military service during the Vietnam
War with that of President Bush’s National Guard service -- and who once led an organization of Vietnam veterans protesting the
war in Vietnam -- is being sued by some Vietnam veterans.
The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation is a plaintiff along with Red, White, and Blue Productions, and Vietnam veteran turned
journalist Carlton Sherwood, in a defamation action against current Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and Tony Podesta, who
was Kerry’s Pennsylvania campaign manager.
The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia, claims that Kerry and Podesta libeled, slandered, and caused financial harm to the plaintiffs
as they sought to prevent the presentation of Sherwood’s documentary movie Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal before the
2004 presidential election.
The lawsuit states:
Sherwood established plaintiff Red, White, and Blue productions, an independent film company which produced the documentary Stolen Honor:
Wounds That Never Heal….This documentary tells the story of Kerry’s involvement with the VVAW ( Vietnam Veterans Against the War) and his
participation in the so-called “Winter Soldier” investigation…Stolen Honor also reports that…Kerry testified before the United States Senate
that during the Winter Soldier investigation Vietnam veterans testified to war crimes…not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day to
day basis with full awareness of officers at all levels of command…in fact the stories told by participants in the Winter Solider investigation
were outrageous and slanderous falsehoods against Vietnam veterans…Stolen Honor accurately reported that Kerry’s statements.. were lies
concocted by antiwar activists…Kerry knew this testimony was false…Vietnam veterans including former POW’s had been falsely tarred…
Sherwood produced Stolen Honor to bring this otherwise ignored history to light …and to explain the public sense of betrayal felt by many
Vietnam veterans -- particularly among former POW’s -- against Kerry and others who built their reputations slandering America’s Vietnam
veterans.
The lawsuit continues by saying that the movie received its initial funding entirely from Pennsylvania veterans. It asserts that Stolen Honor
points out Kerry’s false allegations were used by the North Vietnamese to threaten and demoralize the approximately 700 POW’s in North
Vietnam. Stolen Honor told this history through interviews with POW’s, including a Medal of Honor recipient and one who recounted how his
interrogator went through Kerry’s statements and told him that Kerry admitted he was a war criminal and deserved punishment.
The lawsuit states that the plaintiffs had a contract with Sinclair Broadcasting to air the documentary and a contract with the Baederwood Theater
of Abington, PA to show the movie. It further claims there was a coordinated conspiracy by, "defendants Kerry, Podesta and others acting in concert
with and on behalf of Kerry, to discredit and silence Sherwood and Stolen Honor, through a campaign of knowing, deliberate, and malicious
falsehoods about Sherwood and Stolen Honor and of illegitimate and malicious threats directed at Sinclair and Baederwood." The suit states
these actions by Kerry et. al. caused Sinclair to show only portions of the movie and Baederwood to refuse to show it.
This may be the first time in American history that a presidential candidate was sued for actions taken by him and his campaign during an election.
It may also be the first time that an antiwar activist was sued, if only tangentially, for allegations made about American military personnel.
Democrats did indeed respond vehemently to Stolen Honor. Sinclair, according to a contemporaneous Newsweek report, canceled their broadcast
after being intimidated by Democrats. For example, a Democrat New York State Comptroller sent a letter to Sinclair criticizing the broadcast.
The Comptroller was the sole trustee for the NY State Common Retirement Fund, which owned 250,000 shares of Sinclair stock..
The Baederwood Theater received phone calls threatening boycotts if it showed the movie. Ominous phone calls were responsible for a suburban
Philadelphia conference center canceling another presentation scheduled after Baederwood.
Although the Kerry campaign denied any involvement with these efforts, an October 15, 2004 email from Podesta to Kerry activists called Carlton
Sherwood a, "disgraced former journalist, right-wing propagandist and apologist for cult-leader Sun Myung Moon." Podesta urged Kerry workers
to "…. take action …against this garbage…. let the theater know that, as a member of the community, you object to …this film …they should not
allow Stolen Honor to be shown on their screen."
If this lawsuit accomplishes nothing else, it will be that the heroes of Vietnam are finally condemning the lies told about them during the war. If
nothing else results from this, it will be that those who served their country meritoriously, despite great controversy, despite the adversity, those
who truly deserve to be called the Greatest Generation, are once again serving their country by telling the truth about Vietnam.
A former police officer, Michael Tremoglie's work has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Human Events, FrontPage
Magazine, and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
10/3
Former Vietnam POWs Sue John Kerry
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Sen. John Kerry and a top DNC campaign official have been sued for conspiracy and defamation in Federal
District Court in Philadelphia by the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF), which is led by a group of former Vietnam combat veterans, including
several POWs, and the wife of a POW. The legal action comes just weeks after the group of highly decorated veterans, which includes a Medal of Honor
recipient, was itself sued twice by Kerry campaign supporters who were once his fellow antiwar activists.
All the lawsuits stem from last year's Presidential elections and Stolen Honor, a documentary released last September that examined the impact of
Kerry's 1971 anti-war activities on hundreds of American POWs still being held in the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison camp.
The Kerry campaign mounted a major effort to prevent Stolen Honor from being aired last October after the Sinclair Broadcasting Company announced
plans to show the film on its 62 stations nationally. Sinclair was sued,boycotted and harshly condemned by Kerry campaign officials who publicly
threatened to have the TV cable company's FCC license revoked if Kerry waselected. That was followed by protests from 18 U.S. Democrat Senators who
called for FCC and FEC investigations of Sinclair. Amid the furor, thedocumentary's producer, Carlton Sherwood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
and thrice wounded Vietnam veteran, was sued for libel by a Kerry advisor and member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, an organization Kerry
represented as national spokesman in the 1970's. That case is scheduled for a jury trial next year in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas.
Sinclair eventually withdrew its planned broadcast of the film and, under pressure from Kerry campaign supporters, theater showings were canceled.
The federal lawsuit, filed this week by Sherwood and the POWs, charge Kerry and DNC campaign coordinator Anthony Podesta of conspiring to discredit
the documentary and defaming the film's producer for the purpose of preventing Stolen Honor from being broadcast or seen in theaters.
Stolen Honor focused on Kerry's 1971 testimony before the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee when he accused U.S. combat troops of committing
atrocities and war crimes on a "day to day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command." The film examined, through interviews with
17 POWs and three POWs wives, the consequences of those allegations on some 350 American POWs still held in North Vietnamese Communist prison camps.
Some of the POWs interviewed for the documentary charged Kerry with "treason" and "perjury," while others said his 1971 Senate testimony placed
their lives in jeopardy, protracted the Vietnam War and extended their confinement for years. All the POWs accused Kerry and his followers of
fabricating "war crimes" and providing aid and comfort to the enemy in time ofwar.
In recent weeks, the libel suit against Sherwood has been extended to name the VVLF and Newsmax as defendants. Another Kerry supporter and VVAW member
has sued documentary producer Sherwood a second time for libel, also naming the VVLF and the Internet news company Newsmax as defendants.
Those libel suits were filed by Kenneth Campbell and Jon Bjornson, both long-time antiwar activists and members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the
War (VVAW), who allege that Sherwood, the VVLF and Newsmax defamed them in the documentary when it questioned the credibility of those, including Sen. Kerry,
who claimed to have participated in, or, been witnesses to "war crimes" they allege were committed routinely throughout the Vietnam War. Although neither
man is identified in Stolen Honor, both claim they appear in 35 year-old pictures and film clips used in the film and allege their reputations were
harmed as a result. Campbell was a volunteer and an advisor to the Kerrycampaign last year. Bjornson also supported Kerry.
Documentation for these suits is available at VVLF.org.
All the POWs and the wife of a POW who hold leadership positions in the VVLF also appeared in Stolen Honor. The VVLF's chairman is Col. Bud Day, a
POW Medal of Honor recipient and the Air Force's most highly decorated veteran.
"It's time the American people learned the truth about Vietnam and Vietnam veterans," Col. Day said, "not just the sorry portrait they've seen in the
movies or read about from politically motivated propagandists. We served with honor."
The Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (VVLF.org) is a 501(c)(3) public service corporation whose mission is to educate and inform the public about
the Vietnam War, its events, its history, and the courageous men and women who sacrificed to serve their country in Vietnam.
SOURCE Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation
Web Site: http://www.VVLF.org
9/13
John Kerry wades into Hurricane Katrina aftermath…
Published on 14 September 2005 | Source: TNC Member
…a tad late, and it's not clear what, if anything, Sen. Kerry paid for.
10 outa 10 for trying! (©2005 John F. Kerry)
Generous-to-a fault, billionaire Democratic Sen. John Kerry has finally sent his ‘own’ aid package to hurricane-ravaged New Orleans more than two weeks after the storm hit - and a week after most of the city had been successfully evacuated by the Bush administration.
The senator arrived in ‘The Big Easy’ last Monday aboard a UPS Boeing 757 loaded with 5,000 bottles of baby formula, 5,000 pairs of sneakers - perhaps Wellington boots would have been more appropriate - and an array of cleaning supplies - hopefully mops and buckets?
UPS - Great effort you guys. (©2005 UPS)
"Everything that any of us can do is so welcome, and it provides just a little bit of help at an extraordinary time," the Massachusetts Democrat
told the AP.
But rather than pay for the aid using his wife's ketchup fortune - which the Los Angeles Times estimated last year at over a billion dollars - Kerry's
aid package was donated by Boston's Children's Hospital, the hard-pressed New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans and the New Balance
sneaker company.
UPS donated the plane, the flight crew and fuel, trucks and drivers to transport the goods to Logan International Airport and then to disperse
them to Baton Rogue and Lafayette, La.
However, distributing the aid, of course, might present a problem. for the city’s population has been sent off to the four corners of the US!
Not out of pocket himself, Senator Kerry should be applauded for organising the aid package, and so should those who came up with the goods…
albeit that Kerry appears to have missed the boat.
Kerry Demands Silver Star for Piloting Swift Boat Through New Orleans
chronwatch.com ^ | 9/13/05 | Jeremy Robb
Posted on 09/12/2005 9:32:19 PM PDT by ~bitt/"bitt
'WASHINGTON, DC --- John Kerry contacted the Pentagon today to request a Silver Star for a recent swift boat mission
he ran through the streets of New Orleans. While the Pentagon claims the mission was unauthorized, Kerry claims it was
a secret mission approved by the highest levels of the government.
"I clearly remember