John Kerry - what a dork

RexRed wrote:

You people on the left should be called what you are terrorists and drug addicts.

Go to the local bars in any city in the US and see who is dirty dancing and drunk out of their minds doing lines of coke, NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, ...the same people voting for the democrats.

And these same people don't even know who George Soros is...

<Gus>

JTT, Good link; I made it one of my Favorites. Thanks.

Business in general, throughout the Western world, along with political reluctance to recognize and address the gathering threat contributed to the conditions which culminated in Hitler's ...

This is exactly what I described, Timber. If you and georgeob1 weren't such sycophantic homies, we could possibly see something in what you write. But in the face of such stupendous incompetence, there should be at least a measure of criticism of the current group in power.

That there is none and that you avoid this with such aplomb and focus on such inane drivel as this Kerry fairy tale you weave tells us a great deal about how much you can be trusted to deliver anything remotely resembling the truth.

You're hardly alone in this, but that's not much of a defence.

Business in general, throughout the Western world, along with political reluctance to recognize and address the gathering threat contributed to the conditions which culminated in Hitler's takeover of Germany ... much as a generation previously business and political interests saw to their own agendas as World War I developed out of the conditions created by the self-interest-motivated policies of business and politics of that time.

Kerry's anti-war activities in the '70s were a component of the US withdrawal from Southeast Asia - not the only component to be sure, but a component. The US withdrawal from Southeast Asia was a component of the conditions which led to Pol Pot's takeover of Cambodia - not the only component, but a component none the less. The U.N.'s failure to act decisively was another component, as were Soviet and Chinese back-scene proxy war machinations. No one thing "did it", likely no one thing would have prevented it, but history clearly shows the situation developed out of all those things.

Some people just can't see through their own bias.

I think there is no doubt that the Republicans exploited Kerry's gaffe for their own benefit. However, it is not true to say that Kerry is a minor political figure. He is a prominent Senator, was the Democrat nominee for the Presidency in the last election and was working hard to make himself a candidate in the next one. I agree he may be a dead letter now -- he set himself up for the character issue by his exaggerated claims of heroism in Vietnam, the self aggrandizement he demonstrated, both on active duty and in associating himself with a bunch of charlatains claiming widespread atrocities soon after he left the service, that so inflamed the officers who served with him, and the daffy self-absorbtion that has so consistently marked his many goofy statements in recent years.

It wasn't just a failed joke - and that is what has done him in.

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.

...

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.

I think there is no doubt that the Republicans exploited Kerry's gaffe for their own benefit. However, it is not true to say that Kerry is a minor political figure. He is a prominent Senator, was the Democrat nominee for the Presidency in the last election and was working hard to make himself a candidate in the next one.