DEBATE Questions for KERRY

There are many questions to ask Kerry. The two sites (below) cover some very, very good questions.

Questions for Kerry (Mudvillegazette)

More Questions (Peter Kirsanow)

10. You have repeatedly said the White House has questioned your patriotism and service (they have not - this is a lie) as a means to open the door to attack the service of Dick Cheney and George Bush. You criticized Cheney's deferments, yet you yourself applied for a deferment and were denied. You have stated you went to Vietnam because you wanted to defend your country, yet you are on record as having opposed the war in several interviews before you left. You stated you volunteered for dangerous Swift duty, yet the Swift boat mission was not a combat mission at the time you volunteered. Is it possible that you're accusing Cheney of draft-dodging and Bush of being AWOL to distract voters from the fact that you met with the North Vietnamese in Paris during time of war? Come to think of it, have we seen your drill records, Mr. Kerry? h/t D. Mendoza for the CNS article.

There is widespread misunderstanding in the media about the nature of drill obligations and whether Mr. Kerry would have been subject to the UCMJ during that time. While I am not a lawyer, it seems to me that he most likely would not have been: he was neither in training, nor was he on active drill status at the time he traveled to Paris. He was unlikely to have been wearing the uniform.

I have not read the laws referred to in Corsi's article, so I cannot pass judgement on that issue, however it raises an interesting question as to Kerry's judgement and loyalties. Whether or not he broke the law technically is almost irrelevant in my mind. Obviously if he did break the law, that is bad. But even if he did not: do we really want a man serving as President who, after serving in our Armed Forces, traveled to Paris, met with the enemy during time of war when we had POWs in captivity, then returned to this country and openly advocated the enemy position?
This is not only a betrayal of his comrades and country, but a declaration of principle that is alarming in the extreme. Combine it with his statements about Communism in his Winter Soldier testimony, and you have something that should give any serious voter pause:

I think that politically, historically, the one thing that people try to do, that society is structured on as a whole, is an attempt to satisfy their felt needs, and you can satisfy those needs with almost any kind of political structure, giving it one name or the other. In this name it is democratic; in others it is communism; in others it is benevolent dictatorship. As long as those needs are satisfied, that structure will exist.

Keep in mind that Kerry was a Yale-educated, 27 year old man, not an unsophisticated child. He appears to have thought that Communism was as good as any other system of government. In other places in his testimony, he states that Communism was not a danger and that the South Vietnamese could not tell the difference between Communism and democracy. Tell that to the Boat people or the S. Vietnamese army. Or the thousands who were slaughtered when Saigon fell.

Regardless of whether a law was broken, going to Paris to talk to the North Vietnamese seems an incredibly foolish thing to have done.

By comparison, it makes the furor over whether George Bush missed a flight physical and a few drill periods (and if one knows anything about flying, this is hardly remarkable - what is the point of taking a flight physical if one knows one is transferring to a non-flying billet?) look silly.

I doubt Kerry will sign the Form 180. I doubt we will get the answers. I doubt Kerry can answer; I doubt Kerry . . . . . .

SWIFT BOAT AD #5

Here is the latest Swift Boat Ad, #5:


Medals, Ribbons, 5, 9 . . .Idunno

AP, CBS in better disguise?

AP & Guard Records


Thu Sep 16, 4:46 PM ET
By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has ordered the Pentagon (...)

U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. handed down the order late Wednesday in New York. The AP lawsuit already has led to the disclosure of previously unreleased flight logs from Bush's days piloting F-102A fighters and other jets.
Pentagon officials told Baer they plan to have their search complete by Monday. Baer ordered the Pentagon to hand over the records to the AP by Sept. 24 and provide a written statement by Sept. 29 detailing the search for more records.

It’s fair if AP requested an order of the court concerning Kerry’s missing records? Is Associated Press impartial, lacking political bias concerning both candidates; or, is this CBS/Memos under the AP logo? Possibly, AP will force the Navy to release all of Kerry’s records; or, force Kerry to release all the records. That would be fair.

Somehow, it’s easier to believe AP is on a mission against Bush. (Wonder why that is.)

CNS News

Navy Contradicts Kerry on Release of Military Records
By Marc MoranoCNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer

September 16, 2004(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Navy released documents Wednesday contradicting claims by Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry that all of his available military records have been released.The Navy, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request from the legal watchdog group Judicial Watch, also referred interested parties to Kerry's campaign web site for government military documents. Navy Personnel Command FOIA Officer Dave German wrote in an e-mail to Judicial Watch that the Navy "withheld thirty-one pages of documents from the responsive military personnel service records as we were not provided a release authorization."

Contacted by Judicial Watch . . .what? Not by AP! (There must be some mistake.)

Congress vs. CBS

Congress isn't the investigative body I would like to see checking the media accuracy. I could picture the hearing. Once again, you would not have to see the designations of (R) or (D) to know on which side the voice belongs.

Possibly, Judicial Watch could force a suit against CBS, followed by a Grand Jury investigation into CBS airing the memos--because many experts disagree with the authenticity. Better yet, a citizens for truth organization--average people who don't care whether you are Republican or Democrat, you (the media) need to be responsible for truth.

Someone, somewhere should care that the media does not appear to be careful about the truth. Does the media have a right to lie? If so, the American people are the losers; the American people pay the price. We need the truth, not propaganda.

The price is too high when we ignore propaganda.

MoreOn MEMO

I guess Dan Rather is so used to telling US what to believe that he feels we should believe anything he says. The question is: will we?

The information that the memo is a fraud is compelling. It looks like a fraud, it smells like a fraud, and it looks a lot like a politically designed fraud. Even the CBS experts are turning on CBS, as they continue to promote the story. Even the secretary, who worked with Col. Killian, says the memos are a fraud. Oh, but the contents are consistent with the feelings of Killian!

How could you prove the thoughts of someone else, years ago; Kilian is no longer available to ask. The only way is to have the man come back and tell you, himself. Secret drawers and phoney memos do not make a story credible. Seems to me, the story keeps getting more incredible.

Tomorrow night, we can expect to have a séance with Lyndon Johnson. And, Lyndon will have an opinion.

THE STORY OF 43

PCF-43 April 12, 1969

By LTJG Peter N. Upton, UDT-13

PCF 43 never made it. Her position as last unit in the file,
aggravated by her heavy load, combined to seal her doom. For, as the lead boats were exiting the kill zone and scrambling to safety upstream, the 43 was just arriving; as the first seven boats churned and leapt forward in violent reaction, throttles to the wall, the 43 succumbed to her bulk, falling farther and father behind until she was relatively alone, hopelessly alienated in the center of the kill zone.

The Swift Boat Controversy has promoted an interest in these boats. The above link leads to the story of one such operation. It's written by Peter Upton, who was there.

SPEAKING OF TRUTH

CBS DIDN’T GET IT; apparently, isn’t going to get it. It’s about truth and who is going to tell the truth about the memos. Apparently, some experts told CBS about the problems with the memos--guess they were telling the truth because CBS has problems with the memos. Looks like CBS wasn't looking for the truth.

NYPOST

CBS has refused to discuss its source. When The Post asked if CBS could rule out a Democrat with Kerry ties as its source, a senior network official replied: "I can't answer that" — and hung up.

Post Article via PowerLine

CREATIVE MINDS

UPDATE #1:

UPDATE: You guys are the best! 127 dollars within 5 days! Two 50 dollar checks are in the mail. 23 dollars short of another one.

I really like creative minds. Here is an example of one:

Apparently, after donating his "maximum amount" to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, he came up with another way to help out.

For Swiftees

Warning ahead of time: he is for the Swiftees, and not for Kerry. He found a way for people to donate to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, without costing you money. That's creative brain power.

I've been to the site and followed the directions.......and then, got a regular contribution ready to send out. I had a tight hold on that money, but truth is a good cause. I believe these Swiftees are trying to bring US the truth. Regular Americans are sending $5, $10, whatever each can squeeze loose.

If you are inclined to help out, too; check out the site. If you'd like to donate directly to the Swiftees, he has that link, too.

A LIEUTENANT IN IRAQ SAYS:

[Kindly spread the word-- pass it on, put it in your blog, or both:]

Hello Everyone, I am taking time to ask you all for your help. First off, I'd like to say that this is not a political message. I'm not concerned about domestic politics right now. We have much bigger things to deal with, and we need your help.

It seems that despite the tremendous and heroic efforts of the men and women serving here in Iraq to bring much needed peace and stability to this region, we are losing the war of perception with the media and American people. Our enemy has learned that the key to defeating the mighty American military is by swaying public opinion at home and abroad.

We are a people that cherish the democratic system of government and therefore hold the will of the people in the highest regard. We love to criticize ourselves almost to an endless degree, because we care what others think. Our enemies see this as a weakness and are trying to exploit it. When we ask ourselves questions like, "Why do they hate us?" or "What did we do wrong?" we are playing into our enemies' hands.

Our natural tendency to question ourselves is being used against us to undermine our effort to do good in the world. How far would we have gotten if after the surprise attacks on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, we would have asked, "Why do the Japanese hate us so much?" or "How can we change ourselves so that they won't do that again?"

Here in Iraq the enemy is trying very hard to portray our efforts as failing and fruitless. They purposely kill innocents and desecrate their bodies in hopes that the people back home will lose the will to fight for liberty. They are betting on our perceived weakness as a thoughtful, considerate people. Unfortunately our media only serves to further their cause.

In an industry that feeds on ratings and bad news, a failure in Iraq would be a goldmine. When our so-called "trusted" American media takes a quote from an Iraqi doctor as the gospel truth over that of the men and women that are daily fighting to protect the right to freedom of press, you know something is wrong.

That doctor claimed that out of 600 Iraqis that were casualties of the fighting, the vast majority of them were women, children and the elderly. This is totally absurd. In the history of man, no one has spent more time and effort, often to the detriment of our own mission, to be more discriminate in our targeting of the enemy than the American military.

The Marines and Soldiers serving in Iraq have gone through extensive training in order to limit the amount of innocent casualties and collateral damage. Yet, despite all of this, our media consistently sides with those who openly lie and directly challenge the honor of our brave heroes fighting for liberty and peace.

What we have to remember is that peace is not defined as an absence of war. It is the presence of liberty, stability and prosperity. In the face of the horrendous tyranny of the former Iraqi regime, the only way true peace was able to come to this region was through force. That is what the American Revolution was all about. Have we forgotten? Freedom is not free and "peace" without principle is not peace.

The peace that so-called "peace advocates" support can only be brought to Iraq through the use ofmilitary force . And we are doing it, if only the world will let us! If the American people believe we are failing, even if we are not, then we will ultimately fail. That is why I am asking for your support. Become a voice of truth in your community. Wherever you are fight the lies of the enemy. Don't buy into the pessimism and apathy that says, "It's hopeless," "They hate us too much," "That part of the world is just too messed up," "It's our fault anyway," "We're to blame," and so forth.

Whether you're in middle school, working at a 9-5 job, retired, or a stay-at-home Mom you can make a huge difference! There is nothing more powerful than the truth. So, when you watch the news and see doomsday predictions and spiteful opinions on our efforts over here, you can refute them by knowing that we are doing a tremendous amount of good.

Spread the word. No one is poised to make such an amazing contribution to the everyday lives of Iraqis and the rest of the Arab world than the American Armed Forces. By making this a place where liberty can finally grow, we are making the whole world safer.

Your efforts at home are directly tied to our success. You are the soldiers at home fighting the war of perception. So I'm asking you as a fellow fighting man: do your duty. Stop the attempts of the enemy wherever you are. You are a mighty force for good, because truth is on your side. Together we will win this fight and ensure a better world for the future.

God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
1st. Lt. Robert L. Nofsinger USMC Ramadi, Iraq

THE NOSE-HOLD

Washington Post Side-by-Side Comparison

Washington Post Article

"There's no way that I, as a document expert, can authenticate them," Marcel Matley said in a telephone interview from San Francisco. The main reason, he said, is that they are "copies" that are "far removed" from the originals.

The Big Trunk (at Powerline) says:

It would be interesting to hear from disputants who might be dismissed by neutral third parties less easily than Rush Limbaugh and Brent Bozell, but perhaps the Post couldn't find any. In any event, when the Post feels no need to deride or counterbalce their judgment, leaving them with the last word as arbiters of the controversy, one can only conclude that it's over.

Rocketman adds--
******CBS's main "expert," Marcel Matley, says:

I knew I could not prove them authentic just from my expertise. I can't say either way from my expertise, the narrow, narrow little field of my expertise.

"That narrow, narrow little field of Matley's expertise is getting narrower all the time. There's no way he's going down with Rather."

- - - -

[They're all running; leaving someone holding the bag. Oh, Look! It’s Dan, with a bag in his hand—and he’s holding his nose.]

POWERLINE (link above) has more links on this topic! See them all.

WHO DUNNIT?

This in from: A HEALTHY FEAR OF BOTULISM

Now, if we could just find out who typed them. Let's see...it would have to be someone who was deluded about his own accomplishments because he must have thought the forgery wouldn't have been spotted...Someone who knew a little about the military, to get some of the details right, but who didn't spend a whole lot of time there, which accounts for the mistakes. Someone who had something to gain by making Bush look bad. And, of course, someone who knew the mainstream media well enough to figure they probably wouldn't look too closely at it...Hmmm...

Well, I can't think of anybody.

[And of course, it had to be someone who knew how to type fairly well. Oh well, we'll work on it. Another thought, it had to be someone who could keep a secret. If two people know a secret, it isn't usually a secret, anymore. Maybe FearBot will give us more hints.]

6 Similar Signatures

The left is signature from phoney memo. 


There are several more on-going research projects at Bandit's Hideout

BLOGGER PAJAMAS

Posted by Alan at September 13, 2004 07:11 AM at:

Command Post

Mr. Klein dismissed the bloggers who are raising questions about the authenticity of the memos: “You couldn’t have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check and balances [at ‘60 Minutes’] and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.”

He will regret that snide disparagement of the bloggers, many of whom are skilled lawyers or have backgrounds in military intelligence or typeface design. A growing number of design and document experts say they are certain or almost certain the memos on which CBS relied are forgeries.

Antimedia Post-- “The Cathedral, the Bazaar and Blogs (in comments section:)

Haven't gotten to powerline, yet. You hit it; the OLD MEDIA is becoming ancient and unable to keep up. The CBS producer worked on that story for 4 years--according to Jonathan Klein. (She wasted her time.)Klein, also said, that the bloggers have no checks and balances. HA! Guess he's never had a couple hundred complaints. Klein thinks bloggers are guys in pajamas in the livingroom.When I picture a blogger, I see someone with a barrel-size cup of coffee and arthritic fingers
Max Lane 09.10.04 - 10:24 pm #
- - - -
In my case, I'm sitting at my Mac in the living room, watching TV (sometimes) and blogging, researching, reading, etc.I consider it my duty to blog myself to death until this election is over. After that, I MAY back off, although I'm somewhat addicted now.It's tough doing this and working fulltime too, but being a citizen is an obligation I take seriously.
antimedia Homepage 09.10.04 - 11:09 pm #

For many bloggers, this is a solitary activity. In the dark (way past midnight) there are still bloggers, blogging away, trying to bring the best of the news and views to a place where you can see them. Many bloggers are taking the time to tell you what they believe, and trying to figure out where the truth is.

Calling us a bunch of guys in the living room, in our pajamas, is almost as ridiculous as picturing us in tuxedos, tapping away at 3 in the morning. The point is not pajamas, the point is “checks and balances” and the bloggers have almost instant response, thousands of watching eyes, and active minds who respond to the counter polls: if they don’t believe you, they don’t come back. It’s 365/24/7 polling; and, it’s “checks and balances.”

Furthermore Jonathan Klein, the people will realize that the “checks and balances” on CBS and Dan Rather have failed miserably. Total, utter, failure to check; Total utter failure to balance; it’s total failure to bring out the truth. You, Jonathan Klein, are defending a total failure of the media to hold itself to a high standard of truth. We hold CBS responsible; and we hold Dan Rather responsible as the tool, working to perform the failure.

This Court of Public Opinion, P. J. Amas presiding, sentences Dan Rather to disappearance—retirement; Dan Rather’s term of TUBE TERMINATION is 50 years

MARCH 12 into 13

THE 13th is partly the 12th????

Navy Chief, with the help of Navy Wife, (at the first site listed) adds this to the mix:


Swift Vets

The Cua Lon River was the scene of another raid that encountered hostile fire on the 12th (Mar 69). PCF's 94 and 23 took MSF troops up river to WQ 110 728 where they were landed without incident and began moving to the west. At the same time PCF's 51 and 43 stood by to provide cover. As the sweep progressed PCF 51 probed north of the Cai Nhap Canal and PCF's 94 and 23 probed up the Cai Ngai River to WQ 155 750. Following these probes light small arms fire was recieved from WQ 085 705 and was immediately suppressed. The three Swifts then headed up the Cai Nhap Canal to WQ 082 750 where two of three watermines detonated, one throwing up a 50-foot column of mud and water. Heavy enemy fire was taken from both canal banks and could not be suppressed. The PCF's cleared to the south and picked up the MSF unit at WQ 086 732. The enemy positions were taken under mortar fire and artillery and air support was called in. A group of 20 additional MSF was brought to the mouth of the Cau Lon from the USS WASHTENAW COUNTY (LST-1166) by LCVP. They were taken by PCF's 94 and 43 to WQ 086 730 where a sweep lasting about one hour sighted nine Viet Cong and detained one female suspect. Other results included five structures, 14 sampans, and a large junk destroyed. Three PCF's received minor damage and one crewman was slightly wounded.

GLOSSARY FOR TERMS:

MSF = Mobile Strike Forces - mercenaries who deploy and go anywhere (Always accompanied by multiple Special Forces or "Advisors")
LCVP = Landing Craft, Various Purpose [thanks, John for pointing that out ]

NOTES: PCF-94 and PCF-23 were taken under light small arms fire during this 12 MAR 69 mission. Afterwards, two of three watermines detonated, one throwing up a 50-foot column of mud and water. Heavy enemy fire was taken from both canal banks and could not be suppressed. Three PCF's (PCF-51 - Thurlow's, PCF-23 - Rood's, and PCF-94 - unknown OINC) received minor damage and one crewman was slightly wounded. Here is where the damage to PCF-23, PCF-51, and PCF-94 is recorded. The day before the infamous 13 MAR incident with Rassmann. Thurlow's boat had received bullet holes in this encounter, not on the 13 MAR 69 incident. The bullet holes were already there and damage to PCF-94 was already there.

Side note: LTjg Rood was wounded in the face on this mission. {{EDITED: PCF-93 (LTjg Chenoweth's boat) had an engine casualty as they began to leave on 13 March. The whole crew was assigned to the PCF-23 boat. PCF-23 had already been damaged

Other: Kerry may or may not have been on PCF-94 for the 12 MAR 69 mission. Chenoweth (PCF-23), Thurlow (PCF-51), Pease (PCF-3), Droz (PCF-43), and Kerry (PCF-94) left that morning for the 13 MAR mission with MSF and Rassmann onboard. Kerry's PCF-94 report didn't go out until after the 13 MAR incident.
_________________
Working with Senator Kerry for 4 years at the POW/MIA Office made me realize something - When did the man ever do any work?

Navy Wife said that she was at this site:

Texas Tech

[Haven't been there, yet; but, I will be going] She said that she plugged in various search words and then put in "CTE" and got 245 hits.

This whole thing just gets more interesting every day.

ALI, at IRAQ the MODEL

Another fine post by Ali at Iraq the Model

He gives his theory about what is happening in Iraq, and why. Ali connects it to Sadr and his bunch, and lays out a good case for his theory. Now, he believes there will be more attacks against Americans (in Iraq) in order to increase the American Death Toll and thereby influence the coming Presidential election. It would be no surprise that it would be tried, and we hope the military are especially alert for the actions.

Ali says in his last paragraph:

We understand perfectly that sacrificing lives and hard earned money for the sake of others (although there IS a personal interest here but it maybe not so clear) is a very difficult thing to do, and we know that it’s too much to ask, but tens of Millions of oppressed people around the world with brutal sadistic regimes laying their heave boots on their chests preventing them from even breathing freely, not to mention speaking out or doing something about it, all these people have no one else but you, Americans, to turn to. You are our/their only hope.