I know we talked about this already somewhere, but his speech from the DNC today is just flat out dumb. I’m floored at the stupidity of his speech.
(Scroll about 2/3 of the way down)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07/27/dems.main/index.html
And another thing, enough of the damn story of Kerry in Vietnam. We get the fact that he fought in the war, we don’t need every speaker to make some dumbass comparison of his “brave” policies to his bravery in the war.
Maybe I’m dumb, but I looked at your link, scrolled down as you said, and couldn’t find a dumb part.
Don’t worry about Kerry’s Viet Nam shtick, everyone knows he was just doing it to become president some day. He didn’t even earn one of those Purple Hearts. Some guys who were also in the Navy in Nam said Kerry would suck as our President. He threw his ribbons away (or was it medals) and he partied with Hanoi Jane.
You’ll get a chance to hear about Bush’s bravery during the Viet Nam war, during the GOP convention. How Dubya risked several paper cuts, and how badly he was sunburned after playing volleyball with the co-eds in the pool. How he delivered tropical plants from the Gulf in his plane, and didn’t lose a single plant. How he was awarded a Silver Keg and a Golden Tapper (the highest award from Sigma Phi). Don’t worry buddy, Bush has an amazing record he can run on!!!
And lets not forget about Dick “Five Deferrments” Cheney.
I’m always surprised people cry about the purple hearts and totally ignore the bronze and silver stars that he also earned.
Ted kennedy’s speech was ridiculous, and one of the most hypocritcal things i have read in awhile…
First off vroom, MY father received a purple heart! So do NOT make a statement like you did about that highly respected medal, and very rewarding medal, so many of our brave US Soldiers fighting for our freedom and got wounded, in action…
Now there is one reason alone, why it is being said over and over again about John Kerry and his service in Vietnam.
ANd that is because many MANY veterans are very upset what he did when he turned against the war. and the vets.
Things like:
After returning home, he quit the Navy early and changed the color of his politics to become a leader of VVAW. Kerry wasted no time organizing opposition in the United States against the efforts of his former buddies still ducking communist bullets back in Vietnam.
Kerry participated in the so-called Winter Soldier Investigation where his fellow protesters accused his fellow GIs of war crimes.
As a national leader of VVAW, Kerry campaigned against the effort of the United States to contain the spread of Communism. He used the blood of servicemen still in the field for his own political advancement by claiming that their blood was being shed unnecessarily or in vain.
Under Kerry’s leadership, VVAW members mocked the uniform of United States soldiers by wearing tattered fatigues marked with pro-communist graffiti. They dishonored America by marching in demonstrations under the flag of the Viet Cong enemy. And there is more…
Kerry organized one of the most confrontational protests of the entire Vietnam War called Operation Dewey Canyon III.
It began April 18, 1971, with nearly 1,000 Vietnam vets gathered on the Washington, D.C., Mall for what they called "a limited incursion into the country of Congress.
John Kerry brought it up. Viet Nam veterans are jumping all over it. What is it? It’s something that’s been in the craws of Viet Nam vets since 1971. It is the false testimony given by John Kerry when he told the lies that have contributed so much to the public’s baby-killer perception of the Vietnam veteran.
On Memorial Day, May 31, 2004, Vietnam Vets for the Truth broke an extraordinary story about a photograph hanging in the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum (formerly known as the “War Crimes Museum”) in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The photograph, displayed in a room dedicated to foreign activists who contributed to the Communist victory over America in the Vietnam War, shows Senator John Kerry being greeted by Comrade Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Jeffrey M. Epstein of Vietnam Vets for the Truth acquired the photograph during the Memorial Day weekend in response to a general request for photographs and records detailing Kerry’s activities on behalf of the enemy.
Vietnam Vets for the Truth has now further documented the photograph. Photographer Bill Lupetti returned to the War Remnants Museum in Saigon on June 2 at the request of Dr. Jerome Corsi, co-author of the original article, and photographed a current edition of the “Viet Nam News” next to the display honoring John Kerry.
And if you want to see it for yourself…go to these websites::
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/
http://www.vetsagainstkerry.org/#vak
VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST JOHN KERRY TO DEMONSTRATE AT Democrat National Convention In Boston
When: Wednesday, July 28th and 29th.
Where: Kerry’s Boston Campaign Headquarters
Then this one,
KERRY LIED . . . while good men died
A gathering of Vietnam veterans from across America
Where: Upper Senate Park, Washington, D.C. It is easy to get to, shady and pretty, with a great view of the Capitol dome in back of the speaker’s platform. THIS IS A NEW LOCATION AS OF 7/17/04
When: Sunday, Sept 12, 2004 2:00-4:00 PM (EDT)
Why: To tell the truth about Vietnam veterans.
To counter the lies told about Vietnam veterans by John Kerry
All Vietnam veterans and their families and supporters are asked to attend. Other veterans are invited as honored guests.
SO this is going to be a issue indeed…And there are NO lies in any of this. They have even pics to prove it all. And let me tell you this movment by the Vietnam Vets is huge.
This is why they try to remind the American people about his service in Vietnam. And as far as Bush and Cheney…Ahh what did Bill CLinton do?
Joe
I’d like to know what the difference is, between George Bush “not lying about Iraqi WMDs” because he was just repeating what he was told, and John Kerry repeating to Congress what he was told about atrocities in Viet Nam?
I don’t know how you can fault Kerry but not Bush. Although Bush’s lies cost us 900 American lives and 200 billion taxpayer dollars, and has overextended the military, and swelled the ranks of Al Qaeda with new recruits, whereas Kerry is widely credited with helping to end the Viet Nam war early, which actually saved American lives. In my opinion Kerry EARNED the right to protest the war.
Maybe you should try reading the transcripts of Kerry’s testimony sometime? Maybe see what was actually said?
Let me clue you in, Chuck. Viet Nam was a total clusterfuck with no logical goal and no exit strategy. Exactly what was the grand goal of the war? To prevent the “Domino Theory” from occurring in the region. Today, almost everyone recognizes that the Domino Theory was full of shit, and nothing was accomplished in Viet Nam, except for leaving a black mark on our nation’s history. But you’re pissed off that people protested the war?
You also refer to photos of Kerry when he and McCain went back to Viet Nam to restore and normalize relations between our country and theirs. This was an accomplishment of statesmanship that eclipses anything that George Bush has ever done over his entire political career. You should try learning about it, I bet you will gain some respect for Kerry. But I know that’s not anything you’re interested in… you could never be impartial, could you?
Also, nobody said anything bad about Purple Hearts, get a grip on yourself.
Lumpy,
I have read all of Kerry’s testimony before. Its a disgrace and in no way is it set up as a “I heard that there were attrocities”. He blatantly lied. My favorite line is where he claims that 90something percent of troops in Vietnam are constantly high. and where he says “i committed atrocities”
From the Vietnam Vets:
John Kerry brought it up. Viet Nam veterans are jumping all over it. What is it? It’s something that’s been in the craws of Viet Nam vets since 1971. It is the false testimony given by John Kerry when he told the lies that have contributed so much to the public’s baby-killer perception of the Vietnam veteran.
Finally, after thirty-three years, we have our chance to set the record straight–thousands of veterans and their supporters are going to demonstrate to the American people once and for all that John Kerry lied when he testified that Americans were committing murder, mayhem, torture, and rape in Viet Nam.
On 23 April, 1971, John Kerry testified under oath before Congress that Americans in Vietnam 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, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.
Before his testimony was over, he said, ‘‘We all did it.’’ When he testified, he was wearing his medals which he later claimed to have thrown over a fence in protest. The story of the medals has changed several times over the years. Suffice to say, those medals now grace the walls of his Senate offices, and also grace the rhetoric of his campaign speeches as he runs for president.
While Kerry confessed to no war crimes personally, his testimony was based on a meeting in Detroit where a number of men who claimed they were veterans (though some were not; and some who were, were not in service where and when they claimed). Both the Detroit meeting and the testimony before Congress were events staged by Vietnam Veterans Against the War, of which John Kerry was a national leader.
The speech made many serious (an untrue) charges against the United States, painted those who served in Vietnam as psychologically damaged monsters who daily committed the worst of atrocities, and recommended immediate and unconditional surrender, which would not only have abandoned the South Vietnamese, but also the US POWs in the Hanoi Hilton. The speech was played by the tormenters of those POWS in an attempt to break their will. They heard Kerry recommend their abandonment
http://www.tinyvital.com/BlogArchives/000799.html
Here is the other reason why in talking about those pictures…
JOHN KERRY BEING HONORED, BY COMMUNISTS, FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THEIR VICTORY OVER UNITED STATES.
Jeffrey Epstein
Vietnam Veterans For The Truth, LLC.
This is under the picture
Photograph of John Kerry meeting with Comrade Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Vietnam. Photo displayed in the War Remnants Museum (formerly the ?War Crimes Museum?) in Saigon. The June 2, 2003 edition of the ?Viet Nam News? is held beside the Kerry photograph to confirm the date the photo was taken. English-language placard below the photograph reads: ?Mr. Do Muoi, Secretary General of the Vietnam Communist Party met with Congressmen and Veterans Delegation in Vietnam (July 15-18, 1993).
John Kerry helped North Vietnam and the Vietcong win their war against America. More than 30 years later, the Vietnamese communists still recognize his contribution to their victory.
Consider this thought from a Navy Veteran of Vietnam who was a Swift Boat Sailor and had first hand [verified as far as possible] experience of John Kerry [emphasis added, as always].
am ashamed that Mr. Kerry is a member of the Swift Boat Sailors in Vietnam. I too was a “Brown Water Sailor”, and a Swift Boat Sailor who served in Vietnam. I knew Mr. Kerry, and would only trust him as far as I could throw a 2 ton rock up hill… I of course, am only speaking on my own knowledge of Mr. Kerry, and my own opinion of him. I do not speak for any member of the Swift Boat Sailors Assn. Or Tin Can Sailors Assn.
This Nation was built on those “Heroes” who stood a silent watch at Valley forge, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor, Manila, Hue, Da Nang, and Iraq. It is your choice to choose, but I would sooner vote for Hitler than Mr. Kerry.
This Vietnam Vet. Will Not Support John F. Kerry.
Wallace Benjamin Foreman, QM1, USN, Ret.
Most of the Vietnam Vets are so mad at John Kerry. ANd will be interesting to see the reaction he gets from the Vets, when at teh convention these so called “home movies” Kerry took while in Vietnam are played. WHen these Vets see this. They are going to explode.
http://www.vnsfvetakerry.com/INDEX%20PAGE.HTM
Just remember in Sept they are holding a huge huge rally…Showing how John Kerry Lied. TO show America and the world what he did…ANd lied to COngress…
Joe
From the Drudge Report this morning:
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS KERRY CONVENTION FILM: WAR SCENES REENACTED
World Exclusive
A bombshell new book written by the man who took over John Kerry’s Swift Boat charges: Kerry reenacted combat scenes for film while in Vietnam!
The footage is at the center of a growing controversy in Boston.
The official convention video introducing Kerry is directed by Steven Spielberg prot?g? James Moll.
MORE
Moll was given hours of Kerry’s homemade 8 millimeter film to incorporate into the convention short, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
“Kerry carried a home movie camera to record his exploits for later viewing,” charges a naval officer in the upcoming book UNFIT FOR COMMAND.
“Kerry would revisit ambush locations for reenacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero, catching it all on film. Kerry would take movies of himself walking around in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits. A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns.”
UNFIT FOR COMMAND, Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, will be unleashed next month by REGNERY. [It ranked #1,318 on the AMAZON hitparade Wednesday morning.]
Joe
Joe,
I read the same thing. It will be interesting to see what develops from this. Seems like Kerry was preparing for his “Wag the dog” future?
John Kerry is a war hero! Those who either deny it or hate it when it is mentioned better get over it.
With that said I don’t think being a war hero means that he would be a good President. I think that his extreme liberal voting record as a Senator means that he would be a very poor President-But he is a war hero.
As to Ted Kennedy: he has many problems, alcohol, womanizing, telling the truth etc. It surprises me that the democrats still foist him up onto the stage as if he is one of their shining stars. They would be better off if they sat him with Dukakis, McGovern and other fallen democratic hopefuls.
Just my opinion.
I think it tells volumes about John Kerry’s service and record that none of his former commanders will support his bid for the presidency.
John Kerry is going to open up one huge hornets nest tonight, by this film. For these Vietnam Vets, are not going to sit back and do nothing about it. For these Vietnam Vets are ready to do battle, against John Kerry. If you go to their websites, I posted and so many others. They feel betrayed by John Kerry. While they were were still fighting in Vietnam, he was out protesting vehemently against the War. Then to make matters worse, he goes and testifies before Congress. And tells them what he did…Which was really kept quiet for all these yrs. Till John Kerry brings up about his Vietnam days…Thats when the Vietnam Vets had to speak up. And they feel they want to get the reocrd straight, and will, on what really happened in Vietnam. AANd what John Kerry did. especially after the War. This rally in Sept, is going to be explosive. ANd will be interesting to see what John Kerry is going to react to it. Because everyone of these websites, talk about the march.
And Kerry is going to have to face the music, and face what he did and said after he came home from Vietnam.
KERRY WAR COMRADES PREPARE BATTLE – AGAINST KERRY
Capped by Kerry’s primetime speech to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination, Thursday’s program will include appearances and remarks by Kerry’s Swift Boat crewmates, the Kerry-Edwards campaign announced in a press release this morning.
But a group of veterans will soon try to convince a nation how what is presented on the convention stage tonight – may not be the full story: “Only 2 of John Kerry’s 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 support his candidacy today.”
A new bombshell book written by the man who took over John Kerry’s Swift Boat charges: Two of John Kerry’s three Purple Heart decorations (#1 and #3) resulted from self-inflicted wounds, not suffered under enemy fire.
The startling Purple Heart accusations, outlined in detail for the first time, are found in UNFIT FOR COMMAND, Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry.
And that’s just the beginning.
KERRY FILM DIRECTOR: THE BULLETS IN THE WATER WERE NOT FROM THE ACTUAL EVENT
The official convention video introducing John Kerry tonight, directed by Steven Spielberg prot?g? James Moll, incorporates homemade film footage shot by Kerry in Vietnam.
?I would have used archival footage,? Moll tells the NEW YORK OBSERVER’s Joe Hagan, ?but it was a pleasant surprise that he had taken his own footage while in Vietnam.?
"When Army Green Beret Jim Rassman is talking about how John Kerry saved his life,? he said, ?I?m using some of that footage. It shows the swift boat and various shots of the swift boat, and some firing like you see in the water. Bullets in the water.?
Entering controversy, director Moll explains how the bullets in the water were not from the actual event.
?It?s just illustrative.?
Moll mixes in the homemade Kerry film with stirring strings and a french horn soundtrack.
Moll is said to manipulate the speed of some of the film.
One moving scene shows Kerry in slow motion, in full gear, walking with his gun through the paddies.
Kerry’s homemade films are at the center of a growing controversy in Boston.
A new bombshell book written by the man who took over John Kerry’s Swift Boat charges: Kerry reenacted combat scenes for film while in Vietnam! “Kerry carried a home movie camera to record his exploits for later viewing,” charges a naval officer in the upcoming book UNFIT FOR COMMAND.
“Kerry would revisit ambush locations for reenacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero, catching it all on film. Kerry would take movies of himself walking around in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits. A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns.”
Joe
When I was in the service, I didn’t go to Vietnam. I went to Panama, which was pretty much a joke compared to Vietnam.
And it was sheer fucking hell, and I didn’t want to do that ever again, so I got my ass DOR because dammit, war sucks.
So I honestly can’t hold it against Kerry that he jumped ship and turned his back on his country. That’s exactly what I did, because my country put me in one hell of a bad place, and I was mad about it.
I got over it. Chances are he did, too.
If anyone deserves to protest a war, it’s someone who’s fought in it.
Kerry earned the right to say whatever he wanted to about Vietnam. And he deserves just as much respect as every one of our soldiers in Iraq right now do.
Lumpy
How in the hell do you earn a purple heart. I think it is more wrong place wrong time. You know what they say a purple heart is a markmenship badge for the enemy.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
John Kerry is a war hero! Those who either deny it or hate it when it is mentioned better get over it.
With that said I don’t think being a war hero means that he would be a good President. I think that his extreme liberal voting record as a Senator means that he would be a very poor President-But he is a war hero.
As to Ted Kennedy: he has many problems, alcohol, womanizing, telling the truth etc. It surprises me that the democrats still foist him up onto the stage as if he is one of their shining stars. They would be better off if they sat him with Dukakis, McGovern and other fallen democratic hopefuls.
Just my opinion. [/quote]
Bullseye. Zeb nailed it.
Kerry earned a purple heart. A purple heart is a marksmenship badge for the enemy. He volunteered to go to Vietnam. Did someone promise him a rose garden or did they leave out the fact that there was a war going on. He served his country and did it honorably. So have a hell of alot of people. Did Clinton serve? No. He was in Moscow when Vietnam was going on protesting the war. I am sure you liberals forgot about that when he was running against Bob Dole.
All I am saying don’t get on this bandwagon of how great he is, many men did it and many men died.
Darklock,
You said,“I turned my back on the country because it put me in a bad place.”
WEAK.
Once again did you not know that when you signed the dotted line that you might have to carry a rifle and just maybe pull the trigger before the enemy pulled the trigger and got you.
Doesn’t DOR mean you “Dropped on request”?
I am confused, what kind of discharge did you get? Were you an officer or enlisted?
America is the greatest country the world has ever seen. What great freedoms we have to do whatever we want whenever we want
[quote]dvldog wrote:
America is the greatest country the world has ever seen. What great freedoms we have to do whatever we want whenever we want[/quote]
See, this is the kind of dangerous attitude that causes all sorts of problems for the U.S. If we turn our backs on our allies when we should be gaining their support and trust, we put ourselves into a bad position… just like we are now with Iraq. If any kind of substantial U.S. military presence is required anywhere else in the world right now, we are fucked. Our troops are spread too thin as it is.
We can’t afford to tell our allies that we’ll just do what we want and then expect their support when we really need it. That was my biggest problem with our decision to invade Iraq.
And btw, dvldog, you’re quick to point out Clinton’s record, but let’s not forget where Bush was when Kerry was over there fighting.