Gavin in Va Beach

...but for how he is reacting today! Swiftboat veterans expose something new ...But last Thursday, John Kerry gave the vets the legitimacy they were looking for by acknowledging them, beginning to call them names and claiming they were dishonest. This is where I believe the "Swiftees" have done us all a favor in exposing John Kerry. They exposed him and his lack of leadership skills in how he handles a crisis. And what we are beginning to see is ugly. His party threatens to sue television stations carrying the ads. Then they shift to apply pressure to Regnery Publishers to recall their book "Unfit for Command." Then they go after bookstores which were selling it. Then they label all swiftboat vets liars and go on television to try to debate the guys. (And for what it's worth Kerry's surrogate – John Hurley – has looked absolutely pathetic.) Then, out of desperation, Kerry begins trying to secretly arrange meetings with the swiftboat vets – which they only expose him on. And when all of these attempts make no impact, he sends goons to Crawford, Texas, to protest outside Bush's private residence. They were delivering a letter that sounded like a piglet which had finally been caught in the County Fair "pig grab" rather than a serious complaint in this political season. "The crying, the whining, the moaning – oh my." And that's when it began to hit me like a ton of bricks. John Kerry is so afraid of conflict, of criticism, of anyone who disagrees with him or points out his inaccuracies, he would never survive six months in face of the genuine problems he would have to deal with in the White House. I can just see it. Every single time there is a negative press report out about him – "President Kerry" would feel compelled to go on every single cable TV talk show to "denounce the smears." Anybody remember how President Bush responded when groups spent $65 million dollars morphing him into Adolph Hitler? So, I ask you to fill in the blank: "From watching John Kerry handle the campaign crisis posed by the controversy of the swiftboat vets, __________ is what I have learned about John Kerry's leadership." Knowing that the presidency is not something where one can survive long with ultra-thin skin, I want to know what voter's impressions are on how you believe John Kerry would react in face of a true crisis. Listeners to my radio show seem to believe Kerry had a resemblance to a 3-year-old toddler who – though he wanted to be the tough guy in the room – was likely to be the first one to run for mommy's skirts should another kid look at him funny. I believe that this is an outstanding analysis of exactly how he responds. Remember Iowa – Kerry is Mr. Bravado: "BRING IT ON!" Remember Illinois – Kerry is Mr. Stealth: "These guys are the biggest bunch of liars ..." Remember Boston – Kerry is Mr. Soldier: "Reporting for duty ..." All of those occurred when his world was looking up – no crisis – no real challenge. Remember last Thursday – Kerry turns into Mr. Crybaby: "Tell them to stop picking on me ..." All the debate about what happened in Vietnam aside, the Swift Boat Vets have exposed the fact that, in a crisis, Mr. "Bring it On" is really Lt. Clueless, Junior Grade. And realizing what the mullahs in Iran or the dictator in North Korea wish to do to us, America does not need a child who plays victim "Reporting for duty."

I could go for 2 rates, something like 10% for everyone making under a 100 grand, and 15% for everyone making over.

What flavor is that koolaid? Must be really good. HOW exactly do Bush, Cheney, and Chamblis get a free ride? What hope exactly is it that McCain is keeping alive?

Guess we have to go commie now, eh comrade?

Ummm, what "blatent lies and smears" are you talking about? McCain- Touts his veteran record but neglects to mention how he cooperated with the North Vietnamese to get favorable treatment while injured and may have possibly given up important military information to them. The Washington Post reported on it at the time. Guess it's only a smear when someone dares bring up something embarassing from one's past that contradicts the crap he's spewing now. Cleland-Touts his veteran record and how he gave his limbs for his country, but neglects to mention he didn't even get a Purple Heart for it because in actuallity he only lost his limbs because he was a dumbass in picking up a live grenade. Guess it's only a smear when someone dares bring up something embarassing from one's past that contradicts the crap he's spewing now. Kerry- Touts his veteran record and that he's "Reporting for duty", but neglects to mention that 'reporting for duty' means trying to get a deferment first, then putting in for assignments away from any action, then on the unfortunate circumstance of getting assigned near action he writes HIMSELF up for suspect awarding of medals so he can get his ass away from the action as quickly as possible. Guess it's only a smear when someone dares bring up something embarassing from one's past that contradicts the crap he's spewing now. Bush- Doesn't tout veteran record but repeatedly get's smeared from the Left for what he may or may not have done while in the Reserves, but whatever he did it was so terrible he got honorably discharged on schedule. Don't know what fantasy world you live in Cow, but what color is the sky?

I read somewhere in these Kerry stories that after one's 3rd Purple Heart they can put in for an early out, which is apparently what Kerry did. An early out would certainly be motivation for some to try and get all the PH's they could as quickly as possible...

..at least according to this admiral... Admiral speaks out, disputes Kerry's account of 1st wound NEW YORK-BY ROBERT NOVAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST -- Retired Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. said Thursday in his first on-the-record interview about the swift boat veterans dispute that "I was absolutely in the skimmer" in the early morning on Dec. 2, 1968, when Lt. (j.g.) John Kerry was involved in an incident that led to his first Purple Heart. "Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 [grenade launcher]," Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, "Kerry requested a Purple Heart." Schachte, also a lieutenant junior grade, said he was in command of the small boat called a Boston whaler or skimmer, with Kerry aboard in his first combat mission in the Vietnam War. The third crew member was an enlisted man, whose name Schachte did not remember. Two enlisted men who appeared at the podium with Kerry at the Democratic National Convention in Boston have asserted that they were alone in the small boat with Kerry, with no other officer present. Schachte said it "was not possible" for Kerry to have gone out alone so soon after joining the swift boat command in late November 1968. Kerry supporters said no critics of the Democratic presidential nominee ever were aboard a boat with him in combat. Washington lawyer Lanny Davis has contended that Schachte was not aboard the Boston whaler and says the statement that Schachte was aboard in Unfit for Command undermines that critical book's credibility. Schachte until now has refused to speak out publicly on this question and agreed to give only two interviews. One was a television interview with Lisa Meyers of NBC News, for broadcast Thursday night. The second was a print interview with me, for publication today. Schachte described the use of the skimmer operating very close to shore as a technique that he personally designed to flush enemy forces on the banks of the Mekong River so that the larger swift boats could move in. Around 3 a.m. on Dec. 2, Schachte said, the skimmer -- code-named "Batman" -- fired a hand-held flare. He said that after Kerry's M-16 rifle jammed, the new officer picked up the M-79 and, "I heard a 'thunk.' There was no fire from the enemy," he said. Patrick Runyon and William Zaladonis are the two enlisted men who said they were aboard the skimmer and did not know Schachte. However, two other former officers interviewed Thursday confirmed that Schachte was the originator of the technique and always was aboard the Boston whaler for these missions. Grant Hibbard, who as a lieutenant commander was Schachte's superior officer, confirmed that Schachte always went on these skimmer missions and said, "I don't think he [Kerry] was alone" on his first assignment. Hibbard said he had told Kerry to "forget it" when he asked for a Purple Heart. John Kerry: I'm reporting for duty! (Unless I get a few paper cuts while working in the Oval Office, then I just might put in for the Congressional Medal of Honor and take early retirement. Don't worry, Pretty Boy John here can take over. He has great hair and he'll sue our enemies into submission!)

That's a rather personal question don't you think?

I hope you're not just now figuring that out...

I don't believe it was anything you did. Somehow it's all Jay's fault...

AYE!!! Yo Gilbride- :I starred in Brokeback Mountain:

God Bless Football!

...and those like him (is it any wonder that there are 3 lawyers that we know of here on PPP, and they all profess to be Democrats?)... Little boy sue: legalized theft and John Edwards

Good luck, marriage is a great institution! You'll certainly feel institutionalized after awhile!!

But...but...liberals love to say how open-minded they are...

Stewie: Yes I want some ice cream! But no sprinkles! For every sprinkle that I find I shall kill you."

Damn, when I clicked on the thread to see who replied I thought it might be someone intelligent...

It sure as fark wasn't The New York Times or The Washington Post...

By Craige McMillan, a commentator for WorldNetDaily. Lately I've been wondering how stories we read in "Big Media" would be different if 90-plus percent of reporters and editors were Republicans – not Democrats. Here's how I think the swiftboat-vets story might read. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A "band of brothers" nearly 300 strong asserted today in a new TV advertisement that John Kerry lied about his service in Vietnam, then "shot his fellow sailors in the back" following his 4-month "service," when he assumed leadership of the Vietnam Vets Against the War and offered false testimony before Congress about nonexistent atrocities committed by American servicemen. Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, a nonpartisan group formed under last year's campaign finance reforms allowing independent groups to comment on presidential elections, launched the advertisement with less than half-a-million dollars in the bank. Contrast that with the $100-plus million already spent by MoveOn.org and America Coming Together, groups attacking President Bush and funded by big-bucks liberal contributors with billions in the bank. The Kerry camp immediately fired back at the veterans, stressing that none of them had actually served under John Kerry's command or on his boat. But further investigation by this newspaper has revealed that swiftboats frequently traveled in groups, and other sailors on other boats often had a better view of the action and clearer grasp of what was happening than the boat "in the thick of it." "Unfit for Command," a new book still backordered at the nation's bookstores, elaborates on what these vets point out are Mr. Kerry's lies and distortions about his "service" in Vietnam. Only about a dozen swiftboat veterans support John Kerry's recollection of events in Vietnam, while hundreds say he's lying. As readers are no doubt aware, the controversy began when Mr. Kerry used a 1969 photo of himself and fellow swiftboat commanders published in Newsweek Magazine on March 8 of this year, to promote his campaign for the presidency. These vets tried to avoid a public conflict and requested the Kerry campaign stop using the photo and implying they supported him for president. Here is an excerpt from their June 1, 2004 letter, signed by their attorney Alvin A. Horne: Below are listed the names of eleven swiftboat officers of a total of 20 depicted in the referenced photograph with your client, Sen. John Kerry. They are: George Bates, Thomas Heritage, Terrance Costello, Robert "Rocky" Hildreath, Robert Elder, William Houle, George Elliott, William Schumadine, Al French, Larry Thurlow, Jim Galvin. These officers demand that Sen. Kerry's campaign cease and desist from all uses of that photograph, taken on Jan. 22, 1969. To my knowledge, of the remaining eight individuals, Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Crosby are deceased and Messrs. Baker, Bernique, Imbrie and MaCann have not indicated a willingness to presently take any position regarding Mr. Kerry. Only when this letter failed did the vets go public in an effort to save the nation from what they had experienced firsthand. Mr. Kerry has made his medals and Vietnam service the centerpiece of his campaign, but its interesting that even his own diary calls into question whether his first Purple Heart was earned – or the result of fabrications ("Diary refutes Kerry claim," Washington Times, Aug. 25, 2004). Mr. Kerry has repeatedly refused to release his diary, his complete service record, or to authorize the reprinting of his 1971 book, titled "The New Soldier," in which he "details" atrocities by American soldiers in Vietnam that most veterans say never happened. Many Vietnam veterans say the lies Mr. Kerry propagated upon his return hurt them even worse than their battle wounds. Former POW Paul Gallanti is one of them. He says in a new Swiftvets.com advertisement that, "John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I and many of my comrades in North Vietnam, in the prison camps, took torture to avoid saying. It demoralized us." The question of Mr. Kerry's medals and service could be easily settled, but the candidate has been less than forthcoming by releasing only selective portions of his military records. Instead, Mr. Kerry's campaign manager directed attorneys to threaten TV station managers with a lawsuit should they run the Swiftvets.com advertisements. This attitude concerns many First Amendment experts, who worry what a Kerry presidency might mean for the freedom of the press. Meanwhile, MoveOn.org launched a series of personal attack ads against the veterans who have challenged Mr. Kerry's Vietnam "service." MoveOn.org is financed and run by numerous Clinton-era Democratic donors, and staffers and election watchers are worried the group may be violating campaign finance law by illegally coordinating their actions with the Kerry campaign. MoveOn.org did not immediately return calls for comment. Republicans in a parallel universe

Thanks Mike, nice report as always.

A young Peter: Why did the dinosaurs die? Museum tour leader: Because you touch yourself at night. Quagmire (looking at a tied-up cheerleader in a mens restroom stall): Dear Diary, Jackpot!! Brilliant show!