Meanwhile, down at the border....

This is a disturbing one: Mexican immigration cops nabbed a fellow by the name of Mouakkeh Mouhamed Rouchdi, apparently of Syrian-French background with two people of Iraqi origin at the Tijuana bus station.

He was allegedly charging the two others $10,000 each to transport them illegally into San Diego, Mexican authorities said.
The other two people were of Iraqi origin but had Greek nationality, Mexican authorities said. The two flew from Greece to Paris to Cancun. From there, they flew to La Paz, where they took the bus up the Baja California peninsula to Tijuana, Mexican authorities said.

I seriously doubt these two flew all this way to fill jobs that Americans will not do.

"Hero" takes weekend box office

WAY off topic, but I just saw where Jet Li's movie "Hero" is likely to take the top weekend box office spot with $22 million dollars. I'm flat out stunned by this news: a subtitled, foreign film with a Rashomon type plot taking the top spot over some of the other swill that passes for entertainment these days. Usually, the best of Li's overseas stuff can only be seen on DVD. The movie is three years old and many of us kung fu fans have had to resort to either downloads or DVD imports to see films like this. Like I said earlier, maybe it's time for the studios to start getting this stuff over here sooner.

And in other cool Asian film news.... ;)

Calling them liars didn't work...let's try this then...

The smell of desperation appears to be emanating forth from either the Kerry camp, the mainstream media...or both. This latest AP piece that just popped up on the wire is a real hoot...even for a press that is determined to protect the man...no matter what the cost to their journalistic objectivity:

You'd think the details would be scorched into a veteran's memory like a cattle brand: ducking gunfire, seeing someone die in battle, bracing against a blast's concussion. Who could forget?
Yet such memories not only blurred over time in one classic psychological study of soldiers, but mutated too. Old recollections faded; new mental pictures took over. Whole new chunks of personal history materialized from the muck of memory.
"People went from, `Yes, I saw one friend killed,' to `I saw no friends killed,' to `I saw two friends killed,' to `I saw three friends killed,'" said Dr. Andy Morgan, a Yale University psychiatrist who helped run the six-year study.
Could such memory research help explain some of the dueling accounts of U.S. Sen. John Kerry's war experiences?

So, are they saying that all the vets have mental problems now, with the exception of Kerry?

Uh, oh...

More trouble....

Former Navy Secretary John Lehman has no idea where a Silver Star citation displayed on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's campaign Web site came from, he said Friday. The citation appears over Lehman's signature.
"It is a total mystery to me. I never saw it. I never signed it. I never approved it. And the additional language it contains was not written by me," he said.

UPDATE: While looking at the reactions on Free Republic, I was led to a thread from yesterday on the New York Daily News story "Words may pin a medal rap on Kerry." The article is about the citation in question in this story above, but one enterprising Freeper took it upon himself to do a little digging, and look what he discovered.

Kerry's 1971 Testimony now online

Video and audio of Kerry's infamous 1971 testimony are now available online. Thanks to PoliPundit.

Bite the Big Apple...don't mind the maggots

FrontPage Magazine has an excellent piece on what folks in the Big Apple have to look forward to this week:

Leftist protestors and Democratic Party supporters have promised to hit New York City in force during next week's Republican National Convention -- and many of them are openly advocating violence. The “RNC Not Welcome” website advises its protestors, “The only time it's okay to speak about illegal actions is when you are planning them with the small group of trusted people who will be doing the action with you.”
----
Moran has made it clear it is violence he intends to bring to the Big Apple. Moran was even more forthcoming in the Guardian. “We want to make their stay here is miserable as possible,” he told the British paper. “I'd like to see all the Republican events -- teas, backslapping lunches -- disrupted. I'd like to see corporations involved in the Iraq reconstruction get targeted -- anything from occupation to property destruction.” (Emphasis added.)

About that biographer...

Power Line has been doing yeoman's work in pointing out those things that the MSM can't seem to bring themselves to do. This morning's case in point is this analysis of John Kerry's authorized hagiographer Douglas Brinkley, who has a paperback of Tour of Duty coming out...complete with corrections!

However, the story is revealing despite itself in ways not fully intended. A few items in the story leap out and shed their own kind of light on recent controversies. Gerhart writes:

The Kerry campaign has refused to release Kerry's personal Vietnam archive, including his journals and letters, saying that the senator is contractually bound to grant Brinkley exclusive access to the material. But Brinkley said this week the papers are the property of the senator and in his full control.
"I don't mind if John Kerry shows anybody anything," he said. "If he wants to let anybody in, that's his business. Go bug John Kerry, and leave me alone." The exclusivity agreement, he said, simply requires "that anybody quoting any of the material needs to cite my book."

Will the Post now follow up and demand Kerry's a full view of Kerry's military records? Just asking.

Read the whole thing.

Just in case you've forgotten...

Lost amid all the charges are the facts about Bush's time in the Guard. When did he serve? What did he do? Did he fulfill his responsibilities? Was he in Alabama? In the March 8, 2004, issue of National Review, Byron York investigated and found the answers.

Blogspirator Nails NYT

There is a post on Free Republic this morning about the new attempt to slime the President with yet another version of the Bush National Guard story via the New York Times from a guy named Ben Barnes. This might have worked during the Clinton years, but with the bloggers part of the action these days, the effort is shot down before anyone knows what happened: Read the whole thing:

Who Is Ben Barnes?
CBS News reports that Ben Barnes is one of eight "bundlers" who have raised more than $500,000 for John Kerry's campaign. He is also listed as a Vice Chair of the Kerry campaign on the John Kerry campaign website. According to the Dallas Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Barnes is one of the "gatekeepers and endorsers for Texas appointees and job-seekers" in a potential Kerry administration.

A REAL scary costume for Halloween

Here is further evidence that popular culture has gone about as low as it can go. That line from the Blues Brothers movie, "sell me your children!" is no longer a joke.

Just when you thought the media bias couldn't get any worse...

From the Corner at National Review Online:

Doug Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, sent out a press release on the latest partial-birth ruling. Here's an email he got in response from Todd Eastham, the North American news editor for Reuters:
"What's your plan for parenting & educating all the unwanted children you people want to bring into the world? Who will pay for policing our streets & maintaining the prisons needed to contain them when you, their parents & the system fail them? Oh, sorry. All that money has been earmarked to pay off the Bush deficit. Give me a frigging break, will you?"

FBI Files on VVAW and John Kerry are online

Wintersolider.com, a project of the Free Republic Network, has the entire 21,477 page collection of FBI files detailing the activities of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the group John Kerry was associated with upon his return from Vietnam. They're in PDF format, so you'll need Adobe Reader to view them. Some highlights are:

Go to page 21 read to 25
"[redacted] that on April four, one nie seven two, a representive of the North Vietanese Government at the Paris Peace talks telephoned the 'movement' in the United States to be ready to take action, presumably demostrations, to counter expected escalation of bombing by American air forces in South Vietnam as a result of the increased military action of North Vietnamese forces in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.

There appears to be concern here about the safty of President Nixon while he is visiting his compound in Fla. The FBI report is from the Miami office of the FBI. Start on page 10 read until bottom of page 13.

FBI Document
Page 193
November 13, POWs discussed as power bargaining tokens
(transcript begins)Mike Oliver explained to those present that VVAW National Office had decided to send a five-man delegation to Hanoi, North Vietnam, early in December, 1971. They hoped to effect the POW release during that time so that the delegates could return to the U.S. to participate in the national actions at Christmastime. This would demonstrate to the people at the national actions that VVAW has real power. When asked how many POWs would be released, OLIVER said no specific number had been mentioned but that at least one POW would have to be released in order to give the VVAW claim validity. They planned to present this to the people of the United States and if they were successful in gaining public sympathy and support, they would enter further negotiations for POW release.(transcript ends)

On www.wintersoldier.com's Timeline page, it says "April 22, 1972 -- John Kerry represents the VVAW at the "Emergency March for Peace" in Bryant Park in New York City."
At that same time, according to the FBI surveillance file, Section 50, Part 1, Page 152. VVAW/WSO revealed information about a US Military operation. "...the VVAW/WSO operation during 4/72 during which a canvass of VVAW/WSO members, some in active military service, developed information indicating US would bomb Hanoi and Haiphong. This information was disseminated by VVAW/WSO prior to the actual bombing and could have seriously jeopardized US Military operations and lives of servicemen."

Lots of fun reading here. Enjoy.

The sliming of the Vets continues

Remember a couple of days ago I pointed out that the Democrats were going to fire up the Slime Machine to discredit the Swift Boat Vets? It seems that they have claimed their first victim:

Oregon City - The Clackamas County Prosecutor who appeared in an ad against John Kerry has been suspended from his job, but not for speaking out. Al French has been the target of local protests after his appearance in a political ad questioning the Democratic candidate's war record.
On Thursday he was placed on leave by the Clackamas County District Attorney's office. It wasn't for his statements against Kerry, but for lying about an extra-marital affair. Reports say French misled his former boss ten years ago to avoid getting fired.

And just where did this information suddenly come from? In my opinion, this may backfire on Kerry big time. People remember all the dirt that the Clintons unleashed on their detractors during the Monica mess and many were put off by it. If all the Kerry campaign can do is dig up old dirt like this instead of addressing the claims of the vets, it will end up turning off the voters who had quite enough of this sort of thing during the 90's.

Besides, why should the democrats have a problem with this? After all, it's just lying about sex. A private matter between French and his wife. They are just avoiding the issues with a cheap sex scandal. It's a conspiracy, for anyone who wants to look into it and write about it...a vast...

Well, you know the rest.

Drinking the Kool-aid

It's no surprise that editorials from left leaning papers and columnists would come out and support John Kerry in his time of need when things seem to be going so wrong for him with the Swift Vets mess. It's just that some of the logic behind these pieces, are shall we say...different:

From Newsweek/MSNBC--Eleanor Clift sees Sleeper Cells:

The strategy “came straight from the West Wing,” says the GOP staffer. “Nobody should be confused.” Asked to explain, this Republican says Rove is smart enough to keep technical distance. But all it takes is a well-placed wink to activate a web of Bush family hit men, confidantes and deep-pocket donors. “They know what to do—it’s like sleeper cells that get activated,” he says, likening the players to “political terrorists.”

Here's some wisdom from Hollywood's favorite director, Michael Moore:

The reason that I think you know so much about other men's war wounds is because, during your time in the Texas Air National Guard, you suffered so many of them yourself. Consider the paper cut you received on September 22,1972, while stationed in Alabama, working on a Senate campaign for your dad's friend (when you were supposed to be on the Guard base). A campaign brochure appeared from nowhere, ambushing your right index finger, and blood trickled out onto your brand new argyle sweater.
Then there was the incident with the Crazy Glue when your fraternity brothers visited you one weekend at the base and glued your lips together while you were "passed out." Though initially considered "friendly fire," it was later ruled that you suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder from the assault and required certain medicinal attention -- which, it seems, was provided by those same fraternity brethren.
But nothing matched your heroism when, on July 2, 1969, you sustained a massive head injury when enemy combatants from another Guard unit dropped a keg of Coors on your head during a reconnaissance mission at a nearby all-girls college. Fortunately, the cool, smooth fluids that poured out of the keg were exactly what was needed to revive you.

Here's Mark Morford from the San Francisco Chronicle:

And how hard should we guffaw while we note that, as Kerry was volunteering in Vietnam and earning his medals and risking his life in the most volatile and ugly and pointless and lethal and hideous war in American history unless you count Iraq, which you really really should, Dubya was "serving" in the Air National Guard, which we all know translates to mean "hangin' down in Tijuana slamming tequila shooters and annoying the waitresses, all while praising Jesus that he had a daddy who could keep him away from scary complicated violent stuff."

From the Editors at the Boston Globe:

No memo trail needs to be found linking Bush personally to Ginsberg and the veterans' group; the connection is apparent.
[ snip ]
Bush, realizing that the tide has turned against him, is trying to back-pedal and change the subject -- proposing yesterday that both campaigns join in challenging the so-called 527 groups.

But the above simply can't top the statement made by Teresa Heinz Kerry, who claims that the vets flap is undermining the morale of troops currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I believe that discussions or attacks on [my husband's] service undermine the peace of mind not only of Vietnam veterans but of those now fighting for their country," she told the Dayton Daily News.
"Let us hope that if they volunteer for service their reviews are not going to be so nefarious in the future," she added.

One voting block that Kerry may have to worry about

While John Kerry doesn't want you to pay attention or believe anything that his former comrades are saying, there's another voting block aside from Vietnam vets that he may need to be concerned about.

"It is intriguing about this election that Vietnam is coming in to play," Tran muses. "Vietnamese-Americans haven't forgotten John Kerry's anti-war stance. It would not be too much to say there is some hatred for him in the community." With a population of over a million in the U.S., and almost half of that in California, this sizable and vocal minority voting block may have some resonance during this election cycle.

Read the whole thing .

Another blast from the past

October 21, 1971

October 22, 1971

October 23, 1971

Some of us have quite long memories...from the Doonesbury site.

John Kerry, Hypocrite Extraordinaire

Via Blogs for Bush. A real good one.

As long as the attacks were on President Bush, he was willing to put up with them - but when he saw the pain a $250,000 ad buy in three small States caused John Kerry, President Bush knew it was time to swing into action to protect John Kerry.
The funny thing, though, is that John Kerry isn't having any of this - in fact, he is downright outraged that anyone would want to condemn any other group besides Swift Boat Veterans for Truth...and the reason for this outrage? Well, according to Kerry, its because there is collusion between SBVT and President Bush, and this is what makes this tiny ad-buy such a major, major issue for John Kerry. And here's where we get to a level of hypocrisy which we pray even John Kerry wont be able to top at a later date - The New York Post in an editorial points out some interesting facts for our enlightenment.

Read the whole thing.

What's up with the ads?

I thought it would be a good idea to place the new Google ad thing that Blogger introduced the other day onto my site. Yet, since most of the stuff that I've posted has been about Kerry and Vets flap, guess what? Yep...as you can see, the search engine hits on the words but not the content, making Swimming through the Spin look like a left wing site.

So, to correct this, I give you the following:

George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias, George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, G.O.P., republicans, conservative, American values, God, Ronald Reagan, Homeland Security, Traditional Values, War against Terror, right wing, Liberal media bias.

There, that should do it.

Another witness

Bob Novak has his column out this morning that we spoke about yesterday in which another witness to one of John Kerry's alleged Purple Heart incidents took place:

"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.
----
"I was astonished by Kerry's version" [in his book Tour of Duty] of what happened Dec. 2, Schachte said Thursday. When asked to support the Kerry critics in the swift boat controversy, Schachte said, "I didn't want to get involved." But he said he gradually began to change his mind when he saw his own involvement and credibility challenged, starting with Davis on CNN's "Crossfire" on Aug. 12.

More bias

Bill Hobbs points out a Bloomberg piece which looks only at whether the Bush campaign has any illegal links to the Swift Boat Vets:

There is not one mention in the entire 1,068-word story of the ample evidence of coordination between the Kerry campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and a variety of anti-Bush/pro-Kerry 527 groups - although the overwhelming majority of 527 money is being raised and spent by 527s aligned with Kerry and the DNC, and there is a mountain of evidence of illegal coordination among them compared to a molehil of evidence of illegal coordination between Bush, the GOP and the Swift Boat Vets.

And the web of connections can be viewed here.

MUST SEE TV

Get your TiVo's set or VCR's if you still use them and tune into C-SPAN tonight. They will broadcast, in it's entirety, John Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony about "Vietnam war atrocities." It starts at 8 p.m. eastern time. This should be interesting due to the fact that Kerry defenders say the statements used in the Swift Vets ads are "taken out of context."

Another "on the boat" vet to come forward?

According to a Freeper watching CNN Crossfire, Kerry could have more problems:

(Bob) Novak implied that one of the two men on the boat with Kerry during his first Purple Heart will come forward to contradict Kerry’s story. He wouldn’t tell (James) Carville the name of the person, but said it would come out soon.

UPDATE: BeldarBlog has more details:

I'm told that now coming across the newswires is a new column from Bob Novak that contains extensive quotes from Retired Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. Schachte, call-sign "Batman," has broken his press silence to insist that he was indeed aboard the Boston Whaler or "skimmer" in the early morning mission on December 2, 1968, out of which Sen. John Kerry's first Purple Heart was awarded. Schachte maintains that Kerry's minor arm wound was not sustained while under enemy fire, but was indeed the result of Kerry — code-named "Robin" on this mission — being careless in firing an M-79 grenade launcher. Other officers are quoted to support the likelihood of Schachte's presence.

Here we go again with the "served with" spin

Patterico Pontifictions is taking issue with the L.A. times in their coverage of the Swift Vets flap. It seems that they are still trying the spin of "if they didn't serve on the boat, they don't know what they're talking about."

None of the men in the Swift boat group behind the anti-Kerry ad, including [Larry] Thurlow, served on Kerry's patrol boat during the war.

The New Republic is saying the same thing.

But today, the Vets unleashed their third ad onto the web, which features Steve Gardner, who manned the forward machine gun on PCF-44 and claims he spent more time on Kerry's boat than any other veteran.

Even if no one was on Kerry's boat, given that some of the footage shown at the DNC convention was shot from other vessels, you would think that vantage point would be a good place to observe what was going on. But that kind of logic fails the MSM. Hat tip to Instapundit

The Times does it again

Editor and Publisher has a short piece about how the New York Times is dealing...or not dealing, with the Swift Vet Boat story:

Two days ago, in a front page news article, two New York Times reporters referred to the Swift Boat charges as "mostly unsubstantiated." The paper went a step further this morning on the front page, when reporter Elizabeth Bumiller flatly called the attacks on Kerry "unsubstantiated," without a qualifier, in the first sentence of her story on the resignation of the national counsel for President Bush.

This, from the paper which once employed Jason Blair and where Walt Duranty worked and received a Pulitzer for telling everyone how great the Soviet Union was.

Pathetic.

If you liked the Swift Vets, then you'll just LOVE...

If John Kerry thought he was having problems with his former comrades in arms now, he's going to probably have even more trouble with another group that will soon be letting themselves be heard:

"Stolen Honor" investigates how John Kerry's actions during the Vietnam era impacted the treatment of American soldiers and POWs. Using John Kerry's own words, the documentary juxtaposes John Kerry's actions with the words of veterans who were still in Vietnam when John Kerry was leading the anti-war movement.
----
Little did the American prisoners of war imagine that half a world away events were conspiring to make their precarious situation even more desperate. That an American Naval Lieutenant after a 4-month tour of duty in Vietnam was meeting secretly in an undisclosed location in Paris with a top enemy diplomat. That this same lieutenant would later join forces with Jane Fonda to form an anti-war group of so-called Vietnam veterans, some of whom would be later discovered as frauds who never set foot on a battlefield. All this culminating in John Kerry's Senate testimony that would be blared over loud speakers to convince our prisoners that back home they were being accused and abandoned. Enemy propagandists had found a new and willing accomplice. (Narration from Stolen Honor)

This is going to be hard for Kerry to deny. While the events surrounding his actions in Vietnam has been a collection of he said/he said (mainly because Kerry wrote most of the after-action reports) his statements upon returning to America and his anti-war activities are very well documented and will not be subject to interpretation or hazy memories. Even the comic strip Doonsbury parodied Kerry in 1971. For the P.O.W.'s, this is truly seared, seared into their memories.

Stating the obvious

This morning's Washington Times is pointing out some facts that many of us are aware of:

Press coverage of liberal political activist groups attacking President Bush has been less intense and less critical than current coverage of a group questioning Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's service in the Vietnam War.
----
According to a Lexis-Nexis search, major U.S. newspapers, magazines and television networks filed nearly 400 stories in the past 10 days about the anti-Kerry ads put forward by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Most of those stories have run since last Thursday, when Mr. Kerry accused the group of being a "front" for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign, and the articles have explored that charge and examined the group in depth.
----
Research by The Washington Times revealed only 34 stories this month that mentioned the liberal 527 group MoveOn.org, which has been attacking Mr. Bush on television and the Internet since the spring, posting on its Web site an ad that compared the president to Adolf Hitler.

More spin from the L.A. Times

A column in the L.A. Times this morning proves the point that the MSM is really carrying water for Kerry, despite being caught in a lie:

The anti-Kerry veterans who have banded together as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth may be sincere in their version of what happened in 1969, but the weight of evidence still supports Kerry's original story. They have caught him in only one, relatively inconsequential untruth — Kerry's claim that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Day 1968. (He now admits that something that didn't happen was "seared" into his memory.)

Kerry has claimed this story numerous time, all throughout his political career, and it's now described as relatively inconsequential? The piece goes on:

First, it once again confirms that, for all the conservative caterwauling about the insidious power of liberal reporters, the establishment media have little ability anymore to control the national agenda. The press would have been happy to parrot Kerry's version of his war story as reported by his authorized chronicler, Douglas Brinkley, in "Tour of Duty." But the iron triangle of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News Channel and Regnery Publishing .....

Boy, they come right out in admiting it, don't they? And let's not forget the Iron Triangle crack either. These editorials are looking more like Pravda stories from the mid 1970's every day.

LA TIMES POLL: Bush Overtakes Kerry

I expect that the attacks on the Swift Boat Vets and Bush are really going to pick up after this poll. For this to actually appear in the L.A. Times means that Kerry is looking at serious trouble.

For the first time this year in a Times survey, Bush led Kerry in the presidential race, drawing 49 percent among registered voters, compared to 46 percent for the Democrat. In a Times Poll just before the Democratic convention last month, Kerry held a 2 percentage point advantage over Bush.
That small shift from July was within the poll's margin of error. But it fit with other findings in the Times Poll showing the electorate edging toward Bush over the past month on a broad range of measures, from support for his handling of Iraq to confidence in his leadership and honesty.
Although a solid majority of Americans say they believe Kerry served honorably in Vietnam, the poll showed that the fierce attacks on the senator from a group of Vietnam veterans criticizing both his performance in combat and anti-war protests at home have left some marks: Kerry suffered small but consistent erosion compared to July on questions relating to his Vietnam experience, his honesty and his fitness to serve as commander in chief.

You don't want to go there..

Saw this tucked into the latest AP piece on the Swift Boat Vets flap:

A senior House Democrat, Michigan Rep. John Dingell, sent a letter asking Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the possible "illegal coordination" between the two. The Bush campaign and the veterans group have denied any coordination.

They really don't want to go there, do they?

Kerry's Real Band of Brothers

From Jessica's Well via Instapundit.

If this is true....

After representing sound and fury signifying nothing during the Clinton years, Judicial Watch claims that they have unearthed some damaging FBI documents on John Kerry:

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released recently declassified documents showing that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry accepted laundered contributions for his 1996 re-election campaign from the Communist Chinese government and that, in exchange, he may have arranged meetings between Chinese aerospace executives and U.S. government officials.

I fully expect to see this on the front pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post tomorrow.

Not.

New York Times caught again

From Brit Hume at Fox News:

The New York Times reports today that after President Bush condemned the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad and all other ads by so-called 527 groups, "The White House quickly moved to insist that Mr. Bush had not meant in any way to single out the advertisement run by the veterans opposed to Mr. Kerry."
The Times names Scott McClellan as the person who did this insisting. But a transcript of McClellan's informal press briefing yesterday shows he did no such thing. He didn't even raise the issue until he was asked about it, merely repeating what the president said.
And when McClellan talked to reporters again later, he and other journalists present say he did the same thing.

A web of connections

From Blogs for Bush: "Let's see how aggressively the New York Times and Washington Post investigate these OBVIOUS and DIRECT connections to the Kerry campaign."

Even more proof is here.

Some things never change...

From Best of the Web:

"I called the media. . . . I said, 'If I take some crippled veterans down to the White House and we chain ourselves to the gates, will we get coverage?' 'Oh, yes, we will cover that.' "--John Kerry, testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 22, 1971

"Kerry is sending to Crawford former Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, a frequent companion of Kerry's on the campaign trail and a fellow Vietnam War veteran who lost three limbs during the war. Cleland . . . will try to deliver a letter protesting the [Swift Boat Veterans for Truth] ads to [President] Bush at his heavily guarded ranch, Kerry aides said."--Reuters, Aug. 25, 2004

Shameful tactics then...shameful tactics now.

and yet ANOTHER inconsistency...

More seared memory problems for Kerry.

"The dog! Where's the dog? We gotta go back and get the dog!"

Maybe I've seen Apocalypse Now far too many times, but this little item from Hugh Hewitt caught my eye...especially after Kerry tried to liken himself to Martin Sheen when talking about his non-existent trip to Cambodia.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), D-Mass., relaxes with his puppy V.C., while stationed in the Mekong Delta in 1969, during the Vietnam War. The controversy over the Vietnam war record of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has trained a fresh light on one of that conflict's lesser-known episodes _ the operations of America's 'Brown Water Navy' in rivers, canals and mangrove swamps of the Mekong Delta. (AP Photo/Courtesy of John Kerry)

Maybe he lost it after gunning down some innocent Vietnamese while doing a routine check on a San-Pan or something...

Gloves off?

The Drudge Report now has a photo of John Kerry holding a pair of boxing mitts, which I suppose is a symbol for "taking the gloves off." So, how tough is Kerry getting in his fight against Bush?

He sends a guy in a wheelchair to deliver his message.

(CNN) -- Vietnam veteran and former Sen. Max Cleland said Wednesday that attack ads questioning Sen. John Kerry's combat record in Vietnam were "scurrilous" and "dishonest and dishonorable" and called on President Bush to come out against them.
Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in the war, told reporters gathered at a school near Bush's Texas ranch that the commercials run by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were false and that "George Bush is behind it."
"The question is, where is George Bush's honor? The question is where is his shame?" Cleland asked. "To attack a fellow veteran who has distinguished himself ... in combat, regardless of the political combat involved, is disgraceful."

No, Senator...using your self-inflicted disability as a cheap, Michael Moore inspired publicity stunt is what's disgraceful. (Cleland may have lost his limbs in 'Nam, but it was from foolishly picking up a live grenade in a non-combat situation.)

None of the guards posted to guard the President accepted the letter. However, Bush had a letter ready for Cleland to deliver to Kerry, which the former Senator refused to accept.

You accused your fellow veterans of terrible atrocities – and, to this day, you have never apologized. Even last night, you claimed to be proud of your post-war condemnation of our actions. We’re proud of our service in Vietnam. We served honorably in Vietnam and we were deeply hurt and offended by your comments when you came home. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t build your convention and much of your campaign around your service in Vietnam, and then try to say that only those veterans who agree with you have a right to speak up. There is no double standard for our right to free speech. We all earned it.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Ginsberg stepped down after it was learned that he was actually representing more than one client. According to democrat logic, if the GOP does it...that's bad...but if they do it...no problem.

Lawyers on the Democratic side are also representing both the campaign or party and outside groups running ads in the presidential race. Ginsberg's dual role has drawn attention because of an ad the Swift Boat Veterans group ran accusing Kerry of exaggerating his Vietnam War record, an issue that has dominated the campaign since early August.
Kerry has fired back by accusing Bush of using the group to run a smear campaign for him. Democrats have jumped on any tie, even if legal, to back up that claim.

Later in this AP piece, this one sentence sort of popped out at me:

Neither campaign has produced proof of coordination on the part of its rival.

Oh, really?

UPDATE: According to Rich Lowry:

Max Cleland, who made a staged appearance at the Bush ranch Wednesday, was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of directors of the Export-Import Bank in 2003. The same Max Cleland who is spending nearly all of his time attacking President Bush is, amazingly enough, a Bush political appointee.

Going after the Swifties

The slime machine seems be be hard at work since the Kerry campaign can't seem to get it together about the Vets issue:

A group of Democratic loyalists is compiling incriminating dossiers on the members of the veteran group - and they sent us a preview of what might be in store for Swift Boat activist James Zumwalt, son of illustrious Adm. Elmo Zumwalt - and it isn't pretty.

Releasing medical records? Isn't that illegal? Meanwhile, Kerry is actually promoting his anti-war activities:

PHILADELPHIA - Democrat John Kerry defended his Vietnam War record Tuesday night from accusations that he didn't deserve his medals and invited voters to judge his 1970s anti-war activism as an indication of the "kind of president I'm going to be."

Meanwhile, his four months in country and a short, separate tour aboard ship suddenly turns into a longer period of time:

Kerry also struck back at people who criticize him for trying to glorify only four months of service in Vietnam.
"I was there longer than that, number one," he said. "Number two, I served two tours. Number three, they thought enough of my service to make me aide to an admiral."

You know, all the vets I've ever talked to considered "a tour of duty" to be a full year in country. They counted the days left like a child counts the days until Christmas. They called it "being short."
Meanwhile, Kerry is dispatching his minions to Bush's ranch to try to convince him to try and put a stop to the ads that have the democrats tied up in knots. He already called for a stop to all 527 ads, but that isn't enough for them.

The Kerry letter, signed by at least seven Democratic senators who have served in the military, calls on Bush to "recognize this blatant attempt at character assassination, and publicly condemn it."
"Call on this group to cease and desist," they wrote. Cleland said Bush "owes it to every soldier and veteran in the nation to stop condoning their smears through his silence."

Tell the 527's on the other side to stop first...

"We are like pond scum"

Interesting article on Kerry's press corps from Editor and Publisher:

Most of the traveling press gave positive marks to the Kerry staffers and overall logistics of traveling with the candidate. "We have pretty good help from them to do our job," said Frank James, a Chicago Tribune reporter. One ABC cameraman, however, was not as understanding, saying access to Kerry is almost non-existent, a view shared by many on the tour. "Kerry sits in the front," he said about life on the campaign plane. "We are like pond scum," he declared.

Heh...anyone remember the Zoo Plane?

About that Bronze Star engagement

McQ say he has finally figured out what the New York Times missed in their recent article about the incident for which John Kerry earned his bronze star.

There was no reported small arms fire around the mine. There was no reported VC KIA or WIA at that time. Those all took place in the previous Mike Force operation, not the mine detonation.
Which explains why the PCFs were able to spend 90 minutes on site, saving the 3 boat and its crew before towing it in and not suffering one single solitary casualty from small arms or any other type of fire.

and for the defense...

Meanwhile, while the debate goes on over John Kerry's past in the anti-war movement, let's pause and take a look at other news from around the globe.

AMMAN, 25 August 2004 — Former US Justice Secretary Ramsey Clark is expected to join a legal team seeking to defend former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before a special Iraqi tribunal, the panel’s chairman Mohammad Rashdan announced yesterday.

On second thought, maybe we should keep looking at John Kerry's past in the anti-war movement...

Photo Kerry wishes he never was a part of via Free Republic.

UPDATE: Bill Hobbs has more.

What was that about a gatekeeper, Hillary?

The Belmont Club imparts some wisdom on why the Internet (and bloggers) has changed the news game forever.

So when the Swiftvets story shouldered its way into the public consciousness despite the best efforts of the "gatekeepers" to consign it to oblivion, it posed an existential challenge to the news foundries. For where one could come, more would follow. The Mainstream Media responded to accusations by Swiftvets that Kerry had misrepresented his combat record in Vietnam by creating their own alternative news object, whose methods were restricted to OutrageAgainstBush( ) and SympathyForKerry( ), with read only properties Responsible and Respectable. They could no longer block the data, but they could still transform it.
Yet for good or ill, the genie is out of the bottle. Before the Gutenberg printing press men knew the contents of the Bible solely through the prism of the professional clergy, who could alone afford the expensively hand copied books and who exclusively interpreted it. But when technology made books widely available, men could read the sacred texts for themselves and form their own opinions. And the world was never the same again.

Richard Poe already pointed this out in his book and detailed the alleged efforts of a former First Lady to stop it. She failed.

Having blog problems today

I've been having blogging problems today...not sure why, but I think the system may be fixed now. I may be back later tonight.

Some questions...

ABC News' The Note, has some questions today for John Kerry.

Kerry Campaign Admits SBVT May Be Right?

A Fox News video link via Free Republic:

And questions keep coming. For example, Kerry recieved a Purple Heart for wounds suffered on December 2, 1968. But in Kerry's own journal, written 9 days later, he writes he and his crew, "hadn't been shot at yet." Kerry's campaign has said it is possible his first Purple Heart was awarded for unintentionally self-inflicted wounds.

But he WON'T be watching "Team America--World Police"...

From this week's TIME ASIA:

Whether or not the legislation passes, the six-party talks continue to sputter along with little progress. Pyongyang hinted last week that it might pull out of the next round, slated to be held next month, citing a hostile U.S. "smear campaign." With the U.S. presidential election approaching, some say Kim (Jung Il) is stalling, hoping that John Kerry will win—and that the North will be able to get a better deal from a Democratic Administration.

And the International Herald Tribune is reporting very much the same thing.

Good reading

Remember when Kerry said he was going to file an FEC complaint against the Swift Boat Vets claiming they were in cahoots with Bush? I wasn't aware of this, but the GOP already filed an extensive, 67-page complaint (PDF) back in March against the Kerry campaign alleging collusion with Democratic 527's, and provided a ton of supporting documentation. It's even got a part named "Individual Participants in the Soft Money Conspiracy" and a powerpoint presentation. Via The Truth Laid Bear.

What? ANOTHER inconsistent Kerry story?

ThoughtsOnline points out another inconsistent story from Kerry's Vietnam days...and the Captain's Quarters goes more indepth.

Does this sound like a threat to you?

Online Haganah has posted some more info about the recent hack of the RNC delegates names and addresses. It's been tracked back to a website called rncdelegates.com. It contains what many may consider a threatening statement:

"The earth is not dying, it is being killed. And those that are killing it have names and addresses."

They go on...

At the 2004 Republican National Convention, the self-appointed managers of the world will be discussing their party platform of racism, imperialism and the violent suppression of human liberty. They will proudly renominate the unelected president of an illegitimate government. For the past four years, in the United States, we have seen a terrifying increase in racism against Arabs and Muslims, the passage of the draconian USA PATRIOT Act, handouts to the rich that would make Reagan blush, millions of lost jobs, and an accelerated continuation of the war against the poor and the oppressed.

Oh, and they aren't shy about their motives either.

Our objectives are to:* Supply anti-RNC groups with data on the delegates to use in whatever way they see fit.* Supply a body of information that can be easily added to.* Encourage the republishing and redistribution of this data.* Facilitate making local connections. Many of these delegates are involved in politics and business on a town or county level.

“You were not on the same boat??"

A post over on the Swift Boat Vets site lays to rest the getting-older-by-the-day talking point about not being on the boat with John Kerry:

As these images graphically illustrate, one did not have to physically be on the same boat during a Swift Boat operation to be intimately acquainted with both what was going on in an accompanying boat or also with the people aboard those boats:


.... ..............

In addition, when the boats returned from a mission, everyone lived and ate and bunked on/in the same living quarters: a berthing ship, LST or base. Swift Boat divisions were very small. Everybody knew all of the other people and well. Whether they got along with them or not. The Swift Boat sailors that “served with John Kerry” definitely had as much or more contact with him as any of his assigned crewmen.
Bob Shirley …. Officer-in-Charge PCF-45

Not the Dire Straits album

The Swift Boat Vets flap is about to take an interesting turn with the release of a documentary where John Kerry's former crew mates vouch for his ever-mutating "Vietnam war heroics..."

"Brothers in Arms," a first film by journalist Paul Alexander, features Kerry and four men who served with him on Patrol Craft 94, the last of three boats he commanded during the war and the one from which he won the Silver Star for chasing down and killing a combatant who threatened his crew with a rocket.

I was reminded at once that I had seen this before many months ago. Funny how these things all come together at the same time, isn't it?

NEW YORK, March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Senator John Kerry, surging past fellow presidential hopefuls in recent weeks, has emerged as the current front-runner in the Democratic race for the White House. Now, people are asking: What accounted for his strong, decisive showing in every political contest since Iowa and why was none of that evident in the pre-Iowa polls? How did Kerry's campaign stage this surprise turnaround? What do voters need to know about what goes on behind the scenes of Kerry's presidential campaign? Biographer and journalist Paul Alexander knows plenty and in his new book he will share with America what he has discovered. Granted unprecedented access to Kerry's family, his campaign team, advisors, and members of his inner circle, Alexander sheds new light on the man who would be president.

<>

About the Author: Paul Alexander is a former reporter for Time magazine and has written for Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, New York magazine, The Village Voice, and the Guardian. Alexander is the author of Man of the People: The Life of John McCain (2002) as well as biographies of Sylvia Plath,J.D. Salinger and James Dean. Until recently, he was the co-host of"Batchelor & Alexander," a nationally syndicated talk radio show on the ABC radio network. Alexander has also directed a documentary on Kerry's Vietnam years, entitled "Brothers in Arms." He lives in New York City.

Either the Kerry campaign had anticipated the Swift Vets attack months ago and had this waiting to counter it or they had planned to run this all along to promote his war record. Or both. Or maybe it's just a freak coincidence that this is premiering now.

Yes, we admit we're working with MoveOn, and we'll prove it!

Look no further than John Kerry's own blog to see how his bunch seem to work hand in hand with MoveOn. Hat tip to Blogs for Bush.

The East Bay for Kerry/MoveOn House party on December 7th combined the forces of two grass-roots organizations based in San Francisco East Bay Area. We had 200 guests eating, drinking, and watching the MoveOn Documentary “Uncovered” featuring Joseph Wilson and Rand Beers from the Kerry campaign.When Teresa Heinz-Kerry arrived, she handed me a pin that read in the center: “Asses of Evil” with “Bush”, “Cheney”, “Rumsfeld” and “Ashcroft” surrounding it. [John Kerry] also spoke about the recent Bush Thanksgiving visit to our military in Iraq, carrying a platter laden down with a fake turkey, smiling for a photo op.

Choice Comments

Yesterday's post on the 1971 New York Times article has produced some impassioned reaction. It would appear that a wound that was better left alone to heal just had the scab ripped off and salt injected into it. A sample:

John Kerry used those boys when he returned from Vietnam as a political tool. The anti-war movement of which he was not only a part, but a leader, caused untold damage and death to all the American soldiers who were still fighting proudly. I have heard the Viet Cong used the anti-war movement, speeches, excerpts, documents to get POWs to turn. They didn't and were tortured more, thanks to the likes of John Kerry. Not to mention the fact that his Vietnam service/activity is a door he opened so proudly, now he wants to know who left it open. Reap what you sow.

Go check out the comments.

No Way to Run a Campaign

Holy... If some of you out there are thinking that Kerry campaign is dealing with bombshells and screw-ups on a daily basis now, you would be right. A Large Regular takes a look at the last month, which isn't over yet, and finds the Democrats are dealing with more bad news that Clinton did in the first days of the Monica mess.

The Main Stream Media handling of Kerry's Vietnam record starts to turn from kid glove coverage to real journalism with articles by Michael Barone and John Leo in US News & World Report, a column asking for answers from Kerry by Ken Tower in Investor's Business Daily Now there were many more things that I could have added in but I think you get the idea. Whoever is running the Kerry Campaign has no clue, no strategy and no control over the message that the campaign should be getting out. They pinned their hopes on presenting Kerry as a decorated war veteran and pretty much nothing else. That strategy is coming back to haunt them in a big way.

Link is via Instapundit. What's your favorite day listed?

Collusion...collusion...collusion--Part 2

This one comes via the Country Store:

...according to a Kerry campaign volunteer, staff members and volunteers of the Kerry campaign in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles have been in almost constant contact with MoveOn.org staffers, including advanced viewing and reviews of MoveOn.org television commercials, online ads, and web content. As well, MoveOn.org staffers provided the Kerry campaign with opposition research within the past two months, as well as advance looks at speeches made by MoveOn.org speakers, including former Vice President Al Gore. "We're always running into those guys," says a Kerry campaign volunteer in Washington, about MoveOn.org staffers. "We socialize with them, we see them at meetings, we can't avoid it. And of course we talk about the campaign. In some cities, we get our volunteers from MoveOn. No one has ever raised an issue about it."

Gee, I wonder why? Could it be that the media has already decided not to look into it?

There's one other base here, the media. Let's talk a little media bias here. The media, I think, wants Kerry to win and I think they're going to portray Kerry and Edwards I'm talking about the establishment media, not Fox. They're going to portray Kerry and Edwards as being young and dynamic and optimistic and there's going to be this glow about them, collective glow, the two of them, that's going to be worth maybe 15 points.

Dole Blasts Kerry--Part 2

Oooo. If this article is any indication of the former Senator's current mindset, he must be still using that product he touted a few years back:

Dole said Kerry responded, "I haven't spent one dime attacking President Bush."
But the Republican war hero shot back, "You don't have to. You've got all the so-called mainstream media, plus you've got MoveOn.org and all these other groups that have spent millions and millions of dollars trying to tarnish Bush's image."
"Don't tell me you don't know what some of these people are doing," he told Kerry.

Spin those headlines

So the President came out today and made a statement about those horrible ads. Not just the ones from the Swift Boat Vets...but all those nasty 527 ads that have filled the airwaves over the past few months. Here's the transcript of his statement.

Of course, you won't know this judging from how it was written up by the various members of the MSM...

CRAWFORD, Texas
(CNN) -- President Bush on Monday called for the so-called 527 groups to stop airing political ads, but he did not directly condemn commercials by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that have attacked Sen. John Kerry's war record.

What? He didn't single them out? The nerve!

Bush: Time To Sink Swift Boat Ads

WASHINGTON (CBS) President Bush on Monday denounced a television advertisement attacking John Kerry's war record and called for a halt to all such political ads by outside groups.

Ye gods! Talk about a misleading headline...he said no such thing, Bush was referring to ALL 527 ads. Of course, they don't bother to address the real quote until the third graph.

"That means that ad and every other ad," he said. "I think they're bad for the system."

But they ignore the "every other ad" part so that the headline can have more of the desired effect. MSNBC doesn't do much better with their piece:

Bush calls for halt to Swift Boat vets' ads
MSNBC staff and news service reports
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush says a veterans’ group should stop television ads criticizing John Kerry’s war record.The president's criticism of the ads by Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth came as Bush denounced all TV ads by outside groups attacking both Kerry and himself on Monday and called for a halt to all such political efforts.

Reuters adds their two cents with this:

Bush Says 'That Ad' Attacking Kerry Should Stop
By Adam Entous
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Under pressure from Democrats and Republican Sen. John McCain, President Bush on Monday called for ads attacking John Kerry's record in Vietnam to be stopped along with others run by independent groups, and said Kerry should be proud of his war service.

"That ad," eh? Well, at least they included the other 527s in the lead. Rather nice of them. The AP is quite more even-handed with their story:

Bush Denounces Ads by Outside Groups
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Monday denounced campaign commercials aired by outside groups, including an ad that accuses John Kerry of lying about his combat record in Vietnam.

But of course, later versions of the story contained this zinger of a quote from uber-attorney John Edwards:

Kerry's vice presidential running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, said Bush's comments on Monday fell short of what was needed.
"The moment of truth came and went, and the president still couldn't bring himself to do the right thing," Edwards said. "Instead of hiding behind a front group, George Bush needs to take responsibility and demand that the ad come off the air."

What did you expect him to say? Demand? Are you calling for political censorship, John? How much you want to bet that the democrats would be howling like a little girl with a skinned knee if if he went after MoveOn or one of the other Bash-Bush groups like they wants him to with the Vets.

Meanwhile, over at Fox News:

Kerry, Bush in Political Firefight
WASHINGTON — President Bush said Monday that a veterans' group should stop airing television ads criticizing John Kerry's war record.
Bush said ads from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a 527 group named after its status in the tax code, should be pulled. The call from Bush could open him up to charges that the Bush-Cheney campaign is coordinating with an unregulated political organization.

I got news for you: Kerry or one of his minions are going to make this charge regardless of what the President does or says. So what is the response from the Vets?

Anti-Kerry vets won't pull attack ads
Washington, DC, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will not pull television ads attacking John Kerry's service despite President Bush's wishes, sources said Monday. Sources close to the Swift Boat Veterans said the issue of Kerry's military service is too important to drop.
"It is not a Republican or Democratic issue. If John Kerry was a Republican, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth would still run this ad."

And according to the Note, this isn't going away anytime soon:

KERRY TO HIT BUSH TUESDAY: Kerry to speak at Cooper Union in New York City about how Bush is pulling a page out of the "Republican smear playbook" because he has nothing else to talk about, Stephanie Cutter tells ABC News' Dan Harris...

Thanks for the warm reception...

Well, my post on the 1971 John Kerry New York Times clipping got a bit of attention today. First Instapundit saw fit to link to me (thanks Glenn!) and it apparently went from there. Freeper Dog posted it on Free Republic after 4 this afternoon and has spread to who-knows-where out on the web. Thanks for all the comments and e-mails. Not bad for my first weekend at blogging...I should have done this ages ago...

Dole Blasts Kerry...big time

Apparently, former Sen. Bob Dole ripped into John Kerry on CNN a little while ago, saying that he should apologize to his fellow Vietnam veterans for engaging in anti-war protests while they were still fighting the war.

"I respect his record - but three Purple Hearts, he never bled that I know of," Dole told CNN's "Late Edition." "They were all superficial wounds."
"As far as I know he never spent one day in the hospital, I don't think he draws any disability pay. He doesn't have any disability. And he's boasting about three Purple Hearts, when you think of some of the people who really got shot up in Vietnam."

Ouch.

"I think Sen. Kerry needs to talk about his Senate record, which is pretty thin." Dole added. "That's probably why he's talking about his war record, which is pretty confused."

Double Ouch.

Why the media is loath to cover the swift boat story

John Leo wonders why the media is loath to cover the Christmas in Cambodia swift boat story.

At least someone is starting to see how the Bloggers are walking all over the MSM...and how the big boys in the media are spinning like a top to cover for Kerry on this story.

Links and Iraqi Blogs

I just added some more links to the side and a good amount of Iraqi blogs, which give you a much different picture of the situation than you get from the MSM.

Bronze Star Story in Newsweek

Via the Captain's Quarters:

In the latest edition of Newsweek, reporters Evan Thomas and T. Trent Gegax take on the story of John Kerry's Bronze Star engagement of 13 March 1969 and write a fairly balanced article describing the controversy and the effect it has had on the Kerry campaign. In the middle of the article, Newsweek notes an interesting change of story from Del Sandusky, one of Kerry's crew.

Read the whole thing.

Collusion...collusion...collusion

"I'm John Kerry and I approved this overt violation of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act."

An oldie but a goody...

Looks like these ladies had Kerry pegged a long time before others did.


Meanwhile, Kerry is still calling for Bush to tell the Vets to stop the ads. What happened to "bring it on?" Now it's "MAKE IT STOP!" If he can't take dealing with his former comrades in arms in a simple political debate, how in the world is he going to deal with Al Queda in war?

UPDATE: Instapundit has just linked to this post. Only a day and a half on the web and I've hit the big time. I don't know what to say...I love you all...thank you..

Getting those flicks from overseas

The Chicago Tribune has a story up today about how movie studios are having to change their marketing strategy with films from overseas due to DVD availability and piracy on the web.

Many film fans didn't want to wait until Friday to see Zhang Yimou's "Hero" -- and they didn't have to.
While Miramax pushed the acclaimed Chinese martial arts epic's release date back from month to month and year to year, it has been available on DVD in Asia for close to two years. Thanks to eBay and other online outlets, it's been available to U.S. consumers as well.
Ain't It Cool News Web site honcho Harry Knowles said he got a copy shortly before "Hero" was nominated for a best foreign-language film Oscar in early 2003. Frustrated by the repeated delays and eager to see the movie -- rightly touted as a more stylized follow-up of sorts to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" -- I bought my copy from an eBay seller last year for less than $10.Miramax has actively fought the importation of "Hero" and other movies awaiting release that are already available on DVD overseas. Now the company can only hope that those imported "Hero" discs will serve a similar function as sneak previews by generating positive word of mouth.

I would have to agree. I've had a DVD from Taiwan of the amazing action film Ong Bak since March and there have been rips of the Thai DVD on Kazaa and other file sharing networks since last year. When "Crouching Tiger" was being promoted over here, but not yet released, a friend returned from a trip from Singapore with a VCD of the movie.

While Ong Bak won't be in American theatres until November, the movie is out there for anyone who wants it. Instead of suing to stop the films from hitting our shores prematurely, perhaps they should consider speeding up the release dates so fans won't have to wait so long for the films they want to see. I've screened Ong Bak for several friends and they can't wait to see it again on the big screen. That kind of word of mouth buzz would be invaluable in promoting great, but obscure foreign films that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day. And there are plenty of them out there.

Meanwhile, in the land of fun...

Taking a break from the Swift Boat stuff, some folks still have a problem with calling countries like Iran and North Korea "evil", saying that it just inflames our enemies and fosters ill will.

But if you can't say things like this are evil, what does qualify?

In her summary trial, the teenage victim did not have any lawyer and efforts by her family to recruit a lawyer was to no avail. Ateqeh personally defended herself. She told the religious judge, Haji Rezaii, that he should punish the main perpetrators of moral corruption not the victims.

The judge personally pursued Ateqeh’s death sentence, beyond all normal procedures and finally gained the approval of the Supreme Court. After her execution Rezai said her punishment was not execution but he had her executed for her “sharp tongue”.

Strangely enough, no mention of any crime is stated in the story, but given the context, one has to think that it involved a crime of a sexual nature that was inflicted on the poor girl.

This would not be surprising, according to this very distrubing report from the Seattle Catholic, which details the kind of hell that a large part of the world's population has to endure in the name of Islam.

Another item which makes Islam reprehensible is the protection of men who
forcibly violate women. Under Islamic Law, a man cannot be convicted on a
charge of rape unless it happens in the presence of four male witnesses who
are willing to testify against him. In the course of my research, I have not been able to discover a single instance in which four men testified against one of their own. A Moslem man can freely rape women without worry of conviction, and this happens constantly in Islamic countries. To make matters worse, if a Moslem woman charges a man with rape and she is unable to find four male witnesses to testify against him, she is then charged with fornication. In countries under Islamic law, the punishment for fornication is death.

UPDATE: This young lady made the right choice...well, according to Islamic law anyways...

The victim faced a life as an outcast, ostracised and stigmatised by Indian society for being on the receiving end of a violent sexual crime. But if her assailant married her, the shame would be lifted in the eyes of the local Muslim community. On the order of the court in Berhampur, Ahammad Shaikh, 30, tied the knot with Sabina Khatoon, 18, inside the local prison where he is serving his sentence. Shaikh kidnapped Khatoon - the daughter of a daily wage labourer - from her village and raped her in a nearby forest in March this year.

I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of man I'm preaching to...

The wires are filled with versions of this story this morning in which a former POW resigned as a volunteer to President Bush's re-election campaign after he appeared in an anti-John Kerry ad sponsored by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

But no one seems to have any problem with Zack Exley, who is the Kerry campaign director of online communications and organizing. He used to be the MoveOn political action committee's special projects director, focusing on research and mobilizing MoveOn supporters. The Boston Globe reported this way back on April 8 of this year, and so far, Kerry's campaign doesn't seem to think that there is anything wrong with this.

Actually, there is plenty wrong with this. The 527 law plainly states that the two campaigns can't partner with any outside group, yet according to the democrat's own website from May of 2003, that is exactly what they have been doing.

"The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America's Future, and dozens of other groups representing millions of Americans to organize a massive public mobilization. On Wednesday, May 14, join us by calling and emailing your representatives in Congress to let them know that the majority of Americans oppose more irresponsible tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to the wealthiest sliver of Americans."

UPDATE: The DNC might also have some explaining to do about this photo from Nov. 13 of 2003 that is still on their website. Get it now before they re-write history again:

DNC Chief Operating Officer Josh Wachs (left), Senator Leahy, and Zack Exley from Moveon.org pose with the more than 310,000 signatures.

UPDATE: Thanks to all of my new readers for their comments, however few that might be at this early stage of the blog. Dooey writes: "I can understand where you're going with this, and I agree with you for the most part.Forgive me if I come off sounding ultra-liberal, it's kinda trapped in my veins, but using your logic Dick Cheney should not be allowed to be Vice President. He was, afterall, CEO of Halliburton -- a much much more influential tie.

Dooey, if Halliburton was a multi-million dollar political action committee, I would have to agree with you. But it's not. Halliburton is just a massive company, which according to their website, "is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the oil and gas industries" since 1919.

But MoveOn is an organization with only one purpose, to defeat Bush in November, financed by a billionare who, among other things, wants to legalize drugs. Being part of a large company does not disqualify you from holding office.

If that was true, Hillary Clinton should have never been elected to the U.S Senate due to her ties to Wal-Mart, an huge business if there ever was one that has much more of an impact on the lifes of average Americans, given how they have run a lot of hometown mom and pop shops out of business.

She was on that board of directors for years in the 90's, yet no one seem to have a problem with that. Do you see Hillary's name mentioned in negative stories about Wal-Mart like you do with the VP every time the name Halliburton pops up on the news wire? I don't.

UPDATE: The Truth Laid Bear does an excellent job in breaking down the difference between 527's on both sides of the political aisle.

Now comes the fun part...

While many have slammed the Swift Boat Vets for actually daring to challenge John Kerry's ever changing war stories, the public may have more of a problem accepting what Kerry did after he got back home. The L.A. Times, hardly a conservative paper, is taking a look this morning at Kerry's very public anti-war activities in 1970-71.

Now, there's nothing wrong with being against the Vietnam war. Many were in those days for quite legitimate reasons. But Kerry stepped way over the line in his smearing and slandering of brave American servicemen as baby killers, terrorists and war criminals.

The article also shows that Kerry was flip-flopping even back in those days on this issues--for example, how he portrayed his war service, and notice how he would wax indignant over perceived slights, just like today:

Kerry won the race and then two years later sought an open Senate seat. The main issue during the Democratic primary between two liberal candidates squaring off in a liberal state was the depth of their support for a freeze on nuclear weapon production.
But Kerry did poll voters to see if they knew which of the primary candidates was a veteran; they did not. So he ran an ad that showed him walking along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington and talking about "not sending another generation off to die for a misguided war," said Payne. It was a careful effort to meld both sides of his Vietnam experience.
His main opponent, then-Rep. James Shannon accused Kerry of flip-flopping because he had chosen to fight in the war and then had come home and protested against it. At a debate two days later, Kerry said Shannon's remarks tarnished the reputations of every soldier who fought, and demanded an apology.