Armed and Disingenuous

The debate that should have been

Welcome to the Sharp As A Marble [live] coverage of the Presidential Debates 2004. This will be the first of three debates. The first debate will revolve around Foreign Policy, the second will revolve around quantum physics and rodeo terms, the third has yet to be decided.

[...]

Go read it.

Efficiency in government

John Kerry meets with the Queen of England.

He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?"

"Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

Kerry frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle."

The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?"

Tony Blair walks into the room. "Yes, my Queen?"

The Queen smiles." Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, "That would be me."

"Yes! Very good," says the Queen.

Kerry goes back home to ask John Edwards the same question.

"John. Answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," says John Edwards. "Let me get back to you on that one."

Edwards goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall. Edwards shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"

Edwards smiles, and says, "Thanks!" Then, Edwards goes back to speak with Kerry. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."

Kerry gets up, stomps over to John Edwards, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"

Stolen in it's entirety from Kerry Haters, a site you really should get familiar with.

"Never Forget"

Human Events Online has made available a pre-release copy of the latest (to begin airing tomorrow) Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ad. Click here to watch "Never Forget". Learn what the wives of two former POWs have to say about John Kerry. I'm sure he'll enjoy watching this one.

I'll be back later with Real and Windows Media Player links to the ad. First I have to wait for http://www.swiftvets.com/ to post them.

Hat tip: Kerry Haters

Update: Swift Vets and POWs for Truth have posted this on their site. Click here for the RealOne Player version or here for Windows Media Player.

Originally posted 29SEP04

About those evacuations ...

It's not really funny. Beth, whose site the picture links to, was absent from the blogosphere for a few days due to Hurricane Ivan. I'm glad she's back safe. Her site's a good read.

A personal note to Beth

Beth,

There's apparently something wrong with the comment system at MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. My daughter tried to leave you a (nice) comment and ran into problems so she asked me to pass on a message. I couldn't do it either. I hope you'll leave a comment on this post telling me what's happening.

If you trust me enough to send me your email address (via mail, not here) I promise to be careful with it. You can write me at bdfaith@yahoo.com. If you do that, I'll get permission at both ends and give you and my daughter each other's addresses. "I think she is someone I'd like to sit down and have a debate with over a cup of coffee if we lived closer together."

Blog on, and please stay in touch.

-- Bill

Osama bin Kerry

Global Test

Outside the artificial restrictions of the “presidential debate” sideshow, President Bush responds to John “Global Test” Kerry:

“The president’s job is not to take an international poll. The president’s job is to defend America,” Bush said a day after his first debate with Kerry.

“The use of troops to defend America must never be subject to a veto by countries like France,” Bush told supporters a day after Kerry said the United States ought to pass a “global test” before launching a preemptive war.

“Senator Kerry, last night, said that America has to pass some sort of global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves. He wants our national security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.

”Listen, I’ll continue to work with our allies and the international community, but I will never submit America’s national security to an international test," Bush told the cheering crowd.

Click the image to read what Cox & Forkum had to say. Remainder via LGF.

He can't even convince "The New Republic"!

From that notorious bastion of right-wing pro-Bush thinking, The New Republic:

[...]

[I]f Bush is lying about Iraq, so is Kerry. It's not just that he has exaggerated what has gone wrong in Iraq. His entire speech was premised on the assumption that there were European troops and Muslim troops and United Nations gendarmes who would have gone to war with us against Saddam had Bush only waited another few days, weeks, months in the spring of 2003. That is a lie. And now, he holds out the same false promise. It is true, he admits, that there is a Security Council resolution calling on U.N. members to provide soldiers and trainers and a special brigade to protect the U.N. mission in Iraq. "Three months later," he admits, "not a single country has answered that call." Of course, Bush is to blame. And what should Bush do? He should "convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers" and "insist that they make good on that U.N. resolution."

There is something risible in Kerry's faith in these hopeless transactions brokered by Kofi Annan and in the United Nations itself, which is staging yet another tragic, do-nothing performance on Darfur. He surely knows there is no cavalry of Europeans and Arabs about to ride to Iraq's rescue (especially since he intends to withdraw American troops, hardly a move that will give other nations confidence). He surely knows there are no foreign funders willing to bear the financial burden, either. But, if he admits that, then much of his critique of Bush's Iraq policy collapses, and with it his confidence in the honorable community of nations--the kind of phrase of which liberals are fond. Except that the nations to which it refers are neither honorable nor a community nor, in many cases, even nations. Kerry may want to rely on their goodwill, but I don't.

[...]

Go read it all.

I’d really like to live in John Kerry’s world ...

I’d really like to live in John Kerry’s world. It seems like such a rational, sensible place, where handshakes and signatures have the power to change the face of the planet. If only the terrorists lived there as well.

From the always worthy James Lileks. Go there.

Instapundit links to Greyhawk, then brings in reinforcements

I started to just put this in the comments Of Greyhawk's Dear Ms Cocco post, but then I decided everyone needs to see it. I'm copying part of an Instapundit post I think all Mudville Gazette readers everyone should see:

UPDATE: Some thoughts on the draft from a serviceman in Iraq. [Greyhawk's post -- BF]

ANOTHER UPDATE: The New York Post: "Dan does it again."

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: A reader sends me a copy of this email he sent to the anti-draft crusaders interviewed by Rather:

Our 22 year old son is a US Marine, SpOps. His Btn just returned from the al Anbar region of Iraq. They have the unfortunate distinction of having taken the most casualties of any Coalition unit in Iraq (33 KIA 200+WIA, sent home). However, they - in the proud tradition of US Marines, and specifically the 7th Marine Regiment - killed over 3,000 of the enemy bringing peace to the region o which they were assigned. They took on an area where there was murderous terrorist activity on a daily basis and today, it's as safe as most of Philly.

[...]

[...]

Go read it.

My President, thank God.

Power Of Faith

I've read a lot of idiotic things in the media about George Bush's faith in God. I think it's time for an attitude check. This is my President:

"On our way out of the office we were to leave by the glass doors on the west side of the office. I was the last person in the exit line.

As I shook his hand one final time ... I then did something that surprised even me. I said to him, 'Mr. President, I know you are a busy man and your time is precious. I also know you to be a man of strong faith and I have a favor to ask you.' As he shook my hand he looked me in the eyeand said, 'Just name it.'

"I told him that my step-Mom was at that moment in a hospital having a tumor removed from her skull ... 'How do you spell her name?'

[...]

[...]

Read it all.

Dear Ms Cocco

Dear Ms Cocco

I understand that CBS (an unreliable source) claims that regarding the draft you're "so concerned she is involved with the organization “People Against the Draft”" and that you've appeared on television helping to promote your anti-draft agenda.

... I certainly want to salute your efforts and offer you my sincerest thanks. Speaking only for myself, an American serving in uniform in Iraq, there's little I fear more than having the determined, confident, and competent young sons and daughters of our nation that I see here daily replaced by some group of conscripts torn kicking and screaming from their mother's skirts and forced to become something that only faintly resembles the effective members of our armed forces that are currently far from home and risking all for a cause they believe in.

[...]

Go read it all.

Debate transcript & video

OK, so I can't keep a promise. Click here. Now I'm going to bed. ... Really.

Famous Minds

Signing off early tonight

At the risk of disappointing my regulars, I'm going to have to give it up pretty early tonight. I got two short night's sleep in a row due to leg cramps (when I remember my pills that doesn't happen), then got up earlier than I usually do today anxious to see what my sister found out at from the doctor. My back has been giving me fits lately, a situation that will get better soon due to a used typing/computer chair a friend of my sister has promised us. All in all, it's a good night to turn in early. I'll put up one more short post, which you may consider to be my comment on the debate, spend a little while surfing the blogosphere, then get some rest. Thanks for understanding.

Debate coverage

I'm not going to make any attempt to comment on the debate while it's in progress. I'll be keeping track of what happens by switching between Captain's Quarters, Crush Kerry, and possibly a couple of other sites I think may live blog but I'm not certain. I'll also be keeping an eye on the Live Debate Facts news feed on my sidebar, which I hope you'll keep an eye on as well.

See you after the debate.

Changed my mind. I'm still going to choose being near a computer over being near a TV, but I may make some notes as I go along. Please click Refresh every few minutes. I'm bypassing Word and Front Page. I may or may not come back later to fix some typos.

Add Power Line to the list of blogs to refresh often during the debate.

Live chat at The Command Post

It's over. I won't say much till I find a transcript. If I had it to do over, I'd watch it live on TV.

Some good news and a huge "THANK YOU!"

For those of you who have been following my sister's health problems here and here, I have good news. After surgery on September 19th and again on the 26th, my sister went to the doctor's office this morning and was told he's pretty sure he got it all. Examination of tissue removed from around the tumor site, and of nearby lymph nodes, showed no further problems. She's still looking at chemo and/or radiation treatments, and will still be missing some more work, but the long term outlook is bright.

After two very nice donations last night and a steady trickle of smaller ones, my Amazon bleg/tip jar button has so far replaced roughly three days of my sister's lost wages. Most of that, including the two largest donations, was given anonymously. I have enough e-friends, from a teenage boy in New York, to college students in Kentucky and at Purdue, to people I have long admired and only recently been in two-way communication with, that I won't even try to guess who left me money without telling me whom to thank. All I can do is use my blog as a place to say "THANK YOU." So, THANK YOU!

Good news on the family front

My sister just got back from the doctor's office with some good news about her cancer situation. I'll be back with more information later.

In The Face Of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed

I just watched the trailers for a movie I really wish I could plan on seeing sometime soon. In The Face Of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed will be opening nation-wide on Oct 1st. Please visit this web site for more information.

President Ronald Reagan showed us that the key to peace is strength, not appeasement. Far too many people in this country have forgotten that lesson, and I hope this movie will serve as a reminder to some of them.

Johnny, Johnny, Where will you run?

Johnny, Johnny, Where will you run?

SWIFT BOAT VETERANS JOIN FORCES WITH POWs

From a Swift Vets and POWs for Truth press release dated 29SEP04:

SWIFT BOAT VETERANS JOIN FORCES WITH POWs, LAUNCH $1.4 MILLION NATIONAL TV AND MAIL CAMPAIGN

POWs Take Aim At Kerry’s Post-Combat Activities Which Encouraged The Enemy And Prolonged Their Captivity

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a non-partisan, non-profit group representing more than 250 Swift Boat veterans who served with Senator John Kerry in Vietnam, announced today they are joining forces with a group of American prisoners of war who were held captive by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. The merger coincides with a new $1.4 million television ad campaign released by the new group Swift Vets and POWs For Truth.

“We welcome the POWs to this battle on behalf of truth, the real truth of who John Kerry is and how he betrayed his fellow veterans. His visits to Paris to meet with the enemy – and his subsequent public endorsement of their so-called ‘peace plan’ – only served to encourage our enemies and prolong the captivity of our POWs,” said Admiral Roy Hoffmann, founder of Swift Vets andPOWs for Truth.

“For John Kerry to now claim that his activities were part of an effort to help solve the POW problem is absolutely ludicrous. Kerry encouraged the North Vietnamese to keep us in captivity longer which meant more torture, more lost years and, sadly, more death,” said Vietnam POW Ken Cordier who was held captive for six years and three months and was awarded two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart among other decorations.

Read the rest.

The Wit And Wisdom of John Forbes Kerry

 

"Finish It"

Conservative "527" group Progress For America is sponsoring a new Kerry-killer ad in key battleground states. Click here to watch "Finish it", click the wanted poster to go to their site, or click here for a menu of their other ads. They're all worth watching. I especially enjoyed "Surfer Dude."

Debate Fact Checking In Real Time

I received this email a couple of hours ago while Blogger had another one of its frequent headaches:

Okay everyone, we have a chance to really help out the Bush campaign tomorrow night:

http://www.georgewbush.com/DebateFacts/DebateFeed.aspx

Put the Debate Feed on your site before the debate begins, and be sure to encourage other bloggers to do also. Remember, "each time John Kerry says something false or inaccurate during the debates, the live feed will be updated instantly with the facts." The Bush campaign has clearly recognized the power of blogs and we cannot let them down. The more blogs who put the feed on their site, the more effective we'll be, so please help out the campaign ... The first debate is the most important, so we have to do everything we can to support the campaign...

http://www.georgewbush.com/DebateFacts/DebateFeed.aspx

Thanks,

Matt Margolis
Blogs For Bush
matt@blogsforbush.com

I was already running the news feed script Matt is talking about, but if you hadn't noticed now you know about it and where to get it. Look for the DEBATE FACTS box not too far from the top of my sidebar to see what it does.

Dan Rather Must Go

Russ Vaughn, who has given us so many wonderful things recently, including "Media Bias? No, By Us", wants you to visit DanRatherMustGo.com and sign the petition to get Dan Ra^ther fired. I enjoyed signing it and know you will too. If you aren't ready to sign it right now, click here, and then go sign it.

The Nuanced Hero

The Nuanced Hero

It truly hurt and I so swore
About that grievous scratch I bore,
From tense and darkened nighttime battle,
So fierce that it might surely rattle
Those who failed to see my deeds
And could sense not my future needs
For medals to lob o’er a fence
Then boast of in elections hence.
So thus it fell alone to me
To swear to what they didn’t see,
And gain myself a Purple Heart,
So they could soon see me depart.

[...]

Go read it all.

SpaceShipOne half way to the X-Prize

SpaceShipOne reached outer space for the second time this morning, in the first officially recorded flight of two required to win the Ansari X Prize.

SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan said controllers had asked [astronaut Michael] Melvill to shut the engine down early because of [a] rolling problem, but Melvill kept going until he was certain he would reach the target altitude.

Another pilot with two big brass ones. Hat's off to Mike Melville.

There's some background information on this on one of my pre-blog web pages. Click here.

Wictory Wednesday -- 9-29-2004

It's Wictory Wednesday Again

Dozens of blogs across the country participate in Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, these bloggers put up a post asking their readers to volunteer and/or donate to worthy Republican campaigns. In their Wictory Wednesday posts, they also include the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which lists all participating blogs.

I display the Wictory Wednesday blogroll on my sidebar seven days a week. -- Why wait for Wednesday to support the president's efforts to be reelected when we need a good man person (Rice/Lieberman '08!) in charge every day? Please do whatever you can for the Bush/Cheney campaign. We're in a war, people. We need a leader who understands that.

President Bush has accepted the nomination for a second term. It's too late to donate to the official Bush/Cheney campaign, but there's still plenty of time to help get some good Republicans into the Senate. This week Wictory Wednesday bloggers are directing attention to Alaska Senate candidate Lisa Murkowski. Please visit her web site for information on how you can help her to victory.

Kerry's Debate Briefing Book --- Debate 1 --- Foreign Policy

Rudy Giuliani has obtained a copy of the Kerry teams briefing book for Debate 1, when the presidential candidates will compare foreign policy ideas.

"Senator Kerry has taken so many different positions on the issues facing the country that we thought he would benefit from the overview of the most interesting debate -- the one John Kerry is having with himself. He's been for the war, against the war and for it and against it again. Last week, he became an anti-war candidate again. This is a fatal flaw and the American people see through it. John Kerry is not able to take a principled position and is the wrong choice to guide America through this critical time."

The true masochists among you may click here to view the document in .pdf format. For those who'd rather (I love that word!) not, I've converted it to .html.

Issue: Iraq

Your Current Position

• The removal of Saddam Hussein has left America less secure. You are currently against the war and wouldn't have gone to war, but you used to be for the war before you were against the war before you were for the war.

Your Record

You voted for “the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.” Now you say the war you voted for made us “less safe.”

You said voting against the funding for the war would be “irresponsible.” That was before you voted against the funds. You said “it would be naïve to the point of grave danger” not to confront Saddam Hussein.

During the Democrat primaries, you said, “I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him.” That was before the surge of Howard Dean led you to declare yourself an “anti-war” candidate.

You are saying your vote for the war was a vote to “authorize” war so America could send a united message to Saddam. But don't forget in 1991 you said, “This is

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not a vote about a message. It is a vote about war.”

You are saying the removal of Saddam Hussein has left America “less secure.” Unfortunately, you also told Howard Dean, “Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president.”

You are saying the U.S. is spending too much money on Iraq, but in August 2003, you said we need to increase funding for Iraq “by whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win.”

You refused to take a position on whether or not the war you voted for was “illegal.”

You have said knowing everything you know now, you still would have voted for the war but knowing everything we know now the war was a mistake.

Your Attacks

Pretend like no position you have ever taken matters. Political opportunity, pessimism and the implication of inevitable defeat is the key here. Nobody knows what you really believe anyway.

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Issue: Diplomacy

Your Current Position

President Bush is a unilateralist (don't count the 30 nations in Iraq), and you are a multilateralist, except when you insult our allies (then you are an opportunist).

Your Record

You said Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi doesn't know what's happening in his own country, and made a political attack on him moments after he thanked the American people for the liberation of his country.

You said we need more allies, but you have called our allies “coerced,” “bribed,” “fraudulent,” “window dressing” and “barely willing to do anything at all.” This probably won't help you recruit more allies, but you don't think that's going to happen anyway.

You have characterized our troops in Iraq as “occupiers.” Try not to use that word. Your Democratic colleague Senator Miller will come down on you and so will most Americans.

You said the President “rushed to war,” and you cited the first Gulf War as a model of diplomacy. Of course, six months separated the vote for the war and the beginning of the war. That is six months

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longer than it took for the first Gulf War that you now praise but voted against. (It started two days after the vote.) You once asked, “Where’s the backbone of Russia, where’s the backbone of France” to confront Iraq. Now you are claiming the President just had to wait a little longer, and they would have helped.

You once claimed you “heard from” foreign leaders who supported your election, and said you can meet foreign leaders in any New York City restaurant. During your convention you implied that the use of force is only required AFTER America is attacked. So your current position on preemption is “against.”

Your Attack

Imply you can get nations like France and Germany to help in Iraq, even though France and Germany have said they won't help. Say you didn't mean to attack Prime Minister Allawi, but Carville and Begala have been lecturing you about rapid response.

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Issue: Intelligence

Your Current Position

• The Administration is moving too slowly on intelligence reform.

Your Record

In 1994, you proposed $6 billion in across the board cuts to intelligence after the first World Trade Center bombing. These cuts didn't receive much support. You were actually the only Senator from Massachusetts to vote for them.

Sen. Inouye (D-HI) said your bill “would severely hamper” intelligence efforts.

You missed 76 percent of public Senate Intelligence Committee hearings and we are trying to keep the private attendance record under wraps.

Edwards also missed 69 percent of his public Senate Intelligence Committee hearings. Unfortunately, that is his main national security experience.

In 1995, you voted to cut $80 million in FBI funding for counterterrorism.

Your Attack

Say the President is going too slowly. (Except for the 36 of the 41 9/11 Commission proposals that he is implementing.)

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Issue: Troop Realignment

Your Current Position

• Troop realignment is bad - you have said troop realignment “does not strengthen our hand in the war on terror.”

Your Record

Troop realignment is good - specifically, you wanted to shift troops “in the Korean peninsula perhaps, in Europe perhaps.”

Your Attack

This didn't go so well last time, so you might want to stay away from it. But remember if they ask, you said “perhaps” so it doesn't count!

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Issue: Afghanistan

Your Current Position

• Afghanistan is where the War on Terror really belongs.

Your Record

You previously said the War on Terror “doesn’t end with Afghanistan,” and we needed to move on to address other threats “for instance, Saddam Hussein.”

Now you believe Iraq is a distraction from Afghanistan.

You voted against the $87 billion that included funds for ammunition and body armor for troops in Afghanistan.

Your Attack

Afghanistan is being neglected, even though you voted against funds for our troops there.

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Issue: North Korea

Your Current Position

• We need to negotiate directly with the North Koreans.

Your Record

You seek a return to the failed Clinton era policies of signing deals with the North Korean government that they have no intention to honor. You have called the multilateral negotiations “basically a cover,” arguing that they aren't legitimate.

The state-run media of North Korea has reported: “Senator Kerry, who is seeking the presidential candidacy of the Democratic Party, sharply criticised President Bush, saying it was an ill-considered act to deny direct dialogue with North Korea.”

You have said the President “talks the game but doesn't deliver,” but it isn't clear your concessions on the talks would deliver anything to anyone but the North Koreans.

Your Attack

The President should negotiate directly with the North Koreans, even though that strategy has already failed.

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Issue: Israel

Your Current Position

• You are for/against the Israeli security fence. It is both a “barrier to peace” and a “legitimate act of self defense.”

Your Record

The Israeli security fence is a “barrier to peace” when you are talking to Arab audiences (Remarks Before Arab American Institute National Leadership Conference, Dearborn, MI, 10/17/03) and a “legitimate act of self defense” when you are talking to Jewish audiences (Janine Zacharia, “Kerry Defends Security Fence,” The Jerusalem Post, 2/25/04).

You wrote in your book, The New War, that Yasser Arafat is a “statesman” and a “role model.” This is the same book in which you warned that the Japanese Yakuza would be a major threat to our future.

Your Attack

The President is not exhibiting leadership on this issue. (Ignore your own split positions, and don't ever get your positions mixed up with the wrong audience. The consequences could be disastrous.)

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Issue: Cuba

Your Current Position

• You said you voted for the Helms-Burton Act, which cracked down on companies dealing with Cuba. (Peter Wallsten, “Kerry’s Cuba Stances Open To Attack,” The Miami Herald, 3/14/04)

Your Record

You voted against the Helms-Burton Act, but now you say you actually voted for it. Try not mess that up again.

Your latest position is that you would not lift the embargo against Cuba, but in 2000 you said Florida politics were the only reason the embargo was still in place and that a reevaluation is way overdue.” Unfortunately, last year you explained that comment by saying you were “being honest.” That does raise the uncomfortable question of what you are being now.

You voted to ease sanctions against Cuba and said you were skeptical” of the embargo. That was when you were “being honest.”

You supported a commission to study if Cuba was still a threat. Again: “being honest.”

Your Attack

Disregard your own record and statements and attack.

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Issue: The Patriot Act

Your Current Position

• The Patriot Act is bad and you plan on “replacing the Patriot Act with a new law.”

Your Record

You voted for the Patriot Act, and said on the Senate floor that you were “pleased” with the Patriot Act.

You said the wiretap provision modernizes our ability to fight crime.” (That was before you wanted to weaken the wiretap provisions.)

During the primaries, you discovered Democrats didn't like the Patriot Act. That's when you changed your position to be for “replacing” the Patriot Act.

After discovering other people didn't like the Patriot Act, you attacked it, calling it a “knock in the night” and saying it didn'tprotect “our liberties.”

Your Attack

Don't mention the Patriot Act gives law enforcement the same tools to use against terrorists that they already use against drug dealers.

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Homeland Security

Your Current Position

• You say the War on Terror is “far more of a law enforcement and intelligence operation
  than it is a day-to-day huge military operation.”

Your Record

You delayed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security by 112 days because you wanted national security workers to unionized.

You skipped last year's vote the $29.3 billion Homeland Security appropriation.

Your Attack

The President delayed and underfunded the Homeland Security Department.

The truth is the President has tripled funding for homeland security since 2001, but a little extra stretch of the truth won't hurt your damaged credibility further.

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If I saved you a headache by converting this to .html for you, there's a tip jar near the top of my sidebar. (Hint! Hint!)

The Quiet Americans

From Russ Vaughn:

The Quiet Americans

In response to a piece I posted at several websites, “I Don’t Know War,” which I did not author but merely passed along, I received a very moving letter from a nurse who operates her own blog in her very limited spare time. She wrote,

“I have a great many men in my family who have been in the military besides my dad. And the piece you sent me really hits the nail on the head. It also nearly made me cry as it made me think of my World War II uncles.”

This lady then goes on to recount her memories of her family’s contributions.

[...]

Aside from the enormous contribution this one American family has made in its service to this country, what resonated for me was the self-effacing manner of those who served. As the italicized quotes demonstrate, these men did not boast of their wartime service or their medals. In fact, most of them spoke of it not at all. Nor did Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy,George H. W. Bush and Bob Dole. As those who have served and their families know, real heroes don’t brag.

So what does that tell you about John Kerry?

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

_{Postscript: I have received some criticism for signing my writings with my military credentials. As I have explained previously, I do so not to boast, but to establish my right to question John Kerry’s war record and to let other vets know that I’ve been there, as I know that is one of the first questions that arises in the mind of a reader who has been in combat, “What the hell does he know about it?” Well, as a former combat infantryman, I know enough. Like most who fought in Vietnam, I was just a grunt who did his job, certainly no hero; but I knew and served with heroes. AND NONE OF THEM BRAGGED ABOUT IT. But based on the events that led to John Kerry getting a Silver Star, we should have had several hundred of them awarded in my battalion of paratroopers.}

Russ, I, for one, hope you'll continue to include your credentials in the things you write and allow others to post. I myself am in no sense a hero (although I am starting to wonder what you aren't telling us), but I also feel my status as a Viet Nam veteran is something that might matter to people wondering about my "standing" to be so pro G.I., so pro-veteran, and so rabidly anti-Kerry. As an additional reminder, some may have noted that I served in "Viet Nam," not "Vietnam." I think the people of The Republic of Viet Nam probably knew what country they lived in.

Bill Faith
14th and 8th Aerial Port Squadrons
PACAF
Viet Nam, 1971-1972

Click here to go to The Mudville Gazette and read the whole thing. I'm tired, it's long, so tonight Mudville is my "extended entry" section.

A "Best of Blackfive" collection

Blackfive has posted an "If You Are Relatively New To Blackfive..." post with links to a number of examples of his best work, including such posts as "Taking Chance Home" and "The Warrior Caste". Please take time to read as many of the items on his list as you can handle. A post he was too humble to put on the list is the must-read "All Things French." Don't miss it, either.

Update: I shouldn't have mentioned Blackfive without mentioning that he and I both have Gmail invitations available for any active duty serviceperson who'd like one.

A Tribute To Our Troops

Russ Vaughn emailed to make sure I had this link. Now you have it too. Click it. Thank you, Russ.

A Tribute To Our Troops

JOHN KERRY'S GUN SMOKE

John Fabricator Kerry's been at it again. Michelle has the scoop.

John Kerry's other salute

Google says this appeared on 3 or 4 sites I'd never heard of before, but it doesn't seem to have been covered on any of the MilBlogs and I think the time has come:

Kerry's Salute

Russ Vaughn

2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment,101st Airborne Division Vietnam 65-66

It should come as no surprise that the liberal media has ignored the Kerry incident at the Vietnam Memorial, where the presidential hopeful's immature and disrespectful behavior demonstrates once again that he is unfit to be the commander in chief of a nation at war. To be sure, there are numerous puff pieces by liberal reporters oohing and aahing about the Wall being a "touchstone" for Kerry. A less charitable assessment might be that it served more as a soapbox.

This Memorial Day grandstanding from the man who rebuked the very concept of war memorials:

"We will not quickly join those who march on Veterans' Day waving small flags, calling to memory those thousands who died for the greater glory of the United States. We will not accept the rhetoric. We will not readily join the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars-in fact, we will find it hard to join anything at all and when we do we will demand relevancy such as other organizations have recently been unable to provide. We will not take solace from the creation of monuments or the naming of parks after a select few of the thousands of dead Americans and Vietnamese. We will not uphold traditions, which decorously memorialize that which was base and grim."

- John F. Kerry "The New Soldier"

In truth, I trembled with anger when I read the above quote this morning. We can safely assume from his own words that John Kerry was seeking something other than solace at the Wall; perhaps another photo opportunity to remind voters that he served in Vietnam? What crass hypocrisy for the man who did more to tarnish the reputations of those names on that wall than any other to now callously use it as a mere backdrop for his pious pronouncements.

Most of us were able to return and, by words and deeds, refute the criminal claims Kerry and Fonda and their pseudo-soldiers heaped upon us. But those, those whose names are etched in that long black stone, those brave warriors who gave all, they had no way to defend their honor. John Kerry's very presence at that memorial constitutes a desecration, an affront he further compounded with his adolescent behavior when he gave the finger to Ted Sampley, one of the leaders of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry.

Certainly, Kerry has reason to dislike Sampley; but Sampley merely reacted to Kerry's presence at the Wall as many veterans would: he told him he didn't belong there. Kerry's juvenile response was to give Sampley the finger. For one Vietnam Vet to be giving another the finger on such hallowed ground is disturbing. For the offending veteran to be one who aspires to be Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces is disgraceful beyond belief.

Hear me Brothers: that middle finger conveyed far more meaning than a flash of anger at Ted Sampley. That finger is John Kerry's salute to all of us who served in Vietnam. Combine his words from his book and his behavior at our most sacred site and it speaks volumes as to what this charlatan really thinks of us and our memorial. It also speaks volumes as to his lack of maturity, his poor judgment and, ultimately, his unfitness to lead.

Mr. Kerry, I return your salute, Sir: FJK!

Veterans' Day is coming, Johnny. I understand France is a wonderful place for an extended vacation. Jean Fraud Kerry. <hack> War hero.<spit>

Retired Colonel: Bush Volunteered for Vietnam

I'm behind the wave posting this, but I'm told there really are people I've never met who read my blog and not very many others, so that gives me an excuse to get in my two cents worth, which I probably would have anyway.

Retired Colonel: Bush Volunteered for Vietnam

[...]

Retired Colonel Ed Morrisey served in the Air National Guard and is familiar with the President's record since the beginning of his service.

[...]

One of the criticisms leveled at the President is that he sought guard service to keep him from serving in Vietnam.

Morrisey says, "not so."

"The Air Force, in their [infinite] wisdom, assembled a group of 102's and took them to Southeast Asia. Bush volunteered to go. But he needed to have 500 [flight] hours, but he only had just over 300 hours so he wasn't eligible to go,” Morrisey recalls.

[...]

I've had it up way past here with the bull shit people. Flying an F-102, even over Texas in fair weather, took a matched pair of great big brass ones. Volunteering to fly one over Viet Nam was borderline suicidal. Hell yes W swaggers a little now and then. He's damned well earned the right. "There are no fighter pilots American warriors down in Hell" because Satan knows he couldn't handle 'em.

THAT'S MY PRESIDENT!

Hat tip: Cabal of Doom

Maybe Kerry is good for something after all.

Carridine, whose comment I published earlier, sends this additional thought:

And I am grateful to Kerry for his blindness and arrogance, if only that he has allowed the opening and draining of this pus-filled wound HE caused, 35 years ago!

Maybe every dorkdark cloud really does have a silver lining. We're finally having the discussion we should have had over 30 years ago, and I hope it's been as cathartic for a lot of other vets as it has been for Carridine and for me. 2NOV04 truly will be Veterans' Day, and President Bush's 2nd Inauguration will feel like a nation-wide Welcome Home party.

Never forget, never forgive, and never, ever, let another generation of warriors be treated like ours was.

Cross-posted at The Mudville Gazette

NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 25!

Check out this web site. That is an order:
NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 25!

I don't know war. But I do know war heroes. ...

Bill,

I didn’t write this piece but I salute the man who did. He has said exactly what so many veterans have been thinking for so long. When I returned from Nam, my roommate in the 82d Airborne was SSGT Charles B. Morris, awarded the Medal of Honor while serving with the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam. I know firsthand it’s true that warriors like Charley are tormented in their dreams and cry out in their sleep as they re-fight their battles; yes that I know from bunking with him.

But one thing I never heard him do was boast.

Not once, not ever.

May your troubled spirit forever rest in peace, Command Sergeant-Major Morris.

Russ Vaughn

Continued -- Click here

Was Kerry Doomed Or Is He Blowing It?

Pat at Kerry Haters wonders whether Jean Fraud Kerry's campaign was doomed from the start "or" if he's blowing it. Pat, there's no "or" to it. He started out in a hole and immediately started digging. After 2 decades of playing lapdog for the Hero of Chappaquiddick, he immediately shot himself in both feet with that phony "Vietnam hero" shtick. November 2nd is Veterans Day, Jean Fraud, and it's going to taste very sweet.

More old Times New Roman

From a recent Instapundit post:

... So let me look at one aesthetic aspect of this campaign -- the bumper stickers. I think it's important, and so does John Kerry!

[H]e spent four weeks mulling the design of his campaign logo, consulting associates about what font it should use and whether it should include an American flag. (It does.)

So what hath Kerry wrought? I think it's a winner:

It's got a very nice retro-look, somehow reminiscent of the NewFrontiers era. Smart move, since that's the last time a Democrat ran convincingly as strong on national defense, and there's that whole JFK-parallel thing going, too. The flag was a nice addition, and certainly strengthens that effect.

Retro look? After 4 four weeks, he came up with Times New Roman! This is something I just produced with Microsoft Word 2002:

One right over the other, to make them easier to compare:

Of course, I'm sure C-BS thinks they're from the '60s, anyway.

Quicksilver

Stopping to smell the roses for a moment or two. From my daughter's blog.

Quicksilver

You’re beautiful, you know.
Flashing eyes and an alabaster smile,
Sprinkling faerie dust in your wake.
I long to touch you.. to wade in the
Glory of your soul.
Sometimes I get close.
But then you parry, circling round me, and finally
Turning away.
I don’t want to capture you, you are
Something to be admired from arm’s length.
I just want your acknowledgement.
Your touch leaves me trembling,
Your smile shatters me,
Your glance is a cross between ice and
Heaven.
Let me know you. Let me move from the shadows
Into the light of your gaze.
Let me show you the echo of Eden’s dawn.

Heather [Faith] Brinkley
August 1996

There's more on an old web site my daughter quit updating. I'll post some of it occasionally when my mood needs brightened.

A challenge to those who claim that the SwiftVets' allegations have been "debunked" or are "unsubstantiated"

Lawyer William Dyer issues a challenge:

A challenge to those who claim that the SwiftVets' allegations have been "debunked" or are "unsubstantiated"

My lawyer readers will immediately recognize this as an invitation to Kerry supporters to make a motion for partial summary judgment on the SwiftVets' claims.

[...]

Can you identify even one specific and material SwiftVets allegation that you believe to have been fully "debunked" or fully proven to be "unsubstantiated"?

[...]

Go read it.

Hat tip: Kerry Haters

So how much is a soldier's life worth, Mrs. Kerry?

From Blogs for Bush:

Kerry's Price Cap on Protecting Our Soldiers

It never ceases to amaze what liberals find themselves proud of.

Teresa Heinz-Kerry speaking to a crowd of 600 Democrats in Colorado responded to a heckler questioning her husbands vote against supporting our troops...

During a question and answer session, a young man demanded to know why Kerry voted to give Bush authority to attack Iraq but voted against an $87 billion appropriation bill to support the war effort there.

"Is that the kind of thing he would do as president?," the man asked.

Heinz Kerry sharply asked the man whether he had read the legislation that was voted on. When he said no, she told him that Kerry had supported $60 billion in military appropriations for Iraq, but would not vote for the full $87 billion because he considered it a "blank check." Kerry was one of 11 Democrats to vote against the bill.

Oh, so John Kerry thinks that there should be a cap on how much we spend to protect them in harms way? What is that all about? I didn't realize John Kerry felt that we have to put a price tag on protecting our troops.

Is that the kind of Commander-In-Chief we want - one who believes that there is a price too high to pay to protect our soldiers in combat?

So how much is a Soldier's life worth, Mrs. Kerry?

Photobucket.com -- Maybe not so great an idea after all

Apparently Photobucket.com is having some problems. I don't know whether it's just my account or if it's affecting others as well. In view of the fact that I just gave them money a few hours ago to remove a bandwidth limit that was starting to pinch, I'm not real pleased with them right now. Developing ...

Sorry about the blank spots where there are supposed to be pictures at various places on my site. I'm dealing with it as quickly as I can.

Update 26SEP04: They're still having problems. I haven't gotten any email saying they're mad at me for anything so apparently it's a technical issue.

Blogrolling seems to be having problems (again), too.

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they can't really be out to get you." Where did I leave that tinfoil hat?

Update:

Which Man Has What It Takes?

Shamelessly stolen from Blackfive, who's always worth a daily visit:

Which of these men do you want leading our country?

Yo! Matt! When are you gonna post more pictures of your little girl? The world's waiting.

Update 26SEP2004: KerryHaters has a more recent picture. Note the vast improvement in Jean Fraud's technique.

Update: Joey at Cabal of Doom has an interesting theory about all of the pictures you see of Jean Fraud with his eyes closed:

Was Lurch daydreaming that he was JFK playing touch football or was he sleepwalking when the football hit him in the face? No wonder Lurch won't release his medical records or all of his military records:

Much more troubling than cancer, however, are indications, from those who know him well, that John Kerry suffers from parasomnia, a sleep disorder, which can manifest in many ways, including insomnia, sleepwalking, night terrors, and restless leg syndrome, among others.

[...]

It's time to release all of your medical and military records Jean Fraud. What are you hiding?

Upcoming Military Draft - Sick of the Myth!

Upcoming Military Draft - Sick of the Myth!

On all the forums, I am reading individuals, mainly liberals, trying to scare Americans into believing that if President Bush is elected the Draft will be reinstated. There is argument is that we do not have a large enough military to accomplish the President's agenda. I have found many articles that dispute this argument but one does it best.

Here are some excerpts from this article:

The war is not only not having a negative effect, but it is helping to reinforce the number of people who want to join," said Cmdr. John Kirby, a spokesman for the Navy's Bureau of Personnel.

Even the Army National Guard, which has had 150,000 citizen soldiers mobilized for up to a year, has seen retention rates "going through the roof," said Guard spokesman Maj. Robert Howell.

The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard all met or exceeded their year-end recruiting goals for fiscal year 2003, which ended Sept. 30. The figures continued to climb in the first half of fiscal year 2004, which was reached March 31.

Read the rest of it.

I guess there are some vets who support Kerry after all

Well! I guess I was wrong. There are some veterans who support Jean Fraud Kerry after all. This was left as a comment on Kerry smeared a hero: my dad

I'm a Vietnamese (South VN) American and I agree with you!! Because of Kerry's hurtful words and actions, my family had to flee Saigon. 30+ years later, I still remember the pain and anguish of his actions. About 5 years, I return to find out, I would have been sent to re-education camp because my parents were part of the South Vietnam elite middle class. I see the pimps and peddlers and think to myself, that could have been me.

Children of the middle class south were prohibited from education past 6 grade. This is not hearsay or rumor but actual legislated fact.

They used Kerry's propaganda speech as part of the emotional torture to even the Vietnamese. My wife (she's VN) tells me they showed his testimony in classrooms to indoctrinate future communist and distill hate toward Americans The only vets that support Kerry are VC (Viet Cong) Vets!

Vietnamese Americans, if you read this, research your roots and vote against Kerry. Listen to what your relatives in concentration (re-education) camps have to say about Kerry. South Vietnamese patriots also had POWS, see what they have to say.

Ask people who know Madam Nguyen Binh has to say about the Paris meeting with Kerry. There is a lot of information about Kerry's action in VN. Ask you relatives in VN what they know about Collier's International (Kerry's cousin's investments) and raise the issue to the media.

I know 90% of little Saigon in CA is voting Bush/Cheney.

I should never have made the claim that no veterans backed Kerry. I take it back.

The Gamblers

Never, ever, try to bluff a Texan.

Even more dirty politics! Can you believe this?

I just can't believe the mail I get some days! There's a new conspiracy around every corner! I am aghast -- aghast I say! -- that someone could dare suggest something like this:

Shouldn’t we be concerned about Vote-Swapping? If so, we Republicans should be getting together to dupe this website, www.votepair.org Thousands of Republicans should be asked to log into this site to act as if we are Nader supporters in a battle ground state. Then they would pair us up with a Kerry supporter in a strong state for Bush. Let the fool vote for Nader in the Bush state but we vote our normal vote for Bush. I firmly believe, if we just flood these websites with thousands of pairing requests. They would have to simply flush the whole deal because of the mass confusion or ultimately, it would backfire on them.

We probably need to come up with a list of Battleground states (Suggestions: MN, IA, AR, NM, NV, OR, MI, OH, VA, PA, FL). Go to http://www.votepair.org/ and have everybody pick one of the battleground state that you may come up with. It won’t matter if they are from that state or not. They won’t have anyway to know what state the person is from. Encourage them to only do this once. If they sign up multiple times, this could tip them off that somebody is trying to throw them off. Tell them to say that they are a Nader supporter. Around Oct 15^th they will be paired with a Kerry supporter. They will be emailed by that Kerry supporter. They must go along with it and act like they think it is great that they are going to throw Bush out of the White House. Then on Nov 2., VOTE FOR BUSH, HA HA, SUCKERS!

They are going to start pairing October 15th. We need to start doing this right now.[Name redacted to protect this obviously demented soul from left-wing retribution]

Surely -- surely! -- dear readers, you must understand that I could never -- never! perish the thought! -- condone such a thing! I bring this dastardly scheme to your attention only because of my sincere belief in the public's right to know. Do not -- do not! -- go to http://www.votepair.org/ and take part in this devious scheme, I implore you!

Update: Allah has a new campaign shenanigans post up, but he doesn't seem to know about this one yet.

Update: Commissar is worried about MiniTruth reports on Afghan election problems and is totally ignoring Republican dirty tricks in U.S. election.