In Bill's World

My new new home

2005-12-31T03:00:00.000-06:00

I guess now that mBlog ran and hid I'm going to be blogging at http://smalltownveteran.typepad.com/. It's going to be sort of messy at first, but please come by anyway. For now my sidebar, including the tip jars and blogrolls, are on this site but not there yet.

***

I'm completely moved to the new place. You can use the link above or http://www.smalltownveteran.net/.

mBlog: Arrrggghhh!!! #$%@*&# !!!

2005-12-31T02:30:00.000-06:00

I just copied this from www.mblog.com:

Notice:
Due to issues such as rising cost of service, network abuse, and inability to reach an agreement with MoveableType [sic] we reget [sic] to inform you that we are forced to discontinue this service.

There was absolutely no advance notice.

I may start posting here again or I may post a new forwarding address in a day or two. For now I'm too angry to think straight so I'm not doing anything.

I'm moving.

2005-12-31T02:00:00.000-06:00

Attention!

I've posted my last new post on this blog. Please look over what I've left here and then come see me at Small Town Veteran. I hope you'll like it there and come back often.

An 'Extended Entry' Technique for Blogger/Blogspot

2005-12-31T01:00:00.000-06:00

Blogger users, would it be useful to be able to use "Extended Entries" like they have in Movable Type and some of the other higher-end programs? (Please see my "So how much is a Soldier's life worth, Mrs. Kerry?" post at The Mudville Gazette for an example of how it's done in MT if you need one.) Actually, there is a way to do that with Blogger. Please click the 'Continue Reading "An 'Extended Entry' Technique for Blogger/Blogspot"' link to learn more. If you came here via a link directly to this post, please click here to get to my main page so you can see the effect in action.

Continue reading "An 'Extended Entry' Technique for Blogger/Blogspot"

Still Blogging on TypePad

2005-10-03T18:25:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how long Blogspot keeps blogs around after the last time they're updated so I guess to be safe I should post something here now and then. Except for an occasional post to keep this blog from disappearing I'll still keep doing all of my blogging at Small Town Veteran.

I know it isn't December 31st ...

2004-12-31T23:59:00.000-06:00

I know it isn't December 31st, and no I have not quit ranting. I just decided my blog should open on a positive note regardless of my mood. If you've already seen the first three posts after this one, just scroll past them for more information.

Taking time to brag on "Daddy's little girl"

2004-12-31T23:30:00.000-06:00

I hadn't realized till tonight what a philosopher "daddy's little girl" had become, or what a gifted writer. This is why life is worth hanging around for:

In Another Life
In another Life, another Timeline, Another point in space and Is, things worked out much differently.
15 years ago, I was thrown from my horse and trampled. In another life, he stepped a couple centimeters left and crushed my spine …
[…]
8 years ago, an 18 wheeler hit me as I sat at a stoplight on a busy road. … In a thousand different alternate realities, I never made it off that road alive. In this reality, I drove that car to work and was forcibly taken to the hospital, but they only found mild whiplash. They asked me to stay up for 24 hours, and this cute guy came over to keep me company... and we've been married more than 7 years now.
[...]
2 years and 5 days ago, I gave birth to my son. He was born at 8:05, although his birth certificate says 8:06 because it took them a minute to get him breathing. In another life, one that I don't even want to visit in my nightmares, the doctors and nurses didn't do some tiny necessary detail, and it took 5 minutes, or 10, or they never made it. In that timeline, I doubt if I would be here today.
At every turn, I have chosen who I am going to become. …
[…]
… I have the life I love because of the pain I have lived. And for that, I am grateful.

Take a break from worrying' about the election and the War on Terror. Smell the roses for minute. Click here.

[Actual posting date 2004-08-26]

Meet my grandson

2004-12-31T23:00:00.000-06:00

How about grandson-blogging, cat-blogging, and computer-blogging all in one place?

(Click the pictures to enlarge them.)

There are a lot more where these came from. Click here for more pictures of Ian and here to see my entire web site.

Update: I originally posted this July 17th. I'll be bumping it to the top of my blog every few days. I mean, I'm not proud or anything. :-)

Update 2: I forgot to mention that I bought Ian that HP Travel Mouse (just the right size for little hands) as soon as I found out he was on the way. I also gave him the computer as an early Christmas present when he was 3 months old.

Just Dumb Ol' George

2004-12-31T22:00:00.000-06:00

1) Click the pictures to learn the stories behind them.

2) Compare and Contrast: George W. Bush, Jean Fraud Kerry.

Kerry would have been too busy consulting the French to bother with a lowly Sgt. and would have reminded young Miss Faulkner he'd been to Vietnam.

Hat tip: Louisiana Conservative for reminding me about the picture of the president with Sgt. McNaughton.

Update: Check out Infidel Cowboy's related post. (I'm bumping this to the top of my blog so you won't miss it. Originally published 20040818 9:28 PM)

No, I Have Not Quit Ranting.

2004-12-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

No, I haven't quit ranting, and there's a reason for the bogus date on the first few posts. I've decided that my blog should always open on a positive note. So, from now on, the first item at the top of my blog will always be a short note telling you to watch for this one and the next item or two will be devoted to bragging about my daughter and/or my grandson. After that will be something positive about George Bush, followed by this post.

WARNING! ACHTUNG! PELIGRO!

I am NOT always politically correct. I am NOT always polite. Beware of occasional rough language ahead. The only thing I hate worse than John Kerry, Michael Moore, and their sorry ilk is Islamic radicals. If any of that offends you, go hug a tree or something. You have been warned.

Some links I want to keep handy near the top of my blog at all times:

Swift Boat Veterans For Truth ads:

'Any Questions?': .wmv real
'Sellout' .wmv real
'Gunner' .wmv real
'Medals' .wmv real
'Dazed and Confused' .wmv real
'Friends' .wmv real
"Never Forget" .wmv real

Unfit For Command

Chapter 3 -- 'The Purple Heart Hunter'
Chapter 5 -- 'More Fraudulent Medals'
Chapter 6 -- 'A Testimony Of Lies'
Chapter 7 -- 'Meeting With The Enemy'
Chapter 8 -- 'Kerry's Antiwar Secrets'

Free "The New Soldier" downloads:

StolenHonor.com
WinterSoldier.com
1971 Kerry Senate Testimony video and audio
VVAW Flyer
SwiftVets open letter to John Kerry
Republican National Convention speeches
What does John Kerry have to say about Iraq?
ImageShack - Hosting :: 60minbusted.swf

[Updated 9/18/04 -- new links added, reformatted lists]
[SBVT ad 6 link added 9/22/04]
["Meeting With The Enemy" link added 9/23/04]
["Never Forget" link added 10/02/04]

It's still Sept. 12, and it will be for quite a while.

2004-12-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

It's September 12th. For some of us, it will be for a long time to come. For other's, it was September 10th again before the WTC even quit smoking. If you're back in that September 10th world, here are some links I hope you'll click to refresh your memory.

Read how Lila remembers that day.

Read how Greyhawk remembers it.

Read about young Sara's grasp of the situation.

Did you see the poster Michele and Lisa put together? Look at it again.

Maybe Charles Johnson's slideshow will refresh your memory.

Or how about a short movie?

Didn't enjoy that one? How about this one?
(Hat tip: gecko sent me that link but hasn't posted it himself yet.)

Check back later, I'll find you some more. I have the URL for at least one more, but the sites are getting so much traffic I can't get to them to verify what I have right now.

I'll keep this near the top of my blog where it's easy to find.

(Post-dating this post to keep it near the top of the stack. Originally published 12Sep04)

Thank you Greyhawk, and all of your wonderful readers

2004-10-07T13:06:00.000-05:00

I just posted this as a comment on Greyhawk's post asking his readers to come to my place and hit the donations button. I can't think of anything better to say here than I said there.

Greyhawk, I'm going to take up some more space at your place to thank you again, and thank your wonderful readers. I'm ashamed to say I haven't put up proper "Thank you" posts on my blogs yet, but that is the next thing on my to-do list. I would never have dreamed that the monthly transaction limit on my Amazon account could ever become an issue. Due to the generosity of your wonderful readers, I spent a major part of last night scrambling to put a working PayPal button on my site. (Note to self:: If Amazon was all you needed, why did Greyhawk have a PayPal button?)
Thanks to you and your wonderful readers, we won't be losing an insurance policy on the home I grew up in, my sister's car, and Dad's truck, which Mom wouldn't part with for any amount of money.
Thanks to you and your wonderful readers, my sister will not be going back to work against her doctor's advice.
Thanks to you and your wonderful readers, I feel good about "people" again.
Thank you, all of you. May God bless and keep you.
Bill Faith

My favorite quote from the V.P. debate

2004-10-07T01:37:00.000-05:00

Senator Gone

He Said It:

VICE PRESIDENT RICHARD CHENEY: “Senator, frankly, you have a record in the Senate that's not very distinguished. You missed 33 out of 36 meetings in the Judiciary Committee. Almost 70% of the meetings of the Intelligence Committee. You've missed a lot of key votes on tax policy, on energy, on Medicare reform. Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you Senator Gone. You've got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate. Now, in my capacity as Vice President I am the President of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.” (Vice President Richard Cheney, Vice Presidential Debate, Cleveland, OH, 10/5/04

(And he didn't tell him to go do anything anatomically impossible.)

AMAZON PROBLEMS?

2004-10-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Amazon Problems

Please use PayPal

(I've removed some along-the-way information that was here earlier.)

I learned today, due to an outpouring of support that I never imagined was possible, that there is a monthly transaction limit on my Amazon Honor System account. Thanks to a donation from a reader who is more familiar with PayPal than I am, I realized a little bit ago that I do have a functional PayPal account and started scrambling to come up with a button. It's on my sidebar now. It works. It will be about a month before the Amazon button works again.

If anyone would prefer to use non-electronic methods, you can send money to my sister at:

Vicki Hussey
RR1 Box 271
Lawrenceville IL 62439

Thank you one and all, and may God bless you and yours.

Bill Faith
10/06/2004

Vacationing Marine's help praised by many

2004-10-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

GO. READ. THIS.

Hat tip: The Mudville Gazette

Just a mail I sent some friends ...

2004-10-06T02:32:00.000-05:00

I sent this email to two very dear friends, neither of whom I’ve seen in way too many years. In two separate parallel universes not far removed from this one, I’m married to each of them. After I sent this, I realized it might be of interest to some of my readers as well. I especially hope those of you in the teaching profession will note my suggestion for commemorating Veterans’ Day.

To two very dear friends whom I’ve been neglecting lately:
I know I’m long overdue to write to both of you, and I am sorry. I hope this finds you both well and I should be kicked for not staying in touch. I miss getting mail from you even if I am terrible about writing back. I hope the fact you haven’t been writing doesn’t indicate that your lives aren’t going well.

Read the rest here.

More light blogging while I move

2004-10-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a tip from Bert Meyer, I am now "Small Town Veteran." It's going to take a while to raise the flag there, get my sidebar set up like I want it, etc, and I'm not about to just quit posting while I'm in the process, but please do stop by there now and then to see how things are going. Eventually I'll leave a note here saying I'm not posting here any more so please come see me there, but it isn't time yet.

A tip to all Blogger users, courtesy of Bert Meyer. Go, now, immediately, to http://www.mblog.com/ and set up an account. mBlog is free and uses Movable Type, which absolutely, purely, to put it mildly, beats the Hell out of Blogger 8 ways from Sunday.

An Interview With Swift Boat Vet Van Odell

2004-10-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

Dean Esmay at Dean's World scored an interview with Swift Boats vet Van Odell, the man who served on the same boat as Jean Fraud Kerry longer than any other person. It's informative. Go read it.

Jeff's Morning News Briefing -- 10/05/04

2004-10-05T16:10:00.000-05:00

Jeff Quinton posts a daily Morning News Briefing that should be on everyone's 'read every day" list. Click here to read today's briefing.

"If you vote for George Bush, you've lost your mind."

2004-10-05T08:08:00.000-05:00

From Drudge:

Dem vp hopeful John Edwards cut to the chase last night on ABCNEWS NIGHTLINE:

ABC'S BOB WOODRUFF: "He has avoided the kind of negative attacks that can make national news, although recently, he has stepped up his rhetoric."

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) (clip of a speech): "I'd say if you live in the United States of America and you vote for George Bush,you've lost your mind."

WOODRUFF: "There's been criticism that you have been too soft."

EDWARDS: "Do I seem soft to you?"

Apparently some one has lost his mind, but it his case it was no great loss.

Dan Rather Vindicated

2004-10-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

The memos prove to be genuine. Here's the typewriter Killian used to type the documents, running MS Word v.-9.2 in Windows 59.

Shamelessly stolen from Cartoon Nazi. Go there often.

Belmont Club: Ring, Ring

2004-10-05T07:23:00.000-05:00

Ring Ring
The London Times (hat tip: NGR) illustrates the futility of any real retreat from fighting terrorism. Thair Shaikh writes about how cellular phone technology is being used to capture "that perfect moment" for family and friends among a certain circle of persons.
Mobile phones are being used by young Muslims living in Britain to watch videos of hostages being beheaded by militants in Iraq. With their color screens and access to the internet, the latest generation of mobile phones are being used to download the videos after they are posted on Islamist websites. The videos can then be sent to other mobiles.
One militant has saved every available video of hostages being killed in Iraq. An Algerian in his thirties who has lived in London for almost ten years, he is a follower of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the cleric whose extradition is sought by the US ... said "for us the jihad is alive in our hands as we watch American infidels get their heads chopped off ... within a few minutes of the Americans dying last week I was watching them on my phone"
[...]

Read the rest of it.

John Kerry's hometown paper endorses George W. Bush for President

2004-10-05T06:48:00.000-05:00

Remember how the lamestream media played it up when the Crawford TX paper, which may reach almost a thousand daily readers, endorsed John Kerry for president? Don't hold your breath waiting for C-BS to tell you about this.

Endorsement: George W. Bush for president
It's about national security.
That's the key issue on the minds of Americans planning to vote in the Nov. 2 presidential election.
They must decide whether Republican President George W. Bush or Sen. John F. Kerry, a Democrat, can provide the leadership to safeguard America from foreign terrorism.

Go read the rest of it.

Blogger problems again.

2004-10-04T23:34:00.000-05:00

BlogSpot seems to have had another one of its frequent headaches most of the day. I'm not at all certain I'll be able to post this. I replaced the power supply in the computer I normally use this afternoon and I’m in the process of transferring documents and images from the rented computer to the one I fixed so the rented computer can go back tomorrow. Blogging would have been light even without the BlogSpot problems.

I received an email today telling me one of my blog posts had done something better than I ever dreamed I was capable of doing. I’m not free to tell you any details at this point but I’m optimistic about receiving permission to finish the job, after the election when no one can question my motives. More later, I hope.

Morning News Briefing -- 10/04/04

2004-10-04T15:13:00.000-05:00

Jeff Quinton posts a daily Morning News Briefing that should be on everyone's 'read every day" list. Click here to read today's briefing.

For a more sensitive war

2004-10-04T04:10:00.000-05:00

More Guest Blogging

2004-10-04T00:23:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to report that, in addition to this site and The Mudville Gazette, I will now be posting at Backcountry Conservative, another fine site of which I've been a fan for quite a while. Jeff and I need to exchange another email or two before I'm sure what subjects I will or won't be addressing there. At first I may copy a few of my favorite posts from this site to Jeff's, then after that everything I post there will be posted, or at least excerpted with a link, on this site. Backcountry Conservative is a stop on the MilBlogs ring so I'm pretty sure we'll get along just fine.

Heather, if you're keeping score, my Site Meter currently reads 20,731. Greyhawk's reads 621,102. Jeff's reads 1,927,002. If I can't make it as a blogger with the opportunities Greyhawk and Jeff have given me to establish a reputation then I just don't have what it takes. But I'm still not going to change your mind about Kerry, am I?

Some Telling Quotes

2004-10-03T20:28:00.000-05:00

On Kerry's Diplomacy: Batting 1000
John Kerry:
"I think we need a president who has the credibility to bring the allies back to the table and to do what's necessary to make it so America isn't doing this alone."
French Foreign Minister Barnier:
Even though Nato last week overcame members' long-running reservations about a training mission to Iraq and agreed to set up an academy there for 300 soldiers, neither Paris nor Berlin will participate.
Michel Barnier, the French foreign minister, said last week that France, which has tense relations with interim prime minister Iyad Allawi, had no plans to send troops "either now or later".
[...]

That's just the beginning.Go read the rest.

International Man of Mystery Charms Pants Off World

2004-10-03T19:51:00.000-05:00

Let’s face it. Bush sucked last night. In this debate, they both came across EXACTLY like they do in this cartoon. But don’t despair fellow Conservatives. Kerry buried himself with his own words.
Bilateral negotiations with North Korea? Exclude China, Japan and Russia? Just how stupid would that be?
Scrap the bunker-busting nukes we’re developing? Oh I see, the way to deal with the threat of nuclear proliferation is to unilaterally disarm. What a ‘tard!
Global test? That’s a real loser for Kerry.
Add 80,000 men to the armed forces? How? With a draft?
Give nuclear fuel to Iran? Oh my God! Clinton did that with North Korea and look what happened. This man is dangerous!
If the Right does it’s job this will be what’s discussed in the days to come. This is a fleeting victory for Kerry, that in the next week or so, will evaporate as Kerry is forced to defend his own words yet again.

Shamelessly stolen from a site I'll be visiting often from now on.

SpaceShipOne a Flight Away From $10M

2004-10-03T19:23:00.000-05:00

Click here for some history.

SpaceShipOne is scheduled for the second of the two flight required to win the X Prize on Monday Oct 4, 2004.

Click here, here and here for more information.

Swift Vets / POWs Post Petition Urging Kerry to Come Clean

2004-10-03T16:49:00.000-05:00

From the 1 October 04 Swift Vets e-Newsletter:

In a new petition the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth are calling for Senator Kerry to set the record straight and come clean about his fallacious Senate testimony and postwar radicalism. In calling for Kerry to tell the truth, the petition asks Kerry to produce evidence for his claims about war crimes and atrocities committed by American soldiers in Vietnam.
If Kerry wants to become Commander in Chief he needs to clearly explain to the nation what he meant when he said he participated in war crimes and how he could justify working with a foreign government at war with the United States.
He must also acknowledge the damage his activities did to POWs in Vietnam
when he was safely on American soil and apologize to our POWs for the harm he
causes them.
Kerry's entire chain of command and the overwhelming majority of those who served with him refuted his version of his conduct in Vietnam. Yet Kerry refuses to respond himself. The burden lies with Senator Kerry to set the record straight.

Read more. I've signed the petition and I hope you will too.

Found: Jean Kerry's Global Test

2004-10-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

Rand Simberg has found Jean Kerry's global test!

Officially Authorized,
Internationally Recognized
Global Test
Welcome, World Leader. We understand that you'd like to undertake some type of foreign policy action. In the past, this would have involved a great deal of debate and diplomatic activity (not to mention bribery) in Paris, Brussels, and on the west bank of the East River. In the interest of streamlined world government, we've developed this simple test, which should take no more than a few minutes to fill out, to get you quickly on to your next foreign adventure, should it meet all reasonable criteria for peace and international justice.
The test may be taken as many times as desired, as long as the billion-dollar test fee is paid each time (proceeds are split evenly between the office of the UN Director General, and the French government, to compensate them for the trouble and expense of designing the test).
[...]

Go see if you can pass the test!

Siberia in pajamas

2004-10-03T15:47:00.000-05:00

Is horrible, comrades! Commissar is holding show trials and sentencing bloggers to Gulag! Da, comrades, poor ankle-nipping pseudo-journalists in pajamas! Gulag will be cold, but bloggers will be in good company.

People Who Can't Think For Themselves Can't Tell Time, Either

2004-10-03T15:26:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post has an unusual editorial in today's edition pointing out the efforts of DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe to hijack their Letters section for unpaid advertising. You have to read this to believe it, but apparently some of the mindless sheep he's driving can't tell time:
WE RECEIVED THE following letter from a woman in Yonkers, N.Y.: "Dear editor: This debate made it clear: John Kerry is a leader we can trust to tell us the truth when it comes to our nation's security. George Bush has had his chance; I'm ready for a new direction."
Cogent, succinct, personal -- everything we look for in a letter. So why are we writing about it here, instead of publishing it in the columns to the right? Unfortunately, the letter, perfect in every other way, arrived in our electronic in-box Thursday afternoon, four hours and 14 minutes before debate moderator Jim Lehrer posed his first question. ...

Read the rest of it.

The most interesting thing to me is that the WaPo didn't hesitate to publish something damaging to the Kerry campaign. Apparently, they've given up on installing their Golden Boy in the White House and started trying to salvage what little credibility they have left.

Meet someone else who isn't too impressed with Jean Fraud Kerry

2004-10-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

"Sunnye" left this comment on "John Kerry's other salute". I thought you should see it.:

I'm so glad to see folks who know what a salute should look like affirming my impression of Kerry's salute. I'm a relic of the Korean War era, a grandmother who learned to salute at an R-Day practice at the US Military Academy at West Point and I do believe my salute is snappier than his!
For that matter, my brain is snappier than Kerry's.
Thanks to all of you who have served our fantastic country so well. In spite of what the media would have you believe, most of us honor you.

Sunnye, thank you for your support. btw, I just added your blog to my blogroll.

An apology to Russ Vaughn and Thomas Lifson

2004-10-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

I just published this on The Mudville Gazette:

From "A Vet's View Of The Debate -- Russ Vaughn":
Russ mentioned this in piece in an email and asked that I honor his promise to Thomas Lifson by not publishing it on my site till this afternoon. ...
Russ, I blew it. After Mrs. Greyhawk gave me permission to do the honors of posting "Vet's View" at The Mudville Gazette, I opened Movable Type to prepare the post, with every intention of waiting till around Midnight Mudville/Zulu time to publish it to the web. I thought I saved it as a draft to be published at the appropriate time. When I checked my email a few minutes ago and found Rosemary's comment in my inbox it was a total surprise. I still don't remember publishing the post, and it isn't on my site yet. I'm sorry. I won't blame you for not giving me advance notice on anything else, but I hope you won't deprive The Mudville Gazette's readers of your fine work because of my error. If Thomas is upset with you over what happened please direct him to this apology and let me know so I can email him a personal apology.
To Mr. and Mrs. Greyhawk: I'm sorry I've done something that some might see as reflecting badly on a fine site. The fault was mine entirely. Apparently I'm not always capable of recognizing when my health problems interfere with my ability to think clearly. (The cause was not alcohol or other recreational chemicals. It resulted from exhaustion and Hypo-K. I just need to remember my limits.)
To The Mudville Gazette's readers: I'm optimistic Russ will be understanding about my error and I hope my error will not slow the flow of Russ's fine work to a fine site.

After I realized I'd messed up and published "Vet's View" prematurely at Mudville I went ahead and published it a little earlier than I'd intended to here, to avoid further confusing people who followed the '(Cross-posted from "In Bill's World")' link from Mudville.

A Vet's View Of The Debate -- Russ Vaughn

2004-10-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

Vet's View
October 2nd, 2004
Vets’ View
The thing to judge in these debates
Is what you’re truly hearing;
Do you hear what George, god bless ’em, states,
Or John boy so endearing?
The Cowboy tells you it’s hard work,
Not for the faint of heart,
But manicured John, that elitist jerk,
Does a global view impart.
We hear the pundits say John won,
And shake our heads and wonder;
How they disregard this Judas son,
Who made our nation sunder,
Turned on us soldiers in the field,
Accused us of war crimes,
And made our nation kneel and yield
In those disgraceful times.
It matters not how glib a man
Speaks to a listening nation.
What matters if he cut and ran,
His combat duty station.
As did tall John in sixty-eight
With purple band-aids flying,
Deserted crew, fled to his state,
To there pursue his lying.
We know this man, for we fought there;
He’s but a lying traitor
Whose fancy words and fancy hair
Conceal an imitator.
Yeah Johnny got his cuticles trimmed,
While George reviewed the gloom
Of homes and lives that had been dimmed
By nature’s hand of doom.
While all you pundits say John won;
We’ll take a differing view.
That inarticulate Texas son,
To us came clearly through.
He’ll fight the fight and win this war,
And victory’s road he’ll take,
To vanquish Jihad to it’s core
Unlike that Boston fake.
Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66
Russ Vaughn is the Poet Laureate of the American Thinker

Republished in it's entirety from The American Thinker with the author's permission.

Russ mentioned this in piece in an email and asked that I honor his promise to Thomas Lifson by not publishing it on my site till this afternoon. Russ is also most certainly the Poet Laureate of "In Bill's World," and, in my studied opinion, of an unofficial but strong and still growing "Veterans against John Kerry" movement. Thank you, Russ, for all you do.

(Cross-posted to The Mudville Gazette)

Get that dog out of here! Now! What if he bites me next?

2004-10-03T06:24:00.000-05:00

Brokaw, Jennings Show Support for Rather
While acknowledging mistakes in CBS anchor Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" report that questioned President Bush's service in the National Guard, competing news anchors Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings offered support Saturday for the beleaguered newsman.
Brokaw blasted what he called an attempt to "demonize" CBS and Rather on the Internet, where complaints about the report first surfaced. He said the criticism "goes well beyond any factual information."
"What I think is highly inappropriate is what going on across the Internet, a kind of political jihad ... that is quite outrageous," the NBC anchor said ...
[...]
"I don't think you ever judge a man by only one event in his career," said Jennings, anchor on ABC.
[...]

Get that dog out of here! Now! What if he bites me next?

Oh, so now they're threatening to get ugly

2004-10-03T05:56:00.000-05:00

Agence France Presse wants you to know that, because of our Iraq policy, Al Qaeda is now considering pre-emptive attacks.
[...]

That does it. Now President Kerry has his excuse to cut and run.

Via Allah.

Light posting, but this time I have a good excuse.

2004-10-03T05:34:00.000-05:00

I've got this bee in my bonnet about doing something a little beyond just linking to other people's words and adding a few comments. I'm pulling together a major photo essay to make a point more powerfully than I could possibly make it with words. Please forgive me for lighter-than-normal posting and don't quit coming by. I think I can make it up to you.

Update: I've decided to go ahead with some "Too good to keep" things but I'll still be posting less than usual while I work on my project.

Another opinion from a some one who's been there

2004-10-03T04:58:00.000-05:00

An email I received that I think you should see:

"Vets4Bush.com Mailing List" wrote:
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 2004 03:50:19 -0400
To: bdfaith@yahoo.com
From: "Vets4Bush.com Mailing List"
Subject: Troops Support President Bush

FORWARDED BY: http://Vets4Bush.com
--------------------------------------------------------------

Forwarded From: http://Moms4Bush.com
We asked this active Air Force member if we could share his letter with our group. We all just had a hectic week ~ Lots of PR and along with that some other not so kind comments ~ the debate on Thursday. This letter should inspire you to keep working hard for the next 31 days, to keep President Bush in office! Though addressed to ma'am, it is for all our volunteers and our other grassroots friends!
==================
Ma’am,
I would like to express my personal gratitude to your group and the others like it. President Bush is not only my president, but my Commander-in-Chief as well. I am a member of the United States Air Force and have deployed to the Middle East five times. That would be five times more than most of those that sit in their armchairs at night, watching the evening news, telling their families what our foreign policy should be. I have been there. I have seen the face of terrorism. If we do not fight the terrorists in their own backyard, we will be fighting them in ours. I prefer the former. Trust me when I say this, President Bush is pursuing the correct policy. I am not alone in my feelings. At least 90% of my brothers-in-arms, across all branches agree with what we are doing to stem the tide of terrorism. Our biggest fear is that John Kerry will be elected president, and we will not be able to completeour important work in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I often hear people say that there is no link between Saddam Hussein and terrorism. That is on par with saying that there was no link between the Nazis and Japan during WWII. The Nazis did not attack us on December 7, 1941, yet our leadership saw a growing threat from Germany as well as a direct threat from Japan. I liken this vision to President Bush’s clear vision of the task at hand. Unfortunately, military members are not authorized to speak their minds in regards to political issues. If they could, you would hear a resounding roar of support for President Bush. It is a difficult task, however, with your organization and others like it, we are often reminded as to why we stand so boldly in the face of terror. It is for you, and all Americans, that I wear my uniform with pride and would defend to the death your freedom, and the freedom of your children.
God bless you,
MSgt __________ ________________ (name omitted)

=====================

Your Leadership Team
Security Moms For Bush
Website: www.moms4bush.com

email: Founder@moms4bush.com
=====================
Please DO NOT REPLY to this message unless it is urgent content. This list a very large and has been generating a lot of "thank you" email that I can't handle..... Gracias.

Fake but real ...

2004-10-03T04:33:00.000-05:00

From USA TODAY:

[...]
"Rallying supporters in Tampa Friday Kerry played up his performance in Thursday night's debate in which many observers agreed the mssachusetts senator outperformed the president.
'"Didn't my nails and cuticles look great? What a good debate!' Kerry said Friday.
"With the foreign-policy debate in the history books, Kerry hopes to keep the pressure on and the sense of traction going.
"Aides say he will step up attacks on the president in the next few days, and pivot somewhat to the domestic agenda, with a focus on women and abortion rights.
'"It's about the Supreme Court. Women should like me! I do manicures,' Kerry said."
The item also quoted Kerry as saying of himself and President Bush: "I'm metrosexual — he's a cowboy."
[...]

Citizen Smash - General Kerry

2004-10-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

From Citizen Smash, recently returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom:

General Kerry
THERE WAS A MOMENT in last night’s Presidential Debate that got me angry – and it probably wasn’t the same moment you’re thinking about right now.
KERRY: It is vital for us not to confuse the war, ever, with the warriors. That happened before. And that's one of the reasons why I believe I can get this job done, because I am determined for those soldiers and for those families, for those kids who put their lives on the line. That is noble. That's the most noble thing that anybody can do. And I want to make sure the outcome honors that nobility.
[...]

Go read it all.

Armed and Disingenuous

2004-10-02T23:46:00.000-05:00

The debate that should have been

2004-10-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

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"

2004-10-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

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 ...

2004-10-02T19:22:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-02T05:06:00.000-05:00

Global Test

2004-10-02T04:23:00.000-05:00

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"!

2004-10-02T03:58:00.000-05:00

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 ...

2004-10-01T22:26:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-10-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-01T19:06:00.000-05:00

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

2004-10-01T01:44:00.000-05:00

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

Famous Minds

2004-10-01T00:32:00.000-05:00

Signing off early tonight

2004-10-01T00:21:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

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!"

2004-09-30T19:20:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-30T14:05:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-30T02:27:00.000-05:00

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?

2004-09-30T00:28:00.000-05:00

Johnny, Johnny, Where will you run?

SWIFT BOAT VETERANS JOIN FORCES WITH POWs

2004-09-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

"Finish It"

2004-09-29T22:29:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T21:58:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T21:31:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T16:04:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T15:27:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-29T05:09:00.000-05:00

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
1

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.
2

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
3

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.
4

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.)
5

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!
6

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.
7

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.
8

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.)
9

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.
10

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.
11

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.
12

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

2004-09-29T00:58:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-28T17:10:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-28T15:51:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-28T04:34:00.000-05:00

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

John Kerry's other salute

2004-09-28T01:03:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-27T22:27:00.000-05:00

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.

2004-09-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

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 ~~dork~~dark 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!

2004-09-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

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. ...

2004-09-27T17:45:00.000-05:00

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?

2004-09-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-27T01:57:00.000-05:00

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"

2004-09-27T01:43:00.000-05:00

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?

2004-09-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

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?

2004-09-26T19:15:00.000-05:00

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!

2004-09-26T18:23:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

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

2004-09-26T04:05:00.000-05:00

Never, ever, try to bluff a Texan.

Even more dirty politics! Can you believe this?

2004-09-26T03:32:00.000-05:00

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.

"That's my president, hooah!"

2004-09-25T23:32:00.000-05:00

From Blogs for Bush

After the pool boarded Air Force One, following the president, it was observed that the Secret Service had not boarded, and we were told that the plane was "waiting." It eventually was learned that we were waiting for the arrival of a "World" airlines charter MD-11 carrying 292 Guardsmen and reservists for duty in Iraq. The plane departed from Ft. Bragg with the 30th Brigade Combat team, a guard unit from North Carolina, the 414th Transportation Battalion reserve unit from South Carolina, and the 230th Area Support Group, a guard unit from Tennessee. There seemed to be a few other units as well, such as the 150th armored cavalry, a guard unit from West Virginia. They are heading to Germany and then to Kuwait, for 18-24 months duty in Iraq. They were obviously excited to see the president, and a few confessed to being down when they had to say goodbye to their families, but they said they were boosted by the president's appearance. They were reluctant to talk about the mission in Iraq, appearing stoic about that. They were all wearing desert fatigues and filled virtually every seat on the 3-engine plane. The officers were seated in business class.

Continue reading "That's my president, hooah!"

Jean Fraud Kerry: The wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time

2004-09-25T05:13:00.000-05:00

Simply a Shift of Incoherency?
With his policy speech on Iraq, Mr. Kerry garnered praise that he'd finally put forth 'coherency' on the issue of Iraq. Although he probably lost a lot of cred on the issue today by taking cheap potshots at the Iraqi PM's address to Congress from the safety of a firehouse in Ohio. Instead of being present at the body to which he's an elected member of. To be on hand to accept Mr. Alawi's thanks to the United States for ousting his country's dictator. ...
Aside from just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kerry seems to be doing his best to also demonstrate that his campaign appears to be operating on a static pie model, where if there is an increase in one area, it means a decrease in another. ...
[...]

Let's give this man an Oval Office!

Giuliani Apologizes to President

2004-09-25T04:49:00.000-05:00

Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani told President Bush this week that he is sorry.
“I owe you an apology,” Mr. Giuliani began. “I made a mistake during my [Republican National Convention] speech ... I said that with 64 days to go, John Kerry could change his mind five or six times about what to do in Iraq. Well, he’s already changed his mind four or five times and I’m going to be proven wrong again because I think we’re looking more like eight or nine times.”

From Inside the Beltway via LGF

Burkett: 'Jury still out' on memos CBS aired

2004-09-25T04:33:00.000-05:00

(CNN) -- Bill Burkett, who gave CBS News the alleged documents about President Bush's National Guard service, insists "the jury is still out" on whether those documents are authentic.
"The documents have not been conclusively proven false," Burkett said. "Neither have they been proven authentic. That jury is still out."
[...]

You just ain't been payin' attention, have ya hoss? The jury's back. The jury done said "Fetch a rope."

CHIEF WIGGLES NEEDS YOUR HELP

2004-09-25T04:15:00.000-05:00

CHIEF WIGGLES NEEDS YOUR HELP to save the life of a 9-month-old Iraqi girl. Follow the link for more information.

Copied directly from Instapundit. Please help spread the word and help if you can.

The Veteran in the Wall

2004-09-25T01:03:00.000-05:00

My research assistant Mr. Google located a Russ Vaughn piece that apparently hasn't been posted on any of the MilBlogs before. The only place I could find a copy was in a reader comment at The American Thinker. Russ is rapidly becoming known as the poet laureate of the ~~right~~ non-left portion of the blogosphere, and I think this item deserves a wider audience than it has had previously.

A poem from Russ Vaughn, who served with the 2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in Vietnam, 1965-66. ....
The Veteran in the Wall
Here I lay within this wall,
And cry out to be heard.
I committed no crimes
I served,
Purely and simply,
I served,
Bravely and honorably.
I did not serve any political belief,
I served my country.
I gave up every good thing that I had,
And volunteered for this fierce duty,
To do the will of this nation
To defeat an enemy
That threatened our well-being.
So here I lie, moldering,
Close by the oaks of Arlington,
Wondering, wondering,
Will ever my voice be heard?
-Russ Vaughn

Russ, thank you for being the voice of so many who can no longer speak for themselves. November 2nd will truly be Veterans' Day, and you can take pride in having done your part.

In President Kerry's Army

2004-09-25T00:07:00.000-05:00