August 24, 2004
More Notes
from - smijer
On the other hand, I agree with those of you who would like to see this race back on the issues of today instead of the history of 35 years ago, except insofar as I am glad Kerry's Vietnam campaign serves to undermine and reverse some of the Atwater/Rove psy-ops campaign to paint liberals as soft on defense and military issues. Better to show actual advantages to our foreign policy, but I will accept psy-ops against psy-ops.
John Kerry did not spend Christmas in Cambodia in 1968. But he probably wasn't lying about it when he said he did. Douglas Brinkley:"On Christmas Eve he was near Cambodia; he was around 50 miles from the Cambodian border. There's no indictment of Kerry to be made, but he was mistaken about Christmas in Cambodia," said Douglas Brinkley, who has unique access to the candidate's wartime journals.Buck's Daily links, and campaign links are added to the top right of the page now. ::But Mr Brinkley rejected accusations that the senator had never been to Cambodia, insisting he was telling the truth about running undisclosed "black" missions there at the height of the war.
He said: "Kerry went into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions. He had a run dropping off US Navy Seals, Green Berets and CIA guys." The missions were not armed attacks on Cambodia, said Mr Brinkley, who did not include the clandestine missions in his wartime biography of Mr Kerry, Tour of Duty.
"He was a ferry master, a drop-off guy, but it was dangerous as hell. Kerry carries a hat he was given by one CIA operative. In a part of his journals which I didn't use he writes about discussions with CIA guys he was dropping off." - link"
Posted by smijer at August 24, 2004 07:24 AM
Concerning Bush, the Swiftvets, and 527's I read yesterday day a quote that was quite funny and accurate
Bush has turned Voltaire on his head: "I approve of what you say, but I will oppose to the death your right to say it."
Bob Dole has been a laughing stock since he took his first Viagra. I remember when I first saw the Viagra commercial featuring Dole I thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit. When I realized it was for real I remember thinking "Damn. Dole and Clinton. One can't seem to get it up while the other can't seem to keep it down"
Politics has not been the same for me since.
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Posted by Buck on August 24, 2004 08:57 AM Link to comment |
You've got to be kidding me. Kerry has yet to dispute anything that the Swift Boat Vets have said with "facts" He has stated that they are lies, he has maligned their characters and said all kinds of other mean nasty and ugly things about them. But he has yet to dispute their claims with any facts.
As far as the Cambodia issue, if Kerry had only said it once, then yes, you could construe it as a mistake. But he has repeated the same story over and over again. Once on the floor of the U.S. Senate. He stated that it was "...seared into his mind." But we know that it was a lie. Why is it so hard for Liberals to realize this? Kerry lied about it. Period. There is no grey area here.
But your right on one thing. I would like to see the facts of the issue. If the Swift Boat Vets are lying then let Kerry come out with evidence to prove it.
This is an issue because the entire Democratic Convention was based on his experience in Vietnam. Not about his 20 years in the Senate.
Boortz is bringing up a good point. John Kerry kept a journal to record his experiences in Vietnam. 9 days after the incident where he receive one of his commendations, he noted that he had never come under enemy fire. This journal was used to write his biography. Please explain this. I am eagerly waiting a reply.
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Posted by Rick Pearlstein on August 24, 2004 11:27 AM Link to comment |
Rick, I don't believe you've been paying attention. All the Navy records of the events in question, and the testimony of those people who were in the best position to know is consistent with Kerry's version of the events, and wildly inconsistent with the lies of O'Neill's organization. Even some of the SBV's earlier testimony contradicts their current testimony where it can be found to discuss the same events.
Not one single charge of the SBV's has actually been confirmed with facts. All of their charges have been refuted by other witnesses and Navy records.
Brinkley's report shows that Kerry could have and should have been mistaken about the dates he was in Cambodia, since he was there on more than one occasion, and was close to there on Christmas. You must think human memory is infallible.
I would like to fact-check Boortz' claim that (in his words:
Kerry kept a journal of his experiences in Vietnam. He made an entry into that journal nine days after the incident that led to his first Purple Heart. In that journal entry Kerry wrote that he had never come under enemy fire.
Unfortunately, Boortz does not source his claim so that it can be fact-checked. 99% of the time, this means the claim is false. He salves his conscience by including the following disclaimer on his front page:
Don't believe anything you read on this web page, or, for that matter, anything you hear on The Neal Boortz Show, unless it is consistent with what you already know to be true, or unless you have taken the time to research the matter to prove its accuracy to your satisfaction. This is known as "doing your homework."
If he sincerely wanted you to take the time to research the matter, he would do you the courtesy of including his sources when he posts an accusation or claim. He rarely does, because he is afraid you might accidentally find out the truth.
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Posted by smijer on August 24, 2004 01:27 PM Link to comment |
Smijer, I agree with you partly. Boorz will pour it on sometimes. But I have yet to check out any of his claims without them checking true. Except those that are obviously BS. And this is exactly why I stated that it was a Boortz statement. Just in case. Nevertheless, it seems like something that Kerry would do.
Like saying that he was in Cambodia in '68 even though Nixon said that there were no combat troops in the region. And saying it on the Senate Floor at that. Which is a crime don't you know?
As far as the SBV's being disproved. Check your sources fellow scribe. Oh, they all have their "memories" no doubt about it. But let's look at this logically.
There are five boats, they are on station for 90 minutes. Supposedly they are taking fire. There is not one casualty? Are the VC that bad a shot that they can't kill one sailor in 90 minutes? Kerry is the ONLY one to file a report that said that they took fire. The skippers of the other four boats are lying? Come on Smijer. I know your more intelligent than that.
All of the SBV claims have not been proven wrong since Kerry will not produce the evidence to prove them wrong. I would love to see it and I will eat all of my words if you can prove me wrong. I've eaten plenty of humble pie in my 37 years. i would be happy to eat it again if I see the evidence.
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Posted by Rick Pearlstein on August 24, 2004 02:56 PM Link to comment |
On a seperate note, I really enjoy reading your blog Even if only to get me riled up. Thanks! :)
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Posted by Rick Pearlstein on August 24, 2004 02:59 PM Link to comment |
Now a new official statement from the campaign undercuts Brinkley. It offers a minimal (thus harder to impeach) claim: that Kerry "on one occasion crossed into Cambodia," on an unspecified date. But at least two of the shipmates who are supporting Kerry's campaign (and one who is not) deny their boat ever crossed the border, and their testimony on this score is corroborated by Kerry's own journal, kept while on duty. One passage reproduced in Brinkley's book says: "The banks of the [Rach Giang Thanh River] whistled by as we churned out mile after mile at full speed. On my left were occasional open fields that allowed us a clear view into Cambodia. At some points, the border was only fifty yards away and it then would meander out to several hundred or even as much as a thousand yards away, always making one wonder what lay on the other side." His curiosity was never satisfied, because this entry was from Kerry's final mission.
GARRETT: And questions keep coming. For example, Kerry received a Purple Heart for wounds suffered on December 2nd, 1968. But an entry in Kerry's own journal written nine days later, he writes that, quote, he and his crew hadn't been shot at yet, unquote. Kerry's campaign has said it is possible his first Purple Heart was awarded for an unintentionally self-inflicted wound.
As for the allegation that there would be howls if someone suggested that Bush had volunteered for combat, and then some someone turned up questions his record -- what the hell do you think happened over the whole Texas National Guard witchhunt over the last year?
As I have read Dole's condemnation, his problem isn't that Kerry got Purple Hearts -- it is that he racked up three of them ASAP and then used them to get out of VietNam while other people stayed. Dole got out of the war early too -- except he left an arm there.
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Posted by Phelps on August 24, 2004 03:54 PM Link to comment |
That's as opposed to Dole's problem with Bush, who of course didn't "rack up three Purple Hearts ASAP and use them to get out of Viet Nam". I used to respect Bob Dole, Viagra and all, but he's just another hack.
Re Cambodia: my guess is there was a Christmas ornament or something on the dashboard on one of those Cambodia-drop runs Brinkley writes about, leading to a mistaken memory that got preserved. At any rate, the main thing is surely that Kerry knew personally that we were in Cambodia when that was not congressionally approved, not the precision of the date when he knew it. Isn't it?
Re proven wrong:
(1) read Rood.
(2) read the WP
(3) eat humble pie.
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Posted by Thomas Nephew on August 25, 2004 10:44 AM Link to comment |
I won't read the WaPo article. They are blocking out the bugmenot logins, and I won't register.
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Posted by Phelps on August 25, 2004 02:11 PM Link to comment |
