On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 21:46:34 -0700, Mark & Juanita wrote:


What you have to ask yourself, pilgrim, is if they were lying back in
the war, when they wrote all those glowing accounts of Kerry's bravery and
competence, or if they are lying now, when they say he isn't fit to lead
this country. It has to be one or the other.


Well, if you read their accounts, they *didn't* write those glowing
accounts.

I'll give you just one example:

In the ad by Swift Boat Veterans, George Elliot said: : "John Kerry has
not been honest about what happened in Vietnam."

In 1969, when he was writing Kerry's fitness report, he said: "In a combat
environment often requiring independent, decisive action, LTJG Kerry was
unsurpassed. He constantly reviewed tactics and lessons learned in river
operations and applied his experience at every opportunity. On one
occasion, while in tactical command of a three boat operation his units
were taken under fire from ambush. LTJG Kerry rapidly assessed the
situation and ordered his units to turn directly into the ambush. This
decision resulted in routing the attackers with several KIA. LTJG Kerry
emerges as the acknowledged leader in his peer group. His bearing and
appearance are above reproach. He has of his own volition learned the
Vietnamese language and is instrumental in the successful Vietnamese
training program. During the period of this report LTJG Kerry has been
awarded the Silver Star medal, the Bronze Star medal, the Purple Heart
medal (2nd and 3rd awards)."

Lying then or lying now? You make the call.

It's okay for these men to dislike Kerry for his politics. Who could
blame them? Kerry put a lot of energy into convincing the world that all
their blood and sacrifice was in an ignoble cause. But when they stoop to
claiming the exact opposite of what they once said, on the record, I can't
credit anything they say now. And it's an act that dishonors all veterans.
I spent a year in Vietnam, and I despise what these men have done. It's
sleazy, and it's unfortunately the standard campaigning style of the Bush
team. I still remember with disgust what they did to John McCain back in
2000. It's pretty hard to attack the war record of a man who spent many
years as a POW, so they spread rumors that his mind had been affected by
his terrible experiences in Hanoi. After all, we don't want a lunatic at
the helm of our Ship of State. Or maybe the North Vietnamese brainwashed
him.
Don't want a Manchurian Candidate. Or, the infamous pushpoll in which
likely voters were asked, "would you vote for McCain if you
knew he'd fathered an illegitimate black child?" Turns out he and his
wife adopted a dark-skinned child from Bangladesh, so I guess it wasn't
really a dirty lie.

Sorry if I'm too aggressive about this, but I truly despise liars.