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As we watch the left of the Democratic Party press its case to return to the top of the heap in American politics, or at least evade the fate of the Dodo, we have ever more evidence validating an insight on which I stake my reputation as a political seer. To wit: partisan politics more often falls under the professional expertise of the psychiatrist than that of the political scientist. A learned shrink can often tell us more about a political issue than any other professional, not excluding a swami or a voodoo priest. Consider the ongoing controversy over Sen....

John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia." Graphic: Kerry's New Evidence He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north; the special operations team the boat was ferrying across the border; the men reading maps and setting off flares. "They gave me a hat," Mr. Kerry says. "I have the hat to this day," he declares, rising to pull it from his briefcase. "I have the hat." Three...

The puff piece starts out: “John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: “Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia.” Right off the bat, this is the first piece where the Swift Boat Vets were 100% correct. At the time, John Kerry stated that his trip took place on Christmas Eve in 1968. The SBV were right at the time, he was NOT iN Cambodia on Christmas Eve of 1968. Kerry had said that this moment was “seared” into him. After the Vets came out, Kerry had his personal biographer come out and it changed...

Kerry Pressing Swiftboat Case, Long After Loss By KATE ZERNIKE John Kerry starts by showing the entry in a log he kept from 1969: "Feb 12: 0800 run to Cambodia." He moves on to the photographs: his boat leaving the base at Ha Tien, Vietnam; the harbor; the mountains fading frame by frame as the boat heads north; the special operations team the boat was ferrying across the border; the men reading maps and setting off flares. "They gave me a hat," Mr. Kerry says. "I have the hat to this day," he declares, rising to pull it from his...

Santa hats and holiday tack; Cambodia decks the halls Fri Dec 23, 2005 Emerging from decades of civil war and years of isolation, largely Buddhist Cambodia is embracing Christmas, at least the baubles, fairy lights and red felt Santa outfits. But this quintessentially Christian celebration filtered through the Cambodian prism seems to be all about the party, while Jesus, Joseph and Mary have been left out in the cold. "I don't care what kind of ceremony it is," says 16 year-old high school student Koam Chanrasmey. "I just want to celebrate it because a lot of other youths will do...

Many TKS readers are asking about this odd comment by Kerry: SEN. KERRY: I still have the hat that he gave me, and I hope the guy would come out of the woodwork and say, "I'm the guy who went up with John Kerry. We delivered weapons to the Khmer Rouge on the coastline of Cambodia." Actually, looking back at the original article in which Kerry mentions the lucky hat, Kerry didn't quite specify the purpose of his mission with the man who wore the hat. A close associate hints: There's a secret compartment in Kerry's briefcase. He carries the...

...SEN. KERRY: We were right on the border, Tim. What I explained to people and I told this any number of times, did I go into Cambodia on a mission? Yes, I did go into Cambodia on a mission. Was it on that night? No, it was not on that night. But we were right on the Cambodian border that night. We were ambushed there, as a matter of fact. And that is a matter of record, and we went into the rec-- you know, it's part of the Navy records. It's been documented by the other guys who were...

John F. Kerry’s traitorous association with communist organizations seems to go back farther than we suspected. He just reaffirmed on Meet the Press that he was not only in Cambodia in December 1968 but that he went there to deliver weapons to the Khmer Rouge. As we all know, the Khmer Rouge was the communist insurgency in Cambodia that eventually overthrew the legitimate government and murdered millions of Cambodian civilians. Of course, Kerry was never in Cambodia in 1968, and every time he tells that lie he digs himself in just a little bit deeper.

Hi everyone, I just now had time to finish this - enjoy ;-) --- Christmas in Cambodia (to the tune of Kim Wilde’s “Cambodia”) --- Well John was Cam Rahn based He was a Swift Boat guy, PCF ninety-four Back then in sixty-nine But soon he got too bored And he began to change Was “Boston Strangler” now His boss just thought him strange - But then he got a call From Tricky Dick one night He couldn’t tell his crew He had to keep it tight No camera gear to pack To reenact this fight He had to take...

ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa, went the the twin engines on John kill em all kerry's boat (real heros have nick names like that). It was a dark and quiet night, John kill em all Kerry turned to his first mate and (in a quiet yet confident voice) said....it's quiet...too quiet I don't like it. If only we can get a bit farther up river without getting spotted we'll be able to drop off secret agent x-183. In the blink of an eye the clam of the night was SHATTERED KAPOW KAPOW WOOOOSH BLAM BLAM the night came alive with a song of DEATH!...

Quotes from the book (and the historical record): (from Kerry Senate floor speech in 1986) "I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people I was not there...." (from a Boston Herald article, date not cited, quoting Kerry) "I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of...

Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2004 Kerry charges return focus to Cambodia war Nearly forgotten is how incursions and invasion polarized this country. By Tom Infield Inquirer Staff Writer WASHINGTON - Vietnam War veterans critical of Sen. John Kerry's claims about his military service in Southeast Asia have reopened one of that era's most controversial chapters, with claims that Kerry lied decades ago when he said he spent Christmas Eve 1968 in Cambodia. In a 1986 Senate speech, Kerry said that, as the skipper of a Swift boat in the Mekong Delta, he crossed the Vietnamese border into Cambodia, then...

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

Second Thoughts 8-25-04 By: William W. Lawrence 08/24/2004Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry says Christmas 1968 is seared in his memory. He was on a secret mission to plant a CIA agent in Cambodia. It was President Richard Nixon's idea, he said."I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia," he says. "I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have thePresident of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared...

WASHINGTON - The chief critic of John Kerry (news - web sites)'s military record told President Nixon in 1971 that he had been in Cambodia in a swift boat during the Vietnam War — a claim at odds with his recent statements that he was not. Photo AP Photo Special Coverages Latest headlines: · Bush lawyer quits in anti-Kerry ad flap AFP - 9 minutes ago · Swift Boat Writer Lied on Cambodia Claim AP - 29 minutes ago · Lawyer Advising Vets Quits Bush Campaign AP - 37 minutes ago All Election Coverage "I was in Cambodia, sir. I...

CNN is complaining that 21 days of the swiftboat thing has been going on but the MSM has yet to really cover the allegations with ANY balance. Article after article you read, "veterans against Kerry backed by Bush" WHERES THE PROOF!, "Veterans against Kerry though NONE of them served on his boat" Steve Gardner simply disappears from the earth even though he’s all over the radio. "Its lies, all lies!" Even though1. Christmas in Cambodia was a lie.2. The no man left behind incident has been changed by the Kerry campaign SINCE the democratic convention supporting the swift vets claim...

John Kerry has admitted two claims made by the Swifties already. That he wasn't in Cambodia and that the first Purple Heart "might have been" self inflicted. You would think the left wing media mafia would be all over this. It seems like the only true reporter has been Major Garett. Kind of frustrating.

When John Kerry went postal last week, the major media's preferred strategy for dealing with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- to ignore them -- went down the toilet.     Mr. Kerry melted down because the Swifties' exposure of Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" fantasy has struck a nerve, and is gaining traction, despite the major media's refusal to report on it.     Mr. Kerry has claimed on dozens of occasions -- most notably in a speech on the Senate floor in 1986 -- to have spent Christmas eve, 1968, five miles inside of Cambodia on a mission in violation of international...

Kerry's Cambodia Whopper By Joshua Muravchik Tuesday, August 24, 2004; Page A17 Most of the debate between the former shipmates who swear by John Kerry and the group of other Swift boat veterans who are attacking his military record focuses on matters that few of us have the experience or the moral standing to judge. But one issue, having nothing to do with medals, wounds or bravery under fire, goes to the heart of Kerry's qualifications for the presidency and is therefore something that each of us must consider. That is Kerry's apparently fabricated claim that he fought in Cambodia....

CNN folds re: "Christmas in Cambodia"

washingtonpost.com Swift Boat Sniping WEN WE FIRST wrote about the ads slamming Democratic nominee John F. Kerry's service in Vietnam, we said that Mr. Kerry's emphasis on his Vietnam experience had made questions about his war record fair game. But we said that ads by the group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had crossed the line in smearing the service that earned Mr. Kerry three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. Nothing we've seen in the two weeks since has changed that view. snip Mr. Kerry's conflicting statements about where and when he was in...

But now some anti-Kerry veterans are saying he was never in Cambodia. John O'Neill, who has been dogging Kerry more than 30 years, told Matt Drudge that the senator's Christmas-in-Cambodia stories "are complete lies." As evidence, he cites Kerry's own wartime diary, as quoted in Douglas Brinkley's Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. That book—according to Drudge's account of it—places Kerry in Sa Dec, 50 miles away from Cambodia, on Christmas Eve, and seemingly at peace. "Visions of sugarplums really do dance through your head," Kerry wrote in his diary that night, "and you think of stockings...

How can we FReep Kerry's "Christmas in Cambodia" lies......without offending the tradition of Santa Claus? image from www.amazon.com I need your advice.A friend of mine whose political opinions I respect is concerned that our using the image of Santa Claus to attack John Kerry is a REALLY BAD idea.I, on the other had, think that this could be a GREAT idea.Here's the deal...Until now, we HAVE been FReeping John Kerry at his appearances all across the USA with the images of "flip flops" and "Flipper" the dolphin - to force the mainstream media to talk about the ease with which...

[Excerpt from full transcript. Russert is speaking with Tad Devine, Senior Adviser, Kerry-Edwards '04. -- ajf]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5772535/ MR. RUSSERT: He didn't take office until January '69. Does Senator Kerry stand by that statement that on Christmas Eve of '68 he was physically in Cambodia? MR. DEVINE: Right. Well, his memory, Tim, is being there, around there. And I'll tell you what happened on December 25th... MR. RUSSERT: No--being there or around there? MR. DEVINE: No, being right at the Cambodian border, over the Cambodian border. That's what he remembers. That's his clear memory. Now, Tim... [end excerpt] So according to Devine,...

Nation & World By Michael Barone Winter in Cambodia? This month the Kerry Campaign abandoned one claim that John Kerry had made for years about his Vietnam War service and put another into question. The claim that has been dropped: that Kerry was in Cambodia at Christmastime in 1968. In a 1979 review of the movie Apocalypse Now in the Boston Herald, Kerry wrote, "I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 5 miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our Vietnamese allies." In a 1986 speech on the Senate floor, Kerry said, "I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting...

[concluding paragraph] Character counts. On the Christmas story (which even the pro-Kerry New York Times admits Kerry has not "put to rest"), perhaps Kerry was just confused about dates, or perhaps he convinced himself that an untrue story was true, as people sometimes do, and had no intent to mislead. A more unsettling possibility is that he consciously leapt the bounds of truth to make his experience seem more spectacular or to score political points. Those are not the sort of things most people want in a president. Will Kerry's evidently untrue statements about Christmas in Cambodia raise doubts about...

Some people wondered how long the major media would be willing to ignore the Christmas-in-Cambodia story. Well, the answer is in: at least 10 or 11 days. I first noticed the story August 6 on Glenn Reynolds's Instapundit blog. Soon it was all over the Internet, the conservative press, talk radio, and some cable shows. But the networks, the New York Time s , the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and other major media didn't run the story. Some papers, like the Kansas City Star, got protests from readers on what appeared to be a news blackout. Finally, after...

Where was John Kerry December 24, 1968? Not in Cambodia.JOHN KERRY, fresh from a three-day vacation at his retreat in Ketchum, Idaho, addressed the annual convention of the International Association of Fire Fighters in Boston last week, and it was quite a speech--combative, fiery, personal. The firefighters' union was one of the first to endorse Kerry during the Democratic primaries last year, as the candidate barnstormed among the snowy drifts of New Hampshire and Iowa, and on Thursday Kerry spoke to them plainly but forcefully, as one would to old friends. "Over the last week or so," Kerry began, "a...

August 20, 2004 -- THERE'S now some real angst in Dem ocratic circles be cause of the growing evidence that Democrat John Kerry's claim to have a memory "seared in me" of spending Christmas 1968 in Cambodia was false — and just didn't happen. But what worries some pro-Kerry Democrats is the fear that Kerry has, as one put it, "an Al Gore problem" — that he's a serial exaggerator. (Remember how Gore claimed to have invented the Internet and inspired the novel "Love Story"?) Remember Kerry's claim that "I've met foreign leaders" who told him he had to beat...

Christmas In Cambo’ja The jungle’s green, fatigues are green The scariest picture you've ever seen Is Christmas in Cambo’ja In four months he’ll be back home It's nice, my friend, the truth to bend Political means justify the end His after-action false reports And “swift”-ly he’s right back home Our military’s honor Is hurt by stories tall And Liar John before he's gone Will slander our vets and all How grand it feels to click your heels And leave the war to the low-class heels These lies that he has told ‘ja The likes you've never known ’bout Christmas in...

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (CAMBODIAN VERSION)Twas the night before Christmas and we were afloat Somewhere in Cambodia in our little boat. While the river was lightened by rockets red glare No one but the President knew we were there. The crew was all nestled deep down in their bunks, While the Spook and I watched the sampans and junks. Our mission was secret, so secret in fact, No one else would remember it when we got back. When out on the water there arose such a clatter I leaped down from the bridge to see what was the matter....

On March 27, 1986, John Kerry took the floor of the U.S. Senate and delivered a dramatic oration indicting the foreign policy of the Reagan administration. As is his habit, Kerry drew on his Vietnam experience in explaining his opposition to the policy. "I remember Christmas of 1968, sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and having the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there." To emphasize the importance of this incident to his subsequent political development,...

"KERRY WENT into Cambodian waters three or four times in January and February 1969 on clandestine missions," historian Douglas Brinkley told the London Telegraph last week. "He had a run dropping off U.S. Navy Seals, Green Berets, and CIA guys. . . . 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." John Kerry was obliged last week to recant a number of...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

For Immediate Release August 18, 2004 Kerry In Cambodia Debunked By Kerry Crewmate What's Next? Kerry Crew Member and Supporter Does Not "Recall" Senator In Cambodia Washington, DC - Swift Boat Veterans for Truth today, again, called on Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry to set the record straight on whether he was, or was not, in Cambodia. In today's Boston Globe, an article by Michael Kranish further calls into question whether Kerry was ever in Cambodia. "Michael Medeiros, who served aboard the No. 94 with Kerry and appeared with him at the Democratic National Convention, vividly recalled an occasion...

Michael Medeiros, who served on Swift Boat No. 94 with Kerry and appeared with him at the Democratic National Convention, told the Globe that Kerry and his crew chased an enemy to the Cambodian border -- but stopped there. He could not recall dropping off special forces in Cambodia or going inside Cambodia with Kerry. James Wasser, who accompanied Kerry on the Christmas mission aboard Swift Boat No. 44, said that while he believes they were "very, very close" to Cambodia, they did not enter the country. A third crewmate, who opposes Kerry, flatly accuses him of lying about Cambodia....

LOMBARD -- James R. Wasser, second in command under Democrat Presidential candidate John Kerry on PCF-44 in Vietnam, will speak at the August 25 meeting of the Democrat Party of DuPage County at their campaign office at 1000 Rohlwing, Lombard. Wasser was one of the 13 men who fought with Kerry in Vietnam who were on the podium at the Democrat National Convention to help introduce the nominee before he gave his speech accepting the his Party's nomination for President. Among the 13 were the boatswain, gunnery mates, and petty officers who crewed the boat skippered by Kerry when he...

John Kerry's presidential campaign claimed on Tuesday that his Christmas 1968 mission into Cambodia was top, top secret - and that's why there are no documents that verify the implausible claim. "During John Kerry's service in Vietnam, many times he was on or near the Cambodian border and on one occasion crossed into Cambodia at the request of members of a special operations group operating out of Ha Tien," Kerry spokesman Michael Meehan said in a statement. But Meehan told the Boston Globe that there was no paperwork to confirm the claim and he could not supply a date...

Fresh off his 'Christmas in Cambodia' fairy tale, The Poodle has been caught in another whopper, this time regarding one of his Purple Hearts. This is separate from the questions surrounding his being awarded the Purple Heart in the first place. It looks like Kerry has contradicted himself in his own diary. In Douglas Brinkley's "Tour of Duty," which is Kerry's official, approved war biography, The Poodle writes an entry after a mission. In that entry he says that after several missions he has not yet taken any enemy fire. Ok .. big deal. Big whoop, right? Sorry .. but...

Posted at 2:35 PM, Pacific The May 8, 2000 article from U.S. News & World report reproduced below begins by stating that John Kerry conducted clandestine forays into Cambodia during the Vietnam War to deliver weapons to anticommunist forces. Because that statement isn't a direct quote of Kerry, I contacted the reporter, Kevin Whitelaw, this afternoon. Whitelaw still works at U.S. News & World report where he covers foreign affairs and intelligence matters. Hugh: "Did John Kerry tell you that he ran guns into Cambodia?" Kevin Whitelaw: "That's exactly what he told me." Mr. Whitelaw declined my invitation to appear...

Some historical facts. One of the central events in John Kerry's personal mythology is the time he was sent illegally into Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict. It was an event that bestowed on him an aura of a victimhood to balance the fact that he served in uniform, endearing him to the Left while immunizing him from criticism from the Right. The most quoted statement is from a Kerry floor speech of March 27, 1986: I remember Christmas of 1968, sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia, I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and...

Kerry disputes allegations on Cambodia By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | August 18, 2004 WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry is disputing an allegation made by a group of veterans opposed to his presidential candidacy that he never operated inside Cambodia during the Vietnam War. In a just-published book, "Unfit for Command," the veterans said that "Kerry was never in Cambodia during Christmas 1968, or at all during the Vietnam War" and that he "would have been court-martialed had he gone there." But the Kerry campaign said that the group, which calls itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, is wrong...

THE MOVEON.ORG TELEVISION AD The Kerry crowd is running an ad that says that George Bush used his father to get into the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. Just so you know, there is no record anywhere of any interference by or influence brought to bear by Bush the Elder in Bush the Younger's acceptance into the guard. Not that you leftists care. Point two. That ad from Moveon.org, an anti-Bush group financed by a mysterious Hungarian-born international financier, also features an image of someone stamping George Bush's National Guard records with "failure to appear." There is...

Only a few short weeks ago, John Kerry was enjoying the temperate climate and familiar old stones of his native Boston. But now, as if in a "Twilight Zone" nightmare, he finds himself stumbling about, half lost in the steamy jungles of the Mekong Delta. It's 1968 again, or is it 1969? The Doors blasts from the radio: "This is the end, beautiful friend, This is the end, My only friend, the end ... " He wakes up: "Saigon, damn. I'm still only in Saigon. Every time I think I'm going to wake up back in the jungle. When I...

Only a few short weeks ago John Kerry was enjoying the temperate climate and familiar old stones of his native Boston. But now, as if in a Twilight Zone nightmare, he finds himself stumbling about, half lost in the steamy jungles of the Mekong Delta. It's 1968 again, or is it 1969?

August 17, 2004 Posted at 2:35 PM, Pacific The May 8, 2000 article from U.S. News & World report reproduced below begins by stating that John Kerry conducted clandestine forays into Cambodia during the Vietnam War to deliver weapons to anticommunist forces. Because that statement isn't a direct quote of Kerry, I contacted the reporter, Kevin Whitelaw, this afternoon. Whitelaw still works at U.S. News & World report where he covers foreign affairs and intelligence matters. Hugh: "Did John Kerry tell you that he ran guns into Cambodia?" Kevin Whitelaw: "That's exactly what he told me." Mr. Whitelaw declined my...

........Kerry's statements about Cambodia do have traction for opponents. He has referred to spending Christmas or Christmas Eve 1968 in Cambodia and coming under fire. At the time Cambodia was neutral and supposedly off-limits to US troops. "I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia," Kerry said in 1986 at a Senate committee hearing on US policy toward Central America. "I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there, the troops...

Cambodian Rhapsody Have you got a load of this latest nonsense drummed up by the dhingers against Kerry? From what I can gather, apperently the "so" called "charge" against him this time is that he didn't fight in Cambodia too. Talk about gaul! While they're guy was hiding in a Texas jet plane Kerry was dodging bullets skippering a swiftvet boat on the plumes in Vietnam, and they have the nerve to accuse Kerry of cowardace/duty avoidance? It's almost unbelievalbe! (not quite) what the dhingers will stoop too. Listen you numskulls the war was in V-I-E-T N-A-M Say it with...

“Mr. President,” said John Kerry, addressing his fellow senators in March 1986, “I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and having the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared -- seared -- in me. ...” This was not the only time during the last 35 years that Kerry has claimed that he was in Cambodia in Christmastime 1968. In an...