I'm assuming that only the female members were game, but...
I wonder if the mysterious Alex Polier is one of these?
Posted on 02/11/2004 10:04:05 AM PST by Liz
Edited on 02/24/2004 3:01:19 AM PST by Lead Moderator. [history]
Actress and activist Jane Fonda attends an anti-Vietnam War rally at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The rally was sponsored by Vietnam veterans. John Kerry can be seen directly in the background. 1970 Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, USALeif Skoogfors (CORBIS)
WASH TIMES 2/11 Rep. Sam Johnson, Texas Republican, who spent nearly seven years in a prisoner-of-war camp in Vietnam, said yesterday the photograph of Mr. Kerry with Miss Fonda will hurt him nevertheless. "I think it symbolizes how two-faced he is, talking about his war reputation, which is questionable on the one hand, and then coming out against our veterans who were fighting over there on the other," Mr. Johnson said. Mr. Johnson recalled that his North Vietnamese captors played recordings of Miss Fonda telling U.S. troops to give up the war. "Seeing this picture of Kerry with her at antiwar demonstrations in the United States just makes me want to throw up."
I'm assuming that only the female members were game, but...
I wonder if the mysterious Alex Polier is one of these?
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1079203/posts
Which socialites and actresses did he supposedly (famously) date after his divorce? Lots of links say he did, but they don't include the ladies' names.
This one does: Report: Scandal rocks Kerry campaign
A week ago, the Boston Herald's Inside Track column discussed a National Enquirer investigation on John Kerry which claimed Kerry is "an admitted pot smoker who had an eye for Hollywood honeys, namely Morgan Fairchild, Michelle Phillips and Catherine Oxenberg. In fact, Morgan and Michelle were so turned off by him, they both contributed to the other candidates seeking the nomination," the Herald stated.
According to the column, the Enquirer story also mentioned a "22-year-old blonde who was spotted around midnight 'dropping off her resume' at Kerry's Louisburg Square home while wife Teresa Heinz was in Nantucket."
288 posted on 02/16/2004 4:09:59 PM CST by archy (Concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT! Done dirt cheap! Neckties, contracts, high voltage...Done dirt cheap!)
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http://www.morganfairchild.com/biography.htm
Morgan is one of the original members and is on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, a political action committee that has raised millions for liberal candidates for state and federal office. They were co-organizers of the pro-choice rally in Washington in 1989 that drew 500,000 people and Los Angeles co-producers of the Nelson Mandala dinner that raised almost $1 million on his recent U.S. tour. Whether it's appearing on "Nightline" on AIDS or CBS's "Sixty Minutes" on women's issues or testifying before the Senate on environmental causes, the public has come to respect Morgan as more than just a glamorous star.
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http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,962,00.html
Hollywood Women Quit Political Fundraising
by Elizabeth Johns
Apr 14, 1997, 5:45 PM PT
What Hollywood giveth, Hollywood taketh away.
Calling for an overhaul of political fundraising, the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, an organization of entertainment players that has raised nearly $7 million for liberal candidates and causes, is disbanding, citing the "total corruption" of the nation's political fundraising system.
"In the last 10 years, we have seen a cumulative effect--the buying and selling of public office," says Susan Grode, entertainment attorney and former committee member. Grode says it became impossible to influence a system based on money in a positive way while helping to raise money for that same system.
The group, which boasted Barbra Streisand and Jane Fonda as members, is now asking Congress to enact comprehensive campaign finance reform. But members say the decision to disband isn't linked to President Clinton's last campaign or current fundraising woes. "If that were so, we would have done this right after the election," Grode says.
Since 1984, the organization has held fundraisers for issues like women's right to choose, as well as Presidential and congressional candidates. The organization hosted the National President's Gala last fall, which raised nearly $4 million for Clinton's re-election, and two "Take Back the Congress" events in 1996 that netted more than $300,000. In addition, Streisand's performance at her Malibu home in 1992 raised $1 million for Clinton, U.S. Senate candidates Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and the Democratic Party.
But the nation's fundraising system is only getting worse, Grode says. "In last year's Presidential campaign, $2 billion was spent between the Presidential and congressional campaigns. If limits were put in place, that money could be going other places." The group said in a statement that the price of elections these days has alienated "the vast majority of Americans...Anyone without a personal fortune or connections to great wealth cannot be elected to public office."
By disbanding and creating a void, the organization is hoping to make politicians and the public sit up and take notice. "The system is not improving, so we saw we needed to effect change another way, " Grode says.
http://www.morganfairchild.com/biography.htm
Morgan is one of the original members and is on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, a political action committee that has raised millions for liberal candidates for state and federal office. They were co-organizers of the pro-choice rally in Washington in 1989 that drew 500,000 people and Los Angeles co-producers of the Nelson Mandala dinner that raised almost $1 million on his recent U.S. tour. Whether it's appearing on "Nightline" on AIDS or CBS's "Sixty Minutes" on women's issues or testifying before the Senate on environmental causes, the public has come to respect Morgan as more than just a glamorous star.
Wonder if her Senate testimony had anything to do with Kerry's Senate activity?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1079203/posts?q=1&&page=301
To: OldEagle
> Thank you for the Hollywood connection. I'm still looking for the Condit connection. I just have a feeling about it.
You got feeling, too, huh? :) Earlier today I also found myself comparing this situation to the Condit one. Hmmm, maybe the old nose is trying to tell me something. . .Okay, here's my suspicions on the subject--and this is just me brainstorming speculations out loud here in case it generates a lead for anyone else, so take it FWIW:
I have read that that the LA mob under Mickey Cohen and Johnny Rosselli used to run a scam where it systematically compromised and blackmailed actresses by luring them into pornography, and this was going on at least into the 1960s (and I assume later, but I haven't found information for later periods yet--I would not be suprised if some emerged from the Michael Jackson trial, though). I have inferred that this operation intersected with a celebrity pornography ring that included directors Roger Vadim (Jane Fonda's husband) and Roman Polanski, which was exposed in the investigation of the Manson murders (the police found videos in Polanski's house, Dennis Hopper told the papers the police told him Vadim and a group of his friends were making s&m and bestiality movies in Polanski's house; those involved in this were also involved in a major drug-dealing ring operating in Hollywood in the heydey of drug use in the late 60s). I have also read that the mob in DC under Joe Nesline ran a similar operation to compromise politicians, tied to a call girl ring that was catering to the DNC during the Watergate era, and this ring also provided male prostitution services and was linked to Korean agents' use of "honey traps". My suspicion is that the DC and Hollywood operations are part of the same operation, supplying suitable "interns" for the likes of the Kennedys (cf. Jimmy Hoffa's attempt to get dirt on JFK's affairs), Clintons, and Condits (and many others). If there's a link between Condit and Kerry and the Hollywood aspect of this, that's one direction I'd look in (in addition to the left-wing connection to Fonda and Streisand): find out if there's any pattern in who's supplying "interns" for DC politicians and if this traces back to the mob's porn/prostitution activity in Hollywood (or Boston, with respect to Kerry and Ted Kennedy and the Bronfman crime family of Boston and Canada [owners of Seagram's--cf. Joseph Kennedy's bootlegging background], which has donated to Kerry). And again this is speculation on my part, but looking at things from that perspective, it strikes me as potentially significant that Poltier is reported to come from this social background:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1078014/posts
Alex Polier -- The Kenya connection
Free Republic | 14th Feb 2004 | Free Republic
Posted on 02/14/2004 3:49:07 AM CST by propertius
Alex Polier was, as of 5pm Kenya time, hiding out in Nairobi. She and her fiance, Yaron (sp) Schwartzman were staying at the home of his parents Joseph and Hannah. The London Evening Standard reported last night that she was already in the UK. They were wrong, although there is a possibility she may have flown later on last night -- but I think it is more likely she was still here.
Alex and Yaron were moved from the family's palacial home in the upmarket Nairobi suburb of Lavington late last night to avoid the press. They could be anywhere in Kenya -- at the coast or on Safari.
Yaron is believed to work in Nairobi at a company called Film Struck Studios or possible Film Studios. The company is owned by daddy. He is believed to move in a circle of friends known as the "cokehead set". Now there is more than one cokehead set in Kenya, which attracts old wealth, new wealth, British Aristocracy and some of the international gliterrati.
Daddy is the chairman of an engineering company called H Young, which is owned by former cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott. Biwott is a nasty piece of work. Former President Daniel arap Moi's right hand man, a Scotland Yard enquiry named him the prime suspect in the 1990 murder of Foreign Minister Robert Ouko. He plundered the Kenyan treasury and is known here as "the Godfather", "Mr 15 percent" (the cuts he took when awarding tenders to multinational companies) or "The Total Man" (he owns Total Kenya). Daddy is also business partner of Naushad Merali, another Moi frontman, a multimillionaire and probably Kenya's richest Asian.
This would suggest our man Yaron mixes with the 20 and 30-somethings who are the children or spouses of Kenya's leading criminals. The senior members of this set are Biwott's Israeli wife Rita and his son in law Charles Field-Marshall, a controversial Kenya-based Canadian businessman.
348 posted on 02/17/2004 1:15:25 AM CST by Fedora [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 343 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]
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To: Fedora
Interesting.
Kerry got snagged by a honeypot.
Manchurian Candidate?
349 posted on 02/17/2004 1:18:34 AM CST by longtermmemmory (Vote!)
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To: longtermmemmory
> Interesting.
> Kerry got snagged by a honeypot.
> Manchurian Candidate?
Hadn't thought of the Manchurian angle, but that's another possibility--Manchurian Candidate brainwashing techniques are sometimes used on prostitutes to condition them and keep them under control; and I've also sometimes wondered if Kerry himself is a MC. Again, I'm speculating, not asserting Polier is a honeypot--don't have enough evidence to substantiate that yet. However if she is, it'd explain a lot; and it'd also raise the question of who sent her and if, perhaps, someone is using her to get leverage over Kerry. Kerry's already been compromised by someone, IMO. Maybe they're reminding him of that right now.
350 posted on 02/17/2004 1:36:07 AM CST by Fedora
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To: longtermmemmory; OldEagle
Now I'm looking into another of Kerry's ex-girlfriends, Catherine Oxenberg. I've discovered that she used to be married to Robert Evans, an associate of Roman Polanski's (he helped Polanski produce "Rosemary's Baby") whose name I've come across before in my research on the very subjects mentioned above. . .here's some info:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Oxenberg
Catherine Oxenberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Catherine Oxenberg (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress, best known for her performance as Amanda Carrington on Dynasty and as a socialite with aristocratic connections.
She was born in New York City, the eldest daughter of Mr. Howard Oxenberg (a manager and businessman, and a close friend of the Kennedy family) and of his first wife H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia. Her grandmother was Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, a legendary beauty and the sister of Princess Marina, who married the Duke of Kent (uncle of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom), and also a first cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh (husband of Queen Elizabeth II).
She married firstly Robert Evans, in Beverly Hills, California on July 12, 1998, but the marriage was annulled in July 1998. She then married in Las Vegas on May 8, 1999, the actor Casper Van Dien who had divorced the granddaughter of the late actor Robert Mitchum.
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http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800086564&cf=biog&intl=us
Icy blonde actress Catherine Oxenberg is the American-born daughter of Yugoslavia's Princess Elizabeth. Befitting her breeding and bearing, Catherine was cast as Lady Di in the 1982 TV-movie biopic Royal Romance of Charles and Diana--and, bringing things full circle, she repeated the role in 1992's Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After. She also essayed the Audrey Hepburn "princess" role in the 1987 remake of Roman Holiday--a bit of "stunt casting" that did not meet with universal approval. Catherine's theatrical film credits are sparse but memorable; those with a fetishist bent may get a rush from her near-nude bondage sequence in Ken Russell's Lair of the White Worm (1988). Most televiewers will remember Catherine Oxenberg as Amanda Carrington, long-lost daughter of Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins),in the prime time serial Dynasty (the 1984-85 "wedding massacre" season); and as British secret agent Ashley Hunter-Caddington in the 1993 syndicated weekly Acapulco Heat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles276.html
Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg
Their Story: In July 1998, the man who produced such classics as The Godfather, Chinatown and Marathon Man was smitten with actress Catherine Oxenberg, who played Joan Collins' daughter on Dynasty and appeared twice as Princess Diana in TV movies.
When Evans, 68, met the 36-year-old actress, he had recently suffered a stroke and was writing a book about his near-death experience, I Heard the Fat Lady Sing.
The Heartbreak: Within nine days, their marriage was annulled. "I forgot it had only been six weeks since I had been hit with a stroke," Evans told Variety.
The Aftermath: Now 73, Evans has divorced for the sixth time, parting in July with 34-year-old Versace model Leslie Ann Woodward. Ironically, it was not long after his latest flick, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Oxenberg, 41, is married to actor Casper Van Dien and they have one child.
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http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800025948&cf=biog&intl=us
A 1970s player, a 1980s flameout, and a 1990s survivor, studio executive-turned-producer Robert Evans' flamboyant life is as checkered as his mercurial career. Born Robert Shapera in New York City, Evans was a child actor, but he gave it up and went into the clothing business with his brother at age 21. Despite their success, Evans returned to acting when Norma Shearer chose him to play Irving Thalberg in the Lon Chaney biopic Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). Although Evans had the movie-star looks, he lacked the talent to move beyond a smattering of small roles, including in The Sun Also Rises (1957). Still entranced by the movie business, however, Evans left the clothing company and went to work at 20th Century-Fox.
Despite his relative lack of experience, Evans was made the head of production at floundering Paramount in 1966. Under his Thalberg-esque watch, the rejuvenated studio turned out some of the most important hits of the late 1960s and early '70s, including Rosemary's Baby (1968), Love Story (1970), and The Godfather (1972). As skillful at drawing attention to himself, Evans held court at his estate with wife Ali MacGraw, and publicly clashed with Francis Ford Coppola over who was responsible for The Godfather's artistry. Though Evans was humiliated when MacGraw dumped him for Steve McQueen after The Getaway (1972), he still rode high professionally, striking a deal with Paramount that allowed him to produce as well as maintain his executive title. Setting the bar perhaps too high, Evans' first production was the Roman Polanski-directed, Robert Towne-scripted, revisionist noir Chinatown (1974), one of the outstanding works of the 1970s. Though Chinatown brought Paramount Oscar nominations and some box office (though no Best Picture statuette), Evans' dual role became problematic. He turned solely to producing, scoring two more hits with the thrillers Marathon Man (1976) and Black Sunday (1977).
Evans also helped resurrect John Travolta's career [Those familiar with Travolta's Scientologist background may infer where I'm going by bolding this; Maury Terry's "The Ultimate Evil" alleges that Evans was also linked to a Scientologist offshoot--Fedora] (for the first time) with the moderately successful, trend-setting production Urban Cowboy (1980).
Evans' downfall began when he was busted for cocaine possession during the production of Popeye (1980), a box-office failure. Evans' real Waterloo, however, was The Cotton Club (1984). Meant to be Evans' directorial debut, Evans called in Coppola early on to save the already troubled production. Instead, the shoot spiraled out of control as the script was endlessly rewritten, the budget doubled, and Evans and Coppola fought publicly, not to mention the fact that Evans was also implicated in the murder of a funding source. Evans beat the rap, but he couldn't beat the bad publicity or The Cotton Club's mediocre performance. After he was fired in 1985 from his co-starring role in the Chinatown sequel The Two Jakes, Evans seemed to be finished. Evans re-emerged in 1990 when The Two Jakes was finally made, but it failed to even approach the original's impact. Still, Evans hung on throughout the 1990s, producing such glossy formula films as Sliver (1993), The Saint (1997), and The Out-of-Towners (1999), and publishing his juicy autobiography, The Kid Stays in the Picture, in 1994. Evans' personal life also attracted attention with his ultra-brief marriage to actress Catherine Oxenberg in 1998. Along with MacGraw and Oxenberg, Evans' five wives have included former Miss America Phyllis George. As always the resilient survivor, Evans was in the spotlight again in 2002 with the release of the documentary film version of The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002). Produced with Evans' full support, and narrated by Evans in his famously gravelly, Noo Yawk-inflected tones, The Kid Stays in the Picture neatly combined still photographs, clips from Evans' most notable films, and an evocative visual tour of his beloved house to paint a dynamic, if not always fully revelatory, portrait of Evans' eventful life in the movies. Well received on the film festival circuit, The Kid Stays in the Picture opened to rave reviews in July 2002 and became an art house success. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
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http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/hambone/oj.html
The syndicate lurking behind the O.J. Simpson case is a closed circle. To illustrate: James Caan was a regular at exclusive Turnberry Island, Florida's Bacchanalian playground for rich men with rich hormones. Turnberry Island is the Floridian stomping ground of Robert Evans, once Denise Brown's paramour. (He still dwells fondly on erotic memories elicited by the photo of Denise he still hangs on his wall.) Bill Mentzer and Alex Marti, convicted killers of fledgling Hollywood producer Roy Radin, accused Evans from the witness stand of complicity in the murder. Evans was subpoenaed. He pled the Fifth and was sent home. In the early 70s, Evans, according to author Maury Terry in The Ultimate Evil, gave orders to the Son of Sam cult in New York. Bill Mentzer, a cocaine courier, bodybuilder and hit man, belonged to the Sams and took part in the killings attributed to David Berkowitz, who heard voices commanding him to kill. Alex Marti once ran with an Argentine death squad. He opened a private investigation service in Los Angeles and employed the late Rod Columbo before the bodybuilder and cocaine distributor went to work for Joey Ippolito, another regular at Turnberry Island and James Caans best pal. Other regulars at Turnberry: Jack Nicholson and Tommy Lasorda. Statuesque hostesses, employed by Don Soffer, the resorts developer, have included model Donna Rice, Lyn Armandt (the wife of a Miami drug dealer alleged to be a friend of Lanskys great-nephew Ben Kramer her phone call to the Miami Herald finished Gary Hart's presidential ambitions), and a clutch of heartbreakingly beautiful hookers with backgrounds in CIA blackmail operations.
On the afternoon Donald Aronow was gunned down, his buddy Soffer received a phone call at Turnberrys central office, informing him: Youre next (Burdick).
II: Lansky's Migratory Birds of Prey
It seems like all the LCN (La Cosa Nostra) drug interests are interconnected, I suggest. I'm thinking that you just chopped off one arm of an enormous octopus. (Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Norris) nods. That's usually what we do, he says in a somewhat resigned tone. And it turns out to be more like one arm of a starfish, so it regenerates.
Thomas Burdick, Bluer Thunder
Meyer Lansky's attorney Mel Kessler was a suspect in the investigation of Joey Ippolitos drug smuggling venture. Kessler is suspected of being the brains of the operation (Burdick). Hollywood, Florida vice squad officials suspect Kessler arranged the shipment of 200 kilos of cocaine from Bolivia and was involved in a smuggling operation based in San Juan, Peurto Rico, with stopovers in the Caribbean. Telephone records revealed that Ben Kramer, from the Bicycle Club in Southern California, consulted with Kessler almost daily (Burdick). Kessler has also been linked with Little Ray Thompson, another Lansky associate, indicted for drug smuggling with Steadman Stahl, a Dade County judge groomed for the post by state prosecutor Richard One Eye Gerstein, a former Watergate investigator who doubled as Kramer's attorney. He lived in Meyer Lansky's back pocket. Gerstein was elected in 1956 to the first of six terms as state attorney, generally considered to be the second most powerful office in Florida after the Governors (Myers). He was the most popular prosecutor in Dade County history.[Possible Janet Reno links?--Fedora]
1: F. Lee Bailey, Bad Eye Gerstein and BCCI In 1982, Dick Gerstein was investigated, but not indicted, after accepting drug money intended for laundering in Panama. He has long been a coeval of F. Lee Bailey. In fact, O.J. Simpson's celebrated attorney hung a shingle in Florida with him, Bailey, Gerstein, Carhart, Rushkind, Dreskick & Rippingille. At the time of his migration to Florida, Bailey represented the families of the passengers of Korean Airlines Flight 007, downed by the Soviets in 1983, in a wrongful death suit. A few years later, the families steering committee sued Bailey himself for misrepresentation after making a personal pledge in his letter of acceptance to work full-time as required on the case. In five years, Bailey clocked a mere 97 hours on pretrial preparation, compared with 6,311 hours put in by the two other law firms retained by the families. In a court brief, Bailey cited the move to Florida, allowing his wife Patricia to be near her ailing parents, as his rationale for not assisting the families hed been hired to represent athough he had no qualms about charging full-time legal fees. In 1993 a federal court in Washington ordered Bailey to return a share of his income to the families (Felsenthal). Baily and Gerstein were the directors of CenTrust Federal Savings Bank, a failed satellite of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), the CIAs money laundering facility (Truell & Gurwin, Bender suit). A major share in CenTrust was secretly owned by BCCI in fact, a full quarter of the banks shares were snapped up by Saudi tycoon Ghaith Pharaon, a BCCI front man who maintained daily contact with CenTrust President David Paul between 1984 and 1988, when the S&L was declared insolvent (Truell & Gurwin), and Paul was convicted on 68 charges of bank fraud to a maximum prison term of five years. Paul's financial strategies included illegal bond deals with Charles Keating and false entries in the banks accounting books (NYT, 11-25-93). CenTrust Savings, the largest thrift in Florida, made handsome contributions to the campaign funds of several Congressmen, notably Joseph Biden (Truell and Gurvin, p. 373) and Newt Gingrich (FEC Report). When the bank defaulted, taxpayers were saddled with $2-billion in debts (Truell & Gurwin). The co-trustee named in lawsuits filed against CenTrust was Citibank, chaired by the CIA's John Reed (Thompson & Kanigher). F. Lee Bailey is Dick Gerstein's legal and business partner. Gerstein died of a heart attack in 1992. But the syndicate never wanders far from the Simpson. case. Simpson's well-connected attorney brought in a retired New York investigator, John E. McNally, to investigate the Bundy murders. McNally, the Los Angeles Times reported, was in 1989 accused by federal investigators of being part of the security department of Gene Gotti, the younger brother of notorious mobster John Gotti. Prosecutors in New York believe he screened prospective employees for the Mafia (Newton). Also hired to look into the case on behalf of the defense was Pat McKenna, a Palm Beach investigator and a veteran of the William Kennedy Smith rape case.
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http://groups.msn.com/S-F-ValleyForJohnKerryL-A-CA/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=24
As Kerry prepared for his reelection campaign in 1990, he found that the tables were sometimes turned -- the senator who loved investigations became the subject of informal inquiry. Reporters queried candidates in the race about drug use, and Kerry was forced to admit that he had smoked marijuana after he returned from Vietnam. "About 20 years ago, I tried marijuana. I didn't like it. I have never used or tried any drug since," Kerry said through a spokesman at the time.
Republicans and the media also raised questions about his dealings with wealthy donors. The most prominent inquiry focused on one of Kerry's major fund-raisers, a savings and loan executive named David Paul, who emerged as a principal figure in the savings and loan scandals of the time and who had ties to BCCI.
Paul's CenTrust Savings Bank of Miami failed in 1990 and cost taxpayers an estimated $2 billion, according to a report prepared by the Republican staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The investigation found that Paul "spent millions of dollars of insured deposits on such lavish personal perquisites as an art collection, the leasing of an airplane frequently used for personal and political purposes, operating expenses of a $7 million yacht owned by another Paul business interest, the purchase of a sailboat, Persian rugs, Baccarat crystal, foreign linens, and other expensive furnishings."
The Republican investigators also found there was "an interlocking relationship" between CenTrust and BCCI in the person of Ghaith R. Pharaon, a Saudi investor in both banks, who paid to fly six French chefs to a lavish 1988 dinner party at Paul's Florida home, attended by Kerry and other legislators. Kerry was among those politicians who flew on Paul's jet, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which Kerry chaired, leased Paul's yacht for fund-raisers.
When their relationship became known, Kerry acknowledged that Paul had asked for special consideration of a banking amendment CenTrust needed. Paul had contacted Kerry and other key lawmakers in 1989, seeking to weaken a portion of the savings and loan bailout bill. Specifically, he wanted to dilute the part of the bill that restricted institutions' use of "good will" assets rather than capital, as reserves against losses.
Kerry wrote Paul a friendly letter, inviting him to Washington "so that we can sit down and perhaps follow up." But, the senator said, he ultimately opposed Paul's request, which failed to win support in Congress.
Blum, the former Kerry aide, says the senator "came to understand he was being compromised." Blum stresses that Kerry in the end "got out of there."
Still, the matter became fodder in the reelection campaign, with Republican hopeful Jim Rappaport asking: "How could John Kerry possibly have appointed David Paul to a senior position in the Democratic Party?" Despite Rappaport's self-financed campaign and the nation's anti-incumbent mood, Kerry's performance during his first Senate term proved sufficiently popular to secure a healthy 57 percent of the state's vote.
351 posted on 02/17/2004 2:11:35 AM CST by Fedora
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"Kerry had had an action-filled tour as a swift-boat commander in Vietnam, where he was severely wounded in an ambush, gaining three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, in addition to the Silver Star, which by all rights should have been a Navy Cross. But Admiral Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. had intercepted the paperwork for Kerry's Navy Cross and changed it to a lesser award so that he could approve it himself (the Navy Cross requires congressional approval) and pin it on Kerry a few days later, as an "impact award," to boost morale.
Kerry could not help but sense the irony of his being a war hero, since he had not wanted to fight in the war at all. Before Vietnam, he had led a life of privilege. His father, a lawyer, had worked in the foreign service, and John had been schooled at St. Paul's and Yale, with summers in Europe. Exceedingly tall and rangy, Kerry was a good athlete, and at Yale he had distinguished himself as an orator; in fact, he delivered the senior oration at his graduation in 1966, criticizing the draft and the war. He had been planning to pursue his graduate studies abroad when he received a notice from his draft board that he would soon be called. Though he questioned the policy behind the war, he did not see either jail or exile as a reasonable alternative for himself; besides, he says he 'believed very strongly in the code of service to one's country.' So he enlisted in the Navy, to see for himself what was going on and at the same time to stay out of combat. To that end, he volunteered for assignment on one of the swift boats--short, fast aluminum craft that were used for patrol duty off the Vietnam coast. Two weeks before he arrived in Vietnam, the Navy began changing the deployment of the boats, sending them up the rivers instead to ferret out pockets of Viet Cong that were guarding the waterways for their own use. Still, Kerry shrugs off the attribution of heroism. In the action of February 1966 for which he was awarded the Silver Star, he maintains that he simply got tired of being ambushed. 'The riverbank just erupted with small weapons fire,' he recalls. 'We were caught in it. So I turned all the boats right into it and we charged the riverbank--beached right in the positions, ran ashore, and ran right over the ambush. Then I took one boat upstream with me, and we took [were hit by] a B-40 rocket on the boat, and I guess I just got pissed off again, and I went straight into the rocket position. I wanted to see some of the enemy and fight 'em. So we did, and we beat the hell out of 'em. We went into this village and captured a lot of weapons and people and VC flags.'"
Stationed in New York a few months later, in the spring of 1969, Kerry, showing the same gumption, went directly to Admiral Walter F. Schlech Jr. to request the early discharge. Before he had gone to Vietnam, he had spent hours debating the value of the war and the help we were allegedly giving the Vietnamese people, but once in combat 'the answers hit [him] pretty hard, right in the face.' He was appalled by 'the lack of strategy, the stupidity of many of the missions, the apparent lack of political will by this country to pursue [the war], the lack of a commitment to the men who were fighting in the field, [and] the absurdity of some of the losses that we were incurring,' as well as 'the corruption within the [South Vietnamese] government.' 'Everything added up,' he says in hindsight, explaining how 'this kid coming back from nowhere,' who 'wasn't known from Adam,' suddenly found it in his heart to run for Congress in order 'to make an antiwar statement.' Schlech, who disagreed with Kerry's position on the war, agreed to set him free from the Navy. 'To his enormous credit,' remembers Kerry, 'he understood where I was coming from, and he said, 'That's a fair request. You've served honorably, and you've done your duty, and I think you have a right to exercise your judgment.' Kerry's discharge came through on January 1, 1970."
By the way, Kerry didn't run for Congress at that time. He deferred to Fr. Robert Drinan, and eventually became chairman of Drinan's campaign.
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