What Kerry Said and What You Need to Know ("MUST READ")

On Thursday July 29, 2004, Senator John Forbes Kerry gave his acceptance speech before the 2004 Democratic National Convention at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. It is my intention to illuminate certain truths underlying Mr. Kerry's speech which might otherwise go unnoticed by the majority of voters in this country. Each statement made by Senator John F. Kerry will be in italics, prefaced with the * symbol, and followed by information that Mr. Kerry would, I suspect, rather you were not privileged to.

''In a survey of 500 Bay State voters conducted last Sunday and Monday, 59 percent said they 'are concerned' that Kerry 'missed 70 percent of the votes in the Senate over the last two years' and 45 percent say he should resign his Senate seat'' - Brian Mooney (The Boston Globe, 07/24/04)

''A Ho Chi Minh City museum that honors Vietnam war protesters features a photograph of Sen. John Kerry being greeted by the general secretary of the Communist Party, Comrade Do Muoi. A snapshot of the display in the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum – formerly known as the 'War Crimes Museum' '' - WorldNetDaily (06/01/04)

* ''We have it in our power to change the world again. But only if we're true to our ideals - and that starts by telling the truth to the American people. That is my first pledge to you tonight. As President, I will restore trust and credibility to the White House.''

''There are all kinds of atrocities, and I would have to say that, yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed in that I took part in shootings in free fire zones. I conducted harassment and interdiction fire. I used 50 calibre machine guns, which we were granted and ordered to use, which were our only weapon against people. I took part in search and destroy missions, in the burning of villages. All of this is contrary to the laws of warfare, all of this is contrary to the Geneva Conventions and all of this is ordered as a matter of written established policy by the government of the United States from the top down.'' - John F. Kerry (Testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 4/22/71)

''I served with these guys. I went on missions with them, and these men served honorably. Up and down the chain of command there was no acquiescence to atrocities. It was not condoned, it did not happen, and it was not reported to me verbally or in writing by any of these men including Lt.(jg) Kerry.'' - Captain George Elliott, USN (retired)

''I was in An Thoi from June of '68 to June of '69, covering the whole period that John Kerry was there. I operated in every river, in every canal, and every off-shore patrol area in the 4th Corps area, from Cambodia all the way around to the Bo De River. I never saw, even heard of all of these so-called atrocities and things that we were supposed to have done. This is not true. We're not standing for it. We want to set the record straight.'' - William Shumadine

''In a whole year that I spent patrolling, I didn't see anything like a war crime, an atrocity, anything like that. Time and again I saw American fighting men put themselves in graver danger trying to avoid... collateral damage. When John Kerry returned to the country, he was sworn in front of Congress. And then he told my family--my parents, my sister, my brother, my neighbors--he told everyone I knew and everyone I'd ever know that I and my comrades had committed unspeakable atrocities.'' - David Wallace

''He served four months in Vietnam while I served five years in Vietnam, I think that I had the opportunity to witness any possible atrocities a lot more then him as I was directly involved in the ground action, I saw None! The vast majority of American fighting Servicemen did an Honorable Performance with just a few malcontents who were dealt with harshly and punished accordingly. Kerry on the other hand, came home to portray himself as our spokesman, able to play the 'Chameleon' as politics dictated to fit his needs and reinvent himself to satisfied his political aspirations.'' - Pascual R. Meza

''I strongly believe that the statements made by the Senator were not only false and inaccurate, but extremely harmful to the United States' efforts in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. Tragically, some veterans, scorned by the antiwar movement and their allies, retreated to a life of despair and suicide. Two of my crewmates were among them. For that there is no forgiveness.'' - Richard O'Mara

''The threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real, but as I said, it is not new. It has been with us since the end of that war, and particularly in the last 4 years we know after Operation Desert Fox failed to force him to reaccept them, that he has continued to build those weapons.'' - John F. Kerry (Congressional record10/09/02)

''If you don’t believe Saddam Hussein is a threat with nuclear weapons, then you shouldn’t vote for me.'' - John F. Kerry (Los Angeles Times, 1/31/03)

''Iraq may not be the war on terror itself, but it is critical to the outcome of the war on terror...'' - John Kerry (12/15/03)

John Kerry voted against the B-1 Bomber, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, the F-14, the F-15, the F-16, the AV-8B Harrier Jet, the AH-64 Apache Helicopter, the Patriot Missiles, the Aegis Air Defense Cruiser, the Trident Missile System, the M-1 Abrams Tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Tomahawk Cruise Missile. - Congressional Record

* ''And here at home, wages are falling, health care costs are rising, and our great middle class is shrinking.''

''Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose a moderate 0.9 percent in the April-June quarter this year, down slightly from the previous quarter's increase, as price pressures for benefits like health insurance eased significantly.'' - Associated Press writer Martin Crutsinger citing data from the U.S. Department of Labor

''While the addition of new jobs to the economy is of course welcomed news for America's workers, America is still in the worst job recovery since the Great Depression.'' - Terry McAuliffe, head of the DNC

* ''I am proud that at my side will be a running mate whose life is the story of the American dream and who's worked every day to make that dream real for all Americans.''

''When I came back from Vietnam in 1969 I don’t know if John Edwards was out of diapers then. Well, I’m sure he was out of diapers.'' - John F. Kerry (New York Times, January, 2004)

''Edwards says he’s the only one who can win states in the South. He can’t win his own state.'' - John F. Kerry (New York Times, 2/03/04)

* ''And what can I say about Teresa? She has the strongest moral compass of anyone I know.''

Mrs. Heinz Kerry called for more civility in politics and added, ''We need to turn back some of the creeping, un-Pennsylvanian and sometimes un-American traits that are coming into some of our politics.'' Shortly afterward, she was asked by Colin McNickle, editorial page editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, what she meant by ''un-American.'' Instead of clarifying, Mrs. Heinz Kerry denied her statement. The AP reported, ''Heinz Kerry said 'I didn't say that' several times to McNickle. When Mr. McNickle asked her again, Mrs. Heinz Kerry declared, 'You said something I didn't say. Now shove it. Reuters reported the same series of exchanges.'' - Washington Times (7/27/04)

* ''We fought for this nation because we loved it and we came back with the deep belief that every day is extra. We may be a little older now, we may be a little grayer, but we still know how to fight for our country.''

''They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.'' - John F. Kerry (Testifying before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 4/22/71)

* ''Remember the hours after September 11th, when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran up the stairs and risked their lives, so that others might live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon. When the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation's Capitol."

''Bush is calling on the biggest disaster in our country's history, and indeed in the history of the fire service, to win sympathy for his campaign.'' - Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters which has endorsed John Kerry for president

* ''I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: the United States of America never goes to war because we want to, we only go to war because we have to.''

''He (Saddam Hussein) cannot be permitted to go unobserved and unimpeded toward his horrific objective of amassing a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a matter about which there should be any debate whatsoever in the Security Council, or, certainly, in this Nation... This should not be a strike consisting only of a handful of cruise missiles hitting isolated targets primarily of presumed symbolic value.'' - John F. Kerry (Congressional Record, November, 1997)

* ''I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a President who has the credibility to bring our allies to our side and share the burden.''

''Kerry speaks with contempt for allies such as Britain, calling Bush's "coalition of the willing" a "coalition of the coerced and the bribed... He speaks as if only those who oppose America's objectives have a chance of earning his respect.'' - Dick Cheney (3/17/04)

* ''Let there be no mistake: I will never hesitate to use force when it is required.''

''I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.'' - John F. Kerry (Harvard Crimson, 1970)

John Kerry voted against the $87 billion supplemental appropriations bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

* ''We shouldn't be letting ninety-five percent of container ships come into our ports without ever being physically inspected.''

''Nine million containers arrive on those ships into our Nation’s 361 seaports every year.'' - Tom Ridge (6/21/04)

* ''In the end, it's not just policies and programs that matter; the president who sits at that desk must be guided by principle.''

''Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition... to the early use of military force by the U.S. against Iraq. I share your concerns. On January 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president the immediate authority to go to war.'' - John F. Kerry letter to constituent Wallace Carter (1/22/91)

''Thank you very much for contacting me to express your support for the actions of President Bush in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf.'' - John F. Kerry letter to that same constituent Wallace Carter (1/31/91)

* ''You don't value families by denying real prescription drug coverage to seniors...''

''In December 2003, President Bush signed legislation that will make prescription drug coverage available to 40 million seniors and people with disabilities through Medicare.'' -Bush/Cheney 04 website.

'''The Social Security system is expected to begin running a deficit within only 15 years (paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes). Current estimates calculate that, without reform, it will be unable to pay promised benefits until around 2037... The size of the problem should not be underestimated. The government will owe an estimated total of about $9 trillion more to current workers when they retire than it will have collected from them in taxes. This Social Security liability is more than twice the official national debt. It is larger than the total value of the United States gross domestic product.'' - The Social Security Reform Center

''A Catholic lawyer has filed heresy charges against Sen. John Kerry with the Archdiocese of Boston, accusing the Democratic presidential candidate of bringing 'most serious scandal to the American public' by receiving Holy Communion as a pro-choice Catholic.'' - The Washington Times (7/01/04)

''In 2004, America will be faced with the second opportunity to elect a president who has no real work experience outside government. Worse yet, as my colleague Rabbi Shmuley Boteach pointed out in his most recent column, Kerry's main work experience seems to have been marrying extremely rich women.'' - Joseph Farah (5/27/04)

* ''Next, we will trade and compete in the world. But our plan calls for a fair playing field - because if you give the American worker a fair playing field, there's nobody in the world the American worker can't compete against.''

''In 1993, Kerry voted YES on the North American Free Trade Agreement. This agreement over time removes most barriers to trade and investment among the United States, Canada, and Mexico... Opponents still maintain that NAFTA has launched a race-to-the-bottom in wages, destroyed hundreds of thousands of good U.S. jobs, undermined democratic control of domestic policy-making, and threatened health, environmental and food safety standards.'' - Dave Eberhart, writer for NewsMax (3/20/04)

* ''I will reduce the tax burden on small business. And I will roll back the tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals who make over $200,000 a year, so we can invest in job creation, health care and education.''

''A tax increase on the top one percent, means they: Will be less likely to create a new business or expand an existing one, and Will be aware that the increased risk of starting a new business outweighs its potential returns... CDA (Center for Data Analysis) analysts sought to estimate the economic effect of raising taxes to pay for new spending. Using the 2003 Global Insight U.S. Macroeconomic Model, economists at the Center for Data Analysis simulated an $87 billion tax increase in personal income taxes in 2004. The CDA simulation increased personal income tax rates and taxes on capital gains and dividends. The Center’s study found that from 2004 to 2008: $14.3 billion in potential economic growth would be lost each year. Over 174,000 potential jobs would fail to materialize each year. $52 billion less disposable personal income each year.'' - The Heritage Foundation (10/17/03)

* ''Our education plan for a stronger America sets high standards and demands accountability from parents, teachers, and schools.''

''Most states have met or are at least on the way to meeting 75 percent of the major requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, according to the nonpartisan Education Commission of the States... Among the findings: -98 percent of states are on track to define what a 'persistently dangerous' school means, a designation that allows students in such schools to transfer... -92 percent are on track to publicly report achievement data for all major groups of students... -65 percent are on track to set clear, substantial expectations for students... -53 percent are on track to identify which schools are in need of improvement... -45 percent are on track to provide the promised "scientifically based" help to schools that have been targeted for improvement... -22 percent are on track to make new and current elementary, middle and secondary teachers of core subjects demonstrate that they are competent in their subjects." - Ben Feller, writier for AZCentral (07/15/04)

"'We have to get rid of this one-size-fits-all testing mania that is destroying the ability of people to apply discretion.'' - John F. Kerry (Los Angeles Times, 11/24/03)

''These attacks (see Kerry quote above) come less than two years after Congress overwhelmingly approved... the No Child Left Behind Act--with just six Democrats voting against it in both the House and Senate. The bill drew support from so many Democrats, including Kerry, largely because it extended the Clinton model of offering schools more help but stiffening the demands on them to show results.'' - Ronald Brownstein (Los Angeles Times writer, 11/24/03)

''The National Center for Education Statistics report, 'Getting Ready for College,' found that while the vast majority (91 percent) of students and parents report plans for higher education, they are generally unable to estimate accurately the cost of college tuition. When students and parents could offer estimates of tuition costs, they tended to overestimate, especially for public institutions... President Bush's 2004 budget request expands overall student aid available for postsecondary education to a record $62 billion, an increase of $3.1 billion, or 5 percent over the president's 2003 request. Working families will also see savings of $22.7 billion over five years in tax relief for expenses related to higher education.'' - U.S. Department of Education (10/01/03)

* ''Our health care plan for a stronger America cracks down on the waste, greed, and abuse in our health care system and will save families up to $1,000 a year on their premiums''

''John Edwards made nearly $27 million as a personal injury lawyer who won a string of multimillion-dollar jury verdicts and settlements. The Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign released Edwards' income figures in a statement Friday in response to questions about the taxes he paid after he created a tax shelter in 1995. Edwards paid $9,353,448 in federal taxes on his income of $26,869,496, but the shelter allowed him to avoid paying $591,112 in Medicare tax, the figures provided by the campaign show.'' - The San Francisco Chronicle (7/10/04)

* ''And when I'm President, America will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which fails to understand that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected - it is a right for all Americans.''

''Health care in the modern world is a complex, scientific, technological service. How can anybody be born with a right to such a thing? Under the American system you have a right to health care if you can pay for it, i.e., if you can earn it by your own action and effort. But nobody has the right to the services of any professional individual or group simply because he wants them and desperately needs them.'' - Leonard Peikoff, Ph.D. (12/11/93)

* ''We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil.''

John F. Kerry voted against ANWR oil exploration seven times. - Congressional Record

* ''I want to address these next words directly to President George W. Bush: In the weeks ahead, let's be optimists, not just opponents.''

''After recession, 9-11 and war, today our economy has been growing for ten straight months. Historic tax relief helped create 1.4 million jobs. Inflation, interest and mortgage rates are low. And homeownership rates are at record highs. We've met serious challenges and things are beginning to turn around... The economy added 1,100 new jobs in May and the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.6 percent. So, what does John Kerry say? He's still pessimistic, on a misery tour talking about days of malaise and the Great Depression.'' - Bush/Ceney 04 (6/21/04)

* ''This is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, group from group, region from region.''

''We will not stand by, and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business.'' - Al Sharpton (1995)

''Rev. Jesse Jackson referred to Jews as 'Hymies' and to New York City as 'Hymietown' in January 1984 during a conversation with a black Washington Post reporter, Milton Coleman.'' - The Washington Post (3/27/98)

* ''What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?''

''Contrary to ongoing research with adult stem cells, which do not cause death and are supported by President Bush and unimpeded federal funds, not one human being is being treated with embryonic stem cells anywhere in the world. No clinical trials are in progress using this approach. No studies with human embryonic stem cells are even being contemplated. None! And why not? Because these cells are unpredictable and tend to create tumors in animals being treated with them.'' - Dr. James Dobson (6/15/04)

* ''It is time to reach for the next dream. It is time to look to the next horizon. For America, the hope is there. The sun is rising. Our best days are still to come.''

''I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.'' - Ronald Wilson Reagan

I do recall seeing legitimate articles from before the Iraq war, in which Kerry did say that Iraq's threat and WMD are real. Clintons said it many times as well.

So, I am sure this quote with the specific date and reference to the Congressional record is real as well.

Kerry's Economic Remedy Won't Be Revealed Before Election
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200407%5CPOL20040730d.html

(CNSNews.com) - A top economic advisor to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said the public won't hear Kerry's financial plans until after he's elected - if he's elected.

In the Aug. 2 cover story of "Business Week," former Clinton administration treasury secretary Robert Rubin said, "I don't think you can make proposals to try to dig out of this hole until you've gotten elected ... If you start to put out proposals now, they would be vigorously attacked and they would in effect become tainted so they couldn't be used."

The conservative group Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) stated that Kerry is trying to avoid revealing his plan to increase taxes on the middle-class because it would create a campaign liability if he did.

I didn't watch it, but on FoxNew Sunday, Kerry apparently made that statement about not giving details until after the election.

If so, that sound bite will fill the news-talk airwaves tomorrow.

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