Posted on 08/04/2004 8:49:40 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
John Kerry served in Vietnam.
And I couldn't care less.
I was born in 1984, over eight years after the end of the Vietnam War. The fact that John Kerry served in the Navy on a swift boat for four months means little to me, beyond the fact that I'm grateful for the service of any veteran -- even if that service was clearly an excuse to bulk up a resume.
John Kerry was anti-war before he ever set foot in Vietnam, so the idea that he became pacifistic only after seeing the horrors of war is baloney. In 1966, two years before Kerry entered the Gulf of Tonkin, he told his graduating class at Yale that "The United States must, I think, bring itself to understand that the policy of intervention that was right for Western Europe does not and cannot find the same application to the rest of the world."
In any case, I'm far more concerned with John Kerry's record since he got back to the United States. His record starts with stabbing in the back American soldiers who were still under fire. In 1971, he told Congress that American military members "raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, (blew) 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 ... "
Hilariously, Kerry has attempted to build his 2004 presidential campaign on the idea that he was a famous war hero. Kerry infamously intoned upon reaching the stage at the Democratic National Convention: "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty." In his nomination acceptance speech, Kerry referred to his Vietnam service no fewer than eight times. He didn't refer to his 1971 testimony before Congress once.
But the fact remains that had Kerry not defamed American troops, he would be an obscure war veteran, not a presidential candidate. To ignore this essential element of Kerry's history is to overlook his opportunism. If experiencing enemy fire makes you a better president, being a selfish mercenary surely makes you a worse one.
Despite his encouragement to judge him by his record, during his acceptance speech, Kerry completely overlooked his tenure as Massachusetts lieutenant governor under Michael Dukakis. He explicitly mentioned his Senate service a grand total of one time and even then only mentioned three policies he pursued. This is a man obviously attempting to escape his record -- which is why he can only point to his four months of service in Vietnam.
Kerry believes Americans are children who will accept platitudes over substance, who will overlook 30 years of radical liberalism in favor of four months in Vietnam. We are not. Whether "help is on the way" or whether Kerry is campaigning for "a stronger America," Americans want real policy solutions, not tired one-liners. And merely hearkening back to Vietnam, when candidate Kerry led men into combat -- men whom he would later slander -- won't do the trick. Those voters within my general age range especially refuse to look back years before our births to find the last recorded example of Kerry's honorability.
It's much easier and much more accurate to examine Kerry's actions in the past few years. In fact, let's simply scrutinize the key point in Kerry's acceptance speech: "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."
The idea that elective war must be denounced is absurd. Yet Kerry reiterated this ridiculous idea, stating: "Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response."
Apparently, Kerry believes that only a direct attack on the United States justifies war, which would invalidate every major American military action since 1900 aside from World War II in the Pacific sphere and the Afghanistan war. In John Kerry's world, Americans have to die in Los Angeles or New York or Chicago or Washington, D.C., before the American military can defang the monster.
That solution is unacceptable. John Kerry can talk all he likes about avoiding military engagements around the world. But fighting abroad is certainly a better solution than watching as more American buildings become smoking rubble -- or standing by as millions die from the effects of a biological or dirty-bomb attack. No amount of posturing about service in Vietnam can justify Kerry's lack of a pre-emptive strategy. And I'm not willing to risk that a President John Kerry would prevent such an attack, just because he spent four months on a swift boat.
Bingo, MindyW, that was just the ticket. Many thanks!
4 Months.
I know people that spent that much time in the chow lines in Vietnam.
When the White House has begun airing their TV commercials to re-elect the president, John Kerry's campaign condemed his use of 9/11 in the ads. He said it is "unconscionable to use the tragic memory of a war in order
to get elected", unless of course, it's the Vietnam War
September 11 was not just that - a direct attack on the United States?
Kerry the bogus Viet Nam bandaid hero, is relieing on the "peace-nicks" of that era to come to his mendacious clarion call once again. Socialism in America apparently is stronger than we suspect as Kerry is a Socialist and so are most Democrats - they are not liberals - they are Socialists i.e.:
Pronunciation:... 'sO-sh&-"li-z&m
Function: noun
1 : any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
SOCIALISM
A. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP B. LABOR UNIONS
C. GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
B. VIOLENT REVOLUTION
-FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED
What Johnf***ing Kerry won't tell you about is that he will not longer let the Constitution of the United States hinder his mad dash for Socialism, the United Nations and his loyalty to all Communist/Marxist nations. America as a Republic is not in his play book. He will not tell you these things until after he is elected - gawd forbid! Mrs. Clinton and her Third Way is waiting to see just how far Americans will go for a real Socialist America before throwing her hat in the ring. Her politics are a mirror of John Kerry's, Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi.
GEORGE W. BUSH FOR AMERICA IN 2004 - 2008!!
"The Peoples' Rebpublic of Viet Nam awarded Kerry three Purple Stars of the Peoples' Work, a palm leaf cluster, three Hero of the Peoples' Republic medals (one, first class), and made him a Colonel in the Peoples' Ministry of Propanganda"
Are you joking or are you serious??? "
I'm dead serious!! It is ALL in the documentary!!!
All I know is that if shooting villagers livestock and pets, burning down their homes and shooting at civillians makes one a better CIC, then Kerry is the man.
It's almost as if he did those things to get the Vietnamese to hate Americans.
Never thought of that. Interesting idea.
I got this list from Freeper 'wideawake' yesterday. All the dates seem to match various released documents found on various sites on the net, I'll post a link to one such site I visited yesterday as soon as I can find it again...
Timeline:
Feb 18, 1966: Kerry enlists.
Aug 22, 1966 reports for duty at OCS in Newport, RI.
Oct 19, 1966 receives notice that he is considered on active duty.
Dec 16, 1966 receives commission.
Jan 3, 1967 training begins at Treasure Island, CA
Mar 22, 1967 begins extra session of training.
June 8, 1967 Assigned to USS Gridley.
Feb 9, 1968 USS Gridley leaves Long Beach, CA for West Pacific.
Feb 9, 1968 - May 26, 1968 USS Gridley tours Pacific, stopping in Philippines, NZ, and Gulf on Tonkin. USS Gridley sees no combat.
May 27, 1968 USS Gridley leaves Vietnam.
June 6, 1968 USS Gridley arrives in Long Beach, CA
June 16, 1968 Kerry promoted Lt. JG
June 20, 1968 Kerry reports to Coronado, CA for training.
Nov 17, 1968 training completed.
Dec 1, 1968 Kerry reports for duty as Swift Boat 44 skipper in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.
Dec 2, 1968 Kerry grazed by shrapnel from an M-79 grenade. Navy doctor treats with disinfectant and a Band-Aid bandage. Kerry will later receive first Purple Heart.
January, 1969 Kerry transferred to Swift Boat 94. Unclear whether this is his request or routine reasignment or what precise day this occurred.
Feb 20, 1969 Kerry hit with shrapnel fragment from PCF-94 grenade in left thigh. Wound is sutured closed. Kerry will later receive a second Purple Heart.
Feb 28, 1969 Kerry kills VC with B-40 rocket launcher after ordering his boat to ground. Kerry will later receive Silver Star.
March 13, 1969 Kerry hit with several shrapnel fragments from an unidentified enemy source in the left buttock. Treated with a tetanus shot and bandage. Kerry will later receive his third Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Oak Leaf cluster.
March 17, 1969 Commodore Home requests Kerry's transfer to a rear area.
April, 11 1969 arrives in Brooklyn, NY.
Jan 1, 1970 promoted full LT.
Jan 3, 1970 requests discharge to Reserve.
April 29, 1970 discharge to Reserve.
Exactly.
I don't know why people say "I could care less" in trying to say they don't give a flip.....don't they realize that what they are saying is they aren't at the lowest level of apathy possible?....the very opposite of what they are really trying to say.
It is weird.
(another one of my faves) :-)
Thank you, from a fellow stickler. I'm also annoyed at interchanging "comprises" and "composed".
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