I just send this email to ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, and PBS. Feel free to use it, or better yet re-write it to sound more professional. I whipped it out in frenzy.
This topic really ticks me off!
Dear Sirs,
I urge you to run the Swift Boat Veterans ad, interview them on your news shows, and give them the same public attention that you have given to others.
If you are intimidated by the DNC's lawyers and refuse to air the Swift Boat Veterans's side, then you MUST be able to explain in detail and give a full, public accounting of the ads you have refused and why so that we can see if you are using public airwaves for your own political agenda.
Do you treat all 527-sponsored ads the same?
The person in the ad never claims to be Kerry's doctor. He says he treated the wound that resulted in the medal. He does not "pretend" to be doctor as the DNB letter claims. The DNC letter says a different doctor signed the sick call sheet. It's possible that both are right. If that is the case, then a good journalist should ask why a different doctor signed the sick call. Was it a political favor? Will John Kerry release his medical records? If it smells like news, it IS news!
The DNC lawyer's letter is based on weak nuances, un-related facts, and assumptions to come to subjective conclusions. It scares me that the Kerry/Edwards' knee-jerk reaction is to resort to legal tactics. So starts glorification of trial lawyers and more junk lawsuits!
Since Kerry is running on the premise that his Vietnam experience qualifies him to be president, then it is VERY relevant that the people who served with him be heard.
If these charges are true, and the mainstream and cable news stations (except FOX) refuse to investigate or air these allegations, and yet will go to great lengths to air interviews with Richard Clark, Joe Wilson, and others who have made allegations against a presidential candidate, then all credibility will be lost for the media in our country.
I trust you will do the right thing and allow these veterans to explain their views, air their ads, and get the interview opportunities they deserve. And we the public deserve too.
Sincerely,
name
town, state
--aragona
The issue here is not how the Swifties funded their website. The issue, and the goal of all good journalists, should be the truth. The Navy keeps records of injuries to its officers and riverine engagements that allegedly involve 5,000 yards of enemy fire. These records will show whether the Senator did in fact have a severe bleeding wound on his arm, as he claims, or a mere contusion, as the Swifties claim. The records will also contain reports of the extent of damage to the vessels involved in the engagement and of injuries to other personnel. These reports will lend credence to the claims of the Swifties or those of the Senator. The Senator's medical records will clarify whether he was injured by shrapnel or flying rice or both, the extent and nature of his injuries, and who his treating physicians were. The commendation records will show who recommended the Senator for the Bronze Star and the information on which that recommendation was based.
If there is a shred of integrity left in American media, our national news organizations will pursue these records with at least the avidity they demonstrated when one aging, retired officer mentioned to one journalist that he did not recall seeing George Bush during his service in Alabama.
John Kerry has made four months in Vietnam a defining theme in his political career. His claims in this regard are now subject to a credible challenge by more than 200 men who served in his unit. We need the truth. We can handle the truth.