here ya go :^) print out the pdf and mail it to him, mail one to tom brokaw while your at it ;)
Posted on 08/12/2004 9:09:45 PM PDT by Jenya
The Swift Boat Blues
The partisans are running wild over this Swift Boat business, talk radio is crazy with it and the smell of blood is in the air. John Kerry has made a major deal of his Vietnam War record and now his opponents have opened fire on the Senator's experiences. It's all tawdry and distasteful of course, but let's examine things unemotionally.
First off, I believe Jim Rassmann when he says that Kerry saved his life by pulling him out of a Vietnam river while under fire. Rassmann is a former Green Beret, a former police officer and a long time registered Republican until earlier this year. If he says John Kerry is a hero, nobody should doubt it. Rassmann has earned the right to be trusted and insulting his testimony is way out of line.
But I also believe Steve Gardner, a former Navy gunner who was also present on one of Kerry's Swift Boats. He says the Senator wrote up a false report, neglecting to inform the Navy that he, Gardner, had accidentally shot a Vietnamese child during a firefight. This is a tough one. Gardner is implicating himself and has no reason to do so. But perhaps Kerry was looking out for him by not reporting the incident. Only Kerry knows.
It is very possible to perform heroically on some occasions and do less than admirable things on others. All human beings are flawed and we are capable of both valor and deceit. That's what I think happened here. John Kerry was brave, but was also calculating. His heroism impressed most of his Swift Boat mates, but his civilian anti-war activities and perceived grandstanding also alienated many other Vietnam Vets. And so the battle lines are drawn.
What should we, on the sidelines, make of all this? Well, it's a judgment call. It is absolutely wrong for Americans to condemn Kerry's war record because he demonstrated provable valor. However, those who distrust him do deserve to be heard although facts not emotion should be demanded.
I think the Swift Boat political advertisement calling Kerry a charlatan is in poor taste, and if this kind of thing continues it might well backfire on the Kerry haters. Most Americans are fair minded, and bitter personal attacks do not go down well with folks who are not driven by partisanship. Remember, General Wesley Clark was knocked out of the Presidential sweepstakes when he would not disown Michael Moore's insane remark that President Bush was a "deserter." Mr. Bush received an honorable discharge from the National Guard. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt pinned a medal on John Kerry's chest. The record is the record, unless rock solid proof refutes it.
The lesson here is that blind partisanship is not an attribute. No person or candidate is all good or all bad. In America today, with both sides peddling lies and defamation and spin, it is alarmingly difficult just to get simple facts on which to base a responsible vote.
Somewhere Jack Webb is weeping.
Did you really? That's a great idea. Why don't we Freep Kerry...send him thousands of Form 180s. We'd have to alert the media, ha ha, as if they'd report it.
It would be great though.
"So tell us, Mr. O, have you kissed enough @ss to get that Kerry interview you so desperately desire?"
EXACTLY
He took after the Swift Boat Vets without knowing anything about Kerry except for what Kerry himself said, and slammed the vets as partisan hacks.
He had absolutely no right to shut them down because HE disapproved of what they had to say about his guy. That wasn't "objective", it was slash and burn partisan ignorance.
I could "tolerate" O'Reilly before that, but then he slammed the decorated veterans for no reason. He has no idea who's lying, and should have kept his big mouth shut until he knew more about it. He hurt a lot of good men for his own gain. In my opinion, he really sucks. I lost what little respect I did have for him that day.
It figures. That's 2 trolls today pumping O'Reilly. He ain't no conservative!
If I watch him more than 30 seconds, I'm off to drive the porcelan bus!!!!BBBBBBBBAAAAARRRRRRFFFFFFFFF
There is some question as to whether or not Rassman started out on kerry's boat.
In one version of the story he told, he was on kerry's boat when the mines went off. In another version, he was on a boat behind kerry's. I don't know which one he told first or which one is true.
You'd think he'd remember which boat he was on. That seems like a rather significant 'detail' that he can't quite keep straight.
Kerry must be the one giving him his talking points. He was on the boat before he was off it.
do a search on here someone posted a link to the 180.pdf and the address to the kerry campaign a bunch of us send 180's to kerry LOL
He is NOT a conservative and HE HAS SAID THIS REPEATEDLY. He has said, point blank, "I am not a conservative".
here ya go :^) print out the pdf and mail it to him, mail one to tom brokaw while your at it ;)
O'Reilly is the reason I rarely view FNC anymore. He researches nothing, which is inexcusable considering the staff he has at his disposal. No matter how many times guests like Ann Coulter expose his ignorance, he shamelessly presses on. Even Larry King, Bill Press and Andy Rooney surpass this moron.
Fine.
Show us your proof of this.
Can you imagine O'Reilly voting for a leftist liberal?
Thanks! It's ironic that the form is called a 180, something Kerry pulls on a consistent basic. A complete 180 on so many issues, lol.
Now where's your proof that O'Reilly is conservative and would always vote that way?
You know it just doesnt make sense..."Jump the shark".
It sounds like something George Costanza would say...kinda like "Jerkstore". You cant "jump" something when you're already in the water [where you'd need to be in order to actually "jump" over a shark]...it just does not make sense.
Besides...it's a cheesy media driven saying. Let it go.
I don't have any proof. But he takes a right of center stance on lots of issues. Not far right, but definitely right. If he votes for a liberal, it goes against everything he says he stands for.
In the end, the only time he might vote against a conservative is if there is a less conservative conservative for him to vote for. It might mean he'll vote for a conservative Democrat, but I do that sometimes too.
Conservatives aren't all far to the right. Conservatism is based on a philosophy of slow, measured, results oriented steps. Conserving as much of tradition with every step forward as possible, without sacrificing progress. Resisting extremism. The far right are like the far left. They are the extremes. Liberals want to rush ahead and create a utopia with the force of their ideals, the reactionaries want to stay where we are or head back however many years they think necessary to head back to where they feel most comfortable. The conservatives are right of center, the progressives are left of center, and centrists are in the middle. O'Reilly is not a liberal, he is not a progressive. He is a centrist conservative. He is a centrist because of his cultural progressiveness, but he is a conservative because of his politics.
Even if he is not as conservative as you does not mean he is not conservative.
As for proof, do you know if he's ever voted for a liberal?
My statement was rhetorical, and the only way to disprove me is to show that he voted for a liberal. He doesn't get along with liberals, so I doubt he's ever voted for a liberal in his adult life. He's conservative friendly, anti-liberal. Is there anything in there that would suggest he'd vote liberal?
O'Reilly is niether left nor right, he is a populist. You guys sound like the people whose letters he reads at the end of his show, who accuse him of being both a liberal and a right-winger at the same time. He IS NOT a far-left liberal. This is a guy who hates the ACLU, Hollyweird halfwits like Michael Moore, supports putting troops on the border, and supports the WOT.
O'Reilly proposed FDR as "Man of the Century." Conservative?
O'Reilly promotes pre-marital sex. Conservative?
O'Reilly on religion: "It doesn't matter what you believe -- as long as you believe in something." Conservative?
O'Reilly has publicly expressed his opposition to the death penalty. Conservative?
O'Reilly has proposed handing the federal government more power to legislate in areas the Constitution reserves to the states. Conservative?
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