Kerry Attacks POW's

More Republican Ties Revealed Behind "Swift Boat Vets For Bush", Says Kerry Campaign

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Public records reveal that two of the people in the new "Swift Boat Veterans for Bush" television ad are Republican activists, as the fact sheet below shows. This is just more proof that Bush's Republican allies are the ones behind this disgraceful smear of John Kerry's military record. It's pretty clear what's going on here. It's no wonder the Bush campaign refuses to condemn this smear.

CORDIER, KENNETH (DALLAS, TX 75208) US AIR FORCE/RETIRED COLONEL 3/2/2001: $1,000 -- Republican Party of Dallas County

CORDIER, KENNETHW MR (DALLAS, TX 75225) SELF EMPLOYED 2/27/2002: $238 -- RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

CORDIER, KENT (DALLAS, TX 75206) RETIRED 6/30/2000: $1,000 -- Hutchison, Kay Bailey

"The procession ended just before the 1968 presidential election when the United States stopped its bombing campaign. 'I remember that was the worst day of my life' because the POWs' treatment worsened and they felt forgotten by their government, Col. Cordier said. He "despised" Lyndon Johnson for his war policies." (Dallas Morning News, 11/10/03)

He is a member of a Bush administration advisory panel on veterans' issues. ("VA Announces Membership of POW Advisory Committee," PR Newswire, 4/17/02; http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/PressArtInternet.cfm?id=440 )

"Col. Cordier (pronounced core-dee-AY) still wears his conservatism on his sleeve and doesn't hold back in his appraisals of more liberal approaches "(Dallas Morning News, 11/10/03)

"Inappropriate remarks: Last month, a lone bagpiper marched to the tune of "Amazing Grace" as silence fell over the distinguished guests, choir, color guard and the veterans and families who came to dedicate the Irving Veteran's Memorial Park honoring those who gave "the last full measure of devotion" to their nation. Unfortunately, one of the invested guests, retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier, a decorated former Vietnam POW and experienced speaker, chose to politicize this solemn event. In an attempt at levity, he defended the pulling of ladies' panties over the faces of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. interrogators at Abu Ghraib as preferable to beheading. His inappropriate, Limbaughistic comments detracted from the reverence and purpose of this event. Richard A. Widener, Irving" (THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/13/04)

Talking about POWs who were released early: "According to Cordier, Low 'is a traitor to the other prisoners of war" for accepting premature release on July 18, 1968.'" (Air Force Times, 11/3/03)

"Cordier, now living in Texas, doesn't recall Kerry's name specifically being used in interrogations, propaganda broadcasts by Hanoi Hannah (Radio Vietnam) or during "attitude checks" -- political indoctrination sessions -- since Kerry was then not a household name. But he said he does remember the North Vietnamese using the so-called Winter Soldier investigations and photographs of war veterans, both real and imposters, throwing military medals over the White House fence." (UPI, 8/3/04)

"Said he questioned the president's motives and the appropriateness of the visit at this time. He predicts that the next administration, which he presumes will be headed by Texas Gov. George W. Bush, will engage more in "carrot and stick diplomacy" with the Vietnamese government, offering "generous rewards" for concessions" (Dallas Morning News, 11/19/00)

"A House of Delegates committee yesterday killed a bill sponsored by Del. Warren E. Barry (R-Fairfax) that would have directed Virginia's state colleges not to admit any young man who failed to register for the draft. Barry appeared before the Education Committee along with a former Navy flier, Paul Galanti of Richmond, who had spent seven years as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war, but the panel nonetheless killed his idea for the second year in a row, this time by a vote of 12 to 8." (Washington Post, 2/5/83)

"They probably called their little followers. They vote on that one issue. They call them sheep. That's exactly what they are." -- Paul Galanti, McCain's Virginia campaign co-chairman, on the backlash by Virginia's conservative Christian voters after McCain's attacks Monday on the Rev. Jerry Falwell and Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson. AP, 2/29/00

"Life has a way of throwing curve balls and John (Hager) got beaned by one when he acquired polio as an adult and lost the use of his legs. He would have been forgiven for tossing in the towel, drifting over to the VA hospital and spending the rest of his life feeling sorry for himself." (Richmond Times Dispatch, 6/2/01)

"It caused me to question anything I hear from Communists or their many sympathizers or copycats or dupes in America who tended then -- and still tend -- to distort the truth for their personal gain, or even (gasp) to lie if that will achieve the desired end." (Richmond Times Dispatch, 6/17/01)

"I had a great final three years in the Navy despite the devastation Carter's policies had wrought on the military. My last Navy year was under one of the finest-ever Commanders-in- Chief, who led the country out of Jimmy Carter's unlamented and self-caused "malaise."" (Richmond Times Dispatch, 6/17/01)

Hmmmm, anyone want to start listing the connections to the democrats of The Media ~~Group~~ Fund, Moveon.org, America Coming Together?

Uh ok --

The Media Fund: run by Harold Ickes and former Kerry manager Jim Jordan, are working hard for Kerry—but they’re not allowed to say so. New York Metro.com
ACT (America Coming Together): ACT founders include Ellen Malcolm ₁ and Steve Rosenthal ₂, veterans in the fight against right-wing extremism. (Bwaaaahaha) Another ACT founder is Minyon Moore. ₃ Read more on the ACT Founders HERE
1- Ellen R. Malcolm, President of ACT, is the founder and president of EMILY’s List
2- Steve Rosenthal , Chief Executive Officer of ACT, was Political Director of the AFL-CIO from 1996-2002...During the first three years of the Clinton Administration, Rosenthal served as Associate Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.
3- Minyon Moore heads Dewey Square’s state and local practice. She was formerly Chief Operations Officer of the Democratic National Committee.
Moveon.org; MoveOn was started by Joan Blades₁ and Wes Boyd₂. The MoveOn Peace campaign was founded independently by Eli Pariser₁
1- Prior to her work in consumer software, Ms. Blades taught mediation at Golden Gate Law School, wrote a book on Divorce Mediation published by Prentice Hall, and practiced mediation.
2- Wes Boyd is MARRIED to Joan Blades (Visual WARNING). They are "best known for Flying Toaster screen savers, and You Don't Know Jack, an online game show (WOW!!). Mr. Boyd served at the University of California (Berkeley) as a senior staff programmer on research projects.
3- Who is Eli Pariser and why does he keep spamming Americans with commie pinko (blank) propaganda about protesting Iraq, Arnold's groping, defeating Republicans, world peace, racism, and every other conceivable piece of Politically Correct liberal claptrap imaginable? As MotherHo magazine put it:
"The son of two 1960s activists who founded an alternative high school in Camden, Maine, Pariser graduated from college at 19. His stint as an in-your-face radical ended early, too, after kibitzing for a few hours with D.C. cops at an anti-IMF rally in April 2000."

I could go on as there's still that Commie Front Group -- A.N.S.W.E.R, but you get the idea of how 'independent' these maggots are. And then they have the audacity to complain that a guy in Texas gave $100K to the Swiftboat Vets!!

GRIDLEY Crew members (67-68) say Kerry exaggerated in TOUR OF DUTY

"...John Kerry and I were shipmates in the guided missile cruiser USS
Gridley (CG-21) in 1967 and 1968. He served as First Lieutenant, the
officer in charge of the deck division, and I was Executive Officer,
or second in command..."

"...But there is also no doubt in my mind that his anti-war
activities while our troops were still fighting, dying and being
tortured in filthy Vietnam prisons were despicable.

For that reason, even aside from his anti-defense voting record in
the Senate, he is one ex-shipmate that I could never support as
commander-in-chief of the armed forces."

J. F. Kelly, Jr.

USS Gridley (CG-21) Executive Officer in 1967 and 1968.

GRIDLEY Website page on John Kerry

http://home.nycap.rr.com/pwcarter/the%20kerry%20page.html

Other crew members speak about John Kerry

(Looks like Kerry's shipmates, who did serve with him,
say he lied and told whoopers about his time on the GRIDLEY.

Remember these are not Swift Boat Vets,

BUT Kerry's crewmates who served with him on the GRIDLEY)

Examples follow:

"As everyone must surely know by now, John F. Kerry came on board
GRIDLEY as a boot Ensign when we returned from our 1967 Westpac
Cruise. He remained on GRIDLEY through the 1968 cruise. Politics
aside, shipmates of the time who have read TOUR OF DUTY, the
authorized campaign biography, will have something to say about the
chapter on GRIDLEY. "

1. Kerry never talked about his time on GRIDLEY. He says on page
74 that it is because “nothing much of note” happened while
he was
onboard. He uses words like monotony and tedious, when, despite
being a boot ensign he was given every opportunity for responsibility
by Captain Slifer and Commander Kelly (XO). He came aboard
designated for Electrical Officer (80100), a grunt position in the
Engineering Department and spent four months in that position. He
was assigned duty as First Lieutenant, as Commander Kelly recalls,
because of his knowledge of seamanship and his experiences with small
boats and sailing. Besides being responsible for the decks of the
ship, the First Lieutenant is also responsible for the ship’s
small
boats. He also was assigned collateral duties as Public Affairs
Officer. Despite all the responsibilities he was given, he gives the
impression that serving on GRIDLEY was somehow beneath him. He
certainly had less of an opportunity to collect “gongs” there.

2. Page 78 – “motivate 400 swabbies” – The First
Lieutenant is
responsible only for the personnel of 1st Division, not the entire
crew. 1st Division had a roster of about 30 in 1968. To the extent
that other divisions had responsibility for deck space, their
officers would have been responsible for motivating them.

3. Page 87 has Kerry “shuttling sailors and provisions”
between
GRIDLEY and KITTY HAWK in a small motor whaleboat out in the Gulf of
Tonkin. The regular method of travel between the two ships was via
helo. That is how I went over to the KITTY HAWK. If such an event
did occur, it would have been unusual and hardly a shuttle.

4. Later on page 87 Kerry talks about Olongapo in the Philippines.
He talks about bloated corpses floating in the river and starving
women with babies dying of malnutrition. Now Olongapo was a wild and
wooly town that existed solely for the entertainment of the US Navy,
but in over three years of calling there, I never saw a single
instance of either thing happening. Kerry uncovered this in his
first visit. If this was from his letters home then he was certainly
writing for dramatic effect. Balderdash.

5. The trip to Danang – GRIDLEY went into Danang for briefings
before going to Northern SAR. This section is so full of hyperbole
that the urge to giggle is almost uncontrollable. “The panic and
pressure onboard GRIDLEY, strapping on a .45, wondering if I would
have to use it, B-52’s howling overhead”. A B-52 over Danang
would
have been so high that only contrails would have been visible, cloud
cover permitting. David Simons confirmed my recollection that during
our brief stay in Danang Harbor, the sky was overcast to the point of
being ominous.

More seriously, no one can remember John Kerry going ashore. I was
part of the shore party that went to Monkey Mountain. We were taken
in a screened in truck (to protect against grenades being tossed in)
and made to unload our .45’s. The driver said that he did not
want
us newbies to shoot anyone by accident.

Neither Commander Kelly nor LCDR Rueckert (Kerry’s immediate
boss)
can recall approving a trip ashore for Ensign Kerry. The author uses
remarks of David Simons IC2 as a lead in to the Danang section. I
spoke to David and he has no personal knowledge of Kerry going ashore
at all. He did talk to a researcher and made some generic remarks
about Danang but had never discussed Danang with Kerry. He recalls
arguing with the researcher because he tried to put the
words “cowboy” in his mouth, which ended up in the book.

There is no mystery about the “gruesome site of a pile of dead
VC.”
We saw no sign of anything like this. However, our escort to Monkey
Mountain did tell us how the VC bodies were stacked up on the
LZ’s
after the TET Offensive, which had been several months before.
Ensign Kerry would have been told this story by members of the shore
party.

If, indeed, he got to the pier, because he was in charge of the
motor whaleboat, it certainly would not have been within his purview
to wander Danang, eating dog meat and drinking beer in a bar (under
arms). It also seems amazing that he had all these observations on
Vietnam in such a brief visit.

6. In command – Again with the hyperbole. Kerry makes much
about
being “in charge” of the ship after the Captain and XO. The
OOD is
in charge of the operation of the ship during his four hour watch but
hardly in charge of the ship. Kerry qualified almost immediately as
OOD(P), in port OOD but that is a given. For much of his time
onboard he would have been Junior Officer of the Deck when underway.
Although his fitness report as of 22 March says "he is qualified as
OOD(I) now" (Independent steaming – with no ships or land
anywhere
near) , only OOD(P) is listed under duties. His Fitness Report from
July 1968 lists two months as OOD(I) which would mean he qualified
after leaving the war zone.

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