Posted on 08/29/2004 9:46:25 PM PDT by quidnunc
It appears that the Kerry campaign is finally getting some of its own medicine, as it is feeling heat to release the bulk of the Sen. John Kerry's service record.
For months, the campaign has been hiding behind Freedom of Information Act requests and what it has said was an exclusivity contract with its paid historian, Douglas Brinkley.
But Brinkley late Friday said that there was nothing holding back the campaign from releasing documents.
By some counts, there are more than 100 pages of documents related to Kerry's military service that may answer some of the many unanswered questions and mysteries about his time in Vietnam and the citations and awards he claims to have earned. For example:
Why are there three THREE! separate and differently worded citations for Kerry's Silver Star award. On Saturday, former Navy Secretary John Lehman denied that he ever signed that third, generously worded citation, which Kerry has posted on his website.
Why has Kerry claimed that he was awarded a "Combat V" for his Silver Star, when such an award has never been awarded?
Why are there two separate, differently worded citations for Kerry's Bronze Star? Again, with the second officially reworded by Lehman?
Why did Kerry seek a revision in 2001 to the number of campaign stars on his Vietnam service medal? Kerry's website claims Kerry had four, when the Navy says that he deserves only two. These stars are critical, because they indicate the number of military campaigns a soldier served in.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Kerry's got some 'splanin to do.
Kerry served in Vietnam?
> Why are there three -- THREE! -- separate and differently
> worded citations for Kerry's Silver Star award.
The last disowned by it's purported signer.
> Why are there two separate, differently worded citations
> for Kerry's Bronze Star?
> Why did Kerry seek a revision in 2001 to the number of
> campaign stars on his Vietnam service medal?
And is he even entitled to have a VSM?
> All these are issues are unrelated to the ongoing Swift
> Boat Veterans for Truth controversy ...
Uh oh.
Where is John Edwards? Have I just missed seeing him or has he dropped out already????
I would have thought that an enterprising reporter could make a FOIA request for any correspondence between John Kerry's office and Secretary Lehman's office from 1981-88. I doubt a letter requesting help reissuing a citation would be protected by privacy issues.
But perhaps I'm wrong. Or maybe enterprising reporters no longer exist.
Brinkley seems to be having second thoughts.
The interesting part of this article, to me, was that the changes were made in 1986.
Back then, nobody had any idea that the Internet was going to be such a powerful factor in the future -- so they had no way to predict the amazing speed and utter transparacy a fishy story could be debunked.
Kerry probably thought he was being wonderfully clever back then. Polishing off all the rough spots on his service jacket and preparing for his inevitable moment in the sun.
It's his own fault that things are a lot hotter than he expected them to be.
Apparently Douglas Brinkley has decided he may want to have a job after Kerry has gone back to the Senate.
Note - there are two separate stories at the linked
Spectator page. The other is a doozy too.
"But Hillary's appearances were not at the behest of
the Kerry campaign. "She wasn't part of the truth
squad we wanted up there," says a senior Kerry adviser.
"McAuliffe is the one who put her out there, along with
President Clinton."
According to a DNC staffer, Sen. John Kerry's man in the
DNC, John Sasso, attempted to remove Hillary from the
DNC's "push back" crew in New York, but was overruled by
Terry McAuliffe, who continues to have hands-on,
operational control of the Democratic Party."
Echos of March'04, when Kerry tried to fire McA.
They're first attempt at splainin was to say that the additional flowery language was required by Navy regulations. I am not kidding!
To which we might reply with Cicero:
---When, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now?---
Let's hope all radio talk shows get this on the air!!!
Yes, that's right, back to the Senate!!! Mark Steyn referred to Kerry today as the "seared Senator".
this gives me an idea...
> Brinkley seems to be having second thoughts.
He's desperately trying to distance himself from the
growing black hole. As I said in another thread on that...
He dug this hole. He could have avoided it by making even
a feeble attempt to contact O'Niell and some other Swifties.
I have to wonder how many "historians" Kerry had to go
through to find one this careless and corrupt. And then
wonder what Kerry told Brinkley to convince him that the
two of them could pull off the fraud.
"See these medals, Brinkley.
Every one of them is based on fraud.
My whole career is based on fraud.
We can DO this, and get away with it.
By the way,
do you want the job of running the Smithsonian?"
I can't believe that no one in the MSM seems to be asking for Kerry to release these medical records. Even Friday, the AP asked for some type of additional records for President Bush!!!
I believe the injustice of the media in the way they are treating Kerry, vs. their hounding of Bush, will be studied in journalism schools someday. It is truly incredible.
When is this going to be in the NYT and WaPO?
bttt
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