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Swiftboating History
American Thinker ^ | December 23, 2007 | Denis Keohane

Posted on 12/23/2007 8:26:06 AM PST by vietvet67

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana... It may be Providential that a book of history is soon to be released dealing extensively with certain shameful events of nearly four decades ago, just as others are now seeking to shamelessly and eagerly repeat those events.

Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler have co-authored To Set The Record Straight with the apt subtitle How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry. The book all but begins with details of the Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI) of 1971, an event I wrote about here at American Thinker last October. The WSI, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Againt the War (VVAW) was pure anti-American and anti-soldier leftist political theater.

Owing to leading Senators and the monolithic liberal big media of the time, WSI was the primary catalyst in legitimizing the longstanding and widely accepted defamation of 2.9 million Americans who served in Vietnam as baby killers, rapists, war criminals, losers, misfits, drug abusers and psychological "time bombs", to use Makubin T. Owens terminology.

Those broad sweeping charges against the Vietnam vets have survived as a part of our established historical narritive for millions and has been all but enshrined in the arts community, particularly film.

The left side of the web is busy spreading the word that next March the ideological descendent of the VVAW, the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is planning another WSI dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan, thereby intending to smear another generation of over a million and a half Americans who have served to date in those wars and those who will serve.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bookreview; scottswett; stilltraitors; swiftboatvets; traitorsstill; vvaw
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1 posted on 12/23/2007 8:26:06 AM PST by vietvet67
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To: vietvet67

I am still glowing at how Kerry imploded while still attacking our Troops. For so long Kerry was such a dark and ominous cloud hanging over our heads. Now Kerry is a certified Loser, gone for good.


2 posted on 12/23/2007 8:32:16 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper (ETERNAL SHAME on the Treasonous and Immoral Democrats!)
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To: vietvet67
What I know about swift boats is that the heros that came out against Kerry, are still being shiet on. Does not matter what channel you watch (even Fox) they speak about swift boating as if the swift boat veterans for truth where liars.

Such and such is being swift boated, or don`t swift boat me bro, or they are trying to swift boat me...etc etc, it all suggests that the true hero`s that came out against Kerry where lying.

THEY WHERE NOT, AND THERE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT, TO GIVE THESE GOOD MAN THE RESPECT THEY DESERVE.

3 posted on 12/23/2007 8:33:01 AM PST by Friendofgeorge (I HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE I CAN NOW SAY, ANYBODY BUT RUDY.)
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To: vietvet67
I am going to say it straight. This is atrocious writing. When drudging up old stories, as this one is, you need to start off sentence one setting up a fresh perspective and sentence two needs to be the punch right between the eyes that lays the readership flat begging for mercy.

This article may be about something, but hang me if I can tell what it is or why I should even bother reading it.

I am sure this guy has something to say, but he should just come out and say it. If he doesn't know what he wants to say, other than continual basking in the admirable works of the Swiftboat crowd, why should I try to figure it out for him? Why?

4 posted on 12/23/2007 8:34:43 AM PST by AndyJackson
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To: vietvet67
The swiftboat vets are true American heroes.
5 posted on 12/23/2007 8:35:58 AM PST by jrooney (Ron Paul makes Jimmy Carter look tough and Dennis Kucinich look sane.)
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Friendofgeorge
they speak about swift boating as if the swift boat veterans for truth where liars.

"Swiftboating."

Trendy idioms are curious things. As usual, the left was out ahead on this. It was predictable that "swiftboating" would become a verb. As usual, our side became defensive and backed away. We should have seen this coming and proudly applied the definition of "righteous truth seeking." I don't think it is too late.

7 posted on 12/23/2007 8:40:15 AM PST by outofstyle (My Ride's Here)
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To: AndyJackson

I agree. I read and reread the article trying to get to the primary theme.


8 posted on 12/23/2007 8:42:15 AM PST by gitmo (From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.)
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To: vietvet67
I ordered the book “Setting the Record Straight” on line. Very fast shipping. The publisher’s website has a link to view Chapter 13 on the Rathergate Memo background. Free Republic is prominently mentioned!
9 posted on 12/23/2007 8:47:10 AM PST by MtnClimber (http://www.fred08.com/)
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To: Berlin_Freeper
Now Kerry is a certified Loser, gone for good.

Could the Commodities Scam Queen be next? (Please G-d!)

ML/NJ

10 posted on 12/23/2007 8:48:51 AM PST by ml/nj
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To: gitmo
With no disrespect to the honorable men who served, this is like being the sober person in a room of stoners listening to Hendrix, reminiscing about the last time they all got stoned and trying to figure out how to order a pizza.

1. It is history.
2. The heroes of this story are not even in the room.

11 posted on 12/23/2007 8:55:38 AM PST by AndyJackson
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To: AndyJackson

After reading your grammatical expertise as evidenced by your third atrociously written sentence, what indeed would you know about good writing?


12 posted on 12/23/2007 9:03:33 AM PST by Melinda
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To: usainfantry

The fact that the elite schools denigate ROTC as though military service were not an occupation wothy of our “best and brightest,” tells volumes. The media is simply the mouthpiece of these people. They delude themselves about what history tells us about war and about warrriors. Their sons do not become policemen , so they take for granted their peaceful neigborhoods, their secure homes. Likewise they refuse to give their sons to make sure their livelihoods.


13 posted on 12/23/2007 9:05:40 AM PST by RobbyS
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To: Berlin_Freeper
Now Kerry is a certified Loser, gone for good.

But the left-wing culture that spawned him lives on.

14 posted on 12/23/2007 9:06:34 AM PST by okie01 (THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Ignorance on Parade)
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To: AndyJackson

True it is history. But, I have heard rumblings of Kerry bringing this up again to raise doubt against any Republican stories against the Socialist Democrat nominee. The Democrats will call it Swiftboating in an attempt to create the impression that the old stories are phony just as the new ones are phony.


15 posted on 12/23/2007 9:06:57 AM PST by MtnClimber (http://www.fred08.com/)
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To: vietvet67

The Swiftboaters didn’t DEFEAT Kerry.

They exposed him for what he was, and is.


16 posted on 12/23/2007 9:09:18 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (Just saying what 'they' won't.)
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To: MtnClimber

How about when DEMS bring up old stories, like Obama and kindergarten, that we use a different TERM ?

So, we call what the DEMS do, SLOW-BOATING.


17 posted on 12/23/2007 9:12:48 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (Just saying what 'they' won't.)
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To: gitmo

This could use a good edit, for sure. There’s a lead line somewhere in the article but its buried.


18 posted on 12/23/2007 9:12:58 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (ENERGY CRISIS made in Washington D. C.)
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Or better yet, SHORT-BUSSING.

Oh yeah. The DEMS are trying to take you on the SHORT BUS.


19 posted on 12/23/2007 9:14:17 AM PST by UCANSEE2 (Just saying what 'they' won't.)
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To: vietvet67
First Kerry is a liar and it is easily proved. He was in no position to monitor almost 3 million GIs. The only war crimes he saw were at his own hands as a commanding officer and would therefore be a testament to his own guilt.

I saw thousands of acres of Viet Nam form the seat of a bulldozer north west of Saigon. I saw only four suspected Viet Cong. They were not mistreated. I saw no dead water buffalo. I did not see the masses of dead bodies that would have been present if kerry were correct. I was not asked to dig a single grave let alone the mass graves that would have had to exist for kerry to be correct.

Kerry your are a habitual liar and I see no truth in any of your statements. Murtha seems to be a liar also.

20 posted on 12/23/2007 9:16:09 AM PST by mountainlyons (Hard core conservative)
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