Free Republic

I want . . Freedom of the press to be the right not to be lied to. You are confused. So very seriously confused about the First Amendment, that you are not thinking any more clearly about it than I was before the mid-1990s, when I began to see through the system by which the "journalistic objectivity" con is perpetrated. And since I was already in my fifties by then, I have every reason to understand how you might see things the way you do. Freedom of the press is much more like "the right to lie to you"...

To the question of the moment--What did Barack Obama know and when did he know it?--I answer, Obama knew everything, and he's known it for ages. Far from succumbing to surprise and shock after Jeremiah Wright's disastrous performance at the National Press Club, Barack Obama must have long been aware of his pastor's political radicalism. A careful reading of nearly a year's worth of Trumpet Newsmagazine, Wright's glossy national "lifestyle magazine for the socially conscious," makes it next to impossible to conclude otherwise. Wright founded Trumpet Newsmagazine in 1982 as a "church newspaper"--primarily for his own congregation, one gathers--to "preach...

SDS General Educational Development by: Cliff Kincaid, May 06, 2008 Tom Hayden, who cheered for a communist military victory in Vietnam, is calling attention to Senator Hillary Clinton’s old ties to communists. But Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, formerly of the Washington Post, wonders if Hillary’s comments on Senator Barack Obama’s ties to communist terrorist Bill Ayers constitute McCarthyism. Bernstein, now an election analyst for CNN, has reason to be concerned about where all of this may lead. His parents were members of the Communist Party USA, and he says in his book about them, Loyalties, “I am proud of the...

By Christopher CookThe National Campaign Fund has produced a devastating campaign ad exposing Barack Obama's weakness on matters of crime, and positing questions about his potential conduct in waging the War on Terror. The ad can be viewed at the site ExposeObama.com.After you've watched it, check out these headlines, culled from a single day of reporting on the ad: How Republicans Plan on Ganging Up on Obama for Being "Weak" on Street Gangs Obama Gets the Willie Horton Treatment Breaking... Obama "Swiftboating" Plan Revealed Conservatives rolling out attack ads aimed at Obama, supporters Willie Horton Mastermind Takes Aim at Obama...

If the words "swift" and "boat" must be combined and turned into a verb, then let us insist on its proper use. The word as a verb originates from the campaign undertaken in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans in response to the John Kerry presidential candidacy. The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift Vets did so effectively to that of John Kerry. Although swiftboating may be...

April 20, 2008 Redefining 'Swiftboating' and Rewriting History By Henry P. Wickham, Jr. If the words "swift" and "boat" must be combined and turned into a verb, then let us insist on its proper use. The word as a verb originates from the campaign undertaken in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans in response to the John Kerry presidential candidacy. The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift...

The days of Swift Boating are numbered Friday, April 18, 2008 12:25 PM EDT While the Democrats continue to gnaw at each other for the party’s nomination, there are signs, indications even, that some of the recent methods of electoral success in the past are fading as effective tools. Most notably, “Swift Boating,” may finally be on its way to becoming a historical footnote. Swift Boating describes the effective use on well funded false charges against th

HILLARY: SWIFTBOATED!March 26, 2008 Hillary is being "swiftboated"! She claimed that she came under sniper fire when she visited in Bosnia in 1996, but was contradicted by videotape showing her sauntering off the plane and stopping on the tarmac to listen to a little girl read her a poem. Similarly, John Kerry's claim to heroism in Vietnam was contradicted by 264 Swift Boat Veterans who served with him. His claim to having been on a secret mission to Cambodia for President Nixon on Christmas 1968 was contradicted not only by all of his commanders -- who said he would have...

He's a Muslim. He was sworn into office on the Koran. He doesn't say the Pledge of Allegiance. His pastor is an anti-Semite. He's a tool of Louis Farrakhan. He's anti-Israel. His advisers are anti-Israel. He's friends with terrorists. The terrorists want him to win. He's the Antichrist. By now you've probably seen at least some of these e-mails and articles about Barack Obama bouncing around the Internet. They distort Obama's religious faith, question his support for Israel, warp the identity and positions of his campaign advisers and defame his friends and allies from Chicago. The purpose of the smear...

A photo showing Barack Obama dressed in Somali garb is being circulated by campaign staffers working for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, according to DrudgeReport.com. FOX News is working to confirm the report. The photo was taken in 2006 during a trip through Africa. Obama was dressed as a Somali elder during a visit to southwestern Kenya, said the Drudge Report, which said a Clinton staff member had provided the photo to the Web site.

In MSM circles, "swiftboating" is shorthand for false attacks on Democrats, even though John O'Neill and other members of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth stand adamantly behind their allegations about John Kerry's war record. In an interview of Barack Obama conducted yesterday and aired on this morning's Today, Matt Lauer employed the "swiftboating" code to ask whether the candidate is prepared for the Republican onslaught. For good measure the NBC anchor wondered if Obama is ready for Republican racism. Lauer, introducing the issue, stated that "Senator Clinton has questioned whether he can withstand negative attacks from Republicans in the fall."...

If John Kerry had been elected President of the United States in November 2004, especially with the incoming majority Democrat Congress, it is highly likely that Iraq would be in the midst of a civil war, Iran’s regional influence would have increased, Israel would be in more jeopardy than it is now, two Supreme Court seats would be occupied by clones of John Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead of by John Roberts and Samuel Alito, judicial decisions would have given even more “rights” to enemy combatants, domestic entitlements and earmarks would have skyrocketed, the Bush tax cuts would be...

Swiftboating 2.0 TRIBUNE-REVIEW by Salena Zito January 22, 2008 8 :50 PM An email attributed to Sen. John Kerry, the former 2004 Democratic presidential nominee sent out by the Barack Obama campaign, took on those that would 'swiftboat' Obama. Kerry, saying in the email that "this is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election," tells Obama supporters that "we must stop the swiftboating, stop the push-polling, stop the front groups, and stop the email chain smears. "The truth matters, but how you fight the lies matters even more. We must be...

WASHINGTON -- In an effort reminiscent of the bitter "Swift Boat" campaign during the 2004 presidential race, a group of New York firefighters who lost sons in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks is organizing a political committee to take on former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in Republican primary states. A leader of the 9/11 Firefighters and Families group met Tuesday with union leaders and political consultants, readying plans to set up a tax-exempt committee that would fund appearances and a media drive against Giuliani. Jim Riches, a New York deputy fire chief whose firefighter son was killed during...

FReeper Scott Swett will join Loud & Clear (Central Jersey 1450 AM WCTC) to discuss his new book, "To Set The Record Straight" today (Saturday, December 15th). Mr. Swett will be the guest of Keith Rasmussen and Maggie Glynn who host Loud & Clear on Central Jersey 1450 - 1 pm to 4 pm Eastern. He will join Loud & Clear at 3:30 pm (Eastern). Scott Swett created and managed the web sites SwiftVets.com and WinterSoldier.com during the 2004 campaign, working closely with Swift boat veterans, former POWs and other Vietnam veterans to help bring their experiences to the public....

Former president Bill Clinton denounced the media for what he labeled “their invasive, intrusive, and impolite harassment of his wife.” He was referring, he said, to the spate of questions raised following Hillary’s difficulty in the Democratic debate last week. “Candidates shouldn’t have to answer complicated questions and be expected to take definite policy positions prior to taking office,” Clinton asserted. “This could impede their flexibility once they are elected.” Clinton contended that this “loss of the element of surprise will make the nation more vulnerable to its enemies—both foreign and domestic.” “By taking a multi-faceted perspective on the issues,...

November 08, 2007 Re-sinking John Kerry Russ Vaughn When I saw this report that John Kerry is finally ready to take on the Swift Boat Veterans, my muse could not be held in check: Re-sinking John Kerry From Davy Jones' locker a zombie emerges, A Purple Heart phony with political urges; Assuring the press he regrets his Swift boating, John Kerry believes his boat is still floating. He readily admits that he got torpedoed, But he's up on his sail board, defiant and Speedo'd. The arrogant fool believes his wife's riches Is enough to trump all of us Swift sons-of-bitches....

RANDOLPH -- John Kerry said Monday there might be a next time for his presidential aspirations, and if there is, the 63-year-old U.S. senator from Massachusetts says he’ll be ready for the political torpedoes that helped sink his 2004 White House bid. Kerry, whose service as a U.S. Navy Swift boat skipper during the Vietnam War came under attack in his race against President Bush, said he has compiled a dossier on his war record critics that he wishes he had as the Democratic presidential nominee. ``We have put together a documented portfolio that frankly puts their lies in such...

E mail from a cat ? A smug,progressive cat at that ! My correspondent was furious because the Washington Post outed John Murtha.

Don't look for Arianna Huffington to be sitting down to a chummy luncheon with Hillary Clinton anytime soon. Huffington has been no fan of Clinton for some time, considering her insufficiently, and inauthentically, anti-war. But on today's "Morning Joe," Huffington took her animus to another level, accusing Hillary of an ultimate Dem sin: "swiftboating" an opponent, namely Barack Obama. HUFFINGTON POST FOUNDER ARIANNA HUFFINGTON: After the CNN debate, I think it was ridiculous the way she and her campaign attacked Obama for saying he would engage in diplomatic talks with dictators. That is sort of a classic example of swiftboating...