What are politicians thinking?!?

[Rip Rokken]

Ran across this article from this past August. This is the freaking Internet age! How does a candidate think for a minute he can claim to have played for the Dallas Cowboys for 3 years and people aren't going to figure out he's lying? It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdo ... nfl-261541

I love the description of how he went thru the "Political Crisis Playbook" step-by-step to get thru the fallout.

[larryfromnextdoor]

Ran across this article from this past August. This is the freaking Internet age! How does a candidate think for a minute he can claim to have played for the Dallas Cowboys for 3 years and people aren't going to figure out he's lying? It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdo ... nfl-261541

I love the description of how he went thru the "Political Crisis Playbook" step-by-step to get thru the fallout.

maybe his dates are off a bit.. to his credit .. didnt the players strike start in '81-'82.. i would bet that the Cowboys have few records of all the guys that were on the practice team and playing team ..

i knew a guy that sold used cars around here that was on the practice squad for the Cowboys .. its just a faint memory now.. but he wore a jersey ..

if a man cant be trusted on his word alone .............

[artist4perry]

Politicians don't think.........they just do. Scares me senseless!

[Rockindeano]

It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

Fuck you Rip. What a disgusting sentence. The guy volunteers for Vietnam, aquires three purple hearts, and you basically spit on him because some republicans made up lies about his service. This really pisses me off.

PS- The more I think about this, the more pissed I become. How fucking dare you Rip, to call out a guy who VOLUNTEERD to serve his country in times of war, was shot at, injured and received much praise from his closest soldier friends. Yet you fire off a pussified round at the guy from behind your keyboard, because you believe a bunch of wackos who said a bunch of lies, because they were paid to by certain political operatives. This is really fucked up.

[RedWingFan]

It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

Fuck you Rip. What a disgusting sentence. The guy volunteers for Vietnam, aquires three purple hearts, and you basically spit on him because some republicans made up lies about his service. This really pisses me off.

PS- The more I think about this, the more pissed I become. How fucking dare you Rip, to call out a guy who VOLUNTEERD to serve his country in times of war, was shot at, injured and received much praise from his closest soldier friends. Yet you fire off a pussified round at the guy from behind your keyboard, because you believe a bunch of wackos who said a bunch of lies, because they were paid to by certain political operatives. This is really fucked up.

And you are calling these soldiers liars?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phqOuEhg ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oObCOFiI ... re=related

[conversationpc]

It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

Fuck you Rip. What a disgusting sentence. The guy volunteers for Vietnam, aquires three purple hearts, and you basically spit on him because some republicans made up lies about his service. This really pisses me off.

PS- The more I think about this, the more pissed I become. How fucking dare you Rip, to call out a guy who VOLUNTEERD to serve his country in times of war, was shot at, injured and received much praise from his closest soldier friends. Yet you fire off a pussified round at the guy from behind your keyboard, because you believe a bunch of wackos who said a bunch of lies, because they were paid to by certain political operatives. This is really fucked up.

And you are calling these soldiers liars?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phqOuEhg ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oObCOFiI ... re=related

The problem is, who do you believe? There are some VOLUNTEERS who give a completely different story than Kerry's and there's no evidence that I've seen to show they were paid to lie. In the end, no one really knows what happened for sure other than the guys who were there. If those guys were lying, then they'll pay the price in the end. If Kerry was lying, same for him.

The problem I had/have with Kerry is that it really seemed like he was playing up his experience in Vietnam, almost like the only reason he went was to somehow use it in his political career. Most Vietnam vets I know don't like to talk about their experiences over there AT ALL, except with other vets. That's beside the fact that Kerry has made statements in the past that have contradicted himself on this issue.

[Gin and Tonic Sky]

I tried to make up some stuff like this during a job interview once. They asked me if I had any significant achievements in my life. I couldn't think of one so I said, "Well Im lead singer of Journey in my spare time". I got scared shitless for a minute, thinking they might have me sing a few lines of Lovin Touchin Squeezin (as I cant carry a tune) , but they just looked at me blankly and said thats no big deal, theyve had about thirty lead singers havent they.

[Rockindeano]

It's almost as bad as John Kerry and his swift boat fables!

Fuck you Rip. What a disgusting sentence. The guy volunteers for Vietnam, aquires three purple hearts, and you basically spit on him because some republicans made up lies about his service. This really pisses me off.

PS- The more I think about this, the more pissed I become. How fucking dare you Rip, to call out a guy who VOLUNTEERD to serve his country in times of war, was shot at, injured and received much praise from his closest soldier friends. Yet you fire off a pussified round at the guy from behind your keyboard, because you believe a bunch of wackos who said a bunch of lies, because they were paid to by certain political operatives. This is really fucked up.

And you are calling these soldiers liars?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phqOuEhg ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oObCOFiI ... re=related

Not even going to look. This is not a political fight as much as you want to make it out to be. The fact is, and I repeat this is fact, is John Kerry volunteerd to serve the USA in times of war, and John Kerry received three, count em three purple hearts. I guess the US Govt just said "oh here ya go, here are three purple hearts." You are a as despicable as Rip is by trying to politicize this argument. My beef is Rokken calls out a war vet, a Viet-fucking-nam war vet, because he is a Democrat. Man, you people are such assholes. Let me guess, when you stand for the National Anthem, you only do so for the conservative republicans who served, right?

[Saint John]

Here is an excerpt from the doctor that treated John Kerry for his first Purple Heart and what he wrote the night he treated him 40+ years ago. He received 3 Purple Hearts for 3 flesh wounds. *I* wasn't there and I have very little idea what happened, but I sure saw a lot of other people come back (and not come back) with far greater injuries and far more traumatized. Regardless, I am grateful for his service (but not his actions after he was released to stateside duty). Anyway:

What follows is Letson's memory, as he wrote it.

I have a very clear memory of an incident which occurred while I was the Medical Officer at Naval Support Facility, Cam Ranh Bay.

John Kerry was a (jg), the OinC or skipper of a Swift boat, newly arrived in Vietnam. On the night of December 2, he was on patrol north of Cam Ranh, up near Nha Trang area. The next day he came to sick bay, the medical facility, for treatment of a wound that had occurred that night.

The story he told was different from what his crewmen had to say about that night. According to Kerry, they had been engaged in a fire fight, receiving small arms fire from on shore. He said that his injury resulted from this enemy action.

Some of his crew confided that they did not receive any fire from shore, but that Kerry had fired a mortar round at close range to some rocks on shore. The crewman thought that the injury was caused by a fragment ricocheting from that mortar round when it struck the rocks.

That seemed to fit the injury which I treated.

What I saw was a small piece of metal sticking very superficially in the skin of Kerry's arm. The metal fragment measured about 1 cm. in length and was about 2 or 3 mm in diameter. It certainly did not look like a round from a rifle.

I simply removed the piece of metal by lifting it out of the skin with forceps. I doubt that it penetrated more than 3 or 4 mm. It did not require probing to find it, did not require any anesthesia to remove it, and did not require any sutures to close the wound.

The wound was covered with a bandaid.

Not [sic] other injuries were reported and I do not recall that there was any reported damage to the boat.


Listen, below is why *I* think that vast group of veterans launched an ugly campaign against Kerry. This sums it up well.

When Kerry launched his political career as a shaggy- haired hippie with a lantern jaw and testified before Congress that American forces in Vietnam raped women, killed children, cut off ears and “ravaged the countryside” like the “hordes of Genghis Khan,” he earned the enmity of millions of good and decent Americans who never committed war crimes the deceitful Kerry attributed to them.

[Saint John]

I'm wondering if politics played a role in John Kerry getting his 3 Purple Hearts (and that's not to discount his service):

Military policy allowed any serviceman who received three Purple Hearts to ask for assignment away from the combat zone, to be granted at the discretion of the commanding officer. After four years of service, Kerry was deeply disillusioned with the Vietnam War and questioned why the U.S. government was sending young men to die "for a mistake." He was soon reassigned to stateside duty.

[Rockindeano]

I can't count on a single republican here to be fucking down the middle, rationale, nor honest, (maybe, maybe Stu will chime in).

First off, who the fuck is Letson? How do you know he isn't some far right reaching nutbag who came under Karl Rove's spell, and a bit of GOP money? The sleaze that has emanated from the same people(Rove in particular), has been used before in politics. Go ask Max Cleland, a war vet who lost limbs. He too was called a pussy by Rove and his ilk. Yet you here on the right will take anything in print or on the web if it is there, and present your argument. Forget the fact that Kerry did voluntarily serve the USA, and did receive the three purple hearts. Now I will ask one more time to you keyboard hacks. 1) why in the Hell would the US Military just give away three of the most coveted medals of honor for a made up story? They investigate these happening before they just hand them the fuck out. 2) Why is it that this smear job on Kerry, a Massachusetts liberal, is much like the same exact smear job put on Max Cleland, by the ahem, same people(Rove).? 3) Why is the smear job valid with regard to Kerry, yet the job Dan Rather put on W Bush was made up? Too funny. People expect to unite the country, yet we have dipshits here who listen to "fables" and equate it as truth; those that believe this swift boat nonsense are those who have fallen under the spell of the mighty Karl Rove.

[RossValoryRocks]

Actually I agree with Dean...the Swift Boat guys MAY, MAY have a legitimate argument, but it should have been handled through the military and not polticized. I don't care if it was "relevant" to the election because he was running for President. It did nothing but make people who served, on both sides, look like morons.

The military goes through fairly exacting standards before handing out things like Purple Hearts, bronze stars and such. You have to have witnesses, signed statements, the recommendation of a ranking officer and the like.

If they want to go after Kerry for anything the throwing his fellow servicemen and women under a bus to score political points and launch his own political career, would have been sufficient. IMHO.

The man, like his politics or not, is a decorated veteran of this country and should be afforded the respect he has earned in that regard.

[Saint John]

1) why in the Hell would the US Military just give away three of the most coveted medals of honor for a made up story? They investigate these happening before they just hand them the fuck out.

I already gave you a possible explanation, but I'll post it again since you're having a hard time keeping up:

Military policy allowed any serviceman who received three Purple Hearts to ask for assignment away from the combat zone, to be granted at the discretion of the commanding officer. After four years of service, Kerry was deeply disillusioned with the Vietnam War and questioned why the U.S. government was sending young men to die "for a mistake." He was soon reassigned to stateside duty.


Now you please explain to me why they awarded this guy 3 Purple Hearts for flesh wounds that required little more than band aids?

2) Why is it that this smear job on Kerry, a Massachusetts liberal, is much like the same exact smear job put on Max Cleland, by the ahem, same people(Rove).?

Cleland got railroaded, just like Bush with 9-11 being an inside job, Iraq being for revenge for daddy and oil and all sorts of other political bullshit in politics. You'd never make it in politics. You're too soft!

3) Why is the smear job valid with regard to Kerry, yet the job Dan Rather put on W Bush was made up?

Hmmm ... maybe because ... it was!!!

Too funny. People expect to unite the country, yet we have dipshits here who listen to "fables" and equate it as truth; those that believe this swift boat nonsense are those who have fallen under the spell of the mighty Karl Rove.

Insulting voters just got your party steamrolled. I'd stop that if I were you!

[Rockindeano]

Actually I agree with Dean...the Swift Boat guys MAY, MAY have a legitimate argument, but it should have been handled through the military and not polticized. I don't care if it was "relevant" to the election because he was running for President. It did nothing but make people who served, on both sides, look like morons.

The military goes through fairly exacting standards before handing out things like Purple Hearts, bronze stars and such. You have to have witnesses, signed statements, the recommendation of a ranking officer and the like.

If they want to go after Kerry for anything the throwing his fellow servicemen and women under a bus to score political points and launch his own political career, would have been sufficient. IMHO.

The man, like his politics or not, is a decorated veteran of this country and should be afforded the respect he has earned in that regard.

Why thank you Stu. The one and only conservative here who can talk with rationale.

[Saint John]

Actually I agree with Dean...the Swift Boat guys MAY, MAY have a legitimate argument, but it should have been handled through the military and not polticized. I don't care if it was "relevant" to the election because he was running for President. It did nothing but make people who served, on both sides, look like morons.

Kinda like Kerry testifying 30 years earlier and lumping all soldiers in with the sporadic rapes and other atrocities that are a part of every war. He made his own grave on that one and it took time, but there were people waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

The military goes through fairly exacting standards before handing out things like Purple Hearts, bronze stars and such. You have to have witnesses, signed statements, the recommendation of a ranking officer and the like.

There were 5 boats in question and 4 of them reported no fire. Nothing. Kerry's boat, the one that reported fire and stood by the story, saw Kerry eventually assigned to stateside duty and him use his pull to bring them to safer parts of the war. Hell, the doctor even signed off that his story didn't seem to make any sense. Of course, Kerry called him a liar and cited a dead doctor as the one he saw that night.

The man, like his politics or not, is a decorated veteran of this country and should be afforded the respect he has earned in that regard.

Look, if people are allowed to parrot the idiocy that our president was behind 9-11 without a scintilla of evidence, then people should be allowed to question a guy getting 3 Purple Hearts with virtually no injuries. Now if he looked like John McCain, who appears to have survived a 40 grenade attack on his face alone, then I wouldn't have any doubts!

PS He was "attacked" by a jury of his own peers. It's not like *I* made the allegations.

[RossValoryRocks]

In September 2004, Vice Admiral Ronald A. Route, the Navy Inspector General, completed a review of Kerry's combat medals, initiated at the request of Judicial Watch. In a memo to the Secretary of the Navy, Gordon England, Route stated:[79]

“ Our examination found that existing documentation regarding the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals indicates the awards approval process was properly followed. In particular, the senior officers who awarded the medals were properly delegated authority to do so. In addition, we found that they correctly followed the procedures in place at the time for approving these awards


Conducting any additional review regarding events that took place over 30 years ago would not be productive. The passage of time would make reconstruction of the facts and circumstances unreliable, and would not allow the information gathered to be considered in the context of the time in which the events took place.

Our review also considered the fact that Senator Kerry's post-active duty activities were public and that military and civilian officials were aware of his actions at the time. For these reasons, I have determined that Senator Kerry's awards were properly approved and will take no further action in this matter.
”

On September 23, 2004, Judicial Watch appealed on the basis that "no specific documentary examples … were cited or offered as exhibits" in the Navy Inspector General's letter of reply to Judicial Watch.[80] Judicial Watch also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documentation of the investigation. On October 4, 2004 the Navy Inspector General's office responded with documentation of the investigation.[58]

Included within the Navy Inspector General's documentation was a discussion of the duplicate medal citations Kerry had received in 1985:

“ …[I]t is apparent that duplicate citations issued under then-Secretary Lehman's and others' signatures in June 1985 were in response to a request from Senator Kerry or his office. … [T]here is considerable correspondence indicating efforts over the years to chase down various citations, etc. The citations under Secretary Lehman's name appear to have been signed by a machine, which would explain why he now doesn't recall any involvement.[58] ”

In an October 5, 2004 letter to Judicial Watch, Secretary England deferred to the Navy Inspector General's authority as the investigating officer, and declined to initiate a separate review.[81]

On October 12, 2004, Judicial Watch released comments on the Navy Inspector General's decision and response.[82]

[RossValoryRocks]

PS He was "attacked" by a jury of his own peers. It's not like *I* made the allegations.

Repeating them is almost as bad...I agree that the kooks believing 9-11 was an inside job need help, as do the idiots who think Dan Rather's report on Bush's service was some kind of objective truth, but I think sinking to their level is a waste of time and brain cells (Brain cells are made for wasting the old fashioned way...by pickling them in alcohol!)

[Saint John]

Look, no one's disputing that any process was ducked, but it seems extremely odd that such an outspoken and politically ambitious person was given 3 Purple Hearts with Band Aid-type wounds, and guys coming back with missing limbs and in body bags weren't. Oh wait, because of people like Kerry and Fonda, they got spit on instead.

[RossValoryRocks]

Look, no one's disputing that any process was ducked, but it seems extremely odd that such an outspoken and politically ambitious person was given 3 Purple Hearts with Band Aid-type wounds, and guys coming back with missing limbs and in body bags weren't. Oh wait, because of people like Kerry and Fonda, they got spit on instead.

Any service member who dies in service to his country gets a purple heart...period. Any wound, no matter the size, will be granted a purple heart...

What he did to earn the bronze and silver stars defies belief. He jumped out of a boat and rushed the enemy who was actively engaged with the three boat patrol he was leading. Look I can't stand his politics but unless you have been their, under fire with a person or persons wanting to KILL YOU and trying their best to do so, you just can't understand. John Kerry was brave beyond words to do what he did, and was justly awarded those medals.

[Saint John]

Any service member who dies in service to his country gets a purple heart...period. Any wound, no matter the size, will be granted a purple heart...

Thanks, Stu, didn't know that.

What he did to earn the bronze and silver stars defies belief. He jumped out of a boat and rushed the enemy who was actively engaged with the three boat patrol he was leading. Look I can't stand his politics but unless you have been their, under fire with a person or persons wanting to KILL YOU and trying their best to do so, you just can't understand. John Kerry was brave beyond words to do what he did, and was justly awarded those medals.

But that's just it ... some people aren't buying that story. Like this guy:

I do not doubt the sincerity of Mr. James A. Rassmann regarding his version of events on March 13, 1969.

My own experience and review of such part of the record as is available convinces me that then First Lieutenant James A. Rassmann is right about then Lieutenant Junior Grade John F. Kerry helping him out of the water. However, Rassmann is wrong about Kerry heroically saving his life.

I was an Operations Officer for 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment during the first Gulf War.

As a U.S. Marine Corps Officer, achieving the rank of Major, I was on active duty for over a decade.

I have watched first hand how men behave under enemy fire.

It is my opinion that Mr. Rassmann actually believes that he was under enemy fire and that now Presidential candidate Senator John Kerry is shamefully exploiting the situation for personal political gain.

It is also my opinion that, if a proper investigation is conducted, that Senator Kerry's "band of brothers" will reveal significantly embarrassing facts.

The right questions have not been asked and pertinent U.S. Navy and U.S. Army operational, administrative award, maintenance, and medical documents have not been reviewed, which I believe would disprove Senator Kerry's claims.

I cross-referenced the available official Naval documents and numerous statements from Senator Kerry, Mr. Rassmann, and several other officers and sailors who participated in the "Sea Lords" tactical operation on March 13, 1969.

I use a military "findings of fact" format, presented in chronological order, to describe this incident.

Kerry and Rassmann contradict themselves many times. However, multiple versions match on several points with other first hand accounts, so I weighed those findings as being the most accurate.

The official Naval documents reviewed for these findings, to include the after action report (SPOT report), award citations, and battle damage report, were downloaded from the Kerry website.

The closer the date of the statements to the date of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the more embellished and divergent Kerry's and Rassmann's statements became as compared to older first hand observations and official Naval documents.

The Kerry Presidential campaign news release dated January 17, 2004, appended to this statement, represents the most divergent, carefully embellished, and falsified account of the incident I was able to find.

Why would Kerry's Presidential campaign staff release a statement to the American people materially different from the "official" documents available on Kerry's own website?

Here are my findings:

1.) A U.S. Naval Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also called a "Swift" boat, is 50 feet long, nearly 14 feet wide, has a maximum speed of 32 Knots, and typically has a crew of six (1 officer and 5 enlisted).

2.) On March 13, 1969, a squadron of five Swift boats participated in operation Sea Lords in Bay Hap River and Dong Cung Canal.

3.) The squadron consisted of Swift boats PCF-94, PCF-51, PCF-23, PCF-43, and PCF-3.

4.) Sea Lords was a "sweeping" operation conducted in conjunction with U.S. Army ground forces and other allied ground forces.

5.) At the end of ground operations (approximately 5 hours), the Swift boats extracted the ground troops and began exiting the river.

6.) LTJG John F. Kerry USN was the Officer-in-Charge of Swift boat PCF-94.

7.) 1LT James A. Rassmann USA was the Executive Officer of A-Detachment (A404), a 12 man Green Beret unit.

8.) Rassmann was a passenger on Kerry's boat and did not serve with Kerry as a crewman.

9.) As a Green Beret, Rassmann was not trained in U.S. Navy Swift boat operations.

10.) Rassmann did not command or have "his own" Swift boat.

11.) Swift boats do not operate independently and the commanders and crews of the other Swift boats in Kerry's Swift boat squadron had direct and daily first hand observation of his conduct and actions.

12.) From the morning ground operations Kerry was wounded in his left buttocks by a piece of shrapnel from a hand grenade, which he had thrown into a bin of rice.

13.) At approximately 1445 hours (2:45 PM) the Swift boats started their exit of the river.

14.) Swift boat PCF-3 was hit by a command detonated mine. The entire crew was wounded and two crew members were thrown into the water. Rassmann was not in this boat.

15.) Only one mine explosion was observed.

16.) Kerry's Swift boat was on the opposite side of the waterway from where Swift boat PCF-3 was damaged by the mine. The waterway is approximately 75 yards wide.

17.) Kerry had his driver speed away down river from the incident site hitting something in the river. This collision resulted in Kerry hitting the bulkhead and receiving contusions on his right forearm. At that time, supposedly responding to a bow gun being jammed, Rassmann was heading to the bow and was subsequently knocked out of Kerry's boat.

18.) Kerry's Swift boat traveled as far as 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) down river before returning up river to retrieve Rassmann.

19.) The maximum rated speed of a Swift boat is 32 Knots (36.8 MPH). Taking into account that Kerry's boat had "curled and chipped" screws, Rassmann was in the water more than 10 minutes.

20.) Rassmann spent a significant amount of his time in the water intentionally submerged, holding his breath in an attempt to evade what he thought was enemy fire.

21.) Swift boats PCF-51, PCF-23, and PCF-43 remained at the scene with damaged Swift boat PCF-3.

22.) After the mine explosion, Swift boats PCF-51, PCF-23, and PCF-43 provided suppression fire against both shorelines in anticipation of an ambush. It is a sound and proven tactical decision to go on the offense against an ambush. Turning and running only exposes your back to the enemy, presenting them with a much better target. Running from an ambush without firing also allows the enemy to easily establish accurate weapons fire.

23.) The Officers-in-Charge of Swift boats PCF-51, PCF-23, PCF-43, and PCF-3 state that they were not receiving enemy fire after the mine explosion.

24.) The weapons fire heard by Rassmann was from the twin .50-caliber Browning machine guns being fired by each of the Swift boats (PCF-51, PCF-23, and PCF-43), not enemy fire. Rassmann assumed that such a significant amount of weapons fire coming from the Swift boats must be in response to enemy fire.

25.) The "Battle Damage" report of March 13, 1969 does not reflect any bullet damage to any of the 5 Swift boats. The lack of any bullet holes in any of the five Swift boats following the incident presents reliable forensic evidence that there was no enemy weapons fire. Also, none of the personnel involved in the incident received any bullet wounds during the incident. In a waterway less than 75 yards wide, if the enemy on both sides of the river were in covered positions with clear fields of fire, the enemy could not possibly miss hitting the 50 foot long aluminum boats. Rassmann and many others would be dead considering the length of time the boats were present supporting Swift boat PCF-3.

26.) Kerry returned to the scene and picked up Rassmann at the same time another Swift boat approached Rassmann for an attempted pick up. Rassmann stated in an interview with Los Angeles Times on 3/13/04 that Kerry pulled him into the boat using his good arm.

27.) Swift boat PCF-43 evacuated Kerry, Rassmann, and the injured crew and passengers of Swift boat PCF-3 to the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Spencer (WHEC-36) where Kerry was treated for the shrapnel wound to his left buttocks and the contusions on his right forearm. Kerry was released for duty immediately following his treatment.

28.) Kerry's Swift boat PCF-94 towed the damaged Swift boat PCF-3 (without Kerry on board) demonstrating PCF-94's operational status after the incident.

29.) Rassmann wrote the award recommendation that resulted in Kerry receiving a medal.

30.) Rassmann recommended that Kerry receive a Silver Star. Rassmann believed then, as he does now, that he was actually under enemy fire.

31.) An official statement from an officer is rarely questioned. The U.S. Navy chain of command at the time of the incident acted in good faith on Rassmann's recommendation for a medal. However, the U.S. Navy issued Kerry a Bronze Star instead of a Silver Star. Kerry also received a Purple Heart.

32.) An act of heroism is defined as going "above and beyond the call of duty." It was Kerry's duty to pick up Rassmann when he fell out of Kerry's boat, not an act of heroism. Kerry could have been charged for dereliction of duty if he had not done so. If the U.S. Navy higher chain of command knew that there was no enemy weapons fire, the medal would not have been awarded.

33.) Rassmann is mistaken about Kerry "saving his life." Swift boat PCF-51 picked up the other men in the water from Swift boat PCF-3 and could have also picked up Rassmann as well.

If this incident is scrutinized, Kerry's "band of brothers" will collapse and, in turn, so will the artificial foundation of Kerry's presidential campaign.

As a child I asked my WWII U.S. Marine Corps veteran father about the scars on his body. It was not until I became a Marine that I realized they were bullet wounds. I found a box of his medals and had to use an Encyclopedia to find out what a Purple Heart, Silver Star, and Bronze Star were.

The day before my Marines crossed the line of departure to clear the minefields in Operation Desert Storm, I was ordered to report to my Battalion Commander. He was surrounded by a number of somber looking officers and clutched a red cross message -- the only thing a Marine in combat fears. He notified me that my father had passed away.

My father died alone after drinking himself to death. He took to his grave what happened to him in combat. I do not talk to my little boy or my beloved wife about what I experienced in combat. Why should they be exposed to my demons? I thank God that I am alive and have a family that loves me and that I live in the greatest nation in history.

Appended is a news release from the Kerry Presidential campaign.

Reading this news release left with me with a perception that Kerry's lack of integrity is accompanied by a self-regard so excessive that it empowers him to act in an unethical and manipulative fashion.

By making this exaggerated event the cornerstone of his Presidential campaign, Senator Kerry profoundly disrespects the Office of the President, the citizens of our great nation, and generations of men and woman who have sacrificed their lives in the defense of our nation.

John Kerry is not qualified to hold any public office.

[Rockindeano]

John Kerry is not qualified to hold any public office.

This very last bullshit sentence proves right there and now, that this is politically spearheaded. Why the fuck include a sentence like that when telling the so called truth? This is laughable.

[Saint John]

John Kerry is not qualified to hold any public office.

This very last bullshit sentence proves right there and now, that this is politically spearheaded. Why the fuck include a sentence like that when telling the so called truth? This is laughable.

Because it's the way the guy feels. It's an editorial. But way to refute what the guy said before that. It's a well thought out piece.

[Seven Wishes2]

I can feel the bile rising in my throat.

Time to move on. You can't bullshit your way to three Purple Hearts. It's the same as those ALCU card-carriers who questioned McCain's service record back in 2008. Ridiculous.

[squirt1]

My dad has a purple heart. We treasure it. He was eligible for 3 and he told them to give the others to who would deserve it. He was an engineer and worked on bridges,so I guess they were targets. It was in France fighting off the Germans. The funny thing is both sides (my husbands) and my parents were 2nd generation Germans. He saw horrific things and NEVER spoke of them. My mom said the war changed him.

[conversationpc]

Wasn't this photo proven to be a fake?

[Arkansas]

Wasn't this photo proven to be a fake?

Looks like Glenn Frey & Linda Ronstadt to me.


later~