[Vacets-local-dc] Re: [vacets-gen] [A Matter of Honor]

Thu Aug 26 06:07:57 PDT 2004

Hello Anh Tin and others,

I am glad to see a response, any response, to these postings. Regardless how one feels, it indicates a level of engagement on the issues. This election is really one of the most important for the future of the U.S.

- If Bush wins, some international isolation continues;the U.S. will be in Iraq for a long time. The social issues of domestic U.S. will be going one way, as the critics, charge: for the rich, pollute the renvironment, etc.

- If Kerry wins, the U.S. will still be in Iraq for a long time. Kerry still has not presented his alternative instead of just saying that he will be an internationalist, building alliance. (Experiences with Europe during the Serbia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia wars showed that Europe could not even took care of their backyard; only when the US under Clinton decided to engage, then the Balkan conflict was resolved and twenty thousands US soldiers are still there.) Also, the social issues will go another directions, as we all listen to the critics.

The way I see the matter with Kerry military records is this: 

- In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, he makes his 4-month military service in Vietnam the center of his campaign; he should be experienced enough to deal with it. And he is dealing with it! There is an English saying, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!"

- The American people will see who they want to be the president on November 3. They will sort through ALL the issues, including Kerry's and Bush's records, and will make up their minds.

With regard to the issue of breaching campaign law, I believe Kerry has filed a lawsuit and we must wait for the judgment from the Federal Election Committee. The references Anh Tin included are opinions from newspapers and pundits ... and there are many on both sides!

Cheers,
Hai

Tin Le <tin at le.org> wrote:
I was really going to stay out of this... as I hate mud slinging campaigns 
and ad hominems, character attacks. They are negative, they are ugly, and 
they drag down the level of intelligence in any discussion. All the 
things that should be, _NEED_ to be, discussed are lost in the shouting 
match.

Unfortunately, it's hard to sit still and watch an honorable man having 
his character assassinated and drag through mud in public... Sigh!

The Bush campaign has really got itself into the mud this time. They 
violated the Federal Election law by having a member of Bush political 
campaign group personally involved with a third party "Swift Boat" 
political action (PAC) committee.

1) The only other boat commander alive on that day, went public for the 
first time after 35 years of trying to forget the war and endorsed Kerry's 
statement on what happened. 
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=1&u=/nm/20040822/pl_nm 
/campaign_kerry_dc

2) A member of Bush steering committee appeared in one of these 
"independent" Swiftboat ads. A breach of the law. 
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=1&u=/nm/20040822/pl_nm 
/campaign_kerry_dc

3) Bush campaign offices got caught distributing leaflets for these 
Swiftboat's event. Another breach of the law. 
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1963&e=12&u=/ap/20040821/ap 
_on_el_pr/bush_swift_boats_6&sid=96378798

Sen John Kerry released a video last Saturday comparing the "Swift 
Boat Vets" attacks to those [attacks] on John McCain during the 2000 
Republican primaries.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040821/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_ads

Quote [
McCain, sitting next to Bush, says that when "fringe veterans groups" 
attacked him at a Bush campaign function, Bush stood by and didn't say a 
word. McCain says a group of senators wrote Bush a letter that said: 
"Apologize. You should be ashamed."

McCain, also a Vietnam veteran, says Bush "really went over the line."

"I don't know how you can understand this, George, but that really hurts," 
McCain says.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group funded in part by a top GOP donor 
in Texas, has been running ads featuring veterans who served in Vietnam at 
the same time as Kerry and question his wartime record.

Those critics are being challenged by a Chicago Tribune editor who was on 
the Feb. 28, 1969, mission for which Kerry received the Silver Star. 
William Rood, 61, said he decided to break his silence about the mission 
because recent reports of Kerry's actions in that battle are incorrect and 
darken the reputations of veterans who served with Kerry.

"The critics have taken pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on 
the merit of what others did, but their version of events has splashed 
doubt on all of us," Rood said in a 1,700-word first-person account 
published in Sunday's edition of the Tribune. "It's gotten harder and 
harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be 
untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there."

Rood said the allegations that Kerry's accomplishments were overblown are 
untrue and that Kerry came up with an attack strategy that was praised by 
their superiors. According to the Tribune, Rood's recollection of what 
happened that day in South Vietnam was backed by military documents. ]

Bush and Cheney has shown again and again a complete disregard for laws, 
decency and civilities. They run the country as if its their personal 
company, there to line their own pocketbooks (Halliburton overcharging US 
on defense contracts, and now getting away with it -- pressures was put on 
US Army to drop the charges and pay Halliburton...).

Bush and Cheney hides behind the flag, when both of them were cowards. 
Bush joined the National Guard to avoid fighting in Vietnam, and then 
don't even show up for the weekend duty he was obligated to do. Not only 
that, he tried to doctor records and intimidate witnesses into lying to 
cover his own behind! Cheney filed for 4F exemption and when asked why he 
did not answer the Selective Service duty call, Cheney replied that he 
"has better things to do"...

Given all this, how can anyone vote for people who cheats, lies, are 
cowards and generally the scum of the earth...

Regards,
Tin Le
-- 
http://tin.le.org
Tin Le - tin at le.org
Firewall and Security Consulting

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004, Hai Tran wrote:

> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 07:12:50 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Hai Tran 
> Reply-To: Gneral forum for members of VACETS 
> To: vacets-gen at vacets.org, vacets-local-dc at vacets.org
> Subject: [vacets-gen] [A Matter of Honor]
> 
>
> The National Review Online
>
> Michael Novak
>
> August 24, 2004, 9:21 a.m.
> A Matter of Honor
> Kerry made his war service an issue.
>
>
>
> When John Kerry called the Swift Boat Vets for Truth "liars" on August 
> 19, he ignored a point articulated afterwards by his spokeswoman, 
> Stephanie Cutter: "When somebody's attacking your military record, you 
> reach a boiling point, and he reached a boiling point last night," 
> Cutter explained. "When you go and fight in a war, when you spill blood 
> for your country, your instinct is to fight back and defend your 
> record."

>....[lots more ad hominem attacks...]....

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