Saturday, July 31, 2004

Listen Up Johnny!

Okay. I realize I have about 3 fuckin readers, all of whom are from the Right, even tho this is a Leftist blog! (Wassupwidat?) Anyway, lest you think I don't appreciate your patronage, may I say that I do. To that end I have endeavored to improve this miniscule piece of cyberspace to enhance your blogging pleasure. Which brings me to this:

  1. Comment on this shit! You won't hurt my feelings! I don't have any fuckin' feelings! I was a Marine! Feelings are for Girls!
  2. I installed a Guest Book! Sign the fuckin thing willya! Otherwise I wasted three fuckin hours tryin' to figure out the html necessary to make it work!
  3. If the current shit isn't enough to piss you off and make you want to comment, Use the fuckin' search engine it took me four fuckin' hours to install! Otherwise I wasted four fuckin' hours scanning every post I ever wrote for fuckin' "keywords" for nuthin! I hate doin' shit for nuthin! I'm a Union Man, don't piss me the fuck off! I'm sure there's something here that will piss you the fuck off and make you want to respond, regardless of political affiliation!
  4. Any Questions?
  5. Have a nice day.

deuddersun


Thursday, July 29, 2004

John Kerry's Service Record, Revisited


John Kerry & Crew Aboard Swift Boat in Viet Nam Posted by Hello   
  
 
In the face of multiple negative assaults on John Kerry and his impeccable military service record by the Republican Spin Machine, I have decided to re-post an article I wrote several months ago relating to John Kerry's service during the Viet Nam Conflict.  Lest you think I am being lazy by re-posting, I have noticed that my log indicates a number of visitors to my blog are searching for John Kerry's service records.  Unfortunately, with a "blog" they are forced to search through the archives until they find what they want.  (Maybe I'll get a search engine here, hmmm.)  Fortunately, though, this indicates that a number of people are using their heads and thinking for themselves, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the absolute bullshit they are getting from the Republicans. 

So, to make it easier for those who truly want to know, and for those who didn't see this the first time around, here it is.  At the conclusion I have posted links directly to his service records for anyone who wants to verify them for themselves.

This is the single most important election in our lifetime.  It is a choice we must make with careful consideration.  Ask yourself this, would you rather be led by a collection of tired old Chickenhawks like AWOL George and "5 Deferments" Cheney, who cater to Big Business at the expense of the average man, or a dynamic, proven, combat tested, true American Patriot like John Kerry?  Do you see a future for yourselves and your children while America bleeds jobs to foriegn competition under George Bush, or do you want to stop the bleeding and restore our Nation to it's former glory under John Kerry?  Like Nero, Bush fiddles while Rome burns.  John Kerry will put out the fire and help us re-build.  This Marine is voting for John Kerry. 

deuddersun
 
John Kerry's Service Record

A lot has been going around these days concerning the military record of Senator John Kerry. A few Viet Nam era Veterans have written letters or posted articles attempting to tarnish Sen. Kerry's record. While I respect their opinions, I must respectfully disagree.

First, let me state that I respect their opinions because they served and more than anyone-else they are entitled to express their feelings on military matters. But! This is a double edged sword, it cuts both ways! As such, Sen. Kerry also earned the right to express his opinions. While it's true he was a co-founder of Viet Nam Veterans Against the War, I have no problem with that, he earned that right. I agreed with him then and I agree with him now. Viet Nam was a total waste of American lives and American money. What the Hell did we accomplish? You can't say we "lost" because we weren't there to "win". Since Viet Nam is officially listed as a "Police Action", not a "War", it wasn't our mission to "Win", but rather, "assist" the legitimate Government of South Viet Nam "resist" Communist efforts from within and the North to overthrow said "legitimate" Government.. You tell me, how'd we do?

Both my brother, Scroff, at Any Which Way, and I served in the United States Marine Corps and have had to endure being called "Un-patriotic" and "traitor" by some on the Right. These are the same people who have branded retired Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni "Un-patriotic" and a "Traitor". If I had to guess I would say that they are also the same people trying hard to cast aspersions on Senator John Kerry's record.

In an effort to get to the bottom of this controversy, I came across a post at Snopes dealing with the rumors flying around that Sen. Kerry's record is "fishy". Here are a few excerpts: (You can read the entire post at Snopes)

"This was written by a retired admiral and Annapolis graduate. The item offers no direct testimony about Kerry, but it does provide informed background useful in assessing what Kerry seems to have claimed for himself. It confirms information I have received from other sources. Our media should be demanding that Senator Kerry open his service records in the same way they demanded that of President Bush regarding his NG service.

I was in the Delta shortly after he [Kerry] left. I know that area well. I know the operations he was involved in well. I know the tactics and the doctrine used. I know the equipment. Although I was attached to CTF-116 (PBRs) I spent a fair amount of time with CTF-115 (swift boats), Kerry's command.

Here are my problems and suspicions:

(1) Kerry was in-country less than four months and collected, a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three purple hearts...

(2) Three Purple Hearts, but no limp...

(3) The details of the event for which he was given the Silver Star make no sense at all... Something is fishy."

Something certainly is fishy. Read on.

". . . two weeks after [Kerry] arrived in Vietnam, the swift boat mission changed — and Kerry went from having one of the safest assignments in the escalating conflict to one of the most dangerous. Under the newly launched Operation SEALORD, swift boats were charged with patrolling the narrow waterways of the Mekong Delta to draw fire and smoke out the enemy. Cruising inlets and coves and canals, swift boats were especially vulnerable targets....

... It was not at all unusual that a Swift boat crew member might be wounded more than once in a relatively short period of time, or that injuries meriting the award of a Purple Heart might not be serious enough to require time off from duty. According to a Boston Globe overview of John Kerry's Vietnam experience:

Under [Navy Admiral Elmo] Zumwalt's command, swift boats would aggressively engage the enemy. Zumwalt, who died in 2000, calculated in his autobiography that these men under his command had a 75 percent chance of being killed or wounded during a typical year....

"There were an awful lot of Purple Hearts — from shrapnel, some of those might have been M-40 grenades," said George Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. "The Purple Hearts were coming down in boxes. Kerry, he had three Purple Hearts. None of them took him off duty. Not to belittle it, that was more the rule than the exception."

John Kerry was wounded in his first significant combat action, when he volunteered for a special mission on 2 December 1968...(Kerry)"We opened fire," he went on. "The light from the flares started to fade, the air was full of explosions. My M-16 jammed, and as I bent down in the boat to grab another gun, a stinging piece of heat socked into my arm and just seemed to burn like hell. By this time one of the sailors had started the engine and we ran by the beach, strafing it. Then it was quiet."

The "stinging piece of heat" Kerry felt in his arm had been caused by a piece of shrapnel, a wound for which he was awarded a Purple Heart. The injury was not serious — Brinkley notes that Kerry went on a regular Swift boat patrol the next day with a bandage on his arm, and the Boston Globe quoted William Schachte, who oversaw the mission and went on to become a rear admiral, as recalling that "It was not a very serious wound at all."

 Kerry earned his second Purple Heart while returning from a PCF mission up the Bo De River on 20 February 1969...Brinkley noted that, as in the previous case, "Kerry's wound was not serious enough to require time off from duty."

Kerry earned his Silver Star on 28 February 1969, when he beached his craft and jumped off it with an M-16 rifle in hand to chase and shoot a guerrilla who was running into position to launch a B-40 rocket at Kerry's boat. Contrary to the account quoted above, Kerry did not shoot a "Charlie" who had "fired at the boat and missed," whose "rocket launcher was empty," and who was "already dead or dying" after being "knocked down with a .50 caliber round." Kerry's boat had been hit by a rocket fired by someone else — the guerrilla in question was still armed with a live B-40 and had only been clipped in the leg; when the guerrilla got up to run, Kerry assumed he was getting into position to launch a rocket and shot him...

Another member of the crew confirmed Kerry's account for the Boston Globe and expressed no doubt that Kerry's action had saved both the boat and its crew...The crewman with the best view of the action was Frederic Short, the man in the tub operating the twin guns. Short had not talked to Kerry for 34 years, until after he was recently contacted by a Globe reporter. Kerry said he had "totally forgotten" Short was on board that day...Short said there is "no doubt" that Kerry saved the boat and crew... Charles Gibson, who served on Kerry's boat that day because he was on a one-week indoctrination course, said Kerry's action was dangerous but necessary. "Every day you wake up and say, 'How the hell did we get out of that alive?'" Gibson said. "Kerry was a good leader. He knew what he was doing."

Kerry was injured yet again on 13 March 1969, in an action for which he was awarded both a Bronze Star and his third Purple Heart. According to Kerry's Bronze Star citation (signed by Admiral Zumwalt himself):

Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry was serving as an Officer-in-Charge of Inshore Patrol Craft 94, one of five boats conducting a Sealords operation in the Bay Hap River. While exiting the river, a mine detonated under another Inshore Patrol Craft and almost simultaneously, another mine detonated wounding Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry in the right arm. In addition, all units began receiving small arms and automatic weapons fire from the river banks. When Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry discovered he had a man overboard, he returned upriver to assist. The man in the water was receiving sniper fire from both banks. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain and with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry then directed his boat to return to and assist the other damaged boat to safety. Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. According to the Boston Globe, this was the only one of Kerry's three Purple Heart injuries that caused him to miss any days of service...

Now you may disagree with Kerry's actions after his service in the Navy, and that's your right, but his Record speaks for itself. His superior officers speak for him. His crew speaks for him. Has anybody yet come forward to verify that they served with GW Bush during his "missing months" in the Texas Air National Guard? (And before you accuse me of "Guard Bashing" anyone over 50 knows that service in the Guard during the Viet Nam Conflict in no way compares to serving in the Guard today.)

To read the entire Snopes post, go here. Hopefully, this will help put to rest any questions regarding Sen. John Kerry's service to his country.

deuddersun
 
For more information regarding John Kerry's service record follow the links below:
 
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/military_records.html
 
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/combat_reports.html
 
http://www.johnkerry.com/about/john_kerry/command_history.html


Wednesday, July 28, 2004

The "Ultimate Truck"!


Rolling 911 Memorial Posted by Hello

It has come to my attention that some of my readers love trucks.  So, as promised, here is the "Utimate Truck".  I received this in an e-mail from an old friend, so to save myself the trouble of typing a whole lot, I'll just paste the contents of said e-mail here.  To see the other pictures in the series, just click here. (Thanks to scroff & ruthalla at Any Which Way for hosting the album!)    

This truck was awesome. You can decide whether or not it is.  Here is some info from the owners/operators. Their names are John & Amy Holmgren. They live in Shafer Minn. They thought this would be a nice tribute to the people that lost their lives. It has every name of each person that lost their life on 9-11. This concept was thought up by John and Amy, and totally paid for by them.  John says he will be awhile paying the loan off that he had to take out to do it but, thought this was the least he could do. Applied Graphics in Fargo ND did most of the work and Paul Kosenski did the Hand painting. He said that he got to meet the Country Singer Darryl Worley, who Sang the song "Have You Forgotten" and has gotten pulled over 3 times by the police just to get their picture taken by this truck.  (I would have pulled him over too!!) It is called the Rolling 9-11 Memorial, it has all the names of the people  that were killed on that day and the flights they were on plus some other graphics on the side of the Tractor.
   

How do you like this truck, Mikey?

deuddersun


Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Tired of the "Blame Game"?


Thanks to JibJab.com Posted by Hello

If you're as tired of all the name calling going on between the Left and the Right as I am, click on the above photo for a little "gallows humor"!  This will take you to JibJab.com.  Just click on the same picture there for  a great parody of Woody Guthrie's "This Land".  Takes a while to load on dial-up, (broadband users should have no problem), but it's definately worth the wait. I'm linking to JibJab so we can all check in on their particular brand of lunacy from time to time.  JibJab was started in 1999 in a garage in Brooklyn, (gotta love that part)  by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis.  If you like what the guys are doing, consider dropping a sheckel or two in the collection plate to keep the boys going!

Enjoy!

(Thanks to B. Trager for the Heads Up!) 

deuddersun

Sunday, July 25, 2004

The New & Improved Mad Mikey!

 The Mad One 

 
Yeah Baby!  That's Right!  Mad Mikey is New & Improved!  I've been meaning to update this link for a while, so for all of you Mad Mikey Fan's I've included the link to his new home, Mad Mikey's Blog in the sidebar.  I'm leaving up the link to the old blog since, even though you can no longer comment, there's still plenty of good stuff to read there, and you may want to torture the Mad One by copy & pasting stuff from old articles to the new site and commenting on them there!

So use some common sense and fire  a few neurons over at Mad Mikey's Blog!  It's more fun than a barrell of Republicans trying to explain missing WMD!

deuddersun