Operation Truth

Bush Finds Link!

"You want the truth? You can't handle the TRUTH!" Wanna know what's REALLY going on in our great "War of Liberation" in Iraq? (That is what they're calling it now that we haven't found any WMD's or BLT's, right?) Check out this site by folks who have been there or are still there!

These are the guys fighting this bullshit war. If you disagree with them, I suggest you quit the Protest Pissants and join the Marines!

Here's a small sampling:

Issues Facing Our Troops

Operation Truth will raise the awareness of problems and issues that our Troops are facing on the battlefield and back at home. Problems can be fixed only if they are discussed openly. Educating the public about the problems facing our Troops will empower the American public to support our troops in a very tangible fashion: by demanding that elected officials address these issues.

As of August 23, 2004 there have been 961 total deaths and 6,497 men and women wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom (link). The American public is not well aware of the casualties numbers in Iraq, nor what it means to be wounded (link). Additionally, when the coffins of servicemen and women killed in OIF return to Dover Airforce Base in Delaware, the press is not allowed to photograph the solemn occasion. The issues Troops deal with and the hardships they face deserve more attention.

The following highlight the key initial problems and issues facing our soldiers that Operation Truth will address. The organization will continuously adapt to changing circumstances and focus on the most pressing needs.

Veterans Affairs Budget CutsThe latest budget plans put forth by the current administration will cut more than $910 million from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the fiscal year 2006 budget (Source: OMB). In the last year, plans were announced by the current administration to close or drastically reduce services at 11 VA hospitals. Additionally, 572,000 veterans are estimated to be missing out on disability payments largely because they are unaware that payments are owed to them, and in an effort to maintain costs no effort is being made to inform them of what is rightfully theirs. In a time of war, it is immoral and unconscionable to treat our heroes of the past and present in this manner.

Stop Loss: A “Back-Door Draft”Stop Loss is the involuntary extension of active duty status of soldiers beyond their contractual obligation. In other words, soldiers who may originally have signed a contract for three years of service may now be forced to serve four years. Stop Loss is essentially a “back-door draft”-- a band-aid solution that has now been implemented to provide additional troop strength. Stop Loss is destroying the very concept of our volunteer military, is terribly damaging to morale, and is yet another indication that the original plan for war was flawed.

Weak National Support Systems for Soldiers’ FamiliesWhen National Guard and Reserve soldiers are deployed, their families are left to fend for themselves. We need to create a solid network that embraces and protects families to the fullest. Child care, counseling services, job placement, spiritual support and financial safeguards need to be established formally to take proper care of those families who fight for us.

Proper Counseling and Treatment for the SoldiersAs of August 23, 2004, 961 American Soldiers have been killed in Iraq, but 6497 have been injured. The number of people suffering from psychological problems is even higher. Returning units have seen a spike in suicide rates. The long-term effects of Larium, the anthrax vaccine, and other medical treatments administered to troops have not been fully explored. The government must act quickly to provide adequate counseling and treatment for our wounded and traumatized Troops.

Proper Funding and Compensation for Reservists and National GuardsmenFor decades, Reservists and National Guardsmen have been treated as second-class citizens within the military. Reservists and National Guardsmen should be equipped and trained on par with their active duty counterparts. Funding for wages and hazardous duty pay needs to be increased to afford our Servicemembers and their families an acceptable standard of living.

Problematic Role of Private Contractors in Combat ZonesHalliburton, K.B.R, Blackwater and other companies have relationships with our military that are extremely disturbing. Their effectiveness and affordability are questionable and their role in our Armed Forces should be significantly curtailed. Furthermore, these private contractors are poaching and weakening our military by drawing away experienced war fighters using incentives such as significantly higher wages, better benefits and a more relaxed lifestyle. The utilization of these companies has eroded and will continue to erode the U.S. military’s overall combat effectiveness, and introducing profit to the battlefield sets a dangerous precedent.

Citizenship for Returning ServicemembersA notable percentage of the military is currently composed of non-U.S. citizens. While these Servicemembers are eligible for U.S. citizenship following a tour on active duty, the process to become a citizen remains prolonged. Operation Truth believes that these men and women, who have honorably served and risked their lives defending the United States and its values, desperately deserve the opportunity to join our society as citizens. This is a critical issue within immigrant communities. Operation Truth will demand a streamlined, faster process to reward these Servicemembers.

Got the gist?

Okay, gotta update! An anonymous reader who stopped by was under the impression that I wrote the above. I didn't. I copied it from the optruth website as an example of what you can find there. In the future I will take care to ensure that proper credit is given for pieces I publish here. Anon also criticized a statement I did make concerning "kicking ass". Upon reflection, I agree that Anon was right and that the statement detracted from the integrity of the post, so I have deleted it. Sorry for any confusion. The site is great, shoots straight and is worth a look by any who really want an inside look at Operation Iraqi Freedom. - d.

deuddersun

Optruth.org

I'd Like To Know Who's Responsible For This!

Sick Shit!

Somebody deserves a most severe ass-kicking over this! Line up behind me, I call first hit.

Miami company recalling bags of candy packed with 9/11 attack toy

Associated Press Posted August 27 2004, 1:00 PM EDT

MIAMI -- A wholesaler is recalling about 14,000 bags of candy containing a toy that shows a plane flying into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Luis Pedron, national sales manager for Lisy Corp., said Friday the company distributes authentic Mexican candy in bags and puts a small toy in each bag. The toys were purchased in bulk from a Miami-based import company and Pedron says his company had not noticed what the small plastic figurines depict until someone complained.

There is no mistake what the toy represents: at the bottom of each is the product number 9011.

``When we found out what happened, we recalled them immediately,'' said Pedron, who said the offensive toys do not reflect the company's view.

``I was offended by them. I am an American. Whoever made these are not on the same page as mine,'' he said.The candy bags were distributed by the company's 100 distributors. Most are sold to small Hispanic and Mexican groceries, Pedron said. He estimated that about 90 percent of the bags have been collected.

An Orlando grandmother, Anna Rodriguez, told television station WFTV, that she was stunned when she saw the toy in the bag of candy she bought for her grandson.

``It makes me angry,'' she said. ``I was offended because I couldn't believe that someone would give something like that to a kid.

''Pedron said his company had two complaints, the one from the woman in Orlando and another in Boston.

The toys came in an assortment purchased sight unseen from L&M Import in Miami and included the 9-11 toys. whistles and other small toys, Pedron said. The invoice said the toy was a plastic swing set. A woman who answered the telephone at L&M and refused to give her name, said Friday she didn't know anything about the toy.

Pedron said he is saving the toys to return to the distributor.

``I hate to blame the importer. He probably did not know what he was getting. He brings them in 40-foot containers. But whoever made it knew exactly what they were making,'' he said. ___

On the Net: Lisy Corp: http://www.lisycorp.com

(Thanks to Gillian, proud wife of a United States Marine for the heads-up! Keep 'em coming, Girlfriend! Semper Fidelis!)

deuddersun

Wwwwhutt?

Questionable Records? Hmmm...

I really wish Kerry would go after Bush, "5 Defferments" Cheney & the rest of the American Chickenhawks the way the "Not-So-Swift Boat Liars For Bush" are going after him.

Sigh... guess I'll have to be the 200 pound Rottwieller then...

Bush's National Guard File Missing Records

By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush (news - web sites)'s Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts.

For example, Air National Guard regulations at the time required commanders to write an investigative report for the Air Force when Bush missed his annual medical exam in 1972. The regulations also required commanders to confirm in writing that Bush received counseling after missing five months of drills.

No such records have been made public and the government told The Associated Press in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that it has released all records it can find.
Outside experts suggest that National Guard commanders may not have produced documentation required by their own regulations.

"One of the downfalls back then in the National Guard was that not everyone wanted to be chief of staff of the Air Force. They just wanted to fly or maintain airplanes. So the record keeping could have been better," said retired Maj. Gen. Paul A. Weaver Jr., a former head of the Air National Guard. He said the documents may not have been kept in the first place.

Challenging the government's declaration that no more documents exist, the AP identified five categories of records that should have been generated after Bush skipped his pilot's physical and missed five months of training.

"Each of these actions by any member of the National Guard should have generated the creation of many documents that have yet to be produced," AP lawyer David Schulz wrote the Justice Department (news - web sites) Aug. 26.

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said there were no other documents to explain discrepancies in Bush's files.

Military service during the Vietnam War has become an issue in the presidential election as both candidates debate the current wars in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites).

Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) commanded a Navy Swift boat in Vietnam and was awarded five medals, including a Silver Star. But his heroism has been challenged in ads by some veterans who support Bush.

The president served stateside in the Air National Guard during Vietnam. Democrats have accused him of shirking his Guard service and getting favored treatment as the son of a prominent Washington figure.

The AP talked to experts unaffiliated with either campaign who have reviewed Bush's files for missing documents. They said it was not unusual for guard commanders to ignore deficiencies by junior officers such as Bush. But they said missing a physical exam, which caused him to be grounded, was not common.

"It's sort of like a code of honor that you didn't go DNF (duty not including flying)," said retired Air Force Col. Leonard Walls, who flew 181 combat missions over Vietnam. "There was a lot of pride in keeping combat-ready status."

Bush has said he fulfilled all his obligations. He was in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968 to 1973 and was trained to fly F-102 fighters.

"I'm proud of my service," Bush told a rally last weekend in Lima, Ohio.
Records of Bush's service have significant gaps, starting in 1972. Bush has said he left Texas that year to work on the unsuccessful Senate campaign in Alabama of family friend Winton Blount.

The five kinds of missing files are:

_A report from the Texas Air National Guard to Bush's local draft board certifying that Bush remained in good standing. The government has released copies of those DD Form 44 documents for Bush for 1971 and earlier years but not for 1972 or 1973. Records from Bush's draft board in Houston do not show his draft status changed after he joined the guard in 1968. The AP obtained the draft board records Aug. 27 under the Freedom of Information Act.

_Records of a required investigation into why Bush lost flight status. When Bush skipped his 1972 physical, regulations required his Texas commanders to "direct an investigation as to why the individual failed to accomplish the medical examination," according to the Air Force manual at the time. An investigative report was supposed to be forwarded "with the command recommendation" to Air Force officials "for final determination."

Bush's spokesmen have said he skipped the exam because he knew he would be doing desk duty in Alabama. But Bush was required to take the physical by the end of July 1972, more than a month before he won final approval to train in Alabama.

_A written acknowledgment from Bush that he had received the orders grounding him. His Texas commanders were ordered to have Bush sign such a document; but none has been released.

_Reports of formal counseling sessions Bush was required to have after missing more than three training sessions. Bush missed at least five months' worth of National Guard training in 1972. No documents have surfaced indicating Bush was counseled or had written authorization to skip that training or make it up later. Commanders did have broad discretion to allow guardsmen to make up for missed training sessions, said Weaver and Lawrence Korb, Pentagon (news - web sites) personnel chief during the Reagan administration from 1981 to 1985.

"If you missed it, you could make it up," said Korb, who now works for the Center for American Progress, which supports Kerry.

_A signed statement from Bush acknowledging he could be called to active duty if he did not promptly transfer to another guard unit after leaving Texas. The statement was required as part of a Vietnam-era crackdown on no-show guardsmen. Bush was approved in September 1972 to train with the Alabama unit, more than four months after he left Texas.

Bush was approved to train in September, October and November 1972 with the Alabama Air National Guard's 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. The only record tying Bush to that unit is a dental exam at the group's Montgomery base in January 1973. No records have been released giving Bush permission to train with the 187th after November 1972.

Walls, the Air Force combat veteran, was assigned to the 187th in 1972 and 1973 to train its pilots to fly the F-4 Phantom. Walls and more than a dozen other members of the 187th say they never saw Bush. One member of the unit, retired Lt. Col. John Calhoun, has said he remembers Bush showing up for training with the 187th.

Pay records show Bush was credited for training in January, April and May 1973; other files indicate that service was outside Texas.

A May 1973 yearly evaluation from Bush's Texas unit gives the future president no ratings and stated Bush had not been seen at the Texas base since April 1972. In a directive from June 29, 1973, an Air Force personnel official pressed Bush's unit for information about his Alabama service.

"This officer should have been reassigned in May 1972," wrote Master Sgt. Daniel P. Harkness, "since he no longer is training in his AFSC (Air Force Service Category, or job title) or with his unit of assignment."

Then-Maj. Rufus G. Martin replied Nov. 12, 1973: "Not rated for the period 1 May 72 through 30 Apr 73. Report for this period not available for administrative reasons."

By then, Texas Air National Guard officials had approved Bush's request to leave the guard to attend Harvard Business School; his last days of duty were in July 1973.

Any Questions?

deuddersun

Not ALL Veterans Are Lying "Swiftees"!

Cardboard Elvis & deuddersun, Vets For Kerry-Edwards!

Is our Government Being Faithful to those who Always Are?

I recieved this today from a fellow Marine currently on In-Active Duty, John J. Kline, of Philadelphia. Read this and ask yourself how desperate our Government is for bodies to "serve" in Iraq. Frankly, this makes me sick. Maybe if all the "Protest Warriors" would put their money where their mouths are and enlist, we would have the time to properly train our young people before sending them off to a bullshit War that serves no American's interest other than Bush, Cheney and the Halliburton Mob. This reminds me of when they cut Bootcamp from 12 weeks to 9 in order to get more bodies into Viet Nam.

Tell me again, Georgie Boy, how you support our troops.

Pardon me while I puke.

deuddersun


Marines slash final combat training in half

David Wood, The Star-Ledger, NJ 08/24/2004

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1093325900144970.xml

Under growing pressure to ship Marines to Iraq, the Marine Corps is cutting in half the rigorous field combat training it gives units preparing to deploy, senior officers say. The Marines hope to make up the time by intensifying this final, pre-deployment training and focusing it on skills needed to survive and prevail in Iraq's brutal combat conditions. This means practicing more nighttime operations, ambushes, city fighting and guarding of convoys.
The exercise, called a CAX in Marine lingo, has been shortened from 23 to 11 days, Col. Blake Crowe, operations officer for the Marine Corps Training Command at Quantico, Va., said in an interview.

This was done, Crowe said, to "get more battalions through" in a shorter period of time. Until now, the Marine Corps trained 10 battalions in CAX every six months. Under the accelerated schedule, it will train eight battalions in two months.

The intense course, to begin this fall at the Marine desert training base at Twentynine Palms, Calif., will for the first time include thousands of Marines who hold traditionally noncombat jobs such as truck driver, intelligence analyst and jet aircraft technician.

Increasingly, these "noninfantry" Marines are deploying into combat zones where they find themselves suddenly under fire and unprepared. Commanders in Iraq report that some Marines, pressed into the fight from their truck cabs and computer consoles, have not had combat training in a decade.

"This is a high priority, identified in after-action reports" from commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq, Crowe said.

All Marines get some entry-level combat training. New infantrymen get 50 days of hard schooling in weapons handling and combat tactics. In contrast, those headed into noninfantry jobs get just 16 days in the muddy, mosquito-swarmed woods of Camp Lejeune in coastal North Carolina. Then they depart for schools in technical specialties ranging from food management to logistics planning and helicopter flight crews.

Once units are alerted for duty in Iraq, they will be cycled through the training at Twentynine Palms -- infantrymen and clerks, cooks and truck drivers alike.

Approximately 31,000 Marines are in Iraq -- almost 20 percent of the active-duty force that also deploys to Afghanistan, Okinawa and the major anti-terrorist base in Djibouti, on the Red Sea.

Across the Marine Corps, the unanticipated and unbudgeted requirements of rotating fresh, well-trained troops through Iraq have forced dramatic and sometimes painful adjustments and compromises.

The new, noninfantry Marines who show up for their crash course in combat at Camp Lejeune each year are well aware of the building pressure. They literally run from one event to the next, and in their final field exercise they work around the clock, snatching 20 or 30 minutes of sleep when they can.

"I wish we did have more time," said Capt. Dan Snyder, who oversees the teaching of 54 specific combat skills. "It's difficult to do in the time we have." That's incentive for Camp Lejeune's instructors -- many of them veterans of combat in Iraq -- to bear down hard during the 16 days in the field.

"You have a 70 percent chance of going into combat, a 5 percent chance of getting killed or wounded -- pay attention!" Staff Sgt. Charles Kilgore, a combat instructor, barked at a formation of exhausted Marines in sodden, sweat-stained fatigues and muddy boots. "I've definitely seen a ramp-up in intensity here," said Capt. Mark Reid, who oversees combat instructors. "This is not, 'Let us entertain you on your way to jet mechanics school.' What they're learning here they will be doing in Iraq or Afghanistan."

"It's demanding," admitted Pvt. Daniel Sanabria-Morales, 22, of North Plainfield, N.J. "In boot camp they tell you how to do everything. Here you gotta be thinking. And we're constantly on the move."

The Marines are tested on each of the 54 specific skills they must master, answering questions on written tests and demonstrating proficiency in front of an instructor. Those who fail are retaught until they can pass.

But money is short, and so is time.

Staff Sgt. Don Allen, a combat instructor, said his trainees watch demonstrations of the M203 grenade launcher, the Squad Automatic Weapon and the .50-caliber machine gun, but not everyone gets to actually fire the weapons.

"It's financial," said Allen, a combat engineer who fought in Iraq last year with the 8th Marines. "I wish I had the money for them to shoot actual rounds. When I went through this training in 1995, we all shot every weapon."

The final 36 hours of Camp Lejeune's 16-day course begins at 5 a.m. and ends with a 15-kilometer march with full combat loads. In between are back-to-back classes and field exercises.

"It's not that stressful; it's more fun," said Pvt. Rosalind Sanchez of Menifee, Calif. "This is why I joined."

"They give you too much information, class after class," said Pfc. Christopher Schneider, a 20-year-old from Longwood, Fla., who will train as an aircraft airframe mechanic. "But if I went to Iraq, I'd definitely feel confident."

A "Real" American Hero Serving His Country

Okay! Listen up, Maggots! Who says George Bush didn't serve his country honorably? While it may be true that not one veteran who "served" with Georgie Boy in Alabama may be able to remember seeing him during those "missing" 18 months, this picture clearly shows our Commander In Chief doing just that! Do you think they may have had too much to drink?

I am forming Alcholholic Veterans Who May Have Served With Bush But Can't Remember! Any Veteran who has ever gotten so drunk he couldn't remember his own name is welcome to join. Our mission will be to support George Bush's contention that he served his full Tour of Duty with honor! With strong statements such as, "Gee, I was in the military then, so I guess I served with Georgie, I just can't remember.", we will put to rest, at long last, the notion that our Peace President, uh War President was AWOL!

(Uh, which is it Mr. President? Oh! You're the War President, but, you wanna be the Peace President!)

Shit, who cares! Pour another round, spark up a joint and somebody lay me down some rails! Let's get high and forget it!

Yahooooooo!!!!!!!!

Hey Lyndon! Another drunk-ass hillbilly from Texas is in the White House! You think 'Nam was a War? A'hm gonna show you a fuckin' WAR, Cowboy!

Laura! Where's mah cowboy suit?

deuddersun
A.V.W.M.H.S.W.B.B.C.R.

Random Nuclear Strikes

Yeah, I know. This is a serious anti-Left blog. With that said, I want to point out that I have visited RNS on several occassions, and aside from an annoying screening process on my comments, I have been well received (Note: my comments were screened, not edited or taken out of context). Not that the guys over there don't disagree with me on virtually everything - they do, however, they took my comments seriously and Puggs gave me serious, considered responses. Since then, Puggs has visited here and left his opinions on a few of my posts. His responses were to the point, dealing with the issues in the post. No name calling, no "fisking", just his point of view. I have always maintained that anyone's opinion is just as worthy of consideration as my own, and to that end I have decided to link to them. If we accuse those on the Right of being too one dimensional, then we on the Left had better be more than willing to consider other points of view. I mean, if we accuse them of only listening to Limbaugh, Coulter and Hannity, then we had better be willing to listen to something other than Air America.

So feel free to check them out. Submit serious commentary, defend your position, state your case, but please respect their opinions and no name-calling or other dumb shit. (I, ofcourse will poke a little fun at them from time to time, hey it's my blog, got it?) We're all Americans and we all want what we feel is best for our country.

It's time we started talking to each other instead of at each other.

So, to the list of other Right leaning blogs of note, Mad Mikey, From The Halls To The Shores, Turning Wheels, and Grim's Hall, I welcome Random Nuclear Strikes to deuddersun says...

Should provide some real interesting dialogue.

deuddersun

Not-So-Swift Boat Vets Attack Kerry!

Uh, yeah, thought so...

UPDATED!!!

What a bunch of complete idiots! I never intended to have to go into shit like this again, where I either find myself defending John Kerry's Service Record or attacking George Bush's.

But a recent post on a Right Wing Blog led me to this:

Human Events Exclusive:Vietnam Vets Organization Blasts Kerry in New TV Ad

I absolutely cannot believe the depths some on the Right will sink to in order to discredit and de-rail the Kerry Campaign. But then, why should I be surprised. The same element involved here also torpoedoed one of their own, Sen. John McCain, in the Republican Presidential Primary of 2000.

I had intended to completely gut this bullshit by end of day today, however, a couple of things may prevent this.

First: I am having some difficulty with Blogger. I'm sure it is a small glitch and will be corrected shortly.

Second: Recent developments have added serious support to my arguments, as one of the Vets involved in the ad has just recanted his statements and has expressed regret over saying them! You know I have to have that statement included, so the search is on!

Please stay tuned. When I am satisfied with my post, and have, to the best of my ability, verified it's accuracy, I will post it here. If you're looking for the truth it will be worth the wait!

deuddersun

UPDATE!!!

Enough has been said on this subject in the preceeding weeks for anyone with half a brain to figure out what's really at work here, but....just in case you've been living in a monastery in Tibet, this sohould clear things up for you!

(Thanks to Puggs at Random Nuclear Strikes for the excellent cartoon!)


From a letter from Mary Beth Cahill, Campaign Manager,Kerry-Edwards For President

Unfortunately, the disgraceful attacks by the Bush front group "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" continue. The Bush campaign denies that the two organizations are connected, but an obvious web of connections exists. I wanted to share with you a letter I sent today to Ken Mehlman, Bush-Cheney campaign manager, detailing the connections between the Bush-Cheney campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush.

Dear Mr. Mehlman:

For three weeks now, your campaign has been saying there
are no ties between the Bush campaign and "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." But
the web of connections grows wider and wider every day. Yesterday we saw
confirmation of another connection when your general counsel, Benjamin Ginsberg,
was forced to resign for providing legal advice for this group.

Enclosed you
will find a chart that makes clear the web of connections between President Bush
and the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Now that you have this chart ( a link to the chart is provided at the end of this post. -d.) and the
accompanying fact sheet to back it up, I wanted to ask you several specific
questions that deserve your prompt response.

Ken Cordier served on the Bush
Veterans Steering Committee and also stars in the latest "Swift Boat Veterans
for Truth" smear ad. As a member of the steering committee presumably he was
involved in policy development. What information about the Bush campaign's
veterans policy did he share with the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?" Did he
ever discuss his activities with this smear group with anyone in the Bush
campaign? How many times did "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" activities come up
at Bush Veterans Steering Committee meetings?

Yesterday on Fox News, Karl
Rove confirmed that he and Bob Perry are longtime friends. Bob Perry is the
largest contributor to the Texas Republican Party and a longtime supporter of
President Bush. When was the last time Karl Rove and Bob Perry spoke, and did
they discuss the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"

Based on newspaper
accounts, we know Merrie Spaeth was involved in the underhanded shadow campaign
against John McCain in 2000. She also helped organize the "Swift Boat Veterans
for Truth" and did the debate prep for President G. W. Bush. She has also
admitted that she advised Bush administration officials in the White House as
recently as last year. Was Merrie Spaeth ever contacted by anyone from the Bush
campaign, including you, about "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"

John
O'Neill's law firm, Clements, O'Neill, Pierce, Wilson & Fulkerson, has many
connections to President Bush. In fact, Margaret Wilson, Mr. O'Neill's law
partner, served as General Counsel to Governor Bush and followed him to
Washington, where she worked as Deputy Counsel for the Department of Commerce.
Did she ever discuss "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" with President Bush,
members of his administration or any Bush-Cheney campaign officials?

If you
say there's no connection, why did the Bush-Cheney campaign office in Florida
pass out "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" flyers to promote a joint anti-John
Kerry rally in Gainsville, Florida last weekend?

According to news reports,
you have worked with "Progress for America," a newly formed 527 group that has
announced it's going to spend $35 million to attack John Kerry and whose
executive director is a top advisor to the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Have
you had any additional contact with this group? Have Karl Rove or other Bush
officials -- either in the White House or on the Bush-Cheney campaign -- had
contacts with this group?

How many times did Karl Rove and Benjamin Ginsberg
meet? Did they ever discuss the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth?"

These
questions go to the heart of why so many people now believe that "Swift Boat
Veterans for Truth" is nothing more than a front group for the Bush-Cheney
campaign. The longer President Bush waits to specifically condemn this smear,
the more it looks like he's behind it.

It's time for the president to stand
up and specifically condemn "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Not only is this a
smear on John Kerry's distinguished military service; it's an insult to all
veterans who've served their country.

The American people want to hear an
honest discussion of the issues. They're concerned about the economy and the
troubling situation in Iraq. Today, as we enter week four of this smear
campaign, I'm asking you to talk to the president and ask him to heed Senator
McCain's call and condemn this smear. The American people deserve better.

Sincerely,
Mary Beth Cahill

These tactics are nothing new for George Bush. It seems that every time he has found himself in trouble, he's smeared the honorable record of a Vietnam Veteran. Sign our petition and make this election about the issues that really matter.

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager


P.S.

Here are the facts of the Bush-Cheney campaign's web of connections:

Karl Rove - Bush's White House political director; longtime associate to Bob Perry; consultant to Hutchison; most senior advisor to Bush campaign.

Ken Cordier - Former Bush-Cheney campaign advisor - forced to resign after appearing in Swift Boat Veterans for Bush commercial.

Benjamin Ginsberg - Former general counsel to Bush-Cheney - resigned after it was discovered he was advising both Bush and the Swift Boat Veterans.

Harlan Crow - Bush Foundation trustee; longtime friend of Bush family; longtime fundraiser for Bush family; donated at least $25,000 in seed money to the Swift Boat Vets for Bush.

Bob Perry - Largest Republican donor in Texas; donated hundreds of thousands to Bush family campaigns; donated at least $200,000 in seed money to the Swift Boat Vets for Bush; close colleague of Rove in Texas governor's race; longtime friend of John O'Neill.

Kay Bailey Hutchison - Longtime friend of Spaeth; former client of Rove; current co-chair of Bush campaign

John O'Neill - Longtime friend of Bob Perry; very close law firm connections to Bush as governor; close friend to Spaeth, former colleague to Spaeth's husband/Bush's 1994 running mate; front man for Swift Vets for Bush.

Merrie Spaeth - Provided media consulting to Swift Boat Vets; longtime friend of Hutchison; longtime supporter of/donor to Bush campaign; provide debate prep for GHW Bush; met with and gave media training to current, top White House officials; close associate to John O'Neill; advised smear campaign on McCain in 2000.

Tex Lezar - Late husband to Spaeth; former running mate with Bush in 1994; law partner to John O'Neill.

Harriet O'Neill - Close associate to John O'Neill, Lezar & Wilson; Bush judicial nominee.

Margaret Wilson - Law partner with John O'Neill, Lezar; Bush administration official; former counsel to Governor Bush.

Bush-Cheney Campaign HQ Florida - Regional Bush HQ in battleground state; coordinated activities with Swift Boat Vets for Bush rally; rally forced to be cancelled.

Minnesota RNC - Official Republican website in battleground state; coordinated linkage with Swift Boat website, providing direct link to Swift Boat commercial.

DCI Group - Political strategy firm with close connections to Bush campaign & Swift vets.

Charles Francis - Longtime friend/supporter of Bush; works for political firm with close ties to both Bush campaign and Swift Vets for Bush; colleague of Lacivita.

Tom Synhorst - Advisor to Bush campaign 2000; "major contracts" with Bush campaign 2004; works for firm with close ties to Swift Vets for Bush; colleague of Lacivita; worked on anti-McCain phone banking in South Carolina in 2000.

Chris Lacivita - Senior advisor to Swift Boat Vets for Bush; close ties to Bush campaign; associates with Synhorst & Friancis.

For a complete look at this insidious "Web Of Connections" in PDF Format, click this link:

Web Of Connections

'Nuff said.

deuddersun

Insert Hoof, uh, FOOT In Mouth

Or, Do Ya Think They Finally Got ONE Right?


Whut did Ah jest say...?

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," Bush said.
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

As Bugs Bunny would say..."What a maroon!"

deuddersun

Bush misspeaks during signing ceremony

From CNN.com/InsidePolitics

(Thanks to AnyWhichWay for the photo!)

Born In The USA!

Gotta love this! The Boss with the Hot Sauce!

Springsteen Gets Political with Attack on Bush

1 hour, 25 minutes ago

By Mark Egan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rocker Bruce Springsteen has stayed out of party politics for 25 years, but now he says the stakes are too high and he's urging fellow Americans to vote President Bush out of office in November.

A day after he announced he would join two dozen other stars in nine "battleground" states for a rock 'n' roll tour aimed at ousting Bush, the man known as "The Boss" explained his decision in a sharply worded editorial.

"Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics," Springsteen wrote in The New York Times, noting he built a career singing about universal issues like human rights, dignity and freedom instead.

"This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out."

Republicans and Democrats both asked to use Springsteen's 1984 hit "Born in the U.S.A." -- a song about how unwelcoming America was to returning Vietnam veterans but often mistaken for a patriotic anthem -- for use in political campaigns. Springsteen declined the requests.
And in June, when a concert promoter urged Springsteen to headline a large concert to upstage Bush's nominating convention in New York, he insisted he would not play any events tied to the Democratic or Republican conventions.

TAKING SIDES

But now Springsteen, whose blue-collar roots have resonated through his music for 30 years, making him the quintessential American rock hero to the working class, is taking sides.
He says Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and his running mate, John Edwards, "are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions."

Of the "Vote for Change" tour -- 34 shows in 28 cities -- in the first week of October, one month before the U.S. presidential election, Springsteen said, "Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November."

He then launched a blistering attack on Bush for undertaking an "unnecessary war in Iraq," running record budget deficits, cutting spending on social programs and giving a massive tax cut for the richest Americans -- a group that includes Springsteen himself.

"Our American government has strayed too far from American values," Springsteen wrote. "It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting."

Six concert lineups will play simultaneous shows in a blitz of swing states which could go either Democrat or Republican in November: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin.

Dave Matthews, James Taylor, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt are among the other performers.

While Springsteen has stayed out of politics, in May he posted the text of an anti-war speech by former Vice President Al Gore on his official Web site, calling it "one of the most important speeches I've heard in a long time."