Arizona Bloggers,
I highly recommend hardworkingamericans.com blog. It’s been around a while but I just found out about it.
Ironically it’s run by the wife of the former proprietor of my favorite restaurant, a great guy who just discovered that I was his former customer and sent me email.
Check it out!
I went down today to the ad-hoc Pat Tillman memorial. For Arizonanas, it’s at the north end of the ASU Stadium.
There were people there continuously, and many tributes had been left. I added my military service ribbons to some others there.
I took some pictures but don’t feel like puitting them up yet.
It was very sad, and I am very sad.
What more can be said?
Sgt Hook, a soldier blogger in Afghanistan happened to witness the sad ceremony there for Pat Tillman.
As revealed here, John Kerry has tried to cover that while a sworn officer in the Navy Reserve he participated in VVAW anti-war activities and made his notorious speech to the U.S. Senate.
Until the release of his records, Kerry’s biography showed his military service as:
This leaves a gap of 2 years not showing any service during his anti-war activities.
He also convinced the Boston Globe that he received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy in 1970, which had it been true would have meant he was no longer a military officer.
All of this is an obvious cover-up of his actual service. It should have read:
Not only was Kerry a sworn officer in the Naval Reserve throughout his activities, he was an Active Duty officer while he flew an anti-war operative around to give speeches.
Since his records were published, showing his history to be false, some of his biographies on the internet have been quietly changed (as discussed in the referenced article).
From the Boston Globe article:
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff, 6/17/2003
[…]
John Kerry flew Walinsky around New York to deliver speeches against the war. Kerry did not wear his uniform and did not speak at the events, but the experience helped convince him that he wanted to become a public leader of the antiwar movement. On Jan. 3, 1970, Kerry requested that his superior, Rear Admiral Walter F. Schlech, Jr., grant him an early discharge so that he could run for Congress on an antiwar platform.“I just said to the admiral: `I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to go do what I came back here to do, which is, end this thing,’” Kerry recalled, referring to the war. The request was approved, and Kerry was honorably discharged, which he said shaved six months from his commitment.
[Note: I was in the same status as John Kerry at the same time. See here for my own information including my ID card in addition to more on kerry
]
[Note that JustOneMinute, alerted by Useful Fools, has been also following this issue in detail.]
John Kerry’s web site biography used to say[note 1] that he was a Naval Officer until 1970, and then a Naval Reservist from 1972-1978. I and other Vietnam veterans questioned this gap, which conveniently coincided with Kerry’s anti-war activities, and which implied he was not in the military at that time - an “early out” not available to the rest of us.
Kerry’s dates of service are no longer in his biography.
His newly released service record shows he was a sworn officer in the Navy Reserve from 1970-1972. Coincidence or the exposure of a cover-up?
While a sworn Officer in the regular reserve, Kerry [note 2]:
One might ask for a question about the discrepancy between the two documents - his service record and his “request for service record (see “Update” below). His orders show release to inactive service in the Naval Reserve (as distinct from a release to the inactive reserve).
His service record, dated 1/25/85, shows:
(Click image for full size:)
This document is from here on Kerry’s campaign web site.
[Update: Strangely, another more recent document , dated 24 May 1986, contains the following:
“Inactive” in this document may mean that he was not required to attend drills. However, his membership was in the regular reserve, not the “inactive reserve” - then called “Standby Reserve.”
In other words, whether or not he had to attend drills, he was in the organization subject to immediate callup (active reserve). He was later transfered to the Standby Reserve (inactive reserve). In both cases, he was still a sworn officer of the United States Navy.]
Coincidentally, I am also was a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Naval Reserves after active duty. I joined the Navy the same day as two days after John Kerry.
When I was in the same status as Kerry while he was performing his antiwar activities: (Regular Reservers, inactive status):
For some reason, the Wayback Machine does not archive 2004 pages from Kerry’s web site.
From another spot on his website (grab it before it too disappears), we find the cover-up version:
John Kerry is a Decorated Combat Veteran of the Vietnam War: Kerry volunteered for the United States Navy after college and served from 1966 through 1970 rising to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Afterwards, Kerry continued his military service in the United States Naval Reserves from 1972 through 1978. Kerry served two tours of duty in Vietnam–one tour as commander of a Navy Swift Boat in the Mekong Delta. Kerry’s action during the Vietnam War resulted in his being awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with V, three awards of the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. [Selective Service System National Headquarters; Boston Globe, 6/17/03]
Here is another version still on his website that implies his discharge and does not mmention at all his 1972-1978 reserve status. Since this is on a page meant for Veterans, it is likely that he knew veterans would question a 1970-1972 gap.
Mother Jones likewise has the truncated version.]
[Note 2: An annotated version of Kerry’s Statements can be found here, along with a link to the full CSPAN transcript.]
Last update: 4/24/2003
I received the following by email. The provenance is unknown. Enjoy:
It’s time to reevaluate our involvement.
Every day there are news reports about lack of public safety.
Every night on the TV are photos of death and destruction. Why are we still there?
We occupied this land, which we had to take by force, but it causes us nothing but trouble.
Why are we still there?
Their government is unstable, and there is no leadership or will to change the current system.
Why are we still there?
Many of their people are crude and uncivilized. Why are we still there?
There are more than 100 religious sects, which we don’t understand. Why are we still there?
We can’t even secure the borders. Why are we still there?
They are billions of dollars in debt and it will cost billions more to rebuild, which we can’t afford. Why are we still there?
It is becoming very clear!
We must abandon California.
Here is a “fisking” of Kerry’s testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1971, where he makes numerous false allegations about his country and the conduct of our soldiers in Vietnam. He also acts as an agent for the enemy, recommending immediate, unconditional surrender. As a Vietnam Veteran, I consider John F. Kerry’s testimony to be unforgivable. one of the most damaging actions of any American from that period, and a look at the true nature of this treacherous man.
If you’ve read all the other articles on this blog on this subject, you will only find a few new things here.
If you get your information about Kerry from the mainstream press or the Democratic side of things, this posting should shock you.
As you read this, remember that Benedict Arnold also was a decorated warrior.
Read the rest of this entry »
Bruce Schneier, in the following article argues that a national ID card system would not make us safer and in fact would be worse than useless.
Schneier is a very smart guy and a well respected practitioner in cryptography, but his arguments too often seem tainted by a bias towards privacy and against security concerns. Personally, if I want a code designed or evaluated, Schneier is one of the people I would go to first. But if I wanted a secure system involving humans, I would look at how the military does it, because they have vast experience and security requirements of tremendous importance, such as preventing accidental or rogue nuclear launches while maintaining the ability to launch in less that 15 minutes, verifying the identity of people with access to information that, if released, could cause grave harm to the nation, and doing this with many different sorts of people.
Read the rest of this entry »
