Useful Fools

Here is the promised review of

To Set The Record Straight

How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the
New Media Defeated John Kerry

by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler

---

Expect one surprise after another in this brilliant and important book. In 2004, John Kerry’s run for the presidency suddenly energized thousands of Vietnam vets. This man, who said his fellow veterans had “raped, cut off ears, cut off heads,…randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan…” wanted to be President! (page 13)

This is the true story of how those vets fought against the vast battalions of the elite media…and against all odds, won. Swett, an insider from the start, and Ziegler nail journalists to the wall time after time. I have never read so many shocking instances of outright bias – or fraud – or stupidity – by the mainstream media.

Early on, the Swift Boat veterans held a historic press conference, where one after another of Kerry’s brothers-in-arms condemned him. You probably didn’t hear about it - it was all but ignored by the media.

“They [Swiftees] assumed that the media would validate their credentials and report their charges to the public. John O’Neill later admitted ‘We were naïve.’ …

“CBS was the only network that did anything, and they did a complete hatchet job…”

“By October, O’Neill no longer had any illusions about what to expect from the old media gatekeepers. The leading liberal networks and newspapers would try to discredit any information harmful to Kerry. Other Swift Vets and POW’s were astonished at the hypocrisy of news organizations they had once admired. While loudly praising the vital role of a free press, the old media imposed a nearly Soviet level of political censorship on the content of news reports.”

When you read the book, you too will be astonished. And you will be amazed at what you never heard, such as the evidence strongly suggesting that John Kerry acted as an agent of the enemy, and that he covered up a less-than-honorable discharge from the Navy.

A CBS report opined “But if you think this is just a concerned group of veterans, think again.” (page 99)

So who were the Swift Boat veterans? This book counters the myths about the vets, who are usually pictured in movies as druggie losers or enraged psychopaths. In particular, it clears up slanders against the Swiftees and their organization, proving they were part of a spontaneous grass roots uprising. The veterans were from all walks of life, Democrat, Republican or just plain ornery.

Expect howls of outrage… expect ad hominem attacks— that the authors are liars and the Swiftees… Bush operatives. Swett and Ziegler give the facts to prove this wrong.

Every practicing journalist in America needs to read this book and then ask and answer some hard questions.

Everyone else in America needs to read it to realize how many times the mainstream media seeks to mislead instead of inform.

You can buy the book directly from the authors here.

Ronald Reagan finally slipped into history today. One of the greatest human beings to hold the office of President of the United States is no longer with us. This is a sad day, and the freedom loving peoples of the world should mourn his loss.

History will show Reagan as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. He was a great yet humble American who made his way from a radio sports announcer to an actor to a governor to probably the most significant president of the 20th century.

More people achieved freedom as a result of Ronald Reagan’s actions than ever before in history.

Farewell, Gipper

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.

Read it here.

Tasty Manatees has suggestions on how we can help our soldiers. Check it out.

Dr. Condoleezza Rice gave the the Ronald Reagan Lecture this week. It covered a broad range of issues, including a new warning to North Korea. Here are excepts:

Libya’s leader made the right choice, and other regimes should follow his example. We are working with the international community to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. And with our four partners in East Asia, we are insisting that North Korea completely, verifiably, and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear programs.

Now, the North Koreans should also recognize that, with the unraveling of these proliferation networks, the A.Q. Kahn network, what the Libyans are now freely admitting and talking about, that their admissions and what they say is not the only source of information about what’s going on in North Korea. And it’s probably a good time for the North Koreans to come clean about what’s going on in North Korea.

Read the rest of this entry »

The following is a status crafted by an Iraqi sculptor from three fallen Saddam heads. I found this on Iraq the Model, a fine Iraqi blog.

My daughter lives in Baltimore, which is where troops arrive from Iraq and Afghanistan for R&R (Rest and Relaxation).

On her most recent flight there, every passenger in first class gave up their seats to the troops! The gratitude of all on the aircraft was enthusiastically expressed.

On an Amtrak trip yesterday, civilians in the Cafe Car competed for the honor of buying beer for the troops there. Too many civilians, not enough soldiers! Lots of thanks and “High Fives” were also given.

You may not see it on the news, but these incidents are happening all over the country every day.

I have found an outstanding new Baghdad blog, entitled Healing Iraq. This blog, so far only a few posts long, has the most informative posts and the most positive attitude of any of the active Iraqi blogs.

The blogger describes himself:

My name is Zeyad. I’m 24, male. I live in Baghdad, Iraq. Also lived in the UK prior to the first Gulf war. I work as a dentist.

Check it out!

I’ve added The Everlasting Phelps to my blogroll, in the hopes that his outstanding political statements are more frequent than his crude wit. Besides, anyone who owns the domain name “donotremove.net” is worth a look! He is also apparently another lawyer blogger. At this rate, I’m going to have to add a lawyer section to my blogroll.
[CORRECTION: see comments. He is not a lawyer. Oops! You can’t believe everything you read.]

Thanks to Kevin at Smallest Minority who also needs to return to my blog and answer my question on his comments about lions. Oh, and I suspect Kevin is a lawyer too. Scary.