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Schadow Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 936 Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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kate Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004 Posts: 1891 Location: Upstate, New York
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Me#1You#10 Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 6503
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 3:18 am Post subject: |
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First, understand that when you're dealing with "FactCheck" you're dealing with neither "Facts" nor "Checking" but with "Selective facts" and "Spinning".
Though I don't recall seeing anything suggesting some direct link between Kerry and FactCheck, I wouldn't be surprised to find that FactCheck (Annenberg Foundation) might be linked in some fashion to dealings with one of Theresa's trusts. Someone else will have to connect those dots though. As far as I'm concerned, FactCheck's leftist ideological bent is in stone.
Somewhere in this forum is a copy of a letter composed by a forum member to FactCheck that blows FactCheck's pretense to objectivity to smithereens. I'll see if I can locate it.
As to the aforementioned links, I see nothing there supporting the contention that Kerry had released all of his records. In fact, the lie was put to that assertion even by the restricted release of records to 3 friendly reporters (note: not EVEN to their newspapers, but to them, personally). The mere fact that at least one additional record surfaced (Kerry's lackluster academic college performance) is testament to Kerry's mendacity inre the completeness of his record release...
Quote: | (emphasis mine)
Kerry camp denies hiding war records
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 18, 2004
Sen. John Kerry's campaign said yesterday that the Democratic presidential nominee is not hiding any of his war records and has, in fact, released them all to the public.
"Senator Kerry's entire military service record is posted on JohnKerry.com. His entire record," said Michael Meehan, adviser for communications to the campaign, at a press conference called to defend Mr. Kerry against recent charges that the former Navy lieutenant didn't deserve some of his war decorations -- three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star.
Washington Times Archives |
There is NO question that Kerry lied about the completeness of his records. What is left to be determined is the breadth of that lie...and you'll forgive me, I'm sure, if I don't take the word of 3 media Kerry lackeys on that point.
Another relevant and EXTREMELY interesting fact almost COMPLETELY overlooked is the surfacing of the missing Page 1 of the Streuli Fitrep which, to the best of my knowledge and to this day, has NEVER been presented for public examination. Couple that with the more than curious mis-sequencing of the fitreps Kerry presented (which all but buried the fact that Streuli's Page 1 was missing) and you have an odor of coverup that's intense.
Last edited by Me#1You#10 on Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:21 am; edited 13 times in total |
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Harvuskong Seaman
Joined: 17 Oct 2004 Posts: 174
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 3:55 am Post subject: |
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I suggest checking on this site, the various posts made about Kerry's reply to the media's questions about the SF 180 since the end of the 2004 election.
I can not remember exactly where, but the main forum here does come to mind. The most recent ones were in 2006.
His reply to the question by Tim Russert of NBC was one of them, I think. |
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Me#1You#10 Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004 Posts: 6503
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:10 am Post subject: |
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Here's the post on FactCheck...a keeper fersure...
Quote: | Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2004 2:39 pm Post subject: Factcheck.org needs its own factcheck
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I sent Factcheck's editor the following note yesterday -- Bill
--------------------------------------------------
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2004 4:10 PM
To: 'Editor@FactCheck.org'
Subject: Your Swift Boat Veterans "fact-check" needs a fact check
I've long used your site and recommend it frequently to others. You generally do a terrific job. I was therefore extremely disappointed in the quality of work on your Swift Boat article. Unlike most of your articles, this one reads as if written to support a pre-determined conclusion.
You state "Republican-funded" in the headline and the section Where The Money Comes From, as if this bears on the veracity of the claims. Are groups that take funding from a Republican inherently dishonest? If so, are MoveOn.org's ads inherently false? And do you headline them "Democrat-funded"?
Of course not. Either the facts are facts, or they are not.
You state incorrectly "initial funding came mainly from a Houston home builder, Bob R. Perry, who has also given millions to the Republican party and Republican candidates". This is false. As confirmed by the IRS report you link to, Bob Perry's donation came on June 30, months *after* the group was founded and well after their May press conference. The conference was widely ignored by the media, leading to SwiftVets' decision to create a television ad to get their message heard, and that's when Mr. Perry donated. As well, Mr. O'Neill and other Swift veterans of all political stripes have criticized Kerry for many years.
You rightly highlight the seemingly confusing statements by George Elliott, but fail to note his vehement denial of the quotes the Boston Globe attributes to him, and fail to note author Michael Kranish's conflict of interest as co-writer of Kerry's biography and the intro to the upcoming Kerry/Edwards campaign book.
You question the veteran's recollection of Rassmann's rescue, citing the pro-Kerry Tour of Duty book's claim the rescue (and sniper fire) happened "several hundred yards back" from where the crippled PCF-3 was lying. Yet even Mr. Rassman stated in the WSJ: "While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath." Why would he worry about boats "several hundred yards" away? The facts back up the vets' accounts.
You question Louis Letson's veracity on the Purple Heart wound, just because J. C. Carreon and not Letson signed the paperwork. If you had bothered to call either Mr. Letson or Mr. Carreon, you'd discover Mr. Carreon was a corpsman who worked for Mr. Letson (the only doctor in the unit), and was asked to fill out Kerry's paperwork after Letson completed treatment. Where's the discrepancy?
You state Rassman "flatly contradicted" the veterans assertions re the Bronze Star incident. Would it not be equally accurate to state multiple veterans "flatly contradicted" Mr. Rassmann? Why do you view these men as less honorable, or Mr. Rassmann as inherently unbiased? Why do you highlight Mr. Rassmann's Republican background as evidence of neutrality, but not the Democratic and Independent history of so many of the Swift Vets? And why do you quote Mr. Rassman as saying Kerry would "make a great commander-in-chief"? It's boosterism, immaterial to fact-checking.
You don't challenge a patently false assertion by Rassman: "their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam". Certainly Kerry's fellow Swift Boat officers and their crews served with Kerry. Swift boats do not operate alone. These men were in the same unit! They ate together, slept together, and performed missions in tight packs of up to 5 boats. Refer to the Bronze Star citation or talk to any Swift Boat veteran. Also note the photo of Kerry with fellow Swift officers on Kerry's own website and used in his TV ad "Lifetime". Only one of those 19 men support Kerry, incidentally. Might it be possible there's *something* going on here?
You quoted the Purple Heart requirements selectively, omitting key qualifiers: friendly fire injuries must occur in the "heat of battle", and injuries may not include those suffered "as a result of their own negligence".
You fabricate a discrepancy between Hibbard and Letson's affidavits. They are utterly consistent. A tiny piece of shrapnel, "barely lodged" in the arm will indeed leave a tiny scratch.
Although the ad states generally that Kerry "lied about his record", you limit your discussion to the medal incidents. What about his Christmas in Cambodia taking fire from the Khmer Rouge, "seared into his memory" per the Congressional Record?
You end your article with John McCain's quotes. Why? They are utterly irrelevant to the facts, since he was not present.
Look, all these men served honorably and many were wounded and/or decorated, including the men accompanying Kerry on his campaign and the over 200 Swift Boat veterans opposing Kerry. So why do you take the former's statements at face value but dismiss the latter? Please do your job: check the facts. We need it now more than ever.
If you don't, I truly think this article will become known as a watershed moment in the Annenberg center's project: the point at which factcheck.org became just another partisan website.
Please don't let this happen, and please keep up the generally excellent work.
_________________
-- Bill in Seattle
http://www.swiftvets.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=22785#22785
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Schadow Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 936 Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, one and all. I've got a lot of reading to do. The rebuke to FactCheck is especially telling.
Schadow _________________ Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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