SwiftVets.com

[Me#1You#10]

If Kerry was smeared, why hasn't he sued?
Gary Carnot
Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Your Aug. 21 editorial "Campaign Poison" was written with the bias that The Roanoke Times has become known for.

You sounded like John Kerry when, in the second paragraph, you state, "A group with links to President Bush, however, is not content with raising the relevant question." Then in the eighth paragraph, you finally have to admit, "Though technically independent of the Bush campaign...."

You framed a point of view designed to sway the reader, then had to backtrack, hoping that nobody noticed. Very Kerry-like.

Also, you outright misled the reader by stating "the preponderance of the evidence, and it is mounting, suggests that the group's statements are false." Where is your proof for that statement? Why are the veterans who support Kerry automatically to be believed, but more than 200 other Vietnam vets are subject to a smear campaign by the media and the Kerry organization?

Kerry stated that all the other vets are lying and blamed President Bush for their actions. What did Kerry do to combat these allegations? Did he have his lawyers sue the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for slander?

No, Kerry had his lawyers send letters to TV and radio stations trying to intimidate them into not airing the ads.

Did Kerry go to court and get an injunction to stop the distribution of the book "Unfit for Command"? No, his campaign sent a letter to the book publisher and tried to get the publisher to recall the book, and made suggestions that bookstores not carry the book.

Did Kerry call for an end to all 527-financed ads. No, he filed a suit with the Federal Elections Commission to try to get the ads declared illegal.

The reason Kerry has not sued anyone is that the burden of proof would fall on him to produce evidence that the "Swifties" are lying. The simple way for Kerry to prove the book is full of lies would be for him to tell the Navy to release all of his military records.

President Bush released his military records, even down to pay stubs and dental records. Why have you not asked the same of Sen. Kerry?

Here you have a presidential candidate who in 1971 went before the U.S. Senate and testified about the horrible things done in war, and now wants to make that service somehow heroic, and the centerpiece of his entire campaign.

He is a man who visited with top officials of the enemy and defamed thousands of men and women who served honorably, and refuses to apologize for smearing them. A man running for president who has his picture in a place of honor in a Hanoi museum because they were grateful for his help in ending the war.

Think of how the prisoners of war at that time reacted when they were in prison camps throughout Vietnam, and they are having the words of former Navy Lt. John Kerry stating they all were war criminals.

As an enlisted Navy man, I served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Although atrocities such as the massacre at My Lai have been documented, I do not know of a single incident of the type described by Kerry, nor do I know a single person who took part in such behavior.

These Swift boat veterans served honorably and earned numerous medals. Why can't The Times treat them with the same respect you are demanding for Kerry? Investigate the Swift boat allegations, then make a determination as to who is telling the truth, instead of attacking their right to be heard and trying to silence them.

They served this country and deserve to have their story told. I also have no recollection of your editorial board going after the numerous 527 groups that have spent more than $63 million these past few months attacking the president and calling him a "liar" and a "deserter."

I guess if people want fair and balanced, they will have to turn to Fox. I don't recall you calling on Michael Moore not to release his movie; in fact, you defended the Grandin Theatre's right to show the movie. Don't the Swift boat vets get the same First Amendment protections? Why do you only want to censor free speech when it is of the kind you disagree with?

I've always thought liberals were dead set against any form of censorship; guess I was wrong. President Bush will win Virginia despite, or perhaps because of, papers like yours that are so obviously biased, and people will begin to doubt your integrity as a provider of information.

Carnot is a middle school teacher in Bedford County.

The Roanoke Times

[Dimsdale]

Well, that's one middle school that has the benefit of a teacher with brains!

Kudos, Mr. Carnot, for a superb letter! Additional kudos for getting it published!
_________________
Everytime he had a choice, Kerry chose to side with communists rather than the United States.

[3rd gen Navy]

Let's see how long she keeps her job...good thing she doesn't work in New Jersey...
_________________
Warm Regards,
Sean G. Smith,
RN, BSN, EMT-B, U.S. Navy, 1994 - 2003.
BS Biology, Business Administration, Nursing
The Deal with Life: Make decisions based on what you might gain, not on what you may lose.
!!!!!! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN !!!!!!