Posts Made By: Joe Williams

This war thing is getting long in tooth. How about some non-war, non-Bush, non-Kerry related topics? Someone's got to have something else they want to talk about.

Although this article comes from a conservative source, it presents some very constructive advice for John Kerry on his bid for the presidency. As a fellow veteran, I respect Kerry's service record. I also agree with this article on the best way for him to use it.

Wall Street Journal Online Best of the Web Today - April 28, 2004
By JAMES TARANTO

How Kerry Lost Vietnam
Those of our readers who support John Kerry's presidential bid are none too happy with the beating their man has taken this week over his shifting stories about his antiwar activity. Here are some excerpts of e-mails we've received:

"It is unbelievable that the Republicans would challenge Kerry, an authentic war hero (and ever more heroic when he returned in his opposition to the awful Vietnam War) when their man, a sting-pulling AWOL, makes believe he is in the military and dresses up as a Fly Boy (what could be more ridiculous? and what else does he dress up as?)."

"Please, please keep talking about Kerry's service in Vietnam. It's hilarious to see you twist and writhe to minimize his heroism."

"How many military medals did John Kerry throw away? Four more than George W. Bush ever earned with the Alabama Flying Mailsorters."

We guess we can understand why these folks are sore. Things are not going as planned for John Kerry. His Vietnam record was supposed to be his greatest asset, but instead it has turned into a political liability. Why did that happen? Here's our explanation:

He talked about Vietnam entirely too much. We noticed this way back in December 2002, when in an interview with Tim Russert he even managed to work Vietnam into an answer about capital punishment. The incessant repetition makes him seem either opportunistic (trying to exploit his service to further his political ambitions) or obsessive (unable to view Vietnam from a healthy distance even after more than three decades). Either interpretation raises questions about his ability to lead the country effectively today.

The adversarial press being what it is, Kerry's single-minded emphasis on his Vietnam experience also invites scrutiny of such matters as the questionable circumstances surrounding his first purple heart--blemishes on an otherwise honorable record.

He became an antiwar activist. Sure, lots of Americans ended up opposing the Vietnam War, but Kerry did so by becoming the respectable face of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, a group whose stock in trade was accusations that American servicemen had committed war crimes. These claims came in the form of "confessions" from men, some of whom turned out not even to be veterans--and Kerry repeated them in sworn testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April 1971. … (continued)

I called Televue the other day to get a recommendation on an eyepiece for my TV Renaissance 101 refractor that I've owned for the past 17 years. After talking with a very pleasant gentleman for a few minutes, I was surprised to find out that it was none other than Al Nagler himself. In this age of automation, I was just happy to talk with a human. Al was kind enough to go into great detail about my options for another eyepiece. It's nice to know that the founder and president of Televue still remembers on which side his bread is buttered. No wonder they make such fine products.
Thanks Al!
Sincerely
A die hard Televue fan.

John Kerry Has No Recollection of Throwing Medals Like a Girl – Steve Tanner

Good Morning America has released part 2 of the interview with Senator John Kerry over the controversy concerning Kerry's medals over the White House fence. Here is the transcript of the second part of that interview.

GIBSON: It is clear that there is no argument that something was thrown, can we assume this?
KERRY: That is correct.

GIBSON: When you threw, how far do you think they went?
KERRY: Probably thirty or forty feet. When I stood at that fence, I wanted to make my stance clear, my message understood. I was in Vietnam.

GIBSON: How bout 3-4 feet off the bounce.
KERRY: Absolutely not.

GIBSON: Did you forget I was there? That was the lamest throw I have ever laid eyes on. You barely cleared…
KERRY: I am not sure why you would say that Charlie, I have quite the manly arm.

GIBSON: I distinctly recall you executing more of a light toss, or a flip.
KERRY: This is ridiculous; a reporter of the "Boston Globe" was there, dozens of photographers were there. I clearly threw those medals over in a manly maneuver.

GIBSON: Medals?
KERRY: I did not say medals.

GIBSON: How do you explain the folding of your right leg? I noticed it, others did to. I believe you also did somewhat of a hop.
KERRY: Absolutely, that's absolutely incorrect Charlie. Both my feet where planted firmly on the ground. A reporter of the "Boston Globe" was there, dozens of photographers were there. I, without a doubt, threw like a man. I was in Vietnam you know. I won a purple heart, I won a bronze star. You do not get those by throwing like a girl.

GIBSON: The reporter from the “Boston Globe” called you Sally. Could it be possible you are unaware of your feminine throw? Is it possible that you cannot make the distinction?
KERRY: We made no distinction back then, Charlie. We made no distinction whether it was a feminine toss. I was in Vietnam.

GIBSON: Senator, are you crying?
KERRY: Charlie, it is very simple. What the republicans are trying to do is make this into an issue because they have no record to run on and they can't go out and talk about jobs or health care or environment. They are going to attack 35 years ago. Last week in an unprecedented attack, they sent congressmen to the floor of the senate of the house to attack me on the anniversary of my speech. Then he threw a Nerf football at me and I flinched and screamed. It is a conspiracy Charlie. I was always picked last place as a child for sports. That is another case of the republicans out for my own blood. Sure, you will see them all throwing out a pitch on opening day. But ask them about our economy or military spending and they throw this sh*t in your face.

GIBSON: My goodness, you really are crying. Senator, I would like to once again thank you for your time today. It was great having you here Senator Mary.
KERRY: Mary?

GIBSON: Back to you Diane.

Wall Street Journal Online
Best of the Web Today - April 30, 2004
By JAMES TARANTO

Joe Says It Was So
Remember Joe Wilson, the loudmouthed former ambassador who stirred up a kerfuffle last year by claiming that BUSH LIED!!!! when he purportedly said Saddam Hussein's Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Niger? Now Wilson has a book out, and it seems he's changing his story. The Washington Post reports:

It was Saddam Hussein's information minister, Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf, often referred to in the Western press as "Baghdad Bob," who approached an official of the African nation of Niger in 1999 to discuss trade--an overture the official saw as a possible effort to buy uranium. . . .

In his book, Wilson recounts his encounter with the unnamed Niger official in 2002, saying, he "hesitated and looked up to the sky as if plumbing the depths of his memory, then offered that perhaps the Iraqi might have wanted to talk about uranium." Wilson did not get the Iraqi's name in 2002, but he writes that he talked to his source again four months ago, and that the former official said he saw Sahhaf on television before the start of the war and recognized him as the person he talked to in 1999.

Weird. Wilson was a cause célèbre on the Angry Left for awhile there (there was also something about his wife, if we remember right), but apparently for no reason.

With all of the talk about the prisoner abuse, I've heard far too little about the fact that so many women took part in this scandal. I thought that women were supposed to "soften" the military?

Well, the disgust over the treatment of Iraqi POWs doesn't seem to deter the political engine in Washington. It seems that many democrats won't even agree that the acts are deplorable:

OpinionJournal from the Wall Street Journal
James Taranto, May 7, 2004

The House passed a nonbinding resolution yesterday "deploring the abuse of persons in United States custody in Iraq." You'd think this would be something everyone could agree on, but the vote in favor was only 365-50. Of the 50 "no" votes, one came from Rep. Ron Paul, an eccentric libertarian Republican from Texas who often votes against congressional resolutions, especially on foreign policy.

The other 49 were all from Democrats, and by our quick scan almost all of them come from the left-wing fringe of the party, such as John Conyers, Barney Frank, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Lee, Jim McDermott, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Rangel, Pete Stark, Maxine Waters. Are these folks in favor of abusing Iraqi prisoners?

Well, maybe not. The resolution, summarized here, actually has two parts:

Deploring the abuse of persons in United States custody in Iraq, regardless of the circumstances of their detention, urging the Secretary of the Army to bring to swift justice any member of the Armed Forces who has violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, expressing the deep appreciation of the Nation to the courageous and honorable members of the Armed Forces who have selflessly served, or are currently serving, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and for other purposes.

So do the 49 Democrats object to honoring the "courageous and honorable members of the Armed Forces"? Some may, but from browsing the debate transcript in the Congressional Record (link in PDF), it appears those who object do so mainly on two grounds: that the resolution does not call for a congressional investigation of the abuses, and that it does not cast blame widely enough--that is, it does not condemn military leaders, contractors and others who may or may not have been involved, as well as the known perpetrators of the abuse.

Both these points are arguable, but the resolution takes no position on either of them. Out of frustration that their colleagues aren't prepared to take as hard a line as they would, then, 49 Democrats have effectively gone on record supporting the abuse of prisoners and announcing their lack of appreciation for the troops. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I know that the liberals on this forum will be quick to point out that this article is hosted on what appears to be a conservative news site. I'll grant you that. If you can look past this fact to both the content and the author, perhaps this may be an interesting read.

In a nutshell, the article presents evidence collected by Czech intelligence before 9/11 that Mohammed Atta, leader of the 9/11 highjackers met with Ahmed al-Ani, an Iraqi intellegence official in Prague in April of 2001. This may not be conclusive, but I'm sure they weren't discussing the weather.

The author of the article, Laurie Mylroie was adviser on Iraq to the 1992 campaign of Bill Clinton and is the author of Bush vs. the Beltway: How the CIA and the State Department tried to Stop the War on Terror. (HarperCollins) She can be reached through www.benadorassociates.com.

http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13323

Since my opinion on this subject is based largely on my personal experiences, I would like to comment on this thread by providing a little background and experiences of my own. The other threads on this subject seemed to be getting rather long, so I’ve started this new one. One warning, this is rather long winded.

I was born and raised in San Francisco, probably the most liberal city in the nation, if not the world. My father was a blue collar worker and we lived in the Mission and Excelsior districts which were relatively low income areas. I attended public schools in San Francisco until I entered a degree program at the University of San Francisco, a small Jesuit university. I can tell you that the difference I saw in public and a private education is, in my opinion, phenomenal.

Although the majority of my public school teachers were adequate, and a few were exceptional, I was continually amazed to find teachers of marginal or poor quality that continued to teach, year after year without so much as a question of their performance. My high school English teacher was one such case. Each day as the students entered his classroom we would find him sitting at his desk reading. The assignment for the day was written on the blackboard and was to be turned in the following day. We would spend an hour in this class quietly performing the task on the board while the teacher sat and read his book. He never once lectured. He had been a teacher at that school for more than twenty years, and continued to teach there until he retired. Anyone student who questioned his teaching practices would see their reprimand in the form of a poor grade. I can give at least half dozen similar examples. To say that these examples typified public school teachers would be unfair. There were probably as many teachers who were remarkable.

Nevertheless, my English skills were not up to par after high school. Even though I had graduated in the top 5% of my class and won the school’s second largest scholarship, the $50 it provided forced me to consider other options for my education. The #1 scholarship was a whopping $100 won by my senior prom date. I enlisted in the Army under the original G.I Bill program. After my tour in the Army I attended a public community college while working full time in the computer field. I ran into similar experiences at that school. While taking a class in COBOL programming (no comments on the age aye ;-) ) I discovered that my professor had worked as a programmer at the same firm in which I was working. She had been fired for lack of technical aptitude. Throughout my career, I can name at least two other individuals with whom I’ve worked who have been terminated due to lack of performance and yet went on to teach at a local public schools.

continued...

They've discovered that Nick Berg's e-mail address had been stolen and used by Moussaoui, the 20th hijacker. Berg's father, a political activist in his own right says that it probably happened when Nick let a stranger borrow his laptop on a bus in Oklahoma.
What's the likelyhood that this is just a coincidence?