Back On The Grind
Ah, relaxed, refreshed, and returned as promised. (Okay, so I lied and said we'd be posting again on Tuesday; but give me a break, we didn't get back from the Outer Banks until yesterday afternoon and there were pets and an apartment with which to be reacclimated.)
Now, with that out of the way, perhaps we'll start with something lighthearted and fun, like -- oh fuck it -- following the lead of John Kerry, we're turning the things fall apart Swift Boat right into the fire and going after these assholes.
Swift Boat Round Up
* Ties to the Bush Campaign
1) Benjamin Ginsberg-- attorney for the Bush re-election campaign -- has been providing legal advice to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
2) Ken Cordier -- a retired Air Force Colonel -- resigned as a member of the Bush team's veteran committee on Saturday, after it was revealed that he is indeed the same Ken Cordier who has been appearing in the Swift Boat ad.
3) Bob Perry -- longtime friend of presidential advisor Karl Rove and the largest contributor to Republican efforts in Texas -- donated $100,000 to the Swift Boat group. While Rove maintains that the two have not spoken in over a year, this claim seems specious given that, during next week's Republican Convention in New York City, Perry is sponsoring a GOP fundraiser which is expected to be attended by Rove and President Bush.
* New Supporters
1) William Rood -- an editor of the Chicago Tribune -- is one of the two, the other being John Kerry himself, living Swift Boat officers present at the event for which Kerry received his Silver Star; following a long silence, he came forth Sunday to verify Kerry's account of the story.
2) Jim Russell -- crew member of a Swift Boat which patrolled alongside the one helmed by Kerry -- was present for the events that led to Kerry receiving his Bronze Star. He had this to say in a letter to the editor of his local paper.
The picture I have in my mind of Kerry bending over from his boat picking some hapless guy out of the river while all hell was breaking loose around us, is a picture based on fact and it cannot be disputed or changed. It's a piece of history drawn in my mind that cannot be redrawn. Sorry, "Swift Boats Veterans for the Truth"- that is the truth.
* Cambodia
1) John O'Neill -- a head of Swift Boat Veterans For Truth -- has stated John Kerry is lying when he claims his Swift Boat crossed into Cambodia; O'Neill maintains that Kerry would have been court-martialed such an the act occurred, and adds that the patrol, which he ran two months after Kerry, came within only 50 miles from the Cambodian border. Yet last night, the Kerry campaign produced a recorded conversation between O'Neill and President Nixon, in which O'Neill informs Nixon that he crossed into Cambodia.
O'NEILL: I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border on the water.
NIXON: In a swift boat?
O'NEILL: Yes, sir.
In response, the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth produced this photo of Kerry on patrol in Vietnam.
"After I embellish the events of my service in Vietnam, so as to receive a Bronze and Silver Star, I shall inflict wounds upon myself not once, not twice, but thrice -- ensuring three purple hearts and an early exit from the war. After 35 years have passed, I shall use these events to procure the Presidency of The United States, bringing about The End Of Days and guaranteeing complete and utter global destruction. BWAH HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!..... Then I will eat your babies."
