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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! November 1, 2006 CrazyBy Greyhawk1971: 2005: October 30, 2006: October 31, 2006: Posted by Greyhawk / November 1, 2006 10:57 AM | Permalink 1 TrackBackToday---go and comb a parking lot--Mega Hel Mart works fine--find some old retired hippies that still have one of those crusty KERRY-EDWARDS stickers below the bike rack on their Subaru. Wait for them. Ambush them with questions. Demand answers from Read More 30 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
When is someone going to stand up and DEMAND HIS RESIGNATION? This is the modern version of his head on a pike---so we'll have to settle for it...
He takes the definition of buffoon to new heights.
What is stunning to me is that he actually thinks that no one will remember his exact words. Kerry fails on every test for leadership.
He fails on sensitivity.
He fails on accountability.
He fails on humility.
How dare you question his patriotism...//moonbat off.
Hollywood got Kerry's image just right A LONG TIME AGO in the movie "INHARM'S WAY" simply focus on the CharCTER OF COMMANDER NEAL OWEN EVRY LINE COULD BE APPLIED WITHOUT CHANGE TO TO A CERTAIN
SENATO FROM MASS.
Excerpted and linked at Bill's Bites >> Jean Fraud Kerry -- Still Lovin' Our Troops -- Day 2
Get your gear for the next Kerry Lied rally here. "Proud Veteran-American. Silent No More!" We haven't gone away, Johnny, and we haven't forgotten. We're still here, locked and loaded, waiting for you to crawl back out from under that rock again. Bring it on, Johnny.
Bill Faith
USAF 1970-1974
Proud Viet Nam Veteran
Webmaster, www.oldwardogs.us
Botched or not, Kerry's attempt at humor is deeply offensive. My son is a Marine just back from Iraq - and coincidentally home-based at 29 Palms in California where Kerry flubbed this line while supporting Angelides for Governor. Just who do these people represent?
But in the end, Kerry is the real joke here, along with his ultra-elitist-liberal Democrat allies and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the horses he rode in on).
We can't stay home on election day... This is dangerous.
Nothing's more damning than his own words.
I guess you can chalk me up in the Crazy column too, 'cuz this is just more of the same. OF COURSE I think he's criticizing the troops.
I must just be simply 'crazy' - I suppose I am ok with that. At least I am not a total idiot!!
"I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is -- my point is, there's a strong will for democracy." --George W. Bush, interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Sept. 24, 2006
Kerry botches a joke and it's 24/7 fake outrage!
George Bush calls the deaths in Iraq a comma and it's sheeple like silence.
You guys are pathetic.
How is fake outrage and fake self-pity going to address what is going on in Iraq?
Guys, Bush is DESPERATE can't you see that? There is no other guy that really cares for the troops than Kerry. Where was the outrage when Bush "Swift Boated" him? Where is the outrage when Bush "Swifted" McCain? Bush is a MEGA MANIAC and he is using the Military to get off. Don't be fooled by their outrage, it's only Political. I pray for the troops everyday, heartily.
Gotta' love it when people defend indefensible by pointing to what the claim "others are doing."
Kinda' like defending a litterbug by pointing to someone else and whining "but he's doing it, too!"
Or by calling names.
My 9 and 11-year-old boys know better than to try that crap -- it doesn't change an incident of misbehavior one iotum. Sad to say, they're more morally mature than a number of putative adults in this nation.
Here's a hint: What Kerry said was horribly offensive. That he didn't apologize immediately was more so. And that he "apologized" that his words were "misinterpreted" was the final straw.
And one more hint: This is not about Bush, or Clinton, or Chavez -- it's strictly about Kerry.
The reason that nobody believes he mis-spoke is that he has a long history of denigrating and insulting the troops. It's perfectly within his character to say what he said. In fact, if he had praised the troops, I would have fallen out of my chair!
It's a waste of time. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. No matter what is said or proven some people have a one track mind with no room for change or doubt. That's not too smart these days especially for kids. This opinion is coming from a Grand Parent. So, therefore if you believe a man can stand up in front of thousands of people and cut down our troops, you are like that horse. Fini
How is fake outrage and fake self-pity going to address what is going on in Iraq?
Good question ... especially about the outrage you critics heap on our leaders, about a war that is no more a "quagmire" than the hedgerows of Normandy were at the time ... and is just as essential for us to prevail within, as was WWII.
Kerry has NOT "slammed the troops for 35 years."
You are using a dishonest quote in order to pretend that what Kerry said in 1971 was an accusation. It was not an accusation, Kerry was just relating the testimony of soldiers. He was reporting what the soldiers said, and not making an accusation against them. Kerry was quoting them, not accusing them. THEY told the stories in THEIR testimonies:
"... over 150 honorably discharged, and many very highly decorated, veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia ... men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do.
They told stories that at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country."
You guys start your quote by omitting all that comes before Kerry says "they had personally raped, cut ..."
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) displayed INCREADIBLY honesty when he admitted: "It's pretty standard fare in political discourse. You misconstrue what somebody said. You isolate a statement, you lend your interpretation to it and then feign moral outrage. ... A fundamental premise of politics is we can make this work if people just never figure it out."
The game Republicans play with the 1971 statements is just one example. Think about what Dick Armey, a Republican from Texas, admitted to. Think about it.
I can't believe nobody's calling him on the "botched joke" thing. The notes released to the press read like a mad lib retro-fitted to make a joke about the President out of an demeaning statement. And what of Senator Kerry's academic performance?
I thought if Kerry apologized it would be dropped and accepted. DIRTY is what it is called! But that's how it's done these days. A DOUBLE STANDARD
I thank God, that he is not our commander-in-chief.
Kerry made it through Yale, but couldn't even pass the most basic academic curricula at any of our service academies...and we won't even go into whether or not he would have self imploded when taking the required academy philosophy or history courses. Tells me a lot about Yale...and the libs claim that the armed services have lowered their standards? As for his "war experiences", those of us who actually did something in the military besides film themselves can all name someone who somehow bypassed the normal military standards of service...a la Kerry. He is a complete dork.
"I thought if Kerry apologized it would be dropped and accepted."
If he had issued a genuine apology, rather than lamely expressing the regret that we are too stupid to understand his "joke," it might have been.
This is par for the course for politicians' apologies, though. No one seems willing or able to accept any responsibility.
And it's not dirty to point that out. It's honest.
President Bush did NOT 'Swift Boat' John Kerry. That group consists of nearly ALL of his fellow warriors and the command structure above him. Contrary to mainstream media, very few, if any of the charges they made, have NOT been refuted. Saying 'those charges were refuted' is easy; actually refuting them is very difficult.
What Kerry actually said revealed his true attitude toward the military - that is just another comment in a string going back over 30+ years.
President Bush does really care about the troops and feels the pain of the families. HE has met privately with hundreds of these grieving families and personally signs all condolence letters to the family. My friends in Mass say it is commonly known that the few times Kerry has contacted such a family,it was to try to recruit them into his anti-Bush, anti-war program. A wise man once told me, while I was hiring a lot of men, "take them to dinner and see how they treat the waiters, cabbies and other 'ordinary people' - that will tell you a lot about the real man behind the resume. It is well known in Mass that Kerry is an arrogant ass, haughty, and views the common man as far beneath his elevated position.
I say lets keep Mr. Kerry around. The guy is starting to provide some really good entertainment with his bungling self-immolation...
must just be simply 'crazy' - I suppose I am ok with that. At least I am not a total idiot!!
Greetings
Fear not. Ordinary Americans (the ones who really count), are firmly in the corner of our Military. I just published a book that went on sale yesterday and I made some comments about the fine men and women who serve us. When I wrote these comments, I did not realize that they would be so timely. They are heartfelt and sincere. I wrote these words in 2003. My feelings have not shifted. These men and women are our brightest and best!
"When I think of the many fine young men and women who are serving in the Military and are willing to give up their lives so that we can enjoy ours, they are probably the greatest and most tangible symbols of hope that I see. They make the older generation of Veterans proud. I have come to realize that the true heroes, who served their country, do not run around reminding their country, every five seconds, about their service. They served. They were proud to do so. There is no need for a billboard announcing this service. They do not trade on their service. They are too humble to even bring up the subject. These fine young people, and also all parents who are nurturing children who grow up to love God, family and country, and who uphold the traditions of the country, I feel are the glue that holds this country together. They are the proverbial salt of the earth, and they are still in the majority. Should that balance tilt? Paint your own picture."
Ercille - Proud American!
Tom (several comments previous)
Are you saying Kerry didn't wholeheartedly believe the things he was telling congress? I'm confused (I'm just a stupid GI). Did he or didn't he think he was telling true stories of American soldiers in Vietnam to our nation's leaders?
Greyhawk:
The issue about Kerry's 1971 testimony is not even about the sources or veracity of the stories he used. The issue is the use to which he put his "information." He used the stories to smear all of the U.S. military and all of the soldiers who served in it in Vietnam. That was his entire point. Even if the stories were true, yet they were the only atrocities committed in Vietnam, that would have been bad, but limited. He took his "information" and generalized it to the entire war effort and everyone involved in it. Then he had a case. That was his case. And I contend he knew what he had been told was largely fabricated, and that, even if he did not know that, he definitely knew that generalizing it created a persistent and pernicious lie that tarred every GI of the era. I have very good reason to believe this, based on the outcome of litigation that ensued after the election over libel allegations, but it is too long to get into in detail here. See this website: http://www.vvlf.org/
Greyhawk,
The soldiers were testifying about things that did indeed happen. It is absolutely bizarre to think otherwise.
Also, look at the fact that U.S. military records that were classified for decades but are now available in the National Archives back Kerry up and put the lie to his critics." - Nicholas Turse, "From the National Archives: New proof of Vietnam War atrocities"
You might want to check out this video. It is really low to trick the troops into thinking a politician is insulting them. The context CLEARLY shows Kerry was talking about Bush. For Bush to upset the troops in order to score political points is really low.
The Republican interpretation is dishonest, it doesn't make sense because "getting stuck in Iraq" only makes sense as policy. Are we to believe that a well educated soldier doesn't get stuck but a poorly educated one does? That doesn't make sense, clearly "getting stuck in Iraq" is about a policy. If Kerry meant what the Republicans want to pretend he meant, he would say "if you don't get education you could end up in the army or end up being sent to Iraq." Even Jay from Wizbang realizes that Kerry was talking about Bush and not the troops.
Just wanted to see if you believed in what Kerry believes - everything he said about "the troops" - in testimony to congress, to California college students, or to national TV news show anchors was accurate.
You're missing the point - the man's history of constant public statements regarding atrocities committed by the ignorant, uneducated and victimized toops. You feel he says these things because he loves the troops - but your feelings about the issue don't matter beyond whether you believe he is right, or wrong.
The toops don't miss the point. Kerry's akin to an ignorant racist who is so convinced - as a deep, fundamental aspect of his character - of his superiority to another group that he isn't even aware of the obvious (to everyone else in the room) revelatory nature his comments. It's like trying to justify that calling someone an "ignorant, lazy, nigger" isn't wrong because "some of your best friends is ignernt, lazy, niggers!"
The troops (and I base this on comments I've heard from the highest to the lowest levels on base this past week) are quite aware of this - but hardly shocked. We're all well aware of the man's history. It's already become the subject of jokes - anytime someone screws some minor thing up they now say "John Kerry was right - I am stupid". That didn't take long.
I also think that had his Party quickly condemned him (as most who are actually running for elected office have) and he had simply said "I'm sorry" then clarified his actual view of "the troops" (rather than condemning anyone who would ever believe he would ever slander "the troops") the issue would die. It appears that other than you, this is the tactic now being used, but obviously their are some "die hards"...
By the way, like the Foley scandal, this won't affect other political races. Americans are too smart to believe all Democrats think like John Kerry (please stop trying to prove them wrong Tom) and Kerry himself is Senator for Life from Mass. (They slurp this stuff up on Beacon Hill.)