Monday, August 23, 2004

Swift Boat Liars For Bush FEATURED ARTICLES - Deserter: The Story Of George W. Bush After He Quit The Texas Air National Guard, Democrats.com - Anti-Kerry Book Author Preaches Hate, Bigotry and Homophobia, Capitol Hill Blue - Bush Supporter Leaves Campaign Over Role in Ad, Reuters - Friendly Fire: The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad, NY Times - Jim Rassman writes to George W. Bush QUOTE OF THE DAY "35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well." - - Jim Rassman (from today's BOTTOM LINE) KNOW YOUR HISTORY - August 23rd 1500 -- New World: Christopher Columbus, accused of mistreating the natives of Haiti, is arrested & sent back to Spain in chains. 1968 -- The Yippies (Youth International Party), led by Abbie Hoffman & Jerry Rubin, sponsor a "Festival of Life" at the Democratic Convention & get national headlines by nominating Pigasus the Pig for President & threatening to spike the Chicago water supply with LSD. Classes are held in Lincoln Park on karate, snake dancing & other means of self-defense. Police litter the park, posting "11 p.m. curfew" signs in park trees. 10,000 unarmed Yippies are attacked by 23,000 armed soldiers, national guardsmen, & police. RHINO HERE: The Rhino has thus far refrained from directing attention to the so called "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" TV ads. But since this excellent example of shrub gang lies & dirty tricks continues to be amplified by the tri letter corporate owned media, it seems best to take a careful look at what is known thus far. On March 13, 1969, at Bay Hap River, Lieut. John Kerry, captain of Swift boat PCF-94, is said to have defied enemy fire, heroically saving First Lieut. Jim Rassmann. Kerry later received the Bronze Star for this act. But recently a group of Viet Nam vets calling themselves "Swift Boat Veterans For Truth" are saying in a TV ad that Kerry merely helped his comrade return to his boat at a time of relative calm. They also claim the purple hearts Kerry won were for minor wounds, some of which they claim Kerry inflicted upon himself. The TV ads were released just as the Democratic Convention ended having featured John Kerry as a veteran who had risked his life for his country. This juxtaposed to the shrub's military record of getting into the home based National Guard with the help of his rich & government connected Daddy, & then going AWOL for months of his duty,then having the relevant records conveniently disappear. Why any real Military Vet would support the chicken hawk shrub gang administration is beyond the Rhino. Deserter: The Story Of George W. Bush After He Quit The Texas Air National Guard via Democrats.com After EXHAUSTIVE research, Paul Lukasiak writes, "An examination of the Bush military files... lead to a single conclusion: George W. Bush was considered a deserter by the United States Air Force... MORE:  http://www.glcq.com/bush_at_arpc1.htm They say, consider the source. Regarding the swift boat liars for bush this is key. Two vets appearing in the ads have co-authored a book, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," which among other journalistic techniques uses the tried & true right wing, "Call 'em a commie."  The book spotlights pictures of John Kerry at a Vietnamese museum standing with communist officials "praising him" and  the now infamous photo of Kerry sitting near Jane Fonda at a anti-war rally, a photo which has been well documented as having been doctored. The shrub gang wants us to believe this group & their ads aren't connected to the Bush 2004 campaign. Here's an excellent visual flowchart documenting many links between the swift boat liars & the shrub gang. DOWNLOAD THE SWIFT BOAT LIARS FLOWCHART AT: http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/08/19/politics/campaign/20040820swift_graph.gif The authors of "Unfit for Command:"are longtime GOP operative John O'Neill & Jerome Corsi.  From the flowchart posted above, we see that John O'Neill, the main spokesman of the group, was married to a woman that was appointed to the Texas State Court of Appeals by then-Governor George W. Bush. One of John O'Neill's law partners was a paid counsel to Governor Bush, hired to the position of deputy counsel to the Department of Commerce. Harlan Crow, another instigator of the Swift Boat Vets is trustee for Papa Bush's official Library Foundation.  Check out this piece on O'Neil's co-author, Jerome Corsi. Anti-Kerry Book Author Preaches Hate, Bigotry and Homophobia By WILLIAM D. McTAVISH, Capitol Hill Blue, Aug 10, 2004 A co-author of the anti-Kerry screed, Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, is a religious bigot, hatemonger and gay basher who says Islam should be eliminated, calls Senator Hillary Clinton a "lesbo" and says "Ragheads are Boy-Bumpers as clearly as they are Women-Haters."  "Islam is like a virus," writes Jerome Corsi who - with longtime GOP operative John O'Neill wrote the book as part of a project financed by Texas Republican contributors with strong ties to President George W. Bush. "It (Islam) affects the mind," Corsi writes. "Maybe even better as an analogy, it is a cancer that destroys the body it infects. No doctor would hesitate to eliminate cancer cells from the body." Corsi posted these comments on the FreeRepublic.com web site on November 26, 2002. He is a regular contributor to the right-wing website, posting under the screen handle of "jrlc" since 2001. A frequent gay basher, Corsi on November 18, 2001, posted: "Isn't the Democratic Party the official SODOMIZER PROTECTION ASSOCIATION of AMERICA?"  (The capital letters are his)  He reserves the same hatred towards Catholics... MORE: http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_5003.shtml The group continues to raise money & last week introduced an ad with former POW's recounting the pain Kerry's 1971 antiwar comments caused them when they were being held by the Vietcong. Also last week, the Bush campaign confirmed that one of the vets featured in the ads, retired Col. Kenneth Cordier, has until recently, served on the campaign's veterans' advisory committee, with a mandate to reach out to vets. An enterprising blogger named digby revealed that Cordier was even officially listed on the Bush campaign website as a member of the campaign team until August 19th. His name has since been removed, but as digby points out, you can still see it there if you visit the cached version of the site. This should beg the question, "Since Cordier's role in the campaign was veterans outreach, was the formation of the Swift Boat Vets part of his campaign duties?" Bush Supporter Leaves Campaign Over Role in Ad Reuters, 21 August 2004 ... ``Col. Cordier did not inform the campaign of his involvement in the advertisement being run by (Swift Boat Veterans for Truth),'' Schmidt said. ``Because of his involvement with this 527 (group), Col. Cordier will no longer participate'' in the steering committee. The disclosure of Cordier's involvement came one day after White House spokesman Scott McClellan and Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot denied the campaign coordinated with the group on the ads... MORE AT: Leaves Campaign Here's a well done & in depth NY Times piece on the swift boat liars: Friendly Fire: The Birth of an Anti-Kerry Ad By KATE ZERNIKE and JIM RUTENBERG, NY Times,  August 20, 2004 ... The strategy the veterans devised would ultimately paint John Kerry the war hero as John Kerry the "baby killer" and the fabricator of the events that resulted in his war medals. But on close examination, the accounts of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' prove to be riddled with inconsistencies. In many cases, material offered as proof by these veterans is undercut by official Navy records and the men's own statements.  Several of those now declaring Mr. Kerry "unfit" had lavished praise on him, some as recently as last year... IN DEPTH ARTICLE AT: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/20/politics/campaign/20swift.html Today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE is an appeal to the shrub by the man whose life was saved by John Kerry, Jim Rassman. Here he asks the shrub to condemn the swift boat lies. 8:06:06 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Jim Rassman writes, To: George W. Bush "SEND THIS ARTICLE TO A REPUBLICAN!" Jim Rassman writes, To: George W. Bush via democrats.com "35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in combat. As John McCain noted, the television ad aired by these veterans is 'dishonest and dishonorable.' Sen. McCain called on President Bush to condemn the ad. Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain." As a candidate, you promised to "be a uniter, not a divider" ... "restore honor and integrity to the White House" ... and "change the tone in Washington." We therefore call on you to condemn the lies by your supporters about John Kerry's Vietnam medals. Sign his petition at: http://democrats.com/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=swift "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 7:06:49 AM    comment

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