Thursday, September 27, 2007

Responses to Posts on This Blog III

[Vietnam Vet Marine here. Just wondering Sgt. Kokesh, are you the
[new John Kerry? Yoou got to ramp it up a little if you want to get to
[his level. He was a master at smearing his brothers. Check out my
[video about Kerry and his speech to Congress in 1972.
[Semper Fi thanks for your service, and I may not agree with what
[you say, but you earned the right to say it. Just think long and hard
[before you go as far as Kerry did. This speech in the video cost him
[the election
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF3b9UIS29w

John Kerry had a number of problems politically, but I think it is grossly inaccurate to say that he was “smearing his brothers.” He did not accuse them of anything. He was reporting what a large number of veterans testified to at the Winter Soldier Investigation. No one who has actually seen the Winter Soldier documentary would say that Kerry “smeared” anyone except for the architects of the war in Vietnam.

Unfortunately, Kerry’s biggest problem was selling out. At the end of his speech before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April, 1971, he said, “When 30 years from now, our brothers go down the street without a leg, without an arm, without a face, and small boys ask why, we will be able to say ‘Vietnam,’ and mean not a desert, not a filthy and obscene memory, but mean instead the place where America finally turned and where soldiers like us finally helped in the turning.”

I got a chance to very briefly meet him a few months ago and quoted that back to him with “Iraq” instead of “Vietnam.” I wanted to call him out more thoroughly, but thought that was a kind way of reminding him where he came from. From my perspective, America hasn’t turned for shit. Or if it has, it turned back.

CNN INSIDE POLITICS
American People Give President Bush High Marks as He Nears 100 Days in Office
Aired April 24, 2001 - 17:00 ET

[Jonathan] KARL: What's the verdict? Is Vietnam a filthy, obscene memory or is it where America finally turned? KERRY: I think Vietnam did have a profound impact on this country, on our attitude, on how we send soldiers to places in harm's way today. I think what Colin Powell has said about how we make choices is a reflection of the attitude that I was talking about.

So he was confronted with the question and wasn’t quite able to answer it. It is very interesting that he mentions Powell, however, as he became the most powerful instrument of the lies that led us into Iraq.

[Lol, a coward speaks and we are supposed to listen?
[Run to Canada baby boy. Let the men defend out country.

Isn’t it funny that no one ever says anything like this to my face?

[Hey man, why'd you cut the Reverend and take the last protest
[spot at the hearing? You left him alone with a gang of thugs!!!

Yeah, I felt bad about that, but we had already testified to the cops that he had been there earlier and they hadn’t listened. If we had stayed with him, we would have given up our seats in the public (not protest) section too. I know that he would rather have two IVAW members present than zero from the attempt of making it three.

However, Geoff and I were the only ones there to meet him when he got released from the hospital. I got some quotes for his press release and had fun watching the cops struggle to figure out what to do with his crutches. He is still recovering from his injuries, but can now walk with a cane. Unfortunately, he is still unsure if there will be any permanent damage. As he was joking just yesterday, “It will be the limp that has me walking straight!”