U.S. Atrocities Far From Widespread In Vietnam

It seems John Kerry quoted fake witnesses in his famous Winter Soldier testimony about atrocities in Vietnam.

Here's a quote from the article:

The first cliché is that atrocities were widespread in Vietnam. But this is nonsense. Atrocities did occur in Vietnam, but they were far from widespread. Between 1965 and 1973, 201 soldiers and 77 Marines were convicted of serious crimes against the Vietnamese. Of course, the fact that many crimes, either in war or peace, go unreported, combined with the particular difficulties encountered by Americans fighting in Vietnam, suggest that more such acts were committed than reported or tried.

But even Daniel Ellsberg, a severe critic of U.S. policy in Vietnam, rejected the argument that the biggest U.S. atrocity in Vietnam, My Lai, was in any way a normal event: "My Lai was beyond the bounds of permissible behavior, and that is recognizable by virtually every soldier in Vietnam. They know it was wrong....The men who were at My Lai knew there were aspects out of the ordinary. That is why they tried to hide the event, talked about it to no one, discussed it very little even among themselves."

Kerry should have checked his facts before his testimony. I wish he would apologize for repeating the words of fake Vietnam vets and thereby unwittingly slandering his fellow servicemen and women. I'm not saying he was wrong to testify, I'm saying he was wrong not to repudiate the portion of his testimony about which he had been mislead.

He should have checked his 'intelligence' better.

Of course, I am giving Kerry the benefit of the doubt by saying the witnesses mislead him. I have no proof whether Kerry lied or was lied to. I think it is important to give our political opponents the benefit of the doubt, don't you?

Kerry Can't Tell a King From a Five

Saxby Chambliss criticizes John Kerry's voting record by pointing out how soft he is on intelligence funding. In return, Kerry plays the Vietnam card. Sorry, Senator Kerry, your thirty year old Vietnam service as a junior officer doesn't tell us much about either your ability to be President, or what you'll do if elected. (Jefferson and Lincoln never served. Grant was a freakin' General for goodness sake.) I'd say that card is a five. Your voting record, OTOH, gives us a much better idea what you'll do if elected. I'd say its a King. Sponsoring a bill in the Senate to triple intelligence funding and getting it passed would be an Ace. Try to play the right cards.

I wanna play Poker with this guy.

Via Rosemary at Dean's World.

Update: Ara defends Kerry. More from Oxblog.

Partisanship Is Only Good...

...in moderation.

Peace Through Strength

Dean Esmay points out that the Bush Doctrine Continues Working. Discussion ensues. Ara invokes A.Q. Khan.

An Article on Men's Rights...

...mutates into a discussion on domestic violence in Dean's World.

It's Fun To Talk To Ara...

...about politicians who try to work both sides of an issue.

It's Fun To Talk To Ara...

...about gay marriage.

It's Fun To Talk To Ara...

... about the Bush Doctrine.

The Iraq Campaign Was A War Of Liberation

Paul Berman, who apparently finds Bush repulsive, defends the Iraqi Campaign as an anti-fascist war. So why do those on the left condemn it?

Idiots and Secession

Michael Williams explains How to Tell If You're an Idiot, covering pointless juxtapositions, obvious distinctions, false syllogisms, totally false corrections, "war is never the answer", reading comprehension and ignorance of history. Later on, in the comments I get totally distracted by the question:

Why shouldn't states be allowed to secede?

To be more specific, consider a bill before Congress, citing Article IV, Section 3, (The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States.) which allowed states to leave the union if they passed a popular referendum with a 66% supermajority. I would support such a bill as a proper expression of my belief in liberty. Would you? Why or why not? Or am I revealing my idiocy in ways Michael did not specify?

Hooray for Haloscan!

Haloscan has added Trackback, and therefore, so have I! Too bad Blogger still doesn't auto-ping. Maybe I should write a tool that does Trackback pings easier than Kevin's tool. (Sorry, can't find the exact link.) His tool is cool, but I end up doing lots of cut and paste.

Are You A Bigot?

Frankly, I would be surprised if you weren't. University of Texas law professor Douglas Laycock's article: VICIOUS STEREOTYPES IN POLITE SOCIETY, points out how easy it is for bigotry to poison our minds, our discourse and our Republic. Read it all (except maybe the footnotes).

Please join me as I strive to combat bigotry in my own mind, my own speech and my own writing.

Via Instapundit.

Think Bush Was AWOL? Read This And Weep

Unless you are sure that the records are forged and all the witnesses are lying. Bill Hobbs at HobbsOnline and his many commenters who have served in the Reserves and National Guard debunk the living heck out of the Bush was AWOL story. Repeatedly. With prejudice.

Ara Rubyan Opines on Bill Maher (and Zell Miller)

Dean Esmay wasn't amused by Bill Maher's anti-Southern rant. Ara thought it was funny. I'm just enjoying batting the ball back and forth with Ara.

The Evidence Speaks: Bush Was Not AWOL

Actually, the evidence has been saying Bush was not AWOL for some time. But now it is speaking louder. A comrade in arms of President Bush has choice words for his critics as well. (Via Kim du Toit.)

If you examine the evidence objectively you will conclude that Bush was not AWOL, and that he and his comrades served this country well in the Guard. If you conclude otherwise, it is because you want to believe ill of him. Neither you, nor he, nor his comrades in the Guard both now and then deserve that. Show some grace and a little milk of human kindness towards those you oppose, people. You aren't the Taliban.

Mrs. du Toit On Gay Marriage

Mrs. du Toit and I are both members in good standing of the Heck No, Or At Least Go Slow club with regards to gay marriage.

Clinton Leads From The Center, Again

Bunker Mulligan gives an example of how President Clinton has become a voice in the wilderness in his own party. Bill Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Ed Koch and Zell Miller are trying to keep the Democratic Party from veering way off course. I hope they succeed.

Update: Link corrected.

I Love My Used Bulgarian Makarov 9x18

Kim du Toit really enjoyed shooting a 9x18 Makarov at the STFDMS. Here is my reply to him. (Preserved here for posterity since Kim gets almost as much email as Taiwan.)

I love my used Bulgarian Makarov, and I thank Chuck Hawks for the positive recommendation. As I am a former armchair gun aficionado (read a lot, know nothing) you can't know how pleased I am to have you validate my choice. It is fun to shoot and as untutored and unpracticed as I am I can still make a ragged hole with seven out of eight at seven yards on occasion. I do have a hard time at longer distances, since it seems to sighted in at seven yards as regards height and of course I've never been taught how to compensate. Oh, and I could probably use a new prescription. It is so hard to hit the dot when it is a blur, and I know my lack of breathing isn't helping...

On the other hand I'm told seven 9x18 center mass at seven yards will change a goblin's life in a positive way...

Go Forth And Take Up Thy Camouflage Against Spammers!

Venomous Kate has found two nifty anti-spam tools. The first tests a page for embedded email addresses which a spam-bot can harvest. The second encodes an email address so it cannot be harvested.

Comment Tracker

Here are posts where I'm watching the comments:

Jan 28 - The Peoria Pundit: Out of his arse - Bill Dennis advocates objective journalism rather than Jeff Jarvis's favorite, which is journalism by agenda.
Jan 27 - The Smallest Minority: Something I've Thought About as Well - Can we still vote with our feet? Are we free to speak our minds because no one is listening?
Jan 27 - Dean's World: Doggerel Trivia - Who chose whom? God or the Jews.
Jan 27 - Dean's World: About Jews - Jewish histories, recommended.
Jan 26 - Dean's World: Fixing the Homeless Problem - Cincinnati tries something positive.
Jan 26 - E Pluribus Unum: Inspector Calls US Iraq Intelligence a Failure - Ara complains even though Clinton believed, only Bush went to war. A war Ara says he supports. Maybe Ara just enjoys the position of Devil's Advocate. I do.
Jan 22 - E Pluribus Unum: Two more soldiers were killed in Iraq on Thursday - Ara complains that our coalition partners aren't providing enough casualties.
Jan 20 - E Pluribus Unum: Bob Dole, President of Iowa - Ara and I both are worried that Howard Dean might be like Bob Dole.
Jan 20 - E Pluribus Unum: "Fringe-baiting" (in hindsight) - Boy it's hard to keep ones crazy supporters in line.
Jan 17 - E Pluribus Unum: Re: Pickering -- Is POTUS tone-deaf or just arrogant? - Pickering is a racist. No he's not, Robert Byrd is a racist. No he's not, Republicans are racists. No, they aren't Democrats are racist. Then everyone calms down.

Dead Threads, But On My To Do List:
Jan 20 - Dean's World: Crybaby Christians
Jan 10 - E Pluribus Unum: "Annoy the media. Swing the bat."
Jan 07 - Wince and Nod: A Blogger Needs Advice
Jan 06 - Tao of Dowingba: A perfect example

Dead Threads:
Jan 11 - Wince and Nod: Is The Technological Singularity Upon Us?
Jan 11 - Tao of Dowingba: Kansas wants to send smokers to Oz
Jan 10 - Wince and Nod: Crusin' For A Brusin'
Jan 09 - Dean's World: Explain This to Me (Rosemary)
Jan 09 - Tao of Dowingba: Conservation
Jan 08 - Wince and Nod: Police Trainee Shoots Self In Leg
Jan 08 - The Smallest Minority: Our Jan Collapsing Schools Dept. - This Will Make You Think...
08 - E Pluribus Unum: Iraq's Arsenal Was Only on Paper
Jan 08 - Tao of Dowingba: Dowingbalanche
Jan 06 - Dean's World: Thesis
Jan 06 - Tao of Dowingba: Karl's rap sheet
Jan 02 - Hell In A Handbasket: WORDS OF WISDOM
Jan 02 - Winds of Change: "Mad Max" in Iraq
Dec 30 - Crooked Timber: All the nice boys love a cowboy
Dec 30 - Francis W. Porretto: Not Because It's True
24 Dec - The Smallest Minority: The Exchange Continues
24 Dec - psychobabble: The Right to Bear Arms II
23 Dec - Hell In A Handbasket: AT LEAST THE BLOG IS APTLY NAMED
23 Dec - Dean's World: Credit Where It's Due
22 Dec - Dean's World: Best Idea Yet...(Rosemary)
22 Dec - Transterrestrial Musings: We Play Right Into Their Hands
21 Dec - Dean's World: Security
21 Dec - It's Craptastic!: Orange...
20 Dec - Michael Williams -- Master of None: Hoplophobia
20 Dec - psychobabble: The Right to Bear Arms
19 Dec - Hell In A Handbasket: JUST TO MAKE MY OWN POSITION CLEAR
19 Dec - Lean Left: Barry on Concealed Carry
18 Dec - The Smallest Minority: UPDATE: The Hoplophobe Responds
18 Dec - Inn of the Last Home: Vilification and Clarification
18 Dec - Dean's World: Enviro-Vilification
17 Dec - Dean's World: Stomping More Stupidity
17 Dec - Ara Rubyan: How Dean Could Win . . . (Part Deux)
17 Dec - Dean's World: ... But By The Content of Their Ideas
16 Dec - Tao of Dowingba: Card on the Issues
16 Dec - Tao of Dowingba: Another Canada vs USA post
14 Dec - The Smallest Minority: The Hoplophobic Mindset
13 Dec - Michael Williams -- Master of None: An Open Letter to Hawthorne Police Chief Stephen Port
13 Dec - Hell In A Handbasket: CLICK ON OVER AND GIVE YOUR TWO CENTS
13 Dec - Tao of Dowingba: Better understanding the bidding issue
12 Dec - It's Craptastic!: A call to the Right...
08 Dec - It's Craptastic!: What is the point?
05 Dec - a visitor: The US National Rifle Association's "hit list"
20 Nov - Ravenwood: Tobacco-wackos are becoming violent