Monday, February 23, 2004

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?

Sunday, February 22, 2004

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.

Friday, February 20, 2004

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.

Thursday, February 19, 2004

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.

Thursday, February 12, 2004

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.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

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.

Monday, February 09, 2004

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.