About. To. Keel. Over. Because. I. Am. So. Tired. Will. Return. From. Vacation. Wed. BIG. INTERVIEW. I. Repeat. BIG. INTERVIEW. Coming. Wednesday.

Have a nice Labor Day week-end folks!

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My favorite speech excerpts from the Republican National Convention, in order....

Honorable Mentions

"And I have met with parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag, and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved. I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I am in their prayers to offer encouragement to me. Where does strength like that come from? How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such pride? It is because they know their loved one was last seen doing good. Because they know that liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation: decent, and idealistic, and strong." -- George Bush

"For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag." -- Zell Miller

"Senator Kerry says -- Senator Kerry says, "America should go to war not when it wants to go to war but when it has to go to war." Well, Senator, the firefighters and cops who ran into those burning towers and died on September 11th didn't want to go to war. They were heroes in a war they didn't even know existed. America did not choose this war. But we have a president who chooses to win it." -- George Pataki

"Even in this post-9/11 period, Senator Kerry doesn’t appear to understand how the world has changed. He talks about leading a “more sensitive war on terror,” as though al-Qaida will be impressed with our softer side. He declared at the Democratic Convention that he will forcefully defend America after we have been attacked. My fellow Americans, we have already been attacked, and faced with an enemy who seeks the deadliest of weapons to use against us, we cannot wait for the next attack. We must do everything we can to prevent it and that includes the use of military force." -- Dick Cheney

"As long as I live, I will never forget that day 21 years ago when I raised my hand and took the oath of citizenship. Do you know how proud I was? I was so proud that I walked around with an American flag around my shoulders all day long." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called "walking". -- George Bush

"I wasn't born when my father went to World War II. Like so many of our greatest generation he is gone now, lost to Alzheimer's nine years ago. He served in the US Army in Europe for almost three years, and helped liberate Nordhausen, one of the concentration camps. You can imagine his horror at what he found there. The methods of the terrorists we face today are different - but my father would know this struggle. Our parents' generation confronted tyranny and liberated millions. As we do the hard work of confronting today's threat - we can also be proud that 50 million more men, women and children live in freedom thanks to the United States of America and our allies." -- Laura Bush

10) "The years of keeping Saddam in a box were coming to a close. The international consensus that he be kept isolated and unarmed had eroded to the point that many critics of military action had decided the time had come again to do business with Saddam, despite his near daily attacks on our pilots, and his refusal, until his last day in power, to allow the unrestricted inspection of his arsenal. Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents. And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls." -- John McCain

9) "There is another way you can tell you're a Republican. You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the American people, and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: "Don't be economic girlie men!" -- Arnold Schwarzenegger

8) "America has done this kind of work before and there have always been doubters. In 1946, 18 months after the fall of Berlin to allied forces, a journalist wrote in the New York Times, "Germany is a land in an acute stage of economic, political and moral crisis. (European) capitals are frightened. In every (military) headquarters, one meets alarmed officials doing their utmost to deal with the consequences of the occupation policy that they admit has failed." End quote. Maybe that same person's still around, writing editorials." -- George Bush

7) "On September 11, this city and our nation faced the worst attack in our history. On that day, we had to confront reality. For me, when I arrived there and I stood below the north tower and I looked up, and seeing the flames of hell emanating from those buildings, and realizing that what I was actually seeing was a human being on the 101st, 102nd floor that was jumping out of the building, I stood there, it probably took five or six seconds, it seemed to me that it took 20 or 30 minutes, and I was stunned....At the time, we believed that we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and I said to him, "Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president." I say it again tonight. I say it again tonight: Thank God that George Bush is our president, and thank God..." -- Rudy Giuliani

6) "Well, what can we say of Senator Kerry? He was for the war and then he was against the war. He was for it, but he wouldn't fund it. Then he'd fund it, but he wasn't for it. He was for the Patriot Act until he was against the Patriot Act. Or was he against it until he was for it? I forget. He probably does, too. This is a candidate who has to Google his own name to find out where he stands." -- George Pataki

5) "No one should dare to even think about being the Commander in Chief of this country if he doesn’t believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home. But don’t waste your breath telling that to the leaders of my party today. In their warped way of thinking America is the problem, not the solution. They don’t believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy." -- Zell Miller

4) "I can't repeat what (the construction workers at Grounf Zero) said, but one of them really got the president's attention. The president really bonded with him. They sort of hit it off. And the guy's giving him this long explanation of exactly what he should do. And when the man finished, President Bush said in a rather loud voice, "I agree." At this point, all of the people kind of looked at this guy, all of his buddies. And can you imagine -- I mean, you're a construction worker, and all your buddies say -- and the president says, "I agree." The guy went up in his own estimation from his 6 feet to about 6'10. He lost total control of himself. Forgot who he was dealing with. He leaned over. He grabbed the president of the United States in this massive bear hug, and he started squeezing him. And the Secret Service agent standing next to me, who wasn't happy about any of this, instead of running over and getting the president out of this grip, puts his finger in my face and he says to me, "If this guy hurts the president, Giuliani, you're finished." I didn't know what to say. I was kind of shook when the -- and I said -- the only thing I could think of, and it's the moral of the story, I said, "But it would be out of love." -- Rudy Giuliani

3) "I first got to know George Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man. I am moved by the respect he shows the first lady, his unabashed love for his parents and his daughters, and the fact that he is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America. I can identify with someone who has lived that line in “Amazing Grace,” “Was blind, but now I see,” and I like the fact that he’s the same man on Saturday night that he is on Sunday morning. He is not a slick talker but he is a straight shooter and, where I come from, deeds mean a lot more than words. I have knocked on the door of this man’s soul and found someone home, a God-fearing man with a good heart and a spine of tempered steel. The man I trust to protect my most precious possession: my family." -- Zell Miller

2) "My point about John Kerry being inconsistent is best described in his own words, not mine. I quote John Kerry, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." Maybe this explains John Edwards' need for two Americas. One is where John Kerry can vote for something and another where he can vote against exactly the same thing." -- Rudy Giuliani

1) "Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security but Americans need to know the facts. The B-1 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, dropped 40 percent of the bombs in the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom. The B-2 bomber, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered air strikes against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Hussein’s command post in Iraq. The F-14A Tomcats, that Senator Kerry opposed, shot down Khadifi’s Libyan MIGs over the Gulf of Sidra. The modernized F-14D, that Senator Kerry opposed, delivered missile strikes against Tora Bora. The Apache helicopter, that Senator Kerry opposed, took out those Republican Guard tanks in Kuwait in the Gulf War. The F-15 Eagles, that Senator Kerry opposed, flew cover over our Nation’s Capital and this very city after 9/11. I could go on and on and on: against the Patriot Missile that shot down Saddam Hussein’s scud missiles over Israel; against the Aegis air-defense cruiser; against the Strategic Defense Initiative; against the Trident missile; against, against, against. This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?" -- Zell Miller

Everyone who participated in this, who helped make it happen, who cheers it on as some sort of noble act, deserves to die...

"The three-day hostage siege at a school in southern Russia ended in chaos and bloodshed Friday, after witnesses said Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building. Hostages fled in terror, many of them children who were half-naked and covered in blood. Officials estimated the death toll at more than 200.

Gadieyeva told of three days of unspeakable horror - of children so frightened they couldn't sleep, of captors coolly threatening to kill off hostages one by one. The gym where they were held was so cramped there was hardly room to move."

The civilized world has endured enough from these radical Islamist terrorists.

9/11, Bali, the Moscow Theater massacre, countless attacks on India, on Israel, on the people of Iraq, and now these poor kids in a school.

I don't care why the terrorists hate us, I don't care about their grievances, I don't want to be sensitive to their needs, I don't want to negotiate with them, I just want our people to show up where THEY LIVE and infiltrate them, hunt them, & KILL THEM before they kill us.

"Bill Clinton was hospitalized with chest pains and shortness of breath Friday and will undergo heart bypass surgery in an operation that could sideline the former president at the height of the campaign for the White House.

...It was not clear when the surgery would be performed, but Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said: "They did advise him to have bypass surgery, and to do it as soon as he could."

I may not agree with Bill Clinton on much politically, but when someone becomes ill, I think partisanship needs to be temporarily set aside until they've recovered. Politics is an important thing, but it's not the most important thing. So with that in my mind, my best wishes go out to Bill Clinton's family and friends and I wish the man himself a speedy recovery.

Get well soon Bill!

There was less coverage of the liberal wackos protesting the convention than I had expected this week, in part because the NYC police did a fantastic job of keeping them under control, but also because the mainstream media has undoubtedly figured out by now that putting these nutjob lefties on TV only helps the GOP.

But here at RWN, we love the crazies, the commies, & the anarchists who come out to rant against Bush and talk up their beloved Democratic party! That's why I wanted to put together just a few of the protester lowlights for the week for your enjoyment...

"Police said more than 1,760 people have been arrested in a week of convention-related protests, a record for a U.S. political convention."

"Suddenly a group of perhaps a dozen materialized, chanting and carrying a banner that read "Free John Hinckley" Their slogan: "F--- Reagan! Go home!" They moved down the avenue at a very fast pace and were gone as quickly as they arrived. Between their chant and the bicyclist's shirt, we really started to wonder how anyone can call President Bush inarticulate."

"But individual protesters kept tensions high, some of them hissing or cursing at well-heeled couples heading to popular Broadway musicals like "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

"B*tch, go home! We don't want you here!" At one point, police cordoned off a city block after several dozen demonstrators jeered and razzed the incoming audience."

"A featured performer at a National Organization for Women rally accused President Bush of having "savagely raped " women "over and over" by allegedly stealing the 2000 presidential election.

"Imagine a way to erase that night four years ago when you (President Bush) savagely raped every pandemic woman over and over with each vote you got, a thrust with each state you stole," Birnbaum said from the podium. (If something is pandemic, it affects many people or a number of countries."

"U.S. Rep. Major Owens, a New York Democrat, warned a crowd of feminist protesters that the Bush administration is taking America "into a snake pit of fascism."

Owens made his remarks in New York City's Central Park at a National Organization for Women rally on Wednesday night."

Nice group of people, huh?

The entire primetime hour tonight was taken up with George W. Bush's speech and it was not wasted time.

While W. isn't a master orator like Reagan, or Clinton who can deliver a superb speech even though he's reeling off a laundry list of programs, he helped himself tonight.

Bush's speech was issue laden, he scored some points on John Kerry without coming across as mean-spirited, he ably defended his role as commander-and-chief, & he just oozed likability.

Overall, this was a much stronger convention than the one the Dems put on and I'm confident that Kerry was damaged, Bush was boosted, and the race has further tilted in W's favor.

The poll numbers early next week? They should be sweet and I'm particularly looking forward to seeing what the numbers look like in the big 4 states, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. But, we'll have to wait until the 15th or so to tell how much momentum W will be able to retain.

Now, here's W's speech from last night...

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Either someone is doing a very bad job of advising John Kerry or he's buying into that old saw that both parties' faithful always repeat "We're just lying there and taking it! We're not fighting back" and he's insisting on saying this in his speech tonight...

"We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as Commander-in-chief. We'll, here's my answer. I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq.

Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without healthcare makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi Royal Family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America."

Of course, nobody challenged John Kerry's patriotism at the Republican convention, that's just a dodge that Democrats use when Republicans start pointing out how bad their voting records are on security related issues (See Max Cleland for a perfect example of what I'm talking about). Furthermore, if you check Dick Cheney's speech last night, you won't find the words "unfit" or "office" in the speech. All you'll see is a very pointed, illuminating attack on John Kerry's poor record on security issues.

Moreover, strategically, this is a dumb thing for Kerry to say on so many levels...

"The Vice President even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty."

First of all, that's the sort of charge you send surrogates out to make because it sounds nasty, partisan, and unpresidential, especially when compared to the very gracious & respectful way that the Bush campaign has treated Kerry's military service. Furthermore, it's not going to hurt Dick Cheney or help John Kerry. People already know Cheney got deferments during the war and that John Kerry served.

Furthermore, by continuing to put his Vietnam record front and center in the campaign, Kerry helps keep the charges by the Swift Boat Vets for Truth front and center in the campaign.

On top of all of that, we've got Kerry complaining about a war he voted for and talking about the Saudis and Haliburton? What, is Michael Moore writing his campaign speeches for him now?

Maybe Kerry feels like he needs to ramp it up a notch since the momentum is swinging dramatically in Bush's direction because of Swift Boat Vets for Truth & the convention, but John Kerry is going to hurt himself more than he hurts Bush by personally launching these sort of shrill attacks...which actually suits me just fine =D

*** Update #1***: From a post I wrote back on Feb 11, 2004...

"Most importantly, you have to remember that the last thing a Massachusetts liberal with a terrible voting record on security issues wants to do is go toe to toe on defense issues with George Bush in a time of war. So expect him to try to use the old Max Cleland dodge to get out of it. Kerry will claim that simply being a decorated Vietnam vet makes him credible on national defense and if anyone questions his judgement, they're attacking his patriotism. Then the issue becomes the attacks on his patriotism, not his sure to be mousey foreign policy."

Hat tip to Country Store for creating this one.

The Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign today announced it will spend $50 million in the next few days on advertising to prove John Forbes Kerry and John Edwards understand the concerns of middle Americans.

"We're regular folks, just like all you ordinary people, and we're going to burn through $50 million in about week just to prove it," said Mr. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran and distinguished anti-war protestor who is also a U.S. Senator. "Sen. Edwards and I got this $50 million the old fashioned way--by asking generous friends in Hollywood, at union headquarters and at the trial lawyers association to give it to us. You should see our callouses."

Before a crowd of cheering supporters, Mr. Kerry shouted, "We have been oppressed by those fatcat Republicans for too long."

Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards then led the crowd in chanting: "Down with The Man. Power to the people."

If you enjoyed this satire by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work at Scrappleface.

Zell Miller went on Hardball last night and when Chris Matthews tried to pull his standard operating procedure, Miller stomped a mudhole in his behind and walked it dry while pointing out the incredibly rude & unprofessional way Matthews treated Michelle Malkin when she was on his show a couple of weeks ago.

I guess Matthews picked a fight with the wrong marine.

Here's my favorite exchange from the interview...

MILLER: If you‘re going to ask a question...

MILLER: I don‘t know why I even came on this program.

Chris Matthews is another Morton Downey Jr. and it was great to see someone lay the verbal smackdown on him that he so richly deserved. I loved it, absolutely LOVED IT...

Hat tip to CavalierX from Guardian Watchblog for pointing this out.

On Tuesday, the convention featuring a rousing speech by Arnold, followed by a more sedate speech by Laura Bush aimed at women's voters.

Well last night, we had a blistering, no-holds-barred speech by Zell Miller, again followed by Dick Cheney, who touted the domestic agenda, talked up Bush and the importance of the war on terrorism, and then laid into John Kerry, albeit not as effectively as Zell Miller. Not that Cheney did a bad job, but he just couldn't compare to the sheer voltage Miller was pumping out.

Speaking of Miller...WOW! He looked furious and sounded like a Baptist preacher unleashing a sermon about fire and brimstone as he STRIPPED THE HIDE off not only John Kerry, but his whole party on defense. And the delegates were lovin' it so much that you could practically see the little hearts floating above their heads as they stared at Miller with open mouthed admiration.

Personally, I was so happy to hear a Senator, not a columnist or blogger, nailing the Democrats for how reckless they are about defending America from external threats, that I was ready to do a snoopy dance across the room.

Here's Miller's speech. You may want to be on the look-out for the beat-down he laid on Kerry's votes against various weapons systems which culminated with his asking if Kerry wants our Armed Forces to have to defend themselves with spitballs. That was my fave part of the speech....

On the day that prosecutors dropped charges against basketball star Kobe Bryant, the three major cable news networks announced they would cut back to 12-hours of daily programming.

"Without the Kobe show, we just can't fill 24 hours a day," said one unnamed programming executive. "I mean you can only run so many Michael Jackson perp walks and pictures of Scott Peterson smirking."

A Fox News spokesman said her network would purchase exclusive rights to the second season of the Kobe trial, expected to start soon.

"Kobe is the new Regis," said the Fox source. "This could run 13 seasons, then go into eternal syndication."

If you enjoyed this satire by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work here.

This was RWN's best month ever for daily uniques, and the best month this year for page views. Right Wing News finished August with 335,225 total pageviews & 202,452 daily unique visitors.

Thanks to all the web pages that linked RWN and of course, all the readers for making that possible. I'm going to have to double that number (at least) to go full time, but it's nice to be going in the right direction.

Also, you may have noticed the new RWN advertiser, "Tell the Republican Party To Come Back To The Mainstream".

To be honest with you, I have no idea who these guys are -- literally. I mean here are the members listed on the front of their website....

"Gov. David Cargo, New Mexico, 1967-71
Gov. Dan Evans, Washington, 1965-77
Gov. A. Linwood Holton, Virginia, 1970-74
Gov. Willam G. Milliken, Michigan, 1969-83
Gov. Walter R. Peterson, New Hampshire, 1969-73
Sen. Charles M. Mathias, Jr., Maryland, 1969-87
Sen. Robert T. Stafford, Vermont, 1971-89"

I was tempted to reject their ad, since I totally disagree with the idea that the GOP isn't in the mainstream already, but hey, they're paying money and I'm a capitalist right? If they want to run ads on RWN, all I have to say is thanks for the money fellas and oh...check out their web page. Even if I don't agree with them, they should at least get something for their money...

I'm not the biggest ah-nold fan in the world, but I have to give him credit for the great speech he gave last night. He was funny, did a good job of talking up W., and it's always fantastic to hear someone who audaciously points out the obvious: that the United States is a beacon of freedom for the world and the greatest nation that is, has ever been, or likely ever will be.

On the other hand, I wouldn't advise the Bush twins to quit their day jobs (wait, do they have day jobs?) and go into stand-up comedy. Frankly, I didn't think they were very good and I'm a little surprised their lame act made it to prime time without someone cluing them in.

Laura Bush's speech seemed pretty tame compared to Schwarzenegger's potent time at the podium, but she was targeting a different crowd. Laura was up there to bring in the "soccer moms" and humanize W. a bit and while she certainly couldn't sling red meat like Arnold or Rudy, I think she earned a primetime slot.

But of course, the highlight of the night was Schwarzenegger's speech and here it is in its entirety...

Hat tip to Entropy from Arguing With Myself for pointing this pic out to me and to Flash Bunny for making it.

PS: For accidentally self-inflicted wounds that were used to fraudulently acquire medals, see Kerry's 1st & 3rd Purple Hearts.

Here's some info on those citations,

"Former Navy Secretary John Lehman has no idea where a Silver Star citation displayed on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's campaign Web site came from, he said Friday. The citation appears over Lehman's signature.

The additional language varied from the two previous citations, signed first by Adm. Elmo Zumwalt and then Adm. John Hyland, which themselves differ. The new material added in the Lehman citation reads in part: "By his brave actions, bold initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty, Lieutenant (jg) Kerry reflected great credit upon himself...."

Last but not least, here's more on the "medal that doesn't even exist"...

"The DD214 form, an official Defense Department document summarizing Kerry's military career posted on johnkerry.com, includes a "Silver Star with combat V."

Naval regulations do not allow for the use of a "combat V" for the Silver Star, the third-highest decoration the Navy awards. None of the other services has ever granted a Silver Star "combat V," either."

If you enjoyed the interview I did with Walter Williams and the first year's worth of quotes that I culled from his columns, then you'll enjoy this latest set of Walter Williams quotes that I've put together. All that wisdom, distilled down into a single page of quotes. Enjoy! (Cont)

The Republicans put on an excellent show tonight, well at least for the last hour and fifteen minutes or so.

McCain gave a very solid, sober, yet rousing speech about George Bush, Iraq, and the war on terrorism and the 9/11 tribute followed by Amazing Grace that came after was quite moving.

But the clean-up hitter, Rudy Giuliani, was simply ELECTRIC. His speech wasn't just a home run, it was a towering 600 ft blast that flew out of the park, cleared the road outside the stadium, and shattered the window of the local Democratic Headquarters across the street. It's a real shame that Giuliani's talk wasn't shown on the networks because it was magnificent, the best speech given by an American politician since George Bush gave his September 20th, 2001 speech laying down how we were going to fight the war on terrorism.

It doesn't read quite as well as it sounded, but it's still a great read...

---

Thank you. Welcome to the capital of the World.

New York was the first capital of our great nation. It was here in 1789 in Lower Manhattan that George Washington took the oath of office as the first president of the United States. And it was here in 2001 in the same Lower Manhattan that President George W. Bush stood amid the fallen towers of the World Trade Center and he said to the barbaric terrorists who attacked us, “They will hear from us.”

Well, they heard from us. They heard from us in Afghanistan and we removed the Taliban. They heard from us in Iraq and we ended Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror. And we put him where he belongs, in jail. They heard from us in Libya and without firing a shot Qaddafi abandoned his weapons of mass destruction. They’re hearing from us in nations that are now much more reluctant to sponsor terrorists or terrorism.

So long as George Bush is our president, is there any doubt they will continue to hear from us?

One very strong charge that the Swift Boat Vets for Truth have made that the mainstream media has for the most part refused to follow-up on, is how John Kerry got his first Purple Heart.

This is no small matter, not only because the SBVFT are accusing Kerry of fraudulently attaining his Purple Heart, but because having three Purple Hearts enabled John Kerry to get out of Vietnam almost a year early. Here's how the Swift Boat Vets tell the tale...

From a Robert Novak column based on what retired Rear Adm. William L. Schachte had to say about John Kerry's first Purple Heart...

"Schachte described the use of the skimmer operating very close to shore as a technique that he personally designed to flush enemy forces on the banks of Mekong River so that the larger Swift boats could move in. At about 3 a.m. on Dec. 2, Schachte said, the skimmer - code-named “Batman” - fired a hand-held flare. He said that after Kerry’s M-16 rifle jammed, the new officer picked up the M-79 and “I heard a ’thunk.’ There was no fire from the enemy,” he said.

....The next time he saw Kerry after the first Purple Heart incident, Schachte said, was “about 20 years” later on the U.S. Senate subway in the basement of the Russell Senate Office Building. “I called, ’Hey, John.’ He replied, ‘Batman.’ I was absolutely amazed by his memory.” He said they “talked about having lunch” but never did."

Here's what the man who treated Kerry's wound, Louis Letson, had to say about the wound Kerry had,

"The story (Kerry) told was different from what his crewmen had to say about that night. According to Kerry, they had been engaged in a fire fight, receiving small arms fire from on shore. He said that his injury resulted from this enemy action.

Not [sic] other injuries were reported and I do not recall that there was any reported damage to the boat."

Now, here's an account from John Kerry's commander at the time, Grant Hibbard, who tells what happened when Kerry asked him for a Purple Heart...

"Kerry said he was wearing night goggles, that he had his weapon, that they threw up a flare, saw enemy movement and opened fire," Meehan said. "He said he was wounded in the confrontation but it was impossible to tell which direction the enemy fire came from because it was totally dark."

"I described it as a fingernail scratch," Hibbard said. "He later received a Purple Heart for that scratch, but I have no information of how or from whom."

Here's more from the SBVFT,

"All normal documentation supporting a Purple Heart is missing," the letter says. "There is absolutely no casualty report (i.e., spot report) or hostile fire report or after-action report in the Navy's files to support this 'Purple Heart' because there was no casualty, hostile fire, or action on which to report. The sole document relied upon by Kerry is a record showing the band aid and tweezers treatment by Dr. Letson recorded by deceased corpsman, Jess Carreon."

Folks, the mainstream media should be all over this. Just consider the OBVIOUS questions that John Kerry has not been asked to answer about this just ONE EVENT...

-- Was William L. Schachte with you at the time you received your first Purple Heart?

-- Did you ever go on a mission with William L. Schachte?

-- Did the 'Batman' meeting described by Schachte in the Russell Senate Office Building take place?

-- Can you provide a quote from someone other than John Kerry who can verify that he was under fire during this incident?

-- Can you explain why your own biography says the following 9 days after you received your first Purple Heart?

"They pulled away from the pier at Cat Lo with spirits high, feeling satisfied with the way things were going for them. They had no lust for battle, but they also were not afraid. Kerry wrote in his notebook, 'A cocky feeling of invincibility accompanied us up the Long Tau shipping channel because we hadn't been shot at yet, and Americans at war who haven't been shot at are allowed to be cocky."

-- Did Louis Letson examine your injury and did he in fact use a band-aid to treat your 'wound'?

-- Your commander at the time, Grant Hibbard says he turned you down for a Purple Heart. Is that true and can you elaborate on the meeting you had with him?

-- Will you allow the military to release your medical records so we independently verify the severity of your injuries?

-- Can you explain why there was no casualty report (i.e., spot report), hostile fire report, & after-action report or produce them?

-- Who actually approved your First Purple Heart and how did that come to pass after you were originally turned down?

If the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are what the Kerry campaign and his defenders in the mainstream media claim they are, nothing but a bunch of liars engaged in a 'Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy', then John Kerry should have no problem giving plausible answers to the questions mentioned above and putting this issue to rest once and for all.

Right?

I had to cut out of work early today and I spent a good portion of the day in bed because I didn't feel well. Of course, that threw my schedule off, and so the updates will be fewer in number than normal. Furthermore, the lead off article for today, a year of Walter Williams quotes, has been put off until tomorrow.

Things should be back to normal on Wednesday.

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Yes, there is nothing like taking the Harry Potter novels, stories about friendship, loyalty, individuality, and risking it all to do the right thing, and making them about sex-education, "love and sexuality".

So who wants to do that? Why the pro-abortion fanatics at Planned Parenthood!

To their credit, they do at least say that they don't want to make the next book to become part of the politics of sex education, but can you imagine what a Harry Potter book influenced by Planned Parenthood would look like? I bet it would go just about like this...

Harry Potter: Hermione, what happened to you? Your stomach is growing so big!

Hermione Granger: I slept with Ron last week and his protection spell didn't work! Now I'm all knocked up!

Ron Weasley: It's not my fault, really it isn't! My wand is broken...wait, that didn't come out right...

Harry Potter: But your stomach Hermione, how can it have grown so fast?

Dumbledore: I'm afraid I can answer that. It's the work of Voldemort.....

Harry Potter: Oh no! What can poor Hermione do?

Hagrid: Well, young Mr. Potter -- that baby is nothing but a parasite it is! There's nothing wrong with aborting it...

Lucius Malfoy: Abort the baby? What sort of stupid idea is that? That baby deserves to live!

Harry Potter: Malfoy, you won't take away Hermione's right to choose! (Harry then blows Malfoy out of the room with a lightning bolt)

Dumbledore: I'm afraid time is growing short and Valdemort's spell is very powerful. Soon Hermione will have the baby and then it will be too late to kill it...

Harry Potter: Can't you do anything Dumbledore?

Dumbledore: I would use my "spell of baby sucking," but I fear it's too weak to overcome Valdemort's spell.

Ron Weasley: Wait a second Harry! What about that glowing clothes hanger we found in the cave of forbidden mysteries?

Harry Potter: This one? (Pulls out the glowing clothes hanger).

Dumbledore: Harry, that's a very powerful artifact! The 'clothes hanger of womb ripping'. Quick, cast a spell...

Harry Potter: Clothes hanger, clothes hanger, ye powerful artifact of old

The fixer of mistakes for those who don't use birth control

Clothes hanger, clothes hanger, please be lenient

And kill Hermione's baby because it would be really inconvenient!

(There's a bright flash and Hermione's stomach shrinks back down to normal).

Harry Potter: It worked! It worked!

Dumbledore: Harry Potter, for performing an abortion on your friend, I award Gryffindor house 50 points. And Hermione, for having the courage to have an abortion, you get 200 points!

Ron Weasley: That means Gryffindor house has won again!

Harry Potter: But it couldn't have happened without the abortion!

All Together: Hooray for abortion!

Hat tip to Inoperable Terran & Twisted Spinster for finding the Planned Parenthood story.

Right Wing News has more than 3700 registered members and it's not the least bit unusual for posts here to crack 100+ comments. So, I've had more than a little bit of experience running a comments section for my readers. With that in mind, here are some tips I have for bloggers running their own comments sections...

-- Should you have a comment section on your blog? Well, other than in a few isolated cases, I'm not sure that comment sections really add all that much to a blog's popularity. However, I do think the immediate feedback enables you to better anticipate how people will respond to what you write. To me, that's the primary advantage of having a comment section.

-- Remember that on your own page, YOU have complete control of the comments section. You are the judge, the jury, and the executioner. You write the rules, you decide who's breaking them, and then you decide on the sentence. People don't have any rights in your comments section other than those you give them. So don't buy into any arguments that you can't do X,Y, or Z in your own comments section because of "people's right to be heard", the "First Amendment", etc, etc. If people don't like how you're running your comments sections, they're free to go somewhere else or create their own web page somewhere where they have control of how things are run.

-- Now that you understand that you have complete control, you've got to decide what you want to do with it. Do you want to allow people to post in the comments who vehemently disagree with you? Personally, that's the way I go, but that doesn't mean you have to do so as well. If you want to get rid of people who don't tow your own ideological line, I don't see a problem with that. If it's your blog, it's your call.

-- These days, I wouldn't even bother to have a comments section without user names and passwords. Not only does registering discourage people who just happen to be passing through and are tempted to leave an obnoxious comment, but for the most part, it keeps comment spammers from posting their garbage all over your page.

-- A lot of people may disagree with me on this one, but I don't often post in my comments section. Why spend your time composing a post for the comments section that is going to be read by the relatively small percentage of your readers who go there, when you could be writing something for your main page that everyone will get to read?

-- Back when I used to run a humor page called Brass Knuckles Webzine, I didn't allow cursing on the forums. However, I found that editing out the curse words from even a semi-busy forum, was a lot of work. That's why, for the most part, I don't ban cursing in my own comments section today. Too much work.

-- Thread-jackers -- people who post off-topic articles in the comments section -- detract from the conversation by breaking up the people commenting into three groups: those who are talking about the subject of the post, those who are opining on whatever the thread-jacker posted on, and those who are chastising the thread jacker for posting their irrelevant material. I ban thread-jacking. You should too.

-- Every so often I'll get "conservatives" who call for "death to Muslims", rant about "f@gs", or use racial slurs in my comments section. I'm sure left-wing websites have liberal loonies chiming in on their pages as well, albeit about different topics. People like that? They gotta go. Not only because they tend to attract more like-minded jerks who'll make your comment section a less enjoyable place to post, but because they can draw negative attention to your page. Disagreement is fine, but the crackpots need to hit the digital bricks and find another place to chat.

-- When you do run across a troll, thread-jacker, nut job, or other type of creep you decide to ban, take my advice: Ban 'em, ignore 'em, and forget about them. Don't post about it on your blog, don't respond to their email, and don't give them a second chance.

I say that because after having seen "trolls" on internet message boards, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of them are socially maladjusted losers who get off on getting attention for being obnoxious. Making fun of them, criticizing them, and complaining about them only encourages them to try to find a way around being banned just so they can continue to get under your skin. I can remember one kid on a gaming forum who literally spent several hours a day FOR WEEKS making duplicate accounts just so she could be irritating on a gaming forum that banned her. Why spend your time dealing with losers like that unnecessarily?

Hope this helps the bloggers out there who have comment sections or who are considering adding them.

Iraqis this week got a lesson in freedom as they watched accused murder Muqtada al-Sadr walk free after spending several weeks directing his followers to shoot at U.S. and Iraqi government forces from inside of the most holy Imam Ali Shrine.

The lesson in freedom is part of a multi-year curriculum called "How to Start and Run Your Own Democratic Nation," which Iraq has begun to implement. According to an unnamed Iraqi government spokesman, next year's lesson is 'justice.'

"We value freedom so much that we're setting free this murderer and his band of cold-blooded thugs," said the source. "Later we'll learn about being a nation of laws where no one is above the law. But for now...you know...baby steps."

If you enjoyed this satire by Scott Ott, you can read more of his work at Scrappleface.

In my opinion, the most fascinating thing to come to light during the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Vs. John Kerry brouhaha that has played out this month has been the sheer number of times that John Kerry's own biography, "Tour of Duty," has directly contradicted his version of events. Let me show you what I mean....

Event: John Kerry's 1968 Christmas trip to Cambodia.
Kerry's Version: Originally, Kerry claimed he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve of 1968,

"I remember Christmas of 1968, sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia, I remember what it was like to be shot at by the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and the President of the United States telling the American people that I was not there, the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared — seared — in me."

Since then, the story has changed, but the Kerry campaign is still claiming Kerry was in Cambodia at some point, although they have been unable to produce any sort of verification for that beyond John Kerry's word.

SBVFT Version: Kerry was not in Cambodia on Christmas of 1968. To the best of their knowledge, Kerry was never in Cambodia at all.

From "Tour of Duty" -- which never makes any mention of Kerry going into Cambodia on any occasion by the way,

"Christmas Eve, 1968, turned out to be memorable for the men of PCF-44 though not in the jingle-bells sense folks were enjoying back home. The only concession to the holiday spirit was that morning’s rare breakfast of scrambled eggs, after which the crew headed their Swift north [from Sa Dec] up the Co Chien river to its junction with the My Tho only miles from the Cambodian border."

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Event: John Kerry's first Purple Heart
Kerry's Version: Kerry was hit by hostile fire which led to him later getting his first Purple Heart.
SBVFT Version: Kerry was not under fire. Instead, he was scratched (the wound was fixed with a band-aid) by a fragment from a grenade fired by his own M-79 grenade launcher. Kerry was attempting to hit a fleeing VC, but aimed at an object too close to his own position. That means he was ineligible for a Purple Heart.

From "Tour of Duty" on December 11th, 9 days after Kerry received his Purple Heart...

"They pulled away from the pier at Cat Lo with spirits high, feeling satisfied with the way things were going for them. They had no lust for battle, but they also were not afraid. Kerry wrote in his notebook, 'A cocky feeling of invincibility accompanied us up the Long Tau shipping channel because we hadn't been shot at yet, and Americans at war who haven't been shot at are allowed to be cocky."

Bonus: Here's the Kerry campaign's Clintonian explanation of why "we hadn't been shot at yet" didn't actually mean that they "hadn't been shot at yet".

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Event: Kerry's Third Purple Heart
Kerry's Version: Kerry received his Purple Heart for "shrapnel wounds in left buttocks and contusions on (the) right forearm when a mine detonated close aboard".
SBVFT Version: A bruise on Kerry's arm would not have been enough to qualify him for a Purple Heart and the wound to his buttocks was accidentally self-inflicted earlier in the day when Kerry was not under fire. That means Kerry's third Purple Heart was a fraud as well.

From "Tour of Duty" on the same day that Kerry later received his Purple Heart...

"The Nung blew up some huge bins of rice they had found, as it was assumed, as always, that these were the local stockpiles earmarked to feed the hungry VC [Viet Cong] moving through the Delta smuggling weapons. 'I got a piece of small grenade in my ass from one of the rice-bin explosions, and then we started to move back to the boats, firing to our rear as we went,' Kerry related."

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Event: The "No man left behind" incident. It happened during the engagement in which Kerry received his third Purple Heart & Bronze Star.
Kerry's Version: All the other Swift Boats ran from the ambush while Kerry's boat charged to the rescue. From a January press release by the Kerry campaign.

"Rassmann, a Green Beret, was traveling down the Bay Hap river in a boat behind Kerry’s when both were ambushed by exploding land mines and enemy fire coming from the shore. Kerry was hit in the arm, while a mine blew Rassmann’s boat out of the water. With enemy fire coming from both sides of the river and swift boats evacuating from the area, Kerry’s crew chose to turn their boat toward the ambush to save Rassmann."

SBVFT Version (In part -- they actually dispute a lot of what was said to to have happened on that day including that they were ever under enemy fire): Kerry's boat was the only one that evacuated the area while all the other boats stayed to helped the people injured.

From the "Tour of Duty" description of what happened.....

"I turned the boat into the fire on the left with the intention of trying to get the troops ashore on the outskirts of the ambush, but Sandusky, who was driving the boat and who had his eyes glued on the crippled 3 boat, pointed out to me how badly hit they had been. We veered back toward her then and tried to provide cover from the engaged side."

So who's lying here -- John Kerry or his own biography?