Religion of Peace at play

Twin Bus Blasts in Southern Israel Kill 12

NEPALESE HOSTAGES KILLED

Moscow Blast Caused by Suicide Bomber-Agencies

How many times during the RNC will we hear that the terrorists have hijacked a peaceful religion? What a load of crap.

Read the Koran. Read Mohammed's biography. The peaceful Muslims are the ones diverging from what Mohammed taught.

Sickening.

Iraqi "sleeper" arrested near Chicago

Alleged Iraqi 'sleeper agent' arrested

An Iraqi-born man who federal prosecutors say was a "sleeper agent" for Saddam Hussein's spy agency was arrested Monday for allegedly lying on his application to become a U.S. citizen.

Sami Khoshaba Latchin, 57, pleaded innocent to making a false statement to immigration authorities. A federal judge ordered him held for a bail hearing September 7.

Latchin's attorney declined to comment.

Latchin was "an Iraqi intelligence spy sent to this country to be a sleeper agent," with directions to "assimilate himself into our culture," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Conway said.

Not news to any of us who have read The Third Terrorist : The Middle East Connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing
by Jayna Davis .

They've been here since the early '90's.

Mendacious, treasonous, corpulent swine disrespects former POW McCain

L is for "loathsome".

Unfit for Command ... of a Little League team

In 1971, John Kerry turned against his "band of brothers" and endeavoured to build his political career by siding with the pro-Communist government of North Vietnam.

Another veteran, John O'Neill, hounded him for months in a vain attempt to get Kerry to debate him on TV. Finally, Kerry found a sympathetic venue in The Dick Cavett Show. The transcript of that debate can be found here.

What strikes us most about the debate is not the back and forth over "he said she said" type issues, but the following exchange, where the parties discuss the likely result of a U.S. pullout.

MR. CAVETT: No one has said that there'll be a bloodbath if we pull out, which is a cliche we used to hear a lot. Does either of you still think there would be a --

MR. O'NEILL: I think if we pull out prematurely before a viable South Vietnamese government is established, that the record of the North Vietnamese in the past and the record of the Viet Cong in the area I served in at Operation [unintelligible] clearly indicates that's precisely what would happen in that country.

MR. CAVETT: That's a guess, of course.

MR. KERRY: I --

MR. O'NEILL: I'd say that their record at Thua, at Daq Son [phonetic spelling], at a lot of other places, pretty clearly indicate that's precisely what would happen. Obviously, in Thua, we've discovered, how many, 5,700 graves so far, at Daq Son four or five hundred.

MR. KERRY: The true fact of the matter is, Dick, that there's absolutely no guarantee that there would be a bloodbath. There's no guarantee that there wouldn't. One has to, obviously, conjecture on this. However, I think the arguments clearly indicate that there probably wouldn't be.

First of all, if you read back historically, in 1950 the French made statements -- there was a speech made by, I think it was General LeClerc, that if they pulled out, France pulled out, then there would be a bloodbath. That wasn't a bloodbath. The same for Algeria. There hasn't been.

I think that it's really kind of a baiting argument. There is no interest on the part of the North Vietnamese to try to massacre the people once people have agreed to withdraw. There's just no pur-

I realize that there would be certain political assassinations, and that might take place. And I think when you balance that against the fact that the United States has now accounted for some 18,600 people through its own Phoenix program, which is a program of assassination, and when you balance that off against the morality of the kind of bombing we've been doing in Laos and the kind of destruction wholesale of the country of Vietnam, which amounts to some 155,000 civilians a year killed, then I think to talk about four or five thousand people is lunacy in terms of the overall argument and what we're seeking in Southeast Asia.

MR. O'NEILL: I think that's a very highly spurious argument for the following reasons:

First of all, after the North Vietnamese took over in North Vietnam in 1954, everybody knows about the bloodbath that occurred. Nearly 50 to 60 thousand estimated dead at that time. There were a million refugees that came south. As far as the bombing in Laos, it's highly interesting to note that occurred in the area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail primarily where only seven to eight thousand people lived.

It's true that there is a severe refugee problem. There are 700,000 refugees, for example, in Laos. There were 10,000 down at [unintelligible]. I suggest that that all that Mr. Kerry's program does is stop the refugee problem, but it stops it by giving those people no place that they can possibly go to. I think there would be a very severe bloodbath there.

We all know what happened. We left with the job unfinished.

A feckless Democrat-controlled Congress pulled the funding promised to the South Vietnamese.

And mass murder ensued. In Vietnam. In Cambodia. In Laos. Millions slaughterd, millions more forced to flee.

We wonder if there is an enterprising reporter out there who might confront Kerry with this prediction. Does what occured qualify as a "bloodbath"? Does he admit he was wrong in 1971? Does he admit he was wrong in 1986, when he opposed aid to the anti-Communist Contras in Central America? Should someone who has been so consistently WRONG on issues of freedom vs. tyranny be entrusted to lead the War on Jihadistan?

We are not holding our breaths.

Klugman v. Krugman

Where we compare the characters (truthfully, mostly Oscar Madison with the occasional Quincy) portrayed by one of America's most beloved TV actors, Jack Klugman, with the man Donald Luskin has lovingly branded "America's Most Dangerous Pundit", Paul Krugman! Please send us your Klugman v. Krugmans!

Klugman	VS.	Krugman
Wrote a sports column for the fictional New York Herald		Writes fiction for the New York Times

Previously on Klugman v. Krugman:
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_23.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/new-feature-klugman-v-krugman.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_19.html

"Bad" econ news kicks off RNC

Consumer Spending Up 0.8 Percent in July


Judging by the unwashed, hirsute (the women, mostly) mob currently infesting the parks and streets of NYC, that jump cannot be attributed to spending on personal hygiene products.

Unfit for Command . . . of a 7-11

We've FINALLY received our copy of Unfit for Command, and it's clear from the first several chapters that, not only did this guy exaggerate his "heroism" (it helps when you get to write the "after action reports" the obsequious media now cite as proof of your veracity), but he was a chronic whiner and an incompetent sailor who often needlessly put his men at risk.

Anyone who believes the Swiftees are tools of the Bush Administration ought to at least read John O'Neill's opening chapter. These men are, above all, AUTHENTIC heroes, patriots and warriors, from all parts of the political spectrum, men who LOVE America and CARE about her survival in the face of the current threats. Hardly "the Right's Michael Moore", as some have suggested.

We will be posting and commenting on passages from the book -- inasmuch as it is not, as far as we know, available online you will have to bear with our typing skills, which were honed our senior year at McQuaid under the tutelage of the gym coach.

Lehman on Kerry Silver Star citation: "It is a total mystery to me. "

Kerry citation a 'total mystery' to ex-Navy chief

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.

"It is a total mystery to me. I never saw it. I never signed it. I never approved it. And the additional language it contains was not written by me," he said.

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...."

Asked how the citation could have been executed over his signature without his knowledge, Lehman said: "I have no idea. I can only imagine they were signed by an autopen." The autopen is a device often used in the routine execution of executive documents in government.

Kerry senior adviser Michael Meehan could not be reached for comment on Kerry's records.

While we never served in Vietnam and could certainly never be accused of applying "nuance" to such matters ... we ARE programmers and as such, logicians ... and are beginning to see -- dare we say? -- a PATTERN developing ...

Menagerie of freaks, misfits, failures arrives in NYC -- citizens reel under miasma of body odor/pot

Sales of narcotics up, deodorant down

One of our Freeper brethren offers the following clean-up kit for the musty malcontents



Bull Dyke Lesbians for Hillary


Kerry seems to have the pre-vert vote locked up


Is that ... Hoss' old poly-sci professor?!


Our libidos might never recover ...


The obligatory Hitler comparison. They know Hitler's been dead for decades, right?


Enemies domestic. Pic must make its way to a Bush ad.


Penny Marshall sighting?!?


Palestinian counterparts celebrating on 9/11/2001

More to follow ...

MSNBC Interview: Adm. William Schachte: 'No enemy fire'

One of John Kerry's superior officers disputes the circumstances Kerry claims led to the awarding of his first Purple Heart

Myers: When did you first meet John Kerry?

Adm. William Schachte (U.S. Navy, ret.): In Vietnam in 1968. I was -- like everyone, by the way, serving on small boats in combat in Vietnam -- I was a volunteer. When John reported aboard, I was then the lieutenant and the senior, second in command officer of Coastal Division 14. I was also the operations officer, and John reported sometime in mid-November -- as an officer in charge under training. And that's the first time I met him.

Myers: And so you were his superior?

Schachte: Yeah, I was one of his superiors, yes.

Myers: And how long did you serve with Senator Kerry?

Schachte: Until he left our area; I believe it was the 4th of December [1968] or so.

Myers: So for a period of roughly how long?

Schachte: Well, a couple of weeks. Several weeks. But he was out on patrol and I was with him one night in particular -- in the skimmer [Note: Schachte claims the date of that night was 12/02/68, the same date listed in military records for the incident that earned Kerry his first Purple Heart; "skimmer" is a type of small water craft used by U.S. forces in Vietnam].Which was the subject of that first matter concerning his Purple Heart…

I had been a patrolling officer and when I became the operations officer and the number two in command, it was subsequent to the bombing halt announced by President Johnson. We got orders to turn up the heat, try to be more aggressive, do things differently. And I conceived an operation -- it became known as 'skimmer ops.' Very simple operation -- we had a 15-foot Boston whaler. We would send that boat into 'hot' areas… The operation was very simple. The boat was to go into these areas and, by the way, I must mention that these areas were all non-population areas, not near any villages or anything else. We knew if anybody or anyone were around, they were enemy. We would go in, draw fire and get out immediately. Let others -- swift boats standing off or maybe air support come in and take care of the enemy forces… ["swift boat" was the common name for Patrol Craft Fast vessels (PCFs) used by the U.S. Navy in Vietnam]

Myers: So you were basically trying to smoke out the enemy?

Schachte: Yes. Bait 'em, if you will. We had these boats. We had an M-60 machine gun forward, an M-16 mounted with a starlight scope. On a hazy night, a badly overcast night, we had a M-14 mounted with an infra-red. M-79 grenade launcher -- those were single-launch launchers in those days. Flares…an FM radio. And we, in addition to our combat gear -- helmets, flak-jackets and what-not -- we had .38-caliber pistols. I usually carried one. A lot of times different folks didn't want to carry them…

The boats were manned by two officers and one enlisted person. Officers because officers were briefed daily. We had daily intelligence briefings seven days a week, with the latest intelligence from the area. Or in the patrolling boat -- officers would come back and debrief their area. So, the officers had a good feel for everything that was going in our area of operation and our sectors.

The enlisted person operated the motor. Now, this was my idea. And I went on each one of these -- in command of each one that we did up to and including the night with Lieutenant Junior Grade Kerry.

I did that because it was my idea and people volunteered for this. And I didn't think it was right having one of these operations and being on a swift boat or back at Operations Center or something like that.

Myers: Because you thought it was a dangerous operation?

Schachte: Yes, and I had to be a part of it. It was my idea. The night in question, we-- as always, the swift boat would tow the skimmer out to the designated area. And we would board the skimmer. This night our call sign was 'Batman.' I got into the boat. My weapon was forward -- the M-60 machine gun. John got in the boat. I don't remember who the enlisted person was. We then proceeded to the designated area. The swift boat would stay off, sometimes out of sight, sometimes not. But far enough away that they could ride shotgun on the mission.

Providing, also, long-ranged communications. All we had was this FM radio. We would then go into an area and as we did this night, shut the motor down and just drift. And we would drift along the shoreline or river bank or whatever it happened to be -- looking for movement, or listening for sounds of movement. This night, we were in an area -- I recall we were so close to the beach you could actually hear the water lapping on the shoreline. It was between two and three in the morning -- I don't remember. I detected what I thought was some movement. So, I took one of the hand-held flares and popped it instantly. It went up and when it burst -- I don't know if you've heard that described, but it really lights up the area. I thought I saw the same area of movement. So, I opened up on it with my M-60.

Those guns were double loaded with tracers -- Tango India, target identification. And John, right after I opened up, opened up with his M-16 and I could see he was firing in the direction of my tracer fire, which is why we had the double-loaded tracer. My gun jammed after the first burst and as I was trying to clear my weapon -- John's gun apparently jammed too because he wouldn't fire anymore -- I heard the old familiar, 'thump' -- 'POW!'. And I looked, and John had fired the M-79 grenade launcher.

We were receiving NO fire from the beach. There were no muzzle flashes. The water wasn't boiling around the boat as it were -- and the only noise was the noise we were making. So, I told the boat operator -- the motor operator -- to, you know, 'let's leave the area.' And we did, went back to port, eventually -- went back to the swift boat and went back to port. And that morning, I went in and debriefed my commanding officer -- our division commander, then Lieutenant Commander [Grant] 'Skip' Hibbard.

And I told him what happened. And I told him I was NOT going to be filing an after-action report, which is required if you have enemy action, because we had no enemy action. And I also after giving him all the details and I said, 'Oh, by the way -- ' and I don't remember my exact words -- 'John nicked himself with the M-79.' Those M-79s, by the way, have a kill radius of about five meters. A little over five yards. But, there is a shrapnel area beyond that. And that's what happened. And I was upset because that could have gone in somebody's eye and so on and so forth.

The division commander said, 'Fine, understand -- no after-action report required.' Then, I found out that John had come in. And then I went back into a meeting and he had this small piece of shrapnel in his hand and he was requesting a Purple Heart. I was opposed to that. The division commander was opposed to that.

And John left our division four or five days later. I departed country maybe three weeks later. Skip left a few days after I left. So, we were all gone. And I forgot about it. Until some years later, someone told me -- and I don't recall who -- to my surprise, John had been awarded a Purple Heart for that incident.

Fine, I felt I did my duty that night and that morning and it didn't bother me. And that's the way things were until about 20 years or so later. I was then an Admiral and I was in uniform -- didn't have my hat on; I'd left that someplace in an office I was visiting. I was in the basement of the Senate Russell Office Building. And you have this subway system in the Capitol. I was waiting for a subway with a friend.

And he pointed -- 'Look, that's Senator Kerry over there.' And I said, 'I know him.' And he said, 'You do?' And I hadn't seen or talked with John since Vietnam. And I guess I embarrassed my friend because I said, 'Hey, John!' Just like that. Well, he turned around, looked at me -- it's about 20 paces away -- and he kind of strolled over to me. And that call sign that night, if I haven't mentioned it, was 'Batman.' I think I have. But, John walked over to me and got kind of close and he said, 'Batman.' And I was really impressed that he had that degree of recall. And, of course, we exchanged pleasantries. And we were going to do lunch. And, of course, we never did. And that was the last time I've seen him in person or been with him. And that went on. I retired -- so on and so forth. And this March, I got a phone call from one of my swift boat colleagues, 'have you seen Tour of Duty?' [the book,Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War, by Douglas Brinkley (William Morrow, 2004)]

And I said, 'No, I certainly haven't.' …And he said, 'Well, let me at least fax you these pages about an incident that we all you know you got personal information on and so on and so forth.' So, I said, 'Fine.' And he did. And I looked at that fax and read his account -- and I was astonished. I'm not in the boat. The sampan issue and people and he's firing the hand-held grenade and so on and so forth. [note: the account of the incident attributed to Kerry in Brinkley's book describes the mission encountering people in sampan vessels; Schachte recalls seeing no people or vessels]

One other point: John was new in-country. He'd never been in a firefight. We never would -- anybody with any combat experience will tell you -- you would never assign somebody like that to an ambush mission like this, endangering, you know, other people if you didn't have some degree of experience.

We always had two officers in the boat.

No after-action report -- no fire received and so and so forth. Well, I thank my friend for sending me that information. But, I told him, 'Look, I'm not going to get involved in this.' You know, and I've heard from them and different people that they had a number of eyewitness reports on different things. And I just didn't want to expose my family to all of that. And I kind of maintained that posture -- I'm not a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth…

Myers: …are you saying that John Kerry accidentally injured himself?

Schachte: Yes. Clear-- of course, it was an accident.

Myers: That there was no enemy fire?

Schachte: There was no enemy fire -- no after- action report, no muzzle flashes -- nothing. No return fire from the beach at all.

Myers: So, in your view, he did not deserve the Purple Heart?

Schachte: That's what I told my commanding officer at the time.

Myers: And your commanding officer felt what?

Schachte: He agreed with me, after I related the story.

Myers: So, if you didn't support a Purple Heart and your commanding officer did not put in Kerry for a Purple Heart, how did he get it?

Schachte: You'll have to ask him. I don't know. And after-- like I say, I had done my duty. It was over. I didn't care. I mean, that was not my issue. I was doing other things with my life.

Myers: Here's how John Kerry has described what happened that night. Quote: 'My M-16 jammed and as I bent down in the boat to grab another gun, a stinging piece of heat socked into my arm.' Is that accurate?

Schachte: It's accurate that his gun jammed, but it's not accurate (LAUGHS) that he was reaching something. He had already fired the M-79.

Myers: And that's what injured him?

Schachte: Yes.

Myers: It was an accidentally, self-inflicted wound?

Schachte: Yes, right. Which could have been very dangerous to any of the other two of us in that boat.

Myers: If you both were firing weapons, how can you be absolutely certain that there was no enemy fire that hit John Kerry that night?

Schachte: Because when both guns jammed after the first burst, there was this moment of eerie silence until I heard the M-79 go off and the subsequent -- almost immediate explosion from that weapon. And if you were there, (LAUGHS) you would know if you're being shot at, believe me.

Myers: …So what happens when you all return from the mission?

Schachte: We went back. I reported to the division commander. I debriefed him on what had happened that evening, earlier that morning. And that I was not going to file an after-action report because there was no enemy action. We received no fire from the beach and that John had gotten nicked from a round at -- I don't remember my exact words. But, John had gotten nicked from an M-79 that he fired too close to the boat.

Myers: And there was no enemy fire involved?

Schachte: None.

Myers: Period?

Schachte: Yes.

Myers: You're absolutely certain?

Schachte: Yes.

Myers: 36 years later?

Schachte: Hey, listen, when somebody's shooting at you [LAUGHS], you know it. There was no -- and some of the reasons you remember these things is because the starkness of what happens while that's going on…

Myers: You seem to be saying that John Kerry lied then and is lying today. That's a very serious charge. What proof do you have?

Schachte: The only thing that I can tell you -- several things -- number one, no after-action report, which would have been required. I was in command of those missions and I was in the boat that night. We always had two officers in the boat that night-- in the boat when we did those operations, and an enlisted man on the motor. I saw no muzzle flashes or anything else. Now, that's what I saw. And it's not for me to judge what other people are going to think about that. That's up to other people.

Myers: But, you are, in a sense, saying Senator Kerry is lying and did not deserve his first Purple [Heart].

Schachte: I'm saying that he did not deserve the first Purple Heart from what I saw. You can characterize it anyway you want. But, I'm not going to say that.

Myers: Do you believe that John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam?

Schachte: Listen, everybody in that combat environment, as I said earlier, were all volunteers. I was only with him for this very small piece of that truncated tour that he had. I can only speak to what I saw that night and what-not. You have to ask others that spent more time with him. I couldn't give a judgment on something like that.

Myers: But, based on what you saw, do you believe John Kerry served honorably?

Schachte: From that night, from that incident, I would say that John Kerry sought a Purple Heart that was turned down that he later got. How he got it -- I don't have a clue….

Myers: Do you believe that John Kerry showed courage?

Schachte: Listen, anybody on any of those boats at any time -- I was there, we were there for Tet [1968 Tet Offensive by North Vietnam and Vietcong forces], and further times -- you don't-- you don't show up on the boat if-- unless you've got a little bit of that in you.

Myers: Courage?

Schachte: Yes.

Myers: So, you're not saying that John Kerry was not courageous?

Schachte: No.

Myers: Or that he did not serve honorably?

Schachte: I can't judge that. All I can tell you about is that very brief period that I was with him on.

Myers: You say…that John Kerry was so new to country, there's no way you could have sent him out on a mission by himself?

Schachte: Yeah, not alone -- in charge -- no, uh-uh [negative].

Myers: Can you remember the name of the enlisted man that was with him?

Schachte: No. I really can't.

Myers: But, you're absolutely certain that John Kerry would not have been -- never have been sent off in--

Schachte: Listen, my boss would not have permitted that and neither would the chain of command. You just don't DO that on a mission on an ambush operation like this that's, um, dangerous, that dangerous. It's not fair to the person to put him in that situation. And it's not a situation of absolute necessity. We were just trying to turn the heat up. And that's why we sought volunteers. And that's why I went as a volunteer myself on these missions.

Myers: And John Kerry volunteered for that mission?

Schachte: Yep.

Myers: …What proof do you have that you were actually in that boat that night?

Schachte: Well, my report back to the division commander, the fact that we had officers in those boats, the fact that I was in the boat for those that we did up to and including that evening. And what I saw.

Myers: But, there's no documentation.

Schachte: No, listen, we're in a wartime environment. We didn't write up doctrines and stuff. We made the necessary reports -- if you had a Casualty Report, After-Action Report, Operational Status of the Boats [Report], whether they were combat ready or not. I was responsible for all that as the operations officer. But, those are the kinds of things that we kept record of, records of.

Myers: And there would not have been any damage report on that...

Schachte: Correct, there was none-- yeah.

Myers: The thing a lot of people are going to be asking Admiral is, it's been 35 years--

Schachte: Mm-hmm [affirmative].

Myers: Why speak out now in the heat of a presidential campaign?

Schachte: Well, the timing is something that's driven by the publication of Tour of Duty. As far as the timing is concerned, that was the precipitating thing that got those of us who were eyewitnesses, who served with John Kerry in Vietnam -- made us aware of-- of what he was saying. I was not interviewed by anybody for that book. Nor do I know anybody of my colleagues that were interviewed.

I'm non-partisan. Listen, I have voted Democrat, Republican. I voted for President Clinton the first time he ran. And I know what you're talking about. That has nothing to do-- this is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of people stepping forward to tell their facts as they saw them.

Myers: John Kerry and two enlisted men insist they were on the boat that night and you were not. Why should we believe you?

Schachte: …there are two officers on each boat, each time we did one of these missions. I reported to the division command. I think he [then-Lt. Cmdr. Grant Hibbard, Coastal Division 14] has been public with a sworn affidavit [released by the organization Swift Boat Veterans for Truth] as to my coming in to him and telling him what happened…

Myers: You think the two enlisted men are just making it up?

Schachte: I don't-- I can't tell you anything about their motives. The only thing I can tell you is what I know, who I talked to about it -- after the incident and-- and that's all I can say…

Myers: Admiral, how can you be certain that John Kerry did not deserve that first Purple Heart?

Schachte: Well, other than the fact that I was in the boat with him when he fired this M-79 round too close to the boat and got nicked by it, I can't give you much more than that…

Myers: Can you think of anyone else who would recall your presence in the skimmer that day?

Schachte: Well, there are several people that may know the answer to that, and some of which have-- one in particular has requested not to be involved. And I certainly honored that. Maybe someone who was in-- the place where we-- we stayed -- after the incident. I think I said something to a couple of the guys, and they may have been able to remember the remark.

Myers: You said you went on, as I recall, that you went on nine different missions.

Schachte: Thereabouts. I'm not sure the number.

Myers: In this skimmer?

Schachte: Yeah, yeah.

Myers: Do you recall roughly where John Kerry's mission was in the sequence?

Schachte: It was the last one I went on. It was the last one I went on.

Myers: All right. And he went on only one.

Schachte: Yes. And then he departed about four days later to go South…

Myers: Why would John Kerry say that you weren't in the boat if you were?

Schachte: You'll have to ask John.

Myers: Can you think of a motive?

Schachte: Uh, I'll let you speculate. I'm not going to.

Myers: Is it possible in your view that John Kerry simply forgot that you were there?

Schachte: It could've been. I know he had vivid recollection of our call sign that night. It was repeated to me over 20 years later. But of course, that's possible.

Myers: …Everyone is going to wonder why now? Why come forward in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign. What is your motive?

Schachte: My only motive, as is the motive as I understand it of those brave eyewitness -- witnesses that have come forward with sworn affidavits and what not -- is to tell the truth. The timing was not in my control. The publication of his book and then the way he made this such an issue out of this whole campaign, his Vietnam service, and then some recent media discussions of all of those areas of his service that have been the matter of debate, my name has surfaced. And I just felt that it wasn't fair for me to continue to not -- what I finally determined to be -- to not do my duty, and just step forward, and say what I knew of that night, and not watch my colleagues continue to get beat up about he [I] wasn't there, and a lot of other things that I'm not even going to mention. In the print and the TV media.

Myers: …So you're not calling John Kerry a liar?

Schachte: All I'm telling you is what I know happened that night and who I told about it and what- not… I'm not into name-calling. I just want to tell you what I knew that happened that night.

Myers: In your mind, John Kerry showed courage just going out on the mission.

Schachte: Sure.

Myers: You mentioned that you don't have a political motive. What have you done politically since you've been out of-- retired from the Navy?…

Schachte: Yeah, well, I guess the first thing I did when I retired -- I was working for the Mayor of Charleston who was running for Governor. He's a Democrat. And I was his statewide get-out-the-vote coordinator for that election. Unfortunately, we lost in the primary or in the primary runoff. I have contributed to Democratic Senators, one in particular from my own state. And have voted Democrat or Republican, depending on the person and the issues. I don't consider myself a partisan person. And I really haven't had any active involvement in politics other than that time when I was helping the person running for Governor in South Carolina in 1994.

Myers: What about President Bush?

Schachte: …First of all, let me tell you, I went to a number of rallies for Senator McCain, my wife and I. In fact, at the request of a long-time personal friend, I helped sponsor a luncheon for Senator McCain and made a financial contribution that went along with sponsorship. I did not go to the luncheon. And we were -- I was discussing these matters with my wife. And finally decided that I-- I was going to fully support George Bush. And before the election I got a call from a fellow general officer asking me if I was supporting Bush. And I said, "Yes, I was." And that I had contributed financially.

And he said they were going to put together a letter entitled 'Veterans for Bush.' And I said, 'I'll be glad to sign that letter, but only if I can edit it.' And of course, they agreed to that. And -- that was really the extent of my active involvement with President Bush in the primary campaign.

Myers: You said you have contributed to him since you retired from the Navy?

Schachte: Yes, I have.

Myers: How much total?

Schachte: Total, I don't know. I gave him $1,000 when he ran the first time. And $1,000 so far this year.

Myers: Have you had any relationship or any contact with his campaign?

Schachte: Oh, absolutely not. I don't know that I know anybody in his campaign. And that, by the way, that's one thing that is really -- it's difficult to get beyond those accusations that we're somehow puppets for this campaign. I mean that really strikes at the heart of your own personal honor. I mean I can't speak for others. And I've tried to keep that -- or I shouldn't have said anything now. But -- yeah, I know where you're going with that. But that answer's absolutely not.

Myers: So you're not doing this to help President Bush?

Schachte: For Lord's sake, no. Would I invite what's going to happen? (LAUGHS) I mean, I-- no. Absolutely not.

Myers: …you've been around this town. I mean, why risk tarnishing your own reputation by wading into this morass?

Schachte: It is a matter of personal honor. I'm sorry. There are times in life when you have to do what you know is right regardless of the personal consequences.

Myers: You told me before that one of the reasons you wanted to-- decided to speak out…is [because of] some of the things that were being said about you by the Kerry people on television…

Schachte: Well, that was the thing that pushed me over the side. But I'd rather not get involved in those specifics. I mean that in a sense is history. And I realize that I had to do my duty. I had to step up and be heard. Only on the only thing that I can talk about -- which was this experience.

Myers: So you're not saying that John Kerry was, quote, 'unfit for command?'

Schachte: Listen, who is fit for command in the context of Commander-in-Chief is up to the American people to decide…

Myers: You said you are not a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Schachte: I admire them, but I'm not a member.

Myers: Okay. But you do support their cause.

Schachte: I support men that are willing to stand up and put up with what they've been putting up with just to tell the truth -- of what they know to be the truth. And this is America. I mean that's what we do here.

Myers: Do you worry that your own reputation could be tarnished by getting involved in this?

Schachte: Oh, of course. Absolutely. And I knew that consequence was looking me dead in the face. But I also knew that it's not a higher calling. But there are times in life when you have to do what you know is right regardless of the personal consequences. And it's-- it's not easy. And the reason I stayed out of this from the beginning is because I didn't want to get wrapped up into whatever kind of frenzy was going to follow. But I also knew that there were people who knew from what I told them of what happened that night. And I thought that would take care of it…

Myers: Some people will say, 'Look, you contributed money to the President's campaign.'

Schachte: Yeah.

Myers: Here it is the closing weeks of a very tight election. That this is all about politics.

Schachte: Well, see that's-- that's the probably the worst thing you could say to me. That I'm some kind of a political operative. That I would throw my reputation to the wolves to stand up for something that -- as the inference is -- is not true and expose my family to everything… I wouldn't do that. And I don't think anybody would do that.

Myers does her due diligence to the Kerry cause, dutifully trying to poke holes in the Admiral's story, but to no avail.

Somewhere, Shrillary is smiling (um -- BLECCH).

Russia: It was Terrorism -- Mohammedans gleefully claim credit

Russia Blames Terrorism for Downed Jet

One of two Russian airliners that crashed nearly simultaneously was brought down by a terrorist act, officials said Friday, after finding traces of explosives in the plane's wreckage. A Web site connected to Islamic militants claimed the action was connected to Russia's fight against Chechen separatists.

more

Religion of WHAT, Mr. President?

A more "sensitive" terror war, Mr. Kerry?

Slow day: Gratuitous mockery

NB's Jimmy considers surgery to replace spindly legs with trout

What media bias?, Part 5438

Bush Campaign Lawyer Aids Anti-Kerry Vets


Note the headline ... then read the text ... these people are shameless ...

Bush Campaign Lawyer Aids Anti-Kerry Vets

WASHINGTON - One of President Bush's election lawyers also advises a group running ads against Democratic rival John Kerry. A Democratic Party attorney works for the group behind commercials that criticize Bush.[emphasis added]

...

Joe Sandler, a lawyer for the DNC and MoveOn.org, a group running anti-Bush ads, said there is nothing wrong with serving in both roles at once. Attorneys are ethically bound to maintain attorney-client confidentiality, and could lose their law licenses if they violate that, he said.

...

Odd that the headline writer should choose that slant. inn't it?!

Krugman one step closer to booby hatch

Defends Kerry's post-Vietnam treasons while assailing Bush

Almost a year ago, on the second anniversary of 9/11, I predicted "an ugly, bitter campaign - probably the nastiest of modern American history."[The Ponderosa: Wow. What foresight. So did my cats.] The reasons I gave then still apply. President Bush has no positive achievements to run on.[The Ponderosa: Reviving a moribund economy shocked by 9/11, a burst bubble and the '90's corporate scandals, unseating two terror regimes and killing the Jihadists in their home towns -- these are not positive achievements for Krugman. Only a tax hike counts as a "positive achievement" in his fevered mind!] Yet his inner circle cannot afford to see him lose: .[The Ponderosa: That "inner circle" must include anyone hoping to avoid having a dirty bomb go off in his neighborhood.]if he does, the shroud of secrecy will be lifted [The Ponderosa: Shroud? has Paul been rifling through Maureen Dowd's fine washables again?!], and the public will learn the truth about cooked intelligence.[The Ponderosa: Apparently Krugman knows something that the US and British committees, who examined this possibility and found it untrue, do not.], profiteering.[The Ponderosa: What does this have to do with Michael Moore?], politicization of homeland security and more. [The Ponderosa: Bush intends only to protect wealthy donors and Halliburton muckety mucks from the modern day Minutemen!]

But recent attacks on John Kerry have surpassed even my expectations. There's no mystery why. Mr. Kerry isn't just a Democrat who might win: his life story challenges Mr. Bush's attempts to confuse tough-guy poses with heroism, and bombast with patriotism.."[The Ponderosa: Or puffery, exaggeration and treason.]

...

How have they been able to get away with it? The answer is that we have been living in what Roger Ebert calls "an age of Rambo patriotism." ."[The Ponderosa: Roger Ebert as an expert on geo-politics? Who next, Paul? Janine Barfalo?]
After 9/11, Mr. Bush had a choice: he could deal with real threats, or he could play Rambo. He chose Rambo. Not for him the difficult, frustrating task of tracking down elusive terrorists."[The Ponderosa: Paul should read the news more. This is happening every day.] ...

...

It should come as no surprise, then, that Mr. Bush - who must defend the indefensible - has turned to those who still refuse to face the truth about Vietnam.."[The Ponderosa: Paul's fave war: the commies won!

All the credible evidence."[The Ponderosa: After action reports filed by -- John Kerry!.], from military records to the testimony of those who served with Mr. Kerry, confirms his wartime heroism. Why, then, are some veterans willing to join the smear campaign? Because they are angry about his later statements against the war. Yet making those statements was itself a heroic act - and what he said then rings truer than ever. ."[The Ponderosa: Wojo, call the Good Humor men!

Mr. Kerry also spoke of the moral cost of an ill-conceived war - of the atrocities soldiers find themselves committing when they can't tell friend from foe. Two words: Abu Ghraib.."[The Ponderosa: Time to confirm Paul's reservation for a rubber suite at the Bellevue Hotel! ]

Phew ... gotta admire Krugman for branching out these last few years ... instead of being satisfied to write muddle-headed, paranoid columns on economics, Paul has gotten into geo-politics, where boobs like he and Kerry can not only keep us poor and stupid, but get us DEAD.

Paul: your boy made his 4 MONTHS of service the main reason to elect him ... there are cracks in his story ... the Cambodia tale has unraveled and it looks like the first Purple Heart was the result of his own gunfire deflecting back at him.

REAL heroes don't clobber you over the head with their heroism. Kerry does. That's abnormal behaviour unless you're trying to hide something, which he is: the aid and comfort he provided the enemy upon returning from Vietnam and a twenty year (He was in the Senate -- did you know that? I realize he doesn't bring it up very often and his "achievements" are puny) record of being wrong on nearly every issue of defense, intelligence and foreign policy.

Oh, then there's the schizophrenia of glorifying his service in a war he once roundly condemned: which was it -- a dreadful mistake or was he "defending this country" as he now claims. Paul, we realize Kerry has promised to raise the tax rates on the wealthy for whom you have so much scorn and that this hope brings stardust to your eyes much as a hunk wearing a varsity football sweater and driving a hot red convertible makes a schoolgirl's knees weak.(phew) But some of us -- including, apparently, a large majority of veterans polled who support that mean old George "Buddy Hinton" Bush -- have real doubts about Kerry-Heinz' fitness to lead.

Oh, and Paul -- thanks to my tax cuts I was able to send the SwiftVets $250!

Say hi to Nurse Ratched for us!

Another deadline for Fat Boy's fighters

Iraqi Government Gives Militants Deadline

U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants Tuesday in Najaf, sending plumes of black smoke over the holy city, as Iraq (news - web sites)'s government warned fighters loyal to a radical cleric "they have hours to surrender" in their weekslong standoff inside the Imam Ali Shrine or face attack.

"The decisive hours are near," said Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan.

...

"We tell her and her gang that you survived today from our arrows, but there are many other arrows in the case that will not miss its targets, God willing," said the statement, whose authenticity was impossible to confirm.

In his threat to the militants at Najaf, the defense minister said guardsmen would use loudspeakers to urge the followers of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to evacuate the shrine and surrender.

Addressing Iraqi National Guard troops in Najaf, Shaalan said Iraqi troops were working to cordon off the Imam Ali shrine.

"When your brothers approach the holy shrine compound, they will direct calls of mercy to those (militants) to surrender," he said. "They have hours to surrender."

This is beginning to reek like the 12 year taffy pull that left Saddam in power till Bush called his bluff and sent him scurrying into his spider hole.

Time for Allawi to do the same with al Sadr. We say: "Shi'ite or get off the pot!"

Klugman v. Krugman

Where we compare the characters (truthfully, mostly Oscar Madison with the occasional Quincy) portrayed by one of America's most beloved TV actors, Jack Klugman, with the man Donald Luskin has lovingly branded "America's Most Dangerous Pundit", Paul Krugman! Please send us your Klugman v. Krugmans!

Klugman	VS.	Krugman
Once appeared as a horse on "Let's Make a Deal" with roommate in an attempt to win new bedroom furniture. He served as the horse's rear end.		Truly IS a horse's arse!

Previously on Klugman v. Krugman:
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman_19.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/klugman-v-krugman.html
http://www.vandelay.com/2004/08/new-feature-klugman-v-krugman.html

Our new pet name for THK

She fashions herself the doyenne of the highest social circles, appreciates only the finest things like her Royal Doulton china with hand-painted periwinkles and is renowned for her glamorous soirees and candlelight suppers. She even speaks several of the romance languages. From time to time, though, she slips up, and an imprudent outburst reminds us that, underneath it all, she's just "dead common".

Theresa Heinz Kerry? Nope, Hyacinth Bucket ("It's Bouquet!") from the Britcom Keeping up Appearances".

Obviously having noted the similarities and being as immature as we are, we have decided to slap this sobriquet on the erratic catsup heiress.

We anxiously await invitation to her Indoors/Outdoors Luxury Barbecue with Finger Buffet!


Hyacinth Bucket


Theresa Kerry Heinz Bucket

Judge rules Saddam-coddling commie McDermott broke law!

Judge rules against McDermott in suit over illegal call recording

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge has sided with Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, in his 6-year-old lawsuit against Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, over an illegally recorded phone call.

Boehner sued McDermott after a Florida couple, using a scanner, found and recorded a 1996 conference call in which Boehner, then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and other House leaders discussed strategy involving announcement of an ethics committee finding against Gingrich.

The couple gave the tape to McDermott, who was on the ethics committee at the time, and the contents ended up in news stories.

In his decision Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan ruled that McDermott "participated in an illegal transaction when he accepted the tape."

McDermott had admitted leaking the taped phone conversation to reporters. But he argued that he did not break the law by receiving the tape and that punishing him for making it public would violate his free-speech rights.

The judge, however, said McDermott had no First Amendment protection because he knew he was receiving a recording that had been illegally obtained.

Hogan set a hearing for Sept. 16 to discuss whether Boehner should be awarded punitive damages and attorney costs.

Punitive damages? How's Jimmy gonna afford that? Maybe he could sell his autographed copy of Das Kapital on Ebay.

We think a worse punishment would be a weekend locked in a cell with a naked Pattty Murray. Blech.

Don't laugh, but The Ponderosa ...

... is currently rocking to "The Best of Krokus" ... now playing is Paul Krugman's theme song, "Eat the Rich" ... we promise that after "Screaming in the Night" we will pop in the latest release from StormWarrior or Predator!

We are banging our heads and swilling vodka!!!! Bryce just left and we await the arrival of the lovely Ms. Chloee who might have with her a beer-battered (interesting -- that currently describes the Men of the Ponderosa!) fish fry ... the livestock of the Ponderosa (Laurie and Kafka the Cats) lie intertwined on the bed ...

Metal, Chloee, Arturo Fuentes, Absolut, cuddly cats -- aside from the dearth of Red Hook, could life be better?! Oh, right ... the greatest republic in the history of man could be led by a mediocre, Euro-former-power coddling, James Taylor-loving (the most damning epithet in our book), gold digging gigolo. Hey Johnny: we earn every penny and our faces stand on their own -- how 'bout you? Hahahahahaaa ... wanker.

Now playing: "Screaming in the Night!"!!!

Whiny Warrior: Kerry seeks to silence SwiftVets!

Kerry takes legal action against Vietnam critics

FORT MYERS, United States (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry (news - web sites)'s campaign formally alleged that a group attacking his Vietnam war record had illegal ties to US President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s reelection bid.

In a statement released to reporters, Kerry's campaign announced it had "filed a legal complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) before the Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) (FEC) for violating the law with inaccurate ads that are illegally coordinated with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign."

The move by the Kerry campaign came shortly after the Swift Boat group released a second ad attacking the Democratic presidential candidate, who was wounded three times while serving on a Swift Boat in Vietnam and decorated twice for valor.

...

he New York Times on Friday reported that there is a "web of connections" between the Swift Boat group and the "Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush (news - web sites)'s chief political aide, Karl Rove."

Now we know what he meant by "bring it on" -- "it" is censorship -- a word that is too often used inaccurately but is precisely what he's asking for: government suppression of political speech (Thanks McCain and Feingold)! And they call us Nazis!

I could trace a "web of connections" from any Entity A to any other Entity B, particularly within the same state ... big whoop. Perhaps even from Kerry to someone who's had a real job! Has the "Times" work equally assiduously to find a Kerry==MoveOn.org (the double "=" is intentional -- you programmers know that!) nexus?! Yeah, and Paul Krugman wants Donald Luskin to get a tax cut! ;)

Amazing! What's that old bromide? If you can't argue the facts, argue the law?

Poofter Brock gets his flowered panties in a wad over SwiftVet book

Media Matters for America Asks Top Booksellers to Review Policies on Selling 'Unfit for Command'; David Brock Calls AntiKerry Veterans Book 'the Hitler Diaries of this political season'

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On the heels of the August 19, 2004 Washington Post article shining the light that a key allegation in "Unfit for Command" is false, Media Matters for America (MMFA) called on three of the nation's leading booksellers to, at the very least, inform customers about the book's false allegations and lies. David Brock, president and CEO of MMFA, today wrote a letter to Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble calling on each to reassess "the responsibility of book sellers when it becomes established that prominent non-fiction books are based on false information."

"There is something fundamentally wrong when a book that is rampant with falsehoods and misinformation is published and sold as non-fiction," said David Brock. "Consumers are being misled by John O'Neill, Jerome Corsi and Regnery Publishing as they are extensions of the right-wing machine."

Salon.com's Eric Boehlert reported today that the Kerry campaign has said that Regnery, the right-wing publisher of "Unfit for Command," should consider pulling the book from bookstores, citing the widespread falsehoods throughout the book.

Brock specifically asked Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble to consider taking action -- if not simply pulling it from the shelves -- then prominently calling attention to one of the many refutations of the book, including items on posted http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=34978&Link=http://www.mediamatters.org. "Customers should be made aware that Unfit for Command is a paid political hatchet job, full of false allegations and lies," Brock said.

MMFA has researched and monitored coverage of Unfit for Command and as recently as Aug. 6 revealed that co-author Jerome Corsi had a history of making bigoted and inflammatory comments. Corsi posted offensive anti-Islam and anti-Catholic comments as an active participant in discussions on FreeRepublic.com, a far-right website. Subsequently, MMFA noted O'Neill appeared to distance himself from Corsi and Corsi later publicly apologized for his offensive rhetoric.

The Washington Post article shows Thurlow's current account is false when compared with contemporaneous records of Swift boat veteran Larry Thurlow. Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam has been vocal in questioning Kerry's Bronze Star award, claiming that the boat never came under fire on March 13, 1969. The Post reported today that according to the Thurlow's military files recording the events of March 13, 1969, "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" were directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla, including Kerry's.[The Ponderosa: This story was instantly debunked by the SwiftVets]

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Media Matters for America is the first organization to systematically monitor the media for conservative misinformation -- every day, in real time -- in 2004 and beyond. For more information, log on to http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=34978&Link=http://www.mediamatters.org.

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Since Dave is so concerned that a book might be published that contains "falsehoods" we fully expect him to make the same demand regarding every Michael Moore book and movie, Joe Wilson's book, Richard Clarke's book, Al Franken's books ... and, man, Bill Clinton's "My Lies", which contains more whoppers than Michael Moore eats in a year.

We expect this to happen about the same time Dave calls Halle Berry for a date!

END OF WEEK PILING ON OF THE GRATUITOUS MOCKERY

Bryce surrounded by a whole lotta beer-soaked beef (they heard he could get them more free wings)

NEW SWIFTVET AD MORE DEVASTATING THAN THE FIRST!

VIEW IT HERE

Transcript of Swift Vets for Truth Ad #2

JOHN KERRY (voiceover): They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads...

JOE PONDER: The accusations that John Kerry made against the veterans who served in Vietnam was just devastating...

JOHN KERRY (voiceover): ...randomly shot at civilians...

JOE PONDER: ...and it hurt me more than any physical wounds I had...

JOHN KERRY (voiceover): ...cut off limbs, blown up bodies...

KEN CORDIER: That was part of the torture, was to sign a statement that you had committed war crimes.

JOHN KERRY (voiceover): ...raised villages in a fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Kahn...

PAUL GALANTI: John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I and many of my comrades in North Vietnam in the prison camps took torture to avoid saying. (voiceover) It demoralized us.
[Emphasis added]
JOHN KERRY (voiceover): ...crimes committed on a day to day basis...

KEN CORDIER: How could we support him now when he betrayed us in the past?

JOHN KERRY (voiceover): ...ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam...

PAUL GALANTI: He dishonored his country and more importantly, the people he served with. (voiceover) He just sold them out.

VOICEOVER: Swiftboat Veterans for Truth is responsible for the content of this ad.

WOW!!!! Is Shrillary warming in the bullpen?


Most people don't know that Benedict Arnold (er -- the Revolutionary War general, not the CEO's Kerry slanders) had been a war hero prior to turning traitor.

By the way, someone should catalog every allusion to Benedict Arnold on "The Brady Bunch". His name must have been brought up at least ten times, usually as the ultimate put down: "My sister -- Benedict Arnold." Then there was the classic ep where sad sack Peter is chosen to play Arnold in the school play and gets all hang dog when the other kids start japing him!

He was for tax rate cuts for the wealthy before he was against them

NTU: Kerry Once Supported Tax Rate Reductions for Wealthy, Signed Candidate Survey Shows

To: National Desk,

Contact: Pete Sepp or Annie Patnaude, 703-683-5700

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Despite his recent attacks on George W. Bush's tax-cut policies as giveaways to "the rich," John Kerry was once a strong backer of a plan that would have reduced the top tax rate on the wealthy even lower than it is today. Kerry expressed this opinion while running for the U.S. Senate, in a signed candidate survey posted online by the non- partisan National Taxpayers Union ( http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=34967&Link=http://www.ntu.org ).

"Presidential candidate John Kerry takes a dim view of the across-the-board tax cuts enacted under George W. Bush, but things looked much different to Senate candidate John Kerry in 1984," said NTU President John Berthoud. "At the beginning of his career in national politics, John Kerry seemed to have shunned the class warfare strategy that dominates his tax platform today."

For more than two decades, NTU has surveyed federal Congressional candidates of all political parties on important fiscal policy issues. In a response signed and dated August 10, 1984, John Kerry (then running for a U.S. Senate seat), provided answers to seven NTU questions, including the following:

-- When asked to "Describe the most important issue in your campaign platform that would be of most benefit to the nation's taxpayers," Kerry replied, "Support for Bradley-Gephardt and tax code reform to eliminate profusion of special interest breaks, creating instead lower marginal rates for most taxpayers."

-- The finalized Bradley-Gephardt tax reform plan would have reduced the top marginal rate from 50 percent to 30 percent - even lower than the Bush Administration has sought.

-- Kerry came out against "Imposing an income tax surtax," another plan that would have raised tax burdens on wealthier Americans.

-- Although Kerry now cites the tide of red ink as a reason to raise taxes on the wealthy, budget deficits were arguably worse when he backed tax rate reductions. As a share of Gross Domestic Product, the 1984 and 1986 shortfalls amounted to 4.8 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively, compared to the latest Fiscal Year 2004 estimate of 3.8 percent.

NTU is a 350,000-member citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes and smaller government at all levels. Note: A copy of John Kerry's 1984 NTU Congressional Candidate Survey is available at http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=34967&Link=http://www.ntu.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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