Tall John - Please Put Up Or Shut Up
By The MinuteMan
JustOneMinute
Via Glenn, we see that Tall John Kerry is whining about the Republican Noise Machine subdivision of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.
Please, I'm begging now - Kerry should just sign the Form 180 and send it in - let everyone see the military records, and show the world that the Swift Boat critics were off-target. As a bonus, the news judgment of the NY Times, which has yet to mention the phrase "Form 180" and has never called for the release of Kerry's military (or medical) records, will be vindicated.
Of course, the critics may find something - I am hoping that the paperwork from Kerry's first Purple Heart application will clear up the mystery of Three Men in a Boat. Currently, four guys claim to have been with Kerry on his award-winning night, and if two of the Band of Brothers are shown to have a memory problem, well - ooops.
Or, if Admiral Schachte, who was adopted by the Swiftees although he was not formally a member, is shown to be lying, well - ooops, again.
As a bonus, there is a Happy St. Patrick's Day discrepancy between the records Kerry released on his website and his career as described by historian (and Kerry flack) Douglas Brinkley - briefly, the last mission Kerry's website reported was his Bronze Star adventure on March 13, 1969, but Brinkley reports a March 18 mission which followed a St. Patrick's Day alcohol-fueled celebration and news of Kerry's imminent re-assignment.
Since the after-action reports for March 18-19 are vaguely consistent with a Swift Boat veteran's report (from Unfit for Command, via Drudge) that Kerry torched a hamlet with his Zippo lighter, we would like to see the documents. An obvious caveat - normally, the after-action reports are part of the historical record, and would be available regardless of Kerry's Form 180, I would think.
Sign the form and silence the skeptics! Bring it on, Tall Dour One. And don't forget your war diaries, too.
MORE: OK, if forced into a desperate fallback modality I will join the chorus chanting "questions were raised". But proving Admiral Schachte a liar would be a coup for Kerry's side.
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