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Politics : Proof that John Kerry is Unfit for Command -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mistermj who wrote (3844)	8/28/2004 4:17:14 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 27181

Karl Rove resembles the Nazi in "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" both physically and strategically. He is running Bush's entire political career. Therein lies the problem. Kerry is the Indiana Jones of 2004. He shall whip the Nazi A-holes and stop their lies. But it won't be easy.

To: mistermj who wrote (3844)	8/28/2004 4:33:49 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 27181

Proof that Bush lied about his draft-dodging: Who Asked the Bush Family Friend To Secure Him A Spot in the National Guard? Washington, D.C. - The Democratic National Committee continued its drumbeat to find out the truth about George W. Bush's military service today by releasing the first in a series of unanswered questions. The DNC's first unanswered question comes on the heels of the launch of their new "Where Was Bush" website, and asks "Who asked the Bush family friend to secure him a spot in the National Guard?" Unanswered Question #1: Who Asked the Bush Family Friend To Secure Him A Spot in the National Guard? "I heard from contemporaries that there were openings for pilots in the Texas Air National Guard, and I called to ask about them." —Then-Gov. George W. Bush [A Charge to Keep, George W. Bush, p. 51] "They were looking for pilots, and I was honored to serve." —Then-Gov. George W. Bush [Dallas Morning News, 9/8/99] At the height of Vietnam War, President Bush, then a Yale senior said he, "heard from contemporaries that there were openings for pilots in the Texas Air National Guard." After visiting the commander of the Texas National Guard, he applied and was accepted, despite a waiting list of over 150 applicants. In 1999, it was disclosed family friends helped get Bush a spot in the Guard. Bush has said that no member of his family asked to help secure him a spot in the Guard. FACT: Bush Got Coveted Slot in Texas Guard Shortly After Graduating from College. Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard after his student deferment ran out when he graduated from Yale in 1968. Before he graduated, Bush personally visited Col. Walter "Buck" Staudt — the commander of the Texas Air National Guard — to talk about the Guard. After Bush met with Staudt, he applied and was quickly accepted — despite a waiting list of over 150 applicants. Staudt recommended Bush for a direct appointment, which allowed Bush to become a second lieutenant right out of basic training without having to go through officer candidate school. The direct appointment also cleared the way for a position in pilot training school. [Houston Chronicle, 10/10/92; Los Angeles Times, 7/4/99] FACT: Bush Got Into Guard Through Family Connections. During a 1999 lawsuit in Austin, TX, former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes testified under oath that he had helped get Bush a slot in the Texas Air National Guard in 1968. Then-Speaker Barnes made the call after a friend of the Bush's father — Houston oilman Sidney Adger — asked him to. In 1999, Bush said "Not one person named George Bush asked Ben Barnes for help," which he later amended to include "No Bush ever asked Sid Adger to help." [Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9/10/99; New York Times, 9/27/99; Dallas Morning News, 9/8/99] FACT: No Shortage of Pilots in Texas Guard. Although a Bush spokesman claimed Bush was fast-tracked because the Guard needed pilots, Charles C. Shoemake, a chief of personnel in the Texas Guard from 1972 to 1980 remembered no such shortage. "We had so many people coming in who were super-qualified," Shoemake said. Texas Guard Historian Tom Hail said there was no apparent need to fast-track applicants. "I've never heard of that," he said. "Generally they did that for doctors only, mostly because we needed extra flight surgeons." [Los Angeles Times, 7/4/99] democrats.org

To: mistermj who wrote (3844)	8/28/2004 4:35:12 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 27181

Bush's smear campaign against McCain should now be replayed so voters can compare Rove's two smear campaigns against war heros and see the similarities. Bush's smear campaigns against national heros is a real issue now. And boy does he ever deserve to have that be the next big topic on the talkshows. Then we'll see how Ohio veterans like Bush.

To: mistermj who wrote (3844)	8/28/2004 4:36:34 PM
From: American Spirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

STILL UNREPORTED: THE PAY-OFF IN BUSH AIR GUARD FIX Saturday, August 28, 2004 by Greg Palast In 1968, former Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas, fresh from voting to send other men's sons to Vietnam, enlisted his own son in a very special affirmative action program, the 'champagne' unit of the Texas Air National Guard. There, Top Gun fighter pilot George Dubya was assigned the dangerous job of protecting Houston from Vietcong air attack. This week, former Lt. Governor Ben Barnes of Texas 'fessed up to pulling the strings to keep Little George out of the jungle. "I got a young man named George W. Bush into the Texas Air Guard - and I'm ashamed." THE PAY-OFF That's far from the end of the story. In 1994, George W. Bush was elected governor of Texas by a whisker. By that time, Barnes had left office to become a big time corporate lobbyist. To an influence peddler like Barnes, having damning information on a sitting governor is worth its weight in gold - or, more precisely, there's a value in keeping the info secret. Barnes appears to have made lucrative use of his knowledge of our President's slithering out of the draft as a lever to protect a multi-billion dollar contract for a client. That's the information in a confidential letter buried deep in the files of the US Justice Department that fell into my hands at BBC television. Here's what happened. Just after Bush's election, Barnes' client GTech Corp., due to allegations of corruption, was about to lose its license to print money: its contract to run the Texas state lottery. Barnes, says the Justice Department document, made a call to the newly elected governor's office and saved GTech's state contract. The letter said, "Governor Bush ... made a deal with Ben Barnes not to rebid [the GTech lottery contract] because Barnes could confirm that Bush had lied during the '94 campaign." In that close race, Bush denied the fix was in to keep him out of 'Nam, and the US media stopped asking questions. What did the victorious Governor Bush's office do for Barnes? According to the tipster, "Barnes agreed never to confirm the story [of the draft dodging] and the governor talked to the chair of the lottery two days later and she then agreed to support letting GTech keep the contract without a bid." And so it came to pass that the governor's commission reversed itself and gave GTech the billion dollar deal without a bid. The happy client paid Barnes, the keeper of Governor Bush's secret, a fee of over $23 million. Barnes, not surprisingly, denies that Bush took care of his client in return for Barnes' silence. However, confronted with the evidence, the former Lt. Governor now admits to helping the young George stay out of Vietnam. Take a look at the letter yourself - with information we confirmed with other sources - at gregpalast.com. Frankly, I don't care if President Bush cowered and ran from Vietnam. I sure as hell didn't volunteer ... but then, my daddy didn't send someone else in my place. And I don't march around aircraft carriers with parachute clips around my gonads talking about war and sacrifice. More important, I haven't made any pay-offs to silence those who could change my image from war hero to war zero. "TIME WARNER WON'T LET US AIR THIS" By the way: I first reported this story in 1999, including the evidence of payback, in The Observer of London. US media closed its eyes. Then I put the story on British television last year in the one-hour report, "Bush Family Fortunes." American networks turned down BBC's offer to run it in the USA. "Wonderful film," one executive told me, "but Time Warner is not going to let us put this on the air." However, US networks will take cash for advertisements calling Kerry a Vietnam coward. The good news is, until Patriot Act 3 kicks in, they can't stop us selling the film to you directly. The updated version of "Bush Family Fortunes," with the full story you still can't see on your boob tube, will be released next month in DVD. See a preview at gregpalast.com For more on our president's war years and the $23 million payment, read this excerpt from the New York Times bestseller, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. gregpalast.com