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

To: American Spirit who wrote (16326)	10/7/2004 3:18:12 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

Military Rejects Kerry by Staggering Margin Monday, Oct. 4, 2004 12:00 a.m. EDT By a staggering margin of 4 to 1, U.S. military personnel have rejected the presidential candidacy of Sen. John Kerry, a new survey by Army Times magazine shows. With 4,000 full-time and part-time troops responding, a full 73 percent said they would vote for President Bush if the election were held today, reports USA Today, a sister publication of Army Times. Just 18 percent said they would vote for Kerry, who has based his candidacy on the four months he spent as a Swift Boat commander in Vietnam 35 years ago. Two-thirds of those responding said John Kerry's anti-war activities after he returned from the war, when he teamed up with "Hanoi Jane" Fonda and trashed his fellow soldiers as "war criminals" and "monsters," made them less likely to vote for him. The survey was conducted Sept. 15-28 by the Army Times Publishing Co., which sent e-mails to more than 31,000 subscribers. The magazine received 4,165 responses on a secure Web site.

To: American Spirit who wrote (16326)	10/7/2004 8:22:04 AM
From: JakeStraw	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27181

A Closer Look at John Kerry's Supporters by Christopher Adamo Thursday, October 07, 2004 Among the most amazing and ominous of John Kerry’s statements during last week’s presidential debate was his assertion that America should sell nuclear fuel to Iran, in hopes that by so doing, that nation’s despotic leadership might decide not to develop nuclear weaponry. Even more amazing is the fact that nearly a full week has passed since the debate, but Kerry has yet to backpedal or claim that his remark was ''taken out of context.'' It is reasonable to conclude that Kerry truly believes such insanity to be good policy, despite the harsh lessons that should have been learned from Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter’s nearly identical agreement with North Korea in 1994. To Clinton and Carter’s apparent astonishment, North Korea now brandishes its nuclear capability as a threat against not only its neighbors, but also the United States. So, it should come as no surprise that the militant Islamists who control Iran prefer John Kerry to George Bush as president. Though seemingly less ominous in the minds of most Americans these days, culturally and politically, this is the same Iran where twenty-five years ago the U.S. Embassy was overtaken, and its staff held hostage for over a year. This is the same Iran that supports Hezbollah and other murderous Islamic terrorist organizations throughout the world. And this is the same Iran from which a steady flow of militant insurgents is streaming into Iraq, with the ultimate goal of defeating American efforts to subdue al Qaeda and its terrorist associates. Having made so much political hay over the fact that U.S. forces have not happened across any cache of nuclear bombs in Iraq, Kerry apparently intends to ensure that someday soon, they will be readily available next door in Iran. Clearly, Kerry’s supporters among the Iranians do not have America’s best interests in mind. But what of the other ''constituencies,'' both inside and outside of this nation’s borders, that lend their loyalty to him? The leadership of the United Nations, to whom Kerry would readily ''outsource'' America’s security interests, clearly prefers his meandering ways to the decisiveness and resolve of George W. Bush. The corrupt, under-the-table dealings of the ''Oil for Food'' program, by which Secretary General Kofi Annan and others padded their pockets while enriching and enabling Saddam Hussein, serve as an inarguable harbinger of what the world can expect if a ''President Kerry'' assumes ultimate control of America’s dealings with the United Nations. Surely, such a scenario presents a far more rosy future for that organization, though not so for the oppressed peoples of the world whom it was ostensibly instituted to protect. Islamic constituency groups in this country, having frequently displayed divided loyalties when addressing the subject of terrorist attacks on the American homeland, are predictably gravitating towards the Kerry camp. All the while, they assert that Kerry is more sympathetic to their ''plight'' than a president who wants to seriously confront the threat of terrorism on American soil and abroad. Foreign governments, resentful of American hegemony on the world scene and seeking to undermine it, have indicated their hopes for a Kerry victory in November. North Korea has already endorsed his candidacy in a highly publicized statement last spring. Closer to home, Hollywood’s leftists are unrestrained in their enthusiasm and support for Kerry. Invariably, they concur with the Massachusetts senator’s moral bankruptcy, as demonstrated by his opposition to even the mildest protections for the unborn, and his willingness to abominate the very concept of traditional marriage. Clearly, his twisted ideology proves to be far more palatable to them than the moral clarity of President Bush. Sadly, within the cloistered walls of academia and throughout America’s counterculture, that same perverse version of the world predominates, with its advocates totally unwilling to be dissuaded by the realities of cause and effect. Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the ''mainstream media,'' which despite its nearly complete loss of credibility in the wake of the CBS forged-document controversy, continues as a virtual ''mouthpiece'' for the Kerry campaign. Some Bush supporters were disappointed last week that the president didn’t engage in the flamboyance and showmanship of so-called modern ''debate.'' Instead, he chose to remain quietly firm and steadfast in his convictions. But any who might then consider a Kerry presidency should also ponder how the nation and world would fare if these groups could remake it to their liking. No less of a possibility is at stake.

To: American Spirit who wrote (16326)	10/7/2004 1:32:27 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

Jobless Claims Decline Sharply Last Week Oct-2004 7:50AM AP / JEANNINE AVERSA WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of new applications filed last week for unemployment benefits fell sharply, offering a hopeful sign that the recovery in the job market may be gaining some steam. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of new people signing up for unemployment insurance benefits dropped by a seasonally adjusted 37,000 to 335,000, the lowest level since the beginning of September. The latest snapshot of the layoffs climate was better than economists were expecting. They were expecting claims to decline to around 355,000. Claims had risen recently in part because of the impact of hurricanes that pummeled Florida and elsewhere, wreaking damage and disrupting commerce. The more stable, four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, rose by 4,250 last week to 348,500. That compares with 394,250 a year ago -- showing improvement has been seen over the past year. The number of people continuing to draw unemployment benefits declined by 1,000 to 2.86 million for the week ending Sept. 25, the most recent period for which that information is available. A year ago, the number stood at 3.57 million. The Federal Reserve, citing some improvements in the economy, boosted short-term interest rates for a third time this year in September. Many analysts expect the Fed will increase rates again at its next meeting in November. A few, however, believe the Fed might take a pass in November and raise rates in December, the last meeting of the year. Sandra Pianalto, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee -- the group that sets interest rate policy in the United States -- in remarks Thursday said "As the unemployment data arrives over the next several months, we may very well see the job numbers snap back if confidence in our economy is restored, economies around the world strengthen and energy prices stabilize." President Bush and his Democratic opponent, John Kerry, paint very different pictures about how the economy and the labor market are faring as they try to woo voters with Election Day just a few weeks away. Payrolls have grown by 1.7 million in the last 12 months. The government releases the employment report for September on Friday. The jobs report, the last to be issued before the Nov. 2 elections, will be closely watched by the presidential campaigns, economists and Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and his Fed colleagues.

To: American Spirit who wrote (16326)	10/7/2004 3:04:23 PM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

US official- Syria ready for talks with Israel By ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Syrian President Bashar Assad is offering to make peace with Israel and says he is ready to cooperate with the United States in stabilizing Iraq, a former senior State Department official said Wednesday. "Something is going on in Syria and it is time for us to pay attention," said Martin Indyk, assistant secretary of state for the Near East and US ambassador to Israel during the Clinton administration. In a three-hour meeting with the Syrian president last month in Damascus, Indyk said he detected a "clear change" in Assad's views on a number of fronts. On peacemaking, Assad offered to hold talks with Israel without preconditions, Indyk said, and had made several overtures to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Sharon rebuffed. In the past, Indyk said, Syria had insisted that any peace talks should resume where they left off during the Clinton administration - with Israel offering to give up all of the Golan Heights, a strategic area Israel won in the 1967 Mideast war. And, Indyk said, Assad had dropped a demand that Israel reach an agreement with the Palestinians before Israel could resume negotiations with Syria. On the domestic side, Indyk said, Assad spoke "about the need to reform the government." "It's worth watching and it is worth testing," Indyk said at a seminar at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, of which Indyk is the director. Indyk said Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa was not at his meeting with Assad, evidence the former American diplomat said that change was under way and that al-Sharaa "and others in the old guard are being systematically silenced." On Monday, Assad shuffled his Cabinet. Ghazi Kenaan, 62, until two years ago Syria's top intelligence general in neighboring Lebanon, was named interior minister. Al-Sharaa retained his post. On Iraq, Assad "figured out he was on the wrong side" and has switched to cooperation with the US occupation forces in the country, Indyk said. On support for terrorism, Assad was responding to US demands by moving some leaders of militant Palestinian groups out of Damascus, Indyk said. Last month, Syria was praised publicly by Secretary of State Colin Powell for dismantling military camps in the hills near Beirut, Lebanon. Powell told reporters after a meeting with Al-Sharaa that the redeployment of Syrian occupation forces in Lebanon was "a positive step." At the same time, the State Department has continued to call for a crackdown on terror. And Syria remains one of seven countries branded by the department as sponsors of terror. Also, thousands of Syrian troops remain in Lebanon despite passage on Sept. 2 of a UN Security Council resolution calling for a withdrawal and for Syria to respect Lebanon's sovereignty. Also, President George W. Bush's administration has accused Syria of pursuing biological and chemical weapons programs as well as nuclear weapons.