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

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (19419)	10/16/2004 5:57:01 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 27181

Cheater Jeb Bush rejected warnings on purge list Two months before the state of Florida was forced to abandon its ex-felon voter purge list due to irregularities discovered by the media, Florida Governor Jeb Bush was warned by state computer experts to scrap the system, according to a report today in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. According to the paper, Paul Craft, a technologist at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who'd been leading the effort to create the purge list, told the governor's office in early May that he wasn't "comfortable" with the method by which the state's software matched names on a list of known felons to a list of people registered to vote. According to an e-mail obtained by the Herald-Tribune through a public records request, though, Jeb Bush rejected Craft's call to scrap the list. "Needless to say, Paul's going NUTS!" the e-mail notes. (Here's a PDF of the e-mail.) Craft's exasperation was not misplaced. When the state was forced to release the purge list to the public in July, it took the Miami Herald less than a day to discover that thousands of people who'd been granted formal clemency from the governor -- and whose voting rights had therefore been restored -- were on the list. A few days later, the Herald-Tribune and the New York Times discovered that it contained the names of thousands of African-American felons but only 61 Hispanics. Only then did Bush and Glenda Hood, Florida's secretary of state, get rid of the list. Bush has always maintained that these problems were honest mistakes. Even on Friday, after the Herald-Tribune's discovery of these damning internal e-mails, he elided responsibility in an interview with the paper. But his excuses are hard to believe. "This governor has overseen the most biased, the most unfair election effort in modern Florida history," Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., told the Herald-Tribune. "He's essentially trying to rig the election for George Bush."

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (19419)	10/16/2004 7:13:02 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27181

More dirty tricks from desperate liberals: <<On public radio, of all places, it was reported that the unit could not perform the duty because their trucks were dead lined for extensive service, and none of the troops refused to do their duty.>> Talk your way out of this one. Liberals are always ready to EXAGGERATE to the point of deliberate lies. Corrigan, you are in desperate need of some good info. You have to stop listening to Bennett, Rush and O'Reilly. Bennett is a gambler, Rush a druggie and O'Reilly harasses women. Soldiers are calling their relatives here in the state.......its becoming a major issue. Even the Pentagon has said they have moved these people into a special tent. You need to wake up and smell the coffee, Corrigan. Things are real bad in Iraq and they are getting worse. And the Bushies don't know what to do about it! Our soldiers are in grave danger! I am very worried and I am tired of you so called Americans making believe its not happening. You should be ashamed! ***************************************** Soldier's grandfather says refusal of mission saved lives** Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. - <b.The grandfather of a soldier who was part of an Army contingent that refused to deliver supplies in Iraq says his grandson called him Saturday morning and told him he had just been released from detainment. Harold Casey of Louisville said his grandson, Justin Rogers, and other soldiers were put under armed guard after refusing to deliver supplies in Iraq. The incident in Iraq was first reported Friday by The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Relatives of soldiers told the Mississippi newspaper that the troops refused to go on the mission because it was too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in poor shape. On Saturday, Casey said Rogers, 22, told him that the main reason he and his fellow troops refused to go on the mission was that the fuel they were transporting was contaminated. "The fuel was contaminated for the helicopters," Casey said his grandson told him. "It would have caused them to crash. That's why they refused to deliver the fuel. They saved lives." The Army is investigating up to 19 reservist members of a platoon that is part of the 343rd Quartermaster Company, based in Rock Hill, S.C. The unit delivers food, water and fuel on trucks in combat zones. Convoys in Iraq are frequently subject to ambushes and roadside bombings. Some of the troops' safety concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad said "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner, causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." The coalition said in a statement early Saturday that troops are "not being guarded or detained. They are being interviewed. They're taking statements." Casey said his grandson told him that some of the soldiers were reduced in rank and that they were being reassigned to different units. Casey said Rogers' rank had been reduced from sergeant to specialist. He said Rogers and Sgt. Larry McCook of Jackson, Miss., were being transferred to the Alabama-based 2101 Transportation Company. Casey said his grandson told him he expected the transfer to keep him in Iraq longer than he had anticipated, because the 2021st only recently arrived in Iraq. "It looks like to me they would have been grateful and really thankful and would have rewarded them for showing that this fuel was contaminated," Casey said. "They actually saved lives." Casey said Rogers told him the Army gave the soldiers back their weapons Saturday, but they were still being confined until they are transferred to new units sometime Sunday. Meanwhile, a commanding general has ordered the 343rd to undergo a "safety-maintenance stand down," during which it will conduct no further missions as the unit's vehicles are inspected, the military said. On Wednesday, 19 members of the platoon did not show up for a scheduled 7 a.m. meeting in Tallil, in southeastern Iraq, to prepare for the fuel convoy's departure a few hours later, a military statement said. "An initial report indicated that some of the 19 soldiers (not all) refused to participate in the convoy as directed," the statement said. The mission was ultimately carried out by other soldiers from the 343rd, which has at least 120 soldiers, the military said. U.S. military officials said the commanding general of the 13th Corps Support Command., Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, had appointed his deputy, Col. Darrell Roll, to investigate. An investigative team under Roll is in Tallil, questioning soldiers about the incident, the military said. "Preliminary findings indicate that there were several contributing factors that led to the late convoy incident and alleged refusal to participate by some soldiers," the military said. "It would be inappropriate to discuss those factors while the investigation continues." The platoon has troops from Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, said Hill. mercurynews.com

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (19419)	10/16/2004 7:40:32 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 27181

Elmer L. Andersen: Why this Republican ex-governor will be voting for Kerry ____________________________ Editorial By: Elmer L. Andersen The Minneapolis Star Tribune October 13, 2004 startribune.com Throughout my tenure and beyond as the 30th governor of this state, I have been steadfastly aligned -- and until recently, proudly so -- with the Minnesota Republican Party. It dismays me, therefore, to have to publicly disagree with the national Republican agenda and the national Republican candidate but, this year, I must. The two "Say No to Bush" signs in my yard say it all. The present Republican president has led us into an unjustified war -- based on misguided and blatantly false misrepresentations of the threat of weapons of mass destruction. The terror seat was Afghanistan. Iraq had no connection to these acts of terror and was not a serious threat to the United States, as this president claimed, and there was no relation, it's now obvious, to any serious weaponry. Although Saddam Hussein is a frightful tyrant, he posed no threat to the United States when we entered the war. George W. Bush's arrogant actions to jump into Iraq when he had no plan how to get out have alienated the United States from our most trusted allies and weakened us immeasurably around the world. Also, if there as well had been proper and careful coordination of services and intelligence on Sept. 11, 2001, that horrific disaster might also have been averted. But it was a separate event from this brutal mess of a war, and the disingenuous linking of the wholly unrelated situation in Iraq to 9/11 by this administration is not supported by the facts. Sen. John Kerry was correct when he said that seemingly it is only Bush and Dick Cheney who still believe their own spin. Both men spew outright untruths with evangelistic fervor. For Bush -- a man who chose to have his father help him duck service in the military during the Vietnam War -- to disparage and cast doubt on the medals Kerry won bravely and legitimately in the conflict of battle is a travesty. For Cheney to tell the hand-picked, like-minded Republican crowds in Des Moines last month that to vote for John Kerry could mean another attack like that of 9/11 is reprehensible. Moreover, such false statements encourage more terrorist attacks rather than prevent them. A far smaller transgression, but one typical of his stop-at-nothing tactics, was Cheney's assertion in last Wednesday's vice-presidential debate that he'd never met Sen. John Edwards until that night. The next day -- and the media must stay ever-vigilant at fact-checking the lies of this ticket -- news reports, to the contrary, showed four video clips of Edwards and Cheney sitting next to each other during the past five years. In both presidential debates, Kerry has shown himself to be of far superior intellect and character than Bush. He speaks honestly to the American people, his ethics are unimpeachable and, clearly, with 20 respected years in the Senate, he has far better credentials to lead the country than did Bush when he was elected four years ago. And a far greater depth of understanding of domestic and foreign affairs to do it now. Not that the sitting president has ever really been at the helm. I am more fearful for the state of this nation than I have ever been -- because this country is in the hands of an evil man: Dick Cheney. It is eminently clear that it is he who is running the country, not George W. Bush. Bush's phony posturing as cocksure leader of the free world -- symbolized by his victory symbol on the aircraft carrier and "mission accomplished" statement -- leave me speechless. The mission had barely been started, let alone finished, and 18 months later it still rages on. His ongoing "no-regrets," no-mistakes stance and untruths on the war -- as well as on the floundering economy and Bush administration joblessness -- also disappoint and worry me. Liberal Republicans of my era and mind-set used to have a humane and reasonable platform. We advocated the importance of higher education, health care for all, programs for children at risk, energy conservation and environmental protection. Today, Bush and Cheney give us clever public relations names for programs -- need I say "No Child Left Behind? -- but a lack of funding to support them. Early childhood education programs and overall health care are woefully underfunded. We have not only the largest number ever of medically uninsured in this nation, our infant mortality rates, once among the lowest in the world, have worsened to 27th. As taxes for the wealthy are being cut, jobs are being outsourced if not lost and children are homeless and uninsured, this administration is running up the biggest deficit in U.S. history -- bound to be a terrible burden for future generations. This imperialistic, stubborn adherence to wrongful policies and known untruths by the Cheney-Bush administration -- and that's the accurate order -- has simply become more than I can stand. Although I am a longtime Republican, it is time to make a statement, and it is this: Vote for Kerry-Edwards, I implore you, on Nov. 2. __________________ Elmer L. Andersen was Minnesota's governor from 1961 to 1963.

To: Ann Corrigan who wrote (19419)	10/16/2004 7:42:19 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 27181

Who Are We? republicansforkerry04.org May 31, 2004 What is Republicans for John Kerry all about? We are ordinary Republicans from across the political spectrum -- moderate, conservative, and progressive -- who believe in the sanctity of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. This unites us in our desire to return our country and our party to the traditional values that have been abandoned by the present extremist administration and their exclusionary allies in Congress. We have taken the unusual step of supporting a Democrat, John Kerry, because we believe he more honestly represents these values so vital to the health and well-being of our democracy. On the important issues of foreign policy, fiscal responsibility, tax policy, energy, the environment, media consolidation, civil liberties and trust, history has shown us all too clearly that John Kerry will be a far better steward than the present administration. We believe that all Americans should heed George Washington's wisdom and put country before party. It is our hope that after this election our party will return to its roots in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, and again represent the mainstream of Republican thinking, and that we may support a moderate Republican candidate for president in 2008 against President Kerry. What does Republicans for John Kerry do? We have been described as a "support group" for like-minded Republicans. With the Party dominated by the right wing, it has been a lonely four years - but no longer. We provide a forum for Republicans to explore, expound and identify those issues we are most concerned about, from the perspective of what this administration has done, and also what Kerry will do about them. Our members research issues and present compelling perspectives that counter the well-financed attack machine that's been assembled by this administration. Our members continually work to expand our collective reach: by writing op-ed pieces and letters to the editor, speaking to family and friends, and in some cases providing interviews to mainstream print and television media. We will continue to work on reaching as many moderate Republicans as possible in the hope that they will ultimately vote in November for John Kerry as the best hope for our country for the next four years. republicansforkerry04.org