Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	5/10/2005 1:53:33 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

JOHN KERRY RESPONDS! By Michelle Malkin May 10, 2005 10:24 AM Have you seen Sen. Kerry's statement on the failure to release his 180s? Mark Coffey has the "exclusive:" <<< I have a plan that addresses not only my Form SF-180, but also the Form SF-180s of all Americans... >>> Blogs for Bush and Polipundit are also having fun on this 100-day anniversary. They've made an easy-to-fax copy of the 180 Form available for you to send to Sen. Kerry. michellemalkin.com decision08.blogspot.com blogsforbush.com polipundit.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	5/10/2005 1:57:26 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

100 Days Blogs For Bush Today marks 100 days since John Kerry promised, on national TV, to sign form SF-180 and release his military records. During the 2004 campaign, John Kerry made his service in Vietnam the foundation of his campaign, and he attacked President Bush's service. There are many unanswered questions about Kerry's service that the American people deserve to have answered. John Kerry has the power to have all these questions answered, simply by signing Standard Form 180. We're not sure why Kerry hasn't followed through on his promise yet, so, just to make sure he's got a copy of the form, all of us at Blogs For Bush and at PoliPundit are asking you all to help Kerry out. All of you can help by faxing Senator Kerry a copy of the 3-page form, which is available online here. archives.gov Here are the fax numbers for the senator’s offices: Washington D.C. - (202) 224-8525 Boston, MA - (617) 248-3870 Springfield, MA - (413) 736-1049 Fall River, MA - (508) 677-0275 If you don’t have access to a fax machine, you can e-mail the fax by using a service such as MaxEmail or eFax. Or just go to your nearest Kinko’s. We suggest you include a cover letter, briefly mentioning Senator Kerry's promise, which he made 100 days ago, and ask him politely to sign form 180 and release his military records. Posted by Matt blogsforbush.com blogsforbush.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	5/24/2005 5:43:31 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

What a complete crock. KERRY SIGNS SF-180 FORM By Michelle Malkin May 24, 2005 07:40 AM During an interview yesterday with Boston Globe editorial writers and columnists, John Kerry said he signed Form SF 180. The form will be sent to the U.S. Navy within the next few days. Globe columnist Joan Vennochi writes: <<< During an interview yesterday with Globe editorial writers and columnists, the former Democratic presidential nominee was asked if had signed Form SF 180, authorizing the Department of Defense to grant access to all his military records. ''I have signed it," Kerry said. Then, he added that his staff was ''still going through it" and ''very, very shortly, you will have a chance to see it." The devil is usually in the details. With Kerry, it's also in the dodges and digressions. After the interview, Kerry's communications director, David Wade, was asked to clarify when Kerry signed SF 180 and when public access would be granted. Kerry drifted over to join the conversation, immediately raising the confusion level. He did not answer the question of when he signed the form or when the entire record will be made public. Several e-mails later, Wade conveyed the following information: On Friday, May 20, Kerry obtained a copy of Form 180 and signed it. ''The next step is to send it to the Navy, which will happen in the next few days. The Navy will then send out the records," e-mailed Wade. Kerry first said he would sign Form 180 when pressed by Tim Russert during a Jan. 30 appearance on ''Meet the Press." >>> Last summer, "Unfit for Command" author John O'Neill said if Kerry signed SF-180, reporters or anyone else could obtain all of Kerry's military records from DoD. "If he executes Standard Form 180, he would no longer be the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper would be the U.S. military," he told the Washington Times. Background: - A copy of a blank SF-180 form is here (.pdf file) archives.gov - Though Kerry's spokesman said the form will be sent to the Navy, National Archives seems to suggest it should be sent to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. - How long will it take to process Kerry's request? We may be waiting a few months: <<< Response times for records requested from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) vary greatly depending on the nature of the request. For example, the NPRC Military Records Facility currently has a backlog of 180,000 requests and receives approximately 5,000 requests per day. Routine requests for separation documents currently require only 2-4 weeks for servicing. However, requests that involve reconstruction efforts due to the 1973 fire or older records which require extensive search efforts may take much longer. The average turnaround time on all requests is currently running at approximately 12 weeks. >>> -The Swift Boat Vets first called on Kerry to sign the SF-180 form on May 4, 2004: "We the undersigned formally request that you authorize the Department of the Navy to independently release your military records (through your execution of Standard Form 180), complete and unaltered, including your military medical records." - On August 18, 2004, the Washington Times reported that the Kerry campaign said it had released all of Kerry's war records to the public: <<< "Senator Kerry's entire military service record is posted on JohnKerry.com. His entire record," said Michael Meehan, adviser for communications to the campaign, at a press conference called to defend Mr. Kerry against recent charges that the former Navy lieutenant didn't deserve some of his war decorations - three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. >>> - Deroy Murdock was one of the first columnists to call on Kerry to sign the SF-180 form. - PoliPundit kept the pressure up this spring with the SF-180 clock. Update: Ed Morrissey says that even after signing the SF 180 form, Kerry need not release his military records to the public: <<< [I]t could be a cold day in Hell before all or any of it gets released to the media. In fact, Kerry could argue that signing it was all he agreed to do. When, he could say, did I commit to sending it to the Navy? You FOOLS! Mwa-HAHAHAHA! All kidding aside, Kerry only agreed to sign off on the SF-180. He didn't agree to release every document that results from that request. The SF-180 will only release the information to Kerry, who can then cull the material for anything embarrassing before making it public. >>> This contradicts what John O'Neill said last summer. As I noted above, O'Neill said that once the SF-180 is signed and executed, anyone can obtain all of Kerry's records directly from DoD. Either O'Neill was right or Morrissey is right, but not both. I'm sure the blogosphere will quickly figure it out. Update II: Mark Coffey suggests a new Kerry clock. decision08.blogspot.com Update III: N.Z. Bear asks a good question. truthlaidbear.com kerry_does_a_180_so_can_middendorf_talk_now.php#001676 michellemalkin.com boston.com archives.gov archives.gov nationalreview.com polipundit.com captainsquartersblog.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/3/2005 12:47:49 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

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. justoneminute.typepad.com instapundit.com boston.com boston.com justoneminute.typepad.com query.nytimes.com justoneminute.typepad.com justoneminute.typepad.com amazon.com justoneminute.typepad.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/7/2005 7:09:26 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

And just what is the Boston Globe not telling us? By Jay Tea on Politics Wizbang John Kerry vowed a long time ago to release his full service record, but has yet to do so publicly. However, he apparently did release them to the Boston Glob. And with his full records available to them, not even the Glob could save him from embarassment. In what comes across to me as an attempt to hide even more humiliating details, the Glob focuses on Kerry's college transcript -- which was part of his Navy record, and he had previously refused to release -- and compares it with George W. Bush's records (long ago released). It turns out that both men had difficult first years, but pulled themselves together in later years. But here's the real bombshell: Bush was a better student overall. In his freshman year, Kerry had a 71 average (a C-). He raised that to a 76 by the time he graduated. Bush's average for the four years was a 77. It's even more telling that in Kerry's freshman year, his two highest grades were in a political science course (79) and a French course (77). His highest grade over four years was an 89 in another political science class. Now, if the Glob, who has always been friendly to Kerry has access to Kerry's full Naval record, and they choose to focus on his college grades, what else could be in there? I've heard some speculation that Kerry held this back because one of his biggest strengths in the campaign was his perceived intellectual superiority to Bush, and this would put a big dent in that image. But I'm wondering if this is just some "red meat" to keep attention away from a REAL smoking gun... wizbangblog.com boston.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/7/2005 6:11:19 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

Did Kerry Turn Over Full File To The Boston Globe? By Captain Ed on Presidential Election Captain's Quarters The Boston Globe claims this morning that John Kerry has finally made his entire service record publicly available, at least to them. Michael Kranish, who wrote unquestioning articles about Kerry's service in Viet Name before and during the presidential campaign, proclaims that the release vindicates Kerry -- but even Kranish can't add up why Kerry kept the file secret: <<< Senator John F. Kerry, ending at least two years of refusal, has waived privacy restrictions and authorized the release of his full military and medical records. The records, which the Navy Personnel Command provided to the Globe, are mostly a duplication of what Kerry released during his 2004 campaign for president, including numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry's Vietnam service. The lack of any substantive new material about Kerry's military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions. An earlier release of the full record might have helped his campaign because it contains a number of reports lauding his service. Indeed, one of the first actions of the group that came to be known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was to call on Kerry to sign a privacy waiver and release all of his military and medical records. But Kerry refused, even though it turned out that the records included commendations from some of the same veterans who were criticizing him. On May 20, Kerry signed a document called Standard Form 180, authorizing the Navy to send an ''undeleted" copy of his ''complete military service record and medical record" to the Globe. Asked why he delayed signing the form for so long, Kerry said in a written response: ''The call for me to sign a 180 form came from the same partisan operatives who were lying about my record on a daily basis on the Web and in the right-wing media. Even though the media was discrediting them, they continued to lie. I felt strongly that we shouldn't kowtow to them and their attempts to drag their lies out." >>> Kranish then goes on to describe several commendations and memos of praise. Interestingly, though, Kranish remains silent on several points of controversy that the secrecy of the files helped stoke. Namely, Kranish doesn't mention anything about Kerry's discharge, and why it took him until 1978 to get it, while he quit serving in 1972. He doesn't mention any assignment or attachment to an intelligence unit that would corroborate his later explanations of Christmas In Cambodia or gun-running to the Khmer Rouge. Kranish also doesn't reveal anything about the timeline of events or command assignments that would answer whether he tried to steal part of Tedd Peck's service record in order to provide cover for David Alston to lie about their time together during the political campaign. It did, however, contain Kerry's academic record from his four years in college. Despite the claims of his supporters, who seemed eager to paint Kerry as a towering intellect while castigating Bush as a moron, the two earned almost identical grades while at Yale: <<< During last year's presidential campaign, John F. Kerry was the candidate often portrayed as intellectual and complex, while George W. Bush was the populist who mangled his sentences. But newly released records show that Bush and Kerry had a virtually identical grade average at Yale University four decades ago. In 1999, The New Yorker published a transcript indicating that Bush had received a cumulative score of 77 for his first three years at Yale and a roughly similar average under a non-numerical rating system during his senior year. Kerry, who graduated two years before Bush, got a cumulative 76 for his four years, according to a transcript that Kerry sent to the Navy when he was applying for officer training school. He received four D's in his freshman year out of 10 courses, but improved his average in later years. >>> In fact, the two men have so much in common, it's almost uncanny. Their grade points are almost identical, and both struggled through their freshman years before buckling down and working for their education. Both entered military service after graduating, and both went back afterwards for a higher degree (Bush - Harvard, MBA; Kerry - BC, law degree). Both appeared to be somewhat adrift when they did so. The key difference, of course, is that Bush never pretended to be a great student at college, just as he never pretended to be a war hero. Nothing that Kranish reports relates to those issues. This release by Kerry still doesn't answer key questions about what he's claimed about his service and the conflicts in his narrative first exposed by the Swiftvets. Let Kerry make the entire record public, so we can all see the answers to these questions. Michelle Malkin has a great roundup of links to this story. michellemalkin.com UPDATE: Er, yes, a law degree is a higher degree. Mea stupida culpa. I've changed the post accordingly. Hat tip: Ted V. captainsquartersblog.com boston.com captainsquartersblog.com captainsquartersblog.com captainsquartersblog.com captainsquartersblog.com boston.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/7/2005 6:17:32 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

From the mixed-up files of John Kerry Power Line Today's Boston Globe reports on the contents of John Kerry's full military and medical records: "Kerry allows Navy release of military, medical record." According to the Globe, the only previously undisclosed records are commendations from commanding officers. In the words of the great Peggy Lee song, "Is that all there is?" Either Kerry is the world's worst politician, or something is missing from his file. Of lesser interest is the Globe article on Kerry's undergraduate record: "Yale grades portray Kerry as lackluster student." The Globe subhead seems calculated to get under Kerry's skin: "His 4-year average on par with Bush's." DEACON adds: Some of the folks at NRO's Corner think that Kerry's resistance to releasing his file was due to the poor grades reflected therein. In that regard, please see this post I wrote last October following an exchange between Kerry and Tom Brokaw about the Senator's IQ. powerlineblog.com UPDATE: A knowledgeable reader called to say that the Navy would not have Kerry's complete service records; according to the caller, the records are retained by the National Personnel Records Center. He pointed out that the Navy's Web site directs veterans seeking their records to the National Personnel Records Center (click here for the Navy site's instruction chinfo.navy.mil. It would have been nice if the Globe had included this information in its story. See also Polipundit's comment here. polipundit.com UPDATE 2: John O'Neill comments on the release in the third update here at Blogs for Bush. powerlineblog.com boston.com boston.com nationalreview.com archives.gov

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/7/2005 6:55:48 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 35834

O’Neill on the SF-180 PoliPundit.com John O’Neill, on Kerry’s SF-180: <<< We called for Kerry to execute a form which would permit anyone to examine his full and unexpulgated military records at the Navy Department and the National Personnel Records Center. Instead he executed a form permitting his hometown paper to obtain the records currently at the Navy Department. The Navy Department previously indicated its records did not include various materials. This is hardly what we called for. If he did execute a complete release of all records we could then answer questions such as (1) Did he ever receive orders to Cambodia or file any report of such a mission (whether at Christmas or otherwise); (2) What was his discharge status between 1970 and 1978 (when he received a discharge) and was it affected by his meetings in 1970 and 1971 with the North Vietnamese? (3) Why did he receive much later citations for medals purportedly signed by Secretary Lehman who said he did not know of them; (4) Are there Hostile Fire and Personnel Injured by Hostile Fire Reports for Kerry’s Dec. 1968 Purple Heart (when the officer in charge of the boat Admiral Schacte, the treating Surgeon Louis Letsos, and Kerry’s Division Commander deny there was hostile fire causing a scratch) awarded three months later under unknown circumstances. >>> -- PoliPundit polipundit.com blogsforbush.com

To: Sully- who wrote (9860)	6/7/2005 7:35:55 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (14) \| Respond to of 35834

KERRY'S 180: THE SPIN CONTINUES? By Michelle Malkin June 07, 2005 08:30 AM Apparently, John Kerry has released his Navy military and medical records to the Boston Globe. The paper reports: <<< The records, which the Navy Personnel Command provided to the Globe, are mostly a duplication of what Kerry released during his 2004 campaign for president, including numerous commendations from commanding officers who later criticized Kerry's Vietnam service. The lack of any substantive new material about Kerry's military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions. >>> Bloggers have questions about the release. Marc Landers at USS Neverdock wonders what exactly the paper got: <<< The Navy said they had over 100 pages they could not release without Kerry's authorization. Did the Globe get that many and are they reporting on all of them? The biggest question of all remains unanswered. What type of discharge did Kerry originally receive? Remember, Kerry had his discharge re-issued after Carter granted a pardon to Vietnam vets. Then there is this exchange between Kerry and Tim Russert on Feb 7th. Last week the 2008 presidential hopeful suggested he wanted to review his full Navy file to make sure of "what is in the record and what isn't in the record" before signing Form 180. "I'm going to sit down with them and make sure that they are clear and I am clear as to what is in the record and what isn't in the record and we'll put it out," he told "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert. Kerry did not explain his reference to "what isn't in the record," though questions arose late in the campaign about why he received his honorable discharge six years after leaving the service... ...We need someone else to do a Form 180 request and we need to know if Kerry signed Part III of that form. >>> Hugh Hewitt nails it: <<< As for the Globe, why in the world doesn't the paper post the documents on the web site for all to see and read? Answer: A bastion of MSM is playing guardian of the news again, interpreting the docs for the public too limited to understand. >>> Skepticism does seem to be warranted. The author of today's Globe piece reporting the news of the release is Michael Kranish, co-author of "John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography By The Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best." (See also this curious story about Kranish and his Kerry coverage from the campaign.) boston.com claims_misquote_on_kerry_globe_stands_by_its_story?mode=PF Mark Coffey at Decision 08 offers an alternative explanation: Maybe he did release the full records and he's just the stupidest politician alive. Scott Johnson at Power Line concurs: "Either Kerry is the world's worst politician, or something is missing from his file." Captain Ed: "This release by Kerry still doesn't answer key questions about what he's claimed about his service and the conflicts in his narrative first exposed by the Swiftvets. Let Kerry make the entire record public, so we can all see the answers to these questions." Yes. Update: Gack. Drudge has put up Kerry's college photo apparently included in the release. Right Wing Howler does a compare and contrast. boston.com portray_kerry_as_a_lackluster_student?mode=PF rightwinghowler.blogspot.com Mary Katherine Ham, who blogs at Townhall.com's C-Log, e-mails that the mugshot "would have been reason enough not to sign to Form 180!" townhall.com Hah! :) Update II: Tom Maguire has more on Kranish's Kerry coverage and highlights more missing pieces of info. justoneminute.typepad.com Update III: John O'Neill comments. Matt Margolis at Blogs for Bush has the details. blogsforbush.com See also The Llama Butchers for Kerry's Band of Brothers Revealed. Yikes. llamabutchers.mu.nu The Commissar spoofs. acepilots.com *** More from: Ankle Biting Pundits anklebitingpundits.com The Spectator Online spectator.org Lorie Byrd at Polipundit polipundit.com Harry Forbes squaringtheglobe.blogspot.com John Podhoretz says, "Let it go." Isn't that what the Swift Vets have been told for three decades? Thank God they didn't "let it go." Otherwise, Kerry might be in the White House today. nationalreview.com Polipundit has more questions. polipundit.com michellemalkin.com boston.com 07/kerry_allows_navy_release_of_military_medical_records/ ussneverdock.blogspot.com amazon.com sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-1493762-1603213?v=glance&s=books decision08.blogspot.com powerlineblog.com captainsquartersblog.com hughhewitt.com