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<DIV><FONT size=4>I like motorcycles and pretty girls</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Dave</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=sdmheit@verizon.net
href="mailto:sdmheit@verizon.net">Shirley Heit</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">Discussion of the Good, Clean Funnies
List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 16, 2004 11:18
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [GCFL-discuss] POLITICS</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> Siarlys,</DIV>
<DIV> Are you suggesting that John do this? If you are No offense but I
disagree with this idea. We agreed that discussing religion as deep as we all
did should not be cause we were all pulling our hair out trying to make
everyone believe the way we do. I mean we all talk about the weather events
ect, Well the election is <STRONG>an current event</STRONG>. What else
do you talk about when you have people different ages with different things in
common if you can't even talk about U.S. / World events ? Although I do
agree that it is just about all some people want to talk about... I wish we
could find a happy line between. But then again if we don't have anything else
to discuss what will we do if we take politics out of it?Just My
Opinion</DIV>
<DIV> Jeff</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 21:04:19 -0500 <A
href="mailto:gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net">gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net</A> writes:<BR>>
I expect that John may soon impose a rule that no material from any<BR>>
political campaign may be posted in the discussion group. Maybe we <BR>>
should<BR>> just say, if anyone wants to uphold a viewpoint or candidate,
they <BR>> should<BR>> be confident enough to do it in their own words.
(I am certain that <BR>> in<BR>> most matters, I can defend John Kerry
somewhat better than he can <BR>> do<BR>> himself -- and Jeff certainly
does a better job for GWB than any <BR>> Bush<BR>> campaign commercial
does).<BR>> <BR>> But fair is fair, and anyway, one thing I cannot do is
speak as a <BR>> Vietnam<BR>> veteran, which I am not. So in response to
the Swift Boat Veterans <BR>> for<BR>> Bush, I would like to offer the
following. I do not believe that any <BR>> of<BR>> us should vote for
either candidate because some number of veterans<BR>> recommends them.
There are veterans on both sides, union members on <BR>> both<BR>>
sides, teachers on both sides, clergy on both sides, etc. etc. etc. <BR>>
But<BR>> this will restore some balance.<BR>> <BR>> Siarlys<BR>>
<BR>> SHORT VERSION:<BR>> <BR>> Ten Senior Military Officials Respond
to Cheney Personal Attacks<BR>> <BR>> Ten senior military officials
released the following statement in<BR>> response to the Vice President's
attacks on John Kerry on Thursday:<BR>> <BR>> "We are deeply
disappointed by the tone and tenor of President Bush <BR>> and<BR>> Vice
President Cheney's personal attacks on John Kerry, a decorated<BR>> combat
veteran who served his country with courage and honor. John <BR>>
Kerry<BR>> is talking about his plan to address the most pressing issues
facing <BR>> our<BR>> nation - jobs, the economy, health care, the war
on terror, the war <BR>> in<BR>> Iraq. George Bush and Dick Cheney have
chosen take their campaign to <BR>> the<BR>> gutter. We call on
President Bush and Vice President Cheney to stop <BR>> the<BR>>
irresponsible personal attacks and tell us where they want to take <BR>>
the<BR>> country. Tell us how they plan to win the peace in Iraq. Tell us
how <BR>> they<BR>> plan to get us back on track with the war on terror.
Tell us where <BR>> they<BR>> plan to lead the country. The American
people and our troops deserve<BR>> better."<BR>> <BR>> Signed by:
<BR>> <BR>> Admiral William J. Crowe (United States Navy,
Retired)<BR>> Admiral Stansfield Turner (United States Navy,
Retired)<BR>> General Wesley K. Clark (United States Army, Retired)<BR>>
General Merrill "Tony" A. McPeak (United States Air Force, Retired)<BR>>
General Joseph Hoar (United States Marine Corps, Retired)<BR>> General
Johnnie E. Wilson (United States Army, Retired) <BR>> Vice Admiral Lee F.
Gunn (United States Navy, Retired)<BR>> Lieutenant General Claudia J.
Kennedy (United States Army, Retired)<BR>> Lieutenant General Donald
Kerrick (United States Army, Retired)<BR>> Lieutenant General Edward D.
Baca<BR>> <BR>> Senator McCain has called Bush's ads "dishonest and
dishonorable." <BR>> McCain<BR>> does still support Bush for
re-election, and has campaigned with him <BR>> in<BR>> Arizona.<BR>>
<BR>> Washington, DC - General Merrill McPeak released the following
<BR>> statement<BR>> today responding to the attacks Vice President
Cheney made today in<BR>> Dayton, OH:<BR>> "Let's get the record
straight. No one disputes these facts: John <BR>> Kerry<BR>> volunteered
for active military service when many others-including<BR>> President Bush
and Vice President Cheney-found a way to avoid it. He <BR>> came<BR>>
under intense hostile fire, was wounded three times and was <BR>> decorated
for<BR>> gallantry. Do the President and Vice President really want to have
<BR>> a<BR>> debate about who is more suited to fight the war in Iraq
and the war <BR>> on<BR>> terror? Do they really want a debate about
which candidate has the<BR>> toughness to make America stronger?"<BR>>
<BR>> <BR>> NOW, FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME, HERE IS THE LONGER
<BR>> RESPONSE<BR>> FROM AN INDIVIDUAL VETERAN:<BR>> <BR>> The Guy
Who Was Actually There Speaks Out for Kerry <BR>> Shame on the Swift Boat
Veterans for Bush<BR>> By JIM RASSMANN<BR>> Wall Street Journal<BR>>
August 10, 2004<BR>> I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of
1969. He and his <BR>> swift<BR>> boat crew assisted in inserting our
Special Forces team and our <BR>> Chinese<BR>> Nung soldiers into
operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of <BR>> South<BR>> Vietnam.
I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his<BR>> leadership,
courage and decision-making ability under fire.<BR>> <BR>> On March 13,
1969, John Kerry's courage and leadership saved my <BR>> life.<BR>>
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, <BR>>
a<BR>> mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted
<BR>> from<BR>> both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed
moments <BR>> later.<BR>> The second blast blew me off John's swift
boat, PCF-94, throwing me <BR>> into<BR>> the river. Fearing that the
other boats would run me over, I swam to <BR>> the<BR>> bottom of the
river and stayed there as long as I could hold my <BR>> breath.<BR>>
When I surfaced, all the swift boats had left, and I was alone <BR>>
taking<BR>> fire from both banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly
swam <BR>> under<BR>> water as long as I could hold my breath,
attempting to make it to <BR>> the<BR>> north bank of the river. I
thought I would die right there. The odds <BR>> were<BR>> against me
avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of <BR>> the<BR>>
river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have seen <BR>>
me in<BR>> the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn the
boat <BR>> around.<BR>> Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on,
and I was able to <BR>> climb<BR>> up a cargo net to the lip of the
deck. But, because I was nearly <BR>> upside<BR>> down, I couldn't make
it over the edge of the deck. This left me <BR>> hanging<BR>> out in the
open, a perfect target. John, already wounded by the <BR>>
explosion<BR>> that threw me off his boat, came out onto the bow, exposing
himself <BR>> to<BR>> the fire directed at us from the jungle, and
pulled me aboard.<BR>> For his actions that day, I recommended John for the
Silver Star, <BR>> our<BR>> country's third highest award for bravery
under fire. I learned only <BR>> this<BR>> past January that the Navy
awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat <BR>> V for<BR>> his valor. The
citation for this award, signed by the Commander of <BR>> U.S.<BR>>
Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read, "Lieutenant<BR>>
(junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal<BR>>
courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of <BR>>
the<BR>> United States Naval Service." To this day I am grateful to John
<BR>> Kerry for<BR>> saving my life. And to this day I still believe
that he deserved <BR>> the<BR>> Silver Star for his courage.<BR>> It
has been many years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, <BR>>
got<BR>> married, and spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles
<BR>> County.<BR>> I retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long
time since I <BR>> left<BR>> Vietnam, but I think often of the men who
did not come home with <BR>> us.<BR>> I am neither a politician nor an
organizer. I am a retired police <BR>> officer<BR>> with a passion for
orchids. Until January of this year, the only <BR>> public<BR>>
presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this <BR>>
presidential<BR>> election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the American
people <BR>> about<BR>> John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage, about
his vision and<BR>> leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my life, and
I would <BR>> entrust<BR>> John Kerry with the well-being of our
country.<BR>> Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am
a<BR>> Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted
for<BR>> Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen
<BR>> John<BR>> Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character.
I've <BR>> witnessed<BR>> his bravery and leadership under fire. And I
truly know he will be <BR>> a<BR>> great commander in chief.<BR>>
Now, 35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat<BR>>
Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in<BR>>
Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against <BR>>
the<BR>> Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of
these<BR>> Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out
<BR>> against<BR>> John at the behest of the Nixon administration in
1971. But this <BR>> time<BR>> their attacks are more vicious, their
lies cut deep and are directed <BR>> not<BR>> just at John Kerry, but at
me and each of his crewmates as well. <BR>> This<BR>> hate-filled ad
asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my <BR>> words<BR>> and
Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people <BR>>
without<BR>> decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who
serve in<BR>> combat.<BR>> As John McCain noted, the television ad aired
by these veterans is<BR>> "dishonest and dishonorable." Sen. McCain called
on President Bush <BR>> to<BR>> condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush
ad. Regrettably, the <BR>> president<BR>> has ignored Sen. McCain's
advice.<BR>> Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound
<BR>> familiar?<BR>> In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was
launched against <BR>> Sen.<BR>> McCain. In fact, the very same
communications group, Spaeth<BR>> Communications, that placed ads against
John McCain in 2000 is <BR>> involved<BR>> in these vicious attacks
against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors <BR>> with<BR>> close ties
to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest <BR>> and<BR>>
dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are<BR>>
fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in <BR>>
Vietnam.<BR>> They insult and defame all of us who served in
Vietnam.<BR>> But when the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have
<BR>> cleared, a<BR>> man who volunteered to serve his country, a man
who showed up for <BR>> duty<BR>> when his country called, a man to whom
the United States Navy <BR>> awarded a<BR>> Silver Star, a Bronze Star
and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall <BR>> and<BR>> proud.
Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat<BR>> Veterans
for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of <BR>> smear<BR>>
campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift <BR>>
Boat<BR>> Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame.<BR>>
<BR>> Mr. Rassmann, a retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles County
<BR>> Sheriff's<BR>> Department, served with the U.S. Army 5th Special
Forces Group in <BR>> Vietnam<BR>> 1968-69.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
<BR>>
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