Will our media ever call the GOP on their lies - Kerry earned decorations

[papau]

Kerry earned his decorations - and Grant Hibbard is a liar -He either lied when he wrote John Kerry's fitness reports in NAM or he is lying now.

But I am not sure our US Media understands logic - Did you lie before, or are you a liar today? - is a Rather classic question to ask Bush and his team. Heck for a month we have had an ad on by Bush that ignores the fact that Kerry voted for 16 out of 19 Pentagon money bills - with protest votes only when they would not affect the outcome, and even then only on 3 bills - and then those protest votes indeed SUPPORTED Cheney's position on not passing pork barrel Defense bills - and Kerry indeed wanted to end the same weapon systems Cheney wanted to end - but this is still reported by our Media asCheney saying Kerry has consistent anti-Pentagon votes, followed by our media repeating the Mantra of bad Kerry votes on defense bills.

I guess context - as in conveying truth - is not the job of our media.


So today, as Joe Conason says, "Smear Boat Veterans for Bush -The "Swift boat" veterans attacking John Kerry's war record are led by veteran right-wing operatives using the same vicious techniques they used against John McCain four years ago."http://www.washingtondispatch.com/page2/archives/000183.html

What a crew of Veterans! "200" but we only have the ones below whose names are being used with their permission!

Corporate media consultant, former Reagan administration media official, and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth (media contact - not a vet.)

Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar the Republican nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in 1994 during Bush's run for Governor (Lezar lost), and chosen by Nixon to dirty Kerry up in 71

Retired Rear Adm. Roy "body count" Hoffman, who had been Kerry's commander in Vietnam

And finally, former Lt. Grant Hibbard, who briefly supervised Kerry during his perilous stint in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Hibbard recently questioned whether Kerry deserved the first of three Purple Hearts he was awarded, suggesting that a shrapnel wound Kerry received in December 1968 was no more than a scratch.

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I wonder if the media - when it reports the "news" from this group - "news" certain to make primeTime news - and certain to be in a Bush Ad coming soon - will include a list of the Awards Kerry received and the reasons they were awarded?


John Kerry impressive record (to me) for an officer who spent just 10 months in Vietnam includes the medals below, each of which came with a matching ribbon. Kerry wore his ribbons when he testified before a Senate committee in 1971; the next day, joining hundreds of other vets, he lobbed them at the Capitol.

==================================================================
Silver Star for "Gallantry in action" as in Kerry led three swift boats up a canal on Feb. 28, 1969, and ordered a daring attack on Viet Cong positions. When his boat took rocket fire, Kerry directed his crew to head straight for the beach, taking the guerrilla with the rocket launcher by surprise. Kerry jumped ashore and killed him

Bronze Star for "Heroic or meritorious service" as in the Bay Hap River on March 13, 1969, a mine exploded under Kerry's boat, driving shrapnel into his arm and knocking Green Beret Jim Rassmann overboard. Despite heavy fire, Kerry turned the boat around and pulled Rassmann back on board with his good arm

Purple Heart for being "wounded in action" as in 3 Purple Hearts (the second and third are represented by gold stars), all for shrapnel wounds. His arm was scratched during a night patrol in December 1968. His left thigh was hit during a V.C. attack in February 1969. The March 13 injury, his third, entitled him to return home, and he did

Combat Action Ribbon for "Ground combat while serving in the Navy" as Kerry went ashore several times in pursuit of Viet Cong

Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon for "Heroism of a unit in combat" for Kerry's participating in Operation Swift Raider, a campaign of boat attacks on enemy strongholds and sanctuaries

Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon for "Heroism of a unit" as in the Rach Gia interdiction, river patrols aimed at stopping Viet Cong infiltration from Cambodia

National Defense Service Medal for "Honorable active-duty service" as in Kerry's service on the U.S.S. Gridley, a guided-missile frigate, from 1967 to 1968

Vietnam Service Medal for "Six months service in the Vietnam conflict" as in Kerry's tour on the Gridley, which supported an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross which was awarded by South Vietnam to U.S. units for valorous combat achievements, in Kerry's case, for service on the swift boats

Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions which was awarded by South Vietnam to U.S. units for meritorious civil-action service, which in Kerry's case was for service on the swift boats

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal which was awarded for six-months service in Vietnam - namely, the tour of duty aboard the Gridley.

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I wonder if our media will provide a hint of truth over the next few months as to this Swift Boat smear. Or will they let it live - the way they let the lies about Gore live - because our media is not controlled by the right wing GOP - they just act like they are.

[theshadow]

1. Naturally, Milwaukee's right wing...

radio talker, Charlie Sykes, aired the "news conference". I had visions of him foaming at the mouth with excitement, like Joseph Goebbels at a rally.

[qazplm]

2. the problem in the media is lazines

laziness of two types:

a. The people, who will buy into anything an ad says.

b. more importantly, their own laziness. It's easy to sit back, parrot lines from political ads or from politicians, and get responses in a cross-fire type format. It doesnt require much research, and it doesnt require much money, and yet, millions of people will still watch and at the end of the day, believe what they want to believe anyways.

I am sure they think, why bust our hump when we can take the easy way out and still draw ratings and viewers without spending much time or money?

[papau]

3. I agree - indeed I used that thought in LTTR to ED at the Boston Globe

Left spins as much as the right - VERY VERY WRONG - unless all spin is of same weight - A WH counselor is the same as an aged Feminist author - both get same echo chamber distribution?

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/05/04/left_spins_as_much_as_the_right/

Re: Your front page today plus your: Joan Vennochi....Left spins as much as the right...By Joan Vennochi | May 4, 2004
The political left should really stop whining about the right-wing spin machine. Despite the likes of Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh, advocates of the left get away with more hypocrisy than they should.

To Joan and the Editor:

I'd like to assume that it was just media laziness, folks that buy any handout they receive from the GOP/RNC, or just choose to sit back and parrot lines from political types of the right, excusing a Crossfire approach by saying it will produce a public informed as to truth and context, as they enjoy their lessened workload for research and thought - I'd like to think that rather that while we do not have a right wing GOP controlled media, they just act that way, - and rather than thinking that the media folks are biased by the fact their paychecks come from conservative owners and editors, but it is getting harder to write it all off to laziness.

Today we have the Front page of the Globe with a story with a Dual headline "$25m ad campaign showcases Kerry's career" and "Veterans group says he's unfit" - as if the media has a problem running a positive story about Kerry that does not include a GOP smear or two.
Indeed will our media ever call the GOP on their lies, and note that Kerry earned his decorations, and that Grant Hibbard of the smear group is a liar -He either lied when he wrote John Kerry's fitness reports in NAM or he is lying now. Is the Globe staff able to tell when the GOP are lying, or is the Joan Vennochi approach of equal weights to all hyperbole the only way the Globe operates?

Seems the fact that voted for 16 out of 19 Pentagon money bills - with protest votes only when they would not affect the outcome, and even then only on 3 bills - and then those protest votes indeed SUPPORTED Cheney's position on not passing pork barrel Defense bills - and like Cheney, Kerry indeed wanted to end the same weapon systems Cheney wanted to end, is not getting across to the public. But is it the media's fault that they do not comment each day on the truth twisting GOP ads and Cheney speeches that portray Kerry as "consistently" anti-Pentagon funding?

I guess context - as in conveying truth - is not the job of our media. So the Globe did not run a headline of "Smear Boat Veterans for Bush attack Kerry" (if you like NY Post headlines) or just "A small group led by Nixon anti-Kerry spokesperson O'Neil attack Kerry over being anti-Vietnam War when he came back". Indeed the Globe worked to get 2 stories - 2 lies - by saying the group would say, and then saying they did say, their smear. And I do like how you avoided a description of the leaders of the group -Corporate media consultant, former Reagan administration media official, and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth, Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar - the Republican nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in 1994 during Bush's run for Governor (Lezar lost), and chosen by Nixon to dirty Kerry up in 71, retired Rear Adm. Roy "body count" Hoffman, who had been Kerry's commander in Vietnam, and former Lt. Grant Hibbard, who briefly supervised Kerry during his perilous stint in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Hibbard recently questioned whether Kerry deserved the first of three Purple Hearts he was awarded, suggesting that a shrapnel wound Kerry received in December 1968 was no more than a scratch.

John Kerry's impressive (to me) record for an officer who spent just 10 months in Vietnam includes the medals below, each of which came with a matching ribbon. Kerry wore his ribbons when he testified before a Senate committee in 1971; the next day, joining hundreds of other vets, he lobbed them at the Capitol.

==================================================================
Silver Star for "Gallantry in action" as in Kerry led three swift boats up a canal on Feb. 28, 1969, and ordered a daring attack on Viet Cong positions. When his boat took rocket fire, Kerry directed his crew to head straight for the beach, taking the guerrilla with the rocket launcher by surprise. Kerry jumped ashore and killed him

Bronze Star for "Heroic or meritorious service" as in the Bay Hap River on March 13, 1969, a mine exploded under Kerry's boat, driving shrapnel into his arm and knocking Green Beret Jim Rassmann overboard. Despite heavy fire, Kerry turned the boat around and pulled Rassmann back on board with his good arm

Purple Heart for being "wounded in action" as in 3 Purple Hearts (the second and third are represented by gold stars), all for shrapnel wounds. His arm was scratched during a night patrol in December 1968. His left thigh was hit during a V.C. attack in February 1969. The March 13 injury, his third, entitled him to return home, and he did

Combat Action Ribbon for "Ground combat while serving in the Navy" as Kerry went ashore several times in pursuit of Viet Cong

Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon for "Heroism of a unit in combat" for Kerry's participating in Operation Swift Raider, a campaign of boat attacks on enemy strongholds and sanctuaries

Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon for "Heroism of a unit" as in the Rach Gia interdiction, river patrols aimed at stopping Viet Cong infiltration from Cambodia

National Defense Service Medal for "Honorable active-duty service" as in Kerry's service on the U.S.S. Gridley, a guided-missile frigate, from 1967 to 1968

Vietnam Service Medal for "Six months service in the Vietnam conflict" as in Kerry's tour on the Gridley, which supported an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross which was awarded by South Vietnam to U.S. units for valorous combat achievements, in Kerry's case, for service on the swift boats

Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions which was awarded by South Vietnam to U.S. units for meritorious civil-action service, which in Kerry's case was for service on the swift boats

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal which was awarded for six-months service in Vietnam - namely, the tour of duty aboard the Gridley.

=======================================================

I wonder if our media will provide a hint of truth over the next few months as to this Swift Boat smear. Or will they let it live - the way they let the lies about Gore live - because our media is not controlled by the right wing GOP - they just act like they are.