John Kerry

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Nov 2 2006, 05:44 AM) [snapback]342451[/snapback]</div>

That's a whole lot of maybes....

This response is a lot more reasoned, however, than the angry lambasting you gave him earlier. Maybe he is a little more complex than your simple attributions. Maybe he's pretty stiff as a speaker. But he has spoken up for the American military more than the vast majority of his peers. McCain will vouch for that, even though now he is joining the pile-on that is so transparently political.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(koa @ Nov 2 2006, 11:32 AM) [snapback]342700[/snapback]</div>

Did I disparage other heroes by pointing out Kerry's accomplishments? Did your dad's pain increase because others were injured too? All Purple Hearts are not equal in the amount of pain endured. But they are all equal in that the owner of one suffered, to whatever extent the Pentagon considered sufficient, for their country.

I'm no great Kerry fan, but I'll say he did a hell of a lot more than I did for America. But not as much as your dad. Isn't that worth some respect instead of your snide "Wow!" That wasn't very cute.

And this is no "glib discussion." The guy across the street from me had a Viet Nam Purple Heart and I took the time to tell him my thanks, not compare his wounds to another's. The medal said all I needed to know. I salute your father also, and send him my thanks for protecting my childhood. I wish he could hear them. Peace.

 

First what did Kerry receive his medals for and why?

Obviously all Purple Hearts recipients wounds are not the same. If Kerry is going to promote himself using those medals then it should be very easy to show what he did exactly to earn them and IF any of them just met the bare minimum to qualify did he try to get himself disqualified.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(koa @ Nov 2 2006, 04:00 PM) [snapback]342900[/snapback]</div>

Urban Legends Reference Pages

 

I have to say that my perception of what a Purple Heart stands for is that you've endured some serious nastiness in order to earn one...I don't know what the actual "rules" are for it being awarded...but reading the article at the above link (its somewhat obvious slant aside) I do find myself wondering how he could receive a Purple Heart for an injury that didn't even take him out of the fight...and collect so many, so quickly.

I'm finding this more and more of a concern.

One thing, though...

Weren't the SWIFT boats built by Uniflite, in Washington state? I wasn't aware that they were originally designed to transport civilians...my understanding was that they were purpose-built for the 'new' Brownwater Navy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 2 2006, 05:06 PM) [snapback]342928[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(koa @ Nov 2 2006, 04:00 PM) [snapback]342900[/snapback]</div>

The point being?

You seem to imply that Kerry issued himself these medals. That ain't how it works. Why he got them was extremely well publicized in the last election. Do the work and look them up: they're on-line. None of the injuries were life-threatening, but that isn't a criteria. If you get your butt creased by a bullet, you get one: anybody, not just Kerry. Have you, koa, ever been in any body's gun sights? You probably think a grazing shot is just a big joke if you've never been there.

If the rules, which Kerry didn't write, say you get sent home for 3 Purple Hearts, would you demand to stay and try for a fourth? Easy to answer if it isn't your skin on the line. BTW, show me where Kerry "promoted" himself about the Purple Hearts.

Is it impossible for a right-winger to find anything a Democrat does good or noble? You guys are starting to make me really appreciate Kerry.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Nov 2 2006, 05:06 PM) [snapback]342928[/snapback]</div>

And why is that?

Are you about to start a lobby to make it more difficult to get a Purple Heart? It's hard enough as it is. Nobody volunteers for one! And it isn't the Medal of Honor, it's a recognition of being wounded, even slightly, in combat. Large numbers of soldiers return to action after receiving a Purple Heart and the chance of getting a second improve with the number of bullets flying around. Read Kerry's citations to see why the Pentagon issued him his three. In an active military situation you have to be pretty lucky to survive three Purple Hearts!

Don't wonder any longer. Look it up without the benefit of the "Swift Boater" faction telling you their slant. They are proven liars who all vanished after the election. Even after their slander, the government, under Bush, saw no reason to recall any of his three, which they have the right to do.

 

This about sums up the reaction from the right...

http://www.startribune.com/sack

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 3 2006, 08:59 AM) [snapback]343273[/snapback]</div>

Another failed research project of the Doctor:

Kerry allows Navy release of military, medical records
Show numerous commendations
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | June 7, 2005

WASHINGTON -- 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.

Would the Doctor now provide us with his complete psychological record for the past ten years? Inquiring minds want to know!

Who looks dummn now?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 3 2006, 10:17 AM) [snapback]343325[/snapback]</div>

Not my job, man.

You're the Doctor. (Doctor: "one who teaches." From the Latin "docere", "to teach," and the suffix "-or" meaning "one who." You're supposed to have some believability when you speak. I'm just a mere mortal.

You can find all this information with the simplest of searches if you really wanted to know so badly. It took me about three minutes to find my quote. Get a new research assistant.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 3 2006, 10:40 AM) [snapback]343343[/snapback]</div>

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2005 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today the (Republican) Senate passed legislation proposed by Senator John Kerry (D - Mass.) that will provide financial support to National Guard and Reservists through immediate tax relief to their employers affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The provision is a modified version of a key part of Kerry's Military Family Bill of Rights and was included in the tax package that passed the Senate today. It provides a tax credit to employers in the Gulf Coast impacted by Katrina who pay reservists that are called to duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf Coast or elsewhere.

"Many reservists face a pay cut when called to active duty, and that can put a terrible financial strain on them and their families. Some employers have elected to do the right thing by easing that burden. I want more employers to make that patriotic effort, and this bill will help that" Senator Kerry said. "Where ever our reservists are serving, we should go the extra mile to help them and their families."

You never know when to quit, do you? When in a hole you get out your shovel. It won't stop. I guess you know who we find "the real joke" around here, don't you?

 

As posted earlier in the thread (you can read, and even :gasp: click on links, right doctor?): http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/service.asp

Summary (since i know how much you always want things summarized for you):
First Purple Heart: earned on 2 December 1968 for a shrapnel wound to his arm. He went back out on duty the next day.

Second Purple Heart: earned on 20 February 1969 for a shrapnel wound to his left leg. again, he did not take time off duty.

Silver Star:earned on 28 February 1969 for beaching his craft and pursuing and killing a VC who was running to a rocket launcher with the intention of shooting at the boat.

Bronze Star and Third Purple Heart: earned on 13 March 1969 after sustaining a wound to his right arm from a mine which exploded, hitting his craft. He noticed a man overboard, and while taking sniper fire took an exposed position on the bow in order to rescue the man.

Sources that will confirm all of this information:

Brinkley, Douglas. Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 0-06-056523-3.

Klein, Joe. "The Long War of John Kerry." The New Yorker. 2 December 2002.

Kranish, Michael. "John F. Kerry: Candidate in the Making — Part 2: Heroism, and Growing Concern About War." The Boston Globe. 16 June 2003.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dbermanmd @ Nov 3 2006, 11:01 AM) [snapback]343359[/snapback]</div>

Like I said, and say again, I'm not your research department. Do your own work. You have unlimited time to offer endless unverified (read: lying) opinions with the authority of a pope. But I see the Eagle33199 has volunteered to do this for you because your own skills are so lacking. Now your job, as I see it, is to tell everybody, as a real M.D., how non-serious his wounds were and to mock his medals. Just be aware, however, that there are thousands of valiant American troops running around who received this medal for equally non-grievous wounds and you belittle their service by making fun of Kerry. Then you can come across as the troop-hater. You know, like you did to Kerry the other day when he failed at stand-up comedy bashing Bush and you interpret it as meaning he cared nothing for the soldiers.

Why is it you never respond to things where you are proven wrong? Like my reference to Kerry's Military Family Act which makes you look pretty stupid for saying he cared nothing about the troops? Does honesty mean anything to you?

The old joke: "Doctors are never wrong. They just lose their patients."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Nov 3 2006, 01:59 PM) [snapback]343400[/snapback]</div>

Actually, i think this one better explains the situation:

Rather than trying to solve the real problem (in this case, actually participate and bring new ideas and knowledge into a debate), it's much easier to just shrug it all off and tell other people they're wrong...