3 more reasons....

He inspires Americans to do more wind-surfing, racing-bike riding, and skeet-shooting.

He is relatively harmless.

He has not bought a ranch to become a pretend cowboy brush cutter.

He won't build a sound stage/studio in crawford texas and pretend to be a cowboy..

Bush is actually more of a northeasterner preppy than Kerry is..

Didn't Bush used to work on an oil rig at some point? Not very preppy, that.

Kerry can only be who he thinks he can be and Bush can only be what others tell him to be Kerry would be a leader not a follower.

More Reasons:

He'll tell the truth about which side of the debate he is on today.

He looks FAR less like an agitated chimpanzee than our current President.

His chin will scare Iran and North Korea into giving up their nuclear capabilities (and frighten Americans into paying the higher taxes that will come in the next four years).

He'll mislead us in an entirely new, albeit not-quite-so-dangerous, direction.

At the risk of showing some sincerity...
If you read Kerry's testimony as an anti-war activist
in the 1970s, or some of his journals from his days in
Vietnam, you'll see evidence of a very smart, very
thoughtful, very forceful and inspiring person. Though
he's accumulated a lot of crusty Senatorness since then,
there's a chance that that other, better person is inside.

He's a DUUUUUUDE! He snowboards, windsurfs & mountainbikes.

damn right.

Actually, I hate to bring it up, but Dubya mountainbikes, JFK rides a tour bike.

Dubya falls off his bike, you mean.

So does Lance Armstrong...

But, so does JFK and on paved roads. But, then, I'm sure it was the Secret Service agent's fault, just like when he tumbled on the snowboard.

Dub also falls of of those segway scooters

It's not a touring bike, it's a (road) racing bike.

He does snowboard and he lives on the greener side of life!!!

His daughter's Alexandra is hot.

I'm on wit dat!!!

Reply to the guy who said his daughter is hot... the Bush twins are hotter and if I may quote Wrigley's "Double your pleasure, double your fun."

LOL! Yup!

Yes, the Bush twins are hotter.

And the sooner their Dad is out of office, the sooner they'll do a photoshoot for Playboy.

Are you kidding me??
Barabara Bush is named after ....Barbara Bush our first transgender first lady and Jenna looks way too much like Bush Junior, so nauseating.

At least the Kerry girls don't resemble their dad too much--quite unhorselike.

You could do worse!

I read somewhere that he has posters of the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen in his office. I don't know about the Grateful Dead, but anyone who admires Springsteen can't be all bad! I'm not the biggest Springsteen fan on the planet, but I like the man. He has made a lot of great records.

He's not Dick Cheney's puppet.

nor is he the cute retarded little puppy that bush is.

Cute? Blech.

Trees. Gun Control. The Supreme Court.
Vote Kerry/Edwards 2004

How is that Americans will take their own freedoms for granted but when it comes to the oppertunity to give another country freedoms, the other country isnt good enough to have them? Its not our sisters, mothers, friends, or daughters at the age of 11 being gangraped by Iraqi Goverment. Its not our brothers, fathers, Uncles, and friends who were broken into their house at the middle of the night, pulled outside and shot in head, without anyway to defend themself. But its ok, because they weren't born in America. At least thats what Kerry Supporters are saying.

I couldn't agree more. Hey, let's invade Iran next, then Syria, and Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and just about every country in Africa. Let's send troops into all countries that violate human rights and suppress democracy. Let's drop a bunch of bombs, kill thousands of civilians, torture prisoners, overthrow the government, create anarchy and kill our soldiers while spending trillions of dollars. And never mind whether these countries actually pose a threat to our peace and security. Hell, we'll make something up if we have to. It's war - what's not to like? Yeah, that's definitely the best way to preserve human rights and democracy and decrease the level of international hatred that's now coming at us like a tidal wave. Invade countries and kill people - definitely the answer. Why, just look at how well it's working so far.

REMEMBER 9-11, asshole????? We WERE attacked AND we're already at war, whether you like or not, you pony-tailed pinko-commie faggot!!!!

How do you know he's not bald? (How do I know he's not a she?) Anyway, wouldn't it have been better to keep going AFTER THE PEOPLE WHO ATTACKED US instead of veering off into Iraq?

and you call the liberals "bleeding hearts!" i'm sorry that the majority of the educated people in the country see past that crap about the poor Iraqis. Guess what, theres people in worse shape. Starving children in Africa, etc. Bush I tried to pull that shit in 1992 with the Kuwaits, poor little rich bastards. Have you seen the special on MTV? Looks like 90210 there. Fuckin rich bastards went on tv and acted like they were peasants.

Were there because of OIL. Americans are stupid, at the ones that blindly believe everything republicans tell them.

no, it's much beter for iraqi women to be gang raped by american solders and african-america/minority brothers, fathers, uncles, and friends to be broken into their houses in america at the middle of the night, pulled outside and shot in head, without any way to defend themselves. at least that's what republicans have been saying..

Brother, I understand where you're coming from. For the most part, we Americans like our lives and don't give a f*** about how the rest of the world is doing. I wish these criminals in the White House were different, but I'm afraid they're not. Whatever their reasons were for going to war, concern for the Iraqi people was not one of them. In my oppinion this administration is verging on the satanic. Years from now you will look back and see how they made fools out of you and millions of other decent Americans. How to prevent yourself from being fooled again? Education, education, education. (I am not hopeful).

You are dilusional and you know nothing about what Kerry supporters think.
Our freedoms are rapidly being eroded by the man you support. eg Patriot Act 1, with #2 waiting in the wings.
Our occupation of Iraq is creating a living hell for the people who live there.
George Bush is a war criminal and needs to be arrested and prosecuted.

Yeah, our occupation is making a living hell out of the paradise that was Iraq. Lots of countries would prefer that hell to the one they have now, but we can't keep it up.

you mean bush supporters

Yes the Iraq war got rid of Saddam, but who is to say something worse won't soon supplant him. I doubt the situation is controllable. Still, we will try. Sigh.

Not to mention he doesn't believe in Keeping America The Military Power that it ALWAYS has been! Hes a bitch, and a lier. He lied about Vietnam, he lied about his time in Congress, Bush was misled, but still did his best to keep Freedom Alive, you selfish assholes!

"Keeping America The Military Power that it ALWAYS has been" ? Always? Read some history dude. Whoo hoo, (foam finger) we're number one! Push em back push em back way back!

Did Dubya teach you how to spell?

Methinks you're in the wrong place. This is for Kerry-haters who hate Bush even more.

Bush was misled because he is Dick Cheney's puppet & is incompetent. Bush did his best to keep Freedom Alive? Is that why we have "Mr. Freedom" John Ashcroft. If we keep going at the rate he is going, we will soon be on par with Russia and Mr. Putin.

Putin.. former KGB hottie, and now one of the few foreigners to support Dubya. After all.. the KGB loves dicators.
The Commies had Pravda
NeoCons have Fox News...

Yep, Soviets had Pravda, Neo-Cons have Fox News, and American Socialists have The New York Times.

Better Cheney and Rumsfeld's puppet than lily-livered Kerry. At least some of the former have balls.

bushbot alert! bushbotalert!

If not bothering to ask solid questions and doublecheck qualifies as misled, then i guess you're right.

If it was George Tenet's fault, if somebody misled the president, then WHY DOESNT SOMEONE GET FIRED?

If, as the president likes to point out, the congress is so profligate in spending, then WHY DOESNT HE VETO A GODDAMN BILL ONCE IN AWHILE?

How come you get to absolve him of all responsibility, but give him all the credit? Is he captain america or is he misled by all those scheming agencies? Choose one for godsake...

Education. Try some! America was a military light weight until WWII.

you can't believe bush is much better. after all, he is an arrogant asshole who doesn't know better than to bash his opponent, who isn't very good but is better than him anyway.
stupid, stupid republicans

Maybe Chevy Chase would be able to make a comeback doing imitations of him on SNL.

He's not Bush!

Why do Americans hate intellectuals like Kerry? Sure, he's become a 'politician' over the last 20 years, and he's ambitious, but this is a person who has chosen to serve, in one way or another, all of his adult life. He does NOT deserve this disrespect. I really like this guy. He's interesting and smart, intellectually curious (unlike some Presidents we know), athletic, funny, compassionate, and appropriately serious. While I respect your humor and your right to create a website like this, I am frustrated and concerned that you are providing more fodder for Republicans with this website creation. I can only hope that Kerry WILL be our next president, and will eventually win you all over with his intelligence and charm. GO KERRY!

Anon. is right about the site becoming GOP fodder. You should have put "douchebag" in the URL so the mainstream press would be less likely to mention the site on the air-- and I'd love to hear O'Reilly say douchebag. On the other hand, how can there not be a bunch of Bush-hating GOP websites?

Maybe you could call it "nonbrainwashedconservativesforkerry.com"

or "iliketousemybrainwhenithinkaboutpolitics.com"

Ambitious? The man has led a whopping 8 bills into law during his 20 years in the Senate, only 3 of which were legislative.

He backpedals. He said he would be the first to speak out if the President led us into war without exhausting all means of negotiation. He didn't. Now he says he didn't vote for the war, but for the "authority." Senator Levin proposed a change in the bill that would force the president to negotiate first. Kerry ignored him and proceeded to vote to give the President carte blance to go to war.

He voted for the "authority to go to war," for the tax cuts, for the Patriot Act, for No Child Left Behind, and now all he can talk about is how horrible these things are.

The differences between the two are miniscule compared to the similarities, but since the two major parties have a monopoly on the government, Kerry can get away with it and still be considered a "progressive." Frankly, this site is exactly what Kerry deserves.

No offense, but all you people who think that Kerry is a "flip-flopper" (whatever the hell grade school moniker that is!!) are as utterly stupid as the people who still believe we're at "war" with Iraq to find WMDs! Get a brain, people!

As a legislative attorney, I can assure you that Kerry has been a fine U.S. Senator and actually is one of the most conscientious, consistent, well-informed, and principled legislators in existence today! The average retard like Bush who thinks that you amass a legislative record by pasting your name on a bill is sorely mistaken. The sponsor rarely has any say in the final language and outcome of a bill, which passes through numerous revisions, committee hearings, amendments, debate, and more floor amendments, if it passes at all (most do not). The mark of a great legislator is being able to wield influence, chair committees (Kerry has been named a minority leader for years), being appointed to lead investigations (ever heard of POW-MIA, the BCCI scandal, or Iran Contra?), and fostering relationships across the aisle to further the Democratic platform behind the scenes.

And (DUH!!!) being in the Minority as a Dem. leader, Sen. Kerry's most important job has been blocking and amending bad bills that the Repub. majority have been pushing right and left. He does a ton of work (saving Americans' butts by passing more cops law, reforming welfare, negotiating foreign policy, balancing the budget, earning the highest lifetime environmental rating in Congress--BTW, the lobbyists don't pay squat for that!!!)

Kerry is an awesome human being (I've met personal friends of his who've known him for decades and they all but worship him!), he's utterly brilliant and ahead of his time. Frankly, he's far too good for the likes of the sorry schmuck who conceived this hapless site, and probably too good for this lazy, superficial, and poorly educated nation. Nonetheless, I believe John Kerry WILL win, should we only be so lucky!!

THANK YOU for being honest enough with us & using the "A" word in your 1st sentence! I really would LOVE to hear someone have the balls to ask another slimy lawyer like YOU, i.e. Johnny "Sunshine" Edwards, Kerry's little puppy-dog, just how many companies HE has put OUT of business in the last 10 years - then the little nitwit talks about "JOBSJOBSJOBS"---AND knock off the sickening bullshit about the way your father was a mill-worker - he RAN the mill, Johnny Boy & we with a brain KNOW IT!--- why not just NOT put the businesses OUT of business FIRST???? Oh, I forgot, you liberals just can't figure that one out! God help us if Kerry wins, but we'll be watching him stumble along in the Oval office if he does win, & IF he does as the dirt-bags in AlQuaida really want, get ready to start seeing some of the ugly stuff that happens DAILY in places like the Gaza Strip start to happen right here in the good old USA! It is ALWAYS easier to be CRITICAL than to be CORRECT as Benjamin Disraeli the adviser to Queen Vistoria once said! GWB may NOT be the 2nd coming of Christ, but at least he doesn't change his positions at least once a week!

I hate to break it to you, but he didn't use the "A" word in the first sentence. Maybe you should work on being critical AND correct.

Maybe we're not looking for a "second coming of christ". Personally, I still like my religion and politics in separate bowls. And let's not forget, that 9/11 had been brewing for years, and those guys waited until Bush was in office to carry it out. What's that tell you? We were attacked on Bush's watch. Even so, what does 9/11 and Al Qaeda have to do with Iraq? Oh yeah, doesn't matter; even if at first we were misled into this war with lies about an Al Qaeda-Iraqi link, and WMDs, "we are safer with Saddam out of power". How's that for admitting a mistake? Oh, that'd be flip-flopping, can't do that, just keep rationalizing your mistakes, if you say it enough times, we'll believe it (worked on folks like you for invading Iraq).

KERRY: BETTER THAN YOU DESERVE!

In defense of Kerry, Bush's "No child left behind" is not turning out to be what people voted for. Bush has dropped the ball on it. And re: the Patriot Act, from what I understand, not many in congress read much of it, probably assuming that it wouldn't rape us of our constitutional rights as it turns out it did. Shame on them for being fooled by the Bush machine, but most of them were, Kerry was one of many. And now that he knows what it is, and sees that the things he voted for are not turning out to be what Bush proposed, I think he'll change them. Intelligence and wisdom rely heavily on observing, realizing mistakes, then admitting them and trying to right them.

The idea that Kerry is an "intellectual" is one of the biggest myths of this campaign. Those who search his words and writings for any evidence of a distinctive mind are constantly disappointed. Kerry is fortunate or perhaps unfortunate enough to have an intelligent appearance, a professorial look straight out of Central Casting. Plus, he's a Boston Brahmin, and as much as Americans like to think we are a class-free society, many of us (Democrats especially!) respond in a Pavlovian way to our "betters" and assign them attributes based on accent and manners. But among Democratic leaders, my view is that Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John F. Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, were far more authentically intellectual than Kerry, who strikes me as having a lazy mind.

Charm? Are we thinking about the same Kerry? He has the charm of a skin rash, but he's got my vote!

American doesn't hate intellectuals. It hates snobs. You're right, Kerry is so very charming, for an admitted war criminal.

If our only way of dealing with problems in a system of global interdependence is through confrontation, then we are doomed to global conflict. If instead, we focus on cooperation as our primary tool for solving problems, then global interdependence brings us global cooperation.

John Kerry is committed to working with other nations first to solve world problems. He knows that sending troops overseas to kill people signals our political failure to solve the problem through persuasion and compromise. The recent foreign policies of the United States have destroyed a lot of good will and political capital that we will need in the coming years. Policies ranging from withdrawal from Kyoto to the rush to war in Iraq have alienated us amongst many of the nations with which we should instead be seeking to forge greater ties.

A Kerry administration will work hard to restore the respect we have lost in the world's eyes since the start of the millennium through international action rather than unilateral action, inclusive decisions rather than exclusive ones, and human rights over corporate rights.

John Kerry - solving global problems through global cooperation. That's leadership.

Stronger at home, respected in the world.

Straight out of one of blowhards commercials!

The Nazi party of Germany came to power riding the resentment of a people in economic peril that was imposed upon them by an oppressive and humiliating reparations package at the end of World War I. The recognition of this fact lead the United States to rebuild the defeated Germany of the 40s and to help it become a stable, prosperous democracy. The post-war results were dramatically different the second time around and proved the wisdom of our actions.

Today, although many people in Muslim countries live in economic and political conditions similar to Germany in the 20s and 30s, there seems to be little focus on proactive action to fix this. In contrast, John Kerry understands that while it is important to fight back the fiery violence of political and economic failure as we did in World War II, it is no less important to fix the underlying issue by clearing out the dry underbrush of poverty, poor education and oppression that serves as the fuel. In a speech in Philadelphia on the 24th of September, John Kerry said:

We will win when ordinary people from Nigeria to Egypt to Pakistan to Indonesia know they have more to live for than to die for. We will win when they once again see America as the champion, not the enemy, of their legitimate yearning to live in just and peaceful societies. We will win when we stop isolating ourselves and start isolating our enemies. The world knows the difference between empty promises and genuine commitment. So we will win when we show that America uses its economic power for the common good, doing our share to defeat the abject poverty, hunger, and disease that destroy lives and create failed states in every part of the world.

John Kerry speaks with a wisdom gained at great cost and sacrifice by our greatest generation. John Kerry will not forget this wisdom as he fights to protect us from those who seek to exploit the results of past neglect.

John Kerry - Stronger at home, respected in the world.

True, and probably the same conclusion everyone posting to this site has concluded (with the exception of a couple of Spelling Impaired Kerry Haters for Bush). I think the spirit of the site's designers is that in addition to all you've said, they would add: And he's a cold fish. If Bush weren't such a bogeyman (so more heartless, stupid, conservative, militaristic and otherwise scary that even some right wingers are scared and mildly liberal folks are spooked enough to get active), Kerry would be getting his ass kicked Dukakis-style.

Another one quoting the blowhards commercials!
Get original folks!

Kerry at least won the debate handily..

unfortunately, most people probably didn't watch the split screen on CSPAN where Bush looked awful when he was off the network cameras...

I know. I wish the stations were all required to do the split screen thing. It added so much to see all of facial expressions in response to each of the debaters answers. It was just hiliarious! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Eventually, someone will post side-by-side mugshots of Kerry and Leno in one of those "Separated at birth?" photo features, and Leno will show it on that crappy newspaper clippings segment on the Tonight Show. And all the insomniac Bushies that watch Leno will spit up their warm milk all over their Readers Digests.

...Kerry is going to make an infinitely better designated driver for the next four years.

Don't give Bush another four years to mangle the English language, or to achieve any more catastrophic successes (what's next, noble failures?), or to feather Halliburton's nest,

And just because God told Bush to go to war doesn't mean he had to listen.

But in all seriousness, there are truly genuine reasons why we must not re-elect President George W. Bush. God save us if the brainwashed manage to let that happen!

Thanks for linking to my page, and thanks for that fabulous quote: "God told me to strike at al Qaeda...". I'm adding it now.

Personally, I support Kerry because he isn't perfect, wheras Bush Jr is perfectly horrifying. On a scale of 1 to 10, Kerry is 4ish, Bush is somewhere in the negative numbers.

Kerry 04:Contorting For Duty

Can he be worse than Blair?

Roses are red
Violets are blue
We hope you beat Bush
But still don't like you

Go back to grade school. Maybe Sponge Bob Squarepants is your candidate. He's so likeable.

I haters kerrt

Are you tired of feeling superior to your president in elocution, analysis, and knowledge of the issues? Are you tired of other nation's cab drivers feeling this way? Are you tired of having Bush's Brain be the subject of lampooning or it being known as Karl Rove's pet rock? Have you heard the term 'newcuelure' just one too many times without anything being done to reduce their 'proliffurrayshun'? Are you tired of 'being resolute' meaning you never have to think again? Are you tired of having a president who failed to do adequate planning being spun as mere 'miscalculation' instead of lack of calculation?

If so, you know what you have to do. Vote for the Special K, yes he's another Skull & Bones guy, but he did wrote his own papers and passed his exams at Yale. He did show up for and pass physicals for the Navy. He did complete a satisfactorially documented 22 months of active duty with 4 months in the line of fire with more than one deserved medal/ribbon, and was seen piloting his vessel in combat. Who did confront aggregious misbehavior in the 1960's military Southeast Asian conflict and worked for change even when it was unpopular, unwanted, and frightening. Who did run for public office, and served 22 years in Senate.

Vote for someone eager to restore to the presidency things it's lacked for several years, class, nobility, a strong sense of shared responsibility for Americans and the planet. And someone who has a chin and eyebrows that will force the North Koreans to capitulate on nuclear arms.

If that doesn't do it for you, consider that his pair of attractive daughters are articulate, considerate, and don't try to have blood alcohol levels higher than Karl Rove's blood pressure levels after that last debate.

One last serious reason, do it for the children--who don't need the government to go broke under trillion dollar debts as they enter college, want to buy a house, or who have to work multiple crummy jobs to care for ailing babyboomer parents whose SS checks bounced and whose Medicare costs exceed weekly checks.

And -- if it's important to you, as it seems to have been the most salient issue to a lot of America back in '00 -- he probably won't screw interns either.

I detest Kerry. I despise his wife even more. I cringe at the thought of hearing her whiny voice for the next four years. But, I cannot allow the NeoCons to win this one. They are close to destroying my party. And if Bush wins - they win.

Here's just a few of the GOP atrocities:

-- Carte blanche for perpetual war

-- Refusal to defend our borders from the massive illegal alien (and potential terrorist] invasion

-- Putting the interests of corporate fat cats over the protection of American workers and jobs

-- Ramming anti-sovereignty trade treaties through Congress and supporting the FTAA which will completely dissolve the borders and create an American Union similar to Europe

-- The incessant empty promises to end abortion, defend the institution of marriage; bring our schools out of the gutter; restore the 2nd amendment... on and on for decades!

Well, I've had it! This is one hard-core Republican that will NOT vote for Bush in 2004.

BTW, the Kerry Krowd shouldn't get too excited. I'm not voting for him either. He has spent his entire life in Congress selling out American workers and blowing off American jobs with his 100% voting record for total globalization. NAFTA; GATT; the WTO; Singapore; Africa; etc... and now the FTAA. He is pushing for the New World Order just as fast as Bush.

My entire family will vote for Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party. He won't win, but our votes will say to the establishment:

We know the truth about you and we ain't buying it no more!

If Kerry gets in, my hope is that the GOP will realize they screwed up and finally begin acting like Republicans again. With Kerry as Prez and a GOP congress we might actually have a good four years. Lots of gridlock will help to prevent more of their dangerous bills from being passed.

Thanks for setting up this website. I'd like to hear from other true conservative Republicans who are taking a stand and refusing to give your vote to Bush in 2004.

My best to all,
A True Conservative
--- Mom, Wife, and Business Owner

Half of Peroutka's supporters are true-red conservative Republicans (and I'll decline to comment on the other half).

Republican moderates are more my style though.

Republicans for Kerry

Come Back to the Mainstream

You are right. Republican conservatives are voting for Peroutka. Others are voting for Kerry because they are so angry over the gutless Bush admin policies. We really would rather vote for the GOP nominee -- unfortunately Bush has sold us out.

The sociological "purpose" of capital punishment is revenge. That does not aid society generally and therefore the negative aspects of capital punishment do more harm than good generally. (Creates a vengeful attitude rather than a healing attitude). The same can not be said to be true in a political context for the very reason that it is political. That is, the dimension of POWER has to be considered. Therefore if Freepers/Fascists promote war like attitudes and than agitate for their view, it is perfectly legitimate and moral to have them killed. This is not revenge but is preventing a much worse situation from occurring. This is drastic political medicine. There was a veteran from the Abraham Lincoln Brigades on the radio a few minutes ago. He said that if more people had helped them and they would have been successful in stopping Fascism, WWII would have most likely not occurred and 60 million people would not have been killed. Killing Fascists should be everyone’s priority (And I am not being literal).

He's prolly hung like a horse. Most of those tall guys are. He may also have a doorbell dick like Bush. Either way, I'll be ringing the Kerry dorrbell, if for nothing else, to fire up my new nuclear powered, Briggs and Stratton vibrator, thinking about that 'lil cutie John Edwards.

God, I hope a lot of world leaders die in the next four years so we can see a lot of Edwards!

Edna Cameltoe

No shit Edna! He is cute. Kerry's ass is way too boney, and yes Bush does have a "doorbell" dick. I love that term! A friend relayed that to me, who had see the tiny thing when GW was naked, drunk and comatose at Yale.

Do we really have to wait for the death of leaders to see John Edwards in a Kerry administration? I know the main job descripition is to hold the president's coat and attend funerals...but we'll need more face time with Senator...err...I'm mean VP Edwards.

Tammy Tickletitz

KERRY: POSSIBLY MORE VIRILE!

He didn't use his pompous ass voice in the debate!

There was once a time when you didn't have to like a president right off the bat, you just chose the best person for the job. I think it's the right moment to go back to that time.

It's like when you were little and your mom gave you awful tasting medicine. It will make you cringe, but cure what is making you ill.

Mr. President, do you feel that participating in a political campaign is more important than defending your country?

He's participating in "a" political campaign so that he'll be ABLE to defend his country, wing nut!

As opposed to participating in "multiple" political campaigns?

Whew, shallow waters here

If I've gotten this far and read exactly one word passing mention of BCCI, I know EXACTLY how serious to take this site. Do a Google search using 'Washington Monthly' and 'BCCI.' The story will be the first hit. BCCI alone is enough to make you a Kerry fan. Add Iran-Contra to that, and you have enough to assist you in realizing that, hey, being a grown-up, it's not a bad thing.

Look, before you went up with this blog, you might think you would've done some research. Many people consider research as a remedy for, among other things, avoiding looking like a dumbass. Bee-Cee-Cee-Eye. Go. Learn.

He inspires Americans to "hunt deer with a double barrel shotgun," which is an ethical way to hunt deer, since a hunter would have to sneak within 10 feet or so of the deer to kill it.

He's not as stupid as Bush. But then again, I can say that about 90% of Americans.

As you may recall, William Rivers Pitt was briefly staff for the Kucinich for President campaign and works with truthout.org

Introducing John Kerry
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Thursday 30 September 2004

Everyone knows John Kerry by now, right?

He's the tall guy who went to Vietnam and then wounded himself three
times to get his medals, while simultaneously conning the bureaucracy of the
Navy into giving him citations for valor. Or he's the guy who volunteered
for Vietnam, and then volunteered for Swift Boat duty, and then was wounded
three times while serving with distinction. He's the guy who opposed the war
upon his return and thus became a traitor, or he's the guy who opposed the
war upon his return and thus became a hero.

The John Kerry people know is a fellow of wealth and privilege, a rich
man who married richer, a silver-spoon type of guy who lives in the most
expensive neighborhood in Boston when not gallivanting from one townhouse to
another. The John Kerry people know is a Forbes, and a Winthrop. The John
Kerry people know isn't all that trustworthy because of his wealth, because
despite notions to the contrary, we are still a society based upon class
struggle. It is an article of faith among the 90% of Americans who aren't
rich that those with money aren't to be trusted. That this same measure of
distrust isn't extended to George W. Bush is a triumph of 'regular fella'
marketing.

That is the Kerry people know, or think they know, thanks to this
brainless campaign season. This is the Kerry created by commercials, by
inane debate on the national cable news channels, by reporters who believe
the shortest way to the truth is a straight line in the other direction.

There is another John Kerry to whom America deserves to be introduced.

The story of any person begins with their parents. John Kerry was born
to Richard Kerry and Rosemary Forbes, who met in Paris just before the war.
Richard Kerry, marked early in life by the suicide of his father and the
death from polio of his sister Mildred, became a student of the law who
eventually distinguished himself in the Foreign Service during the
Eisenhower years. Rosemary, despite her Forbes and Winthrop heritage, was
not spared her own deep trials. When the Nazis invaded Paris, Rosemary had
to flee the city on a bicycle. She spent weeks foraging for food, hiding in
barns and cellars, avoiding German soldiers and falling bombs, until she
finally reached Lisbon and boarded a ship bound for Boston.

How do the ordeals of parents affect the fate of the child? Because of
his father's government service, John Kerry saw the world, and came to know
the art of diplomacy. He learned very young that there is much beyond the
borders of America to value. His time abroad with his father shattered the
quiet xenophobic tendencies many Americans get with mother's milk.

Because of his mother's narrow escape from the Nazi armies, John Kerry
learned that there is indeed evil in the world which no amount of money or
privilege can deflect. Living in post-war Berlin during one of his father's
diplomatic postings, Kerry saw the bombed-out buildings, the refugees who
were everywhere, and the tens of thousands of people who left everything
behind to flee the Soviet sector. Kerry learned that such evil must be
confronted. In the experiences of his parents, John Kerry developed the
nuanced, intricate and informed view of the wider world that has since
defined his life.

Of course, he came from privilege. Educated at the exclusive Fessenden
School, and then at the super-exclusive St. Paul's School, and then at Yale
University, Kerry was surrounded by the scions of wealthy families and was
afforded an education available to only the richest few. In order to fit in
with his fellow students, Kerry should have adopted the attitude of
world-weary condescension, of laid-back expectancy, which marked children of
the wealthy Eastern Establishment in that time and place.

He didn't. Inspired by teachers like Reverend John Walker, who taught
those privileged children at St. Paul's about the realities of race in
America, and later by President John Kennedy, whose call to service
motivated millions, and always by his father Richard, who taught by word and
example that service to country is the highest calling, John Kerry became a
man of action and of ambition. Here was no callow youth marking time until
his family's money became his money. Kerry became active in politics, and
augured his life towards government work.

John Kerry served in the Navy from 1966 to 1970, volunteered for combat
duty in Vietnam, and earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, three Purple
Hearts, two Presidential Unit Citations and a National Defense Medal. Upon
his return from the war, he became centrally involved with Vietnam Veterans
Against the War, helped to create Vietnam Veterans of America, and brought
the realities of Vietnam into living rooms all across America. He served as
a prosecutor in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, beginning in 1976. From
1977 to 1982 he served as First Assistant District Attorney, during which
time he successfully battled organized crime, prosecuted and jailed the
number two crime boss in New England, fought for victims' rights, and
organized rape counseling programs.

From 1983 to 1985, John Kerry served as Massachusetts Lieutenant
Governor, and transformed what had been a symbolic position to one with
muscle. He organized Governors all across the country to combat a new and
disturbing reality - acid rain caused by industrial pollution that was
destroying lakes, rivers and the country's water supply. This activity began
what has since become a lifetime of activism to protect our environment, a
lifetime of activism that has made John Kerry perhaps the most effective
fighter for environmental protection in American government.

In 1985, John Kerry was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he has served
for the last 19 years. Coming into the Massachusetts delegation under the
long shadow of Edward Kennedy, who had already cornered the
hail-fellow-well-met market of Massachusetts retail politics, Kerry worked
to the strengths he had inherited from his parents and became a master of
national and foreign policy issues. It would take a great deal of ink to
detail the committees he served on, the legislation he shepherded into
passage, the arguments he championed and the policies he pushed.

The best illustration of the man Senator John Kerry became, the man we
now see standing for President, came when he decided to wage war against one
of the most far-reaching and dangerous criminal enterprises ever seen in the
world. In 1988, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, or BCCI, was
a highly respected international financial institution which catered to the
most powerful of the powerful. BCCI had allies all through Washington D.C.
and across the world.

The public reality of BCCI changed completely when John Kerry, fresh
from his lead role investigating the Iran/Contra scandal, was tasked to run
down Iran/Contra drug connections as chairman of the Subcommittee on
Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations. Very soon, Kerry
discovered damning BCCI connections not only to Noriega and the laundering
of drug money, but to a massive international network of dirty cash moving
to and from the most dangerous people in the world.

Immediately, Kerry met with opposition from power-players in Washington.
Everyone - literally everyone, from both parties, including President George
H.W. Bush, whose son George W. had enjoyed BCCI financing for one of his
doomed oil businesses - pressured Kerry to back off. Instead, Kerry took the
information he had gathered and gave it to New York District Attorney Robert
Morgenthau. Morgenthau agreed to begin a criminal investigation into BCCI.
By 1991, the investigation had blown up what Morgenthau described at the
time as "one of the biggest criminal enterprises in world history."

Journalists David Sirota and Jonathan Baskin, writing for Washington
Monthly, published an article titled 'Follow the Money', which chronicled
Kerry's work against BCCI. In their article, Sirota and Baskin state, "As
Kerry's subcommittee discovered, BCCI catered to many of the most notorious
tyrants and thugs of the late 20th century, including Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein, the heads of the Medellin cocaine cartel, and Abu Nidal, the
notorious Palestinian terrorist. According to the CIA, it also did business
with those who went on to lead al Qaeda. And BCCI went beyond merely
offering financial assistance to dictators and terrorists: According to
Time, the operation itself was an elaborate fraud, replete with a 'global
intelligence operation and a Mafia-like enforcement squad.'"

"By July 1991," continued Sirota and Baskin in their article, "Kerry's
work paid off. That month, British and U.S. regulators finally responded to
the evidence provided by Kerry, Morgenthau, and a concurrent investigation
by the Federal Reserve. BCCI was shut down in seven countries, restricted in
dozens more, and served indictments for grand larceny, bribery, and money
laundering. A decade after Kerry helped shut the bank down, the CIA
discovered Osama bin Laden was among those with accounts at the bank. A
French intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post in 2002
identified dozens of companies and individuals who were involved with BCCI
and were found to be dealing with bin Laden after the bank collapsed, and
that the financial network operated by bin Laden today 'is similar to the
network put in place in the 1980s by BCCI.' As one senior U.S. investigator
said in 2002, 'BCCI was the mother and father of terrorist financing
operations.'"

Here is a man who came from a level of privilege most Americans have
never known. He could have become what so many children from the upper
echelons of money and power become - callow, shallow, lazy, biding his time
until he got everything he thought his position granted him, leaning on
powerful family friends to make up for the shortcomings that arise from an
idle life and the sense that the world owes him whatever he desires,
believing that making money and enjoying position are the alpha and omega of
life.

John Kerry went in the opposite direction. He was raised to believe that
privilege has its duties, that public service is the alpha and omega of
life, and has worked every day to fulfill the obligations his parents and
his education and his own deeply-held beliefs instilled in him. In his fight
against BCCI, he revealed himself to be a man of great purpose, of mission,
who refused to bow before the altars of status quo and go-along-to-get-along
that are all too worshipped in Washington.

A life of service and study crafted a man of depth, of intelligence, who
can see all the sides of any issue and incorporates all available data
before making a decision. The opponents he has faced and defeated throughout
his career have enjoyed painting him as vacillating, as indecisive, as a man
who holds several positions at once in order to cover his political
backside. In truth, these incomplete views on John Kerry are born from a
modern political landscape that cannot fathom a man who is judicious,
contemplative and thorough, because such attributes have been all too absent
from our political discourse.

Judicious, contemplative and thorough. In a dangerous world, made vastly
more dangerous by politicians who think in violent black and white because
simplicity polls better and fits into soundbites, a man like John Kerry may
seem out of place. He is, in fact, in exactly the right place at exactly the
right time.

----

Author's Note | This article is dedicated to my father, who was born in
a small Southern river town, who heard Kennedy's call, who volunteered for
Vietnam, who returned to spend his entire professional life as a public
servant in a variety of government positions. He was not born into the same
privilege as John Kerry, but the fact that their lives have followed
incredibly similar tracks speak volumes on the character of each man.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and international bestseller of
two books - 'War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know' and 'The
Greatest Sedition is Silence.'

KERRY SPEAKS VOLUMES!

Is that all you have to say?

For those who are here - and not stuck in Iraq currently - all one has to do is listen to the blurb Kerry made at Pasadena City College and then listen to his retorts which are all flat out lies. It is just so obvious. His comment(s) shows that he is not only:
1) A liar
2) An elitist (remember he only went to Vietnam after getting 4 passes until turned down for his 5th request not to go) - obviously he still buys into the myth that today's military are a bunch of rednecks - he of course is what - one of those who is "educated"?
3) Stupid - how could he make such a gross error right before the Nov 8th election? He'll NEVER be able to run for President now - I just love it.
4) Underestimates the American voter - anyone who heard his comments and his so-called explanation can see that he thinks they aren't smart enough to see what is plainly in front of them.
I knew I didn't like him too much during the Presidential election and now I know why.

Don't forget snowboarding

Reply