Taipei Times Asks: Can John Kerry Hold on to His Lead?

The Taipei Times is asking this morning, in an article written by Scott Thompson about the problems Kerry’s facing to stay where he is.”

“The real issue that Kerry must resolve is, however, character. Now that he is the front-runner, he must not only answer to all the charges of serving special interests that have risen and will still rise, he has to satisfy the public that he is, not to put too fine a point on t, an honorable man. There are questions.”

One of those questions, is the much vaunted Vietnam service he’s ben shoving down our throats for the past decade.

“He now makes much of his decorations from the war in Vietnam, to appeal to centrists and conservatives, without reminding those audiences that he for long was a leader of Vietnam veterans against the war. Indeed, assiduous searchers, looking for his vulnerabilities, will find much of interest in that period of his life. For example, the fabled and distinguished chief of naval operations (CNO), Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, told me — 30 years ago when he was still CNO — that during his own command of US naval forces in Vietnam, just prior to his anointment as CNO, young Kerry had created great problems for him and the other top brass, by killing so many non-combatant civilians and going after other non-military targets.

“We had virtually to straight-jacket him to keep him under control,” the admiral said. “Bud” Zumwalt got it right when he assessed Kerry as having large ambitions — but promised that his career in Vietnam would haunt him if he were ever on the national stage. ”

Ouch.
Not sure where this is going yet, but I’m seening some rumbling going on that will surface before the end of the day on this. Drudge apparently does too…

A tip of the hat to Billy Beck for bringing this article up.

The subject of those terrorist boats has come up again, in an Mirror report, in an article called: OSAMA’S NAVY:

“‘Al-Qaeda has reportedly taken possession of 15 ships, forming what could be described as the first terrorist navy. The ships fly the flags of Yemen and Somalia where they are registered – and are capable of carrying lethal cargoes of chemicals or a dirty bomb.'”

Not sure what to make of this report. It’s possibly a re-hash of older intel, but the timing of the release of this article seems an issue…

Boortz is taking the suggestion Hillary will play large in this next election seriously, with a small twist. He’s suggesting S/he’ll vie for the VP slot.

He may be right, but if she’s seriously considering such a move, the only betting going on will be how big the fireball she goes down in, is. Talk about a double negative.

By the way, Boortz is also pouncing on the Kerry-Fonda linkage, which we’ll examine this weekend in BitsBits.

It’s been a milestone for this Blog, today has…

When I started this Blog, I did it as an experiment.. a toe in the water.I’ve been doing longer form stuff for years, now both on the net and on the BBS networks (GT mostly) prior to that, as well as the old Commodore BBS I used to run.
So, I’ve had some practice expressing myself in ‘print’. I’ve also been doing BitsBits on the web since the middle 90’s.. So self expression was never an issue with me… at least with THIS project.

I never planned on programming for the masses. I’ve always been very news-active, having a broadcasters background ( I worked in the radio business for 15 years and am a semi-professional DJ today doing weddings, mostly), so it’s natural that when I started writing about my own interests, that I just started writing about politics the way I see it, and social issues as well, along with other things as they caught my eye.

I figured…. if people liked what I write, fine. If not, forget it, and I really don’t care. To a large degree, I hold to that idea now. Working this way, I got around 50 hits per day, for several months… since last June or so…while I piddled around and found a style that worked for me in this new format called Blogging, which itself was and is still being defined, really. And I’ve continued to run BitsBiits weekly, as well. 

Today, though, it’s starting to take off.  Today marks the first time this blog has gotten over 200 hits in one day… it’s been holding at around 150 for a while now… (Even though TTLB shows me with only 36 hits… gotta get him to fix that, darn it)

Not only did the site get 200 hits, it pole-vaulted over that figure to 267. Hey, I’m no Glenn, or Dan, but I seem to be getting by in my own right, I guess.

Today also marks a nice little feather in the cap, one I’ve already noted… John at Right Wing News honored BitsBog with the ‘Site Of The Day’ mention, for which I’m grateful. RWN managed to push about 15-20 people my way as of midnight.

Al this is a round-about way of explaining to my new readers where I’m coming from and saying: Thanks for your readership. I’ll try to keep you thinking.

OK, enough celebration. Back to work.

Billy Beck has lost a friend.  I wondered why blogging on his site was down to a crawl. Now, I know. Billy can often be touching in his writing, as in this case.

“And for the eight months of his life after Dad died, Rico always waited for him to come home again. It was uncanny. Mom would pull into the driveway, he would greet her, and then he would take a lap around the car that was almost ceremonial. I’m convinced: he was looking for The Ol’ Man. It was exactly the way he always did it when Mom (or me) and Dad returned from the chemo and radiation sessions.

So, I put him in his grave, today. You can tell me if you want to — or not — why I sat there in the freezing cold with a tear in my eye, telling this deceased animal that it was good to know him and that we always loved him. It didn’t even cross my mind that I could just tamp down the cold earth and then walk away without a word, but it would have been impossible.”

The reason is simple enough, Billy.

This is going to sound cold, at first, I suppose, and I’m sorry, but think about this: To a small degree, the reason is a selfish one. We’re really in mourning for a part of our own lives. It’s a connection with our past… and in your case, to your Dad.  Favorite objects, when they’re broken, often get the same kind of response, to a varied degree. Cars, when they’re sold.

And of course, people, according to the degree they loved us and were a direct part of our lives, as well.

Your dog was affected by the same thing, in his way, given the circling of the car as you described it to us. Your Dad was ingrained on his being, and went absent, was missed. Think we’re any different?

Strangely, famous people we’ve identified with, too, even when we’ve never met them. Consider Elvis Presley…Talented? Certainly. To the degree of worship he’s gotten since his death in 77?  With all respect, no.  Rather, he represented an important….. (rebellious? Coming of age?) ….part of many people’s pasts. John, and George, same deal. God help me, Cobain had that effect on some, I suppose, and IMAO, the guy didn’t have the singing talent of a gerbil on crystal meth. (the gerbil on meth, not Cobain)

I’m not sure I have a larger point here I can put my finger on, directly. But I think I can in a more indirect sense, perceive some of the answers to all of this…. Since my Dad died a few years ago, I’ve thought about such matters quite a bit, as I’ve told you privately. In those years, I’ve come to a new understanding of the phase “The Bell Tolls for THEE”…Each time we lose a relationship like that, we’re losing part of ourselves.

I don’t regard this as a negative, now, though… Because as you’re discovering, we never really do lose them. In many ways, I can hear my Dad’s voice louder now, than when he was alive.

(shrug) For what it’s worth.

The AP is revealing yet another flip-flop from the master himself… Kerry.:

“WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry (news – web sites), who opposes gay marriage and hints he might support a limited ban, just two years ago signed a letter with other congressional colleagues urging the Massachusetts legislature to drop a constitutional amendment outlawing homosexual nuptials.”

According to a press rel4ease put out by the NAACP,, there were some voter irregularities in last weeks Mich Primary.

” ‘People have serious concerns about the way things did or didn’t work out during the last caucus vote,’ said Reverend Wendell Anthony, Detroit NAACP Branch President. ‘As far as I know, every vote still counts in an election and every voice must be heard.’ 

The NAACP claims the concern is so great about last week’s vote that other community, union and political entities have come together to join the branch at Thursday’s press conference. They include:

* ASFCME
* Fannie Lou Hamer PAC
* NAACP National Voter Fund
* Office of Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett
* Office of City Clerk Jackie Currie
* SEIU
* The Freedom Institute
* The Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity”

Interesting.

Dr. Bob Arnot’s Parting Shot

” In his letter to Mr. Shapiro, he wondered why the network wasn’t reporting stories of progress in Iraq, a frequently heard complaint of the Bush administration. “As you know, I have regularly pitched most of these stories contained in the note to Nightly, Today and directly to you,” he wrote. “Every single story has been rejected.”

For the second time today, I say; Go ahead; tell me about how the news media isn’t biased to the left.

President Announces New Measures to Counter the Threat of WMD: Nuff said.

The Washington Times OP-ED section today is running a letter from COL. WILLIAM CAMPENNI (retired) who says in part:

” George Bush and I were lieutenants and pilots in the 111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), Texas Air National Guard (ANG) from 1970 to 1971. We had the same flight and squadron commanders (Maj. William Harris and Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, both now deceased). While we were not part of the same social circle outside the base, we were in the same fraternity of fighter pilots, and proudly wore the same squadron patch. “

He goes on to seriously de-bunk the Democrats lies about the president’s service, in a very long and detailed manner.
CalPundit, are you listening?

Military.com: ”
U.S. Military May Run Out Of Money
United Press International
February 11, 2004

“WASHINGTON – The military will have no money to pay for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for three months beginning Oct. 1 because the White House is declining to ask Congress for funding until December or January, well after the presidential election. ”

This isn’t trivial, but I don’t think it’ll be a real problem, either.

The Harvard Crimson Online News:

Article Dated Wednesday, February 18, 1970

“Kerry said that the United Nations should have control over most of our foreign military operations. ‘I’m an internationalist. I’d like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations.'”

Please, someone…. Demonstrate to me that this position of his has been changed in any way.

Thomas Sowell makes an excellent point today:

“Among the things that we know now is that you get cooperation in the Middle East after you have demonstrated your willingness to use force. Would Libya have revealed and dismantled its weapons of mass destruction if the Qaddafi regime had not seen what happened in Iraq? Would Syria and Iran have taken a more conciliatory attitude if they had not seen what happened in Iraq?

Negotiations are not a substitute for force. When international negotiations work, often it is because aggressors know what is going to happen if it doesn’t work. “

This relationship is something John Kerry and his supporters will NEVER understand.

Aldaynet: Hanoi John:

“MSNBC ‘Hardball’ host and longtime Democrat Chris Matthews said Tuesday that a photo showing Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry protesting the Vietnam war with ‘Hanoi’ Jane Fonda is a real problem for his party’s top candidate.
While offering sharp criticism of President Bush for not serving in Vietnam, Matthews told radio host Don Imus Tuesday morning: ‘You’ve got the Jane Fonda problem on the other side. The thing with her is, she was on the other side – she was on Hanoi’s side during that war.’
‘And I’ll tell you,’ Matthews continued, ‘everybody I knew, including me, who was against the war – I wouldn’t have anything to do with a person who supported Hanoi.'”

I’ll be posting this pic on this weekend’s BIT. I’m telling you, gang… Kerry Spanking will become somehting of a national sport very soon. Indeed, I wonder if hte RNC will be able to hold back the tide so all of this stuff doesn’t come out too soon to do any good come the election.

NewsMax says:

“The North Vietnamese general in charge of the military campaign that finally drove the U.S. out of South Vietnam in 1975 credited a group led by Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry with helping him achieve victory.

That’s why, he predicted on Tuesday, the Vietnam War issue ‘is going to blow up in Kerry’s face.'”

Hannity has this guy on the other day, and what he said backs this story News Max is running.
Kerry has much to answer for… and not just American lives were lost. How many died when the Communists took heir revenge?

THIS guy the Democrats want for President?