Sep 14, 2004


Missing in Action

Read the New York Times editorial that cuts to the heart of the "trust" issue. Kerry has eyewitness accounts of his service in Vietnam. George W. Bush has friend in high places cook the books to make it look as though he did his duty when he was actually out getting drunk or snorting cocaine.

Bush lied about his National Guard service. He repeatedly lied. In his (ghostwritten) book. Bush claims he flew for several years after his guard training. It was only 22 months. Bush says he showed up for duty in Alabama, but now there's a $50,000.00 reward to anyone who can prove Bush really did what he claims he did.

And the LATEST bombshell comes in the form of a blistering report by Gerald Lechliter (a retired U.S. Army Corporal). He flatly states in the introduction to his report:
  • The pay records released by the White House this past winter prove Bush received unauthorized, i.e., fraudulent, payments for inactive duty training, even if he did show up for duty.
  • The memorandum from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Albert C. Lloyd, who affirmed for the White House that Bush met his retention/retirement year point requirement, is an obfuscation, or outright deception, that disregarded Bush's failure to meet the statutory and regulatory fiscal year satisfactory participation requirement.
  • Bush's superiors in the Texas Air National Guard failed to take required regulatory actions when Bushed missed required training and failed to take his flight physical.
  • Despite seemingly laudatory comments, Bush's May 1972 officer performance report was a clear and unmistakable indication that his performance had declined from the annual 1971 report. The report was the kiss of death before he left for Alabama that year.
  • Bush did not meet the requirements for satisfactory participation from 1972 to 1973.
Lechliter then then backs everything up with carefully documented proof based on undisputed evidence, provided from sources such as White House documents or Dubya's autobiography.

So, forget about the right-wing whining about proportional fonts (yes, Virginia, electric typewriters with proportional fonts existed way back in 1966.. my Dad's newsletter used 'em). Instead, just use the very documents that the White House and Dubya provided as "proof" and then fry them with their own words!

Gerald Lechliter concludes his scathing report with this unforgiving observation:
"In the final analysis, the record clearly and convincingly proves [Bush] did not fulfill the obligation he incurred when he enlisted in the Air National Guard and completed his pilot training, despite his honorable discharge. He clearly shirked the duty he undertook in 1968 upon enlistment and in 1969 upon completion of his flight training at Moody AF Base. Less than two years after Bush won his solo wings, he walked away from his duty to serve as a fighter pilot while troops were still dying in Vietnam. Moreover, he received fraudulent payments for INACDUTRA [Inactive Duty for Training]."

 [the emphasis is mine]

Must be pretty tough right now for right wing hypocrites to stomach how their fearless leader is every bit the draft dodging weasel that they tried to make Bill Clinton out to be.

I am not surprised though. Conservatives can't even believe in proportional fonts before 1972. Go figure.



"Let me be clear, the vote I will give to the President is for one reason and one reason only: To disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, if we cannot accomplish that objective through new, tough weapons inspections in joint concert with our allies."

Text from the speech John Kerry made on the Senate floor
October 9, 2002