A Fighting Admiral in Pennsylvania
Road Report from Ted Chiodo:
John Kerry continued his swing through Philly on Thursday, meeting up with another fighting Democrat, Admiral Joe Sestak. Sestak was a leader in the U.S. Navy, rising to the rank of three-star admiral commanding an international fleet comprised of 30 ships and 15,000 sailors and marines.
Our 2-car convoy arrived and JK was greeted with a smile and hearty hand shake by Joe Sestak and his wife Susan. The Admiral spoke first about his appreciation for John Kerry and JK’s early help in his race. He then spoke from his heart about steering a new course for this country on Iraq and refocusing our strength in fighting the war on terror. He was very sharp and very impressive as a speaker (check out his website).. The admiral then introduced his fellow Navy veteran, John Kerry.
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JK started by focusing on Joe Sestak’s naval career. “You don’t get to be a three-star admiral unless you have talent, and unless you have values and integrity,” Kerry said. “That integrity has never come under assault until now, here, in this campaign for the United States Congress by a man who should know better. I am simply not going to stand for this. Americans needs to end the culture of corruption in Washington D.C. (Sestak’s opponent, Congressman Curt Weldon, is currently under investigation by the FBI.)
“I think every American who is worried about this war should be excited that we have the potential of having a United States congressman who understands the war on terror, who knows how to fight it most effectively and who has seen firsthand the mistakes—and understands them,” Kerry continued. “If you send Joe Sestak to Congress, you can be rest assured he will work around the clock to fix those mistakes, make our country stronger, and fight a more effective war on terror.”
JK and the admiral then went downstairs to do a press conference about Iraq and the war on terror. Most of the questions though were about the FBI investigation of Curt Weldon, but Joe Sestak declined to comment on Weldon’s woes. The two Navy veterans then ended the press conference and talked for a while before we had to head off again to the airport. Let’s makes sure we do everything we can at johnkerry.com to send this man to Washington.
Mahalo!
-- Ted 
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Read Col. North’s latest article:
by Oliver North
Vietnam and Iraq: Myth vs. Reality
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Much is being said and written these days about how the war in Iraq resembles the war in Vietnam. The theme began during the 2004 presidential campaign with Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry describing Iraq as a “quagmire” and demanding a “date certain” for a U.S. pullout. Purveyors of the “news” in our so-called mainstream media picked up the beat—though many of them are too young to know anything more about Vietnam than what they learned from a movie. The “Vietnam deja vu” howl is now in full cry. But it’s a myth.Having now spent nearly as much time in Iraq as I did on my first “tour” of Vietnam in 1968-69, it’s readily apparent that the parallels between the two wars are practically non-existent on the battlefield. In the press and politics—it’s a different matter. The barons of bombast have decided that Iraq equals Vietnam. Those who make this argument…
http://theconservativevoice.com/article/19721.html
Well, gosh, Jim!
I surrender to your inescapable elephant logic. You have completely convinced me to give up all my closely-held progressive beliefs by posting that article here.
Because Oliver North is such a, y’know, stand-up honest guy who’s never lied to anybody or broken any laws for self-serving political reasons or anything.
jeez what a maroon,
Otter
Jim keep off the kool aid brother.
http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200602241451.asp
See what the founder of your movement has to say.
Well, Mr Bush grudgingly accepted the parallels between Vietnam and Iraq in a recent interview with Stephanopoulos.
Then again, how would he know?
I’m a little surprised that anyone would come to johnkerry.com seeking readers for anything written by Oliver North - JK and North are not, to my knowledge, exactly BFF.
The claim that John Kerry called Iraq a quagmire in 2004 is actually false. He was reluctant to use the word “quagmire” until this year - even if it would have been accurate prior to the present time.
Ted:
Oliver North’s war stories are just that - stories. Tet was in 1968, the war continued for about 5 more years - and at least half of the lives were lost after it. You need to pick up a real history book rather than the comments of a man who felt he was above the law.
McNamara, who was the original Secretary of Defense wrote in Fog of War, published in the 90s, that he knew by 1968 that there was no way for the US to win. The peace terms agreed to in 1973 were basicly the same as those offered in 1968. Everything John Kerry said as a 27 year old as with time been shown to be accurate.
To argue that Iraq is not Vietnam because the number dying is considerably less is appalling. The simalarity is that we are pursuing a policy that can not work. Iraq is in civil war. US Generals are saying that we can’t end a civil war. I am glad the body count is less than Vietnam, but no lives should be lost if there is no chance for sucess.
Oh, Ted - also consider who your hero Oliver North is. He broke the law to give money to the Contras, who were RW thugs guilty of atrocities in Central America. North turned his head and allowed cocaine into this country to raise money for the Contras. This is the man you follow - how pathetic. It was ONLY a technicality that kept him out of prison - there was, per the judge, no question of his guilt.
Karynnj you mean jim right?
Well, it’s close --- Ted has 3 letters in it just like Jim.
One of those short 1 syllable names—not like Theodore.
Yes I meant Jim _ that’s embassasing ! I should have been a LOT more careful - I apologize for being very careless and stupid.
Jim:
Oliver North is not exactly a credible figure to be citing as your source. He betrayed his office when he engineered the arms for hostages deal. He further dishonored himself and his service when he allowed drugs to be brought into this country in order to protect the contras in Nicaragua. I don’t consider him to be anything but a cheap fraud.
He is, on the issue of Iraq, as blind as he was on those I cited above. You will have to do better than this guy if you want to be have anyone listen to you.
BTW Jim, exactly what Mission was Accomplished in Iraq anyway? Any idea what the Bush plan is for Iraq? Any plan at all? Anything?
Yeah, nobody else knows what it is either. How sad and tragic for this country.
Hello to everyone from an old friend. I haven’t been letting the cobwebs get to me.
I have been traveling a bunch this year in the job, but I have kept the faith, and have been doing my best to promote candidates and causes in Arizona.
(It’s kind of tough when you aren’t there much, but I have been able to do it
Hope anybody that remembers me is doing well, and I am looking forward once again to that day of great democratic hope.
Howdy, KD! No, we haven’t forgotten you. Glad to hear you’re still doing everything you can to make the desert bloom again!
now get out there and vote one for the kipper,
Otter
Okay, I just have to plug my own blog entry here. Seems Admiral Sestak expressed some real appreciation for JK’s early efforts, that kickstarted Sestak’s campaign. Got into our local paper in a nice article by Will Bender. The highlight:
Jim,
I read the article you posted. Unfortunately, Oliver North fails to recognize, that like VN, Iraq can not be “won” militarily. His historical comparisons are meaningless when one accepts the fact that further military action in Iraq will lead to needless death and destruction. His concrete rationalizations do nothing but perpetuate a misguided belief that war is the only recourse. He is myopic and a true warrior (not a soldier).
Fine—if MH can do it, then I can do it.
:0)
I wrote an impassioned plea elsewhere in the progressive blogosphere this morning, one that I would have been glad to include here were it not a bit overlong for this august forum.
But you can view it in its native habitat on DU, and I’ll repost the big-ringing-finish section as a teaser for you here:
[snip]
How can Democrats stand up against such a battle-tested blitzkrieg brigade on November 7? What weapons do they have with which to resist such an electoral onslaught this time? What tools do they have to use? What armies have they got on their side?
The answer is as simple as it is powerful:
You.
Yes, you.
You, and yours.
You, your hearts, your minds, your mouths, your ears… your fingers on the keys, your boots on the ground… and, most crucially, your hands on the levers in election booths everywhere across America.
Yours, and those of everyone you know and everyone you can reach out to in these final critical days.
Don’t let the Broken-Glass Republicans tip the scales on election day this year. Channel your inner Yellow Dog Democrats instead.
Gather up everyone you know, bring them with you to the polls, and make sure they know what’s at stake this year. Make sure they understand that a vote for a Republican is a vote against their own futures, and the futures of their children, and of their grandkids yet to come.
Whatever happens between now and then, don’t give up and don’t give in. Do not falter, do not fail. Get out there and vote for Democrats on November 7… even if you have to crawl over broken glass to do it.
Vote smart.
Vote true.
Vote Blue.
now go on out there and vote one for the jkipper,
Otter
KerryDemocrat,
Nice to hear from you again. I just added you to the blog roll at Liberal Values. You’ll find several old friends from 2004 on the list. I’ve been loading up links to Kerry supporters (and hopefully everyone else with blogs does the same). In 2004 it appeared that the entire blogosphere was backing a different candidate. As more pro-Kerry blogs cross link we’ll have more impact in the blogosphere.
I’ve been separating the links into general political blogs which also support Kerry and a separate list of blogs which are primarily about Kerry. Obviously this separation is somewhat arbitrary, and some blogs get moved from time to time, as some blogs are a mixture of general politics and Kerry. If anyone reading is from Michigan, or is interested in the Granholm vs. DeVos race, there’s also a separate listing on Michigan politics.
Oliver North was just as wrong about VN as Iraq.
We can’t kill ourselves out of a guerilla war. The more we kill, the more fighters are created.
The only two parallels between the two wars is they are both wrong.
They are waste of lives and treasure.
Hiya RON!
Thanks for adding me, as soon as I can, I need to add a boatload of blogs onto my blogroll as well.
I will be sure to get em all up there.
My blog has suddenly taken off since I become a “leftyblogger”...if anyone has a blog, they should get linked up there, it can really drive your traffic as I’m getting over 240 unique visitors per day now.
I know that’s not much compared to many, but my humble blog has been primarily targeting Arizona, along with a few national issues. Every little bit helps, so I hope I’m have some effect.
However, blogging isn’t all that I’m doing. Today, I worked my phone, calling friends and contacts (especially my Republican and Independent firends) to make sure that they are voting and voting to place a very big check pn this President.
I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!
Vote Democratic in 2006!
KD,
Covering local issues can work well for a blog. I’m receiving a huge amount of traffic regarding the Granholm-DeVos race. I also feel this might be especially worthwhile as, while a huge number of blogs cover national issues, a much smaller number of us are involved in this crucial race in Michigan. We must stop Dick DeVos here before he proceeds with his plans to buy the Michigan Governor’s office as a stepping stone to the White House and impose a social policy which is even to the right of the current Repubicans.
I knew there was some reason I dropped my name from the democratic party… and if this party keeps supporting John Kerry many others will be dropping their names from the democratic party.. My WORD, what was he thinking when he implied that my son didn’t have a brain. My son and men and women like him keep John Kerry free to say the most abominable things.