Wife of Dead Swift Boat Commander with Kerry, Against SBVT - READ NOW!!!

[GOPAgainstGW]

Wife of dead Swift Boat commander with Kerry, speaks out against SBVT. Very moving and well written letter to the New York Times. We have a copyright release in file and I am posting the entire letter with further posted comments from our group. Thank you, A.L.T

BRaBC04,Inc -Copyright release in file
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* Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. *
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New York Times - Published: August 27, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/27/opinion/27droz.html
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
The View From the Boat
By JUDITH DROZ KEYES

San Francisco — On Feb. 28, 1969, my husband was the commander of one of three Swift boats traveling the Dong Cung in Vietnam to carry troops and supplies upriver. The events of that day, and what happened almost two weeks later on another Swift boat patrol, have become a source of controversy in the presidential campaign, with a group of veterans saying that John Kerry did not deserve the medals he won for what he did then. I know my husband thought otherwise.

The other two commanders - John Kerry and William Rood, an editor at The Chicago Tribune - have written of the courage they witnessed on Feb. 28. My husband, Lt. j.g. Donald Droz, who grew up in a small Missouri town and was a 1966 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, wrote to me about it in a letter dated March 6, 1969:

"I had quite a morning... Admiral Zumwalt, Commander Naval Forces Vietnam, flew to An Thoi from Saigon ... for a special awards presentation. To make a somewhat long story short, PCF's 23, 94 and 43 conducted an operation February 28th which we pulled off rather spectacularly. Anyway, for my part, I was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat 'V.' I don't mean to blow my own horn, but I really am pleased with the award, and it is a rather significant medal. I'll bring the citation with me to Hawaii."

Don did bring the citation to Hawaii a few weeks later, and I traveled from our home in Pennsylvania with our infant daughter, Tracy, to meet him for his R&R. But before that meeting, Don and John Kerry and others were involved in another battle, on March 13. Don did not write to me about that battle. But he did tell me about it during our five days together in Hawaii - when he met our daughter for the first time, and held her for what turned out to be the last time.

In Hawaii, Don mostly talked about the future: how he wanted to come home, go to graduate school and then become involved in public service. But he also talked about Vietnam: about how much respect all the "Swifties" had for one another. I remember him saying that John Kerry was heading home, deservedly so, and that he admired his bravery and planned to see him that summer.

Don also talked about how hard it was to be in a situation where no one knew what was around the next bend or what the "rules" were or who was friend and who was foe. He told me he was convinced that what the United States was doing in Vietnam was pointless or worse and that, when he got home, he intended to speak out against it. But he was clear - and I have always understood - that he was criticizing the war itself and those who were deciding how to wage it, not those who were putting their lives on the line to do their duty honestly and bravely.

Those who had the courage to fight in Vietnam and, when they returned home, to tell of the reality of what they saw deserve our admiration. I am certain my husband would have been as appalled as I am at the spectacle of some veterans questioning others' service.

Don died on April 12, 1969, just two weeks after we said goodbye in Hawaii and two months before he would have come home. Ever since, I have felt a special obligation to speak the truth as I know he would have done.

[lil-petunia]

1. wow

take that you shite-heads

[Guaranteed]

4. Seriously.

It doesn't get more poignant than that.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Droz was apparently Kerry's best friend in 'nam. . . . nt

[GOPAgainstGW]

3. Response - Why Many Republicans Are Voting For Kerry-Edwards

Email Received
-------------------
This is a great letter, but for me personally an extremely difficult letter to read. My thoughts are as follows which may be posted and used at your discretion.

John Kerry stated many years ago that he was devastated by the death of his good friend Donald Droz, among several others in Vietnam. What he saw while in Nam and the death of his friends, is what caused Kerry to become such an outspoken anti-war advocate and anti-Nixon Administration advocate.

Many of these Vietnam “experts” today, either were not there, are too young to have a clue what they are talking about, or were in Nam and are either too stupid to understand the “bigger picture” of that hell-hole war, or they are stupid and have a politician, et. al. working their mouth i.e. SBVT frauds.

The leader of our coalition to criminally nail O’Neill and his fraud SBVT clan, was a two tour Vietnam veteran as a ranking officer, is a Houston Criminal Attorney, and knows John O’Neill better than he would admit in public. His law Firm is right around the corner from O’Neill’s Firm. Also, no one in our coalition is a Democrat.

It has been well documented that this Bush-Cheney-GOP-SBVT is a total fraud, and a total fraud about Kerry’s Vietnam record, and the public has not seen 1/10 of it yet!

Now the SBVT frauds are bashing Kerry on his ’71 committee testimony against the Vietnam War. Well let’s set the record straight about that also:

Look, Edward “Ted” Kennedy was “behind” Kerry when he testified in ‘71 against the War, and many including several Nam veterans in our group, felted like Kennedy used Kerry and had him make statements that he should not have said in public. However, none of us, or any veteran with an IQ over a three minute egg, faulted Kerry for his testimony, or protesting that hell-hole war after it was finally over. The 20 year Vietnam-Southeast Asia War had progress from a “right” decision when Dwight Eisenhower made it in 1955, to a total disaster ripping this country apart by 1970, and its formal end in 1975.

The bottom line is, John Kerry almost single handedly took on the Nixon Administration over that totally out of control unwinnable War, exposed it for what it was, exposed the fraudulent Nixon Administration, and Kerry was key in bringing our men and women home in the longest war in this County’s history, that resulted in the death or injury of over 8 million people in SouthEast Asia and the international military coalition fighting there.

Also, we are sick of these SBVT frauds bashing Ted Kennedy and his anti-Vietnam War position back then, and none of us are Ted Kennedy fans. There’s several points to remember on this subject:

Our CIA assassinated South Vietnam’s President Diem and his brother on November 2, 1963. It’s been well documented and that all I am going to say.

Three weeks later, on November 22, 1963, Ted Kennedy’s brother President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. I’m not a conspiracy person but nobody “in the know” ever bought the Oswald lone gun theory bull the government feed to the public.

Before Texas ex-Governor John Connolly died, who was in the car when Kennedy was shot and Connolly was also shot and seriously wounded, he did an interview on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace. Connolly said there was no way Oswalt could have shot them by himself, if he even did it. He further said he was positive that there were multiple bullets coming from different directions when John and he got hit. Said he heard the shots from two different positions in front of the car and one from the left side of the car.

Then on June 5, 1968, Ted’s other brother Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy is assassinated in California campaigning against President Lynden Johnson in the Democratic Presidential Primaries. The historian’s state that Bobby had won four out of five primaries and had he not been killed, it is likely Robert F. Kennedy would have been the 37th President of the United States.

In the documentary "Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot", (2001) Ted Kennedy’s ex Joan Kennedy talked
about the living hell Ted went through the next 5 -7 years after Bobby was assassinated wonder if he was going to be next. Ted knew what the rest of the world, didn’t know at the time, that Jackie Kennedy permanently left the U.S., after her husband President John Kennedy was assassinated, married Greek Aristotle Onassis, and lived at sea on his yacht for years because two FBI special agents told Jackie that her life was in grave danger also, but never would tell her why.

Ted Kennedy had every right to want to stop the Vietnam War, and the war we had going on at home with all the massive unrest, the white vs black nightmare and riots in the South, and both his brother’s being assassinated…..

AND damnit so did John Kerry. There is 10’s of thousands of people alive today because Kerry helped stopped the Vietnam-Southeast Asia War and the well documented atrocities going on in that war!

A.L.T.

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* Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. *
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[Blue_Roses]

25. very interesting

and by the way, you had me at:

"any veteran with an IQ over a three minute egg..."

ROFLMAO! :D

[GOPAgainstGW]

5. Republican Group Says-What the ‘04 Presidential Election is REALLY About!

I am reposting this in further support of our position on this matter - NKR

BraBC04, Inc. – 08.24.04
---------------------------------------

What the ‘04 Presidential Election is REALLY About,
from an Anti-Bush/Cheney Republican Coalition’s Perspective:


Question: - Does the public really want Bush-Cheney running this Country, in these extremely dangerous times, when the Bush-Cheney-GOP does highly illegal and fraudulent smear campaigns against John McCain in 2000 and now to John Kerry in 2004, with this Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), Bush-GOP fraud operation, using their Texas big money, right-wing fascist, “good ol’ boys” network?

Our key coalition members personally know George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bob Perry, Harlan and Trammell Crow, John O’Neill, Merrie Spaeth, and most of the rest of the Bush-GOP-SBVT cartel personally! Some of our members even work in their organizations and business. Simply stated, they are very dangerous, very powerful, and scary lunatics that will stop at nothing for the pursuit of personal gain!

This is particularly true of Robert “Bob” J. Perry of Houston that gave $200,000 to O’Neill’s SBVT group, is a major contributor to the “H. W. Bush family political interests”, and is the largest private contributor to Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, (Houston). In short, Perry is totally out-of-control crazy.

As to George W. Bush’s personal “war lord” and confidant Tom DeLay, well Tom has big problems due to a multi-count criminal grand jury investigation, that has issued closed to 100 subpoenas including many political contributors, and even to DeLay’s daughter.

We guess someone forgot to call Bob Perry and tell him that Federal investigators at Enron accidentally discovered documents that could send he and DeLay both to prison, before Perry decided to financially front the SBVT fraud which will also result in some “interesting people” being indicted before it’s all over.

Question: - Does the public want Bush-Cheney running this Country having invaded TWO Middle East countries, lying about their intent to the World, and starting a 50 year U.S.-Middle East Holy War according to intel experts around the World?

It was/is well understood by all the major international intel experts, that after the end of the Cold War, the U.S. unequivocally had to let the Middle East politically and strategically polarize, to avoid a Holy War of unimaginable
consequences. Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the World, with over 1 billion members “on each side”. Some religion experts state there are actually more practicing Muslims then Christians in the World.

The U.S. totally ignored this well understood M.E. Polarization Doctrine, and then Bush-Cheney took over TWO Middle East countries. What the public does not understand is that the WTC 9/11 disaster was a wake-up call over our Israel and Middle East polices. Unfortunately, Bush-Cheney didn’t get the message!

Seriously think about it - Why did the Islamic terrorists hit us on 9/11, when we had/have the most war hawkish Administration in power since World War II? Rest assured, it was not a coincidence. Rest assured, Bush-Cheney’s ignorance and pompous arrogance put this Country right into the terrorists well planned trap.

This is what the 2004 Presidential Election is REALLY about. Everything else is a smoke screen. This is why a massive number of Republicans are voting against Bush-Cheney in November. Particularly, the ones that remember the 20 year war we had in Vietnam that killed and injured, all total, over 8 million people in Southeast Asia, and ripped this Country apart.

Respectfully,

T.A.B

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* Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. *
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PS: - Despicable Swift Boat Smears - Exposed for all to see, and reject
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/4939507.html

[H2O Man]

6. Intense .....

That is simply overwhelming. Think of the people who died, and for what? They might have been the generation that brought America to its potential.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. And to think that Bu$h and Rove

are using and abusing them again.

[GOPAgainstGW]

28. Ted Bundy & O.J. Said They Were Innocent Too!

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. She and the Navy

are mistaken. Only the smearboat vets know what really happened in Nam. :eyes:

Thank you for posting this touching letter.

[GOPAgainstGW]

18. OK, You got me--I love animals and your Hamsters for Kerry pic!

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. DUer SlinkerWink designed it.

She gets all the credit! She let me steal a copy. Cute, isn't it? :hi:
The story behind the cute little hamster is too cool. Hamsters love John Kerry! ;)

[GOPAgainstGW]

24. OK I will let all my Republican colleagues know

we have another reason to support Kerry-Edwards.....Got to help the Hamsters get out the vote. It's only fair, look at all the Bush people helping his sheep get out the vote. ROFLOL!!!!!!!

[in_cog_ni_to]

31. Cute!

LOL! :evilgrin:

Have you heard the Kerry Hamster story?

[Guaranteed]

8. I just had a really cool revelation about Kerry's personality

after reading this part:

"But he was clear - and I have always understood - that he was criticizing the war itself and those who were deciding how to wage it, not those who were putting their lives on the line to do their duty honestly and bravely."

Kerry doesn't blame those who fought in the war, because he understood that, *like him*, they simply trusted their leaders not to send them into a needless conflict.

Just like Kerry trusted Bush- again, not to send our troops into a needless conflict...

You know...I'm really starting to like this guy Kerry. His values are in the right place. He seems like a really, really good person.

But he's too trusting. People SHOULD be able to be as trusting as he is. But they can't be.

Am I starting to believe his rationale for the IWR vote? I dunno. But I definitely see philosophical consistency here.

[flpoljunkie]

10. Yet, Bush still refuses to condemn the SB ads, pressed again by NYT,8/26

Bush is a moral coward, without honor, hiding behind 527's--the same 527's his minions used to trash John McCain in New York in 2000--remember the Wylie Brothers and their "Republicans for Clean Air" group."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/27/politics/campaign/27bush.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Mr. Bush did not hesitate when asked about the central charge issued by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the veterans' group that has leveled unsubstantiated attacks against Mr. Kerry's record in Vietnam. "I think Senator Kerry should be proud of his record,'' Mr. Bush said. "No, I don't think he lied.''

But when pressed repeatedly if he would specifically denounce the advertisements, which Mr. Kerry has said were being run with the tacit approval of the Bush campaign, the president refused to condemn them. Instead, he said he would talk only of the "broader issue'' of the political committees that take to the airwaves with attack advertisements.

[LynnTheDem]

11. Damn them

Their lies have already caused so much pain. We have Vietnam veterans reliving it all again, thanks to those bastards. We have families reliving losing their loved ones all over again. We have an assistant DA likely to be kissing his career good-bye.

Lies Lies Lies. They die for them, they lose limbs for them, families are destroyed for them. Then these SOBs show up to do bush's dirty work with more lies lies lies.

And DAMN the rightwingnuts for being so damned partisan and stupid that they can't see through the bloody most OBVIOUS LIES.

Even Bill O'Really saw through the crap immediately.

Let's draft only rightwingnut warmongerers who support the bushCartel; send them & bushCartel to die in Iraq. Clean up the filth in this country.

[BootinUp]

12. A real American Hero Lost

Very glad she is doing this, she honors his memory.

[louis c]

13. More and More

I get to hate George Bush and his brand of politics.

What more will it take?

This country will never survive four more years of these f**king assholes controlling our government.

Please, dear God, make it stop, for the sake of the entire world.

[Francine Frensky]

14. This is very moving. Everyone should read and would love to see

this in more papers.

Thanks for posting.

[GOPAgainstGW]

16. EMAIL THIS LADY'S LETTER TO EVERY MEDIA OUTLET WITH A SHORT NOTE PLEASE!!!

and ask them to print it with NYT permission.

IF YOU EMAIL THE MEDIA AND LET THEM KNOW HOW MUCH IT EFFECTED YOU POSITIVE FOR THE WRITER AND NEGATIVE FOR BUSH-CHENEY-O'NEILL-SBVT


THE MEDIA WILL RUN WITH IT. THEY LOVE THESE TYPE OF PERSONAL INTEREST STORIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Please also help to kick this thread up today and we will direct some important people to DU, that will be interested.

Thanks All!


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* Beltway and Texas Republicans Against Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc. *
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[GOPAgainstGW]

15. WHY OUR GROUP IS OUT TO DESTROY O’NEILL & SBVT- READ!!!

From our Previous Post Above:
>>>
The bottom line is, John Kerry almost single handedly took on the Nixon Administration over that totally out of control unwinnable War, exposed it for what it was, exposed the fraudulent Nixon Administration, and Kerry was key in bringing our men and women home in the longest war in this County’s history, that resulted in the death or injury of over 8 million people in Southeast Asia and the international military coalition fighting there.
>>>>

What is driving our group is not politics. The following is what has us furious and it doesn’t matter what it takes, O’Neill and his SBVT frauds WILL pay heavily for their “only for politics” fraudulent SBVT scam:

1. Republican President Nixon tried to totally destroy Democrat John Kerry for his anti-war protesting. He had the FBI on him, planted erroneous information about Kerry, (and what Kerry supposedly publicly stated), for the media to print and slam Kerry…….the whole 9 yards. I mean REAL dirty. Kind of reminds of Bush-Cheney!!!

Before President Nixon died he made amends with Senator Kerry and asked for his friendship which Kerry agreed. Nixon also told Kerry, in looking back, that Kerry had done the right thing in regards to trying to stop the Vietnam War, he respected him for it, and there was no hard feelings.

1a. Senator Kerry has a media video, we presume because the media has it and we have a copy, when he and Nixon met back in the 90’s to mend fences on this matter and close the door once and for all on Vietnam. The media video on their new friendship was NIXON’s idea, not Kerry’s.

2. Nixon’s White House “hitman” Charles Colson, that hired John O’Neill to be a Nixon Administration puppet and mouthpiece against Kerry, also apologized to Kerry for what he had done to him in the 70’s and also said Kerry had done the right thing and hoped Senator Kerry didn’t hold a grudge.

3. John O’Neill and his key SBVT frauds KNOW ALL THIS!!!!!!! All their bull, is just one big Bush-Cheney-GOP-SBVT drama play of fraud, to totally confuse and deceive the public, that’s being financed by:

a. by Robert J. “Bob” Perry-Houston (who we know well and the man is totally crazy), and

b. Harlen Crow son of real estate magnate Trammell Crow (both of Dallas like, Merrie Spaeth) a 30 year friend of W’s father H.W. Bush

(Note: Spaeth’s husband Tex Lezar (only in Texas could you have a name like that!) was a partner at O’Neill’s law Firm until he passed away January 2004 at the age of 56)

5. O’Neill and the SBVT frauds also get plenty of direct help from George W. Bush’s “hitman”, Republican House Majority Leader Tom “The Hammer” DeLay. Tom DeLay has been called by many in and out of Congress “the most corrupt politician in America.”

DeLay is currently under a massive multi-count criminal grand jury investigation which has issued close to 100 subpoenas, including to his daughter, AND the U.S. House Ethics Committee is investigating DeLay and he is facing charges of bribery, extortion, fraud, money laundering, and abuse of power. Last month a formal legal filing was rendered asking for an independent council to investigate Tom Delay.

Robert J. “Bob” Perry of Houston, that gave $200,000 to O’Neill’s SBVT fraud outfit, is Tom DeLay’s (and his political interests) single largest private donor. We are talking million here! He and DeLay are like Muff and Jeff, if one is around, the other cannot be far away. However, Perry really likes to stay in the background and “pull the strings” like the Wizard of Oz behind the magic curtain.

NOTE: There is two very wealthy attorneys in Houston and major league donors to Democratic candidates, that are not part of our cartel, that will do ANYTHING to legally fry DeLay’s and Perry’s arse! Unlike us, they are both big time political whores. Our group could care less about politics, our beef with O’Neill and his SBVT frauds is personal! Consider this a big carrot for all the serious DU poster here

6. Like O’Neill, conservative and media talk show commentator and host Pat Buchanan KNOWS ALL THE ABOVE, about Nixon, Colson and O’Neill trying to destroy Kerry in the 70’s. Why, because Buchanan was President Nixon’s personal political aid and directly involved in some of the meetings about how Nixon, Colson, and O’Neill could destroy Kerry.

Yet Buchanan, sits there on Fox TV, CNN, and even MSNBC, and is one of the biggest Kerry basher out their. Hell it’s just flat out fraud what this ahole is doing. Then Pat is coming out with a book next week, timed to the RNC convention that bashes Bush over going into Iraq and starting a war, but says he will still vote for Bush.

This is the same Pat Buchanan that made an ass out of himself running for President in 2000, and the damn guy had a full-blown KKK-White Supremacist named Sam Francis writing for him. Also David Duke and the KKK love Pat! Hey, Duke got out of jail several months back on tax evasion, maybe he and Buchanan can hook up and right a great Master Race-Master Plan for the World book!

You can google string for “Sam Francis” “Pat Buchanan”.

Here’s a couple of good links on these two closet Nazis!

See Sam Francis bio here: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=210
Sam helped Pat Buchanan heavily in Pat’s Presidential election bid in 2000

Check out Pat Buchanan endorsement by Stormfront – White Nationalists-White Power World Wide:
StormFront is a KKK Grand Wizard David Duke related operation. http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/faculty/Gronbeck/politick/smithson/stormfro.htm

[nomatrix]

27. Thank You, GOPAgainstGW

You've expressed who John Kerry is better than most Democrats, myself included.

Thank you for sharing your insight on the corruption in Texas.

Most of all, I appreciate your words on the Kennedy family. I am one of many, who were inspired by the good things they brought to politics. Sometimes, you just feel so washed out by the evil injustices dished out. From the murders of the Kennedy's, to the hunting of President Clinton, to everything that has happened in the past 3+ years, changing our laws, driving this country to bankruptcy, using our soldiers as pawns....the sad repeat of a endless war.

These kids were caught off guard, driven by patriotism to enlist to protect their country, then being abandoned in Iraq with no end to their tour of duty. They need to know someone is on their side.

What your group is doing is giving them hope. Like John Kerry did for the soldiers who were in Vietnam, seeing no end. The one who had the courage and eloquence of speech, took on Congress, took on Nixon, took on the war machine, to put it in their face. 3 million went to Vietnam, and all that are coming forward today, to challenge what Kerry did, is this sick group.

Bravo to you and your fine band of brothers/sister who have had enough of this. You have rekindle the eternal flame, that should be burning in all Americans hearts. Hope is on the way.

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. Keep up the great work. Consider this a major Kick n/t

[Proud2BAmurkin]

19. kick

.

[indie_voter]

20. This brought tears to my eyes.

His daughter is now 35 years old.

The SBVT group is smearing heroics of those who lost their lives so young, who weren't able to return home and watch their children grow to adulthood, to hold grandchildren.

This is unspeakably vile.

Kudos to Ms.Keyes for sharing her late husband's story.

[JohnKleeb]

22. There's an article about this in LBN too

Don was a good friend of Kerry's I've read. Just a shame that Don didn't get to come home, its nice to know that Kerry has a special friendship with his wife and daughter, what a sad thing it is that he left behind a daughter. I know this for certain, Droz would be right up there with Rassman, Sandusky, and the countless other vets for Kerry.

[AnnitaR]

23. Daughter Tracy made a movie about her father.

"Be Good, Smile Pretty" (2003) is about the journey she took to find out about the father she never knew.

www.begoodsmilepretty.com

[GOPAgainstGW]

26. Wow Thanks For Sharing!!

Wish I could say more, but I'm a little speechless. Will post what I want to say later.

[K8-EEE]

29. Oh I'll Bet Kerry Wrote The Report He Wrote That Letter From

I'm getting so fucking sick of the media giving these guys any credence, their stories were like swiss cheese from the very beginning.

Assholes.

[skip fox]

30. Thanks! I've added to our Swift Boat resource file:

A solid overview of the Swift Boat Story including

I. Introduction and History of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (hereafter SBVT)

II. Recent Accounts of Other Swift Boat Vets and Others
--a. Vets who Were Kerry Contradicting the SBVT
--b. People with Special Information Contradicting SBVT
--c. New Vets Contradicting Kerry

III. New Charges against Kerry About his Service

IV. Changes or Qualifications in Stories of Individual SBVT

V. Points of Collusion Between Republicans and the SBVT

Broken into separate posts (for ease of jumping) and all with easy-to-use hot links:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x70318

Please inform me of new stories and links as they occur and I'll up-date this on Monday or Tuesday. (Sooner if some SBVT stories break over the weekend.

[GOPAgainstGW]

32. Thanks

[GOPAgainstGW]

33. Send An Update to Ya Skip