Off Topic: Upcoming Presidential Elections (U.S.)!

[q1a2z3]

How you doing in the closet with the grenade there Oli?
Drivel is your department.

John Kerry's Purple Hearts
Purple Heart Number One:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968, when he "semi-volunteered for, was semi-drafted" for a risky covert mission in which he essentially was supposed to "flush out" the enemy, using a little Boston Whaler named "Batman." A larger backup craft was called "Robin."
Unfortunately, Robin had engine trouble, and Batman's exit was delayed until the boats could depart in unison. The Batman crew encountered some Viet Cong, engaged in a firefight, and Kerry was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart on his first day of serious action.
"It was not a very serious wound at all," recalled William Schachte, who oversaw the mission and went on to become a rear admiral.
Purple Heart Number Two:
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- On Feb. 20, 1969, Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel wound in his left thigh. According to a previously unreported Navy report on the battle, a two-boat patrol spotted three men on a riverbank who were wearing black pajamas and running and engaged them in a firefight. While not criticizing this engagement, the Navy report did challenge the decision of unnamed skippers to fire at other "targets of opportunity" in the area.
"Area seemed extremely prosperous and open to psyops action, minimum number of defensive and no offensive bunkers detected," the report said. The naval official who wrote the report concluded: "Future missions in this area should be oriented toward psyops rather than destruction."
The destruction included 40 sampans, 10 hut-style hootches, three bunkers, and 5,000 pounds of rice. The crews from two swift boats had expended more than 14,000 rounds of.50-caliber ammunition. No enemy casualties were reported.
Purple Heart Number Three
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 --. . . On March 13, 1969, a mine detonated near Kerry's boat, wounding Kerry in the right arm, according to the citation written by [Navy Admiral Elmo "Bud"] Zumwalt. Guerrillas started firing on the boats from the shoreline. Kerry then realized that he had lost overboard a Green Beret who is identified only as "Rassman."
"The man was receiving sniper fire from both banks," according to Kerry's Bronze Star citation from that day. "Lt. Kerry directed his gunners to provide suppressing fire, while from an exposed position on the bow, his arm bleeding and in pain, with disregard for his personal safety, he pulled the man aboard. Lt. Kerry then directed his boat to return and assist the other damaged craft and towed the boat to safety. Lt. Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Naval Service," Zumwalt's citation said.
Home Free:
The Boston Globe June 6, 2003 -- Kerry had been wounded three times and received three Purple Hearts. Asked about the severity of the wounds, Kerry said that one of them cost him about two days of service, and that the other two did not interrupt his duty. "Walking wounded," as Kerry put it. A shrapnel wound in his left arm gave Kerry pain for years. Kerry declined a request from the Globe to sign a waiver authorizing the release of military documents that are covered under the Privacy Act and that might shed more light on the extent of the treatment Kerry needed as a result of the wounds.
"There were an awful lot of Purple Hearts -- from shrapnel, some of those might have been M-40 grenades," said [George] Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer. "The Purple Hearts were coming down in boxes. Kerry, he had three Purple Hearts. None of them took him off duty. Not to belittle it, that was more the rule than the exception."
The Boston Globe - June 6, 2003 -- . . . The National Archives provided the Globe with a Navy "instruction" document that formed the basis for Kerry's request. The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a superior officer to request a reassignment. The instruction makes clear the reassignment is not automatic. It says that the reassignment "will be determined after consideration of his physical classification for duty and on an individual basis."
Because Kerry's wounds were not considered serious, his reassignment appears to have been made on an individual basis.
Moreover, the instruction makes clear that Kerry could have asked that any reassignment be waived.
The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer . . .

A few flesh wounds and he was out of Vietnam and on his way to tearing down the US of A.

[q1a2z3]

hippifried,

Why is the war in Afghanistan and Iraq taking so long?

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys.

[Cuchulain]

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys. /

sigh....proof that the educational system in this country has failed us....

Anyway, to answer Hara's original question - I'm not a big Hillary Clinton fan. She's too 'Republican-lite' for me. Even Greenspan said that Bill was 'a good Republican President'. Kucinich is a fighter and we need him in the Congress, but I doubt he could get much done as President or even get elected. Richardson has good ideas and seems to be a good and decent man (for a politician). I doubt he can get the nomination. Dodd really impressed me with his filibuster against immunity for the telecoms in the FISA bill, but he won't get the nomination. Biden is a good man who also won't get nominated. Obama gives a great speech and has good ideas, but national polls show that only Edwards would be a guaranteed win in the general election. He's running a strong populist campaign and may still catch fire. That being said, I will vote for whomever the Dem nominee is. Any of them would be better than the freaks the REICHwing has trotted out.

The Repubs? Ron Paul seems the best of a bad lot. He's still a CONservative though, and would gladly dismantle what's left of FDR's 'New Deal'.

[Oli]

Still coming up a little short there Zero ( a phrase your girl repeats every time she's with you).If you can get a girl...you would have to leve Mommy's basement first.

A. The Purple Heart is awarded in the name of the President of the United States to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the U.S. Armed Services after 5 April 1917, has been wounded or killed, or who has died or may hereafter die after being wounded-

1. In any action against an enemy of the United States.

2. In any action with an opposing armed force of a foreign country in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or have been engaged.

3. While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

4. As a result of an act of any such enemy of opposing armed forces.

5. As the result of an act of any hostile foreign force

6. After 28 March 1973, as a result of an international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the Secretary of the Army, or jointly by the Secretaries of the separate armed services concerned if persons from more than one service are wounded in the attack.

7. After 28 March 1973, as a result of military operations while serving outside the territory of the United States as part of a peacekeeping force.

B. While clearly an individual decoration, the Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria.

1. A Purple Heart is authorized for the first wound suffered under conditions indicated above, but for each subsequent award an Oak Leaf Cluster will be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon. Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant or from the same missile, force, explosion, or agent.

2. A wound is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required, however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record.

3. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award.

4. Examples of enemy-related injuries which clearly justify award of the Purple Heart are as follows:

(a) Injury caused by enemy bullet, shrapnel, or other projectile created by enemy action.

(b) Injury caused by enemy placed mine or trap.

(c) Injury caused by enemy released chemical, biological, or nuclear agent.

(d) Injury caused by vehicle or aircraft accident resulting from enemy fire.

(e) Concussion injuries caused as a result of enemy generated explosions.

Paragraph 2-8, Army Regulation 600-8-22 (Military Awards) 25 February 1996

You going to imply that the Silver and Bronze Stars Kerry earned are bogus?

[hippifried]

hippifried,

Why is the war in Afghanistan and Iraq taking so long?

1. Bush is a wimp with no guts to use the bomb.
2. The leftists keep crying over dead camel jockeys.

Nah. Nobody knows what they're doing or why they're doing it. The Taliban are a total bunch of assholes, but they're their assholes. They were doing nothing outside their own borders, there were no Afghans on the planes, & they never had any kind of control over Osama bin Laden. One of the prime excuses for going in there was that they wouldn't "hand over" bin Laden. What? They had him in custody or something? No. It was nothing more than appeasement of the bloodlust that overcame the American people following 9/11. Afghanistan was just an easy target for vengeance. They're landlocked, with no modern weaponry & no outside support.

After bombing the city of Kabul, the official reasoning for the invasion was changed of course. Now we were supposed to be bringing freedom & democracy to those poor downtrodden people who were being abused by the Taliban & the Soviets before that. Not only can't they find bin Laden, they can't find evidence that he was even there at any time since 9/11. So now the focus is on protecting the Afghans from themselves or something by installing a puppet government & a king. So now you want to help them out by vaporizing them with thermo-nuclear weapons? Yeah that's smart.

"The left" doesn't care about Afghanistan any more than anybody else does. They justify it by whining over women having to wear berkas or something. Nobody cared about the killing & dying in Afghanistan for several years at all. Except for Tillman getting killed by friendly fire & a couple of bombing raids into Pakistan, there wasn't any press about the nonsense going on over there. It's all a bunch of hogwash. There can never be a "victory" because there's no objective. It's all just an excuse for amping up the perpetual war.

[hippifried]

We got pissed because somebody threw a rock at us. So we kicked their dog. The attitude toward Afghanistan is disgusting. We're becoming everything we've ever told our children not to be.

End of rant.

[Rogers]

They must really be getting desperate over at Free Republic. This new(?) troll they've sent us seems to be even more of an afactual dullard than _Canada was. I guess it reflects the fortunes of the Neo-Cons. You're choice of avatar is so you, q1a2z3, the way it goes from DICK (via hand) to HEAD. What was it you were saying about "perversity being the enemy", and "the "hobbies" on this board"? And you deliberately pick an avatar that has a dick on it... LMFAO!!! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the P&R forum's new(?) afactual dullard clown, q1a2z3. Either you are a complete cretin, q1a2z3, or you're up to something?