Internet Breakdown

For whatever reason, I haven't been able to get onto the web to post since we arrived in NYC. Based on the line in the business center, perhaps there is something wrong with the hotel's in-room high-speed connection lines.

Are Kerry's Journals Dummied Up?

Yesterday my site was on the fritz so I'm reposting this. We report, you decide.

Michelle Malkin offers a letter from Viet Nam Vet, Terry Sater. He points out some obvious errors in Kerry's bio, Tour of Duty, which author Douglas Brinkley has stated were based on Kerry's journal's.

On page 179, there is a reference to an incident that occurred on October 14th. Page 181 begins with; "Only a few weeks later, Kerry, on a PCF-44 patrol, observed four troop battalions from the Ninth Infantry Division at Dong Tam and five Mobile Riverine Force squadrons staging an assault for the benefit of Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. "To facilitate putting on a good show, an area was picked out for the landing where the chance of guerilla contact was minimal." Kerry sneered. "Nothing was to mess up the show for the secretary of defense." I was with River Assault Squadron 13 during this time period. Melvin Laird was the secretary of defense from January 22, 1969 to January 29, 1973. At the high point, there were only four squadrons of the Mobile Riverine Force. The four squadrons were split into two larger groups; "Group Alpha" and "Group Bravo", in early summer, of 1968, spread out over different parts of the Mekong Delta. All four squadrons were never pulled together to put on a show for Melvin Laird.

Kerry has now twice blamed actions on the Nixon administration that took place before Nixon was inaugurated. If the journals were written in real time, how would he know that Melvin Laird was going to be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of Defense? If he had written about Cambodia in real time, wouldn't it have come up during Kerry's testimony before the Senate?

What if Kerry wrote the journals long after he got back to the United States, in 1977 or 1978? His anger at Nixon could have clouded his memory and he got important details wrong.

Perhaps there is a less sinister explanation, but I can't think of it.

Thanks to Miss Attila for the head's up.

Got A Question for a Delegate?

Here is the complete list of delegates and alternates to the RNC Convention. What do you want to ask them? I'll try and track down the answers.

Delegates
At Large Dick Ackerman Irvine
At Large Barbara Alby Folsom
At Large Annelise Anderson Portola Valley
At Large James Brulte Etiwanda
At Large Dave Cox Fair Oaks
At Large Jeff Denham Atwater
At Large Susan Grafft Moraga
At Large Wendy Hales Irvine
At Large Daniel Lungren Folsom
At Large William Lyon Newport Beach
At Large Kevin McCarthy Bakersfield
At Large Timothy Morgan Santa Cruz
At Large Gerald Parsky Rancho Santa Fe
At Large Mario Rodriguez San Clemente
At Large George Sundheim Palo Alto
CD 01 Marilyn Butcher Ukiah
CD 01 Margie Handley Willits
CD 01 Michael Harvey Arcata
CD 02 William Back Wheatland
CD 02 Robinette Cook Chico
CD 02 Samuel Wakim Mount Shasta
CD 03 Donna Lucas Sacramento
CD 03 Cassandra Pye Sacramento
CD 03 Diann Rogers Gold River
CD 04 Samuel Aanestad Penn Valley
CD 04 Sandra Campbell Lincoln
CD 04 Richard Oules Granite Bay
CD 05 Eloise Anderson Sacramento
CD 05 Dorathea Kingsley Sacramento
CD 05 William Stein Sacramento
CD 06 John Duncan Tiburon
CD 06 Frederick Lowell Belvedere
CD 06 Barbara Stidham Sonoma
CD 07 Jerome Encinas Vacaville
CD 07 Kris Lesher-Aring Clayton
CD 07 Suzi Wilson Benicia
CD 08 Christopher Bowman San Francisco
CD 08 Elsa Cheung San Francisco
CD 08 Michael DeNunzio San Francisco
CD 09 James Hartman Berkeley
CD 09 Jonathan Mayes Alameda
CD 09 Sean Walsh Piedmont
CD 10 Rochelle Bird Moraga
CD 10 Tim LeFever Dixon
CD 10 George Opacic Walnut Creek
CD 11 Hedy Chang Morgan Hill
CD 11 Josh Valdez Brentwood
CD 11 Kyle Vallone San Ramon
CD 12 Diana Bautista Daly City
CD 12 Lydia Beebe San Francisco
CD 12 Timothy Sanchez Foster City
CD 13 Araceli Carbonell Hayward
CD 13 Sean Liou Fremont
CD 13 Jillian Manus-Salzman Atherton
CD 14 Susan Allen Mountain View
CD 14 Gloria Hom Palo Alto
CD 14 Natalie Lui Palo Alto
CD 15 Luis Buhler Cupertino
CD 15 Melba Kvamme Saratoga
CD 15 Jan Soule San Jose
CD 16 LaVawn Engles San Jose
CD 16 Nhut Ho San Jose
CD 16 Jean C Lu San Jose
CD 17 Victoria Casacca Salinas
CD 17 Victoria Nelson Deborah Salinas
CD 17 Peter Newman Pebble Beach
CD 18 Jonathan Buettner Los Banos
CD 18 Geneasee Johnson Hilmar
CD 18 Deidre Kelsey Snelling
CD 19 Michael Der Manouel Fresno
CD 19 William Jones Fresno
CD 19 Patricia Shade Turlock
CD 20 Richard Allen Visalia
CD 20 Maxine Bennett Hanford
CD 20 Edeanne Hutchison Hanford
CD 21 Jeffrey Reid Fresno
CD 21 Marlene Sario Exeter
CD 21 Kevin Shakespeare Kingsburg
CD 22 Roy Ashburn Bakersfield
CD 22 Karen DeWalt Bakersfield
CD 22 Anna Peschong Atascadero
CD 23 Leslie Cornejo Oxnard
CD 23 A. Brooks Firestone Los Olivos
CD 23 Abel Maldonado Santa Maria
CD 24 Dianne Alexander Thousand Oaks
CD 24 Glen Becerra Simi Valley
CD 24 Stephen Frank Simi Valley
CD 25 A.G. Kawamura Sacramento
CD 25 Richard Loa Palmdale
CD 25 Sharon Runner Lancaster
CD 26 Linda Boyd Glendora
CD 26 Ravelle Greene Alta Loma
CD 26 Robert Pacheco Walnut
CD 27 F. Jane Boeckmann Northridge
CD 27 Mark Isler Van Nuys
CD 27 Reza Torkzadeh Northridge
CD 28 Jeffrey Bissiri Valley Village
CD 28 Patricia Clarey Studio City
CD 28 Leslie Goodman Sherman Oaks
CD 29 William Cleary Pasadena
CD 29 Pamela Corradi Burbank
CD 29 Paul Zee South Pasadena
CD 30 Bradford Freeman Los Angeles
CD 30 Carole Jenkins Chatsworth
CD 30 Pete Wilson Los Angeles
CD 31 Paula Fong City of Industry
CD 31 Mary George Montebello
CD 31 Velma Montoya Los Angeles
CD 32 Walter Allen III Covina
CD 32 Karen Boyd Monterey Park
CD 32 Mike Spence West Covina
CD 33 Mark Iles Culver City
CD 33 Johnnie Morgan Los Angeles
CD 33 Mercedes Paz-Slimp Culver City
CD 34 Brian Chase Los Angeles
CD 34 Carlos Getino Downey
CD 34 Cecilia Ramos Los Angeles
CD 35 Michael Davis Alexandria
CD 35 Frank Miranda Gardena
CD 35 Donna Tuttle Los Angeles
CD 36 Wendy Conole Hermosa Beach
CD 36 Shayan Samii Los Angeles
CD 36 Art Yoon Hermosa Beach
CD 37 Randal Hernandez Long Beach
CD 37 Jessica Ochoa Long Beach
CD 37 Isela Ward Long Beach
CD 38 Alex Burrola Montebello
CD 38 Martha House Hacienda Heights
CD 38 Sheraly Khwaja Montebello
CD 39 Timothy Escobar La Mirada
CD 39 Donald Knabe Cerritos
CD 39 Lily Kuo Cerritos
CD 40 Laura Cunningham Orange
CD 40 Vincent DeVargas Placentia
CD 40 Curt Pringle Irvine
CD 41 Sheri Bogh Beaumont
CD 41 Mark Leggio Rancho Cucamonga
CD 41 Bill Postmus Hesperia
CD 42 Fred Aguiar Chino
CD 42 Lynn Daucher Brea
CD 42 Shirley Moore Chino
CD 43 Kathleen Brugger Ontario
CD 43 Rosario Marin Huntington Park
CD 43 Janice Rutherford Fontana
CD 44 John Cruz San Clemente
CD 44 Rod Pacheco Riverside
CD 44 Susan Ritschel San Clemente
CD 45 Jim Battin La Quinta
CD 45 Bonnie Garcia Cathedral city
CD 45 Ray Haynes Elk Grove
CD 46 Nancy Comaford Palos Verdes Peninsula
CD 46 Claude Parrish Rancho Palos Verdes
CD 46 Emily Sanford Huntington Beach
CD 47 Araceli Gonzalez Anaheim
CD 47 Mark Leyes Garden Grove
CD 47 Carolyn Yellis Anaheim
CD 48 Patricia Bates Laguna Niguel
CD 48 Elaine Park Newport Beach
CD 48 Julie Vandermost Laguna Niguel
CD 49 Valerie Jaffee Dana Point
CD 49 Lorelei Kinder Fallbrook
CD 49 Stephen Puetz Fallbrook
CD 50 Vicky Carlson Del Mar
CD 50 Linda Dealy Del Mar
CD 50 Jeff Sedivec San Marcos
CD 51 Henry Kuiper El Centro
CD 51 Carole Starr El Centro
CD 51 Thomas Topuzes El Centro
CD 52 Catherine Anderson Alpine
CD 52 Ronald Nehring El Cajon
CD 52 Charlene Zettel Poway
CD 53 Judith Harris La Jolla
CD 53 Tom Nassif La Jolla
CD 53 Kay Spafford San Diego

Alternates

At Large Susan Anderson San Jose
At Large Alfred Balitzer Claremont
At Large Bruce Bialosky Studio City
At Large Sylvia Coombs Fair Oaks
At Large Barbara Enberg La Jolla
At Large Dolores Higby Newport Beach
At Large Robb McFadden Pacific Grove
At Large Frank Ricchiazzi Laguna Beach
At Large Shelby Strong Rancho Santa Fe
At Large Ruth Van Bemmel Santa Rosa
CD 01 Grace Daniel El Macero
CD 01 Marjorie Preston Napa
CD 01 Randolph Ridgel Kelseyville
CD 02 Robert Bignami Chico
CD 02 Karna Boyer Yuba City
CD 02 William Brunetti Lakeport
CD 03 Rachel Kaldor Sacramento
CD 03 Teri O'Rourke Sacramento
CD 03 David Sander Sacramento
CD 04 Thomas Hudson Elverta
CD 04 Keith King El Dorado Hills
CD 04 Kathy Lund Rocklin
CD 05 Lindsay Herrick Sacramento
CD 05 Matthew Wheeler Sacramento
CD 05 Alyson Willey Sacramento
CD 06 Dominic Foppoli Windsor
CD 06 Mike Harris Petaluma
CD 06 Cathie Warner San Anselmo
CD 07 Kathy Bradshaw Pinole
CD 07 James Diaz Clayton
CD 07 Michael Gomez Vallejo
CD 08 Debra England San Francisco
CD 08 Julia Mitchell San Francisco
CD 08 Joseph Yew Jr. San Francisco
CD 09 Claudia Bermúdez Alameda
CD 09 Igor Birman Oakland
CD 09 Darrel Ng Sacramento
CD 10 Vishwas More Alamo
CD 10 Patsy Ronat Lafayette
CD 10 Anne White Livermore
CD 11 James Dutra Sacramento
CD 11 Maria England Lodi
CD 11 Robert Naylor Carmichael
CD 12 Catherine Brinkman Foster City
CD 12 Deborah Wilder Foster City
CD 12 Pablo Wong San Francisco
CD 13 David Howell Fremont
CD 13 Rafael Icaza Newark
CD 13 Sally Swanson Livermore
CD 14 Williams Butcher Palo Alto
CD 14 John Gable Portola Valley
CD 14 Denis Hiller Mountain View
CD 15 Molly Cogan Belmont
CD 15 Margo McCullough Santa Clara
CD 15 Susan Yee Santa Clara
CD 16 Paul Higgins Campbell
CD 16 Mark Patrosso San Jose
CD 16 Dottie Stewart Gilroy
CD 17 Paul Bruno Monterey
CD 17 Jean Hurd Pebble Beach
CD 17 Jennifer Zapata Hollister
CD 18 William Mattos Newman
CD 18 Jack Mobley Merced
CD 18 Michael Nelson Atwater
CD 19 Doris Dingle Fresno
CD 19 Jerry Duncan Fresno
CD 19 Charlene Petitt Chowchilla
CD 20 Kathy Burk Fresno
CD 20 Kevin Jenkins Hanford
CD 20 Joseph Ortiz Selma
CD 21 Cyndi Belmont Visalia
CD 21 Mariann Hedstrom Visalia
CD 21 Karen Spencer Fresno
CD 22 Margaret Abernathy Bakersfield
CD 22 Edie Knight Atascadero
CD 22 Joy Stewart Bakersfield
CD 23 Arlene Gonzales-Gee Pismo Beach
CD 23 Marian Koonce Santa Barbara
CD 23 Nicholas Romero San Diego
CD 24 Alexandra Dymond Camarillo
CD 24 Elaine McKearn Thousand Oaks
CD 24 Peggy Sadler Simi Valley
CD 25 Terry Caldwell Victorville
CD 25 Shirley Husar Leona Valley
CD 25 Thaddeus Taylor Bishop
CD 26 Robert Dutton Rancho Cucamonga
CD 26 Burton Southard Alta Loma
CD 26 Audrey Voigt Upland
CD 27 Russell Doe Sylmar
CD 27 Carol Newman Encino
CD 27 Caroline Whitaker Winnetka
CD 28 David Hernandez Valley Village
CD 28 Mary Ling Toluca Lake
CD 28 David Rappel Encino
CD 29 Tirso del Junco Pasadena
CD 29 Lynn Gabriel Pasadena
CD 29 Sophie Wong Monterey Park
CD 30 Navid Sharafatian California
CD 30 Marcella Sutton Woodland Hills
CD 30 Carole Wade Los Angeles
CD 31 Arlene Guzman Los Angeles
CD 31 William Kil Los angeles
CD 31 Luis Vega Los Angeles
CD 32 Lisa Avila Monterey Park
CD 32 James Boyd Monterey Park
CD 32 Donna Jimenez Los Angeles
CD 33 Melissa Gluck La Canada
CD 33 Andrew Kim Los Angeles
CD 33 Joel Strom Los Angeles
CD 34 Clay Blackmer Simi Valley
CD 34 Roy Wuchitech Pasadena
CD 34 Sherry Yi Los Angeles
CD 35 Ella Avery-Smothers Los Angeles
CD 35 Brenda Green Los Angeles
CD 35 Jonathan Kaji Gardena
CD 36 Stephen Kinney Redondo Beach
CD 36 Phil Kurzner Marina del Rey
CD 36 Cathy Shortridge Redondo Beach
CD 37 Paul Blanco Long Beach
CD 37 Tod Burnett Long Beach
CD 37 Oni Vitandham Signal hill
CD 38 Robert Carpenter Pomona
CD 38 Vincent House La Puente
CD 38 Norman Hsu Hacienda Heights
CD 39 Brenda Cruz Lakewood
CD 39 John Hensley Cerritos
CD 39 Kelly Schilperoort Seattle
CD 40 Larry Dick Orange
CD 40 Patricia Shuff Fullerton
CD 40 Katerina Tavoularis Orange
CD 41 Bill Leonard Sacramento
CD 41 Audra Piorkowski Hesperia
CD 41 Charlene Stover Hemet
CD 42 Albert Chang Rowland Heights
CD 42 Cathy Daugherty Anaheim
CD 42 William De La Peña Whittier
CD 43 Debra Dorst-Porada Ontario
CD 43 Kara Dutton Rancho Cucamonga
CD 43 Alan Wapner Ontario
CD 44 Peter Esquivel Riverside
CD 44 Sue Fisher Menifee
CD 44 Jeff Miller Corona
CD 45 Ignacio Del Rio Palm Desert
CD 45 Roxanne Petteway Murrieta
CD 45 Joyce Tucker Newport Beach
CD 46 Brian Bennett Long Beach
CD 46 Marilyn Palarea Long Beach
CD 46 Elizabeth Szu Rancho Palos Verdes
CD 47 Scott Allen San Diego
CD 47 Ky Ngo Garden Grove
CD 47 Van Tran Garden Grove
CD 48 Jo Ellen Allen Newport Beach
CD 48 Anna Bryson Dana Park
CD 48 Mary Young Aliso Viejo
CD 49 Teresa Dix Wildomar
CD 49 Adele Harrison Temecula
CD 49 Mimi Johnson San Clemente
CD 50 Mary Humphrey Carlsbad
CD 50 Shirley Kaltenborn San Diego
CD 50 Robin Parsky Rancho Santa Fe
CD 51 Carol Cole Los Angeles
CD 51 Camille Cowlishaw Chula Vista
CD 51 Jon Edney El Centro
CD 52 Michael Davidson San Diego
CD 52 Carol Reed El Cajon
CD 52 Christine Rubin San Diego
CD 53 Corinne Fleming La Jolla
CD 53 Kourosh Hangafarin Rancho Santa Fe
CD 53 Corday Iribe Anne San Diego

New York New York

I'm on my way. Come back here for all the latest scoops on the convention.

See you at the Marriott Marquis or on the floor ;^D

Are Kerry's Journals Dummied Up?

Michelle Malkin offers a letter from Viet Nam Vet, Terry Sater. He points out some obvious errors in Kerry's bio, Tour of Duty, which author Douglas Brinkley has stated were based on Kerry's journal's.

On page 179, there is a reference to an incident that occurred on October 14th. Page 181 begins with; "Only a few weeks later, Kerry, on a PCF-44 patrol, observed four troop battalions from the Ninth Infantry Division at Dong Tam and five Mobile Riverine Force squadrons staging an assault for the benefit of Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. "To facilitate putting on a good show, an area was picked out for the landing where the chance of guerilla contact was minimal." Kerry sneered. "Nothing was to mess up the show for the secretary of defense." I was with River Assault Squadron 13 during this time period. Melvin Laird was the secretary of defense from January 22, 1969 to January 29, 1973. At the high point, there were only four squadrons of the Mobile Riverine Force. The four squadrons were split into two larger groups; "Group Alpha" and "Group Bravo", in early summer, of 1968, spread out over different parts of the Mekong Delta. All four squadrons were never pulled together to put on a show for Melvin Laird.

Kerry has now twice blamed actions on the Nixon administration that took place before Nixon was inaugurated. If the journals were written in real time, how would he know that Melvin Laird was going to be nominated and confirmed as Secretary of Defense? If he had written about Cambodia in real time, wouldn't it have come up during Kerry's testimony before the Senate?

What if Kerry wrote the journals long after he got back to the United States, in 1977 or 1978? His anger at Nixon could have clouded his memory and he got important details wrong.

Perhaps there is a less sinister explanation, but I can't think of it.

Thanks to Miss Attila for the head's up.

Kerry Wants to suppress Free Speech

I had a discussion with my office lefty this afternoon. He was whining ...blah blah blah...Unconscionable...fighting Viet Nam all over again...rich Republican funding. I replied "I can't believe John Kerry is opposed to Freedom of Speech. Those veterans have the right to their opinions, and to express their opinions, this is America!" He said it's so inflammatory...blah blah blah...no proof...Bush should stop them. I said, "Are you suggesting that the President of the United States should tell American citizens that they are not entitled to speak up?" He said but they're crazy...blah blah blah...lies...atleast he went not like Bush...I said "Freedom of Speech is not just for popular ideas, politically correct ideas, these men are entitled to tell their story. You don't have to believe them, but government officials should not try to silence them."

He crumpled like a (insert relevant cliche)

Score one for the Lass!

Party Blogging

Attention all convention bloggers!

The Irish Lass will be celebrating her one year blogaversary at the Irish Pub across from the Marriott Marquis at Times Square on Sunday night, August 29th. Please join me for a pint.

Also, We need recommendations. Does anyone know of a fabulous piano bar? Great shopping? Favorite restaurants?

Two Handsome Guys



I bet I know who the Boston Golfer, Scott DeSano, is voting for.

The Book Club

Almost finished with Michael Barone's new book, Hard America, Soft America, Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future.



I really love Michael Barone. He's smart and so very interesting. One of my favorite books is The New Americans. I love the fact that on TV he's not a blowhard. I love that he writes about obscure ideas.

The 1978 tax law lowered the maximum capital gains tax rate to 25 percent---a change which did much to invigorate financial markets in the 1980s. But invigorating them even more, at least in the long run, was another provision of the law which attracted little attention, Section 401(k). At the time most workers relied for retirement income on Social Security, personal savings, and defined benefit pensions from their employers---pensions which tied them to one employer for at least 10 years and which obliged the employers to set aside huge funds for future paments, funds which were usually invested conservatively. In the years after passage of 401(k), many employers, to the surpise of experts, started switching from defined benefit plans to 401(k)s and other defined contribution pension plans, in which employers made one-time contributions to investment accounts contolled by individual employees. Internal Revenue Service regulations in the 1980s encouraged many employers to switch to defined contribution plans, and they were accepted by employees. These plans seemed more attractive aftr the highly visible failure of a few large defined benefit plans, including the LTV steel pension fund and the United Mine Workers' hospital fund. By 19898, the number of people covered by defined contribution plans had risen to 50 million, from 19 million in 1980, the number of people covered by defined benefits pensions had fallen to 23 million, from 30 million in 1980.

The result was the infusion of vast sums into the financial markets in a way that helped change them in a force Hardening the private-sector economy. Individuals were now accountable for their own retirement funds, and in investing 401(k) money they could be less conservative and more venturesome than trustees of corporate pension funds. They could put their money into mutual funds whose managers' careers depended on achieving good rates of return. The growth of 401(k)s nurtured in increasing numbers an investor frame of mind, which appears to have motivated many more people to invest in the financial markets. Political pollsters noted that in 1992 only about 20 percent of voters were investors, while in 2002 about 60 percent were.

Reading this made me think of my old friend Ed Zschau, who was instrumental in getting the capital gains tax reduction law passed. Legend had it that he wrote a song, The Capital Gains Tax Blues and wandered the halls of Washington singing the blues.

Zschau can do it if anybody can. After all, he's already built one successful company, System Industries Inc., which he founded in 1968 and grew to $60 million. Along the way, he emerged as a star of the American Electronics Association, leading the fight to reduce the capital-gains tax in 1978. That role helped propel him to a congressional seat in 1982. Four years later, he won the Republican nomination for the Senate in a tough primary and came within 104,000 votes of defeating Cranston.

That made me think of the Zschau campaign in 1986. Again Ed had a song.

Zchau Campaign Song (to a tune he made up)

This is the year, hip, hip, hooray for our Ed
He's our hero, cutting deficits to zero.
He'll teach Californians how, to say and spell Zschau.
A Prof, a businessman, a Dad is he,
Born and Bred in High Technology
And in Washington, he's working so we
Can have peace and prosperity.

Thank you all for everything you've done
Come November when we say we won
We'll have done it in a way that is fun
Good night and God Bless everyone.



P.S. Ed Zschau played rugby at Princeton. I don't think he ever played against George W. Bush because he's a little older.

Sunday Surfing

I was looking for some mindless entertainment and ran across CSPAN, replaying the Dick Cavett - John Kerry Show. How devastating to John Kerry to have people watch this show.

Shocking

John Kerry thought that the assassination of a few thousand of our South Vietnamese allies would be a small price to pay to get our troops home.

MR. KERRY: //I realize that there would be certain political assassinations, and that might take place. And I think when you balance that against the fact that the United States has now accounted for some 18,600 people through its own Phoenix program, which is a program of assassination, and when you balance that off against the morality of the kind of bombing we've been doing in Laos and the kind of destruction wholesale of the country of Vietnam, which amounts to some 155,000 civilians a year killed, then I think to talk about four or five thousand people is lunacy in terms of the overall argument and what we're seeking in Southeast Asia.

35 years later, he thinks that he will be more successful with Iraq, because he will be able to get cooperation from our allies. Maybe the allies will never realize that he would abandon them in a snap if they became inconvenient.

The show is going to replay again tonight in about an hour.