tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post116241720270667242..comments2023-08-18T04:37:47.001-04:00Comments on Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie: I don't care what John Kerry said.Kelly Sedingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162649364522586802006-11-04T09:09:00.000-05:002006-11-04T09:09:00.000-05:00Of course Kerry exudes arrogance. He's a Senator w...Of <I>course</I> Kerry exudes arrogance. He's a Senator who ran for President of the US; such people are by definition arrogant. Any person who willingly stands up and says "I should be the leader of the free world!" is arrogant, pure and simple. Not that this is a bad thing necessarily, but I find accusations of arrogance on both sides to be fairly uninteresting. (Or do you not think that George W. Bush is arrogant as well?)<BR/><BR/>That YouTube clip doesn't strike me as any kind of example of this contempt for the troops you insist is in Kerry's heart. He's clearly saying that our troops should not be conducting policing activities that should be the job of Iraqi authorities, and it's also fairly clear that he's not suggesting that "the troops" are doing all this willy-nilly, but on the basis of orders that are part of a bad policy. Did he use strong language (the verb "terrorizing")? Yes, but it's obvious that he did so meaning to convey the wrongness of the policy.<BR/><BR/>The caption on the video seems to suggest that Kerry thinks that our troops in Iraq are just roaming all over the place, killin' and terrorizin'. That's not supported by the video, and I hold this as another example of people hearing what they <I>want</I> to hear from Kerry rather than what he's really saying.<BR/><BR/>I think I'm going to shut off the comments to this post now, by the way. There's no point in continuing this, for all the reasons cited in my post. Kerry's not running for anything, and he doesn't speak for any Democrat save himself.Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162619881131720932006-11-04T00:58:00.000-05:002006-11-04T00:58:00.000-05:00"Kerry, who went to an Ivy League institution and ..."Kerry, who went to an Ivy League institution and then enlisted afterwards, believes that enlisted men and women are just the dolts of society is the real stretch."<BR/><BR/>As a technical gnit to be picked, Kerry did not enlist, but rather accepted a commission. Historically, commissions were granted to landed gentry types as a sort of evolution of knighthood, while enlisting was, historically, reserved for poor, uneducated types. As far as such traditions go, there is a subdued two way vein of distrust-a tiny fraction of officers see enlisted guys as semi-literate ne'er do wells, and a small fraction of the enlisted guys see officers as effete snobs incapable of any practical task like changing a tire. Even in units where respect flows to and from the officer and enlisted corps, there are still two distinct communities there.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I really don't care for Senator Kerry, and I will undoubtably (despite my best efforts to the contrary) allow that distaste to color my perceptions. He really does strike me as the sort of officer that would have perceived his enlisted guys as the semi-literate thugs.<BR/><BR/>He has historically said things that cast troops in a bad light, some of it cited by the swift boat types, some of it on recent (2004) national media. See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFFk9qy_SBw<BR/><BR/>The guy exudes arrogance-is it difficult to believe that he had little more than contempt for his militarily ranked inferiors?<BR/><BR/>"getting better grades than Kerry doesn't prove that Bush is smarter than Kerry. All it proves is that he got better grades. Big whoop."<BR/><BR/>True that.LC Scottyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09372776060364698141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162595306252566942006-11-03T18:08:00.000-05:002006-11-03T18:08:00.000-05:00Insulting the President is more in-bounds than ins...Insulting the President is more in-bounds than insulting the troops, but even so, getting better grades than Kerry doesn't prove that Bush is smarter than Kerry. All it proves is that he got better grades. Big whoop. It's pretty clear that Kerry wasn't talking about just getting good grades in school.<BR/><BR/>But where is this "disdain for the military" on Kerry's part? I've sure never seen it, and I see no reason for not believing that the released remarks weren't the actual text. Do you have any evidence for suspecting otherwise, other than simply not liking Kerry?<BR/><BR/>That's what it all boils down to: I've yet to see any real argument that doesn't ultimately reduce to "I don't like Kerry, so I don't believe him". I don't particularly like Kerry either (for completely different reasons), but I see no reason to doubt his word here. This is all just right-wingers really desperate for something to go their way in an election cycle.Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162593953299034602006-11-03T17:45:00.000-05:002006-11-03T17:45:00.000-05:00It could be a botched joke, but given his history ...It could be a botched joke, but given his history of disdain for the military, I'm not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Particularly not when he hasn't acknowledged that his remark, as it came out, was insulting and hurtful. All he was willing to do was write that "right-wing nuts," among others, had "misinterpreted" his remarks.<BR/><BR/>If his prepared remarks had been released before the speed, as is sometimes done, I'd believe it was a misspeaking. As it is, I look on the release as a CYA measure - I've no way of knowing that those were his <I>actual</I> prepared remarks.<BR/><BR/>And to make such remarks about the President, who went to the same Ivy league school during the same time period and got better grades, makes Kerry's explanation an insult, as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162520581725105262006-11-02T21:23:00.000-05:002006-11-02T21:23:00.000-05:00Lynn, Kerry's aides distributed his prepared remar...Lynn, Kerry's aides distributed his <A HREF="http://www.prospect.org/horsesmouth/2006/11/post_417.html#014261" REL="nofollow">prepared remarks from that speech</A> the day after his gaffe, and they make crystal clear that it was an attack on Bush and not the troops. It's not a stretch of any type; it's the simple truth. To continue to insist that Kerry, who went to an Ivy League institution and then enlisted afterwards, believes that enlisted men and women are just the dolts of society is the real stretch.Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162481783926696222006-11-02T10:36:00.000-05:002006-11-02T10:36:00.000-05:00Living in the Virginia area, I'm still waiting to ...Living in the Virginia area, I'm still waiting to see my first POSITIVE TV ad for either candidate on TV. I will declare that one the winner. Sadly, I think the second Tuesday in November will pass before this happens. Politics suck.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02002882836281762310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162433539546832762006-11-01T21:12:00.000-05:002006-11-01T21:12:00.000-05:00Unfortunately, we won't be pulling a lever here in...Unfortunately, we won't be pulling a lever here in Virginia. We'll be mashing a touch screen electronic voting machine. Help Merikuh vote and all that.<BR/><BR/>Good night and good luck.SAWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01178123919841972341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162421059456855132006-11-01T17:44:00.000-05:002006-11-01T17:44:00.000-05:00He was speaking to students somewhere (a college, ...He was speaking to students somewhere (a college, I think), and he said something like "Keep studying and learning, because if you don't, you might get stuck in Iraq", which can be construed as "Dumb kids who don't do their homework end up as soldiers in Iraq". He maintains, plausibly, that what he was supposed to say was something like "Keep studying and learning, because if you don't, you might get <B>us</B> stuck in Iraq", meaning, you might end up doing dumb things as President.<BR/><BR/>And the guy's commanding all this attention despite <I>not running for anything</I>. Arrgghhhh!Kelly Sedingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10704114189919711467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3338557.post-1162420519327719862006-11-01T17:35:00.000-05:002006-11-01T17:35:00.000-05:00What did John Kerry say?What did John Kerry say?Call me Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17704646008578216859noreply@blogger.com