Don’t Mess With Texas (REALLY Really)

Okay. Grant our Republican friends in Texas this much: they don’t mince words and they believe what they believe (as they are entitled to).

Still, wait until you read this. And remember that one of the two guys running for President actually is a Republican from Texas.

But first . . . I had this slated to run last week and it got bumped and now you all know it – but I want to run it anyway.

From Thursday’s Washington Post, by staff writer Michael Dobbs:

Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry’s most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events.

In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has strongly disputed Kerry’s claim that the Massachusetts Democrat’s boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day.

But Thurlow’s military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to “enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire” directed at “all units” of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat “despite enemy bullets flying about him.”

☞ So all the guys who actually served on the boat with him vouch for John Kerry . . . and the guy whose life he saved remembers it vividly (as how could he not?) . . . but we are to believe Larry Thurlow, that actually no one was being fired on that day and nothing heroic happened? Or that the Viet Cong had chosen to fire at all the boats except John Kerry’s?

Where have we come to in this country when people would not just look at the facts and conclude, as Senator John McCain has, that these charges are ‘dishonest and dishonorable’ and just move on from there?

Where have we come to when a guy who did all he could to avoid service in Vietnam, and seems to have skipped a good chunk of his service altogether refuses to disavow a campaign to assassinate the character of a man who volunteered for the front lines?

Or maybe Andy Borowitz has it right. Maybe – if John Kerry actually went to Vietnam at all – he only did so to avoid serving in the Alabama Nation Guard . . .

August 12, 2004
GOP: KERRY WENT TO VIETNAM TO AVOID
SERVING IN ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD

Guard-Dodging Charges Haunt Campaign

A new Republican-financed negative ad is accusing Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry of fleeing to Vietnam to avoid serving in the Alabama National Guard.

The ad, airing in most of the so-called battleground states, attempts to contrast Sen. Kerry’s alleged guard-dodging with the storied Alabama National Guard heroism of the Republican nominee, President George W. Bush.

In the ad, a narrator asks, ‘When the Alabama National Guard called young Americans to serve, where was John Kerry? Thousands of miles away, in Vietnam.’

Okay . . . at last . . . finally . . .

DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS

These are excerpts from the 2004 Texas Republican Party Platform:

The Republican Party of Texas affirms that the United States of America is a Christian nation, and the public acknowledgement of God is undeniable in our history. Our nation was founded on fundamental Judeo-Christian principles based on the Holy Bible. The Party affirms freedom of religion, and rejects efforts of courts and secular activists who seek to remove and deny such a rich heritage from our public lives.

Early Childhood Development -The Party believes that parents are best suited to train their children in their early development years (ages 0 through 5) and opposes mandatory pre-school and Kindergarten. The Party urges Congress to repeal government-sponsored programs that deal with early childhood development, and phase them out as soon as possible.

Classroom Discipline – We urge the Texas Legislature, Governor, Commissioner of Education and State Board of Education to remind administrators and school boards that corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas.

Party believes theories of life origins and environmental theories should be taught only as theories not fact; that social studies and other curriculum should not be based on any one theory.

We call on the Legislature to end all state funding of higher educations grants and scholarships.

The Party believes it is in the best interest of the citizens of the United States that we immediately rescind our membership in, as well as all financial and military contributions to, the United Nations.

We believe that human life is sacred, created in the image of God. Life begins at the moment of fertilization and ends at the point of natural death. All innocent human life must be protected.

We oppose the Endangered Species Act.

The Party calls for restoration of the plaques honoring the Confederate Widow’s Pension Fund contribution that were illegally removed from the Texas Supreme Court and other state buildings.

The Party calls upon the Texas Legislature and the United States Congress to repeal any and all laws that infringe upon the right of individual citizens to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution; and to reject the establishment of any mechanism to process, license, record, register or monitor the ownership of guns.

Our Party pledges to exert its influence to restore the original intent of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and dispel the myth of the separation of Church and State.

We also deplore forced sensitivity training and urge the repeal of laws and mandates requiring such training. We believe the Hate Crimes Law is unnecessary, and that it unconstitutionally creates a special class of victims. We urge that it be repealed immediately.

We oppose the recognition of and granting of benefits to people who represent themselves as domestic partners without being legally married.

No fault divorce laws have caused untold hardships on American families, by reducing their standard of living, and by harming the emotional and physical well-being of children. It has contributed to an increase in government assistance of all kinds. We call upon the Texas Legislature to rescind no-fault divorce laws.

Homosexuality – The Party believes that the practice of sodomy tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle in our public education and policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, recognition, or privileges including, but not limited to, marriage between persons of the same sex, custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insurance or retirement benefits. We oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.

The Party supports legislation prohibiting experimentation with human fetal tissue and prohibiting the use of human fetal tissue or organs for experimentation or commercial sale. Until such time that fetal tissue harvesting is illegal, any product containing fetal tissue shall be so labeled.

Stem Cell Research – We commend the President for banning the government funding of human embryo stem cell harvesting and call upon the US Congress to pass legislation supporting the President. The Party opposes any legislation that would allow for the destruction of human embryos for medical research.

The Party believes that commercial surrogacy is a legal and ethical free-fall and the rental of a woman’s womb makes child bearing a mere commodity to the highest bidder.

Behavior has personal and social consequences. We call upon the United States Public Health Service and all states to declare HIV a “dangerous, yet preventable, infectious, communicable disease.”

The Party supports amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act to exclude from its definition those persons with infectious diseases, substance addiction, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, homosexual practices and mental stress, thereby reducing abuse of the Act.

On a lighter note . . . here’s a great column that explains Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, and Skype (I had never even heard of Skype).