The first is a photo GWB took of himself which makes any fairy tale of Kerry's Vietnam home movies totally irrelevant. Although this story's been bubbling under for a few days, it's breaking out now. Bush essentially played costume party in this "military" photo, and Raw Story's John Byrne picks up the story.
A closer examination of a photograph included in President George W. Bush's Air Force records, released by the White House earlier this year, shows then-Second Lieutenant Bush wearing an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award which he never earned.The other story is the forging of signatures for the Swift Boat Liars' cause. This - if anyone chooses to pay attention to it - should put these clowns down for the count. Well, I can dream, can't I?
Additionally, Lieutenant Bush would not have been authorized to wear the ribbon temporarily, the Air Force Personnel Center said in an email.
"There isn't a 'temporary' wear of AF Outstanding Unit Awards for AF personnel," the Air Force Personnel Center stated.
"I've never heard of temporary wear," added Assistant Reagan Defense Secretary for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Logistics Lawrence J. Korb, whose job included overseeing the Air Force Reserves from 1981-1985, in a telephone interview Wednesday. "The unit didn't get this until 1975."
The Air Force Public Affairs office tried to answer an inquiry, but went silent and said they just didn't have enough information to answer after they heard the query was on President Bush. They deferred comment to the White House, and supplied the White House comment phone line.
RAW STORY reached the White House Press Office through the main switchboard, and a spokeswoman said they would look into it and return the call as soon as possible.
"We're very short staffed this week," she said, referring to the Republican National Convention.
Columbus swift boat vet angry about letter
COLUMBUS - Swift boat veteran Bob Anderson of Columbus is ticked.
It bothers him that Sen. John Kerry's swift boat history has become such a political hot potato. But he's even more irritated that his name was included - without his permission - on a letter used to discredit Kerry.
"I'm pretty nonpolitical," the 56-year-old Anderson said Tuesday. So, when he found out last week that his name was one of about 300 signed on a letter questioning Kerry's service, he was "flabbergasted."
"It's kind of like stealing my identity," said Anderson, who spent a year on a swift boat as an engine man and gunner.
