<HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html;= charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000;= FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7= rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000= size=2> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV>What utter bull****!   "I've been= hearing..."....RUMORMONGERING!   </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>David Ilvedson</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV align=left> </DIV> <DIV align=left>----- Original message= ----------------------------------------><BR>From: <<A= href="mailto:Erwinspiano@aol.com">Erwinspiano@aol.com</A>><BR= >To: <<A= href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Rec= eived: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 10:26:04 EDT<BR>Subject: Re: OT Political= - {my last word}</DIV> <DIV align=left><BR> <FONT= size=3>       Conrad</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Thanks for the unusually political post.= It's always more personal when you & others especially= Military folks  are on the recieving end of the kinds of= actions & words  being discussed here in regards to= J.F.Kerry.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>   I've been hearing that his picture= is in the Vietnamese Museum as a hero so I guess they like him= for being a patriot there as well as some do here.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Thanks for your service to this= country.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3>  Dale</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px;= BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR:= transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>At 17:38= 10/28/2004, you wrote:<BR>>If you know something about John= Kerry being a traitor you should report<BR>>him--and= soon.  He may be elected President.  It is a crime,= afterall,<BR>>and I'm sure Mr. Ashcroft would want to look at= your hard evidence.<BR>>Don't hold back, Carl, do your= duty.  Withholding evidence of capital<BR>>crime might= just be a crime itself--especially one as serious= as<BR>>treason.<BR>><BR>>David= Love<BR>>davidlovepianos@comcast.net<BR><BR><BR>David,<BR><BR= >Speaking out politically is WAY different than my norm, and the= way this <BR>eternal campaign has polarised the country will= probably lose me some <BR>friends on this list, but I feel I= must - please indulge me this last time.<BR><BR>I'm not Carl,= but _I_ do not need to check websites to determine Kerry's= <BR>culpability, but I may dig into my old seabag, pull out my= Bluejacket's <BR>Manual and rely on my first hand experience of= the effects of Kerry.<BR><BR>If you really still trust websites= at this point, perhaps you should <BR>re-read Kerry's own words= during his Senate testimony, and also afterwards, <BR>where he= admits participating in the same atrocities which he said were= <BR>happening.  Or... did he say he was just reporting what= other vets had told <BR>him.  Oh... that's right... he said= both.  Which version was purgery?<BR><BR>Since I was in the= area at the time (Tonkin Gulf) and in the same <BR>organization= (US Navy '67-'73) and trying to live under the same rules= <BR>(UCMJ) [Uniform Code of Military Justice], let me try to= help you with you <BR>some of the military rules with regard to= his traitorous activities.<BR><BR>Whilst Kerry was still a= commissioned officer and ostensibly bound by the <BR>UCMJ, he= visited with members of the Viet Cong in Paris.  How a= Lieutenant <BR>(Paygrade O-2or3 -- i.e. next to the bottom of= officer ranks since Ensign <BR>was routinely skipped) = thought he could effect peace, who knows? However, <BR>there is= a term called "consorting with the enemy".  In a war, the= idea <BR>generally is that, if you meet an enemy, you do all you= can to kill him. <BR>It's brutal, but that IS what war IS. {Note= to Bill Clinton - there's that <BR>word again}  As an= officer, it is your sworn DUTY to do that and lead <BR>others to= do the same. You don't generally sit down to croissants and= <BR>caviar with the enemy unless you are a general, admiral or= head of <BR>state.  Money talks, I suppose, as Saddam knew= in his dealings with the <BR>same multiple UN members which= Kerry thinks he'd get as allies.<BR><BR>I recall several times= in my military career having these things drilled <BR>into my= head, so I don't need to consult a website to tell me that, if I= as <BR>a 2nd class petty officer (only E-5 or middle of= non-commissioned officers, <BR>having turned down E-6= opportunities to return to civilian life) had done <BR>the same= thing, I would still be in Fort Leavenworth for it, if not in an= <BR>unmarked grave.<BR><BR>How good was he for the morale of= troops/sailors in those years?  He <BR>certainly didn't= make any points with me or my shipmates.  In the spring of= <BR>1970, when my ship got back from it's tour of duty in the= war zone - with <BR>_IT'S_ current mission accomplished and= signs celebrating that fact - I did <BR>a lot of traveling= around southern and, later, northern California.  I went= <BR>to concerts at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (free or at a= discount), <BR>hitchhiked, went to movies and church and got= invited into strangers homes <BR>for home cooked meals, even got= some dates after those meals.  ALL WHILE IN= <BR>UNIFORM.<BR><BR>In the fall of 1972, when I got back from my= second WestPac "cruise", <BR>sailors were, by that time, again= allowed to grow beards and have (even <BR>encouraged to have)= civilian clothes onboard and allowed (even encouraged) <BR>to go= on "liberty" in civvies.    WHY?  Because, by= then, people were <BR>shouting the "baby killer' and other= phrases which Kerry had made so <BR>popular in= 1971.<BR><BR>Being IN DANGER while wearing your uniform IN YOUR= OWN COUNTRY is NOT good <BR>for morale!  Having a long hair= wig to escape military haircut detection, <BR>and getting spat= upon for defending your country is NOT good for morale (I= <BR>did and I was)!   _Trust me_,   not some= New York Times/CBS fabrifacts.  It <BR>took me 20 years= before I felt comfortable even joining the VFW.  I lay= <BR>that sputum in my face directly on Kerry's doorstep. His= statements were <BR>not a little over the top.  They were= slanderous and self-incriminating, if <BR>you could believe any= of them.  They were certainly demoralising, and a= <BR>comfort to the enemy, whether true or not.<BR><BR>The= soldiers/sailors/marines in Iraq do NOT want a POTUS/CIC= (President of <BR>the US /Commander in Chief) who is against= what they are doing in the first <BR>place.  Kerry would= have the same benefit to military morale in 2005 as he <BR>did= in 1971.<BR><BR>Voting to approve military action and then= voting against support for the <BR>same action does not instill= a feeling of comfort among those who depend on <BR>that support= for their lives, either.<BR><BR>My 10¢.<BR><BR>Conrad= Hoffsommer<BR>-Former Machinist's Mate 2nd Class -= USN<BR>-Nuclear power plant operator aboard USS Long Beach= (CGN-9) 1970-73<BR><BR>Yup, it's personal.<BR><BR>over and= out.</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>