Politics, Government & Public Policy: May 2004 Archives
How come, even with all the mounting evidence (pun intended), no one is questioning the wisdom of having women serve in the same military units as men? The abuse in Abu Ghraib prison appears to be intimately linked to illegal sexual relations between solders in the Military Police unit supervising the captives.
(More of what I've written about women at war.)
As a matter of public policy -- not morality -- does it seem beneficial to give official recognition and social benefits to relationships that are vastly more likely to fail than are heterosexual marriages (which already fail all-too-frequently)?
A new study of same-sex marriages and divorces in Sweden finds that married male couples were 50 percent more likely to divorce than married heterosexual couples; and lesbian couples were 167 percent more likely to divorce, compared with heterosexual couples over a similar period of time.
It looks like the vast majority of people John Kerry served with in Vietnam don't think he'd be a good president. Isn't this the type of bombshell that would have been more politically valuable in the week before the election?
John Kerry's former swift boat commanders and colleagues on Tuesday described the presumptive Democrat nominee as a self-absorbed and devious sailor during the Vietnam War who was there merely to advance a future political career. ...Pretty damning. A true leader needs to be able to work well as a subordinate, and if Kerry's peers and superiors have such a negative impression of him I think it's pretty relevant.More than 200 veterans have signed a letter from the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth seeking the release of records. Retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann commanded the swift boat force during Kerry's tour of duty.
"He arrived in country with a strong anti-Vietnam War bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political future," Hoffmann said. "He was aggressive, but vain and prone to impulsive judgment, often with disregard to specific tactical assignments. He was a loose cannon. ...
Another officer, retired Capt. Charley Plumly, said Kerry was under his command for two or three naval operations. He criticized Kerry's attitude and behavior.
"Kerry would be described as devious, self-absorbing, manipulative, disdain for authority, disruptive," Plumly said, "but the most common phrase you would hear [was] 'requires constant supervision.' "
From a NYT article about Kerry's floundering campaign:
At a recent meeting of senior staff members, Democrats said, Mr. Kerry's aides became entangled in a lengthy debate over what might seem to be a less than urgent issue: whether they should send a Democratic operative to Bush rallies dressed as Pinocchio, a chicken or a mule, to illustrate various lines of attacks Democrats want to use against Mr. Bush. (They say they want to portray him as a liar, a draft avoider and stubborn.)If a Democrat political operative were to do that, they'd probably be mostly ignored by everyone except the media.
But try to imagine a Republican operative doing something similar at this rally... they'd be torn to shreds.
