Josh Marshall makes good points re: SmearVets

[DemBones DemBones]

Here's part of what he says today:


"The military records all back up Kerry. Back in the old days -- i.e., last month --official military records use to be considered at least presumptively accurate. Now, everyone knows or should know that every after-action report or medal citation isn't necessarily the product of an exhaustive investigation. Yet, they're not meaningless. At a minimum one would assume that the burden of proof would lie with those who dispute their veracity."

"So, as I say, all the Navy records support Kerry's account. On top of that, all the people who were in Kerry's boat support his version of events. Think about that for a minute. All the people in Kerry's boat means all the people closest to the action in question support Kerry's account. Others who were tens or hundreds of yards away, or not even present, contradict his account. Is it really so hard to distinguish between the quality of evidence and testimony that both sides are bringing to the table?"

"(One could, of course, add to this the fact that two people -- one of whom the Post interviewed -- from the boat behind Kerry's have now come forward to vouch for his account. And the folks doing the accusing are hardly disinterested observers since they are quite open in their contempt and animosity toward Kerry over his post-war anti-war political activism.)"

"If this were a civil suit, and this was accusers' evidence, it wouldn't even pass the laugh test. And yet the Post portrays the two 'sides' as if they have equal standing. As though it were he said, she said."



Yes, in a way this is obvious -- but is anybody saying it? We should point this out to the media and anyone else we can talk to. The burden of proof should be on these SmearVet morons, not on Kerry.

[meti57b]

1. Thanks .... that looks like the concise, to-the-point reply ....

for when you need to make the point and can see you're not going to get a lot of talk time to do it.

[vicman]

2. The damage reports

put the final nail in Thurlow's coffin. Kerry's boat suffered damage that could only have been incurred from an explosion. It was inoperable the day after Rassmen was pulled form the water. And at least one other boat showed evidence of hits from small-arms fire (are 30 caliber machine gun bullets considered small arms?). Thurlow and the people who back him up are miserable, low-life liars. That's not an accusation, but merely the facts.