I don't believe that Kerry flipped off a guy at the wall.

[FatSlob]

Is there ANY other source with this story? Obviously, Newsmax is a bit right wing.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/5/31/225546.shtml

I bet it didn't happen.

[billybob537]

1. No picture?

No credability!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. No f'ing way

Otherwise, this would be on EVERY news channel.

[trotsky]

3. Even if it is true,

John Kerry did the right thing. That Sampley guy is a real agitator, from what I've read.

[tridim]

4. Even if Kerry did flip the guy the bird,

he completely deserved it. I'm amazed Kerry maintained enough restraint to only flip him off. You're probably right though, if it's a newsmax exclusive chances are good that it's a total fabrication.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

5. Newsmax considers "Parisite on Society Pat Boone" to be...

"credible source".

Look on the side collums and you will see that they are
advertising "Slobering old fool Reagan" memorobilia crap.

:puke:

[Frodo]

6. I just love the double standard

A guy can stand there yelling and screaming at you in front of a bunch of kids. Call you names and insult what service you gave.

But flick him the bird? The story is all about you.

It just doesn't make sense. And no, if true - I am not defending flicking off a vet in front of the Wall on Memorial Day. That's just stupid and it makes me worry about Kerry's self control as we get further into the campaign.

But the other guy is far from blameles. He was BEGGING for it.

[hunter]

26. It's so damned hard to carry the ring, isn't it?

I myself don't "worry about Kerry's self control as we get further into the campaign."

[yardwork]

29. I don't believe it.

Sampley is a known agitator.

[Kid_A]

7. Now that's what I call journalism.

"Sampley's group, Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, has garnered huge national attention"
Yeah, I can't walk down the street without seeing a billboard for or hearing people talking about Sampley's group. The huge national attention that group has garnered is getting out of hand... :puke:

[kaitykaity]

8. Somebody please debunk this, my

favorite wingnut keeps sending me this story and I'm
getting sick of it.

:eyes:

[underpants]

16. Sounds to me like this is Sampley's account of what happened

And he couldn't spin so that he looks like a complete a** which he is.

No wonder McCain took out a restraining order against Sampley.

[JHB]

25. If it happened, there's a picture.

Come on: Presidential candidate (Democrat) goes to national monument? Lots of people take pictures of that kind of thing, regualr tourists and professional photojournalists alike. If that happened, someone has it on camera. Tell your wingnut to fork it over, or stick a fork in it. And no Photoshop jobs.

And hell, from the sound of it, if it did happen the guy's lucky he didn't get his ass kicked to jail.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. I don't believe that Bush showed up in Alabama.

That's even less as likely to have occurred.

[noonwitch]

10. I doubt Kerry flipped him the bird, but I don't doubt that that Sampley

guy is nothing but trouble. The Secret Service should have arrested him for being a public nuisance. If he had done the same thing to Bush, they would have. Bush has less of a "right" to be there than Kerry-at least Kerry did serve honorably in Vietnam. Technically, the monument is public and everyone has the right to visit it, even draft dodgers like VP Cheney.

[patriotvoice]

11. Like Bush said:

'There are some who feel like, that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is "Bring 'em on!"'

[salin]

12. LOL ... Comeon.. that account is hilarious - and no way it happened

Kerry is not prone to childish outbursts. Side comments, mumbles under the breath, perhaps. But read this paragraph... Kerry is a very composed man.

Just then Kerry - in front of the school children, other visitors and Secret Service agents - brazenly 'flashed the bird' at Sampley and then yelled out to everyone, "Sampley is a felon!"

Right. And I have some great land to sell you in the middle of a swamp.
INfact the image conjoured up, is laughable.

[FatSlob]

13. It would be hilarious, though.

If only it were acceptable behaviour to flip off assholes!

[Noxmtbnk]

14. CNN was there...

Wouldn't they have reported it if it HAD happened?

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/31/kerry.memorial/index.html

"Monday, as he left the Vietnam memorial, a woman shouted at Kerry, asking him whether he was "paying tribute to all the people you spit on." Kerry did not respond."

Doesn't sound like Kerry lost any 'composure"

[MessiahRp]

17. What angers me about the CNN article is...

Notice how they make sure to include insults hurled at Kerry by some dumb RW hack but in the linked Bush article not one criticism makes print. You certainly never hear of people being able to get personal with Bush face to face or to yell things he can hear. Free Speech Zones are a good reason why.

It's no accident that Bush only allows his fellow Republican contributors to attend any event he schedules.

I just think it's sickening that the press would print ridiculous nonsense like this about JK but leave Bush sounding as if he gave this great speech as a hero to other heroes. It's pathetic how the truth gets twisted in the RW media nowadays.

Oh and I watched Bush's speech.... maybe the most boring, vanilla Memorial Day speech ever.

Rp

[newyawker99]

20. Hi Noxmtbnk!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[gratuitous]

15. Standard response: Prove it

No picture, no credibility.

I note, however, that Sampley (according to this account) is a real brave guy, yelling and hollering at Kerry in a public place. Perhaps he'd like to go somewhere private and he and Kerry could discuss Sampley's hysterical rantings man to man? Or more likely, invertebrate to man.

[LizW]

18. Doesn't even begin to pass the smell test

First of all, if Kerry knows Sampley by sight, the you can bet the Secret Service guys do, too, and there is no way this nutcase got within 6 feet of Kerry.

I feel sorry for Sampley, he's obviously seriously unbalanced. But there should be a standard order to the Secret Service to keep this guy away from any Presidential candidates. He's desperately seeking attention and sounds delusional. The kind of person who might convince himself that he's "protecting freedom" by offing a candidate.

[CO Liberal]

19. If NewsMax Is The Only Source for a Story, Then It's a Lie

:-)

[nomatrix]

21. Who is Ted Sampley?

http://www.independentsforkerry.org/uploads/media/vvajk.html

Sampley Paid By Secret Reagan Group to Infiltrate Vet Organization?
Mr. Sampley said an organization with close ties to the White House paid him $500 to infiltrate a group of veterans who ran a vigil site near the Vietnam memorial, and that the individual who paid him was reporting back to a staff member of the Reagan National Security Council.

Sampley Offered Anti-Communist Insurgents $5,000 to Destroy Government Building in Laos
Ted Sampley, head of Homecoming II, is a Vietnam Special Forces veteran from Fayetteville, N.C. Among other things, Sampley three years ago offered anticommunist insurgents $5,000 to destroy a government building in Laos, arguing that the only way to liberate American POW's from that country was to topple the communist regime."

Sen. John McCain on Sampley-

"I am well familiar with Mr. Sampley, and I know him to be one of the most despicable people I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. I consider him a fraud who preys on the hopes of family members of missing servicemen for his own profit. He is dishonorable, an enemy of the truth, and despite his claims, he does not speak for or represent the views of all but a few veterans. The many veterans I know would think it a disgrace to be considered a comrade or supporter of Ted Sampley."

[JI7]

22. newsmax a "bit" right wing ?

it's more than a bit right wing. do a search history of their other articles.

[robbedvoter]

23. Next on Newsmax: woman lifts her skirt at Kerry - offended that he

looks (or doesn't). They are trying hard, poor things. More Kerry pics on W's site than on Kerry - what does this tell ya?

[Delano]

24. Sampley is a lying whoring asshole

If he got the bird, he deserved it, judging from the encounter as described. His behavior was extremely rude. I doubt Kerry did it, but if he did, I wouldn't blame him for being pissed at such hypocritical rudeness.

For more info on the nutty rightwing hate-vet:

http://www.miafacts.org/prankster.htm

[Rockasan]

27. The guy was so out of line it doesn't matter

Sampley, Stampley, whatever. Senator Kerry was talking to some school kids at the Wall and this guy tells him he doesn't belong there and then flashes a "Hanoi John" T-shirt in front of the kids. If the Senator lost it, I'll bet it was low-key enough that the kids never saw it.

Let me tell you something, I'm a war vet too, but the vets I know who have actually been in combat, as opposed to the fakes who troll for sympathy and cheap adulation, never go to these places in camo battle dress or boonie hats like this "Green Beret" jackass. You can't tell us from anyone else 99 times out of a hundred. If we ever do show up anywhere in uniform, it's usually in dress uniform, worn properly and respectfully. Just like our Dads and Grandads. These jerk-offs who parade around in Tiger-stripe fatigues with their medals pinned on their hats like fishing lures more than likely:

a) never served
b) did their time in some rear area
c) did their time stateside in some lame-ass billet

Bottom line, if Kerry flipped him off, I absolutely don't care.

[patriotvoice]

30. Thank you.

"... with their medals pinned on their hats like fishing lures ..."

Medals are marks of dignity and sacrifice, not fly lures you spin in your garage. They are worn respectfully on your dress uniform as a symbol of the Nation's praise for your commitment. They're not something you pull off your battle dress to catch some fish or bait chicks.

On edit:
Welcome to Democratic Underground.

[Rockasan]

32. Thanks right back at you

You know that I've probably received 10 e-mails today from guys I served with who jumped on that story. When I calmly and reasonably explained my point of view to them, most backed off. Memorial Day is definitely not the time, and the Wall is most definitely not the place to stage some "holier-than-thou" rant, especially in front of kids. Ted Sampley apparently forgot, if he ever knew, that soldiers serve their country, ALL of their country, not some political party. We don't need a "Freikorps" here in America EVER.

To all fellow vets on this site, don't ever automatically bite off on these e-mail alerts without cross-referencing several reliable sources first. By reliable, I most definitely do not mean Newsmax, Front Page, Free republic etc. Here's a jolt from the cluestick; if you see the name "Ann Coulter" anywhere on the sidebar except under the heading of "Idiot", just hit "Home" and start over.



:argh:

[patriotvoice]

33. Yeah, got e-blitzed too.

Also:

"Here's a jolt from the cluestick; if you see the name "Ann Coulter" anywhere on the sidebar except under the heading of "Idiot", just hit "Home" and start over."

funny as hell.

:toast:

[emulatorloo]

28. Why didn't John Kerry kick Ted Sampley in the Balls?

That's what I want to know. . .

I am outraged, I tell you!!!!!

[elperromagico]

31. Newsflash for Mr. Sampley: Bush didn't even go.

I don't see how this guy can attack a fellow veteran when the other guy, who claims he's "been to war," didn't even fucking go.

John Kerry wanted to bring the troops home. George Bush wanted to stay home and snort cocaine.

Mr. Stampley had better not get ill, because with the cuts in veteran's health care which the "war hero" Bush has made, he'll be screwed.