Swift Boat Veterans Issue Cease and Desist Letter to Kerry

[newsguyatl]

look at this bullshit. wonder how much bushco is paying them...


For Immediate Release

Contact: Jennifer Webster

Phone: [phone]

Cell: 713-825-0053





Swift Boat Veterans Issue Cease and Desist Letter to Senator John Kerry’s Campaign

Letter Issued to the General Counsel Promising Legal Action



(June 1- Alexandria, VA) Today, a group of eleven Swift Boat veterans from the unit in which Senator John Kerry served issued a letter (attached) for the Kerry campaign to cease and desist the unauthorized use of a photograph in which they appear.

Supported by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the sailors in this photograph demand that the blatant abuse of their images by the Kerry campaign cease immediately. Today’s letter warning legal action follows a letter sent to Kerry headquarters on May 17, 2004 alerting the campaign of these complaints. The signers of today’s letter object to the use of their photographs in conjunction with the Kerry campaign because they believe that not only is Kerry unfit to serve as the commander-in-chief of the United States, but by using their images, the campaign suggests that these men endorse the senator.

Of the 20 officers in the photograph only two openly support Senator Kerry. Eleven of the officers in the photo oppose Kerry’s bid for the Presidency, four wish to remain uninvolved and two are deceased.

Swift Boat Veteran’s for Truth’s primary purpose is to shed light on John Kerry’s service record. SBVT is not affiliated with any political organization. The group includes more than 220 Swift vets, virtually the entire chain of command Kerry reported to and a large majority of peers who served with him during his short and controversial stay in Vietnam. The group’s purpose has struck a cord with the American public with over two million hits recorded on its website www.swiftvets.com.



Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is a Special Purpose Political Action Committee. It is a tax exempt non-partisan public advocacy “527”organization consisting of, and limited to, former military officers and enlisted men who served in Vietnam on U.S. Navy Swift Boats or in affiliated commands. Chairman, Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (retired). Treasurer, Weymouth “Wey” Symmes, PO Box 26184, Alexandria, VA 22313 www.swiftvets.com

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

1. Yes, im sure you can get a bunch of GOP vets to play this game.

I thought Kerry had a bunch of vets who served with him who defend him and his record?

[oneighty]

2. Hey Swift Boat Boat Peoples

Show us your service records.

Show us how YOU stack up. Other vets (Me) would like to know.

180

[Don_G]

3. I Smell Rove

[Sal316]

4. Surprise, surprise

Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are veteran corporate media consultant and Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth, who is listed as the group's media contact; eternal Kerry antagonist and Houston attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as "the classic body-count guy" who "wanted hooches destroyed and people killed."

http://www.gisleson.com/blog/archives/000528.html

[blm]

5. Johm O'Neill is a proven LIAR. He said he didn't meet with the Nixon WH

on the Dick Cavett show where he debated Kerry. The Nixon tapes PROVE that he did and he was part of an operation launched by Nixon and Colson to try to smear and discredit Kerry.

[girl gone mad]

6. IANAL, but I don't believe..

they have any legal grounds. Kerry is in the photograph, so he has a right to use it. I think most people can figure out that these guys are partisans, and I'd be willing to bet that there's a payoff involved for each and every one. Someone should look into it.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

7. I think it's time we sunk these two-bit actors...

...and the Rove they rode in on.

Here's their contact information:

Public Feedback and Veterans [e-mail]

Media Requests [e-mail]

[symbolman]

8. Interesting

that NONE of Bush's military "pals" have shown up to get photo ops at least..

no crowd of fellow pilots, no mess hall buds.. nothing, nada..

If one of my pals from my military days was in that position I'd be beating on the white house door saying, "Hey! Let's party! How about a pic together?" etc..

scary that people think so little if Bush to even admit they KNOW him.

(especially the right wingers who are moving away from him like he's got cooties instead of coattails..)

[DougieZero]

10. ????

I'm a confused 22 yr. old kid... I read that forum over at swiftvets.com and I don't understand... Are these just a bunch of angry vets? These guys seem almost delusional... I always had the romanced version of the American veteran as a good sane wise person, but these guys are viciously pro-war and spend most of their efforts being anti-Kerry

[geniph]

18. These are a bunch of veterans who are being used

by the right-wing propaganda machine (can you say Rove)? This has the smell of Rove's infamous mentor, Lee Atwater, all OVER it.

[PaDUer]

21. He didn't have any

Military pals...he didn't get to know anyone due to NOT being there.

[gratuitous]

9. Threatening legal action when you have no intention of filing is illegal

Fortunately, I can think of about 300 law firms that would take this lawsuit on for the Kerry campaign pro bono.

The suit would get laughed out of court faster than Bill O'Reilly's, I mean, Fox's suit against Al Franken.

[sundancekid]

11. and this kind of crap is legit under 527 "nonpartisan" rules???

surely somebody here on DU can give us a qualified opinion ... the extent of their "public advocacy - non-partisan" is suspect to me ... I noted that other 527's such as moveon.org go to GREAT lengths to create other (additional) organizations (moveon voter fund, moveonPAC) to make certain they comply with appropriate law ... these guys seem to throw all the cheap shots into the same NOT_SO_SWIFT boat and do poop scatter shots ...

[onecitizen]

12. One of these guys called in...........

to Washington Journal one AM. Said he is livid that a traitor like Kerry would use his picture in one of his ads. WJ then showed the ad in question and MAYBE for a split second, you saw the guy. But you probably could not identify him cause they quickly went tight on Kerry. It was silly.

[brook]

13. I sent them an email.

Very polite. Told 'em they come across as crude & bigoted water carriers for a GOP-funded smear campaign. Questioned why they're so gung ho for a guy who bailed the Guard and is cutting their bennies left and right. :shrug:

[neebob]

14. Bush has pictures of Kerry in his ads

Does that suggest that Kerry endorses Bush?

[keithyboy]

15. OK they win, Kerry doesn't need to use the photo....move on.

I am not all that happy with Kerry but he is better than Bush. I can't tell if Bush is becoming more like Kerry or if Kerry is becoming more like Bush. Nevertheless, dump this photo, it's not worth the headache.
I am ready to draft Clarke at the convention I think I am getting sick of Kerry's positions on Venezuela, Irsrael, Iraq, weapons. He just hasn't found a political niche. sorry!

[Demobrat]

22. No kidding.

If the men don't want their pictures used don't use them. One pic is not going to make or break Kerry.

[radwriter0555]

16. when did kerry use their photo? they're dreaming this crap

up.

[dsc]

17. Why doesn't Kerry just brush those vets out?

I can see the point of view of those vets. If I had done something with Bush that got me in a photo I sure wouldn't want it to be used in a Bush ad. I think those 11 have some right to control their image.

[Catherine Vincent]

19. What Kerry should do is continue to show the ad but blur

the photos of the ones that don't want their face shown. Enough said.

[Red State Rebel]

20. I think it would be better to drop the pic...

as opposed to showing a group with most of the group blurred out. It is going to send the message that those people didn't approve.

[BabsSong]

23. Maybe they should ask the dude/or dudess under the flag draped

coffin being carried out of the WTC pile if he/she wanted to have their corpse dragged around in a Bush commercial to elect GWB?????-----that son of a bitch is dead. These barstool patriot whores are alive. When they support Bush over Kerry they take out their very short dicks and piss all over real vets who served in real combat and who were real heroes and thus, they piss all over every guy and gal in Iraq. The coke snorthing, drunken, war dodging prick who couldn't even complete that "tour of duty" is an insult to those who did serve and insult to these losers who find it necessary to suck his cock to puff themselves up.

[KansDem]

24. Apparenty, Hoffmann has had a grudge against Kerry for decades...

Hoffmann, who debated Kerry on television in 1971 over Vietnam allegations, denied any ties to Bush or the Republican Party. The Swift boat veterans held differing political and social views, he said. "There is only one issue we all agree on, and that is the issue of John Kerry."

http://www.komw.net/artman/publish/article_1135.shtml

[lanparty]

25. New York Firefighters sue Bush ???

Then shouldn't the New York Firefighters sue bush for promising them $4 billion in support and then ass-fucking them.