Do you remember Jeremiah Denton? You should. Who is Jeremiah Denton? In 1973, Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. walked off an Air Force C-141 aircraft to freedom after being held captive in North Vietnam for more than seven years. Born in 1924 in Mobile Alabama, Denton graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. In June 1965, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 75 on the USS Independence flying the Grumman A-6 Intruder. On 18 July 1965, while pulling up after leading a bombing attack on enemy installations near Than Hoa, he was shot down and captured by North Vietnamese troops. While held prisoner, Denton became the first American subjected to four years of solitary confinement. In 1966, during a television interview by the North Vietnamese and broadcast on American television, Denton gained national attention when, while being questioned, he blinked his eyes in Morse code, repeatedly spelling out the covert message "T-O-R-T-U-R-E". During his captivity he frequently served as the senior American military officer in numerous camps in and around Hanoi. On 12 February 1973, Denton was released and promoted to rear admiral in April 1973. In 1976 Denton's Vietnam experience was chronicled in the book "When Hell Was in Session", and in an NBC movie of the same title, which won the 1979 Peabody Award. In 1979 Denton retired from the Navy as Commandant of the Armed Forces Staff College and returned to Mobile, Alabama. During his 34 years of military service, he received numerous awards and honors, to include: the Navy Cross, three Silver Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Purple Hearts. In November 1980, Denton became the first retired flag officer ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Some of his major committee assignments included: the Judiciary Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee. In 1983, Denton founded the National Forum Foundation dedicated to the concept of One Nation under God, the institution of the family, welfare reform, and peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs. In 1987, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to be Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense. Among many other legislative accomplishments, Denton established the highly acclaimed international aid program known as The Denton Program, responsible for transporting over 20 million pounds of critical equipment and supplies to needy people throughout the world. Denton currently serves as President of the National Forum Foundation and lectures on national and international affairs. He and his wife Jane reside in Mobile, Alabama. They have 7 children and 15 grandchildren. <b>Who is John Kerry?</b> 03/09/04 By JEREMIAH DENTON (Rear Admiral, US Navy, Retired) (Former POW) Special to The (Mobile) Register Knowing that I served in the U.S. Senate with John Kerry and that, like him, I am a veteran of the Vietnam War, many people have asked me what I think of him, particularly now that he's the apparent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. When Kerry joined me in the Senate, I already knew about his record of defamatory remarks and behavior criticizing U.S. policy in Vietnam and the conduct of our military personnel there. I had learned in North Vietnamese prisons how much harm such statements caused. To me, his remarks and behavior amounted to giving aid and comfort to our Vietnamese and Soviet enemies. So I was not surprised when his subsequent overall voting pattern in the Senate was consistently detrimental to our national security. Considering his demonstrated popularity during the Democratic primaries, I earnestly hope the American people will soberly consider Kerry's qualifications for the presidency in light of his position and record on both our cultural war at home and on national security issues. To put it bluntly, John Kerry exemplifies the very reasons that I switched to the Republican Party. Like the majority in his political party, he has proven by his words and actions that his list of priorities -- his ideas on what most needs to be done to improve this country -- are almost opposite to my own. Here are two issue areas that I consider top priorities: the war over the soul of America, and national security. Top priority should be placed on an effort to recover our most fundamental founding belief that our national objectives, policies and laws should reflect obedience to the will of Almighty God. Our Declaration of Independence, our national Constitution and each of the states' constitutions stress th at basic American national principle. For about 200 years, the entire country, both parties and all branches of government understood that principle and tried to follow it, if imperfectly. For some 50 years, our nation's opinion-makers, our courts and, gradually, our politicians have been abandoning our historical effort to be "one nation under God" in favor of becoming "one nation without God," with glaringly unfavorable results.] I believe our political leaders, educational system, parents and pinion-makers must all return to teaching the truth most emphasized by our Founding Fathers. George Washington called religious belief indispensable to the prosperity of our democracy. William Penn said, "Men must choose to be governed by God or condemn themselves to be ruled by tyrants." And when asked what caused the Civil War, President Lincoln said, "We have forgotten God." In these days we have not only forgotten God, we are by our new standards of government and culture rejecting him as the acknowledged creator and as the endower of our rights. As a result, we are suffering cultural decay and human unhappiness. The decline of the institution of the family is the most obvious result. Perhaps the current movie, "The Passion of the Christ," will help many to come to realize the cost of the redemption of our sins, and the destructiveness of sin. Let's remember that over 95 percent of Americans during our founding days were Christians, and though our Founding Fathers stipulated that no one was to be compelled to believe in any religion, and also stipulated that there would be no single Christian denomination installed as a national religion, there was no question that our laws were to be firmly based on the Judean Ten Commandments and on Christ's mandate to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That setup brought us amazing success as a nation, lifting us from our humble beginnings, through crisis after crisis, to become the leading nation of the world. Now, though, we are throwing away the very source of our strength and greatness. Yet I am not giving up on our country. I am encouraged at the stand and the attitude of our president, and inspired by his courage. There are many more of his stripe in Washington now. Though Rome and other empires have decayed and fallen, the cultural war in the United States can and should be won by the majority of Americans -- a majority to whom Kerry and the Democrats disdainfully refer to as the "far right." They are people who believe in God and in the original concept of "one nation under God." As a nation, we are now at the point of no return. The GOOD GUYS are finally angry enough to join the fray, and I pray we are not too late. John Kerry is not among the good guys. The Democratic Party isn't, either. Indeed, on the subject of national security, John Kerry epitomizes a fatal weakness in the Democratic Party. During the decisive days of the Cold War, after the Democratic Party changed during the mid-1960s, the party was on the wrong side of every strategic debate on policy regarding Vietnam and the USSR, and is now generally on the wrong side in the war on terrorism. The truth is that the Cold War was barely won by a narrow margin -- a victory and a margin determined by the political choices made by our government regarding suitable steps to deter Soviet attack and finally win the Cold War. If the U.S. had followed the Democratic Party line, the Cold War would have concluded with the U.S. having to surrender without a fight, or the U.S. would have been defeated in a nuclear war with acceptable losses to the USSR. It was not Johnson and Carter and the Democrats; it was Nixon, Reagan, George Bush and the Republicans who led us to victory in the Cold War. And now, George W. Bush and the Republican majority -- not John Kerry and the Democrats -- can lead us to victory in the war on terrorism.
I'm glad that Admiral Denton spoke out about the real Kerry. He is a man of incredible bravery and stands as a massive contrast to the man who came home and defamed our troops by repeating the lies of the militant anti-war movement.
If the U.S. had followed the Democratic Party line, the Cold War would have concluded with the U.S. having to surrender without a fight, or the U.S. would have been defeated in a nuclear war with acceptable losses to the USSR. Jeremiah Denton must not have actually bothered to investigated the facts before spewing theis delusional nonsense. I suspect that his mind is so wrapped around the Republican Party Line that he long since stopped thinking for himself. Mr. Jeremiah Denton, which party ran Congress for the majority of the cold war? Are we to believe that the only correct things done by the USA during the cold war were done by Republican presidents in spite of Democratic Congresses?
If this doesn't scare the crap out of you, regardless of your religious beliefs, something's wrong. Religion is a very subjective thing. Christians have major disagreements about the "will of God". To try and shape national policy by what one group thinks is the will of God is psychotic.
I know it is politically correct to say that "unlimited" diversity makes us better, makes us stronger... but is it really true? Or just comforting?
Admiral Denton may be brave, but he is incredibly short sighted and his ridiculously partisan view of history (hey, admiral, ever hear of Truman? JFK? global economics) combined with his little theocracy riff pretty much make his view as valuable if not less so as that of Michael Moore on the other side, and much less entertaining as well.
Yeah, lets not listen to the men Kerry actually served with and SAVED, let's hear out some guy who already disagrees with him politically. Yeah, he'll know the real Kerry. You can try all you want, but you can't get rid of John Kerry's heroic military record. Three Purple Hearts, a bronze star, and a silver star. That's not going anywhere, man. Those arent just medals or words, those are symbols of what John Kerry did for this country, and what other men have done throughout the years. The Bush campaign can send out all the surrogates who have served, but in the end it's going to be John Kerry and George Bush standing on a stage, alone. Unfortunately for Bush, this time he can't go hide in Alabama when things get tough.
Isn't his a tale of demarcation marked by the change in the Democratic party... of which he used to be a member? His complaint is about the current Democratic party not about the whole history of the party.
Yeah, I guess his demarcation line is about the same time as other Southern Whites: approximately when Johnson made Civil Rights in the Jim Crow South a focal point over the opposition of many Southern Democrats -- who turned into Republicans. Did the Almighty God have anything to do with that particular decision? His complaint is about the democratic party, because he is a republican, and a rather loopy one at that, and his bias shows through.
His complaint is because he used to be one of those Democrats, but the party has gone too far afield. You're not going to also conclude that he is a racist?
His complaint is a bunch of claptrap couched in terms of slanted partisan half truths and slogans, combined with a little divine inervention for good measure, and not really worth addressing on an intellectual level. Republican Senator condemns democrats, wowie kazowie. You made the point of drawing his tale of demarcation at LBJ, and so did he, as did many of his fellow white southerners. Draw from that whatever conclusion that you want.
Yes it is really true. It shines light on the shadows of ignorance, grants us understanding which makes us better people. It allows more opportunities to more people which is to the benefit of society. Without diversity we wouldn't have the light bulb, the telephone, open heart surgery, farm workers rights, laws to protect the voting rights of citizens, etc. The idea that unlimited diversity isn't really true is ludicrous. It has nothing to do with political correctness, and everything to do with making us better as individuals and a society. I hate political correctness and think it amounts censorship. One thing I hate almost as much is when people label any talk about racism, or diversity as just political correctness and try and avoid the issues.
Yet he made no mention of the reasons that you have suggested and he made a significant argument for other reasons for doing so. Are you calling him a liar or at least deceptive? In spite of his advanced years, I'd like to see you say that to his face.... SamFisher condemns Republicans, wowie kazowie.
Sounds like a former Dixicrat to me. Good riddance, I'm glad those backwards thinking a-holes became Republicans years ago.
Well, he created a fantasy universe in which the Republicans singlehandedly won the cold war despite the weak, red-loving democrats. Please, that is complete garbage... Michael Moore has too much credibility to say something that stupid, and thankfully doesn't appear to advocate Christian theocracy of any sort as does your boy here. He drew the line at Johnson, as did his white southern democrat contemporaries, as did you when you helpfully highlighted the chronology of his "tale of demarcation" Did he do it becuase he's a white supremacist grand wizard? Or because LBJ stole his girlfriend? Or because he had a different views on fiscal policy? I don't know, I don't care. However it remains a fact that he and his contemporaries did. I'll gladly say it to his face. Do you think he's going to beat me up? Well, with God on his side I guess he could do anything. When post straight partisan propaganda dumps that are easily dismissed or undermined as such, I don't see why or how you can be so bummed out when we do it. You can spare me his tale of woe; This guy is a hard core, religious conservative from day 1 -- he was part of the pre-integration, conservative Democratic party in the south that had its roots in the Reconstruction days, and switched over contemporaneous with Nixon's Southern Strategy. I'm supposed to lament the fact that people such as him are no longer in it because of the John Kerrys of the world? Sorry, I'll take a pass on that, because a) it's bullsh-t, and b) I'll take John Kerry over this theocrat any day of the week and twice on Sunday, lord's day or no.
You "don' know," you "don't care," yet you accuse. Why? And your accusations are of the most extreme ugliness. I wonder why Denton quotes Abraham Lincoln if he's the racist you insinuate? You just love to dismiss out of hand "partisan dumps" that do not emerge from your party of choice. Maybe you should talk to FB about the diversity thing...
How many times do I have to say that I'm not accusing him of anything? He was a conservative white southerner, who was nominally democratic, as were strom thurmond, jesse helms, george wallace, etc, but left the democratic party in droves along with other conservative white southerners in the 60's and 70's. He had his reasons, whatever they were. Maybe they were consciously racist, maybe they were subconsciously racist, maybe they were not racist at all, maybe they were theological --- who cares? His story is hardly unique among conseravtive white southerners of his generation. Regardless if it is or isn't, if the democratic party left people like him behind, than I am fine with that and all for it. I don't need people like him and Judge Roy Moore (whose arguments he parrots) blathering on about the 10 commandments and God's law representing me politically, and his warped understanding of history reinforces how partisan his narrow minded (and dangerous) worldview has become. Yes, I dismiss out of hand partisan crapaganda, I would expect you to do the same thing about left wing propaganda. If I just put down straight fundraising e-mails from Terry McAuliffe, I would expect nothing less. This is no different.
Oh but it is. It's not from some Republican Committee and it doesn't ask for money. That's just two differences right off the bat. You sure did enjoy all that character assasination of President Bush for his NG days. My objection was to the way you just lump him in with Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms with no evidence of belonging to that ilk whatsoever. You write: "I don't know, I don't care. However it remains a fact that he and his contemporaries did." I did a quick bio-search. The earliest reference that I could find for any party affiliation was 1980. Denton was in the Hanoi Hilton from about 1966 to 1973. I'm sure he was extremely hot and bothered about the Civil Rights legislation...
