THE PLOT THICKENS

I think I've already linked to this story aboutJohn Kerry's records, but I didn't pick up on this tidbit earlier.

B.G. Burkett, a Vietnam veteran himself, received the highest award the Army gives to a civilian, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, for his book Stolen Valor. Burkett pored through thousands of military service records, uncovering phony claims of awards and fake claims of military service. "I've run across several claims for Silver Stars with combat V's, but they were all in fake records," he said.

Burkett recently filed a complaint that led last month to the sentencing of Navy Capt. Roger D. Edwards to 115 days in the brig for falsification of his records.

How dare Burkett question the veracity of Captain Edwards's medals. Doesn't he know that doing so only puts the medals of every other veteran in question?

Right, Steve?

Steve?

Heh. Anyway, the latest is that former Navy Secretary John Lehman (you might recognize his name from the 9/11 Commission) says he never signed a citation for John Kerry.

Also, Douglas Brinkley says he's not stopping John Kerry from releasing his Vietnam journal.

And the Washington Post is going back and taking a closer look at John Kerry's inconsistencies when it comes to his anti-war activities.

Of course the left is saying that this is all evidence of a conservative bias in the establishment media... but that's a load of hooey. It took more than two months for the establishment media to start covering what the Swift Boat guys had to say. The early coverage of this story was incredibly slanted towards Kerry's side of the story. What's happened is that Kerry himself hasn't talked to the press about this, he's making himself unavailable, and hell hath no fury like a reporter scorned. Add in the fact that "Unfit for Command" is the number one book in the country right now, and you've got the one thing even a reporter rooting for Kerry can't ignore: scandal.

The good news for Kerry is that the Republican National Convention should take some of the attention off the Swift Boat guys, at least among the establishment media.