Atrios is all over this Kathleen Parker column at townhall.com. I wrote the following to the Orlando Sentinel (which runs her column) that describes the issue:
To the Editor,
You are presently running a column by Kathleen Parker entitled "Politics are out of place in time of war".
The column quotes an alleged Delta Force "friend" of Ms. Parker's saying "These bastards like Clark and Kerry and that incipient ass, Dean, and Gephardt and Kucinich and that absolute mental midget Sharpton, race baiter, should all be lined up and slapped."
When the column was originally posted at townhall.com the final phrase was "lined up and shot" which Ms. Parker changed after the fact, the proof of which is all over the internet (and can be viewed here: http://www.avatara.com/parker110103.htm).
Aside from which statement is more believable coming from the mouth of an alleged "Delta Force member," this is questionable behavior from even a self-styled journalist, and it would seem prudent for a legitimate newspaper to look into whether or not this source even exists, and why Ms. Parker changed a direct quote from him.
I should also point out that at least two of the Democratic candidates for President have already been shot - Wesley Clark and John Kerry -- and between the two of them they received twenty military service medals, including four Purple Hearts*. That's twenty more than all the medals earned by Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rove, Perle, etc. combined.
Sincerely,
R. Porrofatto
*Mr. Clark was awarded five Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Army Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star, four Legion of Merit Awards, two Bronze Star Medals and the Purple Heart, while Mr. Kerry won a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three awards of the Purple Heart for his service in combat.
