Op-ed On Father's Day by John Kerry

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_0619.html

Op-ed On Father's Day


June 19, 2004


by John Kerry


This morning, millions of American fathers will greet the day with their families – over their morning coffee, they’ll open cards, gifts and receive phone calls from grown-up children who have left the nest.

But for many fathers and their families, this year is different. There’s an empty chair at the dinner table. Many Dads will celebrate Father’s Day on patrol and on military bases worlds away from their families, serving in harm’s way in Afghanistan and Iraq. They endure with courage and quiet dignity in dangerous circumstances, always doing their duty. They shouldn’t have to endure additional worry about their families at home, nor should any son or daughter of an American soldier have to worry that their Dad will have anything less than all the protection he needs to come home as safely and as soon as possible.

Yet today, too many soldiers and their families have reason to worry: many military families continue to find it difficult to make ends meet, and the American military that’s been overstretched is also under-equipped. The courageous men and women of our military deserve more than accolades. While on active duty, they need up-to-date weaponry and protective gear. They deserve to know that their families are well cared-for, helped by competitive pay and quality housing. They deserve to know that their children are receiving quality education and decent health care, and that their veterans’ benefits will help them support their loved ones when they return home. They deserve to be offered real solutions by their country’s leadership, not just lip service.

To help ensure that soldiers and their families are provided with the quality of life that they deserve, I have proposed the Military Families Bill of Rights. This plan will guarantee that we keep faith with the men and women who serve our country.

-more

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_0619a.html


Op-ed on Father's Day


June 19, 2004


by Vanessa Kerry



John Kerry on Father's Day
Read his Op-ed
When my sister and I were growing up, my father always encouraged us to think for ourselves—to make our own, independent choices. (He had to draw the line somewhere, though—such as when I claimed that a Superman costume could pass as a school uniform.)

Dad taught us to follow our dreams with more than just words, though—he taught us by his own example.

For instance, I’ve always been proud of his devotion to country – and of the sacrifices he has made for public service. During the Vietnam War, he served two tours of duty with the Navy and saw combat on the Mekong Delta, earning a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. After the war, he became a prosecutor, fighting organized crime and helping to modernize the district attorney’s office.

But we also learned important lessons in how he treated us at home. At the dinner table, my dad encouraged discussions on a wide variety of topics, often sparking debates that would last for hours. He didn’t want us to be shy about rolling up our sleeves and diving into an argument. He respects us and we in turn, respect him.

but unfortunately, Vanessa's has the human touch. Her Dad's sounds like a policy speech.

I had hoped when I saw this thread that Kerry would make some personal references. . .Didn't he lose his own father not so long ago? Granted everything he says regarding the mismanagement of our military is alarmingly true.

Just wish he had brought it home like his daughter did, by addressing not only policy, but also personal experience.

Clinton was masterful at that.

I have always felt his dedication to our vets and our servicemen and women is very heartfelt. Bush has basically screwed them in a hundred different ways.

"In all of the far-flung operations of our own armed forces -- on land and sea and in the air -- the final job, the toughest job, has been performed by the average, easy-going, hard-fighting young American, who carries the weight of battle on his own shoulders. It is to him that we and all future generations of Americans must pay grateful tribute."

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1945

The deadbeat dads, the drunks and drug addicts, the nothing but sperm donors and pain causers, who blight the lives of their women and children. And finally, the Big Daddies, the ones in power, who sent the brave off to die, allow the weasels to shirk their family duty, and lead the weak into temption through policies that suck the hope out of the country, build up crime through the War on Drugs, and increase poverty with their insane tax and service cuts.