Vince Avedon – 6/17/07

This page was last updated on June 18, 2007.

Selective recall; Vince Avedon; Beaver County Times; June 17, 2007.

As you read this, remember Mr. Avedon once wrote that a high school student who showed interest in enlisting in the Marines as a “was probably brought up to be a two-faced traitor to his country.”

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“For my entire life, I’ve paid all my taxes on time, voted in every election, never had a balance or late fee on my credit card, never had a traffic violation and maintained a respectful household.”

[RWC] Based on Mr. Avedon’s body of letters, I have reason to doubt the “respectful household” comment. Respect is not something you turn on and off. Regarding the rest of his allegations, congratulations but how are they relevant to either his letter or that of Ms. Porter?

“Then along comes Carolyn Porter in her ‘Show some respect’ letter on Tuesday asking for respect for George Bush.

“Has she forgotten the viciousness against President Clinton during his administration? I haven’t.”

[RWC] Unless President Bush got involved in name-calling of Mr. Clinton, how does this justify showing disrespect for Mr. Bush?

If you accept Mr. Avedon’s logic, the fact that some people showed disrespect to Bill Clinton justifies showing disrespect to President Bush. I suspect that’s the same logic used by those who bashed Mr. Clinton and cited the treatment received by Presidents Reagan and Bush #1 as justification.

“Has she forgotten Ken Starr? I haven’t.”

[RWC] President Bush didn’t have anything to do with Ken Starr. That all took place while Bill Clinton was in office.

“Has she forgotten the Swift Boat veteran Texas Ranger who was recently appointed ambassador to Belgium? I haven’t.”

[RWC] First, let’s address the factual errors in this sentence. Sam Fox, ambassador to Belgium, is neither a “Swift Boat veteran” nor a “Texas Ranger.”

During the 2004 campaign, Mr. Fox contributed $50,000 to the anti-Kerry 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Mr. Fox was also named a “Ranger” for the 2004 Bush/Cheney campaign because he convinced others to donate in excess of $200,000 to the campaign.

In essence, Mr. Avedon is upset because Mr. Fox supported President Bush and opposed Mr. Kerry during the 2004 campaign.

“Has she forgotten Vice President Dick Cheney cursing U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy on the floor of the Senate? I haven’t.”

[RWC] What has this got to do with President Bush? FYI, Mr. Avedon appears to forget what sparked Mr. Cheney’s alleged comment. On that same “floor of the Senate,” Mr. Leahy (D-VT) was publicly questioning Mr. Cheney’s ethics and providing no supporting evidence.

“I suggest that she spend some time writing to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity because they continue the name-calling to this day. The right-wing media takes its marching orders directly from the White House.”

[RWC] If Mr. Avedon actually listened to either Hannity or Limbaugh, I suspect he head would have exploded years ago. <g> In fact, if Mr. Avedon had listened to either of these programs, he would know both Messrs. Hannity and Limbaugh disagree with President Bush on a lot of issues. That’s because both men tend to be more conservative than Mr. Bush.

“By the way, President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Don’t hold your breath for Bush to get his.”

[RWC] I’m not sure the Nobel Peace Prize is something to admire. While some recipients obviously deserved the award, the list of recipients has its scoundrels as well.

Has Mr. Avedon forgotten terrorist Yasser Arafat received the prize in 1994? I haven’t.

Has Mr. Avedon forgotten last summer Betty Williams (a 1976 recipient) made the following comment to a group of Australian schoolchildren? “I have a very hard time with this word ‘non-violence’, because I don’t believe that I am non-violent. Right now, I would love to kill George Bush.” I haven’t.

Has Mr. Avedon forgotten Mr. Carter made the following comment during a May 19^th interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette? “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this [Bush] administration has been the worst in history.” I haven’t.