IBEW Local 176 (Joliet IL) Member Speaks out on His Experience with John Kerry on the Swift Boats

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James Wasser: Kerry Is True Commander in Chief

After serving in Vietnam as second in command on John Kerry's first swift boat, PCF 44, in 1968-1969, James Wasser says he developed a deep respect for Kerry's character and leadership.

"John Kerry was caring, compassionate and courageous," Wasser says. "He didn't back off anything. He didn't ask for any special treatment and he didn't give any. He is a true commander in chief. He never made one bad command decision when I was serving with him. That's why we're all still here today."

As a veteran, Wasser says it's important to him that Kerry has been in tough combat situations and knows what it's like to come under fire. Kerry would think hard before sending future soldiers into war, says Wasser, and make sure they had enough equipment and support from other countries before going to war.

Yet President George W. Bush called up unprecedented numbers of National Guard and Reserve troops to fight on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq and did not give them adequate body armor to protect their lives, forcing families to buy the equipment for their loved ones, according to the Veterans Institute for Security and Democracy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit war veterans organization.

The skills Kerry showed as a swift boat commander would serve him and the country well if Kerry is elected president, says Wasser, who lives in Kankakee, Ill.

"If John Kerry came to me today and said he had one more mission on a swift boat into hell and he needed a second in command and a crew," Wasser says, "I would have no hesitation to go because I know my best chance is with him."

Another Four Years of Bush Means a Nation Divided

"If George Bush is re-elected, we will have two classes of people: rich and poor. The middle class will be dinosaurs. The jobs are gone. Kerry will keep the jobs here and give employers incentives to hire people here, not give companies tax breaks to send jobs overseas."

Returning veterans have a harder time finding jobs than most workers. The unemployment rate for recently discharged veterans was 6.9 percent in August 2003, compared with a rate of 5.4 percent overall, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which conducts a survey of veterans every other year.

Since President Bush took office in 2001, the United States has lost 2.7 million manufacturing jobs and 850,000 professional and business services and information jobs, many of which have been shipped overseas. In fact, up to 14 million white-collar jobs could be sent overseas in the coming years, according to a study by the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics housed at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Wasser: Kerry Will Fight for Our Children's Future

A school board member for 11 years, Wasser says Kerry will be good for education. "Before the ink was dry on the 'No Child Left Behind' law, the Bush administration yanked money out of it," says Wasser. "Kerry will get more teachers and that's good."

Kerry says he will improve teacher training and pay in troubled schools while demanding fast, fair ways to ensure teachers who don't belong in the classroom don't stay there. He also plans to establish a National Education Trust Fund to ensure that schools get the funding they need.

Kerry also will turn around the nation's jobs crisis, says Wasser, 57, an electrician and member of Electrical Workers Local 176.

The bottom line, says Wasser, John Kerry's character and leadership ability make him the best person to get the country out of the mess the Bush team has created. "Our children will be the first generation to not do better than their parents. We have to do something to restore America and John Kerry is the man for the job," he says.
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http://www.jerryforohio.com/user/Yolanda

WASSER SPEAKS UP FOR JOHN KERRY
by Yolanda
Tue Sep 14th, 2004 at 08:50:07 PM EST

That's the way the headline read in The Jackson County Times-Journal this evening.

Wasser did a great job in clearing up the Swiftboat ads. As you may know, Jim Wasser was second in command on the Swiftboat PSF-44.

Wasser said, "John Kerry is engaging, compassionate, and he not only commanded, he listened to others about major decisions."

"All the men on the swiftboat consider themselves 'a band of brothers'. "

The only dissender from the 'band' is Steven Gardner. Oddly enough, Wasser pointed out that he has a picture of Kerry and Gardner sitting side by side, laughing together on the swiftboat.

Wasser did comment on the sleazy move during the RNC with bandaids with purple hearts drawed on them.

"This was deflamatory to anyone that has received a purple heart since George Washington gave out the first one. Any veteran of any war that has received a purple heart, accepts that honor highly, and no one has the right to take that honor away from them."

He also reported that nobody seeks out a purple heart, and those who do really could use a psych eval!

Wasser is not a paid employee, he is a volunteer. He is on leave from his job, and a member of IBEW Local 176 for 34 years. In addition, he was a really nice guy!
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Today we want to share an inside view from a very special person - Jim Wasser,
a union veteran who served with Sen. John Kerry in Vietnam. Here's what Jim
has to say:


Dear Friends,

John Kerry is a true commander-in-chief and that was clear to me last night during the debate.

I'm Jim Wasser and I was second in command to John Kerry in Vietnam on Swift Boat 44. The John Kerry I knew then is the same John Kerry I saw last night debating on the tough issues surrounding Iraq.

As a union veteran, I really love this country. Let's face it, whoever becomes the next president has a bad situation on his hands in Iraq. But last night it was clear to me why John Kerry is the man to lead us out of this war and these troubled times.

Here's what I saw last night: * John Kerry has a plan to get us out of this deadly, costly mess in Iraq AND achieve our goals there.

* George Bush is misleading America about this war?he just can't seem to own up to his failed record. Deadly insurgency is growing in Iraq and could result in all-out civil war, according to the administration's own top intelligence analysts.

* George Bush has been totally distracted from the real war on terror. That's not the way to make America safer. He's wasted our money on millionaire tax cuts?but he's cutting grants to first-responder programs and trying to cut funding for firefighters by 33 percent. He's frozen hiring for border protection officers, cut funding for the community police program by 90 percent and he's ignoring vulnerabilities in our transportation system, from rail to ports to air travel.

* George Bush just can't acknowledge his mistakes in the Iraq war and the war on terrorism?just like he refuses to acknowledge that here at home he's devastated working families who need good jobs, health care and overtime pay. No way can this president solve America's problems when he's too stubborn to acknowledge reality. John Kerry will make us safer than we are today. He will fund our first responders and make sure our ports and borders, planes, trains and infrastructure become secure.

Last night John Kerry met Bush head-on and laid out his plan for a new course in Iraq and his plan for winning the war on terror. It's the right plan - it's what we need. John Kerry will make America stronger and safer at home and respected in the world.

I served beside John Kerry and I know he has been in tough combat situations, putting his life on the line for America and for his men. That's what we need in a leader today?someone who really understands what our sons and daughters are facing under fire in Iraq and what we could face here at home if we don't get serious about the war on terror.

George Bush has not leveled with the American people about Iraq.

No matter how many no-bid contracts go to his friends, no matter how many soldiers and civilians die, no matter how many kidnappings and beheadings, he tells us he's done the right things. But let me tell you?his go-it-alone strategy is the WRONG course. When you're in combat, you don't want to "go it alone." You want your buddies right there with you like John Kerry was with me in Vietnam.

After the debate, I heard some of President Bush's supporters talking about "trust and confidence." Let's face it - John Kerry is the one you would trust next to you in a foxhole or covering your back on a swift boat. He's the one you want protecting the lives and freedoms of working families in America.

I trusted John with my life. After watching him debate last night, I trust him even more now with our future.

In solidarity,

Jim Wasser

Oct. 1, 2004

P.S. Are you a union veteran, too? Please join me in the Union Veterans
network - sign up now at _ http://www.unionveterans.com _
( http://www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/unionveterans ) .