John Cory: The Un-American Sinclair

The Sinclair Broadcasting Group is trying to influence a presidential election by airing a scurrilous smear against John Kerry.

It's that simple.

I don't really give a damn how they dress it up, it's about corporate influence and greed, intended to override a public election. They can dress George Bush in a flight suit, but that doesn't make him a warrior pilot - just the toy soldier of corporate political corruption.

No film is going to change the deadly lie of Vietnam. It was never a "good war," and forty years later it cannot be re-written into an extension of the glory days of WWII.

Sinclair has taken it upon itself to act as the state-run media and present the party line of its political benefactor, the Bush GOP. Like the former Soviet news agency, or Iraq's previous state-owned media, Sinclair has pre-determined the issue and the truth for broadcast. And if that doesn't send a chill down your spine, nothing will.

The American media should be exposing this chicanery, but instead chooses silence. Silence was never an American principle of freedom, and it certainly was not what those of us who served our country fought and died for - at least according to those who sent us.

Sinclair has enshrouded itself with the loathsome Swift Boat Liars, whose fraudulent charges against John Kerry have been debunked by ABC, Media Matters, The Daily Howler, William Rood of the Chicago Tribune, eyewitnesses who served with Kerry, and even the surviving Viet Cong villagers. But Sinclair chooses to serve up more lies and ignore the truth, while spinning and manipulating both the public and these POWs, in order to influence an election for its benefit. Sinclair does not give a rat's bottom whisker for these men, only for the value of their partisanship to achieve corporate goals.

How despicable can Sinclair Broadcasting be that it would willingly use embittered Vietnam POWs in order to enrich itself with power and GOP glory? How un-American can Sinclair Broadcasting be to slander and smear veterans who dared speak out against dishonesty and imperial hubris?

And make no mistake, Sinclair is not only attacking John Kerry but every veteran returning from Iraq, who dares question or complain about the lies of this administration and the lack of competent leadership and support for our troops and their families.

Sinclair Broadcasting wants to silence dissent, and empower itself as the lone voice of true American values, while buying its way into greater market share.

Vietnam is over. To dishonor the service of veterans who opposed the war is contemptible. To intimidate the next generation of soldiers into silence is against all that America stands for.

Whether you were for or against Vietnam, I encourage every veteran to contact Sinclair Broadcasting and their sponsors, and tell them they are anti-American and they do not own the flag that our brothers served. Ask your Congressional Representative to force the FCC to evaluate Sinclair's broadcast license to use We the People's airwaves.

Let us agree to disagree about Vietnam, but never allow the filth and indecency of campaign politics to soil the noble service of veterans, no matter their personal politics.

John Cory is a Vietnam veteran. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with V device, 1969 - 1970.

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