The Austin American Statesman, along with most of the rest of the mainstream media, have decided to protect and insulate 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and DNC Chairman Howard Dean from their outrageous comments in the past few days. On this past Sunday's "Face the Nation", John Kerry, in tones reminiscent of his slanderous lies about US troops in Vietnam, said this about our troops in Iraq, "And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of-- the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not..." According to John Kerry, U.S. troops are the terrorists. In this same week, Howard Dean said in an interview with San Antonio radio station WOAI that the "idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong." John Kerry accuses American troops of engaging in terrorism against Iraqi women and children while at the same time Howard Dean proclaims his hope and belief that the U.S. will be defeated in Iraq. And the Austin American Statesman finds none of this newsworthy. Any absurd comment by a Republican (for instance Trent Lott's outrageous comments praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 Presidential run) receives tremendous media coverage. Appropriately. Yet MSM voices such as the Statesman try to suppress the outrageous (seditious?) comments from John Kerry and Howard Dean, which libel our troops and cheer for our defeat. Americans nowadays tend to have the same respect for the mainstream media that they do for trial lawyers and poisonous snakes. By trying to offer cover and protection for the outrageous allegations by Mr. Dean and Mr. Kerry, the Austin American Statesman and the rest of the MSM deserve the disrepute they have earned. GREGG