During the 2004 election, John Kerry first ignored (as did the main-stream media) critics of his Vietnam record and Purple Heart medals, then called his critics liars. The NY Times verified Kerry's account by exhaustive research consisting primarily of "Kerry says the Swift Boat Veterans are lying."

Over a year ago (483 days), Kerry promised to release all his Navy records; presumably, that would end the discussion. So far, he hasn't made good on that promise, to my knowledge.

So why is he rehashing it now? I wonder if he thinks he would have won in 2004 except for the Swift Boat Veterans. I wonder if he thinks he can address it now and run again in 2008, this time able to stand on his record without it biting him in the ass.

Sources: I heard a few mentions of this on talk radio last week, but found several good links at Instapundit, and followed one of them to Just One Minute, where there is a pretty comprehensive write-up.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is building a fence in Arizona, without waiting on the US government or asking permission from Mexico. They're also doing it for a third of the Senate's estimated cost.

The MCDC hopes to keep construction costs under $150 per foot, while the Senate's proposed 370-mile fence, at an estimated cost of $1 billion, would be over $500 per foot, by my calculations. Of course, the MCDC will be using a lot of donated equipment and labor, but I still think private industry can do most things more efficiently than the government. 

Michelle Malkin has the story here. 

Well, not yet, but Peter Diamandis has a better chance than anyone else.

Diamandis, the driving force behind the $10 million X Prize for private spaceflight, just won the first-ever Heinlein Prize, endowed by the estate of the late science-fiction writer and visionary Robert Heinlein and his wife, Ginny.

More info on the $500,000 prize is here.