Swift kick: Former Senator Bob Kerrey, New School University president, has been blasting the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth for their campaign against presidential candidate John Kerry and also criticized President Bush for not moving more forcefully to stop the group’s attack. “I won’t permit them to take the name Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” Kerrey fumed. “They are Republican Swift Boat Veterans Against John Kerry. The purpose is to do the most political damage to John Kerry as possible,” said Kerrey, who, like Kerry, is a decorated Vietnam veteran. For example, Kerrey noted that being injured is not a criterion to receive the Purple Heart, though the Swift group is saying it is and that Kerry should return his purple heart. The group is being funded by “cronies” of Bush, Kerrey said. “In 1968, John Kerry made a decision to go to Vietnam. Bush made a decision not to go,” added Kerrey. “Bush of all people should not be reluctant to tell his friends ‘Put your energy elsewhere.’ ” Kerrey said Bush should join Senator John McCain in denouncing the group, which has charged Kerry with misstating some of the facts on his stint in Vietnam. Kerrey, a member of the federal 9/11 Commission, said even former Mayor Rudy Giuliani during his testimony admitted having some difficulty remembering some of the facts from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “When we interviewed Giuliani on 9/11, he said, ‘Don’t expect me to remember every single detail.’ This was a traumatic time, some 30 years ago,” the New School president said regarding Kerry.
‘Moore is stupid’: Georgette Mosbacher, a top G.O.P. fundraiser and board of directors member of the Hudson River Park Trust, was quoted in a Daily News gossip column blasting Michael Moore for relishing the flak he was getting while sitting in at the Republican National Convention. Moore, Mosbacher said, was too stupid to realize “people were laughing at him.” It also bears mentioning that Pier 57 — a.k.a., Guantanamo on the Hudson — is also in the Hudson River Park, whose board is packed with Republicans.
Here Barney! Where Barney? An e-mail message circulating among dog owners last Thursday was that Barney Bush, the first dog, would be making an appearance at, appropriately enough, First Run in Tompkins Sq. Park. We’re sure Barney would have received a warm welcome from some of the neighborhood’s friendly pit bulls, but, just like his master who never showed up at ground zero, Barney never made it to Tompkins Sq.
Mission accomplished: Charles Wolf, former resident co-chairperson of Bleecker Area Residents’ and Merchants’ Association, reports the completion of a smooth and successful transition period bridging his administration of BAMRA and the current administration, in which Lois Rakoff is the new resident co-chairperson.
Get yer tickets: Norman Seaman, music producer and founder of the Concert/Theatre Club, is offering free pairs of tickets to Carnegie Hall and Broadway hits to all readers of The Villager who mail him two stamped return envelopes by Wed. Sept. 15. The free offer is in celebration of Concert/Theatre Club’s 50th anniversary. The club distributes free tickets to fill last-minute unsold seats to top cultural events. Readers should mail their two stamped return envelopes to Concert/Theatre Club, Radio City Post Office Box 693, New York 10101-0693. The mailings must be postmarked by Sept. 15.
9/11 memorial: The Coalition to Save the East Village is inviting community members and their families to a 9/11 prayer service and candlelight vigil scheduled for Sat. Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. A prayer service will be held at St. George’s Ukrainian Church, 22 E. Seventh St., at Third Ave., followed by a candlelight vigil at the “Forever Tall” mural at 7:30 p.m., at the corner of Sixth St. and Third Ave. The mural was produced and created by CITYarts in collaboration with artists Hope Gangloff and Jason Search, the Manhattan School for Career Development, the Dwight School and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The mural, on a building owned by Cooper Union, is at risk of being covered over for an advertising billboard.
Lava to lox: The former lava lamp and CD shop on St. Mark’s Pl. between Avenue A and First Ave. is now Holy Land Market kosher grocery store.
