It is no surprise Dick Cheney and people responsible for enacting torture and cruelty to prisoners are crying foul now. Cheney and the whole bunch are criminals returning to the scene of their crimes. Finding out information by committing War crimes has no defense, whatsoever!
I have been a long supporter of Barack Obama and what I believe he stands for. My blog here has recently been censored, with political, as well as fictional literature I have written, removed. I have been quoted by "Nikki," our hob-nailed censor (unavailable, unreachable and without return address...in the tradition of all such censoring authoritarian cowards), that my work is not in keeping with the terms of service agreement we all signed when we came aboard. In reviewing those terms of service, however, there is no mention of any authority assigned to govern, judge or edit content. My work has never been filled with vile language, threats or any of the other specific activity that might get it to be deleted. Apparently, as indicated by what happened to me here, they are sensitive to what is being written in every manner, and willing to take action to prevent what it is that they do not like or approve of. This is a sad event for me. I have other blogsites, to which I can default, but I also have a believe system which is damaged. I would have thought that the behavior I have seen exhibited here (the censorship) would have occurred only during the watch of Bush/Cheney. But here we are.
I also note that there will be more data required when attempting to fly. Airports want more identification data on all of us. Ostensibly for anti-terror lists. The torture issue is being left to begin to quietly go away. We are not yet coming home from either Iraq or Afghanistan (we can't leave right away because....., and on and on and on). Financial criminals of huge magnitude are not being pursued at all. A few Ponzi schemers are being trotted out to satisfy the public's bloodlust, but that's it. There is, as of yet, no accountability for where most of the money given to banks and insurance companies actually went. There is no investigation to find out what happened to all the billions that went missing in Iraq. What are we doing? Where is the honor? Where is the truth?
Have we simply changed uniform colors here? If we can't get the change that is necessary, for our very survival, by election, then what do we do? What will happen? I think we all know the answer to that question, and I, along with you, have not wanted to approach that answer, much less be part of it's implementation.
There has been such a massive movement to Barack Obama and what he has stood for. But it has not been a movement because of a deep-seated need for jobs, rescue from banking collapse or foreclosures. I has been because of our craven need for a sense of honor. Because of media control, the military industrial complex, evilly crooked financial leaders, we have lost our sense of honor. I don't know what I am going to do.
Do you?
THE NOVEL 'THE BERING SEA' IS TO BE FOUND AT http://from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com Tonight will be chapter XX. Hope you enjoy it.
http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com
http://www.themastodons.com
I have written and received so much correspondence over the past year. There is also my participation in online media resources using the internet. There is Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed and blogging. There is email. I remain aware and learning, while I flow back and forth across this strange surging ethereal sea of communication. I reflect on what I read, process the reflections, and then write works of analysis and consideration. One of the most common strains of conversational tone I run across is the one of integrity declared. This is my phrase (integrity declared) for the people who constantly tell me that they tell the truth, no matter how much it hurts. They tell me, and write around me, of the necessity required by both business and relationship to always be honest and truthful. That no great success in either area can be had without it. They tell me that they only tell the truth and would never be dishonest. I have to admit I am frequently vexed but more often entertained by this kind of delivery. And it is a constant, never changing, litany that seem to cross all cultural borders and barriers. Only this evening I was reminded of this by a woman who works out in Hawaii. She had written a short missive on Twitter about how it appeared that the market in Hawaii was on the way to recovery, with much activity over the last few days. When I commented that I had never heard a realtor every say, at any time, that right now was not the best time to buy, I got the integrity presentation delivered hot and fast over the net. I backed off. I am not out here to confront, or make miserable, the people who correspond with me. Sometimes my blog here might indicate otherwise, but in reality I do not seek to attack individuals for what they think or believe. I do like to disagree with them, however.
In light of the subject I have chosen to discuss herein, I would like to tell you a story. It is a true story, and it happened several years ago on the shore of a place called Bainbridge Island. That Island lies seven miles across the Sound from the city of Seattle in Washington State.
The Lagoon
It was early morning when I looked out from the deck of my second story office, which was located in my home on the shore of Puget Sound. It was already a fine day, with the sun rising behind the spit of land my house was located on, and Mount Ranier half lit on the Southern horizon across the gently moving waters. I looked down to the Lagoon below. It was a rather large lagoon, spanning about forty yards across the narrowest of it's oval shape. Earlier in the year I had built a wooden pier that reached out about ten yards straight from the house on my side of the shore. I had built the pier so that the triplets, living at the other end of the lagoon could come visit on a paddle boat I had purchased for that purpose the summer before. The triplets were three children six years of age. Two boys and a girl. They had named the paddle boat 'Bubbles' so I had dutifully painted the name on both sides of the pontoons which kept it afloat. Some days they would vigorously paddle over to my pier, be greeted by Harvey, my dog-like cat, and Tank, the large seagull who always sat on one of the high poles at the end of the pier. I kept a supply of those popsicles, the ones with the funny idiotic sayings printed onto the sticks, in my freezer, as the trips' parents would not let them have such sweet things.
This morning I noted that the Lagoon was faintly aromatic. I looked over toward the far shore and confirmed my suspicions. The far shore abutted the Sound itself. Normally, there was a narrow inlet of water that ran between the Lagoon and the waters of the Sound. The constantly working tides usually kept the small stream open and running. That movement of water allowed the lagoon to be refreshed and healthy. I noted, with a frown, that the stream was no more. A bad tide had moved the small, golf ball sized stones, just enough to close the gap. I sighed. Something would have to be done.
I threw on my jeans, boots and logging shirt, went to the back door, selected a pointed shovel, then made my way down to the shore along the bracken, following a well worn path Harvey and I took at least twice a day. I found the course of the old outlet and began to dig. Harvey found a large flat rock nearby to recline on, and provide moral support from.
The work was hard. The stones did not take to shoveling at all well. It took a full hour to dig half way to the Sound. I sat against one wall of my four foot deep trench to rest and reflect. I saw a line of miniature people approaching from the South. It was the triplets. They were walking in a single file, each with a small shovel over their shoulder. I waited until they arrived. "Hey you guys," I said, and waved with a big smile. One of the boys, Mark, was very expressive and yelled back, as they approached "Hi, Mr. Strauss, we've come to help you." I laughed aloud at that. The other boy, Tom, just smiled his usual little smile, while Anna, the triplet leader held up an arm. They stopped mid-way down the finished part of the trench. "We'll begin work here, Mr. Strauss," she stated imperiously, with no smile or wave. I nodded at this industriousness and set back to work. I threw rocks for another fifteen minutes before I had to rest. I leaned on the shovel and looked back.
Anna was sitting on one edge of the trench watching her two brothers. Mark and Tom had worked to drag a pile of driftwood to the edge of the divide and were carefully assembling some sort of edifice right in the center of the trench. I shook my head and walked back to where they worked. "What are you two doing?" I asked, with a moody serious expression. The boys looked up at me, then bent down and continued their efforts. "They're building a fish trap, Mr. Strauss," Anna said from her position nearby. The boys continued to work. I looked down at them in exasperation. "You can't build a fish trap out of wood. The wood will just float away when the water comes through," I argued, to no avail. "You can't catch a fish in such a contraption." I tried again. Anna appeared at my side and grabbed my hand. She nodded to me when I looked down, then applied some pressure to move me back in the direction I'd come. When we got back to where I had been working she let go of my hand. I looked back at her laboring brothers and was about to speak. She shook her head at me, so I said nothing. She reached up carefully and grasped my shirt near the collar. I bent down to her pull. Very seriously she looked into my eyes. "Mr. Strauss, the fish does not have to be real," she said.
What Anna said to me resounded out of that Lagoon, across the Sound and echoed straight into the marrow of my life. And the lives of almost everyone who has come into contact with me. At my company the expression "the fish does not have to be real" is stated over and over again. It is applied to situations wherein people are just being too damn serious. To situations wherein people are claiming that they have the highest integrity. That they never lie. That truth is this precious commodity that is just of too much value to do anything other than be admitted to and recognized.
Physics is real. Gravity is real. Water boiling at a certain temperature and pressure is real. But this phenomenal world we have created to survive in is not. Even the physics of that phenomenal world do not necessarily have to be real. It all depends upon perspective, belief, needs, wants and desires. And therefore, once this is realized, the world becomes a different place altogether. To survive in the real world we need to lighten up in the phenomenal. We need to become more flexible about understanding this place we inhabit and the fellow travelers we run with. The next time that somebody around you tells you that they have never told a lie, then tell this story and say these words: "The fish does not have to be real."
from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
John Wayne's real name is Chesley Sullenberger. The pilot of that airplane which went into the Hudson river yesterday. Sullenberger, like those astronauts in the Apollo 13 capsule that time, or Neil Young flying that first shuttle back into the atmosphere without power, or a parade of wonderful characters before him, demonstrated one of the most wonderful qualities a person can possess. Absolutely cool competence. It is so uncommon. We have such a wonderfully trained, capable and well equipped person at the stick of a commercial airliner, yet here we are, paradoxically, watching an incompetent clown leave the position of leader of the free world. The key to our economic turnaround is the celebration and reward of competence. Yes, it is about science. It is all about cool rationality in the face of outrageous fortune. Our struggle up from the muck over the past three million years has been exactly, and only, about that. I doff my hat to Chesley and hope that I will see his presence on Letterman and the other talk shows. I hope that our culture smiles at him in such a way that his fortune is vastly increased. In rewarding such performance, such rationality and such presence, we are turning away from the night with a haughty disdain (although we never really lose our fear) and stepping another baby step into the light.
Brooks was at it this morning in the Times. He is blaming the investors for the economic crash. He is using his gift for subtle misstatement to infer that it is the willfully deliberate stupidity and strange foundational nature of the investors which took everything down. Brooks sits right there, just off stage, from the Donkey Kong members of our United States Supreme Court. They, in there ludicrous leftover black robes, have decided that willful police incompetence, in gathering and preserving evidence against a suspect, any suspect, does not mean that the judge should not consider the, until now, illegally gathered evidence in convicting that suspect. Let's give more power to these sitting "Jobba The Huts" we have appointed to dispense our brand of American justice. A justice that is feared around the world. A prison system that is feared all over the world and at home, if one has a brain. Brooks is right there with them in their prejudicial application of the law, except he he is writing of economics. Never ever punish or impede the pursuit of idiocy and theft on the part of the leadership. Never go after the banking executives for theft. Yes, outright theft. That is the sole element that has brought down this economy. The taking of the money and the lies and frauds in support of that. When we do figure it out, let's pull the "we have to pay attention to the road ahead and not concentrate on the road behind," kind of garbage to preserve what they stole. So they get to keep it. The hedge funds (use Ponzi, whenever you see the word hedge or derivative) were led by people that got to take as much as a billion dollars a year in compensation for 'investing' people's money. All they had to do was produce statements which indicated that the fund was doing wonderfully well. So they produced those statements. Bernie Madoff was an expert on producing phony statements. He had no honor, however, as all of his victims have discovered. Nobody measured him with respect to his potential to have honor. He was even busy telling everyone who would listen that he lacked this minor element. But he could make money for them hand over fist. Say what? What does it matter if someone can make a hundred percent a year on the investment of your money if he does not have the character and responsibility to hold and then give it back to you? Trust was the only stupidity of investors across this land.
We need to trust people like Sullenberger! Yes, I will put money in his hedgefund or derivative. I have a pretty good idea, that if the 'plane' crashes, I will at least have a place, standing out there on the wing, waiting for a passing ferry to pick me up. Madoff would have bailed out (with a parachute he told all the rest of us was merely decorative!) just after the first birds hit the engines. We need to measure people better. We need to look into their hearts and study their backgrounds. We need to rediscover, through reading and association, what the meaning of real honor is. Then we need to select wisely, with a demanding presence, from the small pool we end up with. Finally, we need a large clear mirror to look into. One that reflects our image back in true form. One that allows us to gauge our own honor.
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url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
Obama’s Inauguration Poem
FELLOW AMERICANS
Will we battle terrorism as it should be fought
Or run away and let evil doers chase us to our door?
Will we protect our freedom and system of life
As our fathers and grandfathers sacrificed before?
Will we secure our borders against illegal entry
Or let our economy and security be destroyed?
Will we finally stop runaway wasteful spending
By leaders who are self-serving and void?
Will we continue to pledge our help to the less fortunate
Who suffer from war, hunger and disease?
Will we preserve our heritage and our future
From those who wish to bring liberty to its knees?
Never be afraid to be proud of America
And march with the thankful, honorable and just.
Never surrender our freedom of choice
Standing firm for what we believe and trust.
Sometimes it’s hard to protect what is right
Sometimes we’re scorned as for others we fight.
Some of us are willing regardless of loss
To commit our soul to save the cross.
Evil prospers on greed and human hate
Always eager to destroy and defecate.
God’s grace descends on the souls of man
Cleansing the impure wherever He can.
As long as man has struggled on earth
Life has had its troubles from birth.
God’s seed of goodness has delayed man’s demise
Thank Heaven for his heroes the strong and the wise.
The Lord adores his heroes of yesterday
Just how numerous, only He could say.
God loves his soldiers who line up to serve
By standing against evil His grace they deserve.
God Bless America
By Tom Zart
Most Published Poet
On The Web
.
During a briefing today at the Presidential Transition Team headquarters, Obama Transition Co-Chair John Podesta announced the strictest, and most far reaching ethics rules of any transition team in history.
“As we mark Veterans Day, all Americans are united in honoring the extraordinary service and selfless sacrifice of our nation’s veterans.”
The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. Share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country.
SATAN’S HORDE SHALL BE REMOVED
Overrun with war and uncontrolled leaders Our world becomes more dangerous each day.Dishonest politicians, criminals and the media Survive by their falsehoods at play.
Bible believers preach, that the end is near Our world as a whole is beyond reform. God will eradicate all which is wicked By His fire of eruption and storm.
To evil’s victory, I will never concede May its supporters anguish in hell. By the grace of God and the power of faith The goodness of man will prevail.
What we accomplish is heaven’s measureAs patriots respond to the threats of man. Protect and defend what we love till death As the soldiers of Satan arise from the sand.
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF WORLD WAR III
Our sons and daughters serve in harms way To defend our way of life. Some are students, some grandparents Many a husband or wife. They face great odds without complaint Gambling life and limb for little pay. So far away from all they love Fight our soldiers for whom we pray. The plotters and planners of America's doom Pledge to murder and maim all they can. From early childhood they are taught To kill is to become a man. They exploit their young as weapons of choice Teaching in heaven, virgins will await. Destroying lives along with their own To learn of their falsehoods too late. The fearful cry we must submit And find a way to soothe them. Where defenders worry if we stand down The future for America is grim. Now's not the time to fight one another Or kiss our enemy's cheek. All through history it remains the same The strong enslave the weak. May God continue to bless America Refusing evil, the upper hand. It's up to us to stay resolute Defending the liberty of Man.
UNYIELDING HONOR
Weakness invites moral plight, war and aggression
Encouraged by mistrust, misjudgment and delay.
All we love can be destroyed and transformed
By the powers of darkness maneuvering our way.
When something wicked stares us in the face
To corrupt our morals, faith and resolve.
God gives us courage to defend what’s right
No matter the sacrifice or danger involved.
Evil seeks to destroy the good in man
And silence the memory of God’s law.
It’s up to the faithful to stay unyielding
Defending the liberty and justice of all.
Our men and woman who serve in harm’s way
Are the armor of what the free world depends on.
Without their sacrifice of body and soul
All that we stand for is gone.
NEVER BE AFRAID TO BE PROUD of AMERICAAmerica, the abundant, the place I was born I'll cherish till the day I die.Where the bones of past heroes lie buried in the ground Who loved her the same as I.Her mountains are so tall they reach for the skyWith prairies where the green grasses grow.There's billions of trees where wild birds nestWith creatures that flourish below.That blue gold called water with which we are blessedAs raindrops or crystallized snow;Changes to rivers and fresh water lakesWhile the winds of our seasons blow.There's the haunt of a whistle from a lonely freight train Racing on ribbons of steelWith the harvest of farms and from the factories Balanced in a box on a wheel.Some cities have buildings a hundred stories tall Structures of concrete, glass and steel.A statue in a harbor, a present from France Describes how, inside, we feel.That flag on the moon with red and white stripesProves America’s dreams come true.A country of heroes who line up to protectThe past, the present and the few.We’ll defeat terrorism as it should be foughtNever letting Satan’s horde chase us to our door.Safeguarding our borders and system of lifeAs our forefathers sacrificed before.Never be afraid to be proud of AmericaAnd march with the brave, faithful and just.Refusing to submit to the will of our enemiesStanding firm to preserve what we trust.
“OBAMA & THE PRESIDENCY”
I'm a soldier for the Lord who's been up and who's been downThough while on the battlefieldI have never turned around.
I face more than flesh and blood With the devil's evil hoard.But they shall not steal my soulFor I swing my Lord's swift sword.
I wear all of God's armor With helmet, breastplate and shield.As Satan’s arrows fly by From his archers of the field.
The devil casts his dark netOver any he may charm. He’ll lead the from salvation With has hands upon their arm.
I battle evil daily And I pray that you’ll join me. We're not alone in this worldFor we're loved and watched by Thee.
THE PRESIDENCY Those who wish to be PresidentMust practice what they teach.For their people need inspiringTo believe what they preach.
Take heed therefore, unto yourselvesYou overseers of the flockOr the voters shall cast you outFor your futures are not of rock.
Life may place you in deep watersThough it doesn't wish you to drown.It's your past record that lets us knowWho you are as you smile or frown.
If you wish to be rememberedFrom the truth you must never part.Power corrupts the best of usWhen we stop listening to our heart.
By Tom Zart Most PublishedPoetOn The Web
You can hear all of Tom Zart’s 321 poemsof love, war, faith and more 24-7 on web radio at
http://internetvoicesradio.com/Arch-TomZart.htm Tom Zart ARCHIVES: GlobalSpecialOperations101 http://www.globalspecialoperations.com/tomzart2.html
My son served his country proudly, despite Bush's ultimate betrayal in sending him and his fellow soldiers to fight, and some of them to die, in a war based on greed and contrived evidence, while disregarding real threats to our country. My son toiled everyday in the heat and stiffling squallor of Sadr City, Iraq, based there at Camp War Eagle. The soldiers called it Camp Dirty Bird because of the sewage that flowed through many of the streets. From the day they rolled into Baghdad, they knew little but death, stench, and hate. Sadr City inhabitants hurled rocks, slurs, and taunts when my son went on patrols or missions; but, those were the good days. On bad days, which were most days,they endured day after day of bombings, sniper fire, and ambushes. On April 4th, when they had been there less than a week, they lost eight soldiers in a brutal ambush outside of Dirty Bird's gates. Mortar after mortar struck Camp Dirty Bird, day after day. They bravely endured it all because of their vow to serve when, where and how the president ordered them to serve.
My son and our family believe that one candidate, and only one candidate, will honor our troops and their selfless service to our country by ending a senseless war~ and by only sending them into danger when absolutely necessary to do so. That candidate is Barack Obama. An Obama presidency will follow through on the promise to provide proper care for my son and his disabled brothers and sisters from the Iraq debacle and the other wars before it. President Obama will act quickly to see that all of our troops (finally) have the equipment and armor they need to protect the troops from injuries they need not suffer, while bringing the war safely and honorably to its conclusion.
As a mother of a battered warrior from this war, I want Cindy McCain to know that SHE sent a frigidly cold shudder through MY soul's core when she dishonored our soldiers by using them as political pawns in her false attack last week on Senator Obama, based on ugly lies and invective. Shame on you, Mrs. McCain.
Alexander Hamilton would be so proud of you, Barack Obama. He was a good, honorable, yet not perfect man, who did his best for America. I know you will do the same. I am not sure why you want this job (maybe because of Airforce One, nice plane) however, I am grateful that you have chosen to represent us, the people. Great debate last night. Thank you and see you at the finish line!
Was it just me, or did John McCain seem dismissive when he called Barack Obama “that one”?
If I had to choose between John McCain and Barack Obama, I would choose THAT one. When it comes to Barack Obama:
Maybe John McCain is right. Barack Obama is the one. That’s the one for me.
"John McCain is going to make the last month of this campaign as unpleasant and dishonorable as possible." Whatever you think about those words, it's abundantly clear that he is intending to campaign on character.
Some of the pundits seem to think that fighting back on character will be harmful, somehow less than honorable. My fear is that the Obama Campaign follows the Kerry advisers strategies that emphasize 4 point plans or 12 point plans or nuanced policy distinctions and ignore the hearts of voters. The signs are there already: in Palin's jab about "I'm proud to be an American" and her subsequent attempts to cast Barack as associating with a 'terrorist'. The campaign is transparently signalling its intention to bring what they call character into focus. Let Barack talk about what he sees as character and let the ads point to McCain's dubious associations and what his actions reveal about character. And for goodness sakes, let some of those many veterans speak about their feelings about a candidate who consistently votes against their futures or holds up their benefits based on his 40 year old concept of what 'being in harms way' means and how long you have to serve to be worth our support and honor. It means something very different now in the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan. We don't have so many POWs in these wars; we have dead soldiers and dead Iraqi citizens and wounded bodies and minds returning to their homes to reconstruct their lives as best they can.
Forget all the numbers and details that may win in a rational debate, but this is not going to be a month of rational rating of candidates. It's going to be a month in which the two things most determinative of voter behavior are of critical importance, group allegiance and responses to the candidates themselves. More than at any other time since the Iowa primary, Senators Obama and Biden and their wives, need to speak a bit about the integrity and character of our candidates, speak with strength and warmth. But we also need to hear them speak clearly, forcefully, with equal strength about the character of McCain and Palin. Please don't be afraid to do so. Don't think that standing on some mythical higher ground will persuade independents, sporadic voters or the undecided.
This isn't a discussion about "negative" or "attack" ads. It's a discussion about ethics and values. And the question for Tuesday is whether Barack will be able to convey the best of himself, go into his resource states of community organizing days and really talk with people about their lives, show them how his life connects and bridges to their, to our, concerns. I hope he can follow some of the skill that his running mate used - starting by naming an issue as one of 'fairness' or 'honesty' or some other bridging value, distinguishing simply and clearly the stark differences between himself and McCain, and then punch passionately and strongly with endings that connect to the listeners. And call McCain on his deception and impulsiveness, reminding us that those behaviors are found no where in our founding documents or best hopes for our country.
From Make-Believe Maverick, Rolling Stone Magazine
To watch the Republican National Convention and listen to Fred Thompson's account of John McCain's internment in Vietnam, you would think that McCain never gave his captors anything beyond his name, rank, service number and, under duress, the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line. His time in Hanoi, we're to understand, steeled the man — transforming him from a fighter jock who put himself first into a patriot who would henceforth selflessly serve the public good.There is no question that McCain suffered hideously in North Vietnam. His ejection over a lake in downtown Hanoi broke his knee and both his arms. During his capture, he was bayoneted in the ankle and the groin, and had his shoulder smashed by a rifle butt. His tormentors dragged McCain's broken body to a cell and seemed content to let him expire from his injuries. For the next two years, there were few days that he was not in agony.But the subsequent tale of McCain's mistreatment — and the transformation it is alleged to have produced — are both deeply flawed. The Code of Conduct that governed POWs was incredibly rigid; few soldiers lived up to its dictate that they "give no information . . . which might be harmful to my comrades." Under the code, POWs are bound to give only their name, rank, date of birth and service number — and to make no "statements disloyal to my country."Soon after McCain hit the ground in Hanoi, the code went out the window. "I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital," he later admitted pleading with his captors. McCain now insists the offer was a bluff, designed to fool the enemy into giving him medical treatment. In fact, his wounds were attended to only after the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a Navy admiral. What has never been disclosed is the manner in which they found out: McCain told them. According to Dramesi, one of the few POWs who remained silent under years of torture, McCain tried to justify his behavior while they were still prisoners. "I had to tell them," he insisted to Dramesi, "or I would have died in bed."Dramesi says he has no desire to dishonor McCain's service, but he believes that celebrating the downed pilot's behavior as heroic — "he wasn't exceptional one way or the other" — has a corrosive effect on military discipline. "This business of my country before my life?" Dramesi says. "Well, he had that opportunity and failed miserably. If it really were country first, John McCain would probably be walking around without one or two arms or legs — or he'd be dead."Once the Vietnamese realized they had captured the man they called the "crown prince," they had every motivation to keep McCain alive. His value as a propaganda tool and bargaining chip was far greater than any military intelligence he could provide, and McCain knew it. "It was hard not to see how pleased the Vietnamese were to have captured an admiral's son," he writes, "and I knew that my father's identity was directly related to my survival." But during the course of his medical treatment, McCain followed through on his offer of military information. Only two weeks after his capture, the North Vietnamese press issued a report — picked up by The New York Times — in which McCain was quoted as saying that the war was "moving to the advantage of North Vietnam and the United States appears to be isolated." He also provided the name of his ship, the number of raids he had flown, his squadron number and the target of his final raid.THE CONFESSIONIn the company of his fellow POWs, and later in isolation, McCain slowly and miserably recovered from his wounds. In June 1968, after three months in solitary, he was offered what he calls early release. In the official McCain narrative, this was the ultimate test of mettle. He could have come home, but keeping faith with his fellow POWs, he chose to remain imprisoned in Hanoi.What McCain glosses over is that accepting early release would have required him to make disloyal statements that would have violated the military's Code of Conduct. If he had done so, he could have risked court-martial and an ignominious end to his military career. "Many of us were given this offer," according to Butler, McCain's classmate who was also taken prisoner. "It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to 'admit' that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was 'lenient and humane.' So I, like numerous others, refused the offer.""He makes it sound like it was a great thing to have accomplished," says Dramesi. "A great act of discipline or strength. That simply was not the case." In fairness, it is difficult to judge McCain's experience as a POW; throughout most of his incarceration he was the only witness to his mistreatment. Parts of his memoir recounting his days in Hanoi read like a bad Ian Fleming novel, with his Vietnamese captors cast as nefarious Bond villains. On the Fourth of July 1968, when he rejected the offer of early release, an officer nicknamed "Cat" got so mad, according to McCain, that he snapped a pen he was holding, splattering ink across the room."They taught you too well, Mac Kane," Cat snarled, kicking over a chair. "They taught you too well."The brutal interrogations that followed produced results. In August 1968, over the course of four days, McCain was tortured into signing a confession that he was a "black criminal" and an "air pirate." "John allows the media to make him out to be the hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals," says Butler. "John was just one of about 600 guys. He was nothing unusual. He was just another POW."McCain has also allowed the media to believe that his torture lasted for the entire time he was in Hanoi. At the Republican convention, Fred Thompson said of McCain's torture, "For five and a half years this went on." In fact, McCain's torture ended after two years, when the death of Ho Chi Minh in September 1969 caused the Vietnamese to change the way they treated POWs. "They decided it would be better to treat us better and keep us alive so they could trade us in for real estate," Butler recalls.By that point, McCain had become the most valuable prisoner of all: His father was now directing the war effort as commander in chief of all U.S. forces in the Pacific. McCain spent the next three and a half years in Hanoi biding his time, trying to put on weight and regain his strength, as the bombing ordered by his father escalated. By the time he and other POWs were freed in March 1973 as a result of the Paris Peace Accords, McCain was able to leave the prison camp in Hanoi on his own feet.Even those in the military who celebrate McCain's patriotism and sacrifice question why his POW experience has been elevated as his top qualification to be commander in chief. "It took guts to go through that and to come out reasonably intact and able to pick up the pieces of your life and move on," says Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, who has known McCain since the 1980s. "It is unquestionably a demonstration of the character of the man. But I don't think that it is a special qualification for being president of the United States. In some respects, I'm not sure that's the kind of character I want sitting in the Oval Office. I'm not sure that much time in a prisoner-of-war status doesn't do something to you. Doesn't do something to you psychologically, doesn't do something to you that might make you a little more volatile, a little less apt to listen to reason, a little more inclined to be volcanic in your temperament."
To watch the Republican National Convention and listen to Fred Thompson's account of John McCain's internment in Vietnam, you would think that McCain never gave his captors anything beyond his name, rank, service number and, under duress, the names of the Green Bay Packers offensive line. His time in Hanoi, we're to understand, steeled the man — transforming him from a fighter jock who put himself first into a patriot who would henceforth selflessly serve the public good.
There is no question that McCain suffered hideously in North Vietnam. His ejection over a lake in downtown Hanoi broke his knee and both his arms. During his capture, he was bayoneted in the ankle and the groin, and had his shoulder smashed by a rifle butt. His tormentors dragged McCain's broken body to a cell and seemed content to let him expire from his injuries. For the next two years, there were few days that he was not in agony.
But the subsequent tale of McCain's mistreatment — and the transformation it is alleged to have produced — are both deeply flawed. The Code of Conduct that governed POWs was incredibly rigid; few soldiers lived up to its dictate that they "give no information . . . which might be harmful to my comrades." Under the code, POWs are bound to give only their name, rank, date of birth and service number — and to make no "statements disloyal to my country."
Soon after McCain hit the ground in Hanoi, the code went out the window. "I'll give you military information if you will take me to the hospital," he later admitted pleading with his captors. McCain now insists the offer was a bluff, designed to fool the enemy into giving him medical treatment. In fact, his wounds were attended to only after the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was a Navy admiral. What has never been disclosed is the manner in which they found out: McCain told them. According to Dramesi, one of the few POWs who remained silent under years of torture, McCain tried to justify his behavior while they were still prisoners. "I had to tell them," he insisted to Dramesi, "or I would have died in bed."
Dramesi says he has no desire to dishonor McCain's service, but he believes that celebrating the downed pilot's behavior as heroic — "he wasn't exceptional one way or the other" — has a corrosive effect on military discipline. "This business of my country before my life?" Dramesi says. "Well, he had that opportunity and failed miserably. If it really were country first, John McCain would probably be walking around without one or two arms or legs — or he'd be dead."
Once the Vietnamese realized they had captured the man they called the "crown prince," they had every motivation to keep McCain alive. His value as a propaganda tool and bargaining chip was far greater than any military intelligence he could provide, and McCain knew it. "It was hard not to see how pleased the Vietnamese were to have captured an admiral's son," he writes, "and I knew that my father's identity was directly related to my survival." But during the course of his medical treatment, McCain followed through on his offer of military information. Only two weeks after his capture, the North Vietnamese press issued a report — picked up by The New York Times — in which McCain was quoted as saying that the war was "moving to the advantage of North Vietnam and the United States appears to be isolated." He also provided the name of his ship, the number of raids he had flown, his squadron number and the target of his final raid.
THE CONFESSION
In the company of his fellow POWs, and later in isolation, McCain slowly and miserably recovered from his wounds. In June 1968, after three months in solitary, he was offered what he calls early release. In the official McCain narrative, this was the ultimate test of mettle. He could have come home, but keeping faith with his fellow POWs, he chose to remain imprisoned in Hanoi.
What McCain glosses over is that accepting early release would have required him to make disloyal statements that would have violated the military's Code of Conduct. If he had done so, he could have risked court-martial and an ignominious end to his military career. "Many of us were given this offer," according to Butler, McCain's classmate who was also taken prisoner. "It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to 'admit' that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was 'lenient and humane.' So I, like numerous others, refused the offer."
"He makes it sound like it was a great thing to have accomplished," says Dramesi. "A great act of discipline or strength. That simply was not the case." In fairness, it is difficult to judge McCain's experience as a POW; throughout most of his incarceration he was the only witness to his mistreatment. Parts of his memoir recounting his days in Hanoi read like a bad Ian Fleming novel, with his Vietnamese captors cast as nefarious Bond villains. On the Fourth of July 1968, when he rejected the offer of early release, an officer nicknamed "Cat" got so mad, according to McCain, that he snapped a pen he was holding, splattering ink across the room.
"They taught you too well, Mac Kane," Cat snarled, kicking over a chair. "They taught you too well."
The brutal interrogations that followed produced results. In August 1968, over the course of four days, McCain was tortured into signing a confession that he was a "black criminal" and an "air pirate."
"John allows the media to make him out to be the hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals," says Butler. "John was just one of about 600 guys. He was nothing unusual. He was just another POW."
McCain has also allowed the media to believe that his torture lasted for the entire time he was in Hanoi. At the Republican convention, Fred Thompson said of McCain's torture, "For five and a half years this went on." In fact, McCain's torture ended after two years, when the death of Ho Chi Minh in September 1969 caused the Vietnamese to change the way they treated POWs. "They decided it would be better to treat us better and keep us alive so they could trade us in for real estate," Butler recalls.
By that point, McCain had become the most valuable prisoner of all: His father was now directing the war effort as commander in chief of all U.S. forces in the Pacific. McCain spent the next three and a half years in Hanoi biding his time, trying to put on weight and regain his strength, as the bombing ordered by his father escalated. By the time he and other POWs were freed in March 1973 as a result of the Paris Peace Accords, McCain was able to leave the prison camp in Hanoi on his own feet.
Even those in the military who celebrate McCain's patriotism and sacrifice question why his POW experience has been elevated as his top qualification to be commander in chief. "It took guts to go through that and to come out reasonably intact and able to pick up the pieces of your life and move on," says Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, who has known McCain since the 1980s. "It is unquestionably a demonstration of the character of the man. But I don't think that it is a special qualification for being president of the United States. In some respects, I'm not sure that's the kind of character I want sitting in the Oval Office. I'm not sure that much time in a prisoner-of-war status doesn't do something to you. Doesn't do something to you psychologically, doesn't do something to you that might make you a little more volatile, a little less apt to listen to reason, a little more inclined to be volcanic in your temperament."
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Henry M
So, the news has it that Sarah Palin et al will not honor the court subpoena that has been issued on her husband and her minions. Since when could a subpoena be ignored? I thought that the very nature of subpeoenas meant that the person HAD to appear in court or else be subjected to "contempt of court" and sent to jail.
Why is this gross disrespect for the court process not being subject to punitive action? Why are the politicians above the law?
Alaska judiciary - please take action, otherwise you cannot and SHOULD NOT enforce subpoenas for ordinary citizens too.
It's astonishing to me the level to which John McCain, a US war hero and veteran, has stooped in his attempt to win the presidency.
That he's swung so far away from his own platform to the conservative right, that he picked a hard right VP candidate who has no experience whatsoever, that he allowed a smear campaign filled with lies in his television commercials to carry his name, all to win, win, win, shows that if he gets into the White House, we can expect to see this country's decline propel at an even faster rate.
Where is your honor, John McCain? You should be ashamed of what you've become.
"Honor comes from honesty." Huffington Post blogger analyzes a winning strategy, artfully articulated by Senator Claire McCaskill. A skillful dismantling of McCain's attack ads on ABC's This Week.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-romm/obama-nails-the-winning-m_b_126479.html
