From the Horse's Ass's Mouth (Or typewriter. Or Dictaphone™. Or something.):
Here, in his own words, based on almost total recall, is Commander McCain's narrative of 5½ years in the hands of the North Vietnamese.Well, we see no need to reproduce the entire thing here, but let's look at the "good parts." And wonder where the cross in the dirt story is. Here's a good one:
Others came in to find out about life in the United States. They figured because my father had such high military rank that I was of the royalty or the governing circle. They have no idea of the way our democracy functions.Well, let's think about how that "democracy" functions, Sidney. You get into Annapolis as the son & grandson of the U. S. Navy's first four-star admiral father-son team (& it appears his great-uncle was a general in the U. S. Army during WWI) graduate fifth from the bottom at the Academy, crash several planes, still get to fly an attack aircraft from a carrier, marry a beer baroness, get her daddy to buy your way into the House & Senate, then get to run for President twice, actually getting the nomination the second time. No, you're certainly not royalty, or "the governing circle." (As mentioned previously, no enlisted person has ever been elected president of these United Snakes.) You bear no relation to George Bush (also not a member of the "governing circle," who in the wonderful words of Ann Richards, was "born on third base & thinks he hit a triple.") Four more yrs.! Four more yrs.!
As far as this business of solitary confinement goes—the most important thing for survival is communication with someone, even if it's only a wave or a wink, a tap on the wall, or to have a guy put his thumb up. It makes all the difference.Gee, wouldn't this have been the perfect place to mention his Xian buddy the cross-drawer? You'd think, wouldn't you?
I had read a lot of history. I spent days on end going back over those history books in my mind, figuring out where this country or that country went wrong, what the U. S. should do in the area of foreign affairs.What should the U. S. do, after yrs. of contemplation? "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran." "I'm sorry to tell you, my friends, there will be more wars."
People have asked me how we could remember detailed things like the tap code, numbers, names, all sorts of things. The fact is, when you don't have anything else to think about, no outside distractions, it's easy. Since I've been back, it's very hard for me to remember simple things, like the name of someone I've just met.Perhaps we'd best keep him in solitary confinement if he's elected, so he can concentrate w/o 'outside distractions.' Maybe he just forgot when he met Slovakia & the Czech Republic.
Hope this one gets a little more notice:
The Oriental, as you may know, likes to beat around the bush quite a bit.
As you may know. And if you didn't, now you do. Anything to say about "The African," John?
I was determined at all times to prevent any exploitation of my father and my family.
Well, other than any exploitation that you might have done yourself, right Sid?
Now get this one:
Some guards would just come in and do their job. When they were told to beat you they would come in and do it. Some seemed to get a big bang out of it. A lot of them were homosexual, although never toward us. Some, who were pretty damned sadistic, seemed to get a big thrill out of the beatings.
Uh, John, if they were homos, but not toward you, how did you know they were homos? Is it just a shame that your gaydar was better than your anti-SAM radar? And is there a difference between being thrilled by beatings & being thrilled by dropping bombs on people?
We're bored limp w/ this thing now. Do see it for yourself, as McCain used the words "gook" & "slopehead," & says he's in better shape at the time of the interview than before he was shot down. And so on.
Thanks to Eric Brewer of BTC News for digging up this marvelous article in the first place, & tracing the timeline of the cross story.
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