PBH / off topic: do your thing (active forums more▼ | ) / post

Unfit to serve as Commander-In-Chief

John McCain:
Unfit to serve as Commander-In-Chief
The spoiled son of military privilege got a free ride throughout his military career despite repeated instances of sex scandals and screw-ups
By Ted Sampley
U.S. Veteran Dispatch
January 27, 2008
John Sidney McCain III entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland in 1954. Young McCain wanted to become an admiral. He planned to be the "first son and grandson of four star admirals" to achieve such a distinction. But that was not to be. McCain III possessed none of the innate character and discipline traits that helped mold his father and grandfather into great military leaders.

His father, John S. "Junior" McCain, and grandfather, John S. McCain, Sr., were famous four-star Admirals in the U.S. Navy. His father commanded U.S. forces in Europe before becoming commander of American forces fighting in Vietnam. His grandfather commanded naval aviation at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Both men became highly influential in U.S. Navy operations.

At the Academy, aside being known as a "rowdy, raunchy, underachiever" who resented authority, Midshipman McCain became infamous as a leader among his fellow midshipmen for organizing "off-Yard activities" and hard drinking parties. Robert Timberg wrote in his book, The Nightingale's Song, that "being on liberty with John McCain was like being in a train wreck."

McCain's grades were "marginal." He drew so many demerits for breaking curfew and other discipline issues that he graduated fifth from the bottom of the class of 1958. Despite his low "class standing," and no doubt because of the influence of his family of famous Admirals, McCain was leap-frogged ahead of more qualified applicants and granted a coveted slot to be trained as a navy pilot.

Good Party Animal - Bad Pilot:

He spent the next two and a half years as a "naval aviator in training" at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, flying A-1 Skyraiders.

While a pilot trainee, McCain continued to party hard. He drove a Corvette and dated an exotic dancer named "Marie the Flame of Florida." Timberg wrote that McCain "learned to fly at Pensacola, though his performance was below par, at best good enough to get by. He liked flying, but didn't love it."

McCain Lost Five Military Aircraft

McCain, the "below par" pilot, eventually lost 5 military aircraft, the first during a training flight in 1958 when he plunged into Corpus Christi Bay while trying to land. The Navy ignored the crash and graduated McCain in 1960.

While deployed in the Mediterranean, the hard partying McCain lost a second aircraft. Timberg described the crash: "Flying too low over the Iberian Peninsula, he took out some power lines which led to a spate of newspaper stories in which he was predictably identified as the son of an admiral."

Unscathed, McCain returned to Pensacola Station where he was promoted to flight instructor for Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi. The airfield at Meridian, McCain Field, was named in honor of McCain's grandfather.

In 1964 McCain became involved with Carol Shepp, a model from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he had met at Annapolis. They were married in Philadelphia on July 3, 1965.

Flight instructor McCain lost a third aircraft while flying a Navy trainer solo to Philadelphia for an Army-Navy football game. Timberg wrote that McCain radioed, "I've got a flameout" before ejecting at one thousand feet. McCain parachuted onto a beach moments before his plane slammed into a clump of trees.

The Navy dismissed the crash as "unavoidable" and assigned McCain to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in December 1966, which was patrolling the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. In Spring 1967, the Forrestal was assigned to join the Operation Rolling Thunder bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

McCain lost his fourth plane on board the Forrestal on July 29, 1967 when a rocket inadvertently slammed into his bomb laden jet. McCain escaped, but the explosions that followed killed 134 sailors. McCain was transferred from the badly damaged Forrestal to the USS Oriskany. Shortly afterwards, on Oct. 26, 1967, he was shot down and captured by the Vietnamese.

Post-POW Years: Political Ambition and a New, Young, Rich Wife

Upon his release from North Vietnam and return to the United States in 1973, McCain reunited with his wife, Carol, who had been permanently crippled in a car accident while he was a POW.

Still yearning to become an admiral, McCain enrolled in the National War College at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. and underwent physical therapy in order to fly again. The Navy excused his permanent disabilities and reinstated him to flight status, effectively positioning him for promotion.

Timberg described McCain's advancement: "in the fall of 1974, McCain was transferred to Jacksonville as the executive officer of Replacement Air Group 174, the long-sought flying billet at last a reality. A few months later, he assumed command of the RAG, which trained pilots and crews for carrier deployments. The assignment was controversial, some calling it favoritism, a sop to the famous son of a famous father and grandfather, since he had not first commanded a squadron, the usual career path."

While Executive Officer and later as Squadron Commander McCain used his authority to arrange frequent flights that allowed him to carouse with subordinates and "engage in extra-marital affairs."

This was a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice rules against adultery and fraternization with subordinates. But, as with all his other past behaviors, McCain was never penalized; instead he always got away with his transgressions.

Timberg wrote, "Off duty, usually on routine cross-country flights to Yuma and El Centro, John started carousing and running around with women. To make matters worse, some of the women with whom he was linked by rumor were subordinates . . . At the time the rumors were so widespread that, true or not, they became part of McCain's persona, impossible not to take note of."

In early 1977, Admiral Jim Holloway, Chief of Naval Operations promoted McCain to captain and transferred him from his command position "to Washington as the number-two man in the Navy's Senate liaison office. McCain was promptly given total control of the office. It wasn't long before the "fun loving and irreverent" McCain had turned the liaison office into a "late-afternoon gathering spot where senators and staffers, usually from the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, would drop in for a drink and the chance to unwind."

In 1979, while attending a military reception in Hawaii, McCain met and fell in love with Cindy Lou Hensley, 17 years his junior, who was the daughter of James W. Hensley, a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor from Phoenix, Arizona. McCain filed for and obtained an uncontested divorce from his wife in Florida on April 2, 1980 and promptly married Cindy on May 17, 1980.

He resigned from the Navy in 1981 and went to work for his father-in-law in Phoenix; where he used the opportunity to make powerful and wealthy friends in Arizona including banker Charles Keating and Duke Tully, the editor-in-chief of the Arizona Republic. Keating was later convicted of fraud, racketeering, and conspiracy and Tully was disgraced for concocting a phony military record of combat in Korea and Vietnam including medals for heroism.

McCain ran for Arizona's First Congressional District in 1982. McCain won the congressional seat. In 1987 McCain was elected to the Senate.

By morphus on Jun 6, 2008, 08:42 in Off Topic.

peteyw says on Jun 6, 2008, 15:23:

Wow. I just realized how qualified McCain is to be the President of the United States.

He's not too bright, lucky as hell to escape death so many times, lucky as hell to be born in a family of privledge, adulterer, partyboy, playboy, heavy drinker, brown noser and just smart enough to marry well.

Perfectly qualified. I'm going to switch my vote. Thanks for the article Morph

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 6, 2008, 16:54:

this is actually a sugar coated description of mccain. i posted a much harsher story on mccain months ago.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jun 6, 2008, 17:14:

HA HA! I just thought it was a funny article. None of that stuff in his past makes him unqualified. I just don't like his plans for Iraq. He says the Iraqi war could be won by 2013. Theres nothing to win.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

peteyw says on Jun 7, 2008, 09:55:

I agree, none of it makes him unqualified; it makes him MORE qualified based on Presidential behavior going back to Kennedy all the way up to our current President George W. "I can't remember if I used coke" Bush.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Jun 8, 2008, 09:02:

kinda like clinton's, 'i tried pot but i didn't enhale.' yeah, me too. and bush, what did he say, i tried it but i didn't snort? hmmmm me too. i just sucked it up with my lips..... but then again, i don't remember.....duh.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

peteyw says on Jun 8, 2008, 10:19:

At least Obama had the integrity to come right out and admit he smoked and snorted. And as a result of that honesty, its a non-issue.

Now if he'll just say that he waxed the Obama Girl, I'l be totally satisfied.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Jun 8, 2008, 18:15:

"The spoiled son of military privilege got a free ride throughout his military career despite repeated instances of sex scandals and screw-ups."

I guess his daddy put him in that prison camp and had him tortured because he wet the bed when he was a kid.

'

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 8, 2008, 20:37:

When the North Vietnamese found out the McCains father was the commander in chief of the forces in vietnam they offered to release him.

Mccain wouldn't leave unless all others before him were also freed.

So the vietnamese set him up in a hotel room with prostitutes as his prison cell.

He was not seen by his fellow POW's and when he was he looked much healthier than anyone else.

His fellow Pow's consider him a traitor.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

travelingirl says on Jun 8, 2008, 21:20:

Maybe that's why he can't raise his arms all the way above his head now. A lot of damage was done before they found out he was the son of an admiral and the years before he was ever offered a release.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

billyb says on Jun 9, 2008, 06:45:

Gringoloid, if McCain was going to accept all those "fringe benefits" from his gracious hosts at the Hanoi Hilton, why wouldn't he just accept the early release they offered him? Or was the gym and food there just too good to pass up?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 9, 2008, 08:22:

Billy, what would he look like in the eyes of his fellow soldiers as a career military officer if he accepted the release offered him to be released ahead of others who had been held captive longer? He still had years of service left.

Military officers are gung-ho and he certainly wouldn't be running for president as a result of being given preferential treatment by the enemy. That hotel with the prostitutes where he lived while in Hanoi is information not known to the general public yet.

He did accept as long as prior prisoners were released along with him.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 9, 2008, 08:40:

travelingirl.................i can't raise my arms either and its not from being a tortured pow.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

travelingirl says on Jun 9, 2008, 09:19:

Haha ;)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jun 9, 2008, 09:26:

So how do we know which rumors are true? There was another rumor that he had to do a gay sex act to a prison guard for food.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 9, 2008, 12:40:

These are not rumors, they are facts based on eyewitness accounts. The other prisoners rarely saw him and when they did he looked well fed and healthy. POWs from any war hate his guts. Great book called "Perfidy" that tells everything you want to know about POWs, MIAs and how it relates to McCain.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

huskie says on Jun 9, 2008, 16:03:

Loid: Who is the author of that book, I am asking because the book I have read called "Perfidy" talks about a polemic against the establishment zionism of Weizmann and Ben-Gurion by Ben Hecht.
Cheers

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds-"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

goin_south says on Jun 9, 2008, 18:07:

"Unscathed, McCain returned to Pensacola Station where he was promoted to flight instructor"

It's been said that "Those who can't,... teach".

Why Colombianitas? Personally... I just don't like pink areolar tissue.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 9, 2008, 18:20:

huskie, this book has just come out and has really not hit the book stores; i get an advanced copy because i'm a donor.

PERFIDY:
The Government Cabal That Knowingly Abandoned Our Prisoners of War And Left Them to Die

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has always gotten a free ride from the Controlled Media in America. He’s been a regular guest—more than any other member of Congress—on the weekend chat shows and he’s always portrayed as a “reformer.��? Even more so, the average American—even Democrats who don’t necessarily support him for president—is convinced that McCain is a “war hero��? who’s popular among his fellow former prisoners of war (POW) and among the families of America’s POWs and those still Missing in Action (MIA). A shocking new book from two experts demonstrates otherwise . . .

PERFIDY

Co-authored by a career military man, retired Army Sergeant John “Top��? Holland and his coauthor, Rev. Patrick Bascio (see more about these two remarkable fellows below) is the incredible story of how high-ranking U.S. government officials in the diplomatic and intelligence communities, along with certain elements in the military, have actively collaborated to cover up the fate of American POWs and MIAs. And as the authors demonstrate beyond any question, Sen. John McCain—himself a former POW—has been perhaps the most adamant roadblock on Capitol Hill in getting to the truth about the POW/MIA controversy. Again, this is something that very few Americans know about. But it’s something that the POW and MIA families (with whom Holland and Bascio have worked closely for years) are very much aware of, and they want you and other Americans to know about it. And it’s not only a matter of POWs and MIAs from Vietnam. The scandal reaches as far back as Korea and even to World War II. To repeat again that this 224-page volume is a genuine shocker is understating the matter. Once you’ve read this book you’ll see that much of what you think you know about McCain —or about the events of America’s wars of the mid-century and their aftermath—is not true. Why not buy extra copies to donate to your local branches of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Jun 9, 2008, 19:05:

Did BOH serve?

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 9, 2008, 22:17:

I did not know that it was a requirement, Gator.

No offense to our servicemen, many of whom are bright individuals, but their having been in the military does not mean that they would be effective leaders of our country. And they should be scrutinized like any other candidate.

I know nothing of the book that g-loid mentioned, but it seems convenient if it comes out in time for the elections (whether it is true or false, who knows?). however, I have always enjoyed Smedley Butler's book on the military and its uses, "War is a Racket."

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents." Smedley Butler

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

huskie says on Jun 10, 2008, 04:52:

Thanks for the info Loid, I want to get this book.
Cheers

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds-"

0 funny, 0 helpful.

gringoloid says on Jun 10, 2008, 06:01:

Lcacique........I didn't know you had it in you!!..........that book is a classic among conspiracy theorists.............I think it was written back in the 1930's.

If I have time later, I'll write about the great General Smedley, probably the most qualified person to have written a book such as this.................you'll never hear him mentioned in the dupe media.

I wish I could have brought my book collection to Colombia............I had original copies of many great books such as this.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

morphus says on Jun 10, 2008, 06:11:

Heres some more muck on McCaine:

"John McCain

That New Time Religion

John McCain grew up Episcopalian. He went to an Episcopalian high school. For at least 15 years, he has been listed as an Episcopalian in authoritative directories such as the Almanac of American Politics and Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America 2008. He told a reporter from McClatchy News Service in June 2007 that he was an Episcopalian.
Suddenly, in September 2007, he's campaigning in South Carolina, the heavily Baptist state where George W. Bush barely managed to stop McCain's presidential campaign 8 years ago. And guess what? McCain tells a reporter "By the way, I'm not Episcopalian. I'm Baptist."

When pressed, he said he's attended the North Phoenix Baptist Church in Arizona for more than 15 years, though he has never been baptized in that church. Now see, that's exactly the problem. Baptism is kind of a big thing in the Baptist Church. (That's how they got the name.) No baptism, not Baptist.

Anyway, details aside, this is one very clear indication of how McCain has changed. Now, he's just another hungry politician, happy to pander if it helps him win. Which eliminates the very reason people were excited about him in 2000 -- his honesty.

Founding Member of the Keating Five

Back in the old days, defendants in famous trials got numbers -- the Chicago Eight, the Gang of Four, the Dave Clark Five, the Daytona 500. McCain was one of the "Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)

Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."

Mafia ties:

In 1995, McCain sent birthday regards, and regrets for not attending, to Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonano, the head of the New York Bonano crime family, who had retired to Arizona. Another politician to send regrets was Governor Fife Symington, who has since been kicked out of office and convicted of 7 felonies relating to fraud and extortion.

Family Problems

McCain has a reputation as a politician who has difficulty keeping his pants zipped, according to Republican sources. He acknowledges that his adultery broke up his first marriage. His second wife Cindy, the daughter of a wealthy Budweiser beer distributor, was addicted to prescription narcotics and even stole hard drugs from a medical charity that she ran. McCain acknowledges that she didn't want him to run, and only agreed once he promised that she doesn't have to go to New Hampshire or Iowa.

Quotes:

- Leonardo DiCaprio is "an androgynous wimp." -- McCain.

- "The thought of [McCain] being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." -- Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who has known McCain for 35 years."

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Tinto (Moderator) says on Jun 10, 2008, 07:19:

Name a modern president or presidential candidate who's not hot-headed (it takes a huge ego to even want the job) and erratic (flip-flopping due to polls and campaign contributions). None of them are 'normal' people.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lcacique says on Jun 10, 2008, 13:30:

loid: Janeane Garofalo turned me on to War is a Racket and I would have to say that it is a CLASSIC as you claim.

These are the lines that directly preceded the quote above:

"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its 'finger men' to point out enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war preparations, and a 'Big Boss' Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service." Smedley Butler

From there it goes directly into the quote above.

At the time of his death he was the most decorated veteran. He also exposed the fact that big business approached him to militarily overthrow our own president (FDR). It's a part of US history that is conveniently ignored. It is not a conspiracy theory it is/was a conspiracy reality.

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

0 funny, 0 helpful.