We're not huge fans of Senator John McCain, but we do have to give him grudging style points for planning the guest list at his own funeral and letting the world know that President Trump is not invited.
The animosity between the two men is well documented and well deserved, with each thinking (with considerable justification) that the other is a complete a**hole. Certainly Donald Trump didn't cover himself in glory when he said of McCain, "He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured." Ouch.
We'll let the historians sort out the issue of McCain's heroism, and instead focus on the immense service he's given to the country with 40 years as the Senate's single most reliable vote for anything the Democrats are pushing. Not that his accomplishments have been limited to politics; few know that he was also responsible for telling Marlon Brando to "stuff your cheeks with cotton like I do" to play the Godfather.
Despite our political disagreements with McCain, we're genuinely sorry that he is apparently nearing the last stages of a terminal illness. And remarkably, despite everything, he seems to have retained his famous sense of humor. For instance, he recently told Joe Biden to stay in politics.
As the saying goes, "always leave 'em laughing."
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| The Eternal McFlame. |
42 comments:
Mom always said; “If you don’t have anything nice to say...”
John McCain was not great at anything! He was not a good Midshipman at the Naval Academy...graduated 5 from the bottom of 800. Nor was he a good Naval Officer. As a Navy Pilot, he caused the fire on the flight deck of the USS Forrestal. Then he got shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. He served honorably as a POW. He then used that to be elected to Congress, where he was basically a RINO for his 30+ years in office. He twice failed to be elected as POTUS. Throughout all of this he had, and was known for, a fiery temper. Sorry to hear he has brain cancer, but as Tom Beringer told Red in the movie (about Vietnam) "Platoon", "Everybody gotta die sometime!"
Hasta la vista, baby.
Jim Gould
CDR USN (Ret)
USNA Class of '77
@ Jim G--he did not serve honorably as a POW. He weasled out and did what he was told by the North Vietnamese, a fact reported by other POW's who were there. Something that was carefully covered up when he ran for office. I'm sorry he's in poor health, but the man's an absolute turd.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! A Pulitzer and I forgot to hit the Publish. Of course I forgot to copy it before leaving this site.
I for one will not attend also. I have a firm commitment to watch the Ms pull weeds from the flower bed. I am not sad that Songbird has sung his last tune. Being the nitwit he was, had he left the President alone, President Trump would have probably sent VP Pence. Had that happened, the MSM would have had a field day dissing the President on how uncouth not going was and getting in a last shot at a dead man. Now, the idiot threw all that way in a tantrum. However, the MSM will probably televise this non event with breathless play by play showing all of us in flyover county this RINO is really dead and has departed this earthly plane (no pun intended).
I loved your strip about the Scouts (formerly known as Boy Scouts). I laughed out loud, and my dog and cat stared at me like I am crazy. It was wonderful. I marvel at your fertile imagination: Some bizarre news item and presto! you have created a marvelous cartoon. Not to mention what a fine artist you are as well. I am grateful to receive your splendid artworks twice a week.
I never could find the comments panel for the Scouts, so I used the one under McFlame.
Thank you for the smiles you bring - and the creativity!
Lorin Whittington
I for one detest extreme long lines since leaving the military ......so I won't be pissing on his grave .....till after the initial rush dies down........
Brain cancer. Well, that explains much.
I will not miss him one iota. His politics are abominable, his public persona vile, and his not actually trying to beat Hussein in 2008 helped bring our nation to the brink of destruction. All of that being said, I cannot bring myself to revel in his impending demise. It's too much like what we see coming from the antifa/commie/resist slime.
Sad, just plain sad that the Senator continues to show spite and vindictiveness as he approaches his end. And being philosophical for a moment, he should reflect on the luxury he has of knowing his end is near. I and others may not. I could be broadsided by a car driven by a drunk (or drug impaired driver) later on today and die. I volunteered to man to phones locally to get out the vote for him when he ran for POTUS, and perhaps it was for the better he did not win.
@Jim G: Not having served in any branch of the military, ..I would have thought him being responsible for a fire aboard a carrier would have been enough to clip his aviator's wings.
The only reason that mccain got ANYWHERE, including graduating from the academy, was because his grandfather was an admiral under Nimitz & company and his father was a top admiral during the Vietnam War. He was responsible for more American deaths than any North Vietnam military individual was. He was and is a scumbag and the only reason I won't piss on his grave is because when I left the Marine Corps I made a vow not to stand in any more long lines.
I would encourage President Donald Trump (I love seeing that in print) to not have a representative attend mccain's festivities. Besides, there are only two handles on a garbage can.
Amen.
@Section147- Your Mom's advice is excellent, but if I followed it this blog would be a lot less fun wouldn't it?
@Jim G- I've certainly heard the story about the fire on the USS Forrestal, some of which put the blame on McCain while others don't. Similarly there's debate about whether or not he served his time as a POW honorably. That being said, I've never been in the military and can't/won't critique those who were. That's why I said I'd let history sort out the truth. I am, however, comfortable criticizing his political deportment.
@mamafrog- Per my comment above, I've heard these accusations but don't know the absolute truth.
@James Daily- Geez, don't you HATE putting a bunch of words together beautifully and then seeing them disappear in an electronic puff of smoke? I've had it happen to me enough times that I'm pretty religious about saving a copy until I know I've posted successfully.
Back to topic, I agree with your assessment that Trump probably wouldn't have attended the funeral anyway. But I actually have sympathy for McCain's wish not to have Trump there. Trump seems to be stumbling through a number of successes in office, but he can inarguably be a loudmouthed lout sometimes, and never more so than with his "I like heroes who weren't captured" crack. That was an infantile smear on all those captured or killed in the line of duty.
@Lorin- Thanks for the nice comments! In the interest of transparency (not to mention humility), I need to make clear that when I do strips containing artwork (as opposed to photoshopped photos) I am NOT the creator of those images. Rather, I belong to a number of paid licensing services which let me select and legally use artwork created by others - and such was the case with the wonderful scene of the scouts hearing a spooky campfire story.
@REM1875- I don't know where McCain's final resting place will be, but if it's Arlington then I think a strict "zippers up" policy is called for out of respect for the others there. However, if he's anywhere else...
@M. Mitchell Marmel- McCain's political misjudgments far proceed his current illness, so I don't think there's a cause-and-effect link. With the possible exception of his encouragement of Joe Biden.
@TrickyRicky- I don't revel in his coming demise either, and tried to walk a line today between satirizing the political persona rather than the human being. McCain - and everyone else - deserves better than that.
@Fish Out of Water- McCain is definitely showing spite and vindictiveness in his recent book, but I'm actually on his side when it comes to having a voice about who's invited to your own funeral. I could readily produce a list of a**holes I wouldn't want at MY funeral either.
@Mike Porter- Well put. That "reach across the aisle" has done a lot of damage because it so frequently made no sense. I'm not against bipartisanship, but prefer it to occur for good causes rather than political gamesmanship and flawed ideology.
@Fish Out of Water- The fact that it didn't clip his wings is one of the reasons I take the story with a grain of salt.
@Fred Ciampi- Ouch! And yes, you made me laugh with the "only two handles" comment.
http://www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS%20FORRESTAL%20FIRE%2012%20AUG%2069%20PT%201.pdf
Read the report and reach your own conclusions.
Why didn't he call jimmy carter's doctor?
May he RIP.......soon. No crying here.
Excellent cartoon today on McClain, as for hs record, it pretty much deserves to be trashed.., he an ass, and proud of it. As for his medical condition, I don’t wish it on anyone, but for his pending exit from this rock.., I hope he takes, hilda-beast with him, so he will visit her daddy..
If they bury him at Arlington, I reckon pissing on his grave is out, but, thankfully, he has his own reserved spot in Hell, and he will not be getting ANY virgins to serve him.
Bob
I have been perpetually dumbfounded as to why my fellow Arizonians continued to re-elect Hanoi John and Jeff Corny Flake to the Senate.
Now it appears that both seats will be open come the Mid Terms in November.
It will probably be the Dems best chance to turn this state blue, but considering their track record, I doubt that any change will be noticible.
Hilarious, yet comforting. I can smile and not feel bad for denigrating a man at the end of his life. Thanks!
i seem to be the sole supporter of Senator McCain. i was a registered Independent who changed to Republican just so that i could vote for him in the primaries even though he already had the nomination locked up by the time my state voted.
he was a better man than most of those trashing him. do i agree with all that he did? nope. do i agree with those of you vilifying him now? nope.
i suspect that will no longer feel welcome at Stilton's Place. sad.
Per the Forrestal accident and other allegations of McCain's unfitness as a Naval Officer: if he was an officer by benefit of his ancestry alone, then the shame belongs with the system that allowed him this nepotistic "success". Unfortunately, such systems exist in every facet of life.
Per McCain's behavior as a POW: he obviously suffered greatly at their hands. Who knows what level of similar torture you or I could sustain without cracking? Granted, many sustained similar - and worse - and emerged with no allegations of misconduct in captivity.
Despite how I might feel about those two points, I cannot, on my own, verify either without depending on hearsay. The official report on the Forrestal accident points no finger at any individual, but to generally lax adherence to safety requirements on board.
As a politician, McCain styled himself a "maverick". However, his definition of "maverick" seems to be doing whatever is necessary to get along with the "other side". This made his "reaching across the aisle" seem to be more like stretching a hand home, than collaborating on critical issues. You're not "reaching" in a bipartisan manner when you do it consistently. More like a Judas goat, in my book.
And, frankly, I never liked the man - primarily for how hard he has fought any efforts to investigate POW/MIAs in Vietnam. I have always questioned his motivations on that issue.
I feel very bad he is suffering this malady - it is no way for ANYONE to go - I personally fear debilitating stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's, or brain tumors more than any other method of passing. But what makes me feel worse is the relief - almost joy - I felt when I first heard the news.
@S.B. Sweeney- That's pretty much an area where Trump can't attack McCain.
@Bob Lee- Thanks for the link to the report. Very informative.
@Judi King- Ouch!
@Anonymous- Again, my criticism is of his political record and nothing else. I don't want anyone to suffer.
@idahobob- I tend not to take a position on theological matters (grin).
@Geoff King- You're right that electing actual democrats won't make a big difference.
@RDB- I tried to be balanced. Not sure how well I succeeded.
@jlw- Let's start with the important stuff: you are ALWAYS welcome at Stilton's Place, and in the best American tradition I reserve the right to be wrong about points I make here. Dissenting opinions are not only welcome, they're really necessary.
McCain's record is mixed, which is more than I can say for Hillary, Obama, and their ilk. I genuinely believe that McCain's goal was to serve our country, even when I didn't agree with how he was going about it. And yes, I voted for him...not enthusiastically, but with more enthusiasm than I cast my vote for Trump.
Nothing in this world is black and white and I don't ever want anyone here to feel hesitant about posting their thoughts and feelings . Especially someone who posts as regularly and eloquently as you do.
I've never disliked Senator McCain enough to speak up about him, but his positions often seem as though they were arrived at using a dart board.
I'm sorry that he's going through what he's going through. He's probably a fine man.
I looked into McCain's war hero status when he was running for president and what I found convinced me that it is just another fabrication and myth. Broken arms from crashing his plane. His treatment of his wife was despicable.
And more of the story. There are a lot of people out there claiming that McCain started the Forrestal fire all by himself, and most of them are ridiculous and are posited by people that have never been around aviation in general and naval aviation in particular. The most ridiculous one I discovered yesterday, that the fire was started when McCain refused a waveoff by the LSO. Pretty incredible, when you consider the fire started during the launch cycle.
Make no mistake, I despise McCain for his backstabbinng behavior in Congress, but of this particular crime, he is innocent.
www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS FORRESTAL FIRE 12 AUG 69 PT 2.pdf
and:
www.jag.navy.mil/library/investigations/USS FORRESTAL FIRE 12 AUG 69 PT 3.pdf
Pity that a man who suffered heroically during his incarceration by the NVA turned out to be one of Lenin's "Useful fools". As my marine corps buddies are wont to say, someone should have grabbed him up by his stacking swivel and slapped the excrement out of him....
@jlw- I hope you're still reading; I think you've opened the path for more folks to agree with you.
@Emmentaler Limburger- It seems like the evidence is in McCain's favor when it comes to the Forrestal tragedy, a good reminder that "fake news" is hardly a new phenomenon. I'll never judge a man for how he behaves under torture, and there are certainly accounts that he acquitted himself as well as anyone could under the circumstances. I'll also note that while Trump, with his debilitating "heel spur," sneered at McCain's capture, it happened after he was shot down in combat. I don't care whose son you are, if you're taking enemy fire you've definitely put yourself in harm's way for the country.
I respect McCain the man, and dislike McCain the politician. That being said, there's no question that the world and (especially) congress is filled with lesser men.
@Harry Hamid- Well said.
@Linda McWilliams- Unlike Trump, I'm not uncomfortable with giving the label "hero" to anyone who has served - especially those who have suffered as a result. This doesn't erase McCain's other problems, but neither can it be dismissed the way Trump did.
@rickn8or- Thanks for the solid information.
@Liberty Card- There is an undeniable poetry in the way marines express themselves (grin).
a response to some of the venom
'Cause I've used my talents as I could
I've done some bad, I've done some good
I did a whole lot better than they thought I would so
C'mon and treat me like you should
Don McLean - Everybody Loves Me Baby
i can only assume that the more venomous of the detractors assume Obama was better for the country than Senator McCain would have been
I've got plenty of reasons to dislike McCain but the one thing he did which made me actively hate him was his single-handed vote keeping the abomination of Obamacare alive. His juvenile desire to hurt President Trump actively hurt untold thousands or even millions of Americans who have been severely fiscally damaged by Obamacare. If he has to die to get his sorry ass out of the Senate, so be it. His trashing of Sarah Palin now proves how he let his buddies on the left totally destroy her when she was the only thing keeping him anywhere close to defeating Obama. He will not be missed by me.
Well if it makes any difference, I won't be there either.
I also suspect Sarah Palin won't be there as well. In fact, I'm pretty sure there will be more Democrats there than anything else. He was after all, the mainstream media's favorite Republican. ("Maverick"=falling in line with Progressive Democrats) Their only regret about Palin was that she was the only reason that Obama didn't win by a Reagan-Mondale-scale landslide.
BTW: The only letter I have written to a non-local politician in the last decade was to McCain in 2008 when he was mulling the idea of "suspending his campaign" for President to return to Washington to "fix" the financial meltdown. My letter basically said "The economy is more than capable of fixing itself without Congress's help. By adding more uncertainty thus making things worse, you only make Obama and his Progressive redistributionist agenda inevitable." Needless to say, he didn't listen to me.
Just curious: Did Sen. McCain announce the non-invitation or was that leaked out somehow? I found no evidence that the Senator announced this or even drew any attention to it. POTUS did not attend Barbara Bush's funeral; Presidential presence makes any event about him, not the celebration her well-lived life, in that case. To be honest, in addition to getting old, I'm getting tired - of having to have an opinion on EVERYTHING. Planning your own funeral has got to be a sobering, highly personal experience. He's entitled to invite, or not, anyone that he wants there for any reason he likes, without my input. I know: he's a public figure and this sort of criticism comes with the territory. I, for one, prefer to not go there.
That being said, keep up the good work, Stilton. You brighten my life 3 times every week.
Where do people come up with the notion that McCain served with honor ? As a POW, his nickname was "songbird" due to his propaganda broadcasts and preferential treatment he received from the captors. His father, a true naval hero, is still rolling over in his grave.
Opinions are like a**holes; everybody has one, so here's mine.
McCain would have been exponentially better for our country than O'Liar. O'Liar turned the Justice Department into a political pitbull, and that will take many years to fix, if it even can be fixed. This was quite purposefully done, and I seriously doubt McCain would have done it.
McCain is a RINO, but that is not exactly an endangered species in DC. I hate RINO's, but he was just one of many.
Trump's comments on McCain being captured were extremely cringe-worthy! It wasn't even close to enough to make me vote for Shrillary, but it pissed me off at Trump none the less.
If McCain really did say he doesn't want Trump at his funeral, that is really, really childish. He knows darn well that Trump would most likely not go anyway, so un-inviting him ranks right up there with something an 8 year old would do. Then again, Trump has his 8 year old moments too!
And then, what Shelly said. McCain could have fought Obamacare, but he chose instead to support it. No doubt in my mind, it would not have passed if not for John McCain's lack of testicles.
Finally, John McCain has done harm, but he has also done plenty of good. He has brain cancer and is not long for this world. The Christian thing to do is to pray he spends eternity in paradise by accepting Jesus, if he has not already.
@Colby Muenster Well said, I will agree that it sad he is dying the way he is and I second your hope for him. I still don't like the man for his politics and general behavior during the war. We may all crumble under torture, he just didn't have to be such a willing shill about it. And I agree with @Linda Williams on his treatment of his wife, that really showed his character there. Whether or not she may have deserved it, don't treat family like that in public.
InRe The Forrestal fire - every thing I've seen about it says his plane was next to the one that got hit by the missile. Across the deck from the one that fired the missile. It would simply not be possible for him to have caused the missile to fire. The source of THAT seems to be some wise ass speculating that it was another jet on the SAME side, further up the deck, had a 'wet start' (letting the fuel spill into the afterburner before starting, so you get a huge flame / smoke cloud) and that cooked off the missile. See also Mama Cass and the ham sandwich quip. The guys who were working on the plane that fired didn't mention any such burst of flame - and you think they would have noticed. Near as I can tell, the 'wet start' quip and McCain's reputation for doing same have linked him to the cause of the fire, and facts be damned.
I agree that brain cancer has got to be a horrible way to go, wouldn't wish it on anyone.
As for his political record, I'm glad he's finally leaving the Senate, BAMN.
"Planning his funeral" Three little words, So much Schadenfreude going around..
jlw: You are welcome to speak your mind and to add any more comments in the future. It is important to hear all opinions and to give everyone the opportunity to speak their mind. A classmate of mine was on the deck of the Forrestal during event of which McCain was a part. His eyewitness account and that of the "official version" are different. I neither like nor dislike the man. Like all of us, he said and did things both good and bad. As a Christian, I pray that he recognizes his sinful condition and that Christ has paid for that.
Amen
I think it's pretty sad that McCain now says he regrets picking Sarah Palin as his running mate. She is the only reason Barack Hussein didn't win by a landslide, as noted above. Remember how Barack Hussein's biggest supporters (the MSM) went after her when she was announced as the VP candidate? The MSM saw her--rightfully if you ask me--as the real threat to their new messiah, so in their minds, they HAD to destroy her.
As for the Forestfire, uh, I mean the Forrestal fire, I saw a documentary on it and McCain's aircraft was on the other side of the flight deck, as I recall. The worst part of that fire was the sailors who died. Like the three guys trapped in a compartment that they couldn't escape and the firefighters couldn't get to in time. The guy who was the phone talker in the compartment watched the other two guys die first and Damage Control Central told him they couldn't rescue him. He had to just accept that he was going to die. Sometimes it's tough in the Navy.
Pete (Detroit) re the "wet start". I don't know about you, buy I'd be pretty reluctant to rawhide the only motor in the airplane that's got to carry you a couple hundred miles, some over deep water and some over unfriendly territory. (Or explain to the Maintenance Master Chief why you did it.)
Unrelated news items:
April was best month in history for U.S. budget, according to CBO figures
The federal government took in a record tax haul in April en route to its biggest-ever monthly budget surplus, the Congressional Budget Office said, as a surging economy left Americans with more money in their paychecks — and this more to pay to Uncle Sam.
And then:
Nancy Pelosi keeps gift-wrapping talking points for the GOP
Nancy Pelosi clearly wants to be speaker again, and she's on the cusp of reclaiming that perch. But someone appears to be standing in her way: Nancy Pelosi.
First it was her repeated admonitions that the GOP's tax cuts amounted to “crumbs” for the middle class — a talking point that has clearly given her Democratic colleagues agita because of its elitist overtones.
Appearing at a Politico event, Pelosi was asked to respond to GOP talking points that a Speaker Pelosi would institute single-payer health care and “raise taxes” by moving to “roll back the tax cuts that they passed this year.” Pelosi's response: “The second part there is accurate.” So there is Pelosi — on video — appearing to confirm she would try to raise taxes if Democrats win back the majority.
So Federal revenues are surging, the poor and middle classes have more money in their pockets for the first time since before the Democrats took Congress and the White House, and Nancy wants to revert to the golden Obama era. As it was far more golden for them than the rest of us, it's no surprise they'd want this. What gets me is how transparent they're being about it!
And finally:
NY attorney general latest scalp in #MeToo reckoning
New York state's top prosecutor, a public defender of the #MeToo movement and antagonist of Donald Trump, has become the latest public figure to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct. Eric Schneiderman, a 63-year-old progressive Democrat serving a second elected term as state attorney general, resigned late Monday hours after being accused of physically assaulting four women.
#MeToo takes down another Progressive. It wasn't supposed to be that way. Progressives have always assumed that it was conservatives who made up most of the pervs in public service, so as they were okay with sacrificing a big fish like a Harvey Weinstien or Charlie Rose, they didn't expect it to get so out of control and for it to be so one-sided.
What they don't understand is that the right-wing pervs get filtered out rather quickly by a political and media establishment ready to jump on any rumor of conservative malfeasance whereas Progressive pervs can survive for decades because that same establishment is willing to cover for them as long as they're faithful to the Progressive agenda. Even the most fervent feminists have repeatedly demonstrated that they will happily cover for rapists as long as the accused stands for abortion-on-demand.
I have to admit: I am not yet tired of the "winning".
The new Demonicrat mascot should be an Ass in Depends.
...and a bigger set for the Repugnantcan't elephants like McPain who won't get in step with the program.
The Dumbocrat party announced that it's changing its symbol from the donkey to the condom because it more accurately reflects the party's stance in that it allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of dicks, and gives one a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.....
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