the mccain problem, part 3a: the angry man

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[This turned out to be a very long post--in fact, as I compiled it I realized the sheer volume of information required that I break it into two sub-parts--but, since nobody in the mainstream press seems to (a) have the balls to truly address this aspect of John McCain's character, or (b) want to put all this information together in one place, far as I'm concerned it's something of which every American should be fully aware before they vote in November. So, even if you came here by accident, before you click over to the next blog, take a few minutes and read this post--and then do your civic duty, goddammit, by coming back tomorrow for part b. Then you can run screaming from this awful place and never look back.

And apologies for the weird spacing on this post--Blogger hates me and I have no idea why.]

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So i'm finally getting around to laying out my reasons for believing--not, understand, as a Republican or a Democrat but as a total, unabashed, fucking Independent--that not only is John McCain the wrong guy for the job, but that he'd be downright dangerous in the big chair--and rather than building suspense by leading with his lesser (although still considerable) deficiencies, something happened today which made me decide to go with the ultimate deal-killer first.

See, I was reminded of my single biggest concern as regards the good senator when I watched the following clip earlier today--a clip which, like the picture above (and no, that's not just mugging for the camera), is illustrative of the way this guy tends to react when even mildly challenged by anybody on anything:



Should the fact that McCain goes a little apeshit merely because some reporter has the temerity to ask him a relatively innocuous question about John Kerry bother you as much as it does me? Well, yeah, it should, because not only is this an indication of his imperious, hot-headed character, it is merely the tip of a very large iceberg. For instance [and note that as regards the following, I've sourced where I can; as for the rest, if you don't believe me google it--it's everywhere if only people will look]:

• From childhood, this was a very violent guy, "ready to fight at the drop of a hat", according to one of his biographers [I don't remember which, sorry].

• McCain himself has written: "At the smallest provocation I would go off into a mad frenzy, and then suddenly crash to the floor unconscious. When I got angry I held my breath until I blacked out."

Now, he'll tell you Vietnam made a man outta him, maturity tempered his violent streak, and all the other stuff people like that generally say--but his actions as a grown man put the lie to his words. Here are but a few warm memories from some of his former friends and colleagues:

• Marty Russo [D-IL] had an altercation with McCain when they were both serving in the House, according to the Atlantic Monthly. "Seven-letter profanities escalated to 12-letter ones and then to pushes and shoves, before the two were separated," according to the account.

• "People who disagree with him get the fuck you," said former Rep. John LeBoutillier [R-NY] who had an encounter with McCain when he was on a House POW task force. "I think he is mentally unstable and not fit to be president."

• Paul Johnson, the former (for the record, Democratic) mayor of Phoenix, has said of McCain: "His volatility borders in the area of being unstable. Before I let this guy put his finger on the button, I would have to give considerable pause."

• In 1992, Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman, both medical doctors, met with McCain at his Phoenix office to discuss the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel. At the mention of the issue, which had the potential to complicate a dam project McCain was pushing, McCain erupted. "He slammed his fists on his desk, scattering papers across the room," Silver said. "He jumped up and down, screaming obscenities at us for at least 10 minutes. He shook his fists as if he was going to slug us."

And I'm just getting started. This is a guy who, through his explosive outbursts and abusive language, has reduced his status among his colleagues in the Senate to the point that, when he sought the Republican nomination in 2000--and given the choice between him and an obscure, dumbass governor from Texas--only four Republican senators endorsed McCain. Perhaps the following little nuggets will explain why:

• In 1993, the Boston Globe reported that McCain "Came across the Senate floor and, while mocking [Ted] Kennedy, told him to ‘shut up,' according to observers in the chamber. "A stunned Kennedy returned the comment, telling McCain to ‘shut up' and ‘act like a senator.'"

• In 1995, McCain got into a “scuffle” with Strom Thurmond [R-SC] on the Senate floor; Thurmond was 92 at the time.

• In a discussion over the “fate of Vietnam MIAs,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) asked McCain, “Are you calling me stupid?” “No,” replied McCain, “I’m calling you a fucking jerk!” [Newsweek, 2/21/00]

• At a GOP meeting in fall 1999, McCain “erupted” at Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and shouted, “Only an asshole would put together a budget like this.” When Domenici [who, incidentally, is unquestionably an asshole--but i digress] expressed his outrage, McCain responded, “I wouldn’t call you an asshole unless you really were an asshole.” [Newsweek, 2/21/00]

• "I have witnessed incidents where he has used profanity at colleagues and exploded at colleagues," said former Senator Bob Smith, a Republican who served with McCain on numerous committees. "He would disagree about something and then explode. [There were] incidents of irrational behavior. We've all had incidents where we have gotten angry, but I've never seen anyone act like that." [Newsmax, 1/11/07]
  

• In the midst of a “heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul” last year, McCain screamed at Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) [whose home state, btw, has had a somewhat-more-than-passing experience with the effects of illegal immigration], “Fuck you!” he added, “This is chickenshit stuff…. You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it. I know more about this issue than anybody in this room!” [Newsweek, 5/19/07]

And this is just the stuff that people are willing to talk about--god only knows what else is out there (and that I've either missed or omitted for brevity's sake). Is anybody else seeing a pattern here? Can any American even imagine knowingly electing and installing as President of the United States a man who is renowned for getting up in people's faces on the Senate floor and screaming wild-eyed spittle-flecked obscenities at them at the first sign of his will being thwarted?

And here's another question for you to ponder: if this is the way this guy acts when he's merely seeking unchecked power, what does the world have to look forward to if he actually gets his hands on it? For me, it's a scary thought, and I (as well as several high-ups with far more street cred than me) have more to say about it; we'll wrap this up tomorrow.

see, it's not just the blacks and the hispanics--white people who are virtually indistinguishable from one another do it too

i hope i'm not the only one who loves shit like this: seems that danish researchers poring over the ikea catalog were outraged to find that all the high-end items have swedish names, mid-range stuff often carries norwegian nomenclature, while danish names are almost always reserved for all the cheap, throwaway crap.

danes are pissed, swedes are defensive, tensions are high.

i think it's time for jesse jackson to step in and mediate before this gets completely outta hand.

a(nother) half-ass post

been in a black hole the last few days, so once again i got nothin.

however, since there are a few of you who for some reason take the trouble to click your way over here every day, i figure i should give you something for your money.

first, i'd like to publicly thank the several of you (even the mean ones) who've e-mailed me since i started in with all the personal bullshit, and to let you know that while i'm gonna try to keep it personal, in the future i promise it'll be a lot less train-wrecky.

second, i'll share with you a little epiphany i had today: i complained recently that it was the sheer mundanity of my life left that me little to write about, but was just reminded that it's not always what happens that makes for an interesting story--sometimes it's all about the delivery.

case in point: take a minute and imagine how you'd tell somebody the story of something as seemingly banal as drunkenly getting on the wrong train, falling asleep and then waking up at the end of the line in some strange town--and then click here and compare yours with his.

i mean, jesus, if i could make such brilliance outta mere shitfaced stupidity, i'd never run outta material again.

hey, the blind have needs too

so i head over to april winchell and download her latest podcast to listen to on the way to work (and if you don't know april, you need to--for my money, one of the most brilliantly funny people out there anywhere). and one of the things she and her co-host talk about this week is a website devoted to the noble--and apparently grievously overlooked--cause of bringing porn to the blind.

for those of you who are as clueless in this regard as was i, here's the deal: porn-starved blind guy (and no, i'm not being sexist--you know it's always gonna be a guy) logs onto porn for the blind and submits a request for an audio description of a sample movie clip from the adult website of his choice. they in turn put it out there in hopes that a sighted volunteer with suitable descriptive skills will come along and record their (fine, his) visual impressions of said clip in fulfillment of said blind guy's fervent wish.

well, apparently unmoved by the half-ass efforts of the few volunteers who had up to now come forth, april--who is nothing if not a humanitarian--brought in the inimitable auntie vera charles to show 'em how it oughta be done.

the result almost caused me to run my car off the road and take out a startled flock of hasidic jews at beverly & mansfield--trust me, don't try to listen to the following clip while you're doing something that could hurt somebody.

[oh, and (1) apologies for the quality--i hijacked it offa her podcast; and (2) this woulda been up yesterday had it not taken me ten fucking hours to figure out a way to embed an audio clip in a blogger post--i mean, sweet jesus, why do they make what should be such a simple thing so hard? finally, i hit upon the idea of turning it into a movie--for the blind, of course]