I take back everything I said the other day about the power of the Internet.
................
I don't want to jump into the middle of this firefight -- if I did, I'm pretty sure my position would be overrun and someone (okay, Marvin) would misunderstand and call me an apologist for imperialist violence too.
I did however, want to chat for a few minutes about the "power of the Internet".
...
A few weeks a ago a lurker -- a fan of my post portfolio -- sent me a sweet email asking why I hadn't contributed as much recently as in the past. Well, I replied, there are work and family responsibilities and also, it's warm out so I'm cycling and Vespa'ing around with Rush's "Tom Sawyer" playing too loud because Neil Peart is a god.
But you know, one of the biggest reasons is that I've acquired the habit of doing GOOG research before I post. And often, that research smashes my pretty, pretty assumptions to pieces so whatever the hell it was I was going to say suddenly doesn't need saying...because it's a big scoop of wrong.
And when I do post, my stuff is hopefully sharper, better crafted and reasonably well supported by some of the best available info I could find.
Speaking of info...
There's this apparently well built Wiki article all about McCain's service record and captivity. Like all the higher quality Wiki entries, it's full of citations and links to original sources.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_and_military_career_of_John_McCain#Prisoner_of_war>
Now, if I was inclined to argue about McCain's imprisonment, the first thing I'd do is check out the sources, get at least a little background and keep the argument about moral implications, vet benefits and similar topics in a tight orbit around the known facts.
.d.