In Faith of My Fathers, McCain tells how he thwarted and insulted his North Vietnamese interrogators by using the Green Bay Packers NFL team, his "favorite team," as the chain of command. But in July this year, while in Pittsburg, he retold the story as one wherein his "favorite team" had been the Steelers, and the chain of command was the starting lineup of the Pittsburg franchise.
A few weeks ago, at Rick Warren's Saddleback church, John McCain asked whether he could relate one of his POW experiences; one where a North Vietnamese "gun guard" approached him one Christmas Eve and, without saying a word, scratched a cross in the dirt - an anecdote that just so happened to have been lifted directly from Alexandre Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago!
At one of his town meeting gatherings, McCain got into it with a military veteran who was arguing that the senator did not, contrary to his claim of universal support from "all the major veterans organizations," have such support, or that his voting record demonstrated he supported either the active military or veterans. Follows immediately is his Senate record of "Nays":
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May 2008 (S.22.IS - "Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act" provided military veterans with post-service educational benefits similar to those enjoyed by servicemen returning from World War II and Korea) NOTE: Senator McCain did not vote concerning this bill. However he argued vociferously against its enactment, claiming it was "too generous," and would "negatively effect needed reenlistments."
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Sept, 2007 (S.Amdt 2909 - Provided all troops in Iraq to have at least as much time home for recuperation and training as had in theater before redeployment to theater) http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00341
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May, 2006 (S.Amdt 3704 - Provided VA with an additional $20 million for healthcare facilities) http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00111
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April 2006 (S.Amdt 3642) - Provided for $430 million for VA outpatient care and facilities) http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00098
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March 2006 (S.Amdt 3007 to S.Con.Res - To increase VA medical services funding) http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00041
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March 2004 (S.Amdt 2745 - Provided for establishing a VA reserve fund to treat returning Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans because the then current fund had not taken into consideration the number of returning casualties) http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00040
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