I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
Not enough money in the budget to compensate families of soldiers in Iraq.
But plenty to give tax cuts to campaign donors.
Talk about fuzzy math...
Wow.
Can we make a fresh media whore gallery for every outlet that doesn't note this?
Yes -- there is a huge story here. It probably begins with the refusal of the Pentagon to allow press coverage of the return of remains at Dover, and the failure to provide a respectful return with honors. They don't want those pictures, you see. Above all, they don't want pictures of the families gathered to await the return. The idea is to localize the news -- make it a little tiny obit in a small town newspaper. No lists.
And now it includes being cheap with the benefits -- it includes the cuts in VA medical programs, the now standard six months wait for vets new to the program to get clinic appointments.
And there have been other cuts -- many services for those in the ranks in Iraq are missing. Many units even now are still eating MRE's instead of having a hot food mess. Showers and laundry apparently are for officers only. It all needs to be part of a coherent story, and it needs solid reporting.
Yeah, Sara, that's the worst thing about it to me... no respect for those coming home in a bag. To all the Fair Weather Patriots... why aren't you at Dover AFB?
All of this makes a strange kind of sense, given the pro-business, privatizing bent of BushCO ...
Why treat these brave, patriotic men and women as honored warriors ... to our current administration, they are merely low-rent mercenaries, and deserve to be treated as such.
I get more and more disgusted by these slimy bastards everyday.
Hey, Andy Sullivan said they signed up for this, they get an anonymous death.
These people are scum who dishonor some of the best people we have.
Sounds to me like good policy to cut the combat pay. In a down economy, after all, labor should be cheaper. There's more reason to enlist, after all, if you're broke and can't find another job...
And we certainly need some way to start cutting spending to support all those tax cuts. Seems as logical a place as any to begin.
Can someone explain to me why the friggin' military seems to love W so much when he treats them and their families like crap? And, they hated Clinton for being what, a Democrat? Can you imagine what the military would say if Clinton cut their pay and benefits like this?
If I were running a 2004 presidential campaign I'd be ALL OVER this.
I wish this was as close as he'd get to a carrier
Those rick bastards better start turning this economy around pronto with this kind of crap on their hands.
The real worry is that they assume there are going to be so many thousands of families of dead soldiers that it'll put a real dent in the budget.
If I were running a 2004 presidential campaign I'd be ALL OVER this.
This is beyond horrible. It should be brought up. It will be. Whether or not it matters depends on just how visceral it becomes for the general public.
TOMMY
by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
I'm with Jones on this one. I think it's a shame. I get a sinking feeling that the military will reflexively support Bush in 2004. The article actually mentions a Democrat trying to help them out. I sincerely doubt a Democrat will be worse on matters of the military than Bush has been. Having said this, it would be hard for me to be sympathetic for the military if they turn out in large numbers for Bush. I will still think they got a raw deal but I will also think that they don't mind that much.
Anyone wearing a uniform who votes for the fratboy coward is not thinking, and is betraying the finest values of military service and elevating the negative aspects of it above those values.
The military is a crossection of our society, and there are a hell of a lot of people out there who, confronted with the Bill of Rights in petition form, would denounce it as "communist" or somesuch.
The level of ignorance in this country of history appalls me on a daily basis. All those "unnecessary" regulations are there for a reason, if only people would bother to educate themselves about those reasons. The education wouldn't take that much time away from NASCAR races and reruns of "Three's Company" either.
Yes, being a history major, I've found that Americans are very ignorant of history. Not just European or World history, but American history. The lack of geographic knowledge also ties into this. These ignorant people just feed the idea that the US can do whatever it wants because god damn it... we're the best country in the world.
I really think the Dems are going to win in '04. The level of crap like this is just getting too high. The country is just down, economically and emotionally.
If I were the DNC chair, I'd play "Happy Days are Here Again." and nominate Kerry and Edwards or maybe Graham.
Of course Dems being Dems, dominated by loonies, they'll probably eff things up.
I read the article yesterday, but now the link is no good. Does the Army Times routinely purge articles? Or was this yanked for a specific reason? Or?
that editorial didn't even get slurped up by Google. all searches on Army Times and "family-separation allowance" turn up a fair number of bloggers commenting on it, but the original article has vanished.
i hope Memory Hole managed to get a copy of it, or someone can scan in a print copy of it.
I saved off a copy before it was scrubbed.
http://www.xtra-rant.com/armytim.../
story.php.html
I read the article yesterday, but now the link is no good. Does the Army Times routinely purge articles? ,rolex watch?
luxury watch?
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