I sit down this morning to read the world news on Reuters, Ananova and The Register, and What to my wondering does appear, but some article talking about how the Republicans blocked something that would benefit Military Morale.
Huh?
Throughout the 20th century the Republican party has been instrumental in giving the U.S. Military what it rightly deserves. Pay increases which are behind by approximately 50 years, benefit adjustments which have been desperately needed, housing benefits which allow married military members to live in decent quarters instead of some back-alley projects.
Usually it is the Democrats who attempt to put a stop to the betterment of the U.S. Military. Liberals are generally a "peace-loving passive bunch of hippies", which have a tendency to press poor views of the Military on the voting population. We uniformed servants of freedom and justice get labled as "baby-killers", "warmongers", "rapists", "oppressors" and many other "liberal honorifics". I have no love for Democrats because of the way that Bill Clinton made the White House seem like some kind of Day-Time Soap Opera gone bad.
Since George W. Bush became President (HUGE mistake...the White House is not a Family business) I have been getting the same opinion of the Bush administration as I had of the Clinton Administration. Here is a man who appears to be using the presidency for his own gains, and it truly irritates me. His decisions are putting more american lives in jeopardy, yet there is no real plan of action for the "search for bin-Laden" or the return of Iraq to her own elected government.
Now, with all the deployments and re-deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Active Duty soldiers are spending more time with "boots on ground" than they are back home in the arms of their loved ones. The Senate Democrats placed a bill on the table to essentially force the government to have military members who spend 15 months in theater, spend the following 15 months at home, giving them a concrete length of time to rest and recuperate from the stresses of combat.
Senate Republicans shot down this bill.
"The plan was strongly opposed by the Bush administration -- Pentagon Secretary Robert Gates called it a backdoor attempt to pull troops off the battlefield in the unpopular Iraq war, and said he would recommend Bush veto it if it passed." (comment copied from Reuters.com)
That may be the case, but we are losing more and more soldiers to combat stress than is acceptible at this point. This is in HUGE part due to the lack of recuperation and relaxation time that Soldiers are getting between deployments.
I have seen the results of PTSD in friends of mine over the past few weeks. All of us here are stressed and need breaks, but we do not have the opportunity or the luxury to take many breaks while in theater. With that information, the best remedy for this situation is more "down time" between combat tours.
I pose this compromise to Pentagon secretary Robert Gates and every member of the Senate who voted AGAINST this bill...
You get off your fat asses and do back to back combat tours, then tell us that you think we shouldn't have extended recuperation time between tours.
Oh, that's right, the reason you got into politics is because the only thing you are good at is...ummm...wait, it'll come to me...hang on, I've almost got it...crap, I can't think of anything you are good at.
Politicians need to EARN their positions, not just sweet talk their way into them.
That sounds too much like right. Can't do that.
Whatever.
I hate politics.
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7 comments:
I join you in not liking politics, or most politicians. It seems that the GI is always the one to get the short end of the stick. Very little glory but a lot of blame when things are not going quite right. This has been true since Vietnam for sure, although it started with Korea. It filters down to the general populace as well. Most years one finds 100-200 people at a Veterans Day Observance even in good size towns. Portland should have 30-40 thousand out for such an event. But they are all busy enjoying the "rights" someone gave them. We teach our kids to say please and thank you, I wonder why we don't follow suit?
We, as Americans really want to believe that we act out of ideals and not self interest in our world as well as in our domestic affairs. You could not prove that by the way we treat veterans. There is hope however. Keep praying that folks will see the light and you may be surprised at those that begin to shine. God Bless
Well put. There have been several of your postings that I have wanted to print off and send to the local newspaper. I wonder if they would print it??? With your permission I just might....signing it a Soldier in Iraq of course.
I usually avoid discussions on politics like the plague! But then my finger started to point towards the media!
I think the biggest reason I dislike politics so much is because it creates a lot of argument. I've pretty much avoided it all my life and I keep as far away from it as possible.
I remember right around high school years my teachers being so shocked that I never really read the paper or watched the news. I remember being taught specifically how effective a tool the media has become and the more I learned about it, the more intrigued yet reserved in judgement I became.
I also know next to nothing when it comes to American History, but do know that when I look down at Maryland and DC as I fly into BWI - I grow more and more amazed at how much we have accomplished and how much we suffer.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who are firm in their beliefs and who 'turn their other cheek' when struck with hate. And for those who have a passion for representing minorities or speaking for those too afraid to voice their thoughts.
The politicians of the world have so many faces *smiles lovingly at Ralek*, can be found literally everywhere, and without them no voices would be heard. But there are the ones speaking out of passion, then unfortunately the ones speaking to pad their wallets - perhaps that is a big part of the problem.
Although I think a huge factor for a lot of the mistrust we have in our government stems primarily from the media. If we had every resource available to us to research and come to our own conclusions, I truely believe the world would be a different place. Instead our society relys heavily on the public media for information, and to me that is like a horse riding into the countryside with blinders on.
The media has very effectively learned how tap into our mental pathways to the point where they now effect our emotional and physical pathways. Sometimes without us even being consciously aware of it. To me, that is dangerously powerful and those researching on the evolution and effects of it are well aware.
Our biases used to be based purely on positive and negative feedback loops from our experiences and interactions with others and our environment. Now in a matter of a few minutes of watching TV, surfing the net or listening to the radio, we can find ourselves siding for or against someone without knowing a single thing about them, or whether truely knowing if their intentions are good or bad.
But wait... in come the cameras focusing in on a familiar face doing everything they can to manipulate the information so that is sells. Then how are the papers going to compete? Let's take this out of context... Ooo let's throw some coal on the fire right about now and see what happens... oh look? more profits...
So many billions of dollars and so much time has gone into advancing the technology of the media. And now we're on track with my favorite topic - technology! - the only problem is it can be used for advancement and destruction. But there is hope =) because it is up to us to decide and do what we want with it and we have access to all the guidance in the heavens!
Possibly the most touching quote I read this week holds some of our answers:
"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has" Margaret Mead
hi!nice to be blogging again!I've been havin'a nice time!!!!
(:TTFN:)
YYUR,
YYUB,
ICURYY4ME
Hello Choir boy. Hope all is well. All my love to the whole family.
Julie, I agree with Margaret Mead totally, but then again I usually do. She hits the nail on the head quite often to be sure. Like you and Ralek I also hate politics. I need to be involved at some level however because even though Mead is right in that a small group of committed peopel can change the world...the operative word here is "committed."
As to the media, well enough said! You are right on the money. Watch how people live and then watch the ads on TV. Notice anything? We pretty much do as we are told and buy what we are told and even wear makeup and fix our hair to look like "they" think we should.
There is good news however. We don't have to do that any more.
God Bless our troops whereever they are stationed. That may not be popular in the media but it is the right thing. God Bless
I think the overall assessment of this situation is that All politicians need to be "committed".
I think some out of the way assylum would be best for the rest of the world, where no one can hear their propaganda.
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