GTRDAD is on a mission.I posted the first e-mail he sent to $hrub a coupls days ago here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2752314Today, he copied me on this one, so I thought I'd let y'all read this one too. He joked about looking out the window for the "black helicoptrs" coming to get him. Frankly, I know there just isn't a whole hell of a lot that can scare him. Enjoy.
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From: J.. M......
To: President@WhiteHouse.gov
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: Can't recruit service people.
Mr. President, it is no wonder volunteers for the military are bypassing
recruiting stations and looking for employment elsewhere. I am a 75 year old
veteran of the Korean war where I was in combat for nearly 11 months with
only 11 days out of the combat zone. I receive minimal medical care from the
VA centers here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I use them in order to be
able to buy my prescription drugs at the reduced price that is available to
veterans. Now here you come, with your CEO approach and mentality, saying
you are now going to charge us a membership fee of $250 per year plus
doubling the cost of the prescription drugs. We fought the enemies of this
country for such a small wage it barely kept us in beer and cigarette money.
We, the children of the depression years, entered the service in order to
gain educational benefits and other perks that were promised if we survived
long enough to draw them. We fought bravely and accepted our lot in life,
risking life and limb, but hoping for some additional reward at the end of
the road that we could not afford to pay for out of our own pockets.
Try and get it! is a constant battle to gain these "rewards" now, So we
don't need more stumbling blocks or higher prices that we can't afford.
And another important matter that you need to consider: There are persons
who never left the United States to serve in a combat role, that are drawing
the same benefits that people who did serve in combat are drawing. Would you
group all of us in the same category when you start "raising prices?"
Mr. President, you can't balance your checkbook on the backs of people who
already have little enough as it is.
Mostly I depend on private doctors by paying my Medicare insurance premium,
plus a co-pay policy that costs over $300 per month for my wife and myself.
But I use the VA for the simple reason that I cannot afford the full cost of
the medications it takes to keep me alive so I can provide care for my
invalid wife. She suffered a stroke in 1995 and I am her sole caregiver. I
have 12% of my heart ejection rate and 35% of my lungs to keep me going. I
also have a prosthetic leg below my right knee. Still, I don't ask for
handouts. But I guarantee you that I will "hit the rolls" just as sure as
you continue to try and rob we folks who can stand it the least.
I am not on welfare due to the fact that I belonged to the Teamster's Union
and worked under a contract that guaranteed a pension at the end of my
working life. So I don't depend on social services to keep us going. But
union workers have to watch you now to make sure you don't disarm them and
make it impossible for them to gain benefits now and for their future.
According to your approach, anyone who didn't attend Yale or Harvard is not
entitled to much more than a meager existence and should serve at the
pleasure of those who did.
I'm sorry, but that is the way I feel about you and I can't see that there
is a caring bone in your body as you claim. Words are cheap. actions, now as
always, are the true test of a man's real character.
J.. M......, native Texan.