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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCountry No Longer Worth Serving - Boycott Military Service + ADDENDUM
I hate to say it, but this country is no longer worth serving when we cannot pass a veteran's jobs bill. I do not have children, but I would tell them to NOT JOIN THE MILITARY AND NOT FIGHT FOR THIS COUNTRY as long as there is one Republican left standing.
There is no public outcry and the public does not care. If the public cared the pressure would have gotten this bill passed.
Now Obama will be blamed for vets unemployment and the dipshits who are GOP will support Romney and Republicans even when their own kids are effected.
What level of disgust do you have to have now. Why say the pledge or sing our anthem when the public is so damned clueless and heartless. These bastards will have destroyed the country long before the terrorists ever did.
Vets should be out and just kick these guys asses literally. Forget the godamned civility toward these people. It is time to verbally scorch these sick partisan assholes. They want war the vets should give them one.
What the GOP is too damned sick to tolerate.
ADDENDUM - If I had any children particularly sons, what am I supposed to tell them if they wanted to serve in the military? I am very conflicted about putting on this post. I was drafted, I went to Vietnam and served in the 1st Cavalry Division. I have only recently put on my 1st Cavalry insignia on my golf hats and my Vietnam Service ribbon. I am not necessarily pro war or blindly pro military, but I have to say that I am personally proud that I served with the 1st Cavalry Airmobile Division. I cannot tell you how contemptuous I am of every Republican right now because I know too many people who fully support Romney and Ryan and see us veterans as "moochers and scum". And any vet who does not reject them entirely is really not paying attention.
Here is what bothers me the most and what the GOP and Romney won't tell. They want to privatize and voucherize the VA system because it is too socialistic. Few people know that Bush had already privatized part of Walter Reed Hospital and vets were neglected. And I believe that now it will be closed.
Sadly, the captain that I served under as a combat vet at first and then a company clerk died in that hospital. His name was Captain Nawrosky and he would have been a 5 star general had he survived the war. He DID NOT BELIEVE IN TAKING ANY UNNECESSARY CASUALTIES. He and First Sergeant Denison always put their troops first even at the expense of their own lives.
So what are we to say to the next generation of military service members? What are we to say when so many of our fellow citizens who happen to be Republicans who support a candidate who would just throw our vet into the trash.
Remember, when Romney was asked why the GOP convention never mentioned vets he essentially said THEY WERE NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT. What a complete POS HE IS. And you can add the GOP who KILLED THIS JOBS BILL.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Selatius
(20,441 posts)If a jobs bill dies in the Senate, for instance, the news would report that the "Senate killed the bill," but they won't go out and say that Republicans blocked the bill or threatened to filibuster it to death.
You'd have to read half-way through to find the fine print that Republicans did it, and in this day and age when headlines are substitutes for whole stories, people are just going to come away thinking all of the Senate is dysfunctional.
This way, the corporate outlets can paint the problem as a bipartisan one and absolve the Republicans of sole responsibility. Redirection, distraction, omission, and destruction of the messenger are key methods that one can employ to confuse an audience of viewers.
mick063
(2,424 posts)You make a fine argument, but you show very little faith in the American people.
If the audience is so easily confused, then our future is very bleak.
I would, however, point out that Congress has a very low approval rating. If you were to take both the House and Senate into consideration, this is primarily a GOP problem. If Americans delve deep enough (about 3 clicks of their mouse), they will know exactly "who voted for/against what". This is the information age. People have access.
It took 30 years to condition an entire generation into believing Reagan's mantra. It may take another 30 years (or complete economic collapse) to condition them otherwise. In either case, they will learn.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)TheMastersNemesis
(10,602 posts)It is obvious that military service is a waste of time. The public is good at waving the flag but never puts their money where their mouth is. I would not protect a Republican from the enemy these days. They are as bad as the enemy.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)for them it's not a waste of time. There is no way I'd disrespect their feelings about it regardless of what mine might be.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Nobody has any say in whether or not a person wants to go into the military but that person.
patrice
(47,992 posts)THREATENING this country, in this case by hurting Veterans, that is, threatening us to do as they want us to do OR ELSE they'll continue to deny Veterans and others the respect that they have earned.
That just occurred to me. It's not just hurting people it's also EXTORTION or racketeering or something like that. Those who voted against the Veterans' Jobs bill are just exactly like a mob of gangsters!
mick063
(2,424 posts)They will tell you it is the fighting men and women, not the technology that gives them the edge.
Meanwhile, the GOP has it ass backwards. Invest in equipment that doesn't fit the mission statement needs, in order to funnel taxpayer dollars into the military industrial complex, while failing a bill that takes care of the very core of our fighting capability.
They treat our fighting men and women like Walmart employees just so the money can float to the top. All the while, the Fox Lemmings screaming for another war front.
This is what happens when you run government like a corporation. It becomes Walmart. We are killing soldiers for profit.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)For something that FOUR NASTY Republican jerks did, to keep up their image as the Party of NO. This falls squarely on the Republicans who have tried from DAY ONE to block any legislation that would make Obama look good. The hypocrisy is so thick here you can shovel it, with a snow plow. The Republicans who claim they support the troops, who acted like they own the United States Flag, and say Democrats are not patriotic enough, are the very people who put PARTY ahead of country.. to spit on returning American veterans.
They are without HONOR! They have no moral compass. They are arrogant pig headed selfish louts, who only care about whats in their own agenda and whats in their own pockets.
TheMastersNemesis
(10,602 posts)You are right the president can't be blamed. That is true when you are dealing with rational or reasonable people. Based on my experience with Republicans is that you are dealing with irrational, hateful and extremely bigoted people who you cannot talk to. There is a level of hostility that I cannot fathom.
I believe the GOP will find a way to frame the discussion to their favor. They have a corrupted media to carry their message forward and that is the problem. The Romney campaign has said that it will not let facts get in the way of their campaign. So they seem to be able to lie and shift like sand in the desert. And it is very difficult to counter what they put out without the same megaphone.
The latest Senate action will not be covered and the MSM will imply that both sides killed that bill.
Yesterday we had a black lady walking with us in a white neighborhood. And when I picked her up in a cul de sac to give her a ride back to the corner this red neck gave me the finger. I am certain it was racially motivated. The GOP is pumping up a lot of anger around here and I do not relish the next 47 days before the election.
I will be surprised if the VFW and American Legion endorses Obama. Based on what I see (the Jeffco Dems meet at the American Legion once a month) the vets there think Obama is a communist. So they hate him with a passion. I am not a member because they are all a bunch of racists and bigots these days.
Since I got back from Vietnam all I have seen was vets getting short changed. in 2000 my closest friend of 23 years committed suicide and two others I had associations with did the same before I retired. All were connected in some way with their service. Because I worked in government programs including vets programs, the vets were always being denied benefits. And civilians in our agency disliked vets because they got some preference on the job front. And the pattern keeps repeating itself.
Believe me these recent vets have many more problem than we had because of the multiple tours. And the injuries are much worse because we can now save some of the most grievously wounded today. It will take multiple billions to take care of many of these vets who cannot take care of themselves.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I am an American living in South Korea and can do so today because the US fought to protect this country. I remind people of that as often as I can. They have mandatory military service for Korean men when they turn 19 they have to complete 2 years of military service. I often talk with my university students about their experiences in the military. It is a rite of passage for them here.
Second, I think it is a shame how vets and service members are being treated. We jumped into two wars and spent all that money and didn't give our troops the things they needed to protect themselves. The vets who fought in Vietnam (from what I understand because I was just a kid when the Vietnam War was ending) were treated disgracefully when they came home. We are again repeating history by not helping the vets coming home from the current two wars.
Of course I don't need to convince you of all this because you know it already.
It also bothers me that people who had rich families got preferential treatment (Bush, Romney, etc.) while most of the other men had to go fight for our country. Not only did these people in these families step on the backs of workers, they cheated their way out of their duty to their country. It is an absolute disgrace.
We need to continue to fight for better treatment for our vets.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)JRLeft
(7,010 posts)MattSh
(3,714 posts)They don't.
They serve Lockheed-Martin and Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
General Dynamics and Raytheon.
L-3 Communications and United Technologies and SAIC.
They protect their bottom lines and share owners.
The military has not protected or served the country in many a year. They only serve their corporate masters.
http://www.businessinsider.com/top-25-us-defense-companies-2012-2?op=1
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)understand that almost a century ago. That is also why one of this nations most honored heroes, One of only seven men to receive two Medals of Honor in two different wars, is completely unknown to all except those of us with enough interest to seek out the knowledge on our own.
He has been effectively expunged from our history because he dared to tell the truth. He is also why there will never be another double MOH recipient. People tend to listen to men like this and that scares the hell out of the parasites that run us.
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)They say its a waste. Too much. Its the GOP that's padding the defense contractors wallets. Whether the generals want it or not!
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)RedRocco
(454 posts)when their soldiers returned from war to find things at home unbearable?
redgreenandblue
(2,088 posts)Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Just shooting from the hip, I'd argue that the first gulf war in 1991 was justified. Sadam Hussein invaded Kuwait and was getting ready to invade other neighboring countries after that. We defeated his military quickly, pushed his forces out of Kuwait, and ensured that he wouldn't be able to ever conduct offensive operations again. If I remember right, we destroyed something like 4-5,000 of his tanks! We didn't keep pushing the war and we didn't get ourselves mired into a 10 year long occupation where we attempted to build a half-assed democracy.
The whole mess in the Balkans was justified in my opinion too. I hate for our military to be used as a police force for the entire world, but some aweful stuff was going on there in the 90s. Seeing what Clinton was using our military to accomplish there was one of the major driving factors in my decision to join the Army when I was 17 in 1997. i honestly believed that we had learned our lessons from Vietnam and that we'd never fight another war like that again. I also believed that the military was a tool used only for good and to help people.
In 2001, I believed Afghanistan was justified as well. Then we got ourselves mired into a failed attempt of nation building for 10 years. We should have never attempted the nation building thing.
2003, Iraq, total waste. I spent 13 months there and I don't even want to talk about it right now.
Obama's 2011 deployment of 100-150 Special Forces operatives to Africa to assist local forces in defeating the Lord's Resistance Army is exactly what we should be fighting too. Do a quick read on Joseph Kony and you don't have to make it too far into your reading to figure out that this guy is a sinister evil person. His militia goes to local villages, abducts children, and forces them to fight in his militia.
redgreenandblue
(2,088 posts)I was 16 in 1997 and I always had mixed feelings about both the first Gulf war and the Balkans. I don't necessarily think saving the theocracy of Kuwait (and by extension Saudi Arabia) was something I care much about. Not at the price of the atrocities that ended up being commited against the Proletarian class of Iraq by the US at any rate. As for the Balkans, there were always conflicting opinions being voiced on the subject. It wasn't a clear enough case for me to be swept up in idealism. I'm not big at playing favorites in other people's civil wars. I never bought the "Kroatians=Good, Serbs=Bad" line.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,773 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)... elderly, just what the fuck is the defense budget defending?
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)It lets you know where the priorities of our government is. You can pull money out of the woodwork to fight BS wars but you can't do the same to educate our children or to provide socialized medicine - something that would actually benefit our population.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Ganja Ninja
(15,953 posts)countries to steal their oil. While I can appreciate the patriotism of someone who wants to serve, serving as a goon squad for oil companies is not a patriotic chore.
GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)he was still here to talk to them when they turn 18.
SaveAmerica
(5,342 posts)GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)avebury
(10,946 posts)from coast to coast the content of which should include: Republicans don't care about Veterans. You were good enough to send to war but after that you are on your own. Republicans killed your jobs bill.
Pound it on the Republicans.
porphyrian
(18,530 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Because of our screwed up educational system this was the very best option for him and has indeed turned out to be the right choice.
They are paying for 4 years at state college, he has very high clearance and skills/certificates that transfer to the real world, a large sign bonus, GI bill and a much better shot at getting into the aerospace industry and maybe someday his dream of space travel.
He also qualified for free tuition at a state school because his test scores in HS were very high. What they don't tell you with that is that Tuition costs next to nothing..... the fees.... those are unbelievably high and of course not covered. His girlfriend even with the free tuition will come out of college as a teacher with huge debt.
I've lowered their costs somewhat by moving close to the school and having them all (3 college kids) live with me to save on the 11k a year each for dorms.
He will come out of college making 3 times what I do.
As a mom... the thought of a romney presidency scares the shit out of me.
My youngest son is going into job corp to learn a skilled trade, I wonder if they will try to kill that program also.