Iraq Welfare

Whether you look at welfare as government financial assistance for basic material needs or an effort to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need, I think it's fairly obvious that we have created a welfare state in Iraq.

For most conservatives, welfare is a bad thing. They typically argue that people on welfare abuse the system and are just mooching off of taxpayers. Besides the fact that their take on welfare is based on a fallacy that people on welfare are lazy when in fact they are usually hard working or stuck between a rock and a hard place with no opportunity for upward mobility, one must raise an eyebrow when these same conservatives come out in favor of providing similar assistance for Iraq. You'll often hear soldiers and chicken hawks alike almost resort to tears and cry that the Iraqi people need our help. While it is true that Iraq needs to stand up on its own two feet with a little push from America, the military isn't going to be what gives them that push. As long as our military is over there, the Iraqi government can play the helpless victim and sit motionless. I would argue the Iraqi goverment is mooching off of American money and military aid when they are fully capable of taking back their country. I could also make the point that the people we went in to help are either dead or left the country in droves numbering millions. So who exactly are we helping? It's perhaps nothing more than a ruse.

McCain said he knows how to win wars. Did you hear him say that? Well, he sure didn't know how to fight because his ass was captured. See if anyone on the news throws that one at you.

This war is going to keep putting a strain on our economy and wasting our tax dollars. At some point, the government is not going to be able to put up the money to help any of our problems at home. Maybe that's the way the republicans like it, but we've let things go too far to the right. Everything this administration has botched up has to be corrected. Unfortunately, something like inflation will have to correct itself.

Ever since Bush was "elected" on day one, I've said this country would be in for very bad times. I was already right about going to war and now it seems my prediction that we'll have about 20 years of hard times thanks to shit-for-brains is becoming a reality. That's what you get when you elect an idiot.

The "One Of Us" Military

I'm writing this in light of the recent story about the atheist coming under fire in the Army for being an atheist.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/26/atheist.soldier.ap/index.html

I'm going to piss off a few service members on this one, but I don't care. The idea that we should respect you just because of your service is really getting out of hand in our country. Yes it is a volunteer military, but if you're going to behave without discipline and respect for your fellow comrades in arms, you've got no place being there and you'll get no respect from me. I've got absolutely no patience or respect for that kind of military man. Marines seem to be the worst. I don't think they really understand semper fidelis. They really don't like it when you rock their boat, so they piss and moan at the slightest tremor. They might even threaten to beat your ass. Yes, I've had that happen to me online many times. Oh that's a reassuring quality for our soldiers to have. You take pride in fighting for the rights that we have, yet when it comes to the laws in this country, you don't even hesitate to go outside the law and beat somebody up. Grow up kids. I always have to remind myself that these guys aren't paid to think.

In the US military, unless you are okay with the "you're one of us" frame of mind, the others who signed up are going to give you grief. You've got to be a yes man. I can't even imagine what it's like to be different than the standard issue army brat. Well, actually I can in a small way as I am a liberally minded individual living in the South among religious bigots in a city where there's an airforce base. If you're different than their norm, they don't particularly like you, nor do they care what you think. They've also taught their kids to keep their beliefs confined to those same stipulations.

Unfortunately, that's what I see now when I read your "Support the Troops" magnet. I don't see a respectful soldier fighting for our freedom. I see an arrogant and angry dick who although might be fighting for the guy next to him, still chooses to treat anyone lacking the if you will, "traditional" rank and file disposition, with outright malice. That is not worthy of any respect and gives our military a bad name. Shameful.

You may be too chicken shit to speak ill of our troops, but I won't hesitate when I see this kind of crap going on.