Republicans love to claim they support the troops more than anyone else, but their enthusiasm to help our nation's bravest doesn't quite match up. One of the scions of Congressional pork and a senior-level Bushie made note of it yesterday on the best of days, Memorial Day. They tried to make the case that our troops really don't need educational assistance to better their future. See if you buy this:
From VetVoice:
Speaking at the Disabled American Veterans' 19th Annual Department Convention, Senator Stevens told the majority of America's most recent war veterans that they had not yet sacrificed enough to have earned a GI Bill that would cover the full cost of their educations.
Sen. Ted Stevens warned of a "mass exodus" from the military Saturday if the so-called 21st Century GI Bill goes into law without major changes.
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"There are worries that people who are already in for two years will serve one more and leave, and there's really no incentive to stay," Stevens said.What Stevens is really saying is that today's troops are unpatriotic--that they're only in it for the money and the college. And while Stevens' "mass exodus" theory has been thoroughly discredited by the Congressional Budget Office, the true irony of the situation lies in the fact that Stevens earned his own college degree after World War Two by using the same GI Bill he's aiming to prevent today's veterans from receiving.
In today's military lingo, this makes Senator Stevens a "Blue Falcon" or a "Bravo Foxtrot."
Hypocritical jackass can also apply here.
Yet VA Secretary Peake didn't want to be outdone. The press asked him how he could have ignored the story and tried to hide from the press that thousands of our current crop of veterans have committed suicide in the last five years. Do you think he was regretful? Ashamed of his actions or should I say, mis-actions?
On the topic of PTSD, Peake questioned if the condition is being overdiagnosed, considering the mental health services available to those in the armed forces."I worry about labeling all these kids coming back," he said. "Just because someone might need a little counseling when they get back, doesn't mean they need the PTSD label their whole lives."
Now that's a top-notch Administrator. If there's a problem and you don't know what to do about it, just avoid labeling the problem. The message is to go out and buy a giant broom and hope this will all fit under the rug. That is how Sec'y Peake and his higher-ups (i.e. the President) truly feel about our nation's veterans.
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