On This Veterans Day, A Veteran (me) Remembers And Is Asking Questions!
I was raised in a military family. Dad was a very successful officer in military police and military intelligence units. After retiring, he had another successful career as an officer in one of this country's Federal Reserve Banks. I look skyward and salute him on this Veterans Day.
My military career was short, but on this day it is remembered by me because of what day it is, the recent tragedy involving murders at Fort Hood and the two wars America is involved in.
I remember being a very young man who was on guard duty at 2 in the morning in some god forsaken town in Southeast Asia. I was lonely, it was cold and the last thing I hoped to find was trouble.
I survived that part of the world which in many ways was a terrific experience for me thanks to help from my mother who sent me things that helped me raise morale for the rest of the troops in the areas we were assigned to. No, it was nothing like what parents have had to send to their sons and daughters (bulletproof vests that worked) during the current Iraq and Afghanistan debacles because of terrible and "on the cheap" planning by Donald Rumsfeld's people during President George W. Bush's administration, but in both cases (what my mother did and parents for these troops have done) morale was affected in a positive way.
When I returned to America, I ended up at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Green Berets had recently been made famous thanks to a John Wayne movie and a lot of Green Berets were receiving special training at Fort Jackson. I became friends with and did a little work with some of those brave warriors. Eventually, I received orders to go to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to receive training in psychological warfare which would then result in my being assigned to the famed "Screaming Eagles" (101st Airborne Division) as a Psychological Warfare Specialist in, yes, another part of Southeast Asia.
Fast redeployments are done all the time now because of the small military we have, but back then orders like the orders I got were reviewed by CONARC (Continental Army Command Headquarters), and they issued a new set of orders that said (in essence), unless I decided to re-enlist, I would remain at Fort Jackson until my current enlistment had ended. It ended, I got my honorable discharge and I hitchhiked back to where mom and dad were in living in the San Francisco area. I'll write about the hitchhiking adventure in a future blog, but the reason I'm remembering my long ago Army experience in today's blog is because of what day it is and what is going on with soldiers now.
Three, four and five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the troops leave one of those places, they're not here long before they're ordered to return to Iraq and or Afghanistan. I mean, a lot of these soldiers don't even get a reasonable to chance to "catch their breath" before they're ordered to pack up and get ready to be shot at again. Heck, for all I know, there might be soldiers who have had more than five tours of duty at these places.
Our troops are told that what they are doing is in our country's "National Interests". Uh, huh. Fighting the good fight for people who hate us.
People like that insane Muslim psychiatrist who killed all those soldiers at Fort Hood.
CAN I CALL FOR A LITTLE "COMMON SENSE" DIALOGUE?!?
NOW?!?
PLEASE!!!
PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!
Okay...Our country is desperately in need of help HERE! Unemployment is off the charts high.
I mean, who among us doesn't know someone who is unemployed and in fact has been unemployed for a LONG TIME!?! Who among us doesn't know a LOT of people like that? And by the way, how many of us ARE that long time unemployed person?!?
We, the taxpayers, give all this bailout money to the banks and what do the banks do with that money? They give their high salaried executives MORE FAT BONUSES WITH OUR MONEY!!!
The fat cat radio phonies who have never done any kind of public service and who can't relate to anything about you except your FEARS, will tell you that what we need is more deregulation and that these wars we're involved in are righteous wars, blah, blah, blah while they sit in luxury and quietly laugh at all of us.
Gang, deregulation is what got us into this financial mess, a mess that is exasperated by all the money we're spending on these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the even MORE MONEY we have to KEEP SPENDING on the HEALTH CARE of the many poor soldiers who will NEVER be the SAME again!!!
But because I'm a resonable man, let's assume for the sake of argument that our "leaders", from President's Bush to President Obama and their military advisors are right. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are more important than the problems we have here in America.
If that's true, then why are only a FEW of our citizens being asked to risk their lives over and over and over again?!?
If indeed these wars are in our National Interest, isn't it time to find out if ALL AMERICANS AGREE WITH THAT CONTENTION?!?
And how do we do that, Scott? I'm glad you asked.
IN THE SPIRIT OF FAIRNESS, ANYTHING IN OUR NATIONAL INTEREST SHOULD INVOLVE EVERYONE, SO PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD ANNOUNCE THE DESIRE TO REINSTATE THE MILITARY DRAFT!!!
Now...If everyone in America knew that their young relatives would be eligible to serve in the military and could in fact be ORDERED to serve in Iraq and or Afghanistan, what do YOU think America's support for these wars would be?
Heck, maybe America WOULD support the reinstatement of the Military Draft. And maybe Rush and Sean would do broadcast remotes live from Iraq and or Afghanistan.
But both things are highly unlikely, so let's get the hell out of those places, places filled with people who hate us and let our troops come home where they'll be loved and where they can help rebuild AMERICA!!!
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF...
I'm sorry to see that "Eastwick" will be cancelled soon. Actually, it's already been cancelled, but the episodes that haven't been shown yet will be shown. I liked that quirky show, but it was a show that was getting "Jay Leno numbers" and that's not good unless you're Jay Leno.
Here are some new shows that aren't going anywhere except straight to your screens and on schedule.
"The Good Wife". That show gets better and better and better...
"Glee". That show gets better, etc., etc.
"Fast Forward". That show, etc., etc.
"Mercy". That show....
IN CLOSING...
Patrick Gallagher is a long time reader of this blog and he's also a constant feedback provider. Mr. Gallagher sent me something this morning that I would like to share with you. He calls what he sent a "joke". Well, I'll let you be the judge of that.
Word for word, here's what Mr. Gallagher wrote to me...
"Sometime this year, we taxpayers may again receive an Economic Stimulas payment. This is a very exciting new program. I will explain it using the Q and A format.
Q: What is an Economic Stimulus payment?
A: It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q: Where will the government get this money?
A: From taxpayers.
Q: So the government is giving me back my own money?
A: Only a smidgen.
Q: What is the purpose of this payment?
A: The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q: But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A: Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline, you're money will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer, it will go to India.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
If you buy a car, it will go to Japan.
If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan.
If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.
Instead, KEEP the money in AMERICA by:
Spending it at yard sales, or
Going to ball games, or
Spending it on prostitutes or
Beer or
Tattoos.
(These are the only businesses still operating in the U.S.)
So go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you meet at a yard sale and drink beer all day!"
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS?
Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you. If you write to the blog, I have no way of knowing what your email address is so I won't be able to respond to you. I respond to ALL emails that are written to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net.
THE NEXT BLOG?
Unless something comes up, probably a week from today.
FINALLY...
IF YOU SERVED, I KNOW YOU'RE GLAD THAT YOU DID (I certainly am) AND I SALUTE YOU. HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!
My military career was short, but on this day it is remembered by me because of what day it is, the recent tragedy involving murders at Fort Hood and the two wars America is involved in.
I remember being a very young man who was on guard duty at 2 in the morning in some god forsaken town in Southeast Asia. I was lonely, it was cold and the last thing I hoped to find was trouble.
I survived that part of the world which in many ways was a terrific experience for me thanks to help from my mother who sent me things that helped me raise morale for the rest of the troops in the areas we were assigned to. No, it was nothing like what parents have had to send to their sons and daughters (bulletproof vests that worked) during the current Iraq and Afghanistan debacles because of terrible and "on the cheap" planning by Donald Rumsfeld's people during President George W. Bush's administration, but in both cases (what my mother did and parents for these troops have done) morale was affected in a positive way.
When I returned to America, I ended up at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Green Berets had recently been made famous thanks to a John Wayne movie and a lot of Green Berets were receiving special training at Fort Jackson. I became friends with and did a little work with some of those brave warriors. Eventually, I received orders to go to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to receive training in psychological warfare which would then result in my being assigned to the famed "Screaming Eagles" (101st Airborne Division) as a Psychological Warfare Specialist in, yes, another part of Southeast Asia.
Fast redeployments are done all the time now because of the small military we have, but back then orders like the orders I got were reviewed by CONARC (Continental Army Command Headquarters), and they issued a new set of orders that said (in essence), unless I decided to re-enlist, I would remain at Fort Jackson until my current enlistment had ended. It ended, I got my honorable discharge and I hitchhiked back to where mom and dad were in living in the San Francisco area. I'll write about the hitchhiking adventure in a future blog, but the reason I'm remembering my long ago Army experience in today's blog is because of what day it is and what is going on with soldiers now.
Three, four and five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. After the troops leave one of those places, they're not here long before they're ordered to return to Iraq and or Afghanistan. I mean, a lot of these soldiers don't even get a reasonable to chance to "catch their breath" before they're ordered to pack up and get ready to be shot at again. Heck, for all I know, there might be soldiers who have had more than five tours of duty at these places.
Our troops are told that what they are doing is in our country's "National Interests". Uh, huh. Fighting the good fight for people who hate us.
People like that insane Muslim psychiatrist who killed all those soldiers at Fort Hood.
CAN I CALL FOR A LITTLE "COMMON SENSE" DIALOGUE?!?
NOW?!?
PLEASE!!!
PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!
Okay...Our country is desperately in need of help HERE! Unemployment is off the charts high.
I mean, who among us doesn't know someone who is unemployed and in fact has been unemployed for a LONG TIME!?! Who among us doesn't know a LOT of people like that? And by the way, how many of us ARE that long time unemployed person?!?
We, the taxpayers, give all this bailout money to the banks and what do the banks do with that money? They give their high salaried executives MORE FAT BONUSES WITH OUR MONEY!!!
The fat cat radio phonies who have never done any kind of public service and who can't relate to anything about you except your FEARS, will tell you that what we need is more deregulation and that these wars we're involved in are righteous wars, blah, blah, blah while they sit in luxury and quietly laugh at all of us.
Gang, deregulation is what got us into this financial mess, a mess that is exasperated by all the money we're spending on these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the even MORE MONEY we have to KEEP SPENDING on the HEALTH CARE of the many poor soldiers who will NEVER be the SAME again!!!
But because I'm a resonable man, let's assume for the sake of argument that our "leaders", from President's Bush to President Obama and their military advisors are right. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars are more important than the problems we have here in America.
If that's true, then why are only a FEW of our citizens being asked to risk their lives over and over and over again?!?
If indeed these wars are in our National Interest, isn't it time to find out if ALL AMERICANS AGREE WITH THAT CONTENTION?!?
And how do we do that, Scott? I'm glad you asked.
IN THE SPIRIT OF FAIRNESS, ANYTHING IN OUR NATIONAL INTEREST SHOULD INVOLVE EVERYONE, SO PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD ANNOUNCE THE DESIRE TO REINSTATE THE MILITARY DRAFT!!!
Now...If everyone in America knew that their young relatives would be eligible to serve in the military and could in fact be ORDERED to serve in Iraq and or Afghanistan, what do YOU think America's support for these wars would be?
Heck, maybe America WOULD support the reinstatement of the Military Draft. And maybe Rush and Sean would do broadcast remotes live from Iraq and or Afghanistan.
But both things are highly unlikely, so let's get the hell out of those places, places filled with people who hate us and let our troops come home where they'll be loved and where they can help rebuild AMERICA!!!
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF...
I'm sorry to see that "Eastwick" will be cancelled soon. Actually, it's already been cancelled, but the episodes that haven't been shown yet will be shown. I liked that quirky show, but it was a show that was getting "Jay Leno numbers" and that's not good unless you're Jay Leno.
Here are some new shows that aren't going anywhere except straight to your screens and on schedule.
"The Good Wife". That show gets better and better and better...
"Glee". That show gets better, etc., etc.
"Fast Forward". That show, etc., etc.
"Mercy". That show....
IN CLOSING...
Patrick Gallagher is a long time reader of this blog and he's also a constant feedback provider. Mr. Gallagher sent me something this morning that I would like to share with you. He calls what he sent a "joke". Well, I'll let you be the judge of that.
Word for word, here's what Mr. Gallagher wrote to me...
"Sometime this year, we taxpayers may again receive an Economic Stimulas payment. This is a very exciting new program. I will explain it using the Q and A format.
Q: What is an Economic Stimulus payment?
A: It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q: Where will the government get this money?
A: From taxpayers.
Q: So the government is giving me back my own money?
A: Only a smidgen.
Q: What is the purpose of this payment?
A: The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q: But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A: Shut up.
Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the U.S. economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:
If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China.
If you spend it on gasoline, you're money will go to the Arabs.
If you purchase a computer, it will go to India.
If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.
If you buy a car, it will go to Japan.
If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan.
If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore.
Instead, KEEP the money in AMERICA by:
Spending it at yard sales, or
Going to ball games, or
Spending it on prostitutes or
Beer or
Tattoos.
(These are the only businesses still operating in the U.S.)
So go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you meet at a yard sale and drink beer all day!"
QUESTIONS AND OR COMMENTS?
Please write to me at scottstjames@sbcglobal.net and I will respond to you. If you write to the blog, I have no way of knowing what your email address is so I won't be able to respond to you. I respond to ALL emails that are written to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net.
THE NEXT BLOG?
Unless something comes up, probably a week from today.
FINALLY...
IF YOU SERVED, I KNOW YOU'RE GLAD THAT YOU DID (I certainly am) AND I SALUTE YOU. HAPPY VETERANS DAY!!!
posted by Scott St. James at 3:16 PM
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