Remembering the folks who serve in the military is OK with me. It sucks that they get sent away to die or get crippled and we should remember them and feel for them. I’m sure that those of us who have not been in combat cannot begin to comprehend the suffering that these folks have been through. They deserve remembrance.

What really irks me though is to see politicians come out of the woodwork to "show their support." To me that’s laughable on one hand and despicable on the other. Especially given the fact that (as far as I know) only one of the 535 US senators and representatives has a child in the military, and our last two presidents have dodged the draft and/or gotten out of combat through favorable treatment. It’s easy to send other people’s kids off to die isn’t it? It’s easy to make war when you’re a multi-millionaire who’s isolated from the bad effects on the economy and you’re not really going to suffer personally isn’t it? (In fact you’ll probably profit from it, but that’s a different post.)

It’s also sad and laughable how the politicians talk about how much they "care about the troops." Again totally a bunch of doo-doo. If they care so much then why are so many enlisted people in the military living in poverty? If the politicos care so much then why don’t they pay them more than "McDonald’s" wages? I mean, isn’t risking your life and limbs worth more than a guy makes picking lettuce?

A couple of months ago there was a big stink and "shock" at how crappy the VA system was. What planet have these people been living on? When I drove a taxi 20 years ago I picked up a lot of vets at the VA hospital. NONE of them had a good thing to say about it. They’d sit for hours hoping to see a doctor (sometimes they’d get seen and sometimes not) and then the care they received was generally poor. Many of them told me the only reason they went to the VA hospital was because they couldn’t afford to go to a "real" doctor.

Every time I entered the VA hospital (which was dozens) it seemed to be filled with old men with one leg, sitting alone in a wheelchair in the hall. It was disgusting and sad at how they treated these men who had given of themselves. They were promised they’d be taken care of and they’ve generally been let down.

Even 20 years ago it was obvious to me that the system was broken but somehow all of our politicians just recently discovered this. Oh the shock and outrage. Puhleeze! And where has that story gone to now? It’s yesterday’s news and the vets are still suffering.

Meanwhile America suffers because Melinda has been kicked off American Idol. Oh the tragedy! Am I the only one who sees the two-faced attitudes of the politicos? Of course, that’s their MO in general isn’t it? They can say whatever they want today because they know the public doesn’t really care and is probably not listening anyway. Words are easy. Talk is cheap. Let’s see ’em put their money where their mouths are. Let’s see ’em really support the troops by taking care of them and not sending them off to die with such reckless abandon. Talk is cheap.

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