| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"webgiant" |
| Date: |
31 Jul 2003 04:50:31 PM |
| Object: |
Re: AWOL bush |
On 28 Jul 2003 06:45:08 -0700,
Spartakus <spartakus@my-deja.com> wrote:
"james g. keegan jr."
<keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
http://awolbush.com/
George aWol Bush is the bait-and-switch
president. Now, he's screwing veterans:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6392002.htm
Bush, Republicans losing support of retired
veterans
By STEVEN THOMMA
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - President Bush and his Republican
Party are facing a political backlash from an
unlikely group - retired veterans.
Normally Republican, many retired veterans are
mad that Bush and the Republican-controlled
Congress are blocking remedies to two problems
with health and pension benefits.
I always felt that the Republicans controlling both
Congress and the White House during a recession (and
the *inevitable* war that a Republican President
*always* includes during his term in office, even if
its as small as Grenada or as hidden as Reagan's
support of Nicaraguan TERRORISTS attacking CIVILIANS)
was not a terribly good thing for the Republicans.
After all, if Democrats control at least one branch
of government, Republicans can cut the military and
otherwise *break their own campaign platform*, then
say "It wasn't me! It was the one-armed Democrat!"
They have had an entire two remaining years of Bush's
last term in office to totally screw up their chances
in 2004, and no one to blame but...Republicans.
They say they feel particularly betrayed by Bush,
who appealed to them in his 2000 campaign, and who
vowed on the eve of his inauguration that "promises
made to our veterans will be promises kept."
"He pats us on the back with his speeches and stabs
us in the back with his actions," said Charles A.
Carter of Shawnee, Okla., a retired Navy senior
chief petty officer. "I will vote non-Republican
in a heart beat if it continues as is."
Sadly, there are quite a number of other choices on
any ballot other than Democrat or Republican. The
best Democrats can hope for, from this kind of
attitude, is the fractioning of the Republican vote
as there was during the 1992 election, between Perot
and Bush Sr.
I think if enough retired veterans announce they
won't vote Republican, Katherine Harris and
Gov. Jeb Bush will find ways of including those
veterans on the "felon" list, like the methods
they used in 2000 to exclude 94,000 mostly non-white
*non-felons* from the ability to vote. Thankfully
for Republicans, there is no (unqualified) right
to vote, so they can pull off these shenanigans
to make sure that the ballot boxes hold mostly
G.O.P. votes.
Remember, this is the same administration that
is *breaking its promises* to veterans.
Excluding veterans from the ability to vote is
just another straw on their haystack of lies
and deception against veterans.
.
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| User: "james g. keegan jr." |
|
| Title: Re: AWOL bush |
01 Aug 2003 12:05:24 AM |
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(webgiant) wrote in
news:slrnbiihmm.3h3.webgiant@localhost.localdomain:
On 28 Jul 2003 06:45:08 -0700,
Spartakus <spartakus@my-deja.com> wrote:
"james g. keegan jr."
<keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
http://awolbush.com/
George aWol Bush is the bait-and-switch
president. Now, he's screwing veterans:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6392002.htm
Bush, Republicans losing support of retired
veterans
By STEVEN THOMMA
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - President Bush and his Republican
Party are facing a political backlash from an
unlikely group - retired veterans.
Normally Republican, many retired veterans are
mad that Bush and the Republican-controlled
Congress are blocking remedies to two problems
with health and pension benefits.
I always felt that the Republicans controlling both
Congress and the White House during a recession (and
the *inevitable* war that a Republican President
*always* includes during his term in office, even if
its as small as Grenada or as hidden as Reagan's
support of Nicaraguan TERRORISTS attacking CIVILIANS)
was not a terribly good thing for the Republicans.
After all, if Democrats control at least one branch
of government, Republicans can cut the military and
otherwise *break their own campaign platform*, then
say "It wasn't me! It was the one-armed Democrat!"
They have had an entire two remaining years of Bush's
last term in office to totally screw up their chances
in 2004, and no one to blame but...Republicans.
They say they feel particularly betrayed by Bush,
who appealed to them in his 2000 campaign, and who
vowed on the eve of his inauguration that "promises
made to our veterans will be promises kept."
"He pats us on the back with his speeches and stabs
us in the back with his actions," said Charles A.
Carter of Shawnee, Okla., a retired Navy senior
chief petty officer. "I will vote non-Republican
in a heart beat if it continues as is."
Sadly, there are quite a number of other choices on
any ballot other than Democrat or Republican. The
best Democrats can hope for, from this kind of
attitude, is the fractioning of the Republican vote
as there was during the 1992 election, between Perot
and Bush Sr.
I think if enough retired veterans announce they
won't vote Republican, Katherine Harris and
Gov. Jeb Bush will find ways of including those
veterans on the "felon" list, like the methods
they used in 2000 to exclude 94,000 mostly non-white
*non-felons* from the ability to vote. Thankfully
for Republicans, there is no (unqualified) right
to vote, so they can pull off these shenanigans
to make sure that the ballot boxes hold mostly
G.O.P. votes.
Remember, this is the same administration that
is *breaking its promises* to veterans.
Excluding veterans from the ability to vote is
just another straw on their haystack of lies
and deception against veterans.
of course bush screwed veterans repeatedly, particularly in this
most recent cut in medical benefits.
but hell, with their votes and political endorsements, the
organized veterans groups have begged to be screwed by the
republicans, as has the military. although i suppose if the
military turned on the republicans who screwed them, the
republicans would simply arrange not to count their votes either.
.
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| User: "JTEM" |
|
| Title: Re: AWOL bush |
01 Aug 2003 12:43:58 AM |
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"james g. keegan jr." <keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote
but hell, with their votes and political endorsements, the
organized veterans groups have begged to be screwed
by the republicans, as has the military.
They gave up their honor, undid the sacrofices of America's
war dead to support an election thief, and he turned around
and back-stabbed them.
500,000 Americans died in the Second World War alone,
all to preserve the democracy that they turned their backs
on in November of 2000. And, for what? What did they
gain?
Nothing.
They surrendered their honor for a draft-dodger-turned-deserter
who lied to their faces.
.
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| User: "stoney" |
|
| Title: Re: AWOL bush |
05 Aug 2003 10:32:09 AM |
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On Thu, 31 Jul 2003 21:50:31 GMT, (webgiant),
Message ID: <slrnbiihmm.3h3.webgiant@localhost.localdomain> wrote in
alt.atheism;
On 28 Jul 2003 06:45:08 -0700,
Spartakus <spartakus@my-deja.com> wrote:
"james g. keegan jr."
<keegan@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
http://awolbush.com/
George aWol Bush is the bait-and-switch
president. Now, he's screwing veterans:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6392002.htm
Posted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2003
Bush, Republicans losing support of retired veterans
By STEVEN THOMMA
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - President Bush and his Republican Party are facing a
political backlash from an unlikely group - retired veterans.
Normally Republican, many retired veterans are mad that Bush and the
Republican-controlled Congress are blocking remedies to two problems
with health and pension benefits. They say they feel particularly
betrayed by Bush, who appealed to them in his 2000 campaign, and who
vowed on the eve of his inauguration that "promises made to our veterans
will be promises kept."
"He pats us on the back with his speeches and stabs us in the back with
his actions," said Charles A. Carter of Shawnee, Okla., a retired Navy
senior chief petty officer. "I will vote non-Republican in a heart beat
if it continues as is."
"I feel betrayed," said Raymond C. Oden Jr., a retired Air Force Chief
Master Sergeant now living in Abilene, Texas.
Many veterans say they will not vote for Bush or any Republican in 2004
and are considering voting for a Democrat for the first time. Others say
they will sit out the election, angry with Bush and Republicans but
unwilling to support Democrats, whom they say are no better at keeping
promises to veterans. Some say they will still support Bush and his
party despite their ire.
While there are no recent polls to measure veterans' political leanings,
any significant erosion of support for Bush and Republicans could hurt
in a close election. It could be particularly troublesome in states such
as Florida that are politically divided and crowded with military
retirees.
Registered Republican James Cook, who retired to Fort Walton Beach,
Fla., after 24 years in the Air Force, said he is abandoning a party
that he said abandoned him. "Bush is a liar," he said. "The Republicans
in Congress, with very few exceptions, are gutless party lapdogs who
listen to what puts money in their own pockets or what will get them
re-elected."
Veterans have two gripes.
One is a longstanding complaint that some disabled vets, in effect, have
to pay their own disability benefits out of their retirement pay through
a law they call the Disabled Veterans Tax.
Since 1891, anyone retiring after a full military career has had their
retirement pay reduced dollar for dollar for any Veterans Administration
checks they get for a permanent service-related disability. However, a
veteran who served a two-or-four-year tour does not have a similar
reduction in Social Security or private pension.
A majority of members of Congress, from both parties, wants to change
the law. A House proposal by Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., has 345
co-sponsors.
But it would cost as much as $5 billion a year to expand payments to
670,000 disabled veterans, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld earlier
this month told lawmakers that the president would veto any bill
including the change.
The proposal is stuck in committee. A recent effort to bring it to the
full House of Representatives failed, in part because only one
Republican signed the petition.
"The cost is exorbitant. And we are dealing with a limited budget," said
Harald Stavenas, a spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee.
The second complaint is over medical care. After decades of promising
free medical care for life to anyone who served for 20 years, the
government in the 1990s abandoned the promise in favor of a new system
called Tricare. The Tricare system provides medical care, but requires
veterans to pay a deductible and does not cover dental, hearing or
vision care.
A group of military retirees challenged the government in a class-action
lawsuit, won a first round, then were seriously disappointed when Bush
allowed the government to appeal. Government won the next legal round.
"I voted for the president because of the promises," said Floyd Sears, a
retired Air Force master sergeant in Biloxi, Miss. "But as far as I can
tell, he has done nothing. In fact, his actions have been detrimental to
the veterans and retired veterans. I'm very disappointed about the
broken promise on medical care."
Stavenas said House and Senate negotiators were working this week on
proposals to address the veterans' two specific complaints. He added
that Congress has increased spending for veterans' benefits, including a
5 percent increase next year for the Veterans Health Administration.
Christine Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee,
said: "The Bush administration and the Republican Congress have taken
and will continue to take steps to enhance benefits for our veterans."
Not all military retirees will vote against Republicans, of course.
Some, like retired Air Force Lt. Col. Gene DiBartolo of Tampa, will vote
for Bush again gladly.
Though he believes his fellow veterans have a just complaint, he said
the government simply cannot "do everything."
As for Bush, he said, "he has restored honor and dignity to this nation
....
"It would take a lot more than this issue to dissuade me from my support
of this man.
/end article quote
*Honor and dignity?* Snort. Shrub is the prime example of the lack of
those attributes.
Sadly, there are quite a number of other choices on
any ballot other than Democrat or Republican. The
best Democrats can hope for, from this kind of
attitude, is the fractioning of the Republican vote
as there was during the 1992 election, between Perot
and Bush Sr.
I think if enough retired veterans announce they
won't vote Republican, Katherine Harris and
Gov. Jeb Bush will find ways of including those
veterans on the "felon" list, like the methods
they used in 2000 to exclude 94,000 mostly non-white
*non-felons* from the ability to vote. Thankfully
for Republicans, there is no (unqualified) right
to vote, so they can pull off these shenanigans
to make sure that the ballot boxes hold mostly
G.O.P. votes.
Remember, this is the same administration that
is *breaking its promises* to veterans.
Excluding veterans from the ability to vote is
just another straw on their haystack of lies
and deception against veterans.
And they're not even subtle about it.
Stoney
"Designated Rascal and Rapscallion
and
SCAMPERMEISTER!"
When in doubt, SCAMPER about!
When things are fair, SCAMPER everywhere!
When things are rough, can't SCAMPER enough!
/end humour alert
alt.atheism military veteran #11
{so much for the 'no atheists in foxholes' rubbish}
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