One of my best friends was on a flight out of DC the other day. He overheard an interesting conversation between a former Judge Advocate-General and the JAG’s two friends; all of them were West Point grads. The reason the JAG is a former JAG is this: That particular JAG was sickened at what has happened to the armed forces in the last few years, especially the last two.
The Pentagon is beyond desperate to find warm bodies for Iraq — so desperate that people with long criminal histories, including manslaughter convictions, are being snapped up. In fact, gangs are starting to join up en masse — and the chances of rival gangs meeting on the battlefield are growing. It’s a de facto revival of Robert McNamara’s old "Project 100,000" debacle, except with the emphasis on recruiting criminals instead of the mentally retarded. Check this out:
From Sept. 30, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007, the Army granted so-called conduct waivers for felonies and misdemeanors to 18 percent of its new recruits, an increase of three percentage points from the previous year. So far, in just the first six months of this fiscal year, the Army has granted waivers to 13 percent of its recruits.
As the bad people flood the ranks, the good people are leaving, voluntarily or otherwise, and none are coming in to replace them. West Point enrollment is suffering badly. One of the West Pointers said that of his dozen-odd friends in his graduating class ten years ago, all but a couple are now "gone" from the military that they had planned, as the JAG had planned, to make a lifetime career. Some are gone by choice; some are gone because they came home in transfer tubes; at least one is in Walter Reed. That last one called his friend up with the message: "I’m at Walter Reed. It’s bad. Don’t ask." According to the doctors, there’s no known physical damage; they think he apparently just cracked.
This is what Bush has done to our armed forces.
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whoaaaa!
One of my teammate’s husbands just got out as a helicoper pilot. He’s going for Coast Guard or FBI. He seems to be a really good guy.
I don’t think that even during Vietnam anyone was talking about our military being “broken.” Its very common talk now. Why do Bush and Cheney hate the military?
Bob in HI
“The Pentagon is beyond desperate to find warm bodies for Iraq — so desperate that people with long criminal histories, including manslaughter convictions, are being snapped up. In fact, gangs are starting to join up en masse…”
____________
Efficiency. These cats already have what it takes to brutalize those who differ from them.
WTF?!!!! soo the DOD has run out of people Willing to serve? will they begin to empty out the prisons? i think it just may come to that – especially if mcinsane wins and expands into iran officially as i believe we’re there already…. ;o)
Yeah. We’re looking at a 1970 scenario here.
Wow…are we gonna see “gang” wars in the middle of the civil war in Iraq? Oh man…I’m sure the armed forces figure they will remake them into something else…Hmmmm….
get out of my head!!!!
I was thinking the same thing
I’ve been thinking for a while now that when we elect a Democratic president, we need to invite back into the military, with full seniority for time served previously, all those who have resigned over Bush’s policies. The high level officers will be very important in helping to formulate plans for how we can get out as fast as possible.
Oh SH*T! Did anyone catch this on Good Morning, America today?
Clinton Talks Of Nuclear Annihilation of Iran
What the HELL is she thinking? Has she really NOT READ the NIE? And since when is genocide so blithely shrugged off?
I suspect some in the military don’t like doing illegal things and so don’t want to stay.
They could also “outsource” explicitly, I would think. Actual uniformed mercenaries.
Showing her Stones.
Um, yeah.
*sigh* No, she does not read her NIE reports. that much is evident.
That could be.
Solution to the grunt shortage in three words:
Irish Soccer Fans.
I just want to know why nukes are even on the table
english are worse..I know, I’m married to one (but he isn’t a thug)
quiet as its kept i believe its being done….. jus sayin
No poo flinging here…she’s poo’d herself:
“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran,” Clinton said. “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”
Maybe she’s mad at Bill….
Unf’ingbelievable. I’m stunned.
It was taped today for airing tomorrow morning.
And I truly HOPE we hear allll about this issue in the upcoming debates with McSame. Mea Culpa for this OT comment, but WHY under God’s Sun doesn’t Rachel Maddow not have her own program by now???? She’s so astute, so right on with all of her comments and observations, she’s amicable, she’s interesting and she’s eloquent. So what is the PROBLEM?
I could listen to her all evening long.
How is it that Glenn Beck, all the hacks on Faux Nooz, tweety and almost every other warm body (sans Olbermann, naturally) get prime air time, and Rachel has to pack around to appear here and there???? That woman deserves the moon and the stars and would BRING IN the ratings.
Again, sorry for the OT rant.
they have also decimated the ‘institutional intelligence’ – all the Staff Sergeants, Sergeants, Tech Sergeants, Corporals, Lieutenants etc – the folks who know how everything from getting a week end pass to staying alive with no support
the site I normally link to Iraq Coalition Casualties has recently had their server attacked so the loss by rank isn’t currently avail – but I bet the vets here know what I’m talking about – it is staggering – and not something remedied with funding
’cause our military is broken, and nukes are efficient?
Hillary Clinton said,
“I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran.”
“Sniper Fire” didn’t work. Red Phone at 3 a.m. didn’t work.
This won’t work either.
hrc has access to the same people as mcinsane – i notice how she keeps giving “props” to mcinsane – no need to id these folk ;o)
Brilliant comments by surfer and wobblybits! Excellent points, each!
and sad.
and true.
nope, not acceptable.
Nukes are efficient for mass murder
“empty out the prisons”
Well.. worked for the Brits in the Napoleonic wars.. ‘course when the soldier-convicts came back after the war they spent years ravaging the Home Counties…
Yeah. Why would nukes even be considered? We invaded.
Let’s just say I’m very disappointed…and that we Democrats (of which I remain) have a lot of work on educating our nominee (whoever it may be).
Oh great, train convicted violent gang members to conduct urban warfare, and give them experience…and eventually cut them loose with medals back home.
Bush and Cheney are Enemies Domestic!And Hillary is determined to be worse!
New Rule: anyone who orders a nuclear attack should have to kill themselves immediately afterwards… seems fair.
recent work:
http://freewayblogger.blogspot…..ident.html
of course there’ll be a price to pay – repugs dont care…. consequences shmonsequences………
Unbelievable. Do we want to blow up the world? Not surprising she has never renounced her Iraq vote. I guess we’ve all gone crazy.
She SAID this?
Did you see the question she was responding to? She was asked what she would do if Iran launched a nuclear attack on Israel.
There are plenty of OTHER reasons to support Obama. We don’t need to fan flame wars by quoting out of context.
Bob in HI
Yup.
As the bad people flood the ranks,
Guess I shouldn’t take this personally but the judge gave me my choice between jail and the Army. I went in on my 17th birthday, got my GED in Korea and served a tour in Vietnam. I was no great shakes as a soldier but I was honorably discharged. I earned my doctorate 30 years after I joined. Lot’s of people make mistakes and get in toruble. Running around making blanket statements like this is bullshit. Sorry.
Thanks for this, Bob.
I really appreciate your work. Thanks for doing it – do you ever get any sleep? :)
My last OT comment on the Clinton/Iran issue: I think that Jake Tapper has written his post in the most inflammatory way possible. Note how he breaks the question asked of her into a different paragraph, so that it is easy to take her reply and make it look like she is advocating an unprovoked attack on Iran:
Same link as in 10 above.
To anybody who read that my dog, Moon, was missing…gone for the past 5 days…
He’s here!!!! In perfect shape.
Vagabond.
Maybe before they order the attack…
The Pentagon is beyond desperate to find warm bodies for Iraq — so desperate that people with long criminal histories, including manslaughter convictions, are being snapped up. In fact, gangs are starting to join up en masse –
Maybe that’s precisely what the want. Please see my #214 in the last thread.
My son made, in the evident opinion of Da Army, made one mistake. It wasn’t that he got arrested holding onto a bunch of drugs and got charged with possession with intent – I blew that case up – he was never even formally charged. The problem was this: On a questionnaire, he was asked whether he’d ever suffered from anxiety:
First, he checked yes, and then, since it was with a pencil, erased it and checked “no”. But some bright-bulb caught the erasure. At that point and at this point, he has no criminal record whatsoever – but they’ve run him around for months – including a one-on-one interview with a shrink.
The kid scored 96/100 on their intelligence test, under adverse circumstances, and they’re still fucking with him. Why? Anxiety was initially checked. The Army doesn’t wanna be payin’ no PTSD claims, even though he’s applying for JAG.
Understand that as a father, I will shed no tears if the Army doesn’t want him – I happen to love him, and don’t want to see him shuffled to a shot-at, boots-on-the-ground situation.
Just pointing out the ridiculous.
Raven: My brother got his GED in the Navy, and he turned out OK, too.
It’s not guys like you and my brother that this is about.
This is about people with hardcore criminal records, not people who can be readily reformed.
Hillary Clinton.JMHO
And another thing, it wasn’t the troops that were so fucked up as a result of Project 100,000 as it was the shit leadership we had because all the “good people” got deferments.
Bob, There is no excuse for that language on Clinton’s part, None! She should simply say Iran does not have that capability and cut the GOP MSM lying meme. No excuse!
And I suggest that this report tells us zip about that.
“Lt. Cheney” wasn’t available for foot patrols.
861 out of 180,000, come on, give me a break.
I salute your service to the nation.
There was the ‘revolving door’ leadership phenomenon, definitely. Troops barely got used to a CO before his tour ended and he got to go home. Somehow the grunts never got to go home that quickly — they got multiple tours instead.
Project 100,000 was 100,000 per year.
They actually “love” the military. They love it so much they want to re-institute the draft to give them an unending supply of cannon fodder. [retch/puke]
Um, Raven –
I bolded this link for a reason in my post. It DOES tell you ‘zip’. Sorry.
Five times.
Foot massages, yes. Foot patrols, no.
Bob…to that you respond “The NIE has shown that there is no evidence that the Iranians have been seeking nuclear weapons in the last five years. NO EVIDENCE AT ALL. I’d work to prevent them from obtaining that capability while still allowing them their rights to obtain safe, civilian nuclear energy. But asking me that question is a hypothetical that actually makes resolving these issues LESS likely.”
No one got the kind of multiple tours then like they are now. When the 82nd got sent to the Nam after Tet about 40% got to come right back to the workd because they had already served. I di not have to go to Nam because Korea was a “hardship” tour so I had to volunteer.
(Raven) I salute your service to the nation./i
ditto.
I agree that would have been a much better response.
Bob in HI
What they said. Twice.
I’m not fishin for compliments and I am not attacking PW. I think the article is way over to top. Good night.
Speak for yourself, I’m staunchly anti-war and for ANY candidate to speak of nuking another country is a non-starter
From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..ary_felons (emphases mine):
yep. When will our candidates learn to reject the frames thrown at them by the reich wing media?
The Mqarines are also working hard to fill their ranks with (and this was taboo a few years ago) WOMEN.
Looking For A Few Good
MenWOMEN!I agree that would have been a much better answer. And I would have given Hill points for that.
Bob in HI
The thing is…she should not expound on hypotheticals…Iran does not and is not capable of launching such an attack…we are. She should have said that it would be inappropriate to comment on that scenario…especially considering the recent NIE.
She has no diplomatic talent.
I agree, blankets are only good for keeping you warm on a cool night or on a nice day with a picnic basket.
Just tryin’ to show her Big Swingin’ __________.
She’s TOUGH!
I just watch her on KO and my issue is that she is talking about nuking a country on the basis of weaponry they are making when the NIE says to the contrary. That is a problem
pw, there is something everyone is missing, it is brutally obvious but everyone misses it;
the very purpose of these neo fascists is to break our armed forces
they do not want any government services, they are deliberately overreaching our military strength so they can privatize it
this is not speculation it is a fact
but everyone is missing this picture but it really is brutally clear
they knew we needed our resources for the theater in Afghanistan, they diverted those resources, they knew with no doubt you don’t engage on two fronts voluntarily, that they did, the knew as a fact our national guard is needed by those states that supply the assets, they took that guard
their purpose is to break the armed forces of the united states of America
they knew their actions would force our capable generals to retire, the real patriots, the generals that actually protect this country and might have been able to do something about the coup, they are gone
so we are left with haliburton and black water and we have nothing left
nothing is left
if we are to engage another front, or if we are attacked, we have no resources left except nuclear
and Chaney is itching to push that button, he is itching
our CIA did what it could to prevent the war in Iraq, yet Chaney created his own “team b”, our intelligence gathering organizations are doing their best to keep these despots from attacking Iran, but even there the administration is relentless
and now we have a new theater of engagement, Afghanistan
what does it take for people to seem, these are not only ideologues, these are enemies of our state and their very purpose is to break the armed forces of this country
and those armed forces are indeed broken, no longer capable of defending this country and we are ripe for a more overt coup, the coup that has taken place happened in the darkness of night, without blood, without aggression, yet it happened, these despots were never elected to office they were appointed by the legacy of Reagan and bush’s father
so we have to wake up, the military has to wake up
this administration is deliberately breaking down the armed forces of this country and installing their own private force
That is a very low percentage and they give several examples in the article of felony convictions that seem reasonable to overlook, such as the guy who threw a match in his school locker at age 13. However, I wish the article had given us more information on this bit:
Any idea what they are talking about there? What is a “conduct waiver”? Eighteen percent of all recruits does become a very significant number.
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that. I was hugging on my puppy thinking about yours. Wonderful news!!!
Project 100,00
oops, I meant a new theater of engagement, pakistan not afghanistan, afghanistan was the first leg
Women Marines are not new. At all. Unless you consider 1943 new…
Tougher than Condi-tough? I mean I don’t even think Cheney has out-and-out threatened to vaporize every man, woman and child in Iran before!
Many Low Information Voters want to hear about nuking any ME country. The problem is that these voters will vote for McInsane. Hillary is going the wrong way. Too bad for her. Incidentally Rove is working for McInsane. There will be some sneaky 527 ads.
What about the “missing nuke(s)” Minot. What about Gates wanting a count of the nukes? With the Minot stories…is there a missing nuke out there??
You know….I read about a month ago somewhere that “nukes” were going to be brought into the conversation around this election….
I think that is what is happening come to think about it…
Fearmongering….
Just stop it.
Tiny edit…
No, but the active recruitment of them in the manner that they are doing…is new. Female marines were always portrayed as being in affiliate positions similar to the WAC’s, WAF’s or WAVE’s…todays publicity campaigns are focussing on implying that they will be at, or near, the field of combat…and that they will be serving in positions that might very well lead to combat.
and cnn continues on becoming faux news…. tony sno has been hired as “political commentator” – its too laugh!
I meant it sincerely.
Life is strange – my number didn’t come up til 1974 – at that point, it was over.
I’ve always been left with, not gratitude – well maybe some gratitude – but with the unanswered question of whether I’d have had the balls to have survived the thing.
That probably makes no sense, but it is a very real issue in this particular life.
tony snow that is….
OT
Hunter is on a roll. Talking about why CNN had to hire Snowjob.
Little brat!!!! I adore him…he’s so smart…I’m so frikkin’ happy. I thought he was dead or wounded somewhere…the mind makes up every kind of story….Looks like he’s been eating….He’s really quite the character…like Popeye or something…Moonsky…kiss, kiss…
you might have something there, they will monguer their fear and mccain will do something like;
“I know where that missing nuke is, I think the military should look somewhere in the dessert, I have the coordinates and this is where I would hide that nuke”
bing, nuke found, world is saved, mccain becomes president
It really worries me that Bush and Cheney (et al) could do all the damage they’ve done, but it’s only if they had affairs and lied about them we’d be able to get them??
That is very scary to me.
My only comment is that “you broke it; you bought it” does not seem to be the SOP for our military anymore. The civilian leadership that controls the military seems to be becoming increasingly niggardly in regard to taking care of injured soldiers, especially if the injury is of the PTSD type that cannot be physically observed. The conditions of veterans hospitals like those found at Walter Reed is inexcusable, but more and more common. These are the people that we have elected to our government; we should all be ashamed!
A couple of weeks ago someone I work with went to Delaware to be with their son who lost one of his eyeballs and all of his sight after his convoy hit an IED in Iraq. I hate this fucking war, and the son of bitches who started it. I wish them all the karmic justice this universe has to offer.
no, affairs or lying about those affairs would not get them out either
this is a media thing, the media makes a big deal out of whatever it wants, if they want you in office there is no big deal no matter what you do, if they want you out of office then sneezing is a big deal
Raven, you left just as I posted the AP story excerpt. Oh, well.
The reason, of course, that standard ‘Nam ToDs were only a year was the fact that the draft was still in effect — Jeff Danziger discussed this back in 2003, and the problem the Pentagon was having four months into the war with getting recruits. However, people did do multiple tours — John Kerry himself did two tours; his second tour ended after he received three Purple Hearts inside of four months.
Awesome post, PW! It’s a shame what the Maladministration has done to the military, broken is mild descriptor…! 8-(
Hey! I sat here last night with hands on computer screen, thinking thoughts at your dog (home…nice warm home…hear that? She’s calling…needs you. And there’s food! Get home!)
Yeah, me who can’t get her own dog to come in from the back yard.;-)
what you said!!
Exactly. When it’s nearly one out of every five, it’s a problem.
Interesting. Well, I think this election is going to peppered with nuclear talk right and left…
Iran is gonna nuke us. Al Qaeda is gonna nuke us…everybody is gonna kill us with nukes every two seconds….
I’ve been living with the nuke threat for my entire life and so has everyone else unless you are in your…nineties or something…
I’ll take my chances. I want diplomacy and peace. It is the only way. Anyone that brings up the possibility of the use of nukes is off my list as fit to be President. Period.
they make you crazy, don’t they? *sigh* I’m just happy that he is home and safe with momma
Can you Digg this post?
Believe it or not gangs are already a big presence in the military
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories…..7316.shtml ">Gangs Increasing In The Military and some don’t seem to have any issue with that Read Comments
LOL…thank you!!!
Oh, I agree. I was just trying to make a rhetorical point. I’m so frustrated by their getting away with all of it. That, to me, tells me more than just our armed forces are broken.
.
Such a destructive force, this admin. is
Add those who simply sit by and allow it to continue.
So cute..he jumped in my arms…
I just wish they would tske careof the military we DO have. It is just shameful how they are treated. Sure folks put the ‘Support Our Troops’ stickers on their cars but stickers don’t pay for their needs
The Pentagon is beyond desperate to find warm bodies for Iraq –
I don’t think that they want any intelligent ones.
Just fodder.
One point about that, PW, once they’d served a tour in Nam, they weren’t forced back for multiple tours… It was strictly voluntary after that initial tour…! Which is not the case today, you are expected to go back to Iraq or Afghanistan even after you get out of the service… Up to seven years after signing a enlistment contract you’re ‘eligible’ to be called to duty… Or even stop-lossed to serve…It is a f*cked situation….!
These are the same cretins that talk about ’supporting our troops’.
Up is down baby.
-G
A-yep. It’s actually worse than in Vietnam because, as both Raven and Danziger point out, multiple tours are the norm now for deployed soldiers.
Ya might have something there, the bomber did fly over the Nevada dessert
Here is Dan Abram’s Rove correspondence re: Siegleman:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24244611/
BushCo are contemptible bastards, and it’s long past time they got called on it.
Where are all those College Republicans who support this stupid war?
They also love to equate it with WWII – except for the part about how young men enlisted in droves to go fight, I guess.
How convenient. Guess it’s okay when Wall St. awaits.
Man, that is a scenario. Patent it by printing it out and sending it to yourself by snail mail. The postmark will insure that you are the first inventor. Do not open it. Rove is going to steal your idea.
It’s my understanding the National Guard people have an even heavier burden than regular military in terms of multiple tours, stop loss, duration in country. Is this accurate?
Or maybe they could come down to Tybee and find our bomb…
George Bush is the “Messy Marvin” of the American presidency in all history. Is there anything else this man can’t screw up, knock off the wall, or damage beyond repair?
Not necessarily, PS! The Active are more likely to serve more tours, but, there are some NG units that are forced to serve just as many tours as their Active brethren…!
Speakin’ of McCain and deserts, how about that boneyard in Arizona [not pork, of course…but it may explain why SecDef Gates can’t get cooperation from the Air Force?]
And losses of their businesses and jobs…If they are gone for years and years…what happens to their families???
The Republicans have no problem committing people to a “lifetime” of endless war… It is completely insane!
OfT – Ya know, if Hillary hadn’t commanded the suspension of David Shuster, I think he’d have had the show eventually given to David Gregory – which I find to be annoying as hell.
When MSNBC gives Rachel Maddow, the best mind associated with MSNBC or any other channel, her own show, then I’ll applaud.
Ko back on here.
I don’t have a link for it, but I have heard that many are loosing jobs that can’t be held open for the multiple deployments and also that many who had their own businesses have seen the business go under because they could not make arrangements for someone to run it while they were away. What’s the poverty rate for NG families and how has it changed over the last seven years?
that still won’t make up for the sins that are Tweety and scarborough
Where are all those College Republicans who support this stupid war?
I assume that’s a rhetorical question?
Second time today I’ve owed someone a beverage. I need to start typing faster. g*
I saw that…funny *g*!!
Meanwhile, we find out that 12,000 vets a year are attempting suicide — far more than the 790 per annum that the VA copped to officially.
new routine in our house. Watching TDS and CR at 8 ET and then the second round of KO at 10. Since I have so many evening meetings I usually see Keith then anyway. And the next new plan is to start watching the West Wing DVD’s from 9-10. Starting with episode 1 and going all the way through to election day. A dose of sanity and wished-for political universe in the midst of the circus.
sounds like a winning tv viewing schedule
About 3 months before I got out of the Navy in 75 I received a letter actually signed by Gerald Ford requesting that I revisit my decision not to reenlist. I threw it in the trash. All branches were having trouble keeping people. I had spent about 12 years out of the US, 8 of those in Asia, and they wanted me to spend another 4 with a carrier-based fighter squadron out of Yokosuka. Sayonara.
Aren’t they all these days? It’s an Orwellian world; as someone said, up is down, down is up.
Heartbreaking, Phoenix Woman. Just a shame…
PW, did you read the new Rand Report…
that still won’t make up for the sins that are Tweety and scarborough
Matthews still has the occasional rational moment.
JoeScar, otoh, is a great big, giant, fuck-you to America in general. Mika Brezinski, deserves at least some measure of respect for initially standing up to JoeDick, before she inevitably caves in.
I expected better from Willi Geist (sp?), who is evidently willing to whore himself out to whomever might be behind the big microphone, whether it be Tucker, or JoeScar.
As we go into Penn’s “night of the stars”, I wish I had the option to watch John Adams again. I found that inspiring, and a great distraction in the midsts of other election nights this year. It was a
R E M I N D E R………
There are plenty of intelligent folks left– they are part of the 70% who are sick and tired of being scared and taking out their rage on the wrong people. (ihopeihopeihope)
As I said earlier today:
I just can’t stand the inane chatter any more. Even Keith is starting to get on my nerves.
Oh and schedule is suspended the nights the Cubs are broadcast on teevee. They just got done beating the Mets 7-1. Go Cubbies!
If you get HBO you should be able to watch it again “On Demand.” I would imagine that they will have it out in DVD soon too.
watching KO again as i missed the beginning… why do the powers that be keep saying iran may nuke israel? you know damn well iran will NOT do that!! they know what the US would do – yet this gets repeated ad infinitum!! i suppose that canard still works sheesh!!
My “…” is bigger than your “…”…
Spit!
Thanks, PW, I’m gonna do a follow up post at M&C about it… *g*
This scares me more than almost anything else. We can’t even begin to imagine what some of those traumatized people will do to themselves and others as time goes on. We will be reaping the horror of this for decades at least.
OT: For those interested, the most accurate “pollster” so far (including 2004), Al Giordano, has revised his prediction for tomorrow and says a 4% win for Clinton and +4 delegates for Clinton. Al’s wrong sometimes, but he’s been amazingly accurate compared to anyone else.
http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=1095
If true, would seem to end it I’d say, and we can turn our collective sights onto McStain.
omgosh, i got that way, really, thinking here, WEEKS ago! and even Keith too. And I swear that sometimes he says something that the “I cannot believe he said that! moment” comes on. you are tougher than I!
A lot of us saw this coming years ago. Pentagon studies were forecasting drops in manpower with out a “hot” war back in the 80’s as mission changes and demographics changed, and the cold war was still the preeminent threat.
The recruiting of mentally less-than-stellar troops was always done, sometimes to make “goals” at the end of the fiscal year (and then they’d be administratively separated after 1OCT if they were “troublmakers”), but it was always a battle to get someone with a criminal record in… especially a felony record. Now, not so much it seems.
If we are turning these folks loose on our society in the next couple of years heaven help us all… the bloodbaths will just be starting, especially if they don’t get VA care and assistance “transitioning” back to “the world”.
Thanks, Neocon asshats, thanks alot. You obviously never saw this coming did you?
That would be on VA hiding the true stats…!
We might want to revisit this..
‘In May 2007, Bush signed executive new orders NSDP51 and HSDP20 to replace REX84. The older order REX84 was an older directive to establish martial law in the event of a national emergency. Everything done in government is done for a reason, and these two new orders are no exception.’
http://rense.com/general81/shadowgovt.htm
If she (mika) could hold out longer than one nanosecond, I would give her some credit but she caves immediately. giving rachel her own show would be an excellent move but I won’t count on that happening at least until the elections are over
Repetition of the big lie in unison works like a charm. WMD’s. Hillary using i really makes me think she is more than willing to escalate militarily in the Mid East.
I seem to recall a book . . . oh yes, War is the Force that Gives Us Meaning . . . . we are losing a war we should never have gotten into so we have to look even more macho than we are!
makes me ill in too many ways.
Heh, they do allude to some of it…
That’s wonderful!!!! Now you, and Moon, can get a good night’s sleep. Been there, done that.
{{{LS}}}
{{{Moon}}}
now now now – boyz will be boyz – but this shit is serious! lol but its no joke
Having worked in the VA system, I am here to report that it is not gonna be pretty and few will show up to support these broken and miserable people.
that includes their shattered families, friends and guvmint.
Lots will be homeless and much worse.
Those that come home, of course.
Then there are the victims of our violence– how in the world are we going to deal with the victims of our own crimes against the peoples who survive our bombings, etc?
What a legacy.
My “…” is bigger than your “…”…
Well, that’s depressing….
wow, she really did laugh almost throughout Keith’s question about scaife.
(Note…not judging, just an observation)
No wonder she’s laughing like a maniac…
One of myfriends is Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel. He was instrumental in creating the volunteer army 25 years ago. He doesn’t have money. If he quits, he’ll never get a job in the defense business.
I still can’t figure out who the heck Willie Geist even is…other than Willie Geist on that show…Is he the son of a producer? Is he an ex-sports commentator? aIs he their “surrogate” son..a “character” representing the kids of the baby boomers?….the son of the “fighting” couple….Joe and Mika? WTF???? Family political dynamics??? Must be the theme.
Isn’t that always what it’s been about? My religion, my house, my country, my…..? That’s why women usually don’t need to go to war.
Wow, this Big Brother stuff is getting ridiculous and beyond a joke..
‘Routine journeys carried out by millions of British motorists can be monitored by authorities in the United States and other enforcement agencies across the world under anti-terrorism rules introduced discreetly by Jacqui Smith.’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new…..spy121.xml
i didnt get that joke – what did she find so funny?
“going postal” will wind up with a new name, I fear. Cascading tragedies ahead. And the people who started it will go scott free.
I was talkin’ about my dawg…/s No I wasn’t…lol
YEah, it really really bugged me that hilary is now promoting it (war v iran). what happened to diplomacy? to war as LAST resort?
no need to answer those Qs…sigh.
Jimmy Carter got Hamas to say they are willing to live with Israel as a neighbor…
Clearly Carter must be shunned and ignored now.
-G
meine gute…
We sure do take swell care of our military folk
The Navy had no mandatory tours in Nam. Every sailor who went in-country, except Corpsmen serving with the Marines, was a volunteer. One year tours and there was a waiting list.
Thanks for the link, Marion
I’d take it…
That is huge!!! Good Catch!!!
I still can’t figure out who the heck Willie Geist even is
I get the impression, from little asides on JoeScar, that he is the son of a big-wig at CBS.
I wanna like him – got a good, quick sense of humor – just wish that he’d grow a pair….
shunning is what “civilized” democracies do.
c’mon GregB./s
That was my sense too.
The Bush Cabal doesn’t care about what kind of hard luck case they send over there. They just need more bodies to sacrifice to the oil gods and keep the war fires burning.
makes me sick.
I’m sure that the PTSD is not only the natural fall out from any active war service, but also knowing that one’s government is so corrupt and discovering your friends are dying because Cheney’s blind sick greed.
If he’s able to come through with this, it will be the score of the ages..
We’ll see…
oops– meant to say ‘civilized democracies’
the whole ‘idea’ must be included.
/s
Britain is the “experiment”.
I wasn’t sure if your question needed my answer, but here goes: I think HRC was laughing nervously at the nerve that KO had to bring up Scaife inthe first place and trying to toss it off as a joke from a “cheeky” journalist. Oh Keith you dog! that sort of thing. uh, didn’t work.
Jimmy Carter got Hamas to say they are willing to live with Israel as a neighbor…
Clearly Carter must be shunned and ignored now.
that goddamned Jimmy Carter.
That bastard just keeps on accomplishing things that my government says is impossible. If he keeps it up, I may begin to have doubts in my government….
I think it her fake, rehearsed deflection of uncomfortable questions. She was caught (recorded) saying that she doesn’t agree with the left and that is what she “has to deal with”.
OT, but strange …
Just had a most interesting telephone call from the Clinton Campaign, the caller asked if I were supporting Hillary Clinton and I said that I supported Obama.
Then, because I am concerned at the ill-will so prevalent between partisans, I said that if Obama lost I would support Clinton and asked the caller if he would, equally, vote for Obama.
He answered that he felt Obama could not be elected and that he would be hard pressed to vote for him, so he would probably vote for McCain.
I told him I found his answer a trifle confusing …
Is it just me or has logic fled?
‘Britain is the “experiment.’
You know I am beginning to wonder..
That’s just plain nuts. I don’t get it at all.
more here
*posted without comment*
Sounds like maybe Mr. Bill likes the Republican system better…
Nope. You are a democrat that supports Obama. He is a Clinton supporter (period)
He answered that he felt Obama could not be elected and that he would be hard pressed to vote for him, so he would probably vote for McCain.
I told him I found his answer a trifle confusing …
Is it just me or has logic fled?
Has logic fled? Nah – ya just ran into your basic Hillary supporter.
In which case, I suppose, the answer to you last question would be a resounding YES.
JMHO.
Medical OT, I haven’t been ON T all day,,,,,,,,,,,,must focus.
‘A chemotherapy drug used to treat thousands of cancer patients could cause serious brain damage with effects that are felt for years, research suggests today.’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new…..emo122.xml
The only reply is “we don’t, so we can’t, and she isn’t”. Don’t understand why he would say something so silly.
It’s not just you. I had a brief conversation with Joe Sestak a couple of weeks ago. I chided him about his candidate and how she is hurting the dem cause. It’s the Supreme Court, Stupid, is the essence of what I said. He told me that I was only the 3rd person with whom he had talked that got that. When this is over all of the dems HAVE to get together.
IT’S THE SUPREME COURT!!!!
Could have been a McCain call checking…but it could be hail Mary campaigning too.
I hate this election.
he is entitled to his opinion. *shrugs*
Plus the report of a big # of suicides; much of which has been covered up.
LMAO!
Poor neocons. They’ve tried violence, threats, and ignoring Hamas and then ole Jimmy Carter goes over there and pretty much fixes the situation in 44.8 seconds. Bah hahahahahaha!
Insane, but I have to wonder if the Clintons will vote for Obama if he’s the candidate. They seem so much more comfortable with the Republican playbook, the primary process and the nominee.
okay.
I just have to say one thing.
We have an “all volunteer force”
*cough*– (it’s a sort of draft at this point)
The American people are not fearless enough.
We have brave women and men who signed up to defend our country and they deserve a foreign and domestic policy that is within the bounds of our Constitution that they swore an oath to.
We, as the American people, owe it to them to make sure that they get a person who will use his/her power as the Constitution and our laws allow it.
Period.
and thats what endears me to KO…. he asked her re scaife and she was momentarily caught off guard…. and he didnt try to kiss up to her tho he’s been accused of being in the tank for obama….
Raven has issues.
Of course it is.
Clintons should have joined the Republican Party if they like the way they do things. They were never too far off the Rethug Ranch in many regards. Too late for that now. Too bad.
Well, I pursued this a bit further but it went around in a circle and ended with precisely the same conclusion.
I thanked him for his call and assured him that I would be voting tomorrow.
We have entered the twilight zone of dissonate cognition and it all seems quite strange, somehow.
wow. mccain in leisure slacks. one word: noassatall
Americans are fearless, as are any countrymen/women whose countries are legitimately threatened, but they are not total fools that will bow to the frivolous notions of a dictatorship who sends them to war for unlawful and untruthful reasons…Just sayin’.
Clintons have the GOPness envy.
Good one!
Actually, I think they have taken a strange tactic…perhaps brilliant…perhaps disastrous…keep my enemy close to my chest…or whatever the hell the saying is….
KO is in the tank for Obama. That much should be clear to everyone.
She laughed at him because it was a ridiculous question.
OT, but….
“Sources at Dow Jones & Company Inc. say that Marcus Brauchli, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, is submitting a letter of resignation, with his departure to be announced as early as Tuesday morning.”
I guess he fought the Murdoch and the Murdoch won…
The only analogy I can think of is that Bush has stretched the elastic of our Constitution so far, those tidy whities won’t fit anyone any more and who would want it? I mean, if he didn’t have to follow the rules why should I?
A risible classic, for certain!
My Democratic Party county chairman, an attorney, told me that in 1980.
He was right.
More good news /s
‘The number of birds which migrate to the UK every Spring to breed is plummeting, a new study reveals.’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ear…..rds121.xml
I’m so proud of Carter. He made Condi look like a kindergartner.
Bill has to cite Republican Primary methodology and the Electoral College (which also sucks bigtime – it gave us Dubya!) to cobble together an excuse for Hillary’s diminishing returns.
Better to have your enemies inside the tent peeing out, than the other way around?
nah, I think they just like power be it as a dem or a gopness.
Holy wee, wee….
blush/curtsy!
well, that is one way of looking at it though I fail to see what is riduculous about it.
He being in the tank for Obama had nothing to do with the Iran question. She said it during the debate and he gave her an opportunity to elaborate. the same goes for the scaife thing. At least he didn’t ask her about lapel pins
Me too!!! Gawd, it it pans out…smackdown!!!
hear hear!
HAHAHAHHAHA!! That Scaife! He’s alrighta!
*sigh* you know that life will find a way to continue and that mother earth ain’t going to take much more of our shenanigans
Did you tape it?
I agree, and it’s a career killer for those serving… Plus, it’s a long drawn out process to get VA to fess up to an individual’s need…
And Rev @201, I agree that it is a serious travesty…
Sorry, I just changed a friend’s alternator for their car…!
There is no fine line between diplomacy and war mongering.
-G
Yeah, she’s really pissed off.
Dang, and according to Jon and Ken on KFI Los Angeles, Botox drifts to the brain stem.
I’m thinking McCane (thanks punaise) is freezing up.
former president Bill Clinton
who has gone from former statesman to the embarrassing drunken uncle who everybody hope isn’t gonna make a scene today.
Unfortunately, I have some experience in that area….
Bushco and The republicans are f*cking the troops out of benefits for PTSD. They’re saying it isn’t real. They are currently stopping benefit payments to Nam vets.
Well, I hadn’t the presence of mind, being a trifle amazed, but I wouldn’t have thought of such a thing anyway.
Isn’t it a no-no to do that unless you are George?
That’s ‘right’ (solemnly). 911 changed everything. (I get such a thrill!)
Are you serious? Where did you see that?
Oh Gawd…I just had the funniest vision…the new Puke Prezdeinet and first McLady….stuck….
Frozen at the inauguration…more like the refrigeration….of 2009….
Look what Botox did to Barbie and Ken.
Why ridiculous?
I did a bit of Googling, and the results for scaife+clinton+arkansas project aren’t pretty.
Scaife is just about the worst guy ever and she wants to snuggle?
Personal anecdote. They actually stopped this dude’s check. He had to raise hell to reinstate it. There are arguments at the VFW hall over PTSD. Some of the punks are accusing PTSD vets of being fakers.
Cryogenics somnambulists unite!
she received the scaife endorsement……….
Right.
I expect she regards that endorsement with no guile at all?
Something else going on here.
Heh, that’s par for the course… I’ve seen some of that firsthand, but, my Mother fought for their cases all the way to DC… I helped with some of the paperwork and legwork…!
All this so that Petreaus and others can say that recruiting numbers are stable.
As a woman, it is certainly frightening to think that convicted rapists are being recruited to live along side our daughters. Women have enough problems with aggressive sexual overtures in the service without recruiting criminals to make the problem far worse.