Presidential Hypocrisy

I'm a fan of Obama.  I remember the speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.  I listened in awe, knowing that I was listening to the man who would be our nation's first black president.  I never dreamed it would happen so soon, but I knew it would  He's intelligent, well read, and a quick learner.  But I think he missed one of the lessons some corporate executive learned over the last few months.  You see, the impression you leave is everything.  If you come to Washington asking for money, don't waste your travel money on a private corporate jet.  Yet it seems our President has just done what some auto executives did before him.  He fueled up Air Force One and took a long, 37 minute flight, from DC to Williamsburg, Virginia to ask some of the House Democrats to come through for him on the stimulus bill.  Not very different from what those auto execs did.

I realize our president doesn't have the luxury of choosing between his private jet and flying coach on US Airways.  But I think a little more discretion could have been used in making the decision to go on this flight.  Couldn't he have made the same appeal from Washington?  Was it really necessary to travel for this?  After all, it isn't inexpensive to fuel up one of those big jets, even for a short trip.  I believe President Obama is going to live up to expectations.  But in this case, he could have thought ahead just a little bit.

Damn the Mississippi . . .

Damn the Mississippi . . . Damn the Levees . . . Damn the Rain

I am really so damn proud of her.  She wears the uniform of a soldier.  She has been to Iraq twice.  And the stripes on her arm are those of a Seargent.  But this will be night seven.  Night seven of knowing that she is walking the top of a levee, wearing night vision goggles and a life vest, looking for signs that the levee is not going to hold.  Night seven of worrying that the levee won't hold where she is walking.  Night seven of knowing she would have it no other way.

Night seven of missing her and knowing I can't live without her.  Night seven to wake in the dark startled that she isn't there.  And one less night until she is home again.

McCain and the New GI Bill

As I've said before, the least we can do for our returning vets is to give them the opportunity to go to college and realize dreams that they may have thought unreachable. Most of the Senate and House agree with me. Unfortunately, the presumptive Republican nominee, a Vietnam vet and POW, doesn't agree. He's more concerned that our current military doesn't start leaving the service in order to go to college. As Cynthia Tucker, of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, points out,

Now, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), joined by his colleagues John Warner (R-Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), wants to give veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan a similar package of benefits, since those young men and women, like the vets of the Greatest Generation, have made enormous sacrifices for their country. But their proposal has met stiff opposition from the White House and from Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

McCain claims the proposal is too expensive; he has offered a scaled-down version of the plan. Webb's new GI Bill, which covers the entire cost for a veteran attending a public college, would require about $5 billion a year. The continued U.S. troop presence in Iraq costs much, much more — about $144 billion a year. Surely the nation can afford to give a fraction of that to the troops.

Perhaps the real reason for McCain's refusal to support more generous college benefits lies in a letter Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wrote to Congress a few weeks ago: The Pentagon fears the plan would lure soldiers away from re-enlistment and back into civilian life. With the Republican establishment lined up behind an open-ended commitment to Iraq — and with some chicken hawks screaming for military action against Iran — they need cannon fodder. They don't want enlisted men and women to have the alternative of a college education paid for by a grateful nation.

Revelations like that always give me a shudder — a momentary feeling of disorientation. Is this still America? Aren't we the nation that claims we absolutely support the troops, that we will never dishonor their service again, that we all should be wearing flag pins to show our pride and patriotism?

Applause . . . A Tribute to the Troops

This weekend, as we all take a three day holiday, the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are still working their jobs and carrying their weapons without the possibility of having even one day off. They voluntarily wear the uniform and serve their country. Let's take a minute to pause and think of them - male and female, gay and straight, black and white, citizen and immigrant - all of those who wear the uniform.

Thank you!

Update on the New GI BIll

Last week the House voted to expand education benefits for today's veterans by a vote of 256-166. Today, the Senate joined them by approving the bill with a vote of 75-22. The two versions will be reconciled in committee and the final versions will be sent to President Bush's desk for approval. Unfortunately, President Bush has threatened to veto the bill because he is afraid more soldiers will leave the service and go to college. Did he ever stop to think that signing the bill could actually increase recruitment? Or does he even realize that our men and women in uniform can attend school for free while they are still on active duty?

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Beginning of the End?

In a ruling that may signal the beginning of the end for the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy on gays in the military, A California appeals court reinstate the case of Air Force Major Margaret Witt.  Witt served as a military nurse and was honored for her service in Oman by President Bush.  After being discharged with only two years left until retirement, Witt sued.  The court ruled that rather than apply on the rationale that gays in the military disrupt morale and interfere with unit cohesion, there must also be evidence, for each individual case, that dismissal of the person serves an important government interest.

Currently, there are thousands of gays and lesbians in our nations military, many of them in harms way in Iraq or Afghanistan, some for the second or third tour of duty.  These men and women are loyal US citizens, willing to give the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.  Many of them serve openly within their units with no backlash from their fellow soldiers.  It's time for our country to end this policy.  We need these dedicated people just as we need all military personnel.

There are those in our country who will say, there goes that court in California again.  I, for one, say thank you.  It's about time reason and logic stood up and said Enough!

For more information on Major Witt's case,  go to the stories on MSNBC or  The New York Times.