[CLUE-Talk] No matter where you stand on Iraq

[Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier]

Whether you agreed with or disagreed with the Iraq war, I think support
for the people in uniform that are fighting in Iraq is pretty much
universal. So it might come to some shock that the administration that
has been so vocal in its support for the armed forces is actually
cutting benefits to soldiers who are in harm's way:

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-ARMYPAPER-1954515.php

"In recent months, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress
have missed no opportunity to heap richly deserved praise on the
military. But talk is cheap — and getting cheaper by the day, judging
from the nickel-and-dime treatment the troops are getting lately.

For example, the White House griped that various pay-and-benefits
incentives added to the 2004 defense budget by Congress are wasteful and
unnecessary — including a modest proposal to double the $6,000 gratuity
paid to families of troops who die on active duty. This comes at a time
when Americans continue to die in Iraq at a rate of about one a day.

Similarly, the administration announced that on Oct. 1 it wants to roll
back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225
to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for troops
getting shot at in combat zones."

***

Something to think about next time you're voting for President. (And I
don't care WHO you vote for, just make sure you VOTE...) 

Zonker
-- 
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier
jzb at dissociatedpress.net
Aim: zonkerjoe
http://www.dissociatedpress.net