One big mistake Americans have made over the past thirty years is giving up their birthright of control over their government, and the support of the obligation of that government to serve the general public welfare.

We allowed ourselves to be seduced into thinking that politics was in a permanent state of decadence.  In the midst of the rapid increase of obfuscation and doubletalk, we threw our hands up and called it quits, and just hoped that what the businesses and special interest did wouldn't hurt that much, or by lucky chance would aid us.

The good times that new technology and social paradigm shift brought fooled us into thinking that things would remain this way.  But the trick is, some political decisions only reveal their true stupidity when extreme circumstances put bad logic and worse understanding of the facts to the test.  Even as we seem to be poised for victories of epic proportions, we should step back and ask ourselves why we seek to win, and why circumstances are aiding us in our progress.

So there is this bill being considered in Congress that would delay a 10.6% pay cut to physicians treating Medicare patients and would pay for it by giving less of a giveaway subsidy to the HMO's privatizing Medicare.

As expected the Democrats and AARP are fighting the medicare cuts.  But there is another  group lobbying against the cuts, according the New York Times:

On the other side of the issue, military families have joined doctors and AARP, the advocacy group for older Americans, in lobbying for the bill.

Relatives of active-duty military personnel, military retirees and their dependents receive care under a federal program known as Tricare, which uses the Medicare fee schedule to pay doctors.

When Medicare reduces payments to doctors, fees under the military program are also reduced, and it becomes more difficult for military families to find doctors.

Congress is “playing chicken with your health care,” the Military Officers Association of America told its members in a bulletin last week.

Many independents and moderate republicans beat the ‘yellow elephant drum" and say there will be no draft to support the Iraq war.  I say BULLSHIT.

WHY?

Base Realignment and Closure Acts (BRAC Acts)

Presidents Reagan signed into law four rounds of BRAC and President Bush signed into law one round of BRAC.  This fact is important because these Republican laws are why our military strength is diminished. The strategy for our Department of Defense since the end of the Cold war was to fight a two theater strategy meaning we would maintain the combat strength to fight two wars in two different parts of the world at the same time.  When I served in Desert Storm we had 16 Combat Divisions and support forces on the ground in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.  We still had available, uncommitted, 5 Infantry Divisions:

7th Ft. Ord, California
10th Ft. Drum, New York
2nd Korea
6th Ft. Wainwright, Alaska
25th Hawaii

We actually could maintain a two-war strategy in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Join me on the flip for the very bad news Republicans will not talk about in the company of voters.

So I've sort of become the unofficial GI Bill guru in my unit. I was extremely excited when HR 2642 passed, and I have been trying to help people understand how their benefits might change under the new system. The VA finally posted a new FAQ (http://www.gibill.va.gov/s22.htm) , and much to my horror, under the VA's interpretation the new bill, some of my co-workers and I may lose a substantial portion of our benefits. I have sent the VA an email, and am yet to get a response. I will update when I receive one. Here's the letter:

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore.

LAFAYETTE, IN - Jim Webb has gotten a lot of attention lately in the veep speculation game - the one that has substituted for real political reporting over the last month. Most stories focus in on his military and government career, but what I've always found so intriguing about Webb is the thing that makes him such a unique political animal: namely, that he comes from the world of writing, rather than from professional politics.

Iny my previous entry which has proven so popular I neglcted to focus more attention on Obama's statement this week that he wants to INCRESSE the size of the militsry when he is President. PLANET EARTH TO BARACK OBAMA ....

It’s the Fourth of July and while other families are enjoying barbeques and fireworks and family together time, I’m fighting a pity party by making a "movable banner" for my dog and dragging her to a public fireworks celebration to register voters this evening.  

Don’t worry, I promise we’ll be home long before the fireworks start and make her heart pound.

I’m kidless for another fourth and if you sense a little self-pity, yeah, I’m indulging.  It’s not too often but on days like this, I think have every right...  You see, my two boys signed up to serve their country and nothing's been the same since.  

I'm sorry, I cannot countenance this importance being given to everything military. Our country was forged to be a civilian nation with a civilian leadership. A melding of military and politics leads to only one thing. Sinclair Lewis wrote once, "It Can't Happen Here."

I've always argued that it could happen here; and we must fight to not make it so. For if it were, we might get more than we bargained for; we might find ourselves consumed with nothing but working...

I have not seen this posted but thought it relevant to the whole Gen. Clark dust-up. I have watched as pundit after pundit has attacked Gen Clark for "attacking McCain's military service" or when they don't use that canard they talk about how McCain NEVER talks about his military service. Well, this Meet The Press interview shows quite the opposite. http://www.youtube.com/...

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

It's funny how the MSM is all in a lather over what Wes Clark said. I think Clark's point about honoring McCain's military service while stating that the service is not sufficient experience for being President is a respectful, valid point.  But to realize this would require the MSM to actually read and think about what Clark said ... it's far easier and sells more papers and gets more viewers by inventing a controversy.  Watch how it has evolved, and why, after the jump.

Nancy Benac on HuffPo has a terrific story that on reported donations over $200 from military personnel Obama outdoes McCain:

That Obama attracts support from some in the military is evident in dollars and cents: Among people who have donated at least $200 to a presidential campaign this election cycle, Obama has collected more than $327,000 from those identifying themselves as military personnel, while McCain has collected $224,000, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by The Associated Press.

It's not all roses and sunshine as McCain will obviously garner military support. But the signs are there that is not going to be a cakewalk.

Surely the MSM is able to distinguish between honoring someone's service and questioning their qualifications to be POTUS. Conflate they will, have a counterstrategy we must. Below the fold is a idea I hope people will comment on. The McCain camp (with the help of the MSM) with their outrage are attempting to make McCain's claim that his military experience (as POW) makes him more qualified to be the POTUS bulletproof. Their choral histrionics sung refrain after refrain as you can see at TPMtv's HYPERVENTORAMA is unfortunately all too revealing. Rather than feel powerless I turn to writing this diary to suggest something that might be good idea but would still need vetting.

I'm deeply frustrated at MSM's inability to reflect on their judgement. They cling to their image of their great American hero, their Vietnam G.I. Joe fighting to save the day. When they feel their dream or "hope" questioned, they react as if attacked and immediately call 'foul' on anyone questioning their hero. Let's pull a Tim Russert and press McCain to disclose his FULL military records! (COMPULSORY DISCLAIMER) I'm not denigrating McCain's service or his sacrifice for the country-just asking for a real vetting!!

In today's WaPo David Ignatius wrote an important column. Ignatius is probably the best-connected commentator on the subject of the Middle East and reflects official thinking in Washington. When the Neocons were in their glory he wrote admiringly of them; recently he has distanced himself considerably.

The argument this week is once again about qualifications to be the Commander-In-Chief, with one side arguing that military experience may not have much weight towards that particular job.  The other side argues that any questioning of the qualifications of a "war hero" is a direct insult to all veterans and somehow degrades the service of that "war hero".  Below is my observation of the validity of the "war hero" President argument.

Cross-posted at Blue Jersey

Chris Smith voted to double the cost of prescription drug co-pays for military families. In 2006, the Bush administration doubled the cost of prescription co-pays for military families under Tri-Care health coverage. Democrats introduced legislation restoring the original co-pays of $3 for generic drugs and $9 for brand name drugs, but Chris Smith and other Republicans voted to block the legislation. [HR 5122, vote #139, 5/11/06; Leadership document, "Democrats Are Fighting for Military Families," 5/11/06]

According to research, many military families face difficult financial challenges. Over 20% of military families report having received WIC aid or food stamps from the government. While a few dollars saved might not mean much to Chris Smith, who has voted to raise his own salary by $32,600 since 1999, every dollar helps our military families afford basic necessities.[Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation Military Families Survey March 2004 CRS: Salaries of Members of Congress Updated January 8, 2008; 1999 Vote #300; 2000 Vote #419; 2001 House Vote #267; 2002 House Vote #322; 2003 House Vote #463; 2004 House Vote #451; 2005 House Vote #327; 2006 vote #261; 2007 Vote #580]

As noted at Politico:

After saying, "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war," he added that these experiences in no way qualify McCain to be president in his view:

"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron," Clark said.

"I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."

Here comes the swiftboating.

You knew it wouldn't take long for the right wing hate machine, the swiftboaters, the Republican Party, the McCain surrogates, right wing talk radio, the conservative bloggers, and the corporate media to make the FALSE CHARGE that the Obama camp or those associated with the Obama camp were somehow attacking McCain's service in Vietnam.  We've done no such thing and neither did General Wes Clark.

And we need to call out every single person, whether they are a media personality, a politician, or an McCain staffer who attempts to unfairly smear Wes Clark and tens of millions of Americans.