Support Our Troops At Home

Save The Troops.

by georgia10    Daily Kos   

 Fri May 04, 2007

What no war-cheerleading Republican dare address:

WASHINGTON - The military is putting already-strained troops at greater risk of mental health problems because of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, a Pentagon panel said Thursday in warning of an overburdened health system.

Issuing an urgent warning, the Defense Department's Task Force on Mental Health chaired by Navy Surgeon General Donald Arthur said more than one-third of troops and veterans currently suffer from problems such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

With an escalating Iraq war, those numbers are expected to worsen, and current staffing and money for military health care won't be able to meet the need, the group said in a preliminary report released Thursday. [...]

The task force found 38 percent of Soldiers and 31 percent of Marines report psychological concerns such as traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from deployment.

Among members of the National Guard, the figure is much higher - 49 percent - with numbers expected to grow because of repeated deployments.

You cannot support this war and "support the troops," whatever that hollowed-out, abused phrase means anymore.

Congress has an obligation to save the troops from a president blinded by ego. It must bring them home.  It must begin the long process of fighting that other aftermath of this war which is  silently being fought by these brave men and women right here, on American soil.

It must bring them home. And help them heal.

Tags: Iraq troops health care mental health

Candidates For GOP and A Dead President

   I have to admit that I did not watch the Republican debate last night as I saw no reason to endure such torture for 90 minutes. Why waste my time listening to the participants telling us how great Ronald Reagan was and how much they wish they could be like him?

  It strikes me as funny since they all want to embrace the Reagan legacy, but that would be only because the Bush legacy is one of stupidity, corruption, and cronyism. If things were going half as well as Bush claims that they were, all of the debate candidates would have been telling you how they will continue along the same path. I guess that they have forgotten that they voted for this current mess that the Bush administration is in with the war in Iraq and with the scandals. They gave Bush a blank check and they helped him along with his agenda, no questions asked, and now they are trying to run from it by invoking Reagan's ideas?

John McCain: "Ronald Reagan used to say, we spend money like a drunken sailor."      Source

   You helped Bush spend like a drunken sailor, Mr. McCain, and you would continue along the same path.

They stressed the importance of persisting in Iraq and defeating terrorists, called for lower taxes and a muscular defense, and supported spending restraint.

  Iraq is a waste of our resources and they all know this. Lower taxes are great when you are not wasting billions of dollars per month on a war. Spending restraint for a Republican? Give us a break! It ain't gonna happen.

   They used Reagan's name some 19 times and barely mentioned their current wannabe king, Bush.

   It really doesn't matter all that much. If the only thing that the GOP has going for it is a trip back into time, they are screwed in November, 2008.

I'm sure that most blogs and maybe some MSM aren't letting them run away from the Bush support that they were so willing to give to him.

Tags: Mitt Romney John McCain Rudy Giuliani GOP