A Forum for Grinches and Ho-Ho-Hoes

[Tyrone Slothrop]

A worthy cause at this (or any) time of year:

• PHONE CARDS FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS
  Since the several posts I have written about how important it is to help those soldiers returning from America's Iraq and Afghanistan operations, I have been flooded by notes from those wondering where they can send checks.
  
  Some soldiers' familes are economically undermined because of the long-term deployment of the man or woman deployed abroad. This is particularly severe in the case of National Guard men and women deployed in these conflicts. But those wounded physically or psychologically have a set of adjustments ahead an order of magnitude greater.
  
  I think that the American government and private sector are going to have to partner to find ways to assist these soldiers and their families -- but in the mean time, I have done some digging into some options for those of you who want to do something.
  
  These requests may sound trivial given the scale of the problems we are writing about -- but the number one request from wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center is phone cards.
  
  According to contacts I have at Walter Reed, the government does not pay for long distance phone calls for the troops who are convalescing there. The phone cards can be purchased in many places and can be of any denomination, even as small as $5.00 I am told.
  
  Books and cds are also welcome and are often requested.
  
  There are two ways to send things in if you feel inclined to do something on this front.
  
  The first is to send purchased phone cards to:
  
  Medical Family Assistance Center
  Walter Reed Medical Center
  6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC 20307-5001
  
  Secondly, you may send a check directly to me if you prefer, and I will gather the money and purchase cards and other items that these soldiers have specifically requested. I will run the donated money through the Walter Reed Society, a 501(c)3 organization which has agreed to direct donations received for the soldiers to supporting their needs. I will make sure that tax-deductible receipts are sent to those who donate through this route.
  
  The checks should be made out to WALTER REED SOCIETY.
  
  Those who prefer this second option should just send checks to me at the following name and address but mark on the check "Soldiers Donation." The address is:
  
  Steven Clemons
  The Washington Note
  1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 7th Floor
  Washington, DC 20009
  
  I don't think that purchasing phone cards goes very far in addressing the heavy burdens that deployed soldiers and their families are managing, but during this season -- this is a nice way for modest dollars to help these folks stay in contact with their friends and families.

The Washington Note

[Tyrone Slothrop]

• Marine claims scores of unarmed Iraqis killed
  
  
  Washington - A former United States (US) Marine has claimed he saw American troops in Iraq routinely kill unarmed civilians, including women and children.
  
  He said he had also witnessed troops killing injured Iraqi insurgents.
  
  Jimmy Massey, 33, a staff sergeant who served in Iraq before being honourably discharged after 12 years' service, said he had seen troops shooting civilians at road blocks and in the street.
  
  A code of silence, similar to that found in organised crime gangs, prevented troops from speaking about it.
  
  A code of silence, similar to that found in organised crime gangs
  "We were shooting up people as they got out of their cars trying to put their hands up," said Massey.
  
  "I don't know if the Iraqis thought we were celebrating their new democracy. I do know that we killed innocent civilians." Massey said US troops in Iraq were trained to believe that all Iraqis were potential terrorists.
  
  As a result, he had watched his colleagues open fire indiscriminately. In one 48-hour period, he estimated his unit killed more than 30 civilians in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.
  
  "I was never clear on who the enemy was," he explained. "If you have no enemy or you do not know who the enemy is, what are you doing there?"
  
  His claims were made during an immigration hearing in Toronto, Canada, to assess a claim for refugee status made by a former US soldier, Jeremy Hinzman.
  
  Hinzman, 26, fled to Canada after refusing to go to Iraq with his colleagues in the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg.
  
  Hinzman is seeking permission to remain in Canada with his wife and child and believes he` will face a court martial if he returns to the US.
  
  "We were told that we would be going to Iraq to jack up some terrorists," he told the hearing. "We were told it was a new kind of war, that these were evil people and they had to be dealt with."
  
  Hinzman is among several American soldiers seeking refugee status in Canada, hoping the country's opposition to the war will help.

The Cape Times (South Africa)

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
No. Bloggers sell their ad space.

okay. but who buys it? compare to lgf's banner ad:



all I'm saying is you can predict the slant by a quick look-see.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop

• Marine claims scores of unarmed Iraqis killed
  
  
  Washington - A former United States (US) Marine has claimed he saw American troops in Iraq routinely kill unarmed civilians, including women and children.
  
  He said he had also witnessed troops killing injured Iraqi insurgents.
  
  Jimmy Massey, 33, a staff sergeant who served in Iraq before being honourably discharged after 12 years' service, said he had seen troops shooting civilians at road blocks and in the street.
  
  A code of silence, similar to that found in organised crime gangs, prevented troops from speaking about it.
  
  A code of silence, similar to that found in organised crime gangs
  "We were shooting up people as they got out of their cars trying to put their hands up," said Massey.
  
  "I don't know if the Iraqis thought we were celebrating their new democracy. I do know that we killed innocent civilians." Massey said US troops in Iraq were trained to believe that all Iraqis were potential terrorists.
  
  As a result, he had watched his colleagues open fire indiscriminately. In one 48-hour period, he estimated his unit killed more than 30 civilians in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad.
  
  "I was never clear on who the enemy was," he explained. "If you have no enemy or you do not know who the enemy is, what are you doing there?"
  
  His claims were made during an immigration hearing in Toronto, Canada, to assess a claim for refugee status made by a former US soldier, Jeremy Hinzman.
  
  Hinzman, 26, fled to Canada after refusing to go to Iraq with his colleagues in the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg.
  
  Hinzman is seeking permission to remain in Canada with his wife and child and believes he` will face a court martial if he returns to the US.
  
  "We were told that we would be going to Iraq to jack up some terrorists," he told the hearing. "We were told it was a new kind of war, that these were evil people and they had to be dealt with."
  
  Hinzman is among several American soldiers seeking refugee status in Canada, hoping the country's opposition to the war will help.

The Cape Times (South Africa)

Well this is a good start- but let's wait and see if the Cairo (Egypt) Times picks the story up. Let's not just accept the Cape Town story. As an aside, the US media has been so slow to pick up on soldier bashing stories and all.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by taxwonk
Okay, this is too wierd.

you realize I'm stalking you, don't you?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
okay. but who buys it? compare to lgf's banner ad:



all I'm saying is you can predict the slant by a quick look-see.

No kidding, Dick Tracy. I still think CBS slimed him unfairly by suggesting that he had an ethical problem. Atrios is obviously a lefty. That's not the issue.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Was the applause by a few thousand other soldiers also planted?

Or the tough questions from other soldiers?

• Q: Yes, sir. I was wanting to know why I cannot enlist as a single parent in the regular Army, but I can enlist in the National Guard and be deployed?
  
  ...
  
  Q: Specialist Skarwin (Sp?) HHD 42nd Engineer Brigade. Mr. Secretary [Cheers] my question is with the current mission of the National Guard and Reserves being the same as our active duty counterparts, when are more of our benefits going to line up to the same as theirs, for example, retirement? [Cheers] [Applause]
  
  ...
  
  Q: Good morning, sir. Staff Sergeant Latazinsky (sp) 1st COSCOM (sp), Fort Bragg, [Cheers] North Carolina. Yes, sir. My husband and myself, we both joined a volunteer Army. Currently, I'm serving under the Stop Loss Program. I would like to know how much longer do you foresee the military using this program?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Or the tough questions from other soldiers?

• Q: Yes, sir. I was wanting to know why I cannot enlist as a single parent in the regular Army, but I can enlist in the National Guard and be deployed?
  
  ...
  
  Q: Specialist Skarwin (Sp?) HHD 42nd Engineer Brigade. Mr. Secretary [Cheers] my question is with the current mission of the National Guard and Reserves being the same as our active duty counterparts, when are more of our benefits going to line up to the same as theirs, for example, retirement? [Cheers] [Applause]
  
  ...
  
  Q: Good morning, sir. Staff Sergeant Latazinsky (sp) 1st COSCOM (sp), Fort Bragg, [Cheers] North Carolina. Yes, sir. My husband and myself, we both joined a volunteer Army. Currently, I'm serving under the Stop Loss Program. I would like to know how much longer do you foresee the military using this program?

there were draft riots in the War Between the States. Why are you surprised that people who thought they were beating the system, are upset when the system wants to collect?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I still think CBS slimed him unfairly by suggesting that he had an ethical problem. Atrios is obviously a lefty. That's not the issue.

the issue is you won't admit CBS can't criticize based upon ethics. unless, maybe you believe in "it takes one to know one."

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
the issue is you won't admit CBS can't criticize based upon ethics. unless, maybe you believe in "it takes one to know one."

You're interested in arguing about CBS's own ethics, and I'm not. I have no position on the subject. Post away to your heart's content on it, though.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
You're interested in arguing about CBS's own ethics, and I'm not. I have no position on the subject. Post away to your heart's content on it, though.

you started by saying the anti-Daschle blogs should have carried a disclaimer. then you admitted any blog is on its face biased, so no disclaimer is necessary. you've lost. I'm just mopping up at this point.
Hank 79-11

[Adder]

Originally posted by ilikenewsocks
Soldier's tough question for Rummy was a reporter's plant, says CNN

I'm so discouraged by this. What have the media come to? I think I'll go home and watch a little Dan Rather for comfort.

Why? Does this somehow magically make the armor actually there?

[Adder]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Social Security is an intergenerational transfer, or, if you like, a Ponzi Scheme.

Yes, but that doesn't mean it has to be.

"Privatization" is something completely different -- the notion that this compact should be replaced with a system in which the young are permitted or compelled to invest for themselves. So the fundamental problem is that if we adopt "privatization," who pays for the old until today's young are old?

Yup. And the biggest obsticle I see to a transition is the totall cowardice of our leadership to admit that while privatization might be good, it will also be costly. And I don't think it is a huge a problem as you think (but it get huger every day).

Then you should be "highly skeptical" about the claims made by privatization advocates that investments in the market will earn 6% or 7%.

These people are predicting, at best, substantially reduced market returns (or, in other words, they are being highly conservative). That makes more sense to me that saying that even these super-conservative estimates are way too positive, which seems to be what you are saying (i.e. the better guess is that things will be largely the same, rather than radically different).

But obviously there is a connection between the performance of the stock market and the performance of the larger economy, and if the privatization advocates are claiming that the latter will suffer in coming decades, as a result of demographic factors, it's hard to see how they could think that returns in the market will keep ripping along at past rates.

Again, this is what we are talking about. One need not think the demographic factors are going to substantially hurt the larger economy in order to think it might be a good idea to privatize (note: the historical stock market return is something around 11%).

The answer is, of course, that they don't -- they are wedded to privatization for ideological and venal reasons, not because they believe in these numbers.

Or because, having watched what has happened to private pension plans (the near complete replacement of defined benefit with defined contribution, with much larger retiree resources) over the last 30 years, they believe that actually setting aside funds to pay future benefits, and earning a return (any return) on them makes for better off retired people.

What I don't get is the dogmatic democratic committment to the current system. I certainly don't believe that social security should be removed as a safety net. But I absolutely believe that people would be better off, and the system would be more sustainable, if people were investing the funds instead of loaning them to the government to pay for current expenses.

[Adder]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Why are you surprised that people who thought they were beating the system, are upset when the system wants to collect?

That's how you describe people who, unlike you (at least at the moment), have be guts to volunteer and sign up? You call them "people who thought they were beating the system?" Very patriotic.

Ad(they gave one hell of a lot more than me (and probably you), and voluntarily)der

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
you started by saying the anti-Daschle blogs should have carried a disclaimer. then you admitted any blog is on its face biased, so no disclaimer is necessary. you've lost. I'm just mopping up at this point.
Hank 79-11

Your second sentence makes no sense. And I'm sorry about your plumbing problems.