Wounded soldiers asked to return signing bonuses
When Jordan Fox was serving in Iraq, his mother helped organize Operation Pittsburgh Pride, which sends thousands of care packages to U.S. troops from his hometown, which prompted a personal “thank you” from the White House. When Fox was seriously injured in Iraq, the president sent what appeared to be personal note, expressing his concerns to the Fox family.
But more recently, Fox received a different piece of correspondence from the Bush administration.
The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.
To get people to sign up, the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.
Now men and women who have lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being ordered to pay some of that money back.
I watched the report from the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, and I kept thinking, “This can’t be right.” Apparently, it is.
In Jordan Fox’s case, he was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle, causing back injuries and blindness in his right eye. He was sent home, unable to complete the final three months of his military commitment.
Last week, the Pentagon sent him a bill: Fox owed the government nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus.
“I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they’re telling me they want their money back,” Fox said.
Look, if a soldier signed a contract, collected a signing bonus, and then quit, I can understand the military asking for the signing bonus back.
But we’re talking about troops who volunteered, served, and were seriously injured. It’s not their fault they got hurt. How on earth is the Pentagon justified in asking for a refund?
In Jordan Fox’s case, he doesn’t have $3,000 lying around to give the government, and his injuries are such that he had to give up on his goal of becoming a police officer.
For what it’s worth, Fox’s congressman, Democrat Jason Altmire, has introduced a bill to prohibit the Bush administration from asking the troops for refunds.
Mr. Altmire, D-McCandless, held a news conference yesterday at the Ross municipal building with Spc. Kaminski and other veterans to tout legislation he has authored to aid wounded soldiers.
At the forefront was a bill introduced last week and sent to committee that targets a Defense Department policy preventing eligible soldiers from receiving their full bonuses if discharged early because of combat-related injuries.
“Hard as it may be to believe, the Department of Defense has been denying injured servicemen and women the bonuses that they qualified for,” Mr. Altmire said.
He said he drafted the legislation after hearing “outrageous” examples of bonuses being denied…. Mr. Altmire’s legislation, the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act, would require the Defense Department to pay bonuses in full within 30 days to veterans discharged because of combat-related wounds.
Seems like a no-brainer.
unfortunately, i’m not at all surprised. what a bunch of putzes!
Wait…who supports the troops again?
Hey, give W and his bunch a break here! I mean, how are they going to fund the no bid contracts to Halliburton and Blackwater if they have to pay some soldier who, because of a serious injury, can’t complete his duty?
Isn’t it part of the reason for the incentive that you could be injured in Iraq? So you’re taking the risk with the understanding that the money makes the risk worth taking. If you can’t get the money if you ultimately get injured, that should be made very clear to the enlistees before they sign up, otherwise they’re being conned and the nation is disrespecting its troops.
This is just another example of the Republicans “supporting the troops.”
Anyone out there have a comprhensive list of the ways that this adminisration & the Republican Congressional delegations have screwed (or tried to screw) our fellow Americans who have volunteered to serve?
Paging Monte Python!
Why are Bush & Cheney still in office?
Maybe Bush should refund the nation’s tax payers some of the money we forked over to the Treasury that went to the Iraq war- refund it out of Bush’s own bank account, I mean.
What a bunch of jackasses!
Didn’t someone connected with sending those letters out point out that this was definitely a bad move? Or are they so insulated they don’t think anybody would notice?
The letters were apparently triggered by the shortened length of service stated in the contracts. Are military people so severely injured that they can’t return to combat immediately removed from the service rosters?
But this is par for the course. The Pentagon has a practice of cutting service periods short by just days to preclude veterans’ education benefits, too. Altmire needs to address this problem as well.
The Bush administration’s contempt for people is unbelievable. Anything to screw the vets.
This situation is what drives me crazy about Democrats. If a Democratic administration were doing this talk radio, cable, and right wing blogs would be having fits about how Democrats don’t support the troops. At the next Republican debate all the candidates would compete to see who could out-Coulter the others with condemnations and calumny.
The Bush administration hands Democrats, what?, the thousandth public relations gift of it’s tenure and Democratic “leaders” have nothing to say. No senators holding press conferences, no visits to talk shows to denounce Republicans for crapping on our soldiers, nothing but silence.
Goddamn already! When will Democrats learn to fight? When? I’m sick of watching them get outmaneuvered at every turn and sick of watching them roll over.
The injured soldiers earned their bonus and we (you and I) should demand they be allowed to keep it. Where is the outrage, people? WHERE IS YOUR OUTRAGE! This is YOUR country doing this to YOUR soldiers. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE!
the Bush administration is continuing to defeat our military with a junior high quality staff. Does this sound like they ‘support the troops’?
Seems like a no-brainer.
Yup. So I’m sure the veto from Bush will be as swift as it is inevitable.
Hopefully there will be enough Republicans scared of voting against this that they’d override his veto. My guess is that if it gets that far, there will be. We’ll see if the GOPers find ways to tie this up procedurally so they don’t have to vote on it at all.
I can’t say I’m surprised by this move and I’m sure their excuse will be “Oops, darm computer generated letters,” but I have to second what Dave P. said.
This isn’t even a matter of “mud slinging” or “dirty politics” this is stating an undeniable fact and holding someone’s feet to the fire until they apologize. They also need to do it to warn anyone who might be thinking of signing up in part to get that nice bonus. Don’t even think about it until this bill is passed.
This thoroughly disgusts me. Leave it to the Bushies and the Pentagon to nickle and dime injured soldiers to death and waste billions for years on an unworkable missile defense sheild and gazillions on Blackwater, Haliburton and KBR et.,al.
I’m with Tom, where is our moral outrage that they think they can get away with this? And with DaveP., where the hell our the Democratic leaders, and why aren’t they out in front of this?
I agree, it’s amazing that these soldiers want to keep the money after they’re no longer useful to the military, and I connect it to a decline in overall civility I see in our society.
For instance, I was out at a movie last night, and after buying my ticket, I went to the concession stand and politely said to the woman standing behind the counter “Give me some popcorn, bitch.” She looked at me with quite a cross look, and the service was terrible.
Then, when I went to get my ticket ripped by a quite effeminate looking young man, I walked up to him and said “Tear my ticket, fag.” You wouldn’t believe the way this young guy started to act then, but calling him a “fag” is just a literal description of how he looked. It had nothing to do with politeness or impoliteness. If a boy or man is effeminate looking, you might think he looks like a fag. It’s just a physical description. It’s nothing any different from saying “Hey, blondie,” or “hey brunette” to somene.
Dear Soldier,
We are sorry to hear about the loss of your legs, arms, eyesight, mind…but since you had to leave early because of injury fighting a war for us, we need the bonus back.
Love,
Uncle Sam
Wake up people They dont give a fuck about you !
Well, at least that refunded money will go to fund veteran’s hospitals so those wounded soldiers will continue to receive the same top-notch care that makes our veteran’s hospitals the gold-standard all over the world.
Yeeeccch, talking outta your a** makes your breath all funky. I don’t know how the on-air “talent” at Fox News does it.
The goal is to be a Contractor — collect a bigger paycheck, no rules apply and if you’re injured keep the money already paid.
If you play with the military long enough, you will eventually get burned.
I guess I just don’t know what politeness is.
Y’know, maybe ol’ Bushie should veto the legislation. The moment word gets out that the signing bonuses aren’t for real, the enlistment figures—at least, what’s LEFT of the enlistment figures—should pretty much flatline.
Now, I’ll grant that it seems like a pretty scabby thing to do to these folks who did their job and got hurt in the process, but they can be compensated after-the-fact once we have a REAL American in the WH—and not some profit-scarfing, neoconservative, bag of bat-chow the likes of B-43. The greater goal would be attained just that much sooner—which is to end the felonious enterprise known as the Iraq War….
Then, when I went to get my ticket ripped by a quite effeminate looking young man, I walked up to him and said “Tear my ticket, fag.” You wouldn’t believe the way this young guy started to act then, but calling him a “fag” is just a literal description of how he looked.
I said this with a totally non-confrontational attitude. Meaning, I didn’t expect to be confronted by him for it, and I expected I had a right to kick his sorry a** if he acted up about it.
A Pentagon full of Bushies complains it’s out of a few bucks when a soldier is out of a few body parts for the experience of fighting this nation’ wars. That in and of itself is one reprehensible thing to do, but these soldiers may very well also receive cut-rate care in a roach-infested Walter Reed, be screwed out of their GI bill benefits and not receive treatment for any PTSD-related illness derived through the course of their duty. It’s the totality of their indifference, negligence and malice toward soldiers that takes the cake. How they keep thinking of new ways to screw soldiers is beyond comprehension.
This is an old story. I can’t find any links atm, but I recall knowing this story for 2 or 3 years.
Maybe someone remembers this from 2004 or 2005.
I … um … it’s just that … crap. I don’t even know what to post. This is just so despicable words are failing me.
Although I’m with Dave P. and wonder why the holy hell the Dems can’t yell this story (and others like it) from the rooftops. It makes no sense.
Well, I found this: http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=military+wounded+return+signing+bonuses&hl=en&sa=N&cid=8608381476545614
One of the 2 links is dead and the other points to an article behind a paywall.
…but it’s a lead.
What a scam these soldiers have, sign up, get a bonus, then get their appendages blown off and they make out like bandits.
I suspect these bonuses are paid out over time, so they aren’t actually asking for them back, rather denying them. And anyone who has ever worked anywhere where bonus’ are routine, knows that bonus money is spent long before the check hits the bank.
If the R’s weren’t so god damn incompetent, I would be registering as an Independent. This week has shown me nothing except that next election I will be voting for the least incompetent and the least corrupt political bunch.
R’s the party of incompetence and corruption
D’s the party of scaredy kats and whiners.
Why isn’t this front page on every paper in the World ??
Look, our enlisted men and women are taught from day one to shut their mouths and follow the orders provided to them by the fine Ivy League and upper-class persons who make up our political leadership and officer corps, so you can all support your enlisted personnel a lot better by keeping your twat mouths shut until spoken to.
Thank you.
The other say at a conference some dyke ho started giving me a hard time, and then I was like “Shut up, dyke ho!” and then she started getting offended.
Since when is “shut up” a wrong thing to say?
a conference
I mean, a campaign event.
Republicans who are supporting this, you have little shame or sense of right and wrong.
My friend’s argument…”What did they expect? They signed up for money, joining an organization who was conducting an illegal war and occupation as part of the American war machine profiteers for big oil. They ceased being people when they signed on the bottom line and became like so many nuts and bolts…they either worked or they got thrown away.”
Something is terribly wrong here and it shouldn’t need to be corrected. It should never have been this way. No wonder we have so many desertions. This with the largest military budget in the world where trillions go missing without a word said and they want their signing bonuses back? Who is running this show or are they all just running around in it?
Good luck with recruitments after that.
Ok, I found it. A few years backk, someone named Nia Berman wrote a book that included info about this and other disgraceful policies.
These pricks have been doing this shit to wounded soldiers for years. It just never gets any attention from Tweety & the Traditional Media.
http://www.mytown.ca/ev.php?URL_ID=118890&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201
…”My overwhelming feeling about a lot of them was intense loneliness, especially those that joined because they had no other options. They left these towns because they had no future. And they’re back where they started, but now they don’t have their health, and they have horrible memories. Three weeks ago I got a message from [Tyson Johnson’s] mother that said, “The hurricane destroyed our house, and Tyson’s coughing blood, and we don’t know what to do.” Insult upon injury, he got a bonus for joining, and they wanted to take the signing bonus back because he didn’t fulfill his contract because he was wounded … I feel a tremendous anger about the hypocrisy of the “Support Our Troops” slogan. If you really want to support our troops, then in your hometown, find out who these soldiers are and make sure they’re being cared for. [Editor’s note: The Army has since abandoned its efforts to collect Tyson Johnson’s signing bonus.]…”
Although they gave up on collecting from Johnson, it’s because he was in a BOOK !!!
How many military amputees are subjects of a book??? If you are not subject of a book, they still sic the collectors.
arghh
For other Republicans just joining us, there is a commenter who hangs out on this site named Swan who posts a lot of spoof comments and apparently thinks it makes sense to make fun of someone for being rude to women. Just ignore him.
The real John McCain would not read political blogs or news sites.
if discharged early because of combat-related injuries.
So if you have to leave early because of non-combat injuries, you’re screwed?
It must be ANY injury leading to discharge. Car accident, plane crash, whatever.
His enlistment bonus is pro-rated, just like automobile tires. Tells you something about his value after agreeing to put his life on the line “for God and Country” and then gets shot or blown up in the process and is unable to fulfill his contract. However, it also illustrates the importance of reading the fine print before signing on the dotted line, but I wonder how many recruiters bother to enlighten the would be new enlistee or already serving soldier of this small fact as they dangle the carrot? For that matter, how many were acutely aware of the Stop Loss provision when it was initially sprung on them? That term, cannon fodder, didn’t just spring spontaneously into the lexicon without a reason.
The Military’s bureaucracy is under pressure to reduce the ‘cost’ of this war. The personnel pukes are demanding back signing bonuses from wounded soldiers. But the medical pukes are worse, declaring that mental problems of soldiers wounded in the head are really pre-existing conditions resulting from childhood retardation (says something for our recruiting standards right there).
In short, to reduce both the short term and long term costs of this war, the Bushites (doubtlessly directed by the Office of the Vice President scum) will do anything possible, no matter how despictable.
I laugh, of course, because the Military and Veterans vote “Republican”. More fools they.
And when a Republican’t says that Government run health care would be a disaster point out that the Veterans Administration runs a health care system and that Republican’ts claim they care about our veterans enough to provide the very best.
Actually, it’s standard practice when it comes to almost any type of signing incentive with the Army. The amount of the bonus is attached to a certain length of service. When service is cut short– for any reason– the Army will collect any un-earned piece of the loot. When I got out in ’02 because of a service injury, it cost me about $8,000 in promised College funding… So it’s nothing new…
Everytime I think the Bush administration can’t be more despicable, they manage to do something even worse. Beyond belief.
Unbelievable. It’s like the want to be punished. Maybe everyone in the entire Bush administration was a neglected child.
So let’s contrast the risks/gambles here…
The soldier gets a cash bonus up front to serve all he risks is his life, limbs and eyesight.
The government gets a soldier, a spot filled and all they risk is the cash bonus.
Oh, wait, the governement doesn’t even risk that because they will ask for their money back if you lose you limb, sight or life.
I better sign off before I break each and every rule you might have about expletives
BUZZZMON asked “Anyone out there have a comprhensive list of the ways that this adminisration & the Republican Congressional delegations have screwed (or tried to screw) our fellow Americans who have volunteered to serve?”
Ok, you asked for it.
FYI – President Bush did recently sign into law the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act the first week of this month. And I believe the VA has been a mess for decades.
Some points: more than 100,000 combat veterans have “sought help for mental illness” since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. One in eight veterans under 65 is uninsured.
Two additional news items regarding U.S. Veterans, including those from the National Guard: “Disability payments held up for some vets” –
http://www.yesweekly.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=3049
Guard gets grant to assist returning combat soldiers
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/NEWS02/711200305/1007
From the story “According to recent national studies, 38 percent of regular Army soldiers and 49 percent of Guard soldiers have been found to have psychological concerns as a result of the time in combat.”
Regarding actions taken and not taken under Bush’s watch, here’s a short list compiled of my various postings around the internets tubes:
() Bush has threatened to veto the Labor-HHS bill. A bill “which includes $23.6 million for the military veterans that comprise a quarter of America’s homeless population in the Homeles Veterans Program.”
() A Government Accountability Office report released in September found that “wounded warriors are still getting the runaround” from the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs.
() In the 2004 budget funding for veteran’s health care and benefit programs was cut by nearly $25 billion over the next ten years. The Bush administration’s latest budget proposes a slight increase to the budget for veterans care in 2008 with cuts in 2009 and 2010, before freezing funding levels.
() A recent report found that one in four homeless people in America are veterans, including more than 400 who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.
() A Pentagon survey of reservists in 2005-2006 found troops “strained by extended tours in Iraq” who say the government is providing little help when they are denied their old jobs when they return home. It also details “increasing discontent among returning troops in protecting their legal rights after taking leave from work to fight for their country”
() In 2006 the Congress cut funding for a Veterans Center whose focus is war-related brain injuries, an injury the military describes as a signature wound of the Iraq war.
() In mid-2006, the “largest loss of personal data in U.S. government history.” occurred, affecting 26.5 million veterans.
() MANY actions from 2003/04 that require follow-up: In January 2003 the Bush administration announced it was cutting off access to its health care system for approximately 164,000 veterans. The Administration also was pushing a cut of $1.5 billion in military housing/medical facility funding, despite the fact that UPI & The Washington Post reported “hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait – sometimes for months – to see doctors.”
() In October of 2003, the Bush administration announced its formal opposition to a proposal to give National Guard and Reserve members access to the Pentagon’s health-insurance system, “jeopardizing the plan’s future and angering supporters.” A recent General Accounting Office report estimated that one of every five Guard members has no health insurance. (I was unable to determine how many U.S. National Guard are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan – anyone?)
() In June 2003, the Bush administration announced that 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.
() President Bush’s 2004 budget proposed a $1.5 billion reduction in funds to military family housing/medical facilities – a 14% cut.
() According to the Children’s Defense Fund, one million children living in military and veteran families are being denied child tax credit help in President Bush’s 2003 tax cut. More than 260,000 of these children have parents on active military duty.
If they were allowed to keep their bonuses when invalided out of the military, they’d have no incentive to keep uninjured, would they? It’s just an extension of JulieAnnie’s healthcare plan.
I wonder though… What happens to the bonuses of those who actually died, without fulfilling their contract?
I think the military should be able to get the prorated portion of its signing bonus back as long as it can restore the enlistee to precisely the condition he or she was in at the time of enlistment.
Lucky duckies!
I am stunned. The great courage and sacrifice shown by our men & women in uniform is being disgraced by an Adminstration that has no honor. PLEASE contact your congressmen and senators and state government and ask them to pressure the VA and the the Bush Administration to change this policy of extracting money from wounded veterans.
We must Support our Troops!
Jonathan
You people are really a peice of work.
From your authors own words:
“But more recently, Fox received a different piece of correspondence from the .”Bush administration (emphasis mine)
“A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.”
The letter came from the Pentagon—–NOT FROM THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION and the Pentagon has already admitted this is a policy oversight that will be rectified. The “evil” Bush had nothing to do with this accept in the feeble minds that believe all things are related.
And since when did a lot of you people give a s**t about the military.
Does it bother some of you that if Osama Bin Ladin was making some of the comments here, no one would notice the difference?
I’d like to see all of the unearned income that the senators, representatives, Presidents earn back. How’s that for an Idea. (Look at it.. they serve what 4-8 years) and they get paid for life. Hell no… Take it from their pay checks not from the guys who lost arms, legs or more. What happens to the ones that die? Does their family have to pay back the sign on bonus. Dude.. Think about it. The little guys are the ones who are the ones that are winning the wars. They should be paid what they have plus some. The fact that some BEAN counter in the government thinks this is a good Idea means that it’s probably a bad Idea. I don’t care who is in Office.. I’m not going to blame the Figure head.. I blame the jerks who think it’s a good thing to keep getting paid long after your job is done… GET it. (Senators, Congress men, women) Yeah it’s a hard row to hoe, but you shouldn’t be getting paid what you are if you’re not actually WORKING… The soldiers have, and I’d rather see that bonus go up, than give another red cent to someone in a suit who wouldn’t know which hole to tinkle in unless some lobby was telling them what to do and greasing the wheels of justice.
“policy oversight”!? I’ll bet that’s exactly what they called it, a “policy oversight”. I don’t know what’s worse, to demand money back from injured soldiers, or getting caught and calling it merely a “policy oversight”
What can you putses expect president George W. Bush to do. These phoney soldier’s signed a valid and/or binding contract and then they want to get payed for for work tey never did and taxpayers are suppose to just sit and takke it up the rear because some phoney soldeirs didn’t full fill there conttract when they SAID THEY WOULD YOU CAN GET SUED FOR HTAT TYPE OF FRAUD and especscially at a point in time like this particular point in time when our beave fighting troops are in harm’s way at this ppint in time GETA CLUE!!!
Some of you are simply jackasses………
Rovin said “Does it bother some of you that if Osama Bin Ladin was making some of the comments here, no one would notice the difference?” Rovin – does it bother you that Mr Bush doesn’t worry about Osama any more? Mr Bush hasn’t worried about Osama for years. If Mr Bush doesn’t worry about Osama, why do you? Do you think Osama might write in expressing his outrage that U.S. troops are getting their bonus’ withdrawn, or do you think he has other things to concern himself with?…..watch out that’s a trick question.
Hey, what about the almost 4000 dead soldiers?! Did DOD forget about them? Wow, that’s a lot of cash to spend by Haliburton for no-bid contracts!
to Rovin:
The Pentagon IS part of the Bush Administration. All Executive Branch entities are. That includes, Justice, Defense, State, etc…
sorry to burst your bubble, but this is stuff you should’ve learned in High School if not earlier.
Well I guess that’s the way Shrub & Crew honor our vets. . . makes ya proud to be an American, doesn’t it? You’re doing one heck of a job there, Bushy!
The Bush Administration is fully accountable for the actions of Pentagon. And the Republican party is accountable to the voting public for the policies of the Bush Administrations.
“And since when did a lot of you people give a s**t about the military.”
I find a lot of people here who give a shit about the military. They ARE posting their outrage, aren’t they? And not just on this issue, but also on issues of constant troop deployments to Iraq, about not spending time at home, about shoddy or nonexistent equipment, and about cuts in funding for medical treatment, and a host of other issues that Rush/Hannity/Beck/Savage and this administration don’t care about one rat’s ass.
What I don’t care about are chickenhawk puke pieces of shit who talk a big game about war, but who would shit in their BDUs if they had to spend just one week in Fort Benning.
Seriously, the whole “dirty-spitting-on-soldiers-calling-them-‘babykillers'” mythology of the 1960s no longer applies. Just like “fiscally-responsible Republicans”.
“The letter came from the Pentagon—–NOT FROM THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION and the Pentagon has already admitted this is a policy oversight that will be rectified.”
Passing the buck, in this administration??? Nooo, say it ain’t so.
And I know how the DoD works: A soldier could hold this documentation in front of the Pentagon IG, and still nothing would have been done. But once it gets out to the press, then suddenly it becomes another “whoops, somebody in Finance messed up. We’ll fix that.”
Chances are, in six months, if the MSM lets the story die, then DoD will probably go back to charging wounded GIs again.
“Does it bother some of you that if Osama Bin La– ”
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
I hate to tell y’all this, but…’twas ever thus. And no one in possession of a DD-214 with their own name on it is the least bit surprised. Hell, we aren’t even nonplussed.
Oh – and “The Major” on comment 50…if you aren’t parody, you are a douchebag deluxe – and likely impersonating an officer.
Jimmy Giles said:
“The Bush Administration is fully accountable for the actions of Pentagon. And the Republican party is accountable to the voting public for the policies of the Bush Administrations.”
And who’s accountable for the lives that have changed in spite of the pathetic attempt some here have had (Since Dec. 12, 2000) when your world came crashing down and fortunatly we elected a President that sacrificed the lives of so many so that your scourage and contempt for this nation is still constitutionally protected? Should GW feel embarrased for this mishap? Of course.
But then a Fool said:
“Rovin said “Does it bother some of you that if Osama Bin Ladin was making some of the comments here, no one would notice the difference?” Rovin – does it bother you that Mr Bush doesn’t worry about Osama any more? Mr Bush hasn’t worried about Osama for years. If Mr Bush doesn’t worry about Osama, why do you? Do you think Osama might write in expressing his outrage that U.S. troops are getting their bonus’ withdrawn, or do you think he has other things to concern himself with?…..watch out that’s a trick question.”
Does this obsession with Osama make a fool reach into his/her solipsism with this much passsion (or is it uncontrolled hate?) that the things that were still worth dieing for is no longer an option? What would a “fool” do if Osama died? Could a fool still pin it’s diapers?
Take a look around yourselves. Iraq and Afghanistan are about to become nations that may not live in a yoke of total tyranny. There’s a good chance 3 to 5 brigades of our finest may get to come home next year. The President that many despise so much is only one man, but some fools think he’s God.
Who’s your next choice for a leader? Willy and the Hilly show? Careful, this is also a “trick” question.
Who’s your next choice for a leader? Willy and the Hilly show?
Yeah, that eight years of peace and prosperity just about did me in…I couldn’ta stood another minute, I tell you whut…
Ummm … huh?
FYI: You might wanna stop mixing the Boone’s Farm with NyQuil. It’ll make you retarded.
Oh, wait …
Mark D,
It sounds more like the illogical and incoherant rantings of someone on a meth trip.
Aren’t these the same people that used to charge wounded soldiers for hospital care and meals while they were in the hospital?
You can urge passage of H.R. 3793, the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act of 2007, by writing a letter to:
Representative Susan Davis
Chair, Subcommittee on Military Personnel
U.S. House of Representatives
1526 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Let’s turn our attention back to comment #50 (from “The Major”, presumably short for “The Major A**hole”) for a moment, as it typifies the attitude and mental abilities of those who continue to support bush and his failed policies.
Look how TMA dittos the silly Limbaugh phrase “phony soldiers”, misspelling both “phony” and “soldiers” in the process! (In the next sentence, he switches from the incorrectly apostrophized “soldier’s” to “soldeirs”, again misspelling “phony”.)
Note the string of CAPITAL LETTERS and the many EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! Both are sure signs of advanced right-wing cretinism.
Beyond the “phoney soldeirs”, here are some of the words TMA uses in his stinging condemnation of America’s troops:
putses
payed
tey
suppose (for “supposed”)
takke
full fill (for “fulfill”)
conttract
HTAT
especsially
ppint
beave (for “brave”, not Jerry Mathers)
GETA
Note that all of these errors occurred in a two-sentence post! If TMA was not drunk when he wrote this, then he must have dropped out of school in second grade.
This is what we are up against. This is the level of intellect that characterizes the 25% that remain Bushbots. They are really down to the dregs now.
Just to continue on the comments of Major A at #50.
I don’t know if you are in the military or a chickenhawk, but your spelling is symbolic of a dumbed downed American.
Sure these boys and girls that signed up for the military were probably not of high caliber as they have had to drop the standards of those who they wish to fight their dirty and illegal wars for. The Bush Nazis are desparate enough to allow illegal immigrants, drug dealer and users and petty thieves to enlist and do what Bush, Cheney and other Zionists of this Washington Regime refuse to.
A signing bonus or whatever else is waved into their faces to get them to sign the bottom line and give up all their medical rights once sent to battle.
The one damage inflicted on these soldiers are the effects of DEPLETED URANIUM. Give them their bonuses to spend or waste however.
Believe me, the US government has plenty of dollars to waste. And if they run short, then Benny Benanke will have the printing presses create more for the Federal Reserve.
And finally Major A, here is a quote from the war criminal Henry Kissinger. Maybe this applies to you.
“Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”
…Henry Kissinger, quoted in “Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POW’s in Vietnam”…
“The Major” is no O-4. He’s a poser at best. O-4’s are not illiterate jackasses (some are jackasses, but not illiterate ones) like this punk. Most have Master’s degrees in today’s military, and that trend is at least 20 years old.
I do not even know how to react. I am so ashamed of this administration and I am republican.
Hopefully there will be enough Republicans scared of voting against this that they’d override his veto. My guess is that if it gets that far, there will be. We’ll see if the GOPers find ways to tie this up procedurally so they don’t have to vote on it at all.
Bush is not going to veto this legislation. He’s done more to improve conditions for troops and especially those treated by the VA than any prior president. What utter, partisan bullshit.
Some of you folks need to get down off the hatewagon and get a grip on reality. This isn’t some sort of Republican plot, it’s a long-standing pentagon practice which predates the Bush administration and was thought up in a room somewhere by an army lawyer and an army bean counter.
Dave
Please understand, we act according to the laws, and not all laws are easy for the ‘average’ American to comprehend. Lets stay focused on winning in Iraq, and bringing freedom to the region. Lets also free ourselves from the unhealthy habit of questioning our President and his policies. The War on Terror may take many more years to finish, so lets try to put a more positive spin on ugly words like “war”. One of our favorite quotes around office is “War is peace.” I’m not sure who said it, but it’s a wonderful ‘feel-good’ sort of statement that makes us all work harder around here!
Sincerely, Randal ‘Nig’ Masterson, Assistant Vice Deputy Undersecretary of Corporate Relations, US Department of Defense.
“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.” – George Washington
I like how the article states:
“But more recently, Fox received a different piece of correspondence from the Bush administration.”
Yes, I’m sure Bush himself dictated the letter.
I’d like to see that letter, as I’m sure the letterhead doesn’t jive with the article’s claim that it came from “The Bush Administration”.
Sounds to me like it actually came from the Army’s accounting office. Who later said the letter was sent in error, and no soldiers who are sick or injured in active duty are required to pay back signing bonuses.
Quote:
A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on
File this under another oops, from the leftist “drive by” media. Don’t expect a retraction.
to say you support The troops is really a mask of deception, we have a political leadership made up of merthas and bushes who know nothing of honor or real commitment, please know im sick of salaries given to cowards hiding behind a pen and paper.[you want real people in the office get veterans who have served and know the real deal as well as those who are capable of having a mind and also a heart.}
I think it is a disgrace to our government that they would ask for signing bonus’ back after the person fullfilled their obligation, whether they were hurt or killed before they could honor their agreement is void. They tried.
I think the person(s) who started this should pay every requested sum from the bonus out of their fat paycheck. They are a disgrace to the USA.
If our government cannot afford the bonus, don’t offer as much for people to sign up or resign their service commitment.
An unhappy USA citizen who disagrees with our political persons.
I looked into this. It looks like some of this is automation — like if your gear is destroyed and someone along the food chain doesn’t report it as a combat loss, you will be automatically billed for lost gear. To rectify it, you give a notarized statement and a witness statement, and then the gov’t goes “ok, don’t worry about it.” If there WASN”T a system like that in place, a lot of stuff would be sold. (If you don’t believe it, go to the pawn shops around military posts)
So that’s part of it. The other part is that they are not making you give back what you’ve already served. If you served half your hitch, you keep half the bonus. If you are outprocessed before you get to your second half of the hitch (never did the time), you don’t get it. If you are wounded, as described above, and leave due to service-related conditions…you are supposed to get your bonus if you had started that portion of the hitch…but the right paperwork has to be done, just like your gear. You can appeal it and keep the money. That’s probably why despite the many who have been wounded, you haven’t heard about this until now….the system USUALLY works, even with all the chaos of a war zone.
And trust me, I’m still struggling with my disability issues, I am not exactly a disinterested person.
IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!
There already is a way to stop this from happening. The soldiers commander simply fills out a form and sends it to DFAS. This form simply explains that the solider is being seperated from the military due to reasons beyond his control such as combat wounds. DFAS has no other way of knowing why the soldier is leaving early without his form so they assume that the solider is being discharged for a negative reason.
This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
-General Douglas MacArthur
I served with Pvt Fox in Iraq, that boy was nothing but a malinginering piece of crap. He faked his injuries and threatend to kill himself. He deserves to have to pay back his bonus. He is a disgrace to the army, our unit, and all of our friends who realy were injured and killed over there.