Old Soldiers Never Cash Out – Editorial – NY Times

"On Nov. 23, 1943, during World War II, United States forces seized control of the Tarawa and Makin atolls from the Japanese".

May the dead rest in peace.

Moving into raw economics and politics as seen by the Times staff, we learn from Thomas Friedman in an Op Ed piece entitled The Phanton Menace that Obama is taking too much time to listen to Wall Street’s fears and not paying enough attention to the pain on Main Street. Here is an excerpt:

"…in the face of the greatest economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, it’s much riskier to do too little than it is to do too much. It’s sad, and unfortunate, that the administration appears to have lost sight of that truth. "

In an Op Ed piece by Ross Douthat entitled They Chose Celebrity , we read that in Mr. Douhat’s estimation both GOP candidates and former Governors Huckabee and Palin are less then truthful. 

He feels that they sold out any ideals they may have had for celebrity status and big checks from the speaker’s circuit instead of staying in politics and trying to make a difference. They chose being a celebrity over national service in politics according to this writer.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here among so called "civil servants" and "men in uniform" that resembles prostitution?  And we still see these people as national leaders and not the whores that they are? Why is that?

In this story entitled Iran’s Death Penalty Is Seen as a Political Tactic , we read that Iran is using judicially sanctioned death sentences as a way to silence dissidents. If this goes much further, we could have a full scale civil war in that country. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"In Iran, where there is precedent for executions to surge in the wake of a crisis, human rights groups said there was mounting evidence that the trend had emerged in response to the political tumult that followed the June presidential election. This month, a fifth person connected to the protests was sentenced to death."

To make matters worse, just five months after Iran’s illegitimate election of Ahmadinejad as "President" of Iran, Brazil has invited him to that country to discuss trade relations over the objections of Western countries.

That story, Brazil’s President Elbows U.S. on the Diplomatic Stage, shows us that emerging countries are more and more willing to defy the U.S. and is an indication of our loss of status in the world due to the economic crisis starting in 2008. Great. Just what we need, another enemy in "friend’s clothing" in Latin America.

In the Times lead in story today we learn about the interest debt we are accumulating as a nation by the borrowing we have been doing to stimulate the economy. When the deadline shows up, there will be hell to pay. That story Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government is not good news.

Our grandchildren are truly going to hate us.  I am not kidding.

In this story which once again only indicates to all of us what we here at VT have been saying for a very long time, the infrastructure in our country needs to be completely reconstructed before we are all killed.

We don’t need to be spending money on wars we cannot morally or financially support when sewers are routinely overflowing and poisoning the water tables throughout the country due to lack of adequate reconstruction funding.

That story Sewers at Capacity, Waste Poisons Waterways is only a small indication of what is to come if we do not take that ill spent ‘war money’ and spend it on what we actually need to survive as a society. That would be a complete overhaul of our infrastructure both social and physical.

Finally from the Times today, we have this odd article concerning the University of California college system getting federal money so that wealthy kids can go to state universities at a much higher rate than low income kids! This same odd pattern holds true in this state, Virginia, as well as Michigan.

It seems that there are more wealthy kids at these state sponsored institutions than there are the working class kids that these schools were intended to educate! The story Haves vs. Have-Nots at Public Universities is unsettling.

Once again, the wealthy and connected take what is not theirs to get. I am shocked.

From AOL News as reported by the Associated Press, students at California public colleges have ended their three day siege of administration buildings at UC Santa Cruz to protest the 32% tuition hike that was just enacted. That story, UC Students End 3-Day Siege Peacefully, is here.

From AOL News today as reported by the Associated Press we learn about Iran’s war game situation in a short article entitled Iran Begins Air Defense War Games.

And it is also reported by the A.P. that as a result of these war games, oil has risen sharply. The story , Oil rises above $78 amid Iranian war games is here.

In another AOL News story as reported by the Associated Press, the Virginia Military Institute is defending itself against sexism complaints by female students a full twelve years after women have been admitted to that prestigious school.

The story Military School Accused of Sexism shows how retrograde we still are in military circles in this country.

In this story we learn that almost two dozen Philipinos have been murdered while on their way to file papers to run in elections next year. That story 21 Filipinos killed on way to file election papers is here.

And finally it is reported by Thomas DiChiara of Moviefone that an upcoming movie depicting an Iraq war veteran entitled "Armored" is a gripping presentation of veterans of that war. The piece is called ‘Armored’ Sparks Debate: How Are Iraq War Vets Portrayed in Movies? and here is an excerpt.

"The most recent movie to meet this hot-button topic head-on is the upcoming ‘Armored’ (in theaters Dec. 4), a wham-bam, adrenaline-infused heist flick that also happens to depict how a decorated Iraq veteran (up-and-comer Columbus Short) reacts to the thankless hand he’s dealt — and the lack of options he’s given — upon his return home."

How many can relate?

Remember, it is your duty as an American veteran to assist in governing this republic based on an informed opinion concerning salient issues. Get informed and stay informed.

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)