The State of the Union is not strong, especially as it pertains to troops and veterans, and it is disingenuous for the president to maintain otherwise.
There is no real progress in Iraq, despite some positive indicators, and no road towards shifting focus from Iraq to the real danger to America -- Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The military is still overextended, and troops and veterans are exhibiting disturbing signs of breaking down, from the largest suicide rate in 20 years to delayed onset of PTSD, which are both related to the length and number of deployments. None of these issues have been adequately addressed by President Bush, and they must.
Well, we've addressed them over at VoteVets.org. Click here to read our report, "The State of the Wars, Military, and Veterans." (PDF avail at the bottom of the page). Take note of what the troops and veterans see as important, and then judge whether the president addresses them, or not.
One other note for tonight. A lot of attention will be paid to the economy and stimulating it, and with good reason. But, every time the president talks about it, just keep one thing in mind. You cannot separate the economy and the war in Iraq, which has cost billions of dollars. Whether one believes in the cause of the war or doesn't, an unobjectionable truth is that it has been a drain on the economy and Americans have not been asked to sacrifice to lessen the impact. We've now entered the Iraq Recession, another point the president is unlikely to admit.
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If you are going to exaggerate problems in the Services, we are going to call you out for them.
Semper fi
You also repeat the misrepresentation of the New York Times about the number of murders linked to returning veterans. I believe this has already been laid to rest as the vast oversimplification and outright anti-military diatribe it is. Shame on you as a veteran for taking up this lie.
You do veterans, and active duty GI's, a grave disservice when you create or regurgitate misrepresentations and lies. You take away from the real problems faced by those good men and women. You give the true enemies of our troops, the anti-American Left, ammunition that will have an effect other than you intend, I hope! Unless you are one of them.
Semper fi
Sometimes great nations have to self-destruct and start over in order to see the error of their ways. Maybe that's what America needs..a total collapse of our current way of life.
Be afraid...be very afraid of the coming 12 months till Bush/Cheney leave office.
I believe a good farm tractor goes for about $150K. What if we had sent a bunch of farm tractors, agricultural infrastructure, and seeds for corn and soybeans to Afghanistan and Iraq? Afghanistan needed to rebuild after the war with the Soviets, but we left them hanging. With the right amount and kind of investment in Iraq, the people would have overthrown Saddam themselves.
And we wouldn't have this horrific set of medical issues with our military personnell.
In 2008 the President, Republicans AND the Democrats ALL now OWN the debacle of the Iraq War.
The Democrats have funded the war and is right alongside Bush on the "economic bail-out package".
They may not have the votes to over-ride a veto - but they could at least stand up for what they say and fight.
In some ways I think that the Democrats would have been better off leaving the Congress with the Republicans in 2006 because now in 2008 they could run against everything - but now they own part of it.
Like the trillion dollar tax breaks the Bushies (with cooperation from a pathetic democratic party) gave to the wealthiest Americans and richest US Corps - like the hundreds of billions in debt the Bushies gave to the pharmaceutical industry (with the Medicare prescription drug plan) - and the Bushies piling up debt with uncontrolled deficit spending, ALL THIS DEBT (AND DISASTROUS POLICY) IS BEING PASSED ON TO OUR CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHILDREN.
And the US MSM and our elected officials remain SILENT. PATHETIC!
I have to wonder tho, will the military vote republican again????
del 8300
ie7
I admire your work,but most Amercians do not realize that the Republican Party has done such damage to our Veterans. We need to be on the radio and TV to get the facts out. They own the media infrastructure and that has to change for America to know what is really happening to our Military and our troops in battle and when they come home.
" Tonight, I want to discuss three economic reforms that deserve to be priorities for this Congress.
First, we must balance the federal budget. We can do so without raising taxes. What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We set a goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009 -- and met that goal three years ahead of schedule. Now let us take the next step. In the coming weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years. I ask you to make the same commitment. Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government, and we can balance the federal budget.
Next, there is the matter of earmarks. These special interest items are often slipped into bills at the last hour — when not even C-SPAN is watching. In 2005 alone, the number of earmarks grew to over 13,000 and totaled nearly $18 billion. Even worse, over 90 percent of earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate — they are dropped into Committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. You didn't vote them into law. I didn't sign them into law. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law. The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process ... expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress ... and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session.
"My fellow Americans, after much soul searching, I have decided to tell you all the truth. The state of the union is far weaker today than what it was when I assumed the presidency in 2001.
From an economic standpoint, I began my reign with a recession and now I will end it with another recession. I have spent money like there is no tomorrow. As a result, we will be mired in deficits for a long time to come and the national debt has gone up almost 60% from 5.7 trillion to over 9 trillion dollars on my watch! I wish I could blame the Democrats, but my party pretty much controlled Congress throughout my presidency. For this, I am truly sorry.
On the national security front, I got carried away after 9/11. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to launch a preemptive war against Iraq. I thought I was smarter than my Daddy, but apparently not. For this too, I am deeply sorry.
I sincerely hope that the next president will catch Osama Bin Laden and bring our troops home from Iraq with honor and dignity. I also pray that the next president will restore America's reputation and standing within the global community of nations"
I could go on, but this is depressing me. Maybe, he should stick to his script...