Nowhere To Go But Back

If McCain's opposition to Jim Webb's new GI Bill isn't all the proof we need that he won't do enough for our veterans, then I don't know what is.

After his usual "my military service gives me special privilege to shit all over those with military service" qualifier, McCain explained his position:

The most important difference between our two approaches is that Senator Webb offers veterans who served one enlistment, the same benefits as those offered veterans who have reenlisted several times. Our bill has a sliding scale. It offers generous benefits to all veterans but increases those veterans' benefits according to the veterans' length of service. It's important to do that. Because, otherwise, we will encourage more people to leave the military after they have completed one enlistment.

Maybe I'm standing too far outside the process to see whatever it is that he, Bush and the 22 senators who voted against Webb's bill see, but it seems to me that at a time when volunteering for service is a far more dangerous proposition than ever, four years of education for four years of military service is a fair deal. To double a soldier's chances of not ever getting to use those benefits by making them go back for another deployment-laden term is cruel, cruel treatment, and to suggest it should strip anyone of the right to say they support the troops.

That's the monstrosity that inspired this week's song about McCain, et al's efforts to keep our servicemen from ever receiving the benefits it dangles in front of them, "Nowhere To Go But Back".

Click the play button to listen:

Nowhere To Go But Back

There's an upward trajectory that they promised
But to be frankly honest, I must've misunderstood
'Cause they're taking double the years that they're giving
Waving around yellow ribbons, but they're not making good
So, can you help me figure it out?
I can't tell which side they're on when they talk out of either side of their mouths

So pay no attention to the signals they send
It's not what you do, it's what you spend
If you intend to hold up your end of the pact
And I know there's a carrot stuck on a stick
It keeps getting longer they keep getting sick
A hundred or so world's away from the inside track
Because there's nowhere to go but back

No one mentioned the MRIs or the X-Rays
No, they promised a gateway, not a revolving door
And it's a million memories away from the basketball team
Waiting out some varsity dream from a tent on the floor

And I find it difficult to discern
I'd like to think that the more you put in the line the more you'd expect in return

So pay no attention to the message they send
It's not what you do, it's what you spend
If you really intend to keep their affairs all intact
And I know there's a carrot stuck on a stick
It keeps getting longer they keep getting sick
Put those gloves together and pray for a second act
Because there's nowhere to go but back

I don't know what kind of degree I could earn
With a shaken up brain too shell-shocked to learn
At the end of one more enlistment term
So long on risk but short on returns
To climb up the ladder to a lower rung
They'll keep on climbing long after it's done
Throwing man after man after dollar in spite of the facts
There's nowhere to go but back

Max and the Marginalized are a band and a blog. They do a song every week on the Huffington Post, all 35 of which are available for download here. Add them on Facebook.

Follow Max and the Marginalized on Twitter: www.twitter.com/maxmarginal

Comments

[Yohomegirl]

what is the shortest length of time between enlistment and being killed in Iraq? Anyone that serves that amout of time ought to qualify!

[CornellRedneck]

McCain makes a valid point regarding retainment of trained troops. But I disagree with him. If you do 4 years of service you should be given 4 years of college.

[cemprae]

My experience tells me that if a member of the military re-enlists once... The chances are very good that he will re-enlist again... Although it's possible that some troops would probably leave after their first hitch... many more new recruits would enter the service to obtain the benefits offered by the Webb/Hagel Bill... The result could be a wash...

[egal]

Considering that McCain's votes have helped strip not merely Veterans benefits, but also Active Duty medical, psychological, education, financial, family, and just about everything else that would encourage soldiers to stay in, you can't take him seriously.

His policies have robbed soldiers of the surety their families will be taken care of in their absence, kept their income and housing payment from coming anywhere near breaking even with soaring interest rates so that they can't afford to stay in, and left more soldiers' families on food stamps than any other demographic.

If he really wanted soldiers to stay in, he would take care of them and their families rather than cheating them and giving them no choice but to get out for survival and sanity.

[bgregs]

No, mccain does NOT make a valid point about retention. The fact of the matter is that the people who reenlist and/or stay until retirement do so not because of any incentive to do so, but because they like the life of being in the military. The ones who get out after four or six years are the ones who DON'T like the life!

[SpencerKent]

Awesome song, Max. Another winner for the McCain album. sweet lyrics, plus the palm muted riffs going on during the verses are very Refused-y, which is always good.

Keep it up.

[jcboston]

nice Max

you guys continue to rock

keep it up

[bgregs]

You know, george w mccain's statement to Obama that he's not allowed to denigrate mccain's service since Obama didn't serve makes me realize that I, as a veteran, have EVERY right to not only denigrate that traitor's service, but to insist that Obama has the SAME right, since the first amendment applies to EVERYONE!!!

[Ani]

Thank you, bgregs ... not only for your service, but for the audacity -- yes, audacity -- to insist that Obama has the same right as McCain to assert First Amendment rights. That right extends to EVERY American, giving us all the right to agree or disagree with anything said by anyone. Thank you, again!

[bgregs]

You're welcome, but I'm seriously disturbed by two facts that your post points out:

1) that it's rare enough for a veteran to stand up like this to be worthy of a thanks

2) that it's considered audacity, when it should just be the way that it is!!