Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

Oops–the Army Times just caught on that Republican talk about “standing behind our troops” was a thin cover-up for doing the dirty to soldiers and their families.

In recent months, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have missed no opportunity to heap richly deserved praise on the military. But talk is cheap — and getting cheaper by the day, judging from the nickel-and-dime treatment the troops are getting lately.

For example, the White House griped that various pay-and-benefits incentives added to the 2004 defense budget by Congress are wasteful and unnecessary — including a modest proposal to double the $6,000 gratuity paid to families of troops who die on active duty. This comes at a time when Americans continue to die in Iraq at a rate of about one a day.

Similarly, the administration announced that on Oct. 1 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….

Army Times, June 30 editorial “Lip Service”

[rant]Grrrrr–this makes me (Betsy) so angry! I’m not pro-military, but I am pro-working-class-kids, and that’s what our army is mostly made up of these days. These kids signed up for a dirty dangerous job and were promised a lot of benefits in return. Now a lot of those kids are still getting shot at and killed–and the Bushies are shutting down VA hospitals and letting military bases deteriorate to save money for fat-cat tax breaks and stupid imaginary super-weapons. [endrant]

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Who had this story weeks before Army Times? The Onion did:

NORFOLK, VA—With more than 5,400 jubilant Marines and sailors cheering him on, President Bush landed on the deck of the U.S.S. Harry S Truman in a Navy jet Monday to preside over a historic veterans’-benefits-cutting ceremony.

…After congratulating the soldiers on their victory over Saddam Hussein, Bush announced that the new budget passed by the Senate includes a $14.6 billion reduction in veterans’ benefits. He then held aloft a pair of oversized scissors and snipped a ribbon bearing the words “Veteran’s Benefits.”

The Onion, June 4 story on “Dramatic Veterans’-Benefits-Cutting Ceremony”

I’m hoping the kids will get their benefits back once Karl Rove reminds Bush just where those absentee military ballots come from.

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Thanks to Oliver Willis for the Army Times link–thanks to Dave Winer for the naughty acronym!

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