This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Congress sucks

  • News from Bizzaro World

    Harry Reid posted this message to his website and 1stCavRVN11B sent us the link;

    “Hundreds of Nevada families know all too well the sacrifice of sending a loved one into battle to defend America. And when we ask those troops and those families to give so much to our country, we have a solemn obligation to do everything possible to support them. That’s why it was so important for us to pass this supplemental bill that ensures that the additional 30,000 troops we’re sending into Afghanistan have everything they need to be successful in their mission.

    The same Harry Reid who tried to defund the troops during the Bush presidency four times, declared Iraq lost, then declared the surge a failure before it began is suddenly concerned about how the troops are equipped.

    Sometimes blogging is easy.

  • The Pentagon is not your friend

    The other day, I wrote about “the military’s greatest advocate”, Virginia Senator James Webb and his hearings seeking a freeze on military pay and compensation. Today, the Washington Post reports that he has some fellow travelers in that regard.

    Congress has been so determined to take care of troops and their families that for several years running it has overruled the Pentagon and mandated more-generous pay raises than requested by the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. It has also rejected attempts by the Pentagon to slow soaring health-care costs — which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said are “eating us alive” — by raising co-pays or premiums.

    Now, Pentagon officials see fiscal calamity.

    In the midst of two long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense officials are increasingly worried that the government’s generosity is unsustainable and that it will leave them with less money to buy weapons and take care of equipment.

    Yeah, now there’s a problem. After a year of spending as much money as fast as they can to shove a liberal agenda down America’s throat, suddenly we can’t pay for the actual things government should do – like provide for the common defense. And what’s first on the chopping block? Military compensation. I don’t see anyone mentioning how we spend too much money on medicare or food stamps. There’s no mention of the bloated federal bureaucracy regarding the useless-ass Education Department. No one is suggesting that we slash the redundancy in the Commerce Department, or the utter idiocy of the EPA.

    Nope they head straight for the pocketbooks of the troops and their families.

    Well, actually, they targeted military retirees and Social Security recipients this year when there was no cost of living increase for those groups this year, which means when the “Obama tax cut” expired, military retirees and Social Security recipients actually experienced a drop in their pay. So the military is next. Can’t cut the pay of bureaucrats or welfare recipients can we? Nope, they complain, whereas the military doesn’t and seniors are so senile, they won’t even notice.

    I warned back in 2008 that Obama would slash military compensation, but nimrods like IAVA and Vote Vets declared that in the first year of his administration, Obama has been better to veterans than any other president, and I’ll concede that – but just like his “tax cut” last year, it was smoke and mirrors. We were set up, we got complacent and now we’re going to get screwed. And IAVA and VoteVets will still rest their support of Obama on his first year in office.

  • Webb: Military pay rising at “disturbing” rate

    According to the Stars and Stripes, Senator James Webb, armed services personnel subcommittee chairman, held a hearing on compensation for military members;

    Webb opened the hearing by saying the cost of military personnel — including pay, allowances, non-cash benefits like health care and deferred benefits like retirement — “continues to rise at disturbing rates.”

    This is the same guy that bulldozed his GI Bill through Congress – the GI Bill that made leaving the military more attractive than staying. The GI Bill that was so big that the VA still hasn’t been able to administer it properly yet after nearly two years to prepare.

    Now he’s investigating whether military members are making too much money. Now, I know everyone loves the new GI Bill, and I’m not arguing for it’s repeal. What I’m saying is that it appears to me that Senator Webb is trying to hobble active duty retention using compensation.

    It’s funny that Congress is investigating ways to save money through personnel compensation cuts after spending last year porking up the defense bill with systems the military said they didn’t need. I’m just sayin’….

  • Not enough troops in Afghanistan

    Running up to the 2008 election, we read about how Bush had neglected Afghanistan and how the war there was under-resourced. Critics, of course, rightly blamed the Bush Administration, consistently and loudly every time a report emerged which bolstered their pre-conceived notions. So what should we do with this report;

    Despite the addition of more than 50,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the past year, there still aren’t enough forces to conduct operations in the majority of key areas, according to a congressionally mandated report released Wednesday on progress in Afghanistan.

    Coalition forces have decided to focus their efforts on 121 key districts in Afghanistan, but right now, NATO has enough forces to operate in only 48 of those districts, the report said.

    So where is that consistent and loud criticism these days? I guess it’s better used to beat down enforcement of our immigration laws, or to complain about the folks who invest our money in a market we don’t understand. Or to complain about banks which foreclose on our houses when we don’t pay the mortgage for months or years.

    I guess it really doesn’t matter anymore that General McChrystal asked for more troops than he got;

    “Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) — while Afghan security capacity matures — risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible,” U.S. and NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in the document, according to the Post.

    The President and Congress sought a political compromise in a no-compromise situation. Political decisions made by amateurs have no place in the all-too-real world of fighting wars. When our foreign policy is written in the front room of the Code Pink House, we really can’t expect a different outcome than we have now.

  • Speaking of Murtha’s seat

    Since I live in the Johnstown area these days, I get to watch the battle for the Congressional seat recently vacated by the late John Murtha. Of course Murtha’s choice for the seat is his former staffer, Mark Critz. Critz runs from behind Murtha’s bloated corpse;

    Even though he’s not a veteran himself, Critz claims to be the veterans’ candidate because he won the endorsement of an organization named “Veterans & Military Families for Progress“. They claim to be a non-partisan organization, but a peek at their staff reveals a solid Blue line through their leadership.

    Their president/Media Director, Tom Howe was the Iowa chair of the Democratic Veterans’ Caucus Platform Committee. Executive VP Jan Donatelli was recognized at the 2009 AFL-CIO Convention as a “Hero of the Labor Political Movement.” Administrative VP Jim Van Doren maintained the Oregon Veterans for Kerry website, and more recently was active in the Veterans for Obama movement. So there’s really nothing “non-partisan” about them. A veterans issue organization that supported Obama in his run against John McCain. I’d like to see how they justify that bit of hypocrisy. Oh, wait, here’s their statement on the endorsement;

    As the grandson of a veteran of World War II, his appreciation of veterans’ issues is underscored not by words but by actions. He serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has shown leadership by introducing several non-partisan bills, some of which have been enacted into law, for the benefit of veterans. He shares the values of our military forces, and fights to ensure our forces are well-rested and properly equipped. Of particular interest to VMFP, Senator Obama shows superior support for veterans’ “coming home” issues such as accessible physical and mental health care, expanded educational benefits and job opportunities, and reduction of homelessness and suicide within the ranks of America’s veterans.

    If you scroll down their “Current Events” page, you’ll notice they get part of their money from SEIU – the purple-shirted thugs of Service Employees International Union which has caused so much trouble at Tea Party Rallies and has close ties to ACORN.

    Critz claims he will “will put veterans first”, but his ties to Veterans & Military Families for Progress tell a different story.

  • Specter attacks Sestak’s service

    In the Democrat primary for his Senate seat, Arlen Specter has fired an opening salvo against his opponent, Joe Sestak by questioning the character of the former admiral’s service;

    “Joe Sestak, relieved of duty in the Navy for creating a poor command climate,” a narrator says in the ad, referring to morale among Sestak’s subordinates. The spot, which began running Tuesday, also smacks Sestak for missing 127 votes in the House last year.

    Here’s the ad;

    Pennsylvania veterans are up in arms;

    At the American Legion Hall Wednesday, the commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Folsom, where Sestak is a member, criticized Specter.

    “The anger inside right now is unbelievable,” said Jerry Gavin, 60, a former Army medic. If Specter “was here today, somebody would have to hold me back.”

    I feel a measure of satisfaction watching Democrats do our work for us, however the Navy has never released a statement on Sestak’s firing, according to the article. I really can’t judge Sestak’s service from what’s public knowledge…but neither can Specter. Specter’s service lasted three years stateside as an Air Force OSI 1951 – 1953. I’m sure he wouldn’t like that service characterized by an opponent.

  • On that “brave” healthcare vote

    We’ve heard President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid praise Congress for their courageous vote for heatlthcare. But it seems that Congress isn’t quite so brave in dealing with the public on that vote. The Washington Post reports this morning that reports of threats against Congress members is on the rise after that vote;

    The lawmakers reported 42 threats in the first three months of this year, compared with 15 in last three months of 2009, said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance W. Gainer, who had information about threats involving both chambers.

    “The incidents ranged from very vulgar to serious threats, including death threats,” Gainer said. “The ability to carry them out is another question and part of an investigation to determine what, if any, appropriate steps to take.”

    But are threats really on the rise?

    “Normally, we don’t give publicity to this,” said Rep. Dan Lungren (Calif.), the ranking Republican on the House committee that oversees the Capitol Police.

    Maybe what’s on the rise is Congress desire to besmirch the public outcry against them which has put Congress on the defense for their very jobs. What’s on the rise is their desire to report the threats.

    Of course, this won’t work either. Congress members have erected physical barriers between them and their constituents to reinforce the ideological barriers.

    In response to the threats, Capitol officials have been working to ensure that the 454 Senate offices across the country are secure. Some of the offices, a quarter of which are in federal buildings, are receiving additional equipment to help with the screening of mail. In other instances, law enforcement officials are recommending new locks and surveillance cameras.

    Well, so much for the “brave” Congress members who apparently don’t have the testicular fortitude to face the fruits of pissing off the folks what brung ya.

  • Juan Williams’ warning

    Juan Williams, on the pages of the Wall Street Journal, warns Democrats that “Tea Party Anger Reflects Mainstream Concerns“- something we all know.

    There is danger for Democrats in recent attempts to dismiss the tea party movement as violent racists deserving of contempt. Demonizing these folks may energize the Democrats’ left-wing base. But it is a big turnoff to voters who have problems with the Democratic agenda that have nothing to do with racism.

    But Democrats cannot win elections without capturing the votes of independent-minded swing voters. And that is where writing off the tea party as a bunch of racist kooks becomes self-destructive. The tea party outrage over health-care reform, deficit spending and entitlements run amok is no fringe concern. And it is insulting to all voters to suggest that criticism of President Obama, even by people who want to throw him out of office, is motivated by racism.

    Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette discusses some of the examples of the Left’s attempts to marginalize the Tea Party activists.

    My warning, though, is to Republicans. They’re beginning to act like their victory in November is a foregone conclusion – as if their 1994 take over ensures one this year, too. Republicans are not working for victory, they’re letting the Tea Party movement carry their water.

    I’ve got news for them – if they don’t get off their collective ass, Republicans will lose in November, just like they’ve lost the last two election cycles unless they start acting like they deserve our votes.

    Idiot sex scandals don’t help, neither do those Republicans who forsake their pledge to forsake earmarks.

    Voters have been sending the message to Republican politicians that, unlike Democrat politicians, Republicans need to “earn” votes with deeds. Obviously, Republican politicians are unable to decipher the message.