Will the Shrub go NOW?

The Preznit has, in the past, gone to Ft. Bragg for Photo Ops, making sure that he gets on the news with the troops and their families carefully spread out behind him. (and they are the really photogenic ones too!) Now that a truly horrendous week for the 82nd has happened, 9 troops killed and at least 15 wounded in one attack, will he go for any memorial service? I really doubt it. He babbles a great deal, tells everyone that only he and those like him support the troops. The rest of us, the ones who question, who don't blindly believe everything he says, are suspect, they don't come out directly and call us traitors, but the implications are there. Actually, Deadeye deferment Dickie isn't that circumspect...he'll tell us that we are!

All of them on Capitol Hill, Dem or Repub need to quit playing politics with us. The spending bill needs to be stripped of the pork, the non binding resolution needs to be explained to Preznit (non binding means we feel strongly about it, but it's not THE LAW!) and get the thing passed. No one's political career is more important than funding the troops, funding your latest silly self aggrandizing project is NOT more important, nor is your stubborn, (5 year old throwing temper tantrum) arrogant "cause I's the Prezint" refusal to deal with Congress. I suppose I am being ridiculous, hoping that Congress and the administration, the two parties, and everyone else will stop for a moment, and think about the troops and not themselves. Yeah.. I'm sure I am.

LAW

Busy days ahead

What a week! I got sick, again. I'm getting tired of this, but I realized that I needed to just stop and rest, sleep, recharge. But this cold was nasty. Now, I sound like Lauren Bacall (or was that Bogie....) Then back at work the desk was piled high, and the boss is sick.

This is the last weekend before the Open House. So, of course it's busy as hell, and I am optimistically hoping that most of what I want to accomplish will get done. Got a handyman coming to do some of the heavy stuff, need to pick up the pressure washer and stuff this morning and start the siding cleaning. My cleaning person will be able to get most of the straight cleaning done this week, and my mom is coming to help me stage the place. Yeah, I have been watching all of those "sell this house/Buy Me" type shows. Time to take down all the personal pictures, put the makeup and bathroom stuff in boxes, and hope like hell I don't throw away anything important.

My realtor had an inspector come through the house. I dragged myself out of bed (it was earlier this week) and into the shower, ran the vacuum, made sure the dog behaved herself, and waited rather anxiously. But except for cleaning the siding, he told me that the house is in great shape, don't have to worry about doing anything hugely expensive. I also don't have to worry about a buyer trying to spring something on us at closing. whew.

My little grand daughter (the genius!) is now trying to run, according to Son, who wondered why she was walking/running like a little sumo wrestler. I gave him the project - take a queen sized sheet, wrap it around your waist and between your legs, and try to walk. Ah HA! she can say bye bye on the phone too. She's been under the weather too, but with the usual baby bounce, the day after keeping her mom and dad up all night she was demanding more pancakes from the sitter and toddling around happy and healthy.

No politics today. Just too much to say, and I need to work out how.

Wish I was going to be at SpouseBuzz Live in San Diego or at MilBlogs conference... but NEXT YEAR! promise.

LAW

So, I'm whiny??? riiiiiiggghhttt....

On another blog http://blogs.tampabay.com/standingby/, I have been told that I am being "whiny". Well, sweetie, if you tell me I'm whining, I'M JUST NOT YELLING LOUD ENOUGH!

What we were discussing, was the discrepancy between the avalanche of coverage of the horrors of VTech, and the total and complete lack of coverage of the deaths of local soldiers... None of us are trying to minimize what happened at V. Tech and how truly horrendous it was, or minimize the pain that those family members are going through, or the horrors that those poor witnesses lived through. BUT the topic was were the sacrifices of the military being treated with less respect.

At that point, it somehow segued into the suppositions of some of the commentors that we military families were whining, when we asked for recognition or discounts or acknowledgment. That we should "suck it up". That our soldiers had, after all volunteered, and that if we didn't want to live that life, that we should not have married them... They shouldn't have joined up for training, or National Guard tuition assistance, they should have gotten grants, or second jobs..... We are whining, after all it's not THAT bad! We are getting paid by the taxpayers... blah blah blah.

Well, folks, don't tell me I'm whining, tell me TURN IT UP! I just went to a reintegration seminar, and talked to a few other deployed military spouses. They agreed... We aren't whining, we are trying to remind the rest of you that we are here . My husband's relatives don't seem to remember that he is in the Sand. And the rest of the State seems to have forgotten us as well.

When you forget that they are there, when you treat the wounded with the callous disregard we saw at Walter Reed, I start yelling. When the rest of the country spends more time worrying about who is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby, than the soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the families back here, I start yelling. When the media would rather show more and more clips and pictures of Cho, than make note of a soldier's funeral that day, I start yelling. When we are forced to send troops back to Iraq after less than a year at home, and no one cares, I start yelling. And as for those damned discounts... at least in this State, they are few and far between! If a business wants to use the military discount as an advertisement, which they do, then I'll ask for it. If that's whining... fine. Ya don't like it, don't read this, don't listen. and in the words of many great philosophers of my aquaintance... bite me!

LAW

Want to see MAD??

Go to any military spouse link you can find. I have a few over there... on the right... yeah, there. A lot of REALLY PISSED OFF spouses. Not just the extension. The way we found out about our extension back in January, via the media.... yup, they did it again! There's some jackass cretinous son of a bitch at the Pentagon who gets his jollys by releasing this type of news, leaking it before the troops are told, and before the families were officially told. SecDef, to give him credit, got royally pissed too, and is supposedly trying to find out who it is. When they do, I would suggest, as many others have that he be caught and given to some Army wives. We need to get our frustrations out.. he'd be a great way to do it. Let's see... rusty butter knife, duct tape, iodine... are you getting the drift?

Now Homefront6 http://homefrontsix.blogspot.com/has a couple of WONDERFUL letters, I wish I had written them. She demands an apology from Pace and from the mystery leaker. All I can say is... YEAH, what she said!

By the way, today is NOT the day to say to an Army wife what some woman told me on the bus this morning. "they knew what they were getting into.. they are volunteers". No, dear reader I did not deck her, I simply got up and moved, after telling her today was not the day to say that. I didn't even curse her out. I am proud of myself for that one!

LAW

The other shoe just dropped

15 months. That's the new Boots in the Sand number for all those active duty Army (not Marine, Air Force or Navy) troops presently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. "not less than 15 months" was how it was put in the press release. Then the part the families waited for "not less than 12 months " at home. well. ahem. Let's see, there are troops going back after 7 months home, and I suppose the 15 months Sandtime will apply.

I just don't understand. Don't the "powers that be" understand what they are doing to this Army, to the families? They are worn out. Stop loss, IRR recalls, multiple deployments, extensions, the overuse of the National Guard and Reserve, ... If this isn't a back door draft, someone tell me what is . Seriously, tell me.

We keep being told about all the good things the troops are doing. Yes, they are. They are rebuilding schools, clinics, taking care of children, trying to rebuild the shattered infrastructure. But they are also in the middle of a civil war, another country's civil war. The idiocy of going into this with too few troops, based on lies, half truths and mis statements is something I have posted about before. The continuing arrogant "because I said so" of this administration, the continuing lies and mis statements, make me wonder. The evidence is in front of them, but the spokespersons for the administration continue to make statements such as the drivel delivered by Senator McCain, the constant bluster of Deferment Dickie, and the smirking one syllable babbling of the Shrub.

I just don't understand.

LAW

Glad he finally found the time!

Well... well.. took him 6 damned weeks but the Shrub finally managed to go a few miles up the road and see the wounded at Walter Reed. Now the "visit" was supposed to be for three hours... but my my my... he just couldn't manage that, and cut it to 2 hours. 2 damned hours. Think he could spare the time, for the men and women HE sent to that hell hole?

Six freakin' weeks. Tell me he couldn't have broken away from getting ready for the correspondent's dinner preparations earlier? or from the "you're doin' a heckuva job, Al" backslappin'. Wait, hasn't he gone on vacation since the scandal broke? hasn't he had a couple of relaxing 3 day weekends at Camp David since then? But my my my... 2 whole hours... my goodness... couldn't find that time anywhere. TELL me that it took that long to schedule. Bullshit.

The whole bunch, dems and repubs should be ashamed of themselves. The PORK they loaded the appropriations bill with to get it passed was a disgrace. I'll betcha there will be more and more loaded in there in conference committee.

LAW