Politics – President Bush on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes a 3.5 percent pay raise for troops and addresses his concerns about exposing Iraq to costly lawsuits
Tang, you only have half the picture... Dumya forced Congress to pull out the part that would have allowed our soldiers tortured by Sadam in the '91 War to get due compensation. Injest missed this too (typical Bushie!). So, Dumya won't allow our tortured soldiers compensation, but he has allowed companies from Korea and Japan to sue Iraq and get compensation. Real nice, that you once again don't see the whole picture from our depraved president!
Corporations over Individual American soldiers who have been tortured!
"Dumya forced Congress to pull out the part"
Donald, look it up. UN, UNSCR 1483. "Dumya" didn't forced Congress to do anything. They caved cause people like me asked them if they knew the USA is a member of the UN? They don't want to answer that publicly so they caved.
UNSCR 1483 calls for freezing Iraq-related accounts and other financial assets â;; including those of the immediate family members of senior officials of the former Iraqi regime â;; and the transfer of these assets to the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI).
The Resolution also requires UN member states to freeze and transfer to the DFI financial assets or economic resources of the previous Government of Iraq â;; and its state bodies, corporations or agencies â;; located outside Iraq on or before May 22, 2003. As a result, the measures involving the 191 Iraqi parastatal entities apply only to those funds, financial assets or economic resources that were located outside of Iraq on or before May 22, 2003.
Did ya get that Donald? The UN REQUIRES member states to freeze Iraq assets. Are you unaware the USA is a member of the UN?
I sunk it because this is typical of the Bushies to find one good positive thing in a bill that shows Dumya's real disdain for the military! Mission Accomplished!
Don't sink it. We won. This is the same funding Bush only wanted to give a 3% increase too 3.5% was TOO excessive. How do you fight that logic without sounding whiny and still support the troops? It's $30 difference and they deserve every penny and more but how do you bring Shrub to account for a mere .5% It'd be almost splitting hairs..that's why it's so outrageous.
"Don't sink it. We won. This is the same funding Bush only wanted to give a 3% increase too 3.5% was TOO excessive. How do you fight that logic without sounding whiny and still support the troops? It's $30 difference and they deserve every penny and more but how do you bring Shrub to account for a mere .5% It'd be almost splitting hairs..that's why it's so outrageous."
Say what? The 3% was done by an Executive order. Congress put this "poison pill" into the authorization knowing full well it would be vetoed. That veto killed the entire pay raise; the troops would have gotten 0% (any wonder that the dems keep having to say "we support the troops", no one believes them).
As I said back in Dec. when the Dems did this "This is another DUMB move by the Dems" This was a rank armature political power play by the Dems. As evident by the 93 to 3 vote to drop their ridicules "poison pill".
Could the Presz have done the entire 3.5% by Executive order? Yes, but that wouldn't have caused the Dems to start the year off by once again caving, thus assuring 2008 will be another "Year of the Surrender Monkeys"
The .5% is retroactive to Jan 1 2008. The troops were never in doubt about getting the money. The fact that the Dems caved within days of returning to Congress proves their "poison pill" was a farce.
Are the troops STILL underpaid? Hell yes. We need government to address REAL problems with pay and stop playing games for political show.
Damned if you do and damned if you dont. How many of you commenting here think that Bush is the one that put the 3.5 number into the bill? Get real...3.5 is what they settled on. It is time to start blaming the people that approve this type of action. If Congress had any balls they would stand their ground.
"The decision to change the bill without trying to challenge Bush's rejection reflects the difficulty Democrats have had in challenging the president on even minor issues" - See, here is the problem. One must wonder... WHY are they having "difficulty" challenging the president? Could it be because all those Democrats LIED to get elected? Or do they simply not have the courage to vote their convictions? Either way, I recommend that you NOT vote for any more Democrats at the next election. Clearly, they are impotent. Vote for Independents or Libertarians. Or, if you can find a REAL Republican like Ron Paul - that's OK too.
As to the 3.5% pay increase - it doesn't sound like much, but it's a half point more than anyone here got...
"One must wonder... WHY are they having "difficulty" challenging the president? Could it be because all those Democrats LIED to get elected?
Or do they simply not have the courage to vote their convictions?"
That's a tough call. If they lied to get elected then perhaps their caving IS their true convictions. But if they didn't lie to get elected then they must a grossly incompetent dumb Sh*ts. They can't blame Rove he's not there. So did Bush out smart them again or are they really dumber than Bush? That's a tough call
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The revised $696 billion bill makes a 3.5 percent pay raise for troops retroactive to Jan. 1.
Thanks for alerting me to this website catty!
While I support your efferts to praise GW for passin this pay raise, I wonder why you never voiced concern for his many votes against veterans such as Republicans in Congress trying to cut funding for Head Trauma units in the summer of '06.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08...
Or Bush veto of a Democratic one-time bonus to help off-set the hardship faced by extended rotations.
Do you support our troops and our veterans, or do you support Goerge W. Bush. Because, I dont think in good conscience, you ken do both - simultaneously.
I especially lieked findin this article from within the same website.
"Bush used his father's political influence to move past many on the Texas Guard's waiting list. He was not required to attend Officer Candidate School to earn his commission. He lost his flight status after failing to show up for a required annual physical. These facts alone raise the eyebrows of those who took a different path in a war that for the Marine Corps brought more casualties than even World War II."
The artical goes on to say...
The Bush campaign now claims that these issues are largely moot and that Bush has proved himself as a competent and daring "war president." And yet his actions in Iraq, and the vicious attacks against anyone who disagrees with his administration's logic, give many veterans serious pause.
"Bush arguably has committed the greatest strategic blunder in modern memory. To put it bluntly, he attacked the wrong target. While he boasts of removing Saddam Hussein from power, he did far more than that. He decapitated the government of a country that was not directly threatening the United States and, in so doing, bogged down a huge percentage of our military in a region that never has known peace. Our military is being forced to trade away its maneuverability in the wider war against terrorism while being placed on the defensive in a single country that never will fully accept its presence."
And not only has GW been a colossal disaster for the military and for military families, hes been an unmitigated disaster for our national economy.
Because this Afghanistan/Iraq war has surpassed IN COST - ALL American wars with the exception of WW2. (In 2007 Dolloars)
Talk about craaaazie ideeologie! And you know whats even craaazier? Whats even craaaazier is that 92% of all Evangelical Christians supported GW.
I never thought Id see the day when CHRISTIANS would support:
-Arbitrary Pre-emptive war
-Denin Health care to kids
-Supportn legislators in cuttin fundin for vets
-Exploitation by INshurance companies of middle class families.
I mean, do we Christians stand for ANYTHING that Christ taught? Or have we all just become fodder for Tom Delay type politics?
ttp://www....">http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/policy/securit...
Don't give up Goppy, there are many Christians out there that try to model their lives on Christs teachings.I'm far form perfect(what a shock)but often get ridiculed for my opinions.
We just get drowned out by the extremist Christian right and don't get the press.
Feel better?
Well, I feel better after readin rdy2rcks hopeful comment.
But I still am swoonin at the Evangelicals rejection of Jesus.
Hmmmm - for a moment there, I though you were quoting Ron Paul...
Goppy, For your information, its all Saddam Hussein's fault that Iraq was attack. After all, Saddam faked those WMDs to keep the USA from attacking Iran. Poor Georgie can't help being duped, it wasn't his fault!
http://news.propeller.com/story/2008/01/24/inte...
I think its great that they raised our soliders wages- Along with Iraq's oil paying for this war...ummm liberation, they can afford to pay our troops too!
My deepest apologies. Gave you a neg by mistake.
"Democrats reluctantly revised the measure to allow Bush to grant immunity to Iraq"
Like they had a choice. The assets were frozen at the request of and in accordance with the UN.
http://www.mof.go.jp/english/if/vmi030829e.htm
UN, UNSCR 1483. Why is this part of the story left out? Its not hard to find. Everyone in Congress knows this as does the Admin.
August 29,03 Ministry of Finance
UNSCR 1483 requested all UN member countries to transfer the frozen assets of the former Iraqi regime to the Development Fund of Iraq in the paragraph 23. Pursuant to this resolution, as the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) sent banks in Japan letters to request the transfer of the frozen assets and each bank submitted an application of the transfer, Ministry of Finance made an approval based on Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.
Does a 3.5 pay raise even cover inflation? Much less the money they're going to have to spend on medical care since BushCo's been cutting the VA constantly and directing them to reject soldiers needs?
Good point. 3.5% is probably not near enough. This is typical of what a corporate pay raise would be to hourly workers. This why you will never hear it called a "cost of living" raise. If they were to actually give raises based on the cost of living then it would probably need to be in the 10 - 15% range.