Folks Who Work In Tipped Jobs Would Like You To Spend A Minute Looking At Something

[davidthegnome]

81. Very thoughtful, very good post.

My Father has dedicated a great part of his life to working for Veterans, he was instrumental in building our local veterans clinic. Having narrowly missed being drafted back during Vietnam, he was always well aware of how much they had to sacrifice. When I was a young boy, I once asked him why he didn't join the Marines like Grandpa did. My Grandfather, at 17, all of 5'4, 145 pounds, decided he wanted to be a Marine and fight the Nazis... even though he was too short, he lied about his age, and because the Marines needed men very badly, they took him. He ended up becoming a war hero of sorts. Pictures in magazines and such, was really a hell of a man.

What my Father told me though, was that he didn't believe we had any business in Vietnam. What he didn't tell me, but I later discovered for myself, is that he had, and has, an amazing dedication to and compassion for those returning from war, whether he believes in the war or not, he believes in the people fighting them. He did manage to convince me not to join up when I was 19, which is probably a good thing, as I suspect I would have been a terrible soldier. I've always been too anti-authority.

You're right about our Country being a mess, you're right about this third way bull shit, too. I don't know what the real solution is, there are lots of good ideas out there, but not enough... hmm, unity, to begin to implement them. Anything we want done will require struggling against not just the republicans and the tea party, but the third way Dems, too. While liberals overall may outnumber these groups, liberal voters are heavily outnumbered by them.

These assholes like Paul Ryan going after military retirement benefits... it infuriates me. These retired military vets have given so much, sacrificed so much, faced so much for their Country... and the Republicans, despite their boasts of being the military-friendly party, are very eager to throw them under the bus once they have retired. They deserve so much better than we have given them.

Yes, we need more like Sanders and Warren. Should either of them run for President, they already have my vote - and for once, I wouldn't have to grimace or hold my nose while voting.