To paraphrase George Carlin, "How fucking stupid do you have to be...."

[lebkuchen]

How fucking stupid do you have to be to vote for John McCain?

Especially if you say you "support the troops"?

McCain voted against the GI Bill and then touted it as his own when it passed. His economic adviser Phil Graham said that America was a "nation of whiners" steeped in "mental depression."

An important sub-group of that "nation of whiners" is the overseas U.S. soldier, and yes, that soldier and his/her family is depressed, financially and emotionally, and the military family has a right to whine, though it rarely does, preferring to "opt out" of back-to-back tours of Iraq/Afghanistan, cuts to medical care, child care, education, and housing, as well as the 40% depreciation of the dollar (which COLA can't begin to make up for). Don't forget the gross increases in fuel prices. That's why the qualifying bar for America's army has had to be lowered to folks with felony convictions. I don't want to hear any whining from Phil Graham when the US Army can't fulfill a particular mission due to being overtasked and understaffed.

RE: oil prices, the soldier used to be able to buy a ration of 800 liters of gas coupons, which helped off-set the increase in fuel prices. Those coupons are near-history with the "invention" of the new "fuel card," in which soldiers pay whatever the price of gas is on the day it is purchased. Note, soldiers can only purchase fuel at US prices from AAFES (Texas headquartered) on base, or from ESSO (Exxon) stations in Germany, etc. They're supposed to be pacified with, "If you don't like it, buy gas from the German stations at double the price!" Americans stateside aren't the only ones being gouged. The Bush administration is undercutting the US soldier's pocketbook as well.

It's not just the soldiers who financially suffer overseas; it's US civilians as well, especially those who do not receive compensation for living quarters allowance, so are hurt by the gross dollar devaluation.

I look forward to the day when John McCain shows up to a deploying overseas military base to take questions (not "whines") from the troops and US civilians serving them. Better yet, bring Phil along to respond to the pressing economic realities of Americans overseas, realities a rich man like Graham cannot remotely relate to.