Email from a Republican childhood friend...
 

...who moved down to Nashville some years ago. Where he belongs.

I thanked him politely, told him it was cute, and reminded him that upwards of 25% of the single adult homeless population is chronically mentally ill (schizophrenia or bipolar-I, the really devastating stuff). As opposed to maybe less than 4% (1%-schiz, 2.5%-bipolar) in the general population. I got PFFFFfffftttt....as a reply.

They'll never respond well to facts and reason.

This same tale is circulating throughout the right wing echo chamber.

http://www.libertynewsforum.com/cgi-...m=1393895566/5

During the depression men would stop at the house and ask if there was any work they could do. Those of us lucky enough to have a roof over our heads and food expected this. Even if there was nothing needing doing Mom would make them a good sandwich.

Today if a homeless out of work person was to show up an anyone's doorstep I am quite sure the homeowner would call 911, the song was right,, the times they are a'changin.

Of course it never occured to that asshole to make that offer to the homeless man.

That's old. It's been going around for a while now.

A former friend of mine sent me that drivel and I responded;

"No, a Republican would tell the homeless guy he'll offer him the potential to make $50 if he did all of that and did an exceptional job of it. Then when the guys work is finished the cheap bastard would nitpick the work he did to death, tell him he isn't worth $50, hand him $1 and remind him that Mexicans are cheaper and smell better."

Dave

Nope. He wanted the girl to pay the homeless dude well, but would claim that "High wages foster dependency." if the guy knocked on his door. "How about you just do the work and I'll decide what it's worth when you're done?":rolleyes:

Dave

Believable, that.
I get this junk from an old Army bud I actually like in Cali' of all places.

Yeah.

The Republican homeowner failed to mention that the homeless guy used to own the property but his wages were reduced due to outsourcing. The "new" homeowner purchased the property using profits gained by selling the first guy out.

Oh, we've got 'em out here, Pio. We've got 'em. Just look at some of our Congressmen like Issa and Rohrbacher. What sort of people do you suppose vote for people like them?

John

PS: my spell checker thinks Rohrbacher should be Gorbachev. :D

Retired military receiving government health care and revenue transfers from the US Treasury. Zozialism is ok for the MIC beneficaries.

You've noticed that too?

I'm not saying the military retirees don't deserve their bennies, just that I find it interesting that so many of them think no one else does.

This country is full of people who feel entitled to their nice benefits, but attack others who do the same. "I deserve it and more, but you deserve nothing."

Elitism at its worst.

Dave

plus one

Plus two.

Add another!


Barney

I'm military retired on S/S, I don't think a country that doesn't care for it's own is worth defending. Screw those Henny-Penny crab-apples.

Respectfully, I don't believe everyone retired from the military to be "my own."

Screw those who believe I owe them anything for what they volunteered for.

There's a lot of elitism from many who deserve a good bitch slap.

I was referring to everyone that made this country work, economically and otherwise. Using them up and tossing them aside when nothing else can be taken out of them doesn't become a country that considers itself "advanced".
Sorry if you took it personally.

Not in the slightest, friend! :D

I guess I've seen too many armchair warriors who spent thirty seconds flying over a desert desire me to be beholden to them for a level of safety they didn't actually provide.

No issues, here.

I think anyone who engages in an effort which they firmly believes will benefit the country deserves our gratitude. If a soldier goes off to war because he or she believes the war is being fought to protect their country, then they must be admired for their bravery and commitment. If a teacher chooses her career out of a sense of mission, the raising and preparation of the next generation of Americans, she should be praised for her service.

John

I'm very grateful for everything the VA does for me, some of my fellow vets including the types you mentioned have an overblown and abusive sense of entitlement that is scary to the point of wishing for an armed guard at the facility.
FWIW, beyond the obvious toll of human carnage, the ongoing cost of wounded vet aftercare should be strongly considered when volunteering military action for something other than national defense/ survival, and the commitment willingly funded along with the munitions and other profitable aspects of international affairs beyond diplomacy.

Can you tell me the last war that was actively fought to protect our country? :confused:

I don't confuse Nationalism with Patriotism nor do I believe unfettered Patriotism is a positive.

That said, I get your point and acknowledge it. I've just witnessed too many guys who drove a truck through a secure area that happened to have sand act as if they are Lawrence of Arabia and I should pay homage.

Unlikely.

You'll note that I addressed the sincere motives of the soldiers, not the underlying motives for the war, for example, the motives of someone like Pat Tillman who bought Bush's lies, left a lucrative football career and went off to war. Tillman deserves our gratitude. Bush deserves a trip to the Hague.

John

I am not, in the slightest, trying to be an ass:

Tillman had a degree from Arizona State. He should have been smarter. :(

I can agree with that, although I suspect Tillman was a glory seeker.

Wasn't he killed in a friendly fire incident?

Dave

AFAIK, Tillman was not a glory hound, rather motivated by a sense of duty if not noblis oblige' to "give back" something to a country for which he had gratitude for his privilege.
Yes, a friendly fire tragedy that was attempted to be concealed as valor under fire.

Issa is from Vista, right next to Camp Pendleton. His district is just east of the city I live in.

some of us are not elitists Zeke.

I think he meant everybody who needs help when he said take care of "my own"

It is wrong of you to say anything like that. He sincerely left behind a lucrative career to fight what he thought was a just war.


It takes courage to walk the walk like that...he volunteered for actual combat.

Whether you disagree with the war on terrorism or not I really get pissed off when people talk about Tillman like that.

I mean have you done anything like that in your life? I cannot say I have.

1. I am not mad.
2. I am approaching this intellectually.
3. I have no issues with being directly questioned.

You're argument appears to be that I or anyone should not question the intelligence of Tillman choosing an exceedingly dangerous existence versus cash.

Fine. But this carries its own burden. If he didn't desire to get killed or was seeking a meaningful existence related to his acts, he chose poorly and should have been smarter. (Because he got neither.) His call, his shortsighted error as courage isn't in falling prey to bald Nationalism, it's in saying "this is stupid" in the face of it to anyone who might listen.

You ask what I have done? While that is a false equivalency I will say that I have done enough to know what is stupid and what is not while being unconcerned if this "pisses people off."

If folks desire to debate the character of Tillman, apart from the rhetoric of American Exceptionalism, you'd have to ask his teammates and the folks who -- rumors continue to persist -- may have fragged him. Regardless of what anyone says, it is unlikely that an Army Ranger accidentally fired three well grouped bullets, at short range, from a SAW, in broad daylight, into his forehead.

That's like saying a Formula One driver had difficulty negotiating some cones in a parking lot behind the wheel of a Honda Civic.

You're applying rational standards.

Ever hear the saying 'A rational army would desert?'

I think that's true. I think the fact that actual armies fight and fight is down to instinct. People, especially young males, are willing to die for the tribe--or at least do not weigh the danger as very important. Irrational, from the individual point-of-view, but perhaps a positive thing for the survival of the group, in prehistoric times.

That was nicely put.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and sometimes a compelling sales pitch, the inexperience of youth for the duplicity of others can be a hard and permanent lesson.

ty. :)

Excellent post!