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bishop · Feb 1, 2005, 03:02 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html

Quote:

Bush proposes higher war-zone death benefits
Democrats urge applying payments to all active-duty personnel

ok... this story just pissed me off royally. i'll bash both sides here equally, cuz they deserve it.

the republicans (who own this brainchild).. when they can't even get their act together to put enough troops on the ground to begin with, or properly equip them (two things that make soldiers less safe) - they want to pay them extra for being a martyr??? why don't they just focus on spending money to properly equip them instead of this lame gimmick? and, where in the god damn hell are they getting this money???

and then the democrats.. for their part, they didn't think this up. the only thing they're doing is playing the "you propose something we didn't think up, but we'll spend more to buy more voter support" game.

how about we give each military family a cool $2 million just for the hell of it, like we did to families of 9/11 victims?

anybody want to play some monopoly?

jose · Feb 3, 2005, 02:19 pm

In August, 2001, the American television channel CBS aired an interview with a Hamas activist Muhammad Abu Wardeh, who recruited terrorists for suicide bombings in Israel. Abu Wardeh was quoted as saying: "I described to him how God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70 virgins, 70 wives and everlasting happiness." Wardeh was in fact shortchanging his recruits since the rewards in Paradise for martyrs was 72 virgins.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saturday_r...631332,00.html
heres a way to save money

Catch 22 · Feb 3, 2005, 06:02 pm

Jose-hehe, there's an idea.

Bishop- True we should most certainly get out of Iraq, but for the military personnel there who will or already have died, don't you think their families should get the compensation police and firemen get? They're gone and won't be contributing economically ever again, methinks a better death benefit is something that military families desperately need. Most Gis are poor even indigent, these families are gonna need if the soldier is gone.

bishop · Feb 3, 2005, 06:16 pm

i'd rather see them improve benefits for the wounded soldiers left to live their lives as cripples.

it's not the fact that the deceased families would be given money money (could make analogies like money sent to the families of suicide bombers), it's that this has the appearance of a move to toss out favors for political points. my primary concern is the budget deficit, and i see this measure as unecessary.

Catch 22 · Feb 3, 2005, 06:31 pm

We should definitely increase benefits in other areas but for those who loose a family member this kind of benefit is needed. It’s not like it’s going to break the bank or anything, as the only way we’re going to reign in the deficit effectively is to eliminate the bush tax cuts. Or raise taxes.

Milton Bradley · Feb 3, 2005, 06:49 pm

If you were watching C-SPAN last night, you got to see some diehard Democrats asking the question "where are the troops replacing the ones in Iraq now going to come from?".

In other words, get ready for a draft, because the other side of the isle is noticing some of the real unsolvable problems we are facing now.

I feel a respectable wage is mandatory if we expect people to sign up of there own volition. I also think the Veterans are getting screwed, and not likely to endorse this career chioce to any of their friends, and family, further reducing potential recruits.

We seem to face ever increasing problems with our ever increasing interest in other peoples business.

bishop · Feb 3, 2005, 07:55 pm

Quote:

We should definitely increase benefits in other areas but for those who loose a family member this kind of benefit is needed. It’s not like it’s going to break the bank or anything, as the only way we’re going to reign in the deficit effectively is to eliminate the bush tax cuts. Or raise taxes.

eliminating his cuts won't be enough to eliminate the deficit. not when he's increased spending as much as he has.

while increasing this death disbursement is a nice thing to do, i don't believe it's necessary. and quite frankly, military pay isn't sufficient to raise a family - both parents need to be employed.

Catch 22 · Feb 4, 2005, 03:39 pm

Quote:

eliminating his cuts won't be enough to eliminate the deficit. not when he's increased spending as much as he has.

And cutting military programs like the joint strike fighter.

Quote:

while increasing this death disbursement is a nice thing to do, i don't believe it's necessary. and quite frankly, military pay isn't sufficient to raise a family - both parents need to be employed.

And your point? Still means the mom or dad will be the sole worker if the spouse dies. The death benefit alleviates this problem.

Rainbow · Feb 9, 2005, 09:37 am

Benefits paid to families or members of dead and/or injured military personnel must go up. Those people pay very high and ultimate price for all of us.
Money is not going to bring their love-ones back to life or re-generate their health conditions, then the benefits can "soften" their lives a little, at least.
Whether Democrats or Republicans or Others debate some issues, is meaningless, and most likely it concerns some technical immplementation or more precise definition.

Feb 3, 2005, 02:19 pm	#2 (permalink) (top)
jose Volcanic Erupter Location: España Posts: 2,514	take the money or open the box? In August, 2001, the American television channel CBS aired an interview with a Hamas activist Muhammad Abu Wardeh, who recruited terrorists for suicide bombings in Israel. Abu Wardeh was quoted as saying: "I described to him how God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70 virgins, 70 wives and everlasting happiness." Wardeh was in fact shortchanging his recruits since the rewards in Paradise for martyrs was 72 virgins. http://www.guardian.co.uk/saturday_r...631332,00.html heres a way to save money

Feb 3, 2005, 06:02 pm	#3 (permalink) (top)
Catch 22 Igneous Magma Posts: 374	Jose-hehe, there's an idea. Bishop- True we should most certainly get out of Iraq, but for the military personnel there who will or already have died, don't you think their families should get the compensation police and firemen get? They're gone and won't be contributing economically ever again, methinks a better death benefit is something that military families desperately need. Most Gis are poor even indigent, these families are gonna need if the soldier is gone. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered Martin Luther King Jr.

Feb 3, 2005, 06:31 pm	#5 (permalink) (top)
Catch 22 Igneous Magma Posts: 374	We should definitely increase benefits in other areas but for those who loose a family member this kind of benefit is needed. It’s not like it’s going to break the bank or anything, as the only way we’re going to reign in the deficit effectively is to eliminate the bush tax cuts. Or raise taxes. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered Martin Luther King Jr.

Feb 3, 2005, 06:16 pm	#4 (permalink) (top)
bishop moderat-e/o-r Location: boston Posts: 11,184	i'd rather see them improve benefits for the wounded soldiers left to live their lives as cripples. it's not the fact that the deceased families would be given money money (could make analogies like money sent to the families of suicide bombers), it's that this has the appearance of a move to toss out favors for political points. my primary concern is the budget deficit, and i see this measure as unecessary.

Feb 3, 2005, 06:49 pm	#6 (permalink) (top)
Milton Bradley BANNED Location: Ohio Province, Rep. of Comerica Posts: 7,320	If you were watching C-SPAN last night, you got to see some diehard Democrats asking the question "where are the troops replacing the ones in Iraq now going to come from?". In other words, get ready for a draft, because the other side of the isle is noticing some of the real unsolvable problems we are facing now. I feel a respectable wage is mandatory if we expect people to sign up of there own volition. I also think the Veterans are getting screwed, and not likely to endorse this career chioce to any of their friends, and family, further reducing potential recruits. We seem to face ever increasing problems with our ever increasing interest in other peoples business.

Feb 9, 2005, 09:37 am	#9 (permalink) (top)
Rainbow Volcanic Erupter Posts: 3,066	Benefits paid to families or members of dead and/or injured military personnel must go up. Those people pay very high and ultimate price for all of us. Money is not going to bring their love-ones back to life or re-generate their health conditions, then the benefits can "soften" their lives a little, at least. Whether Democrats or Republicans or Others debate some issues, is meaningless, and most likely it concerns some technical immplementation or more precise definition.