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By Weldon Berger, on October 25th, 2011
In recent years, both the civilian government and the military leadership have made a serious effort to elevate the cultural station of military personnel from that of citizen soldiers to the loftier and more separatist “warrior.” They’re all warriors now, and heroes. The end result is that both soldiers and civilians increasingly view the former as a breed apart.
That’s not a good thing. For obvious democratic reasons, one wants the military to identify and empathize with the populations whence they spring. Identifying common experiences is one way to do that, and one experience a lot of military personnel have in common with a lot of civilians is that they’re making crap money and the people signing their paychecks don’t seem to care much about them. Another is that if they lose their jobs, they’re in deep trouble almost instantly.
I ran across a couple of items yesterday that suggest an avenue for amplifying the Occupy protests within the U.S. by involving military personnel. One was a comment by my pal Schmutzie over at his place about a plan announced by Senators Carl Levin and John McCain to inflict some serious Bad upon veterans benefits, and the other was the first truly useful Twitter message I’ve received during my limited relationship with the service.
Continue reading Occupy the Military
By Weldon Berger, on October 22nd, 2011
I just completed a frank exchange of views with a devout Obama supporter who believes her president is curbing his liberal impulses from respect for the views of the losing voters on the right (they did lose, didn’t they?) and in order to establish a dynamic in which subsequent right-wing presidents will moderate their own ambitions from respect for Obama’s example and the voters who support it.
Well. Not exactly her president. She’s Canadian, although also Floridian. Hot Sun Bakes Canadian Brain. In the end we agreed that when Rick Perry invades Iran in five years after taking office by winning 45% of the popular vote, I will deserve to be drafted and sent off to fight and presumably die in that war because I think Democrats should pursue big projects like universal health care, the cramming of which down American throats led George W. Bush to invade Iraq. Damn you, Harry Truman!
Continue reading Let’s trade Obama to Canada for players to be named later
By Weldon Berger, on September 18th, 2011
All of your woes can be traced to that one moment of missed opportunity.
President Obama said the day of the 9/11 anniversary that in the decade following the 9/11 attacks, Americans have preserved our values and our character. He’s right. America’s history is of a whiny, over-privileged, self-aggrandizing and self-victimizing bully, and the decade since 9/11 has been clarifying.
Continue reading If you really loved America, you would have died on 9/11
By Weldon Berger, on July 6th, 2011
“Medicare Cuts Could Help GOP Save Face in Debt Talks“
Thet thar is an actual headline from an actual post at the Atlantic Wire, which has supplanted Slate as the silliest respectable (in the social society sense) daily commentary site of this infant century.
Continue reading Republican Face: Our Most Precious Natural Resource!
By Weldon Berger, on December 16th, 2010
Not just Washington, because getting there isn’t practical for a lot of people. State capitols too, and wherever else a lever would do some good.
Not too long ago I got an invitation to join an email list of progressive movers and shakers. I am the very definition of not a mover and shaker . . . → Read More: Why I want to rain pissed off people down on Washington
By Weldon Berger, on October 29th, 2010
A little while back I got a personal email from the President of the United States asking for my commitment to vote. I wrote back and said sure, but not on your behalf, and explained in graceful but vitriolic terms why I wasn’t enamored of him, his policies or the banksters he rode in . . . → Read More: Organizing for America’s Mitch Stewart promotes voter fraud!
By Weldon Berger, on September 22nd, 2010
Please go visit his blog. He is perceptive and precise, he writes well and he regularly sends readers my way; I would like to return the favor.
Health insurance “reform”:
:… the authors of this law could have written in anti-defunding language if they wanted. Or tied the funding to percentages of any number . . . → Read More: Blogs on Parade: Jack Crow is grumpy today
By Weldon Berger, on September 6th, 2010
I went to a hospital ER on Saturday night to get some drugs because one of my legs was generating truly excruciating pain. I got the drugs after an examination and x-rays. When I get home (this happened elsewhere) I am supposed to get a MRI. I don’t like the thought of that because . . . → Read More: My evening in the emergency room
By Weldon Berger, on August 29th, 2010
Your monkey’s messing with that medicine And you’re beat down with the jones (I got the cure–you want it?) I see ya sweating shaking your body’s aching badly Feel the fever in your bones now (Oooooooh sooo sick)
Trip trip trip trippin out Just start a count Minutes now to lose the misery (You . . . → Read More: Pop another pill, and leave all your cares behind
By Weldon Berger, on July 18th, 2010
This isn’t a big deal in the scope of things, but it really is pretty funny.
As just about everyone who cared knew would happen, a bunch of people are filing lawsuits aimed at overturning the individual health insurance mandate included in the health insurance industry welfare act passed by Congress a short . . . → Read More: “I absolutely reject the notion that I previously rejected the notion absolutely”
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Word of the Decade Ignoranus: An ignorant asshole.
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