The past 4 weeks or so can aptly be called "The Month That Was," a strange if not fun-filled time in our nation. The lazy days of summer came to an end and reality yanked us all back to school: Hurricane Katrina and the deadly botched response; Hurricane Rita and the 100-mile traffic jam; confirmation of John Roberts as the new Chief Justice; the puzzling nomination of Bush crony Harriet Miers for a slot on the Supreme Court; and right here at home, Jerry Kilgore with a gaffe a day and a weaselly move a minute. Fun!And then there?s Iraq, the forever war that Bush, Cheney, and Rove would really rather we forgot (until they need it again to jerk our chain and frighten us into voting Republican). But, just when you're about to forget Iraq, there comes more incredible, disturbing news. Amazingly, it turns out that the Pentagon STILL has not reimbursed the thousands of troops who served in Iraq who had to buy their own protective equipment? you know, like decent body armor and protective goggles.
Remember that scandal, in which the Bush Administration failed to provide needed equipment to our soldiers in Iraq? And remember how that forced military families to spend their own money on equipment they not only should have been issued in the first place, but which others had as a matter of course -- like the mercenary soldiers from Blackwater security, for example. This from an Administration which could and did drop millions uncounted into the coffers of Halliburton, Dick Cheney's former company, on shady no-bid contracts. Remember how Congress authorized the Pentagon to reimburse our desperate warriors for the protective gear they purchased? Well, it turns out that the Pentagon has not done so.
Thankfully, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut has introduced an amendment that would force the Defense Department to comply with the law. That would be nice, because these soldiers often spent a lot of money to supply their own equipment in Afghanistan and Iraq. This was not frivolous: often, the equipment saved their lives. At a press conference with Senator Dodd, a veteran named Todd Bowers said that his vision and possibly his life were saved from a sniper?s shot by a $600 rifle scope and $100 goggles sent to him by his father. Stories like this point out the disgraceful hypocrisy and patriotic posturing of the Bush Administration --sending other people?s children to war without adequate gear, giving away billions to major campaign contributors, but only slowly paying pennies to reimburse our heroic warriors in the field.
Unfortunately, it appears that incompetent management and callous indifference to the ?working classes? are endemic to Republican leadership across the board, from Katrina to Iraq, and from the national level right down to the states. For example, notice how Jerry Kilgore cozies up to coal mine owners and suggests reducing safety regulations aimed at protecting miners and their families? Or, notice when Kilgore was asked if he had learned anything from the Katrina mess, he answered ?no.? Apparently, Jerry Kilgore's model for great leadership is George W. Bush and, apparently, Michael ?Brownie? Brown.
Well, Bush and his conservative cronies can posture all they want, but some of us out here in America really DO support the troops. And some of us out here in America really DO have loved ones fighting for us. Unlike Bush, who has never attended a funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq, we have not forgotten. Just in case anyone from the Bush Administration or the Kilgore campaign happens to be reading this, here is an updated list of Virginians killed in Iraq. Just to refresh their memory, you know.