I got this in an email today and I thought that it was rather interesting. It puts a lot of things about the war into perspective.
God Bless our Soldiers
>CLARIFICATION
>by DENNIS MILLER
>
>ALL THE RHETORIC ON WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD GO TO
>WAR AGAINST IRAQ HAS GOT MY INSANE LITTLE BRAIN SPINNING LIKE A
>ROULETTE WHEEL. I ENJOY READING OPINIONS FROM BOTH SIDES BUT I HAVE
>DETECTED A HINT OF CONFUSION FROM SOME OF YOU. AS I WAS READING THE
>PAPER RECENTLY, I WAS REMINDED OF THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE EVER GAVE
>ME. HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE KISS METHOD ("KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!) SO,
>WITH THIS AS A THEME, I'D LIKE TO APPLY THIS THEORY FOR THOSE WHO
>DON'T QUITE GET IT. MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN SIMPLIFY THINGS A BIT AND
>RECOGNIZE A FEW IMPORTANT FACTS.
>HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN VOICING AN OPINION ON THIS
>IMPORTANT
>ISSUE:
>1) BETWEEN PRESIDENT BUSH AND SADDAM HUSSEIN ...HUSSEIN IS THE BAD
>GUY.
>2) IF YOU HAVE FAITH IN THE UNITED NATIONS TO DO THE RIGHT THING
>KEEP THIS IN MIND, THEY HAVE LIBYA HEADING THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN
>RIGHTS AND IRAQ HEADING THE GLOBAL DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE. DO YOUR
>OWN MATH HERE.
>3) IF YOUR ONLY ANTI-WAR SLOGAN IS "NO WAR FOR OIL," SUE YOUR
>SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ALLOWING YOU TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS AND
>ROBBING YOU OF THE EDUCATION YOU DESERVE.
>4) SADDAM AND BIN LADEN WILL NOT SEEK UNITED NATIONS APPROVAL BEFORE
>THEY TRY TO KILL US.
>5) DESPITE COMMON BELIEF, MARTIN SHEEN IS NOT THE PRESIDENT. HE
>PLAYS ONE ON T.V.
>6) EVEN IF YOU ARE ANTI-WAR, YOU ARE STILL AN "INFIDEL!" AND BIN
>LADEN WANTS YOU DEAD, TOO.
>7) IF YOU BELIEVE IN A "VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY" BUT NOT IN THE
>DANGER THAT HUSSEIN POSES, QUIT HANGING OUT WITH THE DELL COMPUTER
>DUDE.
>8) GOING TO WAR WITHOUT THE FRENCH IS LIKE GOING BEAR HUNTING
>WITHOUT A
>PIANO.
>9) WE ARE NOT TRYING TO LIBERATE THEM.
>10) WHETHER YOU ARE FOR MILITARY ACTION OR AGAINST IT, OUR YOUNG MEN
>AND
>WOMEN OVERSEAS ARE FIGHTING FOR US TO DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT.
>WE ALL NEED TO SUPPORT THEM WITHOUT RESERVATION.
>
>
>Another article...
>
>This Airman's response to the Washington Times should be printed in
>all newspapers across America. Especially now when the President is
>calling up more Reserves and National Guardsmen. Get this response
>out to everyone you know. It's time the Jane Fondas & Sean Penns of
>this country wise up and support the troops that defend them.
>
>Military pay article
>
>On 12 Nov, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show)
>wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s)
>coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13%
>wage was more than they deserve. A young airman from Hill AFB
>responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this!
>
>"Ms Williams:
>
>just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough"
>and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted
>overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears
>every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting
>Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement
> I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take
>home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up
>with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40
>after.
>
>I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of
>the team responsible for a 5,000-host computer network. I am
>involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco
>Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians
>in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field,
>requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job
>does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at
>$70,000 to $80,000 per annum.
>
>I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.Given the tenor of
>your column, I would assume that you have NEVER had the pleasure of
>serving our country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon
>yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for
>attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets
>off of WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of
>deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN, I leave the choice of
>service branch up to you.
>Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation:
>it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your
>family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience."
>
>As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the
>spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones.
>Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how
>they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is
>gone -- obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash
>the government has been giving them. Try to deploy over a major
>holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And
>when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering
>against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you
>that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow,
>remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to
>get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add
>Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.
>
>Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't
>nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and
>be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I
>disagree with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece.
>
>But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to
>say it. You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your
>First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a
>daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that
>you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on
>a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that
>would make most people cringe.
>
>We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because
>we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And
>you, Ms Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we
>deserve?
>
>Rubbish!
>
>A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC"
>
<><
God Bless our Soldiers
>CLARIFICATION
>by DENNIS MILLER
>
>ALL THE RHETORIC ON WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD GO TO
>WAR AGAINST IRAQ HAS GOT MY INSANE LITTLE BRAIN SPINNING LIKE A
>ROULETTE WHEEL. I ENJOY READING OPINIONS FROM BOTH SIDES BUT I HAVE
>DETECTED A HINT OF CONFUSION FROM SOME OF YOU. AS I WAS READING THE
>PAPER RECENTLY, I WAS REMINDED OF THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE EVER GAVE
>ME. HE TOLD ME ABOUT THE KISS METHOD ("KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!) SO,
>WITH THIS AS A THEME, I'D LIKE TO APPLY THIS THEORY FOR THOSE WHO
>DON'T QUITE GET IT. MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN SIMPLIFY THINGS A BIT AND
>RECOGNIZE A FEW IMPORTANT FACTS.
>HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN VOICING AN OPINION ON THIS
>IMPORTANT
>ISSUE:
>1) BETWEEN PRESIDENT BUSH AND SADDAM HUSSEIN ...HUSSEIN IS THE BAD
>GUY.
>2) IF YOU HAVE FAITH IN THE UNITED NATIONS TO DO THE RIGHT THING
>KEEP THIS IN MIND, THEY HAVE LIBYA HEADING THE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN
>RIGHTS AND IRAQ HEADING THE GLOBAL DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE. DO YOUR
>OWN MATH HERE.
>3) IF YOUR ONLY ANTI-WAR SLOGAN IS "NO WAR FOR OIL," SUE YOUR
>SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ALLOWING YOU TO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS AND
>ROBBING YOU OF THE EDUCATION YOU DESERVE.
>4) SADDAM AND BIN LADEN WILL NOT SEEK UNITED NATIONS APPROVAL BEFORE
>THEY TRY TO KILL US.
>5) DESPITE COMMON BELIEF, MARTIN SHEEN IS NOT THE PRESIDENT. HE
>PLAYS ONE ON T.V.
>6) EVEN IF YOU ARE ANTI-WAR, YOU ARE STILL AN "INFIDEL!" AND BIN
>LADEN WANTS YOU DEAD, TOO.
>7) IF YOU BELIEVE IN A "VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY" BUT NOT IN THE
>DANGER THAT HUSSEIN POSES, QUIT HANGING OUT WITH THE DELL COMPUTER
>DUDE.
>8) GOING TO WAR WITHOUT THE FRENCH IS LIKE GOING BEAR HUNTING
>WITHOUT A
>PIANO.
>9) WE ARE NOT TRYING TO LIBERATE THEM.
>10) WHETHER YOU ARE FOR MILITARY ACTION OR AGAINST IT, OUR YOUNG MEN
>AND
>WOMEN OVERSEAS ARE FIGHTING FOR US TO DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO SPEAK OUT.
>WE ALL NEED TO SUPPORT THEM WITHOUT RESERVATION.
>
>
>Another article...
>
>This Airman's response to the Washington Times should be printed in
>all newspapers across America. Especially now when the President is
>calling up more Reserves and National Guardsmen. Get this response
>out to everyone you know. It's time the Jane Fondas & Sean Penns of
>this country wise up and support the troops that defend them.
>
>Military pay article
>
>On 12 Nov, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show)
>wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s)
>coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13%
>wage was more than they deserve. A young airman from Hill AFB
>responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this!
>
>"Ms Williams:
>
>just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough"
>and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted
>overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears
>every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting
>Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement
> I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take
>home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up
>with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40
>after.
>
>I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of
>the team responsible for a 5,000-host computer network. I am
>involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco
>Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians
>in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field,
>requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job
>does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at
>$70,000 to $80,000 per annum.
>
>I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.Given the tenor of
>your column, I would assume that you have NEVER had the pleasure of
>serving our country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon
>yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for
>attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets
>off of WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of
>deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN, I leave the choice of
>service branch up to you.
>Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation:
>it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your
>family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience."
>
>As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the
>spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones.
>Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how
>they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is
>gone -- obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash
>the government has been giving them. Try to deploy over a major
>holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And
>when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering
>against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you
>that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow,
>remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to
>get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add
>Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.
>
>Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't
>nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and
>be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I
>disagree with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece.
>
>But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to
>say it. You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your
>First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a
>daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that
>you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on
>a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that
>would make most people cringe.
>
>We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because
>we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And
>you, Ms Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we
>deserve?
>
>Rubbish!
>
>A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC"
>
<><
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