> A radical vet friend of mine, who receives pretty hefty disability
> payments for the PTSD he acquired fighting in the first Gulf War, has
> an argument about why generous veterans' benefits are particularly
> important: That the U.S. needs to be made to pay the full cost of its
> wars. Every fucking penny.
Good for your friend (and John McCain, for that matter). There's a scandal here, but it isn't McCain's annual receipt of $58,358, based upon his active-duty pay as an officer. As far as I'm concerned, he's EARNED every fucking penny.
Rather, the scandal is the tens of thousands of disabled veterans of lower rank, like my deceased grandfather, who receive barely enough to live on. Every disabled service member should receive the same benefits as a five-star general at 30 years, regardless of his or her rank or tenure. Yes, that includes McCain.
(Of course, everything John Thornton said about his beliefs and the real world applies equally to me.)
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."