10 Comments

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  Alphaape at 10:40 AM JST - 25th May

  As I said in an earlier related post, Obama has no idea what he is talking about. If he wants to be President, he should get a full understandin of the issues before making his statements. We Americans are dumb, but not that dumb.

  The GI Bill modifications that passed will help towards paying for in-state tuition at state colleges. I am for that, but the service member only has to do a 3 years and he is eligible for it. So there is no incentive to stay after he is in and we will be faced with a low rentenion rate as more people opt out.

  The McCain plan would not offer as much money as the one Obama favors, and the service member would have had to serve at least 6 years (normally a second term), but the real key to his was that the benefits would be transferable to a spouse or child. So the longer they stayed in, the more that can be transferred. I would greatly prefer to give the benefit to my wife and kids than myself. You can get college credits from the work, but the ability to pass them on to family is a much better deal.

  but, Obama is just pandering to the press and trying to make it seem like he is for the vets, and McCain isn't.

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  Badsey at 12:08 PM JST - 25th May

  deal or no deal:

  If that's transferrable at death -better check that.

  3 years is plenty. This war should not go on forever.

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  Alphaape at 01:17 PM JST - 25th May

  badsey, If a service member dies on active duty, there are a plethera of finamcial aid opportunites for the surviving children. Not to at least metnion, the child will get social security payments (normally about $900/per child, it may be more depending on how much the parent was making) up until age 23 if they are still in school. I know that may not seem like much, but once, when I was a poor college student working in a grocery store at $4.00/hour, if someone were going to give me an additional $900/month I would have gladly taken it.

  Badsey, As far as 3 years, after one gets into the military and finishes basic training and any basic school of specialty instrcution, a year has almost passed. To send them out with only such a short time remaining would not really be cost effective, nor would it give units a time to be battle ready. When as soon as someone gets there, they are on the countdown clock to get out. Letting them stay at least 4 or 5 years will give units a chance to buil cohesion and better train.

  For the comments you make on the war should not go on forever, I agree, but has nothing to do with the GI Bill. Two totally different matters. Yes they want to offer incentives to the military for the sacrifices that have been made for the war, but these changes have been on the burner for years. The GI BIll changes every so often, and many poliiticans are using the war as a rallying point to try to force changes.

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  Everton2 at 04:32 PM JST - 25th May

  It is the US policy towards Cuba that gets me. It is childish and vindictive in every sense, has been applied for the last 50 years without success and yet MaCain wants to continue on the same part.

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  SezWho2 at 08:52 PM JST - 25th May

  Of course, the flip-side to poor retention might be improved recruitment--more people figuring that they can roll the dice and survive a war made at executive whim.

  I see McCain's point, but there are other ways to address this problem. For example, one could require 5 years service but double count time spent in a war theater.

  There should be a limit to how many IEDs an American has to expose himself to in order to qualify for reasonable military benefits. Furthermore, the benefit that veterans should be getting without exception is access to quality health care and that seems to have been given short shrift by this administration.

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  skipthesong at 10:55 AM JST - 26th May

  everton: I know I have spoken about myself quite a bit and about the issue concerning Cuba.

  I will just be brief, for some reason, Cuban Americans have been a very big supporter of the Republican party, perhaps because of Kennedy. Really never bothered to find out. Many of our prominent leaders still want to keep the pressure on Cuba until Castro dies because we believe and have a lot of evidence that he is still in control behind closed doors. Still he and his Hench men are making hand over fist in negotiations, pocketing as much as they can. Additionally, there are still a lot of people who are behind bars for decades for nothing more than disrespecting "officers of the law" and that includes two particular women who refused sex.

  There is a lot more to it. Don't fall into the trap that because Castro is anti-American that makes him good. Notably, his little poster/flag of Che hasn't gone over well to the people who have lost someone to him when he was judge, jury and executioner on the spot. A simple question of the revolution could put you, and your familiy behind bars..

  http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/544728.html

  Addtionally, there have been a lot of things that have help many of the Cuban refugees in past years. For a sworn enemy of the US, the US government has given a lot more to Cuba outside the political norm than what meets the eye, but it really only gets reported in local newspapers.

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  skipthesong at 11:00 AM JST - 26th May

  My take on the veterans benefits are this: 1. Stop giving more money to soldiers who are married and keep having kids - they are basically creating a welfare state. You don't see cops and firemen getting more pay because they are married with kids.

  1. Stop building all those nice housing units for families, pools and parks for the kids. The money saved could go to Educations.

  2. No matter how much more they put into the GI bill, it is the school that is going to administer it and that is the main problem - hiring incompetent people to do this has cause a lot of pain

  3. The Tuition Assistance program needs to be re-vamp, this way it is easier for a soldier to go to school while on active duty. This was a big gripe for me when I was in the army. I was prevented from going to classes that happen to fall on a Saturday just to go to a picnic.

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  skipthesong at 11:01 AM JST - 26th May

  everton: I meant to include this: http://www.therealcuba.com/

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  SushiSake3 at 04:09 PM JST - 26th May

  Why is McCain taking the high moral ground on this - he spend nearly 6 years totally isolated in a POW camp.

  Does that somehow make him better able to comment on this issue than Obama.

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  Everton2 at 10:40 AM JST - 27th May

  skipthesong - American foreign policy should not be held to ransom by a few disaffected Cubans from the Diaspora. Moreover, how different is China and why the double standard in respect to trade and the right to travel etc? China has a terrible record on human rights and routinely imprison people for their political views, why is it difference? A policy of engagement with Cuba would be far more productive. If people are allowed to travel and talk with their relatives in Cuba about the kind of life they have in America, then there would be a better chance of a local broad based call for change. The old approach of not talking with your neighbors is an anachronism in both its application and practical outcome. Its a bit like not talking to your neighbors and yet still hope to have wholesale influence on their attitude and perspective.

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