Disrespecting the Veterans

Nope, he's not the one disrespecting veterans

Okay, hopefully this writing will purge all anger from my system about the Kaepernick non-story.

But probably not.

Enjoy...


USA Today: Senate rejects bill on veterans benefits

1. Only two Republicans voted for this bill (yet another veterans bill in a long list of veterans bills either authored or co-authored by Bernie Sanders). Which, to be fair, is two more than usual, since they have 100% voted against every bill that was supposed to help veterans in the past eight years (but it's totally nothing to do with racism). That includes housing, health care, food, clothing, jobs and education.

2. Colin Kaepernick sat down during a song in his Constitutionally protected right to silently protest - in this case against the institutionalized targeting of black people - the First Amendment right that soldiers fight to protect.

Question: Which of these things disrespects soldiers and is un-American; the one that actually disrespects soldiers and is un-American but you ignore, or the one that doesn't disrespect soldiers and isn't un-American but you pretend is upsetting to you because, uh... reasons - yeah, reasons?

Where is all the internet outrage over this? I can't wait to see all the videos of people burning pictures of senators and the vitriolic proclamations of "If you senators hate our country so much, why don't you leave?"

Here's a partial list of veterans bills that Republicans have outright blocked:

~H.R. 466 — Wounded Veteran Job Security Act

~H.R. 1168 — Veterans Retraining Act

~H.R. 1171 — Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization

~H.R. 1172 — Requiring List on VA Website of Organizations Providing Scholarships for Veterans

~H.R. 1293 — Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009

~H.R. 1803 — Veterans Business Center Act

~H.R. 2352 — Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act

~S. 469 — Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2015

~S. 1982 (113th) — Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014

~S. 3457 — Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012

~H.R. 293 — Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Grant Act of 2009

From the Veterans Affairs Funding Bill, the Republicans cut $690 million that was to go for direct VA medical care and $582 million in VA construction projects. Due to the cuts, it was estimated that about 70,000 fewer veterans would receive care.

There are more examples, but I got tired of researching.

True, Democrats have blocked some veterans bills, but that was when Republicans added last minute cuts of their own such as cutting funding to Planned Parenthood, cutting funding for the Affordable Care Act, cutting funding for the CDC, cutting funding for the IRS, cutting funding for Zika virus provisions, cutting funding for national parks, cutting funding for education, cutting funding for welfare, cutting funding for infrastructure, adding tax cuts for corporations, adding religious-themed provisions, increasing military spending and many other asinine extreme things - and then proclaim Democrats won't compromise. Basically, "We'll allow funding for the new arm if you allow us to cut off the head - hey, you're not compromising! Look, everybody! It's the Democrats' fault!"

But a football player sitting down during a song has your panties in a bunch.

You know how currently angry I am at this idiocy?

I haven't sworn even once.

Good day.

#FahrenheitFourFiftyOne

#NineteenEightyFour

#BraveNewWorld

#AnimalFarm

One of these is always asking what's wrong and pushes the nation to become better.

The other insists the nation is always right and pushes them into perpetual wars - within and without its borders.