Proving once again to have their collective finger on the pulse of what really matters, the federal government has begun dispensing $40 coupons to households in the effort to make sure that no American will go without their precious television shows. All told, up to $1.5 BILLION has been set aside to protect the interests of electronics manufacturers, broadcasting networks, and pretty much anyone who has a commercial to run on television.

For years, the public has been told about the upcoming conversion to digital transmission for television signals. Of course, this is a topic that is about as interesting to the average person as the molecular make-up of peanut-butter (which may account for the fact that 51% of people still have no idea that this is coming.) In fact, the switch is coming soon- February 18, 2009 to be exact. On that day, any person who does not own a digital telelvision set and still gets their television signal “over-the-air” with an antenna will suddenly be greeted with static and snow when they turn on their set. Imagine the horror! Imagine the fear! Imagine the mass panic! What the f%#k happened to our TV???

Fortunately, Congress in its infinite wisdom, foresaw such a widespread panic in the making and has worked ahead of the curve to provide a solution. Because of this coupon give-away program, there should be no reason for any American to lose even a second of life-giving television viewing when the switch is made.

For the record, I work in the television industry. Television literally pays my bills, so of course I am happy in a sense that so many people prefer to sit for hours in front of their sets instead of doing other things. So for my own personal reasons, making sure that everyone can get a TV signal is a good thing. But to spend $1.5 BILLION of federal tax money to make sure that people don’t lose their signal? Give me a freaking break! This is beyond ludicrous, it’s obscene.

America has many more pressing problems that could be helped with a billion and a half dollars. Dilapidated schools. Hospital shortages. Food pantry closures. Making sure our veterans don’t get screwed every time they turn around. I could go on and on and on. The last thing we need to be throwing money at is television converter boxes.

Let’s face reality here. Americans are already so addicted to television that they will go out and buy the damn boxes themselves. Even the people who can’t really afford to. The anecdotal proof is in the pudding- I can’t tell you how many times my wife or I have been to the grocery store and seen a family ahead of us splilt their purchases into two piles: one pile of food that they pay for with food stamps, and one pile of dvd’s and video games and beer that they pay for with cash. Or how about the fact that most people consider someone who lives without television to be really wierd? In the land of the free and the home of the brave, even the poorest houses have at least one television. So when the government starts throwing out money to “help people keep their television’s working” I want to wretch. Because this is a program that is unnecessary, wasteful, and offensive in a time where dollars are short and there are many things more important to fund.

Of course, politicians need television, and they need people to get television signals, so this is as much self-preservation for them as it is a nod to their contributors and a give-away to the public. But hey- who am I to rage? When it’s all said and done, the Great Television Coupon Give-Away of 2008 may well end up being the most popular thing that the 2006 Democratic Congressional winners can produce. After all, if there’s one thing every American would probably agree on it’s that life without television is just, well, un-American.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

For over 200 years, Americans from all walks of life have answered their country’s call to arms during times of war. They have sacrificed their security, their future, and their lives to defend this country and our way of life. They march, sail, and fly into battle at the behest of our leaders with a single thought: protect American freedom and lives. They endure hardships and experience horrors most of us can never really comprehend, and they do it without thinking twice. America has been engaged in many wars over the course of our history, some of them righteous, others less so. But no matter the reason for conflict, when the military is ordered into action they go. It is this unwavering devotion to duty that makes our military among the finest in the world.

As we remember those who have fallen and those who are still fighting on this Veteran’s Day, we must try to separate the conflict from the men and women who go off to fight it. We must remember that these people did not create the wars they are sent to fight. They do not decide what weapons to use, what enemy to target, what building to destroy. They operate on orders from our civilian leaders, funneled through the military command. They just do what they are told to the best of their ability. They do it because they have to. They do it out of honor. They do it for us.

We must always remember that regardless of how we may feel about a particular conflict, we can never allow our feelings about war to denigrate those who would stand and fight for us. In the 1960’s and 70’s, American soldiers were demonized by average citizens because of widespread discontent with the war in Vietnam. No matter how wrong American policy may have been at that time, it was not the soldiers who deserved condemnation.

The war in Iraq has been drawing comparisons to the Vietnam conflict almost since it began three years ago. Some of those comparisons may be dead on, others a bit off the mark. But if average Americans learned anything in the years following Vietnam it was that our soldiers are not our enemy. There will always be atrocities in war and there will always be people in and out of uniform who betray the cause by acting in ways that bring shame to themselves and to our military. Prime examples of this include the horror of My Lai and the despicable actions at Abu Ghraib. But we must strive to remember that as a whole, our men and women in uniform work hard to live up to the high expectations we have of them. Americans no longer blame the military en masse for the acts of a few bad apples. We know that those who would fight for us deserve better than to be painted with such a wide brush.

On this Veteran’s Day, I hope that you will take a moment to honor those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Honor those who have fallen in the wars of yesterday. If you have a veteran in your family, offer them thanks. If you see a veteran on the street, shake their hand, buy them a cup of coffee, throw a few dollars in their tin cup. Take time today to remember the service they have given in your name and the sacrifice they have made for all of us.

Fighting the battles of war is the job of the military. Fighting the politics of war is our duty. Tomorrow will bring another day of fighting and death abroad. Tomorrow will give another chance to confront the political machinations that have brought this war upon us. But for just one day, today, let’s forget about the politics of war and remember the warriors.

(cross posted at Bring It On! and Blogtemps)

As we remember those who have fallen and those who are still fighting on this Veteran’s Day, we must try to separate the conflict from the men and women who go off to fight it. We must remember that these people did not create the wars they are sent to fight. They do not decide what weapons to use, what enemy to target, what building to destroy. They operate on orders from our civilian leaders, funneled through the military command. They just do what they are told to the best of their ability. They do it because they have to. They do it out of honor. They do it for us.

We must always remember that regardless of how we may feel about a particular conflict, we can never allow our feelings about war to denigrate those who would stand and fight for us. In the 1960’s and 70’s, American soldiers were demonized by average citizens because of widespread discontent with the war in Vietnam. No matter how wrong American policy may have been at that time, it was not the soldiers who deserved condemnation.

The war in Iraq has been drawing comparisons to the Vietnam conflict almost since it began two years ago. Some of those comparisons may be dead on, others a bit off the mark. But if average Americans learned anything in the years following Vietnam it was that our soldiers are not our enemy. There will always be atrocities in war and there will always be people in and out of uniform who betray the cause by acting in ways that bring shame to themselves and to our military. Prime examples of this include the horror of My Lai and the despicable actions at Abu Ghraib. But we must strive to remember that as a whole, our men and women in uniform work hard to live up to the high expectations we have of them. Americans no longer blame the military en masse for the acts of a few bad apples. We know that those who would fight for us deserve better than to be painted with such a wide brush.

On this Veteran’s Day, I hope that you will take a moment to honor those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Honor those who have fallen in the wars of yesterday. If you have a veteran in your family, offer them thanks. If you see a veteran on the street, shake their hand, buy them a cup of coffee, throw a few dollars in their tin cup. Take time today to remember the service they have given in your name and the sacrifice they have made for all of us.

Fighting the battles of war is the job of the military. Fighting the politics of war is our duty. Tomorrow will bring another day of fighting and death abroad. Tomorrow will give another chance to confront the political machinations that have brought this war upon us. But for just one day, today, let’s forget about the politics of war and remember the warriors.

In government, there is also a chain of command structure, with new politicians falling in behind their more senior legislators. But unlike the private sector, where one person usually has the final say in matters, in government, when a problem reaches the top of the chain of command without getting solved, there is a final arbiter in the people themselves, who have the power to change their leadership with a vote, and as such, the power to fix the problem. If those at the top of the political ladder fail to keep faith and fortune flowing to those at the bottom of the ladder, they lose their jobs and have to go back to running private companies into the ground.

The military has a chain of command too, but for them, the top of the ladder does not end with the highest-ranking general. For many matters military, the final authority rests with the politicians. Whereas a business leader can decide where to invest his resources, a military leader has no such option. And whereas an employee may take her employer to task for wasting her time or talents, there is no such recourse for the military. Decisions regarding everything from wages to deployments to post-service benefits rest in the hands of elected officials, leaving the military at the whim of those sitting in the chairs of power. Sometimes, the leaders are wise, just, deliberative, and fair when setting policy for the military. Other times, they are arrogant, unrealistic, uncaring, or just plain out of touch. In the civilian world, if our bosses or leaders are no good, we find a new job or join a new club. In the military world, one just grins and bears it. And hopes not to get too screwed over in the process.

The chain of command concept is only as effective as those at the top of the ladder. At some point, those sitting at rungs below the top must get the impression that those above them are making good, informed decisions or else they will want to leave that particular ladder. For the military, effective leadership boils down to a few basic things: being properly outfitted and prepared; having a solid objective, strategy, and exit plan; and following through on certain promises like health benefits, education assistance, and home loan programs. Yet failure of the civilian leadership to provide these things to our military is rarely met with criticism from those directly affected. Instead, the military’s strict adherence to the chain of command precludes members of the military from bringing these issues up with anyone but their contemporaries and immediate superiors. In such a tightly controlled chain of command, it takes longer for problems to be recognized and it becomes easier to pull a fast one on the troops.

Sadly, our military today is faced with an administration and Congress that is not only inept, but two-faced as well. It can’t help that so many of those in elected office have never served in a military unit. They have never seen the reality of war that is the result of their proclamations and policies. They have never been shot at or wounded on the battlefield, nor have they been to a veteran’s hospital for post conflict treatment. In fact, so many of our politicians come from a privileged background themselves, they have no idea what sacrifice even means. They sit perched in the halls of power making deals to decrease veteran’s benefits while declaring support for the fighting forces of this country. They make statements about standing behind the mission of the troops without ever defining what that mission is. They send soldiers into battle, but neglect to properly arm them. Instead of solving problems, politicians create them for the troops, and as the stink rolls downhill to the grunts in the field, the chain of command loses meaning, and the troops lose their sense of purpose and hope.

And though America may still have the most technologically advanced military in the modern world, the effects of our politicians and their policies are taking a toll on the military’s ability to attract and retain good soldiers and officers. The United States government, through its people, recognizes the sacrifice that soldiers make for our country, especially in times of war. As such, we make a pact with our fighting men and women that we will take care of them when they have come home from the fight. We promise medical care, educational assistance, loans to buy homes or start businesses, and assistance in transitioning from the military world to the civilian world with job placement programs. Imagine then how a returning serviceman feels when he applies to a community college in his home state, only to be denied resident tuition because he spent the last year deployed. Imagine how a returning veteran of war feels when he hears that the veteran’s hospital that used to be only an hour away has been closed due to budget cuts and that he now has to travel 4 hours for his treatments, treatments made necessary because of injuries earned in battle for his country. Imagine the aging veteran who lives on the street, without a job or a hope in the world, after having spent his youth in a foreign land fighting a political war with no real plan or purpose. You don’t have to imagine very hard to see these things. They are real, and they are happening.

It’s time to put an end to the empty lip service paid by our politicians to our service men and women. It’s time to fix the broken chain. Our politicians need to be held responsible for making rational decisions regarding our military. No longer should politicians be able to send soldiers into battle without the proper gear for protection and offensive actions. To do so should be an act of treason, for it is no different than sending a toddler into a tiger den. No longer should troops be committed to any action unless an honest and verifiable rationale is enunciated and a cohesive plan is in place, a plan that enunciates a specific mission, a definition for success of that mission, and a realistic method for withdrawal that places control of the war zone back into the hands of the natural citizenry as soon as possible. To send troops into battle without such a plan or purpose should be grounds for impeachment. No longer should resolutions be passed that profess support for the soldiers while legislation passes that decimates the funding for veteran’s affairs. All funding for veteran’s benefits should be legally secure before new military adventures are undertaken. And its time to turn out from office those hypocrites who pretend to love the military, when in fact their only love is the turmoil caused by war and the profits it reaps for their benefactor corporations.

In the chain of command structure, we may not have that much power in our jobs or in our churches. But when it comes to our government, we ARE the chain of command. And it is our duty, to all of those who put their lives on the line through their military service, to make sure that their sacrifice is not wasted, forgotten, or swept away.