The Senate Finally Gets Something Right... And a Call to Action...

I know that I spend a lot of time on this blog banging on our elected representatives for the stupid, boneheaded, absolutely wrong and sometimes downright evil things they do and that I seldom stop to acknowledge when they do something right. Well, tonight I shall do just that.

By a vote of 75-22, the Senate today passed the 2008 GI Bill first proposed by Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. The new GI Bill, like it's predecessor originally passed in 1944, will provide our veterans with, among other things, the funding necessary to go to college once they have served a minimum of 3 years in uniform. Proponents of the bill had initially expected to rake in about 60 votes meaning it would pass but not with a veto-proof majority. Needless and happily to say, the 75 votes far exceeded expectations. It was really nice to see that many Republicans who shout from the rooftops that they support our troops actually stand up and show their support by crossing party lines to support the bill. I mean really... isn't a college education the very least that we can do, as a country, to re-pay the sacrifice the men and women in our nation's uniforms have made? Isn't giving them a chance to better their lives once they've done their service to the country the very least we can do? I think so. And huge kudos to those 75 Senators that stood up to make it happen, that stood up to honor the commitment and sacrifice of our troops, that stood up to acknowledge that for putting their lives on the line, that we owe them a debt of gratitude. Kudos to them.

But the fight isn't quite over just yet. The bill goes back to the House to reconcile and vote on the Senate version of the bill. It's expected to pass the House easily, though perhaps not with a veto-proof majority. We'll have to wait and see on that one. After that, it goes to the desk of George W. Bush... the man who continually wraps himself in the flag and uses our troops as props during his photo-ops. Now is the time to see if he truly does support our troops as he claims he does. The initial indications coming out of the White House are that Bush is going to veto this bill. Obviously Bush thinks the troops are just perfect for taking pictures with and for sending into the meat grinder that is Iraq, but they're not quite good enough or worthy of receiving a college education in return for their service.

I'm hoping that Bush will have a sudden moment of conscience and clarity and put his signature on that bill without a second thought. More likely though, we're going to have to take action to force his hand because this scumbag does nothing good without being shamed into it first. So... that's where we come in. It's absolutely critical, that if we want the GI Bill to pass, we're going to have to shame Bush into it.

First off, you can visit the GI Bill website and sign the online petition there.

Secondly, you can contact the White House directly to make your opinions on the GI Bill heard. Here is the contact information for the White House:

Mailing Address
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

You can also email the White House at comments@whitehouse.gov

And just for grins, you can contact Dick Cheney to tell him what an evil, rotten, son-of-a-bitch he is at vice_president@whitehouse.gov.

Really... it wouldn't take you all that long to fire off an email or make a telephone call on the behalf of America's veterans.

So... who are the 22 Senators that don't support the troops? Glad you asked. Here is a list of the 22 evil douchebags that don't support the troops, that don't think benefits and opportunity should be given to those that have sacrificed for our country, sacrificed for us...

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Voinovich (R-OH)

Notice that they all have R's next to their name? Yeah, the Republicans are totally the party that supports the troops. Copious amounts of abuse must be heaped on these douchebags. I absolutely encourage everybody to fire off a nastygram to these knuckle-draggers. If you're so inclined as to abuse these "good" Senators, you can find their contact information here.

And most notably, Presidential contender and the presumptive Republican nominee, John Sidney McCain, a vocal opponent of the Webb GI Bill couldn't be bothered to come back to vote on it. This cowardly piece of crap didn't want to be on record as having opposed expanding the benefits to our veterans and so, he just didn't show up. Apparently, being on the Ellen Degeneress show today was much more important, much more vital and really showed our troops just how committed he is to them. What a rotten scumbag.

Today was a great step in the right direction. But the real fight is just beginning. I hope everybody takes a few minutes out of their day sometime within the next week or so to encourage Bush to sign the GI Bill.

~Kevin S.