Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Time To Order Pizza, Lots Of Them



Let them eat oil, To paraphrase a dead French queen.


You know the men in women in the Armed Forces can't catch a break. On one side you have many of the right-wing middle class offering platitudes of support as they happily send off soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen to fight in conflicts they would never allow their own children to participate. Don't believe me? I sure as Hell didn't see any long World War Two era-like lines of patriotic men rushing to join up as the World Trade Center towers lay in smoky rubble back in 2001. Yeah, going over and killing in some far away land is all fine and dandy as long as Suburban Johnny and Jane lounging next a pool don't have their college plans interrupted.

Now spanning the political spectrum leftward from the basic independent to many on the liberal/progressive side of things there is a cool indifference to outright contempt of the Armed Forces. The attitude that I seen can be boiled down to the belief that those "people" volunteered and after all they are dumb brutes and maybe something far worse. Speaking strictly for myself on the dumb part, I plead guilty as charged but it is pure ignorance to think that of the vast majority of the people in the military.

If just wasn't bad enough that the military has to put up with platitudes, indifference, contempt, multiple combat tours, killer stress, and financial concerns to name a very few now those serving have to play guinea pig so the White House can show people Gulf Coast seafood is safe to eat. I'm down with that, as long as Mrs. Obama and those brave souls polishing seats in Congress load up on the shrimp cocktail as well. As someone who spent years dealing with the nightly mystery meat served up in the mess halls provided by some unknown lowest bidder I can't help but feel this is above and beyond the call of duty.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus wants the Pentagon to buy as much Gulf seafood as possible to help the region's seafood industry recover from the damage of BP's oil spill.
Secretary Mabus reportedly told the Defense Commissary Agency, which operates a worldwide chain of 284 commissaries to provide groceries to military personnel, "that we should be buying Gulf Coast seafood," according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
"He expressed what we wanted to hear; he is in favor of the federal government buying seafood from the Gulf," Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, said.
Although the federal government has claimed that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat, experts told Raw Story they had serious concerns about the long-term effects of consuming Gulf seafood.
Multiple independent lab tests have found high volumes of crude oil and other harmful hydrocarbons in Gulf shrimp.

11 comments:

Ranch Chimp said...

Nice posting indeed Bum. I feel that military and veteran's are one of the most abused segment's of American society, as well as children in this country ... the same bloody hypocrisy in my opinion. I never served ... but actually tried to get into the Navy, failed my written (17 yrs old) and was told to retake it later, but when the time came I was in Dade County Jail in Miami on a car theft charge without a bail because of a pending bench warrant in New York, charged with stealing a car in Wheeling, WV and driving it to Miami and dumping it, which I didnt actually do I may add ... I mean I was a passenger and drove it, but didnt know it was stolen, I was acquitted later and after New York refused also to extradite me back (long story) ... but it was a dream of mine since around 12 to join the Navy and see the world ... well ... so much for dream's, heh? ... I also carried a draft card then (called "selective service card" I reckon), which was , mandatory in USA by law ... when you got pulled over for instance and looked young back then, cops generally asked for that as well as liscense, although then ... the war was winding down and troop's were getting withdrawn from Nam ... but I never protested the draft. I knew quite a few folk's that served too. I am very pro defense Bum ... however what really urk's me these day's is the type of war's we are engaged in, which I dont really feel are about defending our nation ... I feel that are strongly corporate influenced only. That's just my opinion though.

Weird thing to me ... was several kid's at my daughter's high school here in Dallas that I talked to back almost a decade now, actually only joined the military because they were from lower income familia's and it was the only way they could get further education, including my own niece in S. California who just graduated high school last year, and is already now in Afghanistan (Army)

Commander Zaius said...

Ranch: That is something that has always bugged me about the military, from my own experience in basic we had a couple of guys who loved everything about being a soldier but upon further review one small item turned up and they both were kicked out. We were down to less than two weeks before finishing all our training and they still kicked out one of those guys. He was damn near "Super Soldier" of the cycle, a very hard award to win.

On the other hand I saw them keep a bunch of low-life slugs and only kicked them out after they really screwed up.

I'm not a very religious man but I have this habit of saying prayers for people serving who are in harm's way, will remember your niece. It can't hurt.

Randal Graves said...

Hell with the seafood, just feed the politicians oil and be done with 'em.

lime said...

horrid. unacceptable. shameful. not until it's served at every white house meal and at every senator and congressman's home.

Middle Ditch said...

I'm totally with Randal here

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Pawns in yet another experiment (the Iraq War, obviously being the worst of them).

Commander Zaius said...

Randal: Zing.

Lime: As someone who supported Obama I can't help but take this as a callous disregard of the men and women have serve this country. Yeah, the food in the army has never been the best but we never had to worry about toxic chemicals.

Middle Ditch: At first I had some obnoxious story to include in the post about army MRE's (field rations) but it was just to sickening.

Will: It isn't the first time and given current political condition probably not the last.

Akelamalu said...

That's disgraceful! :0

Ranch Chimp said...

Thanx as far as the prayer for my niece, Im not religious myself, but I never considered one saying a prayer as "religious" anywayz ... more of individual spiritualism. I look at organized mainstream religion as bullshit, pretty much similar to corporate manuevering and having nothing to do with spiritualism or any related.

Distributorcap said...

my father spent 3 years in the Army in post-war occupied Japan (or something like 3 years) - and the ONLY thing he ever complained about (as stories to the kids) - was the food.

he was (and is) a proud Army guy

today - all he talks about is Congress' complete and total contempt for the military - and how they treat the real soldiers as pawns in some sort of power chess game.

and dont get him started on Bush's lies into war - all he says he George Bush never flew over Hiroshima - after than experience he said war of choice is NEVER an option.

even at age 82 somethings are indelibly etched in one's mind

Unknown said...

Huh. Next you know, they'll be serving my public school students shrimp scampi in the cafeteria, too. :-/