Kim Yaman at Yearly Kos 2007

[badsysop]

True. I laugh, but it is sad, at certain things.

The most extreme liberals and the most extreme conservatives both agree 100% that getting off dependence on foreign oil is very, very important. But because they are so opposed at exactly HOW to accomplish this, absolutely NOTHING gets done. Sometimes I think that's how the powers in charge like it (both Republican and democrat). So then we all suffer together. That's America, I suppose.

[msspentyouth]

I totally agree with you on this. Sometimes I think the powers in charge want us to be at each other's throats. That keeps us from working together and voting them out!

[badsysop]

Well, maybe you just posted this video. The fact you are on dailykos says it all though: leftist/democrat.

I can't even have an account there because I'll get slammed/erased for having a different opinion just as I'd get slammed/called a troll/deleted for having a different opinion at a site like LGF.

Either way, this woman should not be having trouble with the VA.

[msspentyouth]

Yep, I'm a Democrat, and happy with my beliefs. Sometimes, you know, it's not a matter of WHAT we say but HOW we say it. I have a lot of friends who don't share my political beliefs or my religion or my perspective on music or films or whatever, but because we know how to talk about our differences in ways that put more importance on our commonalities, we get along just fine.

There are a quabillion kajillion sites. We don't all fit in with everyone, but we all fit in somewhere.

[msspentyouth]

This woman's daughter didn't die. It's good that you didn't die, either, and that both of us have the right to say what's on our minds.

[msspentyouth]

It's sad that many who support the war truly do not support the troops and believe that service members deserve horrors and hardships.

If you "support the war because we have to support the troops," adopt a family with a relative at Walter Reed for one measly month. Take out a second mortgage. Take on a second job and contribute those wages to that family. Then slap the yellow ribbon on your car with real pride.

[badsysop]

If you support the democrat parties ideals, then why don't you take out a second mortgage to pay for abortions for the poor?

Oh, lets face reality for a second: You live in your parent's basement and spend all your extra money on pot like a good democrat does. Any extra money would surely go to a left wing group rather than directly to people that need help.

[msspentyouth]

Why do you hate the troops?

[badsysop]

Apparently to support the troops means to hope they are never sent to war and are sitting at home sweeping out a building or buffing floors, right?

Firefighters fight fires. Police fight crime. Military personnel fight wars. What do you expect?

Because I realize this is the way things are, I must "hate the troops"?

By the way, I was there as one of them.

[msspentyouth]

Did your family support you while you were gone?

[badsysop]

If they supported me the way this woman did, I would have told them "Thanks, but NO THANKS."

If I knew my mother was acting like Cindy Sheehan if I died over there, I'd feel insulted. Of course if it was real, being dead and all...I wouldn't know the difference either way.

[badsysop]

I just realize that you are the person in this video. Of course, everyone has different experiences with the VA. Some are great, some are terrible. If you are in the middle, that seems to be not good enough, of course... And rightly so.

If your daughter had a serious injury and you need help, her father can get out on a hardship discharge but that would effectively end his career in the military...not a good career choice, but that is the hard decision people make.

[msspentyouth]

We've made our decisions, but thanks for your input. I wish you luck in your decisions, too.

[badsysop]

And being in the military myself, I know situations such as your own exist (grandparents with custody of children of soldiers). This isn't easy and I know that. Since you done this, it says something of your character that is above and beyond excellent.

Your daughter is certainly entitled to all VA benefits for her sacrifice and that certainly is unacceptable and "not supporting the troops" as you say.

[msspentyouth]

I'm just doing what I need to do, and you're doing what you need to do. But, you know, sometimes in situations like this, there's only so much an individual human being can do. We all do what we need to do. And we have the right to talk about it. I wouldn't want to live in a place that denied me the right to have my say.

[badsysop]

The fact is, this woman's son-in-law is putting his career ahead of his daughter. Probably because he can use the kindness of the grandmother raising the child as a needed crutch.

HE can get out of combat with a hardship discharge but HE chooses not to. I know someone personally that got out of the military simply because his wife had a miscarriage and she had severe mental issues. With a child, it is even easier to get out when a hardship occurs.

[badsysop]

I do agree with having the right to say what we want. But from a personal standpoint, I think it is more effective in getting what you want by not shooting at the moon.

99% of the public would agree that not providing our wounded the benefits they need is "not supporting the troops" as well as giving them equipment to keep them as safe as possible.

Jump into the political fray, and you'll lose 50% of support in a snap.

[msspentyouth]

You're jumping to conclusions about our family's situation. I appreciate your input, your experience, and the experiences of people you know. I'm sure you know people for whom taking a hardship discharge wouldn't be the best option available.

[badsysop]

Listen up fattie: When people join the military, they get sent to war.

If they have children together, one can get out for a "hardship discharge". I've seen it happen personally.

The fact is this: this woman is all over the freaking place with her babbling.

I actually encourage her to continue eating hamburgers so we don't need to listen to this crap.

[DramaQueenBlueNC]

She wasn't complaining that they were sent to war. She's complaining that they were sent to a war based on lies.

She's not complaining that they have suffered physically and mentally. She's explaining that she and others like her are the ones doing all the "supporting" while our leaders take long vacations and/or "quit."

And calling her pejoratives doesn't help solve the problems.

[badsysop]

Just as easily it can be called a "war based on the inaccuracies of the intelligence provided by a decimated CIA thanks to Bill Clinton."

I'm going to be a democrat so I can whine about soldiers being sent to wars, people getting jobs at bars inhaling second hand smoke, fast food workers that have to be around grease, waste management employees being around garbage, miners being deep underground in mines, and astronauts being subjected to vacuums in space.

[peggy081056]

many people need to see this heartfelt video!