I will also note that Ruth has written a strong report that went up tonight. I planned to write about Iraq but between C.I. and Ruth today, I really feel like I have so little to add. "Should This Marriage Be Saved?" I can add that link. That's from before I started this site, from the first week in December 2004. C.I. wrote it and it still captures the need for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. I hope I've linked to that before but I may not have. I am linking to it now. It's important and still timely. And one more thing I can do is help get the word out on a March 20th action put together by numerous groups including A.N.S.W.E.R.
So I'll focus on some other news. A Detroit plane had someone claiming to be a terrorist. He apparently had fire crackers or something more powerful. Details are still sketchy. The link goes to Politico so you do have the option to listen to it. You can also read this BBC story on the incident. Politico also has the story of John Edwards building homes in El Salvador. You'd think with his cheating and the fact that his wife's cancer is terminal, he'd instated spend his time by her side. But John Edwards is always about finding the PR and trying to make himself look good.
C.I.'s covered the VA scandal of refusing to pay the GI Bill benefits in a timely manner for months and hit on it again yesterday because there are "thousands" of veterans still waiting on their checks for last semester. For last semester. If you're not getting what a problem this is, listen to this individual story Marisa Schultz (Detroit News) offers in her look at the issue:
Tom Tiefry, an Eastern Michigan University student and U.S. Marine, is among the thousands waiting for his money. Without any income, the Afghanistan war vet has been draining his savings, can't move out of his mom's home in Gibraltar and hopes his beat-up 1994 Chevrolet Camaro can survive the commute during the Michigan winter.
"It's very frustrating," said Tiefry, 23.
He made a commitment to his country for four years of service and views the delay in his GI Bill funds as the government not honoring its commitment to him.
"My word was good," Tiefry said. "But it wasn't a given that their's was. It never crossed my mind that this sort of thing could happen."
You might also try realizing that some of these veterans have children. That some of these veterans are the sole provider for their children. And today is Christmas. And their benefit checks that should have arrived August 1st never did. While they try to pull together a Christmas for their kids.
