Denny, my grandson, is doing his third tour in Iraq. He is not stupid, poor, nor was he unemployed. He wanted to be a marine!! Charlie Rangle is most certainly an asshole. Murtha may be a bigger one, but the final vote isn't in yet. Good luck to your nephew!

I have the distinct honor and privilege of working, every day, with people from all four branches of the Armed Services. Many of those I work with are college educated, and some have attended top-ranked schools, like USC and Harvard. Some of the people I work with are graduates of the service academies, which are also elite schools with very high standards. One of the people I work with is very well-to-do; he drives a Mercedes, and his hobbies include horseriding, sailing, and golf--none of which are cheap sports. I also work with military pilots; they are neither "disadvantaged" nor "academicallly challenged." I also work with kids who signed up years after the current imbroglio in Iraq started; they knew full well what they were getting into. Indeed, I even work with people who want to go to Iraq.

Charles Rangel is "trying to make a point." What is it--that he's a racist, ignorant piece of garbage whose opinion of our troops is so low that the only reason he can imagine that they choose to serve is that they're too poor and stupid to have any other options? Arrogant prick!

By the way, despite what you may believe or have been told, the military does require IQ testing of all potential recruits, and anyone with an IQ of less than 92 is denied entry--because below that level, people can't remember enough of their training to be effective Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, or Marines. (Incidentally, the average IQ for whites is 100; for Hispanics it's 90 and for blacks it's 85. On the other hand, it's 105 for East Asians and 115 for Ashkenazi Jews.)

Rangel is a blowhard who runs unopposed in his Harlem district. He proposed such a bill a few years ago (again, to make his idiotic point), and when his bill came to the floor, he voted against it.

Unfortunately, he will now chair the Ways and Means Committee. Watch your wallet.

Just because Charlie was ignorant and poor one time before he enriched himself with gummit money doesn't mean we're all the same.

Cry me a river. Most of those men and women don't want to be there. It was a bullshit war and the justifications given for that war have changed at least half a dozen times. On top of everything we're losing the war and things just continue to get worse.

Let us not do a disservice to these men and women by making them stay there to continue to die in this pointless losing effort. The chickenhawks have gotten us into a horrible war with no point, no meaning and no end. It is time for it to finally cease.

And for those of you who so flippantly dismiss the above as more liberal "cut and run," I ask you this: are you prepared for us to stay there for another 5 years of Iraqi civil war? 10 years? 20 years? How long do you want us to stay there fighting, dying and making no progress? We can't win an Iraqi civil war. We can't force the Sunni, Shia and Kurds to get along. There is no plan for victory, just continued occupation over a country in perpetual chaos. We have no business sacrificing American lives for that.

Charlie wants the draft so more of his constituants can take advantage of Military service. After all, the services only accept High School grads without criminal records who have no history of drug use. That makes it very difficult for his homies to get in. Even with a draft, I doubt the military would lower its standards to allow many of Charlies pals to serve. It all boils down to the fact that Mr. Rangel loves to hear the sound of his own voice.

Hamish - For your information, my nephew and many of his comrades in arms enlisted after Iraq. Plus, my nephew reenlisted while he was serving his first tour in Iraq.

Hamish, I agree with much of what you say, but not the way you present it.

We cannot win this war, mainly because baby Bush & Co. have never had a plan for post-Saddam Iraq beyond "Plan A": the Iraqis dance in the streets with joy, welcoming us as liberators. Furthermore, they have never fought to win; they have only fought to contain. We should not be nation-building; that should be the Iraqis' job. All we should have done was depose Saddam, install a pro-American ruler in his place, and leave. However, it's too late for that now. What's more, there's a civil war raging--so what do we do?

If we leave, it will look like we got beaten. That will give all anti-Western Moslems, and not just al Qaeda, a huge boost in morale.
However, if we keep "staying the course," as the Nitwit-in-Chief keeps mouthing, our troops will continue to get killed, not in combat, but just by driving down the road. So what do we do?

I say we should fall back to secure bases, one in Kurdistan (that would need to be built) and another in the western desert of Iraq (Saddam already built one there). Then, we intervene only when the situation is intolerable to us, like when any group in Iraq poses a serious threat to American security.

By the way, Hamish, this post was not about supporting the war in Iraq. It was about supporting the troops in Iraq, and about pointing out what an arrogant jerk Charles Rangel is, and how he has no respect for the brave men and women who choose to serve.

Yes, Charlie Rangel is an Asshole.

Hammish knows because moosh read it in a newspaper didn't you moosh. As we all know soldiers are too stoopid to read noospapers

Meanwhile did you ever consider asking any of them?

Some of my friends are on their 3rd and 4th tours. They had to go join other counties army's to do it and a few are doing it as civilian contractors you know nothing credulous tool.

I mean, I am signed for over $400,000 worth of equipment, and the care and wellbeing of 4 soldiers. so obviously I am an idiot.

'terrorists must die!'

All, repeat ALL Soldiers in the military have had the option to get out since this all started. Every one has been up for reenlistment except for occifers and Senior noncoms. My guess is that 75% or better of the E-5 and below enlisted after we invaded Iraq.
When I was first on active duty I was assigned to 1/63 Armor Bn Ft. Riley KS. Almost all of the E-7 and above had advanced degrees. I asked one of the guys with a PHD why he stayed in, his responce, where else can a guy get to do all this? He, like most of us LIFERS enjoyed our time in the military.

Looks like it's just about time for the Doomocrats to give a warm welcome and congratulation to the latest inductee into the illustrious John Kerry Hall of Assholes. Not only is Rangel a Grade A, USDA Choice Prick, but he also doesn't know what the hemorrhaging fuck he's talking about. Thank you so much, Chucky, for subjecting us to yet another implication that only idiots are willing to fight for their country, backed up by absolutely nothing besides left wing pseudo-patrician ignorance. I wonder if this asspipe has ever talked to anyone who has actually BEEN in Iraq. I've talked to them. They tell a very different story than everything I've heard coming from Little Chucky Ramble and Ketchup Boy. Most of those troops are all too happy to fight for our country, and they're not the slobbering gang of retards that these shit-spewing politicians paint them to be. It pisses me off that they'd even say that kind of thing.

My brother fought in Iraq. He's anything but stupid. He's a battalion maintenance officer. That kind of job takes quite a bit of technical knowledge. (I also think it qualifies as a "decent career," fuck you very much Charlie Ringworm.) The Abrams is a little bit more complicated than a bicycle, after all. His battalion consists of approximately 900 soldiers. There are a lot of tanks and hummers to keep track of in there. It takes a little bit of brain power to handle all that. He has a college degree. I believe he graduated in the top third of his class. He's a very smart man. Yet he joined the Army well after the war in Iraq started, and he willingly served there for a year.

I would have done the same. I almost did. A year ago, I came within centimeters of joining the Air Force JAG Corps. All of my military friends and family tell me that if I had, I probably would have gone to Iraq as well (pretty much everyone is likely to get deployed at this point). It would have royally sucked to leave my family, but I would have done it. Willingly.

By way of background, I'm an attorney. I know that doesn't exactly make me Stephen Hawking or anything in terms of smarts, but getting a law degree and licenses to practice law in two states wasn't easy. It took a shitload of work, and no small amount of brain power. And I still almost joined the military. Even knowing the stakes. I still would have been willing to go to Iraq and serve my country.

Wanna call me stupid, Charles? I fucking dare you.

But forget about me. My brother is the important one. Let's go back to the real soldiers like him. There are many, many soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in our armed services who are just like my brother. We wouldn't have the strongest military in the world if it were full of idiots.

Kiss my taint, Charles Rangel. You are a worthless human being, and I hope you get hemorrhoids.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Hamish: Don't believe everything you see/hear/read. The overwhelming majority of those troops have reenlisted after their first tour. A sizeable chunk of them have gone back for a second tour. I know, because I've talked to people who have served in Iraq, and that's what they all tell me. My brother in particular is a perfect example. As a maintenance officer, he has convoyed through most parts of Iraq. He says the sentiment is pretty much the same everywhere. To be fair, I will concede that there are many soldiers who do not want to be in Iraq. My brother was actually one of them. But it has nothing to do with the war. The overwhelming majority of them support the war. They don't want to be in Iraq because IRAQ IS A SHITHOLE. My brother's words, not mine. But they will stay, and they will fight, and they will do so willingly. I know, because they told me themselves.

Squidley: That actually sounds like a pretty good strategy. Between Kurdistan, western Iraq, and maintaining our presence in Kuwait, that pretty much covers all the territory. It might work especially well if we carved up Iraq into three new countries. It's one of the ideas that's been tossed around that I've really liked. I have no clue if it would work, but it sounds like a better idea than most of the crap the Doomocrats have tossed out onto the table.

Sgt. Gaskin: I notice your first name is Reid. Would that be "GOC's Nephew" Reid? What unit are you in? Just curious.

Jeremy: It's not just enlisted folks anymore. Officers are going back for second and third tours now too. My brother is an O-2 (that'll probably change to O-3 in the next few months), and he's slated to deploy to Iraq again next fall. He's not bitching about it. He hates Iraq (as a country), but he's happy to serve his country, and he'll head back there with no complaint. He likes being in the military. He's a lifer. I think they all see things pretty much the same way.

How's about we promote Hamshoit to my Son's Submarine? He can do double duty as bilge scrubber and plank sweeeper. That way he could avoid all that Iraq business when Chucky Cheese drafts his sorry butt.
It may be a mess now, but we all have to agree; ignoring the situations around the world now will only leave things worse for our future.

My 23 year-old nephew just joined the Army- infantry. He's at Fort Benning in basic right now. With everything going on in Iraq and elsewhere he told me, "yeah, infantry, I'm sure to be shot at". He has always wanted to join the military and become a soldier, now he is finally doing what he has wanted for so long. It was a choice- he had plenty of other options.

The only reason Rangel is a Congress critter is that he couldn't make it in the Military. He's doing the only thing left for him to do. Too bad it has no value to this nation.

Would someone tell Rangel that his hair sucks, and Don King's is way cooler? No more Rangeling on the Fox News already?

Fuckhead, my point was that ALL the Enlisted have made a choice to stay. I was an officer my self, OCS. Most of the officers can resign any time they choose, after their initial commitment is done. I did my 8 after comissioning and then told worthless willie to fuck off. Things were totally screwed at the time. Couldn't get schools, and no promotion with out the school even though I was in a slot two above my pay grade. I was a reservist.
Last week, I met several soldiers who were going back for their third tours in Iraq. One had put in a tour in Afghanistan as well. They were busting ass to finish school work so they wouldn't have to do semester exams via internet.

Hey Hamish, you smoking Crank Laced Hashish?

Kiss my ASS!!!

Fuckhead Jenkins - Sgt Gaskin is indeed my nephew.

jeremy: 2-63 is better than 1-63

To all who have posted on this topic......

Look at your neighbor`s , your friends & your families as they are a part of the American electorate who either voted for the dimocrats or did not vote in protest against GWB. These are the people responsible for the coming BS roller coaster ride as orchestrated by the LSM & the dimocrats for at least the next two years. Wrangel, Murtha , Hasting`s,Rev`d Jackson "you can be sure he will get his nose in the mix somewhere", Honest Al sharpton "another patriot", Baruck Obama & Silly Hilly.You remember these names , they are but the tip of the iceberg & will be trumpeted to the heavens by the LSM.

It would be quite amusing except we all will have to pay the bill in money & blood. God help us all!