Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Real News
Well it seems that Andy Rooney has really put his foot in his mouth.... I don't agree with ALOT of what he says and I certainly don't feel like he does....
Andy says... "Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them."
Ummm IDOLIZING them??? No dear Andy we aren't idolizing them - but we ARE encouraging them... Giving them hope, giving them the ability to carry on so far from home and loved ones which they defend the beliefs our country was founded on and attempt to right the wrongs of 9/11/01 and help to allow others to experience the same rights and freedoms we enjoy rather then live under a cruel dicator....
Andy says... " We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes. "
YES we MUST support them.... but not because it's our fault OR their fault.... The real fault, when you get down to the bottom line and really look at it - lies with Bin Laden and Saddam to start.... Let us not forget what brought us to the point of war.... Just like WW2 had Pearl Harbor, the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) has 9/11/01....
And you know while I am on the subject.... I watched the movie "Homeland Security" and I watched the Rice interview and I am reading when I can.... And you know what?? I really don't think we COULD have done anything to prevent the events of that horrible day.... Yes maybe one agency could have interacted a little more with the other.... and yes maybe the Aug 6th PDB could have been read into a little more closely but honestly - have you read it??? It really DIDN"T tell anyone to expect what happened.... And there was alot of anti-terrorism things being done at the time... I mean do you all really think that Federal Employees were just sitting around eating donuts, feet up on desks, laughing and joking and trying to figure out how to spend lunch??? That seems to me that that is how people are perceiving things.... Much like those that hear someone is a Fed Employee and automatically assumes that the person has all these great benefits and great pay.... Ummmm that is soo not true... Study after study done in the past 10-15 yrs has shown the Federal Sector for the most part to be up to 25% or more behind the private sector when it comes to pay... A secretary/admin assistant for Uncle Sam might make $38K but did you know for a good company on the outside she could probably make atleast $45?? And those benefits??? Hell State Employees often get better deals.... YES there are a variety of different health plans but there are nice size premiums that come out of paychecks every pay as well... Same w/retirement, life ins, etc... But I am off topic.... Back 9/11/01 I really think that at that exact time in history prior to the events of that morning that we, the US, was doing as well as we could to attempt to prevent any terrorist acts... It just wasn't good enough... Alot of time and preparation and thought went into that day and the majority of it was kept well under wraps from us....
And Andy - your comment "Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us"
Well it's just not so.... There ARE alot of "Ernie Pyles" out there letting us know how it really is... MilBlogs Check some of them out, read their stories and then let them know how much you appreciate all they are doing for us... Yes US - regardless of where they are located, our American Soldiers are doing what they do for us - AMERICA and they do so proudly so let's be proud of them!!! And thank you to Michelle for helping me to be more aware of my world and the news.... Til next time...
Well it seems that Andy Rooney has really put his foot in his mouth.... I don't agree with ALOT of what he says and I certainly don't feel like he does....
Andy says... "Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them."
Ummm IDOLIZING them??? No dear Andy we aren't idolizing them - but we ARE encouraging them... Giving them hope, giving them the ability to carry on so far from home and loved ones which they defend the beliefs our country was founded on and attempt to right the wrongs of 9/11/01 and help to allow others to experience the same rights and freedoms we enjoy rather then live under a cruel dicator....
Andy says... " We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes. "
YES we MUST support them.... but not because it's our fault OR their fault.... The real fault, when you get down to the bottom line and really look at it - lies with Bin Laden and Saddam to start.... Let us not forget what brought us to the point of war.... Just like WW2 had Pearl Harbor, the Global War On Terrorism (GWOT) has 9/11/01....
And you know while I am on the subject.... I watched the movie "Homeland Security" and I watched the Rice interview and I am reading when I can.... And you know what?? I really don't think we COULD have done anything to prevent the events of that horrible day.... Yes maybe one agency could have interacted a little more with the other.... and yes maybe the Aug 6th PDB could have been read into a little more closely but honestly - have you read it??? It really DIDN"T tell anyone to expect what happened.... And there was alot of anti-terrorism things being done at the time... I mean do you all really think that Federal Employees were just sitting around eating donuts, feet up on desks, laughing and joking and trying to figure out how to spend lunch??? That seems to me that that is how people are perceiving things.... Much like those that hear someone is a Fed Employee and automatically assumes that the person has all these great benefits and great pay.... Ummmm that is soo not true... Study after study done in the past 10-15 yrs has shown the Federal Sector for the most part to be up to 25% or more behind the private sector when it comes to pay... A secretary/admin assistant for Uncle Sam might make $38K but did you know for a good company on the outside she could probably make atleast $45?? And those benefits??? Hell State Employees often get better deals.... YES there are a variety of different health plans but there are nice size premiums that come out of paychecks every pay as well... Same w/retirement, life ins, etc... But I am off topic.... Back 9/11/01 I really think that at that exact time in history prior to the events of that morning that we, the US, was doing as well as we could to attempt to prevent any terrorist acts... It just wasn't good enough... Alot of time and preparation and thought went into that day and the majority of it was kept well under wraps from us....
And Andy - your comment "Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us"
Well it's just not so.... There ARE alot of "Ernie Pyles" out there letting us know how it really is... MilBlogs Check some of them out, read their stories and then let them know how much you appreciate all they are doing for us... Yes US - regardless of where they are located, our American Soldiers are doing what they do for us - AMERICA and they do so proudly so let's be proud of them!!! And thank you to Michelle for helping me to be more aware of my world and the news.... Til next time...
