Troops Not the Only Ones Deserving Apology (Kerry mentioned)

[politicasista]

Snip:

Troops Not the Only Ones Deserving Apology

By Pamela Gentry, BET News Senior Political Producer

In recent days, the Republicans have been clamoring for an apology from Democrat John Kerry, whose mid-term misstep has been widely seen as an insult to U.S. troops (not to mention a surefire momentum-builder for floundering Republican candidates). Kerry, sensing that his boot-in-mouth statement (that if you “study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq") was both “stupid” and ill-timed, has in fact apologized.

But military women and men, like Matt, are wondering why nobody’s apologizing to them.

And they’re not alone.

American workers want an apology too. Many of them are stuck in low-paying jobs – or had their job sent overseas – while our government found an extra $7 billion for Republican corporate buddy Halliburton’s no-bid contracts in war-ravaged Iraq? About $1.47 billion of that has been deemed “either excessive or insufficiently documented,” according to a Boston Globe report in June.

What about an apology to bereaved spouses and parents, say activists like Cindy Sheehan, whose son is one of the nearly 3,000 troops killed in Iraq. By the end of October, more than 21,000 soldiers had been wounded, and more than 9,000 will never be able to return to active duty. “Each one is a valuable human life that is missed so desperately,” Sheehan says of those killed.

Does anyone actually believe it was the intent of Kerry, a decorated war veteran, to insult the troops who are sacrificing their lives every day?

Maybe Kerry deserves an apology too.

http://www.bet.com/News/PAMELASBLOGJOHNKERRY.htm?wbc_purpose=Basic&WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished&Referrer=%7B9EF011F8-39DF-4B63-8B72-E4F4D5352BA1%7D

I know this has been beaten to death so much after a tough week last week, but I thought it was positive coming from BET after they had some Kerry snark the previous day.

[wisteria]

1. No, positive support for Kerry is alway welcomed. Kerry does deserve an apology. n/t

[politicasista]

2. He does

An LTTE from The Bay State Banner:

Kerry’s faux pas

Recently John Kerry has been skewered in the media for his comments about the United States Army and its troops who are unable to navigate the educational system getting “stuck in Iraq.” Kerry was forced to say that he was just joking and meant nothing by it. The problem is that Kerry’s remarks, although somewhat out of context, were correct. It was publicized that the Army was lowering its standards for enlistment and was in need of troops to fill the ranks. Recruiters have come under fire for using questionable practices and focusing their efforts in low-income and minority areas.

The Republicans are trying to spin these comments to making Kerry look un-American and shift the public eye away from the real issues. Instead of blaming Kerry for his remarks, perhaps we should look into our own armed forces and their recruiting practices of luring underprivileged children with promises of money for college and job training, when in reality they are placing these young men and women in the line of fire, without adequate body armor and equipment, to protect the interests of their friends in corporate America.


Miles Cole
Mattapan

http://www.baystatebanner.com/letters.htm