Cheney again links 9/11, Iraq war

So I guess this is the time to take the Dick, GI Joe and the 9-11 Two-Step Show on the road.

Vice-president Dick Cheney waves as he greets military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base. (Chris Zuppa | Times)

TAMPA --

Vice President Dick Cheney invoked images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., in an address at MacDill Air Force Base today in which he again linked the war in Iraq to the war on terrorism.

"Our world really did change six years ago," Cheney told more than 500 military members gathered in an auditorium not far from CentCom, which overees the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. "They have inflicted great harm and have a taste for more."

To read more about the hypocrisy of the Bush/Cheney Administration:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2007/09/central-command.html

I wonder if Lil' Gussie's mommy was available to drive him to this GI Joe and Barbie play time. You know the drill...slap some medals on 'em, invoke 9-11 and "fearism", pat them on their heads and send them to certain death. Think about it. It is the perfect scam. They will create more funerals so they can make their quick "cameo" appearances where they can talk about brave soldiers, 9-11, Iraq, fearism and terrorism. It is the perfect scam that keeps on giving more dead soldiers, more grieving families and more money in the war profiteers pockets.


I saw Gus Bilirakis at the Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetary. He read from a script and slithered away during a Memorial ceremony. He didn't even have the balls to stay for the whole thing.

Gus will continue to vote our soldiers to their deaths while his mommy and daddy teach him how to drive. I hope that they remember to bring his booster seat for each lesson. In the meantime, my military family members are dedicated and over worked patriots who deserve better treatment than this. And they are the lucky ones. They are still alive and well...for now.

He singled out U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Shores for praise. The congressman, who was sitting in the front row during the speech, is one of the president's strongest allies, Cheney said.

Well there goes another little boy playing GI Joe. Let's stroll down memory lane, shall we? Rep Bill Young visited Walter Reed countless times yet never did anything about the conditions there when he had the power to do so.

So many fake patriots, so little time.

Congressmen Gus Bilirakis and C.W. "Bill" Young Have a Funny Way of Showing Support for Veterans

At some point, don't the most deluded GOP supporters understand that their party is all talk when it comes to helping those who have served our country?

Check out this headline:

"Injured Iraq vets sue VA over health care delays"

Can we please stop giving these false patriots credit for supporting the military?

Frustrated by delays in health care, a coalition of injured Iraq war veterans is accusing VA Secretary Jim Nicholson of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment.

The class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, seeks broad change in the agency as it struggles to meet growing demands from veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it charges that the VA has failed warriors on several fronts — from providing prompt disability benefits, to adding staff to reduce wait times for medical care to boosting services for post-traumatic stress disorder.

...The lawsuit also accuses the VA of deliberately cheating some veterans by allegedly working with the Pentagon to misclassify PTSD claims as pre-existing personality disorders to avoid paying out benefits. The VA and Pentagon have generally denied such charges.

Please read the entire article. The Republican Party is morally bankrupt.

Where Is the Oversight?

Reps. Gus Bilirakis and C.W. "Bill" Young, as well as Gus' daddy Mike, claim to support veterans. As a matter of fact, that is the hallmark of their service in Congress. So they say. Unfortunately, commemorative coins for disabled vets and anecdotal testimonials aside, here is evidence of whom they've really been supporting.

More cronyism, no oversight.

"Nearly two dozen officials who received hefty performance bonuses last year at the Veterans Affairs Department also sat on the boards charged with recommending the payments.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press raise questions of conflicts of interest or appearances of conflicts in connection with the bonuses, some of which went to senior officials involved in crafting a budget that came up $1.3 billion short and jeopardized veterans' health care.

.....

Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., has introduced legislation that would freeze 2007 VA bonuses for "senior politically appointed officers" — such as assistant secretaries or deputy undersecretaries — until the agency pares its disability claims backlog to under 100,000 cases. The VA says deputy undersecretaries are career employees, and a committee spokeswoman acknowledged that was the case.
"It is simply unacceptable that veterans are waiting longer and longer for benefits they desperately need while senior staff members in charge of bad policy are rewarded so-called performance bonuses," Hall said."

Until the Democrats took control of the Congress in January, there was no oversight. Where was Daddy Mike Bilirakis on whose coattails Gus rode into office? Where was Rep. Young? Will Gus Bilirakis do a better job? So far, he's been more concerned with protecting an inept, corrupt administration than in protecting our veterans AND the American people.

Will Gus Bilirakis be a "troop killer" like C.W. Bill Young?

The vote on the Iraq spending bill is being debated in Congress as I type. I called Gus' office yesterday to find out if he will support the bill, and of course, he hasn't made up his mind yet.

Will Gus be a "troop killer" like local Congressman C.W. Bill Young, who is now famous for ignoring the conditions at Walter Reed in order to save the Bush administration from embarrassment? Young voted against the bill when it came before the Appropriations committee last week, which makes him a "troop killer." Will Gus join him in saying NO to adequate armor, training, and rest for our soldiers?

Stay tuned...