This is criminal. The "support the troops" Republicans show their support by letting the
families of Iraq war soldiers literally go hungry.
The women and children who formed a line at Camp Pendleton last week could have been waiting for a child-care center to open or Disney on Ice tickets to go on sale.
Instead, they were waiting for day-old bread and frozen dinners packaged in slightly damaged boxes. These families are among a growing number of military households in San Diego County that regularly rely on donated food.
As the Iraq war marches toward its fourth anniversary, food lines operated by churches and other nonprofit groups are an increasingly valuable presence on military bases countywide. Leaders of the charitable groups say they're scrambling to fill a need not seen since World War II.
Too often, the supplies run out before the lines do, said Regina Hunter, who coordinates food distribution at one Camp Pendleton site.
Now, juxtapose this story with one reported a few weeks ago...
Defense Contractor CEOs' Pay Doubles
The chief executives of corporations making big profits from the war on terror are enjoying far bigger pay increases than CEOs of nondefense companies, according to a study by two liberal groups.
The study, conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy, found that, on average, CEOs of corporations with extensive defense contracts are getting paid about double what they made before Sept. 11, 2001.
And this from the Boston Globe...
Major arms soar to twice pre-9/11 cost
Systems to have little direct role in terror fight
WASHINGTON -- The estimated costs for the development of major weapons systems for the US military have doubled since September 11, 2001, with a trillion-dollar price tag for new planes, ships, and missiles that would have little direct role in the fight against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So our country was so fundamentally changed since 911 that weapons sytems - almost all of which are useless in fighting terror - suddenly cost twice as much. And CEOs for defense contractors suddenly are worth twice as much too.
But soldiers who we sent to Iraq, many of which are reservist who lost their businesses or jobs on account, have to watch their families stand in a food line.
x-posted from mrdtalk.com