Tonight you made it sound like I am a lazy person who just lays around the house waiting for the federal nanny state to send me a check every month. I for one resent the hell out of your statements.
For two reasons, since I was a teen ager I went to work at McDonalds before I enlisted in the Army, I paid FICA taxes included in those taxes I have paid since 1970 was a portion for disability insurance, so that if I became disabled before age 67 I would get SSD which I have paid the premiums for in every check I have ever received.
I also enlisted in the US Army at the age of 18, I was made a PROMISE the same one made to all men and women who enlist or were drafted, yes I enlisted while the draft was still ongoing.
That promise was if that if we became disabled or killed by our military service this nation would care for our spouses and children. I served this nation during two periods of war, Vietnam and the First Gulf War and a lot of years of "peacetime duty" in between.
In June 2002 I became totally disabled my medical conditions that were determined to be related to my Army service going back to 1975, that set in motion the disabilities that stopped me from being employable in June 2002.
I am not getting a hand out from this nation I am getting what I paid for and what I was promised in exchange for my military service, no more and no less.
You sir have never served this nation in military service, you never slept in a foxhole getting shot at, rained on, missed your wife's birthday, Xmas, New Years, your kids birthdays, or even your own birthday because you were overseas you know nothing of the sacrifice the nations military members and their families give up every day.
The families suffer more than the military members do, at least we know what we are doing day in and day out, our spouses and kids stay home and are scared everyday, every time that phone rings, every time an official government car comes to the house, they are scared to death they are going to get the worst news possible, that the military member has died, if they are lucky they learn that they have only been wounded. Iraq gave us cut out daddy's that military members kids carried around with them, WTF?
And you make it sound like we are nothing but blood sucking parasites on the national economy, and we just lay around the house spending YOUR money while we lay around in hammocks sucking down Mai Tai's.
I would prefer to have my health back, I made more money delivering mail at the Postal Service than I get from the VA for my medical issues, the last year at the Post Office I made 78,000 counting the overtime I made in 2000, I worked a lot of overtime, but heck they paid so well, and I liked to provide for my family, do you think the VA check of 2700 a month even comes close to that annual income? It doesn't so my family continues to suffer.
But I am grateful for it, for despite all of this I know I am better off than many American families, who have lost their jobs, the factories closed down and sent overseas, resorting to food pantries to feed their families, they have lost their homes to foreclosure, many have been divorced over their financial straits, but this hasn't happened to any Congressman or senators has it?
This only happens to average Americans and we know the Potomac Princes and Princesses don't have these problems, when you leave Congress you become highly paid lobbyists.
I am not a parasite, I earned and PAID for every nickel I receive, and for your information I don't spend one dime on Medicare, all of my medical care is paid for by the Veterans Administration, they paid for my triple bypass, 2 failed stents, a stroke, mental health care, my herniated disks from falling off a tank during training, the amputation of my ring finger where it got caught on a bracket on the tank my wedding ring amputated it.
I feel I have earned my benefits, the old fashioned way thru insurance and body parts and service to this nation, just as my son is doing, my father (1914-1916)did, my grand father did (1861-1865) and my great grandfather(1834-1838) and my great great grandfather going back to 1776.
I don't have a hammock, I can't lay in one due to the poor shape of my spinal cord, you insulted me tonight, tens of thousands of other veterans and tens of thousands of disabled people, you should be ashamed of yourself, but you won't be, you expect us to sacrifice so you can cut the deficit and provide tax cuts to the nations wealthy, you sir should be ashamed, but you won't be, because you don't care about people like me, you think you are special, well guess what you are not, you are just another spoiled brat who has never had to sacrifice in a war zone or even in a peace time military unit.
You are nothing but a chickenhawk and seem to have no qualms about casting negative aspersions about real American patriots. You sir have no shame and I personally think you are a sorry excuse for an American.