http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3419840.ece
I heard Dr. (or Ms.) Blimes being interviewed on NPR today, believe it was 'Fresh Air,' about the book she and Stiglitz just had published titled "The Three Trillion Dollar War." I was a bit surprised Herbert made no mention of the book, which is reviewed in the above URL. Not only are we spending ludicrous amounts of money and, as the authors point out, much of it hidden and only to be paid out later. In addition, the VA is handling matters in extremely inefficient ways that is making life very difficult for our returning soldiers. First, they are not automatically enrolled in the veterans program when they return home but have to enroll themselves. Then, the onus is on the veterans to prove that the injuries they suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan were actually a result of the combat. Finally, and many of you have probably heard about this, their requests for adequate treatment and compensation for such are commonly dragged on for months and years. The additional fact that really amazed (sickened) me was that the soldiers who enlist and wish to receive the educational benefits have to first pay $1000 to get enrolled for those benefits. Surprise, surprise, many of the soldiers couldn't afford that amount. Shameful and our soldiers, our economy and our country will be paying the price for this wasteful and needless war for eons to come. Joan [EMAIL PROTECTED] PS Would highly recommend listening to Fresh Air tonight--aired at 10pm CST. > > Here's an interesting statistic drawn from the Bob Herbert's column in > today's New York Times > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/opinion/04herbert.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin > > Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, testified > in Congress last Thursday, that "the money spent on the [Iraq] war /each > day/ is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for > a year, or make a year of college affordable for 160,000 low-income > students through Pell Grants..." > > Chris > -- > > Christopher D. Green > Department of Psychology > York University > Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 > Canada > > > > 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ > > > > "Part of respecting another person is taking the time to criticise his > or her views." > > - Melissa Lane, in a /Guardian/ obituary for philosopher Peter Lipton > > ================================= > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription contact: > > Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
