A poor gal named Marianne Stringer, from Florida, lost her husband to Agent Orange-related cancer he picked up in Vietnam, THANK YOU ROBERT MCNAMARA, and has since written hundreds of congressmen about increasing benefits for military families, because come on. One such letter went to the office of Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, a member of the Armed Services Committee, and said, “Please, help us to understand your reluctance in supporting [her effort]… If you do not understand the clear intent of this bill, we will be happy to furnish you with any information you may be seeking.” Unfortunately for everyone, the Thornberry aide who responded to Stringer happened to be an Evil Dick from Hell. MORE »

Despised warmonger Dick Cheney continues to be an evil sack of shit who can’t even pretend to like war veterans. The hate-filled colostomy bag was scheduled to lecture a group of injured war veterans about how he evaded the draft through five deferments, but the veterans group finally told him to get fucked after he demanded the maimed heroes be sequestered for hours before he delivered his bitter propaganda. MORE »

Here is American President George W. Bush’s special message to a friendly contestant on NBC’s Deal Or No Deal last night. The contestant was a soldier in Iraq who won many Purple Hearts. Bush honors his service by making jokes about how low his approval rating is and how Congress is incapable of effecting positive change on a single person’s life. [NBC]

Now this is a creative graphic from America’s Magazine of Record, Time, which will grace the cover for its upcoming green issue. (Hey, wasn’t that Vanity Fair’s gimmick-issue to begin with?) Of course it is a play on the famous Iwo Jima photo/statue from World War II, which was a fake to begin with. Naturally, Iwo Jima veterans are very offended that their fake posing photo is being used to promote something as Communist as saving the environment. MORE »

This new ad comes from the group VoteVets.org, attacking John McCain’s warmongering. Clearly, these people are only veterans because they cut and ran — real soldiers deploy for 1000 years, which is how long John McCain will keep us in Iraq. It would be pretty girly to leave, which is what this literal girl veteran did once and wants her baby to do again. Meet these familial SURGE-deniers, after the jump. MORE »

Giving donations to charities set up to help wounded veterans is a really, really good thing, except when the charities are designed to enrich themselves and their friends and don’t give a crap about really helping veterans. And, naturally, there are plenty of those.

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Have you heard about a more innocent era, when everybody dressed sharp and we actually fought (and won!) wars against actual heavily armed military enemies and you could go to the bathroom without a senator trying to rape you? And do you like any combination of these things: America, The Troops, Veterans, Half-Naked Girls, Nostalgic Half-Naked Girl Pinups, and/or calendars? Oh good, then you may enjoy the Pinups For Vets calendar of nostalgic World War II-style pinup pictures of this pretty gal, Gina Elise. Somehow it is a fund-raising thing, for veterans?

Pin Ups For Vets

The Navy is apparently out of purple hearts, so now no one in Iraq will get hurt anymore! [Houston Chron]

* John Warner and his merry band of Senate outlaws demand more attention for their troop escalation-opposition-resolution. Harry Reid says, “WTF?” [WP]
* The House, meanwhile, is going right ahead. Will figure out what to say as they go. [NYT]
* Of course, 3,000 of the 21,500 additional troops are already there, getting their helicopters blowed up. [LAT]
* Iraq war veteran Jon Soltz and his not-so-merry band of surly veterans hang around hill offices telling war stories and dropping criticism of Bush and Cheney like it’s hot. [WP]
* Barry Hussein gets cocky, asks the FEC questions about what to do after he wins the nomination. [WP, NYT]
* Government makes a cartoon of itself by asking other countries if pilots flying internationally can be armed to the teeth. [USAT]
* Bald eagles that shed tears for America, now shed their trees, blood. [NYT]

* Donald Rumsfeld looks forward to criminal prosecution, hopes to be the Tim Robbins character when he finally gets to jail. [The Carpetbagger Report]
* Stay tuned to Comedy Central for his cell mates bios and an interactive prison yard game. [Comedy Central Insider]
* Angry Democrat mob chases well paid assholes, looks to jam things up their well paid assholes. [Whiskey Bar]
* Conservatives looking to find a new bogeyman to inspire fear and loathing in Middle America, turn to the gay illegal Mexican immigrant. [Boozhy]
* Ballot counting in unresolved Ohio race on hold till after the Ohio State-Michigan football game next week. [Think Progress]
* Market efficiencies allowed the business lobby to already be puckered and ready for Democratic ass kissing. [The Hill Blog]
* Happy Veteran’s Day: “The Marine Corps Rules for Gun Fighting.” [The Evangelical Outpost] MORE »

• The Supreme Court strikes down the Bush Administration’s plan to try Guantanamo detainees before military commissions, as violative of both U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions. [NYT, WSJ, USAT, WP]

• The Court’s ruling places constitutional limits on Bush’s use of executive power in the war on terror and raises questions concerning how the Guantanamo Bay detainees’ cases should now be handled. Republicans are hoping to craft a legislative fix. [WP, NYT, LAT]
• As midterm elections approach, Senate Republicans are trying to figure out how to move forward on immigration reform and reach a compromise with their colleagues in the House. [WP]
• The House Republicans’ aggressive stance on immigration may harm Bush’s effort to improve the GOP’s standing with Latino voters. [WP]

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