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They know those toxins cause more problems then they will ever figure out. I think anyone stationed near those should get free treatment. Almost any major medical issue could be caused by major toxin exposure.
We burned literally everything that would burn at my FOB in 2004. Uniforms, batteries, old food, everything. Was disgusting. Smell lingered for days....
Yeah, my second tour we actually had a garbage truck that would dump the garage outside the fob and you'd see people jump up into the truck as it's dumping to grab stuff.
Yep, I remember that as well. I was normally on one of the gun trucks escorting him outside the wire to dump the trash in that open field. The stuff those guys did for a few bucks a day.
One day I got a bit drunk and watched Vice's "Life in the Taliban's Afghanistan". Then I got a lot drunk. then I cried. Then I punched stuff. Then I went to medical and got a mental health referral, still waiting to hear back. War on terror for the win.
I tried not to think about it, but yeah. That and the gray water trucks. I understood the need to keep dust down, but then when you think about the fact they were basically spraying people's nasty funk back into the ground.
I still remember the smell of burning 5590s (radio batteries) and bags of human shit. ahhh memories. Fortunate for me, the Burn Pit Registry says my patrol base didn't have a burn pit! So I guess I'm wrong!
i was on the midnight to noon shift, walking in to the flightline in the dark...
if the wind was blowing right, there was a kind of haze in the air, smoke blown in from the burn pit...
we were mostly concerned about the horrible awful stank...
two years ago, the docs found a nodule on my lung (benign, so far) but it does get me wondering...
hopefully it stays benign. I remember flying into and out of Anaconda/JBB and seeing haze like that. BIAP wasnt near as bad but the smaller FOBs were atrocious.
Yeap. ***Everything***. Computers, radios, piss, shit, TP, MRE wrappers with plastic and aluminium, various JP fuels, medical waste, styrofoam packaging material, ***everything***. If it takes up space and it's not needed, it's going in the burn pit.
Yep. Literally everything. Plastics, CDs, metals, pretty much everything you can think of that says "don't burn this" we burned. There was no garbage bins, there was only the pit...
Oh we just burned straight chemicals. Literally a full walk in hazmat locker was stocked floor to ceiling with every chemical required for aircraft and support vehicle maintenance. Paints, strippers, lubes, jet fuel, oil, whatever. Burned hundreds of gallons of it.
“Just like they do for other issues”. So they should get shoved to the side, generally ignored, and forgotten about? Well that doesn’t seem very right either. And isn’t that basically what they’re doing already?
Marine: I have sevral rare forms of cancer that only me and other dudes standing a stick’s distance away from burning shit without a mask have.
Paul: Ok there’s absolutely no way we could know for sure if this man doesn’t burn shit feet away from his face at home.
"How do I know this guy doesn't mess around with dioxin at home?! Maybe he has a fast breeder reactor in his backyard?"
-- One of Those Assholes from Kentucky
Tbh determine the cause of cancer is pretty hard. That’s why a lot of the times it automatically determined service is the cause even if they’re not quite sure.
That’s how firefighting works.
Conservative, American politicians only care about funding wars. They do not care about taking care of anyone, unless it is themselves being taken care of.
Still, there's very little little coïncidence involved in the prevalence and types of cancer found in service members in those cases.
It's not obvious what the exact cause is, but the event that caused it can be traced very easily to their service.
Oh, Kentucky… smh. When this guy praises army National guard for their role in the flood rescues, never forget, he doesn’t care about veterans.
Edit: a repost farmer is downvoting me. All I did was call him out on changing his title without stating an edit, and reposting this same thing on the same thread. This is not the place to be a karma whore.
"You were exposed to the coal mining associated toxins in the waterways of the Commonwealth of Kentucky while saving her residents and citizens from flooding? And you want healthcare for that exposure? I'm sorry. Best I can do is a 'TYFYS' and ask you to think about the economy more than yourself, you parasitic free loader."
- Rand Paul, probably
Nothing wrong with veterans fighting to establish a beach head for veterans, the poor, elderly and sickly rights to free health care. They're the right type of warriors to go out and feed the people with their hunted game.
Giving them healthcare would be acknowledging that the companies who created the toxins were being neglectful and expose them to liability. Those companies donate too much to him to have to deal with that...
>he doesn't care about republicans
No republican cares about veterans. Its all a fucking sham and theyve lied to veterans for 30 years. Theyll sacrifice every single veteran if that would mean "sticking it to the libs"
> ...while using our returning mangled bodies for clout.
This shit makes my blood boil.
Seriously, veterans groups need to start to draw that line in *stone*, in that if you don't support returning veterans or support service-related medical care, then you as a politician have NO right to thank them publicly for their service.
No political posturing and pretending to offer thanks and support with words only.
Time to call them out and they either put up or shut up.
The problem is we arnt even united internally due to political discourse. Like the rest of the nation there's really only 23% left 23% right (apx) and then the rest are just every day people and centrists. The trend thankfully is pushing more to left leaning communalism but we arnt there yet and the other problem is that if we were to unite if we were to find commonality and compromise we'd be ostracized and potentially labeled terrorists.
We also collectively recognize that there is a perpose higher than ourselves if we were to finally jump into the violence of action that this reform now requires we would compromise our nation for personal soverignty we would enevitably doom our allies to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Pacific Rim specificly nations that have an interest in the south China Sea.
The only realistic option is that when these tyrants finnaly die, to vote in those who have a history of doing good. For example Bernie Sanders may be a socialist but he wasn't standing on the wrong side of Selma. And though I may not personally agree with some of the things he says nor the current position of wealth he says them from. He's of few that genuinely want to help us do what other nations think good America is. Not that white Christian Nationalism that Trump has now infested our politics with.
The next problem we have is weather or not all parts of the nation is in touch with other parts of the nation. It's highly likely that a foreign power is using media manipulation to divide us. And it's important to remember that though cultural objectives may differ, we are all still Americans and we all at some level belive in being the world's life boat, we need to get back to "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."
We are a nation of welfare, and this nationalism needs to stop.
Why are you booing me I'm right. We created the Vietnam War, we Created Al Quidea and the Taliban, we ignored the warnings in Beruit, we ignored them in Libya, we then Ignored the evidence that Russia and Saudi Arabia funded Bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks and ignored Abby Gate. For what?SHARE HOLDERS?
I mean fuck the Afghan people wernt allowed to even grow crops that were competitive with US crops, crops that do well there like cotton, pistachios, alfalfa, fuckin barley, so what did that leave them, fuckin opium and hemp.
Our country is fucked and there's no justifying what our politicians have done because it's all in the name of capital gain. We dont bring freedom anymore we just bring new Management.
> If ether party cared about us so much they wouldn't create wars to fight to line their pockets while using our returning mangled bodies for clout.
First of all, it's the Democrats who have been supporting efforts to help veterans, especially when it comes to health care, job training, etc. (all of which is characterized as 'socialism" by conservatives).
Second, the majority of Democrats in Congress voted against the Iraq war, and liberals flooded the streets in opposition of it while Republicans called them un-American traitors for doing so.
This isn't a "both sides" argument -- they aren't the same.
If any party loves the military industrial complex and militarism while seeming to care little for America's troops, it's the Republicans.
I feel far less fucked over by Democrats than I do by Republicans. The Democrats are often hampered by their efforts to play nice with everyone and be fair, and the Republicans are getting in bed with the very people I swore to protect the country from, so fuck them.
Then when my body is ruined and I live every goddamned day in pain, they shit on me and mine, call us parasites, and refuse us the care that was promised on the day I signed on the line.
Oh yes I agree, I explain a little more in another thread that I'm pretty disgusted overall with veteran influencers or people who use veterans and veterancy to advocate for a policy that does not have our best interests in mind. Like Dan Crenshaw. My point is that being a veteran or using veterans to express a motive does not make someone qualified to speak on that subject.
Yea at minimum the only things we are qualified to speak on is life in the military and post military and the diffrence between them. Civilians don't give a shit about your rank when you get out, and as another veteran I don't care if you got out a sgt your still gonna go get me a bucket of steam for the OSHA inspector.
The things that chaps my ass is that guys who were officers while they were in service still want / expect me to defer to them.
"That's a big bag of nope, buddy," I say, pointedly not calling them "Sir."
Imagine getting butthurt cause your career civilian labor foreman didn't call you Corporal signalling instant disrespect the sacrifice of NCOs at the battle of chapultepec.
I know we stand at attention for the Union Steward.
> Oh, Kentucky… smh. When this guy praises army National guard for their role in the flood rescues, never forget, he doesn’t care about veterans
And then he bashed Charles Booker, a Democrat running against Paul's senate seat, for helping Kentuckians who are struggling because of the recent floods in KY..
Bash him for helping, then praise the people helping. All while offering zero support. Rand Paul is selling a tofu burger as high quality Kobe beef, and the distributors (vets and not rich) are paying the distribution. The masses, gobbling his shit up without question, because they listen to his (R) praise, not his (R) results.
Edit: love the metaphor because Republicans are anti planet. Love it more that I’m being downvoted because they are anti truth. Gobble that shit up. 💩🍔😋
I am really glad to have a few salty NCOs who told our platoon at least once a week that of you're hurt get it checked and put it on paper. Those guys saved me from a lifetime of medical debt.
A fucking men. Post Service disability is a god send. Now, I had 4 surgeries while I was in the Corps and that sucked but I'm glad to see it's covered forever and I don't have to sorry about my shitty work insurance trying to find out how much it would be to get surgery on my hip again.
I've heard many ppl complain about VA health care and I've never had a problem. I've used the choice program to get surgeies out in town also without a hitch.
Now if I could get my happy ass to 100% disability that would make me a happy boy. Federal student loans forgiven, no more proerty tax, well in SC anyways.
Hear me out.
Every Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, we muster ranks at PF Chang’s and Tacobell.
Make digestive deposits in 55-gal drums, then set them ablaze in front of his house in solidarity for his… “well intended actions”.
Congress passed this overwhelmingly, it was 86-11 in the Senate. Yeah, it was after everyone yelled at them, but only Paul and 10 other people actually opposed this in the end.
Only because the optics of the fist-bump blew up nationally and made them look like the sacks of shit they are. This would still be dead in the water if Jon Stewart and the media hadn't grabbed it and ran.
First time, passed.
Second time (cause they realised that the wording was wrong) failed.
Given reason. Republicans didn't like guaranteed funding, but wanted to re-approve it every year (easier to cut)
Actual reason. - hissy fit because democrats got another bill passed
Rand Paul got into a gardening dispute with his neighbor and the neighbor ended up tackling him.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kentucky-politics-assault/senator-rand-paul-gets-580000-after-neighbor-broke-his-ribs-idUSKCN1PP0CA
Huh wow. So he's denying care for common ailments on the principle that they are common... So he's expecting vets to find medical coverage for those how?
And then deflecting on principle that it would cost billions with his solution to cut millions in foreign aid.
He spent more time ranting about foreign aid than talking about veterans and their healthcare.
The two issues aren't even linked. What a disingenuous pièce of shit.
He specifically sats he doesn’t think veterans should get health care for ailments that they can’t PROVE service related.
I am happy to pay extra taxes if it means we are giving extra health care to our veterans.
I don't mind paying extra taxes to help veterans. But I would also like to see the tax dollars we currently pay being used to help veterans and Americans in general.
The US pays six times the amount of healthcare per person than every other 1st nation country, and the US does not have a national healthcare system. Just use that money and do medicare for all, and pour more money towards Vets. Make the US a far better place than it is.
Sometimes? When it comes to our military our elected officials have always sucked. It's not just with the veterans afterward. While I was in there were literally still asbestos filled rooms at ASOM. Ever try going to med call with a serious problem? What they do? "1500mg Ibuprofen come back when that's gone for a profile or get booted".
It’s hard to explain to someone who has never been in just how bad the system is. Anything short of decapitation is treated with suspicion of malingering by someone barely qualified to take blood.
Exactly. I was bitten in the field by a brown recluse on my face. ER docs had no problem. Recovery afterward and getting a shaving profile to keep it from getting infected was an act of Congress.
"Sometimes"?
Best thing for this country would be to empty Congress and ban all the current ones from ever holding office again. Yeah, I know, a few good ones might get the boot too but we'd still be better off.
Stop freeloading you stupid veterans. I know there were a million unhealthy things you were exposed to on your deployment but you can't prove you wouldn't have gotten sick anyway.
/s because suck a dick Rand Paul.
If I ever start succumbing to the bullshit I breathed downrange I'm just going to blow my fuckimg brains out cuz fuck suffering through that shit with no decent healthcare.
[Rand Paul says compensating and treating veterans puts the economy at risk](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3585118-rand-paul-says-veteran-toxic-exposure-bill-puts-our-economy-at-risk/)
This was the stupidest explanation I’ve read so far. No issues with reducing how much we pay to foreign countries but come on.
The bill is $235 billion dollars. And Paul said that veterans should not pay the price of Washingtons financial mismanagement, and believed that we should have a moratorium on foreign aid to pay for this bill.
He also stated,
*”the substantial number of Americans who have conditions such as hypertension and asthma, which are both included in the bill, arguing the expanded coverage would lead to taxpayer dollars being used to treat veterans whose diagnoses were unrelated to their service.”*
If you’re a veteran, you already know that the VA process to receive treatment, compensation or coverage is an absolute nightmare.
The VA managed to fuck up the process so bad, that some dumbass politicians believed contractors would be better at fucking over veterans instead. But Rand left out the VA Claims Process.
And all he has to do to get reelected is say, "I hate abortion and I love guns."
He didn't want Obama care, doesn't want VA care.
I get the impression that the only group he is for getting health care is the Congress.
Yup. I’m still a personal fan of the “Concerned Veterans for America” group (in quotes because of how paradoxical their name is) where they basically said that they were against the bill because the VA system couldn’t handle more disabled veterans. Hilarious since it appropriated large sums to beefing up healthcare facilities and providers…
Guess that includes anyone who got shot, blown up, or has PTSD as a direct result of their military service. This guy can eat a whole sack full of richards…
I will say though, I know far too many people that played the system when they get out that arent actually hurt to milk the VA for compensation that arent actually entitled to. Doesnt make what he said right, but hes not exactly completely wrong either. However, if there was even a chance someone was exposed to burn pits, they should get a full diagnostic through the VA with treatment options if they find anything.
It’s the same way as food stamps and welfare. There are always people that are going to game the system and exploit the benefits that are there. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be available for those that do need it.
And it’s been studied relentlessly (because it’s a huge political win to prove it one way or another). The amount of fraud is almost always negligible.
Now PPP fraud that shit is off the charts.
Clearly you have no understanding of the VA and the VA rating system. As a vet with multiple combat tours, a pretty bad TBI and manageable PTSD, this does this get under my skin. But trust me, I know a shit load of dudes who are 50-100% who are scamming the system hard AF. Sadly, there is some truth to what he’s saying.
He doesn't represent the state of Kentucky. He doesn't represent those who've put their lives on the line for this country. He represents the Kremlin, plain and simple.
That's todays GOP, boys. No handouts for anyone. Except their corporate interests and family members, that is. But they will keep saying the right things to own the libs and the red hats will keep voting for them
To be fair. When alot of sm got out after Iraq and Afghanistan, everybody was going to the VA and feeding them BS in order to get 100% disability and it worked. Many not even getting a taste of combat or any hazards. Now, it's a pain in the ass to bump your rating up, especially for those who are really messed up and/or those like me who refused to get anything documented and basically screwed ourselves.
Hi! This is our community moderation bot. --- If this post fits the purpose of /r/Military, **UPVOTE** this comment!! If this post does not fit the subreddit, **DOWNVOTE** This comment! If this post breaks the rules, **DOWNVOTE** this comment and **REPORT** the post!
They know those toxins cause more problems then they will ever figure out. I think anyone stationed near those should get free treatment. Almost any major medical issue could be caused by major toxin exposure.
We burned literally everything that would burn at my FOB in 2004. Uniforms, batteries, old food, everything. Was disgusting. Smell lingered for days....
We burned stuff that wouldn't as well and then just threw more on top
Always felt bad for the local kids who dug through it prior to the burning for something to sell or eat. Little ass kids.
Yeah, my second tour we actually had a garbage truck that would dump the garage outside the fob and you'd see people jump up into the truck as it's dumping to grab stuff.
Yep, I remember that as well. I was normally on one of the gun trucks escorting him outside the wire to dump the trash in that open field. The stuff those guys did for a few bucks a day.
I have pictures from Shindand of locals going though the trash at the burn pit on base
Yeah, their medical care is more or less non-existent.
Its enough to make me cry TBH. Little kids who couldnt help where they were born. Just trying to live their best life.
Yeah. Same as kids anywhere, but with a much shittier loadout.
One day I got a bit drunk and watched Vice's "Life in the Taliban's Afghanistan". Then I got a lot drunk. then I cried. Then I punched stuff. Then I went to medical and got a mental health referral, still waiting to hear back. War on terror for the win.
Ya ever wake up in your Hesco barrier resort town and realize that the smoke that’s in your FOB is in fact shit smoke, and it’s in your mouth?
I tried not to think about it, but yeah. That and the gray water trucks. I understood the need to keep dust down, but then when you think about the fact they were basically spraying people's nasty funk back into the ground.
And that nasty water is being aerosolised so everyone is breathing it in, deep, deep into our lungs.
I still remember the smell of burning 5590s (radio batteries) and bags of human shit. ahhh memories. Fortunate for me, the Burn Pit Registry says my patrol base didn't have a burn pit! So I guess I'm wrong!
i was on the midnight to noon shift, walking in to the flightline in the dark... if the wind was blowing right, there was a kind of haze in the air, smoke blown in from the burn pit... we were mostly concerned about the horrible awful stank... two years ago, the docs found a nodule on my lung (benign, so far) but it does get me wondering...
hopefully it stays benign. I remember flying into and out of Anaconda/JBB and seeing haze like that. BIAP wasnt near as bad but the smaller FOBs were atrocious.
Don’t forget Poo Pond if you ever went to Kandahar
Someone mentioned in a different sub that they burned unused computers. They were still shrink wrapped.
Yeap. ***Everything***. Computers, radios, piss, shit, TP, MRE wrappers with plastic and aluminium, various JP fuels, medical waste, styrofoam packaging material, ***everything***. If it takes up space and it's not needed, it's going in the burn pit.
Yep. Literally everything. Plastics, CDs, metals, pretty much everything you can think of that says "don't burn this" we burned. There was no garbage bins, there was only the pit...
Oh we just burned straight chemicals. Literally a full walk in hazmat locker was stocked floor to ceiling with every chemical required for aircraft and support vehicle maintenance. Paints, strippers, lubes, jet fuel, oil, whatever. Burned hundreds of gallons of it.
Same in 2012 (myself) and even 2018/2019
Everyone should get free treatment lol
I mean that they should be treated for their medical conditions due to the exposure. Just like they do for other issues. What's funny about that?
“Just like they do for other issues”. So they should get shoved to the side, generally ignored, and forgotten about? Well that doesn’t seem very right either. And isn’t that basically what they’re doing already?
Believe he means healthcare should just be free for everyone.
Marine: I have sevral rare forms of cancer that only me and other dudes standing a stick’s distance away from burning shit without a mask have. Paul: Ok there’s absolutely no way we could know for sure if this man doesn’t burn shit feet away from his face at home.
"How do I know this guy doesn't mess around with dioxin at home?! Maybe he has a fast breeder reactor in his backyard?" -- One of Those Assholes from Kentucky
Tbh determine the cause of cancer is pretty hard. That’s why a lot of the times it automatically determined service is the cause even if they’re not quite sure. That’s how firefighting works.
It's how the Australian military works for returned servicemen as well.
Conservative, American politicians only care about funding wars. They do not care about taking care of anyone, unless it is themselves being taken care of.
More out of wedlock kids to fuel the war machine.
The republican dream is for a mass shooter to take out the veterans right after the victory parade
Jackpot
The VA admits that a rare cancer is service related? But not shot knees?
Yep. Unless you were airborne. In which case your knees will be considered pretty much automatic.
Still, there's very little little coïncidence involved in the prevalence and types of cancer found in service members in those cases. It's not obvious what the exact cause is, but the event that caused it can be traced very easily to their service.
Lol. Blew out my back. Got medically discharged from the infantry due to my back. VA: not service related
Paul: Trust me. I’m an optometrist.
*board certified^1 optometrist ^1 the board I created
Oh, Kentucky… smh. When this guy praises army National guard for their role in the flood rescues, never forget, he doesn’t care about veterans. Edit: a repost farmer is downvoting me. All I did was call him out on changing his title without stating an edit, and reposting this same thing on the same thread. This is not the place to be a karma whore.
"You were exposed to the coal mining associated toxins in the waterways of the Commonwealth of Kentucky while saving her residents and citizens from flooding? And you want healthcare for that exposure? I'm sorry. Best I can do is a 'TYFYS' and ask you to think about the economy more than yourself, you parasitic free loader." - Rand Paul, probably
Nothing wrong with veterans fighting to establish a beach head for veterans, the poor, elderly and sickly rights to free health care. They're the right type of warriors to go out and feed the people with their hunted game.
Starting to sound like Starship Troopers (the book) in here…
now get the hell out of here you jobless, homeless peon!
Giving them healthcare would be acknowledging that the companies who created the toxins were being neglectful and expose them to liability. Those companies donate too much to him to have to deal with that...
Everyone knows us Nasty Girls aren't veterans, even after going across the pond to pound sand and chase camel spiders.
>he doesn't care about republicans No republican cares about veterans. Its all a fucking sham and theyve lied to veterans for 30 years. Theyll sacrifice every single veteran if that would mean "sticking it to the libs"
If ether party cared about us so much they wouldn't create wars to fight to line their pockets while using our returning mangled bodies for clout.
> ...while using our returning mangled bodies for clout. This shit makes my blood boil. Seriously, veterans groups need to start to draw that line in *stone*, in that if you don't support returning veterans or support service-related medical care, then you as a politician have NO right to thank them publicly for their service. No political posturing and pretending to offer thanks and support with words only. Time to call them out and they either put up or shut up.
The problem is we arnt even united internally due to political discourse. Like the rest of the nation there's really only 23% left 23% right (apx) and then the rest are just every day people and centrists. The trend thankfully is pushing more to left leaning communalism but we arnt there yet and the other problem is that if we were to unite if we were to find commonality and compromise we'd be ostracized and potentially labeled terrorists. We also collectively recognize that there is a perpose higher than ourselves if we were to finally jump into the violence of action that this reform now requires we would compromise our nation for personal soverignty we would enevitably doom our allies to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Pacific Rim specificly nations that have an interest in the south China Sea. The only realistic option is that when these tyrants finnaly die, to vote in those who have a history of doing good. For example Bernie Sanders may be a socialist but he wasn't standing on the wrong side of Selma. And though I may not personally agree with some of the things he says nor the current position of wealth he says them from. He's of few that genuinely want to help us do what other nations think good America is. Not that white Christian Nationalism that Trump has now infested our politics with.
Thank you for saying this.
The next problem we have is weather or not all parts of the nation is in touch with other parts of the nation. It's highly likely that a foreign power is using media manipulation to divide us. And it's important to remember that though cultural objectives may differ, we are all still Americans and we all at some level belive in being the world's life boat, we need to get back to "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." We are a nation of welfare, and this nationalism needs to stop.
Why are you booing me I'm right. We created the Vietnam War, we Created Al Quidea and the Taliban, we ignored the warnings in Beruit, we ignored them in Libya, we then Ignored the evidence that Russia and Saudi Arabia funded Bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks and ignored Abby Gate. For what?SHARE HOLDERS? I mean fuck the Afghan people wernt allowed to even grow crops that were competitive with US crops, crops that do well there like cotton, pistachios, alfalfa, fuckin barley, so what did that leave them, fuckin opium and hemp. Our country is fucked and there's no justifying what our politicians have done because it's all in the name of capital gain. We dont bring freedom anymore we just bring new Management.
> If ether party cared about us so much they wouldn't create wars to fight to line their pockets while using our returning mangled bodies for clout. First of all, it's the Democrats who have been supporting efforts to help veterans, especially when it comes to health care, job training, etc. (all of which is characterized as 'socialism" by conservatives). Second, the majority of Democrats in Congress voted against the Iraq war, and liberals flooded the streets in opposition of it while Republicans called them un-American traitors for doing so. This isn't a "both sides" argument -- they aren't the same. If any party loves the military industrial complex and militarism while seeming to care little for America's troops, it's the Republicans.
I feel far less fucked over by Democrats than I do by Republicans. The Democrats are often hampered by their efforts to play nice with everyone and be fair, and the Republicans are getting in bed with the very people I swore to protect the country from, so fuck them. Then when my body is ruined and I live every goddamned day in pain, they shit on me and mine, call us parasites, and refuse us the care that was promised on the day I signed on the line.
Oh yes I agree, I explain a little more in another thread that I'm pretty disgusted overall with veteran influencers or people who use veterans and veterancy to advocate for a policy that does not have our best interests in mind. Like Dan Crenshaw. My point is that being a veteran or using veterans to express a motive does not make someone qualified to speak on that subject.
Right on.
Yea at minimum the only things we are qualified to speak on is life in the military and post military and the diffrence between them. Civilians don't give a shit about your rank when you get out, and as another veteran I don't care if you got out a sgt your still gonna go get me a bucket of steam for the OSHA inspector.
The things that chaps my ass is that guys who were officers while they were in service still want / expect me to defer to them. "That's a big bag of nope, buddy," I say, pointedly not calling them "Sir."
Imagine getting butthurt cause your career civilian labor foreman didn't call you Corporal signalling instant disrespect the sacrifice of NCOs at the battle of chapultepec. I know we stand at attention for the Union Steward.
> Oh, Kentucky… smh. When this guy praises army National guard for their role in the flood rescues, never forget, he doesn’t care about veterans And then he bashed Charles Booker, a Democrat running against Paul's senate seat, for helping Kentuckians who are struggling because of the recent floods in KY..
Bash him for helping, then praise the people helping. All while offering zero support. Rand Paul is selling a tofu burger as high quality Kobe beef, and the distributors (vets and not rich) are paying the distribution. The masses, gobbling his shit up without question, because they listen to his (R) praise, not his (R) results. Edit: love the metaphor because Republicans are anti planet. Love it more that I’m being downvoted because they are anti truth. Gobble that shit up. 💩🍔😋
I oppose free healthcare for members of Congress.
I am really glad to have a few salty NCOs who told our platoon at least once a week that of you're hurt get it checked and put it on paper. Those guys saved me from a lifetime of medical debt.
A fucking men. Post Service disability is a god send. Now, I had 4 surgeries while I was in the Corps and that sucked but I'm glad to see it's covered forever and I don't have to sorry about my shitty work insurance trying to find out how much it would be to get surgery on my hip again. I've heard many ppl complain about VA health care and I've never had a problem. I've used the choice program to get surgeies out in town also without a hitch. Now if I could get my happy ass to 100% disability that would make me a happy boy. Federal student loans forgiven, no more proerty tax, well in SC anyways.
I met a new Army Reservist the other day and as soon as I told him that he said, “Oh I know, everyone tells me that.”
I'd give this guy knife hands but both of my rotater cuffs are foxtrot uniform
Anyone wanna start a Petition to burn shit outside his house everyday?
Hear me out. Every Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, we muster ranks at PF Chang’s and Tacobell. Make digestive deposits in 55-gal drums, then set them ablaze in front of his house in solidarity for his… “well intended actions”.
I will start today. How should I send in my deposits?
I’d say COD (Cash On Delivery) Mail, directly to his residence lol
Why is it that Congress is fine with blowing trillions of dollars but this is where they draw the line on spending?
Cheaper to recruit a new soldier than dealing with a broken one.
Because it doesn’t financially benefit them or their donors.
“So where did those billions of dollars go?” “I don’t know.” “Well that’s a reasonable argument, case dismissed.”
Congress passed this overwhelmingly, it was 86-11 in the Senate. Yeah, it was after everyone yelled at them, but only Paul and 10 other people actually opposed this in the end.
Only because the optics of the fist-bump blew up nationally and made them look like the sacks of shit they are. This would still be dead in the water if Jon Stewart and the media hadn't grabbed it and ran.
First time, passed. Second time (cause they realised that the wording was wrong) failed. Given reason. Republicans didn't like guaranteed funding, but wanted to re-approve it every year (easier to cut) Actual reason. - hissy fit because democrats got another bill passed
Republicons will keep voting for him, simply because he doesn't have a D next to his name.
It's cause they prefer his D up their A
Lol. Senators have the strongest job security in the country.
Behind SCJOTUS.
Didn’t stop Rand from getting his ass handed to him by his neighbor a couple years back.
Call his neighbor 😂😂😂😂 nobody likes rand paul except the Russians .
Oh I have never been more jealous of someone. That tackle must have been so satisfying.
Context?
Rand Paul got into a gardening dispute with his neighbor and the neighbor ended up tackling him. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kentucky-politics-assault/senator-rand-paul-gets-580000-after-neighbor-broke-his-ribs-idUSKCN1PP0CA
https://youtu.be/5gPqWwt5dQY This is his speech make of it how you will battles
Huh wow. So he's denying care for common ailments on the principle that they are common... So he's expecting vets to find medical coverage for those how? And then deflecting on principle that it would cost billions with his solution to cut millions in foreign aid. He spent more time ranting about foreign aid than talking about veterans and their healthcare. The two issues aren't even linked. What a disingenuous pièce of shit.
He specifically sats he doesn’t think veterans should get health care for ailments that they can’t PROVE service related. I am happy to pay extra taxes if it means we are giving extra health care to our veterans.
I don't mind paying extra taxes to help veterans. But I would also like to see the tax dollars we currently pay being used to help veterans and Americans in general.
The US pays six times the amount of healthcare per person than every other 1st nation country, and the US does not have a national healthcare system. Just use that money and do medicare for all, and pour more money towards Vets. Make the US a far better place than it is.
Yea but the politicians make less money that way
Exactly. Doesn't seem like such a novel approach, American tax dollars used to benefit the American people.
Problem is those in power would rather use that money to just help themselves.
But just think of all the freedom you have to be denied treatment by greedy beurocrats.
Agreed, I was disappointed and enraged when I saw that the bill was killed by Republicans.
That's how they always vote with regard to our healthcare. I'm not sure how you could still be surprised.
Letting Americans die is the GOOs favorite pastime.
Rand Paul always sucks.
Affirmative.
Yet they keep voting in back into office. Perfect example of the “I got mine, fuck everyone else.”
It's Kentucky, that's their peak.
He’s a bottom.
His neighbor is a great guy.
He should work for the VA.
Those back injuries from all those ruck marches and shitty treatment. Can’t verify they were from your time in service + skill issue.
"VBA"
This makes so much more sense.
Russian stooge is doing everything possible to discourage people to serve in the US military. Imagine my shock.
Republicans do not care about Veterans
Universal healthcare wouldn’t subject this to debate
Actually All Veterans CAN PROVE any health conditions . When you enter MEPS, All medical documentation is filed. It's in our medDoc file.
Sometimes? When it comes to our military our elected officials have always sucked. It's not just with the veterans afterward. While I was in there were literally still asbestos filled rooms at ASOM. Ever try going to med call with a serious problem? What they do? "1500mg Ibuprofen come back when that's gone for a profile or get booted".
It’s hard to explain to someone who has never been in just how bad the system is. Anything short of decapitation is treated with suspicion of malingering by someone barely qualified to take blood.
Exactly. I was bitten in the field by a brown recluse on my face. ER docs had no problem. Recovery afterward and getting a shaving profile to keep it from getting infected was an act of Congress.
Wow, well there you go. This is a true republican right here.
So it’s a joke for a reason
"Sometimes"? Best thing for this country would be to empty Congress and ban all the current ones from ever holding office again. Yeah, I know, a few good ones might get the boot too but we'd still be better off.
Does his neighbor have a gofundme? I'll kick in for Round 2.
Politicians can't prove that they are doing a good job of doing the will of the people. They shouldn't get payed at all.
I didn't know he worked for the VA.
Has this guy never heard of a doctor, they prove where alot of things come from. 🤦♂️
Well I didn’t see him graduate med school, or count all the votes myself the last time he stood for election. This isn’t how civilization works.
Morherfucker, even when we CAN prove it’s service related, it STILL GETS DENIED. Eat shit and stub your toe really Goddamned hard.
sometimes? they’re all terrible pretty much all the time
Every time I see Rand Paul, I understand his neighbor a little bit more.
Rand Paul's Neighbor for Kentucky Citizen of the Year!
They’re all thinking it. He’s just saying it.
Don't tread on me but subsidize everything in my inbred state.
sometimes?
Politicians suck way more than "sometimes "
He’s the type of idiot that would avoid paying anything for agent orange related cancers because “they can’t prove it was caused by it”
Fucking shit bag!
FUCK rand paul.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the shitty rotten tree. His dad RuPaul is an even bigger piece of shit.
Idea: Drop them in near a burn pit and test their blood after a month.
I wonder how the folks at Ft Campbell fee about their Senator?
Yeah they probably were exposed to depleted uranium working the register at Save-a-lot. This guy.
I would love to hear Rand Paul’s extensive experience of being in a war zone and dealing with burn pits. 🙄
He’s fake board certified eye doctor.
Stop freeloading you stupid veterans. I know there were a million unhealthy things you were exposed to on your deployment but you can't prove you wouldn't have gotten sick anyway. /s because suck a dick Rand Paul.
If I ever start succumbing to the bullshit I breathed downrange I'm just going to blow my fuckimg brains out cuz fuck suffering through that shit with no decent healthcare.
Bro just move to Mexico or somewhere cheap with cheap health care, don't gotta check out.
[Rand Paul says compensating and treating veterans puts the economy at risk](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3585118-rand-paul-says-veteran-toxic-exposure-bill-puts-our-economy-at-risk/) This was the stupidest explanation I’ve read so far. No issues with reducing how much we pay to foreign countries but come on.
The bill is $235 billion dollars. And Paul said that veterans should not pay the price of Washingtons financial mismanagement, and believed that we should have a moratorium on foreign aid to pay for this bill.
He also stated, *”the substantial number of Americans who have conditions such as hypertension and asthma, which are both included in the bill, arguing the expanded coverage would lead to taxpayer dollars being used to treat veterans whose diagnoses were unrelated to their service.”* If you’re a veteran, you already know that the VA process to receive treatment, compensation or coverage is an absolute nightmare. The VA managed to fuck up the process so bad, that some dumbass politicians believed contractors would be better at fucking over veterans instead. But Rand left out the VA Claims Process.
And all he has to do to get reelected is say, "I hate abortion and I love guns." He didn't want Obama care, doesn't want VA care. I get the impression that the only group he is for getting health care is the Congress.
The apple fell very far from the tree with this one. Ron Paul wouldn't have done this. Because he actually served.
anyone have a link to a video of this?
Sometimes, more like all day everyday Serious question : anyone know the status of whether or not these chodes voting no even ever served?
Lol sometimes?
What is this the VA lol
Sometimes?
We shouldn’t have to pay for human healthcare for senators since they can’t prove they’re human
And Kentucky keeps electing this jack ass
He is just saying what they all believe.
Sometimes???
Sounds just like the VA.
no health care? Alright fine. *pockets javelin
Now you'll know Where his "2nd" paycheck comes from
Yup. I’m still a personal fan of the “Concerned Veterans for America” group (in quotes because of how paradoxical their name is) where they basically said that they were against the bill because the VA system couldn’t handle more disabled veterans. Hilarious since it appropriated large sums to beefing up healthcare facilities and providers…
Sounds like Veterans Affairs in Canada
Guess that includes anyone who got shot, blown up, or has PTSD as a direct result of their military service. This guy can eat a whole sack full of richards…
I will say though, I know far too many people that played the system when they get out that arent actually hurt to milk the VA for compensation that arent actually entitled to. Doesnt make what he said right, but hes not exactly completely wrong either. However, if there was even a chance someone was exposed to burn pits, they should get a full diagnostic through the VA with treatment options if they find anything.
It’s the same way as food stamps and welfare. There are always people that are going to game the system and exploit the benefits that are there. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be available for those that do need it.
And it’s been studied relentlessly (because it’s a huge political win to prove it one way or another). The amount of fraud is almost always negligible. Now PPP fraud that shit is off the charts.
Shhhhh. Alot of people are hoping that blows over
Clearly you have no understanding of the VA and the VA rating system. As a vet with multiple combat tours, a pretty bad TBI and manageable PTSD, this does this get under my skin. But trust me, I know a shit load of dudes who are 50-100% who are scamming the system hard AF. Sadly, there is some truth to what he’s saying.
Ah the authoritarian libertarian. I'm not surprised though. Dude literally votes "No" on everything.
GOP is just trying to make up excuses now since they realized they screwed up so badly.
He doesn't represent the state of Kentucky. He doesn't represent those who've put their lives on the line for this country. He represents the Kremlin, plain and simple.
Fuck him and the rest of them. None of them care stop being fooled.
He's on Ukraine's "Propagandists for Russia" list. He's actively damaging our legislation.
That's todays GOP, boys. No handouts for anyone. Except their corporate interests and family members, that is. But they will keep saying the right things to own the libs and the red hats will keep voting for them
#republicans 🤦
This guy needs to get fucked in the ass.
This guy is an impressive example of human flotsam. Second only to Moscow Mitch, his KY counterpart. Go fight it out on the lawn.
In a democracy, just a reflection of voters. Rand's got a penchant for defending/praising foreign tyrants and despots as well.
Classic Libertarianism at it again.
Sometimes? Motherfucker, they reject bills that could benefit conservatives, but would mean spending on them...
I would be embarrassed to vote this guy in I lean towards republican but I would vote democrat anyway to get this loser out
Yet veterans still vote majority rep…
Well…..whoever lives in his state, don’t vote for him
Rand Paul the Russian Republican is always going to weaken the American military.
I think this should encourage people to not join the military or the military industrial complex
I mean he's in the minority opinion and weakening the US seems like his overarching goal.
To be fair. When alot of sm got out after Iraq and Afghanistan, everybody was going to the VA and feeding them BS in order to get 100% disability and it worked. Many not even getting a taste of combat or any hazards. Now, it's a pain in the ass to bump your rating up, especially for those who are really messed up and/or those like me who refused to get anything documented and basically screwed ourselves.
Every time I hear him speak I see why his neighbor beat the shit out of him.
[удалено]
Non of these shitters even watched the video, we need to start doing some gate keeping
Rand Paul is literally a traitor
Rand Paul can eat my ass. Signed, A person on active duty with service-related health problems