Sturgeon's Law

All this while Wall Street is paying out a record millions and millions in bonuses to the guys who wear $1500 silk suits and manage paper.

And those guys in uniform who are there everyday-- who have committed their careers to serving their country and who do care and sacrifice time with their families --get lumped together with the misfits in the minds of the American public.

But someone has to stand and serve. Even if that goes against the corporate, spend it all, consumerisim that is America today.

Merry Christmas.
 

Steve:

As a vet, I know a lot of stories that would make you cringe, though these ar certainly horrific in their own right.
 

A student of mine from Ukraine just joined the U.S. army. He is convinced they are going to be good to him and help him gain his citizenship and pay for his college. He says he's going to be a medic. I hope he isn't in the thick of it after boot camp in January, but I suspect he will be. Recruiters scour the community college I work at, and they do seem to target iternational students with green cards, poor students, and anyone who will listen to their pitch. One recruiter wanted to come speak to my classes. I never called.

I've had one student come back pumped and supportive of the war in 2006, but I've seen a few come back very angry. Now that I think about it even the guy who supported the war, was very, very angry with both democrats and republicans. He was an interesting kid, very smart. But I sense he was a bit confused despite his certainty and his anger.