Support The Troops

I heard a discussion on NPR the other day on how the average American citizen can support the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was made quite clear from many soldiers that saying "we support you", with no action behind the words doesn't really help them much. Little yellow bows on cars and such are equally as useless. One professor laid out how we can support the troops with 3 points without by hypocritical, though he didn't expand on them very well, probably due to limited air time. Anyways, here are the 3 points with my thoughts on the subject.

Gas Rationing
Hell even the Bush administration is talking about lowering our dependence on foreign oil. Too bad it took him 30% approval ratings and a lost war to say it. At this point in the game, there's no question that this war was all about oil. Not protecting a nation from a dictator, not fighting Al-Qaeda, not weapons of mass destruction. Oil. American troops are dying to protect the oil fields, and the citizens that work the fields. For the summer, I drive a small Geo, and put my SUV away for the winter. Meanwhile, Americans are commuting to work with gas guzzlers and paying $90+ to fill up. Don't fool yourself, you know damn well that money you pay for gas filters into the enemy pockets. This isn't about the environment this time, its about cutting off the enemy we're it will hurt them most.

Raise Taxes
God I hate this one, but again we have to face the harsh realities. The war costs something like $200 million a day, or almost $500 billion to date. How the hell are we supposed to pay for this war again? Folks, we ran out of money for this war long ago, and rely heavily on loans from China and other countries to support it. I'm personally not on the Democrat band wagon to pull out, but unless we hunker down and shell out more money via taxes, congress will have no choice but to pull the plug. Period. Sending Girl Scout cookies don't do shit for the war at this point.

Insist on Privileged Youth in the Military
This one is classic. We the American people must demand that White House, Congress, and the House send their kids to fight their war. I'm sick of hearing some congressman standing up and telling stories about his twice removed nephew who's in the military saw combat. Jesus, who are you kidding. Ask G.W.Bush how stressful the Vietnam War was for him. If this is about freedom and morals, then every direct child and grandkid should serve some time for this nation. Least we think twice about barging into a war for oil that had no plans to ever leave the country of Iraq.