Ken Catalino by Ken Catalino

Ken Catalino

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  1. Respectful Troll

    Respectful Troll said, 6 months ago

    Powerful statement.
    God Bless our men and women in uniform.
    And may we always remember to thank those who, though no longer in uniform, held the line over the last century to protect our nation, our neighbors, and each other.
    We appreciate you.
    Sincerely,
    C.

  2. midaswelby

    midaswelby said, 6 months ago

    No government document gives anyone any rights. They simply recognize them, and enumerate a small number of them. It’s unfortunate that any of them must be fought for.
    God bless all those who fight for their rights, and especially those who fight for the rights of others.

  3. Zuhlamon

    Zuhlamon said, 6 months ago

    Add the volunteers, the Red Cross, the ASPCA, the ACLU… altruism is good for the species.

  4. Dredpiraterobt$

    Dredpiraterobt$ said, 6 months ago

    Yeah yeah yeah… But you know what? I’m over 50 years old and for all of my life this is a crock!
    .
    The US military has been used and abused by various administrations and they all say that they are protecting our rights, but the fact is much different.
    .
    We wasted how many lives in Viet Nam and for what? To protect against “The Domino Theory”. I have a whole lot of respect for the people who fought in Viet Nam. Many of them had no desire to be there in the first place. But the saddest truth is that the entire endeavor was a colossal waste of human beings.
    .
    From Viet Nam forward to Afghanistan ( I don’t include the initial strike against the Taliban and Al Qaeda) the military has been used as a political tool of the administration. From Grenada, to Panama, to Somalia, to Iraq.
    .
    I will grant that there is some truth to the idea that the threat of the US military has kept assaults to a minimum. And there is a lot of truth to the idea that the US Navy plays an active role in keeping trade floating between nations. It can be extrapolated that without the threat of military action, others might hold an economic sword of Damocles over the US (say, cut off our supply of oil) and that if someone cut off “our” oil then America would devolve into a lawless nation of shivering have nots.
    .
    But there has not been a true threat to our rights since Hitler. Khrushchev sent missiles to Cuba, and our president threatened nuclear war (again, our Navy set up a blockade) But that war would not have included the Military man.
    .
    Judges and lawyers protect our rights. The Military protect our “interests.”

  5. lonecat

    lonecat said, 6 months ago

    Support for the military should not have to mean support for militarism.

  6. ahab

    ahab said, 6 months ago

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, wether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”—-Dwight D Eisenhower

  7. ahab

    ahab said, 6 months ago

    Keep our soldiers safe. We owe them our devotion. OUR country’s media should be focused on ending the war in Afghanistan ASAP.

  8. comicsssfan

    comicsssfan said, 6 months ago

    @lonecat

    Well said!

  9. chiperdean70

    chiperdean70 said, 6 months ago

    FOR DREDPIRATERBT$": We’re not honoring the military establishment, but the VETERAN and INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER, who goes where he/she is told and does what they are told to do…..put their life on the line in the name of this country. I was one of the soldiers in Vietnam, got a terrible welcome when I returned home…..but, you know, I did not start the war, I was not in politics, I did not HATE the enemy, but I had a job to do and I did it….and then came home to small minded masses who blamed me for the political actions of well-paid politicians. Sometimes life’s a bitch….then we die….but at least our soldiers die for a cause.

  10. lonecat

    lonecat said, 6 months ago

    @chiperdean70

    I never knew anyone who blamed the soldiers for the mess in Vietnam. If that happened to you, I’m sorry to hear about it.

  11. Bruce4671

    Bruce4671 said, 6 months ago

    too bad most of those soldiers didn’t get to vote…..

  12. charliekane

    charliekane said, 6 months ago

    ^Now or then?
    Did the ’pubs get confused and try to suppress the military vote in 2012?

  13. Dredpiraterobt$

    Dredpiraterobt$ said, 6 months ago

    @chiperdean70

    Chiperdean70,
    .
    I was a kid at the time and I remember the times when we would pass a military truck on the road and I always flashed the peace sign to them. i was always greeted by many on the truck flashing it back.
    .
    I know that many soldiers who came home from VietNamwere not respected. You guys came home to a left that saw the news footage of the atrocities of that war. It wasn’t you they were mad at it was the uniform.
    .
    But then, the right wasn’t on your side either, given that you hadn’t “won” the war. And a goodly number of you came back hooked on heroin and partial to pot. You were violent and disturbed. The treatment you didn’t get was even more dispicable than the treatment you did get.
    .
    I don’t have to tell you. You know it better than I. But I do know it too.
    .
    Whether VietNam was legitimate or not was not yours to answer. Some people signed up for the war, but most were drafted, kicking and screaming. The Domino Theory was paranoia, but it was at the very least “in defence” of “the free world.” Since then (Up to Afghanistan) it has been a disgrace how Republican administrations have abused service(wo)men.
    .
    And still, VietNam, Somalia, even Afghanistan… None of them have come anywhere close to taking away our rights or our freedom.
    .
    If you want to see where our rights and our freedoms have gone, take a look at this The P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act
    .
    (Which they just HAPPENED to have lying around… Introduced October 23, 2001, passed the House on October 24, 2001! Passed in the Senate on the 25th! I’m sure everybody read the entire document too![sarc])

  14. dtroutma

    dtroutma said, 6 months ago

    As a veteran of “combat arms”, I also salute those in the State Dept., Peace Corps, and others in government, or NGOs (like Doctors Without Borders) who serve the effort at PEACE in the world, not just wars. Remember, even our military state: “PEACE is our profession”. If only our political “chickenhawks” could respect,honor, and defend that resolve.

  15. flake-67121

    flake-67121 said, 6 months ago

    @Dredpiraterobt$

    it’s called “the War Powers Act”, and it’s the reason no military action since WWII has been, and no future action will be, successful.

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