Sure enough the whiners are crying 'That's not fair!"

over the GI bill.

"Those guys that get out of the military get to go to school for free and it's not fair! I pay taxes and should get to go to school for free, too!"

Oh, really?

Did you write a check payable to the government for the amount up to and including your life? Not hardly. 

All you have done is sit on your ass and whine under the shelter that those men and women have provided. Until you pick up a weapon and sit on post then please have the decency to shut the hell up.

The GI bill is a part of a soldier's total compensation package. He is paid a somewhat lower wage than most and the payoff is that he gets to use the GI bill when he gets out.

Incidentally, the average GI does NOT get to go to school for free. The GI bill is certainly very helpful but it's not like a program that pays for everything. In most cases GI Joe has to work in addition to what he gets on the GI bill.

No, you whiny little twit, you shouldn't get free schooling. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone has to pay. The government in and by itself has no money whatsoever. They get it from people that work in the form of taxes or they borrow it from someone.

These days we borrow from China and the Chinese government gets it from their working people to loan to us. So if you really want to get all liberal and have something to snivel about we can say that you want to go to school for free and let poor exploited Chinese peasants pay for it.

The GI bill isn't free. GI Joe pays for it in various ways ranging from the minor inconvenience of being away from home for a few years to being crippled for life. The dead get no GI bill.

Still, everyone that ever puts on a uniform and completes basic training is changed for life in one way or another.

I have always stayed in touch with the military and veteran community and have seen this to be true. Everyone that serves a hitch is changed.

Is the GI bill worth it? Opinions among veterans differ.

One grunt I met a couple of years ago said he thought it was a pretty good deal. He feels he made the right choice. He had pretty extensive combat service. Another guy that had no combat time under his belt says he thinks it was a fair deal.

I also have a longtime friend about my age that spent a year in Vietnam as a combat medic. When I asked him years ago if the GI bill was worth his year in Vietnam he said emphatically not. He pointed out he could have gotten a job and worked his way through school.

I have been around a lot of vets. While most of them are pretty routine normal guys, I've met an awful lot of guys that have paid some pretty heavy dues. Things like an arm here, a leg there. A lot of these guys have paid some pretty hefty dues.

While I served for a while I had a room mate that had a tour in Vietnam. He didn't sleep very well and was constantly waking up in horror. A good night's sleep was a rare occurrence.

Another comrade I served with had face that looked like it had been run through a meat grinder. I sometimes think he was a lucky one. His scars showed. A lot of the guys had terrible scars that didn't show.

Little Sister, you have a lot of sand putting yourself in the same category as the troops. Judging from the way you whine about things the troops really don't want you with them unless you go through some pretty big changes.

Unless you go down to the recruiters and sign the contract and write a check payable to Uncle Sam for the value of up to and including your very life than butt out. You are in no way in the same league as these people.

You have done nothing whatsoever to contribute to the safety and security of this country. Yet you want to steal money from the coffers. You want the average working stiff  like me to pay for your education.

How about no?

How about if you get off your dead ass and onto your dying feet and support yourself? Get your education the same way most everybody else does. 

Work for it and earn it.

Oh, and as far as your education goes, you sound an awful lot like a liberal arts student that is pursuing what is probably going to be a worthless degree. For one thing the money is in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The acronym for this is STEM.

There are not really a lot of liberal arts degrees that pay. You're likely to wind up as an over educated idiot working at Starbucks trying to pay off a student loan on peanuts.

On the other hand there is a way you can graduate and get your loans paid off by joining up. The services are not picky about what subject your degree is in. If you complete Officer's candidate school you can commission as a second lieutenant.

Until you d serve, though stop putting yourself in the same category as the troops.







To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY