dcwhip

(Source: rjwhite)

longreads:

U.S. soldiers returning home face a culture that doesn’t understand them:

The 1 percent tends to be concentrated in the southern states and among the working and lower-middle classes. With a few notable exceptions—such as vice-president Joe Biden’s son Beau—the children of the elite have not served in these wars. It’s a sharp change from the night of Pearl Harbor, when Eleanor Roosevelt told a radio audience, “I have a boy at sea on a destroyer, for all I know he may be on his way to the Pacific.”

Instead, America now has its first generation of political and business leaders who have not served in the military, and it shows. With the Pentagon ordered to slash spending as part of wider government budget cutting, military benefits, such as pensions, and college education funding for veterans are on the chopping block.

“Veterans’ Struggle.” — Anna Fifield, Financial Times

See also: “The Last Two Veterans of WWI.” — Evan Fleischer, The Awl, May 3, 2011

being in a military family, i can certainly vouch for the fact that there are absolutely cost cuts that can be legitimately made in the defense budget.  but spending on our military persons and their families - be it benefits, long-term care, education, pensions - any of that - needs to be absolutely off the table.  

it’s pretty shitty wondering whether or not you’re going to have a husband return from war broken (or if he’s going to return at all) while also worrying about whether or not someone in congress thinks that he doesn’t deserve long-term care after when they never bothered to fight or send their children or spouses.  it’s not exactly easy, folks, but these kinds of things should just be understood as absolutely untouchable.  just like you don’t want to go fight, we don’t want them to come home and have nowhere to turn for help.  you don’t get to say concussions are such a huge deal and we need to spend more time and attention on those kinds of injuries then give up funding for it.  it’s all so backwards and irritates me so much.

</diatribe.>

mudwerks:

(via Rick Santorum’s Unbiased Economic Analysis of the New Employment Numbers — Daily Intel)

[I’m starting to think this guy is actually an aspiring comedy writing hoping to get hired by Leno or something…]

rick santorum… there’s just not much left to say that the daily show hasn’t.

nyminute:

(feelsliketiffanys)

Okay, these may not exactly be as fierce as some others I post, but everyone needs a great pair of flats. And these Kate Spade one would do the trick just perfectly.

when does kate spade *not* do the trick just perfectly… 

now including serving as johnny cash’s most expensive chew toy

Not! Tired!

nationalpost:

U.S. commandos free two hostages, kill pirate captors in rare Somalia raid
U.S. special forces swooped into Somalia on Wednesday and rescued an American and a Dane after a shootout with pirates holding them hostage, in a rare raid into the Horn of Africa nation to free foreign captives.

The aid workers, American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, were kidnapped from the town of Galkayo in the semi-autonomous Galmudug region in October while working for the Danish De-mining Group (DDG).

“This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people,” U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Photo: Navy Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) team members practicing fast roping from a SH-60B Seahawk helicopter during a training exercise. (US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images)

(via USAID | Infographic: Why Invest in Women?)