AAAAAAA

This is why Bush is a bad president:

He gets his money for the war.

Then he wants to veto this bill because it has a bunch of congressional add-ons. True, there's probably some pork in there as well, but it also includes stuff like rebuilding levees in Mississippi and foreign aid programs.

THEN his official White House speaker has the gall to say:

"Our troops deserve better than having essential war time resources held hostage to billions in unrelated spending," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "Congress should pass a clean war funding bill when they return from Memorial Day recess."

ESSENTIAL bloody WAR TIME RESOURCES?! Unrelated spending?! Maybe if we spent more money on food aid and support for non-violent programs overseas we'd spend less money on WAR.

chuff, chuff, chuff.

rant over.

Okay, more rant. I hit "publish" on the above piece before I visited salon.com and read a bit more about this bill, which also includes a sizeable upswing in benefits given to veterans. Senator John McCain did not vote for this bill, but proposed a counter bill and then went on to bash veteran-haters like Senator Obama in a truly vitrolic rant you can read here. I don't mind that the man is running for president* but I'm really offended that he would suggest that simply because people aren't veterans we aren't concerned about their welfare. I think John McCain needs to think about the fact that a sizeable portion of our soldiers come from families and backgrounds where going to college is Not An Option, and that we shouldn't ask them to fight for America and then turn around and say "sorry, you can't participate in the American Dream."

Okay. Done for today.


*Actually, I do mind, but only when his supporters, driving a huge black Denali, McCain '08 sticker prominently displayed on the bumper, park halfway into my spot forcing me to walk through a muddy patch to get to my bike which is chained to the sign that says "PARKING RESERVED FOR L-------T LAUNDRY." Jerk.

Nicki unpacks her soapbox...