- Joined
- Jan 6, 2011
- Messages
- 1,580
Folks I'm sorry that I didn't see this thread when it first was posted- I want to remind all of you that this forum is not a political platform. The President may be a politician and the head of a political party, but he is also the Commander in Chief. If you have to post on this subject- please do so with respect for the President and for other posters. We are surrounded every day with slinging around political insults- they don't have any place here on the US Service Academy Forums. So please try and keep this in mind while posting.
Thanks for posting that, bruno. The OP was about a plan announced to save veterans benefits from the budget axe. The debate about whether this plan would or would not be implemented is fair game, in my judgment, and a proper subject on this "military news" forum. It got a bit off-course when folks started to assert blame for the budget mess, however. Your reminder to "keep things clean" is a very good one.
I continue to believe that the President's call to protect VA benefits will succeed and that it doesn't matter what the motives are underlying that initiative. What matters is that an initiative was made, and now at least one branch of government is obliged to back that up in the budget negotiations going forward (one of my earlier posts was aimed at explaining why Congress would be hard-pressed to challenge it).
I also think it is perfectly appropriate for posters to challenge my prediction of success as simply an "empty promise" and that my assumptions are, therefore, essentially unreliable information (as long as the challenges are made in the respectful manner that you suggest, and without turning this into a "blame game" for the budget woes we are currently facing).
I think sprog and Pima have done a very nice job in getting things back on track with their posts about the issue of VA benefits.