Our military, of which I am a part, is socialist. That’s right. I said it.
Those “patriotic” yellow ribbon car magnet neo-cons created socialism in the great United States of America and gave it to the men and women proudly serving our country and protecting our freedoms. They loved our military so much that they made sure to subsidize our basic needs!
More than one-third of my husband’s pay is a non-taxable housing subsidy! I shop at the base’s commissary and exchange, which are government subsidized! We also receive a monthly allowance (read SUBSIDY) for food and bills! My husband also gets extra money each month because he is married to me (I’m a “dependent” according to the government). MY VERY EXISTENCE IS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZED!
But wait…how could I forget? I left one thing out of my list of socialist benefits. We have FULL COVERAGE FREE HEALTH CARE.
I sleep very easy at night because I know that if I or my husband were to have a medical crisis, we would be okay. We would not lose our savings. We would not have to contemplate declaring bankruptcy.
When it comes to health care coverage, EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN should be as blessed as we are.
Let me tell you about my health care coverage. I have a choice between receiving care in the private sector or on the base where we are stationed. My choice mirrors the public and private option. I have done both. Currently, I am on the public option because I have ZERO deductible, and if my medical needs (such an E.R. visit) cannot be covered by the base, I can go to a local hospital and still have full coverage.
Jon Stewart recently slapped neo-con Bill Kristol about the head using our military’s universal health care program as a rebut to Kristol’s nonsense.
STEWART: So you believe no public option, so even though that’s good enough for the military, not good enough for the people of America.
KRISTOL: Well, the military has a different health system than the rest of Americans.
STEWART: It’s a public system, no?
KRISTOL: Yeah, they don’t have an option, they’re all in military health care.
STEWART: Why don’t we go with that?
KRISTOL: I don’t know. Is military health care really what you — first of all, it’s expensive. I think they deserve it, the military–
STEWART: But the American public do not.
KRISTOL: No. The American public do not deserve the same quality health care as our soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve, and they need all kinds of things that the rest of us don’t need.
STEWART: Well, no, they can have that level of care, but are you saying that the American public shouldn’t have access to the same quality health care that we give to our better citizens?
KRISTOL: Yes. To our soldiers? Absolutely. The American public–
STEWART: Really?
KRISTOL: I think that if you become a soldier, you deserve–
[crosstalk]
KRISTOL: One of the ways we make it up to the soldiers, since they’re risking their lives, we give them first-class health care. The rest of us can go out and buy insurance–
STEWART: So you said that the public–
[crosstalk]
STEWART: Get this on the record. Bill Kristol said that the government can run a “first class health care system.” And a government-run health care system is better than the private health care system.
KRISTOL: I don’t know if it’s better.
STEWART: You just said that.
KRISTOL: I don’t know if it’s better.
STEWART: You said it was better! You said it’s the best. It’s a little more expensive…
KRISTOL: The military needs different kinds of health care…
STEWART: I just want to get this down: “The government runs the best health care.”
Pure poetry. In addition to the overall smackdown of the neo-con argument against universal health care, what REALLY works here is that the Republicans and those opposed to health care reform cannot refute this argument without disparaging the military. Either military health care is HORRIBLE or government run health care is AWESOME because it is good enough for our men and women in uniform.
So give me your best shot, neo-cons. Tell me I’m wrong about universal health care! I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!
If any single one of them had the guts to reply that the VA has all sorts of problems with providing quality health care, then we could all jump in on them for NOT FUNDING the VA. The problem has NEVER been with the military medical corps. The problem is with the Republicans hero-worshiping while stripping funding from the VA.
In fact, our military medical corps is so awesome that they go on humanitarian missions providing FREE health care to people around the world. First Lady Michelle Obama was just in Norfolk, VA welcoming back the USNS Comfort from a humanitarian mission and said about the Comfort:
But this ship has done more than just provide help to people here at home. It has also offered its services to those who suffer beyond our shores. For its most recent mission, Continuing Promise 2009, the Comfort brought medical and dental care along with engineering assistance and training programs to countries throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and South America. Doctors treated patients, Seabees built schools, veterinarians cared for animals, and the Air Force band delighted local audiences. The crew formed friendships with each other and with the local residents. More than 100,000 patients were treated on this mission, 1,600 surgeries were conducted, 135,000 prescriptions were filled, and more than 300 pallets of aid were delivered.
Our military is out in the world demonstrating what is best about America. We provide comfort to those in need, providing health care in third world countries. And all of it is funded by taxpayer dollars. It brings tears of joy to my eyes.
So let’s call a spade a spade, neo-cons and Blue Dog Dems. Your bullshit is about GREED and POWER. It’s not about doing what’s best for all Americans. You’ve done what’s best for our military and our military families by providing universal health care, so now it’s time to ante up and provide it to the civilian world.
What’s good for our military is good for all Americans!