Keep Em Ignorant and in the Military

To be brief, no.

Thanks Nippy. I dont know why there is such a large gap in this article. Sorry for the inconvience.

The military is a patriotic group. For the most part, they are not stupid. The burger flippers for the most part lack motivation and drive, the members of the military have motivation and drive. The military does offer opportunities.

Marty I think you are missing the point. This isnt about the military persay but the lack of quality education in this country.

Lori, I was just answering the question. I can amplify but I think you already said pretty much what I would say.

Nippy no worries you got "it" I was just answering Marty. He didnt get "it"

And the gap I was talking about is the gap between the article and the groups I posted too...I dont know why the formatting came out like that.

Part of it is the "culture" of poverty. Ruby Payne has a great book about poverty. Some don't want to learn or are discouraged to learn by their parents for fear that they will be "lost".

Amanda I dont know if I buy all the culture of poverty stuff.

Nope, but I like the way you expressed yourself in an intellectual way, thanks

I'm not sure I understand this article. Are you into the John Kerry train of thought that dummies end up in the military? Because that's just not true.

What's your idea of a quality education?

Hey Lera. My point is...and no it isnt the same thing as John Kerry's. With the way our country is going we will have no educational budget but a HUGE military budget. We spend next to nothing on education compared to defense. Its almost as if the politicians say we dont need educated people just people who are willing to join the military.'

Does that make sense?

I get it now. Lori, persoanlly I think that the schools need to do a better job. There are some things that can't be fixed by throwing more money at it. Already 60% of my property taxes go to the schools in my area.

As far as colleges. I just got a check for over $900.00 from a student grant. That more than pays for the two classes I'm taking.

Lera but what about the areas of this country that arent middle class? I realize that not everything can be fixed by money but you still need money to buy the basics. Computers and books and that type of thing. The hardest hit areas are the people living below the poverty level that dont have people paying alot of property taxes.

Cool Lera about going to school what classes are you taking. I am going to. Trying to finish up my degree.

Lori,....Not sure why you compare education or more so "lack of" with the Military when almost EVERY program in America gets more funding then our school's,...the sad part is a lot of teachers just don't care,...in turn the ones who really do never seem to get the recognition they deserve. I have a child who I now home school because they passed him on to the 4Th grade with a second grade education,...I begged them to hold him back,.they said "No, because it will have a heavy factor on his self-esteem".....I guess they think stupid makes you feel better.....it's a sad situation all around.

Christene the reason I compared education to military spending is both are important but the descrepancy in spending is severe....our nation spends 90% more on military then on teaching our children.

I'm a broken record on this subject. Public education and public libraries are two of the most important government services. If we want an informed electorate we have a responsibility to offer everyone free access to knowledge.

Nippy I am with you. Knowledge is powers.

Christene, The reason they passed your boy is that the school gets federal money for every kid they promote. It's not education in the schools it's money. Schools have beecome mired down in federal regulations and dependant on federal funds. Especially if they have the 'No Child Left Behind". Montana let the Feds know we don't need it and will not impliment that program.

Flipping burgers? I thought that job was reserved for MBAs

Our Military has the best training and more opportunites for education than you realize. I got my MBA while serving in the army plus two other degrees in unrelated subjects. History and Theology. Before anyone says that can't be done remember I was in the Army and going to school before all the colleges got so uppity and would accept credits from other colleges, as well as correspondence courses.

Colonel George while I appreciate that the way it used to be it isnt like that anymore. My husband served his country as a Marine and those benefits that you enjoyed are now gone.

Great Article, well put, and worth thinking about. Thanks Lori.

Good article. There are lots of smart folks in our military for sure, but there are also lots of poorly educated folks who take that route to try to better themselves, and do become better educated.

That said, military spending is destroying our country like it did to the Soviet Union. We created a monster during the cold war, and it never died. They even went so far as to create a new enemy....by either planning or letting 9/11 happen with prior knowledge. Without an enmey or perceived enemy, military spending would drop drastically, and the billionaires who own our government would not keep getting richer off of unecessary miltary spending.

The trillions upon trillions of dollars we have wasted on nukes, and B1 bombers..and military installations is beyond comprehension. And most Americans really believe our elite military botched 9/11 so badly? They are fricken monitoring my post here right now, and you think they accidently forgot to go after rogue planes on 9/11?

These idiots want all Americans to become dumber and dumber...why else import all the illegal aliens that threaten our national security? It's all about the big boys making massive amounts of money, and running our government with it. The military are peons to these folks. Why else do you think our soldiers get no respect from our government? They use them, and discard them!

Oddly enough, the military is having trouble meeting its recruitment goals. Perhaps some people don't want to spend eight years shuffling back and forth between Iraq and Afghanistan. A recent 20,000.00 enlistment bonus picked up the pace, but increased the taxpayers tab. Entering the Army as an E-1 during Vietnam, my base pay was $87.90 a month. Two years later, as an E-4 receiving combat pay of $65.00 a month, I earned a whopping $276.51 a month. Today, an E-1 earns 1,301.40 and after basic training 1,458.90. As an E-4 today with over two years service and station in Iraq, my base pay would be just over 2,000.00 a month before a number of other housing, family, etc. etc. benefits were added. Top ranked career enlisted men could earn 80,000.00 a year. Some reenlistment bonuses for enlisted men exceed 100,000.00. Private military companies like Blackwater and KBR pay much better. Who needs high school or minimum wage.

A 10! One glitch, your article requires critical thinking and, apparently, nobody's teaching that!

The money being taken from the education programs and health care isn't necessarily being channelled into DOD. It's being channelled into ridiculous programs for solar cow washers and how to make illegals legal so that the number go down and look good but solves no problems. In southern states like Arizona and New Mexico, the health care crisis can be laid directly on the doorstep of illegals who take medical care (care that must be rendered under the law) and never pay for it. It's bankrupting the healthcare system. These illegals pay nothing back into the system in the way of taxes and yet milk the system for food stamps and medical care. DOD? Never said they were perfect or that any military system was cheap.

A few questions to ponder:
Why do doctors and lawyers make more money than the people who teach and care for our children, the children who are the future of our country?

Why are people defending the rights of illegals who have no rights under the law, who take from the system like leeches and give nothing back?

Why do people always blame DOD instead of looking for a real answer?

My point? We live in a culture of blame instead of action and then wonder why the politicians play us like trout.

This administration has failed to create opprotunities across the board for people. A lot of times the military is the only option for kids that want to better themselves. The other option for most is finishing school with $50,000 in student loans. I did six years in the military, saw the way it was going and got out.

It is a shame that the statements you posted are true. :(

I think that more attention should be given to education, but not at the cost of the military. The US has too many critical foreign obligations that cannot be sacrificed. Our military is the only thing that is preventing the world from falling into chaos. And even so, America still has the best schools in the world. There is a reason why the smartest people on the planet get their education in the US, and not in their home countries.

And for the record Tony, the military does not screw you if you are injured. You can still work for the military and get free healthcare for youself and the rest of your family. The healthcare in the military is among the best in the world. What we heard about at Walter Reid is not a reflection of the entire system.

LMAO Tony the tiger more like it..

I agree the education in this country is severly lacking - Have you ever paid attention to my spelling and grammar? Awful, isn't it? Prime example and I grew up upper middle class household.

What I see now, only scares me more. Cut this, rush that, lets demand that these kids education be based on 1 stupid test so if they pass, obviously they got it all, nevermind that, it wasnt what was taught during the year, or that someone could have christmas treed and passed the whole bloody test, or, some of us are awful testors and get sick when your whole year is on the line.

Wait which one said something about we are the smartest in the world, are you kidding me? Have you ever stepped outside of that bubble or had a conversation with someone from outside this country? I bet they know where our country is, do you know where they all are? Have you looked at china lately? I mean that is the most absurd comment I have ever heard. I understand one should love their country, but dont be ignorant.