Am I Missing Something Here, Mr. Rangel?

[HARDCORE]

I just read a piece in which the Honorable Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) talked about his plans to level the playing field. And although I have an opinion on just about every aspect of his rhetoric (agree or not), I am forced to address but a single critical issue espoused by Congressman Rangel and several of his fellow Liberals, that being the potentiality of war with Iraq!

Mr. Rangel, along with several other learned member of Congress from his side of the aisle, mentioned cutting off college deferments and reinstituting the draft as a way of, as he put it, enlightening the people who make the decisions to go to war. The Congressman feels that if the kids of those with the power and money were themselves placed in harm?s way (his words), the (Conservative I assume) Powers That Be would be far less likely to start a conflict with, in this case, Iraq!?

I, like many of you, am anything but the elitist conservative that Mr. Rangel suggests that the parents of all college students are. Quite to the contrary in fact, I am an older American and the proud parent of a kid who had to struggle through high school on my extremely meager income, derived totally from Social Security! I am also a man who has a claim pending for service connected, and I am here to tell you what many of you already know, that being that it is a struggle every month to just pay the rent on our trailer and eat at the same time!

My son, like many of yours is going to college by the grace of God and loans and scholarships that will have my family (and the boy) in debt for many years to come! The boy is in college, not because of my practically non-existent bank balance, or my less than $1000 a month income, but rather (again like many of you) because he showed real promise in High School and a desire to make this nation a little better off for him having been here!

As a matter of fact, most of the college kids that I met at his school are in a similar boat, and many can not even afford medical insurance should they get ill and are lucky to eat two meals a day! Their hours are long, the work is hard, and quite a few are forced, as my son was in his first year, to labor on campus to earn enough between classes to pay for hair cuts, a snack now and then, his laundry and if lucky, a movie in town once a month! He did this by dumping trash containers, washing windows, and doing clean up around the campus (Janitorial)!

The course of study at my son?s college (aviation) is one in which they learn skills that will not make them wealthy, but rather will improve the things that make our nation great. As a matter of fact, many of the kids on his campus are members of the ROTC. And all of these students that I had the privilege of meeting, and their dedicated teachers too, were patriotic to the core!

One of the things that Congressman Rangel elaborated upon was the programs that benefit the less fortunate, such as Social Security and Medicare, both of which I, like many of you are on! Congressman Rangel did, however, lament the cuts to education. Yet at the same time, it seems to me that he seeks to rip the kids of the middle class and poor, as well as the more affluent, from the colleges that have given these young men and women a chance at a better future for themselves and our country! By doing so, is not the Honorable Congressman and his cohorts, attacking the very thing that he is claiming to champion? Or is it the opinion of Congressman Rangel that all who are lucky enough to attend an institution of higher learning must be filthy rich - ?NOT SO!!?

Congressman, most of your fellow representatives (both parties) are college educated, and you all live, not in the poverty that you outlined, but rather pretty well by any standard, even if not all of you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and a self motivated speech in hand! And I sincerely believe that what you are proposing here is not the fair deal that you claim it to be, but rather a purely political maneuver that will deprive many a promising kid, middle class and poor included, of the opportunity to benefit the nation that we will hand down to them some day!!

With all of the splendid opportunities being made available to students in High School today, if that student (regardless of color, race or social standing) is willing to work hard and apply himself, he or she can rise above poverty and make the life that they are willing to work hard to attain! There are no guarantees given to anyone, only the chance to make something of themselves!

The only barriers that could prove to be insurmountable to these future leaders, are the politics that I read about in your speech! And from that piece that I read today (CNN) that is exactly what some are playing - partisan politics. And when someone, who in their youth was given a chance, seeks to deprive others of that same chance, that level playing field that you spoke of, becomes naught but a quagmire of despair!

As a matter of fact, and I am no expert, but rather an individual who votes for what I perceive to be the best man or woman and not purely a political party, what I read upon CNN today impressed me as naught but blackmail, pure and simple!! (opinion)

VERITAS :cd:

[daniel topliffe]

as long as the senators and reps have
no money problems there is no such thing as a level playing field...and we ain't playing football...these are lives of loyal,decent, law abiding citizens we speak...
hardcore, you've done it again.
***** 5 GOLD STARS.TO YOU...

dan t

[reconeil]

After all, whom could argue TRUTH and/or VERITAS,...as my ancient Gombahs or HARDCORE might say.

Though HARDCORE, about Rangel's spouting whatever he spouts having anything HONESTLY to do with HONEST Education or HONEST enlightenment,...is HONESTLY absurd (phoney also).

The absolute TRUTH and/or VERITAS surrounding all The Rangels' of America, is that all the talk about fairness and equality of The Races, which on the surface doesn't seem all that bad, is actually phoney and diversionary dribble. The real motive of race preferentiality eventually surfaces. No matter what.

Thusly, and to most all: "Rangels"(re. patronizing Blacks above all else and others) that; "Fairness and Equality" bit truly gets purposefully perverted. Yeah, that's right. About 13% of The Population must have about 50% access to everything in America, for there to be true: "Fairness and Equality". Get Real.

Screw all Whites, since they were all slave owners.
Also, screw all Hispanics, since they too killed-off most of their respective native indian populations way-back-when.
Therefore, and since Blacks are the only people in America NOT RACISTS (just jokin), it's only fair and just that they be treated better and/or preferentially (another joke, even though unfortunately
quite true).

Though, and since Blacks' Ancestors sold them into bondage or slavery worldwide FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,...I'll never understand why so many Black Americans think so highly of Africa, especially after being treated so cruelly by Africa FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS? Why-the-hell don't "They" hit-up Africa for
Reparations? "Works-fir-me". Plus, isn't Africa sort-of The Corporation that sold such a product: "Worldwide FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS"? Also, America only bought some for only a few hundred years. So, why-the-big-deal here?
And besides,...why go for the individual buyers of long ago, instead of the sellers and trafficers of such still doing so in Africa till this very day? Seems more sensible.

Neil

[Packo]

no totally against a draft, let me just ask Mr. Rangle, what the hell are we to do with all the people we draft????

The military has been downsizeing for so many years, closing and consolidating bases, that there is virtually NO PLACE FOR THEM TO GO. Would he suggest throwing out all the VOLUNTEERS, thus creating a helluva unemployment problem?

When politicians offer NO SOLUTIONS, it's just political rhetoric. He's trying to make a stupid political and RACIAL point, not backed up by facts. Part of his inflamatory remarks were that blacks will die in disaportionate numbers, like they did in Vietnam. Well Charlie, first....they didn't die disaprotionaltely in Vietnam, and make up less than 12% of Combat Arms in today's volunteer military.

Now, if they ever did need to draft again, I would be for the end of college deferrments like in WWII but, we will never see the draft again in our lifetime.

Got mine from working and the G.I. BILL! If they had a draft, veterans could get theirs the same way.

Packo

[HARDCORE]

You brought up a helluva good point. One that was right in front of our eyes, yet I failed to see it!

With the drastic closing (downsizing) of our military capability (as well as the bases that encapsulated these numbers), where in the Hell would Rangel put the troops?

Of course, and I hope that I am wrong, maybe Chucky Rangel would like to hire them out to foreign nations. Hell, I'd better shut up, as this might give some a brainstorm! :cd: :cd: :cd: