BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Bill O’Reilly just can’t keep his feet out of his mouth or his head out of this butt.  The more he says in his challenge of John Edwards and the homeless veterans, the more he exposes himself for the self-aggrandizing arrogant elephant that he is.

At first O’Reilly said that John Edwards more or less didn’t know what he was talking about.  Then, he conceded that there may be a few homeless veterans.  Now, the homeless veterans, although lesser in number than anyone else counts, are all mentally ill or addicts of one sort of another, according to O’Reilly.  I guess that is supposed to excuse our national negligence of what our Washington politicians so often refer to as “treasure”.

I would suggest that Bill take a look at the homeless veteran distribution, please.  The map is from AP:

Let’s assume for the sake of discussion that as according to O’Reilly, the homeless veterans are mostly mentally ill or addicts.  Does that make them any less homeless or any less human?  As far as I’m concerned, we broke them, we bought them.  

The military only takes those citizens who are mentally and physically fit into the service of our country.  The armed forces train them to be tough minded and physically strong.  And, when these humans are returned home after service, whether they are suffering PTSD or are maimed physically, their health care, either physical or mental, is the responsibility of the American citizens and the American government.     

For Bill O’Reilly to take the position that these homeless veterans do not exist is not only repugnant but a moral disgrace.  He exemplifies the arrogance of those who led us to war.  They are short sighted and narrow minded.  Never mind the fact that our country rallied around a war without a real national cause or a real national purpose. 

Our country has not seen such lack of human compassion and respect for quality of life since the days of slavery.  I was among the outraged when Michael Vick was indicted and convicted of dog fighting.  The dogs were trained to fight and kill, and those who were wounded in battle were left to die or were killed, often times a slow death that was as cruel as the fight itself.  America took to the streets protesting this aberrant behavior as unacceptable to our citizenry.  

And, yet, bigger men with more power than Michael Vick ever hoped to have are throwing men and women into the ring of the Iraqi War to fight a battle that as the truth is revealed, is for the sake of satisfying old men’s greed and to satisfy their need for power.  And, when these men and women, our soldiers, have fought the hard battle and come home for rest or healing, they are tossed aside in much the same way that dogs were left unattended after the dog fights.

I am disgusted by the occasional discussion that our military veterans are of lesser education and lesser intellect and lesser social standing than in days gone by.  I challenge the notion in fact and ask what does it matter in the end?  No man is greater than another.  Every life has a value.  And, in the end, Bill O’Reilly or not, we have a responsibility to take care of those who take care of us. 

I swear, my blood boils every time I hear anything Bill O’Reilly has to say about our veterns.  In full disclosure, I must state that John Edwards is my candidate of choice.  And, one of the reasons is that Edwards has consistently and constantly spoken out on behalf of America’s veterans.  I believe we need a candidate like Edwards who is dedicated to creating a better world for those without a voice.  Among those needing a voice are our veterans. 

Speak out!  Write your congressmen.  Call your Senator.  Vote your conscience.  But, don’t let another veteran suffer a night on a street or under a bridge.

(Please visit our Video Sidebar for clips of O’Reilly making a fool of himself.)