Whiners in Washington

The headline in my local paper said "Exhausted on both sides of the aisle in nation's capitol".

I have no sympathy for these legislators who are trying to get home for their summer vacation. John Boehner (OH-R) says "It's hot, it's humid, people are tired and ready to go home," "Most of America wants us to go home. It's like this every summer." Backatcha Rep Boenher, most of America wants the soldiers in Iraq to come home, so please stop your whining, until you can prove that you are doing everything possible to make that happen. I can't imagine he cares about the soldiers, because if he did, we'd have soldiers arriving home by the planeload. But, instead, our soldiers are still stuck in this hellish occupation because Congress & the president will not put together a political solution. The burden of this endless war continues to be carried by the military, even though Admiral Michael Mullen, the proposed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says that peace will ultimately be won politically, not militarily,

A DC lawyer said "Everyone I talk to wants to get out of town and take a shower because we're all feeling depressed and dirty." Nope, no sympathy here either. I imagine any soldier who has been in Iraq for more than 5 minutes would like to take a nice long shower and try to wash away the horrors of this war.

I don't care how hot, how tired, how uncomfortable these whiners are. It's hot in DC in the summer time, get over it. Let me remind them, as many tell us military families; this country is at war and Congress should be working 24/7 to figure out a way to bring the troops home and take care of them when they get here. It's hot in Iraq, hotter than anyone in DC can imagine. When my son, Lt Ken Ballard was in Iraq for those 384 days, he never complained to me about the heat; he said they had a mission to do. And so does Congress.

They are complaining about the legislative hours, too. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), "You're not able to tell your family when you're going to be home," "Your wife will ask when and you say, 'I don't know.' Then she'll ask why and you just don't have a reason."

Imagine a soldier in Iraq saying the same thing to his or her family. Imagine how s/he felt when told their 12 month deployment was extended by 3 more months in hell. Imagine how s/he felt when they found out that 194 representatives, including Boehner & Kingston voted against H.R. 3159: Ensuring Military Readiness Through Stability and Predictability Deployment Policy Act. An act that would To mandate minimum periods of rest and recuperation for units and members of the regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces between deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.

So, I want no more complaining. Ladies and gentlemen of the 110th Congress, you volunteered to run for your seat and in many cases have run again and again. No one ever said it was going to be easy, so please just buckle down and get the job done that you were sent to DC to do. If that means longer work weeks, longer hours and a shorter vacation, then so be it. There is a mission to be done.

Our soldiers deserve as much and so does our country.