As it is, I recommend the whole thing!

"Queen Dink"

definitely.

That's better than beating your head against a brick wall or kicking a dead horse AKA Benghazi!

The Pundit nails it again. When in hell is this nation going to wake up and kick some ass and take the names of these Rethugs whom are in the game just to enrich themselves and nothing else. Seems to me,the 1%ers and their toadies,are more than a we bit scared as to what will happen in this election cycle. These mega rich f----s are sure throwing around tons of bucks to keep the public totally distracted from the real issues.

Because they have claimed Obama is Satan so EVERYTHING HE DOES is "evil".



They would claim the next shot was him EATING that baby.

I have watched CNN and MSNBC tonight and they are going INSANE over this story. Bashing President, The military guy, etc. It is a mess. The Democrats are the ones eating all this crap. I don't understand it at all. Has anyone watched any of this?

If Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods and the rest of this insane clown posse could explain to us, prospectively, which of our soldiers, sailors, aviators and marines aren't rescue-worthy, it could save a whole lot of time. Mark them with a black X or something. Let them know ahead of time that if they're killed or captured, their bodies will become one with the killing field and not returned to the United States.

Think of how morale would soar!

Attention Stephen Colbert:
So with all the 'terrorists' remaining at Gitmo, how many should be traded off for Mr. Snowden's return? Now I don't mean to get fellow DUers all riled up but I have to wonder how that question would be answered by our friends on the right.

even when he has made it very hard for Americans abroad with his FATCA.. that is another story that DUrs do NOT understand. I have been dissed and called a troll for bringing it up. but that is another story.. I wrote how the USA is slipping and the middle class disappearing. and unions being destroyed by the Koch brothers.. and how thankful I am only a Canadian now.

My brother does not Live in the South but the North East USA . and I do recall Reagan traded hostages for 1500 missiles. American really has gone stupid. at least half of it. :You want to read a Hannity lover and Fox News educated. - my brother's response:

i wish you would not talk bad about my country.... if you feel like that , that is fine....I think you should have felt like that back in 1970,,,,, I have no idea why it took you so long... you have always felt like that, so I do not know if you were waiting for a miracle to happen or some other great event.... the USA has been going down slowly, but we will be okay, we always are... when some country needs help, they call us.... ONLY US...... and we are there,,,, I have to agree with you some,,, today I am embarrassed to be an American.... I can't believe people actually voted for this piece of shit obama....no I will back space and erase the capital O.... he is disgusting,, he has made us weak .... he has not lived by the constitution,,, he should be impeached,,, I have no idea why he isn't.... I would have to say it is because he is black... and yes, now I admit that,,,, I used to argue and say he is half white, but there is no way now that can be true... no one would do what he did today.... he is a disgrace,,, how many men died hunting down the 5 piece of shits that he let go..i can guarantee that Reagan, George Bush Sr. and George Bush Jr would not have not let these scumbags out of Gitmo.... but , yes, this was his intent the whole time.... he has wanted to let these scumbags out the whole time... they are his country men...... it has nothing to being a birther or anything else.... this guy is the biggest joke in the history of the USA>.. you might be right... I will take that nitwit you have up there in Toronto, Ford, over this jerkoff..... he is a disgrace, I would not call him a Commander in chief,, I would not salute,,, I would piss on him...... yes, I never went to Nam,,, but god dam it, no matter what you think, (and I really don't give a rats ass what you think},, I would have went if ordered to do so.... I joined,,,, I went to boot camp,,, I went to Advanced Infantry, and I am a United States Marine,,, and I am so god damned to be one,,, not every one can say that, ,,,,, I can.... Can you?........ I piss on Jane Fonda at least once a day,,, she is in every urinal in the VFW and Amercian Legion.... .. I love the USA... I hate obama.... you can say you are proud to be Canadian... I have no problem with Canadians,,, they are our allies...... I am just glad that you finally realize what your are.....God Bless the USA>.. God Dam obama and jane fonday.....Semper Fi....this is a dark day in the USA

Last edited Thu Jun 5, 2014, 04:47 PM - Edit history (1)

and I don't think it has anything to do with patriotism.

but in this case, my term does apply. expatriates are folks who can leave the country and live where they choose…for whatever reasons. however, if the only reason is to shit on those who remain here, then, they are indeed, "ex-patriots".

are hated by other Americans. Where do you get off telling someone that lives abroad that they BELONG there and not here? Who made you judge and jury about who should live here and who shouldn't? A citizen of the US is free to live anywhere they fucking want and your attitude is what makes Americans sound like idiots.

Living abroad is not about one not being a patriot but maybe because they're keenly curious about how other humans survive around the world that don't live in the US. Your view sucks balls.

Yes, I know, this post will be alerted to the admins and probably disappear but that viewpoint is what is making this country so fucked up in the first place. We expats are not the enemy. Kindly keep your stupid narrow view to yourself and ask yourself why you are a member of the Democratic Underground.

it's the vitriol the poster i responded to that was offensive to me. personally. that's my opinion. if that person can say whatever the fuck they want about us and our country ~ then, i reserve the same privilege. no doubt that poster benefited in positive and not so positive ways living in this country. please don't shit on me or any other people and then claim i cannot shit on you.

and believe me ~ my views are not as narrow as your own intolerance.

because, what, she's a traitor or something?

I am not intolerant...but your comment about a citizen staying away pissed me the fuck off. I don't know why you had to say that. It's cruel and unnecessary.

This country is fucked up and some of us leave. For good. Because we can.

when I read that. He's one of them too. Not a veteran but the same same.
Sorry and hugs to you.

What most DUrs don't realize I am very to the left I loved Jimmy Carter. I never voted in a US election. but would have voted Democrat for each one. My late husband and I sadly watched the chits being counted. That was his last election he watched. I have gone through the death of my son and husband. I found i very traumatic.. Never a day do I feel depressed missing them. I have been on dU for years, before even registering my name. I has gone very cruel now..

They call me a traitor/ex patriot and want the door slammed on my backside for leaving the US and choosing to be a canadian citizen. They don't understand I am trying to protect privacy and fairness. Many think FATCA is going after rich people. The idea of FATCA is good for those Americans who live in the USA and have money abroad.

Many US persons live permanently abroad , pay taxes to the country they live in. Never reaching the threashold to have to pay the US money ... Many don't realize that the US is citizenbased taxation. not Resident based taxation as the whole rest of the world is.
Canada has higher tax rates I love my country.. I did file US taxes up to year I became a citizen of Canada. filed myself. The US tax returns now must be done by professionals ($1k or more annually) even if you nothing. Also you must report all your banking accounts. Most US persons living abroad do not have investments in USA or property. Some have never lived in the USA or been born there. (US parents)

FATCA is another branch of the NSA. I think that those mailboxes in DEl, MD, Nevada and Florida are where tax evaders "reside".


I Thanks you for the hugs, LittleGirl. I hug you back.

from Britain. We lived in Europe for the first few years of our marriage and he became a citizen ONLY because he didn't want to get deported. He loves America but he is very unhappy here. He said the uncertainty of working in this country is wearing him thin. He grew up in London and thinks that our employment problems are terrible. He is constantly under stress that he will lose his job even though he is overqualified for it. It doesn't help that the first job he got in the US he was downsized from and had to find another position in the company in another state no less. He went on over 50 interviews and was always one of the final candidate until this job offer came through 5 months after getting his pink slip.

Two of my siblings (in their 50s) are tea partiers and racists that I don't communicate with them anymore. This development has split our family in two and my Mother is heart broken. (We never discussed politics in our family and it wasn't until Obama's second term that the split seems permanent). It's madness.

As an American who has lived abroad and seen the other side of planet, I can see all of the problems in this country and although I love where we live now, I know our days are numbered here. My husband will begin searching for a new position in the company and look for positions in Switzerland (HQ) and we could be gone by this time next year.

We expats are a rare breed. We have lived a life that most Americans will never even comprehend. They can visit a country all over the planet but they will never know what it's like until they leave home for another country. And then pay taxes forever to the US because of it. Citizen based taxation is b.s. and needs to end sooner rather than later. Thanks for the hug!

is that the other countries in the world will want their own FATCA, What a mess that will bring and it will destroy mobility. I find people who travel and experience different cultures in countries other than their own are very intelligent.

Many Americans never leave their county or state in their lifetime.

Find a country you love to live in. and become citizens there.. It may be a good idea to renounce US citizenship sooner than later . The exit tax is very big if you own a home. Always be US tax compliant until you renounce, if you do. Filing US tax returns is very expensive as you need a specialized tax accountant. Be aware that Switzerland is very stringent in allowing Americans to have bank accounts. You must prove you are compliant. Some don't want Americans period. Hiring Americans in Switzerland has gone down dramatically.
Check out the this link for more information on world wide American experiences and advice. http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/
There are people from Switzerland on this link.


I visited the UK for a month and it was such a wonderful experience. I have friends there. I plan to go back.

It is sad that you, too, have family division over politics. It is not a good experience.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

My husband is an EU citizen and when I moved to Europe, I became one by virtue of our marriage. I could have worked had there not been a recession going on. We did our own taxes. My husband is an MBA so he knows how to do that stuff. I should have never insisted on coming back to the states. I don't know why I did. I knew the way it was here with instability with jobs etc, but I missed speaking english and having a job. I haven't worked since we got back either so I'm just waiting for him to come home and say, "I'm over this, I am ready to go back to Europe now."

He's a great employee but this fear about losing his job has him so stressed out. He knows that they are going to eliminate jobs but only in the states. Because it's so much easier to lay off people here. NO laws against it. And he's right. I know he is. And I'd love to live in Europe again I just need to let go of my life here.

I hope your relationships with your family get better. At least they are still speaking to you. I haven't spoken to my sister or brother in 2 yrs. And that's my only sister.

FATCA will still be over your head but if you decide to stay and you become a citizen you both can continue your US tax returns until you may choose to just be a UK citizen only.

I have 3 brother.. 2 I have not spoken to since 2009. The other one is the racist. My mom was a racist. My dad died 4 months after my son died. It was hard but we went to the USA to the funeral. My husband was dying of cancer by then but he went too.

We lived in Canada without our families and our sons were born in Canada. We made friends and they became our family.
When I visited the UK a couple years ago I found it wonderful. If I was not happy in Canada I would think to go. but I am retired. I may yet go though. I am thinking about it.

we'll end up in Switzerland. But if we leave on our own dime, we'll go straight to the UK. Although I'll freeze my ass off there after living here in AZ for a couple of years (now that I've thawed out Moving abroad (unlike driving to Canada) is expensive. We already have a flat in London but it's rented to Baghdad refugees so we can't kick them out. We'd have to find another place to rent.

I doubt we'll be here in '16. I think we'll be long gone by then.

so that it is never, ever right.

understand she got no special understanding of military matters by mere contact with her husband's asshat participation in a separatist by force of arms group made up of even more asshats. No one needs to speculate on whats what. He was held prisoner. He shouldn't be punished for what a bunch of non-military types wants to blustificate over.

We don't leave anyone behind. That's one of the big promises that is made to us when we sign up. "We don't leave ours behind."

In WW II many POWs who ended up in Russia never came back. Many POWs and deserters were left in N. Korean hands. In Vietnam there was never an accounting for POWs known to be alive at the end of the war.

When I joined they never gave that promise to me.

left behind? All the talk over the years about those left behind has produced how any examples? How many US POWS were taken by the USSR during WWII? How many were taken after the war in covert actions? The exPOWS left in North Korea stayed on their on volition, and a lot of them came home over the years.

No Man Left Behind: Not Just an Expression

Megan Smolenyak

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/no-man-left-behind-not-ju_b_590697.html

For the last decade, I've had the privilege of supporting the repatriation efforts of Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) through the research I conduct for the Army, locating relatives of soldiers who are still unaccounted for from past conflicts. Most of my cases involve the Korean War, though I've also done a fair number from WWII and Southeast Asia, as well as a few WWI. In honor of Memorial Day, I've decided to share a memory from one of my earliest Korean War cases. As you enjoy your holiday weekend, please take a moment to remember those who have served us, those who do so today, and those whose dedication in scouring the globe for our soldiers shows that "no man left behind" is far more than an expression.

Arlington National Cemetery is a blustery place in November. Hundreds of rows of neatly aligned, memorial markers sprinkle the landscape as far as one can see, but there is little to prevent the wind from having its way with the living who venture among this ocean of white stones. Forewarned, I had donned long underwear under my black suit and winter coat, but I still found myself shivering as I attended the funeral of a man I had never known.

Though I wasn't related to him in any way, I found myself accepting the flag on behalf of his family. The head of the honor guard, usually so stoic, allowed a trace of emotion to pass across his face as he handed me the flag, and I knew that he was relieved someone was there to receive it.
2010-05-26-ArlNatlSmolenyak.jpg


How did I find myself in this peculiar situation? I'm a researcher for the U.S. Army's repatriation initiative. In the years 1950-1953, thousands of American men died or went missing in Korea. Now, more than half a century later, the military continues to do its utmost to find, identify and properly inter the remains of some of our anonymous soldiers.

Over the last six decades the Army has lost track of the families of many of these soldiers. A fire in 1973 destroyed many of the soldiers' personnel records, leaving only basic details. In most instances, the next of kin were parents who have since passed away. In other cases, they were siblings or wives who have moved, changed names, or are now deceased. Two or even three generations have intervened and little has remained stagnant in our mobile, churning world. It's my job to find these families again.

When I succeed, the Army contacts the family and conducts mitochondrial DNA tests to positively identify the remains of the soldiers. When a match is made, the soldier can be laid to rest and his family can release itself from an almost sixty-year limbo of not knowing. Siblings, wives, children, nieces, nephews and cousins finally have a place to go to pay their respects to the loved one who gave his life for his country.

When I make the first contact with a soldier's family, the initial reaction is generally one of quiet disbelief. This is almost always followed by questions, cooperation and even gratitude. It gives me tremendous pleasure to have some small role in bringing these soldiers home to their families. My father served in Vietnam and I had a dear cousin who was killed there. I can't say that I can put myself in the shoes of these startled family members when I cold call my way into their lives, but I'm familiar enough with their world to know that most of them are pleased to be found.

So I was rather surprised when I learned that the family of one of "my" soldiers was not coming to his funeral. The ceremony was scheduled, but only the priest and the honor guard would be there. Today's sophisticated technology was rendering the "unknown soldier" an antiquated concept, but in so doing, was revealing the almost sadder notion of the occasional "forgotten soldier."

It is understandable to some extent. In many cases, these soldiers have already been grieved twice - first, when they were listed as missing in action, and again when they were officially declared deceased. Perhaps it is just too painful to enter the mourning process a third time, more than half a century later. Preserved in their survivors' memories as heroic, young men, the very mention of these soldiers' names may well return people to a time of young widows and untapped potential. Maybe this explained the absence of this particular soldier's family on that gusty November day.

I suppose it was easier for me, a stranger who knew him only through documents and the voices of his relatives on the telephone, to attend his funeral. I only knew that his sacrifice needed to be acknowledged by someone, and so it was in that strange way that life has, that I found myself receiving the flag from the coffin of a man who had died well before I was born. He is no longer unknown, and at least as long as I live, this soldier will not be forgotten.

When they call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter and don't realize they elected one as their president.

Glad you're here! What a SENSATIONAL point you make! The most exquisite of irony! Technically he short-sheeted his service time. Never served out all six years which had been the requirement - to which he signed his approval up front. But he weaseled out of more than half a year!

(snip)

On May 27, 1968, Bush signed a six-year obligation. That required him to complete "48 scheduled inactive-duty training periods" each fiscal year (typically consisting of four four-hour periods during one weekend each month), plus a minimum of 15 days of Annual Active Duty Training. For Bush, as a pilot, this was typically split into periods of duty of a few days each during the year.

The Boston Globe reported in September 2004 that "Bush fell well short of meeting his military obligation", citing examples of Bush failing to meet Air National Guard commitments in 1972 and 1973.[39] Bush's military records show that he was credited for attending Air National Guard drills during 1972 and 1973, but the time frame of these drills (see above) still left questions.[40]

On July 30, 1973, his last day of paid service in the Texas National Guard, Bush signed a statement that "I have been counseled this date regarding my plans to leave my present Reserve of [sic] assignment due to moving from this area. I understand that: a. If I disassociate from my current Ready Reserve Assignment, it is my responsibility to locate and be assigned to another Reserve Forces unit or mobilization augmentation position. If I fail to do so, I am subject to involuntary order to active duty for up to 24 months under the provisions of AFM 35-3, chapter 14."[39]

On September 5, 1973, Bush requested discharge from Texas Air National Guard service, to be effective on October 1. He wrote, "I am moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Harvard Business School as a full time student."[41] Jerry Killian recommended approval of the discharge the following day. Bush had completed five years, four months, and five days toward his six-year service obligation.


Our friend georgie-poo was honorably discharged from the Texas Air National Guard on October 1st 1973. The report goes on to say from there, junior was transferred to the inactive reserves in Denver Colorado. He was officially discharged from the Air Force Reserve on November 21st, 1974. So if you wanna split hairs and give him every benefit of every doubt, his final discharge was conveniently dated six-and-a-half years from May 27, '68. But there was also this:


In September 2004, Lawrence Korb, an Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan, after reviewing the payroll records for Bush's last two years of service, concluded that they indicated that Bush did not fulfill his obligations and could have been ordered to active duty as a result.[42]




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_military_service_controversy

I thought " No, they won't " then I heard Taliban and Gitmo and realized - oh this is going to be a shitstorm. The thing that tipped me off was how packaged the RW story was. Much quicker than normal. Now we know that a PR firm (Grenell) has been running the whole thing.

They don't care about any issue for real. Only how they will use it to gain power. To gain power, they have nothing positive to offer, so all they can do is bash Democrats.

It should come as no surprise that an infantry soldier, under the stress of sustained combat operations, might crack, lay down his weapon and walk off into the darkness. One question not being asked is how he could just stroll off at night through a defensive perimeter without anyone knowing it or reporting it. If Bergdahl could have walked out, the Taliban could have just as easily walked in. Such a failure of command and control would constitute a serious breach of unit security. Not much later, the same unit valorously repelled a heavy ground assault upon the same defensive position.

The second question is why the Army would divert significant manpower and material away from its core mission and into a sustained search for Bergdahl, regardless of whether he was considered a deserter or a POW. That kind of obsessive compassion toward the retrieval of a missing enlisted man is not a trait of the Army I remember. A lot doesn't add up here. Maybe it will in time, but I won't bet on it. The Media, as usual, is already forging a half fact, half fiction narrative to serve its own purposes.

especially if it was Bergdahl's story. It conflicts, however, with those of some men in his unit: one suggest he fell behind during a patrol and disappeared, the other that he slipped through the wire after dark. Just don't know.

Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said that there was a larger matter at play: The American military does not leave soldiers behind. “When you’re in the Navy, and you go overboard, it doesn’t matter if you were pushed, fell or jumped,” he said. “We’re going to turn the ship around and pick you up.”

"This seems like a big PR stunt" (paraphrased) about a battalion being deployed to find Lynch.


In Krakauer's book.

in fact, he should impose sanctions on Carbon Monoxide. That way, the pukes will swear off AIR, and go suck a smokestack.

Those five Taliban guys probably have some kind of GPS chip implanted in them. If they step one toe out of line, they're probably going to get a nighttime visit from a SEAL team, or a Hellfire missile up the ass from a drone.

HILARIOUS!!

People really have to question whether these guys are going to be watched and tracked?

The five prisoners that were exchanged,does anybody know if they might have info of "interrogation techniques" when they were in prison? Is this why Repubs are so worried?

The army has, for years, had a rolling slate of prisoners who have been cleared for release, but, whether their home countries refuse them or we can't deport them because they might be tortured by the recipient country, cannot be released. We're these five Taliban members (note that they're not Al Qaida) cleared for release already?

This could be like when we "traded" our soon to be decommissioned missiles in Turkey during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

They were not involved with 9/11 and not considered terrorists, they were taliban fighting an occupying military {us}, rather than call them pow's, I think we were calling them enemy combatants. I think a strong argument could be made they are pow's that were caught up in the battlefield and because of their high ranking status in the taliban government and military they were taken to gitmo. Bush fucked this whole thing up with gitmo.

"Leaving Bergdahl behind would have set the precedent that we judge, without knowing the truth, who is worthy of being released."

Haven't we already set that precedent at Gitmo? We're down to 70 or so "terrorists" there, that have never received a trial to convict them for terrorism, and for whom we can't see the evidence, but we can't release them, precisely because they're "terrorists."

and that is saying something.

Only thing I've seen thats fake is some of the reactions to the news. Whats not fake is the guy left his post. Spent years with the taliban. Soldiers died looking for him. Gets traded for 5 not so nice guys. I expect more info to be forth coming. Call it all fake if it makes you feel better i quess.

It makes me feel very good to call out STUPIDITY, wherever it might be found.

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Otherwise you'll end up with women, Latino, Latina, Asian, and all manner of other "others" getting the job.

to mind when hearing the term "chickenhawk." Why is this man given a forum on anything pertaining to war? "Taken honorably on the battlefield?" Why would he have any idea what this means? "High ranking terrorists?" How many of the Guantanamo detainees would really fit this description? The place is a real stain on U.S. honor (as is Kristol).

If they were such horrible people, what were they charged with? Nothing. The right seems to think it's just fine for the United States to operate a gulag. It's not. Charge them or let them go.