Support our troops...

Democrats support the troops, Republicans play the troops. The much bally-hooed increase in benefits for the families of casualities was never budgeted.

From ThinkProgress:

Turns out the Defense Department never included the “death benefit” boost in its ‘06 budget. Now, says Military.com, the Army is being forced to go to Congress itself, “asking for an extra $348 million to keep the administration’s word.” As DefenseTech’s Noah Shachtman explains…

…maybe the death benefit lack this year was just a simple oversight on the Pentagon’s part. Maybe the Defense Department’s PR machine spun a little faster than its financial wheels could turn. But given the cynical games the Pentagon has been playing with soldiers’ paychecks – holding them hostage, essentially, as a back-door way to inflate military spending – I’m inclined to believe the worst.

Sounds like our troops need to have another chat with Sec. Rumsfeld.

These aren't just young boys, as if that were OK, we are talking about our mothers, fathers, brothers, men and women of all ages fighting our wars of aggression. Our family members signed up to defend our nation in a time of attack. They are sent with little to no armor, to a land where they haven't been trained in language or culture. They are made to fight a war on the cheap. All the while back home their famlies are on welfare, and their job was shipped over seas. The least we owe our soldiers is a fufillment of our promises.

UPDATE:

After I was done posting I went to read Molly Ivins commenting on the bankruptcy bill:

If you don't like that feature of the bankruptcy bill, try this one: You may have read of the hardship on the families of those who have been called to fight in Iraq, including, of course, severe financial stress leading to many bankruptcies. Democrats in the Senate tried to put an amendment on this bill exempting military personnel, and the Republicans voted it down.

Like I said, Republicans play the troops.