What is the world coming to? I agree with a Phillyfan post AND a Rush Limbaugh idea

You may not like his politics but Rush hit this one on target. Love him or loath him, he nailed this one right on the head.........
By Rush Limbaugh:
I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving the country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I just can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country.
If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million.
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable. Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.
Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough. Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.
We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.
Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise.
Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing. Make sense? However, our own U.S. Congress just voted themselves a raise, and many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month, and most are now equal to being millionaires plus.
They also do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, you may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed you in harm's way receive a pension of $15,000 per month. I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.
"When do we finally do something about this?" If this doesn't seem fair to you, it is time to forward this to as many people as you can. If you are interested there is more.......................

News flash: The temperature in Hell just plummeted to <32 degrees!

HA!

I suppose much of this has to do with overall liability. The whole 9/11 compensation scheme was developed after the fact. The approximate number of victims' survivors was known and the whole scheme originated as a means of getting these survivors to sign away their rights to sue other parties like the airlines (so they wouldn't go out of business) and the government which was surely negligent.

The stark difference between this and the compensation provided to the survivors of those who die in combat in part relates to the fact that in war you just don't know how many people are going to die. We've been lucky more recently in that relatively few soldiers died in the Iraq War (so far anyway), the Gulf War of any of the other peacekeeping skirmishes in between (Serbia, Somalia). On the flip side, people who sign up to serve know what the ultimate cost could be. The risk of death is an inherent part of the job in a way that being a busboy at Windows of the World wasn't.

It really has little to do with pain and suffering and everything to do with money. I agree with the basic point - that we do not adequately compensate those serving in the military let alone the survivors of those who die in service to their country.

The problem with the entire compensation issue is that there is no easy way to balance who gets what. When I was a prosecutor we had a victim rights fund which was funded by fines imposed on criminals. The fund was a joke in my view mostly eaten up by adminstrative expenses (I could think of other ways to characterize these people but I'll be charitable).

Anyway, if a victim applied he/she would hardly receive anything -- oftentimes not even enough to pay for transportation fees to testify.

All of that is somewhat an aside because my basic point is -- if we did have money how would we compensate victims - does the 82 year old widow get the same as the 35 year old spouse and 3 kids whose spouses/fathers/mothers were killed by a drunk driver? How much do you give to the person whose car was broken into and their stereo was stolen? The same as you would give to the scientist whose laptop computer was stolen with all of the research for the last year? Does a rape victim get the same as someone who was shot in a robbery? Tough questions -- no easy -- or fair -- answers. The bigger question -- who pays?

One of my many problems with Rush is that the guy has never proposed a single solution to anything. Almost all of his rhetoric is incendiary pitting people and classes of people against one another. Sorry ps -- but this is just another example of the guy's bs. Just out of curiosity -- did he have any constructive ideas on how to deal with this injustice?

As for agreeing with PhillyFan -- take 2 aspirin and have a great night's sleep -- you'll be back to form in the morning.

It is SOOOOO hard to be soooo admired, and charming... lemme put down my mirror now...

Actually, this is just my personal view... my thinking... When 9/11 came up, it was sooo shocking to this country that everyone came together, everyone gave money... They felt so bad for what happened, seen on tv. ect ect ect.

Now you have all of this money given for the people. Fine, dole it out.

Well, now everyone who's ever lost someone in something like this is expecting the same... ie... OK City. That is what is wrong, everybody wants something... they got this, i want that...

Life is not fair. Neither group deserves more money than the other, one was just more shocking to the whole nation.

PhillyFan -- assuming that there is no between the lines begrudging of the 9-11 victims -- I don't disagree with you either on that last point.

As for your admiration comment -- I suspect you get all the self admiration you need by publishing your "to the right" edgy epistles. I imagine you get all the charge you need when someone like Razor takes you on -- not as much fun when people agree with you, is it?

When are you finally going to admit that you are a closet lib??

BTW, are you going to be watching the Eagles on Monday Night?

Of course i am... But watching one of the fat man's games in pre-season is sort of like... watching paint dry. I do wanna see the rook te and buck running.

D is tough to get a take on, since there wont be the pressure... we wont know how well simon-who and the rookie de'ss pick up the D until that first game...