Duncan Hunter, Teddy Roosevelt, Wyoming Air National Guard, and Diplomats By Stephan Andrew Brodhead

While working on an article about the Wyoming Air National Guard’s progressive education benefits for their Guardsman, I read that U.S. diplomats do not want to go to Iraq anymore. Duncan Hunter suggests we replace them with our wounded Patriots. Of course there was fall out, and some would state that the military patriot is not capable of rising to that station. I say “Bully”.

Here is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt.

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have."
Speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903 Let me get back to the Wyoming Air National Guard. As a volunteer for Duncan Hunter I have become very familiar with the 187^th Airlift Squadron “Cowboy Guard”, the 731^st out of Pete field in Colorado, and the 156^th out of Charlotte, North Carolina. These three units have flown over 74 sorties and delivered in excess of 207,600 gallons of fire retardant on the fires in Southern California. These missions saved countless thousands of homes from being burnt to the ground. Duncan Hunter and all Californians, I am sure, appreciate these efforts. Wyoming Air National Guard education benefitsAs the founder of www.IraqEraVeteranGIBill.com , I am very interested in obtaining a “square deal” for our Guardsman and Reservists when it comes to Educational benefits. I found the “Mother of all educational benefits” at the Wyoming Air National Guard. This huge beautiful state with the smallest population, has stepped up to the plate for its National Guardsman. The Wyoming State Legislature will provide 100 percent free tuition for Wyoming Guardsmen. In addition, the Guardsman is entitled to use their “Montgomery GI Bill” as well. This means that a Patriot may attend “The University of Wyoming” in Laramie, Wyoming, utilize Montgomery funds and have the best part-time job in the country. This is acceptable to WWW.IraqEraVeteranGIBill.com. If a state such as Wyoming with the smallest population in the country can provide free tuition, why cant the rest. Our citizen soldiers have always defended this nation. One can only imagine the suffering our American patriots sustained at Valley Forge, Vera Cruz, Petersburg, Cuba, The Ardennes, Bataan, Chosin Reservoir, La Drang Valley, Khe Sanh, Desert Storm, or Fallujah, to realize, we owe our soldiers an equitable GI Bill. The Vietnam Era Veteran GI Bill was equal to the times; our current GI bill is not, especially for our militias. Since “Desert Storm “, Guard and Reserve Airlift units have conducted some 60 percent of the operations sortie requirement for the DOD. They have stood shoulder to shoulder with their active duty counter-parts and have performed the mission equally well. The Ops tempo has increased greatly since 911.Guardsmen and Reservists have adjusted their lives to support this increased Ops tempo. Education benefits have not stayed pace with the commitment our Guardsmen and Reservists have made or the economy. Summating, Wyoming values their Guardsmen, and invests in their future. Their cost effective GI educational benefits are the standard, to which, all states should aspire. It is only fair, and should cost nothing; for, it’s only an extra chair in a room full of students, some, with volleyball scholarships... Theodore Roosevelt versus the 89^th Congress "Is America a weakling, to shrink from the work of the great world powers? No! The young giant of the West stands on a continent and clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. Our nation, glorious in youth and strength, looks into the future with eager eyes and rejoices as a strong man to run a race."
Letter to John Hay, American Ambassador to the Court of St. James, London, Written in Washington, DC, June 7, 1897 Teddy Roosevelt played a significant role in reuniting the country after the Civil War. His conservative values, as well as, his progressive movement also played a major part in the roaring economy of the 1920s.John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s tax cut helped create the strong economy of the 1960s. If the New Democratic/Socialists party have the audacity to use JFK as a role figure, they must also concede that JFK was a tax cutter. As you can see the Bush tax cuts are only 1/10 of a percent larger than JFKs revenue act of 1964. Table 1. Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush Tax Cuts in Historical Perspective

Tax Legislation		Tax Cut in Billions of Current Dollars (a)	Tax Cut in Billions of Constant 2003 Dollars	Tax Cut as a Percent of National Income (b)	Surplus or Deficit (-) as a Percentage of National Income (b)
The Kennedy Tax Cut (Revenue Act of 1964)		($11.50)	($54.90)	-1.90%	-1.00%
The Reagan Tax Cut (Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981)		($38.30)	($68.70)	-1.40%	-2.80%
Bush Tax Cuts:
Economic Growth and Tax Reform Reconciliation Act of 2001		($73.80)	($75.80)	-0.80%	1.50%
Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002		($51.20)	($52.00)	-0.60%	-1.70%
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2003		($60.80)	($60.80)	-0.60%	-3.20%
	2001, 2002 and 2003 Bush Tax Cuts if Combined in 2003	NA	($188.10)	-2.00%	-
(a) First year estimate.
(b) National Income as measured by Net National Product.

The backlash of 1964 against Republican values was devastating to our American way of life as defined by “The Founders”. The seat imbalance, in favor of the Democrats in the house, the senate, and the LBJ executive allowed for “The Great Society”, and countless costly socialist programs. It was mob rule run amuck.The legislators of the day did not consider the future impact of the “Baby Boomers” and “Shadow Boomers” or inflation, or globalization, or the inherent rising costs of human institutions... Social security is salvageable; the 89^th congress healthcare programs are not. Our next generation will not have the means to support the 100 million strong entitlements coming down the pike... If the New Democratic Socialists party platform supports huge health care programs, they must also consider the disastrous affects that the 89^th Congress has had on our tax paying citizens. If they are unable to see the consequences, their judgment and fitness to lead is unworthy. Established even keeled moderate and conservative Democrats must also consider their actions and it’s affect on our next generation. The 111^th Congress has much work to do. Our voters will consider the disastrous affects a democratically controlled government in 2008 will have on our future generations. In the next couple of years (New Deal and Great Society) entitlements will reach 2.0 trillion dollars or 50 percent of the budget. By 2017 the mid point of the Baby boom (average age 70) entitlements may exceed 80 percent of the federal budget. That’s only 9 years away folks. Under George Bush’s “No Child left behind”, a second grader can do the math. Given these budget forecasts, socialized medicine is a pipe dream. Privatized medicine will be sustainable and provide the best care the world could possibly offer. Giving the American citizen the ability to buy health care insurance across state lines will save the consumer billions. After every incidence of war when our troops have returned victorious, our economy boomed.The Spanish American war reunited the North and South. The Rough Rider Theodore Roosevelt would go on to be one of our greatest presidents. The nation’s economy would boom until the stock market crash of 1929. Contrast this to Vietnam, the 89^th congress social agenda, and the subsequent hard economic times. If we again, as a nation, lose faith in our forces, become defeatist, and have a Republican backlash in 2008, the 111^th Congress may have the imbalance to severely undermine the Republic. There are too many historic parallels to not take notice. The current defeatist New Democratic /Socialist platform or “Great Socialist Society’ has to many characteristics in common with the 89^th Congress era. Be afraid, be very afraid. Duncan Hunter is a lot like Teddy Roosevelt. His campaign platform is a ‘bully pulpit” on the issues that really matter to this country. As far as I can tell, none of the other candidates really have a valid platform. Do they? He is positive, pro American, and a veteran. He understands history and the lingering results of bad legislation from uninformed overzealous mob rule. He understands that consensus building on well thought out legislation benefits the American people. He understands that limited government and unlimited opportunity is the key elements of our great Republic. He understands that we must win in Iraq. He understands that we must support our troops. He understands that we must remain positive, tenacious, patient, and avoid unnecessary social programs in order to ensure a robust economy, a stable middleclass, and opportunity for our children. Back to the Diplomats Our Armed forces personnel are intelligent, well trained, and proud to serve. As a veteran and the son of a veteran, I was conditioned from an early age to support this great country and be very proud of the armed services. Many a time, in my fathers later years, I would here my father say “he wished that he could serve as an airman again”! None of the vocations he performed in his life, after his 22 years in the Air Force, was ever as satisfying to him. Ask a medically retired soldier and he will say the same thing. I am pretty damn certain that these wounded patriots at Walter Reed or across this great land would love to be in the Diplomatic Corps. Empowering our wounded veterans will serve this country and our national pride well. As a member of the “Armed service committee for some 27 years, and a Vietnam combat Veteran, Duncan Hunter does not want a repeat of how the country treated our returning patriot Vietnam Vets. There is nothing wrong with Duncan Hunter suggesting this. Any patriot prepared to give his or her “final measure” is entitled to the bounty. If that bounty be a good paying government job (that is turned down by some elitist unpatriotic silver spoon softy), than so be it. Anyways, thank you Iraqi freedom Veterans, thank you Wyoming, and thank you Duncan Hunter. www.GoHunter08.com Stephan Andrew Brodhead is a retired Air force Reservist, and columnist for www.TheConservativeVoice.com