big-will 7 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 You know you want to... http://www.heromiles.org/ Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 This is a joke, right? Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 Nope. It was just on Fox News as well.... Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 From one perspective, it is nice that such a thing has been arranged - if you believe in the cause then you can donate your FFP's. This gives you a way to help the soldiers. Obviously, if you don't believe in the cause then it would seem a little sickly, esp the name "Hero Miles". Link to post Share on other sites
sweetaz 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 that is so american...'hero miles' Nice thought but pretty pathetic the govt cant find the money to bring the guys home.....perhaps if they sold a few bombs...??? Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 A joke? It's basically a charity. It's not for profit. Has nothing to do with the war. Most of the troops seeking the FFP to get home could use the help. It's not political at all. So aside from what they are calling the campaign what's so funny about it Siren? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 "Has nothing to do with the war." Right Kintaro. "It's not political at all." I see Kintaro. Where to start? Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Here is my 2 cents. First off the war was based on a lies but thats off topic. Why are the airline companies ripping off the same troops that are supposed to be protecting them? Seems like a rip off so that the Airlines get everything and people get nothing. If America really cares about its HEROS then they should at least not scam them. This is so Bush. Bring em home and make em pay! If your not in the top 10% then who gives a flying f.... Link to post Share on other sites
barok 0 Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Some of you are being way too harsh. I don't agree with the war either, but I would rather a program like this exist than for me (taxpayer in the US, albeit not an American) to have to pay for the troops R&R. I already have had to pay too much for this war. As dotdbdot said, if you support the troops, great, here is a clever way to do just that. I am sure they will appreciate it. Who says the airline companies are ripping off the soldiers ? Or that they are being scammed ? They are being given extra time off from their jobs, and they can choose to do what they like with that time. If American taxpayers had to foot the bill for this as well, what would you say "Oh that is sooo American, charging the taxpayers for the war-monger's vacations ! !" What's "pathetic" is the constant one-line, whiney posts against this or that aspect of America. I too agree with less than half of the policies here, but maan some people just never stop whining. If you really don't like something, at least take the time to criticize constructively. This is a decent project with good intentions, but a lousy name, so what?!? It seems to be working so far. Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 I don't see anything at all wrong with this program except for the name. I have seen first-hand how the troops can be completely screwed over while trying to get home for some well-needed leave from the hell they are living in over in the ME. Many, many of these troops are not happy with the deployments that have taken place over the past couple of years. Many of the troops are absolutely against being over there in the first place. In most cases, their deployments are extended for 1, 2, 3...6 months from what they were told. This is a good way for people that want to help them out to do so. Sweetaz - "that is so american...'hero miles'" Nice blanket statement. How about changing it to 'that is so Bush...' It has two meanings that way Barok - you make some really good comments and I agree with you. Ocean - let's hear it then. Just curious to see what you have to say. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Plucky, I joined the military of my own free will because I believe it is a necessary evil. I trained hard, and took the meager pay. But I did it on the understanding with myself that if the Soviets invaded Europe, I would go and fight. But if there was another squalid little British adventure somewhere, I would refuse to go, and take the consequences. Some may well not believe that, but I couldn't care less. The reason I took that position is because war being politics by another means, anything to do with the military is political, and joining the military needn't invalidate your political freedom. To address Kintaro's nonsense, you cannot support the military, especially in a wrong war, and pretend that it's not political. If you suspect that the 'boys' are getting a shitty deal and dying just for Bush's oil government, you don't send them a bag of boiled sweets and coo 'Yous all heerows to me' at them - you get them out of harm's way. As for barok's whining about anti-Americanism, I've just finished reading Robert Baer's "See No Evil". Baer is ex-CIA, a man of obvious integrity and patriotism, who details how Reagan, Bush, and Clinton systematically put oil interests over security, with horrible consequences for many Americans (and other peoples too). Baer is no pinko bedwetter. He also details how the US screwed over the Iraqi opposition - a largely decent coalition that could have taken over Iraq with minimal US support and without inflaming the whole Islamic world (he was there so he probably knows). So far from some pat anti-Americanism, whatever the hell that might be, I'm concerned with genuine issues of which Kintaro is obviously blissfully ignorant. The only heroes in Iraq at the moment are NGOs who could put the billions wasted on destruction to far better uses. Anybody who calls the military 'heerows' in this situation is being overtly political, and when they say that they're not, they're lying. Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 You make some really good points Ocean. I don't have the time right now to type up any type of point-counter point (and wouldn't really have much anyway without thinking a little more heavily on it) Basically, I look at this in the simplistic terms and boil it down to the troops that are essentially 'forced' to be over there, many against their will. I see this program as a positive for those troops, especially since many of my friends are over there right now (including my housemate) and I know what they are going through. The Hero thing is a farce though. 99.99% of them will openly agree that labeling themselves heroes is going way, way too far. Not to speak for them, but it is their job since they signed up for the military and they are grudgingly doing what the situation dictates. The whole 'God Bless America' and all of the mock patriotism that I see on a day to day basis makes me cringe. The US is in the shitter right now in many ways and the media is now just appealing to the massess with their advertising, etc.... It sickens me to tell you the truth. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Barok my friends wife works in the airline biz. Meaning that he can fly anywhere in the world for 3man or there abouts. flying stand by yes but its a hell of a deal. Now you have America at war and when the troops can come home these same companies figure to make a buck. The companies could easily fly them stand by or at cost. Had this soldier knew he was coming home 2 weeks befpre he could have flown for 200 or less, right. My comment about Bush and the top 10% stands, I dont think anyone can debate that point. Anyways barok merry Xmas dude be safe in Colorado. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Barok my friends wife works in the airline biz. Meaning that he can fly anywhere in the world for 3man or there abouts. flying stand by yes but its a hell of a deal. Now you have America at war and when the troops can come home these same companies figure to make a buck. The companies could easily fly them stand by or at cost. Had this soldier knew he was coming home 2 weeks befpre he could have flown for 200 or less, right. My comment about Bush and the top 10% stands, I dont think anyone can debate that point. Anyways barok merry Xmas dude be safe in Colorado. Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 As always, thank you for addressing my nonsense Ocean 11. I see you've read yourself a little book and got all pumped up about the new knowledge in your head. Good for you! However, we're talking about a program designed for the voluntary donation of frequent flyer points to young men and women who would benefit from receiving them. Do you suppose it is possible to support the individual but not the organization? If I were to donate my FFP's don't you think I could do so without a political agenda or with no intentions whatsoever of supporting the war? Sure I could. And if I did, it would have nothing to do with your CIA book, Bush, American 'war lovers' or any of that nonsense you speak of. That's right! I could give my miles just for the individuals hoping to get home - no strings attached. What a concept, eh Sweetaz! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Plucky, I see your point. US citizens offering help like that springs from decent instincts. But sadly it takes a very narrow view of the whole situation, and provides a form of political backing where there shouldn't be any. And Kintaro, you'd be wrong to call it 'new' knowledge. It deepened old knowledge from some 10 years back. It's not as if Iraq didn't exist before Fox News discovered it. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 > American 'war lovers' or any of that nonsense you speak of I see dishonesty is a reflex of yours Kintaro. Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 ...and here I thought the BBC discovered it Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Quote: If I were to donate my FFP's don't you think I could do so without a political agenda Sure you could but you are refusing to see it within the real context of why the soldiers are out there and need help to get home from people other than those who sent them there. Had you done so you wouldn't have need to resort to the irrelevant and childish 'war lovers' reference. And being sweet to Sweetaz won't help your argument either. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetaz 0 Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Did you guys read this off the site?? Delta Airlines kicks off Operation Hero Miles with a donation of 10 million miles. Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger's office donates 67,000 miles to our troops. Congressman Allen Boyd donates 50,000 miles. Many more Representatives from both parties help to promote Hero Miles through links from their web sites. Southwest Airlines donates 20 ticket vouchers to the USO. Pan Am and Boston-Maine Airways offers free air transportation to military personnel on leave. United Airlines donates 10 million miles and will match up to 5 million more donated miles. American Airlines donates 10 million miles to Operation Hero Miles. AirTran Airways donates 8,000 flight credits to Operation Hero Miles, enough for 500 round trip tickets. Looks like the airlines have come to the party afterall. Anyway they are companies..not charities - so good on them for doing something! My father was in the Canadian Army for nearly 30yrs. We'd been posted overseas, he'd done peacekeeping missions and everything, and at no stage did he EVER have to pay to come home during leave. This is quite significant given the Canadian Army has a tiny budget for it's size. It disgusts me that Bush (howsat plucky? ) has overlooked the troops in this area. The US has one of the largest Military budgets(if not the largest?)- so why is it they could not afford to get their troops all the way home?? Shocking!!! Regarding the "hero miles" being political(or rather...just good marketing) or not....hell ya of course it is. But if Congressman Dutch Burger goes to the effort of getting this good thing off the ground why shouldnt he get the qdos for doing it? What sort of politicians would we prefer in power....ones who do nothing worthwhile? k..that was my attempt at being constructive....and long winded Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Ones who do things without having to blow their trumpet loud about it. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetaz 0 Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 I agree for the "average joe" doing somethign nice for someone else and then NOT blowing one's trumpet about it is far more honorable. But for politicians, they wouldn't last long if they didnt blow their trumpet! Link to post Share on other sites
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