'O' Wants $$$, Voted 'No!'

From Reuters:
President Obama asked the U.S. Congress for an additional $83.4 billion to fund the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on Thursday, saying the security situation along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier was urgent.
"The Taliban is resurgent and al Qaeda threatens America from its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border," Obama said in a letter to Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, that was released by the White House.
Obama said 95 percent of the $83.4 billion in supplemental funds he was requesting would go to support U.S. military operations in Iraq and the U.S. effort to disrupt and defeat al Qaeda.

How Obama voted on war funding while he was in the Senate:
May 2007: Congress approved a roughly $100 billion spending measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and domestic projects, including hurricane relief. Obama voted no.
December 2007: Congress cleared a $555 billion catchall spending bill that included $70 billion for U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama did not vote.

'Helping' The Vets

Cartoon by Toby Dials

Obama Bilking Wounded Vets?

From the American Legion:
The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.
"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."
The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ' to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans!"
Commander Rehbein was among a group of senior officials from veterans service organizations joining the President, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Steven Kosiak, the overseer of defense spending at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The group's early afternoon conversation at The White House was precipitated by a letter of protest presented to the President earlier this month. The letter, co-signed by Commander Rehbein and the heads of ten colleague organizations, read, in part, " There is simply no logical explanation for billing a veteran's personal insurance for care that the VA has a responsibility to provide. While we understand the fiscal difficulties this country faces right now, placing the burden of those fiscal problems on the men and women who have already sacrificed a great deal for this country is unconscionable."

Akihito To Visit Pearl Harbor?

From AFP News:
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Pearl Harbor this summer, the site of Japan's surprise attack on the United States during World War II, a news report has said.
If realized, it would be the first visit by the royal couple to the spot where the Japanese bombardment of the US fleet heralded the declaration of war between the two countries.
Akihito is the son of war-time Emperor Hirohito, under whom the Japanese military carried out the December 1941 attack in Hawaii, which killed around 2500 people, mostly American soldiers.
The visit would be made on the way back to Japan from the couple's planned official trip to Canada this summer, Kyodo said.
Under the plan, the emperor and empress will "unofficially" stop over in Hawaii to meet with local Japanese-American groups and visit Pearl Harbor during a break, Kyodo said.
Lower house speaker Yohei Kono, widely known for his dovish policies, visited Pearl Harbor in December last year, making him the highest-ranking Japanese official to do so.
Kono made the visit after US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi last year visited Hiroshima, a site of the first US atomic attack in 1945, becoming the most senior ranking sitting US official to do so.