Facts on Right Wing Spam E Mail? Can you help me debunk??

[hollowdweller]

A friend sent me this and thought it was worth sharing....

Rush Limbaugh


Love him or loathe 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 our 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 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 $47 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 kn ow 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.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of
over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad.
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 voted themselves a raise. 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 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,
they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who
placed them in harm's way receives 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.

[snippy]

1. It's true I think. This is what happens when people vote republican. n/t

[Brundle_Fly]

2. congress salary

The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $158,100 per year.

Congress Pension.

How much they receive depends on a complicated formula based on when they joined Congress, how old they are at the time of retirement, how many years of service they had at the time of retirement (including previous military or other federal service), their salary, and which pension option they chose when they enrolled. In any case, a Member's pension amount may not exceed 80% of his/her salary upon retirement.

more...
http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly68.htm
Capitol Questions

[Brundle_Fly]

3. US soldiers military pension is

for basic enlisted package....

$1300 / month as per 2000 records...it has been increased, but I cannot find it.

[LynnTheDem]

4. Soldiers life insurance is $250,000

But that's optional; if the soldier didn't choose it, then the surviving family members won't get it.

And since when did pigboy & his rightwingnuttery give a fuck about our troops? How about not sending them to invasion & occupation based on a huge stinking pile of bush bullshit?

[hollowdweller]

5. I thought it odd that a republican was saying anything negative about 9/11

[Historic NY]

6. check snopes.com .........it appears to be what he said......n/t

[charlie]

8. Uh-uh

Everything up to "It's just really sad" is Limbaugh, the rest is tacked on. Which sounds about like Rush -- 9-11 survivors are trough-swillers. And there's small chance he'd attack Congress in toto for their compensations when most of it is comprised of his beloved Republicans.

[Child_Of_Isis]

7. "veterans for bush" n/t

[Demit]

9. While I certainly agree that military benefits are too paltry, contrasting

them with 9/11 survivor benefits, and then blaming an "entitlement" mentality is just wrong. The administration came up with the idea to pay off 9/11 victims so that they wouldn't sue the airlines. This is just an example of Rush Limbaugh misdirection. I don't mind him arguing for increasing benefits to people who serve in the military, but trying to get in a dig at "entitlement politics" is intellectually dishonest.