you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]risistill me 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I wasn't going to read Molly Ivins Shrub because the world has moved on, but then I decided to read it anyway. I haven't gotten far yet, but this is my second post from Shrub today.

Based on another author's book, Ivins concluded that only one child of a member of Congress was wounded during the Vietnam War. Few saw active duty, even if they served--even if they were in Vietnam itself--and many, like Shrub himself, did not serve in the "real" military at all. (Contrary to the belief of some, the Texas Air National Guard, from which Shrub eventually deserted, is not the same as the National Guard.)

On the flip side, standards for being a member of the military were lowered to an IQ of sixty. And a disproportionate number of those who were in the military due to lowered standards saw active duty and, perhaps not surprisingly, a disproportionate number of them also died.

[–]penelopepnortneyBecome ungovernable 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I had no idea they enlisted men who tested in the range of mild mental retardation, that's just abominable. On the other, I'd never heard the numbers but it doesn't surprise me at all. I'll bet they only gave college deferments because that's the only way they could justify keeping the elites' sons from being drafted.

[–]risistill me 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

that's just abominable.

Are you against economic opportunity for persons of lower IQ? After all, lowering the minimum IQ for military service was part of the Great Society program. Dying in Vietnam ends one person's poverty and gets a loved one a death benefit, in addition to swelling the ranks of "our" fighting forces. Win win win.

/s (In my experience, the "/s" always has been necessary)

On edit: My first post about this should have specified that the 1 wounded number was based on a 1970 report. Ivins doesn't mention whether or not the report covered only one year or the war up to the date covered by the report.