something to ponder

I received the following in an e-mail. The e-mail accredited Rush Limbaugh as the orator... I haven't verified that, so, if it isn't Rush, sorry.

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 mi! llion up to $4.7 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 know 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.

I think it should be noted that the current President as well as the current Congress have treated the military very well. It is a night and day difference between how the military was treated under the previous President. I'm not saying that more couldn't be done... more should be done.