Well, there were real hearings this week on Capitol Hill, though it doesn't explicitely deal with the Marines paying for their own gear.
Cher attends hearing on soldiers' helmets
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The subject was whether to modify helmets for soldiers in Iraq, but all eyes were on Cher. As photographers clicked away, the singer and actress entered a Capitol Hill hearing room through a back door 20 minutes after the session was scheduled to start. The hearing soon got under way.
Cher has donated more than $130,000 to the group Operation Helmet, which pays about $100 to modify the inside of soldiers' helmets to make them better able to absorb shock from a bomb blast.
Cher, wearing a white lace top under a black pant suit, looked solemn as she sat behind the group's founder, Dr. Bob Meaders, while he testified. Meaders said she didn't want to cause a distraction by testifying herself.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, noted that Cher's ex-husband, the late Rep. Sonny Bono, had served on the subcommittee. He called it a "special irony and really great tribute" to have her there.
The Army now equips its soldiers with padded helmets designed to be shock absorbent. The Marine Corps has commissioned a study to determine whether to change its helmets but has said the ones Marines use now are effective.
On the flip side, your right that if Bush were to interfere in any way in the proceedings dealing with the accused Marines, including the conditions of their current captivity, that would be considered "command influence" and screw up any proceedings. Therefore he can't tell the Marines how to run the investigation or how to treat the Marines. From news stories posted here yesterday it appears that the press coverage (in no small part pushed by those here on FR) has pushed the Marines to remove the shackles.
"Comfort - If it is more comfortable, it will stay on troop's head longer and more often.
Stability - Keeps the helmet firmly on the head and out of the eyes.
Protection - Shock-absorbing pads keep the helmet from slapping the skull when hit with blast forces, fragments, or being tumbled along the ground or inside a vehicle. This decreases the chance of brain injury from bombs, RPG's, vehicle accidents, falls, etc.
As a secondary benefit, the pads make the helmet actually float in water.
So of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have served in SWA, 8,300 have modified their helmets for the above reasons and didn't pay a dime to do it. Hell, Cher has had more modifications done to her face.
I think Kellynla has some more work to do.
In no small part... also due to the ripple effect of FReepers using their own e-mail lists to get the word out.
;^]
Gary Sinise has done more for our troops and for bringing civilization to Iraq than most "actors" could dream of, but nary an MSM word. That's fine.
But cher "tiptoes" into a Congressional hearing in a white lace top and GA-GA-GA!!
Feh!
"Cher has donated more than $130,000"
Gee, Cher won't be able to get her hair done for two weeks.
(not to denigrate the donation, but...)