Posted on 06/15/2007 1:35:18 PM PDT by devane617
The U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort will be sailing off Florida waters on Sunday en route to Latin America and the Caribbean -- and The Miami Herald will be on board for a first report on the mission.
President Bush has ordered the ship, with a mixed 500-plus military and civilian crew and staff, to spend three months on a 12-nation tour as a goodwill gesture.
The Baltimore-based ship left port in Norfolk, Va., on Friday morning in what the Pentagon's U.S. Southern Command is calling ``its first-ever, large-scale humanitarian assistance deployment to Central America, South America and the Caribbean.''
Southcom estimates that during the tour, which coincides with the Atlantic hurricane season, medical and dental teams on board the ship will collaborate with foreign medical staff to ``provide medical care to an estimated 85,000 patients from communities with limited healthcare access.''
Comfort is a former tanker as lengthy as three football fields, equipped with a helicopter landing pad and the ability to take on patients from the sea as well. On this mission, it is equipped with two operating rooms, a 50-bed hospital ward and a host of scanning, laboratory and analysis equipment.
Stops will include Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
A Miami Herald team anticipates posting a news update and web-video at www.miamiherald.com Sunday evening -- following up with a full news report in Monday morning's newspaper.
Meantime, to read more about Comfort, see http://www.comfort.navy.mil
First, the fact that we gave foreign aid is no reason to continue. As you no doubt know, all the trillions we have squandered on other nations has not bought any friends amongst those nations.
Arguably, the nominal good which some small part of the foreign aid (which was not stolen by the kleptocratic governments of those recipient ‘nations’ MAY) have done was not cost effective.
We don’t need to buy communist nations when we have the Democratic party right here.
As for “humanitarian” purposes, that sounds like you are talking about charity. Wile I agree that charity is one of the redeeming aspects of mankind, it is an activity Constitutionally forbidden to government.
Should your knowledge of history be what you acquired at almost any American university or college, please google Rep. Davy Crockett and Horatio Bunce. Please note that charity is forbidden as a government act.
That we do it does not make it Constitutional, merely the Beltway Bandits doing their thing.
As for geopolitics, nothing is as effective as overwhelming military might and a trade policy in America’s favor. Rome did that and lasted some 400 years, the years of the Pax Romana. England also achieved military supremacy and ran a profitable colonial empire, and that was the period known as the Pax Britannica.
America is the dominant military power. But, thanks to bleeding heart Libroids, Commies in Congress (google up “Socialist Caucus” in Congress if you doubt me,), and other members of the socialism afflicted and/or the ‘hate America’ bunch, the Pax Americana is not accompanied by profitable colonies.
Remember Machiavelli’s “If you must choose between being loved and being feared, be feared.”
When the Second World, Third World, and Turd World nations are willing to agree to an American colony situation wherein America polices the world at a profit to America, then I’ll begin to worry about the issue of ‘foreign aid’.
Until then, “A pox upon them all.”
And so it came to pass - malaria, TB, AIDS, etc.
What is the purpose of the military?
I’m not being sarcastic, but give me some place where I can read about it.
thanks
Good question.
Because I saw the list of countries the ship is traveling to and all I could think was many of those are countries from which we are importing massive numbers of not only illegal aliens, but criminal problems as well.
I tied what seemed like a misguided military mission with the illegal aliens being imported from those countries and said what I said.
USNS ComfortUSNS Comfort
A simple Google search will answer all your questions........
So has mine but I'm not complaining. I have access to the BEST HEALTHCARE ON THIS PLANET. How about you?
I have a nephew who is 34 and currently in Harvard's Thorasic surgery training program after spending the last 4 or 5 years at the University of Pittsburgh. So when he finally graduates from the program in 4 more years, who do you want doing your heart surgery? Michael or the intern who only studied 4 years of heart stuff?
Do you understand what that means? The kid has been in medical training since he graduated from college back when he was 22 or 23 years old. While he is making money working at Mass. General, the fact remains he is still paying for continued medical education and he won't be gainfully employed until he's 40 years old!
As long as you continue to demand the best from our medical and pharmaceutical professions, be prepared to pay for it!!!!!
Ok, thanks.
...and yet you think nothing of spending the $200 to $700 on repairs for your automobiles whenever they are needed.
For what it's worth, you are spending more on your auto insurance, auto payments, auto maintenance and gasoline than you are on your medical costs but yet you complain about the costs of your medical and drugs.
For what you get for your money, maybe you should re-prioritize........
I just read on another thread that GW II was going to cut government spending. I read that today. I don’t believe this, he’s as crazy as his old man. What he ought to do is reisgn the Presidency and be a monk and go on a pilgrimage.
I just read on another thread that GW II was going to cut government spending. I read that today. I don’t believe this, he’s as crazy as his old man. What he ought to do is reisgn the Presidency and be a monk and go on a pilgrimage.
you think they will treat chavez’s hemmorhoids?seriously,why are military medical assets being used anywhere but for our armed forces or active allies?
You're welcome
About half of the permanent seamen on my ship are from Honduras. I’m proud to see them make a good living- The 50k they make between regular work and overtime doesn’t kill them, plus, back home it allows them to be men of means... I find them to be excellent workers and very warm, caring people. The conditions that they describe at home are often very shocking and disturbing. I’m glad we can help. Cheap at the cost, as I said.
Funny, isn’t it, that I can’t find any 2nd-generation-plus US citizens to work for 6 grand a month and a pension? Thank God the Honduranians are there to pick up the slack, elsewise it’d get tough to get gasoline from the refinery to the pump.
About half of the permanent seamen on my ship are from Honduras. I’m proud to see them make a good living- The 50k they make between regular work and overtime doesn’t kill them, plus, back home it allows them to be men of means... I find them to be excellent workers and very warm, caring people. The conditions that they describe at home are often very shocking and disturbing. I’m glad we can help. Cheap at the cost, as I said.
Funny, isn’t it, that I can’t find any 2nd-generation-plus US citizens to work for 6 grand a month and a pension? Thank God the Honduranians are there to pick up the slack, elsewise it’d get tough to get gasoline from the refinery to the pump.
“What’s the difference if we spend money (mine) on them there, or money on them here (plus, it can’t be peanuts to send a ship rolling around). We wouldn’t have to spend any on them if we enforced existing laws and close the border.”
The difference is spending 10 dollars per person down there, versus 10,000 - 100,000 (at least) per person on all the services received up here.
BIG difference, wouldn’t you say?
This is a horrible misuse of the military. Can George W. legally do this?
What devastates me most is I voted for this guy. Twice. |
You are an embarrassment.
“Compassionate conservatism” at work...
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