Go, Jonny, Go

Hey, I guess when a comedian gets serious, it’s no joke. As Jon Stewart with his big mouth and bullhorn proved when he stood up for veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Turns out soldiers from those wars were suffering from the same kind of serious illnesses as 9/11 responders and Vietnam vets who were exposed to Agent Orange. Hundreds of thousands of vets are suffering because of exposure to burn pits—and the VA hasn’t done one goddamn thing to help.

Last week, 47 U.S. senators blocked a bill to provide healthcare benefits to those who have developed deadly illnesses due to burn pit exposure. And then high-fived each other after they knocked it down. That’s when Jon Stewart got real loud. What the Christ? These toxic pits, sometimes as large as 10 acres, use jet fuel as an accelerant to burn military waste while soldiers stand by for hours at a time inhaling the billowing black smoke. 

Stewart said, “We have a backward system that doesn’t honor our commitment to these men and women in conflict.” As the week went on, he never stopped shooting his mouth off, calling out each of these 47 senators by name and embarrassing the hell out of them. And it’s a good goddamn thing. On Tuesday night those jackasses finally approved the Pact Act.

I don’t get it. Why did it take a comedian to get these senators to do their jobs? We’ve got to do a better job of looking out for people who look out for us.

Keep your dukes up.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1wLTJf_WtU

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