The fact that an actor can use her celebrity and spout about anything, whether knowledgeable or not, and have it printed and treated as gospel. I love the response that the Airman wrote back. Very well thought out and composed. This Airman's response to the Washington Times should be printed in all newspapers across America. Especially now when the President is calling up more Reserves and National Guardsmen. Get this response out to everyone you know. It's time the Jane Fonda's & Sean Penn's of this country wise up and support the troops that defend them. Military pay article On 12 Nov, Ms Cindy Williams (from Laverne and Shirley TV show) wrote a piece for the Washington Times, denouncing the pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year -- citing that the stated 13% wage was more than they deserve. A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought to get a bonus for this! "Ms Williams: I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GIs earn enough" and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make $1,117.80 before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after. I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the team responsible for a 5,000-host computer network. I am involved with infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years experience with my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you have NEVER had the pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets off of WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN, I leave the choice of service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment experience." As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone -- obviously they've been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving them. Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night; and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE (meal-ready-to-eat) you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor. Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece. But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to say it. You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies. And you, Ms Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve? Rubbish! A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC" :TU:
Excellent letter!!:TU: Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!ou: It's nice to see someone put these overpaid Hollywood brats in their place!!! Actors and actresses should stick to what they do best - speaking someone ELSES lines!! Far too often, their 'own' words make them look pretty stupid!! I can't imagine considering ANY serviceman/woman being overpaid!!:af:
While this letter is in fact true, it was written by a different Cindy Williams. As taken from Urban Legends: There are two blatant factual errors in the introductory paragraph: The claim that actress Cindy Williams of "Laverne and Shirley" wrote an editorial against military pay increases (False the piece was written by a different Cindy Williams, an expert in national security issues) The claim that said editorial was published in the Washington Times (False it was published in the Washington Post) The original Washington Post article ran in January 2000 and was copied and pasted soon thereafter in a number of newsgroup discussions. The response by Michael Bragg (one of many such authored and circulated by outraged military personnel at the time) first appeared on the Internet about a month later, at which time it did not contain the erroneous attribution to actress Cindy Williams. As far as we can tell, that mistake crept into the text around July 2001. The message has continued to circulate in that form ever since. hey Greg, before posting next time you might want to first check out www.urbanlegends.com and do a search on a key word to find if the story is listed and whether it is true...
True enough, Yardley. Nevertheless, I have to wonder why the "legitimate" press reports what Barbra Streisand or Arnold Schwarzanegger says on an issue, who cares? These people's expertise and training is ACTING, not socio-economics, politics, international relations, or anything even close. They know how to do a love scene. When it comes to politics, those idiots should shut their traps. -Bob Cunningham bobc@gnttype.org
Right! Nothing against any political affiliations, but hollywood is basically full of screaming liberals and the press seems to be their sounding board. I pay no attention to what Michael Jackson does, or what Ted Turner thinks, or what eminem says. I really don't care. I rarely listen to newscasts. It is all bad news and a lot of it is pap that has been twisted. Do you really give a crap who the bachelorette picks? Will it make any difference in your life. Do you really want others to know you even spend your time watching that crap? The media pays way too much attention on crap like that, and not enough on substance.
I personally don't care whether it's true or not, but I think it's pretty much what my cousin in the army would be saying if he heard that he shouldn't get a payraise. I think his wife and child would say the same thing, as they try to replace the transmission in their Blazer and pay off their house. But, ya know, whatever.
