Project Valour-IT Update: Cash-n-Kerry!

Thanks to all of you who have expressed your support for the Project Valour-IT fundraising effort I mentioned yesterday! The Army team led by Blackfive has, at the time of this posting, raised nearly $8,000.00 toward their $45,000.00 objective; the four teams combined have raised more than $26,000.00 thus far.

Supporting the troops in his own inimitable way is erstwhile Presidential candidate John Kerry, who told a group of college students yesterday:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq."

For what it's worth, a commenter to Michelle Malkin's website noted that the officers and enlisted personnel in America's armed forces are, by and large, as well educated as or even better educated than the students at Pasadena City College whom Kerry addressed. Senator John McCain also criticized his current Senate and onetime Navy colleague:

Senator Kerry owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country's call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education.

Americans from all backgrounds, well off and less fortunate, with high school diplomas and graduate degrees, take seriously their duty to our country, and risk their lives today to defend the rest of us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

They all deserve our respect and deepest gratitude for their service. The suggestion that only the least educated Americans would agree to serve in the military and fight in Iraq, is an insult to every soldier serving in combat, and should deeply offend any American with an ounce of appreciation for what they suffer and risk so that the rest of us can sleep more comfortably at night.

Without them, we wouldn't live in a country where people securely possess all their God-given rights, including the right to express insensitive, ill-considered and uninformed remarks.

Perhaps cheeky political blog Wonkette is onto the truth, though; their theory is that Kerry is a "GOP Secret Weapon":

The conservative faithful is roused. Tony Snow has a whole script prepared for today’s spoon-fed question about how John Kerry thinks the troops are morons, talk radio and blogs show the only enthusiasm they’ve managed in a month .... It’s like the White House is paying Kerry to be out in public screwing things up.

Wait a minute!

Fortunately, contributing to worthy causes like Project Valour-IT is not a partisan affair; you can support the troops the Soldiers' Angels way and still support the troops the John Kerry way (and we won't even question your patriotism or "Swift Boat" you)!