And one more thing. I will get flak for this from my knife buddies, because they are largely republican, government supporting, ex military, etc.

I am so sick of hearing about supporting our troops. Our troops are there because they want to be. No one forced them to sign on. No one put a gun to their head and said "do it or else". Servicemen in combat right now have trained to be where they are, and they were not disappointed when they were called to dubya's war. It's the reason you join the service, for the chance to maybe, someday..fight.

They're doing what they want to do, what they signed up to do, and what they're being paid to do. I support them in the same vein that I support garbagemen, teachers, auto mechanics and EMT's. Figure out what you want to do with your life, train responsibly for it, and then go do it. Servicemen aren't making a lot of money, nobody gets rich being in the army. Proof that passion for what they're doing is what motivates them. Why should we recognize them and regard them so highly?

If you think being a serviceman is for you, and you believe that your government needs your knowledge and skill to get it's business done, then more power to you. You've picked your job, now go and do it.

I believe my community needs my knowledge and skill to get it's emergency medical business done. There is a 60% chance I will be violently assaulted (probably stabbed or shot) at least once in my career. There is a 75% chance that I will be in a serious vehicle (ambulance) accident each year. I am 25 times more likely to contract AIDS than you are. My starting pay is $7 an hour.

When's my parade?