Veterans: Beware of Political Exploitation

Brothers & Sisters: Watch out for political opportunists

I read an interesting article in 2Dinar entitled "Pimping Troops; Pimping Themselves" which advises veterans to beware of using their societal status to incur free goodies from large corporations. I strongly agree with this sentiment. Primarily, since it cheapens the uniform collectively, and also it encourages a paradigm for the citizens of America to surrender their private property (note: that's why the third amendment is still in effect). But what about in the realm of political discourse? I strongly believe that veterans have an interesting perspective to bring to the discussion on foreign policy, since they have experienced many of the realities of it first-hand. But when a far-left organizations like ANSWER, who is the kind of organization that would be quick to demonize US troops as mongrels for the sake of political maneuvering, begins working with the anti-war veterans organization IVAW, I immediately grow concerned. You can see video of a march/die-in in the capitol here in which both organizations took part. It's a concern since these far-left organizations are exploiting a group of veterans just because it gives them some credence, since they have guys in make-shift uniforms on their side. While I respect IVAW opinions, I do not agree with their methodology as evidenced by their "Befriend a Recruiter" campaign, which seeks to gum up the works in recruiting districts so that military recruiters can't meet quotas. Then, I see this Lewrockwell post which highlights an active duty sailor who is anti-war and supports no one other than Ron Paul. I used to read Lew Rockwell back in the day, but his 10/day posts about the glories of Ron Paul have turned me quite cynical in recent months. Does Lew Rockwell really care about what veterans have to say, or is he just using Petty Officer Hutto for political exploitation? I find it troublesome that people carry on with this political opportunism. I'm just suggesting that everyone watch their backs so that your words aren't twisted around on you, and veterans can be a strong voice of reason and logic, regardless of their political dispositions. We don't need any more Jesse Macbeth fiascoes, so that bloated gasbag Rush Limbaugh can't start on a tirade about "phony soldiers".