How to Pay For War Wounded's Meals?

Salon has a story explaining that hundreds of wounded soldiers being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC can pay for their own damn food:

"The last thing a wounded soldier needs to worry about is where the next meal is coming from. But for hundreds of Walter Reed patients, that's a real concern. Starting this month, the Army has started making some wounded soldiers pay for the food they eat at the hospital. .... [U]ntil Jan. 3, outpatient soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan ate for free in the chow hall. Now outpatient soldiers there longer than 90 days pay for meals in cash. Although Walter Reed did not disclose the exact number of soldiers affected, the policy is most likely to affect at least the estimated 600 soldiers getting long-term outpatient care at the hospital in what the Army calls 'medical hold.' Soldiers in medical hold are considered outpatients, but they usually live on hospital grounds — some are put up in nearby hotels if housing on the grounds is full — and have little choice but to buy food at the Walter Reed chow hall. Even as outpatients, soldiers in medical hold often have serious injuries. Some have been blown up by roadside bombs or crumpled in Humvee wrecks. They have serious head wounds and amputations. Others are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder after being flown out of Iraq with shellshock."

This is where the blogosphere could really shine. I'm counting on my readers and fellow writers to get creative. How can the Bush administration and the Pentagon free up the money needed to pay for these veterans' meals?

Here are some suggestions to start you off.

• Demand a partial refund from Armstrong Williams.
• Sell some White House office space to Ford, Exxon, Bank of America, and other sponsors of last week's inaugural galas. (It'd really just be formalizing their de facto ownership.)
• Maybe there's a few tins of caviar left over from the inauguration they could put on eBay?
• Have a collection at the White House (this was a great sucess during the church service last week!)
• Magnetic yellow ribbons that say "Feed Our Troops."
• Wristbands, wristbands, wristbands.

Please post your ideas.

Comments

[Poustman]

Wow. Nothing clever to say. What a wretched situation.