How long until this guy gets a trust fund or something?

He surely deserves something. (And I'm sure he's not the only one, just the on most widely reported on so far.)

Thanks for posting this!

The following comments are not to preclude anyone from donating to the fund. The following programs will help, but not fully fund what the children will need for the future.
Just so everyone knows the children are not left destitute orphans by this tragedy. Lori probably was having standard deductions from her paycheck for Servicemens Group Life Insurance [SGLI] worth $250K. The designated, in writing, survivors usually are immediate family or parents. She also had Social Security deducted, so the children are entitled to SS payments till they are 18 and 21 if they go to college. The children are also entitled to continue their enrollment in Tricare, the military medical system, as well to their 18th or 21st birthday. The children, accompanied by an authorized adult till their teenage year and unaccompanied thereafter, have access to military commissary and Armed Forces Exchange System facilities for the same period.

Nate, you're a troll and a disgusting one at that. I'm very sorry for the young man whose photo Daily Kos posted, but I'm sure that by the time this is all over with he will have prosthetic arms and hands. It's tragic that he was hurt and lost his family, but if Saddam remained in power he or members of his family would likely have faced death or torture at the hands of his own government.

Have you contributed to some fund that will help the victims of the Iraqi war? Before the war, did you contribute to an organization trying to help the Iraqis? Have you ever done anything more productive to actually help others other than snarking on websites or maybe, if it was good weather, going out with your little anti-war friends to rumble with the cops a bit before going to Starbucks to sneer at the establishment? When you show some proof that you've put anything of yours at risk for the people of Iraq, then maybe I'll think you're doing more than exploiting that young man's pain for your own arrogant sniping opportunity.

Piestewa died for her convictions. What have you done, Nate?

Saddam spent it on gold bathroom fixtures.

Nate, it's true that more sympathy and donations are likely to flow to U.S. military victims than to Iraqi civilians. And there's a way to suggest that we should extend our compassion to war victims of all sorts.

However, the way you went about bringing this up isn't likely to stir anyone to actually make a contribution for Iraqi war victims. Instead, your gesture appears only to vent your anger in a way that suggests disrespect for this woman who died in service to her country.

You can do a lot of good in the world by making a gentle appeal for wider compassion. And you can't do much of anything by just expressing how angry you are.

You're asking for compassion for Iraqi civilians. How about starting with compassion for people whose politics you despise? There are a lot of war supporters who will also support Iraq's war victims, will open their hearts and their wallets. But you won't enlist their aid by first assuming that they must be idiots for not seeing the issues as you do.

I posted that because I hope that something very special is done for that child, and for others like him. Period. That is all.

I meant no disrespect to Piestewa, her family, or anyone who chooses to donate to her children's fund.

Had I known it would have been read that way, I would not have posted at all.

I'm sorry to have upset you, Susanna.

assuming that they must be idiots for not seeing the issues as you do

Those are your words, Bruce. Not mine.

Had I known how many people would get the completely wrong idea from what I wrote earlier, I'd have posted this link for perspective.

Nate, apologies if I misattributed your motives.

Sad to say, Ali is unlikely to survive long enough to be the recipient of any aid. A story elsewhere noted that victims of such significant burns rarely live more than three weeks. But I do hope we'll all look for ways to contribute and urge our governments to contribute toward rebuilding Iraqi lives.

Nate, apologies again. I wasn't doing a very careful job of practicing what I preach.

Nate, thanks for the clarification. I apologize for misunderstanding your motives. However, the link you provided showed very clearly precisely the attitude I addressed, which contributed to my misunderstanding of your stance. The second link would have helped, if you'd given context.

I guess I should have taken into account the stuff at Kos. While searching for a better writeup, I found this.

Apparently there's already a fund!
If any TCP editors are reading these comments, how about a link to this story too?

What about the orphaned Iraqi children?

Which ones Bill, the tens of thousands orphaned by Saddam or the possibly couple hundred by this operation. For what it worth, if Korea is any indicator, any of our major military units stationed in country will usually end up sponsoring an orphanage and then, an effort will be made to support adoptions in-country or stateside depending upon the cultures openess to adoption. Unlike Saddam, we don't need a children's jail for non-criminal behaviors.