Good Deed

Whether or not a person agrees with the war in Iraq, the grunts in the field aren't the ones that make the policy. Currently, the US is rotating troops home for a couple weeks of R&R, but there is a stupid military rule in effect right now: the military will fly troops to Germany or Baltimore-Washington International airport in the States, and that's it. The soldier is on his or her own at that point.

The congressman from the district that includes BWI figured he'd do something about it. Did he launch legislation to provide money to the military from tax dollars? No. Did he try to force private airline companies to eat the cost of transporting troops across the country? No. This congressman, Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), is asking ordinary Americans to donate extra frequent flier miles to help troops get home from Baltimore for some time off without the nagging worry of getting shot at for a couple weeks.

Yeah, this guy is a Democrat, and he's trying to do this without a government mandate. I mean, he has this whole Dean-ian Internet grassroots thing going on, but still...

Anyway. I donated 10,000 miles. They currently accept Delta, SouthWest, and Air Alaska miles and tickets, and they're trying to get more airlines to join. If you have a few thousand extra frequent flier miles, please consider donating:

http://www.heromiles.org

(and pass this on if you would like)