Commercial Madness

I hate TV commercials... pretty much all of them.
I tolerate smart commercials better than others, and Jack in the Box has some good ones.
But, some advertisers go above and beyond when it comes to misleading info, or just plain stupidity.
Take the two Army commercials that are currently running:
#1 Dad and son are arguing about the son's entry into the Reserves
Son: "they'll train me around here until they need me"
Dad "Good training?"
Son "It's the ARMY..."
[Notice that the question does not get answered. In Truth, most army training has NO real world applicability]
#2 Son and Mom at the dining table, Mom notices expectant look on Son's face and asks about it...
Son "I found somebody to pay for me to go to College"
{First, this is incredibly stilted language that NO high school senior would use casually. Kinda like those Lawyer commercials when people casually mention getting 'monetary compensation' for their injuries}
But this line is also too long, Your brain cannot prosess it properly if you have even a touch of ADD. What you hear is:
"I found someone To Pay for...College."
It doesn't.
Look at it really closely. What the kid is saying is that the Army will give him bus fare to GET TO college. That's the entirety of the promise here. No tuition payments, no books or dorms, just a ride. Now, some people actually get their college paid for by the army. Many find that wringing their GI bill out of the government is a losing proposition.

And let's not forget that we ARE AT WAR! You enter the army, and you're not going to college, or even getting any training for upwards of a decade. Everyone that passes basic training is forgoing their AIT (Advanced indiv. training, like Engineering... you know... "Good Training") and getting shipped directly to Fallujah. Only those people who choose AITs that are currently in need, and qualify for them, are getting "good" training. And since you're not exiting until after Bush is well out of office (assuming the Repubs don't steal another election) A teenager entering now may well be my age before getting into college.

*sigh*

Yes, I had a bad Army experience. Yes, I felt betrayed by my training, my country, and the shady-ass contract they had me sign. Although, I know most of the reasons that people are volunteering now, I still weep for our youth.