George W. may have looked like a real sport walking in the rain on November 11, saying thanks to all the soldiers who gave their lives in wars guys like him started, but outside the photo-ops, America’s veterans had another issue on their minds: would the Commander-in-Chief make them continue to pay their own disability benefits?

Under current legislation, vets give up a dollar of their armed forces retirement pay for every dollar they get in disability compensation. A decision to change the 111-year-old law was included in this year’s defence authorization bill, but the Bush administration feels they can’t start showering cash on crippled vets, arguing that the money could be better spent defending the U.S. from all the enemies it’s made. Negotiations on the bill will continue, but the administration will veto it if it means excusing the vets from what they owe the country. :

» Scott Saxon