Macaque see, macaque do

Normally, I shy away from name calling on this site, but after Sen. George Allen (R-VA) called a staffer of his Democratic opponent "macaca" -- a variant of "macaque", which in some circles is used as a racist slur referring to dark-skinned minorities -- I think Mr. Allen deserves it.

Yesterday, Sen. Allen committed another act of incredible stupidity. See, my senator, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), was about to introduce an amendment (No. 4884) to the DOD appropriations bill (H.R. 5631) that would earmark $19 million for treating veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries. But Sen. Allen asked if he could speak before Durbin and then proceeded to introduce an amendment (No. 4883) that was identical, word for word, to Durbin's! I believe that's what we call plagiarism. But it's refreshing to see a Republican so enthusiastic about a Democratic idea that he wouldn't change a word.

Since the language was identical to Durbin's, it no longer made sense to introduce amendment 4884. Durbin graciously withdrew his amendment and, along with all the cosponsors of Durbin's amendment, attached his name as a cosponsor to No. 4883. Just like that, Durbin's idea goes on record as being Allen's.

An article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch has a different take on the incident, but if we are to believe Allen's campaign manager Dick Wadhams (yes, that really is his name) that the amendment was a "bipartisan effort," then why did Allen introduce his own amendment and not cosponsor Durbin's?

As for the merits of the proposal, I'll refer to an article that appeared last year in USA Today on the subject of soldiers suffering traumatic brain injuries (TBI's) in Iraq:

A growing number of U.S. troops whose body armor helped them survive bomb and rocket attacks are suffering brain damage as a result of the blasts. It's a type of injury some military doctors say has become the signature wound of the Iraq war. [Emphasis added]

Known as traumatic brain injury, or TBI, the wound is of the sort that many soldiers in previous wars never lived long enough to suffer. The explosions often cause brain damage similar to "shaken-baby syndrome," says Warren Lux, a neurologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

...

The injury is often hard to recognize — for doctors, for families and for the troops themselves. Months after being hurt, many soldiers may look fully recovered, but their brain functions remain labored. "They struggle much more than you think just from talking to them, so there is that sort of hidden quality to it," Lux says.