tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19874879438925491962024-02-19T00:12:00.548-08:00The American Patriot Institute...To Defend The Constitution of The United States of America, Against All Enemies, Foreign And Domestic...deuddersunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01757971753925741976noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-55733098385413999602012-06-20T05:31:00.001-07:002012-06-20T05:32:02.381-07:00Routine VA Visit<a href="http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com/2012/06/typical-va-hospital-appointment.html"> Read about it Here</a>Spadomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-52942329082105098002011-09-12T04:12:00.000-07:002011-09-12T04:12:14.650-07:00A Poem Worth Reading<b>A Moment of Silence</b><br />
<br />
Emmanuel Ortiz<br />
<br />
Before I begin this poem, I’d like to ask you to join me in a moment of silence in honor of those who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.<br />
I would also like to ask you to offer up a moment of silence for all of those who have been harassed, imprisoned, disappeared, tortured, raped, or killed in retaliation for those strikes, for the victims in Afghanistan, Iraq, in the U.S., and throughout the world.<br />
And if I could just add one more thing…<br />
A full day of silence… for the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died at the hands of U.S.-backed Israeli forces over decades of occupation.<br />
Six months of silence… for the million and-a-half Iraqi people, mostly children, who have died of malnourishment or starvation as a result<br />
of a 12-year U.S. embargo against the country.<br />
…And now, the drums of war beat again.<br />
Before I begin this poem, two months of silence… for the Blacks under Apartheid in South Africa, where “homeland security” made them aliens in their own country<br />
Nine months of silence… for the dead in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where death rained down and peeled back every layer of concrete, steel, earth and skin, and the survivors went on as if alive.<br />
A year of silence… for the millions of dead in Viet Nam —a people, not a war—for those who know a thing or two about the scent of burning fuel, their relatives bones buried in it, their babies born of it.<br />
Two months of silence… for the decades of dead in Colombia, whose names, like the corpses they once represented, have piled up and slipped off our tongues.<br />
Before I begin this poem,<br />
Seven days of silence… for El Salvador<br />
A day of silence… for Nicaragua<br />
Five days of silence… for the Guatemaltecos<br />
None of whom ever knew a moment of peace in their living years.<br />
45 seconds of silence… for the 45 dead at Acteal, Chiapas…<br />
1,933 miles of silence… for every desperate body<br />
That burns in the desert sun<br />
Drowned in swollen rivers at the pearly gates to the Empire’s underbelly,<br />
A gaping wound sutured shut by razor wire and corrugated steel.<br />
25 years of silence… for the millions of Africans who found their graves far deeper in the ocean than any building could poke into the sky.<br />
For those who were strung and swung from the heights of sycamore trees<br />
In the south… the north… the east… the west…<br />
There will be no dna testing or dental records to identify their remains.<br />
100 years of silence… for the hundreds of millions of indigenous people<br />
From this half of right here,<br />
Whose land and lives were stolen,<br />
In postcard-perfect plots like Pine Ridge, Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, Fallen Timbers, or the Trail of Tears<br />
Names now reduced to innocuous magnetic poetry on the refrigerator of our consciousness…<br />
From somewhere within the pillars of power<br />
You open your mouths to invoke a moment of our silence<br />
And we are all left speechless,<br />
Our tongues snatched from our mouths,<br />
Our eyes stapled shut.<br />
A moment of silence,<br />
And the poets are laid to rest,<br />
The drums disintegrate into dust.<br />
Before I begin this poem,<br />
You want a moment of silence…<br />
You mourn now as if the world will never be the same<br />
And the rest of us hope to hell it won’t be.<br />
Not like it always has been.<br />
…Because this is not a 9-1-1 poem<br />
This is a 9/10 poem,<br />
It is a 9/9 poem,<br />
A 9/8 poem,<br />
A 9/7 poem…<br />
This is a 1492 poem.<br />
This is a poem about what causes poems like this to be written.<br />
And if this is a 9/11 poem, then<br />
This is a September 11th 1973 poem for Chile.<br />
This is a September 12th 1977 poem for Steven Biko in South Africa.<br />
This is a September 13th 1971 poem for the brothers at Attica Prison, New York.<br />
This is a September 14th 1992 poem for the people of Somalia.<br />
This is a poem for every date that falls to the ground amidst the ashes of amnesia.<br />
This is a poem for the 110 stories that were never told,<br />
The 110 stories that history uprooted from its textbooks<br />
The 110 stories that that cnn, bbc, The New York Times, and Newsweek ignored.<br />
This is a poem for interrupting this program.<br />
This is not a peace poem,<br />
Not a poem for forgiveness.<br />
This is a justice poem,<br />
A poem for never forgetting.<br />
This is a poem to remind us<br />
That all that glitters<br />
Might just be broken glass.<br />
And still you want a moment of silence for the dead?<br />
We could give you lifetimes of empty:<br />
The unmarked graves,<br />
The lost languages,<br />
The uprooted trees and histories,<br />
The dead stares on the faces of nameless children…<br />
Before I start this poem we could be silent forever<br />
Or just long enough to hunger,<br />
For the dust to bury us<br />
And you would still ask us<br />
For more of our silence.<br />
So if you want a moment of silence<br />
Then stop the oil pumps<br />
Turn off the engines, the televisions<br />
Sink the cruise ships<br />
Crash the stock markets<br />
Unplug the marquee lights<br />
Delete the e-mails and instant messages<br />
Derail the trains, ground the planes.<br />
If you want a moment of silence, put a brick through the window<br />
of Taco Bell<br />
And pay the workers for wages lost.<br />
Tear down the liquor stores,<br />
The townhouses, the White Houses, the jailhouses, the Penthouses<br />
and the Playboys.<br />
If you want a moment of silence,<br />
Then take it<br />
On Super Bowl Sunday,<br />
The Fourth of July,<br />
During Dayton’s 13 hour sale,<br />
The next time your white guilt fills the room where my beautiful brown people have gathered.<br />
You want a moment of silence<br />
Then take it<br />
Now,<br />
Before this poem begins.<br />
Here, in the echo of my voice,<br />
In the pause between goosesteps of the second hand,<br />
In the space between bodies in embrace,<br />
Here is your silence.<br />
Take it.<br />
Take it all.<br />
But don’t cut in line.<br />
Let your silence begin at the beginning of crime.<br />
And we,<br />
Tonight,<br />
We will keep right on singing<br />
For our dead.<br />
<br />
Emmanuel Ortiz is a third-generation Chicano/Puerto Rican/Irish-American community organizer and spoken word poet. He is the author of a chapbook of poems, The Word Is a Machete (self-published, 2003), and coeditor of Under What Bandera?: Anti-War Ofrendas from Minnesota y Califas (Calaca Press, 2004). He is a founding member of Palabristas: Latin@ Word Slingers, a collective of Latin@ poets in Minnesota. Emmanuel has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Oakland, California; and the Arizona/Mexico border. He currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the “buckle of the Bible Belt,” with his two dogs, Nogi and Cuca. In his spare time, he enjoys guacamole, soccer, and naps.<br />
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http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com/2011/09/read-this.htmlSpadomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-61992815490265926702009-12-15T05:34:00.000-08:002009-12-15T06:06:28.344-08:00Another Brother Gone but Not ForgottenLately I have been spending a lot of time on Facebook. It has been, for the most part, a rewarding experience. It has enabled me to meet people from all over the world and has taught me much about the different people and cultures we share this globe with.<div><br /></div><div>One of the men I have met is another salty old Marine named Daniel Pickens. This morning when I opened my inbox, I found this. Daniel wanted us to remember his friend and mentor, Craig Matlock, Specialist 5, Gunship Crew Chief, United States Army, so this is for him. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMyMcZDbIxbEoMastyYhJ_TtciUY_FJ5buM3BWjll1lnLfe8DQ7CN_U3N0w7H9WEI6zbKBsBlYHhPhJe9h5Zuoq-0Bh8Mp0iK4oA69fBF8VsjquVqH_kaQoqVzU6rE6lAEU5McP0wpuVc/s1600-h/Spc+5+Craig+Matlock.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMyMcZDbIxbEoMastyYhJ_TtciUY_FJ5buM3BWjll1lnLfe8DQ7CN_U3N0w7H9WEI6zbKBsBlYHhPhJe9h5Zuoq-0Bh8Mp0iK4oA69fBF8VsjquVqH_kaQoqVzU6rE6lAEU5McP0wpuVc/s320/Spc+5+Craig+Matlock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415458489539249538" /></a><br /></div><div>Craig Matlock<br />15 June 1946 - 1 May 2008<br /><br /></div><div>Crew Chief<br />1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry<br />Alpha Troop<br />Republic of Vietnam<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>1966 - 1967<br />"Head Hunters"<br />(Vietnam's first reconnaissance squadron) </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">From Daniel:</span><br /><br />Craig was the husband of my friend Lois and father of my friends Paul, Matt and Steven. You really had to know him to understand the kind of man he was. He always said what was on his mind and if he didn't like you, you knew about it right away. <br /><br />Specialist five, Craig Matlock, was drafted, run through the training mill, and sent to Vietnam. There he discovered what it really meant to crew a gunship. At the age of twenty he learned what it was like to kill to survive, to appreciate the beauty of a gunship run, and to feel pride in a unit. <br /><br />It took me a long time for him to speak to me about Vietnam. These are a few of his words.... <br /><br />"I don't talk much about the war because no one ever wants to hear about it. When I came back through San Francisco airport, I got spit on. I didn't know what was going on in the States. We read the 'Stars and Stripes' over there and it printed what they wanted us to read."<br /><br />"I had been drafted. I didn't ask to go over to Vietnam, but I still got called a baby killer." <br /><br />"Almost everybody there was eighteen to twenty years old. They did their jobs well. We were damned good at what we did. The American people should have been proud of us, instead of treating us the way they did." <br /><br />"I remember that country. It was really pretty country from the air, but sometimes you would see the bomb craters where men had fought and died. Vietnam was the kind of place you always wanted to get the hell out of, and once you left, you always wanted to see it again. I have a great regard for the MIA's and POW's who are STILL over there." <br /><br />"I don't have anything against the people of Vietnam, even the Viet Cong. They were doing what they thought was right, and we were doing what we were told." <br /><br />"People ignored Vietnam veterans and insulted us and treated us really badly, but I believe we will have our day."-- Craig Matlock Awarded: 19 Oak Leaf Clusters, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart <br /><br /><br />I will always remember.... <br /><br />So will we...<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BVzrsyCtoWY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BVzrsyCtoWY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">d.</span>deuddersunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01757971753925741976noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-91577859466370670222009-12-11T07:37:00.000-08:002009-12-11T07:39:44.033-08:00Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah to Those who Serve...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRuplioswFMSbmdG9j_zA-jgoRHaOBWRi1CvTCzPK_x4m4nZzfgPJzg3IOt3GWI5FiMHISg1k_PbigOEOluTBMOrHAMjpc1-u-LYWl6wFxNjjsyiOGlosEMsdXr5ISP7fX4j-PEdmJ5cR/s1600-h/korean67.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRuplioswFMSbmdG9j_zA-jgoRHaOBWRi1CvTCzPK_x4m4nZzfgPJzg3IOt3GWI5FiMHISg1k_PbigOEOluTBMOrHAMjpc1-u-LYWl6wFxNjjsyiOGlosEMsdXr5ISP7fX4j-PEdmJ5cR/s320/korean67.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414003448454272802" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,<br />I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,<br />My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.<br />Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,<div>Transforming the yard to a winter delight.<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; "></div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; "></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br /><br /></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br /></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; ">The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,</div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;">Completed the magic that was <span id="lw_1258372985_3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; ">Christmas Eve</span>.<br />My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,<br />Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.<br />In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,<br />So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.</span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><br /></span></div><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><br /></span></div></span></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;">The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,<br />But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..<br />Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the<br />sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.<br />My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,<br />And I crept to the door just to see who was near.</span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,<br />A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.<br />A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,<br />Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.<br />Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,<br />Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.</span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,<br />"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!<br />Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,<br />You should be at home on a <span id="lw_1258372985_4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; ">cold Christmas Eve</span>!"<br />For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,<br />Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..</span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />To the window that danced with a warm fire's light<br />Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,<br />I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."<br />"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,<br />That separates you from the darkest of times.</span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; "></div><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><div style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><br /></span></div><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;">No one had to ask or beg or implore me,<br />I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.<br />My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"<br />Then he sighed, "That's a <span id="lw_1258372985_5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; ">Christmas</span> 'Gram always remembers."<br />My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',<br />And now it is my turn and so, here I am.</span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />I've not seen my own son in more than a while,<br />But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.<br />Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,<br />The red, white, and blue... an American flag.<br />I can live through the cold and the being alone,<br />Away from my family, my house and my home.</span><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; "></div><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><br />I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,<br />I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.<br />I can carry the weight of killing another,<br />Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...<br />Who stand at the front against any and all,<br />To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."<span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; font-size:10px;color:black;"></span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,<br />Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."<br />"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,<br />"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?<br />It seems all too little for all that you've done,<br />For being away from your wife and your son."</span></div><br /><div align="center" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; text-align: center; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.22em; color:black;"><br />Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,<br />"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.<br />To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,<br />To stand your own watch, no matter how long.<br />For when we come home, either standing or dead,<br />To know you remember we fought and we bled.<br />Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,<br />That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."</span></div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; ">Semper Fidelis to ALL who serve...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; "><b>d.</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><b>Cross posted at deuddersun says...</b></span></span></div></div></div>deuddersunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01757971753925741976noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-79905869969541690072009-04-08T09:25:00.000-07:002009-04-08T09:29:49.255-07:00Military caught on tape cheating Vets out of health care as policyWe've posted before on the military cheating Vets out of the long term care that's due them for PTSD. They've been caught at it by 'Sgt. X' and still no one's listening.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.salon.com/news/special/coming_home/2009/04/08/tape/">Salon</a><br /><br /><blockquote>Last June, during a medical appointment, a patient named "Sgt. X" recorded an Army psychologist at Fort Carson, Colo., saying that he was under pressure not to diagnose combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Listen to a segment of the tape <a href="http://static.salon.com/media/mp3/2009/04/edited_mb_soldier.mp3">here</a>.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>For more than a year he's been seeking treatment at Fort Carson for a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, the signature injuries of the Iraq war. Sgt. X is also suffering through the Army's confusing disability payment system, handled by something called a medical evaluation board. The process of negotiating the system has been made harder by his war-damaged memory. Sgt. X's wife has to go with him to doctor's appointments so he'll remember what the doctor tells him.<br /><br />But what Sgt. X wants to tell a reporter about is one doctor's appointment at Fort Carson that his wife did not witness. When she couldn't accompany him to an appointment with psychologist Douglas McNinch last June, Sgt. X tucked a recording device into his pocket and set it on voice-activation so it would capture what the doctor said. Sgt. X had no idea that the little machine in his pocket was about to capture recorded evidence of something wounded soldiers and their advocates have long suspected -- that the military does not want Iraq veterans to be diagnosed with PTSD, a condition that obligates the military to provide expensive, intensive long-term care, including the possibility of lifetime disability payments. And, as Salon will explore in a second article Thursday, after the Army became aware of the tape, the Senate Armed Services Committee declined to investigate its implications, despite prodding from a senator who is not on the committee. The Army then conducted its own internal investigation -- and cleared itself of any wrongdoing.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>When [<span style="font-style:italic;">Army sawbones</span>] McNinch learned he would be quoted in a Salon article, he cut off further questions. He also said he would deny the interview took place. Salon, however, had recorded the conversation.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>A recently retired Army psychiatrist who still works for the government, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said commanders at another Army hospital instructed him to misdiagnose soldiers suffering from war-related PTSD, recommending instead that he diagnose them with other disorders that would reduce their benefits. The psychiatrist said he would be willing to say more publicly about the cases and provide specific names, but only if President Obama would protect him from retaliation.</blockquote><br />Less money for damaged soldiers = more money for the military industrial complex and cushy post-retirement jobs for generals + hides the true cost of Bush's Imperialist Oil War.<br /><br />Go read the rest, please.<br /><br /><blockquote><i>If you are aware of a soldier who has served or is serving in the Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts and is having trouble getting a PTSD diagnosis or proper benefits, please contact Mark Benjamin at mbenjamin (at) salon (dot) com.</i></blockquote><br /><i>NOW on PBS</i> did a report on a similar situation last week. See it <a href="http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/514/index.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>Thousands of U.S. troops are getting discharged out of the army. Many suffer from post traumatic stress disorders and brain injuries, and haven't been getting the care they need. The Army's been claiming these discharged soldiers had pre-existing mental illnesses. But health advocates say these are wrongful discharges, a way for the army to get rid of "problem" soldiers quickly, without giving them the treatment to which they're entitled.<br /><br />NOW covered this issue last summer, and this week we revisit the army's controversial position and follow up with affected soldiers we met.<br /><br />As a result of the media attention from our report and others, the Department of Defense revised its criteria for diagnosing pre-existing conditions and, now, fewer soldiers are receiving the diagnosis, making more of them eligible for care. </blockquote><br />I suggest we e-mail President Obama and demand he do the following:<br /><br />1) Issue an Executive Order to SecDef and the VA to knock off the cheap shit NOW. INSIST that Veterans be properly diagnosed and cared for.<br /><br />2) Make retaliation against those GIs and Medical Officers who come forward and speak out a court-martial offense, and a criminal offense in the VA.<br /><br />3) Review all previous diagnoses of 'pre-existing personality disorders' and 'anxiety disorders'. ALL of them.<br /><br />4) By all means have the Armed Forces Committee, the JAG Corps, and DOJ investigate this, but take care of the Veterans <i>first</i>.<br /><br />Just as a closing thought, now that Senator DOH! (Party of No - NC) has heard from every Post Commander of VFW, AL, DAV, MCL, VoteVet, and every other Vets outfit in North Carolina, he has dropped <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/03/duckworth-nomination-held_n_182966.html">his obstruction</a> to the appointment of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Duckworth">Tammy Duckworth</a> to Veterans Affairs. I think <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Shinseki">General Shinseki</a> and Major Duckworth will do what's best for our Veterans. If they are allowed to. <br /><br />Crossposted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">Alternate Brain</a>.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05772126106416366135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-13410975727046883112009-04-01T12:22:00.000-07:002009-04-01T12:26:36.589-07:00The Unmaking of A MarineIf you are interested in Veterans Affairs as we are, go read this <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00370.htm">book review</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>If Boudreau's brutally honest, devastatingly accurate, hard-hitting memoir, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Inferno-Unmaking-Tyler-Boudreau/dp/1932595325/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237406419&sr=8-1,">Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine</a> were read by the powers that be in Washington, D.C. and by the journalists assigned to cover both military conflicts, there is absolutely no way in hell the plight of our nation's veterans would take a backseat to the issues currently dominating the evening news coverage or the topics of conversations at dinner tables throughout the country. </blockquote><br /><blockquote> And therein lies one of the central themes of Boudreau's 222-page book: the images of the war he has heroically fought have been implanted inside of his mind and are on a permanent loop.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"To say I was duped is not sufficient to lighten the load," he writes.</span> (<i>my em</i>)<br /><br />The post-traumatic stress of the war in Iraq will forever be a part of Boudreau's identity and it will be a lifelong battle to keep it in check. For some soldiers, post-traumatic stress is the precursor to suicide, for others it leads to a life of drug abuse, alcoholism, or crime. </blockquote><br /><blockquote>Boudreau said "the smallest action or phrase from a commander can influence Marines and other soldiers not to seek help." </blockquote><br /><blockquote> "The pressure to prepare ourselves quickly was intense. When the first Marine came to my office and asked to see the psychiatrist about some troubling issues from our time in Iraq, I was sympathetic. I said, "No problem." When another half dozen or so Marines approached me with the same request, I was only somewhat concerned."<br /><br />"But when all of them and several more returned from their appointments with recommendations for discharge, I'll admit I was alarmed. Suddenly I was not as concerned about their mental health as I was about my company's troop strength." </blockquote><br /><blockquote> Boudreau said the treatment of post-traumatic stress is antithetical to the mantra of "Mission Accomplished."<br /><br />"The mission will always supersede treatment," Boudreau said. "And because of that the treatment will always be dubious."<br /><br />"And all the talk from bureaucrats about putting an end to multiple deployments, which has been blamed on the skyrocketing cases of post-traumatic stress and suicides, is inconceivable," Boudreau said.<br /><br />"I've heard the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff say 'we have to change this ethic,'" Boudreau said. "But it's not going to happen. Why? Because the military cannot afford a 20 percent reduction in its force." </blockquote><br />There are hundreds of thousands of <i>known</i> PTSD and an untold much larger number that are as yet undiagnosed or have not surfaced yet. This is a problem that will be with us until the last Veteran of Bush's Dual Clusterfuck dies eighty years from now. Or depending on how long the Iraq and Afghanistan wars continue, 150 years from now. We had better do some serious thinking as a nation about how to deal with it in a compassionate and effective manner or we are going to pay a tremendous human and societal price for Bush's criminal imperial misadventures. The cost of his entire administration in actual money so far, both current and the debt passed to two or three generations yet to come, will be as nothing compared to the cost of not doing the right thing for these Veterans.<br /><br />Crossposted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">Alternate Brain</a>.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05772126106416366135noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-34804426781174594872009-03-26T06:36:00.001-07:002009-03-26T06:36:41.944-07:00Border Region<p>Dan Rather has a weekly program on <a href="http://www.hd.net/danrather.html" mce_href="http://www.hd.net/danrather.html">HDNet</a>. Unfortunately, at the HD.net web site they only post a 38 second teaser of the hour long show. If you cannot watch it on your TV, they want you to buy a DVD of the show.</p><p><br /></p> <p>However, that takes nothing away from Dan Rather's presentation. I mention this because I think that this is extraordinary reporting. This is far more graphic than anything on the local news.</p><p><br /></p> <p>This week's show has a report from Quetta, Pakistan and from the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan.</p><p><br /></p> <p>The video of fire base Restrepol in the Korengal Valley of the platoon high in the mountains, at the 6000' level, reminds me of Viet Nam. Whether one is in a remote mountain outpost or up to your neck in water in a canal with leeches on your legs and abdomen waiting to ambush a barge carrying a regional chief, the extreme similarity is that in both places one is very uncomfortable.</p><p><br /></p> <p>This show brings home the gritty reality that the vast majority of Americans have never experienced. The privations, primitive living conditions and adaptabilty of the U.S. fighting man never cease to amaze me.</p>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-17011871463395024622009-03-20T14:51:00.000-07:002009-03-20T15:02:36.174-07:00Priority and Punishment<p>Here is my latest column in the CityView magazine. The link is to the published version and the text is what I submitted. I haven't actually noticed any differences.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(191, 191, 0);font-family:Trebuchet MS;" >CAFKIA</span></p><p><a href="http://cityviewmag.com/departments/dupree/327-dupree--punishment-vs-perspective.html">http://cityviewmag.com/departments/dupree/327-dupree--punishment-vs-perspective.html</a></p><br /><blockquote><p>In my early years in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club, I was somewhat of a screw up. It didn't really start there but that was where it manifested and became obvious to anyone who cared to look. It wasn't anything intentional I was doing to screw up my job. No, it was more of a problem of self-confidence. On my communications watch section in Rota, Spain, we had approximately 27 sailors. I think there were six of us who did not have college degrees and at least a couple of the six had at least gone to college. Only about four of us had never gone past high school. As a matter of fact, there were more sailors with advanced degrees than there were with no college at all on my watch section. It was the tail end of Vietnam and there were still a lot of guys on active duty who had joined the Navy rather than depend on their luck with the draft lottery. As one of the "uneducated" I had rather<br />severe feelings of inadequacy that were to all appearances, not completely undeserved. My primary means of dealing with these feelings was to do individualized scientific research into the capacity of a given human body to metabolize increasing amounts of barley derived alcohol. I can't remember what the results were.</p><p>The thing was, in my mind, I had equated education with intelligence, a mistake that someone as smart as I should not have made. From a strict intelligence<br />standpoint, I had all the potential in the world and there were certainly plenty of people who either were or had been in my life that had told me that very thing. Of course, I thought I was doing all I could and whatever potential they were seeing was an illusion I had created.</p><p>So anyway, I screwed up. I have no memory what the specific thing was that I did or didn't do that particular time but, it earned me a trip to the Master Chief's office. In the USN, Master Chief is the highest of the enlisted ranks (E-9). It is a position that few, if any, achieve by accident, subterfuge, or favoritism. It<br />requires that one be proficient in one's job field as well as a proven leader and manager. They also have typically been in the Navy 18+ years. They may not know every trick in the book but bullshitting them was not an easy thing to do. The use of profanity in the Navy is legendary as evidenced by the common phrase "cuss like a sailor". The average Master Chief was above average in their ability to spew sustained bursts of incredibly creative invective. So I knew what was<br />coming when I was sent to see the Master Chief. I knew that I had screwed up and I knew that I was in for a royal ass chewing. Really, it would be somewhat cathartic, he would yell, cuss, insult and exhort me to never again be brave enough to screwup while he was in charge. I would be a little humiliated and maybe even get some looks and/or words of sympathy from other sailors but, that would be the end of it. That would be my punishment. So I walked into the Master Chief's office "knowing" what was about to happen and yea, sure I was dreading it but,<br />I was looking forward to being done with it. It turns out, he was using a completely different playbook.</p><p>I walked in and stood at attention and he said in a quiet voice "Have a seat Steve". He paused as if collecting his thoughts and then quietly continued "Steve, you<br />have really disappointed me." He went on in that vein for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. He never raised his voice and no profanity was used inside that office. He told me why he was so disappointed and that he knew I was capable of better. By the time I left his office, I was practically crying. I had been blindsided, caught unawares. I didn't see it then but, that was a turning point for me. For some<br />reason I never understood, CTOCM Norm Champagne's expression of knowledge that I could do better, that I was smart enough to do anything, "took" when similar expressions from relatives, teachers, and other supervisors had left no real impression. I got much better at my job. By the time I left the Navy several years later, many expressed the opinion that I was the best in the job at E-5 and below. (at E-6 you really move more into a management thing)</p><p>At that time, I didn't really think about what he had done or how but, I have been<br />thinking about it a lot lately. Apparently, he didn't think it was important that I be punished. He had a mission to support. What was important to him was that I function in the capacity that was designated. So rather than focus his energy on punishing me, he focused on changing my behavior and/or attitude. He didn't worry about his reputation or image as a Master Chief, he wanted his crew to work<br />and he wanted to make sure that the taxpayer money spent training me, and the experience I already had, were not wasted.It is not news to anyone that reads me or knows me that I am no fan of the previous White House administration. I have loudly and vehemently expressed my opinion that Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Libby, and others were guilty of criminal behavior and should be severely punished. My memories of the transformative experience described above<br />will not change that opinion but, I no longer think it is especially important. It is not where I think the lion's share of the nation's energy needs to be expended. We do need to learn from the mistakes. We need to make sure that the national experience is not for naught. We need to act on the idea that ensuring the health of the nation is more important than punishing those I perceive as having injured it.</p><p>I'm not ready to say we should just move on but, I think I understand why the current executive is not making issuing punishment a priority for his administration.</p><p><br /></p></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">crossposted at </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.meanderthal.typepad.com"><span style="font-size:78%;">www.meanderthal.typepad.com</span><br /></a>CAFKIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09886621192762936265noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-25899122166737119532009-03-19T07:08:00.000-07:002009-03-19T07:10:22.520-07:00Obama abandons veterans' private insurance planAfter reading <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/2009/03/plan-to-bill-insurance-for-combat.html">yesterday's post</a>, President Obama has seen the light.<br /><br /><a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_abandons_veterans_private_insurance_plan_0318.html">Raw Story</a><br /><br /><blockquote>After today's meeting between veteran advocacy leaders and the Obama administration, the White House announced that it will be abandoning a plan to make veterans use private insurance for war-related injuries.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>The 11 leaders of veterans advocacy groups left today's meeting feeling relieved that veterans' health care wasn't going to be further jeopardized. Journalists caught up with Norbert Ryan, president of Military Officers Association of America, after the meeting. Ryan told reporters, "Our voices were heard. They made the right decision on this."</blockquote><br />Yes, they did.<br /><br />Crossposted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">Alternate Brain</a>.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05772126106416366135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-6678302921322108212009-03-18T10:40:00.000-07:002009-03-18T10:43:03.876-07:00Plan to bill insurance for combat injuries criticized<a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-veterans-health18-2009mar18,0,2805493.story">WaPo via LATimes</a><br /><br /><blockquote>An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for combat-related injuries has prompted veterans groups to condemn the plan as unethical, and powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill have promised to oppose it.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>The proposal -- intended to save the Department of Veterans Affairs $530 million a year -- would authorize the VA to bill private insurance companies for treatment of injuries and medical conditions related to military service, such as amputations, post-traumatic stress syndrome and other battle-related conditions. The VA already pursues so-called third-party billing for non-service-related conditions.<br /><br />Veterans groups said the change would abrogate the government's responsibility to care for the war-wounded. And they expressed concern that the new policy would make employers less willing to hire veterans for fear of the cost of insuring them, and that insurance benefits for veterans' families would also be jeopardized.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>Veterans groups described the plan as a puzzling political misstep by the new administration in its relations with the 25 million Americans who have served in the military. Obama heard firsthand about such objections Monday when he met with leaders of the groups at the White House.</blockquote><br />So...is a traumatically amputated limb suffered in service to one's country a 'pre-existing condition' worthy of denying benefits? Sounds like a can o' worms to me. Among other things. <br /><br />Quite simply the most ridiculous and mean-spirited cockamamie idea I have heard yet from this administration. It must not happen, and I have faith that it will not.<br /><br />C'mon, you guys, this is a misstep worthy of the Repugs' "no pull trigger, no get food, make 'em pay for their own rides home and their meals in a roach-infested moldy chow hall" mentality.<br /><br />Crossposted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">Alternate Brain</a>.Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05772126106416366135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-62872148329876707272009-01-04T06:40:00.001-08:002009-01-04T06:41:46.378-08:00Some Sow, Some Reap<div class="main"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>Unfortunately, the “sowers” are not the “reapers” in <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98913061">this case</a>.</p> <p><br /></p><p>In a different lifetime, I was the supervisor, Recruiter-in-Charge (R-in-C), 0f a four man recruiting office in a midwest town of about 20,000 people with a recruiting area of three counties. We had a “goal” of about fourteen contracts a month with an occasional dip to thirteen. Through an abundance of hard work and long hours we shipped about 145% of our goal. In other words, we were pretty good and we all ended up with at least one promotion because of it.</p> <p><br /></p><p>But it took an immense toll on our family life. One divorce (not me) and one 14 year old daughter pregnant.</p> <p><br /></p><p>The pressure, unbelievable. Actually the pressure is well beyond unbelievable. The pressure is there every waking moment. Saturdays, Sundays, when eating, when engaged in any activity. And, even though we were very successful, only one month in the three years I was a recruiter, did we make our goal before the last working day of the month.</p> <p><br /></p><p>And, none of us had come directly from a combat zone where people were actively trying to kill us.</p> <p><br /></p><p>I understand the pressure. What is unconsionable is the lack of caring for the troops by the commanding officer.</p> </div></div>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-19316610444365414942008-12-16T07:02:00.000-08:002008-12-16T07:03:42.666-08:00Jobs - Census TakerJust in case any readers are looking for a job, the U.S. Census Bureau is hiring part-time census takers. <a href="http://www.census.gov/2010censusjobs/" mce_href="http://www.census.gov/2010censusjobs/">Here is the link</a>.Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-15393233831017065242008-12-10T03:05:00.000-08:002008-12-10T03:06:02.335-08:00About Afghanistan ...Dday points out <a href="http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/whistling-past-graveyard-of-empires-by.html">the <i>big</i> reason</a> we can't win in Afghanistan:<br /><br /><blockquote>...<br /><br />That dissent is wholly justified given the realities on the ground. The Taliban, by one account, has a permanent presence in 72% of the country and is closing in on the capital, Kabul. <b>Unlike Iraq, the militant groups here have a connection to the local tribal communities - they are not solely foreign fighters imposing their will - and they are determined not to make the same mistakes as Al Qaeda in Iraq, even loosening its doctrinaire extremism to accommodate the locals and multiple insurgent groups</b>. The plan floated to "restart the surge" by enlisting tribal groups to fight the Taliban won't work with coalition forces targeting them at the same time:<br /><br />...<br /><br />The response to additional troops in the region will clearly be additional violence. This is particularly the case if civilian casualties continue, increasing anger among the local population. <b>The US plan appears to be to focus their troops in the Kabul region, which is incredibly ominous, suggesting that the countryside is being given up for the time being</b>. And the supply lines connecting the region have been breached. [my ems]<br /><br />...</blockquote><br /><br />So what; we're gonna build an 'enclave of democracy' in Kabul? A centralized target on which attacks from the outside can be directed? A place where none can leave the city limits without being targeted?<br /><br />What we are seeing is there is <i>no</i> real plan for Afghanistan. Fortifying Kabul (an obvious attempt to protect the Karzai government) will merely create an island in a sea of anarchy. We have painted ourselves into a corner.<br /><br />We are resorting to a strategy used 500 years ago, a 'siege mentality' where the defenders hope their fortifications withstand bombardment from without until the enemy runs out of supplies or gets tired of the fight. This is not the way to 'win' a war.<br /><br />Like the firebases and airfields in Vietnam <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/2008/12/logistics-ii.html">Gord showed us the other day</a>, our troops (and the civilians in Kabul) will come under constant fire, the aircraft and runway in particular, for we really have no other way to resupply. Think <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade">Berlin Airlift</a> but with anti-air going up at the transports and mortar fire coming down on the runway. It'll be a mess.<br /><br />Afghanistan is a place best left alone; ask the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_influence_in_Afghanistan">British</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan">Russians</a>. We cannot occupy it (the terrain making it logistically impossible), we cannot democratize it (the tribal culture will not support a centralized government), and we cannot buy their cooperation (there isn't enough money in the U.S. Treasury to guarantee their loyalty to us). And then there is the complication of Pakistan (namely the tribal areas of Waziristan), whose government has neither the stomach or the army to clean up the 'safe haven' for Afghani militants on their side of the border and cannot allow the U.S. to do it and survive politically.<br /><br />Our occupation of Afghanistan (if history is any guide) will end about as well as the British and Soviet versions did. We will leave (when the costs become too high), eventually, after declaring victory, and Afghanistan will return to being the way it always was. It's time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan as well, not send more, and promise them that the next time some idiot in a cave decides to attack the United States, the nation of Afghanistan will be nothing more than a smoking hole in the ground. When dealing with a population still living in the 8th Century, you cannot use a 21st Century strategy. In Afghanistan there are two constants; life and death. Allow them the first and promise them the last if they misbehave. Any other alternative is nothing more than a waste of lives and money.<br /><br /><h6>Cross-posted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">the Brain</a>.</h6>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-83568031802515714582008-11-30T17:19:00.000-08:002008-11-30T18:43:25.497-08:00Team Obama<p><br />The possible strategy behind the picks.</p><p>Finally, we have unity between conservatives and progressives. Unfortunately it is a unity based either in stupidity or deceitfulness.</p><p>Both sides are tripping all over themselves to criticize Obama's picks for his cabinet and advisers. Progressives in particular seem to be livid that moderates figure so prominently and conservatives, who want change less than they want a salt filled straw in the eye, are falling all over themselves pointing out that Obama's picks seem to be at odds with his campaign mantra of "change". One side is being incredibly shortsighted and the other is being blatantly disingenuous. Both are being patently ridiculous.</p><p>Barack Obama will face challenges upon taking the oath like no president in recent times has seen and possibly, no president ever. I certainly have no contact with or special insight to the Obama mindset but, it is obvious what he is doing. Given the current economic crisis and the wars that have so far been idiotically prosecuted, team Obama will have to hit the ground running. Among the things he wants to avoid are contentious and drawn out confirmation hearings. He also simply does not have the time to wait for an entire crew of fresh minded Washington outsiders to learn the whos, whys, and hows of the Washington system. It is almost an impossibility that many of today's picks will not start to need to spend more time with their families in two years or whenever things start to get better. I fully expect them to be replaced with those who would be considered outsiders today. They will be working for current picks and/or will have been apprised of their position on the list and will have been given study materials plus, they will not all start at once. It would be irresponsible, even if it were possible, to institute al the desired change at once. It must be instituted over time.</p><p>However, all of that is pretty much secondary. There is an old saying that "the fish stinks from the head". The Clinton appointees will not do as they did under Bill Clinton. They will have the knowledge and experience but they will have a leader with a a different agenda. What seems to be forgotten is that Bush did not hire stupid people to work for him. He hired smart people(of perhaps questionable moral character) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">he</span> led them to do stupid things. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The fish stinks from the head</span>. Anyone who doubts that Barack Obama could take the exact same crew who helped bush screw the nation and achieve significantly different and positive results is simply not paying attention. </p><p>So what say we give Obama a chance to lead. What say we withhold judgment until we have some evidence. It may be that he can't fix this but then, it may be that no one or group can fix this. For sure his chances will not be improved by building his team entirely out of rookies.</p><p><br /><span style="color: rgb(191, 191, 0);font-family:Trebuchet MS;" >CAFKIA</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(191, 191, 0);font-family:Trebuchet MS;" ><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">cross posted at <a href="http://www.meanderthal.typepad.com/">www.meanderthal.typepad.com</a></span></span><br /></span></p>CAFKIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09886621192762936265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-19224457834554670662008-11-22T09:40:00.000-08:002008-11-22T09:42:26.409-08:0045 Years<div class="main"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>Where were you, 45 years ago, when you heard the “news?” This was the first really big dose of reality in my life. I had been in the Navy over five years, was in Washington, D.C. on 20 Jan 1961 when John Kennedy was inaugurated and married with one child.</p><p><br /></p> <p>But I was not prepared for the news that came over the TV while I was eating lunch at the Acey-Duecy Club at the Naval Training Center on Treasure Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The assassination of the President of the United States was a foreign concept. It was not in realm of the possible for me.</p><p><br /></p> <p>So, at 1215 22 Nov 1963, my world changed (as did a lot of other people’s worlds.)</p><p><br /></p> <p>Where were you ? ?</p> </div></div>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-53257220643680489732008-11-11T07:05:00.001-08:002008-11-11T07:12:36.089-08:00All Gave Some...Some Gave All<em>This post is crossposted at <a href="http://deuddersun.blogspot.com/">deuddersun says...</a> and is the opinion of deuddersun. It is in no way meant to reflect the position of the American Patriot Institute or it's members. I encourage other members to cross post their own tributes here as well. - d.</em><br /><br /><br /><center><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><em>(I am once again re-posting this Tribute...because I just can't say it any better...)</em></span></center><center><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"></span></center><center><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">This is a post from Veteran's Day last year.</span> I have reposted it, with some modifications, because I think it says it all. While the video and song below relate to a particularly bloody battle fought by the United States Army's 173rd Airborne, the message relates to all who have given their lives in service to the United States of America, whether it be 1945, 1965 or 5 minutes ago on a debris littered street in Baghdad.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WmHgwjXlsPY&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WmHgwjXlsPY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Today I would like to put politics aside and honor the Warriors.<br /></span><br /><br /><img src="http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/deuddersun/tus-Poster.jpg" width="300" height="375" /></center><center><strong><blockquote>The Sentinels Creed </blockquote></strong><br />My dedication to this sacred duty is total and wholehearted.<br />In the responsibility bestowed on me never will I falter.<br />And with dignity and perseverance my standard will remain perfection.<br />Through the years of diligence and praise and the discomfort of the elements,<br />I will walk my tour in humble reverence to the best of my ability.<br />It is he who commands the respect I protect.<br />His bravery that made us so proud.<br />Surrounded by well meaning crowds by day alone in the thoughtful peace of night,<br />this soldier will in honored glory rest under my eternal vigilance.</center><br /><br /><center><em>Poster courtesy United States Army. Image and Sentinels Creed courtesy <a href="http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/">Arlington National Cemetery</a></em></center><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This is for Jerry Maguire.</span></p><p align="center">Mag's First love...</p><p align="center">Who, only six weeks in country</p><p align="center">Was shot in the head</p><p align="center">While walking point.</p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">God Bless You</p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Jerry</strong></span></p><p align="center">Today we'll visit the wall</p><p align="center">here in Philly</p><p align="center">and drink a beer with you.</p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Gerald Maguire</span></strong></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">United States Army</span></p><p align="center"><strong>Once, Always. Forever</strong> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">Faithful</span></p><p align="center"><br /></p><center><blockquote><strong><span style="COLOR: rgb(51,51,255)"><span style="font-size:180%;">For My Own...</span> </span></strong></blockquote></center><br /><br /><br /><center><img src="http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/deuddersun/IwoJima02.jpg" width="550" height="302" /></center><br /><br /><center><em>Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.racphoto.com/Parks/DC/Arlington/arlington.html">Arlington National Cemetery</a></em></center><p></p><center><img src="http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/deuddersun/EGAFlag.jpg" width="263" /></center><p align="center"><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MbYRmTceZ1c&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MbYRmTceZ1c&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">While the weapons may have changed over time, one thing remains the same, the Marine who wields it.</span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/j5JKbgVzPZg&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/j5JKbgVzPZg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">The Final Inspection</span></strong></p><p align="center"><strong></strong><br />The Marine stood and faced his God </p><p align="center">Which must always come to pass.</p><p align="center">He hoped his shoes were shining</p><p align="center">Just as brightly as his brass. </p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">Step forward now, oh, Devil-Dog,</p><p align="center">How shall I deal with you? </p><p align="center">Have you always turned the other cheek?</p><p align="center">To My Church have you been true? </p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">The Jarhead squared his shoulders... said,</p><p align="center">"No, Lord, I guess I ain't, </p><p align="center">'cause those of us who carry guns </p><p align="center">Can't always be a saint. </p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">I've had to work most Sundays </p><p align="center">And at times my talk was tough, </p><p align="center">And sometimes I've been violent, </p><p align="center">'cause the world is awfully rough. </p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">But, I never took a penny</p><p align="center">That wasn't mine to keep...</p><p align="center">Though I worked a lot of overtime</p><p align="center">When the bills just got too steep,<br /></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">And I never passed a cry for help,</p><p align="center">Though at times I shook with fear,</p><p align="center">And sometimes, God forgive me,</p><p align="center">I've wept unmanly tears. </p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center">I know I don't deserve a place</p><p align="center">Among the people here,</p><p align="center">They never wanted me around</p><p align="center">Except to calm their fear.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">"If you've a place for me here, Lord,</p><p align="center">It needn't be so grand,</p><p align="center">I never expected or had too much,</p><p align="center">So if you don't, I'll understand."</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">A silence fell all 'round the throne</p><p align="center">Where Saints had often trod,</p><p align="center">As the Marine awaited quietly,</p><p align="center">The judgment of his God.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">Step forward now, My Fine Marine,</p><p align="center">You've borne your burdens well,</p><p align="center">Walk your post on Heaven's streets,</p><p align="center"><em>You've served your time in Hell.</em><br /><br /><strong></strong></p><p align="center"><strong></strong></p><p align="center"><strong>Sleep in Peace, Brothers.</strong><br /></p><p></p><p><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RWTxYT30Y3g&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RWTxYT30Y3g&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>deuddersun</strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>deuddersunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01757971753925741976noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-25057645031031306332008-11-08T16:31:00.000-08:002008-11-08T16:36:40.941-08:00I Need Some HelpMy co-blogger, Kathy, at Liberty Street has asked me a question about U.S. Army unit hierarchy. I cannot answer her. Can anyone here shine some light on this ? ?<br /><br />"I've just begun reading David Halberstam's book on the Korean War, and in the front matter of the book he has a listing of military terminology, of military units, from largest to smallest: Army, Corps, Division, Regiment, Battalion, Company, Platoon, and Squad. He says:<br /><br />An Army is comprised of 2 or more Corps and is normally commanded by a full General.<br /><br />A Corps is comprised of 2 or more Divisions and is normally commanded by a Lieutenant General.<br /><br />A Division is comprised of 3 Regiments and is commanded by a Major General.<br /><br />A Regiment is comprised of 3 Battalions and is commanded by a Colonel.<br /><br />A Battalion is comprised of 4 or more Companies and is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel.<br /><br />A Company is comprised of 4 Platoons and is commanded by a Captain.<br /><br />A Platoon is comprised of 4 Squads and is commanded by a Lieutenant.<br /><br />A Squad has 10 or more soldiers in it and is commanded by a Staff Sergeant.<br /><br />Does the above accord with your experience of military hierarchy?"Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-86031979697861621312008-11-07T12:48:00.000-08:002008-11-07T12:49:40.914-08:00Another Tragedy<p><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/05/2008-11-05_brooklyn_marine_sergeant__wife_tortured_-2.html" mce_href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/05/2008-11-05_brooklyn_marine_sergeant__wife_tortured_-2.html">This story</a>, as much of a huge tragedy as it is, is difficult to know where to begin writing about. The end of the story reflects my initial thoughts.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;" mce_style="padding-left:30px;">Pietrzak's mother said she can't understand how Marines could have committed such a crime.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;" mce_style="padding-left:30px;">"Don't the Marines screen out people like this?" she said. "Didn't they know they had murderers under their roof?"</p> <p>I was a Navy recruiter for three years. Only a recruiter or ex-recruiter can understand the extreme pressure that is applied to find "warm bodies."</p> <p>The up-front cause of this tragedy may have a strong racial component, although I read that two of the accused are white and two are African-American, or maybe not. But I believe the underlying cause will be shown to be the recruitment of people that have no business being in the U.S. military and are only there because the military is scraping the bottom of the barrel.</p>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-33917751039718533382008-10-24T03:05:00.000-07:002008-10-24T03:06:17.222-07:00I meant to link to this the other day but my real world is crazy and I forgot. Remembering now (as I head out the door) to send you to <a href="http://theleftofcollegestation.blogspot.com/2008/10/veteran-bloggers-case-against-senator.html">Left of College Station</a>. Liberal Texan makes the case against McCain with quotes from vet bloggers. Our great thanks to be included in the 'evidence'.<br /><br /><h6>Cross-posted at <a href="http://alterx.blogspot.com/">the Brain</a>.</h6>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-64961212368177629342008-10-18T05:20:00.000-07:002008-10-18T05:37:50.260-07:00Veterans Beaten at Presidential Debate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyd8-W0p97H2PpgRf9M8Mhxr1LxDer-Skrv3nhZ1bCNOn8nGYH9jeTAcfsyC1dOWnaQ1ZIDElLVOuDiiTV_YtLniPwY8sUinmUSWG_8NDrbGgjEZIq8QIHhhzxLeKr1j73swZ7GY9npp0/s1600-h/03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyd8-W0p97H2PpgRf9M8Mhxr1LxDer-Skrv3nhZ1bCNOn8nGYH9jeTAcfsyC1dOWnaQ1ZIDElLVOuDiiTV_YtLniPwY8sUinmUSWG_8NDrbGgjEZIq8QIHhhzxLeKr1j73swZ7GY9npp0/s400/03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258459506553176594" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Nick Morgan, a former Army Sergeant was trampled, knocked out, and had his face crushed by the hoof of a horse.</span><br /><br /><br />On October 15th, the third Presidential debate was held at Hofstra University in New York. A group of Veterans from the peace activist group Iraq Veterans Against the War, or IVAW, assembled peacefully and asked to deliver questions for the candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, about Veterans issues. <br /><br />Ten members of IVAW were arrested with one Veteran trampled by a police department horse. His cheek bone was crushed and he required stitches on his face. You can read the <a href="http://www.squadron13.com/BillPerry/HofstraDebate/default.htm">Whole Story</a> right here. It is complete with pictures. Some of these photos are graphic and there is blood so be aware of that.<br /><br />Please read the whole article. It seems that these Veterans are saying that they assembled in a peaceful manner. They claim the injured protester was not given any medical attention until it was demanded by the other Veterans in their midst. They go on to claim the police harassed the injured Veteran while chaining him to a bench at police headquarters.<br /><br />I am a member of Veterans For Peace. I attended the annual convention and met many IVAW members. Their mantra and behavior during RNC was stellar as far as practising peace was concerned. When conventional methods of trying to negotiate through proper channels is ignored, the protest march and requests in person might be one of the only avenues left. Men and women in uniform, attesting that they are indeed Veterans and want to peacefully assemble and ask questions of our future leaders, need not be attacked and thwarted without cause by authorities. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">We have come to a time when the people we are to trust need to protect themselves with heavily armed guards, some who are private contractors such as Blackwater, just to stand and tell us how good and trustworthy they are.<blockquote></blockquote></span><br /><br />The article published phone numbers of the appropriate department heads to complain, ask questions of or just put your two cents worth in about such treatment of peaceful Veteran protesters wanting issues pertaining to all Veterans to be heard. I urge anyone concerned to call and voice your concern. <br /><br />While you're at it, the <a href="http://rnc8.org/">RNC 8</a>, the group of people arrested under the Patriot Act and charged with "suspicion to commit terrorism" could use a few letters and phone calls as well. My friend, who was arrested during the RNC is not one of the RNC 8, but he did get arrested and detained. He was released but had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for his personal belongings. Here is is, in a strange town, without money, credit card, cell phone, transportation or clean clothes, waiting for the bumbling farce of a police force to process him, only to find out that now, a month and a half after the event, his case is still pending charges. All the while, the City of Saint Paul raking in the 50 million dollar "fee" to hold the Republican Convention in a city where no Republican wanted to be. That's another rant and I may have made that one already previously.<br /><br />I have bowed out of the politics thing. It is obscene to me. The money being spent to attack another candidate. These politicians are no better than the government as far as spending, no, wasting, millions of dollars to get elected. I am voting for the lessor of two evils. I think that my vote will end the current regime in Washington if the candidate I choose wins. But both are serving the interests of big money contributors and special interests.<br /><br />The bottom line for me here is to call attention to the fact that there are many issues on the table during this presidential election. The issues for Veterans returning from this illegal and immoral war are as real as they get. When the police attack and beat back people, Veterans, who simply want to deliver a message, in this case questions of concern about Veterans issues, those law enforcement entities are the problem and stand for what America has become. It is no less a police state than what Americans were told about East Germany and the USSR during the cold war.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In my opinion, since there has been no report by either the McCain or the Obama campaign intervening on the behalf of these Veterans proves they are out of touch and not worth a pile of shit, either of them.</span> <br /><br />Sometimes I truly believe we shouldn't vote, as it just encourages them to think that we really want them as leaders. Most of the time, we are voting so the more evil of the two gets elected. The "real" candidates are lost and forgotten. The good messages and strong support towards a real sense of peace and justice for all people is forgotten. We are told that a vote for and other party is a lost vote and will surely allow the other candidate to win. All we really want is a balance of the issues that are unfair to be shifted either to the right or left so as to bring peace and real justice to all Americans and to the citizens of the Sacred Earth Mother that this country has forsaken with their bombs, money, one-sided self-righteous foreign policy and arrogance.<br /><br />By the way, I got my absentee ballot in the mail and there are no less than nine candidates for President. The choices are there, but our bought and paid for media mentions none of this. We are suppose to be represented, but only the high rollers are mentioned. The Republicans and the Democrats. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Seems the Green, Libertarian, Socialist Party USA, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Independent, Constitution and We The People parties don't exist in the news, but have candidates on the official sanctioned ballot.</span><br /><br />Please make your calls about these Veterans. And when you're done there, read <a href="http://www.truthout.org/101608D">THIS ARTICLE</a>.<br /><br />This article also appears at <a href="http://spadoman-roundcircle.blogspot.com">Round Circle</a>Spadomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-91819025421787789852008-10-07T06:42:00.001-07:002008-10-07T06:42:50.537-07:00Golden Anniversary<div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview"><p>Most people probably would not give this a second thought, but today is a <strong>B-I-G </strong>day, a very memorable day for the Ol’ Chief.</p> <h1 style="text-align: center;">7 Oct 1958</h1> <p>Fifty years ago today, I left home for the first, and last, time to go into a somewhat wider world than Hanover, Massachusetts to seek my fortune. That I was far more successful than anyone could have imagined cannot be argued. That I have not made my first million yet is also true.</p> <p><a href="http://libertystreet.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/pole-chief-parker-c130-11.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4365" title="pole-chief-parker-c130-11" src="http://libertystreet.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/pole-chief-parker-c130-11.jpg?w=500&h=304" alt="" width="500" height="304" /></a></p> <p>Yet how many people can say they were responsible for the maintenance of all United States communication equipment for a <strong>whole continent?</strong> The above picture was taken at the South Pole a long time ago.</p> <p>So we mark this day, and we celebrate this occasion, in a quiet, peaceful way that befits a senior citizen who has accomplished much and is enjoying his “golden” years.</p> </div> </div>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-31477072426613350762008-09-25T20:23:00.001-07:002008-09-25T20:23:57.288-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlpWn1oJs5xU_Rqy8-o7nDZMqIkXCwCQraDB2Wkl1UNak4lRZ9GY7jd7YRklEXbzxdhZ9XmBk5nxnsNcoIutBh8fa9KfKzXW3NQ3Y-c9YGPfZ9w6fuwVZXHGIkkHkGC7N5G5Qwoin-mo/s1600-h/Whitey.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOlpWn1oJs5xU_Rqy8-o7nDZMqIkXCwCQraDB2Wkl1UNak4lRZ9GY7jd7YRklEXbzxdhZ9XmBk5nxnsNcoIutBh8fa9KfKzXW3NQ3Y-c9YGPfZ9w6fuwVZXHGIkkHkGC7N5G5Qwoin-mo/s400/Whitey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250162144041627906" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Shipmates,<br /> <br />It is with heavy heart I report on the passing of Chester M. (Whitey) Mack, Captain, USN (Ret.). Knowing in advance the end was so near makes this announcement no less sad for me. No other person in my life impressed on me the worth of trust and the advantages gained by surrounding oneself with superior talents. In my mind I can think of no greater position of responsibility than that of ship captain. It is not that Whitey may have been the greatest captain of all time, or even of his time. But, Whitey took us into harms way and brought us back home. That was his task and he did it well.<br /> <br />Whitey passed at 1819 EDT, Sept. 25, at a hospice near Englewood, Florida.<br /> <br />Say a prayer tonight for the soul of Whitey Mack and for God's blessing on Joan and their children. "Oh hear us when we call to thee, for those in peril on the sea"<br /> <br />Rest your oars Whitey Mack.<br /> <br />Chuck Petterson</span><br /><br /><br />I recieved this e-mail from a former shipmate who served on board USS LAPON (SSN-661), a nuclear fast attack submarine made legendary in the "silent service", thanks to this man, Captain Whitey Mack, who commanded this fine boat a few years before I had the honor to serve aboard her. I never had the privelege to meet Capt. Mack, and I would not venture to suggest that the Captains I served under were made of the same steel as this man. Regardless, I feel the same loss as every crewmember of this submarine does, and I want to thank Capt. Mack for his service to our country. I can only hope that generations of warriors and politicians that follow do not shame this man's memory, as they threaten to do now.<br /><br />"They go down to the sea in ships...."<br /><br />Rest your oars, Captain, My Captain........Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-62708369302868209922008-09-23T07:47:00.000-07:002008-09-23T10:51:15.041-07:00Veterans For Peace is Taking Action<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv-Zj7GLwd4lyzD9MfLa3khGSAiRXpPPucZ1YhHTuRl1Pzv8rzjMLZfqfo85N0jIqC_hGbo4W-rfOyYw22ZvZpqJxR6NKDiLU6XMKGLGBIWqDB7G3bcUp-4IBm5GcR-C0dv18h93Lvnqd/s1600-h/2882675118_9ab49b65fb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGv-Zj7GLwd4lyzD9MfLa3khGSAiRXpPPucZ1YhHTuRl1Pzv8rzjMLZfqfo85N0jIqC_hGbo4W-rfOyYw22ZvZpqJxR6NKDiLU6XMKGLGBIWqDB7G3bcUp-4IBm5GcR-C0dv18h93Lvnqd/s400/2882675118_9ab49b65fb.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249275581624989058" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Members of Veterans For Peace alert at their occupation of the National Archive in Washington DC.</span><br /><br />I received this in today's E-mail from my local Veterans For Peace Chapter 27 in Minneapolis, MN. Just wanted the members of the API to know that action is being taken to defend our Constitution. Now I'm wondering if I should go to DC and be with them, if not actually on the ledge, but to support them by my presence. After the Veterans For Peace National Convention and the RNC and all the turmoil I have been witness to right here in my own town, I am reluctant to go and put myself in the midst of more actions, yet a part of me tells me that the fight of a true Warrior will never end until justice is served. In any event, I will be thinking hard about this and whether I go or not, the fact will remain that these people standing up for our Constitution are courageous individuals.<br /><br /><br />FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 23, 2008<br />Contacts: Elliot Adams 518-441-2697, Ellen Barfield 410-948-8023, Tarak Kauff 845 249-9489<br /><br /> <br />VETERANS OCCUPY NATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING<br /><br />“Arresting Bush and Cheney for war crimes will honor our oath to the Constitution,” vets say. <br /><br /><br />On Tuesday morning, September 23, 7:30am, at the front of the National Archives Building on Constitution Ave. in Washington, D.C., five military veterans will risk arrest as they climb a 9-foot retaining fence and occupy a 35-foot high ledge to raise a 22x8 foot banner stating, “DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION. ARREST BUSH AND CHENEY: WAR CRIMINALS!” <br /><br />The group has declared its intention to stay on the ledge, fasting for 24 hours “in remembrance of those who have perished and those still suffering from the crimes of the Bush administration,” according to a written statement. With a portable PA system, they will broadcast recorded statements from prominent Americans for the impeachment and/or arrest of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney. “Citizens Arrest Warrants” will be distributed to people waiting in line to enter the National Archives.<br /><br />The veterans emphasized they are taking this action because “Bush and Cheney’s serial abuse of the Law of the Land clearly marks them as domestic enemies of the Constitution…they have illegally invaded and occupied Iraq, deliberately destroyed civilian infrastructure, authorized torture, and unlawfully detained prisoners. These actions clearly mark them as war criminals…accountability extends beyond impeachment to prosecution for war crimes even after their terms of office expire.”<br /><br />“We take this action as a last resort,” their statement added. “For years we have pursued every avenue open to good, vigilant citizens to bring these men to justice, to re-establish the rule of law, and to restore the balance of power described in our Constitution. We are not disturbing the peace; we are attempting to restore the peace. We are not conducting ourselves in a disorderly manner; our action is well-ordered and well-considered. We are not trespassing; we have come to the home of our Constitution to honor our oath to defend it.” <br />(more)<br /><br /><br />pg. 2 VFP National Archives action<br /><br />Those participating are all members of Veterans For Peace and include Elliott Adams: 61, NY, VFP President and former Army paratrooper in Viet Nam; Ellen Barfield: 52, MD, former U.S. Army Sgt., full-time peace and justice advocate; Kim Carlyle: 61, NC, mountain homesteader, former Army Spec 5, 828-626-2572; Diane Wilson: 59, TX, shrimp boat captain, former Army medic, 361-785-4680; Doug Zachary: 58, TX, VFP staff, former USMC LCpl discharged as a conscientious objector, 512-791-9824; and Tarak Kauff (ground support) 67, NY, painting contractor, former U.S. Army Airborne.<br /><br />Founded in 1985, VFP has 120 chapters throughout the country and has actively protested the Afghanistan and Iraq wars since their inception. Membership includes men and women veterans of all eras and duty stations spanning the Spanish Civil War, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. VFP is an official Non Governmental Organization (NGO) represented at the UN.<br /><br /><br />###<br /><br />"May the innocent find peace; may the dead find grace; may the wounded find healing; may the homeless find shelter; may America find forgiveness; and may justice find the guilty." - Veterans For Peace Ch. 39Spadomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-89714403051706563372008-09-12T07:44:00.001-07:002008-09-30T07:08:38.100-07:00HonorI'm sure most, if not all, of the adees have seen the phrase "Death Before Dishonor." I have seen it tattooed on the arm of both sailors and Marines. But the Sgt. Major says is far mor eloquently than I at this site<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/10/172053/416">http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/10/172053/416</a><br /><br />and copied below. "Honor" and most especially the lack thereof is the single biggest reason that I cannot and will not vote for Sen. McCain for president.<br /><br /><div class="entry"><ul class="catcom"><li><a href="http://sgt-major-myers.dailykos.com/">SGT MAJOR MYERS's diary</a> :: :: </li><li><br /></li></ul></div><div id="extended"><p>Throughout my life growing up in a military family and in my military career one predominate trait or quality was emphasized and driven home by both my family and every leader I have ever met. That trait or quality was honor. Just to refresh your memory the dictionary defines honor as, honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions: a man of honor.</p><p>From the time that I had what I believe was probably my very first logical thought about the subject I do not believe that there was ever any doubt in my mind of what the meaning of honor was nor was there ever any doubt of what actions honor required. There was a second thing that I never had any doubt about and that was that once ones honor was compromised it was a permanent and oft never fading blemish. I know this from personal experience and my own personal failures against which I struggle to this very day. I point that out because I believe that even the most honorable and well intentioned people with the most hard earned sense of honor can fail and that they can be guilty of being dishonorable and I believe that that has happened in the presidential race.</p><p>I have known of and about John McCain for as long as he has been in the public eye. I have, as a fellow soldier and as a fellow citizen, respected him for his extraordinary military and public service. In fact I believe we as a nation should respect and appreciate and yes honor what he has done for our nation. I believe his have been the actions of an exceptionally brave and historically honorable man.</p><p>However there is something else that I believe. I believe that past honorable service and dedication to duty and country does not immunize one against poor judgment, failure or even from doing the wrong thing. I believe that ones honor is not something one does once and then puts it on a shelf where it shines forever. Honor is second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour and year by year. It is only as untarnished and undiminished as ones past and ones last action.</p><p>It is with great sadness that I say to you that John McCain is not an honorable man today. The reason I say this is because I am observing and hearing reported by every major news organization in this country that he and his running mate are participating in and personally articulating blatant lies. These are not the actions of honorable people. When one is aspiring to the highest and second highest public offices in the land it is incumbent upon one to speak truth and only truth and to communicate about those issues that are vital and of importance to the citizens of the nation. It is not honorable for individuals to speak lies to the citizens and make unproven accusations against those whom they oppose. When one opposes another person in vying for public office it becomes even more important to insure that one speaks the truth and deals with issues and substantive differences and not innuendo and accusation.</p><p>The fact that John McCain is a former Naval Officer and a sitting United States Senator makes this lack of honor horribly reprehensible. But I think what makes this lack of honor so disgusting and even more vile is that he would lose himself to the point of using his own sacrifice and service as a shield to commit such petit dishonorable acts of lying. Conservative, liberal, or Independent, share his beliefs or not, it would be morally reprehensible for anyone to support someone who displays so little honor. Sometimes we must call them like they are. Prisoner of war or not service to country or not there is a line and John McCain and his running mate have crossed the line.</p><p>This nation has endured eight long years of lies and deceptions from the two highest ranking public figures in the country and virtually their entire administration. Our honor as a nation is not just blemished but in tatters and we cannot endure another four or eight years of the same. If for no other reason than the fact that John McCain and his vice presidential running mate have publicly lied and continue to lie this nation needs to insure that he does not occupy the office of the president. Our nation needs honor above all else at this crucial point in our history. With honor comes respect and from these come all else.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cross posted at <a href="http://libertystreet.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/honor/">Liberty Street.</a><br /></p></div>Chiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04197243292834998131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1987487943892549196.post-52089331596365709422008-08-31T08:35:00.000-07:002008-08-31T08:36:17.517-07:00Support Our Troops!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVPDhApcTmRte6Vv09UeqTtP1MM-aW4lf7Oty196Sk6r_T64EMNP4O6qUu6YsEQTh__3WHlODsnr3HUQ7kOiNHrKWq7iiKKJ4lZ3QhpHm5Ds1iebIJNi_iyv7LcoV4Llthal_cT3k0gId/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240702446472580946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVPDhApcTmRte6Vv09UeqTtP1MM-aW4lf7Oty196Sk6r_T64EMNP4O6qUu6YsEQTh__3WHlODsnr3HUQ7kOiNHrKWq7iiKKJ4lZ3QhpHm5Ds1iebIJNi_iyv7LcoV4Llthal_cT3k0gId/s400/untitled.bmp" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Hcy0IwBTwFjIFFs0TyRUOvoPWoivoQDPljyobbHpsN8kLUKF9tJNdA2rIJ0Pn5B2udu4X3Fr4DivuhAWsYGoyM8KCBBlTld9_Dfi29rVzMfOA-jjQ5FLm6Sv9tprbs_5XldOq94hyba/s1600-h/IVAWatDNC.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240702115908420466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Hcy0IwBTwFjIFFs0TyRUOvoPWoivoQDPljyobbHpsN8kLUKF9tJNdA2rIJ0Pn5B2udu4X3Fr4DivuhAWsYGoyM8KCBBlTld9_Dfi29rVzMfOA-jjQ5FLm6Sv9tprbs_5XldOq94hyba/s400/IVAWatDNC.jpg" /></a> Iraq Veterans Against the War </div><div align="center">at the Democratic National Convention<br /></div><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">Dear IVAW Supporter,<br /></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left"><strong>IVAW Claims Victory in Denver and Heads to Minneapolis<br /></strong></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left">Our members were in Denver on Wednesday leading a march of ten thousand to the Democratic National Convention where we delivered a message to the Obama camp in a meeting with senior campaign officials. IVAW called on the Democratic nominee to endorse the three main goals of IVAW: Immediate withdrawal, full veterans benefits, and reparations for the Iraqi people.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">There was plenty of news coverage about our march and actions at the DNC, just go to our <a target="_blank" href="http://ivaw.org/">homepage</a> to learn more. IVAW will continue to advance its goals through the strategic action of our members and the generosity of our supporters.<br /></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left"><strong><em>There is No Better Time Than Now to Support IVAW</em></strong><br /></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left">IVAW members are now on their way to Minneapolis for the annual IVAW convention. Many will stay on in Minneapolis for the Republican National Convention. We need your support to help keep the momentum from this event going. <a target="_blank" href="https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=11951">Please make a donation to IVAW today.</a><br /></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left">Thank you for your continued support,</div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left"><strong>Kelly Dougherty</strong></div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left">Former Sergeant, Army National Guard</div><div align="left"><br /><br /></div><div align="left">Executive Director<a target="_blank" href="http://www.ivaw.org/">Iraq Veterans Against the War</a></div><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><em>Also posted at <a href="http://theamericanpatriotinstitute.blogspot.com/">The American Patriot Institute</a></em></div>deuddersunhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01757971753925741976noreply@blogger.com2