Monday, November 12, 2007

In Honor of Veterans' Day

It is perhaps one of the highest callings to serve your country. It is therefore the HIGHEST responsibility of that country's citizens and leader to only commit soldiers to war in the most dire situations, completely outfit them with the equipment they need (not sqaunder that money to contractors) and to provide them with health and mental care when they return home broken in body and in mind.

This week President Bush will Veto a bill allocating 3 Billion dollars for Veterans Care. This is UNTENABLE!! He has no problem asking for countless billions to fund this war; money that's outside the budget and goes to contractors mostly, but he doesn't fund Veterans' Care?!!!!

We should all press our leaders to make Veterans' Care a MANDATORY appropriation to any act of war. Also, any soldier who serves in a warzone should get free medical care FOR LIFE regardless of their income level afterwards.

Dick Cheney laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier yesterday in observance of Veterans Day. He then made some stock speech about the sacrfice of our soldiers. I bet he conveniently left out how he got 5 defferments so he wouldn't have to serve in Vietnam. Fucking hypocrite! He shouldn't even have been allowed near the hallowed ground of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Then our "Commander in Chief" George Bush made a speech in Texas yesterday, where he confused Veterans' Day with Memorial Day. Good one there speech writers!!! Of course, his speech makes no mention that he was A.W.O.L. during his time that he served in the National Guard during the Vietnam War and that NO ONE has been able to verify that he was there for duty. Another fucking hypocrite!

War is a Racket that really only benefits business and industry. Major General Smedly Butler, who served in WWI, figured this out way back in 1935. (I highly urge you to read that very short book in that link. Much of what Butler write applies today with the Iraq War. Just change the names of the businesses to Halliburton, Kellogg Brown & Root, and Blackwater.) War Profitteering needs to be made illegal!!

The song below by Jeffrey Gaines really sums up war and the prayer that every family member of a soldier says. I know I did every day that my sister was in Iraq or when she was stationed in Bosnia. Some day, we'll learn of war's futility!








In closing, know that I fully support our troops. I support them so much, that I think that they should only be committed to endeavors that are not only ethically correct, but legally correct, and as a last resort. Their lives are the most precious resource we have as a nation! Also, as I stated above, if you go to war you need to outfit your soldiers properly and not funnel all the money to independent contractors (aka mercenaries). And, you must be prepared to take care of them when they come home. Veterans' Care, when funded properly and with enough staffing, is a model of single-payer health care. Situations like what happened at Walter Reed Hospital happened when our elected leaders, or any party, neglect and forget about our soldiers. We need to demand BETTER for our veterans and current soldiers from our elected leaders!

And here is a special personal thanks to the specific veterans who have made a difference in my life:

Kelly O'Gara
Larry Altenburg, Sr.
James Owle, Sr.
Dr. Alan Sasser
Ron Elmore


I am sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to my mind right now.