Voice of a Veteran

2008-06-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

The Definition of a Commander-in-Chief...

George Bush said the new G.I. bill is too expensive. The money is clearly needed elsewhere, namely in places like Iraq to pay off contractors and maintain several huge military bases and the largest embassy in the world - in addition to paying for military operations. The $3 trillion spent so far on the war continues to bleed our economy at a time when oil cartels and corporations are taking the opportunity to rip off the entire world.

Yet recent reports from Afghanistan show that the troops still don’t have the protection of enough MRAP anti-roadside bomb vehicles, resulting in more deaths and injuries. G.I. & veteran suicide rates continue to climb. A VA hospital in Texas determined that they should reclassify returning troops with PTSD to some other lesser category, like ‘anxiety disorder’ – to save money.

Where is the Commander-in-Chief?

But is the future any better for troops and veterans with John McCain? Hardly. McCain recently said that if we give returning veterans an education, they will want to get out of the military too soon. He is probably the only person anywhere in the public arena or in the Pentagon that really believes this to be true – no one has come forward to support this cockeyed reasoning. In fact, the truth is he could expect much higher enlistment and re-enlistment rates with the incentive of a new G.I. bill. McCain avoided actually voting against the bill by pretending to be busy at a conveniently scheduled fund-raiser. This says something about McCain’s judgment and how he will treat veterans – ironically, as a war hero.

McCain’s attitude is like that of lawyers who pass the bar exam, and then write the new one more difficult so that a smaller percentage of law students pass after them. It's as if he were saying, 'I sacrificed for this country – you are going to have to suck it up and sacrifice a lot more before I consider giving you any more benefits.' And for someone who spent a half dozen years as a prisoner of war, why have we heard virtually nothing out of him about really improving the disgraceful status of veterans health care, housing, homelessness, jobs – and yes education?

Look at the history yourself. Without the post-WW2 G.I. bill, we would not have led the world economically, or otherwise for the three generations that followed. The ‘greatest generation’ came back and built a powerhouse, because we invested significantly in what economists call human capital – a generation that withstood the Cold War and emerged as the only remaining superpower.

Yet neither George Bush nor John McCain has any apparent understanding of these facts.

Real commanders do not abandon their troops in the field – or when they return from the field…period.

2008-05-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

How McCain Will Treat You, Veterans. Not Exactly Subtle...

The Senate yesterday approved $165 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan well into the next presidency, but in a break with President Bush and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, it also approved billions of dollars in domestic spending that includes a generous expansion of veterans' education benefits…In so doing, McCain went against virtually every veterans organization, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion to the more partisan VoteVets.org, which has aired blistering advertisements against him...
"I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country," Obama said. "But I can't understand why he would line up behind the president in opposition to this G.I. Bill. I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans." McCain blasted back, questioning Obama's knowledge of veterans issues and his commitment to national security… "I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," he said in a lengthy statement.

Actions speak louder than words Mr. McCain. Trotting out your self-proclaimed care for veterans, based on your military experience, doesn't wash - especially when you skip the vote for the G.I. Bill (which you were going to vote against anyway) - so that you could attend a fund-raiser for yourself. So, you will be as out of touch with the country as your predecessor. And despite your protestations, you don't give a damn about your fellow veterans, Mr. McCain. If they didn't know it before, they do now.

2008-05-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

"VA Staffer Discourages PTSD Diagnoses"

It's easy to take pot shots at a huge bureaucracy like the VA, and much of their failings have to do with lack of outside support, like inadequate funding. But we can't let laziness, or the sole priority to cut costs, result in disgraceful and and even disgusting purposeful actions on the part of VA decision makers, preventing deserving veterans from getting the care they need...

From Veterans for Common Sense...

Temple, Texas, May 15, 2008 (CBS) - A Department of Veterans Affairs team leader in Texas suggested mental health professionals should diagnose patients with "adjustment disorder" rather than post traumatic stress disorder in order to save time and money treating veterans, according to an internal VA e-mail.

VA Secretary James Peake immediately called the e-mail "inappropriate" and a violation of VA policy. On March 20, Norma J. Perez, a PTSD program coordinator and psychologist at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center in Temple, Texas sent an e-mail with the subject line "Suggestion" to several staffers including psychologists, social workers, and a psychiatrist. In the e-mail, Perez wrote "given that we are having more and more compensation seeking veterans, I’d like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out." She then went on to say "consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder. . ."

Read the scandalous VA internal e-mail, obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and VoteVets.org

"This means the veterans will not get disability benefits and health care for PTSD," Paul Sullivan, the executive director of the advocate group Veterans for Common Sense, told CBS News.

Andrew Pogany, an investigator with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said he thinks "purposely misdiagnosing someone is a serious ethical issue that [could] fall under malpractice."

"VA staff across the country are working their hearts out to get our veterans the care they need and deserve," said U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash), a key member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "But e-mails like these make their jobs far more difficult."
In her e-mail, Perez also told staffers that "we really don’t . . . have time to do the extensive testing that should be done to determine PTSD."

Sullivan, whose group has a pending lawsuit against the VA to force the agency to improve the treatment of veterans, said this "shows our suit has merit and that the VA lacks the capacity to provide proper care."

2008-05-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

This Time, Let’s Do It Right For Veterans

This isn’t the first time we have gone to war and then have quickly forgotten our troops when they returned. I saw it for the first time 30 years ago as Vietnam ended. In one respect it was worse then, because many citizens also blamed the troops for the failures in South East Asia.

Our sons and daughters and friends continue to die and be wounded, both physically and mentally in Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet… and yet… once again, our returning veterans, now coming back in our communities, are quickly dropping under the radar – their basic needs for health care, education, jobs, and housing are now being crowded out once again by other priorities.

Now obviously, problems like the economy hit all of us, including veterans. Veterans don’t expect the public to put veterans in front of all these other issues, but they do hope for awareness and advocacy for their needs, given the special trust put in them for what they do for their country and their state.

National Guard, Reserves, and Active Duty troops are being stressed to the limit. They are pulling their fair share and more in deployments, with perhaps the biggest deployments yet to come. Fully 1/3^rd of returning war vets have mental disorders, including Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the percentage with lifetime disabilities is higher than in any previous war – because, thankfully, we are so much better at saving lives. Yet the cost for taking care of them will be with us for 50 years or more with many of them.

Many veterans that I talk to also believe this country is going the wrong way, and they also want this war to end quickly and responsibly.

· They want wisdom in the use of our best-in-the-world military, not arrogance.

· They want our sons and daughters in the military to be taken care of responsibly and responsively.

· They want our National Guard available for the state emergencies that will inevitably come.

· They want pre-emptive warfare considered as a last resort option (as it was during the Cold War), not a first resort.

· They want our country to restore its commitment to the Geneva Conventions and Habeas Corpus.

How about you? If you want the same things, don’t sit back cynically and say ‘they have forgotten us vets before, they will do it again.’ Get involved in the election. Email and phone your representatives. Make your voice known, and this time, let’s do it right for veterans.

2007-08-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

White House Catches Up With the Vietnam Analogy - Well Sort of...

Well, you have to give points for creativity. After ignoring the lessons of Vietnam for years, for fear they might actually apply to Iraq, perhaps Carl Rove, in absentia, may have given the President a way to use Vietnam - an interpretation with which no one has yet voiced agreement, much less understands.

So, because, this blog has previously posted the following Vietnam-Iraq analogy several times (which appeared all over the Internet beginning in mid-2003) , it's worth repeating it again, one more time, in the failing hope that anybody inside the Beltway would have the light come on...

The Vietnam II Preflight Check:

1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.

2. No understanding of ethnicity's of the many locals? Check.

3. National boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.

4. Unshakable faith in our superior technology? Check.

5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

8. Enemy supply lines unknown? Check.

9. Sec of Def pushing a conflict the Joint Chiefs never wanted? Check.

10. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check.

11. Corporate Texan in the White House? Check.

12. Land war in Asia? Check.

13. Right-wing unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.

14. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.

15. Soldiers about to be exposed to our own chemicals? Check.

16. Daily guerrilla attacks that cannot be stopped? Check.

17. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.

18. B-52 bombers? Check.

19. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.

20. Infighting among the branches of the military? Check.

21. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.

22. Local experts ignored? Check.

23. Local politicians ignored? Check.

24. Local conflicts since before the USA has been a country? Check.

25. Much confusion over who and where the enemy is? Check.

26. Against advice, Prez won't use taxes to pay for war? Check.

27. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.

28. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check.

29. War unpopular at home? Check.

30. No plan in place to end involvement? Check.

Vietnam II, you

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Note that almost all 30 of these were right on target four years later.

2007-08-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Veterans for Common Sense

Another excellent source of advocacy for veterans is Veterans for Common Sense (VCS). Check it out to see what they are doing and to get on their email list. For example:

On Monday, July 23, 2007, VCS filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs for the shameful delays our veterans face when trying to see a VA doctor or when seeking VA disability benefits. VCS reluctantly filed suit to force VA leaders to fix their problems now so more of our veterans don't fall through the cracks.

On Wednesday, VCS offered practical solutions to Congress as part of our testimony about how the military and VA are improperly discharging thousands of veterans with a personality disorder diagnosis instead of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.

The same day, VA informed Congress that more than 250,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were already treated at VA hospitals, a shocking milestone the press failed to report to the public. Based on Harvard University Linda Bilmes report on the human and financial cost of the wars, VA can reasonably expect another 500,000 war veteran patients.

Also on Wednesday, S 1606 passed the full Senate. The Wounded Warrior bill, supported by VCS, offers service members and veterans some real hope of improving the broken transition from soldier to veteran. VCS urges you to call your local Representative and ask that S 1606 be approved by the House of Representatives before they go on vacation at the end of the week.

The next day, Dan Fahey, a member of our VCS board of directors, provided Congressional testimony about depleted uranium research for Gulf War veterans. Dan remains one of the most respected and articulate pro-veteran advocates on the issue of DU.

Finally, on Friday, newspapers reported that VA will consider a recommendation by Professor Bilmes and VCS that veterans' disability claims be approved for a nominal amount for a short period of time, while the claim us under review, so that veterans don't fall through the cracks.

2007-07-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

What 'Support the Troops' Really Means...

The Bush administration said recently that it "strongly opposes" key military pay and benefit gains tossed into their fiscal 2008 defense bill. The initiatives the administration "strongly oppose" include: (1) a military pay raise for next January of 3.5 percent; (2) lowering the age to 60 to start the reserve retirement annuities for reserve component members by the length of their future mobilizations; and (3) expanding eligibility for Combat-Related Special Compensation to servicemembers forced by combat disabilities to retire short of 20 years.

Our sons and daughters continue to be sent off to confront the quagmire in Iraq. Mr. Bush & Co. not only do not care about veterans (see post below), but they also have a special deal for active duty troops - refusing to go along with a 3.5% pay raise for them. And the irony is that this money would be taken from them while they continue to do their professional best to make the best of a bad situation. That same money would then be available to add to the $1/2 trillion already thrown at Iraq.

So do you really still buy the 'Support the Troops' b.s. coming from the administration, the Repugs, and yes the Democrats, who so far have only made noise?

2007-07-17T10:14:00.000-07:00

Who Will G.I.'s vote for in 2008?

(Yes, I know it's been awhile since I last posted - I plan to do so now again maybe once a week leading up to the elections)

On a recent national radio show, the above question was asked. I just couldn't help myself, so I sent in the following response:

As a 27-year veteran, your discussion about how candidates can get the votes of military people (and veterans) is full of irony. What should candidates think about, in my opinion?

First, we send our sons and daughters off to war, and then tie them up in a bureaucratic morass when they seek deserved health care while still on active duty and as veterans. We need the commitment to complete, responsive, and free health care to veterans – no questions asked, no delays in treatment, no disgraceful medical facilities, period. It is time for political leaders to step up to their responsibilities, regardless of their political persuasion. And, it’s time for our civilian leadership in the DoD and VA to remove all obstacles involved.
Our veterans crowd the ranks of the homeless and street people from the Vietnam war onwards. Homelessness and poverty are a national shame. How much more so for those who have fought and served for this country?
For all of my time on active duty, I was required to carry a Geneva Convention Card and I was required to understand and get updated training on the international rules of warfare and prisoner treatment. If we do not accept these agreed upon rules, we become no better than those whom we fight against. Restore the validity of the Geneva conventions, not just because it is morally right to do so, but because it protects OUR service men and women as well.
We must always be prepared to defend our right to exist as a country and to maintain our special place in world affairs as a democratic nation. As we have done for most of our history (especially during the Cold War), we must use warfare as an absolute last resort when all other possibilities have been exhausted, not as a pre-emptive method of carrying out political strategies.
Finally, I will support the candidate who best can find an honorable way to remove our troops from Iraq & Afghanistan as soon as possible. We are now in an almost impossible situation no matter which way we turn. So, many veterans, like myself will be asking ‘Who put us in this kind of position, and who has the best approach to ending our presence in both countries?”, and we will vote accordingly.

2007-02-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

“If You Don’t Support the War, You Play Into the Hands of the Enemy, and you Help Destroy the Morale of the Troops…”

OK, regarding the ’morale of the troops’, let’s put the B.S. above to rest:

First, virtually no member of the administration or in Congress who makes this kind of statement ever served in the Armed Forces, therefore they don’t understand troop morale or anything about its dynamics.

Second, how many senior military officers in the news have made this kind of statement? Not very many – if any.

So, the administration and its remaining backers in Congress are using the troops and their ‘morale’ as pawns in making you feel guilty about your increasing opposition to the war in Iraq – 2/3rds of you in this country.

It’s a shameless tactic, it’s disgusting, it’s despicable – and most of all, it’s wrong.

Why?

- No soldier, airman, sailor, or marine worth his or her salt believes their morale is tied to what any politician or private citizen says or does.

- Many may not agree personally with what is going on, but the overwhelming majority will do their job anyway to the best of their ability. Why? They are professionals who will do their best to achieve the objectives they are given – that’s what they swore an oath to do - and they will do their best to protect each other so that they can come home safely, at some point.

One blogger puts it this way about the morale of soldiers:

...To the extent that they are concerned with political debates in Washington, it is mostly about the small picture: ensuring they get the tools and equipment they need to survive and get the job done. While they may be interested in grand strategy, it seldom motivates them to risk life and limb. They may agree or disagree with establishing a foothold for democracy in the Middle East but they fight for their comrades-in-arms, out of genuine concern for locale villagers whose situations they empathize with, and for hundreds of other reasons unique to each soldier.

That said, there are some things that definitely could and do impact troop morale, for example: failure of leadership (e.g. Abu Ghraib), improper and inadequate equipment to do the job and protect troops (e.g. body armor & helmets, HUMVEE armor), and failure to provide adequate and responsive health care and facilities (e.g. Walter Reed hospital recovery) to returning physically and mentally wounded veterans.

Bottom line: it’s way past time to put up or shut up with ‘supporting the troops’ - and really support them - and most importantly to stop putting the troops in the middle by mouthing a bunch of platitudes about troop morale and using them to threaten political opponents while dumping undeserved guilt on our citizens.

2007-02-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

The War Gets Closer...A Time-Out

An email note from a friend:

"On Sunday a CH-47 Helicopter crashed in Afghanistan after the engine failed. On board was my closest and best friend, a U.S. Army Ranger. In the crash, eight soldiers died, but he survived. However, he is in serious condition with head trauma. He is in a trauma induced coma and has some back fractures. The doctors in Germany where they flew him had to remove some of his skull to stop the hemorrhaging, with the hopes that there will be no or less brain damage. I was with his family yesterday and talked to his wife; they are being flown out to Bethesda Naval hospital which has a head trauma unit today and will meet him there when he is transported.

I ask that prayers be made on his behalf that he would recover and that the family would endure."

...and I would add: also keep the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in your prayers as well...

2007-02-19T11:39:00.000-08:00

New Talking Point Catch Phrase for the Repugs?

'...we didn't lie intentionally...'

No, it wasn't Tony Snow or another administration spokesperson - it was the Jet Blue rep on NPR this morning commenting on their no-news-to-the-customers approach during their Valentine's Day Massacre 9-hour plane entrapment on the ground.

Yet the phrase has a certain ring to it - you have to wonder why Snow et al haven't made use of it before the airlines beat them to the punch...

2007-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

"I don't read them (newspapers) much, but..."

...from this morning's Presidential news conference...

And if you had read them on last Nov 8th (and since), Mr. President, you would know that 2/3rds of the people no longer support your performance in Iraq (including you, ironically) - although you don't appear to care about that. So what is it that makes you think that this country should continue to give you chances with regard to the lives of our sons and daughters? Have you earned it? Not especially - in fact you've cried the 'sky is falling' so many times since 9/11, that few believe you about ANYTHING anymore. In that sense, your administration has in fact made it more dangerous for us as a country. For example, Iran may well be involved in Iraq and a threat to our troops, but skepticsm is rampant about that report because of two things: Track record in telling us the truth - and past competency with regard to Iraq.

But while the Republican Congressional leadership of our country countinues to use our troops shamelessly as pawns (more on this later this week) by their continued mantras of 'you encourage the terrorists if you are not with us' - and - 'we need to fight them over there or otherwise we will fight them here' - the House at least is saying what it thinks it was recently elected to say.

Please pick up the papers more often Mr. President, although it probably won't do much good.

2007-02-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

If He Can Do This, Appoint Him the Head of Our Homeland Security...

B.S. story of the day:

Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, who was named by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to head the new security crackdown in Baghdad, announced the new campaign, which he said would have the force of law, during a nationally televised speech in which he claimed sweeping emergency powers.

The border crossings to Iran and Syria will be temporarily closed effective immediately, as the Iraqi security forces tried the reassert control in this lawless capital city.

Good luck general - we'd love to know how you are going to do this...

2006-12-14T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hiatus...

For readers, supporters, and critics - have had to take some time off, but plan to be back after the holidays. However, I am going to make one change to the blog in the meantime: delete the Rumsfeld timeclock to the right when he is officially gone. While the clock reads 957 days and counting today, we are really talking about more than 35 years of his ideas and policies, over several administrations, that will now require massive overhaul to restore readiness, equipment, and real support of the troops - and which have also resulted in significant negative impacts on our Reserves, National Guard, and veterans.

Have a great holiday season!

2006-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

A Real Veterans Day

It's a simple decision when you think about it vets.

You know what leadership is, probably better than most who never put on a uniform.

You know that we don't have that leadership now and as a result: we are stuck in a quagmire in Iraq where we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

Who put us there?

And you know that we are a nation based on the rule of law and democracy and that the military has been used in the past to maintain that vision - not always perfectly to be sure.

Yet now you know that this administration would strip away your rights as a citizen in the name of fear, abuse the moral framework of this country in the name of righteousness for their cause, and forget its veterans as soon as it's done with them.

Who put us there?

And now you know that this is a depraved and selfish leadership, more interested in tax breaks for themselves than healthcare, education, and housing for us.

Who put us there?

And now you know, if you didn't know it before, that they hope you are swayed by mindless phrases, vicious personal attacks, and repeated talking points, because they themselves lack the ability to think clearly about complex problems, much less know how to begin to solve them.

That's because the bottom line is they care only about themselves and staying in power.

You can begin to change that today. The process of voting out this cancer begins now. Nearly four dozen recent war vets are running as Democrats in Congress - only one is not. That should tell you something.

Get out today and vote, and watch out and report voter fraud at 888-VOTETIP or voting incidents at 866-OURVOTE. 95% of it will come from the Repugs...that should tell you something else about who to vote for.

2006-10-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Habeas Corpus, Part II

The birth of Habeas Corpus:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.

To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

(Articles 39 & 40, Magna Carta, presented to King John, June 17, 1215 at Runnymede, England)

The death of Habeas Corpus:

Moving quickly to implement the bill signed by President Bush this week that authorizes military trials of enemy combatants, the administration has formally notified the U.S. District Court here that it no longer has jurisdiction to consider hundreds of habeas corpus petitions filed by inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.

(Deatinee Detention Act, Oct 2006)

2006-10-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Oh, I (and my kids) Feel Safer Now...

We're only a third of the way through October, and the meltdown of this administration continues in high gear:

Revelations of the National Intelligence Estimate saying things are getting steadily worse in Iraq, followed by...
Revelations by Bob Woodward that this administration is in a State of Denial, followed by...
Revelations of child molestation and cover-ups by the Repugs in Congress, led by the Speaker of the House, followed by...
Revelations of a nuclear test by North Korea, followed by...

... by, what can possibly come next? It's hard to the top testing of real WMDs, but the only reason impeachments, jail sentences, and special prosecutors have not started up is because the Repugs are screwing up so fast, even Fox news can't keep up with them. Who now, in their right minds, would vote for anyone associated with ANY of them?

2006-10-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Habeas Corpus - Part I

Habeas corpus ... is Latin for "you may have the body" (subject to examination). It is a writ which requires a person detained by the authorities be brought before a court of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined.

It is important to note that the framers of the Constitution for the United States of America choose to include in the body of the Constitution the Writ of Habeas Corpus while other important individual rights, arguably as an afterthought, were included in the first ten amendments which were popularly called the Bill of Rights.

Habeas Corpus has been suspended at times during our history (Civil War, Japanese-American internments in WWII), but this is the first time it is being suspended indefinitely for any person determined, by the President and his administration, to be a threat in some way to the country.

For any of you with family members and friends in the military (as I do), this is truly frightening. Any other country may now feel free to do the very same thing to our sons and daughters.

The Repugnant Neocons can't stand it when you call them lawless, but there is now no other apt description. The Geneva Conventions are international law - we have been, up to now, signatories of that law for over 50 years - in fact helped write it.

The new 'detainee' law, no matter how they spin it, throws out that law and makes us seen as outlaws in terms of how we detain and try people and how we determine to do so.

More to come on this subject.

2006-09-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

... And 2+2=4, Big Surprise

The war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded.

A 30-page National Intelligence Estimate completed in April cites the "centrality" of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the insurgency that has followed, as the leading inspiration for new Islamic extremist networks and cells that are united by little more than an anti-Western agenda. It concludes that, rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position, according to officials familiar with the classified document.

"It's a very candid assessment," one intelligence official said Saturday of the estimate, the first formal examination of global terrorist trends written by the National Intelligence Council since the March 2003 invasion. "It's stating the obvious."

2006-09-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ex-military Officers Criticize Rumsfeld

Retired military officers on Monday bluntly accused Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld of bungling the war in Iraq, saying U.S. troops were sent to fight without the best equipment and that critical facts were hidden from the public.

"I believe that Secretary Rumsfeld and others in the administration did not tell the American people the truth for fear of losing support for the war in Iraq," retired Maj. Gen. John R. S. Batiste said in remarks prepared for a forum conducted by Senate Democrats.

A second military leader, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, assessed Rumsfeld as "incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically."

"Mr. Rumsfeld and his immediate team must be replaced or we will see two more years of extraordinarily bad decision-making," Eaton added in a statement prepared for the policy forum, held six weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, in which the war is a central issue.

2006-09-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

October Surprise List

If Sean Hannity says the that the Repugs are in trouble for Nov 7 beacuse he is afraid that they will stay home and not vote, you can bet that the elephant's election war machine is starting to move. Since they won't be capable of doing anything morally or intellectually acceptable (thank you Mr. Rumsfeld for those insightful words) - and nobody will be able stand Mr. Bush's daily speeches on Facism for two months - that still leaves an almost limitless number of possibilities to forestall the end of the neocons.

Let's see, what could a neocon/rove talking points list look like, listing possible alternatives for an October surprise? Your job is to figure out which of these are tongue-in cheek:

1. Force Mr. Cheney to retire for 'health reasons.' Pick John McCain or Condi Rice as the new VP.
2. Bring back John Ashcroft to be in charge of personally issuing daily changes in the Homeland Security alert status (hmm, what color is above 'red'?).
3. Arrest Jimmy Carter and send him to Guantanimo for causing the current crisis in the Middle East.
4. Arrest Bill Clinton for the same thing.
5. Fire Tony Snow and bring in Rush Limbaugh as press secretary.
6. Set off fireworks in several major cities, preferably on the West or East coasts (blue states), and claim we are under attack.
7. Assume presidential powers to jail any Democrat in Congress.
8. Issue a no-bid contract to Diebold to ensure we have a one party election.
9. Go to Pakistan and ask Bin Laden (currently on vacation there) if he would please give himself up - or at least to issue video tapes more often so that there will be enough material to quote for news conferences.

So, you don't agree with any of these? What would you add to the list?

2006-09-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Moral & Intellectual Confusion Reign at the Top, Not In the Critics of the Administration

Edward R. Murrow Revisited

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty” (Murrow) said in 1954, “We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who fear to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular. And so, goodnight and good luck.”

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Copy: Content and programming copyright 2006 MSNBC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2006 Voxant, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Read Keith Olbermann's comments from last Wednesday night here - scroll to the bottom of the transcript.

2006-08-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Disgusting Beyond Belief...

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld warned yesterday that "moral and intellectual confusion" over the Iraq war and the broader anti-terrorism effort could sap American willpower and divide the country, and he urged renewed resolve to confront extremists waging "a new type of fascism."

Drawing parallels to efforts by some nations to appease Adolf Hitler before World War II, Rumsfeld said it would be "folly" for the United States to ignore the rising dangers posed by a new enemy that he called "serious, lethal and relentless."

In a pointed attack on the news media and critics of President Bush's war and national security policies, Rumsfeld declared: "Any kind of moral and intellectual confusion about who and what is right or wrong can severely weaken the ability of free societies to persevere."

So, my fellow readers, Mr. Rumsfeld says that if you oppose him and his continuing fiasco in Iraq, you are both Facist lovers as well as morally and intellectually confused.

I'm unable to get a hold of Mr. Rumsfeld's college transcripts, but even if he never took Psych 101, he has heard of 'projection' - that is,vehemently accusing others of what you are yourself

The problem is not us, Mr. Morality Rumsfeld - alias Mr. Abu Ghraib & Mr. Guantanimo - it's you and your ilk. And 2/3rds of our country are smarter than you are and now realize that, in addition to those who would harm us from the outside, there are very real threats to our republic and to our liberty (read the Federalist papers) who spout crap like the statements above, from those who would rob us of that liberty and attempt to highjack the Constitution - and waste our sons and daughters while they are doing it.

2006-08-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Four-Stars Admit to Possibility of Civil War in Iraq

...but not our Secretary of Offense who continues to use the its-the-size-of-California defense to perpetuate the myth from his boss that we are turning a corner. Bottom line - there is still no exit strategy. And don't look for one anytime before 2009.

We are now so impotent because of our maniacal focus on Iraq, that we have no flexibility or influence in the Middle East, and must resort to a carnvial game approach (John McCain's analogy) to rob Peter and pay Paul, moving insufficient numbers of troops around Iraq so that they can become targets elsewhere.

All this while our critical equipment is breaking down and wearing out.

All this while a significant chunk of our National Guard forces are not available in our own country (oh, but we are 'safer' here now, aren't we?).

And, as a result of the fact that we refused to even attempt to help broker an end to the Lebanon debacle, Condi Rice basically got told to take a hike and get out of Dodge.

What a disgrace of a foreign policy.

Maybe the far-right neocon high priests of fundamental Christianity are right - maybe Armageddon is upon us. It's just that they've got the location wrong. It's not in the Middle East - it's in Washington D.C. We can do something about it: work hard to ensure that those responsible will be 'raptured' out of leadership in the elections of 2006 & 2008.

2006-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Your Votes Are Not Being Counted (Continued)

The fight is on in several states to decertify Diebold and other voting machine makers who are trying to usurp our democracy - or it least make it a one-party country.

But a major obstacle is that Democrats are always fighting the last war. Yes, vigilance is required in Ohio and Florida again, but a whole host of other states can't be ignored.

Especially California.

If you were to look into the brains of the Neocons (Rove etc), you would see that California will be the next obvious battleground. Because if you steal California, you could lose a bunch of other states and still win.

I hope you vets in California are watching those who would steal your state and the country - again. Don't let 'em do it - get involved.

2006-07-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

And the pundits ask: Why are all these conflicts breaking out now...

Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, N. Korea etc. etc. - why are all these happening, and why now? Could it be that those who would enslave and ruthlessly attack and threaten within their own countries, and outside them, now believe there is no one who will stop them or that our military is beginning to have internal problems? And why would they believe such ideas?

As the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the Cold War standoff dissolved, there were those who wisely observed that the 'new world order' could potentially become more dangerous and difficult to control. Why? Because now there would not be just the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., but a variety of potential sources of conflict and mayhem.

As with 'hot' wars in the past, the Cold War military drawdown was significant and occurred relatively quickly, but this time many believed that fewer troops would be more than offset by our continuing technology edge over the rest of the world. But that more than implied we would have to be very smart about how and when we applied force in the future. Additionally, we would need very smart and capable people making decisions at the top.

As the election draws close (did you notice that it's just over a 100 days away?), all of us, and especially veterans who have served and fought for this country, need to ask whether that level of capability, wisdom, morality, and leadership exists - or whether we need a change now. In my opinion, the answer should be obvious.

Most will point rightly to Iraq as the focus of misplaced and even disastrous priorities, but the fact that all these other conflicts are now breaking out means that we have not only lost much respect and trust in the world. It means that some of these bad actors don't really believe we will be willing to stop all of them.

Whether or not that perception is true, we need new leadership that will restore our Constitutional values, our moral authority and trustworthiness as a superpower, the right use of our valuable military personnel and resources, the care of our veterans, and the ability and means to defend ourselves and stop the evil intentions of those who would harm us.

That's why we need to begin to change things in a little over 100 days.

2006-07-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

"It's not really a reversal of policy..."

Congratulations Tony Snow - you have now received your master's degree in B.S.

Now read the whole story.

One small problem: The Attorney General of the U.S. doesn't agree. How are they going to spin that one?

2006-07-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Osama Who?

Guess the time counter on the right of this blog is going to go on for awhile...

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Thanks to Buzzflash

2006-07-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July

...to all, and especially to our vets and active troops. Thank you!!!

2006-07-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thumping the Chest Does Not A Patriot Make...

...But the progressive and the reformer have a problem with what passes for unadulterated patriotism. By nature, the reformer is bound to insist that the country, however glorious, is not a perfect place, that it is capable of doing wrong as well as right. The nation that declared "all men are created equal" was, at the time those words were written, the home of an extensive system of slavery.

Most reformers guard their patriotic credentials by moving quickly to the next logical step: that the true genius of America has always been its capacity for self-correction. I'd assert that this is a better argument for patriotism than any effort to pretend that the Almighty has marked us as the world's first flawless nation.

Do we make mistakes? Sure. Is this still the best country to live in? Yes, if we can keep it that way.Read the whole E.J. Dionne article for an excellent summary of what it really means to be a patriot.

2006-06-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Stolen Laptop with Veterans Data Recovered

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has recovered a stolen laptop computer and hard drive with sensitive data on up to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel.

The FBI said Thursday there is no evidence that anyone accessed Social Security numbers and other data on the equipment.

2006-06-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Shock & Awe Hits the White House - Geneva Conventions Upheld at Guantanimo

Even this administration has not been able to pack the Supreme Court enough to prevent its breaking of the law from being exposed. Exposing the flawed and dangerous advice of an attorney general who believes the Geneva Conventions to be "quaint", the Supreme Court has slapped the face of this administration silly - for breaking the law and international agreements to which we are a party.

So what are the NeoconRepugs going to do now, accuse the court of being left-wing stooges? It wouldn't surprise me. But aside from the rights of anyone accused to be fairly tried, this administration has given no thought to the idea that if we break the law and the Geneva Conventions, then we can't complain when others do so - thereby putting our soldiers and civilians in war zones at extra risk if they are held as prisoners.

Congrats to the Court. I didn't think you had it in you to do the right thing for a change.

2006-06-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Recruiters to Raid Resthomes?

So, now you can be up to 42 years old, be a grunt, and carry a pack. Does this suggest that we might be running a little short of people? And why are we running short of people? It's not a mystery. It's not rocket science.

It's the policies and doctrine of this administration which does not know what it is doing with our well-trained and very capable military. This is a group of misdirected, arrogant, and incompetent ideologues who do not understand our Constitution and our history and will not hesitate to waste our sons and daughters in the process, to say nothing of our veterans.

The damage they are doing internally in this country and externally with the rest of the world will take years to repair - and it needs to be repaired at the polls beginning this November. That is, assuming we could trust the polls anymore.

Oh, and by the way, we have been using a lot of people in their 40s, 50s and 60s (and older!) in Iraq. They are deploying into combat areas with their Guard or Reserve outfits routinely. For those of you familiar with our 200-year old history, you will know that we are using them wrongly also.

But that's OK. I'm sure that some bright bufoon is now thinking that there are over 25,000 rest homes and assisted living facilities in this country. What a great source of future fodder!

2006-06-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

Gray Cells Cut & Run From Santorum's Brain

What next from the delusional senator from PA?

Will he prove that the moon landings were done on a Hollywood set?

Will he try to convince us that the Holocast never happened?

Will he scream that Elvis is alive?

Is he hiding Bin Laden in his basement?

All I can say is: for you veterans in PA, if you vote for this guy in November, make sure you get an updated psychological evaluation from the VA - that is, if you can get an appointment...

2006-06-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Entire Middle-East Library of Ancient and Modern Civilization Found Safe in the Bombing Rubble...

So, for two days we were shown pictures of Al-Z's safe house - and nothing was left, except pebbles, splinters, and the incongruous fairly intact visage of the infamous butcher. Now, it comes to light that not only did he live through two 500lb high tech guided bombs for an hour, but that other important documents were also apparently immune to the attack on this safe house which looked slightly stronger than a boy scout tent.

And not wanting to miss out on any more of this unfolding story, we sent our crack reporter to the scene to find out what else might have been recovered. Our efforts were rewarded, and we can now bring you this exclusive report from the Dept of Defense that the following items were also recovered amongst the otherwise incinerated debris:

- The secret formula for Coca Cola
- Proprietary engineering drawings for walking sticks to be used while escaping allied forces in the mountains
- A supposedly stolen original U.S. plan for withdrawing forces from Iraq
(believed to be a fake)
- Original digital images of Brad & Angelina's baby
- Mapquest directions for walking into the U.S. from Mexico (over 1,000 options available for study!)
- The clearest photo of a Sasquatch in existence

We knew you would be amazed at the incredible improvements in the administration's intelligence sources, and we are ready for a Pulitzer Prize anytime now.

2006-06-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Your Votes Are Not Being Counted

... especially if you voted by absentee ballot in the last two elections. There, did I get your attention? It's time you woke up, veterans. Regardless of whether or not you love what this administration is doing for (to) you, there is another army at work in this country - an army of conservative political hacks, scheming power brokers, and every-day self-appointed vote steelers and blockers at work in your state.

Witness the latest from Ohio:

The latest sign that Republicans have an election-year strategy to shut down voter registration drives comes from Ohio. As the state gears up for a very competitive election season this fall, its secretary of state, J. Kenneth Blackwell, has put in place "emergency" regulations that could hit voter registration workers with criminal penalties for perfectly legitimate registration practices. The rules are so draconian they could shut down registration drives in Ohio.

Mr. Blackwell, who also happens to be the Republican candidate for governor this year, has a history of this sort of behavior. In 2004, he instructed county boards of elections to reject any registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock — about the thickness of a postcard. His order was almost certainly illegal, and he retracted it after he came under intense criticism. It was, however, in place long enough to get some registrations tossed out.

This year, Mr. Blackwell's office has issued rules and materials that appear to require that paid registration workers, and perhaps even volunteers, personally take the forms they collect to an election office. Organizations that run registration drives generally have the people who register voters bring the forms back to supervisors, who can then review them for errors. Under Mr. Blackwell's edict, everyone involved could be committing a crime. Mr. Blackwell's rules also appear to prohibit people who register voters from sending the forms in by mail. That rule itself may violate federal elections law.

Mr. Blackwell's rules are interpretations of a law the Republican-controlled Ohio Legislature passed recently. Another of the nation's most famous swing states, Florida, has been the scene of similar consternation and confusion since it recently enacted a law that is so harsh that the Florida League of Women Voters announced that it was stopping all voter registration efforts for the first time in 67 years.

In case you think that Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 were aberrations, think again. Do you think these successful criminals - and that's what they are - are going to stop there? You had better believe they know that the House and possibly the Senate could go blue in 2006 or 2008 - and they are not about to stand by and let it happen.

You don't have to worry about being seen as a conspiracy theorist, because they ARE after you and your vote through direct illegal actions and voter machine fraud.

So how much of this are you going to take? Especially those who of you who have served in uniform to keep our right to vote unsullied - and available.

Yes, you are tired of being called crybabies over the spilt and spoiled milk of 2000 and 2004. But you better know about what happened, how it was done (start here), and what you can do to prevent these traitors from doing the same where you live, this time.

That means getting out and getting involved starting now, veterans. If no traditional parties suit your fancy, then take a look at the variety of progressive organizations - many are at the grass roots local levels - that are trying to make sure that every citizen can exercise their right to vote.

If you really care about your country - and your vote - it's time to start doing something about it.

2006-05-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hiatus

Have had to take some time off, but I'm coming back again in early June. See you then...

2006-04-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Unprecedented Criticism From Retired Flag Officers

Over two years ago when this blog started, one of the main purposes was to focus on the mistakes of past recent wars in order to prevent the same mistakes from happening in Iraq & Afghanistan. But those mistakes are happening in spades again.

As the administration fights to steer aside the mounting critcism from retired generals and admirals, one common theme is not being reported.

Any student of Vietnam, in fact anyone who served in Vietnam, should easily recognize this common theme: Mismanagement, misjudgment, micromanagement, and lack of acting on the advice of senior military staff by the SecDef, creates disasters. One could argue that firing the SecDef is beside the point. As the most recent Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Myers (a strong supporter of Mr. Rumsfeld) points out, criticizing Mr. Rumsfeld is really saying you are criticizing the president.

Yet, Mr. Rumsfeld has made several key wrong strategic decisions (or could have strongly influenced many of those made by the administration). The White House is trying to spin Mr. Rumsfeld's apparently unequalled excellence in the job by providing a bunch of bean counts of how many meetings, how many committees etc. etc. he has championed. And perhaps we can even concede the point that he listened to all the warnings.

But he didn't act on them. From the beginning of war planning (and post-war planning), the handling and use of intelligence, the lack of understanding of the Geneva Conventions resulting in (for example) Abu Ghraib, the making of excuses for not providing the troops with basic safety equipment and protection, the continuing uncontrolled unrest in Iraq etc., and for failing to act on the advice of his senior military experts, Mr. Rumsfeld bears responsibility and accountability.

Several of these generals and admirals now 'coming out of the closet' are reported to have been strongly impacted by the new book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq -- by Michael R. Gordon, Bernard E. Trainor (a retired Army general) - and especially the stonewalling and firing of Gen. Shinseki. Gen Shinseki in 2003, you may remember, argued for the deployment of several hundreds of thousands of troops to prevent the kind of post-war civil disaster now taking place in Iraq.

After Vietnam, in military schools, in all services, new and older officers debated and discussed what might have been prevented in Vietnam had senior military officials spoken out more strongly when they knew that strategy and tactics were very wrong. Many of the retired officers now speaking out went through those discussions or were involved in the last days of Vietnam.

Some would say they waited three years too long to do so. Shinseki was perhaps the bravest of all of them, publicly voicing his strong arguments on active duty and probably knowing what the result would be.

Regardless, the debate now going on is not going to be squashed anytime soon by the administration. As noted here recently, nearly five dozen veterans are running for Congress - all but two of them Democrats.

2006-04-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Secretary Rice Boxes Herself in a Corner

...And This Secretary of State Wants to Run for President?

...But in response to a question about whether the administration had learned from its mistakes over the past three years, she said officials would be "brain-dead" if they did not recognize where they had erred.

"I know we've made tactical errors, thousands of them I'm sure," Rice said. "But when you look back in history, what will be judged is, did you make the right strategic decisions."

So, Ms. Rice is resorting to code words to explain away the fact the she was in on the decisions from the start. Her inference is: OK we've done a lot of little things wrong in Iraq, but the big decision to go there was right. How will she separate herself from these wrong 'brain dead' decisions that she was a party to - if she intends to be president, which she does?

But it gets worse when she says that the reason that the 'correct strategic' decision has not turned out well yet in Iraq was that there were thousands of 'tactical' mistakes in Iraq. So, who made these thousands of 'tactical' mistakes in your mind, Ms. Secretary? Surely you won't implicate Mr. Rumsfeld or Mr. Bremer - or yourself. That leaves the military. Is that what you are saying, Ms. Rice? If so, it's about the most disgusting thing said about our troops yet, who are so far saving what's left of this administration's bacon. They were right from the beginning, starting with General Shinseki.

So, who made these 'thousands' of mistakes, Ms. Rice?

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UPDATE: Condi & Don: What we have here is a failure to communicate...

UPDATE #2: Well, somebody made these mistakes...

2006-04-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Cong. John Murtha's Commentary on the 3-year Anniversary of the Iraq War

To say that the United States should stay in Iraq to avoid a full blown Civil War is a disservice to our troops. Our military has completed its mission in Iraq. I said over a year ago, and most including the Pentagon agree, Iraq cannot be won militarily. It's time to re-deploy our troops from Iraq.

Nearly a half a trillion dollars has been appropriated for this war. More than 30,000 Iraqis have lost their lives. Over 800 lives were lost in Iraq in January 2006. There have been nearly 20,000 U.S. casualties since the start of the war.

The Iraqis had their elections and they elected their parliament. Now let’s allow the Iraqis to govern themselves, provide for their own common defense and promote their own general welfare.

Polls inside Iraq indicate that over 80 percent of Iraqis want U.S. forces to leave Iraq and 47 percent think it is justified to kill Americans. 70 percent of Iraqis favor a timetable for withdrawal and 60 percent believe violent attacks will decrease when the U.S. leaves Iraq.

And in the only poll ever taken among American soldiers serving in Iraq, an overwhelming majority, 72%, think the U.S. should exit Iraq within the next year. 42%, said the U.S. mission in Iraq is “either somewhat or very unclear” to them.

The Administration has failed at every attempt to influence the political outcome in Iraq. The secular, western-leaning politicians the Administration propped up did not receive the popular vote of the Iraqis. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi received less than 8 percent and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi less than 1 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections. And contrary to the Administration’s hopes, religious clerics and militant sects are exerting significant levels of influence inside their own country. Indeed it emphasizes the difficulty of attempting to install a Jeffersonian style democracy at the point of a gun.

A recent poll conducted in Iraq asked the Iraqis to rate their confidence in public institutions. The Iraqi police scored a 68% confidence level, the Iraqi Army and religious leaders scored 67% and the U.S. forces scored the lowest, a mere 18% . Our military is considered occupiers and the U.S. does not have the popular support of the Iraqi people. Obviously we have lost the hearts and minds.

I am critical of the President’s war plan in Iraq because I am concerned about the future of our military and the future of this great country. Although the Administration says things in Iraq are going “very, very well,” I believe most American know this is not the case. There is only 6 hours of electricity in Baghdad, only 11 hours nation wide. Oil production is almost 1 million barrels less than pre-war levels per day and attacks have increased from about 150 a week to over 600. Unemployment is up to 90% in Al Anbar Province, a hotbed for violence, and 40-60% in other areas of Iraq.

Theodore Roosevelt said in 1918, “to announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”

2006-03-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

Turning the Tide...

The number of veterans running for Congress, as reported on Air America this morning, is up over 60, with all but two so far registered as Democrats. With only a 15-seat swing needed in the House, these veterans, sick and tired of how this administration has dumped on them after sending them off on a pre-emptive war based on cherry-picked wrong intelligence, are ready to help take this country back. The Repugs assumption that all military voters, and especially veterans, are in their camp, is over as of November.

2006-03-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Leadership 101 Revisited

Is there a failure of leadership in the administration and Congress? Judge for yourself.

In any organization:

- Leadership starts at the top
- Leadership is revealed by the types of people chosen to be key staff & advisors
- Leadership sets the values & ethics for the organization
- Leadership sets the culture for the organization
- Leadership encourages a cooperative, team approach with those being led
- Leadership builds trust and strong communication channels
- Leadership sets the vision ahead and gets overwhelming buy-in to it
- *Credibility is the foundation of leadership

Although these principles are not an exhaustive description of leadership, I know these principles to be true from my own experience. I teach them to a variety of groups who invariably confirm these principles back to me.

Therefore, using these principles, every one of you can evaluate this administration and its leadership effectiveness overall and its support of veterans and the troops in particular. You can also evaluate your own organization where you work, your state and local leaders - and yourself.

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* The last principle listed comes from The Leadership Challenge, 3d Ed. (trade paperback) by James M. Kouzes and Barry C. Posner. I highly recommend you take a look at it.

2006-03-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

Dubai Retrospective...

Everyone else has commented on Dubai, so a close friend asked me what I thought, now two weeks later...

The 62-2 vote in Congress sums up things well. It was a stupid decision by those involved including Homeland Security that took no notice that, on it's face, contradicted everything the administration has asked us to believe about the threats to our ports - even if it had turned out that there was no real threat from the Dubai company. Incompetence, arrogance, lack of communication, and money issues (similar themes in Iraq, Katrina) were made worse by the fact that no one told the president about the decision until after it was made. How many times do Chertoff and his friends have to screw up royally?

In immediately saying he would veto any action to stop the deal, Mr. Bush made things worse in that he clearly wanted us to believe that he knew about the deal and had good reasons for it - when in fact he admitted a couple of days later that he didn't make the decision but had only just been told about it. Fortunately, Mr. Bush was saved from further embarrassment when the Dubai company 'voluntarily' backed out of the deal.

Like so many other things with this administration, folks, following the money will ultimately help provide more clarity of how everything happened.

What is worse, we still have monumental security issues with our ports that have not been addressed well enough yet, no matter who winds up managing them.

2006-03-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Mental Health and Military Service in Iraq

Discussion on NPR radio:

A new study shows more than one in three members of the U.S. armed forces serving in Iraq seeks help for mental health problems. We talk about the types of problems they're experiencing, the help available, and long term cost to individuals, their families, and the nation.

Guests:

Charles Sheehan-Miles, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense and a veteran of the first Gulf War

Col. Dr. Charles Hoge, director of the division of psychiatry and neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Chaplain John Morris, chaplain for the Minnesota National Guard

Craig Smith, served as a Specialist in Operation Iraqi Freedom from April to November 2003

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2006-03-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Back to Code Red...

You were a great baseball pitcher, Mr. Bunning, but you and your ilk are headed for the scrap heap of the 'politics of fear'...

"Civil liberties do not mean much when you are dead," Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., told the Senate.

...but they mean a hell of a lot when you are alive, senator - that's what you don't understand, and never will.

So now we see that more than 40 Democrats have no problems left with the Patriot Act - the only thing that changed was that you can now supposedly feel relatively safe going into your public library.

Whoop-de-do, Dems: you really showed 'em...

2006-02-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

Where is John Ashcroft When We Need Him?

Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!
Code RED, be very afraid!

Code GREEN, you have nothing to worry about...

2006-02-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

'Support-the-Troops' Republicans Continue Their Push to Increase Military Retirees Health Care Costs -- In Order to Help Fund Current Operations

Pentagon Leaders Continue Fee Hike Campaign on Hill. This week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Peter Pace, USMC, and Army Chief of Staff Gen Peter Schoomaker testified once again, this time before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and continued to push fee increases for retirees under age 65...

At a separate hearing on Feb. 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs, DoD witnesses included Dr. William Winkenwerder, Asst. Sec. Def. for Health Affairs. Chairman James Walsh (R-NY) stated, “It’s going to be politically difficult for Congress to support these fee increases.” Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), the panel’s senior Democrat, asked Winkenwerder to “get the facts on the table” about where the proposed savings would come from.

Published reports indicate the large majority come from the expectation that the fee increases would drive large numbers of beneficiaries out of TRICARE (retiree healthcare system). Pressed about how many the budget plan is expected to drive away, Winkenwerder said “about 150,000.” (Note: from blog editor: elsewhere Dr Winkenwerder agreed that the real estimate is around 600,000)

The Military Officers Association of America, one of many retiree organizations fighting the increases noted:

"...the Pentagon leaders’ disingenuous double-talk about exorbitant fee increases being “necessary to sustain the current benefit.” We think it’s unconscionable to put the Joint Chiefs and Senior Enlisted Advisors in the position of having to advocate a benefit cut in order to fund weapons programs."

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So now, military retiree healthcare can be added to education, healthcare for our citizens, funding for college loans and a variety of other critical needs of this country being stripped to mostly support the ongoing war in Iraq (at the same time that tax cuts for the rich are being made permanent). Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) was surprised that there had been no premium adjustment since 1996 and said this "needs to be reviewed" to ensure retirees pay their "fair share." Compared to who Mr. Chairman? You, who never served in the military? Oh yeah, I forgot about all those big defense corporations in your district in California who have funded your campaigns.

While we are talking about comparisons, here is something else to think about: It was reported today that the huge conglomerate, Time Warner, is staying together for now, including Warner Brothers, HBO, CNN, America Online and Time Magazine. Time Warner is worth about $84 Billion, about the same amount we are continuing to pump into Iraq every year as more of our sons and daughters die or are disabled for life. Think about it.

2006-02-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

Scalia Rethinking Who He Invites to Go Shooting

With Friends Like This...

One reason why the 2nd amendment needs to be rethought...

2006-02-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

3 Stooges Plot Foiled on Way to L.A.?

Ok, I'm just trying to picture how we stopped the bad guys from using shoe bombs on an airplane on its way to L.A. Let's see, did these bumblers think they would:

1. Pound on the cabin door with their feet until their shoes exploded?
2. Take off their shoes and pound the door, with the same result?
3. Take off their shoes, place them in front of the door, light them, and go running back down the aisle holding their ears?
4. Take off the shoes in their seats and ask passengers next to them to borrow a small knife or nail clippers so they could construct the explosives?

I'm at a loss to understand the credibility of this story, how about you?

2006-02-07T13:02:00.000-08:00

Support the Troops etc. etc.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, left (asked) Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker about a news story from the Charleston West Virginia Gazette of 1st Lt. William Eddie Rebrook IV, a wounded American soldier who was reportedly ordered to pay $700 for his unrecovered body armor, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006.

Note: Lt Rebrook was forced to repay the money for the body armor, borrowing money from his army buddies, before he could get his last paycheck - body armor that was stripped off of him after he was wounded in battle.

2006-02-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

State of Disunion, Part III

Scariest comment of all? --

...Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit...creating human-animal hybrids...

Ummm, could we have a little more explanation as to who is doing this and what exactly is being done?

2006-02-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

State of Disunion, Part II

Question still not answered at all: Why can't warrants be obtained in accordance with the law and the 4th Amendment to the Constitution? The FISA law allows them to be obtained after the fact for 72 hours and Democrats have said they will be more than willing to agree to change the law and give the President a month, after the fact, if he needs it.

So there are no more excuses - get the warrants and ensure the protection of all Americans while still being able to go after the bad guys.

2006-02-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

State of Disunion

In case you missed it, here is the State of the Union.

By the way, try doing a 'Find' on the word 'veterans' and let me know what you find.

2006-01-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

Bill of Wrongs

What's currently 'out' with this administration?

Amendments 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15 to the U.S. Constitution

What's currently 'in'?

Amendment 2

2006-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

Unable to Get Support from Congress, the Attorney General Advised the President to Go Around FISA Anyway

The Attorney General, whose job it is to enforce the law, instead has found ways to work around it...

ADMINISTRATION CONTRADICTS ITSELF: The administration argues that, in addition to the President's unchecked power over anything he deems related to security, the power to conduct warrantless domestic surveillance was granted by Congress in 2001 through the Authorization for the Use of Military Force against al Qaeda. (Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) disagrees. Asked if the 9/11 resolution authorized the warrantless domestic surveillance program, Brownback replied, "It didn’t in my vote.") The administration's claims on this issue are not even internally consistent. On the one hand, the administration argues Congress gave them this power. But Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claims that the administration didn't go to Congress for the authority because Congress would have rejected them. At a press conference on Dec. 19, Gonzales said, "We have had discussions with Congress in the past -- certain members of Congress -- as to whether or not FISA could be amended to allow us to adequately deal with this kind of threat, and we were advised that that would be difficult, if not impossible."

Note that 'certain members of Congress' includes Republican Senators Specter, Graham, McCain, & Brownback. One question has yet to be answered simply by anyone in the administration: Why can't warrants be obtained, in accordance with the law?
----
Thanks for the link from Buzzflash

2006-01-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

Former Reagan Official Blasts Bush Administration for Attempting to 'Swift-Boat' Rep. Murtha

James Webb, a secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration, was a Marine platoon and company commander in Vietnam. One thing about the Marines - they don't take crap from anybody, regardless of party affiliation. They are getting a little sick and tired of being told what great combat veterans they are while being slammed by Neocon puppets who never served a day in their lives in combat:

It should come as no surprise that an arch-conservative Web site is questioning whether Representative John Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of the war in Iraq, deserved the combat awards he received in Vietnam.

After all, in recent years extremist Republican operatives have inverted a longstanding principle: that our combat veterans be accorded a place of honor in political circles. This trend began with the ugly insinuations leveled at Senator John McCain during the 2000 Republican primaries and continued with the slurs against Senators Max Cleland and John Kerry, and now Mr. Murtha.

Military people past and present have good reason to wonder if the current administration truly values their service beyond its immediate effect on its battlefield of choice. The casting of suspicion and doubt about the actions of veterans who have run against President Bush or opposed his policies has been a constant theme of his career. This pattern of denigrating the service of those with whom they disagree risks cheapening the public's appreciation of what it means to serve, and in the long term may hurt the Republicans themselves...

The political tactic of playing up the soldiers on the battlefield while tearing down the reputations of veterans who oppose them could eventually cost the Republicans dearly. It may be one reason that a preponderance of the Iraq war veterans who thus far have decided to run for office are doing so as Democrats.

2006-01-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

The Former Viceroy of Iraq Pushes His Book

Paul Bremer, interviewed by Tim Russert on Meet the Press, seemed to be very comfortable giving conflicting answers to the same questions regarding needed troop levels in Iraq. He now appears to be the only one, inside the administration and out, who believes his decision to dismantle the Iraqi military was a good one - but what the heck, it should sell a lot of books.

We would likely be on our way out of Iraq now without that decision.

2006-01-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

The DoD is Forcing Veterans Out of Its Healthcare System - 600,000 of Them!

Military veterans, who chose careers in the service to their country, are now being told that their medical benefits are being stripped away because they get too much, percentage-wise, in comparison to civilian counterparts. But what is the real reason? So that more money is available for this administration to make bad choices or choose wrong priorities for our troops in support of current operations (e.g. Iraq) - literally robbing Peter to pay Paul:

To their credit, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) Dr. William Winkenwerder and his principal deputy, Dr. Steve Jones, went out of their way to talk to military association representatives about why the Defense Department wants to double or triple TRICARE fees for (military) retired beneficiaries. They came to Alexandria, Virginia to spend an hour with more than 50 representatives of The Military Coalition… But it was a frustrating meeting on both sides, as Coalition members had lots of questions about the specifics of the new proposals that Winkenwerder said he couldn't yet answer...Barred from discussing details, Dr. Winkenwerder briefed the Coalition on why the Department feels the need to shift more costs to retirees. (Among) his principal points were:

*Health costs are rising faster than the rest of the Defense budget, mainly because of legislated benefit expansions, increasing retiree use of care, and general health inflation.
*The military health benefit is "extremely rich," with military retirees averaging $680 in out-of-pocket health costs a year, vs. $3700 for retirees from civilian employers.
*As private sector employers have cut back on health benefits, the percentage of retirees actually using TRICARE has risen from 66% in FY2002 to 78% for FY2006, and is expected to rise to 87% by 2011 if current trends continue.

When Dr. Winkenwerder solicited comments, Military Officers Association of America, MOAA's Steve Strobridge, said comparison of military vs. civilian health costs fails to consider some critical points:

*Military retirement benefits are the only offset provided for the unique and extraordinary demands inherent in a 20-30 year military career.
*Military retirees have paid far greater premiums than civilians; they just paid most of them in service and sacrifice rather than in cash.
*Further, he said the Pentagon should be asking Congress for a bigger defense budget to pay for the needed benefit improvements Congress has enacted rather than seeking to fund those other defense needs out of retirees' pockets.
*80% of the savings associated with these proposals come from the assumption that the fee increases would drive 600,000 retirees out of TRICARE.

Asked whether the Defense Department would propose additional fee increases if that level of migration and savings didn't materialize, Dr. Winkenwerder indicated that option might be among those considered if the assumptions prove wrong.

2006-01-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Sham of 'Support the Troops' Exposed - Again

2006 starts out no different than 2005:

The Party of 'Values' - the Repugnicans - is now so tangled in its own underwear of corruption, being on the take from lobbyists, stripping your rights of privacy, and ripping off American Indian tribes, that they no longer can keep track of the conflicting stories they try to feed to the public - including their supposed support of the troops and veterans.

After more than a year of exposure in the media, and on blogs like this one, that the DoD was inadequately arming and protecting the troops, the problems never got really fixed - in spite of protestations that whatever 'supply' issues there were would be overcome. It took our troops on their own to upgrade the armor on Humvees, before the government decided that might be a good idea, and now even that protection is inadequate.

Similarly, with regard to body armor, the DoD said in the past that the armor was available, but that most troops chose not to wear it because it was too cumbersome. But amidst all the flak coming in on this administration comes the real truth once again - that the Pentagon is contributing to deaths on the battlefield needlessly through inaction, misplaced priorities or criminal negligence - take your choice.

So, veterans, how much more of this incompetence and misplaced priorities are you willing to take before you vote out the people responsible and all those appointed by them? Will it take the death of your son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter?

2005-12-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year & Happy Holidays...

Time for a holiday break as we, in our family, also make time to remember our troops and our veterans, and thank them. It's the first Christmas when our son, on active duty in the Middle East, has not been able to make it home somehow, so we pray for his safety and for all of you who are in the military away from family and friends. Come back safely!

2005-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Bad Day at the Pre-School...

Teddy (Stevens): Wah! Wah! I wanna play with my oil, Wah! Wah!

Neocons: Wah! Wah! Jimmy did it before Georgie did and so did Billy. Wah! Wah!

Darth (Cheney): Wah! Wah! Who made me come back to school today? Wah! Wah! I wanna pull off some butterfly wings. Wah! Wah! All I get to do is kick college students, the poor, the sick, and veterans! Wah! Wah! Wah!

Teddy (Stevens): Wah! Wah! I want my bridge to nowhere! Wah! Wah!.....

Pre-school teacher (to herself): I'm glad they'll all be out of my class next year...

2005-12-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

The TSA Practices for the Fourth Reich

The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), wants to use veterans' confidential medical records taken from the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to block veterans' from flying. TSA wants to block veterans who might be "mental defectives" from airplanes without defining what the term means.

---
Just curious - why is the TSA singling out veterans?

And will the estimated 100,000 troops coming home from Iraq with PTSD be included?

And does that mean that the medical records of all citizens will now be opened to the TSA?

And one final question: how do we find out how many mental defectives there are in the TSA?

2005-12-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

It's a Start...

The White House and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) reached agreement today on a measure that would ban torture and limit interrogation tactics in U.S. detention facilities, a provision that the Bush administration had strongly resisted but that received broad support in Congress.

The agreement, announced after President Bush met with McCain and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) in the White House, came a day after the House overwhelmingly approved language supported by McCain that would prohibit "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government. The Senate approved the provision by a lopsided margin earlier.

"We've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists," McCain said, "but what we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are." He said this would "help us enormously in winning the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror."...

Speaking to reporters outside the White House afterward, McCain said the next step is to put his amendment's language in the House-Senate conference report of the fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill.

---
That there even had to be extended negotiations to take this step is incredible. It took Sen. McCain's own experience as a POW to begin forcing the issue, although his rosy outlook on how the world will view us may be a little premature.

As my mother often said, "Actions speak louder than words."

2005-12-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

So, How Are You Going to Pay...

...the extra $100,000 you owe the federal government if you are a family of four? But that's just as of today. At the current spending rates of this administration, every grandchild being born today will be, individually, making the federal government millionaires by the time they are old enough to vote. Why not split the $300 billion going to Iraq amongst the 27 million Iraqis and just give them a check for $10,000 each? That should get us out of Iraq in a heartbeat.

Oh, by the way, the same Congressman DeFazio reported this morning that the 'recently declassified plan to win victory in Iraq' - the 35 page glossy report Mr. Bush held up in a speech last week - was not something being used or even developed anywhere in our own government! It was instead developed by one university political science professor in North Carolina - conveniently in time for the series of Bush speeches in the last two weeks.

So, while our Democrat senators are busy signing a letter to the president today demanding more specificty of the plan, they ought to first look into the b.s. behind the plan itself.

2005-12-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Van Creveld (Continued)

(Interviewer): You believe the current US involvement in Iraq will end up like the Vietnam War. What are the major parallels? In a more philosophical sense, why do we as human beings do not tend to learn from our history and past mistakes, especially in a serious matter as warfare?

Martin van Creveld: Both Iraq and Vietnam are, to use the terminology I developed in The Transformation of War, non-trinitarian conflicts. Experience shows that almost all countries that tried to fight such wars from, let us say, 1941 on, have lost, as did the U.S itself in both Vietnam and Somalia. Why should the war in Iraq end up differently?

Concerning the second question, you really should ask Mr. Bush. According to Carl Woodward's Bush at War, which has many verbatim reports of the decision- making process that led to Iraq, Bush, repeatedly referred to Vietnam, adding that "I am not stupid". Why, assuming the reports are correct, he nevertheless decided to go to war escapes me and will no doubt preoccupy historians to come.

(Interviewer): It has been said there are two major camps in the US military leadership: Those who follow the principles of Clausewitz and those who follow the principles of Sun Tzu. Do you agree in general? If so, which of the two ideas do you think will apply more in future wars? If not, what doctrines or sets of principles do you see the US military leadership following?

van Creveld: I doubt whether the U.S military leadership has followed either Clausewitz or Sun Tzu, or else it would hardly have gotten itself involved in an unwinnable war in Iraq.

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Read the whole van Creveld interview here.

2005-12-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

December 7th - 'A Day that will Live in Infamy'

World War II Vets: Most of you are in your 80's or late 70's - we have not forgotten your service to our country. Thank You!

2005-12-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

Ms. Rice Tap Dances Her 'Rendition' Through Europe

Excerpts from today's N.Y. Times Editorial:

It was a sad enough measure of how badly the Bush administration has damaged its moral standing that the secretary of state had to deny that the president condones torture before she could visit some of the most reliable American allies in Europe. It was even worse that she had a hard time sounding credible when she did it.

Of course, it would have helped if Condoleezza Rice was actually in a position to convince the world that the United States has not, does not and will not torture prisoners. But there's just too much evidence that this has happened at the hands of American interrogators or their proxies in other countries. Vice President Dick Cheney is still lobbying to legalize torture at the C.I.A.'s secret prisons, and to block a law that would reimpose on military prisons the decades-old standard of decent treatment that Mr. Bush scrapped after 9/11.

Pesky facts keep getting in the way of Ms. Rice's message. Yesterday, the new German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said that Ms. Rice had acknowledged privately that the United States should not have abducted a German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, who says he was sent to Afghanistan and mistreated for five months before the Americans realized that they had the wrong man and let him go.

Mr. Masri tried to appear at a press conference in Washington yesterday to discuss a lawsuit filed in Virginia on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, a suit alleging wrongful imprisonment and torture - but the United States government has refused to allow him into the country.

At issue is the practice of extraordinary rendition. When a government captures someone really dangerous, like a terrorist leader, who cannot be charged under that government's own laws, it sends him to another country where authorities are willing to charge the suspect or at least can get away with locking him up indefinitely without charges.

It's been going on for decades, infrequently and selectively, but the United States is reported to have stepped it up since 9/11 and violated international law by sending suspects to places where it knows they will be tortured. Recently, European governments expressed outrage at reports that some detainees were held at secret C.I.A. prisons in Europe.

Ms. Rice, like other American officials, will not comment on these reports. But before leaving Washington on Monday, she read a statement implying that if there were any secret prisons out there, the host countries knew about them. She rather bluntly warned that European countries who want American intelligence had better not betray any secrets.

-----

Bottom line of Condi's advice for Europe: we didn't do it, but you had better not tell anybody if we did.

This is our Secretary of State.

And if 'water boarding' isn't considered a technique of torture by this administration, then clearly you can see why, for them, there is no such thing as torture.

Just where exactly is the ethical and moral line-in-the-sand crossed for this leadership that came to power as the party of 'values.'

2005-12-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

VA Illegally Diverts Funds From Veterans Health Care

Bush Administration appointees are breaking the law by using designated health care funds for downsizing studies. Folks, this is not coming from some newspaper article or cable TV network news - it's coming from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) - Congress' own internal watch agency.

That's even less money that's available for your healthcare, vets.

Oh, and by the way, the White House press release accompanying the low profile signing of the VA budget last week crowing of a 16% increase in veterans' health care, is in actuality a 3% decrease.

The 1954 classic, "How to Lie with Statistics" by Darrell Huff must be required reading in the White House, and maybe you should read it too.
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Thanks to vawatchdog.org for the links

2005-12-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Former Head of the NSA Rips "Stay the Course"

Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Ret.), is a Senior Fellow with Hudson Institute and a professor at Yale University. He was Director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988. From 1981 to 1985, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, the Army's senior intelligence officer. From 1977 to 1981, he was Military Assistant to the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs, Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Putting it bluntly, those who insist on staying in Iraq longer make the consequences of withdrawal more terrible and make it harder to find an alternative strategy for achieving regional stability...Once the invasion began in March 2003, all of the ensuing unhappy results became inevitable. The invasion of Iraq may well turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in American history. In any event, the longer we stay, the worse it will be. Until that is understood, we will make no progress with our allies or in devising a promising alternative strategy.

Read Gen. Odom's recent articles here.

2005-11-30T06:58:00.000-08:00

VA Attempting to Eat Its Own - Again

"Just six days after canceling one PTSD review, the VA “sneaks in”
another – Culture of secrecy makes agency designed to help
veterans their biggest foe."

As reported here
last month, the VA, in an attempt to save money tried to reclassify more than 72,000 Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) cases, mostly of Vietnam vets. Then the VA relented loudly before Veterans' Day - but that was a smokescreen. Now they are at it again.

The supreme irony: With an estimated 100,000 more cases coming out of Iraq, the VA is now essentially trying to fund the Iraq war on the backs of returning, mentally impaired, GIs. Protesting that the costs of taking care of PTSD cases out of Iraq will cost at least $6 billion, the VA is apparently unaware that this amounts to less than a month of Iraq war costs.

The VA even wants the American Psychiatric Association to rework the definition of PTSD. Apparently the VA thinks it is better qualified to judge PTSD than is the APA.

If all this doesn't make you angry, veterans, nothing will.

This policy is being pushed as Mr. Bush speaks at the Naval Academy about supporting our troops, hoping that by saying the same things once more, 60% of this country will magically change its mind that the war in Iraq was a bad idea.

Does he hope that by saying things louder and longer, to a - once-again - supremely safe audience, while our vets are being screwed, will hide what is being done? Write your Congressional representatives and senators - now. Use the 'Contact Congress' link to the right.

2005-11-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

That Guy Freud Gets Around...

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, flubbed Monday and referred to Iraq as Vietnam while commenting on Fox News against an immediate troop withdrawal.

"The Democratic Party seems to be taken over by the Michael Moore contingent in their attitude toward Vietnam, and they continually call for a withdrawal of troops at a time when we haven't finished the job," Hatch said on the network's morning show. Hatch's spokesman acknowledged the error, which was first reported on the American Prospect Web log.

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UPDATE: Maybe Sen. Hatch is better at Monday morning quarterbacking than he knows. Reprinted from this blog more than a year ago:

The Vietnam II Preflight Check
By Jack McMillan
8-27-03

1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.
2. No understanding of ethnicity's of the many locals? Check.
3. National boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.
4. Unshakable faith in our superior technology? Check.
5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.
8. Enemy supply lines unknown? Check.
9. Sec of Def pushing a conflict the Joint Chiefs never wanted? Check.
10. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check.
11. Corrupt corporate Texan in the White House? Check.
12. Land war in Asia? Check.
13. Right-wing unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.
14. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.
15. Soldiers about to be exposed to our own chemicals? Check.
16. Daily guerrilla attacks that cannot be stopped? Check.
17. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.
18. B-52 bombers? Check.
19. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.
20. Infighting among the branches of the military? Check.
21. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.
22. Local experts ignored? Check.
23. Local politicians ignored? Check.
24. Local conflicts since before the USA has been a country? Check.
25. Much confusion over who and where the enemy is? Check.
26. Against advice, Prez won't use taxes to pay for war? Check.
27. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.
28. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check.
29. War unpopular at home? Check.
30. No plan in place to end involvement? Check.

Vietnam II, you are cleared to taxi.
---
See anything familiar?

2005-11-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Respected Military Historian Weighs In:

Costly Withdrawal Is the Price To Be Paid for a Foolish War

Martin van Creveld, a professor of military history at the Hebrew University, is author of "Transformation of War" (Free Press, 1991). He is the only non-American author on the U.S. Army's required reading list for officers.

What had to come, has come. The question is no longer if American forces will be withdrawn, but how soon — and at what cost. In this respect, as in so many others, the obvious parallel to Iraq is Vietnam.

Confronted by a demoralized army on the battlefield and by growing opposition at home, in 1969 the Nixon administration started withdrawing most of its troops in order to facilitate what it called the "Vietnamization" of the country. The rest of America's forces were pulled out after Secretary of State Henry Kissinger negotiated a "peace settlement" with Hanoi. As the troops withdrew, they left most of their equipment to the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam — which just two years later, after the fall of Saigon, lost all of it to the communists.

Clearly this is not a pleasant model to follow, but no other alternative appears in sight.

Whereas North Vietnam at least had a government with which it was possible to arrange a cease-fire, in Iraq the opponent consists of shadowy groups of terrorists with no central organization or command authority. And whereas in the early 1970s equipment was still relatively plentiful, today's armed forces are the products of a technology-driven revolution in military affairs. Whether that revolution has contributed to anything besides America's national debt is open to debate. What is beyond question, though, is that the new weapons are so few and so expensive that even the world's largest and richest power can afford only to field a relative handful of them.

Therefore, simply abandoning equipment or handing it over to the Iraqis, as was done in Vietnam, is simply not an option. And even if it were, the new Iraqi army is by all accounts much weaker, less skilled, less cohesive and less loyal to its government than even the South Vietnamese army was. For all intents and purposes, Washington might just as well hand over its weapons directly to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Clearly, then, the thing to do is to forget about face-saving and conduct a classic withdrawal.

Handing over their bases or demolishing them if necessary, American forces will have to fall back on Baghdad. From Baghdad they will have to make their way to the southern port city of Basra, and from there back to Kuwait, where the whole misguided adventure began. When Prime Minister Ehud Barak pulled Israel out of Lebanon in 2000, the military was able to carry out the operation in a single night without incurring any casualties. That, however, is not how things will happen in Iraq.

Not only are American forces perhaps 30 times larger, but so is the country they have to traverse. A withdrawal probably will require several months and incur a sizable number of casualties. As the pullout proceeds, Iraq almost certainly will sink into an all-out civil war from which it will take the country a long time to emerge — if, indeed, it can do so at all. All this is inevitable and will take place whether George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice like it or not.

Having been thoroughly devastated by two wars with the United States and a decade of economic sanctions, decades will pass before Iraq can endanger its neighbors again. Yet a complete American withdrawal is not an option; the region, with its vast oil reserves, is simply too important for that. A continued military presence, made up of air, sea and a moderate number of ground forces, will be needed.

First and foremost, such a presence will be needed to counter Iran, which for two decades now has seen the United States as "the Great Satan." Tehran is certain to emerge as the biggest winner from the war — a winner that in the not too distant future is likely to add nuclear warheads to the missiles it already has. In the past, Tehran has often threatened the Gulf States. Now that Iraq is gone, it is hard to see how anybody except the United States can keep the Gulf States, and their oil, out of the mullahs' clutches.

A continued American military presence will be needed also, because a divided, chaotic, government-less Iraq is very likely to become a hornets' nest. From it, a hundred mini-Zarqawis will spread all over the Middle East, conducting acts of sabotage and seeking to overthrow governments in Allah's name.

The Gulf States apart, the most vulnerable country is Jordan, as evidenced by the recent attacks in Amman. However, Turkey, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, Israel are also likely to feel the impact. Some of these countries, Jordan in particular, are going to require American assistance.

Maintaining an American security presence in the region, not to mention withdrawing forces from Iraq, will involve many complicated problems, military as well as political. Such an endeavor, one would hope, will be handled by a team different from — and more competent than — the one presently in charge of the White House and Pentagon.

And Van Creveld concludes:

For misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 B.C sent his legions into Germany and lost them, Bush deserves to be impeached and, once he has been removed from office, put on trial along with the rest of the president's men. If convicted, they'll have plenty of time to mull over their sins.
---
What do you think, vets?

Source: Buzzflash

2005-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Send 'Em All Home or to Jail, Whichever Applies (cont.)

Rep. Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators...Cunningham, an eight-term Republican congressman, had already announced in July that he would not seek re-election next year...Cunningham's pleas came amid a series of GOP scandals. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas had to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in a campaign finance case; a stock sale by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being looked at by regulators; and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was indicted in the CIA leak case.

2005-11-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

The Universe is Still Mine to Have

The deep sinister voice of the second in command is unmistakable, even though it has been once again buried for months in seething, angry contemplation:

A LOW GROAN emanates from Vader's mask. Suddenly everything in the room begins to implode, including some of the DROIDS...

VADER SCREAMS, breaks his bonds to the table, and steps forward, waving his hands, causing objects to fly around the room. Sidious deflects the objects, but some of the Droids (especially one named Libby) aren't so lucky. VADER'S PAINFUL SCREAMS echo throughout the Center.

"They won't get me, do you hear? Bob Woodward will never squeal, and 30 years from now, if he's still alive, it won't matter..."

----
With apologies for the slight additions to the Stars Wars III script...

2005-11-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

"Mean Jean" Steps in it Bigtime

...In attacking the Democrats' position, Ms. Schmidt, the newest member of Congress, said she had received a call from a Marine colonel, who "asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

The House exploded in catcalls and jeers among outraged Democrats. When debate resumed, Ms. Schmidt retracted her comments and said, "I did not intend to suggest they applied to any member," especially Mr. Murtha.

Ms. Schmidt could not be reached for comment on Saturday, with voice mailboxes full at all three of her offices. Her campaign manager did not return a phone call. Several Republicans who were on the House floor said afterward that Ms. Schmidt did not appear to know she was referring to a much-decorated veteran.

"The poor lady didn't know Jack Murtha was a Marine - she really just ran into a hornet's nest," said Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia.

Representative David Dreier of California said, "Very clearly, she did not know that Jack Murtha was a Marine."

----

Schmidt won a very close, highly publicized special election for a House seat from Ohio over Iraqi war veteran Paul Hackett a few months ago. All any Democrat has to do in her district next November is play her soliloquy over and over and they are in. Hackett apparently may now run for the Senate.

2005-11-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

A Turning Point

I now don't think it's overstating it to say that a turning point has been been reached with this administration, not only with Rep. John Murtha's press release today* in the House from a previously strong supporter of the war, but also with the budget being voted down with the help of 22 Republicans - all after yesterday's 98-0 vote requiring a better approach to resolving Iraq.

Left here to fend off the barrage, the vice president resorted to insults, accusing all who disagreed with him (by reference including Murtha) as having 'no backbone' - a comment that Murtha, a Marine's Marine, said was coming from a man with 5 or 6 deferments during Vietnam.

'Staying the course' has turned into a textbook example of the sunk cost syndrome. While bird flu is on the agenda of the president in Asia, the 98-0 vote yesterday shows that cutting our losses honorably and sensibly is now squarely in the sights of even his former supporters - while GIs continue to die and be wounded.

Murtha concludes: Because we in Congress are charged with sending our sons and daughters into battle, it is our responsibility, our OBLIGATION to speak out for them. That’s why I am speaking out.

Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. can not accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.

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*Thanks to Tescht for the links.

2005-11-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

NeoCon Logic 101 (cont, etc. etc.)

If you can't admit guilt, baffle them with BS. The neocon argument about pre-war intelligence goes like this: "We weren't the only ones wrong - everyone else was too."

Even if this version of Rove dog poo were correct, which it isn't, what does this say about LEADERSHIP in this administration? Their definition: Refuse to accept responsibility and accountability and spread the blame in any way possible (after blaming Bill Clinton first). They haven't figured out why they are in the 35% approval range and going down: people across the political spectrum want answers not excuses to FIX things like Iraq, real support of the troops and veterans, medical care, education etc., etc., etc.

There are no answers coming from the neocons, just louder and louder denials that it wasn't just their fault. What inspiring leadership...

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UPDATE on Veterans PTSD (see Oct 26 post below): Responding to growing outrage from military and veterans' groups, the VA has cancelled its plans to review thousands of VA disability ratings for PTSD.

2005-11-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans' Day

To all vets: I salute you.

To all those on active duty and in dangerous places (including my son): my thoughts and prayers are with you.

To those in the Reserves & National Guard: thank you as well.

For those of you who are not in the military or veterans, do something for or with a veteran today.

This veteran's voice is focused on making things better for all of you.

2005-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

True Colors of the Congressional Republicans Are Showing Once Again: 'Support the troops' and Forget Veterans

... And as if to add insult to injury, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) recently announced that veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees. For several decades now, these joint hearings have been held each year to allow the leaders of veterans service organizations to discuss their group’s legislative agenda and foremost concerns with the lawmakers who have jurisdiction over federal veterans programs.

Eliminating these joint hearings is an affront to the men and women who have fought and died to protect our Constitutional rights, including their right to petition the government.

2005-11-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

President Directs White House to Take Ethics Class

Subtitle to the article that should have been added: Overflow Crowd Expected

Anyone want to guess who will be the guest speakers to help Harriet Meiers? There are lots of possibilities:

Tom DeLay?
Bill Frist?
Scooter Libby?
Karl Rove?
John Poindexter?
Anyone who says we have never used torture techniques but still wants to exempt the CIA?
(Readers: can you think of anymore guest speakers)?

How about what will not be taught:

- Conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof
- Rights to counsel and a reasonably prompt hearing of charges
- Inhumane & illegal treatment of prisoners
- Withdrawal of funding from the people who especially need it like veterans, seniors, students, medicare - while continuing tax breaks for the rich
- Protection of privacy
- Real values like honor, integrity, truthfulness

Unfortunately it's going to hard to run the class because it's going to be next to impossible to find an ethical code in line with the 'values' of this administration. Forseeing this possibility, Ms. Meiers will probably outsource the course to Halliburton, after first making sure the vice president's automatic deposit is still coming in from them.

2005-11-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

The Repugs' Internal Debate Over Whether to be a Lawless Nation

An excerpt from this morning's Washington Post (with key phrases highlighted):

The Bush administration is embroiled in a sharp internal debate over whether a new set of Defense Department standards for handling terror suspects should adopt language from the Geneva Conventions prohibiting "cruel," "humiliating" and "degrading" treatment, administration officials say.

Advocates of that approach, who include some Defense and State Department officials and senior military lawyers, contend that moving the military's detention policies closer to international law would prevent further abuses and build support overseas for the fight against Islamic extremists, officials said.

Their opponents, who include aides to Vice President Dick Cheney and some senior Pentagon officials, have argued strongly that the proposed language is vague, would tie the government's hands in combating terrorists and still would not satisfy America's critics, officials said.

Since Mr. Bush's second term began, several officials said, factions within the administration have clashed over the revision of rules for the military tribunals to be held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the transfer of some prisoners held there, and aspects of the United States' detention operations in Afghanistan and Iraq...

The behind-the-scenes debate over the Pentagon directive comes more than three years after President Bush decided that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to the fight against terrorism. It mirrors a public battle between the Bush administration and Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who is pressing a separate legislative effort to ban the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of any detainee in United States custody.

After a 90-to-9 vote in the Senate last month in favor of Mr. McCain's amendment to a $445 billion defense spending bill, the White House moved to exempt clandestine C.I.A. activities from the provision. A House-Senate conference committee is expected to consider the issue this week.

Mr. Cheney and some of his aides have spearheaded the administration's opposition to Senator McCain's amendment; they were also quick to oppose a draft of the detention directive, which began to circulate in the Pentagon in mid-September, officials said...

Mr. Whitman confirmed that the Pentagon officials were revising four major documents - including the two high-level directives on detention operations and interrogations and the Army interrogations manual - as part of its response to the 12 major investigations and policy reviews that followed the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.

Even some supporters of those policies have acknowledged that the tensions stem in part from the way they were pushed through after the Sept. 11 attacks, by a handful of administration lawyers who circumvented international-law experts, military lawyers and even some cabinet-level officials who might have objected...

Since President Bush's decision in February 2002 to set aside the Geneva Conventions in fighting terrorists, government lawyers have debated what legal framework should apply to combatants in a struggle that the administration argues does not fit into the categories of international violence contemplated by the 1949 conventions.

"The uniformed service lawyers are behind the rewrite because it brings the policy into line with Geneva," one senior defense official said. "Their concern was that we were losing our standing with allies as well as the moral high ground with the rest of the world."

Another official said Mr. Addington and others also argued that Mr. Bush had specifically rejected the Article 3 standard in 2002, setting out a different one when he ordered that military detainees "be treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva...

"If we don't resolve this soon," one defense official said, referring to the overlapping debate over Senator McCain's proposal, "Congress is going to do it for us."

Integrity, honor, moral leadership - all of this and more we are trashing as a nation since March of 2003, because while the goal of beating the terrorists is crucial, the means to do so don't matter anymore - and who is responsible?

2005-10-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Real Support of the Troops Now Being Tested

Our troops go to war, accompanied by impassioned speeches warning of the dangers to our existence. But as in previous wars, most of those troops eventually come home - and they become veterans, veterans who often have to fight again, but this time to get deserved medical and psychological care for disabling and lifetime lasting effects from combat.

Vietnam became the awakening for the true extent of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD didn't have a clinical name after WWII, other than cliches like 'shell shock', and as reported in Tom Brokaw's books, most veterans came home and didn't want to talk about the war. So the PTSD effects on tens of thousands got buried. Vietnam War veterans came home to a country that wanted to forget about that war too for other reasons. But through the efforts of many of these veterans and their families and friends, first the physical effects of Agent Orange were fought (and are still being fought), and then PTSD began to be recognized as affecting a huge percentage of Vietnam vets who have documented its effects and pushed Congress for support.

As a result of the Iraq war, PTSD is estimated to affect at least half of the returning troops. And now inexplicably, the VA is trying to renege on PTSD benefits already promised to over 72,000 returning diagnosed veterans. The VA's excuse? These soldiers were 'misclassified' - but the reality is the VA is looking to free up money because Congress is aiming to cut $600 million from veterans' support this year. With an estimated 1 million troops who will have fought in Iraq - whenever it ends - how many of them will be stripped of needed help? This time instead of Agent Orange and PTSD, it's depleted uranium and PTSD.

So, those of you who really think you are supporting the troops, wake up. Those troops become veterans and they become leading targets for nonsupport from our federal bureaucracy. It's happening again.

For those veterans looking for some very good information on PTSD (or Agent Orange), go the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)website. The VVA is the only national Vietnam veterans organization congressionally chartered and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era veterans and their families, and 30 years later they are still fighting to get help.

2005-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Courage Under Fire

You probably won't get this easily in the news unless you watch C-SPAN late, but you may have previously heard about several military officers who had worked in a special unit in an intelligence agency before 911. They had blown the whistle saying info was available on the key bad guy prior to 911 - which could have prevented the whole thing. But by telling the truth, their lives have been made miserable by intel bureaucrats, with trumped up UCMJ charges to shut them up - until some members of Congress stepped in today. This one is about to hit the fan, but I'm glad someone is sticking up for these guys who risked a lot to tell the truth.

That someone is Rep. Curt Weldon (R) PA who is risking his own skin with the administration because it's the right thing to do. We'll see what happens.

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UPDATE: Click here for Rep. Weldon's remarks in the House yesterday.

2005-10-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Military Roles Become Increasingly Confused and Misused - Navy Training Troops for Ground Combat

As the administration runs out of options to recruit needed ground Army and Marine troops in Iraq and elsewhere, core competencies are being being sacrificed to support failed foreign policy.

Less formidable than SEAL commandos but more fierce than average swabbies, the hybrid sailor-soldiers would not elbow out Marines, said Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chief of naval operations. Marines are the Navy’s traditional combat troops, and blurring roles can be a touchy business in the rivalry-prone military.

Last week at a Pentagon news conference, Mullen told reporters that the expeditionary force is still just a “concept ” but that his counterpart with the Marines – Gen. Michael W. Hagee – has questioned him repeatedly about its purpose.

“Gen. Hagee tells me he gets asked about it everywhere he goes by his Marines,” Mullen said.

Mullen stressed that the new force would not compete with the Marines but complement them.

“The Marines need not be overly concerned about the Navy displacing the Marine Corps mission,” Mullen said. “That is not the intent.”

But demands in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the Marines thin, even as the Navy’s “brown water” operations are expected to increase – missions that call for close contact with hostile coastlines.

Under the blueprint announced in July, a number of sailors would “harden up” to fill the Marine void. The original concept called for a battalion-size force, or 600 to 800 sailors, but planners have been hammering out the nuts and bolts for months, and the reality could be much different. Final plans are expected to be released this month. No one at Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk would speak on the record about combat sailors.

2005-10-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Vets Are Getting Lost in the Political Rhetoric

While vets get tossed around as political footballs, some are trying to get the public to understand that it's not enough to support the troops, if that means abandoning them after their return.

When are we going to 'get it'? We've got our priorities screwed up. When you get down to it, any veteran ought to be able to go into any medical facility and get the help they need, on a priority basis. And it shouldn't stop there. Not one of them should be homeless. Sound too 'socialistic'? I don't think so, compared to the hypocritical head-in-the-sand attitudes we now subject our veterans to. We ask our sons and daughters to go to war (yes they are currently volunteers), but they return to an ever-widening cycle of neglect - half a million of them are on the streets in any given year.

And please don't write to tell me the Clinton administration didn't do anything significant to help veterans in an effort to absolve those who could do something about it now, beginning with the president. The point is - just do it.

One of the many efforts to raise visibility is worth knowing about:

Just like with other modern documentaries, "A Grateful Nation" attempts to show in vivid, raw imagery the life our country provides returning heroes. Stereotypes and ignorance are not easily combated, but it is possible.

2005-10-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

NCHV Helps Veterans on the Street

It has been estimated that approximately 200,000 veterans may be homeless on any given night, and twice that number may be homeless during the course of a year. Approximately one-third of homeless adult males and nearly one-quarter of homeless adults have served in the armed forces.

Check out the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans' mission statement & website. Here is an organization with an 'exit strategy'. Their goal is to be out of business someday soon. Maybe you can help them do so.

2005-10-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Iraq Veterans Run for Office to Change U.S. Policy

Amid the fighting in Iraq, a private questioned then-Capt. Patrick Murphy about why U.S. forces were in the Persian Gulf nation and was told it didn't matter, there was a job to do and just try to return home safely.

"That wasn't the time to question our government," Murphy recalled.

Now, however, Murphy and five other Democrats are asking the questions about President Bush's policies in Iraq as part of their broader campaigns to win congressional seats in next year's elections.

Familiar with the horrors of war, the six Democrats in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia say they are eminently qualified to pose the tough questions. Their reservations mirror public opinion, with an increasing number of Americans expressing concerns about the mission and favoring a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

The most recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed only 37 percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of Iraq, with 62 percent disapproving.

This summer, Democrat Paul Hackett, an Iraq War veteran, nearly defeated Republican Jean Schmidt in a special election in an Ohio district considered a GOP stronghold. Hackett focused on his wartime experience and his opposition to Bush's policies.

"Some guys don't think it's time to question our government, but the fact is I love my country," said Murphy, 31, a lawyer who fought with the 82nd Airborne Division. "We need to have an exit strategy now."

2005-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

Corruption in Government...

...according to the Wizard of Id today...

Leadership sets the cultural values of the organization - it doesn't matter whether we are talking about the private or public sector. For the last several years, the focus has been on corporate malfeasance, beginning with Enron. But now with the disasters of two hurricanes, along with the unending revelations of corruption, the public sector, including federal, state, and local governments have had the same sorts of defects revealed once again - often rooted in a leadership style of power without morality or competence.

In a democracy, voters are often urged to make the needed changes at the ballot box (assuming that the ballot boxes/machines can be properly protected). So, it starts now, voters. Whether you decide to get into the political arena yourselves or actively support those who can make a real difference - it's time for the complacency to stop.

Our institutions are infected with a virus, much more dangerous than the bird flu or a 'trojan horse'. Shockingly few in leadership in our governments (or the corporate world) now understand the concept of a conflict of interest, or even the appearance of a conflict of interest. These same people are using your tax dollars to further their own interests, or they are wasting your tax dollars because they are incompetent - the results can be disastrous.

The question is: Do you care?

We'll see next Fall.

2005-09-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

"EX-FEMA IG NOMINATED TO BE VA'S IG"

Ex-FEMA IG, George J. Opfer, has been nominated by President Bush to be the new IG at the VA... Opfer is currently Deputy IG at the Dept. of Labor. He was formerly with FEMA as IG. So why the demotion? It appears Opfer PO'd the brass, including Mike Brown, when he issued a "we done bad" report after 911...Now, Bush wants him to be the big IG at VA. Why? How about his link to FEMA. There is a move to put the VA's emergency management programs under FEMA. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs has indicated as much...VA was the ONLY government agency to have an adequate emergency response to Katrina. VA does NOT need to answer to FEMA (Homeland Security)...

Watch this one closely vets. Just as FEMA does not belong under Homeland Security, neither does the VA need to be run by FEMA, an agency that needs to put its own act back together.

2005-09-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

DAV Shines Light on Forgotten Veterans

The Disabled American Veterans is a nonpartisan apolitical organization whose main purpose is to advocate for, and support the needs of disabled veterans. During the early days of the war in Iraq, DAV representatives attempted to visit wounded soldiers but were refused entry into their rooms at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. for 'security reasons.' The absurdity of this action became known to Congressional representatives through action by the DAV and other veterans support groups.

The DAV has been fighting for disabled vets for a long time and has continued to do so. Last month they detailed the ways in which this administration's representatives are removing and/or not addressing critical needs for these vets.

DAV Executive Director David Gorman, in a letter to R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs at the V.A. stated:

Dear Mr. Secretary:
On behalf of the Disabled American Veterans, I write to express our organization’s concern about the position of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on the disability compensation program, as presented to the Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission by Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel L. Cooper.

The Undersecretary’s statement included several disturbing views that can only be described as insulting to the men and women who have borne or are today bearing the extraordinary burdens of military service. It is all the more objectionable that such attacks on the benefit program for disabled veterans came from the agency whose mission is to “care for him who shall have borne the battle.”

Though it disingenuously purports, on page 2 near the beginning, to encourage the Commission to consider program changes to “make a substantial difference in the lives of veterans, as well as a difference in our ability to serve veterans better,” the statement has a poorly camouflaged self-serving focus leading to suggestions that are all adverse to veterans. In proceeding to the program changes suggested for consideration, the statement cites statistics on an increasing workload, with claims backlogs and a consequent decrease in timeliness despite VA’s process reforms for improving productivity and timeliness of claims decisions. The statement attempts to blame this predicament on Congress and veterans themselves, and thus suggests changes that would accommodate VA’s deficiencies by limiting veterans' entitlements and restricting their access to the system.

Read the whole statement itself vets, and make up your own minds. But I think it's clear the DAV has put its finger on a key characteristic of this administration: Support the troops, but forget the veterans.

2005-09-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

I've Got a Secret, Inc.

The administration's battle to protect its own rear end sometimes reaches absurd heights - usually with the excuse of 'national security.' Now they are trying to stonewall 9/11 information, much of which was already out in the open. Even Repub Senator Arlen Specter seemed 'surprised' at this latest attempt to surpress information on a 9/11 ringleader, known to the Pentagon a year previously.

2005-09-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Colin Powell - Too Little, Too Late?

Now, over two years too late, Colin Powell tells Barbara Walters what we already knew - there never was any tie between 9/11 and Iraq, and the administration knew it. Colin Powell, alone from this administration, admits that our reasons for going to war were not supported by the evidence. Stand by for a frontal attack on Powell by Rove and his raving maniacs.

Of course W himself, in a moment away from his handlers, said that there was no tie, but since then has acted like he never said such a thing. Everything, in fact is related to 9/11, including a shameless stretch, tying Katrina to 9/11.

What next? Did 9/11 cause the incredible debt thrown on our children and our grandchildren. Did 9/11 cause the deep divide in this country from someone who said he would be the great uniter? Did 9/11 cause a new policy of pre-emptive warfare, now to include nuclear weapons? Did 9/11 cause the incredible mismanagement of Katrina from top to bottom? Did 9/11 cause our borders to become conduits for potential terrorists? Did 9/11 cause my transmission to fail last week?

Conservatives love to rail at the supposed 'victim mentality' of liberals. They should look in the mirror at their leader.

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UPDATE: FEMA director Mike Brown, the latest administration failure to claim victim status*, has actually become the victim of his own lack of ability and judgment, having apparently resigned this morning. (*Courtesy of Buzzflash)

2005-09-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Protecting Those Who Protect Others

Getting out ahead of potential health problems to our troops, one veterans organization is trying to prevent the mistakes and neglect of the past:

Washington, DC -- Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), a nonpartisan veterans' organization with 14,000 members, delivered a letter to the President today calling for National Guard units deployed in support of relief efforts in the Gulf Coast to be federalized.

The letter, sent September 8, cited the serious contamination of water and soil in the New Orleans area, noting that many service-members are expected to be deployed in the area for months and may suffer long-term health effects due to exposure to some toxins.

"The big lesson from Gulf War illnesses," says Charles Sheehan-Miles, the group's executive director, "is that we must have data in order to track what's going on with the troops. That's why we believe the federal government must coordinate not only deployment of troops, but also long-term health monitoring."

Sheehan-Miles also pointed out that National Guard units activated by the state, rather than the federal government, are not eligible for health benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The complete text of the letter is available online at http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org

2005-09-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Blind Leading the Blind

Responding to Rep. Nancy Pelosi asking W to fire FEMA Secy Brown, after "all that didn't go right" last week in the gulf,

W: "What didn't go right?"

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This, a week after he, himself, said that the response to Katrina was "unacceptable." His words, again, defy reason as he and his clones attempt to place all the blame on others. This has little to do with politics and everything to do with competence to lead. Interesting isn't it how his press secretary said it's too early to play the blame game - for others, that is.

2005-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hats Off

The military knows how to do this kind of thing, and they are doing it well in the Gulf, now that the various inept, incompetent, and unprepared government bureaucracies are being put into a secondary role of support.

One federal agency stands out from the beginning - the Coast Guard. When all is said and done, during the first three days, they alone waited for no one, and did their job. They didn't wait to see who had jurisdiction or who was in charge - they took charge for what they could do. By themselves, they have saved thousands who also might have perished. Hats off.

Similarly, local law enforcement agencies, for the most part have stayed on the job without sleep for days, some coming under gunfire. Hats off.

The Red Cross & Salvation Army know how to respond but dozens of other nonprofits are also providing literally tons of help in resources and support. Hats off.

And in the vacuum created by the initial lack of timely response at all levels, the people of this country have responded - they too have saved many lives and have opened their wallets, their cities, their homes, and their churches. A very big hats off...

2005-09-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

Killed By Indecision

From Paul Krugman:

Each day since Katrina brings more evidence of the lethal ineptitude of federal officials. I'm not letting state and local officials off the hook, but federal officials had access to resources that could have made all the difference, but were never mobilized...

Here's one of many examples: The Chicago Tribune reports that the U.S.S. Bataan, equipped with six operating rooms, hundreds of hospital beds and the ability to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh water a day, has been sitting off the Gulf Coast since last Monday - without patients.

Experts say that the first 72 hours after a natural disaster are the crucial window during which prompt action can save many lives. Yet action after Katrina was anything but prompt. Newsweek reports that a "strange paralysis" set in among Bush administration officials, who debated lines of authority while thousands died...

But the federal government's lethal ineptitude wasn't just a consequence of Mr. Bush's personal inadequacy; it was a consequence of ideological hostility to the very idea of using government to serve the public good. For 25 years the right has been denigrating the public sector, telling us that government is always the problem, not the solution. Why should we be surprised that when we needed a government solution, it wasn't forthcoming?...

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2005-09-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

We're Going After the Real Terrorists...

Right wing spin talking points to subscribers this morning emphasize going after the lawlessness and looters. Yes, order needs to be established and maintained.

But how about the #1 priority right now: saving lives. Find that in the talking points.

Less-Than-Intelligent-Leadership doesn't know who to bomb or who to start a war with after the hurricane, so how better to proceed than against a new set of terrorists who clearly must have been responsible for starting the hurricane.

And where is a third of our National Guard and Reserves? 40% of the troops in Iraq are guard and reserves...

Oh, and where is Halliburton? At least we could buy them off this time to do some good for our own people...

2005-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Goat Book, Part III

....9/11, Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina

Leadership - where has it been?

Quote from this morning: "...no would could have predicted that the levees would break..." GWB. Check with your own FEMA Mr. President...oh yeah, that's one of the organizations that doesn't have priority in the budget.

Picture 9/11 with W and his bullhorn on the rubble of disaster. Then check New Orleans and Baghdad - where is Mr. Bush? Playing golf. That says it all. You should be very angry. I am.

2005-08-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Club Red Vacation Passes Three Weeks...

Not Club Med, but Club Red as in red states with few people (and reporters) who might be dogging W's trail.

Since Aug 2nd when the Time Share Texan began his leisurely campout in the wilderness, 68 more of our sons and daughters have died...

2005-08-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

In Honor Of...

My grandson loved his new goldfish, of course named Nemo, bought at a local county fair. But Nemo had some noticeable psychological problems from the beginning. And when a playmate fish, Giggles, was introduced into the small tank recently, Nemo clearly did not like this idea. Giggles was found belly-up in the tank, and my grandson's parents decided Nemo needed to disappear as well - but not before it seemed appropriate to rename both fish posthumously. We agreed that Nemo should be renamed Pat Robertson, and Giggles should be renamed Hugo Chavez.

p.s. In case you are worried, son-in-law is currently out buying replacement fish before grandson comes home from day care today...