U.S. Military, Suicide and the Deceptive Recruiting Process.

Aside from the taxes we pay, the American public is mostly untouched by the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, etc., etc. Why?  Because an all-volunteer military ensures this is the case. But the suicide rate among military veterans is alarming, the highest ever recorded according to the Pentagon, far exceeding death in combat. 

In 2013, an active-duty suicide occurs every hour, which if continues, will far exceed the 350 suicides in 2012, and according to the NY Times, the suicide rate in the military may be under reported.  What's more is that, supposedly, prior to 2012, 52% of the military suicides never even saw combat. Since 2012, the suicide rate is higher amongst deployed troops.   So what's going on here?

A suicide note left by Iraq war veteran Daniel Somers and released to the public by his family may offer some insight.

“The simple truth is this: During my first deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not come back from. I take some pride in that, actually, as to move on in life after being part of such a thing would be the mark of a sociopath in my mind. These things go far beyond what most are even aware of.” -- Daniel Somers

From this soldier's testimony, amongst an ocean of testimony, many of our young men and women are repeatedly being exposed to atrocities--that the 24/7 "official news" machine will never mention--of such magnitude it's almost impossible to recover. Then, after veterans return home, they must deal with the Veterans Administration, a bureaucratic nightmare in and of itself. Up to 70% of all veterans do not get the compensation/treatment promised, or that they are legally entitled. Why? The system is obviously designed to create huge barriers. Even good people who work for the VA find it hard to do their job.

One could say, 'well, it's all volunteer...no one forced them into it.' That's true, except for the deceptive process of military recruiting, not to mention, recruiters targets those--mostly underprivileged--who are not even old enough to drink, and not too long ago, vote. Aside from the lack of life experience, their brains, not even fully developed, have been warped, brainwashed and desensitized through violent movies, video games (Call of Duty, etc.), and a dumbed down education.

Young people are lied to, tricked into defending a false premise. They are told they are fighting for our freedom, told they will be taken care of, told their lives will be better for serving, etc., etc,. However...

they're not told that enlisted men are fair game for just about any kind of experimentation from drugs to vaccines to mind control. (Over the years, hundreds of thousands of military personnel have been involved in human experimentation and other intentional exposures conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD), often without a service member's knowledge or consent. OR, in some cases, soldiers who consented to serve as human subjects found themselves participating in experiments quite different from those described at the time they volunteered.)

they're not told that, if deployed, they will more than likely be chemically poisoned--Depleted Uranium, anyone?-- and that the chances of having deformed children are much higher than the general population.

they're not told that once they return to civilian life, no one will want to hire you. That the Department of Homeland Security will put you on a terrorist list.


they're not told that the U.S. arms both sides of the conflict, and will use their blood and the blood of innocents to fertilize the battlefield in order that warfare continues in perpetuity...that the U.S. has a vested interest in keeping the war machine alive and humming.

they're not told that half of the U.S. "troops" are, in fact, not troops at all, but mercenaries, paid twice as much as they are with accountability to no one.

they are not told that war is a racket...that what they're really fighting for is to profit the elite few, who hide the truth and true motivations for these wars.

Having said that, these wealthy and powerful few would have no power if not for the well-meaning, conditioned and obedient masses. They're not going to change, so......



Links:

A murder-suicide and the dark side of military recruiting

Special Report: Death at Naval Station Great Lakes

Read more...

Veterans Stabbed in the Back with Secret Code Numbers that Stigmatize.

Every veteran knows what a DD-214 - discharge papers - is; it's their passport to civil life. However, it's the rare veteran who knows what a "spin code" - a false & stigmatizing secret coded number - is, of which, a veteran only has 5 years from the time of discharge, to correct (5-year statute of limitations).  But, how can one correct something they don't know exists? Moreover, why is it vital for veterans to know, and correct if wrong? Read on, and/or watch the video below.

What is the SPN/SDN (Separation Program Number) # or "spin code"? After 1980, SPN-123 changed to alphabetical, (SPD-XYZ).

On June 11, 1956, the D.O.D. ordered the military departments to begin putting a coded number on DD-214 document, which potential employers, banks...you name it, access for reference.  The code is assigned to every veteran upon being discharged from military service. This code number can say very derogatory things such as: "bed-wetter", "paranoid schizophrenic", "repeated VD", "character and behavior disorders", "unsanitary habits", "unsatisfactory handling of personal affairs" etc. despite the number of medals awarded, or that a veteran has an honorable discharge.  One of the most popular codes was SPN-265 or SDN-265, which says, unsuitability, character & behavior disorders.

"There were 5 main categories; unsuitability, unfitness, misconduct, homosexual, or, any reason based upon mental or moral issues. Then under each category, they piled on a bunch of numbers and meanings. i.e. SPN-384, Drug Abuse, Marijuana or Heroin. And get this, those veterans who signed up for "DRUG AMNESTY" you got a code number, SPN-384...you got no amnesty!"

These secret code numbers that classified veterans, branding, or black-listing a large segment of former military veterans from bank loans, employment, life insurance policies, etc., not to mention, a system that sets up dummy accounts to siphon of (steal billions of dollars) into hidden slush funds, despite the courts declaring it illegal, is still in practice today.  Our government is above the law, obviously.

The list to interpret these code numbers were/are distributed throughout corporate America, and corporations do not look past that code number when determining whether a veteran is eligible for employment.

Why are there are so many homeless Vietnam veterans, in particular? In the 1960s, 8 out of 10 veterans had a derogatory code on their DD-214. As of 1977, nearly 20 million veterans had a coded number.

Who? Why? How? Where? When? 


Who? Edwin H. Crosby III (tells his amazing story in the video below), accidentally stumbled upon this scheme while watching Walter Cronkite deliver the news in 1974. Why?  He found out that even though he had an honorable discharge, he was falsely stigmatized as "unsatisfactory handling of personal affairs". Where? How? He filed lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court, N.D. N.Y. Syracuse in January 1976, amended March 1976. This lawsuit had to do with false and stigmatizing coded number placed upon his person without his knowledge, known as a SPN code. Lawsuit went to U.S. Supreme Court on Special Order A-393 (that is the 393rd special order since this nation started)

Crosby has met with then Senator Joe Biden, and  Senator John McCain. McCain, after promising to look into the matter, never did.  In fact, he literally ran away from Crosby when he went to his office, in person, to question McCain's refusal to do what he had promised.

Almost 40-years later, he is still fighting the battle to not only expose this fraud, but to correct this egregious injustice. Thanks to an April 2007 video, shortly thereafter, the V.A. admitted to shredding millions of documents at 42 of 57 Regional Offices.

Currently, Crosby has filed another lawsuit against the VA

On JUNE 28, 2012, in U.S. District Court, Boise, Idaho, a lawsuit was re-filed per U.S. 9th Circuit request. (case No: 12-330-CV LMB) This is a class action lawsuit against the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, the DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, and, SECRETARY of VETERANS AFFAIRS ERIC K. SHINSEKI.

The Complaint alludes to the following; Deprivation of Civil Rights, Intentional Infliction of Emotional and Physical Distress, Deprivation of Due Process and Tampering with, Obfuscation of Official Records, and, Defamation of Character, Libel, Slander, Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death.

In a nut shell, any Veteran who has had trouble with the V.A. Medical System or, the numerous V.A. Regional Offices may JOIN this lawsuit. In less than one(1) month, we have had well over 100 JOIN. Clearly, we welcome those widows who have lost a husband via “ wrongful death “ at the hands of V.A. Medical Personnel.

For those interested in READING the full legal brief, you may go to this LINK; www.veterancourtcodes.com whereupon said BRIEF is right on the front page of this website for ALL veterans and concerned citizens to view.

If you want to join the lawsuit, download the Joinder Notice here.

Make three copies, keep one for your records, sign two copies in the presence of a notary and send the two notarized copies to the address on the form.  Read over the lawsuit carefully and start to gather the evidence for your own part of the case.

Any vet with a general or better discharge who is service-connected with the VA or who has filed a claim in the past for service connection has good cause to join in this action.

Links:

At Ft. Bragg, NC: Deprivation of Treatment Services & Medical Malpractice as "Policy"

VA Must Disclose Veteran Drug Test Documents


94-year old WWII Veteran Hopelessly Trapped in VA Claims Backlog

DOJ lawyers are as corrupt and rigged as the VA agency is itself.

How to request military service records

Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) - for the General Public

Correcting military or service records.

Read more...

Did You Know a Hunger Strike Can Label You a Terrorist in the USA?

Brian Willson tries too late to get out of the way of oncoming train.

1n 1986, the FBI declared Vietnam Veteran (Air Force Captain) turned activist, and attorney, Brian Willson a domestic terrorist. Why? Because, after witnessing the carnage, resulting from Reagan’s policies of destruction and wonton murder in Nicaragua and El Salvador, he and Vietnam veterans, George Mizo, founder of the Vietnam Friendship Village Project near Hanoi (and in US) for Vietnamese victims of the US War against Vietnam, mostly Agent Orange victims, including the birth-deformed offspring of chemically effected parents, Charlie Liteky, a Catholic chaplain who won the Congressional Medal of Honor for saving the lives of over 20 of his comrades who had come under heavy fire, and World War II veteran Duncan Murphy participated in a “water-only” hunger strike on the steps of the Capitol building for 47 days protesting Reagan's illegal aid to fund Contra paramilitary activities seeking to overthrow the sovereign Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

On June 27, 1986, the International Court of Justice formally ruled that the United States had intervened by "training, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against" the Republic of Nicaragua, and had used "force" by "certain attacks on Nicaraguan territory," violating "sovereignty" by "authorizing overflights of Nicaraguan territory" while interrupting "peaceful maritime commerce." The Court declared that the US was "under a duty immediately to cease and refrain from all such acts" and "to make reparation to the Republic of Nicaragua for all injury caused to Nicaragua by the breaches of obligations under customary international law enumerated" herein. (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Merits, Judgment 27 June 1986 (I.C.J. Reports 1986, p. 14).

Brian Willson,  committed to non-violent struggle, non-violent tactics, and a non-violent way of life had no idea that the FBI had labeled him a terrorist. A year after the hunger strike, in the summer of 1987, two veterans and Wilson decided to go to Concord Naval Base in California to protest, once again, Reagan's policies of destruction. The men started a 40-day hunger strike on the three mile span of tracks where a 5-mile an hour train transports loaded munitions from the bunkers to the ships, in Reagan’s attempt to overthrow a revolutionary government in Nicaragua and stop protests in El Salvador.

The three men knew, or thought they knew, the protocol - $5,000 fine and one year in jail – for dealing with protesters who block the munitions. After all, the naval base had a history of hosting protesters, without casualties, dating back to the 1960s.

So, on September 1, 1987, never expecting the train to exceed the 5 mph speed limit, three times over, to 17 mph, Wilson was sitting on the tracks as the train approached. He tried to escape the oncoming train, with two train-spotters looking straight at him. He failed. Four days later he awoke to find himself with no legs, one ear missing, 19 broken bones, a fractured skull, and a case of retrograde amnesia, leaving him with no memory of the event. The other two men barely escaped as they were standing at the time of the oncoming train. 40 people, five photographers and one videographer, documenting the hunger strike, witnessed the incident, capturing it on camera. Despite the abundant evidence, the military claimed it did not know the men were on the tracks.

The amazing thing about Brian Willson is that this horrendous attempt to take his life made him even more determined to "stand up" to the all powerful military industrial complex, strengthening his identity with millions of unnamed victims of U.S. policy around the world.

Rejected by 33 publishers, Mr. Wilson finally found a publisher for his book, “Blood on the Tracks: The Life & Times of S. Brian Willson”.

"We are not worth more, they are not worth less." This is the mantra of S. Brian Willson and the theme that runs throughout his compelling psycho-historical memoir. Willson's story begins in small-town, rural America, where he grew up as a "Commie-hating, baseball-loving Baptist," moves through life-changing experiences in Viet Nam, Nicaragua and elsewhere, and culminates with his commitment to a localized, sustainable lifestyle.

Decorated Vietnam veteran George Mizo (lower left),
sits on the east steps of U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,

An Important Lesson - by George Mizo

You, my parents, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.

You, my church, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.

You, my teachers, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.

You, my government, taught me that it was wrong to kill . . . except in war.

Then you sent me to war

And when I had no choice . . . except to kill,

Then you told me I was wrong!

And now I will tell you . . . my parents.

. . . my church.

. . . my teachers.

. . . my government.

It is not wrong to kill . . . except in war.

It is wrong to kill period!

And this you have to learn . . .

Just as I had to!

Read more...

The Treasonous Billionaires Are the Real Terrorists.

On September 15, 2007, Iraq veteran Mike Prysner (left), after an anti-war march from The White House to The Capitol Building, and ended up as one of over 160 people arrested;  in his case, for crossing U.S. Capitol Police, that were blocking access to The Capitol Building. during a mass "die-in".

On the sixth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Mike Prysner, gave a powerful speech (video below), revealing who the real terrorists are, at an event sponsored by Iraq Veterans against the War (IVAW) called “Winter Soldier”. 

"And I tried hard to be proud of my service but all I could feel was shame. The racism could not longer mask the reality of the occupation. These were people. These were human beings.

I've since been claimed by guilt anytime I see an elderly man like the one who couldn't walk and we rolled out on a stretcher and told the Iraqi police to take him away. I feel guilt anytime I see a mother with her children like the one who cried hysterically and screamed that we were worst than Saddam as we forced her from her home. I feel guilt anytime I see a young girl, like the one I grabbed by the arm, and dragged into the street.

We are told we are fighting terrorists; the real terrorist was me, and the real terrorism is this occupation.

Racism within the military has long been an important tool to justify the destruction and occupation of another country. It's long been used to justify the killing, subjugation and torture of another people. Racism is a vital weapon employed by this government. It's a more important weapon than a rifle, a tank, a bomber or a battleship. It's more destructive than an artillery shell or a bunker buster, or a Tomahawk missile. While those weapons are created and owned by this government, they are harmless without people willing to use them.

Those who send us to war do not have to pull a trigger or lob a mortar round. They do not have to fight the war, they merely have to sell the war. They need a public who is willing to send their soldiers into harm's way. They need soldiers who are willing to kill and be killed without question. They can spend millions on a single bomb, but that bomb only becomes a weapon when the ranks in the military are willing to follow orders to use it. They can send every last soldier anywhere on Earth, but there'll only be a war, if soldiers are willing to fight. And the ruling class, the billionaires who profit from human suffering care only about expending their wealth, controlling the world economy. Understand that their power lies only in their ability to convince us that war, oppression and exploitation is in our interest. They understand that their wealth is dependent on their ability to convince the working class to die to control the market of another country. And, convincing us to kill and die is based on their ability to make us think that we are somehow superior.

Soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, have nothing to gain from this occupation. The vast majority of people living in the U.S. have nothing to gain from this occupation. In fact, not only do we have nothing to gain, but we suffer more because of it. We lose limbs, endure trauma and give our lives.

Our families have to watch flag draped coffins roll into the earth. Millions in this country without health care, jobs or access to education, just watch as this government squander over $450 million dollars a day on this occupation.

Poor and working people in this country are sent to kill poor and working people in other country to make the rich richer.

Without racism soldiers would realize that they have more in common with the Iraqi people than they do with the billionaires who send us to war.

I threw families onto the street in Iraq only to come home and find families thrown onto the street in this country and this tragic…tragic and unnecessary foreclosure crisis.

We need to wake up and realize that our real enemies are not in some distant land and not people whose names we don't know and cultures we don't understand. The enemy is people we know very well and people we can identify. The enemy is a system that wages war when it's profitable. The enemy is the CEOs who lay us off our jobs when it's profitable, is the insurance companies who deny us health care when it's profitable, is the banks who take away our homes when it's profitable.  Our enemy is not five thousands miles away, they are right here at home. If we organize and fight with our sisters and brothers we can stop this war, we can stop this government and we can create a better world. -- Mike Prysner

If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy... The loss of Liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger real or imagined from abroad..." - James Madison - Edité par Phaedrus

Mike Prysner's testimony:





Los Angeles anti-war demonstration, 8th anniversary of Iraq invasion:

Read more...

Betrayal of the American Soldier.

A little over one year ago I blogged about America's outrage over Elliot Spitzer's hypocrisy despite the lack of outrage over the duplicitous way we allow our government to impose further punishment on the young men, we glibly "honor" with dollar store "patriotism".

Instead of making it as easy as possible for our soldiers to reenter "civil" society, we basically send them back into battle, to receive what amounts to, if they're lucky, a modicum of care.

As soon as the soldier is discharged from the military, he immediately loses all of his benefits, no matter how severe his injuries. It makes no difference whether the soldiers are severely wounded or not, they must be processed through the archaic paper based system, still in existence thanks to tax cuts for those who need an entire staff to track their wealth, in an effort to prove themselves worthy of receiving any compensation for the wounds sustained abroad.

Returning soldiers are handed 500 pages to read, and 26 pages of paperwork to fill out, after which they must wait, at the very least, six months, or - should something go wrong during these unnecessary procedures and red tape - up to two years to qualify for Veterans’ benefits.

That's not all. Our tax system is set up in such a way that the burden is on the government to prove that what we're presenting as true, is false, by auditing a small subset of taxpayers, in hopes that that will be enough to prevent people from cheating the system.

In contrast, we place the entire burden of proof on the soldier/veteran. The presumption is that whatever the veteran is claiming is wrong with him is not the result of serving their country, therefore he must gather all the documentation, doctor’s notices, all of the hospital forms and all the things from all the different places to prove he is indeed injured and in need of care, even though prior to his discharge from the military, his condition was already confirmed.

In his new book, The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans, authorAaron Glantz clears away the smoke and mirrors created to deceive us about the soldier and veteran's reality. He systematically documents the US government and the Bush Administration's treatment and neglect of America's returning soldiers and veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and confronts America's willful ignorance of those we claim to support, replacing myth with the grim facts.

Read more...

Is It Possible to Overcome the Tragic Legacy of War?

W. Eugene Smith's "Wounded, dying infant found by American soldier in Saipan Mountains" 1944 © [1944], 2008 The Heirs of W. Eugene Smith
Past traumatic experiences can invade an individual's present with the same psychological level of destructive force that occurred at the time of the actual incident.

The loss of feeling safe, or the absence of safe haven amidst an environment of chaos and violence, and the lack of a support structure after the traumatic event, are key causal factors involved in producing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is very high among our coalition forces, not to mention, Iraqi civilians - including a great number of children - mainly because of the aforementioned factors. The lack of boundaries - for example, IEDs on the roadside and undetectable suicide bombers, etc. meaning the enemy could literally be anywhere - and the lack of a firm foundation and easy to manage infrastructure ready to handle the profound consequences of our soldier's brutal experiences has been strongly linked with greatly increased divorce rates, increased incidence of alcohol and drug abuse, and an increased rate of suicide amongst our soldiers once they come home.

This haunting legacy of war leaves soldiers with, not only the traumatic, unrelenting, brutal images of bloody battlefields, mutilated civilians and soldiers, but, in addition, they are left with the "blood guilt", the psychologically costly endeavor of having to kill.

The high level of death and destruction experienced during war can undermine the individual's brain's ability to verbalize what he's been through, however this Vietnam veteran was able to articulate the terror he had to relive on a daily or nightly basis:

Links:

A Soldier's Legacy "Don’t ask, don’t tell, but Alan Rogers was a hero to everyone who knew him."

Jumbo jet will carry fallen soldier's legacy to Iraq - More than a year after 2nd Lt. Peter Burks was killed by a roadside bomb blast in Iraq, his father continues to send care packages to soldiers and Iraqi children — so many that American Airlines is donating a plane to fill from top to bottom. It's a partnership with Operation Iraqi Children, a charity founded by actor Gary Sinise.

U.S. Soldier's Legacy Lives On. - The "Christopher Van Der Horn Military Survivors Mental Health Access Act," which doubles the number of mental-health visits without pre-authorization to 16.

In Remembrance

Read more...

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

The following pictures are the tip of the iceberg or an infinitesimally small representation of the harm, misfortune and destruction I referred to when blogging the Antichrist out of my system.

The worst kind of enemy is the deceitful kind who operates in an inconspicuous or seemingly harmless way, but in actuality, is committing atrocities that appear to be the fault of someone or something else, and all the while, laying the groundwork for that which causes harm, misfortune, and destruction to become infectious and spread sort of like a cancer or disease, without marked symptoms, but ready to become active upon the slightest unavoidable change.

Read more...

Could John McCain Be Worse Than George Bush?

There is no doubt that John McCain is a man of integrity and has gained wisdom from what he has observed and encountered as a prisoner of war, however; in some ways, John McCain's "super-human" qualities...qualities that the average American does not have often times, may "over qualify" him to be President, if that's possible.

Yes, courage and integrity make for a great leader and God only knows we need one right now, but is John McCain that man? Can he really empathize with the average person? Can he put himself in the shoes of someone who may not be as strong as he is?

After writing the aforementioned words a few days ago, the facts have raised serious doubts about the "integrity" or "wisdom" I said John McCain gained from what he has observed and encountered as a prisoner of war, because the more I find out about John McCain the scarier it gets! Apparently his ignorance about the economy and my ignorance about him is only the tip of the iceberg.

From the Daily Kos:

In mid 2007, Senator Reid noted that McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq. However, here is a summary of a dozen votes (two that he missed and ten that he voted against) with respect to Iraq, funding for veterans or for troops, including equipment and armor. I have also included other snippets related to the time period when the vote occurred.

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.

July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.

March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.

February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.

June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

March 2004: McCain once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.

April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

More recently John McCain has not yet signed the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007", which would establish a program of educational assistance for members of the Armed Forces who serve in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001. Altogether, 52 senators, including nine Republicans have signed the bill, however; the bill needs 60 co-sponsors to make it filibuster proof.

So, after all that, I can answer the questions I posed a few days back:

Yes, courage and integrity make for a great leader and God only knows we need one right now, but is John McCain that man?

No, absolutely not.

Can he really empathize with the average person?

Obviously not.

Can he put himself in the shoes of someone who may not be as "strong" as he is?

No.

I should have known that anyone who would associate themselves with the greedy, brainless people who have ruined our economy is severely lacking in the wisdom, integrity and intelligence so desperately needed in our next leader.

Read more...

Injured War Vets Must Pay Signing Bonuses Back

From the "This Can't Possibly Be True but It Is" Department, Steve Benen passes along news that the Department of Defense is demanding that Iraq war veterans pay back signing bonuses they received on the ground that they didn't stay in the service for as long their signing contracts required. Fair enough, you say? Of course -- except that some of these veterans can't serve out their contracts because of injuries they suffered in Iraq.

Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire, a Democrat, is pushing legislation to rectify the problem, which was apparently uncovered by the Dole-Shalala Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors. That's all well and good, but just one question: Did it really take a presidential commission -- rather than, say, a single conscientious employee at the Pentagon -- to say that this is a stupid practice that needs to be stopped?

Read more...

Parents of Most Severely Wounded Soldier Go Broke Taking Care of Him

TAMPA, Florida: He lies flat, unseeing eyes fixed on the ceiling, tubes and machines feeding him, breathing for him, keeping him alive. He cannot walk or talk, but he can grimace and cry. And he is fully aware of what has happened to him.

Four years ago almost to this day, Joseph Briseno Jr. was shot in the back of the head at point-blank range in a Baghdad marketplace. His spinal cord was shattered, and cardiac arrests stole his vision and damaged his brain.

The 24-year-old is one of the most severely injured soldiers — some think the most injured soldier — to survive.

"Three things you would not want to be: blind, head injury, and paralyzed from the neck down. That's tough," said Dr. Steven Scott, head of the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at the Tampa VA Medical Center, where Briseno has twice been hospitalized for extensive care. In recent days, Briseno was hospitalized yet again, this time at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center.

As a high schooler, Briseno liked the Discovery Channel and CSI, and wanted to be a forensic scientist or investigator. He was 20, attending George Mason University, when he was called up from the reserves and sent to war.

After he was shot, he was flown to Kuwait and then to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. His parents and two sisters rushed to his side.

"They told us, 'Prepare for his service.' That's how bad he was," said his father, Joseph Briseno Sr., a retired career Army man.

But he survived. From Germany, he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, then to McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. In December 2003, he went home, to Manassas Park, Virginia, where his parents, Joseph Sr. and Eva, quit their jobs to care for him.

"All our savings, all our money, was just emptied ... the 401(k)s, everything," said Joseph Briseno, who took a new job a year and a half ago to make ends meet.

Various charities, especially Rebuilding Together, raised money to renovate their basement, supply a backup generator for the medical equipment, and install a lift so they can hoist "Jay," as they call him, into a chair and bathe him in a handicapped accessible bathroom.

"If you asked me this from the very beginning, if we can handle it, I wouldn't lie to you. I would say no, that there is no way. There's no way that we're going to learn all these things. But my wife and I, we learned everything. We are the respiratory technician, we are the physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists ... his wound care nurse," Joseph Briseno said.

"It's a lot of work and it's hard, and some days are harder than the other days. But we don't take this as a burden for us because he's our son. We will do everything for him."

The family has help from VA-provided nurses, but not around the clock. Jay's mother and father often do overnight duty, making sure their son is turned every four hours so he does not develop bedsores, which can become infected and threaten his life. If they do not turn him and keep him on schedule, he does not sleep well and becomes agitated.

At the Tampa VA, a nurse taught Jay Briseno to swallow his saliva — a big step that allowed him to have some pureed foods instead of just tube-feeding. He has not been able to handle any solid food, though — his injuries are too profound.

More recently, the Tampa staff tried to wean him from the respirator. This involved painstaking therapy to strengthen his diaphragm by placing weights on his belly and gradually increasing the air pressure on the machine to try to create resistance and muscle strength. So far, it hasn't worked.

He has had other trials: surgeries, procedures and medications for bladder problems, high blood pressure, the opening for his breathing tube, dead tissue on his tongue — even an ingrown toenail. The latest is the bone disease, osteoporosis.

He can respond to questions by grunting or grimacing, and occasionally can say "mom" or "go," but not consistently. He often opens his mouth.

"We believe he is very frustrated because he wants to say something. Those are the hardest times for us, especially when he's sick or not feeling well. He just lays there. We don't know what's wrong with him," Joseph Briseno said.

They pray that he will continue to improve, not get worse. And they hope to move to Tampa, where they believe their son can get the best care.

"We always have hope. One day at a time — that's the way we live our lives," the elder Briseno said. "We're so lucky to have him. He was a very good son from the very beginning. God gave Jay to us and he's a blessing to us."

Read more...

Marine Corp Want America's Favorite Marine to Shut Up

The Pentagon want Iraq veteran and honorably discharged Marine Sgt. Adam Kokesh to keep quiet. He has been the Pentagon’s biggest public relations nightmare this year, because he’s some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan — people actually like him!

And while right-wingers had no problem mocking the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, they have a tougher time mocking an actual living Marine male veteran who actually fought in the war they just write about on their blogs. Plus, you get the feeling he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of, say, the entire staff of National Review Online … and that they’d probably enjoy it, too.

Find out what The Man is doing to silence Adam Kokesh, after the jump.

Kokesh and his anti-war veteran buddies have pulled several picture-perfect stunts in Washington, including a mock military funeral at the Hart Senate building and keeping score of how many times Alberto Gonzales said “I don’t recall” during his Senate grilling last month.

The funeral stunt earned the protesters a coveted “political protest” arrest — apparently it’s now illegal to protest anything for political reasons — and your favorite Marine was also charged with “Unlawful Assembly — Loud and Boisterous,” despite the fact that he was silent during the performance.

For this, the Marine Corps is now “investigating” Kokesh, even though he’s officially out of the Corps and banished from reenlistment due to bringing home an Iraqi pistol for his war souvenir — that’s against the rules if you get caught!

On Monday, Kokesh has to show up at a hearing so the Corps can re-discharge him, this time dishonorably. Why? Because even when you get out of the military these days, Rumsfeld’s “back door draft” makes you eligible for another call-up because there aren’t enough people volunteering to jump in the Baghdad Meatgrinder. But they don’t want him back, even for the Individual Ready Reserve. So what’s the point?

All the chickenhawks will have permission to call him a traitor or whatever on the blogs and talk radio if he suddenly becomes dishonorably discharged, that’s the point!

The hearing will be, of course, in Kansas City. If it was held in or around Washington, there would be a riot. Even Wonkette commenters would leave their computers for the cause of America’s Favorite Marine. WAIT A MINUTE, dude has a bus going to KC! It leaves Union Station tomorrow at 6 p.m. There’s a press conference at 5 p.m. Friday, right before the bus leaves.

UPDATE: Wonkette’s Intrepid Girl Reporter Liz Gorman will be there at Union Station taking lovely photographs of this event. And then everybody can walk over to the Red and the Black or something and get drunk and levitate the Pentagon or whatever.

Hopefully Kokesh will stop by the comments and give us some more filthy details. He already turned down a “plea bargain” that would force him to have a pro-war talk show on AM radio or something ….

Read more...