Olbermann: Why won’t John McCain Support the New GI Bill?
.When I returned from service in Vietnam in 1970 the GI Bill offered me $135 a month (for the 9 mos of classes each year). Tuition at UCLA was $1,100 a year at the time which left me with a surplus of $115.Jackpot! How did I spend this great American benefit? Well…
Books, lab fees, parking were more than a thousand dollars a year and I was on my own for luxuries like food, housing and transportation. Thus I was forced to work full time as a full time student (80 hrs a week) to receive my BA. It wasn’t easy…
For Iraq vets today it is impossible. They receive $650 a month and the tuition at most major universities is now at least $20,000 a year.
A word of warning to teens thinking of signing up: RECRUITERS LIE!
The current GI Bill provides only a drop in the bucket towards your college education.
Teach Peace!
If you are lucky…
Cameron Penny, 4th Grade, MichiganIf you are lucky in this life
A window will appear on a battlefield between two armies
And when soldiers look into the window
They don’t see their enemies
They see themselves as children
And they stop fighting
And go home and go to sleep.
When they wake up, the land is well again.
My mostly-true Twilight Zone short story The Green Mist from the free e-book novel Greetings
.
Nearly every American recognizes the photo (above) that helped end the occupation/quagmire in Vietnam.
This skinny little girl put a REAL FACE ON WAR…running for her life with absolute terror and incredible pain that you can not imagine (I can…every day for the last 38 years) as napalm sizzled through her skin, flesh…then burned through the muscles down to the bone.
I was an ER medic in a MASH (1969-70) and witnessed the results of American Friendly Fire nearly every day. I know the evil smell of melting flesh. I helped save a few, but so many died.
3,000,000 (10% of the population) murdered in Vietnam, 155,000 (according to a recent UN study) innocent civilians killed in Iraq because of our two sham invasions, based on LIES-
Gulf of Tonkin 1964 and WMDS 1963.
Have we used napalm in Iraq ? Of course.
This precious little girl put a face on our ugly Vietnam occupation.
…and, her name is Kim.
Kim is real…alive and well, and FORGIVES US for inflicting the ultimate horror on an innocent child. She is a better human than I could ever hope to be. Please click here to read her story
Did You Ever Wonder What 2000 (now double that number) Looks Like?
Military Families Speak Out
Veterans For Peace
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Or, if you feel you must Sign Up For the Draft
By Kathryn Hawkins
It’s one of the most iconic images of the 20th century: A young
Vietnamese girl running from her village, naked, her clothes burned away in a napalm attack. Her mouth is wide, her face filled with terror and anguish.
This photo, Vietnam Napalm, by Nick Ut, was taken in 1972, just after
American troops accidentally dropped a load of napalm from the sky,
demolishing the Vietnamese town of Trang Bang. The stark, disturbing
image was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for addressing the realities of the war in Vietnam, and served as a wake-up call to millions of Americans who had not realized the damage that was being done to innocent civilians like that scared, naked child, running down the street on fire.
For millions of people who saw that image, the young girl in the photo would forever remain nameless – no more than a symbolic innocent, ruined by the atrocities of war. Most people wouldn’t know whether she survived, or if she passed away moments after the click of the shutter. Her future, if she had one at all, was bound to be grim.
The reality of the situation may come as a surprise: The young,
terrified girl in that photo, Phan Ti Kim Phuc, is now a 45-year old
woman. She is a wife and a mother, and is now a Canadian citizen. Most surprising of all, though, is the fact that she has devoted her life to becoming an ambassador for peace, and has established a nonprofit organization called KIM Foundation International, which is dedicated to helping children who’ve been traumatized by war to heal, providing both medical and social services to support their recovery.
Despite all the pain she has faced, Kim has forgiven her attackers
wholeheartedly. In a 1996 Veteran’s Day address to Vietnam War veterans, Kim said, “Even if I could talk face to face with the pilot who dropped the bombs, I would tell him we cannot change history but we should try to do good things for the present and for the future to promote peace.” Recently, she had the opportunity to meet that pilot face-to-face – and she has since forged a close bond with him.
Though Kim bears scars, both physical and emotional, she has moved past the hatred she once felt, and now believes that her horrific experiences were meant to teach her a powerful lesson.
“I knew that I had been saved that day because I had a higher purpose in life,” she recently told an audience in Deer Lake, Canada. “Having known suffering and agony, I now know the value of reaching out to help others.
“Having known war, I now know the value of peace. Having lived with
pain, I know the value of love. Having lost everything, I now know the value of cherishing everything I have that’s important and having known hatred, I now know the value and the power of faith and forgiveness.”
“I learned that forgiveness is far more powerful than any weapon of
war,” Kim said. “If the little girl in that picture can do it, then you can do it too.”
In the past week we have covered Long Beach’s First Amendent censorship of of a majority of vets opposed to the OCCUPATION of Iraq. Now we see that this was not a local SoCal problem. Vets were told to SHUTUP all over America. WHAT WERE WE FIGHTING FOR?
18 ARRESTED DURING VETERANS DAY CEREMONY-Including one vet 92 years old!
At about 2:00pm, on Sunday, November 11, 2007, officers assigned to the Veteran’s Day Parade in the area of One City Hall Plaza observed a large group of individuals protesting in front of the staging area. The protestors, a group from an organization called Veterans for Peace, created a disturbance throughout the proceedings. On several occasions, police officers warned the group that if they continued to deliberately interrupt and disrupt the assembly they would face arrest. When offered an alternative location from which to protest from, the protestors refused. At which point, officers arrested 18 individuals (15 males & 3 females) and charged all of them with Disturbing a Lawful Assembly of People.
We found out later from the Arlington Advocate:
“Also…we were told by a media relations department member of the BPD that you were chanting loudly in front of the stage, and obstructing the view was anyone in your group chanting?”
It’s hard to chant with a bandana over your mouth. I know.
They Do Not Fit the Spirit of the Long Beach Veterans Day Parade
E-mail Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster
Three anti-war veterans groups will not be allowed to march in Long Beach’s 11th Veterans Day Parade on Saturday. At front, from left, are Pat Alviso, Melissa Witul, Melissa Castaneda and her son Ethan Jones, of Military Families Speak Out. At back, from left, are Jeff Merrick and Lorna Ramos Farnum, also with Military Families Speak out; Sean McAllister, with Iraq Veterans Against the War; and Adrian Novotny, with Veterans for Peace .
LONG BEACH - Iraq veteran Jason Lemieux might not be marching in the 11th annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.
The Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now against the war, was hoping to march as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national organization that calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq.
The group’s application, however, was rejected last month because of its political views, parade coordinators said.
“I wanted to march like the rest of the Iraq veterans,” said Lemieux, a 24-year-old Anaheim resident. “I served my country. I’m a veteran of a foreign war. I think I deserve that respect.”
Iraq Veterans, along with the groups Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out, applied to march together in the parade this year under the entry “Military Patriots.”
After reviewing each group’s mission statement, the Veterans Day Parade Committee, a non-profit group that organizes the event, voted unanimously to reject the application, said parade coordinator Martha Thuente.
“They do not fit the spirit of the parade,” she said. “
Lemieux said he just wants his voice to be heard.
“It feels like I’ve been betrayed by the very people I fought to serve,” he said. “They should be embarrassed by themselves.”
E-mail Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster
Call parade chairperson, Martha Thuente, 562-422-6669
Support the troops! (so I don’t have to become one)
I’d rather stay in the house,
crouch on the couch,
get into MS America’s blouse,
talk trash and act brash,
play some Halo.
After all, I’m more valuable than
some fool trying not to wear one
(as long as that requires walking
and not talking).
Don’t let it get worse.
Stay the course!
Don’t let it burst
onto me!
Horace Coleman
We have placed the Italian EVIL EYE curse upon Rush Limbaugh. He will be in rehab within six weeks.
Laugh now, but mark the date on you calender just for fun.
This is not a prediction.
Please do not send more “You made another lucky guess” emails mid-November.
You can call The Rush Limbaugh Show program line
between 12 Noon and 3PM Eastern Time at: 1-800-282-2882
email Rush
Did You Ever Wonder What 2000 (now double that number) Looks Like?
Veterans For Peace
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Or, if you feel you must Sign Up For the Draft
Rush Limbaugh
“Service members who support U.S. withdrawal are “phony soldiers”
During the September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq “phony soldiers.” Full text here
Chickenhawk DeckSupport the troops! (so I don’t have to become one)
I’d rather stay in the house,
crouch on the couch,
get into MS America’s blouse,
talk trash and act brash,
play some Halo.
After all, I’m more valuable than
some fool trying not to wear one
(as long as that requires walking
and not talking).
Don’t let it get worse.
Stay the course!
Don’t let it burst
onto me!
Horace Coleman
See the trailer ——————Country Joe, etc. Arden’s Garden
Doonesbury
Been there, seen that. How about you? FOG OF WAR. MASH medic- 1969/70.
Horrible memories forever etched in my brain…little innocent kids hit by Friendly Fire napalm and white phosphorous…nothing we could do to stop the pain as their flesh melted.
It helps to talk about it…So, talk to us.
Not So Funny Pages
Ad copy-
“You can’t BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE IF YOU’RE DEAD.
There are other ways to serve your country.
There are other ways to get money for college.
There are other ways to be all that you can be.
THINK ABOUT IT before you sign your life away.”
Recruiters have become desperate in an all-out assult on our high schools but…The Kids Are Alright!
This 15-year-old is so much smarter than I was as a 19-year-old draftee in 1968. I believed the government line: 1) Our ships were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin (a lie) 2) The Domino Theory: If the Commies take Vietnam they will soon be on the beaches of California (a lie) 3) We have to fight them over there or fight them here (one more lie). After two weeks in Nam I realized that no people in history ever loved an occupier.
This NY Hudson Valley kid and I are still waiting for a real answer to Cindy Sheehan’s simple question, “What was the nobel cause that my son died for in Iraq?” Bush offers nothing but disinformation: “WMDs, they planned 911, fight them over there, freedom’s on the march, get rid of Saddam, liberty, holy crusade”…all lies and wild exaggerations! Reality and Cindy are garlic to Dubya because the naked truth is…we want to control the world’s oil.
Iran is next on the list of “Top Oil Producers”- (Look out Venezuela-#5).
Do you feel a draft? This Warwick Valley High student and I sure do.
Magic Sam
Are you satisfied that your two dollar sticker/ribbon from 7/11 is enough to support our troups or do you want some real news about our kids in Iraq, nobel vets and Empire Wars? Receive several emails a day…weeks before the info appears in mass media (if at all). Help brave ex-Star Troopers bring down the oily Death Star:
Veterans For Peace -Sign up as an associate member ($25)…”Peace Is Patriotic” bumper $1.50, “Support Our Troops…Bring Them Home!” Ribbon Magnet $4.
Vietnam Veterans Against the War ($25)…”Honor the Warrior, Not the War” bumper $2, and
Iraq Veterans Against the War
OPT OUT Students: fill out this form to prevent the military from drafting your personal records and infomation.
A personal e-mail on Veterans Day-
…and once again my thoughts turn to you, big brother. Quite a sacrifice your country asked of you, and at such a tender age. I thank God you survived when so many of your comrades did not, or came back injured, physically and otherwise. And all for what!? Nothing! And here we are, 40 years later, doing it all over again. The names have changed and the Draft is backdoor, but the song remains the same. Our chickenhawk leaders dishonor the duty, service and sacrifice of our soldiers when they use them as expendable commodities to pursue dishonorable goals. Fate picked you to be the one from our family to suffer the consequences of an unjust and tragic war. Wrong place at the wrong time. But you have not let what happened to you go by gently or without meaning. You have responded by bearing witness and telling somebody, as true patriots must always do. I admire you greatly for that, and for doing so with great humor and wit. Thank you.
…and thank you, Bro…means a lot. Magic Sam.
George Sr. pulled a lot of strings to get his playboy fortunate son
Sure, they’re crazy (including Kerry)…who else would volunteer to ride on patrol on a noisy little boat up the same narrow river at the same time every day? I love these boys and spent a lot of time patching them up in the emergency room of the 29th Evac MASHospital in 1969-70. They are as tough and brave as any Green Beret or Airforce Ranger. They stick together.
So, where did that vampire attack on their mate John Kerry come from during the 2004 election? Wouldn’t Chickenhawk Dubya be a more logical target for their ire?
into the National Guard (at the time, a country club for spoiled rich kids), where Junior trained as a musket repairman, a saber sharpener and nuke pilot (those planes were already banned in Vietnam). Even with this safe, cushy gig Dubya found a way to screw up. He refused to take a drug test (required of all pilots) and then disappeared. If I (a nobody)had followed his lead I would have been courtmartialed and charged with - desertion during wartime
Reporters asked Dubya about this gap in his record in 2004, and Junior replied,
So why did the Swifties attack Kerry? It’s All About the Medals, Stupid. The Swift Boaters expected parades, glory, groupies and respect, and only received a few cheap medals. Their peer, John Kerry, tossed his away at an antiwar rally. If medals mean nothing, the Swifties have no proof of their year in hell in service to America.
I have met thousands of my fellow VN vets in the last thirty-five years, and each falls into one of three catagories: 1) - Complete Denile- (i.e. the Swifties): “We won that war, damn it, and the world is a better place because of us,” 2) -The Disillusioned - : “After a month in country I began to recognize the hatred in the eyes of our allies. To them we were just another in a long line of occupiers in the last thousand years. We hated the British in 1975, and no people in history have ever loved an occupier,” and 3) - Realists -, like me, who want to know the truth… as ugly as it may be. We have learned that Vietnam was an Empire war based on lies (The Domino Theory and a phantom Tonkin Bay attack in Nam… Weapons of Mass Destruction and - Saddam helped plan 91 -_ in Iraq.)
Some Americans still don’t get it… the goal of an Empire War is to occupy for as long as possible (ask the Romans, Hitler, the English, French, Spanish, etc.), not to win. But, average Americans like to win with shock and awe. We don’t understand Empires and occupation… and neither do the Swift Boat guys.
The Swifties are brave, willing to sacrifice all for the American Dream. Them good ole red state boys treat the words of LBJ, Trickie Dickie and Double-talking Dubya as gospel. Theirs was a divine mission… to liberate the South Vietnamese from the godless commies. In their minds America won that war (in fact, most Swifties would rather die than concede that the South lost the Civil War). If wrong…their lives have been wasted. To win an argument with a Swiftie is to torture and kill him. Respect their good intentions and their bravery. Honor them… pity them. Help stop the next Empire War (Iran?) and the next group of Swifties.
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Published by Greg at 06:53 PM on February 13, 2008