Welcome MEDIC I'm sure you'll get under the skin of a few folks who drop by here. Oh well.
I'll tell ya guys the last week has been hard on me. The articles here and the images on TV of our brothers and sisters being treated like cattle is taking my head to some places it hasn't been in a while. I know the smells and moans are coming back to you too MED.
If our sons and daughters are being treated this way at home I can't imagine how the "collateral damaged" (wounded civilians) are being treated in hospitals in Iraq where the electricity functions only a few hours a day in some places.
Though some will jump to defend these deplorable conditions most in this country are outraged and maybe this time some things will change.
From the days Civil War vets had to stay in line for days waiting for their papers that were bound by "red tape", yes thats where the words came from, to the day "Dugout Doug" ordered his men to beat and bayonet "Bonus Marchers" while burning down their tents vets have had to fight for every damn thing they've received from this government.
Ask any vet who has gone through the "red tape" to receive their Agent Orange or Gulf Syndrome bennies.
I can't believe there are officers in the military who would defend this BS. But thats me.
I'm a "traitor who stabbed my brothers in the back for protesting in the 60's", and "have the blood of the dead and wounded on my hands" today because I march against this one.
Whats a pissed off vet to do?
BRING THEM HOME!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Hey we're a team!!!!!!!!
This breaks my heart
Newsweek has two stories published today regarding our vets returning from Iraq, and while they are both sad, this one absolutely breaks my heart.
Dan Ephron and Sarah Childress have done a remarkable job reporting about the plight of many of the new returnees -- homeless in many cases, suffering from PTSD, and already turning to alcohol and drugs to get by.
I am so f***ing fed up with people and their magnetic stickers on their SUVs and Mercedes not doing a damned thing to really support the troops. As a disabled vet, perhaps my anger is out of proportion, but I think not.
Folks, if you have any heart, do not leave this to the VA or the military. Do not show empty support with a stupid ribbon on your vehicle. Instead, take it upon yourself to write to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan and see what they need. Go to your nearest VA hospital and see what you can do to help. You would be amazed at what just having someone who cares can do for a person, especially when the system has failed them miserably.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Say it can't be so
You mean there's a chance that the U.S. may be providing faulty or incorrect intelligence to diplomats in attempting to get backing for a possible war with Iran? That can't be true -- we would never stoop so low.
It seems the L.A. Times is more on top of the Iran story than any of the leading East Coast papers, and this story in the Sunday edition is just another example.
Sunday's open thread
Feel free to comment on anything and everything, with the exceptions of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears....
Which way should we look?
The Christian Right is struggling with whom to support in the '08 Presidential election according to David Kirkpatrick in today's NYT.
According to the story, many of the conservatives attending the meeting of the Council for National Policy said they are "dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election," as they are already not happy with front-runners McCain, Giuliani and Romney, all seen as being too liberal on core issues such as abortion and gay rights.
After watching the mess the Dems are already making in trying to winnow the field after the '04 fiasco and the current Obama-Clinton brouhaha, it's fun to see the GOP having its own problems as well.
Failing in Baghdad - the British did it first
Toby Dodge of the University of London has an interesting op-ed column in today's WP about the historical similarities between the current war in Iraq and the British occupation 87 years ago.
Another Democratic fiasco
I've heard it said many times that the Democrats couldn't organize a two-car funeral procession, and according to this story about the proposed limitations on funding for the Iraq war in today's Washington Post, that's evidently true.
It seems that Rep. Murtha really jumped the gun on this one, infuriating not only the Repubs in the House but fellow Dems as well. This has opened up some internecine warfare in the party, with many anti-war Dems feeling not enough is being done, and many who lean more conservatively (the so-called Blue-dog Democrats) feeling left out of the party.
They tried to salvage something from this debacle, with FL Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz saying, "At least we're debating the topic, not blindly following the president." Sounds like a hollow victory (if even the most optomistic person could call it that) at best.
It amazes me that just three months after receiving a strong vote of confidence from the American people, the Dems seem determined to show themselves as inept as ever. When, oh when, will these blowhards ever learn the lessons the GOP learned almost 30 years ago?
I'm the Third Pissed Off Vet.
I'd like to thank Mission Man for giving me this opportunity to join this merry group. I hope I can live up to the expectations he and Peace Vet have in me. I will attempt to bring insight on the world from a perspective of knowledge, experience and heart.
My background is in the medical field. I have taken care of wounded from another useless war we were involved in and am very outspoken in my beliefs. I may infuriate some of you with my candor but believe me, I will always be honest.
I will also attempt to bring some levity here by posting links to various Editorial Cartoons that I find pertinent. Feel free to add your thoughts about them.
That's about all for now. Enjoy your visits here, post your comments and above all........
Peace,
Medic
Canada becoming off-limits
Friday's San Francisco Chronicle published this front page story, which should open the eyes of anyone who might be thinking about visiting our lovely neighbors to the north in the near future.
"Welcome to the new world of border security. Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past -- sometimes their distant past -- is suddenly an issue."
So if you've ever smoked pot, gotten a DUI, or shoplifted a pack of bubble gum -- even thirty years ago -- you can unpack those bags. You're not getting in.
Just exactly how is this rebuilding going to work?
A story in this morning's WP tells us, "the U.S. government has contracted the job of promoting democracy to a Pakistani citizen who has never lived or worked in a democracy. The management of reconstruction projects in the province has been assigned to a Border Patrol commander with no reconstruction experience. The task of communicating with the embassy in Baghdad has been handed off to a man with no background in drafting diplomatic cables. The post of agriculture adviser has gone unfilled because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided just one of the six farming experts the State Department asked for a year ago."
I've been responsible for hiring and firing a few people in my time, and usually when hiring someone I wanted some assurance that they might have a clue about how to do the job they were hired for. But leave it to the Bush administration to ignore that little thing, Harvard MBAs be damned.
Darth Cheney strikes again
In case you missed it this week, our lovable VP was interviewed twice this week by Jonathan Karl of ABC News in a restaurant in Sydney, where he wasted no time in accusing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of being in league with Al Qaeda. Here is one notable excerpt: "You also have to be accountable for the results. What are the consequences of that? What happens if we withdraw from Iraq? And the point I made and I'll make it again is that al Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That's their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we'll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al Qaeda. I said it and I meant it."
It seems to me that if there is anyone less likely to be correct about what may be any possible outcome in Iraq, it is Dick Cheney. Isn't he the one who told us that we would be greeted as liberators and the Iraqi people would basically strew flowers at the feet of our soldiers? And let's not forget this bon mot from May 30, 2005: "The insurgency is in its last throes."
The only time I can recall Cheney being correct about an invasion of Iraq was in 1991, when the stated, "For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of the struggle over who's going to govern in Iraq strikes me as a classic definition of a quagmire." However, in this week's interview, he defended that statement, saying, "Well, I stand by what I said in '91. But look what's happened since then -- we had 9/11."
Gee, where have I heard that one before?
On top of that, WH spokesperson Dana Perino, when questioned about whether the VP's comments re: Pelosi were out of line, had this to say: "The Vice President out of line? Absolutely not. He was questioning the merits of the -- of their proposal. And I think if you go up and take a look back at some of the things that they've said about the President, the tables could be turned. But we're not making the same accusations."
For the full transcript of the interview, go here.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Alterman nails it
There's a brilliant column by Eric Alterman and Tim Fernholz from the Center for American Progress here. Even though I don't always agree with him, I consider the Doc a must read. His positions are always well thought out and articulated. It also helps that he's a Springsteen fan.
Dems showing some backbone re: Iraq?
The Senate Democrats apparently intend to introduce a new plan next week to limit GWB's ability to fight the war in any manner in which he pleases. According to the Washington Post's Shalaigh Murray and Jonathan Weisman, "Democratic lawmakers are eager to take up binding legislation that would impose clear limits on U.S. involvement in Iraq after nearly four years of war."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times states that although the legislation is almost certain to be vetoed by the President, it will still keep the pressure on the President and the Republicans to end the war.
Coupled with the British and Danish announcements regarding troop withdrawals, there is no way this can be seen as good news for the Bush administration, no matter how they try to spin it.
Rudy pulling a Bush
It looks as though Rudy is pulling a page straight from Dubya's 2004 election playbook -- only appear in front of friendly crowds who will throw nothing more than softball questions. From today's New York Times --
"Instead of the sometimes barbed give-and-take endured by the other candidates, Mr. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, fielded a few questions from the firefighters and police officers who gathered to hear him here. The questions, which began with comments like, “Being in your presence here is just unbelievable,” stuck almost entirely to issues on which Mr. Giuliani is most comfortable, like airport security and border control."Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Same stuff, different war
Thank goodness there's a free press somewhere in the world that doesn't accept everything the Bushies tell us at face value. The BBC reports that sites have already been designated (including non-nuclear sites) for the attacks on Iran that we are 'not planning.'
Occasionally the press works...
It seems that the series the Post has been running on Walter Reed Hospital has drawn the attention of the powers that be. Today's installment tells us that repairs are beginning since "Walter Reed and Army officials have been "meeting continuously for three days" since the articles began appearing."
Isn't it a shame that we treat our vets and our soldiers this way until the light of the press begins to glare upon the powers that allow this disgrace to happen? If you haven't noticed, I'm very happy that things are beginning to change, but I'm also still pissed off that they were allowed to reach that condition in the first place.
And what happens when the light of the press fades? Based on this administration's record of funding for vets, I have no doubt that this is a temporary fix that will be forgotten in very short time. The next question is how many other facilities out there are in the same condition? Having visited a few VA hospitals in my time, I've no doubt that there are more than I want to think about.
Come on folks -- if you really support the troops, then contact your congressman and your senators, as well as the WH, and let them know that this is unacceptable.
Hello
Well I've made the leap. Does becoming a blogger mean I'm part of the system? I have no idea where this will go but knowing that the Mission Man and ? are as pissed about this war as I am ensures me it will be serious as well as fun.
Like MM said. If the WP article on vets care doesn't piss you off I don't know what will.
Peace
Monday, February 19, 2007
More on Presidents Day
It's hard to believe, but the idiot-in-chief has gone over the top again. This is what he had to say today after helicoptering in for a speech at Mount Vernon --
This of course after likening the 'war on terror' to the American Revolution. I guess he forgot that the British considered the young colonists to be terrorists.....and I'm still not sure where George's sense of decency and honor are located -- probably in an undisclosed location where the VP is torturing them.
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are turning over in their graves.....
Supporting the troops
This appeared in yesterday's Washington Post and if it doesn't make you angry, then you're just not paying attention. It's a perfect example of how this administration and the Repubs in Congress spout lip service to "supporting the troops," but refuse to do exactly that.
Obviously, saying that you support the troops and putting a magnetic sticker on your SUV is much more important than actually doing anything.
Today's followup article
President's Day
What in the world would the founding fathers think about the current administration? The answer, I fear, is not particularly favorable.
From the latest edition of The Nation --
The Bush administration shows absolutely no signs of "the universal truths of decency and humility." This bunch continues to operate as if the law doesn't apply to them in any form or fashion, aided by the stooge in charge of the Justice Department, Alberto Gonzales.
Perhaps, since today is a day we theoretically honor two of our greatest Presidents (and I don't mean with mattress or car sales), we should use the day to "reflect on whether in the Bush Administration, th[e] trust [we place in our leaders] continues to be fulfilled.
