Most Troops, Families OK With Gays

DoD Study: Most Troops, Families OK With Gays
October 29, 2010
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- An internal Pentagon study has found that most U.S. troops and their families don't care whether gays are allowed to serve openly and think the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" could be done away with, according to officials familiar with its findings.

The survey results were expected to be used by gay rights advocates to bolster their argument that the 1993 law on gays could be repealed immediately with little harm done to the military. But the survey also was expected to reveal challenges the services could face in overturning the long-held policy, including overcoming fierce opposition in some parts of the military even if they represent a minority.

Details on the survey results were still scarce Thursday, with the Pentagon declining to discuss the findings until after Dec. 1 when it rolls out its own plan for repeal.

read more here
Most Troops, Families OK With Gays

Air Force Academy Survey: Proselytizing Cited

Faith plays a big part in the lives of a lot of our servicemen and women but it is of their own freewill they decide how to worship, when to worship and in what manner they worship. Trying to get them to convert to one denomination over another is appalling when they should be trying to sooth their souls and ease their minds. This is one of the biggest reasons they do not trust military chaplains even if most of them do their jobs the right way. 

I believe in the power of prayer and I am a devoted Christian but that is where it ends when I am working with veterans or their families.  My job is to help their souls heal not to get new members into a church someone told me to. I believe military chaplains are very important and that the biggest issue is that there are not enough of them to go around but my blood boils when I read about what too many of them are doing.  They end up pushing them away from the very faith they are trying to force them into. No one is served by this.  Not the men and women serving, not the chaplains and not the military as a whole. God is not served either by pushing people away.

AF Academy Survey: Proselytizing Cited


October 29, 2010
Associated Press
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- An Air Force Academy survey found that 41 percent of cadets who identified themselves as non-Christian said they were subjected to unwanted proselytizing at least once or twice last year.

Overall, 19 percent of all cadets said they were subjected to unwanted proselytizing.

Participation by cadets in the official academy survey, conducted in December and January, was both voluntary and anonymous. Forty-seven percent, or 2,170, of the cadets participated in the poll.

Lt. Gen. Michael Gould, the academy superintendent, had resisted disclosing specifics of the survey but now plans to release some details on Friday after several groups, including The Associated Press, filed Freedom of Information Act requests.

read more here
AF Academy Survey

Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop

They know how to get things done, how to work together but above that, they know what it is like to put their lives on the line and not put themselves always first. We need them in congress no matter what political side they are on because when it comes to veterans, they are always on America's side. Isn't that what really should matter in the long run? We cannot assume all veterans care about other veterans. Look at John McCain and his voting record. He votes against veterans most of the time but too many others, on both sides, deeply care about this country and those who serve more than political agenda.

Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 28, 2010 18:55:01 EDT
The number of veterans serving in Congress is likely to drop as a result of Tuesday’s elections, according to the executive director of a nonpartisan group that teaches veterans how to run for political office.

Seth McCormick Lynn, executive director of the Veterans’ Campaign, said Thursday that the number of veterans in the Senate — now 26 — might increase as a result of the election. But in the House of Representatives, the number of veterans is certain to decline from the current 95.

Of the total, 61 are Democrats — including two delegates — and 60 are Republicans.

A drop in the number of veterans in Congress would be significant, Lynn said. “The lack of military experience in Congress has implications far beyond foreign policy and national defense,” he said.

“Veterans share a common bond that transcends party affiliation. Fewer veterans mean increasing polarization and partisanship.”
read more here
Number of veterans in Congress likely to drop

Fort Hood soldier died in shooting spree in Iraq, kin say

GI died in shooting spree, kin say
By DENNIS YUSKO Staff Writer
Published: 02:38 p.m., Wednesday, October 27, 2010

By Wednesday. nearly 600 Facebook users had joined the site's page called "Justice for Dead Army Pfc. David R. Jones." A user named Chris Wheeler of Canajoharie wrote: "It's coming. The truth is (going) to come out. Victim of another soldier gone nuts."

ST. JOHNSVILLE -- The family of a Montgomery County soldier killed in Iraq said Wednesday that they have received information from Baghdad saying that he and others were murdered during a one-person shooting spree.

The Department of Defense confirmed Wednesday that Army Pfc. David Jones of St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, died Sunday from injuries sustained in a "non-combat incident" in Baghdad.

But Theresa Bennett, an aunt who helped raised Jones, received a copy of a text message from a soldier who worked with him in Iraq that stated Jones was one of five people killed or wounded Sunday in a shooting "rampage" on a U.S. military base in the Iraqi capital, Jones' cousin George Bennett said Wednesday.

The text came Tuesday afternoon to the family of Jones' girlfriend, Brittany Winton, George Bennett said. Brittany Winton declined comment on Wednesday, but a member of her family who asked not to be identified confirmed receiving the text and its contents.

"Someone went on a rampage and killed David," George Bennett said, though he said he didn't know who.

As of late Wednesday, the Pentagon's casualty notification website made no mention of additional soldiers dying in Iraq on Sunday.

Asked Wednesday about the message received by Jones' family, a spokesman at Fort Hood in Texas, where Jones was assigned, said, "the circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation by the military."
read more here
GI died in shooting spree, kin say
linked from ICasualties.org

Election is about tomorrow not years from now

Sorry but the ads down here in Florida are driving me nuts! Marco Rubio keeps talking about our kids futures and passing on debt as if that ever mattered to the politicians over all the years no one was paying for anything. Remember the surplus Clinton left? Well tax breaks for the rich and corporations ate that up just as the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not paid for. Preying on our emotions about passing on debt to our kids is not where our fears are based right now. We're worrying about today and tomorrow.

We're worrying about bills coming due and not enough money to pay for them right now. For jobs that the GOP don't seem to care about. For health insurance that covers us getting sick, our families when one of them has a medical condition insurance companies can decide to not cover. We're worrying about someone being elected determined to cut benefits to our veterans, our elderly, raise the retirement age, end Medicare and end the Department of Education. We have enough to worry about for today so the fear Rubio wants us to focus on is, as FDR said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and that fear is if we don't elect people putting us first ahead of "winning to defeat Obama" then when our kids grow up, they will have less than they do today. They will have more debt because no one is talking about how to pay for what they want to do in the GOP other than cutting benefits for what we need. None of them are talking about taking away the ability to have health insurance to pay for our healthcare or how we are supposed to get jobs when they are blocking bills to help small businesses buy equipment and hire workers.

If things are not fixed today, and the GOP are not stopped from blocking bills, our kids will have enough to worry about right now!

NC Marine commander relieved of duty

NC Marine commander relieved of duty
Charged with drunk driving on Monday

Updated: Thursday, 28 Oct 2010, 11:14 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 28 Oct 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

NC Marine commander relieved of duty
MCAS CHERRY POINT, N.C. (AP) - The colonel in charge of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point has been removed from his command after he was charged with speeding and drunken driving earlier in the week, a Marine Corps spokesman said Thursday.

Col. Douglas Denn was removed by order of Maj. Gen. Carl Jensen "due to loss of confidence in Denn's ability to command," said Maj. Bradley Gordon, spokesman for the Marine Corps Installations East located at Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville.

"The relief occurred as a result of an investigation into allegations of Denn driving under the influence that eroded good order and discipline," Gordon said.

Jensen is in charge of Marine Corps Installations East, which covers six Marine Corps bases in the mid-Atlantic region.

Col. Robert Clinton, the executive officer at Cherry Point, has assumed command, Gordon said. Clinton is a CH-46E helicopter pilot and graduate of the Naval War College, Gordon said.
read more here
NC Marine commander relieved of duty

PTSD What dreams may come

PTSD What dreams may come

by
Chaplain Kathie


We can all remember what it was like when nightmares woke us up as kids. We'd run to our parents seeking safety and assurance that the monsters of our dreams couldn't hurt us. We were protected by their love. Some of us were just as afraid of our parents. You'd see kids like that walking around the school hallways with dark circles under their eyes. They would fall asleep in class and some of them ended up wanting to make other kids understand what it was like to be afraid by becoming bullies.

As we got older, nightmares faded away replaced by real life fears we all faced as grownups. The movie Nightmare On Elm Street, one of my favorites, Freddy got even grownups to be afraid again. I went to see it with a friend of mine when it first came out. That movie hit us so hard that when we went to get back into the car, we were looking in the back seat to make sure no one was there.


I remembered what it was like to have nightmares come as a kid as I woke up in the dark, too afraid to go to my parents. I sought safety under the sheets with a flashlight. Each sound sent me into a panic. I knew I couldn't go to my parents because my Mom would just tell me the monsters weren't real and she had to go to work early in the morning. It was not that she didn't care about it but she had her own monsters to deal with in real life. My Dad was an alcoholic. I just had to learn how to fight off the monsters of my dreams on my own. Yes, I was one of those kids with dark circles under my eyes, but instead of wanting other kids to know what fear was, I wanted to comfort them because I didn't want anyone else to feel the way I did.

Horror movies play on our childhood fears. Life plays on our experiences of all of our past experiences.

Veterans have the same baggage we all do. They grew up the same way the rest of us did. They went to school, had parents they could go to when they were afraid or the kind of parents they were afraid to go to. They either faced bullies down or became one. What separated them from the rest of us was that while we went on to live common, peaceful lives, they were willing to take on the monsters in real life. They trained to do and prayed they wouldn't have to do it. When the time came, they picked up their weapons, locked and loaded, said a prayer and let hell loose on the enemy they were sent to fight.

Judgment of the action was "above their pay grade" which really boiled down to the fact it was not up to them to decide who was the enemy they needed to battle or when they fought, but it was their job to make sure as many of their buddies as possible would go home as soon as possible. It didn't matter if they enlisted or were drafted into the military once they were there. It was a matter of life or death.

For some, they walked away from the real-life nightmare the same way we walked away from childhood nightmares, with powerless memories to push out of their minds or powerful ones they had to battle to keep them from taking over their lives.

Instead of wanting to find safety in their parents arms, as adults, they wanted to find safety in being cared about, talking to someone who would not judge them, tell them the monsters haunting them were not real, or telling them to just go back to sleep. They needed reassurance they were not going to be destroyed by the monster, they did not deserve to be haunted and someone would stand by their side to help them fight it off.

As kids, we wanted to talk about our nightmares so that we would know someone else had the same experience or if they did not, they could understand what it was like to be afraid. Sharing our fears, our thoughts, our dreams, helped us defeat them slowly but surely. As veterans, they need the same ability to be able to defeat what they had to go through in real life.

This is one of the biggest reasons medication without therapy does not work. Meds only mask the pain so they can function. Sharing the experience helps them defeat it.

The longer the time between event and therapy with a professional or a trusted ally goes on, the deeper the cuts become. It is a wound to the emotional part of the mind, digging deeper like and untreated infection claiming more and more territory as the rest of the brain tries to take back control and protect itself, things get twisted around. Once they begin to talk, the strength of the monster vanishes. What is left of the damage done depends on how long it was allowed to destroy at will. Most of what PTSD does can be reversed. An infected wound will heal when it is treated. The scar left behind depends on how soon it was treated. Some scars will last a lifetime but there are ways to cope with what cannot be reversed. Understanding this monster, knowing where it came from, why it came after them, helps them cope with a monster reduced to the size of a really big bug.

The nightmare is not just on Elm street but on many streets across this country. If you want to see how vivid a nightmare can strike, here's a video I found on YouTube. Not my kind of music but it's pretty good. It talks about the price of evil but if you turn it around and think of it as evil just being what people do to other people, you'll get the point. Our veterans are not evil but what they had to go through was hell.

New York Soldier Dies After Iraq Injuries

New York Soldier Dies After Iraq Injuries
Updated: Thursday, 28 Oct 2010, 9:55 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 28 Oct 2010, 9:55 AM EDT

By LUKE FUNK

MYFOXNY.COM - Private First Class David R. Jones, Jr. of Saint Johnsville, N.Y. died of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident on October 24, 2010 in Baghdad, Iraq.
read more here

New York Soldier Dies After Iraq Injuries

Fort Campbell Soldier to receive Medal for Heroism

Bragg: Homes Where Babies Died Are Safe
October 28, 2010
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
Fort Bragg officials say test results have ruled out the possibility that conditions inside homes on the installation contributed to the inexplicable deaths of 10 infants since 2007.
But a separate and ongoing probe into military housing by the Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has yet to eliminate any environmental factors in the deaths.
Despite the ongoing probe, officials with Fort Bragg and Picerne Military Housing declared Tuesday that the houses where infants died are safe.
Fort Bragg's Directorate of Public Works ordered environmental tests at each of the 10 homes associated with the deaths, and those results were announced Tuesday.
"Across the board, none of them tested positive for anything that would contribute [to the deaths]," said Col. Stephen Sicinski, garrison commander at Fort Bragg.

read more here
Bragg Homes Where Babies Died Are Safe

Airmen Given Expired Anthrax Vaccines

Airmen Given Expired Anthrax Vaccines
October 28, 2010
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

In a memo issued Oct. 26, Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Ediger, commander of the Air Force Medical Operations Agency in San Antonio, said the stand-down would remain in place until treatment centers can confirm the vaccine stock they have is current. But Ediger also said that confirmation that corrective actions had been taken were to be sent to the AFMOA by close of business Oct. 27, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Military.com.

The only exceptions to the stand-down will be for personnel slated to deploy prior to Oct. 29 if the center can confirm that its vaccine supply is current, the memo states. If the available vaccine has passed its expiration date, the medical centers must follow waiver procedures set up by the Air Force Central Command Surgeon General's office.
read more here
Airmen Given Expired Anthrax Vaccines

Mother of accused soldier asks 'Where was the Army

Mother of accused soldier asks 'Where was the Army?'


By Drew Griffin and Kathleen Johnston, CNN
October 26, 2010 9:34 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Dana Holmes: "The man that came home was not my son"
Holmes' mother says Army should be "going after" officers in charge
His attorney says Andrew Holmes is innocent
Holmes and four others are charged with murder

Editor's note: For more details on this story, watch Drew Griffin's report on tonight's "Situation Room," which airs at 5 ET. Click here for an archive of Griffin's reporting on this investigation.

Boise, Idaho (CNN) -- Five American soldiers have been charged with killing Afghan civilians for sport and staging the slayings to look like legitimate war casualties. The youngest of those five -- a now 20-year-old private from Idaho -- came home a changed man, his mother says.
And, said Dana Holmes, the Army not only should have known something had gone dreadfully wrong, but commanding officers should be held responsible.
"The man that came home was not my son," said Holmes. "He was very thin. He'd lost about 50 pounds. He said the Army told him he had a parasite. I made him his favorite sandwich, and it took him two days to eat the whole sandwich. Just couldn't eat; he didn't sleep."
Pfc. Andrew Holmes was a healthy, 185-pound 18-year-old when he joined the Army, his mother said. He came home on leave in April -- weeks before the Army launched an investigation into the suspected illegal drug use by his platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, Fifth Brigade.
read more here and see video
Mother of accused soldier asks Where was the Army

Captured Afghan may have killed U.S. sailors

Captured Afghan may have killed U.S. sailors

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 27, 2010 9:23:17 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO says an Afghan insurgent leader linked to the killing of two U.S. sailors in July has been captured in eastern Afghanistan.

Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Jarod Newlove and Hull Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Justin McNeley

read more here
Captured Afghan may have killed U.S. sailors

Senator Webb says "Cut waste from DOD and not benefits from troops!

It would be wonderful to find out who even thought of cutting benefits from the troops in the first place.

Cut waste, not benefits, Webb says

Senator says he will ‘not walk back on’ well-compensated military
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 27, 2010 12:01:06 EDT

The chairman of the Senate panel responsible for military personnel said Wednesday he is all for cutting waste out of the defense budget — but that does not include reductions in pay or benefits.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said he is willing to cut the size of the force, particularly Army and Marine Corps ground forces.

read more here
Cut waste not benefits

Florida State University and Military join forces for suicide prevention

FSU, military study suicide prevention
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 27, 2010 5:41:21 EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State University is preparing to announce a new research effort into military suicides.

Florida State professor Thomas Joiner, who has studied suicide issues for many years, will join researchers from the Army and the Denver VA Medical Center to discuss an initiative they think can help reduce military suicides.

More than 1,100 members of the armed forces killed themselves from 2005 to 2009, and suicides have been rising again this year.

Just last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius launched the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a public and private coalition dedicated to reducing suicides across the U.S. population.
FSU, military study suicide prevention/

From FSU

"Soldiers see a lot of violence, they see death, they see the people who are closest to them in the world get killed, and they themselves are often seriously injured."

Thomas Joiner
Florida State University Department of Psychology

Florida State to help military wage war on suicide

American soldiers are taking their own lives in the largest numbers since the military began keeping records, and the Department of Defense has enlisted the help of The Florida State University in waging the war against suicide.


Thomas JoinerA $17 million federal grant has been awarded to FSU and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center to establish the Military Suicide Research Consortium. The consortium is the first of its kind to integrate DOD and civilian efforts in implementing a multidisciplinary research approach to suicide prevention.

Florida State's Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Thomas Joiner, an internationally known suicide researcher, and Peter Gutierrez, a leading suicide expert and clinical/research psychologist with the VA's Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center at the Denver VA Medical Center, will lead the consortium. Each institution will receive $8.5 million in initial funding over the next three years.

The new consortium comes as the military struggles with a surging suicide rate that now exceeds the rate of suicide in the general population. More than 1,100 members of the armed forces died by suicide from 2005 to 2009 — that's more than the total number of servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 — and suicides are rising again this year, according to a new task force report ordered by Congress.

"These suicides have deeply affected the military leadership, and they are desperate to do something about it," Joiner said. "For many in the military, they never knew the misery of suicide, and now they do. They are agonizing over this. They say it hurts every bit as much as losing someone in combat, maybe more."

Despite the new trend of suicide in the military, very little medical research has actually been done on the subject, said Joiner, who is also the Bright-Burton Professor of Psychology and a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at FSU. There's no doubt that the trauma of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq plays a role, but that doesn't explain why some soldiers take their own lives and others who share the same experience don't.

go here for more of this
Florida State to help military wage war on suicide

Who voted against veterans again?

Veterans Benefits Act 2010 Signed
Week of October 25, 2010
President Obama recently signed H.R. 3219, the Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010, into law. The new law addresses the needs of veterans by enhancing employment opportunities, preventing and caring for homeless veterans, ensuring the welfare of veterans and their families by increasing insurance limits, protecting servicemembers called to combat, honoring fallen servicemembers and their families, strengthening education benefits, addressing housing needs of disabled veterans, and investing in research for Gulf War veterans.
Visit the Military Advantage Blog to learn more about this new law.
read more here
Veterans Benefits Act 2010 Signed

There were 111 votes against this bill but we may never know who voted against it.

H.R. 3219:
Veterans' Benefits Act of 2010
111th Congress
2009-2010

An act to amend title 38, United States Code, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to make certain improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Overview

Sponsor:
Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA51]show cosponsors (29)
Text:
Summary | Full Text
Cost:
less than $2 per American in 2010.
Status:
Introduced Jul 15, 2009
Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments
Reported by Committee Jul 15, 2009
Amendments (2 proposed) View Amendments
Passed House Jul 27, 2009
Passed Senate Sep 28, 2010
Signed by President Oct 13, 2010
This bill has become law. It was signed by Barack Obama. [Last Updated: Oct 16, 2010 6:11AM]
Last Action:
Oct 13, 2010: Became Public Law No: 111-275.
Other Titles:
-- Corey Shea Act
-- Veterans Small Business Verification Act
Related:
See the Related Legislation page for other bills related to this one and a list of subject terms that have been applied to this bill. Sometimes the text of one bill or resolution is incorporated into another, and in those cases the original bill or resolution, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.
Votes:
Jul 27, 2009: This bill passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote. A record of each representative’s position was not kept.
Sep 28, 2010: This bill passed in the Senate with changes by Unanimous Consent. A record of each senator’s position was not kept.
Sep 29, 2010: A vote in the House of Representatives to agree with the other chamber's changes passed by voice vote. A record of each representative’s position was not kept.
read more here
Veterans Benefits Act of 2010

But knowing that the GOP have blocked over 100 bills from even being voted on, it does not shock me.

This is part of a game they love to play. There is a list on this site with more bills they blocked but notice when the bill was written, who it was for and who blocked it. It took since July of last year just to be able to vote on this.  Yet veterans are not part of their plan.  They don't care who pays as long as they defeat Obama even if it means blocking bills to take care of YOU!  Still think they earned your support?

GOP blocked these from being voted on.  Some of them finally passed with Republican support and they should be proud of that but ashamed these bills were part of a political game some of them could hide behind.

Supporting our Nation's Veterans

H.R. 403, Homes for Heroes Act
Provides special assistant to veteran affairs to ensure that housing and homeless assistance programs benefit veterans.

H.R. 466, Wounded Veteran Job Security Act
Protects the rights of wounded veterans to receive medical treatment for service-connected disabilities.

H.R. 1168, Veterans Retraining Act
Provides assistance for veterans who are in an employment training program that teaches a skill in the demand of the employer. (150 Republicans voted yes.)

H.R. 1211, Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act
Expands and improves health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. (This bill passed 408-0.)

H.R. 1293, Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act
Increases payments to veterans with service connected of disabilities for improvements and structural alterations to their home.

H.R. 1803, Veterans Business Center Act
These centers would provide veterans and their surviving spouses with entrepreneurial training and counseling.

H.R. 2990, Disabled Military Retiree Relief Act
Provides special pays and allowances to certain members of the Armed Forces and disabled military retirees. (165 Republicans voted for this bill.)

H.R. 3219, Veterans' Insurance and Health Care Improvements Act
Would make improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating to insurance and health care for veterans.

H.R. 3949, Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Service Members Protection Act
Provides a full range of small business ownership counseling, training, financing and procurement programs available to veterans and Reservists. (This vote passed 382-2.)
read more here
Supporting our Nations Veterans

Fort Campbell Soldier to receive Medal for Heroism

Fort Campbell Soldier to receive Medal for Heroism

Fort Campbell, KY – The Soldier’s Medal, the highest award a Soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat situation, will be awarded to a Fort Campbell Soldier, October 29th. Specialist Jose A. Ortiz-Fernandez, 63rd Chemical Company, will receive the medal at Fort Campbell for his heroic actions on June 19th, 2010, when he rescued a woman from a submerged vehicle in the Cumberland River near Clarksville, Tennessee.
According to the award citation, Ortiz-Fernandez was at a park, adjacent to the river, when he witnessed a female drive her vehicle onto a boat ramp and into the water. With complete disregard for his own safety, he dove into the water and battled stiff currents to reach the vehicle.
read more here
Fort Campbell Soldier to receive Medal for Heroism

Will Florida Veterans vote against themselves?

On the issues there is one that stands out for me and that is veterans.  Coming from a family full of veterans and spending my days with their lives in mind, that's my biggest issue.  During conversations with veterans down here in Florida, they usually say they will vote for Rubbio until I fill them in on some facts the media has yet to inform them of.  First on the list is the GOP agenda is to turn the VA over to private hands.  Imagine that!  They used to be ashamed of taking this position but now, now they seem almost proud of their willingness to betray the men and women who served this country with their lives.  They want to turn Social Security over to the stock market and get rid of Medicare.  Most of the lies down here on the TV are about how Pelosi lead the way on cutting Medicare along with Kosmos and Grayson but the truth is, they should have been patted on the back because they cut if from waste, fraud and abuse.  The GOP want people to believe they did it by cutting benefits instead of taking care of the tax payers and insuring that the Medicare system works for all of us.

Marco Rubio
Address: 2030 South Douglas Road, Suite 105, Coral Gables, FL 33134
Website: http://www.marcorubio.com/
Occupation: Lawyer
Education:
Experience:
(Editor\\\'s Note, From Rubio\\\'s website) From 2000-2008, Rubio served in the Florida House of Representatives. During this period, he served as Majority Whip, Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, effectively promoting an agenda of lower taxes, better schools, a leaner and more efficient government and free market empowerment. Rubio also helped spearhead Florida’s congressional and legislative redistricting effort. He chaired the House Select Committee on Property Rights, which crafted national model legislation to protect private property rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v. City of New London decision that opened the door for eminent domain abuse.
Endorsements:
Platform:
The candidate has declined repeated inquiries to fill out biographical information and campaign stances in this race. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Getting back to the GOP platform, it is no surprise to the aware voter that the GOP politicians have been voting against them every chance they have.  They didn't want the GI Bill.  They blocked the cost of living raise last year for Veterans and seniors.  They voted against the pay raise for the troops.  What is the most deplorable action taken by them was up until 2007 when the Democrats took control of the House and Senate, they were refusing to increase funding for the VA to take care of the wounded flooding into the system from Iraq, Afghanistan and our older veterans.  They were coming back home to suffer instead of being taken care of but the GOP politicians didn't give a damn.  They just kept talking about tax cuts for the rich.  You can look up their actual votes and the bills they blocked so you can weigh their actions agains their claims.

Rubio's claims about what he's done and the history of his family have little to do with what he will end up doing to veterans.  The people working for veterans and putting their lives ahead of political power are not members of the GOP.  I love Republicans as people but their politicians don't feel the same way or they would stop lying to them and then betraying them.

Mitch McConnell said
The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.

The way they wanted to make sure small businesses didn't get tax cuts to hire workers and buy equipment. The way they wanted to stop the bill that would increase the pay of the troops, the same troops they claim to support. They way they didn't want Obama to take care of the veterans suffering under the GOP leadership all the years they had the chance to prove where their hearts were.

The choice is simple. If you vote for Rubio, you will be voting to turn the VA over to private companies and very well could lose your benefits including Social Security because they want to turn that over to private companies and end Medicare. Is that what you want? If they take control of the Senate and the House, that is exactly what will happen. Frankly I've seen enough of how they closed their eyes and blocked their ears when veterans were crying out in agony for help. I heard the suffering when the Cost of Living raise didn't come but not once did I hear any of the veterans mention the fact the bill was written and the GOP blocked it just as they are going right now. Never once did I hear veterans say the GOP were allowing them to suffer any more than I heard how much the Democrats were fighting for them.

All of this was because no one told them until I did. Considering they know how hard I work for them, care about them, their best interests has been issue number one for me. I adore them and want them to be aware. When they are told what has been happening behind their backs, they are shocked because no one told them before. They wonder why the media hasn't told them the truth and so do I.

Look up the record of Kosmos and Grayson and what you'll find are two great friends of veterans along with almost every other Democratic politician including the President they love to hate. He's done so much for veterans even though the GOP has tried to stop everything he has tried to do because they wanted him to fail no matter who got hurt in the process. They had the chance to prove they loved veterans but they proved they loved the rich and thought the veterans were in a "welfare program" when they went to the VA instead of receiving a debt owed to them. Politicians serve their own best interest but for some that includes our veterans and for others, they want to use veterans for power to take care of the rich. How many rich people do you know willing to put on a uniform and risk their lives for this country they love?

I pray they open their eyes before they vote because if the GOP take over the Senate and the House after all the damage they've already done, things will only get worse for veterans and I'd hate to think they just did it to themselves because they didn't pay attention. Does your political ideas matter more than what is right?  Do you really think they will repay you with anything other than they have done before?  The last time they were in charge, you were betrayed when you thought they were your friends.

Think of this when you think about Rubio

Nevada Republican Wants to Privatize VA
Sharron Angle wants to screw veterans

Of all the confusing statements the Nevada Republican Senate hopeful Sharron Angle has made, one is very clear. Sharron Angle wants to privatize the Veterans Administration. At first glance, privatization of some government agencies might be worth a second look. However, we should look closely at why the ultra-conservative Republican might be looking at this idea.

Former President George Bush who pretty much single handedly engineered the economic mess we are now in, decided to privatize Walter Reed Army hospital in 2007 because of the poor condition the hospital was in. A 200 million dollar contract was awarded to an outfit run by former Halliburton Executives. Former Halliburton Executives? Where have we heard that before? Oh, that's right-Vice President Dick Cheney is a former Halliburton man! Unfortunately, the new company cared more about making money than wounded soldiers.
read more of this here
Nevada Republican Wants to Privatize VA

Rocket launcher recovered in alleged plot to attack Dayton VA

Rocket launcher recovered in alleged plot to attack Dayton VA
By Kristin McAllister and Tom Beyerlein
Staff Writer
Updated 11:41 PM Monday, October 25, 2010
MIAMI TWP., Montgomery County — Two men were being questioned after federal agents and local officers learned the men planned “to show up at the VA Center and basically shoot a bunch of people up,” police said Monday.

Federal agents found a rocket launcher and other weapons at the Miami Bluffs apartment Monday, according to Miami Twp. Deputy Police Chief John DiPietro.

The two men were not immediately identified. A Veterans Affairs spokeswoman refused to comment, citing privacy regulations and the ongoing investigation.

FBI Special Agent Michael Brooks confirmed that the agency is investigating a threat made to the Dayton VA Medical Center either late Sunday night or early Monday morning, but he would not say how the threat was made.

Deputy Police Chief Maj. John DiPietro said the men had received services from the Dayton VA Medical Center.

“I understand them to be American citizens who were also veterans of one of the wars,” he said.

read more here
Rocket launcher recovered in alleged plot

Family of soldier found dead in Iraq wants answers

UPDATE: Family of soldier found dead in Iraq wants answers

Reported by: Julie Tremmel
Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com

The air in the Bennett-Jones house in St. Johnsville is heavy with pain and sadness. On Sunday night, two uniformed military men showed up at their front door with the news that U.S. Army Private David Jones was found dead in his room on base in Baghdad, Iraq.

His mother Theresa Bennett of St. Johnsville said, "They said that they found him in his room at 2 o'clock yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, and there was one gunshot wound to his head. That was it. They didn't say anything about anything else."

The family says Jones had so much to live for, suicide simply isn't possible.
Family of soldier found dead in Iraq wants answers

Veteran of Vietnam and Gulf war shot by police

Delta man killed by police a war vet, says TV station
The Denver Post


Delta man killed by police a war vet

DELTA — The Delta County Coroner's Office identified a man killed in a shootout with police early Saturday as Larry A. Brown, 59, of Delta.

He was shot by two Delta police officers after he allegedly pulled a gun and fired it at them, authorities said.

The officers were not hit and returned fire. Brown died from multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner said.
KKCO-Channel 11 in Grand Junction reported that Brown was a Vietnam and Desert Storm veteran who was a Marine sniper and medic and had received the Bronze Star for bravery.

His family told the TV station he was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and sometimes walked the streets in camouflage, but they did not think he fired first at police.


Read more: Delta man killed by police a war vet, says TV station - The Denver Post
Delta man killed by police a war vet