Supporting the Separation of Church and State
Posts Tagged ‘Veterans’
Bill O’Reilly ~ Still Reigning Douchebag
Categorized: Politics
Tagged: Bill O'Reilly, Veterans
Back in November I wrote an article about how 1/4 of America’s homeless are veterans. You can read about it Here. John Edwards, who is perhaps not my absolute favorite Democratic nominee but is causing me to think twice about him, has rallied for homeless vets, urging America not to forget our heroes.
Our favorite falafel lover, Bill O’Reilly is now railing against Edwards and even asserts that there are NO HOMELESS VETS! (or if there are there are not very many of them!) What a tool. I normally try and refrain from using harsh language but this is one man that I absolutely hate.
FoxAttacks.com has put together this video so you can see for yourself the utter foolishness spewing from this man’s mouth and the reactions from actual homeless vets.
Bill O’Reilly gets the distinction of once again being a horrible horrible man and named a Sinner on WWJV4.com. Make sure that you sign the letter found here demanding an apology from Bill O’Reilly for his horribly inaccurate assertions.
~ Summer Ludwig ~ WWJV4.com
Wounded Vet Sent Bill By the Army
Former sniper Jordan Fox, joined the army to serve his country and received a $10,000 sign on bonus. He valiantly served in Iraq until he was blinded in one eye by a road side bomb. He was sent home, his dreams of pursuing a law enforcement career, blown away.
A couple of weeks later something unexpected came in the mail, a $3,000 bill from the Army for not finishing 3 months of his contract. Fox states,
“I tried to do my best and serve my country and unfortunately I was hurt in the process and now they’re telling me that they want their money back.”
The Army has acknowledged that this is a mistake and right before his story was shown on national tv he was contacted by the military saying they had relieved his debt. What the Army refuses to comment on though, is the allegation that thousands of wounded GI’s have received or will be receiving bills for “not fulfilling their commitments.”
Jordan Fox will continue to speak out about his story and he hopes that it will lead to help not just for him, but for thousands of his wounded comrades.
At least one politician has been vocal about this issue and has even introduced legislation to make sure that wounded GI’s receive the bonuses that they are entitled to and are not billed for them. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa. stated last month in a press conference,
“Hard as it may be to believe, the Department of Defense has been denying injured servicemen and women the bonuses that they qualified for.”
We will be following this story and supporting Rep. Altmire in his quest to pass H.R. 3793 and encourage you to do the same. The US Army is now officially declared a Sinner for this week for charging our vets for being wounded while serving. Not many things could possibly be more despicable.
Happy Veterans Day
Categorized: Politics
Tagged: Afghanistan, Iraq, Veterans
WWJV4.com would like to take time to thank each and every one of the brave men and women who have served or are serving this nation in the armed forces and their families and loved ones for the sacrifices that they, too, have made. We also pause in remembrance of those who have given their lives for this country and the freedoms it stands for, and for their families and loved ones who have made the ultimate sacrifice. We especially want to thank the non-citizen soldiers and LGBT soldiers who risk everything for a country that does not always seem to appreciate you. Thank you all.
Since 1968 we have celebrated Veterans Day on Monday. However today is historically Veterans Day, or Armistice Day as it was originally named in remembrance of the end of WWI. Veterans’ day was begun in 1919 when President Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of an armistice between the Allied Nations and Germany. Veterans day is a day for remembering and honoring all of the brave men and women who have fought for our country through the years. No matter their political views, or the popularity of the war, the sacrifices of these soldiers have earned them a place of honor.
So today as a nation we stand together to remember those who have fought for our great nation. The brave men and women who sacrificed so much and their families. As with most working class Americans Summer and I have many family members who are Veterans. Our grandfathers fought in WWII and my father served in Vietnam. We do not come from military families, but our families are not unfamiliar with the costs of war. Also, like too many others, we have friends and family serving in harms way in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Today and every day we need to remember the sacrifices of veterans of past wars, but we must not forget those we have currently in harms way. While the media is painting a glossy picture of success in Iraq, Afghanistan has become increasingly more dangerous. What has long been a forgotten war, in more ways than one, is quickly becoming more and more dangerous. Despite any decrease in American casualties in the past month, 2007 is already the most deadly year yet both in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the top of my page we run the counter for the financial cost of the Iraq war. we do this to illustrate the hypocrisy of those in power when they denounce needed domestic spending as fiscally irresponsible. However, the real cost has been the 3,859 dead and the tens of thousands critically wounded and handicapped. We cannot forget the pain and sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of families who are afraid daily for their mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and loved ones. That is the true cost of war, and it is a cost that this administration is all too willing to pay. No matter what you believe the reasons for the Iraq war are, it is time that we got our brave soldiers home and out of harms way because all the oil in Iraq is not worth the price of one more American death.
So today please join us in remembering those who served before, and those who we have placed in harms way. I welcome everyone to use the comments section of this post to honor our troops. No matter our feelings about this administration or their wars our soldiers are the greatest in the world. They risk their lives and endure unimaginable hardships in our name and we cannot thank them enough for that. We salute their bravery and sacrifices, and those of their families. Today, and every day we wish you peace.
~ William and Summer Ludwig ~
War on Terror to Cause a “Tsunami” of Homeless Vets
WIBW.com ran this AP story detailing that despite the Veteran’s Administration targeting services for homeless vets 1/4 of all homeless people in the US are veterans. What makes this figure particular staggering is that only 11% of our population are veterans.
It took about 10 years for homelessness to really become an issue for Vietnam veterans at which point the VA acted to address the growing problem. Since 1987 they have set up 15,000 residential beds for veterans. The “war on terror” is predicted to cause an even bigger crisis among its returning veterans. One indicator of this is that newer veterans are already showing up in VA and other homeless shelters across America.
Due to extended deployments, multiple deployments, and shorter times between deployments this generation of veterans are at an increased risk of mental health issues that lead to homelessness. Daniel Tooth, director of veterans affairs for Lancaster County, Pa. states in regard to these newer homeless veterans:
We’re going to be having a tsunami of them eventually because the mental health toll from this war is enormous.
The veteran’s from the “war on terror” seeking help from VA homeless programs are more likely to be female and to have mental health problems. They are less likely, though, to have substance abuse problems. There is some hope that with the 2 years Iraq war vets are allowed of free health care some of the mental health issues can be addressed early.
With the Republicans and the President doing little more than paying lip service to improving care for our veterans we are losing precious time to help stave off homelessness and the problems that our veterans have finding employment when returning to the US. Much like the Vietnam veterans, our men and women, who heroically served this country are fading into the background. The fact that it is happening faster and that this war is dragging on and on only bodes badly for what is to come for America’s heroes.
Here is a link to a directory of organizations who are partnered with The Department of Veteran Affairs. Many of them need volunteers or donations so please reach out and do what you can for our vets.
Posts
