Day: July 10, 2010

Long Overdue: Veterans With PTSD To Be Covered For Disability Benefits!

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The Veterans Affairs Department under President Obama is finally doing justice to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan War, as well as those who served in Vietnam, who have developed PTSD–Post Traumatic Stress Disorder–as a result of their military service, whether directly in combat, or just the victim of stress conditions that have led to emotional and mental scars, not as easily recognizable as physical injuries!

Those who serve our country in the military have been shabbily treated in the past for mental and emotional disorders, and the effects of various chemicals used in warfare! Now, these people will be able to get benefits, including monetary compensation on a monthly basis plus health care! The trauma these troops go through is something possibly hard to understand for those of us who have been fortunate enough never to be in a war zone!

This is a real victory not only for the military, but also for recognition that mental illness is as much a problem as the more obvious physical illnesses!

The cost will be very high, but if we are able to find the money to send troops to war and endanger their lives, then we must fund care for them when they come home, and not just short term, but for a lifetime, if necessary!

President Obama is to be applauded for making this major reform come about, and it adds to his record of major accomplishments over the first 18 months of his Presidency! 🙂

Gays In The Military: Why Is Pentagon Asking Opinions On Subject? :(

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When President Harry Truman decided on integration of the military in 1948, troops were not asked for their views on the subject! It is certain that many would have been opposed to blacks and whites working and living together, but it was done!

When women were integrated into the military academies in 1976, those at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, New London, and Kings Point were not asked to fill out a survey! Again, many might have been opposed, but who cared?

So why now does the Pentagon feel the need to ask people in the military how they feel about showering with gays and lesbians, or sharing living quarters and a commissary with them on the bases?

And also asked is the effect that having gays and lesbians serving openly would have on retention, unit cohesion, military family life, and privacy!

Why is this such a big issue when so many European countries and Israel have long had openly gay service members, and have found no complications that developed?

Are we to let some people’s prejudices and biases to determine who can serve, when we are already having trouble with recruitment and retention?

The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, usually right on most issues, is absolutely wrong on this issue, and it is time that progress be made on the final end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and that human dignity become part of military culture!

And if there are people in the military who cannot accept the changes that are coming, the answer is to say: “Goodbye, and good riddance!” 🙁

Lies And Fabrications In Arizona About Illegal Immigration: Governor Jan Brewer A Disgrace! :(

Ronald 21 Comments

With the Arizona Immigration law being challenged in court by the Obama Administration, less than a month before it is supposed to go into effect, the supporters of this discriminatory law are hard at work promoting fear and hysteria through the use of lies and fabrications about the effects of illegal immigration on the state!

The leading proponent of deception is the disgraceful Governor Jan Brewer, who sees it as a method to win reelection this fall, and could not see the truth if it stared her in the face! 🙁

Investigation of numerous accusations about illegal immigrants shows the following realities:

1. Bodies have been beheaded and left in the deserts of the state–NOT TRUE!
2. Border violence is on the rise–NOT TRUE!
3. Phoenix has become the Number Two Kidnapping location in the world–NOT TRUE!
4. Illegal immigrants are responsible for the deaths of most law enforcement officers–NOT TRUE!
5. Most illegal immigrants crossing the border are involved in drug dealing–NOT TRUE!

The Arizona Republic newspaper and the FBI statistics show all of the above are fabrications, and that crime has not increased, and in many areas has declined in recent years!

But Jan Brewer and Senator John McCain are utilizing these lies to promote fear among Arizona citizens to win reelection, without any concern for the truth!

Both should be ashamed of their fear mongering, which is now also leading to a new movement–to deny birthright citizenship to children born in this country of illegal immigrants, a move which would be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution! 🙁

But then, does the Constitution really matter, if one does not agree with it? It is amazing how people manipulate the Constitution for their own benefit and claim to be respectful of that sacred document, but only when it benefits their prejudices! 🙁