WAKE UP AMERICA! OUR CHILDREN MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RECOVER FROM WHAT WE DO OR DO NOT DO NOW!

Entry for March 30, 2008

Truth....censored from the public???Please, learn all you can before you vote...

Goverment Health Care, Goverment Bailing out the Stock Market..make me nervous about the future!!!!


This video, ready to be shown on 60 minutes, BUT WAS NOT for political reasons. The conclusions reached are both frightening, and in the long run, devastating to this country's ability to survive if the current level of spending continues at the present rate.

NO MATTER WHAT POLITICAL PARTY YOU MIGHT BELONG TO THIS INVOLVES US ALL SO PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND COME VOTING TIME AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT!
THIS IS TRULY SOMETHING TO LOOK AT---PRETTY SCARY WORLD!?!
PLEASE WATCH THIS.

(NOT SHOWN ON 60 MINUTES)

The US Comptroller General THE HEAD OF THE GPO.US Government Immorality
{Click Below or cut and paste into your browser}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS2fI2p9iVs

VA DENTAL COVERAGE

This is a heads up, thought you might be interested.
Here is a News Flash from VA Watchdog dot Org: http://www.vawatchd og.org/08/ nf08/nfMAR08/ nf032908- 1.htm
More dental coverage sought for vets

March 28, 2008
NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT
http://www.vawatchd og.org/08/ nf08/nfMAR08/ nf032908- 1.htm
Veterans with service-connected disabilities would get expanded dental coverage under bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park.

The "Make Our Veterans Smile Act" (House Resolution 5595) was co-introduced by Kirk and fellow Navy Reserve intelligence officer U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Pa.

Currently, only 100 percent disabled, homeless or prisoner-of- war veterans are eligible for dental benefits. The bill, if signed into law, expands dental coverage to any service-connected disabled veteran, regardless of disability rating starting Jan. 1, 2009.

"We need to ensure that those who wore the uniform, risked their lives and sacrificed so much are appropriately cared for," Kirk said Thursday. "We won a great victory for area veterans when we saved the North Chicago VA Hospital from closing. But the commitment the government makes to help care for disabled veterans is incomplete without addressing their dental needs."

According to the Veterans Administration, 258,000 veterans currently are eligible for dental benefits. More than 2.5 million additional disabled veterans would receive coverage under the Kirk-Carney bill.

In Illinois, coverage would expand from nearly 5,000 veterans to more than 60,000 veterans, according to the Congressional Research Service.



Legislation is on Thomas, here... http://thomas. loc.gov/

Type in H.R. 5595.

Legislation printed below:

------------ --------- ----

Make Our Veterans Smile Act of 2008 (Introduced in House)

HR 5595 IH


110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5595

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide dental care to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 12, 2008

Mr. CARNEY (for himself and Mr. KIRK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs



A BILL

To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide dental care to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,



SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Make Our Veterans Smile Act of 2008'.

SEC. 2. PROVISION OF DENTAL CARE BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO VETERANS WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

(a) Provision of Care- Section 1712(a)(1)(G) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking `rated as total'.

(b) Authority To Provide Care by Entering Into Contracts- Section 1703(a)(7) of such title is amended by striking `section 1712(a)(1)(F) ' and inserting `section 1712(a)(1)'.

(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to outpatient dental services and treatment, and related dental appliances, furnished on or after January 1, 2009

REVELATIONS AND MORE REVELATIONS

New Revelations in Haditha Case -- Rumsfeld Set Up Shadow "Body" to Oversee Investigations

Family Security Matters
Richard Thompson
March 27, 2008



Revelations by top Marine Generals, that former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, set up a shadow ''body'' composed of high-ranking administration officials to oversee the Haditha investigations, could prove to be the most damning evidence of the political motivations and influence over the ongoing prosecutions of Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, and other combat Marines involved.



Lawyers representing Marine LtCol Jeffrey Chessani uncovered the existence of the extraordinarily unusual oversight body.



The hysteria and media firestorm over Abu Gharib and the Pat Tillman investigations led to fear of a similar media reaction to the Haditha incident, causing the military's civilian bosses to set up this shadow oversight body. This extraordinary action politicized the military justice system and was a clear signal to top generals that they were expected to hold individuals criminally responsible. The investigation turned into a quest for a prosecution -- not justice.



The Marines are being prosecuted for their house-to-house battle to ferret out ambushing insurgents on November 19, 2005. The insurgents fired upon the Marines while hiding amongst woman and children. The ensuing firefight resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians -- a result the insurgents wanted to happen.



Details of the battle and the civilian deaths were dutifully reported throughout the chain of command. The chain of command, including the top generals, all concluded this was a tragic and unfortunate consequence of urban warfare, but the Marines were justified in their actions of defending themselves.



Months later, however, a known al Qaeda propaganda operative instigated an inflammatory Time Magazine article written by reporter Tim McGirk -- later proven to be false -- calling the deaths of the civilians a ''massacre.'' The military initiated at least three investigations as a result.



Proof that this entire investigation has been a politically motivated quest for a prosecution rather than justice is supported by several details of the investigations, including:



An admission by the Director of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service (''NCIS'') that over 65 investigators were assigned to the case, which in his opinion was the largest investigative effort in Department's history.
Formation of ''Legal Team Charlie'' composed of military lawyers reassigned from other units and reserve officers activated for the purpose of prosecuting this case--all highly unusual.
The Secretary of Navy countermanded a determination by General James Mattis, USMC, that Colonel Stephen Davis, USMC, LtCol Chessani's regimental commander, would receive a Non-Punitive Letter of Caution, which would not be part of his permanent record. Gen Mattis' decision was overridden by the Navy Secretary, who ordered a Letter of Censure, a more severe punishment, which effectively ended this fine Marine officer's career. As the consolidated convening authority in all the Haditha investigations, General Mattis' decision, under normal circumstances, would be absolute and final.
It's deeply troubling that the desire to appease the liberal anti-war press and politicians has led to the prosecution of innocent Marines for purely political purposes. These prosecutions will become a scandal of historic proportions unless terminated by independently minded and virtuous military judges.



An Undue Command Influence motion had already been filed on behalf of the combat Marines., and LtCol Chessani's lawyers intend to file its own Undue Command Influence motion on his behalf. Further startling events will be revealed at that time.



Even though LtCol Chessani was not personally present at the scene of the ambush on November 19, 2005, the Marines responding were in his battalion: the Third Battalion, First Infantry Regiment -- one of the most decorated battalions in our nation's history, and the pride of the second Battle of Fallujah. Thus, LtCol Chessani is charged with ''dereliction of duty'' and ''orders'' violations. Despite his 20 years of loyal service in defense of his country, he faces a maximum punishment of three years in prison, dismissal (an officer's equivalent of a dishonorable discharge), and the loss of his retirement benefits. Of course, his wife and six children ranging in ages from 3 months to 8 years old, made untold sacrifices as he left them to defend us on foreign shores as well.



URL: http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/challenges.php?id=1387053

give peace a chance you say? Don't sound like it!

'Peace' Advocates Playing Dirty

HUMAN EVENTS
by Katie O'Malley
Posted 03/27/2008


Once content to thump drums and dig deep for chants that rhyme, the ''peace'' movement's foothold on the public soapbox has slipped. The peaceniks -- ANSWER, MoveOn.org, Code Pink and the rest -- are in the midst of very public identity crisis. They are facing, for the first time, visible and vocal opposition to both their words and their methods. And it has made them angry….very angry….angry enough to (pause for dramatic effect) use violence as an option!

As organizations have come together to face them in the streets (and have successfully released the left's stranglehold on activism and the media) the lefties have revealed their inner violent streak to which they have always proclaimed an immunity.

We have certainly seen incidents of violence within the misnamed ''peace'' movement since its inception decades ago. These lovers of dialogue and group hugs have bombed buildings (just ask Obama's ''acquaintance'' William Ayers of the Weather Underground), stormed institutions and screamed vile and evil comments to Vietnam Veterans, since they first began their activism. In Ayers memoir, ''Fugitive Days,'' he goes so far as to write, ''I don't regret setting bombs. I didn't do enough.” At least he is honest about it.

His disturbing perspective and the inherently un-peaceful legacy of the 1960s peace movement has been enthusiastically embraced by the newest generation, tutored by the aging hippies of yore.

A steady uptick in violence against the military has been unfolding in recent months. The recruiting station in Washington, DC at 14th & L, the site of a storming and trashing on February 15, received additional overtures of ''peace'' last week when rocks were thrown at the windows and the exterior of the building, DC Metro police and counter protestors there to support the recruiters, were covered in red paint lobbed at them. What happened to daisies? They don't stain and they don't hurt!

The Times Square recruiting station in New York was the site of a bombing on March 6. Recruiters in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Texas and Tennessee have all been the recipients of this special kind of leftist love in the last 12 months, just to name a few. Counter protestors in Berkley have not received hugs and love, but instead have been shoved and hit with signs proclaiming ''Give Peace a Chance.''

Even the peace and tranquility of a church on Easter Sunday is not immune to their inherent anger and their willingness to put shock value and confrontation above dialogue and communication. A group calling themselves ''Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War'' interrupted Chicago's Cardinal George's Easter homily and threw fake stage blood on themselves and fellow churchgoers while denouncing the war in Iraq.

In the narcissistic mind of the antiwar left, even the most holy and meaningful gift of resurrection does not trump the need for relevance and attention. Shouldn't Catholic schoolgirls be railing against hemlines?

My own experience covering the left has provided a multitude of examples missing peace in the peace movement. I used to embrace the chance to bring my children to events to give them real world opportunities to hear diverse opinions first hand, unfiltered by the press or even their mother. It has added a great deal to our dinner table conversations over the years. It impressed upon them that views, however divergent from our own, come from real people with real passions.

Recent events and the escalation of violence on the left have, unfortunately, made me unwilling to provide them with this opportunity for the foreseeable future. My children have been on the receiving end of some of the most profane, hate-filled language known to man. They have been physically threatened, signs ripped from them and shredded, flags snatched from their hands. Simply put, the peaceniks are too violent to be around my children.

I can also tell you that the mail I get from the left is anything but peaceful. I am certain that the physical positions they suggest I emulate give me far too much credit for my flexibility. I am confident that not one of their suggestions is a sanctioned yoga pose.

This past week, the length to which the left will go has been further exposed and shows how personal and violent they become when they lose the spotlight. No longer content to lob bombs and projectiles at institutions of ''the man,'' these embracers of peace have developed a comfortable pattern of physically assaulting their ideological opponents.

This week, Ann DeWalt, 82, was found guilty of harassment for kicking a 33-year-old Iraq war veteran in the back during a January 19 vigil. In a calculated and desperate move, the left has is adept at using the young and the elderly to do their dirty work, secure in the knowledge that the media, the authorities and even the victims themselves will be more reluctant to pursue charges. I believe Saddam called them ''human shields.''

More chillingly, last weekend a man attending a Chester County Peace Movement (CCPM) peace vigil in West Chester, Pennsylvania, assaulted a citizen journalist and blogger. At 12:10 PM, blogger ''Skye'' was videotaping an exchange between opposing groups. As the conversation gets both animated and heated, she shifts her filming position to capture all parties involved. The shot is abruptly cut when a fist flies at her face, she is slapped and the camera is jammed into her face. Not satisfied by the first blow, he strikes her a second time.

Nearby police intervened and the party involved was quickly pointed out by the victim and witnesses. The officer requested the suspect's cooperation in the investigation. During his ''refusal,'' this lover of peace took his physical abuse past shoving a woman and shoved the officer. He was rewarded with handcuffs and removal.

Skye frequently attends events throughout the Northeast to document the multilayered story via video and stills and our paths have crossed several times. In my experience, I have known her to be respectful, professional and downright cheery. She works diligently to capture both the pro-troop and the anti-war sides of rallies.

Where are the feminists denouncing a man in their midst using his physical power to try cower a woman? Of course I am still waiting for feminists to address Bill's approach to fringe benefits.

Where are the pithy chants touting love? Where are the hugs?

I can't help but wonder when the lefties will give peace a chance.

URL: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25729

Islam, the religion, the cult, the system

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.

Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called "religious rights."

When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to "the reasonable" Muslim demands for their "religious rights," they also get the other components under the table. Here's how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).

As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:

United States -- Muslim 1.0%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1%-2%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.

They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. (United States).

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland -- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (Paris -- car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam -- Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of "Dar-es-Salaam" -- the Islamic House of Peace -- there's supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that's not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.

"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel. -- Leon Uris, "The Haj"

It is good to remember that in many, many countries, such as France, the Muslim populations are centered around ghettos based on their ethnicity. Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. Therefore, they exercise more power than their national average would indicate.

Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat.. www.frontline.org.za/books_videos/sti.htm

Gas War LET'S START ONE!!

Ever notice how one gas station will have one price for gas and the one right across the street from it will be a penny or so cheaper? This is called price war, so why not start a big one and get the price of gas down? Makes sense to me and it is worth a try, afterall what do we have to lose? Nothing that's what! Here is how it can be done.


THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON, OR LESS.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy gas on a certain day' campaign that was going around last April or May!

It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that "DON'T BUY GAS ON CERTAIN DAYS" because they knew we wouldn't continue to 'hurt' ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join in in creating a price war between oil companies.

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.48 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, or even $2.50 we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace...not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas, but we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people, plus, placing it on all my blogs and the various veteran sites I post on. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) .. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.

If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people and get the ball rolling, then like a snowball rolling down hill it will begin to grow bigger and bigger just like a rumor or gossip does in the real world.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this message and game plan out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 to 10 days days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you ! Acting together we can make a difference. Veterans Unite! Hopefully the rest of the people will follow suit and the gas war will be on.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE, OR LOWER AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK. WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO LOSE BY TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. DOING NOTHING WILL GET US LIKE RESULTS. . . NOTHING!


KEEP IT GOING AND GOING AND GOING. . . .!

Gas War LET

Vietnam vets, once again, left behind and forgotten!

STIGMA KEEPS MANY NEW VETS FROM SEEKING MENTAL
HEALTH CARE. As you read the article below you can see where, once again, Vietnam veterans are being left behind, cast aside and, for all intents and purposes forgotten in the VA system.

I have nothing against today's young soldiers getting help, immediate help, as that is what they deserve and earned through their service to our country, but what about those of us who have been waiting for years for such help as this article reports? How many of us have died awaiting such help? How many of us will continue to wait and die before the VA and other government officials say, "Hey, what about the Vietnam vets, without whom we may have never known about PTSD and it's effect on soldiers in the first place?"

Thousands of Vietnam veterans are waiting, and many have been waiting and fighting for their just benefits and adequate treatment for untold numbers of years, and still we wait for the VA to do the right thing. Since our war was an unpopular war, one that Congress chose to walk away from, we are considered a pain in the side, to be nice, to the VA and Congress who now rallies around the young soldiers of today but pays little, to no, attention to the plight of Nam vets. We still continue to fight for our just benefits and treatment, but in addition, it is we who initiated the fight for veteran to receive treatment and compensation for PTSD. Today the powers that be speak of traumatic brain injury due to explosions, bombs, do they consider or even give thought to the fact that bombs, booby traps and the like were, also, utilized in Vietnam, thus, we too, and likely do, suffer from traumatic brain injury? Once again we are all but forgotten! When will this disgrace end? Will it only come to an end after we are all dead and gone. Seems to be the most likely scenario!

NOTE: All Emphasis added by

Rocky

Waiting room fills with young vets

Meredith May
Chronicle Staff Writer


Four years after the start of the war in Iraq, Dr. Karen Seal took a job at the San Francisco VA Medical Center to work in the liver clinic, treating patients with hepatitis C.

She noticed the veterans in the waiting room. Most of them were from the Vietnam era, in their 60s and older.

But over the months, the faces began to get younger. The waiting room was starting to fill with young men in their late teens and 20s, the first trickle of Bay Area soldiers emotionally and physically injured by the war.

Seal, a primary care physician, began working with them, taking their medical histories and directing them to the right care.

"At the time, I had never heard of PTSD," Seal said. (Can you believe any doctor working at any VA hospital, especially after 4 years as stated above, had never heard of PTSD!?! )

Now she knows how post-traumatic stress disorder contributes to the alcohol addiction and depression she sees in many of her patients.

She made referral after referral to the mental health wing of the VA hospital, but heard from colleagues that those initial patients never made it. It was too much of a stigma - especially in military culture - to walk across the campus to the mental health ward.

So Seal and colleagues got an idea. What if there were a special clinic just for Iraq war veterans that combined primary care and mental health checkups in a nonjudgmental setting? (Emphasis added - note the "just for Iraq War veterans"!)

There were only a few other places in the country that do such a thing - the Department of Defense has a one-stop veterans clinic in Washington, and there was a similar one in Seattle, but it took anyone from the first Gulf War to the present. (Again, nothing mentioned here about Nam vets.)

Finally, in April 2007, San Francisco VA opened a clinic just for Iraq war veterans, calling it the Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Integrated Care Clinic.

"Now, we see three to seven veteran men, and one or two women, a week," Seal said.

Visitors can drop in and be seen by a primary care doctor and a combat stress specialist. They are screened for post-traumatic stress, depression, alcoholism, and brain injury. If they need help readjusting into civilian life, there's someone to assist with that.

About 1 in 5 is discovered to have post-traumatic stress, but now only 15 percent miss their appointments with mental health workers.

"This job is a gift," Seal said. "To be able to tell them it's normal to jump when they hear a balloon pop or to get nervous on a crowded bus. I can tell them that a lot of their buddies are experiencing the same things."


E-mail Meredith May at mmay@sfchronicle.com.
(Original article posted by VA Watchdog)

Private Health Verses VA Health Care

Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has joined a growing list of those pushing to privatize VA healthcare.

Filner has called for a "VA card" that can be used at private healthcare providers. (see article below)

This concept has been pushed by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Ranking Member on the House Vets' Committee and Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Member of the Senate Vets' Committee.

Neither Buyer or Craig are known as friends of veterans. Has Filner joined that list?

What is Filner thinking? He isn't!

For every veteran that leaves to VA system, that system becomes smaller and weaker. When small enough, it will cease to exist.

Filner's job is to help properly fund the VA so it can care for the needs of all veterans, not to help them go anywhere they want for care.

Filner has been known to engage his mouth before he engages his brain...so, maybe he'll rethink this. I certainly hope so.

For more on privatizing the VA, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=privatize+privatizing&op=or

Story here... http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Vetera
ns+ask+for+more+care&articleId=4f1b751d-1947-42bf-ae87-5a441d2c21f1

Here is a question that I pose, note the bold portion above, if the VA cease to exist then who, what branch of government, pays the disability compensation benefits to veterans and survivors? Will the private hospitals do this? No, they will not, so who does? If no government agency steps up to do this then do VA disability benefits also cease to exits just like the VA? Could happen, then what?

A Look At Our Future, Our Children's Future and Our Grandchildren's Future

Please take the time to watch this video as it is very important to us all especially our children and their children!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7WJeqxuOfQ

(cut and paste into your browser it is worth the time)

FBI's Islamic Sensitivity Training Program

The FBI believes its agents still aren't sensitive enough to Muslims and their culture, so the bureau has extended by "a few weeks" its Islamic cultural "enrichment" training program, WND has learned.

During a recent outreach event at a Washington-area mosque, FBI officials also reassured a large turnout of concerned Muslims that the bureau is not profiling Arabs and Muslims for terrorism, and has made investigating alleged "hate crimes" against them and other minorities "the second-highest priority in the criminal division of the FBI." [emphasis added].

Among the officials who attended the Feb. 8 "town hall meeting" at the large ADAMS Center mosque were Timothy Healy, deputy assistant director for FBI intelligence, and Dave Bennett, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Washington field office.

The officials said terrorism is "not a new phenomenon" limited to Muslims, and they cited abortion-clinic bomber Eric Rudolph as an example of a Christian terrorist.

While they said they are concerned about the threat from "homegrown terror" perpetuated by second-generation Muslim immigrants, the officials assured the Muslim audience they are no more concerned about such homegrown attacks than they are "about bank robberies," and are not targeting the Muslim community for special surveillance.

One official offered that FBI headquarters has extended the bureau's Arabic curriculum, which includes Muslim culture, by "a few weeks" to expose agents to Islam and cultivate a better understanding of the faith.

"We all need to learn and understand each other," he said, adding that the Muslim sensitivity program is part of basic training for agents.

"One of the things that the FBI believes in is diversity," he said. "Diversity is important."

To that end, he says the bureau is "under a hiring push this year" and is heavily recruiting Muslim agents. The FBI wants to hire 900 FBI agents and 2,000 professional support staff, including Arabic translators, by Sept. 30. [emphasis added and note: why does the FBI routinely reject Christians and Jews who are fluent in Arabic who apply to be translators?]

"One of the things that we are critically seeking are special agents and support staff who are Arabic speakers," he announced to the audience at the ADAMS mosque, which was founded and funded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has been one of the top distributors of Wahhabist anti-Semitic and anti-Christian dogma.

"We also need folks who, candidly, are familiar with Islam," the official said. "We're learning, many of us. And I've had many conversations with Muslims, and I've learned quite a bit. I'm a Roman Catholic, and there are so many similarities I have learned between Islam and Christianity that was a surprise to me." [emphasis added].

ADAMS Center is not the only Muslim Brotherhood-tied organization where the FBI has recruited agents. In September, it also set up a recruitment booth at the annual Islamic Society of North America convention. Just four months earlier, federal prosecutors named ISNA as an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terror fundraising case, and listed it as a member of the U.S. branch of the radical Brotherhood.

What's more, the agency is advertising for agents in ISNA's magazine "Islamic Horizons," as well as on the website of the Saudi-backed Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, which has supported Hamas and other known terrorists.

Last November, Lebanese former FBI agent Nada Prouty was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges in connection with a Hezbollah espionage investigation.

As WND first reported, the FBI summarily rejected some 90 Jewish Arabic speakers who after 9/11 applied to become translators and language specialists at the FBI's New York field office.

As WND also first reported in 2003, national Arab-American and Muslim leaders have made presentations at an FBI training course on civil rights at the Washington offices of the FBI, and at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Va., as part of "Enrichment Training Sessions" for new special agents there.

In addition, the imam of a large Manhattan mosque has lectured veteran counterterrorism investigators at the FBI's New York field office about misinterpretation of the meaning of jihad in the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

The sensitivity training program, denounced by some active and former agents, was mandated after the 9/11 attacks by FBI Director Robert Mueller.

FBI headquarters defends the program as a way to reach out to the Muslim community in America.

"I hate the word 'sensitivity' training," said FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell. "I would call it an awareness training relative to cultural issues."

Mueller has met several times with Arab and Muslim groups since 9/11. He even agreed to be the keynote speaker at the American Muslim Council conference in Washington – a move that drew fire from AMC critics, who note the group has sung the praises of Islamic terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and was headed by al-Qaida fundraiser Abdurahman Alamoudi, now serving time in federal prison on terror charges.

"Mueller should lead the FBI in this war, and leave the sensitivity sessions to the human resources department or CNN," complained retired FBI special agent Don Lavey, who served 20 years in the bureau's counterterrorism unit.

"Let's just hope the director is leading the charge in this war against terrorism with an equal amount of zeal that he shows for cultural sensitivities," added Lavey, who claims Mueller is so politically correct he refuses to use "Islamic" and "terrorism" in the same sentence.


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American Congress for Truth
P.O. Box 6884
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
[url]member@americancongressfortruth.org[/url]

[url]http://www.americancongressfortruth.org[/url]

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The Bottom Line

Following is an article written by Jim Cash Brig. Gen Retired USAF and comments by two men. Take time to read this if you care about the future of America.





"This is one of the most profound articles that I have ever read about this Presidency, this era and this so-called war. Everything this man says makes perfect sense.

No matter your politics, you owe it to yourself to read and pass on so we all are informed of what's going on in our world!

Another assessment of where the US stands in relation to the Middle East problems, this one is from the guy who had his finger on the nuclear trigger for three years as head of our defense and response complex buried under Cheyenne Mountain at Colorado Springs. He was the only person who could initiate a nuclear attack after advising the sitting president of a missile launch by our enemies and our need to respond. No political or civilian type in the US had more knowledge about day to day military actions around the world. Everyone should find quiet time to read this. As far as I am concerned, it is exactly the direction we should go and the consequences of not doing so are well thought out."

John R. (Jack) Farrington Major General, USAF (Retired)

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Middle East Imperative
BY: JIM CASH, Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.

I wrote recently about the war in Iraq and the larger war against radical Islam, eliciting a number of responses. Let me try and put this conflict in proper perspective.
Understand, the current battle we are engaged in is much bigger than just Iraq. What happens in the next year will affect this country and how our kids and grandkids live throughout their lifetime, and beyond. Radical Islam has been attacking the West since the seventh century. They have been defeated in the past and decimated to the point of taking hundreds of years to recover. But they can never be totally defeated. Their birth rates are so far beyond civilized world rates that in time they recover and attempt to dominate again.
There are eight terror-sponsoring countries that make up the grand threat to the West. Two , Saudi Arabia and Pakistan , just need firm pressure from the West to make major reforms. They need to decide who they are really going to support and commit to that support. That answer is simple. They both will support who they think will hang in there until the end, and win. We are not sending very good signals in that direction right now, thanks to the Democrats.
The other six, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya will require regime change or a major policy shift. Now, let's look more closely.

Afghanistan and Iraq have both had regime changes, but are being fueled by outsiders from Syria and Iran We have scared Gaddafi's pants off, and he has given up his quest for nuclear weapons, so I don't think Libya is now a threat.

North Korea (the non-Islamic threat) can be handled diplomatically by buying them off. They are starving. That leaves Syria and Iran. Syria is like a frightened puppy. Without the support of Iran they will join the stronger side. So where does that leave us? Sooner, or later, we are going to be forced to confront Iran, and it better be before they gain nuclear capability.
In 1989 I served as a Command Director inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex located in Colorado Springs, Colorado for almost three years. My job there was to observe (through classified means) every missile shot anywhere in the world and assess if it was a threat to the US or Canada. If any shot was threatening to either nation I had only minutes to advise the President, as he had only minutes to respond.

I watched Iran and Iraq shoot missiles at each other every day, and all day long, for months. They killed hundreds of thousand of their people. Know why? They were fighting for control of the Middle East and that enormous oil supply. At that time, they were preoccupied with their internal problems and could care less about toppling the west. Oil prices were fairly stable and we could not see an immediate threat. Well, the worst part of what we have done as a nation in Iraq is to do away with the military capability of one of those nations. Now, Iran has a clear field to dominate the Middle East, since Iraq is no longer a threat to them. They have turned their attention to the only other threat to their dominance, they are convinced they will win, because the US is so divided, and the Democrats (who now control Congress and may control the Presidency in 2008) have openly said we are pulling out.

Do you have any idea what will happen if the entire Middle East turns their support to Iran , which they will obviously do if we pull out? It is not the price of oil we will have to worry about. Oil WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE to this country at any price. I personally would vote for any presidential candidate who did what JFK did with the space program---declare a goal to bring this country to total energy independence in a decade.

Yes, it is about oil. The economy in this country will totally die if that Middle East supply is cut off right now. It will not be a recession. It will be a depression that will make 1929 look like the "good-old-days". The bottom line here is simple. If Iran is forced to fall in line, the fighting in Iraq will end over night, and the nightmare will be over.

One way or another, Iran must be forced to join modern times and the global community. It may mean a real war---if so, now is the time, before we face a nuclear Iran with the capacity to destroy Israel and begin a new ice age. I urge you to read the book "END GAME" by two of our best Middle East experts, true American patriots and retired military generals, Paul Vallely and Tom McInerney. They are our finest, and totally honest in their assessment of why victory in the Middle East is so important, and how it can be won. Proceeds for the book go directly to memorial fund for our fallen soldiers who served the country during the war on terror. You can find that book by going to the internet through Stand-up America at www.ospreyradio.us or www.rightalk.com
On the other hand, we have several very angry retired generals today, who evidently have not achieved their lofty goals, and insist on ranting and raving about the war. They are wrong, and doing the country great harm by giving a certain political party reason to use them as experts to back their anti-war claims.

You may be one of those who believe nothing could ever be terrible enough to support our going to war. If that is the case I should stop here, as that level of thinking approaches mental disability in this day and age. It is right up there with alien abductions and high altitude seeding through government aircraft contrails. I helped produced those contrails for almost 30 years, and I can assure you we were not seeding the atmosphere. The human race is a war-like population, and if a country is not willing to protect itself, it deserves the consequences. Nuff-said!!!

Now, my last comments will get to the nerve. They will be on politics. I am not a Republican. And, George Bush has made enough mistakes as President to insure my feelings about that for the rest of my life. However, the Democratic Party has moved so far left, they have made me support those farther to the right. I am a conservative who totally supports the Constitution of this country. The only difference between the United States and the South American, third world, dictator infested and ever-changing South American governments, is our US Constitution.

This Republic (note I did not say Democracy) is the longest standing the world has ever known, but it is vulnerable. It would take so little to change it through economic upheaval. There was a time when politicians could disagree, but still work together. We are past that time, and that is the initial step toward the downfall of our form of government.

I think that many view Bush-hating as payback time. The Republicans hated the Clinton's and now the Democrats hate Bush. So, both parties are putting their hate toward willingness to do anything for political dominance to include lying and always taking the opposite stand just for the sake of being opposed. JUST HOW GOOD IS THAT FOR OUR COUNTRY?
In my lifetime, after serving in uniform for President's Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush I have a pretty good feel for which party supported our military, and what military life was like under each of their terms. And, let me assure you that times were best under the Republicans.

Service under Jimmy Carter was devastating for all branches of the military. And, Ronald Regan was truly a salvation. You can choose to listen to enriched newscasters, and foolish people like John Murtha (he is no war hero), Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda , Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and on-and-on to include the true fools in Hollywood if you like. If you do, your conclusions will be totally wrong.

The reason that I write, appear on radio talk shows, and do everything I can to denounce those people is simple. THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR THIRST FOR POLITICAL POWER AND QUEST FOR VICTORY IN 2008 ABOVE WHAT IS BEST FOR THIS COUNTRY. I cannot abide that. Pelosi clearly defied the Logan Act by going to Syria , which should have lead to imprisonment of three years and a heavy fine. Jane Fonda did more to prolong the Vietnam war longer than any other human being (as acknowledged by Ho Chi Minh in his writing before he died). She truly should have been indicted for treason, along with her radical husband, Tom Hayden, and forced to pay the consequences.
This country has started to soften by not enforcing its laws, which is another indication of a Republic about to fall. All Democrats, along with the Hollywood elite, are sending us headlong into a total defeat in the Middle East, which will finally give Iran total dominance in the region. A lack of oil in the near future will be the final straw that dooms this Republic. However, if we refuse to let this happen and really get serious about an energy self-sufficiency program, this can be avoided. I am afraid, however, that we are going in the opposite direction. If we elect Hillary Clinton and a Democrat controlled congress, and they carry through with allowing Iran to take control of the Middle East, continue to refuse development of nuclear energy, refuse to allow drilling for new oil, and continue to do nothing but oppose everything Bush, it will be over in terms of what we view as the good life in the USA .
Now, do I think that all who do not support the war are un-American -- of course not. They just do not understand the importance of total victory in that region.

Another failure of George Bush is his inability to explain to the American people why we are there, and why we MUST win. By the way, it is not a war. The war was won four years ago. It is martial law that is under attack by Iranian and Syrian outside influences, and there is a difference.

So, what do I believe? What is the bottom line? I will simply say that the Democratic Party has fielded the foulest, power hungry, anti-country, self absorbed group of individuals that I have observed in my lifetime. Our educational system is partially to blame for allowing the mass of America to be taken in by this group. George Bush has done the best he can with the disabilities that he possesses.

A President must communicate with the people.And, I would tell you that Desert Storm spoiled the people. Bush Senior's 100-hour war convinced the people that technology has progressed to the point that wars could be fought with no casualties and won in very short periods of time. I remember feeling at the time, that this was a tragedy for the US military. To win wars, you must put boots on the ground. When you put boots on the ground, soldiers are going to die. A President must make the war decision wisely, and insure that the cause is right before using his last political option. However, CONTROLLING IRAN AND DEMOCRATIZING THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE ONLY CHOICE IF WE ARE HELL-BENT ON DEPENDING ON THEM FOR OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS.

Jimmy L. Cash, Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.
Lakeside , Montana 59922


"I'll tell you what war is all about, you've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting." Gen. Curtis LeMay

YOUR VA BENEFITS AND DIVORCE

West Virginia Legislators Introduce Disabled Veterans’ Benefits Protection Bill



State Representatives; Stan Shaver, Scott Varner, Randy Swartzmiller, and Robert D. Beach are all members of the West Virginia Legislature. And all four of these West Virginia politicians are sponsors of House Bill 2546, legislation designed to protect veteran’s disability compensation from any consideration as a third party award in state divorce courts. H.B. 2546 was introduced January 9, 2008 and referred to the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security and Finance.







Shaver Varner Swartzmiller Beach

sshaver@mail.wvnet.edu svarner@mail.wvnet.edu rswartzmiller@hotmail.com rbeach@mail.wvnet.edu





H.R. 2546 reinforces existing federal legislation USC, Title 38, Veteran’s Benefits, §5301(a). This federal statute was written by Congress to protect veteran’s benefits from third party awards under any legal process whatsoever. However, in spite of the strong wording of 5301, many state divorce courts nationwide routinely violate Title 38, by awarding alimony or spousal support based solely on a disabled veteran’s disability compensation. The passage of H.R. 2546 would put an end to this questionable practice in the Great State of West Virginia.



Operation Firing For Effect is requesting all West Virginia residents contact their representatives and urge them to support and pass H.B. 2546. You will find contact information for all West Virginia legislators at this link;

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Contact/capmail.cfm



Or contact the House Clerk; Gregory M. Gray, Room 212M, Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex, (304) 340-3200. Tell Mr. Gray that Operation Firing For Effect asked you to call in support of H.B. 2546.



Operation Firing For Effect commends State Representatives Shaver, Varner, Swartzmiller, and Beach for their actions to improve and protect the disability benefits earned by our men and women in uniform.



In an effort to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding concerning H.B. 2546, below you will find the legislation text in its entirety.



H. B. 2546

(By Delegates Shaver, Varner, Swartzmiller and Beach)

[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the

Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact §48-5-510 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §48-7-101; to amend and reenact §48-8-103; and to amend and reenact §48-8-105, all relating to excluding disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries from any calculation used to determine spousal support.



Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:



That section §48-5-510 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §48-7-101 be amended and reenacted; that §48-8-103 be amended and reenacted; and that §48-8-105 be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:



ARTICLE 5. DIVORCE.



§48-5-510. Consideration of financial factors in ordering temporary relief.


(a) In ordering temporary relief under the provisions of this Part 5, the court shall consider the financial needs of the parties, the present income of each party from any source, their income-earning abilities and the respective legal obligations of each party to support himself or herself and to support any other persons. Provided, That disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries is not income for purposes of this article.


(b) Except in extraordinary cases supported by specific findings set forth in the order granting relief, payments of temporary spousal support and temporary child support are to be made from a party's income and not from the corpus of a party's separate estate, and an award of such relief shall not be disproportionate to a party's ability to pay as disclosed by the evidence before the court: Provided, That child support shall be established in accordance with the child support guidelines set forth in article thirteen of this chapter. Provided, however, That the corpus of the estate of a veteran receiving disability income for service related injuries cannot be used as a means of replacing the value of the disability income.


ARTICLE 7. EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY.



PART 1. MARITAL PROPERTY DISPOSITION.


§48-7-101. Equal division of marital property.


(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, upon every judgment of annulment, divorce or separation, the court shall divide the marital property of the parties equally between the parties.


(b) Nothwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries shall not be considered as property for the purposes of this article.


ARTICLE 8. SPOUSAL SUPPORT.


§48-8-103. Payment of spousal support.


(a) Upon ordering a divorce or granting a decree of separate maintenance, the court may require either party to pay spousal support in the form of periodic installments, or a lump sum, or both, for the maintenance of the other party. Payments of spousal support are to be ordinarily made from a party's income, but when the income is not sufficient to adequately provide for those payments, the court may, upon specific findings set forth in the order, order the party required to make those payments to make them from the corpus of his or her separate estate. An award of spousal support shall not be disproportionate to a party's ability to pay as disclosed by the evidence before the court. Provided, That disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries is not income for purposes of this article. Nor can the corpus of the estate of a veteran receiving disability income for service related injuries cannot be used as a means of replacing the value of the disability income.


(b) At any time after the entry of an order pursuant to the provisions of this article, the court may, upon motion of either party, revise or alter the order concerning the maintenance of the parties, or either of them, and make a new order concerning the same, issuing it forthwith, as the altered circumstances or needs of the parties may render necessary to meet the ends of justice.


§48-8-105. Rehabilitative spousal support.


(a) The court may award rehabilitative spousal support for a limited period of time to allow the recipient spouse, through reasonable efforts, to become gainfully employed. When awarding rehabilitative spousal support, the court shall make specific findings of fact to explain the basis for the award, giving due consideration to the factors set forth in section 8-103 one hundred three of this article: Provided, That disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries shall not be considered as income nor for purposes of this article. Nor can the corpus of the estate of a veteran receiving disability income for service related injuries be used as a means of replacing the value of the disability income. (b) An award of rehabilitative spousal support is appropriate when the dependent spouse evidences a potential for self-support that could be developed through rehabilitation, training or academic study.
(b)(c) The court may modify an award of rehabilitative spousal support if a substantial change in the circumstances under which rehabilitative spousal support was granted warrants terminating, extending or modifying the award or replacing it with an award of permanent spousal support. In determining whether a substantial change of circumstances exists which would warrant a modification of a rehabilitative spousal support award, the court may consider a reassessment of the dependent spouse's potential work skills and the availability of a relevant job market, the dependent spouse's age, health and skills, the dependent spouse's ability or inability to meet the terms of the rehabilitative plan and other relevant factors as provided for in section 8-103 one hundred three of this article.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exclude disability income received by a veteran from the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs for service related injuries from any calculation used to determine spousal support.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.



http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2008_SESSIONS/RS/Bills/hb2546%20intr.htm





To review TITLE 38, U.S. Code, Veterans Benefits, §5301(a) in its entirety, visit;

http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=Title%2038,%205301%20(a)&url=/uscode/html/uscode38/usc_sec_38_00005301----000-.html



If you would like to know more about this subject, visit;

http://jerebeery.com/5301%20Club.htm



Jere Beery

OFFE Public Relations Director

jerebeery@aol.com

COST OF WAR

Care for Injured Vets Raises Questions

By BRADLEY BROOKS

Associated Press Writer

12:33 PM CST, March 6, 2008

BAGHDAD


The number of wounded soldiers has become a hallmark of the nearly 5-year-old Iraq war, pointing to both the use of roadside bombs as the extremists' weapon of choice and advances in battlefield medicine to save lives.

About 15 soldiers are wounded for every fatality, compared with 2.6 per death in Vietnam and 2.8 in Korea.

But with those saved soldiers comes a financial price -- one veterans groups and others claim the government is unwilling to pay.

Those critics also say that the tens of thousands of soldiers wounded in Iraq are part of a political numbers game, one they say undermines the medical system meant to care for them.

The most frequently cited figure is the 29,320 soldiers wounded in action in Iraq as of Thursday. But there have been 31,325 others treated for non-combat injuries and illness as of March 1.

"The Pentagon keeps two sets of books," said Linda Bilmes, a professor at Harvard and an expert on budgeting and public finance whose newly published book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War," was co-authored with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

"It is important to understand the full number of casualties because the U.S. government is responsible for paying disability compensation and medical care for all our troops, regardless of how they were injured," Bilmes said.

Veterans Affairs predicts it will treat 330,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009 -- a 14 percent increase over the 2008 estimate of 263,000 -- at a cost of nearly $1.3 billion.

For the 2009 budget, the White House requested $93.7 billion for the VA, including $41.2 billion for medical care for all veterans -- not just those from Iraq and Afghanistan. That's an increase of $2.3 billion over the current budget.

But critics say that is not enough for a system that has a backlog of about 400,000 pending medical claims and complaints, especially in mental health care.

The VA "will not request enough resources to care for the troops -- and in fact this is precisely what has happened in the past three years," said Bilmes.

Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, rejected accusations that the government is trying to hide or obscure the number of wounded soldiers by placing the total in two categories on its Web pages.

"Both of the Web sites have equal importance. They are just counting different things," Smith said. "Neither is more prominent than the other."

James Peake, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, said that funding for VA medical care requested for next year is "more than twice what it was seven years ago" before operations in Afghanistan started.

But Bilmes says the VA is hoping to offset some of the costs through increased fees and co-payments -- putting more of the burden for health care costs back on soldiers.

"That is the thing that sticks in the gullet, the fact they're hoping to raise $2 or $3 billion through their fees, which is what we spend in Iraq and Afghanistan in about three days," she said. "For three days of fighting, we could not charge these vets a higher co-payment."

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, an advocacy group based in Washington, said the VA's budget request for 2009 also does not pay adequate attention to chronic problems facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, such as drug and alcohol addictions.

Earlier this week, a federal judge in San Francisco held the first hearing in a class-action lawsuit filed by two vet groups, including Sullivan's, against the VA alleging their neglect in treating suicidal soldiers. The lawsuit asks that the VA immediately screen and treat all potentially suicidal veterans.

According to VA research obtained last month by The Associated Press, 144 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide from the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001 through the end of 2005. Statistics from 2006 and 2007 were not yet available.

Dr. Gerald Cross, a VA official, said during this week's lawsuit hearings that 120,000 vets from Iraq and Afghanistan using VA care have potential mental health problems, and that nearly 68,000 have potential post-traumatic stress disorder.

In November, President Bush signed legislation directing the VA to improve its mental health training for staff and do a better job of evaluating and treating veterans.

Peake, in a telephone interview, emphasized new efforts in mental health. He said the VA has "changed the access standard. If you present with a mental health issue, you'll be screened within 24 hours."

Peake said he recognized the need to make changes within the VA -- particularly in the disability claims system which he said dates back to 1945 -- saying that "it is time to review and simplify and modernize our disability system, but that will take work with Congress."

In response to the backlog in pending claims, Peake said, some 3,100 new claims-processing jobs have been opened. He acknowledged, however, that it takes "about two or three years to train somebody to be top notch in terms of being able to develop a claim and adjudicate it."

Not all wounded soldiers leave the battlefield for good.

A roadside bomb that sent shrapnel through Fred White's hands and legs did enough damage to require four operations and six months of physical therapy. White, then an Army specialist who was wounded early in the war while protecting a convoy, is now a chief warrant officer, piloting Black Hawk helicopters.

The wounds that left White missing most of his middle finger on his right hand, nerve damage and broken bones in his left hand and shrapnel that is still lodged in his legs and left wrist were not treated in a VA facility.

Once evacuated from Iraq, he got treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Landsthul, Germany, near the Ramstein air base. He then went to Brooke Army Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio because there was a hand specialist there.

Despite his wounds, White made it through pilot's school and passed a few extra tests to ensure the damage to his hands would not affect his ability to fly a Black Hawk.

White's mother, who made a career of the Army, was disabled in a non-combat accident while serving, and he witnessed her struggles in dealing with the system.

"My biggest thing for the VA is they need to remember what their purpose in service is. These vets, they've already served their country, they've already sacrificed," he said. "There is no reason they should have to fight twice."

" - George Washington
The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

Our Water - What are we really drinking???

AP probe finds drugs in drinking water By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writers
Sun Mar 9, 5:03 PM ET



A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies — which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public — have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

"We recognize it is a growing concern and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Members of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analyzed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.

Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:

_Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.

_Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.

_Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.

_A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.

_The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

_Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz.

The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.

The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.

The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated. Tests were conducted in the watersheds of 35 of the 62 major providers surveyed by the AP, and pharmaceuticals were detected in 28.

Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water — Fairfax, Va.; Montgomery County in Maryland; Omaha, Neb.; Oklahoma City; Santa Clara, Calif., and New York City.

The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.

City water officials declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, they insisted that "New York City's drinking water continues to meet all federal and state regulations regarding drinking water quality in the watershed and the distribution system" — regulations that do not address trace pharmaceuticals.

In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise. For example, water department officials in New Orleans said their water had not been tested for pharmaceuticals, but a Tulane University researcher and his students have published a study that found the pain reliever naproxen, the sex hormone estrone and the anti-cholesterol drug byproduct clofibric acid in treated drinking water.

Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Va.; said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.

The AP also contacted 52 small water providers — one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas — that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals; officials in Emporia, Kan., refused to answer AP's questions, also citing post-9/11 issues.

Rural consumers who draw water from their own wells aren't in the clear either, experts say.

The Stroud Water Research Center, in Avondale, Pa., has measured water samples from New York City's upstate watershed for caffeine, a common contaminant that scientists often look for as a possible signal for the presence of other pharmaceuticals. Though more caffeine was detected at suburban sites, researcher Anthony Aufdenkampe was struck by the relatively high levels even in less populated areas.

He suspects it escapes from failed septic tanks, maybe with other drugs. "Septic systems are essentially small treatment plants that are essentially unmanaged and therefore tend to fail," Aufdenkampe said.

Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.

Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe — even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.

For example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. Japanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.

In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.

Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs — and flushing them unmetabolized or unused — in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.

"People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case," said EPA scientist Christian Daughton, one of the first to draw attention to the issue of pharmaceuticals in water in the United States.

Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.

One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable.

Another issue: There's evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.

Human waste isn't the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals.

Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.

Other veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and even obesity — sometimes with the same drugs as humans. The inflation-adjusted value of veterinary drugs rose by 8 percent, to $5.2 billion, over the past five years, according to an analysis of data from the Animal Health Institute.

Ask the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no. "Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health," said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby — director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. — said: "There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms."

Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.

Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life — such as earth worms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.

Some scientists stress that the research is extremely limited, and there are too many unknowns. They say, though, that the documented health problems in wildlife are disconcerting.

"It brings a question to people's minds that if the fish were affected ... might there be a potential problem for humans?" EPA research biologist Vickie Wilson told the AP. "It could be that the fish are just exquisitely sensitive because of their physiology or something. We haven't gotten far enough along."

With limited research funds, said Shane Snyder, research and development project manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority, a greater emphasis should be put on studying the effects of drugs in water.

"I think it's a shame that so much money is going into monitoring to figure out if these things are out there, and so little is being spent on human health," said Snyder. "They need to just accept that these things are everywhere — every chemical and pharmaceutical could be there. It's time for the EPA to step up to the plate and make a statement about the need to study effects, both human and environmental."

To the degree that the EPA is focused on the issue, it appears to be looking at detection. Grumbles acknowledged that just late last year the agency developed three new methods to "detect and quantify pharmaceuticals" in wastewater. "We realize that we have a limited amount of data on the concentrations," he said. "We're going to be able to learn a lot more."

While Grumbles said the EPA had analyzed 287 pharmaceuticals for possible inclusion on a draft list of candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, he said only one, nitroglycerin, was on the list. Nitroglycerin can be used as a drug for heart problems, but the key reason it's being considered is its widespread use in making explosives.

So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. Confidence about human safety is based largely on studies that poison lab animals with much higher amounts.

There's growing concern in the scientific community, meanwhile, that certain drugs — or combinations of drugs — may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.

Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.

Many concerns about chronic low-level exposure focus on certain drug classes: chemotherapy that can act as a powerful poison; hormones that can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy that can damage the brain or change behavior; antibiotics that can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms; pain relievers and blood-pressure diuretics.

For several decades, federal environmental officials and nonprofit watchdog environmental groups have focused on regulated contaminants — pesticides, lead, PCBs — which are present in higher concentrations and clearly pose a health risk.

However, some experts say medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body.

"These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That's what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out to the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects," says zoologist John Sumpter at Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine and other drugs.

And while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses. That's why — aside from therapeutic doses of fluoride injected into potable water supplies — pharmaceuticals are prescribed to people who need them, not delivered to everyone in their drinking water.

"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.

____

We As Veterans Need To Act Today To Stop This Action

OPPOSE S2674/HR5509 Which Discriminate Against Disabled Veterans Oppose S2674/HR5509 Which Discriminate Against Disabled Veterans Take Action!



Please send the following message to your elected officials and candidates for office --

As a disabled veteran and your voting constituent, I am most concerned with the provisions of Senator Burr's America's Wounded Warrior Act (S 2674) and Representative Buyer's Nobel Warrior Act (HR 5509), which would drastically change the disability compensation system for America's veterans. These bills are loosely based on the recommendations of the President's Commission on Care for America's Wounded Warriors (Dole/Shalala Commission), but the specifics of these bills would do great harm to these veterans in the following ways:

* Offset VA Disability Compensation by Social Security when the veteran ages 65.

* Apply to all currently discharging veterans AND any veteran under VA's current compensation system who files a subsequent claim for additional benefits.

* Once under the new system the veteran cannot return to the current system.

* Protection for ratings in effect for 10 or more years would no longer apply.

* Would require the VA Secretary to examine or consider:
(a) "the extent to which disability compensation may be used as an incentive to undergo treatment"
(b) "the appropriate injuries to be covered under the new disability rating system"
(c) "age" as a determining factor when considering average loss of earnings capacity

* Amends the law to provide the Secretary with authority to adopt and apply a rating schedule for "specific injuries." This provision would expressly limit VA authority over the Rating Schedule and places the authority in the hands of Congress. If the Congress can not correct the Sustained Growth Rate formula of Medicare Law how can we expect the Congress to do any better with the much more complex Disability Rating Schedule?

* Provides for a quality of life payment, but only for those enrolled in the "new" compensation system.

* Allows or suggests: That VA "may take into account the effect on potential future earnings caused by the age of the veteran at the time a disability rating is assigned." This provision would allow VA to compensate an older veteran at a lower percentage of disability than a younger veteran for the exact same disease or injury. Is this not age discrimination?

* Provides that
(a) "as frequently as [the VA] considers it appropriate, [the VA] must reevaluate and ... adjust the disability rating for any veteran receiving compensation;"
(b) the VA "must ... take into account any adjustments in the rating schedule that occurred since the last assignment of a rating;"
(c) The frequency of reevaluations would be determined by an examining physician. This places physicians back in the rating business, allows for frequent "adjustments" to a veteran's rating based on perceived improvement, and further allows reductions based on a change in the rating criteria even when no improvement in the disability is shown.

For these reasons, among others, I strongly urge you to oppose S2674/HR5509 and any other legislation which is detrimental to and/or discriminatory against this nation's veterans.


This action could drastically harm our benefits as we know them today!!!

MOTHERS OF DEATH

Worshippers of Death
By ALAN M. DERSHOWITZ
The Wall Street Journal

March 3, 2008; Page A17

Zahra Maladan is an educated woman who edits a women's magazine in Lebanon. She is also a mother, who undoubtedly loves her son. She has ambitions for him, but they are different from those of most mothers in the West. She wants her son to become a suicide bomber.

At the recent funeral for the assassinated Hezbollah terrorist Imad Moughnaya -- the mass murderer responsible for killing 241 marines in 1983 and more than 100 women, children and men in Buenos Aires in 1992 and 1994 -- Ms. Maladan was quoted in the New York Times giving the following warning to her son: "if you're not going to follow the steps of the Islamic resistance martyrs, then I don't want you."

Zahra Maladan represents a dramatic shift in the way we must fight to protect our citizens against enemies who are sworn to kill them by killing themselves. The traditional paradigm was that mothers who love their children want them to live in peace, marry and produce grandchildren. Women in general, and mothers in particular, were seen as a counterweight to male belligerence. The picture of the mother weeping as her son is led off to battle -- even a just battle -- has been a constant and powerful image.

Now there is a new image of mothers urging their children to die, and then celebrating the martyrdom of their suicidal sons and daughters by distributing sweets and singing wedding songs. More and more young women -- some married with infant children -- are strapping bombs to their (sometimes pregnant) bellies, because they have been taught to love death rather than life. Look at what is being preached by some influential Islamic leaders:

"We are going to win, because they love life and we love death," said Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. He has also said: "[E]ach of us lives his days and nights hoping more than anything to be killed for the sake of Allah." Shortly after 9/11, Osama bin Laden told a reporter: "We love death. The U.S. loves life. That is the big difference between us."

"The Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death," explained Afghani al Qaeda operative Maulana Inyadullah. Sheik Feiz Mohammed, leader of the Global Islamic Youth Center in Sydney, Australia, preached: "We want to have children and offer them as soldiers defending Islam. Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech: "It is the zenith of honor for a man, a young person, boy or girl, to be prepared to sacrifice his life in order to serve the interests of his nation and his religion."

How should Western democracies fight against an enemy whose leaders preach a preference for death?

The two basic premises of conventional warfare have long been that soldiers and civilians prefer living to dying and can thus be deterred from killing by the fear of being killed; and that combatants (soldiers) can easily be distinguished from noncombatants (women, children, the elderly, the infirm and other ordinary citizens). These premises are being challenged by women like Zahra Maladan. Neither she nor her son -- if he listens to his mother -- can be deterred from killing by the fear of being killed. They must be prevented from succeeding in their ghoulish quest for martyrdom. Prevention, however, carries a high risk of error. The woman walking toward the group of soldiers or civilians might well be an innocent civilian. A moment's hesitation may cost innocent lives. But a failure to hesitate may also have a price.

Late last month, a young female bomber was shot as she approached some shops in central Baghdad. The Iraqi soldier who drew his gun hesitated as the bomber, hands raised, insisted that she wasn't armed. The soldier and a shop owner finally opened fire as she dashed for the stores; she was knocked to the ground but still managed to detonate the bomb, killing three and wounding eight. Had the soldier and other bystanders not called out a warning to others -- and had they not shot her before she could enter the shops -- the death toll certainly would have been higher. Had he not hesitated, it might have been lower.

As more women and children are recruited by their mothers and their religious leaders to become suicide bombers, more women and children will be shot at -- some mistakenly. That too is part of the grand plan of our enemies. They want us to kill their civilians, who they also consider martyrs, because when we accidentally kill a civilian, they win in the court of public opinion. One Western diplomat called this the "harsh arithmetic of pain," whereby civilian casualties on both sides "play in their favor." Democracies lose, both politically and emotionally, when they kill civilians, even inadvertently. As Golda Meir once put it: "We can perhaps someday forgive you for killing our children, but we cannot forgive you for making us kill your children."

Civilian casualties also increase when terrorists operate from within civilian enclaves and hide behind human shields. This relatively new phenomenon undercuts the second basic premise of conventional warfare: Combatants can easily be distinguished from noncombatants. Has Zahra Maladan become a combatant by urging her son to blow himself up? Have the religious leaders who preach a culture of death lost their status as noncombatants? What about "civilians" who willingly allow themselves to be used as human shields? Or their homes as launching pads for terrorist rockets?

The traditional sharp distinction between soldiers in uniform and civilians in nonmilitary garb has given way to a continuum. At the more civilian end are babies and true noncombatants; at the more military end are the religious leaders who incite mass murder; in the middle are ordinary citizens who facilitate, finance or encourage terrorism. There are no hard and fast lines of demarcation, and mistakes are inevitable -- as the terrorists well understand.

We need new rules, strategies and tactics to deal effectively and fairly with these dangerous new realities. We cannot simply wait until the son of Zahra Maladan -- and the sons and daughters of hundreds of others like her -- decide to follow his mother's demand. We must stop them before they export their sick and dangerous culture of death to our shores.

Mr. Dershowitz teaches law at Harvard University and is the author of "Finding Jefferson" (Wiley, 2007).

Who Looks Foolish, Alamo Heroes or Us?
By Chuck Baldwin
March 4, 2008


This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20080304.html

During this week back in 1836, the Alamo fell. For more than 13 days,
186 brave and determined patriots withstood Santa Anna's seasoned
army of over 4,000 troops. To a man, the defenders of that mission fort
knew they would never leave those ramparts alive. They had several
opportunities to leave and live. Yet, they chose to fight and die.
How foolish they must look to this generation of spoiled Americans.

It is difficult to recall that stouthearted men such as Davy Crockett
(a nationally known frontiersman and former Congressman), Will Travis
(only 23 years old with a little baby at home), and Jim Bowie (a
wealthy landowner with properties on both sides of the Rio Grande)
really existed. These were real men with real dreams and real
desires.

Real blood flowed through their veins. They loved their families and
enjoyed life as much as any of us. There was something different
about them, however. They possessed a commitment to liberty that
transcended personal safety and comfort.

Liberty is an easy word to say, but it is a hard word to live up to.
Freedom has little to do with financial gain or personal pleasure.
Accompanying Freedom is her constant and unattractive companion,
Responsibility. Neither is she an only child. Patriotism and Morality
are her sisters. They are inseparable; destroy one and all will die.

Early in the siege, Travis wrote these words to the people of Texas:
"Fellow Citizens & Compatriots: I am besieged by a thousand or more
of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. . . . The enemy has demanded a
surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the
sword . . . I have answered the demand with a cannon shot & our flag
still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or
retreat. . . . VICTORY OR DEATH! P.S. The Lord is on our side. . . ."

As you read those words, remember that Travis and the others did not
have the A.C.L.U., P.E.T.A., People for the un-American Way, and the
National Education Association telling them how intolerant and
narrow-minded their notions of honor and patriotism were. A hostile
media did not constantly castigate them as a bunch of wild-eyed
extremists. As school children, they were not taught that their
forefathers were nothing more than racist jerks.

The brave men at the Alamo labored under the belief that America (and
Texas) really was "the land of the free and the home of the brave."
They believed God was on their side and that the freedom of future
generations depended on their courage and resolve. They further
believed their posterity would remember their sacrifice as an act of
love and devotion. It all looks pale now.

By today's standards, the gallant men of the Alamo appear rather
foolish. After all, they had no chance of winning--none. However, the
call for pragmatism and practicality was never sounded. Instead, they
answered the clarion call, "Victory or death!"

Please try to remember the heroes of the Alamo as you watch our
gutless political and religious leaders surrender to compromise and
political correctness. Try to recall the time in this country when
ordinary men and women had the courage of their convictions and were
willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom and independence.

One thing is certain: those courageous champions at the Alamo did not
die for a political party or for some "lesser of two evils" mantra.
They fought and died for a principle, and that principle was liberty
and independence. So did the men at Lexington and Concord. That is
our heritage.

Today, however, our national leaders are in the process of turning
America over to the very forces that the Alamo defenders gave their
lives resisting. On second thought, do they look foolish, or do we?

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(c) Chuck Baldwin

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