Radio Listening for Active Duty and Vets

On Saturdays, I'm listening now and have listened in for awhile.

The show runs for an hour and is hosted by three of members of the VFP Chapter out of Phoenix AZ on 1480 KPHX, the Phoenix Progressive radio station, that can be streamed via the net, if not near the Phoenix area.

They have been running this program for awhile and carry some Great Interesting Topics with some Great Special Guests and Call-In's.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that the Phoenix area doesn't do day light savings, so when the clock changes the times for the show switch, like from 5pm to now 6pm.

The show starts at 3pm, on Saturdays, Phoenix time, right now is 6pm ET, before the 'spring ahead' the show was on at 5pm ET.

It's called About Face and the hosts are Vietnam Vets. They'll referance Vietnam but the show discusses the more recent history of this Country and it's Military.

Here's the information from the 1480 KPHX 'About Face' page

Host : Dennis Stout, Mark Fleming and John Henry
Call In : 602-258-8800 or 800-989-1480
Web Site : Veterans For Peace Phoenix Chapter 75, 15825 S 28th Place, Phoenix
E-Mail : ekjh7470@cox.net

“About Face” is a program brought to you by the Phoenix Chapter of Veterans For Peace. Veterans For Peace is a national organization that draws on the personal experiences of veterans to raise awareness of the true costs and consequences of militarism and war and to seek peaceful, effective alternatives. There are over 135 {Now well over 150} active chapters across this country and is spreading. They have helped Cindy Sheehan in her work to bring awareness of the human cost of war. They were one of the first groups to arrive in New Orleans and begin working to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina and they established and set up “Arlington West” sites in beach areas across California and other locations in the United States to bring awareness of the cost of war.

Here are some of the subjects of past shows:

*HOMELESS VETERANS
*PUNISHING DISABLED VETERANS
*PTSD: THE REALITY VS THE RHETORIC
*DEPLETED URANIUM: DIRTY BOMBS, DIRTY MISSILES, DIRTY BULLETS
*COUNTER RECRUITING BASICS
*WOMEN IN THE MILITARY
*MILITARY FAMILIES
*ETHICS OF WAR
*MILITARY WAR CRIMES

For those not familiar with Veterans For Peace, the Statement Of Purpose

Veterans For Peace, Inc. (VFP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others
(a) Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war.
(b) To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
(c) To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
(d) To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
(e) To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.
We urge all people who share this vision to join us.
Our membership is comprised of veterans from all wars spanning from The Spanish Civil War to the Gulf War, and the Iraq War. These members are distributed amongst 135 nationwide chapters, and dozens of international affiliations.
Our international activities include working with our affiliations in El Salvador, Russia, Canada, Japan, Guatemala, Viet Nam, the Netherlands, Chiapas (Mexico), France, England, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vieques (Puerto Rico), and numerous others. A member of the Nobel-Peace Prize winning Coalition to Ban the Sale and Use of Landmines, VFP has been undertaking arduous tasks since its inception. From bringing medical aid to Central American nations, to evacuating wounded children from war-torn Bosnian hospitals and securing medical treatment elsewhere around the globe, or just sitting down with American high school kids so that they may make choices for themselves based on reality, and not myth. We remain firmly committed to the abolition of war.
We know the consequences of American foreign policy because once, at a time in our lives, so many of us carried it out. We find it sad that war seems so delightful, so often, to those that have no knowledge of it. We will proudly, and patriotically, continue to denounce war despite whatever misguided sense of euphoria supports it 1985 - 2005 Twenty Years of Waging Peace.

Two weeks ago and last weeks show on 'About Face':

Last week we had a surprise visit by Ray McGovern on the show. He made a case for impeachment of Bush and Cheney. I think that horse has left the gate and we should be pressing for an investigation for War Crimes and pushing for a trial. We discussed the paper, “Why I don’t Support the Troops” and how that may be the thought of the mainstream young guy of today because of the volunteer military. We discussed with Doug Zackary about the Veterans For Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War efforts to get the active military to rebel. Project Engagement is a very great effort and needs to get everyone involved. We need to get involved in any effort to stop this occupation.
This week we will be talking with Dr. Dahlia Wasfi about “How do we get out of Iraq?” and is it on the horizon. I feel that I will be sitting at this station in March 2009 talking about the sixth anniversary of the Iraq war (If we have not been cancelled). How many more we have killed, murdered, maimed, raped, and how much more we have destroyed in that country. Will the people ever forgive and forget what we have done? Do we really want to get out of Iraq? After all, we are building the largest and most expensive embassy in the world in Iraq. We are building permanent military bases in Iraq. I think the people of the United States are afraid of leaving Iraq! I think in the sub-conscious of the people of the U.S., they want us to stay because they want a war to support their way of life. I think the people of the United States are a very selfish lot and do not really care about the people of Iraq. Why should we care as long as we can go to our plays, restaurants, schools, sports events and churches. We worry more about our failing health care than we do about the health care system we destroyed in Iraq. We care more about an over paid idiot catching a ball than we do about the suffering of the children in Iraq because of our bombs and jack booted volunteer troops. The same people, our congressmen and women, the presidential candidates, all of them know what is happening in Iraq but do not have the balls to hold those responsible accountable for their actions. They want a meaningless impeachment. I want an investigation and a trial with conviction!!! If you say you care then get involved! Write letters, make phone calls, write letters to editors, get out on the streets. Get Involved!!!! Less than 10 percent of those who say they want the war to end take any action! So, do you really care???
Listen to “About Face” with your host, Dennis Stout, Mark Fleming and John Henry at 1480AM KPHX or on the Internet at 1480 KPHX at 3PM Phoenix time (same as Pacific Time) this Saturday.

Todays, 4-26-08, show discussed some about those who resisted serving in the occupation and counter recruiting.

Next weeks show, 5-03-08, will be a discussion on War Crimes, which should be another interesting show, listen in to see what I mean, all three are very good with discussing their topics with common sense and intelligence from their experiances.

Another radio show, by another VFP Chapter, Veterans for Peace - Chapter 099 Asheville, North Carolina just recently started up at an independant station The Progressive Voice of the Mountains WPVM out of Asheville.

It's called 'Veterans Voices' and airs for only a half hour from 5pm to 5:30pm EST on Wednesdays.

I've only been able to catch them a few times, but each had an interesting discussion with guests. Their in the startup mode and growing and can also be streamed by visiting the WPVM Website. If you're free catch their show as well.

This RepugNut Has Got To Be Kidding!

A group of Marines ogling a pinup girl outside their bunkers in Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, in January 1968

Targetting Congressional Pages or Toe Tapping in public bathroom stalls is just fine and dandy, as well as giving male prostitutes seemingly unlimitted access to the White House Press Room and only rove knows where else, and the other numorous sex related adventures of mostly republican congressmen, bet the women have a few little secrets themselves.

But shockingly, once again, after being the Lead Cheerleaders, along with their equally sex confused talking heads, o'really are you listening, you to fatboy cyst, to the extremely failed policy of Wars/Occupations Of Choice we get this:

Stars, Bars and Skin
A congressman cracks down on soft porn at the PX.

Wonder what's hidden in his closet, and/or how many names did he use in describing All Of Us who Opposed their Need to Occupy another small country, destroying it and it's people, creating more Hatreds and Damaging our National Security for the years to come!

Republican Congressman Paul Broun, the representative from Georgia's 10th District, wants to stop the sale of Playboy and Penthouse at military bases around the world, invoking an argument that at the very least is scientifically questionable: that consuming even soft pornography makes men more prone to committing sex crimes.

This while they are lowering the standards for recruitment to supply the Military Industrial Complex the warm bodies needed in order to maintain their Occupations of Innocents, to kill and be killed, so they can claim their Strenght on National Security and how Mocho, with Family Values, they are!

According to data released Monday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps recruited significantly more ex-convicts last year than in 2006. The crimes included assault, sex crimes, manslaughter, and burglary.

I'm still wondering where are all those Supporters, Young RepugNuts, and Why? they haven't been rushing to their recruitment centers to sign on the line and take The Oath of Service to Country, I mean they've had plenty of time, we're into the sixth year in Iraq and Afganistan, with those who are serving, many because there no longer are comfortable paying jobs with any type of future, serving two, three, four, and now some five tours In Theaters!

You would think this congress critter would be more concern with this:

YouTube video raises concerns about Bragg barracks

Barracks for Charlie CO 2/508 82n Airborne

Or this:

Lawsuit: Veterans Affairs Has Failed To Prevent Suicides
Lawsuit Accuses Dept. Of Veterans Affairs Of Failing To Prevent An 'epidemic Of Suicide'

And how about their leading Candidate for leadership of Country and Party:

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS STRONGLY REJECT MCCAIN'S
WATERED-DOWN EDUCATION BILL
"Stop undermining America's heroes," say war veterans

Or the Many Other Overwelming reports, finally servicing, this year especially, of what these RepugNuts should have placed Front and Center as they Beat The Drums Of War/Occupation Louder and Louder, and Keep On Beating, placing themselves, along with their spin meisters, Above All in this Society a Society they're Hired to Represent!

I mean with all these Family Values that bring on a his False sense of Morality of Soft Porn that may Corrupt these Young Minds of our Military Personal, like these war mongers and profitteers could care, especially in Theaters of Their Wars/Occupations!

Bragg Barracks Living Conditions

Another rising case of the Mis-Treatment of the Military Troops returning from the Theaters of Afganistan and Iraq.

The following was printed in the Fayetteville Observer, in Fayetteville North Carolina, home to Ft Bragg Army Base.

YouTube video raises concerns about Bragg barracks

The video was produced by a Father of a returning Afgan Soldier, and he isn't Happy. Don't blame him At All, how about You!

The video was made by Edward Frawley, the father of a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division who returned from Afghanistan on April 13 and is among the soldiers now living in the barracks.

Barracks for Charlie CO 2/508 82n Airborne

Added: April 22, 2008
This video shows the condemned terrible conditions that soldier must live in after a 15 month tour in Afghanistan

MoFo Fights for Wounded Vets

MoFo Fights for Wounded Vets in Landmark Benefits Case

Morrison & Foerster senior counsel Gordon Erspamer represents the two organizations that are plaintiffs in the case: Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth. Erspamer, who is cochair of MoFo's energy group, also has 30 years of experience handling pro bono litigation on behalf of veterans. He says this case is the first of its kind against the DVA.

Military Families Speak Out Tells Congress:

Stop Putting Politics Ahead of the Lives of Our Troops! PDF

Funding the War is Killing Our Troops
Support Our Troops
Fund a Safe and Orderly Withdrawal from Iraq and Care for Them as They Return

CALL TO ACTION!
SENATOR CLINTON AND SENATOR OBAMA:
USE YOUR LEADERSHIP NOW TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ!

VA's Katz Should Leave Now, and Anyone Else Involved In Shirking Duty!!

I don't need to add anything to the below, one: I'm not there, two: what's below says it all, three: this Country put it's Military Through All This Before to my Brother 'Nam Vets and followed up with Every Deployment Since!

How many know what's happening with the Gulf War I Vets!

Murray: VA's Katz Should Leave
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., says she wants "honesty, openness, and directness" from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and says Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's top official for mental health, should step aside.

Harkin: 'Cover-Up' At VA
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, responds to emails exposed by CBS News that show the Dept. of Veterans Affairs withheld information about suicide risk among veterans. "Some heads oughta roll," says Harkin.

A little backround as the Trial started on monday.

Lawsuit: Veterans Affairs Has Failed To Prevent Suicides
Lawsuit Accuses Dept. Of Veterans Affairs Of Failing To Prevent An 'epidemic Of Suicide'

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs isn't doing enough to prevent suicide and provide adequate medical care for Americans who have served in the armed forces, a class-action lawsuit that goes to trial this week charges.

The lawsuit, filed in July by two nonprofit groups representing military veterans, accuses the agency of inadequately addressing a "rising tide" of mental health problems, especially post-traumatic stress disorder.

"CBS News RAW": Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., questions Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield about allegations that the VA tried to cover up the true risk of suicide among veterans.

After a Senate hearing, CBS News' Armen Keteyian asks Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield if Dr. Ira Katz, the department's top mental health official, will remain at the VA.

CountDown - KO

VA official accused of covering up suicide rates
Dems call for mental health chief to quit after e-mails contradict reports

Class-action suit against Veterans Affairs opens

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may paint a rosy picture of improving healthcare for veterans, but the agency has systematically denied benefits to sick veterans and delayed claims so long that many of them commit suicide, a lawyer for two advocacy groups argued in federal court Monday.

"The court faces an agency that is in denial and a healthcare system and an adjudication system that are broken down and in crisis," said Gordon P. Erspamer, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, in an opening statement in the class-action suit against the VA.

Attorney leading suit a veteran in battling VA

Gordon Erspamer, the attorney who brought the lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that went to trial this week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, is a big, unresponsive government agency's worst nightmare.

He's a rainmaker attorney for a major firm in the city who has set aside time to take legal action that doesn't earn a penny. And besides that, he's got a compelling and personal back story and a chip on his shoulder to prove it.

Minn. veterans tell House Speaker Pelosi that too many vets fall through cracks in the system
Congressman Tm Walz and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi listened to questions and concerns brought up during a round-table discussion with Minnesota veterans at the Minneapolis Veterans' Hospital.

MINNEAPOLIS - Too many Iraq War veterans are slipping through the cracks and aren't getting the benefits they've earned, veterans told U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday.

Care and clarity at the VA

War affects different people in different ways. We know more about that because of advances in various sciences, technology and computing power. There's still a lot left to learn. But this is certain: The price of war isn't limited to the cost of bullets.

That's why it's so important to have a strong, efficient, accountable federal agency to disburse care to those among us whom our nation sent off to fight. For the first time in its modern incarnation, the Department of Veterans Affairs is led by a general who is also a doctor, James B. Peake.

Let a few of the Families speak as well:

Veterans Families Speak Out
"Only On The Web": Chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian speaks to the families of five soldiers who, allegedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, took their own lives.

What's happening is just 'The Tip Of The Iceburg', as they say!

You had better prepare yourselves Country, you Wanted It, and You Allow It To Continue, the Human Costs have already started mounting!

And keep in mind the little Country We Destroyed and the Deaths and Maimings 'In Your Name'!!!

"Elder Statesman Stiffs Soldiers"

God that's a great title, with an election comin!

But alas not from my simple mind but from Joe Conason over at The New York Observer
posted up on the 15th.

He starts it out with this:

It is hard to blame John McCain for mocking Barack Obama as an “elitist” following that silly remark about bitter folks who cling to guns and religion. Rarely does the Arizona senator—one of the wealthiest members of Washington’s most exclusive club—encounter such a tempting chance to masquerade as a populist.

Now you might be scratching your heads, than again maybe not, just have another stiff gulp and think "ya that makes sense", "stiffs Soldiers" to "elitist Obama", but it gets better.

Just past the middle he lays out, rather quickly, the History that Really Built This Country, {and in rather quick fashion we're destroying-my words/thoughts not his}:

When those soldiers came home to build the nation that dominated the American century, they achieved unprecedented prosperity and security thanks not only to their own work and faith, but to liberal policy that guaranteed their education, their health care and their access to credit. The original G.I. Bill of 1944 ranks among the greatest legislative works in American history, with beneficial effects on the U.S. economy that repaid its cost many times over. (Incidentally, the benefits of the original bill included low-interest mortgages with no down payment—not so different from the “subprime” loans that working-class homeowners are now criticized for signing.)

And it leads to the close:

But he has no time for today’s soldiers. If that isn’t the worst kind of elitism, what is?

It a real good quick read, and gives the Mr McCain the just desert he deserves!

I would add, I don't remember McCain, nor any other republican house or senate critter, when they controlled the whole shabang, mentioning Increasing The VA Budget, Especially the VA Health Care, as they were beating the Drums Towards Occupation, do you!

Crisis in Veterans' Healthcare

DeJa-Vu Vietnam Era All Over Again!!

For an Arrogant, Apathedic, Wealthy country, that loves it's Conflicts and Occupations, we truely show our colors with our short term memories.

This all went on before, We Didn't Learn.

Now this time we have the cute little phrase, with magnetic car ribbons {though they must weight abit too much, don't see them anymore especially on the gas guzzling SUV's, save gas you know, get rid of excess weight.}, "Support The Troops", but like all the past times the reality of the feel good phrases quickly disappears when they return, "Forget The Veterans!"!

So the 'Troops', fresh from the battles and occupations we send them to, this time after Multiple Tours some now of their fifth, have to face the reality of the new battles, with little help, against the country that sent them but Refuses to Pony Up The Monies Needed to Care for them, funny how they Ignore the Costs of waging the Occupations and Destruction of Others, and the War Profitteers who reap from those monies!

Class-action suit against Veterans Affairs opens
E-mails noting high rate of veteran suicide are shown, but agency says it is doing its best to provide healthcare.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may paint a rosy picture of improving healthcare for veterans, but the agency has systematically denied benefits to sick veterans and delayed claims so long that many of them commit suicide, a lawyer for two advocacy groups argued in federal court Monday.

VA stalling on care, judge told at S.F. trial

More than 120 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq commit suicide every week while the government stalls in granting returning troops the mental health treatment and benefits to which they are entitled, veterans advocates told a federal judge Monday in San Francisco.

This afternoon, for those able to tune in online:

On Tuesday, April 22nd, KPFA/ Pacifica Radio will broadcast a three-hour live national special delving into the crisis in the VA health care system. The special broadcast will include live updates from the San Francisco Federal Courthouse, interviews with veterans’ attorney Gordon Erspamer, advocates from Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans for America, as well as interviews with veterans and their families, including Joyce and Kevin Lucey who are suing the VA claiming their son Jeffrey committed suicide after being turned away from the VA.


KPFA host and former Army medic Aimee Allison and award-winning journalist Aaron Glantz will anchor the broadcast and take calls from listeners. Listeners can also participate in a blog on KPFA’s interactive warcomeshome.org website, which highlights the human costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations for those in the United States. The special airs on KPFA from 10am PDT (1pm EDT) to 1pm PDT (4pm EDT) on 94.1 FM in Northern California and online at kpfa.org and warcomeshome.org, as well as on Pacifica stations and affiliates around the country.

( Click here to visit KPFA to listen live }

The broadcast comes on the heels of KPFA/ Pacifica’s broadcast of the Winter Soldier hearings last month in Silver Springs, Maryland, where scores of US veterans spoke out about war crimes perpetrated by the US government in Iraq and Afghanistan, including crimes they had witnessed or participated in.

Watch

Veterans Families Speak Out
"Only On The Web": Chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian speaks to the families of five soldiers who, allegedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, took their own lives.

Afghanistan

Ambush In Afghanistan
U.S. Army Special Forces say they were shocked by military tactics used by Taliban fighters who ambushed them near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in their first account of the unreported battle. Lara Logan



Green Berets Recount Deadly Taliban Ambush
Special Forces Troops Tell 60 Minutes Taliban Fighters Better Organized Than They Expected

With all the focus on the war in Iraq, we don't hear much about the war in Afghanistan any more, even though the U.S. is fighting the Taliban nearly seven years after they seemed to be defeated.

After 9/11 and the invasion of Afganistan, to rout out al Qaeda and bin Laden along with the Taliban, we literally walked away.

Not only in troop strenght, to keep order and help rebuild a society that had experianced years of Warfare with the Soviets, which brought the Taliban to power.

We walked away before, after the Soviets finally gave up there extreme Debacle, walked away from the promises made to the Afgan people, the whole western world just forgot and went their merry way. This brought about the rise of bin Laden and al Qaeda and the growth of extreme Criminal Terrorism, Emboldening them to take on the Western powers who's long established failed policies left many in the region with Hatreds of the policies that were set to control them and certainly not aimed towards freedom, their freedom.

Than Iraq

Now they are Emboldened once again and the Hatreds have not diminished but grown, across the region!

Leaving and invading Iraq, a Country and People that did nothing to deserve the invasion, destruction, deaths and maimings, and Occupation by foreign militaries have Created so much more Hatreds amoung so many more people, those that do survive, especially the next generations of the children, that the Whole Region will be Unstable and a Breeding Ground for those who will bring on more World Wide Criminal Terrorism, Terrorism that our children will have to live with and forced bring their own terror to others as each side retaliates for each incident waged!

This is the legacy and world we are leaving behind, unless the people themselves can rise above the so called leadership and arrogance, and use of War as a wealth generating endevor, and find the way forward without the death, destruction, and all that is associated with the Conflicts man wages against eack other!

" What does it matter to the dead, the orphan, and the homeless whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"
- Mohandas K. Gandhi

" Wars, conflict, it's all business. One murder makes a villain.
Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify.
-Charlie Chaplin

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is," - George W. Bush, Texas Gov., 1999

Eric Hall-Combat PTSD

How one Marine's death is prompting a closer look at PTSD
Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA
The constant state of alertness began to wear on the young Marine. Becky Hall noticed small differences when he returned in September. Eric would sleep ...

Marine recounts war within
Charlotte Sun-Herald - Charlotte Harbor,FL,USA
Shaughnessy turned to the other Marine and instructed him to provide covering fire. Shaughnessy never met Eric Hall, but he knew what the troubled Marine ...

I did a series on Eric as soon as I caught the report he was missing, when visiting a site where my older sister, and her family, lives. Right till his burial after they found his body in a drainage pipe when he ran off having a 'flashback'of his Iraq Tour!

Time To Sacrifice, Over 5yrs. To Long Without!!

The first part of this post is especially directed towards those, the greater majority of this country, who do not have any Direct Connection to the Ongoing Occupation Theaters of Iraq and Afganistan, certainly not the Connection of those Serving, Mutiple Tours, and their Families and Close Friends !

The second part will be a Shoutout, and partial repost, with updated information, to All !

I received an e-mail from a local activist, and friend, and his group, with a great idea to not only Help the Returning Veterans, Help many aren't getting from the Government, You, but to Finally do some Personal Sacrificing!

They are working with Nadia McCaffery, a 'Gold Star Mother', who's son, Patrick McCaffery, who was Killed in the Iraq Occupation, leaving behind not only his Mother and extended family but a Wife and Child.

You know that Tax Rebate Check, some or all of you filing your taxes this year, are getting back! Well instead of going 'Shopping', as the 'decider' would like you to do, Donate All Of It, or at least part, a big part, to a Worthy Cause or Charity that are going to Help Those Returning from the Failed Policies most of you Readily Supported in the beginning, but slowly, way to slowly, have come to realize the Huge Damage we have done, not only to the Countries Invaded but to this Country as well. And the legacy we Responsible Adults are leaving to our Children, some of which is already rearing it's ugly head !

The ones who need your help, Right Now, are the many who are returning and suffering from the wounds of War, physically and mentally, the deep mental scars some of the returning will live with the rest of their lives. All who serve in War Theaters are changed, mentally, from what they once were, some experiance that change much more than the others, none escape !

The idea of the local group, but anyone anywhere can Sacrifice, is to Donate All or at least Some, of that Rebate Check to Nadia, his Wife and Child, to realize a Dream they have to Honor the Son and Husband/Father they lost and to Help his Brothers and Sisters who are returning after serving Mutiple Tours. That Dream is Veterans Village.org a place, actually a number of facilities in differant parts of the country, that returning Veterans can go to in seeking help for the Trauma of War and PTSD.

I wrote about Veterans Village.org in a number of posts before, parts of which are below:

First 'Veterans Village' Set to Open in California in November

A World War II veteran, who wants to remain anonymous, made the donation late last month after hearing McCaffrey speak in Petaluma two months ago about her vision for the Veterans' Village program
SNIP:
Please Read The Rest Here

About The Veterans Village
Veterans Village.org

Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle, illuminating the way for the whole nation. If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding, and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war. And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other, so we never have to use violence to resolve conflicts again".
Thich Nhat Hanh

Sergeant Patrick Ryan McCaffrey
Foundation for War Veterans


Please visit the Veterans Village.org for further information.
Mission
The mission of Patrick McCaffrey’s Foundation is to promote mental and holistic wellness and palliative care among veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), by providing a live-in retreat village, wherein with the help of trained professional staff and volunteers, veterans will find inner healing and an eventual re-entry into society. The Patrick McCaffrey Foundation, named after Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey, the first California National Guard, since WWII, (from the 579th Engineer Battalion from Petaluma), to lose his life in Iraq on June 22, 2004, is committed to bringing healing and hospice, as well as career counseling and training, to veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its founding member and President, Nadia McCaffrey, mother of Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey, wants to carry on the work her son would have pursued had his life not been curtailed so prematurely. Patrick, who did not expect to be deployed to Iraq, decided to honor the commitment he made to help people by going to Iraq as a leader and Combat Life Saver, bringing healing and love to his fellow soldiers and the Iraqi children.

Visit the Veterans Village Site for further information.

And this recent report:

GUERNEVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- Merry Lane, a cul-de-sac shaded by redwoods in Sonoma County wine country, would seem a pleasant place to recover from the psychic wounds of war. Nadia McCaffrey's dream is to set up a group home there for veterans plagued by post-traumatic stress disorder.

Group Housing for Vets Raises Concerns

I posted about Nadia McCaffrey's, her sons wife and childs, dream of a Memorial to Honor her sons Service and Sacrifice, 'Veterans Village', Here. Part of that post:

Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle, illuminating the way for the whole nation. If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding, and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war. And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other, so we never have to use violence to resolve conflicts again".
Thich Nhat Hanh

Sergeant Patrick Ryan McCaffrey
Foundation for War Veterans

Visit the Veterans Village Site for further information.

Before the deployment to Iraq: Patrick McCaffrey with wife and daughter

PLEASE JOIN US IN MAKING The Patrick Ryan McCaffrey Village-Retreat for Veterans, a Reality.

A place of peace, a place to heal, a place to renew… …. a place built by gratitude.

Now the local group, and Nadia, would greatly appreciate All the help your Refund Checks would do, as would I, towards reaching their Dream. But I know many of you may know about other grassroots endeavors, started by others, to Help the returning Troops, or may have a favorite charity to donate to. On any donations check out, completely, the organization, Especially after the recent reports about Charities Dirrected towards Veterans, set up more to Enrich the Few than to Help the Veteran. Any Donations Twowards Legitimate Groups or Charities, Helping Veterans, Would Be Greatly Appreciated and Would Be A Worthy Sacrifice, that most aren't feeling nor doing.

I would also suggest a donation to any worthy organization or charity that are Helping the Citizens of the Occupied Countries, Ravaged by our Invasions and Occupations. one of my favorite organizations is Doctors Without Borders. Though many of the NGO's that were working in Iraq during the Sanctions will find it Extremely hard to return to help the Iraqi People, due to the Extreme Danger and the Hatreds now felt by many of those living the nightmare that has taken over their country since our invasion, many still have the connections with Iraqi Citizens they once worked with that can help their fellow country persons.

Don't just Think about it, DO IT !! If Congress won't raise the Monies needed, and were never thought about by anyone in the Ever Increasing Beat of the War Drums leading up to the invasions, especially the Illegal Iraq Invasion, than some of that Money Is Coming To You, You who aren't Sacrificing, to go Shopping!!

The second request can be done by everyone, and it to will be a Sacrifice because I'm calling for You to do something that will directly hit your pocket book and wallets.

Recently I posted the following on some boards and sent out to individuals, "May Day! May Day! May Day!"
MAKE MAYDAY A "NO PEACE, NO WORK HOLIDAY"!, this link goes to the post on my site. The first part of that post is:

The following was written by Jack Heyman a longshoreman who works on the Oakland docks

Longshoremen to close ports on West Coast to protest war

While millions of people worldwide have marched against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and last week's New York Times/CBS News poll indicated that 81 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction - key concerns being the war and the economy - the war machine inexorably grinds on.

Amid this political atmosphere, dockworkers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have decided to stop work for eight hours in all U.S. West Coast ports on May 1, International Workers' Day, to call for an end to the war.

This decision came after an impassioned debate where the union's Vietnam veterans turned the tide of opinion in favor of the anti-war resolution. The motion called it an imperial action for oil in which the lives of working-class youth and Iraqi civilians were being wasted and declared May Day a "no peace, no work" holiday. Angered after supporting Democrats who received a mandate to end the war but who now continue to fund it, longshoremen decided to exercise their political power on the docks.

Last month, in response to the union's declaration, the Pacific Maritime Association, the West Coast employer association of shipowners, stevedore companies and terminal operators, declared its opposition to the union's protest. Thus, the stage is set for a conflict in the run up to the longshore contract negotiations.

The last set of contentious negotiations (in 2002) took place during the period between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq. Representatives of the Bush administration threatened that if there were any of the usual job actions during contract bargaining, then troops would occupy the docks because such actions would jeopardize "national security." Yet, when the PMA employers locked out the longshoremen and shut down West Coast ports for 11 days, the "security" issue vanished. President Bush then invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, forcing longshoremen back to work under conditions favorable to the employers.

The San Francisco longshore union has a proud history of opposition to the war in Iraq, being the first union to call for an end to the war and immediate withdrawal of troops. Representatives of the union spoke at anti-war rallies in February 2003, including one in London attended by nearly 2 million people, the largest ever held in Britain. Executive Board member Clarence Thomas went to Iraq with a delegation to observe workers' rights during the occupation.

At the start of the war in Iraq, hundreds of protesters demonstrated on the Oakland docks, and longshoremen honored their picket lines. Without warning, police in riot gear opened fire with so-called less-than-lethal weapons, shooting protesters and longshoremen alike with wooden dowels, rubber bullets, pellet bags, concussion grenades and tear gas. A U.N. Human Rights Commission investigator characterized the Oakland police attack as "the most violent" against anti-war protesters in the United States.

And finally, last year, two black longshoremen going to work in the port of Sacramento were beaten, Maced and arrested by police under the rubric of Homeland Security regulations ordained by the "war on terror."

There's precedent for this action. In the '50s, French dockworkers refused to load war materiel on ships headed for Indochina, and helped to bring that colonial war to an end. At the ILWU's convention in San Francisco in 2003, A. Q. McElrath, an octogenarian University of Hawaii regent and former ILWU organizer from the pineapple canneries, challenged the delegates to act for social justice, invoking the union's slogan, "An injury to one is an injury to all." She concluded, "The cudgel is on the ground. Will you pick it up?"

It appears that longshore workers may be doing just that on May Day and calling on immigrant workers and others to join them.

May Day protest

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., May 1, followed by a rally at noon.

WHERE: Longshore Union Hall, corner of Mason and Beach (near Fisherman's Wharf)

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WHAT: March to a rally at Justin Herman Plaza along the Embarcadero.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: May Day!**ILWU Homepage**Transport Workers Solidarity Committee or call (415) 776-8100.

A CALL TO ACTION ALL OUT ON MAYDAY TO STOP THE WAR!

I, and others, are calling for Everyone to show Solidarity with the Longshoremen, on the West Coast by taking the Day Off, International Workers' Day, to call for an end to the war

The call isn't for people to take paid sick days or holidays, it's to take off this day, unpaid, by those who wish to show Solidarity, which would show a reduction of productivity and with no pay there would be no taxes taken for that days wages and used towards waging the war!

You don't need to organize any large rallies, though some actions with press coverage would send the message better, you don't need to do much of anything unless a need is present to do something as an individual or in groups, Just Take The Day Off In Solidarity and to End The War!!

Some updated information on 'May Day' Actions already planned:

From Dave over at AfterDowningStreet
Proposal for May First

UPDATE: There seems to be enough interest to do this. We've set up a system for you to post your plans in and find others' plans in your district. Please POST HERE.
May 1st is shaping up to be quite a day of resistance, with strikes by the ILWU, the Teamsters, Postal Workers, plus immigrant rights rallies, and peace and impeachment activities. ( More info here. ) It's Mission Accomplished Day, Downing Street Minutes Day, and May Day, the original Labor Day. If we were to send an announcement to all pro-impeachment groups' biggest lists urging everyone to visit their congress member's nearest office at high noon, local time, on May 1st, would you do it? Please post your comments below, so that we can gauge interest. Thanks.

Once Again: Don't Just Think About It; DO IT!!

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