"Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act," would award $1,000 a month to merchant crewmen who served in WWII
BY GUY TRIDGELL

Henry Clemens was flunking high school in 1943 when he decided to help his country in World War II.

The Army wouldn't take him because he was still a kid. 

Neither would the Marines and the Navy.

Even the Coast Guard told Clemens to beat it.

Clemens found a home in the Merchant Marine, the maritime fleet that shipped wartime supplies through mines and enemy attack to the European and Pacific theaters.

"I was 16 years old," Clemens said. "They told me if I was crazy enough to go, I was in."

Clemens survived gunfire, weathered fierce storms at sea and watched his fellow mariners die to keep the Allied fighting machine running. But once the war ended, Clemens and other members of the Merchant Marine were denied all of the benefits, such as medical care and unemployment payments, extended to veterans...

TWO VIEWS ON A SIMILAR ISSUE: TWO THIEVES PLOTTING THEIR NEXT HEIST
BY. G. DUFF AND AN ANONYMOUS VETERAN

Today's news stories are another congressional investigation.  With Democrats in charge, years of theft in Iraq and elsewhere is coming to the surface.  For years, the Bush administration has done less than nothing to control corruption in Iraq which has wasted billions of dollars and left Iraq a wasteland where none of the schools, orphanages and mosques talked about in the phony emails we get actually exist.  I have driven extensively thru Iraq and find little signs of us having spent ten cents much less hundreds of billions of our own money and a trillion dollars of their oil money.

It seems the US embassy has hidden the criminal conspiracy of top Irai politicians and protected the criminal elite to the point where any person, be they judge, cop or official that speaks up is killed or has to flee Iraq to escape the wrath of corrupt US and Iraqi officials.

I wonder how many "special ops" have been run in Iraq to eliminate "whistle blowers" complaining about oil theft or the billions in phony projects that are split between crooked Iraqi's and US companies and government officials.  Anyone who thinks this isn't what is going on is crazy.  How do we know if our soldiers are being sent to find terrorists or to intimidate witnesses?  Do you think their commanders know?

SOLDIERS' ANGELS FOUNDER WINS! Patti Patton-Bader Named "America's Favorite Mom"

America's Favorite Mom Has Big Plans

Soldiers' Angels founder Patti Patton-Bader was named "America's Favorite Mom" in a primetime television show Sunday night on NBC. Sponsored by Teleflora and hosted by Donnie and Marie Osmond, the show highlighted fifteen outstanding mothers who had distinguished themselves in categories ranging from Working Moms to Military Moms and "Non-Mom" Moms.

Humbled by the honor, Patton-Bader is thrilled to be able to use it to continue the Soldiers' Angels mission of "May No Soldier Go Unloved." As the grand prize winner, she will receive $250,000, a set of household appliances, and other valuable items. Patton-Bader hopes to apply the winnings to her plans for a small ranch that will allow newly returned soldiers to relax with their families after deployments.

The jump coincides with the extension of combat tours from 12 to 15 months.
By Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 

WASHINGTON — The number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army involuntarily under the military's controversial "stop-loss" program has risen sharply since the Pentagon extended combat tours last year, officials said Thursday.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was briefed about the program by Army officials who said that thousands of new stop-loss orders were issued to keep soldiers from leaving the service after Gates ordered combat tours extended from 12 to 15 months last spring.

The Army has resorted to involuntary extensions of soldiers' enlistment terms to prevent them from leaving immediately before a combat tour or in the middle of a deployment.

Army officials have argued that the policy is necessary to ensure that they are not forced to send inadequately trained soldiers and unprepared units into war...

Veteran Affair's Change to Agent Orange Claims May Aid Veterans
by Chris Roberts, El Paso Times

Veterans Affairs has started taking claims for hypertension related to Agent Orange exposure, but it will determine at a later date whether the claims will be honored as being military "service-related," according to service organizations that received notices from VA.

A letter from the Texas Veterans Commission to its county service officers indicates that the claims are expected to be approved. The claims won't be actively "worked" until the VA makes its decision.

Requests for comment made to area VA agencies were referred to Washington, D.C. However, after two days, the public affairs office in Washington still had no comment.

If the claims are approved, it could mean as much as $300 a month for Bob Snow, a retired soldier who worked as a forward observer directing artillery fire in the Vietnamese jungles. Snow -- who worked with special forces soldiers and Montagnards, a French name for the indigenous people of Vietnam's central highlands -- operated in areas sprayed with Agent Orange, a defoliant that knocked down vegetation used as cover by the enemy...

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will help war veterans to register and vote, yet it won't allow registration drives on VA facilities.
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet

The Department of Veterans Affairs has retreated on a recently announced policy to allow voter registration drives at its facilities where veterans' groups and others would assist wounded former soldiers to participate in the 2008 presidential election.

"It is VHA (Veterans Health Administration) policy to assist patients who seek to exercise their right to register and vote; however, due to Hatch Act (Title 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) 7321-7326) requirements and to avoid disruptions to facility operations, voter registration drives are not permitted," the new policy directive by Michael J. Kussman, Under Secretary for Health said.

The Hatch Act restricts political activities by federal employees.

The VA directive rolls back a new policy announced in late April where the agency agreed, after mounting public and political pressure, to assist wounded veterans with registering to vote and voting for federal elections. While the VA still says it will help former soldiers on an as-requested basis with registration and voting, curtailing voter registration drives brought swift condemnation from Capitol Hill and advocacy groups...

Benedictine University to begin offering Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Free Education 

Lisle, Illinois ~ They fight insurgents and build schools in Iraq and Afghanistan, but today’s veterans face an even greater battle at home – affording a decent college education.

The original G.I. Bill – the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 – covered full tuition at public or private schools, books, fees and a living stipend. But while college costs skyrocketed, the G.I. Bill did not keep pace. Today, it provides only limited assistance for veterans seeking to pursue a college education.

Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who sign up for the G.I. Bill are eligible for $1,101 per month – or $39,636 over four years – in educational benefits. However, the College Board reports that the average four-year public college costs more than $65,000 while a private university costs more than $130,000.

180,000 BLANKETS FOR THE TROOPS

Soldiers’ Angels Announces Holiday Blanket Drive 

Non-profit Soldiers’ Angels announces the Blankets of Belief project, designed to tell each American Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman deployed around the world during the 2008-2009 Holiday Season, “We Believe in You!”

This winter, an estimated 180,000 U.S. military personnel will be serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and other locations around the world in combat environments or in support of combat operations.  Some will be on their 3rd or 4th deployments--spending yet another holiday away from the loving arms of family and friends. 

When your fears and depression have the best of you, it is easy to feel that things will not get any better. This is not true. There is much help available in today’s society and the best way to deal with your fears is to find effective ways to overcome them. As a result, here are some techniques a person can use to help manage their fears and anxieties.

You never know when the answers you are looking for will come to your doorstep. Even if the thing that you feared does happen, there are circumstances and factors that you can’t predict which can be used to your advantage. These factors can change everything. Remember: we may be ninety-nine percent correct in predicting the future, but all it takes is for that one percent to make a world of difference.

More than 43,000 medically unfit soldiers were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
by Gregg Zoroya, USA Today

This reliance on troops found medically "non-deployable" is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.

"It is a consequence of the consistent churning of our troops," said Bobby Muller, president of Veterans For America. "They are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity combat with insufficient time at home to rest and heal before redeploying."

The numbers of non-deployable soldiers are based on health assessment forms filled out by medical personnel at each military installation before a servicemember's deployment...