VETERANS
Veterans or Victims
Veterans or Victims
Sunday, 14-Jan-01 15:16:10
24.14.28.77 writes:
Hack's Column
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Veterans or Victims
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By David Hackworth What a week! First we picked a new
broom for the White House. And then, once the confetti and
champagne corks are policed up and the pundits explain what
happened, we honor our veterans.
Except we seem to have lost track of our priorities, or
have them backward, so that Veterans Day has become almost
an afterthought these days. But if it weren't for the vets,
we'd probably be speaking with a British accent or in
French, Spanish, German, Japanese or Russian. And chances
are we wouldn't have been able to hold free elections this
week!
Despite Abraham Lincoln's admonition "... to care for
him who shall have borne the battle," the American veteran
has always paid the price and then gotten the shaft. Since
1776, it's been "use 'em, abuse 'em and forget 'em."
And since the end of the Cold War, respect and concern
for our veterans have gone downhill faster than a runaway
70-ton tank.
Take most Veterans Affairs hospitals. It's tough
enough that our vets have risked their lives in dangerous
places, but now going to many VA hospitals means putting
your life on the line all over again.
It's full-on double jeopardy, shameful and unfair.
Especially when compared with the Platinum Card medical care
laid on members of Congress, less than 7 percent of whom
bothered to suit up when the slugs were snapping. Surely
vets should receive medical benefits at least equal to the
pols.
Even great-aunt Nelly -- on Medicare at your local
facility -- has a better deal. Go see her and then check
out your local VA hospital. Compare the difference in
standards, treatment and staff attitude. And sure, Nelly
did her thing, but does the country owe her for charging a
machine-gun nest, swimming from a sinking warship or coming
home on a shot-up "wing and a prayer"?
If the seedy VA hospital system doesn't ruin your day,
then try some other broken promises:
* Career soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines were guar-
anteed by a supposedly "grateful government" that if
they'd agree to be moving targets and live under condi-
tions that PETA would call unfit for animals, they'd
have free medical care for life. Not so. Today, many
veterans are going bankrupt trying to stay alive while
the outgoing commander in chief -- who's spent almost a
billion dollars in the past eight years on legacy-
searching junkets alone -- will have only the most
deluxe medical treatment for the rest of his life.
* Gulf War soldiers and sailors trusted that if they were
wounded protecting the world's biggest gas station,
they'd receive appropriate medical benefits. Now,
almost 10 years down that sandy track, more than
100,000 of these vets suffer from a Gulf War illness,
which in thousands of cases has been far more painful
and disabling than a bullet wound. But -- like the
victims of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War -- these
brave and patriotic vets have been left hanging by a
government fixed on full denial.
The latest insult to our vets is that for the past
eight years -- whenever there's been a military blunder --
the spin doctors have covered up by painting the particip-
ants as heroes rather than the victims of wrongheaded policy
or military ineptitude.
Take Capt. Scott O'Grady, shot down over Bosnia by a
SAM-6 missile that the Pentagon denied was there. He was
made an instant hero, put on display, then quickly released
from active duty. It was the same old sideshow all over
again with those three soldiers captured by the Serbs in
Macedonia because of dumb Rules of Engagement. Now there's
the lionization of the crew from the USS Cole, another
example of theater over truth. In all cases, these vets
were used as window dressing to cover up flawed policy or
Pentagon screw ups.
Let's hope the new administration will do an about-face
and enforce the dictum of Teddy Roosevelt, himself a veteran
not unlike our president-elect:
"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his
country is good enough to be given a square deal
afterwards."
Only when the men and women who've served so nobly are
at last honored with decent care as well as words can there
be a meaningful Veterans Day.
***
Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hack-
worth's home page. Sign in for the free weekly Defending
America column at his Web site. Send mail to P.O. Box
5210, Greenwich, CT 06831.
===================================================================
<<< Take most Veterans Affairs hospitals. It's tough
enough that our vets have risked their lives in dangerous
places, but now going to many VA hospitals means putting
your life on the line all over again. >>>
APFN QUCIK NOTE 01/06/01
Some of you may of been wondering where I've been.
I just got out of the Hospital..... 7 days.... I am now
on Home health care for the next six weeks, whereas I have
to have IV twice a day.
I had gone to the VA just before Thanksgiving with fever's of
103+, they didn't do much. The fever's continued and on
Dec. 29th I went to emergency at Thunderbird Samaritan Hosp. with
fever of 105.7... they keep me in ER for 24 hours. Still not knowing
what the problem was they admited me. Five Doc's later, they found
infection in my heart.
I am not feeling well at this time, so am going to end this for
the time being... but, I am fine now and am feeling much better.
It is planed for a Heart Valve replacement at the end of this six
weeks of IV's...
More Later,
Kenneth L. Vardon, RM1, USN (Disabled) 493-81-68
apfn@apfn.org
PS - I am a disabled vet and have tried to get the VA to replace my heart
valve for over 20 years. My next VA appointment was set for Jan 17 2001,
this next Tuesday. It should be interesting! I am taking my camcorder!
=============================================================================November 11, 2002
ALERT: VETERANS: DID YOU RISK YOUR LIFE FOR *THIS*???
Veterans:
On this Veterans Day, the Liberty Crew salutes you! Thank you
for all you've done to keep us free. But remember, the fight
for freedom isn't over. In fact, your battle for freedom is
being frighteningly undermined.
You know it as well as we do. You can find the examples in
any newspaper or news broadcast. Just look at this pair of
American (but unAmerican) horror stories that have come
across our desk in the last couple of days:
1. FBI SNOOPING INTO WHAT YOU READ AT THE LIBRARY
http://www.ctnow.com/features/lifestyle/hc-privacy1103.artnov03col.story
We don't know how widespread this practice is. We *do* know
that it's only the only the beginning. Also read:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/10/31/wfbi31.xml/
DID YOU RISK YOUR LIFE SO THAT ORDINARY CITIZENS COULD LIVE
UNDER CONSTANT, COMMUNIST-STYLE SURVEILLANCE IN AMERICA?
2. RUMSFELD PLANS TO PROVOKE TERRORIST ATTACKS
http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd1101.html
Yes, the Defense Department and the CIA will work secretly
together in the "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)"
to provoke attacks against Americans, just so they can justify
military "counterattacks."
DID YOU RISK YOUR LIFE SO YOUR GOVERNMENT COULD DELIBERATELY
PROVOKE THE MURDER OF AMERICANS?
Heck NO, you didn't risk your life so that America could
become just like its former enemies!
BUT WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
The answer: Re-create a Bill of Rights culture in America so
your fellow citizens will refuse to tolerate horrible abuses
like the ones we've mentioned here. A Bill of Rights culture
isn't a quick fix. But in the long run, it's the ONLY fix for
what ails this once-free country.
Here are some ways you, personally, can help restore the Bill
of Rights:
First, you can start by reading the article, "An Open Letter
to Our Fathers and Grandfathers: You Won the Battle But Lost
the War" ( http://www.jpfo.org/veterans.htm ).
You can also easily follow the educational steps outlined by
songwriter Dan Starr in his JPFO Alert "Let's REALLY Honor
Our Veterans" ( http://www.jpfo.org/alert20021107.htm ).
You can read _The State vs. the People_, the book that will
help you and others recognize when some "warm, fuzzy" sounding
thing is really a sign of a police state
( http://www.jpfo.org/tsvtp.htm ).
You can distrubute Gran'pa Jack freedom booklets to your
friends and family to give them an easy way to grasp the
principles of liberty ( http://www.jpfo.org/gpjackorder.htm ).
Especially consider Gran'pa Jack #3 "It's Common Sense to Use
Our Bill of Rights* and #5, "The United Nations is Killing
Your Freedoms!"
You can't stop every evil. But you can be relentless in
insisting upon your own rights, never cooperating with
injustice, and helping to educate your friends, family, and
neighbors about the principles you (and perhaps they) fought
so hard to preserve.
MAKE EVERY DAY VETERANS DAY.
LIVE AND TEACH THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY --
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS
The Liberty Crew
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better
than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask
not your counsel or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands of those
who feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you. May posterity forget
that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
Reform the Veterans Administration System!
http://www.petitiononline.com/Ferguson/petition.htmlJUST A VET: WHAT MANY, MANY VETS HAVE TO SAY
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/vet.htm
A Soldier's Request For Transfer
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/soldier.htmTHE PEARL HARBOR DECEPTION
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/pearl_harbor.htm
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Last updated 05/16/2004