.............
Many of those who are honored on memorial day never had a chance to develop the views you and I share. Maybe one thread could honor the fallen. Like I said you assholes didn't shit on the Anzac
Thread. I will be sure to next year.
I don't agree with the Anzacs or any other threads glorifying war.
More interested in the people who are alive and suffer.
I don't think Memorial Day is intended to glorify war. It's about honoring those who died serving their countries. Seems to me a person can show the dead some respect without glorifying the war they served in.
Must admit I have grown to have little respect for those who rush to send the troops off to war and then want to do little for them once they've returned. That includes our Democrats but my finger is mostly pointed at Republicans.
^ Can't post names without getting in serious trouble i.e. banned from continuing my volunteer work at the home(s), however, one has approximately 200 beds and an attrition rate of 33%. So, simple algebra, if you are fortunate enough to uhm... "win" a bed at the home, your life expectancy is about 3 years.
Most residents are disabled, some seriously, and unable to care for themselves adequately. The staff of the facility are poorly paid, yet, they are top-of-the-line medical professionals and support staff who work there for themselves. They could easily double and in some case triple their compensation by working elsewhere.
As far as the residents. Any day away from the home is Christmas - so, the field trips I arrange (royal pain in the ass getting official approvals), are beyond appreciated by the residents. They cannot stop smiling, oft times crying, and constantly saying thank you, thank you, until you are truly are tired of hearing it and providing the obligatory, "your welcome, think nothing of it, I thank you for your service to our country".
The truth of it all is - You do what you can and be thankful the shoe isn't on the other foot.
I wouldn't say that.Originally Posted by Horatio Hornblower
Philadelphia Stand Down Home Page
Veterans Helping Veterans, A Hand Up Not A Hand Out.
ABOUT US
Philadelphia Stand Down is a 501C-3 non-profit volunteer organization formed to provide assistance to homeless veterans.
Serving veterans from the five counties in the Delaware Valley since 1994, our goal has been to bring these veterans to a central location where a myriad of services can be provided. With the help of various organizations including the Veterans Administration and Military and Civilian Service Organizations we provide the veterans with resources to help them become self-sufficient and provide them with the necessary tools for continued success. Although our emphasis is on helping homeless veterans, any veteran needing assistance will be welcomed.
Bowie
Please don't get me wrong,I believe there are many volunteer groups who do try and help the best they can and have my respect.
Its your govt,and my own govt that pisses me off.
heres one such report from the USA.
The US Government Is Failing Miserably At Helping Veterans
Earlier this week President Obama announced a "reverse bootcamp" for veterans returning from war in an attempt to overhaul the transition assistance program (TAP), which provides service members with information about benefits as well as career workshops.
Obama has been ambitious about trying to help veterans as he acknowledged Vietnam vets' rights to claim compensation for more illnesses linked to Agent Orange (but not the water at Camp Lejeune or the chemicals at Fort McClellan), expanded education benefits for GIs and made it easier to file claims for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
va
Phil Stewart/Reuters
But a new report from Phil Stewart of Reuters lays out that despite (and perhaps because of) these efforts the Obama administration is struggling to provide a safety net for veterans, and the numbers are pretty daunting:
• A record 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for service-related injuries and millions of other veterans remain ineligible for compensation and benefits.
• More than half of veterans who needed comprehensive mental-health evaluations had not received them within two weeks of initial contact (which is the VA's target).
• A veteran within the VA healthcare system tries to commit suicide about once every half-hour.
• The VA processed more than 1 million pension and compensation claims in both 2010 and 2011, but the average time spent processing each claim grew from 2009 to 2011.
• Despite staff increases, the ratio of VA mental-health patients per full-time mental-health worker was at 65 to 1 last year, roughly unchanged from 2006.
• Disability compensation claims that are stalled for more than 125 days in the VA system increased fourfold from October 2009 to mid-July 2012 to 572,856 claims. Stewart notes that "Veterans returning home today join lines for disability payments much longer than those Obama called intolerable in 2008."
• Unemployment among Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans was 12.1 percent in 2011 (national average was 8.9 percent). For 18- to 24-year-old veterans, the unemployment rate was 30 percent last year (nearly double the 16.1 percent rate for non-veterans in that age group.)
• The number of complaints against all employers for discrimination against service members has risen 73 percent from 2001 to 1,548 last year, and the federal government accounted for the single biggest number of complaints with 18 percent of the total.
• The VA created a national registry to track those who are homeless and also those at risk of becoming homeless – so far it has amassed more than 400,000 names (at least 67,000 are considered homeless).
The administration has blamed the economic crisis and ballooning deficits for the inability to provide for more veterans. "Fiscal reality set in," a veterans' advocate who provided information to the 2008 campaign told Stewart.
In 2008 the outgoing George W. Bush administration reportedly told Obama's transition team that the VA apparatus "is broken, just play defense."
So Obama should be commended for his work, but good intentions won't make life any easier for the 1.6 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read more: The US Government Is Failing Miserably At Helping Veterans - Business Insider
I used to live in Santa monica and used to go down the beach at Both SM and Venice over 20 odd yrs ago.
I listened then to the stories of how they were pushed to one side and has stayed with me since.
HH: I know what you mean and understand the underlying logic in your post(s).
Unfortunately, in this world, we can only depend on each other. We take care of ourselves. It is only us peons who us peons can depend on.
Expecting the government administration to solve problems is akin to winning the big lottery, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus. Fairy Tales all.
The government administration (in all countries) is a very small portion of the population who have managed to get control of the monies. There is no way in hell that they are willing to let the control slip out of their hands and are adept story tellers and actors who convince the general population that "the other guys" are the enemy - give your trust (and your money) to us and we will save you from the other guys.
As far as the military - an unnecessary inconvenience in peace time and a valuable tool in war time. Of course, politicians love their pictures taken shaking our hands at our parades where they pledge their undying support for our greater good.
My opinion only - As a rule politicians and lawyers are bound for hell. There is/are a very small percentage of them that are exceptions to this rule.
que sera sera
Indeed, indeedOriginally Posted by Stinky
Do you also keep the photos of bombed buildings and destroyed villages and cities by American troops since and including Vietnam?
The hundreds of thousands of dead that were left by the wayside due to American hegemonism . . . or is it just white people you mourn?
Soldiers are just that . . . taking orders and following them. To call them all heroes is absurd . . . but the average soldier shouldn't be vilified.
This should be itOriginally Posted by bsnub
Honor the fallen - Chris Kyle's funeral:
Possibly one of the best stage raps Paul Stanley ever did... (even though he said the same thing about 100 times on the tour).
It's still a great rap.
Every single day of my life I am proud to be a born-bred-corn fed American (hill-billy).
The Kiss Military Tribute
Last edited by bowie; 25-05-2015 at 09:49 AM.
Anyone know if there's still a VFW in Ubon/Udorn/Korat etc?
You're wrong on all counts . . . except no, I've never seen a good friend die on battlefield . . . but that has nothing to do with my post.Originally Posted by rickschoppers
Please do read it correctly.
Nah, BM. I'll leave it up to you to start pathetic innuendo and repeat them ad nauseum.Originally Posted by Boon Mee
Next BM will actually show us photos of how he fucked a soi dog, as he has claimed so often . . . and if I repeat it often enough then others will start believing it and repeating it: Voila: BM style truth.
^
Are you claiming all innocence re post #114?
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