John Kerry Wants You

Poll Stats Mid-Term 2006

DU Update

Please get involved with this important legislation! Forward this e-mail to others and contact Governor Pataki so these bills can finally be signed into law! Thank you and Happy Halloween! - Joe Bello

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Dear Friends,

Today, October 30, bills S6964A and A9116B - The NY National Guard
Military Toxins Testing/Task Force Bills were sent by the leaders of the
Senate to George Pataki for either signing or vetoing within 10 days.

My Senate advisors suggest that the Governor gets bills when his office asks
for them. This might suggest the election day timing may be very

calculated.At any rate, we want a signature from Governor Pataki -

NOT a veto. Please take a minute and write an e-mail or letter to

the Governor if you have not yet.

Please call his office with support for the bill if you have already

written. The web site for information on contacting the Governor is:

http://www.ny.gov/governor/contact/ gov/governor/ contact/

Thank you for all the work you have done to getthe bill this far!!

Its implementation will provide more opportunity for raising

awareness of these dangers---more journeys on the path toward stopping

the use of radioactive and toxic substances in U.S. weapons for the health

of our soldiers and all living things.

Joan Walker-Wasylyk, NYS DU Coalition

Kinky for Governor

The War Against PTSD Starts Now!

One soldier and his families story.

SPC Joshua Omvig of the 339th MP Company, who was born in Gillette, Wyoming on November 18, 1983 to proud parents, Randy and Ellen Omvig. Josh left a hole in his family's hearts when he passed on December 22, 2005 at the age of 22, by his own hand, at his home in Iowa. Josh suffered from PTSD after serving a tour in Iraq.

Josh's story

FW: Pakistani tribals seethe over airstrike on madrasa

Joint AirStrike Kills 80 Al Qaeda at Madrasa



Pakistani tribals seethe over airstrike on madrasa
KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - More than 15,000 armed Pakistani tribesmen protested on Tuesday over a Pakistan Army helicopter attack on an al-Qaeda-linked religious school that killed around 80 suspected militants.

October 17, 2006: The Day America Died and King George was Crowned

This is quite possibly the most important news report of our generation. On October 17, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which does away with Habeas Corpus and makes it perfectly legal for the government to secretly arrest any American citizen, strip him of his citizenship, hold him indefinitely without charges, try him in front of a military tribunal, and execute him in secret. This is sad, sad day for our country. Shame on all of us for letting this happen. With the signing of this act, the President has granted himself the powers of a dictator, courtesy of the U.S. Congress, and the zoned-out couch potato population of America. H.R. 6166 HR.6166 HR6166 HR-6166.IH military tribunals patriot act 9/11 911 9-11 september 11 11th truth conspiracy world trade center wtc inside job false flag put options thermate thermite controlled demolition NORAD stand down stand-down cover-up coverup cover up pentagon flight 77 missile 16 foot hole united airlines UA flight 93 let's roll todd beamer osama bin laden al qaeda qaida taliban war on terror terrorism george bush dick cheney donald rumsfeld condoleeza rice paul wolfowitz doctrine saddam hussein iraq afghanistan peak oil empire building 7 larry silverstein marvin bush securacom stratasec dullas airport loose change alex jones fascism fascist islam islamic islamofascist fake hoax molten steel 2001 media propaganda PNAC project new american century

Coast Guard honors Cold War air crew for Pacific Ocean Rescue

{EXCERPT} San Jose Mercury News, USA AP.

ELIZABETH CITY, NC - The Coast Guard has honored
a Cold War-era air crew nearly three decades
after the team helped rescue 10 downed Navy fliers
hundreds of......

U.S. and friendly nation laws prohibit fully
reproducing copyrighted material. In abidance
with our laws this report cannot be provided in
its entirety. However, you can read it in full
today at the supplied URL. The subject/content of
this report is not necessarily the viewpoint of
the distributing Library. This report is provided
for your information and discussion.

-- Otis Willie (Ret.)
Military News and Information Editor (http://www.13105320 634.com)
The American War Library, Est. 1988 (http://www.amervets .com)
16907 Brighton Avenue
Gardena CA 90247
1-310-532-0634

October 25, 2006

Dear Governor Pataki,

I am writing on behalf of the Cold War Veterans of New York State regarding the signing of New York Assembly Bill A. 9116 and State Senate Bill S. 696 which was passed by both houses in June of 2006 and provide veterans with the best testing and medical treatment for exposure to hazardous materials, especially depleted uranium (DU).

Over the last 15 Year countless serviceman serving in the Gulf and the Balkans have returned very ill with a myriad of mysterious illnesses caused by DU, petroleum, vaccinations and other environmental contaminations. These soldiers and families have suffered with auto-immune, respiratory, muscle, and nervous system symptoms as well as birth defects.

Since September 11, 2001 we have been engaged in Global War on Terror in which a large percentage of our forces have been deployed to effected regions. With at least 200,000 troops at any one time present in the theatre many for 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th time... In 5 years a million or more American citizen soldiers may have been exposed to these toxins.

When these young men and women return home they deserve the state of the art care that these bills provide for. Federal and State government has a duty to provide our veterans these services now.

These brave warriors have protected our freedoms, and our way of life. The least we can do is take care of them when they come home. There is no excuse for delaying this legislation any longer. They have sacrificed for us now it is time for us to pay the bill and take care of them. Freedom is not free it has many costs let us not shirk our responsibilities as a society that asked these men and women to go to war.

Please Mr. Pataki do the right thing and sign New York Assembly Bill A. 9116 and State Senate Bill S. 696 into law. New York State Veterans thank you.

Sean Eagan

Director New York State

Cold War Veterans Association

New Paltz DU Press Conference a Success

Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:51:48 -0700
Subject: RE: handout for DU Press Conf.

Dear Sean,

I'm sorry you were unable to make it today, but the letter was perfect. Thank you so much. Susan read it during her speech, and we added it to the press packet that we handed out. The press conference was a big success. looking forward to hearing about it on the news and getting this bill signed. Thank you so much for your help.

Sincerely,

Devon Branch-Elliman

Spitzer Paterson 2006

These are powerful words coming from the brother of Pat Tillman. It will be amazing to see the wingnuts spin and twist the words of this former Army Ranger who served with his brother, the famous NFL star who was killed by friendly fire...

truthdig
After Pat's Birthday
Posted on Oct 19, 2006
By Kevin Tillman

It is Pat's birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out. Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few "bad apples" in the military.

Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It's interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don't be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that "somehow" was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat's birthday.

Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,

Susan Zimet for State Senate Fights for Veterans Health

On Thursday, October 26th, Ulster County Legislator and Democratic candidate for New York State Senate Susan Zimet will be holding a press conference to pressure Governor Pataki to sign an important bill for veterans. New York Assembly Bill A. 9116 and State Senate Bill S. 696 provide veterans with the best testing and medical treatment for exposure to hazardous materials, especially depleted uranium (DU).

The DU bill was passed in both houses in June. The bill has been held by the Senate Republicans for three months?it has not been sent to the Governor to sign. In the meantime, veterans have been suffering from respiratory problems, muscle pain, and migraines. Some of their children have been born with severe birth defects. Why hasn't this bill been sent to the Governor to be signed? Why has this testing and treatment been withheld from our veterans?

Susan Zimet sponsored a similar bill in her county last year. She then urged the bill to be passed on to the state level. She worked with Jeffrey Dinowitz to introduce the bill into the State Assembly. In February, she spoke at a press conference for Dinowitz, saying, "We have a lot of soldiers who are coming home incredibly sick. They are asking us to help them in their fight to get the federal government to follow their own protocols for treatment of our returning veterans. What's happening is not fair--it goes against everything we believe in." She has made veterans heath one of her priorities, and this bill is very important to us.

The press conference will feature Susan Zimet and other keynote speakers. But in order to make this press conference a success, we need to have a strong showing of support. The Senate Republicans must release this bill for Governor Pataki to sign. Join us on Thursday as we urge the Republican leadership to stop sitting on this bill and move it forward.

Join us on Thursday, October 26, at 10:00 AM
The New Paltz Town Hall
1 Veterans Drive
New Paltz, NY 12561

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this event, please call Devon Elliman at 845-255-2369 or send an email to delliman@spitzer2006.com.

I wrote Mrs Zimet a letter suporting her efforts with this legislation and her Campaign called me today and wanted to see if we the CWVA could send a representative to the press conference. If anyone would like to represent us at this media event that would be great. I cannot attend its 6 hour drive from my house and I just do not have the resources to do it. If we could get someone to attend it is a great opportunity to for us to make our voices heard. Free Publicity is always nice and we could also maybe get the ear of some politicians for the CWVM while we are there.

If anyone is interested and can make it there let me know and I can RSVP them. If not maybe we can put together a letter or proclamation for the event.

Call me. 716 708-6416

Sean Eagan
New York State Director
Cold War Veterans Association

Olbermann takes Bush on for the "Military Commissions Act" and the death of Habeas Corpus.

"And if you somehow think Habeas Corpus has not been suspended for American citizens but only for everybody else, ask yourself this: If you are pulled off the street tomorrow, and they call you an alien or an undocumented immigrant or an "unlawful enemy combatant" — exactly how are you going to convince them to give you a court hearing to prove you are not? Do you think this Attorney General is going to help you?

This President now has his blank check.

He lied to get it.

He lied as he received it.

Is there any reason to even hope, he has not lied about how he intends to use it, nor who he intends to use it against?

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Excerpt From: The Forgotten Wounded of Iraq

A Dig led by Ron Kovic

Thirty-eight years ago, on Jan. 20, 1968, I was shot and paralyzed from my mid-chest down during my second tour of duty in Vietnam. It is a date that I can never forget, a day that was to change my life forever. Each year as the anniversary of my wounding in the war approached I would become extremely restless, experiencing terrible bouts of insomnia, depression, anxiety attacks and horrifying nightmares. I dreaded that day and what it represented, always fearing that the terrible trauma of my wounding might repeat itself all over again. It was a difficult day for me for decades and it remained that way until the anxieties and nightmares finally began to subside.

As I now contemplate another January 20th I cannot help but think of the young men and women who have been wounded in the war in Iraq. They have been coming home now for almost three years, flooding Walter Reed, Bethesda, Brooke Army Medical Center and veterans hospitals all across the country. Paraplegics, amputees, burn victims, the blinded and maimed, shocked and stunned, brain-damaged and psychologically stressed, over 16,000 of them, a whole new generation of severely maimed is returning from Iraq, young men and women who were not even born when I came home wounded to the Bronx veterans hospital in 1968.

I, like most other Americans, have occasionally seen them on TV or at the local veterans hospital, but for the most part they remain hidden, like the flag-draped caskets of our dead, returned to Dover Air Force Base in the darkness of night as this administration continues to pursue a policy of censorship, tightly controlling the images coming out of that war and rarely ever allowing the human cost of its policy to be seen.

Mosul, Fallouja, Basra, Baghdad, a roadside bomb, an RPG, an ambush, the bullets cracking all around them, the reality that they are in a war, that they have suddenly been hit. No more John Wayne-Audie Murphy movie fantasies. No more false bravado, stirring words of patriotism, romantic notions of war or what it might really mean to be in combat, to sacrifice for one’s country. All that means nothing now. The reality has struck, the awful, shocking and frightening truth of what it really means to be hit by a bullet, an RPG, an improvised explosive device, shrapnel, a booby trap, friendly fire. They are now in a life-and-death situation and they have suddenly come face to face with the foreign policy of their own nation. The initial shock is wearing off; the painful reality is beginning to sink in, clearly something terrible has happened, something awful and inexplicable.

All the conditioning, all the discipline, shouting, screaming, bullying and threatening verbal abuse of their boot camp drill instructors have now disappeared in this one instant, in this one damaging blow. All they want to do now is stay alive, keep breathing, somehow get out of this place anyway they can. People are dying all around them, someone has been shot and killed right next to them and behind them but all they can really think of at this moment is staying alive.

You don’t think of God, or praying, or even your mother or your father. There is no time for that. Your heart is pounding. Blood is seeping out. You will always go back to that day, that moment you got hit, the day you nearly died yet somehow survived. It will be a day you will never forget—when you were trapped in that open area and could not move, when bullets were cracking all around you, when the first Marine tried to save you and was shot dead at your feet and the second, a black Marine—whom you would never see again and who would be killed later that afternoon—would carry you back under heavy fire.

You are now with other wounded all around you heading to a place where there will be help. There are people in pain and great distress, shocked and stunned, frightened beyond anything you can imagine. You are afraid to close your eyes. To close your eyes now means that you may die and never wake up. You toss and turn, your heart pounding, racked with insomnia ... and for many this will go on for months, years after they return home.

They are being put on a helicopter, with the wounded all around them. They try to stay calm. Some are amazed that they are still alive. You just have to keep trying to stay awake, make it to the next stage, keep moving toward the rear, toward another aid station, a corpsman, a doctor a nurse someone who can help you, someone who will operate and keep you alive so you can make it home, home to your backyard and your neighbors and your mother and father. To where it all began, to where it was once peaceful and safe. They just try to keep breathing because they have got to get back.

They are in the intensive-care ward now, the place where they will be operated on, and where in Vietnam a Catholic priest gave me the Last Rites. Someone is putting a mask over their faces just as they put one over mine in Da Nang in 1968. There is the swirl of darkness and soon they awaken to screams all around them. The dead and dying are everywhere. There are things here you can never forget, images and sounds and smells that you will never see on TV or read about in the newspapers. The black pilot dying next to me as the corpsman and nurse tried furiously to save him, pounding on his chest with their fists as they laughed and joked trying to keep from going insane. The Green Beret who died of spinal meningitis, the tiny Vietnamese nun handing out apples and rosary beads to the wounded, the dead being carted in and out like clockwork,19- and 20-year-olds.

There is the long flight home packed with the wounded all around you, every conceivable and horrifying wound you could imagine. Even the unconscious and brain-dead whose minds have been blown apart by bullets and shrapnel make that ride with you, because we are all going home now, back to our country. And this is only the beginning.

The frustrations, anger and rage, insomnia, nightmares, anxiety attacks, terrible restlessness and desperate .........................................................................

http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/forgotten_wounded_20060117/

Listen: Poem read by the author

I am the living death

The memorial day on wheels

I am your yankee doodle dandy

Your John Wayne come home

Your Fourth of July firecracker Exploding in the grave

Listen: Excerpt of the new introduction to "Born of the Fourth of July,"

Read the full introduction Opens a new window

Bush Suspends Habeus Corpus

Military Commission Act 2006 Signed into Law

This administration continues to trample our rights as American citizens and as Kieth points out renders moot 9/10ths of the Bill of Rights in one stroke of his pen. The Rubber Stamp Republican Congress continues to push in my view this administrations criminal agenda. These rights that have been paid for in blood are being dismantled all in the guise of keeping us safer in "The War on Terror". November 7th is almost upon us wake up America lets install some checks and balances again we as a nation cannot afford 24 more months of this . Vote November 7th or you might loose that right next.

Sean Eagan
New York State Director
Cold War Veterans Association


http://cold-war-veterans-blog.blogspot.com/


Keith explains how the death of habeus corpus is an attack on our fundamental freedoms. And he's funny while he does it. From the transcript: Countdown has obtained a partially redacted copy of a colonial "declaration" indicating that back then, "depriving us of Trial by Jury" was actually considered sufficient cause to start a War of Independence, based on the then-fashionable idea that "liberty" was an unalienable right.

Today, thanks to modern, post-9/11 thinking, those rights are now fully alienable.

VETERANS DAY NOTICE:

Identifying America's Oldest Living War VeteransDue to hundreds of annual requests for information on who are America's oldest living veterans of our past wars, The American War Library has established a Research Project to identify the oldest living American veterans of our wars and military operations since World War One.

To participate in this Research Project, go to URL:http://www.amervets

Contact Person: Roger Simpson,Public Information Office: 13105320634. com (http://www.13105320634.com/)

The American War Library: amervets.com (http://www.amervets.com/)Building Two, 16907 Brighton AvenueGardena CA 90247-54201-310-532-0634

Pataki Blocking Healthcare for DU Veterans

SUMMARY:

New York State Assembly Bill 9116, introduced by Jeffrey Dinowitz, and Senate Bill 6964, introduced by Thomas Morahan, call for investigation of veterans' health problems that may be attributable to "depleted" uranium exposure. Patterned after bills Connecticut and Louisiana passed in 2005, they aim to get veterans the best testing for depleted uranium exposure. The proposed legislation will help identify troops who have been exposed to DU, clarify the effects of DU exposure, and provide treatment for returning troops who are experiencing problems because of DU exposure. The bills also set up a task force, with responsibilities to: (1) Study health effects of exposure to hazardous materials "including but not limited to depleted uranium" in military service; (2) Study health effects of exposed NY National Guard service members; (3) Initiate a health registry for vets and military personnel returning from Afghanistan, Iraq or other countries in which depleted uranium and other hazardous materials are found; (4) Develop an outreach and follow-up plan; (5) Report to service members about potential exposure and precautions recommended in combat and non-combat zones.

The bill would also guarantee eligible, honorably discharged military and reserve National Guard veterans assistance from the state director and New York adjutant general in pursuing their right to "obtaining federal treatment services, including a best practice health screening test for exposure to depleted uranium using a bioassay procedure involving sensitive methods capable of detecting depleted uranium at low levels and the use of equipment with the capacity to discriminate between different radioisotopes in naturally occurring levels of uranium and the characteristic ratio and marker for depleted uranium."Excellent background information can be found in Elaine Klein's Letter in the May 22 Legislative Gazette.For more information contact Veterans For Peace at 212-726-0557.

The bills have been endorsed by the American Legion, and the New York State AFL-CIO, as well as Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and Military Families Speak Out.

Contact Governor George E. Pataki R-NY and ask him to sign into law combined New York State Assembly Bill
9116 and Senate Bill 6964 to give Veterans the care they deserve.


Contact Information
Web Site: www.state.ny.us/governorE-mail: Contact Via 'Web Form.'State CapitolAlbany, NY 12224Phone: (518) 474-8390Fax: (518) 474-1513Washington Office:444 N. Capitol St., NW, Ste. 301Washington 20001Phone: (202) 434-7100Fax: (202) 434-7110

FYI. Please attend this event if you can. Perhaps we can finally get Governor Pataki to sign this important legislation. Please forward to others. In case you did not read the NY Daily News story, here it is: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/180333p-156685c.html. Thank you. - Joe Bello
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SUSAN ZIMET HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE FOR DU BILL
Join us on Thursday, October 26, at 10:00 AM
The New Paltz Town Hall
1 Veterans Drive
New Paltz, NY 12561

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this event, please call Devon Elliman at 845-255-2369 or send an email to http://us.f584.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=delliman@spitzer2006.com.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
Susan Zimet for State Senate Fights for Veterans Health

On Thursday, October 26th, Ulster County Legislator and Democratic candidate for New York State Senate Susan Zimet will be holding a press conference to pressure Governor Pitaki to sign an important bill for veterans. New York Assembly Bill A. 9116 and State Senate Bill S. 696 provide veterans with the best testing and medical treatment for exposure to hazardous materials, especially depleted uranium (DU).

The DU bill was passed in both houses in June. The bill has been held by the Senate Republicans for three months—it has not been sent to the Governor to sign. In the meantime, veterans have been suffering from respiratory problems, muscle pain, and migraines. Some of their children have been born with severe birth defects. Why hasn’t this bill been sent to the Governor to be signed? Why has this testing and treatment been withheld from our veterans?

Susan Zimet sponsored a similar bill in her county last year. She then urged the bill to be passed on to the state level. She worked with Jeffery Dinowitz to introduce the bill into the State Assembly. In February, she spoke at a press conference for Dinowitz, saying, “We have a lot of soldiers who are coming home incredibly sick. They are asking us to help them in their fight to get the federal government to follow their own protocols for treatment of our returning veterans. What's happening is not fair--it goes against everything we believe in." She has made veterans heath one of her priorities, and this bill is very important to us.

The press conference will feature Susan Zimet and other keynote speakers. But in order to make this press conference a success, we need to have a strong showing of support. The Senate Republicans must release this bill for Governor Pataki to sign. Join us on Thursday as we urge the Republican leadership to stop sitting on this bill and move it forward.

Join us on Thursday, October 26, at 10:00 AM
The New Paltz Town Hall
1 Veterans Drive
New Paltz, NY 12561

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this event, please call Devon Elliman at 845-255-2369 or send an email to http://us.f584.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=delliman@spitzer2006.com.

Republicans Envoke Cold War Again


GOP terrorism ad sparks Democratic furor

Republicans took a page from President Johnson's Cold War-era presidential campaign with an advertisement set to air this weekend called "The Stakes," which prominently features al Qaeda leaders threatening to kill Americans.

(Watch how terror has been a popular theme on the campaign trail -- 2:10

http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/politics/2006/10/19/malveaux.war.terror.politics.affl

[via CNN.com - Politics]

House Report on Veteran Centers in PDF

House report on veteran centers in PDF format.

Download Vet Centers Report

Adm. Mullen CNO Trumpets Cold War

CNO Message on Navy's 231st Birthday: Still Defending Freedom
Story Number: NNS061013-03

10/13/2006............Special message from Adm. Mike Mullen












WASHINGTON (NNS) -- For the fifth straight year we will celebrate our Navy's birthday -- this one the 231st -- at war. In fact, it was five years ago this month that naval forces launched the first strikes against the Taliban from ships steaming in the Indian Ocean. Today, from the Western Pacific into the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean, all the way to the Horn of Africa and even to our own shores, tens of thousands of deployed Sailors continue to take the fight to the enemy.

We are helping stem the tide of terrorism and preventing the conditions from which it proliferates, and we are doing it all in magnificent fashion. I note with particular pride that there are more Sailors supporting operations on the ground in the CENTOCM AOR (12,500) than we have at sea in the same theater. As Individual Augmentees or as units, these brave men and women are bearing well the legacy of courage under fire left us by our predecessors in Navy blue.

Some of those predecessors helped win the Cold War, another global struggle against enemies of freedom, which began sixty years ago. More than 2,000 of our shipmates made the ultimate sacrifice in Korea and Vietnam, and thousands of others were wounded. Due to their efforts, and the sustained, steady effort by the hundreds of thousands of other men and women who served in the Navy during this critical period, the Cold War ended peacefully and democracy was embraced by much of the world. I encourage Navy commands to incorporate Cold War themes into their 2006 Navy Birthday events and to honor former cold warriors during appropriate ceremonies.

The Naval Historical Center [NHC], Naval Historical Foundation [NHF] and Historic Naval Ships Association [HNSA] stand ready to assist. The NHC webpage - www.history.navy.mil - contains a vast archive of Cold War-related material and includes many historical resources. The center has also initiated an expansion of the national museum of the U.S. Navy to include a gallery entitled "The Navy in the Cold War: Korea, Vietnam, and the Soviet Confrontation." While the gallery will not be completed in 2006, there are materials available the NHC can provide that discusses the gallery's proposed content.

The NHF website - www.navyhistory.org - features a naval heritage speakers list that includes experts conversant on cold war subjects and, like the NHC, offers oral history collections featuring interviews with numerous Cold War veterans. Information about ships that saw service during the cold war can be found at www.hnsa.org. Points of contact include: NHC: Mr. Jack Green, 202-433-7880, jack.green@navy.mil; NHF: Dr. Dave Winkler, 202-678-4333, dwinkler@navyhistory.org; HNSA: Mr. Jeff Nilsson, 757-356-9422, info@hnsa.org.

As one of my predecessors, Admiral George Anderson (CNO 1961-1963) -- a cold warrior himself -- put it, "The Navy has both a tradition and a future, and we look with pride and confidence in both directions." I know you share that pride and confidence with me.

ALL VETERANS: Wear Your True Color This Veteran's Day

All Veterans of all Nations are asked to wear one of your military ribbons
this Veterans Day to display your support of your nation's military personnel.

After decades of personal neglect American veterans are now expressing
pride in our military service. The greatest display of pride is expressed
by wearing a military medal ribbon... a practice that perished in the
United States during the latter years of the Vietnam War when military
service was disrespected by many of the American public.

A website has been established to assist veterans desiring to display their
pride. Subjects include:

Where To Wear Your Military Color;
Clothing The Military Medal Ribbon Should Not Be Worn On;
When Military Medal Ribbons Should Be Worn;
Which Military Medal Ribbon Should You Select for Daily Wear.

REFERENCES:
How To Wear A Military Ribbon on civilian clothing
http://www.amervets .com/mypride/ index.htm

Military Medal Order of Precedence
http://members. aol.com/warlibra ry/display

Contact Person for this website:
Roger Simpson,
Public Information Office 13105320634. com (http://www.13105320 634.com)
The American War Library amervets.com (http://www.amervets .com)
Building Two, 16907 Brighton Avenue
Gardena CA 90247-5420
1-310-532-0634

Vet Centers see escalating demand for help as troops return

By David Goldstein
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15791103.htm

WASHINGTON - A network of community-based walk-in veterans' treatment centers is under increasing pressure as more and more former troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have come looking for help.
A report to be issued Thursday from the House Veterans Affairs Committee's Democratic staff says that nearly a third of all Vet Centers have seen the demand rise for outreach and other services.
The report surveyed 60 of the 207 Vet Centers operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It found that the number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) doubled - from nearly 4,500 to more than 9,000 - from October 2005 through June 2006.
The number of veterans with other types of possible mental health and readjustment problems also doubled, and in some cases tripled, the report said.
Half of the Vet Centers sampled reported that their expanding caseloads have affected their ability to treat their current clientele.
"The administration's failure to increase staffing and other resources for Vet Centers has put their capacity to meet the needs of veterans and their families at risk," the report said.
Among the other findings in the report:
- 40 percent of the centers have sent veterans with readjustment issues who should be receiving individualized therapy into group therapy.
- 30 percent said they need more staff.
- 25 percent could cut services and create waiting lists.
- 20 percent said they have either limited or no capability to provide counseling or therapy for families dealing with veterans suffering from PTSD or other mental health problems.
"The Vet Centers' staff are dedicated and deeply committed to meeting the needs of veterans and their families, but without additional resources, even dedicated staff has limits," said Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, the House VA Committee member who requested the report.
The study was obtained Wednesday afternoon and efforts to contact the VA for comment were unsuccessful. It was unclear when the VA received the report.
The report is the result of a confidential survey of Vet Center staffs. The committee's Democratic staff contacted a sample of 64 centers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Urban and rural areas were represented. Sixty centers responded.
The centers, part of the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service, were created in 1979 under then-VA Administrator Max Cleland, a triple-amputee Vietnam veteran. He later served one term as a senator from Georgia.
The centers were designed to be accessible, storefront clinics where veterans could be seen almost immediately by a staff largely composed of combat veterans.
Their core mission is to help veterans suffering from mental and emotional concerns. PTSD, which wasn't even recognized as a medical condition at the centers' founding, is the most widespread mental health problem experienced by soldiers in combat. It can cause nightmares, flashbacks, depression, survivor's guilt and other types of anxiety.
Paul Sullivan, director of programs for Veterans for America, a veterans advocacy group, said the Vet Center report was disturbing but not surprising.
"We've been saying that VA is in crisis," he said. "It shows that VA does not have a plan. This is additional evidence."
The VA vastly underestimated the number of PTSD cases it expected to see this year, predicting it would see 2,900 cases. As of June 2006, it has seen more than 34,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for PTSD.
A recent VA report shows that more than 1 in 3 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who've gone to the agency for medical help report that they're under stress or have mental problems.
A top Walter Reed Army Medical Center official told Congress last month that 41 percent of National Guard and Army Reservists reported mental health concerns up to six months after deployment, compared with 32 percent of the active-duty force.
Fifteen percent of the Guard and reservists were at risk for PTSD, compared with 9 percent of active-duty troops.

Veterans and PTSD

Produced by a Veterans For Peace Member, Kathie Costos:I just did a new video on Veterans with PTSD for them as well as their families. Pass it on. We need to stop the silence on this and fight for them.

PBS Frontline Taliban

Legion Offers Free Greetings

LEGION OFFERS FREE VETERANS DAY E-GREETINGS:

From now through Veterans Day (November 11th) the American Legion is offering a chance for the Internet-savvy to thank veterans around the world. Web users can e-mail an electronic greeting to any service member free of charge through the Legion’s web site. A link on the Web site guides the sender through selecting a card theme for a particular service branch. It also gives the option of adding music, including the service songs, Yankee Doodle and the Battle Hymn of the Republic and a personal message. The e-mail then lands in the veteran’s inbox with a pickup code for his card. It’s a process simple enough for even the not-so-Internet-savvy.

http://www.e-cards.com/catalog/cat-selection.pl?group=AmLegion&db=AmLegion&cat=Veterans%20Day to send your e-card today. [Source: Army Times, 11 Oct 06]

AFN Iraqi Freedom Journal Oct. 16, 2006

Press Post Title it will launch Windows Media Player

General Accounting Office Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Report May 2006

Download PDF

GAO PTSD Report

The Age of Terror

Robert Fisk: The Age of Terror - a landmark report

Published: 08 October 2006

With chaos stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, we have never lived in a more dangerous time. Over the next 15 pages and 7,000 words, our man in the Middle East looks back over a lifetime of covering war and death, and lays out a bleak future for all of us - one that even those living in the comfort of the Home Counties cannot escape

Cold War Service Medal Petition

To: Secretary of Defense
WHEREAS: In 1998, the United States Government recognized the contribution of United States military service members' sacrifices during the Cold War with a bland and impersonal recognition certificate that had to be requested from the Department of Defense; and WHEREAS: No Campaign Medal exists to recognize the dedicated participation of these service members who "Stood Watch" in the cause of promoting world Peace and stability, and who also participated in hundreds of military exercises and operations that occurred between the start of the Cold War on 02 September 1945 and the end of the Cold War on 26 December 1991; and WHEREAS: Millions of Cold War Veterans prevented communist world domination and nuclear war, and it is fitting that these service members who served Honorably during this era receive proper governmental recognition for their efforts in the form of the timely award of the Cold War Service Medal; and WHEREAS: During this period, thousands of these service members were killed, wounded, and became missing in Cold War overseas operations, which were separate and distinct from other recognized wars such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War; and WHEREAS: The United States Government has not properly recognized the dedicated service of these Veterans who sacrificed so much, with many of their actions and activities shrouded in secrecy to this day, more than a decade removed, so that they receive and maintain no identity as Cold War era Veterans; and WHEREAS: The award of the Cold War Service Medal to these Veterans by the United States Congress, via the Secretary of Defense, is supported by the Cold War Veterans Association, and supported via resolution by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, the Air Force Sergeants Association, the Naval Reserve Association, the State Guard Association of the United States, and other Veterans organizations; and WHEREAS: Advocates For Cold War Veterans' Honor, feels that concerned People who support the award of the Cold War Service Medal to these service members, that they begin to heal the wounds of Cold War Veterans, their families and friends affected by that, and that they bring Honor back unto their loved ones, themselves and their country: now therefore BE IT RESOLVED: That the undersigned, joining with Advocates For Cold War Veterans' Honor, do support authorization of the award of the Cold War Service Medal to these service members by the Secretary of Defense as directed by Congress and Senate; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That per the Fiscal Year 2002 National Defense Authorization Act, also known as the United States Senate Bill S. 1438 (Enrolled), Section 556, Paragraph (2), this law states: "It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should consider authorizing -- the issuance of a campaign medal, to be known as the Cold War service Medal, to each person who, while a member of the Armed Forces, served satisfactorily on active duty during the Cold War;" and BE IT PETITIONED: To the Secretary of Defense, that the names and tally of the undersigned be taken into consideration in the evaluation-reevaluation process, allowing authorization for award of the Cold War Service Medal to these deserving Veterans and service members, and that this is initiated on this date 01 September 2002 by Advocates For Cold War Veterans' Hono
Sincerely,
The Undersigned

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The Authorize the Award of the Cold War Service Medal Petition to Secretary of Defense was created by and written by Joe Martin (mongousmc@adelphia.net). This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.
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Veteran Disability Claims Processing to be Improved

Chairman Miller seeks to assure ‘timely and accurate’ claims for veterans

Washington, D.C. -

Today, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) held an oversight hearing to assess the training and claims procedures of VA’s claims adjudicators. Testimony was received on the types of training provided to claims adjudicators, the standards used to measure proficiency and performance, and what the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is doing to enhance the performance of claims examiners.
“The ability to provide timely and accurate benefits is dependent not solely on increasing staffing levels, but on providing proper and thorough training. Congress, and certainly VA, must ensure that current and new employees have the skills and knowledge necessary to render accurate and fair decisions the first time,” said Chairman Miller (R-Fla.).
Within the last two years, VBA has hired nearly 1,000 new Veteran Service Representatives (VSR). VBA estimates that it takes two years of formal and on-job training for a VSR to become proficient. This training includes cooperative learning, classroom training, and utilization of the computer program, Training and Performance Support Systems (TPSS).
In addition to TPSS, VBA provides training through monthly broadcasts on various subjects. Earlier this year, Admiral Cooper mandated that service center employees complete 70 hours of additional training annually; 80 hours will be required beginning in FY 2007. VBA has also devised a pre-recorded training program, to be available in spring 2007, called the Content Distribution Network (CDN), which will allow employees to view these training seminars on their desktop.
VBA has implemented a skills certification test to assess the knowledge base of claims adjudicators and to provide additional training when necessary. However, a great many employees either don’t have the time needed to devote to training, or are failing basic competency tests.
“As reflected in the testimony, the training that adjudicators receive is vitally important to achieving VBA’s mission,” said Miller. “The Subcommittee will continue its oversight responsibility for disability claims processing to ensure that proper skills and training are implemented.”

Please visit our website at http://veterans.house.gov/

Cicero

A happy life consists in tranquillity of mind.

A life of peace, purity, and refinement leads to a calm and untroubled old age.

A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field,

however fertile, without cultivation.

Advice is judged by results, not by intentions.

All action is of the mind and the mirror of the mind is the face, its index the eyes.

Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.

As the old proverb says "Like readily consorts with like."

Be sure that it is not you that is mortal, but only your body. For that man whom your outward form reveals is not yourself; the spirit is the true self,

not that physical figure which and be pointed out by your finger.

Cicero

Vi Et Armis (By force of arms.)
Cicero was one of the greatest writers and politicians of Ancient Rome.

NYC won't collect from reservists killed in Iraq

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday that the city would forgive the financial debt for a firefighter and a police officer who were killed while serving in Iraq.

"There's no intention to try to collect monies. ...They paid enough price already," Bloomberg said.

Police Officer James McNaughton was serving in the Army Reserve when he was killed by a sniper last year. Firefighter Christian Engeldrum died in 2004 while serving with the Army National Guard.

Along with hundreds of city workers called to duty as military reservists, they participated in the Extended Military Benefits Package that lets participants receive both military and city pay. The deal allows them to keep health insurance, plus pension and other benefits.

When they return, they must give back the lesser of the two salaries - which has caused some alarm for returning veterans who are now getting staggering bills from the city. Many of them say they didn't realize the terms of the deal before they left for the war.

The city's Department of Citywide Administrative Services said last month it is looking at the program to see what needs to be changed, or at least made more clear. In the meantime, there were questions over whether the city would attempt to collect from the estates of Engeldrum and McNaughton.

"We're not going to go after the money for those two people," Bloomberg said. "What we're trying to do is to balance what's responsible - fiscally responsible - and what's fair."

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/10/nyregion/10mbrfs-001.html

October 10, 2006

Manhattan: Two Veterans' Pay Issues Resolved

By DIANE CARDWELL

The city will not seek to recoup pay from the families of Firefighter Christian P. Engeldrum and Police Officer James D. McNaughton, who were killed while on military service in Iraq, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday. City employees called to duty as reservists were allowed to keep both their military and city pay and benefits, as long as they repaid the city the lesser of the two salaries upon their return. But with many of the workers being hit with higher bills than they expected, city officials are re-examining the terms of the program. The issue was resolved at least for the families of Firefighter Engeldrum, who was 39 and married with two sons, and Officer McNaughton, 27, who was engaged. "There's no intention to try to collect monies," Mr. Bloomberg said. "They've paid enough price already."

Letter from Senator Cornyn

Recent letter submitted by CWVA member in Texas after defeat of Cold War Victory Medal.

Thank you for contacting me about the Cold War Victory Medal. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter. As you may know, section 552 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 (H.R.. 5122) would have established the Cold War Victory Medal to honor the men and women who served in our armed forces during the Cold War. The Cold War was a crucial era in our nation's history, and this legislation would pay tribute to those men and women who honorably served their country at home or abroad during the Cold War. I am deeply disappointed that this provision was not included in the final version of the NDAA, and you may be certain I will continue to advocate legislation that will honor those who served our country during that time. Because my father served in the Air Force for thirty-one years, I grew up around men and women dedicated to protecting our country. It is vital that we remember these contributions and sacrifices.

Thus, I remain committed to ensuring that our military personnel are recognized for the invaluable service they rendered during the long struggle against totalitarianism.I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN

United States Senator

517 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510Tel: (202) 224-2934Fax: (202) 228-285

http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/

Increasing Incidents of Vandalism at Veteran Burial Sites

Increasing Incidents of Vandalism at Veteran Burial Sites

Nationwide, vandalism attacks on military veteran burial sites in privateand national cemeteries have increased 113% over the previous year.However, although local law enforcement investigations remain activelypursued in most incidents, distractions toward terrorism-relatedinvestigations have resulted in a lower percentage of cemetery-relatedvandalism apprehensions and prosecutions. Veterans Day is fast approaching.All local veterans organizations are encouraged to offer securitymonitoring services at private and national cemeteries in your community.

Contact Person for this posting:Roger Simpson,Public Information Officer -

http://www.amervets.com/

Building Two, 16907 Brighton Avenue

Gardena CA 90247-54201-310-532-0634