All posts by Michael Brewer

Retired Commercial Property Manager and Private Investigator. Disabled Combat Veteran of the U.S Marine Corps/ Vietnam. Raised in Dixon, Illinios and moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1959. Very happily married with 3 children and 3 grandsons. Blessed with treasured friends. LIfe long interests have been broad and exciting. Owned a semi-pro soccer team for 4 years. Freelance journalism has been stimulating. Civically involved with both municipal and veterans fraternal organizations. Moved to Apple Valley, Ca. in July, 2010 to be near children. Our daughter is a therapist in Santa Monica and son a multi-media digital ats maven. My wife loves her loom and us! Past Commandant of Apple Valley Marine Corps League,. Currently their Chaplain and Veteran Service Officer. Member of California Writers Club where we occasionally volunteer at the Federal Prison. An overall content hombre.

Rep. Darrell Issa Goes Postal Veterans Unite

Some days it is painful to be registered as a non-partisan voter.  It began in my seminary bound days and stuck.  Even though Dante said, “the hottest places in hell are reserved for the neutral,” I have managed to keep some form of equanimity and objectivity by not caving in to crude, dumbed down, disassociated from reality party politics.

The food fights amongst the duopoly are  worse then ever, and they are not cleaning the kitchen afterward.

Sometimes you just got to call it the way you see it, and I see this Postal Service reform bill for what it is;  a clan of shills preparing the way for a private sector hostile take over, completely contrary to their free market economy mantra.  If  McCain and Issa do not have someone in the wings preparing  to be gifted the USPS, then call me paranoid. But wait two years before leveling your opinion.  The new Capitalism is gimmick capitalism.  Few are making money the old fashion way by earning it, ergo, Wall Street.

The United Postal Service has been one the most reliable employers of veterans for 50 years.  They currently have many reservists in their employ. What happens to these men and women when they return from war to a reformulated organization that now has an underemployed and part time staff? What happens to their families?  What happens to their health care? What level of enforcement is there for the Federal law that mandates that these veterans must be restored to their old positions and pay grade prior to be called to duty? The ripple effect will be so immense when added to the Occupy Wall Street movement, that it may well be the tipping point that leads to outright revolution.  Wrong time Issa.  And, now we know for sure that Senator McCain is  a veteran Uncle Tom.

What happens to the risk pool when you remove this number of employees from their current health care. It literally alters the entire economies of scale, making health care more expensive.  Oh crap, now I get it.. they can blame the increase in unemployment and rising health care costs on the President.   Nifty huh?

See what I mean by gimmick capitalism? Quite the paradox, getting rich off unemployment. Because if you loose your health care and have to start over, it costs more.

What happens to all the leases  and fee title real estate the USPS has obligations to for 30-50 years out? What happens to the already struggling landlords of these properties?

Years ago they sold a massive amount of their  obsolete equipment to China. Are we now looking at a postage stamp that will read, made in China?

Us Vietnam veterans are not real enamored  with this China thing. Remember, they supplied the North Vietnamese with the  weapons and supplies that put 58,000 men on the Wall. This duplicity has a bit more gravity than the actions of Jane Fonda. Grudge? No, just an accurate  memory.

What happens to our rural areas that are already on the edge? How will they and the small businesses, that the GOP proclaims are the backbone of America, be served?

Is this some sinister plot to get our citizens to move into metropolitan areas so as to be the perfect consumers?  China would like that.  If we no longer need rural America for food, textiles, forests and fuel, we can just start importing all of our essentials.  I see the envelopes and boxes for delivery coming from China.

In the literal sense a shill is a charade acting as an innocent bystander.  These Senators are shills squared, as they will never be at the effect of what they are causing. You just have to ask yourselves for whom they are doing the bidding?

Is this the sovereign America our men and women in uniform are defending?  Or is sovereignty now an antiquated concept?

All veterans who took an oath to uphold the Constitution, hopefully inherent of protecting our sovereign nation, should help block this legislation. It is part of the selling off of America that began in 2001.

 

 

Retroactive Stop Loss Pay Deadline Nears

Deadline to Apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay Nears
            The Oct. 21, 2011, deadline for eligible service members, veterans and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) is one month away.  The deadline was previously extended to allow those eligible more time to apply for the benefits they have earned under the program guidelines.
            “The nation has rallied behind this effort — the military services have been joined by the White House, Congress, the VA, veteran and military service organizations, and friends and family members around the world,” said Lernes Hebert, director of Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management.  “Despite these remarkable outreach efforts, some people may still not yet have applied.  If you think you are eligible, and have not yet applied, now is the time to do so.”
            Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay was established to compensate for the hardships military members encountered when their service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss authority between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009.  Eligible members or their beneficiaries may submit a claim to their respective military service in order to receive the benefit of $500 for each full or partial month served in a Stop Loss status.
            When RSLSP began on Oct. 21, 2009, the services estimated 145,000 service members, veterans and beneficiaries were eligible for this benefit.  Because the majority of those eligible had separated from the military, the services have engaged in extensive and persistent outreach efforts, to include multiple direct mailings, public service announcements, and continuous engagements with military and veteran service organizations, social networks and media outlets.
            To apply, or for more information on RSLSP, including submission requirements and service-specific links, go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss .
God Bless
Jose M. Garcia PNC
National Service Officer
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Caveat For Future Veteran Residents of Posada Del Sol

With the population of aging baby boomer veterans, one of the largest in American history, it is well known by investors of all sorts that this is a future cash cow for Nursing Homes and Assisted Living facilities. It may be important to know who your Landlord will be.  This is no more than a press release and the reader will have to conduct their own further due diligence.  For the present, I will acquiesce to the work done by former Supervisor Ed Moore.  As always, our readers will have something to offer to either further or refute the veracity of this claim.

 

 

$1000 REWARD

 

At the August 15, 2011 meeting of the Pima County Board of
Supervisors, the following item was on the Agenda:

 

11. REAL PROPERTY – Unfinished Business (RM 8/2/11)

Award of Purchase Contract

Consent by the Board of Supervisors for Award of Purchase Contract for the sale of Posada del Sol Health Care Center located at 2250 N. Craycroft Road, Tax Parcel Nos. 121-05-0140, 0150, 016A, 017F and 017J, to Hunter Properties Investments, L.L.C, in the amount of $7,800,000.00.  The term of the sale is cash with a $500,000.00 deposit received as earnest money.

 

Information provided by staff to the Board of Supervisors included the memo dated August 2, 2011 from the County Administrator which stated:

 

“Recommendation:

I recommend accepting the bid of $7,800,000 from Hunter Property Investments, LLC.  They are the highest bidder to have satisfied the County’s minimum requirements and provide clearly demonstrated ability to promptly close on the transaction to purchase Posada del Sol.”

 

Among other memos from staff dealing with “Hunter” was the County Administrator’s recommendation dated August 15, 2011 which stated:

“Recommendation:

I recommend accepting the bid of $7,800,000 from Hunter Property Investments, LLC for the purchase of Posada del Sol Healthcare Center.”

 

The County Administrator made these recommendations after staff did their examination and due diligence on “Hunter”.  The Board of Supervisors accepted the “bid” from “Hunter”.

 

I paid for copies of the two highest bids received by Pima County for this purchase.  There was NO “BID” from Hunter Property Investments LLC. In other words, Pima County turned down a bid for $9,150,000 and, instead, awarded the purchase to Hunter Property Investments LLC for $7,800,000 – a company that had not submitted a bid. In my opinion, the reasons given by County staff for throwing out the higher bids actually received are suspect.

 

As a real estate broker for more than 40 years and a member of the Board of Supervisors for 12 years, I believe County staff involved with this purchase recommendation should have been laughed out of the building.

 

I know the members of the Board of Supervisors and I know that if staff had told them the truth, they would have awarded the purchase that was $1,350,000 higher.

 

To help expose the truth to our community, I will pay $1000 to the first person who can provide a copy of the bid from Hunter Property Investments LLC. It must be the bid voted on by Pima County.

 

In my opinion, this entire process has had a “Rio Nuevo” stink from the point of view of the staff and not the Board of Supervisors.   Any bid is public record and easily obtained.  Any County employee is eligible to earn the $1000 reward.

 

Supervisor Richard Elias is to be complimented for voting against this possibly rigged transaction.

 

Ed Moore

Former Pima County Supervisor and

Pima County taxpayer.

Veterans At Work

 For years, maybe ten or fifteen, I have often wondered what our daily living would be like without the millions of veterans, disabled included, that volunteer their time and talents to make the world a better place.  Time is clearly a commodity that is meted out to all  without discrimination.  It is only with time that we can implement the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Were I not a disabled veteran, I would not have the time to either write this blog, nor assist fellow vets with their claims.  My salary is zero.  And I love it that way.
> > As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, please keep
> > these facts in mind:
> >
> >
> > � The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans
> > salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses
> >
> >
> > � The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000
> > base salary along with numerous expense benefits.
> >
> >
> > � UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k
> > per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE . Less than 5
> > cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause.
> >
> >
> > � The Salvation Army’s Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a
> > salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2
> > billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the
> > cause.
> >
> >
> > � The American Legion National Commander receives a $0.00 zero
> > salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and
> > youth!
> >
> >
> > � The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a
> > $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their
> > families and youth!
> >
> >
> > � The Disabled American Veterans National Commander receives a
> > $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their
> > families and youth!
> >
> >
> > � The Military Order of Purple Hearts National Commander
> > receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and
> > their families and youth!
> >
> >
> > � The Vietnam Veterans Association National Commander receives
> > a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their
> > families and youth!
> >
> >
> > No further comment is necessary. Please share this with everyone you can.

Veterans Love The Trolley

You may be asking what this has to do with Veterans Affairs. Lots, if you know the history of transportation in America and its respect for veterans. One of the Old Pueblo Trolley cars, the “Belgian,” has medallions above several of the seats. They were placed there for World War l veterans, signifying they could ride for free if they sat in those seats.

As a trained Conductor for Old Pueblo Trolley, I used to invite tons of disabled veterans to come and ride with us on the weekends and I would just pay the tab. The camaraderie was tremendous and mingling with happy riders, including smiling children, was good for the vets. This will be nothing but nostalgia, like the Trolley itself, if they do not survive after the construction of the modern streetcar. Tucson has not been noted for its collective interest in preservation. Nor have the staff and volunteers had much recognition since its founding in 1983.

Few know that Old Pueblo Trolley has operated on an  all volunteer crew, inclusive of maintenance and restoration, since its inception. God bless you all, you have brought many fond memories to thousands of Tucsonans. The hope of your loyal riders is that we will be able to create more of those memories on the rails of the future

PRESS RELEASE

OLD PUEBLO TROLLEY SUSPENSION OF OPERATION

Revised as of 9-27-11

 

HISTORIC TROLLEY SUSPENDS OPERATION DURING MODERN STREETCAR CONSTRUCTION

 

LAST RIDES DURING OCTOBER

FREE RIDES ON HALLOWEEN FOR THOSE IN COSTUME

After 18 ½ years of serving the community, Old Pueblo Trolley’s operation of historic streetcars will be suspended at the end of October until construction of the modern streetcar project is finished.  Initial project work will provide an improved drainage system on 7th Street and 8th street necessitating removal of the track and overhead electric conductor in early November.  This work is scheduled to be followed by replacement of the single existing track and overhead on 4th Avenue and University Blvd. with new double track and overhead electric supply system.

Therefore, the last opportunity for the public to ride the historic trolley will be during the five weekends of October.  The schedule will remain the same as it has been – Friday evening from 6 p.m. to midnight., Saturday from noon to midnight, and Sunday afternoon from noon to 6 p.m.  Regular fares of $1.50 one-way, $3.00 round trip will be charged.  Also private charters for groups can be arranged during any week in October.

The month of last rides will be capped off with a special Halloween “last run” night on Monday, October 31, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.  Anyone in a Halloween costume will be given a free ride.

Old Pueblo Trolley looks forward to operating with the modern streetcar when it commences operation in 2013.  In preparation, volunteers will continue restoration and maintenance work on the trolleys.  Tours of the ongoing work at the trolley barn and of OPT’s historic bus restoration efforts can be arranged by appointment.  The public may also visit the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum and Locomotive 1673 at the historic depot, 414 N. Toole Avenue, Sunday and Tuesday thru Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, or to charter the trolley, check the website – www.oldpueblotrolley.org, or call Tom Gorman at (520) 326-0377.

Statement From VA Intergovernmental Affairs

 It is my sincere belief that the Veterans of this once shining light on the hill nation should launch our own Bank, before our existing ones sell off America. I will expound on this notion in a future posting.  “V Bank” we shall call it. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Veterans of the United States of America. In December of 2012 we will all simultaneously abandon our current banks and  launch our own system of banking without the help of China!

Statement from Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki 

on the American Jobs Act 

 

“Yesterday, the President sent the American Jobs Act to Congress for consideration. With the American Jobs Act, the President is again demonstrating unwavering support of Veterans and of business by putting forward an aggressive plan that will help create new jobs for Veterans and boost the American economy. 

 “By providing tax credits from $5,600 to $9,600 to encourage businesses to hire unemployed Veterans, the American Jobs Act not only helps put more Veterans back to work, it sends a message that a grateful Nation honors their service and sacrifice. Congress should pass this bill as soon as possible. 

 “As the President said in his address to Congress and the Nation, ‘We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, and risk their lives to fight for our country.  The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.’ We at VA could not agree more. 

“Under the President’s leadership, VA will continue to prepare the next generation of leaders by administering the new Post-9/11 GI Bill to over 558,000 Veterans and family members. In October, thanks to strong leadership from the President and Congress, VA will expand that GI Bill program to provide vocational training and other non-degree job skills for Veterans — a tremendous opportunity to create more good-paying jobs for Veterans in a matter of months.

“The President also challenged the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed Veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. We at VA already employ over 100,000 Veterans, about 30 percent of our workforce. Our goal is to up that to 40 percent. VA joins the President in challenging the private sector to join us in this important effort to support Veterans.”

 

 

#  #  #


Poems From War: Volume 1

Poems from combat veterans are the Proverbs of war, they contain the wisdom of the many and the soul of one.

“Poetry is the fine art of substantiating shadows, and of lending existence to nothing.” Burke

Much can be said about the shadows of war. Little can be said in polite company. Less can be said that captures the dark night of the soul.  Thinking accurately is not the end game, but feeling honestly is the only path to healing and grasping the aftermath that lingers.

“War, that mad game , the world so loves to play.” Swift

I will be posting poetry from a select group of combat veterans I have come to know over the past ten years.  They have given permission to publish these for the readers of the TucsonCitizen.com.  They have not given permission for any other publication.

The first poem by Bill Black,  a former Army officer and Vietnam Veteran, is from the title of one of his collections by the same name, “Old Eyes, Grey Souls.”  The title in itself captures a reminiscent feeling for me. I recall my first teacher on the U of A  campus, Father Robert Burns OP, head of the Religious Studies program, who once told me that my eyes looked so much older than my 23 years of age. I had been home from the war for nine months.

Black holds deep convictions about the effects of war on our societal structures.  “While war makes history and shapes destinies of nations, the individual effects on the  people involved need further discussion,” Black states.

The second writer/poet I have selected, is Pete Bourret. Pete is also a Vietnam Veteran, and served with the 7th Marines as a combat mortarman.  Pete is currently working on his first novel, and has produced a documentary about his return trip to Vietnam; ” Strands of Wire Around My Heart.”

 

 

Old Eyes, Grey Souls

 

The old man was sad as he walked away.

He should not have seen what he saw today.

He hoped this group would escape it some way.

He knew it well from days gone by.

He knew the anguish would not die.

 

The young guys were still sitting there,

Not talking, just drinking.  He could swear

They each remembered some personal “there.”

They were easy to tell from the other guys,

They were the young guys with the old eyes.

 

His own “there” had been along a riverside

In an area so low that it had a high tide

That had colored rust brown from the blood

From the bodies from friends that had stood

As part of a team, his buddies on each side.

 

Their lives and times were shaped in a way

That if they mentioned the place, few could say

That they had heard or knew of the place

Or what the guys went through.  A look, a word, a face,

Or a scene was all it took for the memory to race.

 

So they sat with a stare so far away while memories replay

Places and days they wish would go away.

The eyes mirror a soul locked on a scene from that day.

Tears that they could not cry were frozen behind old eyes

Chilled from the depths of souls already grey.

 

The old man sighed as he remembered other guys

Who looked this way as their nightmares flowed into the day.

Long lost, dead, but never escaping the way

The eyes showed their souls,

So young in years, but already grey.

Bill Black/ Army Officer

 

THE SECRET LAW OF PHYSICS

Mortar round exploding

Shrapnel

racing

timelessly

aimlessly

endlessly

through dozens of Decembers            until

the grunts child feels the burning metal shards of yesterday’s war

made unfairly present           by daddy’s sentence in his prison of pain.

Shrapnel has no ears                 to hear a child’s whimpering under the covers

Shrapnel has no eyes                to see the vacant stare of a childhood stolen

Shrapnel has no lips                  to count the thousand smiles that never were.

Shrapnel only has perpetual velocity

And

too much time on its hands.                            Pete M. Bourret

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spending Grace

 

The priest said it was the gift of a loving God/  A loving grace for everyone/ It seemed a part of the Church facade/ To us this Church would shun.

For us grace is a fragment/ Or pennies found or lost/ Or spent to buy moments/ For someone else’s cost.

We go on day by day/ As in little moments/ We spend grace away/ In meaningless events.

Yes it was the Priests promise to the poor/ A selling point in his salvation refrain/ But the only gifts in streets and wars/ Are numbing hunger and lasting pain.

Bill Black

 

Untitled

Stars everywhere/   Cricket chatter/  Cold beads of sweat– meet my hand—as it roams the geography of my face.

The thought is back

Someone in the darkness

wants to kill me.

Pete Bourret

 

“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 solve conflicts again.”  Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Some will snicker at the mushy nature of poetry.  Yet, in a time like the present when language is used and abused to the sole end of dividing, I see it differently. It is the poet who does not permit us to be distracted by the base and carnival world of politics.

 

Both of these gentleman are award winning poets. I will share more from their collections in future postings.

 

 

 

Agent Orange Exposure On Navy Ships

Thanks to the Veterans Benefits Blog for dogging this intractable issue that is taking the lives of our veterans to this day. Forty years we have been fighting for full disclosure. I feel so sad for the families who lost love ones prior to the truth being told.  One wonders how long this information has been known.  I too experience the symptoms of Agent Orange, but praise be, it was discovered early enough to ameliorate some of the conditions. It is still difficult for me to allow into my consciousness that I was sprayed with chemicals by my own country. Desert Storm soldiers are just now being accepted for chemical exposure.  And then Iraq of course, with Depleted Uranium et al. Is is possible that the WMD is  in the dust?

Be sure to rent a real sleeper movie, starring the late John Ritter. It is titled, “Un-Natural Causes.” 1986.  It is the true story about the history of the VA’s struggle with accepting the effects of AO, and the saga of one Maude DeVictor who was a benefits counselor at Hines Hospital in Chicago.

Just think, we are still treating sailors who were exposed to asbestos during WWll!

VA Creates List of Ships for Vietnam Agent Orange Presumed Exposure

Vietnam wartime sailors now presumed exposed to Agent Orangeby Audrey Beebe on September 7, 2011

Vietnam veterans who served on ships have been asking for decades for medical benefits due to exposure to Agent Orange.  Until now, most of these veterans were not considered under the presumed exposure idea which covers the majority of Vietnam veterans who served on land.

The VA has listened.  There is still a list of criteria that has to be met, and of course proof of service must be shown.  There are several groups of ships and boats that are on this list.

The first, is a set of two categories: Mobile Riverine Force and Inshore Fire Support (ISF) Division 93.  Both of these two groups are on the list.

The second, is a list of boat/ship designators:

  • LCM (Landing Craft, Mechanized)
  • LCU (Landing Craft, Utility)
  • LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel)
  • LST (Landing Ship, Tank)
  • PBR (Patrol Boat, River)
  • PCF (Patrol Craft, Fast or Swift Boat)
  • PG (Patrol Gunboat)
  • WAK (Cargo Vessel)
  • WHEC (High Endurance Cutter)
  • WLB (Buoy Tender)
  • WPB (Patrol Boat)
  • YFU (Harbor Utility Craft)

A veteran who served on a ship or boat with one of these designations will also have this information shown in their service records.

The third, and largest category, is simply an alphabetical list of every ship that counts for presumed exposure.  There are a LOT of ships on this list.  When looking for the one you served on, look under the first letter of the ship’s formal, full name.

If you cannot find the boat or ship you served on, but are certain that it should be included, there are ways to get it on the list.  You will need to first file a claim for a condition that is related to Agent Orange, and provide proof that it was developed due to Agent Orange exposure, in Vietnam, on your ship.

Photo thanks to Kevin H. under creative commons license on Flickr.

Read more: http://www.vabenefitblog.com/va-creates-list-of-ships-for-vietnam-agent-orange-presumed-exposure/#ixzz1XIgh3fAe

Why I Write

In June of 2009 when the Tucson Citizen editor Mark Evans extended the offer to join the ranks of a handful of bloggers and lend some attention to Veterans Affairs, I accepted, but not without some trepidation about holding my own with genuine journalists. The likes of, Rene Shaefer-Horton and Hugh Holub, have decades of journalistic integrity and a loyal reader base.

With the guidance and tutelage of Mark Evans, a University of Arizona journalism instructor, and the the occasional rebuking and syntax correction of fellow blogger Carolyn Classen, I have managed to hang in with content that I hope is timely and compelling.

The feedback from the TC.com software indicates that Veteran Veritas, when disciplined, hovers in the 45-50 percentile range of reader interest.  Sports rules! That tells me that it has been worth the modest dedication and rigor it takes to keep this Blog chugging.

There are days I feel like the “little engine that could,” yet in reading over the past two years of comments and private emails I am assured that Veteran Veritas has been helpful and occasionally enlightening for our community of veterans. It is for them I write and remain invigorated.

Cliche as the journalistic dictum may be, “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” it remains as a guide.

When I received a call from the Department of the Air Force Public Information Office about a posting that spoke of planes at Davis Monthan being contaminated with Dioxin,(Agent Orange), I knew we were serving the interest of our population of veteran readers. They have not called again.

I write to connect. It seems to be have been my lot in life since childhood. Even as a young paper boy for both the Arizona Daily Star and the Tucson Citizen, (my brother and I delivered for both in the same day), I was connecting my subscribers with each other. As the first paper boy for El Con Mall in 1959, everyone on my route knew of all the special sales at Dave Bloom and Sons, Mills Touche and Steinfelds and Gruenwald Jewlers.  Connecting is a joy and blogging permits the flowering of a natural tendency.

The one aspect that provides the most fuel for blogging is the outreach to our veterans who bore the weight of battle. They deserve the best and most useful information available to enhance their quality of life.

Veterans of war frequently do not hold the same divisive and charged viewpoints as the dominant culture. It is vital that we remain connected and with solidarity–if only for the sake of vigilance. To protect our democracy we must grasp the historical meaning, burdens and ramifications of war, with all its consequent impact on society and the individual psyche.

Many of the postings of the past two years are no more than informational direction, with attribution, while others have been intended to heal and advocate for the disabled veteran. I try to leave editorial for the pros. There are plenty of them, including the self proclaimed ones!  At times it is hard to resist or may even seem irresponsible to not add opinion, especially when a commenter is off base. But then that is the beauty of entering dialogues that only blogging affords.

As a 100% disabled veteran of the Marine Corps and a combat squad leader in Vietnam, I know well the dark night of the soul and the travails my comrades have experienced. For 12 years I worked as a Veteran Service Officer shepparding hundreds of men and women through the disability claim process. I have walked Point on that patrol and know well the nuances of the Congressional Federal Register Title 38 that dictates the process.  Never did I imagine that we would be engaged in a now 11 year long war sending  home so many wounded men and women. August was the deadliest month in the Afghan war.

It is for them I write and connect, with the full awareness that the validation of their experiences and the fellowship, as temporal as it may be, is the space that heals. I pray that Veteran Veritas has served that end.

As a student of history, it strikes me that the ecology of our society is more transformed by the connectors than the trench workers. Without the connectors, the bankers, politicians, automakers and pharmaceutical companies, have no juice.

The waterways, railroads, highways and phone companies have connected us for a century. It is now the Internet that trumps and transcends all of  them as the world above the world that connects us  in cyberspace and  is the new unregulated democracy.

Journalism will survive and blogging is its ship. Veteran Veritas is a small cabin on that big boat. I invite you to continue to sail with us.

 

 

“Only the dead know the end of War.” Plato

 

” I am but a small pencil in the hand of God.” Mother Theresa

Veterans For Peace Gathering

PRESS RELEASE
The Wars Come Home
Veterans for Peace (VFP) monthly meeting
View the DVD “Crosswise” to learn what the cemeteries of Arlington West mean to U.S. soldiers coming home from and going to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan
Monday September 12 from 7-8:30pm  at Ward 3 Council Office 1510 E Grant Rd Tucson
FREE EVENT call 298-7498 for more info
Gems From Veterans for Peace (VFP) Annual Convention
Highlights of the 2011 Annual VFP Convention will be presented at the monthly VFP meeting
Monday October 10 from 7-8:30pm at Ward 3 Council Office 1510 E Grant Rd Tucson

FREE EVENT call 298-7498 for more info


Dave Croteau