Never In Doubt

It's unfortunate that Veterans, especially Disabled Veterans, will be stigmatized but really, this was never in doubt.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a report titled: Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment. The report was prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division and coordinated with the FBI There have been a number of reports similar to this in the past. But, this report really focuses on the current economic crisis and how it, along with political strife, can aid the recruitment efforts of extremist organizations. I'll let you read it and decide how much rings true. However, the most disturbing part of the report is the mention of veterans and how they are portrayed. Read below: (U) Disgruntled Military Veterans (U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today. — (U) After Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-1991, some returning military veterans—including Timothy McVeigh—joined or associated with rightwing extremist groups. — (U) A prominent civil rights organization reported in 2006 that “large numbers of potentially violent neo-Nazis, skinheads, and other white supremacists are now learning the art of warfare in the [U.S.] armed forces.” — (U//LES) The FBI noted in a 2008 report on the white supremacist movement that some returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups. Of particular note is the mention of veterans as "disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war." This thinly-veiled reference to PTSD does nothing paint to veterans in a good light... in the minds of many. It just reinforces the "wacko warrior" image veterans have fought so long to dispel. -- Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org

Update: Huffington Post claims that Michelle Malkin and redstate are coming unglued over this Homeland Security report. I hope this gets pushed out in the open. Perhaps we can have a national discussion on it. Possibly stop the vitriol from the likes of FAUX News, Glenn Beck and Ru$h Limbaugh, however, I doubt it will stop people from hating and the sick ones from killing.

Think Progress has more.

From Crooks and Liars:

Malkin's headline wails:

"The Obama DHS Hit Job on Conservatives Is Real"

So, I have a question for Malkin: Are you saying that mainstream conservatives are now right-wing extremists?

Because, you know, the report -- which in fact is perfectly accurate in every jot and tittle -- couldn't be more clear. It carefully delineates that the subject of its report is "rightwing extremists," "domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups," "terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks," "white supremacists," and similar very real threats described in similar language.

Nothing about conservatives. The word never appears in the report.

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Sunday Interlude

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Small News Story Today

THE IRAQ WAR ENTERED ITS 7th YEAR TODAY!!!

Now wake the fuck up people!

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Go Cardinals!

As the Super Bowl is about to take place today... I reflect on former Arizona Cardinals player, Pat Tillman. Great story by Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel) on the injustice the Tillman family has had to endure. I wish the Tillman family peace and possibly find the answers they deserve.

Go Cardinals! (Hey, when in Rome... root for the home team... the Cardinals stadium is only about 8 miles from my house)

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Honesty to Return to the Veterans Administration?

General (Ret.) Eric Shinseki is named to lead the Veterans Administration. Anyone who disagreed with and was fired because of Rumsfield and Wolfowitz earns my respect. That means he is a straight shooter, no bullshit. He also happens to be a 2 tour Veteran of Vietnam who lost part of his foot stepping on a land mine. The first Asian-American 4 star General and leader of the Joints Chief of Staff.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has this to say about Shinseki:

"IAVA applauds President-elect Obama and the transition team for making this historic selection. General Shinseki has a record of courage and honesty, and is a bold choice to lead the VA into the future. The President-elect has demonstrated an understanding of the urgency of the issues facing America's veterans by making this announcement early. General Shinseki is widely-respected, honest and experienced. He is a man that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA looks forward to supporting him to implement the historic change that is needed at the VA.

As a wounded, decorated, combat veteran, and the first Asian American in US History to be a four-star general, General Shinseki, has the potential to be an effective and dedicated advocate for veterans of all generations.

This is a critical time for veterans. One in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing serious mental health injuries like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression. Wounded veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, to receive disability benefits. The struggling U.S. economy is hitting new veterans especially hard. And the new GI Bill, which will make college affordable to every veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, must be implemented by August 2009.

General Shinseki has a monumental task before him. To address these issues will require real leadership that encourages active VA outreach and transparency. We encourage General Shinseki to move quickly to add Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans to key positions in his senior staff.

President-elect Obama made veterans' issues a priority in his campaign, and Michelle Obama has called military families one of the issues she cares most about. We look forward to working closely with General Shinseki and the new Administration to ensure every veteran in this country gets the care and support they have earned."

And here is the rest of it.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Part 1


Part 2

"If ya wanna end war and stuff, ya gotta sing loud." - Arlo Guthrie


Every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, at 12 noon, KZOK (our local classic rock station) has played "Alice's Restaurant." No matter what we are doing everything stops so that we can listen; for 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

Having had the ability and honor of seeing Arlo live a couple of years ago, and hearing him sing it live, has increased my appreciation for the genius of Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie and the entire Guthrie family.

The prior Arlo quote - "If ya wanna end war and stuff, ya gotta sing loud," is one of my all-time favorite sayings. I believe it, in all of its incarnations. It is true no matter how I look at it...if we want to change the world we cannot be meek. Silent bitching in the privacy of my own home makes no difference. It is only in putting myself out there and participating in ways that I am not always comfortable - it is only in taking that risk that I can make a difference - that we can make a difference.

I tried to find some of the best versions of "Alice's Restaurant" - but they are all good. For those interested, here are the links to the scenes from the movie:

Dump Closed

Draft scene 1

Draft scene 2

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope that today is filled with much love and happiness for all of you.

We were to have a small party tomorrow, with the turkey and all of that, but, I am too sick to do it. We have postponed until Sunday. I am on an antibiotic, so hopefully my immune system will not be as screwey as it has been and the antibiotic will fix me fast. I hope so. I am really pissed that my [way too expensive, free range, organic] turkey is waiting. I would like to eat it now.

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"This Veterans Day, U.S. Soldiers Say 'Stop the War'"

An open letter from war resisters calls for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day, Veteran's Day, we would like to express to the American public why we, veterans of the Global War on Terror, have chosen to refuse orders to reactivate into military service. We are direct witnesses to the horrors of this war, having experienced its atrocities at their source, and we have decided that we can no longer carry out these illegal and immoral policies. We believe that veterans and active-duty GIs are in a key position to stop illegal and unjust war, and we are inspired by the resistance of troops who stood against the war in Vietnam. One of the preeminent reasons for the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam was increasing dissent among the active-duty troops stationed abroad and at home. By the end of the war, there were entire units refusing to participate in combat, many going as far as outright mutiny. The United States learned a lesson from the Vietnam War: that it is unlikely, except in the event of self-defense, that regular civilians will execute the life-threatening orders that are given to them by military authority. The solution of policy makers was to create an all-volunteer force that negated the need for a draft. This translates into a mercenary force composed of America's disadvantaged: a sector of the U.S. demographic that is particularly susceptible to military recruitment for lack of other options and finding themselves with deployment orders again and again. To compensate for huge pitfalls in recruitment since the invasion of Iraq, the military has resorted to recalling former service members. This policy is known as "involuntary activation" and utilizes deactivated service members who still have time on their contracts in the Individual Ready Reserves (IRR) to fill shortcomings in specific job specialties. The abuse and misuse of this policy has escalated under the current administration to such a degree that it can now only be viewed as a "backdoor draft" that targets the same disadvantaged individuals the military sought out for enlistment, namely because they are better at not questioning orders. However, we have now begun to question these orders. We are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and members of the IRR who have refused or will refuse any activation orders that would lead to us serving an unjust and imperial U.S. foreign policy. It is a prevailing notion that this refusal is unpatriotic, but we consider our actions the only choice. Not only did the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan do great harm to the people of those countries, but it undermined the ostensible goal with which the wars were begun: Instead of stopping terrorism, it has proliferated terrorism, an expectation that was predicted well before the war started. By refusing activation, we are refusing to participate in wars that serve the purposes of furthering the careers of politicians and high-ranking officers. We openly support other IRR members who follow in these footsteps. The military is a force that rules through fear of retribution for disobeying its will. In reality, more than a third of IRRs simply refuse to report to duty. Most of the rest report out of fear that the military will change their discharge status or prosecute them for desertion, but up to this point, prosecution has been rare. Members of the IRR are not under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and thus far, the military has had a practice of not prosecuting them with criminal charges unless they report in some form or function to activate. Very few willingly volunteer for activation. There can be no promise that President-Elect Barack Obama will stop the stressful and unfair techniques of back-to-back deployments, "stop-loss" or the "backdoor draft" that are damaging the psychology of veterans in irreparable ways. Nor that he will stop encouraging global violence by unlawful uses of force. It is in this vein that we turn to organizations like Courage to Resist, Iraq Veterans Against the War and many other large-scale and grassroots organizations to solicit change in a largely unrepresentative democracy, and to allow the voices of the people to ring through the halls of the Capital. Benjamin Lewis, former Marine Corps mortarman, Iraq veteran, IRR recall resister, peace activist Brandon Neely, former U.S. Army Military police officer, Iraq veteran, IRR recall refuser.-- Benjamin Lewis and Brandon Neely

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