Progressive Wednesday

Memorial Day Everyday: Sign

Sign:

I’s been well-documented at this point that our returning soldiers are getting sub-par medical care, far worse than we’d wish on anyone, let alone women and men who’ve sacrificed their minds, bodies, and spirits in our name. So we think this item on this week’s “to-do” list falls under the category of “The Very Least We Can Do, Daddy-O and Mommy-O.”

All we’re asking you to do is to read over this petition provided by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America demanding improved mental health care for our returning vets. Then, please, please, please sign it.

Need some stats and info to better understand the importance of this? Then it’s stats and info you get:

• According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: “In 2002 and 2003, approximately 340,000 male veterans had co-occurring [serious mental illness] and a substance use disorder.” Male vets aged 18 to 25 had a significantly higher rate than those 26 to 54 or those aged 55 or older.
• The Office of Applied Studies, a federal organization, reports that: “In 2002 and 2003, two million of male veterans aged 18 or older were dependent on or abusing alcohol or illicit drugs.”
• From 2002 to 2005, approximately 19,000 veterans of the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder at VA medical centers or VA Vet Centers. This is according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Again, according the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: “The group [of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans] with the highest rate of risk for mental health problems and PTSD are those between 18 and 24. Young soldiers were three times as likely as those over 40 to be diagnosed with PTSD and/or another mental health disorder.”
• The Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors — a commission created by President Bush — found that: “The military system does not have enough resources, funding or personnel to adequately support the psychiatric health of service members and their families in peace and during conflict.”
• And it’s not just men afflicted: “Nationwide, the VA has diagnosed 4,000 women with PTSD.”
• It might be hard for those of us who haven�t experiences post-traumatic stress disorder to understand what that means. PTSD is a reaction to stressful events that can lead to flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, anxiety attacks, outbursts of anger, depression, decreased self-esteem, loss of sustained beliefs about people or society, hopelessness, a sense of being permanently damaged, difficulties in previously established relationships, hyper-arousal (“jumpiness”), memory loss, emotional detachment and numbness, violence, alcohol and drug addiction, and suicide. (This information comes from a variety of sources: the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the National Institute of Mental Health, amongst others.)
• But to understand this further, it helps to read a personal account, which you can read by clicking this sentence.

So again, please sign the petition created by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Just click this sentence. It’ll take you about 16 seconds.

Picture of signatures courtesy of this fine photographer.

Memorial Day Everyday: End

End:

We want this occupation to end. Making a phone call is one way we can make that happen. So, we’d like you to take three minutes out of your day and call your representative in Congress about the aforementioned war-spending bill. They’ve only got a two-year shelf-life so you’re guaranteed that they’ll be a little more concerned about losing their sweet gig than your Senators. If you’re not sure who your representative is, first go to the U.S. Postal Service to find your full 9-digit zip code, then head on over to Project Vote Smart and find out the name of your lucky representative. If you click on their name, you’ll find their contact information.

Before you call, you’ll want to first check this list to see how your rep voted to know which of the following to read when you call.

If they vote to continue funding without a timetable, you can read this when you dial their digits:

I’m a registered voter in Representative [Congressperson's Last Name] district, and I’m disgusted with their recent vote on the Iraq spending bill. By not mandating a timetable for withdrawal, Representative [Congressperson's Last Name] essentially is telling me overtly, not tacitly, that [he/she] approves of our occupation of Iraq. This was a so-called “war” built on lies and waged without regard for innocent lives with a staggering price tag to taxpayers like me. Representative [Congressperson's Last Name] has just upped the cost. If [he/she] hopes to receive my vote in two years, [he/she] will promptly propose new legislation that will de-authorize our obscene occupation of Iraq. Congress authorized the invasion under the War Powers Act and that authorization can be revoked. [Congressperson's Name] should not wait and let more American soldiers and innocent Iraqis die.

If your representative, by some small miracle, voted against the bill, use this when you give a concerned pissed-off jingle:

I�m a registered voter in Representative [Congressperson's Last Name] district, and I’m pleased [he/she] voted against the recent war-funding bill. But if [he/she] hopes to receive my vote in two years, [he/she] will promptly propose new legislation that will de-authorize our obscene occupation of Iraq. Congress authorized the invasion under the War Powers Act and that authorization can be revoked. Representative [Congressperson's Last Name] should not wait and let more American soldiers and innocent Iraqis die.

Sometimes dialing 10-digits can make all the difference.

Photo by this phone-lover.

Operation Hero Miles – helping to bring troops home

There are dozens of organizations out there that are committed to aiding our military personnel and their families.  From providing emergency financial assistance to soldiers to taking a vet on a fishing trip (please throw them back) there are countless ways to support our troops without relying on the government.  All of these are well-meaning, some charities more efficient then others, and almost all of them will cost you a little dinero.  You want one that won't? How – ˜bout Operation Hero Miles?

Frequent Flyer Miles.  Almost everyone has them and most of them go unused.  You can't use them during blackout dates or they expire before you plan to travel again.  It's such a hassle to keep track of them that most people don't even bother to check and see how many they have.  So Congressman “Dutch– Ruppersburger put together a program in 2003 that would allow people to donate unused miles to servicemen and women who come home from Iraq or Afghanistan on R&R leave.  After Congress authorized all R&R travel at government expense, the program evolved.  The program now allows that:

• Service men and women with an approved leave of five or more days may be given a free round trip airline ticket for a trip from the medical center to their home and return if they are not eligible for government funded airfare.
• Qualifying service men and women may be given free round trip airline tickets to enable their family or close friends to visit them while they are being treated at the medical center.

Which airlines are partners with the program?  Glad you asked.

• AirTran Airways
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Midwest Airlines
• Northwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

So if you're one of those contributing to the enormous stockpile of unused miles, please consider donating them to Operation Hero Miles.  Only the President can bring them all home, but maybe you can help with just one.