General discussion of US politics

Look at all the "Law and Order" freaks/hypocrites on the right as they let
the Bush girls continue to party on without "really busting" them.  While
middle class Americans children spend time in jail for less than what these
girls are doing.  Even though the girls are out in LA this weekend to party
illegally,  no one will bust them or their friends like the law would do to
other kids their age.  I wonder how many teens are in jail right now for
extended periods of time for doing less than either of these girls?  It is
time for the media to get some Gestapo and head for one of these girls
parties and bust them all,  so they can sit in jail like America’s kids in
other places.

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

—– Original Message —–
From: Las Cruces MRGRG <cre…@zianet.com>
Cc: Health Care <healthc…@west-point.org>; NM-MRGRG
<MRGRG…@egroups.com>; >      1) DoD tightens blood donor safety criteria
>      2) Commissary web site makes shopping easier
>      3) ***General Paul Tibbets Online Conference***
>      4) House Boosts Disability Compensation for Veterans
>      5) DoD Targets Ecstasy
>      6) VA Committee Chairman Smith Opposes Elections on Veterans Day
>      7) Smith Introduces Bill to Increase Help for Homeless Veterans
>      8) Moran Bill to Provide Service Dogs to Disabled Veterans
> Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2001 14:04:29 -0700

> Subject: House Boosts Disability Compensation for Veterans

> HOUSE PASSES SMITH BILL BOOSTING VETERANS

>  DISABILITY PAYMENTS BY $2.5 BILLION OVER 5 YEARS

> Fully Disabled Veterans to See $767 Increase;

> Cost-of-Living Adjustment Predicted to Be 2.7%

> WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the fourth
> major veterans legislation of the year and second major benefits package,
a
> bill Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-4) and Ranking
> Democrat Lane Evans (IL-17) touted as increasing compensation to 2.3
> million
> disabled veterans or their surviving dependents by granting them a 2.7
> percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) beginning this December 1.

> H.R. 2540, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2001, would also correct what
Smith
> called a "Catch -22" in which a Gulf War veteran would lose his
> compensation
> for a poorly defined illness once the illness was diagnosed.

> The veterans or survivors who would gain from this measure, Smith said,
> included "more than 170,000 veterans rated 100 percent disabled who would
> get an additional $767 each year added to their existing benefit."

How big of Congress is this?  Congress has given themselves an automatic
COLA raise that is now about $5,000 per year at the currnet rates.  They
have received more in pay and benefits COLA in the last 4 years than a
Veteran gets in total Pay.  When are they going to make changes so that
Disabled Veterans at least receive the average wage equilivant that they
could have received had they not served their Country?  How pathetic to pay
some of these losers $140,000 per year and more for their committees,
$900,000 for their expenses while at the same time they give tremendous
breaks to the top 1-2%,  which includes most of them.  Then they pat
themselves on the back for giving Veterans $64 per month,  $15 per week
COLA.  And then the appalling terms of their health care is another outrage
while Congress enjoys top of the line care.  They are talking about an
experiment with Veterans health care to enable to let them use their local
hospital.  But they are only doing that if it is more than 2 hours away.
How outrageous.  Would Dick Cheney accept a two hour trip for
hospitalization?  How appalling when we have the spectical of Gary Condit as
one of those congressmen?  And no one is speaking out about the type of
people that end up getting elected with the lack of character,  honesty,
and integrity that we see in them.  They continue to avoid Campaign Finance
Reform so they can continue to elect these empty suit crooks to Congress.
It is time to throw these bums out of office.

> The COLA increase, Smith said, "matches the Social Security COLA and will
> raise payments to disabled veterans by more than $400 million in the first
> year and $543 million over the next four years.  In all, compensation
> payments will be increased by more than $2.5 billion over the next five
> years."
> "The one-size-fits-all standard doesn’t reflect local costs of living and
> either denies some veterans a full range of health care or forces them to
> make copayments they wouldn’t have to make if they lived somewhere else,"
> Moran said.  "The current VA income floor of $23,688 can mean two very
> different things, depending on where a veteran lives and their economic
> situation."
> The third key provision authorizes $50 million a year for a four-year,
> four-site pilot project in which an enrolled veteran who lives too far
from
> an urban VA hospital could be referred on a volunteer basis to a local
> hospital for short-stay general medical-surgical inpatient care.  Under
> this
> provision:

> ·       Care would be managed by selected VA outpatient clinics where 70
> percent of the veterans served live at least two hours driving distance
> from
> a supervising VA hospital;

> ·       VA could make co-payments required by the participating veterans’
> health plans or third-party insurers, including Medicare, and ;

> ·       VA would manage and coordinate admissions to local hospitals and
> take steps to return the veterans to VA follow-up care as soon as
> practicable.

Dan Pettigrew LCDR, SC, USN, RETIRED
National Legislative Director
USDR

Web page  www.usdr.org

Two U.S. soldiers are riding in a Humvee.  They are in an accident and
both
sustain identical injuries.  Both are now eligible to receive disability

compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.  One soldier
leaves
the service and takes a federal job.  The entire time he works, he
receives
his full government salary and his VA disability payment.  When he
retires,
he receives his full federal retirement benefits ire addition to his
full VA
disability compensation payment.  But the other soldier, the one who
decided
to serve 20 more years in the military, doesn’t fare so well.  He can’t
receive his VA disability compensation until he retires from the
military,
and then his earned retirement pay will be reduced dollar for dollar by
the
amount of his VA disability payment.  Moreover, if his disability pay is

more than his military pension, he gets no retirement pay.  Zero.
Zilch.  A
fine thank you for two decades of honorable service.  Doesn’t sound
fair,
does it?  Unfortunately, that’s the way it is for our service members
and
veterans.  It’s a situation that needs to be corrected. The issue is
called
"concurrent receipt." Simply put, it’s paying veterans their VA
disability
payments without cutting into earned retirement benefits.  Military
retirement pay is a benefit for longevity of honorable military
service.  VA
service-connected disability compensation is for medical conditions
incur-red or aggravated while on active duty.  Benefits and compensation

are
separate issues and should not be linked in any way.  A veteran can
receive
disability compensation without any offsets, reductions or limits while
collecting unemployment compensation in Social Security, federal
civil-service pay or pay from a private-sector job.  Also free of
offsets
are federal civil-service retirement (including disability retirement),
retirement pension from non-federal jobs, or federal workers
compensation
(benefits for work-caused disability or illness provided under the
Federal
Employees’ Compensation Act).  Only military retired pay is reduced
dollar
for dollar by VA disability compensation.
Other federal employees can receive retirement benefits and VA
disability
payments without offsets.  In the past decade, many veterans’ programs
have
been pared to the bone to help balance the budget.  With the current
national debate over how to handle the sizeable budget surplus, The
American
Legion believes the time has come for retirees to receive full
compensation
for both their honorable military service and their service-connected
debilitating injuries or illnesses.  Fairness demands it.
But action by Congress in May casts into doubt the fate of concurrent
receipt any time soon for America’s military men and women.  Agreeing
with a
provision of House Concurrent Resolution 83 – introduced by Rep. William

"Mac" Thornberry, R-Texas – the House and Senate voted to send
concurrent
receipt to the Department of Defense for further study.  Ironically,
Thornberry is a co-sponsor of a House resolution seeking concurrent
receipt.
Existing law dishonors service-connected disability by penalizing a
service
member’s longevity.  The only appropriate action is one that will
provide
funding to end this madness.  What makes the most recent action by
Congress
perplexing is that a majority of congressional members – 65 senators and

335
representatives – are co-sponsors, as of this writing, of two pieces of
pending concurrent receipt legislation.  It appears disingenuous
congressional leaders would on one hand call themselves co-sponsors and
on
the other hand vote to virtually kill concurrent receipt by sending it
to
DoD for review.  It’s not too late for the House and Senate to reverse
course and pass concurrent-receipt legislation and appropriate funds to
pay
for it.  Two pending bills in the House and Senate afford opportunities
to
correct wrong-headed votes.  HR 303, the Retired Pay Restoration Act of
2001, introduced by Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-Fla., would allow military

retirees with at least 20 years of service and a service-connected
disability to receive both military retired pay and VA disability
compensation without reduction of either. S 170, the Retired Pay
Restoration
Act of 2001, introduced by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., would end the
current
practice of deducting disability benefits from the amount of retirement
pay
a military retiree receives.  It would cover all military retirees with
20
or more years of service.  The recent power shift in the Senate provides

the
perfect opportunity to place S 170 on the front burner.  Sen. Thomas A.
Daschle, D-S.D., the new majority leader, is a co-sponsor.  Sen. Reid is

the
second-ranking Democratic senator in the new majority  leadership.  Both

Daschle and Reid are now in a position to move concurrent receipt
legislation forward.  I urge members of The American Legion family to
contact their congressional officials and ask them to cosponsor and,
more
importantly, vote for concurrent receipt legislation.  Penalizing,
military
retirees for choosing to serve their country for an entire career is not

only an injustice to those who have served but also a deterrent to those

who
may be considering a life of U.S. military service.  All
service-connected
disabled military retirees deserve fair and equitable treatment.

FIREBASE Network  http://www.firebase.net

richardcote.com.vcf
< 1K
Download

"It’s like the Yankees playing a stickball team," Gray Davis said in a
recent interview. "We’re totally out of our league."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-081201consult.story

Californians, remember that when you vote in the next election.  SEND GRAY
DAVIS AND HIS BAND OF DEMOCRATS BACK TO THE MINOR LEAGUE!  (But keep them
away from the minors.)

Cheers,

Mike Haas

SAVE CALIFORNIA – VOTE OUT THE DEMOCRATS IN 2002!

"If you wouldn’t want your daughter to be an intern for a Democrat, HOW CAN
YOU TRUST YOUR GOVERNMENT TO THEM?"

The Secret Behind the Sanctions
How the U.S. Intentionally Destroyed Iraq’s Water Supply
by Thomas J. Nagy

Over the last two years, I’ve discovered documents of the Defense
Intelligence
Agency proving beyond a doubt that, contrary to the Geneva Convention,
the U.S.
government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the
country’s water supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the
cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went
ahead anyway.

The primary document, "Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities," is dated
January 22, 1991. It spells out how sanctions will prevent Iraq from
supplying clean water to its citizens.

"Iraq depends on importing specialized equipment and some chemicals to
purify its water supply, most of which is heavily mineralized and
frequently brackish to saline,"  the document states. "With no
domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some
essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent United
Nations Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure
supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of
the population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not
epidemics, of disease."

The document goes into great technical detail about the sources and
quality of Iraq’s water supply. The quality of untreated water
"generally is poor," and drinking such water "could result in
diarrhea," the document says. It notes that Iraq’s rivers "contain
biological materials, pollutants, and are laden with bacteria. Unless
the water is purified with chlorine, epidemics of such diseases as
cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid could occur."

The document notes that the importation of chlorine "has been
embargoed" by
sanctions. "Recent reports indicate the chlorine supply is critically
low."

Food and medicine will also be affected, the document states. "Food
processing,
electronic, and, particularly, pharmaceutical plants require extremely
pure water that is free from biological contaminants," it says.

The document addresses possible Iraqi countermeasures to obtain
drinkable water
despite sanctions.

"Iraq conceivably could truck water from the mountain reservoirs to
urban areas. But the capability to gain significant quantities is
extremely limited," the document states. "The amount of pipe on hand
and the lack of pumping stations would limit laying pipelines to these
reservoirs. Moreover, without chlorine purification, the water still
would contain biological pollutants. Some affluent Iraqis could obtain
their own minimally adequate supply of good quality water from
Northern Iraqi sources. If boiled, the water could be safely consumed.
Poorer Iraqis and industries requiring large quantities of pure water
would not be able to meet their needs."

The document also discounted the possibility of Iraqis using
rainwater. "Precipitation occurs in Iraq during the winter and spring,
but it falls primarily in the northern mountains," it says. "Sporadic
rains, sometimes heavy, fall over the lower plains. But Iraq could not
rely on rain to provide adequate pure water." As an alternative, "Iraq
could try convincing the United Nations or individual countries to
exempt water treatment supplies from sanctions for humanitarian
reasons," the document says. "It probably also is attempting to
purchase supplies by using some sympathetic countries as fronts. If
such attempts fail, Iraqi alternatives are not  adequate for their
national requirements."

n cold language, the document spells out what is in store: "Iraq will
suffer increasing shortages of purified water because of the lack of
required chemicals and desalination membranes. Incidences of disease,
including possible epidemics, will become probable unless the
population were careful to boil water."

The document gives a timetable for the destruction of Iraq’s water
supplies. "Iraq’s overall water treatment capability will suffer a
slow decline, rather than a precipitous halt," it says. "Although Iraq
is already experiencing a loss of water treatment capability, it
probably will take at least six months (to June 1991) before the
system is fully degraded."

This document, which was partially declassified but unpublicized in
1995, can be found on the Pentagon’s web site at www.gulflink.osd.mil.
(I disclosed this document last fall. But the news media showed little
interest in it. The only reporters I know of who wrote lengthy stories
on it were Felicity Arbuthnot in the Sunday Herald of Scotland, who
broke the story, and Charlie Reese of the Orlando Sentinel, who did a
follow-up.)

Recently, I have come across other DIA documents that confirm the
Pentagon’s
monitoring of the degradation of Iraq’s water supply. These documents
have not been publicized until now.

The first one in this batch is called "Disease Information," and is
also dated January 22,1991. At the top, it says, "Subject: Effects of
Bombing on Disease Occurrence in Baghdad." The analysis is blunt:
"Increased incidence of diseases will be attributable to degradation
of normal preventive medicine, waste disposal, water
purification/distribution, electricity, and decreased ability to
control disease outbreaks.   Any urban area in Iraq that has received
infrastructure damage will have similar problems."

The document proceeds to itemize the likely outbreaks. It mentions
"acute diarrhea" brought on by bacteria such as E. coli, shigella, and
salmonella, or by protozoa such as giardia, which will affect
"particularly children," or by rotavirus, which will also affect
"particularly children," a phrase it puts in parentheses. And it cites
the possibilities of typhoid and cholera outbreaks.

The document warns that the Iraqi government may "blame the United
States for
public health problems created by the military conflict."

The second DIA document, "Disease Outbreaks in Iraq," is dated
February 21, 1990, but the year is clearly a typo and should be 1991.
It states: "Conditions are favorable for communicable disease
outbreaks, particularly in major urban areas affected by coalition
bombing." It adds: "Infectious disease prevalence in major Iraqi urban
areas targeted by coalition bombing (Baghdad, Basrah) undoubtedly has
increased since the beginning of Desert Storm. . . . Current public
health problems are attributable to the reduction of normal preventive
medicine, waste disposal, water purification and distribution,
electricity, and the decreased ability to control disease outbreaks."

This document lists the "most likely diseases during next sixty-ninety
days (descending order): diarrheal diseases (particularly children);
acute respiratory illnesses (colds and influenza); typhoid; hepatitis
A (particularly children); measles, diphtheria, and pertussis
(particularly children); meningitis, including meningococcal
(particularly children);  cholera (possible, but less likely)."

Like the previous document, this one warns that the Iraqi government
might
"propagandize increases of endemic diseases." The third document in
this series, "Medical Problems in Iraq," is dated March 15, 1991. It
says: "Communicable diseases in Baghdad are more widespread than
usually observed during this time of the year and are linked to the
poor sanitary conditions (contaminated water supplies and improper
sewage disposal) resulting from the war.            According to a
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)/World Health Organization
report, the quantity of potable water is less than 5 percent of the
original supply, there are no operational water and sewage treatment
plants, and the reported incidence of diarrhea is four times above
normal levels. Additionally, respiratory infections are on the rise.
Children particularly have been affected by these diseases." Perhaps
to put a gloss on things, the document states, "There are indications
that the situation is improving and that the population is coping with
the degraded conditions." But it adds: "Conditions in Baghdad remain
favorable for communicable disease outbreaks."

The fourth document, "Status of Disease at Refugee Camps," is dated
May 1991. The summary says, "Cholera and measles have emerged at
refugee camps. Further
infectious diseases will spread due to inadequate water treatment and
poor sanitation."

The reason for this outbreak is clearly stated again. "The main causes
of infectious diseases, particularly diarrhea, dysentery, and upper
respiratory problems, are poor sanitation and unclean water. These
diseases primarily afflict the old and young children."

The fifth document, "Health Conditions in Iraq, June 1991," is still
heavily censored. All I can make out is that the DIA sent a source "to
assess health conditions and determine the most critical medical needs
of Iraq. Source observed that Iraqi medical system was in considerable
disarray, medical facilities had been extensively looted, and almost
all medicines were in critically short supply."

In one refugee camp, the document says, "at least 80 percent of the
population" has diarrhea. At this same camp, named Cukurca, "cholera,
hepatitis type B, and measles have broken out."

The protein deficiency disease kwashiorkor was observed in Iraq "for
the first time," the document adds. "Gastroenteritis was killing
children. . . . In the south, 80 percent of the deaths were children
(with the exception of Al Amarah, where 60 percent of deaths were
children)."

The final document is "Iraq: Assessment of Current Health Threats and
Capabilities," and it is dated November 15, 1991. This one has a
distinct damage-control feel to it. Here is how it begins:
"Restoration of Iraq’s public health services and shortages of major
medical materiel remain dominant international concerns. Both issues
apparently are being exploited by Saddam Hussein in an effort to keep
public opinion firmly  against the U.S. and its Coalition allies and
to direct blame away from the Iraqi government."

It minimizes the extent of the damage.
…

read more »

Daschle Wants Equal Economic Outcomes for All Americans
By Gene Koprowski
CNSNews.com Correspondent
August 08, 2001

Chicago (CNSNews.com) – Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.),
burnishing his civil rights credentials, told delegates to the annual
Rainbow Coalition/Operation PUSH convention here that the Senate during the
rest of his tenure will aim to ensure equal economic outcomes for all
Americans.
<snip>
***************************************************************
Point your web browser to Internet Free America!
http://www.freeamerican.net
Links to Christian, Patriotic, and general information sites.
The Oklahoma City bombing. The crimes of Bill Clinton.
Newsletter, e-mail lists, polls, Suppressed Information,
the Gun Control Hall of Fame and the Outrage of the Week.
***************************************************************

To June O’Neill an author on Cspan this morning.  What a bunch of crap you
must have in your book.  You replied to some caller and said that you were
not aware of her conditions.  And you stated that her situation was not
typical.  What is typical,  don’t you care about how people on the "real"
low end are left out in the cold all too often???  These mothers that are
forced out into the workplace before their children are even in school,  are
a disgrace to the Welfare System of our country.  Being a single parent is
hard enough,  but when the children are under the age of 5 the children get
the short end of the stick is spades.

What a joke Bush will be on this.  Again when Greedy Congressional
Republicans want to take the focus off just providing themselves with a
$5,000 per year pay increase they bring up something related to abortion.
And they just gave their staff a 4.5% increase about twice what they will
end up approving for Social Security and Veterans.  These fat loudmouthed
Republicans could care less about the women or the children they require to
be born.  Cspan first had a program this morning on Welfare Reform about how
many women and children were kicked off welfare because they didn’t get
abortions.  Then these same greedy Republicans want to keep federal funding
out of stem cell research.  Again they do not care about embryo’s,  they
want to keep the research private so they can cash in.  Now that they have
given most of the wealth to the ultra rich,  they have passed laws so these
CEO’s and HMO’s can refuse to cover expensive operations for their workers,
even though they will not be denied if they need the same operations.  Now
these same rich people want Bush to ban government research on stem cells so
they can develop it themselves for their own personal attempts to live
forever.  And of course the middle class will be priced out of the market.

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: [firebase-news]
   Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 18:23:28 -0400
   From: "the Townsends" <pu…@tc3net.com>
     To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@tc3net.com;>

                    Firebase Network’s Veterans Hour
                             August 11, 2001
                     5:00 PM ~ 6:00 PM Eastern time
                             www.gcnlive.com
                     WRMI Short-wave 15.725 full Am
                      Call in number:  800-259-9231
 Welcome Home! Fresh back from relaxing on the pleasant shores of
beautiful Lake Huron, I’m ready to get back in the fray.  This week’s
guest will be Gordon Tatro from the AAUL.  We will be discussing Uniform
Services Former Spouses Protection Act. This is the little piece of
legislation that allows a spouse to divorce and take half of a military
retirees retainer pay, although they have never spent a moment in
uniform, spent months at sea, been deployed to foreign countries, or
been on 24 hour call.  This is something Congress needs to address.  The
First Amendment to the Constitution states that we have the right to
petition the government for a redress of grievances.  All petitions on
this matter seem to fall on deaf ears.  We need to look for different
options to address this problem.  Tune in, and as usual, the toll free
call in number is 800-259-9231. Semper Fi,Rick TownsendFirebase Adrian

FIREBASE HQ http://www.firebase.net

Please sign these on-line petitions to restore veterans benefits:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/USFSPA/
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/HR303aid/petition.html
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/wbr1/petition.html

To Post a message:   firebase-n…@eGroups.com
To Subscribe:  firebase-news-subscr…@eGroups.com

To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:
firebase-news-unsubscr…@eGroups.com

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.