Sunday, November 11, 2007

On Veterans Day

We “officially” mark Veterans Day tomorrow, by taking a Monday holiday.  But the event on which we base this commemoration occurred exactly 89 years ago right now—the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month—the 1918 armistice agreement that ended hostilities in the Great War.  French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, and German government representative Matthias Erzberger signed the armistice documents at 5am that day, in a railroad car in the Compiègne Forest, some 50 or 60 miles north of Paris.

Veterans Day honors those who served in the military ... and returned.  That last phrase is what differentiates it from Memorial Day.  The end-of-May holiday is designated to remember those who made the ultimate military sacrifice, those who died while fighting in the armed forces of the United States.

This occasion is all the more poignant in times like these, when events are adding large numbers of men and women to the rolls of Veterans Day and Memorial Day honorees.  In this case, tragically, it’s almost entirely the fault of delusional neocons whose bullying arrogance cares not a whit about the lives they are ruining and the deaths they are causing.

As the Iraq/Afghanistan fubar continues on and on and on, with little evidence of abating and ever less prospect for a non-horrendous outcome, real honest-to-god support for our veterans (whether new ones or those who served long ago) is often difficult to find.  Lost in the cynical flag-waving of politicians who callously ruin the VA healthcare, benefits, pension, and education systems, lost in those who unfeelingly decimate the military reserve and the National Guard, lost in the huge corporate profits accompanying privatization of military functions, lost in the wasteful and deadly (and, of course, highly profitable) mis-equipping of the troops ... there are a few public officials who truly honor and support the troops and the veterans.

One of those heroes is the senior Senator from Washington.  It’s not just that Patty Murray is the #3 Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, or that she serves on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Homeland Security Subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee.  As the daughter of a disabled World War II veteran—her father earned a Purple Heart during the Okinawa landing—she has seen throughout her entire life how veterans are and can be treated by the federal government.  In addition, as a student at Washington State during the Vietnam War, she interned as a volunteer at a nearby VA hospital.  Her interest in the topic, then, is clearly deeply held and intensive.  In just the last few days, for example, Senator Murray has acted to support veterans in both the rational scientific research arena and at the level of emotional caring and rhetoric.

On Thursday, she and her Senate colleague Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), in collaboration with Physicians for Social Responsibility, announced the release of Shock and Awe Hits Home, a study demonstrating that the cost of dealing with the mental and social trauma—just for the American victims of Bush’s War—may exceed the combat price tag of Iraq and Afghanistan.  In their press release, Senator Murray had this to say about the PSR report:

For five long years there has been a cost of this war that the Administration not only has ignored, but has simply refused to talk about - that’s the cost of caring for our veterans when they come home.  Today, we are learning exactly what it will cost America to keep our promise to those who have served. Thanks to the diligent efforts of Physicians for Social Responsibility we now have a price tag of up to $660 billion to provide the medical care and disability benefits that our veterans both need and deserve.

That same day, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to offer her thoughts as we celebrate Veterans Day.  Herewith, extended excerpts from Patty’s November 8 speech:

Sunday is Veterans Day – a day designated for us to thank our nation’s heroes for their service to our country.

It’s also a time to ask whether our country has done enough to repay our veterans for all they have given to secure our safety.  As thousands return home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – some from their fifth tour of duty – I wish I could say the answer to this question is, ‘Yes.’

But tragically, this issue has not been a priority for this Administration.  We have too often failed to provide the care our heroes have earned.  From the shameful conditions at Walter Reed and VA facilities around the country, to a lack of mental health counselors, to a benefit claims backlog of months and sometimes years, our veterans have had to struggle to get basic care.  Mr. President, fighting overseas takes a tremendous toll on the lives of our troops and their families.  It is simply unacceptable that our heroes have had to fight their own government for treatment they need.

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Mr. President, I know from personal experience how military service affects veterans and their families – and how the wounds veterans suffer from their military service can shape their lives forever.

As a volunteer at the VA, I learned how some veterans can slip through the cracks.  But the experience also taught me that the doctors and nurses there are dedicated to caring for their patients.  It convinced me that the VA system – not private medicine – is where our veterans can get the best care.  Our VA system is uniquely positioned to recognize and treat the specialized injuries, medical conditions, and mental health challenges caused by combat and military missions.

Private medicine doesn’t always have the knowledge base or resources to deal with these unique problems.  It’s one reason I will continue to fight for better access to the VA that allows our veterans to get the care they need without endless waits and red tape.  Rather than kicking our veterans into yet another maze of processing and paperwork, we should work to provide better access to one of the best health care systems in the country.

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I also know from experience in my own family that veterans are sometimes reluctant to seek care or attention.  My father was one of the first G.I.s to land on Okinawa during World War II.  He earned the Purple Heart and returned home disabled.

My family is enormously proud of my dad and his service.  But like many of his generation, he didn’t talk about his experiences.  In fact, we only really learned his story by reading his journals after he passed away.  Mr. President, these two experiences in my life also illustrate a larger lesson that applies to many veterans.  Often, they don’t want to call attention to their service.  And sometimes, they are suffering so much, they can’t even ask for the help they need.  That’s why we need a VA system ready and able to care for veterans of all wars.

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Mr. President, the physical wounds our veterans have suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan are horrible.  But I have worked especially hard as a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee to shine a light on the mental wounds our veterans are suffering in this war.  These wounds run just as deep – and can be just as devastating – as physical injuries.  And this problem just isn’t getting the attention it deserves from the Administration.

Our troops are under great strain.  In the past, we were always able to give our service members a break to allow them to recover from physical, psychological, and emotional demands.  Now, some are serving for their third, fourth, and even fifth tours of duty.  All of this increases the likelihood they will suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health conditions.  According to the VA’s own numbers, fully one-third of all returning Iraq veterans will suffer from a mental health condition.  That’s an astounding statistic.  But it’s also probably too low because many veterans are still afraid to seek care.  Earlier this year, I spoke with National Guard members at Camp Murray who told me that they don’t want to be labeled with PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury because they are afraid it would hurt their careers.  One soldier told me that to be labeled with mental trauma, “jeopardizes their lives outside of the service.”

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So, Mr. President, how do we overcome these problems?  Fortunately, there are three clear areas where we can improve:

• First, we must ensure that the mental health needs of veterans are met.  The VA needs to raise awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and combat-related stresses.  It also must hire more counselors to help treat everyone – from the 20-year-old veteran returning from Iraq, to the Vietnam veteran still struggling with the legacy of war.
• Next, the VA must clear the backlog of claims so that veterans can get care in a timely – and fair – way.  The President needs to sign legislation to ensure that the Department of Defense and the VA are working with the same disability rating system and that records aren’t lost between the two systems.
• And most importantly, we must provide enough money so that our veterans get the quality care they deserve.

The Senate has approved a bill that provides almost $4 billion above the President’s request that would take important steps to improve care.  It would:

• Improve conditions at VA facilities across the country.
• Invest in new ways to treat military ailments like PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury,
• And it would fund better prosthetics for thousands of troops who have lost limbs in battle.

The Administration has ignored these problems for too long.  But the Democratic-controlled Congress has taken action.

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Mr. President, our men and women in uniform have answered the President’s call to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan without hesitation or complaint.  They have left loved ones for years and put their lives on the line.  Some have come home without limbs.  Others have returned with mental scars.  Many – thankfully – have escaped without injury.  But all of them have earned our respect and the best care possible when they come home.

And if we don’t care for our service members now, we risk weakening our military for decades to come.  President Bush has been more than willing to use our veterans as props as he argues in favor of his misguided war policies.  Now it’s time to turn that lip service into reality and give our veterans the care they need and deserve.  We owe it to our country to ensure that we are there to support our service members, our veterans, and their families every step of the way.  They are a cost of war that we simply can’t ignore.

Patty Murray shows the kind of compassionate support, and American support, for our military veterans that is sorely lacking among the sociopaths who have so tragically ruined our nation’s good name.  On this Veterans Day 2007, let us celebrate a true champion for those brave and patriotic women and men who served in America’s military, Senator Patty Murray, Democrat from Washington.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Elections 2007: My choices

We’re in the homestretch of the 2007 general election.  Aside from my most recent posting and the campaign icons I placed over there on my sidebar, I haven’t gotten around to stating the entire list of candidates and measures I’m backing.  Not that my decisions are going to change anyone else’s mind—after all, even if anyone actually reads this thing, the majority of King County voters have probably filled out their mail-in ballots already—but I suppose I do need to express my views publicly.

I won’t offer up the entirety of my ballot.  This is about support, not ballot decisions.  In some races, I ended up casting votes even though I supported neither of the choices presented to me.  When faced with two unsavory choices in one City Council race, or two uninteresting and uninspiring candidates in another, the decision I eventually and unenthusiastically made simply isn’t justifiable.  Nor is it worth justifying.

The unprecedented gobs of money pouring into the King County Prosecutor race through the state Republican party have generated a great deal of controversy in the blogosphere, if not necessarily in the mainstream press.  I have to say that the episode sickens me, and not entirely because it’s the Republicans doing it to defeat a good man. 

No, it’s the cynicism of the opposing candidate’s bleats about wanting the office to be “nonpartisan” and accusing Bill Sherman of being “overly partisan”, while he happily accepts money that has been (perfectly legally) laundered through the Washington State Republican Party.  Here’s the statement on the Public Disclosure Commission’s Contribution Limits page (emphasis added):

During the 21 days before the general election, no contributor may donate over $50,000 in the aggregate to a candidate for statewide office, or over $5,000 in the aggregate to a candidate for any other office or to a political committee. This includes contributions to a party committee, as well as a candidate’s personal contributions to his/her own campaign. It does not apply to contributions from the state committee of the WA State Democratic, Republican or Libertarian Party or from a minor party.

Combining that with the unlimited contributions that state parties are permitted to take from individuals, even during the crucial weeks just before an election, there’s a loophole big enough to drive a truck through.  And the WSRP did exactly that.

OK, with that off my chest, here’s my list of favorites, in ballot order:

• State of Washington, Initiative 960 (Tim Eyman’s latest)—NO
• State of Washington, Referendum 67 (insurance fairness)—APPROVE
• State of Washington, Senate Resolution 8206 (forced rainy day fund)—REJECT
• State of Washington, House Resolution 4204 (simple majority school levies)—APPROVE
• County Prosecuting Attorney—Bill Sherman (Democrat)
• County Assessor—Scott Noble (Democrat)
• County Council Position 4—Larry Phillips (Democrat)
• Port of Seattle, Commissioner Position 2—Gael Tarleton
• Port of Seattle, Commissioner Position 5—Alec Fisken
• Seattle, City Council Position 3—Venus Velazquez
• Seattle, City Council Position 5—Tom Rasmussen
• Seattle, City Council Position 9—Sally J. Clark
• Seattle, School Director District 1—Peter Maier
• Seattle, School Director District 3—Harium Martin-Morris
• Seattle, School Director District 6—Maria Ramirez
• King County, Proposition 1 (levy for MedicOne)—YES
• Sound Transit/RTID, Proposition 1 (Roads & Transit funding)—YES

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Elections 2007: Bill Sherman for County Prosecutor

The sudden and unexpected death of longtime King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng in May necessitated a special election this November to elect his successor.  Maleng had run unopposed in 2006, but that won’t be the case this time around.  The Republican candidate is Maleng’s head administrator Dan Satterberg, running against Democratic Assistant Prosecutor Bill Sherman.  As shown in the new “Candidates, Campaigns” section of my sidebar, I strongly support Sherman.

I’ve known Bill for something like five years, as a leader in the 43rd District Democrats organization, as a PCO, and as one of the top candidates in last year’s six-way race for our open seat in the State House.  Before he began serving in the County Prosecutor’s office, he was in private practice in Seattle, and prior to moving here he worked with Bruce Babbitt in Clinton’s Interior Department.

In a county that’s been turning ever more progressive, ever more Democratic, over the last several decades, it’s astonishing to observe how very, very long the County Prosecutor’s office has been run by Republicans.  Suffice it to say that no Democrat has been elected County Prosecutor in my lifetime ... and I’m no spring chicken.  We’re talking 1948 as the last year there was a Democrat in that office.  That’s fully half of Washington’s existence as a state.

Led by the indefatigable David Goldstein of HorsesAss.org, we are currently in the midst of a Netroots Fund Drive for Bill Sherman.  The goal of the drive is to raise $5000 and draw 200 new contributors.  I’ve already put some cash on the barrelhead, and you should too.  Even if all you can spare is $5 or $10, your contribution will be very valuable to Bill’s campaign; this is one that the other guys are desperate to hang onto—it’s their last vestige of countywide office—and they’re pouring the big right-wing bucks into trying to turn the tide.

You can get to Bill’s secure donations webpage by clicking on either this link or the Bill Sherman icon in my just-added “Candidates, Campaigns” sidebar.  Click away!!

I could recount chapter and verse of why it’s a good thing to back the Sherman campaign.  But why rehash what’s already been better stated by the likes of:

• Goldy of HorsesAss.org (here, here, here, and here)
• Noemie at Washblog
• McCranium‘s Jimmy
• Daniel Kirkdorffer of On The Road To 2008

It’ll take work to elect Bill Sherman to the office of County Prosecutor.  It’s work that’s amply worth doing.  Right now, that work is principally monetary (to repeat, you can do a secure contribution by clicking this link).  Later on, we may be back to ask for your help in literature drops, canvassing, and GOTV.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Wonders never cease

It’s well known that I’m a phan oph the Philadelphia Phillies.  It’s all the more well known that the Phillies are historically the prime exemplar oph major league baseball phutility.  As I posted this summer, the Phils are the only club in major league history to have been on the losing end oph 10,000 games.  They’ve lost 311 more games than Atlanta, even though the Braves have played 532 more games than the Phils.

Today, though, WHO CARES ABOUT ALL THAT???

Today, at the end oph the 2007 baseball season, the Philadelphia Phillies are the National League East champions!!



Unlike 22 major league teams, the Phils will play in October this year.  They don’t yet know who they’ll be playing come Wednesday, but they will be playing.  Their opponent will be either the San Diego Padres or the Colorado Rockies, who will meet Monday in Denver to decide who will be this year’s NL wildcard. 

On phirst glance, you’d have to phavor the Padres in that one, since their starting pitcher, Jake Peavy, is all but certain to win the league’s Cy Young Award (he’s already won the “pitching triple crown”, topping the Senior Circuit in wins, ERA, and strikeouts).  But you might also have expected phuture Hall oph Phamer Tom Glavine to pitch well phor the New York Mets this aphternoon, and he was pummelled ophph the mound aphter giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 7 runs in just a third oph an inning.  In addition, the Rockies have been smokin’ hot, victorious in 13 oph their last 14 games.

I don’t have a prepherence in the play-in game.  At this point, it’s all gravy phor a Phillies phan.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Gone-zo

What will George W. Bush do without his Fredo?  Frankly, I’m not sure it really makes much difference at this point in 43’s counting-the-days regency.  Parenthetically, I always wondered whether Dubya knew that his consigliere‘s namesake in the Godfather series was weak, stupid, duplicitous, and sexually confused.

Whether the departure of Gonzales—following those of Rummy, Card, Rove, Bartlett, and other one-time Bush insiders—has any real meaning for the nation and the world, it’s still a great excuse (as if an excuse is needed) to add your voice and some small portion of your wallet to the BurnBush effort.

As I write this, Goldy’s campaign in support of Darcy Burner is rapidly closing in on the $70,000 mark.  That’s incredible, but it’s still a good bit short of his ambitious $100,000 goal.  (Darcy’s overall ActBlue total has leapt almost to $90,000!) The Gonzales announcement may divert attention from the BurnBush effort, even here in the Puget Sound area where Dubya will offer his backside for Eastside Republicans and Sheriff Hairspray to kiss this afternoon. 

But let’s show them what we can do!  Let’s show them that diversionary tactics—and this announcement is just another in an endless series of diversions while the Bad Guys work their nefarious magic behind the scenes—won’t dissuade us from even the most ambitious of targets!

Once again:

• Register for, and participate in, Darcy’s Virtual Town Hall, starting at 3pm Pacific this afternoon.
• Sign Darcy’s petition on the Iraq War and the Bush malAdministration’s maladministration.
• Make a contribution—no matter how small—to the BurnBush campaign.  Maybe you will be the one who puts BurnBush over the top, into the six-figure range!