Sunday, November 25, 2007

Why we support our military

America's fighting men and women put their lives on the line each day to defend our freedom and secure the peace throughout the world.
Engaging the enemy with confidence in their cause, they are strengthened by the support and encouragement of their fellow citizens on the home front. With each challenge they overcome and each victory they achieve, America's courageous and dedicated troops help to safeguard the liberties upon which our country was founded. For more than two hundred years, these brave warriors have faced down every threat to our democracy, ensuring the preservation of our American way of life and strengthening the foundations of our great nation.

First Marine Division Memorial


Support Our Troops

Something cool that Xerox is doingIf you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them...

Monday, November 12, 2007

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND REMEMBER OUR VETERANS

FLY YOUR FLAG
Show support for the nation, active-duty troops and veterans by flying the U.S. Flag on all patriotic Holidays.
Encourage members of your community , our civic leaders to fly our most sacred symbol.
Educate our fellow citizens, younger generations to learn about America's proud heritage.

VOTING
Throughout the generations, veterans have protected our right to vote.
Encourage members of the community to take this civic duty seriously.
Be part of the democratic process by working the polls on Election Day
Offer a ride to the polls to someone who needs transportation.

VOLUNTEERING
Schedule a visit to a lonely or ailing Veteran
Visit VA Medical Centers
Get involved with local service projects.
YOU CAN LEND A HAND TO VETERANS WHO ARE NOT HOSPITALIZED BUT STILL HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS (FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM)

LOBBYING
Join a grassroots campaign to keep veterans issues in the minds of lawmakers on Capital Hill. Write call or visit your elected officials to ensure their continued support for our country's heros.

Information obtained for above VFW Ladies Auxiliary
Annamae McGowan
Life Member Post 1046

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Veterans Issues: A tribute to our Flag

Veterans Issues: A tribute to our Flag
http://marine41.blogspot.com

Veterans Issues: A tribute to our Flag

Veterans Issues: A tribute to our Flag

A tribute to our Flag



http://home.comcast.net/~nw-fla/index.html About NW FL VNIS Contact Site Map

A Tribute to our Flag. Submitted by Bob Thompson, Retired Military Veteran, Panama City, Florida

The Flag of the United States of America
If you're interested, Elvis is singing "America The Beautiful" on this tribute, so have your speakers on.
If this doesn't give you chills, you should pack up and move on to another country.
I Am the Flag of the
Of America I am the flag of the United States of America. My name is Old Glory. I fly atop the world's tallest buildings. I stand watch in America's halls of justice. I fly majestically over institutions of learning. I stand guard with power in the world. Look up and see me. I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice. I stand for freedom.I am confident.I am arrogant.I am proud.When I am flown with my fellow banners,My head is a little higher,My colors a little truer.I bow to no one!I am recognized all over the world.I am worshipped - I am saluted.I am loved - I am revered.I am respected - and I am feared.I have fought in every battle of every war for more then 200 years. I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox.I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France,in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.I'm presently in the mountains of Afganistan and the hot and dusty deserts of Iraq and wherever freedom is needed.I led my troops, I was dirty, battleworn and tired,But my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I have helped set free.It does not hurt for I am invincible.I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled in the streets of my country.And when it's done by those Whom I've served in battle - it hurts.But I shall overcome - for I am strong.I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest hours. But my finest hours are yet to come. When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parentat the grave of their fallen son or daughter, I am proud.
Please forward my message to all who still love and respect me that I may fly proudly for another two hundred years.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Uninsured Veterans


1.8 Million Veterans Lack Health Coverage
Harvard Study Finds Sharp Increase Since 2000
Nearly 6 Million Uninsured Americans are Veterans or their Families

Of the 47 million uninsured Americans, one in every eight (12.2 percent) is a veteran or member of a veteran's household, according to a study by Harvard Medical School researchers published in the December, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health (galley version available here). 1.8 million Veterans (12.7 percent of non-elderly veterans) were uninsured in 2004, up 290,000 since 2000, the study found. An addition 3.8 million members of their households were also uninsured and ineligible for VA care.

The study is based on detailed analyses of government surveys released between 1988 and 2005. Veterans were only classified as uninsured if they neither had health insurance nor received ongoing care at Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals or clinics. A preliminary review by the study's authors of 2006 data released last month (while this study was in press) shows little change in the number of uninsured veterans since 2004.

"Like other uninsured Americans, most uninsured vets are working people - too poor to afford private coverage but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or means-tested VA care," said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School who testified before Congress about the problem earlier this year. "As a result, veterans and their family members delay or forgo needed health care every day in the U.S. It's a disgrace."

Other findings of the study include:
The number of uninsured veterans has increased by 290,000 since 2000, when 9.9% of non-elderly veterans were uninsured, a figure which rose to 12.7% in 2004.
Of the 1.768 million uninsured, 645,628 were Vietnam-era veterans while 1,105,891 were veterans who served during "other eras" (including the Iraq and Gulf Wars)
Of uninsured veterans, 56.5% were older than 44.

Uninsured veterans had as much trouble getting medical care as other uninsured persons. 26.5% of uninsured veterans reported that they had failed to get needed care due to costs; 31.2% had delayed care due to costs; 49.1% had not seen a doctor within the past year; and two-thirds failed to receive preventive care
Nearly two-thirds of uninsured veterans were employed.

Many uninsured veterans are barred from VA care because of a 2003 Bush Administration order that halted enrollment of most middle income veterans. Others are unable to obtain VA care due to waiting lists at some VA facilities, unaffordable co-payments for VA specialty care, or the lack of VA facilities in their communities.

"Since President Bush took office the number of uninsured vets has skyrocketed, and he's cut eligibility, barring hundreds of thousands of veterans from care. This administration has put troops in harm's way overseas and abandoned them and their families once they got home," said Dr. David Himmelstein, co-author of the study and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. "We need a solution that works for veterans, their families, and all Americans - single payer national health insurance."

"I see uninsured vets in my clinic every week," said Dr. Jeffrey Scavron, a former Navy physician now practicing in Springfield, Massachusetts. "In many cases, they're too sick to work, but not yet sick enough for full disability which would qualify them for Medicare. Only the government can put men and woman into military service and only the government can guarantee that they are covered after they serve." Dr. Scavron is a founding member and former president of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Taxpayers Guide to Real Estate Exemptions in MA

QUALIFYING VETERANS
Clause 22- $250.00 This exemption is available to the following classes of persons:
1 Veterans with a wartime service connected disablity of 10% or more as determined by the Veterans Administration or the branch of servie from which separated.
2. Veterans who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
3. Gold Star mothers and fathers.
4. Spouses (where the domicile is owed by the veteran's spouse) and surviving spouses(who do not remarry) of Veterans enttled to exemption uder clause 22.

Clause 22a- $425.00 This exemption is available to Veterans (and their spauses of surviving spouses) who
1. Suffered in the line of duty the loss or permanent loss of the use of one foot or one hand or one eye.
2. Received the Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Nave Cross or Air Force Cross.
If the subject property is greater than a single family house, only that fraction of $425.00 which correspons to segment occupied by the veteran will be allowed.

Clause 22B- $775.00 This exemption is available to Veterans (and their spouses or surviving spouses) who suffered in the line of duty the loss of permanent loss of the use of both feet or both hands or both eyes.
If the subject property is greater than a single family house, only that fraction of $775.00 which correspods to the segment occupied by the Veteran will be allowed.

Clause22C-$950.00 This exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses or surviving Spouses) who (1) suffered total disability in the line of duty and (2) and who received assistance in acquiring"specially adapted housing" which they own and occupy as their domicile.
If the suject property is greater than a single family house, only that fraction of $ 950.00 which corresponds to the segment occupied by the Veteran will be allowed.

Clause 22D- $250.00
This exemption is available to surviving spouses (who do not remarry) of soldierd and Sailors who died in combat at the islands of Quemoy and Matsu.

Claus 22E- $600.00 This exemption is available to veterans (and their spouses) who suffered total disability in the line of duty and are incapable of working
If the subject property is greater than a single family house, only that fraction of $600.00 which corresponds to the segment occupied by the veteran will be allowed

Parapledic- Total Exemption.
This exemption is available the Veterans who are certified by the Veterans Administration as parapledic and the surviving spouses of such veterans.

WARTIME SERVICE
Wartime service is service performed by a "Spanish War veteran" a World War I veteran" a "World War II veteran" a "Korean Veteran" a "Vietnam veteran" aLabanese peace keeping force veteran" a "Panamanian intervention force veteran" a "persion Gulf veteran" or a member of the WAAC
Dated for each qualifying military action as set out in GL Ch 4 7 (43)

For further information Contact your local board of Assessors
Department of Revenue
Division of local Services
Property Tax Bureau

(617) 626-2300



Saturday, November 3, 2007

Democrats seek better care for veterans By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 3, 2:45 PM ET



A Democratic senator on Saturday accused President Bush of "hollow talk" in support of U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and said the Bush administration has not done nearly enough to provide veterans with the care they need.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, "The president can call on Democrats to follow him in lockstep all he wants, but when it comes to caring for our veterans, we are not about to start taking advice from George Bush."

Bush scolded Democrats on Thursday for combining spending bills for defense and veterans programs with one for labor, health and education matters. Republicans consider the bill bloated.

The president also lamented that his emergency spending request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan still languishes.

Murray, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address, accused Bush of underfunding the Veterans Affairs Department and said thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are "stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare" and aren't getting the health care they need.

The senator said the number of uninsured veterans has skyrocketed in recent years. The administration also lost the personal data of millions of veterans and failed to correct shoddy outpatient treatment and poor living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, she said.

Murray, the fourth-ranking Democratic senator, defended a Democratic bill that pays for veterans programs and other priorities such as education and medical research.

The bill provides thousands of new case workers to help reduce delays for treatment, improves conditions at Walter Reed and other facilities and invests in new ways to treat ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.




Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Veterans Administration Duties Congress Resposibllities

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides services and benefits to
veterans who meet certain eligibility criteria. VA carries out its programs nationwide through three administrations and the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA).
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is responsible for veterans health care
programs.
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is responsible for providing
compensation, pensions, and education assistance among other things. The National
Cemetery Administration’s (NCA) responsibilities include maintaining national
veterans cemeteries.
VHA operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system. Unlike other
federal health programs, VHA is a direct service provider rather than a health insurer or payer for health care. VA health care services are generally available to all honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces who are enrolled in VA’s
health care system. VA has a priority enrollment system that places veterans in
priority groups based on various criteria. Under the priority system VA decides each
year whether its appropriations are adequate to serve all enrolled veterans. If not, VA could stop enrolling those in the lowest-priority groups.
Congress continues to grapple with a number of issues facing current veterans
and new veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation
Iraqi Freedom (OIF). They include trying to ensure a seamless transition process for
veterans moving from active duty into the VA health care system, and improving
mental health care services such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment
programs for returning veterans.
In recent years, VA has made an effort to realign its capital assets, primarily
buildings, to better serve veterans’ needs. VA established the Capital Asset
Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) initiative to identify how well the
geographic distribution of VA health care resources matches the projected needs of
veterans. Given the tremendous interest in the implementation of the CARES
initiative in the previous Congress, the 109th Congress would continue to monitor the
CARES implementation.
Several veterans’ health-care related bills have been passed by either the House
or Senate. At present, these bills are pending action in the other chamber.
This report will be updated as events warrant

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Needy Veterans to get a boost at weekend events
For 30 houss starting at 8 AM, the dilemmas of where to sleep, what to eat and who to turn to for a job will be the last things hard luck War heroes will fret about.
500 homeless soldiers are expected to march themeselves to a "Stand Down" at Clifford Park on Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester.
Ease back into normal civilian life
It is disturbing to see how many elderly veterans are homeless.
They served their Nation, did their duty, look forward to living in a shelter if you can find a bed!!
Homeless vets will be able to camp out in Clifford Park in sleeping bags provided for them.
They can obtain Medical Sercices, ride the MBTA for free and get assistance with drivers liciences, Housing and taxes.
Their will be a Job Fair.
Sean Lunde and Iraq War Vetran now serving as program coordinator for the State Department of Veterans Services.

Iraq surge

Iraq War Critics cite military progress
Some of the critics of President Bush's Iraq war policies are conceding their is evidence of recent improvements in the military situation in Iraq, while political progress remains stalled.
We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in Military terms.
It is recommended to Congress to sustain the current troop buildup "at least till 2008.
This in not a no-brainer to keep surging. Open to debate.
People need to catch up with the battlefield facts.
We still are critical of the administration's handling of the whole situation.