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Comment by TexasDocMom on July 26, 2010 at 2:13pm

I'll have to watch later, Inga...just bathed the dog, can't do stinky summer dog ears and Glenn Beck in the same time frame, too nasty...

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 25, 2010 at 4:06pm

Inga, that video is so right on and receiving a lot of attention on facebook, it's really gone viral. It has to be seen, people have to realize that those fox people and hate mongers like them appeal to people's base instincts...or those with little education ( or let's face...intelligence!) that always are intimidated by those with education (Lord knows that they can't appreciate the hard work that education was to get in the first place!), or even those with an intellectual curiosity that most of those that follow people like Beck and Rush just do not have.

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 23, 2010 at 11:27pm

Last week, the New York Times had this encouraging news:

The government is preparing to issue new rules that will make it substantially easier for veterans who have been found to have post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits, a change that could affect hundreds of thousands of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The regulations from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will take effect as early as Monday and cost as much as $5 billion over several years according to Congressional analysts, will essentially eliminate a requirement that veterans document specific events like bomb blasts, firefights or mortar attacks that might have caused P.T.S.D., an illness characterized by emotional numbness, irritability and flashbacks.

For decades, veterans have complained that finding such records was extremely time consuming and sometimes impossible. And in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, veterans groups assert that the current rules discriminate against tens of thousands of service members — many of them women — who did not serve in combat roles but nevertheless suffered traumatic experiences.

That, as much as anything, underscored the fundamental change in treatment of U.S. combat veterans now that the Obama administration has replaced Bush-Cheney. For all the blather about patriotism and supporting our troops, the reality is that to Bush-Cheney, patriotism was mere political jingoism and the troops were mere cannon fodder and props for photo ops. Under Bush-Cheney, the troops were used and abused, but not treated as the brave human beings who willingly risk everything in service to our country regardless of the politics of war, over which they have little or no say.

Another example of the paradigmatic change in attitude and treatment came several months ago. After eight years of Bush-Cheney, U.S. veterans were suffering from myriad personal traumas, including dramatic rises in mental illness, including PTSD, and spiking rates of suicide and homelessness, with a doubling of homeless female veterans, alone. Last November, the Associated Press reported:

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Tuesday unveiled a plan to end veterans’ homelessness in five years, saying that without action the improvements of recent years could be lost because of the bad economy.

Shinseki said the VA will spend $3.2 billion next year to reduce homelessness among veterans and is working to strengthen partnerships with other government agencies and service organizations. He said he recognizes that a goal of zero homeless veterans is ambitious but that he wants a high target so that everyone puts in their best efforts.

“My name is Shinseki and I’m here to end veteran homelessness,” he said at the beginning of a speech to 1,200 service providers at a VA summit.

Even as a goal, however difficult it may be to attain, no previous administration had ever spoken in such clear terms. It begins with attitude. It is a profound disgrace that some men and women who served this nation in uniform are essentially discarded, with some literally ending up living on the streets. The Bush-Cheney team not only ignored the problem, their policies made it worse. The Obama team wants to solve it. And this speaks to an even larger issue.

One of the most insidious lies often disseminated by the corporate media, and still permeating much of public consciousness, is that Republicans care more than Democrats about our service personnel, despite a clear record that proves otherwise. And because that lie so permeates public consciousness, Democrats often find themselves on the political defense, making bad decisions out of a reflexive desire to prove that they're not weak or soft or unpatriotic. It's beyond absurd, but it's part of the political dynamic. And the best way for the Democrats to fight it- the best way for them to fight their own reflexive defensiveness- is to keep referring back to the facts. Sometimes, those facts are mostly symbolic: President Obama visiting Arlington National Cemetery and Dover Air Force Base, demonstrating a human compassion and empathy that Bush-Cheney lacked. And sometimes, such as the new policy on PTSD, or Shinseki's goal of ending veterans' homelessness, those facts prove the substance behind the symbolism. Democrats care about the troops. Democrats in government want to take care of the troops. On the other hand, the Bush-Cheney regime hardly could have been more abusive to the troops


Don't ever let Republicans claim to be more supportive of U.S. military personnel. Not only was their beloved Bush-Cheney regime cruel and inhumane in its treatment of the very people whose service it politically capitalized upon, but in the past several months the Obama administration has demonstrated a respect and appreciation that Republicans wouldn't have given a moment's consideration. To Bush-Cheney, military personnel were not given any consideration but were considered but political pawns. President Obama will best serve military personnel when he ends the Bush-Cheney wars, but he already has shown that he is always conscious of their fundamental humanity, and intends to honor them for the honor they do this nation by serving it in uniform.


Link to article here. Lots of examples of the Bush/Cheney abuse of our military during their 8 years of corruption.

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 23, 2010 at 10:39am

Krugman Column

The truth, however, is that the only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating. They always loved his policies and his governing style — and they want them back. In recent weeks, G.O.P. leaders have come out for a complete return to the Bush agenda, including tax breaks for the rich and financial deregulation. They’ve even resurrected the plan to cut future Social Security benefits.

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 23, 2010 at 10:09am

Inga, glad you made through those storms...we had several Navy moms on facebook in your area...one at the Navy Lodge. She said there was a "bonding opportunity" in the basement during a tornado warning!

Does it matter to people who have believed lies for so long exactly what the truth is? I mean those people literally drink the koolaid! glad we have our corner of the world to to share our thoughts, our politics and our good fortune in our kids having a CIC that thinks first, has the country's best interest at heart instead of Halliburton's....and keeps plowing on, no matter the mad dogs barking and yelping at his feet!

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 22, 2010 at 9:09am

Guitars for Vets Just a taste of what this group is doing for "Guitars for Vets"....what a great organization, music truly heals....

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 21, 2010 at 11:59pm

Link to video of the good folks sending Bibles to Glenn Beck. Just to help out...the poor, poor man....

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 21, 2010 at 10:15pm

Share the photos, Inga...we haven't seen any of the lake this year,have we? and our cybergrandbaby?? how is our Ava? Have they done much to the house this year, or just like it as it is?
Yep, pretty glad on the unemployment insurance, I know many people who will be able to keep their homes while the jobs are few now...including some of my conservative friends...who are seriously reconsidering their vote for the GOP now. ha!!

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 18, 2010 at 10:29am

Good morning USA...

Comment by TexasDocMom on July 16, 2010 at 3:39pm

I'm so glad I'm not the Secret Service ...can you imagine the stress of trying to keep this President and his family safe with nut cases like that truly believing they should be doing that type of thing. We have a word for them in Texas..white trash. Only white trash would say or do such a thing based on the race of a person...especially the POTUS. Some day those little children will be grown, with those white trash horrors in their souls, they'll enter the military, and firmly believe they do not have to follow the orders of a CIC if he's not the "right" color. Then they become white trash traitors. How many now serve who would qualify for that vile label? I hope they aren't standing next to any of our children in battle.

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