A large defense contractor finally succeeded in building a computer able to solve any strategic or tactical problem. Military leaders assembled in front of the new machine and were instructed to feed a difficult tactical problem into it. They described a hypothetical situation to the computer and then asked the pivotal question, "Attack or retreat?"
The computer hummed away for an hour and then came up with the answer, "Yes."
The generals looked at each other, stupefied.
Finally one of them submitted a second request to the computer, "Yes what?"
Instantly the computer responded, "Yes, Sir!."
The World's Ten Worst Puns
1. Two vultures board an airplane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at them and says: "I'm sorry, gentlemen, only one carrion allowed per passenger.
2. Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.
4. A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces: "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during the root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of his office and asked them to disperse. But why? they asked, as they moved off. Because, he said, I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.
8. These friars were behind in their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to persuade them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him . what? (Oh, man this is so bad, it's good). A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.
I've left the picture of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates here because I like the way it flips when you put a mouse over it. Enjoy.
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note to Homeland Security: It's a joke.
Please don't arrest me. I'm not an enemy combatant.
Sgt. Jill Stevens, a member of 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, Utah National Guard
Who is most likely to develop PTSD?
1. Those who experience greater stressor magnitude and intensity,
unpredictability, uncontrollability, sexual (as opposed to
nonsexual) victimization, real or perceived responsibility,
and betrayal.
2. Those with prior vulnerability factors such as genetics,
early age of onset and longer-lasting childhood trauma, lack
of functional social support, and concurrent stressful life
events.
3. Those who report greater perceived threat or danger, suffering,
upset, terror, and horror or fear.
Veterans with PTSD have profound and pervasive problems in their daily lives. These often include migraines, intestinal complaints, immune system problems, dizziness, chest pain, and discomfort in other parts of the body. Often, medical doctors treat the symptoms without being aware that they stem from PTSD.
These problem often mask problems in family and other important relation-ships, problems with employment, trouble with the criminal justice system, and ultimately suicide. CBS News reported in November 07, that nearly 20 veterans commit suicide EVERY DAY.
If you can read, thank a teacher. If you are free, thank a veteran. You owe your freedom to Veterans. These are not disposable people to be kicked to the curb like dog droppings. Don't be so quick to judge a man "who just isn't the same."
All this hard news notwithstanding; it's crucial that the Veteran and his family hold on to their core values and most important,
DON'T GIVE UP!
PTSD does create permanent changes in brain function but it does not have to ruin your lives forever. Just as an oyster can create a pearl by creating layer after layer of nacre to protect itself from the constant irritation of the grain of sand, so can the Veteran and their families build up layers and layers of understanding and coping skills to manage the symptoms.
Thousands of Vietnam veterans have committed suicide on the installment plan, with obesity, drugs and alcohol, or they've killed themselves outright in a car wreck or with a gunshot.
But Millions of Veterans have found ways to have joyous successful lives, to achieve their goals, and serve their fellow man.
YOU CAN TOO. Remember the words of the immortal Winston Churchill...
"Never, Never, Never give up."
The real tragedy in life is not in not reaching your goal. The real tragedy is in having no goal to reach.
Never, Never, Never Give Up!
Andrew Wilson in "Post Traumatic Stress Recovery: A new paradigm for Combat Vets"
HOW DO WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Voter Registration is a powerful way to influence policy. An editorial by Andrew Wilson
There are plenty of groups that exist just to have
meetings and give members warm feelings. Few organizations focus on positive
change. I want to encourage everyone to embrace that spirit of positive change. Help register voters, one veteran at a time.
With planning, and cooperation with other community
groups like our Veteran Service Organizations, the League of Women Voters, and others, we can launch a state wide voter
registration drive that will gain the attention of local government --but
more importantly, it can give Utah Veterans a sense of unity and
purpose like few other activities can.
This is not rocket science. Groups from across
America have paved the way for us. I've adapted some info from the Commonwealth of
Virginia for this newsletter. Let's do this important work.
What can the Veterans do
to help register voters?
Plan who you might help register well in advance
of the voter registration deadline.
Learn who is eligible to vote and how to fill out
the voter registration cards correctly.
Make the best use of the applications; for example, simply putting blank
applications in mailboxes or inside front doors could waste your time
and energy, not to mention a lot of applications. Many of these people
may already be registered to vote, or could be ineligible to vote.
Assist an individual if they cannot fill out the application because
of limitations. The applicant must personally sign in the blank for
"signature".
Distribute voter registration applications to anyone who
is qualified to vote in Utah. However, if you want to distribute on
private property (i.e., shopping malls or supermarkets) you must first
get permission from the property owner or manager.
Allow people to take a voter registration card and turn it in themselves,
if that is what they want to do.
For questions concerning completion of the application and voting on
election day, call your local registration office or the State Elections
Office
115 State Capitol Building
SLC, UT 84114
(801) 538-1041 or 1-800-995-VOTE
Fax: (801) 538-1133 E-mail: elections@utah.gov
You may want to check out the video we have embedded HERE. It's called"Iraq for Sale"by documentary film maker Robert Greenwald.
It tells the story of the no bid, sole source contracts given to Blackwater, Haliburton, Kellog, Brown, and Root and others. Troublesome. It's worth the seventy five minutes to watch it.
The Wisdom of the Dakota
Indians
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians,
passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When
you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to
dismount."
However in government and in much of corporate
America more advanced strategies are often employed. Such as:
1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living impaired.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse's
performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would impro ve
the dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less
costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially
more to the bottom line of the economy than live horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.
And last but not least:
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.
News from the Utah DAV
Because so many sick and disabled veterans
lack transportation to and from VA medical facilities for needed treatment,
the DAV operates a nationwide Transportation Network to meet this need.
Across the nation, more than 196 DAV Hospital Coordinators (HSCs) operate
more than 180 active programs at VA hospitals and Outpatient Clinics.
These HSCs have recruited a corps of nearly 5,000 volunteer drivers whom
they coordinate to provide transportation for veterans needing this service.
Additionally DAV Departments and Chapters purchase and donate most of
the vans to the VA medical facilities for use in the Transportation Network.
Here in Utah this important work is organized by
Heidi Hopper. If you are a sick
or disabled veteran and lack transportation to and from the Salt Lake
City VA medical facilities, call Heidi at the DAV.
DAV
HOSPITAL SERVICE COORDINATOR: HEIDI HOPPER
SALT LAKE CITY VA HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
(801) 582-1565 EXT 2003
OR 1-800-613-4012 EXT
2003.
Thanks to our Philadelphia connection, Gerald Ney for this informative email:
From: Gregory J. Johnson <mailto:gjj1@psu.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 6:29 AM
Subject: DISPATCHES #1970: The Medvedev Doctrine
The following came by way of Marine Wayne Babb. Stand by for Cold War
II...
2 September 2008
Geopolitical Diary: The Medvedev Doctrine
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev gave an extraordinary interview on
Russian television's Channel One over the weekend. In the course of the
interview, Medvedev unveiled a five-point doctrine that would govern
Russia's foreign policy going forward. It came in the course of an
interviewer's questions, but the statement was obviously well thought
out and planned. It is to be seen as a statement of Russian national
policy and is worth presenting here verbatim in translation by the
Kremlin:
"I will make five principles the foundation for my work in
carrying out Russia's foreign policy. First, Russia recognizes the
primacy of the fundamental principles of international law, which define
the relations between civilized peoples. We will build our relations
with other countries within the framework of these principles and this
concept of international law. Second, the world should be multipolar. A
single-pole world is unacceptable. Domination is something we cannot
allow. We cannot accept a world order in which one country makes all the
decisions, even as serious and influential a country as the United
States of America. Such a world is unstable and threatened by conflict.
Third, Russia does not want confrontation with any other country. Russia
has no intention of isolating itself. We will develop friendly relations
with Europe, the United States, and other countries, as much as is
possible. Fourth, protecting the lives and dignity of our citizens,
wherever they may be, is an unquestionable priority for our country. Our
foreign policy decisions will be based on this need. We will also
protect the interests of our business community abroad. It should be
clear to all that we will respond to any aggressive acts committed
against us. Finally, fifth, as is the case of other countries, there are
regions in which Russia has privileged interests. These regions are home
to countries with which we share special historical relations and are
bound together as friends and good neighbors. We will pay particular
attention to our work in these regions and build friendly ties with
these countries, our close neighbors. These are the principles I will
follow in carrying out our foreign policy. As for the future, it depends
not only on us but also on our friends and partners in the international
community. They have a choice."
The interviewer then asked for greater definition of the Russian areas
of interest. Medvedev replied, "The countries on our borders are
priorities, of course, but our priorities do not end there."
The most important points to take away from this, from our point of
view, are as follows. First, the events in Georgia are not to be seen as
isolated, but as part of a general shift in Russian policy. Second, the
Russians are claiming responsibility for Russian citizens anywhere. This
is particularly important in the Baltics, where Russian citizens
constitute substantial minorities, and in Ukraine. Russia is making it
clear that the treatment of Russians in other regions is a fundamental
interest in its foreign policy. Third, the Russians are declaring a
sphere of interest in the former Soviet Union, and saying that friendly
relations with these countries is essential to Russia. This also means
that these countries may not have the option of pursuing policies that
Russia regards as unfriendly. Finally, Russian interests are not
confined to the former Soviet Union. That obviously means that they
extend to Eastern Europe and, in all likelihood, the Middle East as
well.
We see this interview as not quite a formal doctrine, but a clear
indication of Russian thinking. It is clear that the Russians have now
publicly announced what is obvious: Russia has a new foreign policy, and
it is ambitious and will unfold quickly rather than slowly.
- - - -
With our attention turned to Iraq and Iran, the comment "...will unfold
quickly rather than slowly" should be of great interest to all. It may
be getting ugly soon. Look to the Baltic states as a flash point
area....
Herold Noel had nowhere to call home after returning from military service in Iraq. He slept in his Jeep, taking care to find a parking space where he wouldn't get a ticket.
"Then the nightmares would start," says the 26-year-old former Army private first class, who drove a fuel truck in Iraq. "I saw a baby decapitated when it was run over by a truck - I relived that every night."
Across America on any given evening, hundreds of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan like Noel are homeless, according to government estimates.
The reasons for their plight are many. For some, residual stress from daily insurgent attacks and roadside bombs makes it tough to adjust to civilian life; some can't navigate government assistance programs; others simply can't afford a house or apartment.
They are living on the edge in towns and cities big and small, from Washington state to California and Florida. Some of the hardest hit are in New York City, where housing costs "can be very tough," says Peter Dougherty, head of the federal government's Homeless Veterans Program. Studio apartments routinely exceed $1,000 a month - no small sum for veterans trying to land on their feet.
As a member of the National Guard, Nadine Beckford patrolled New York train stations after the Sept. 11 attacks, then served a treacherous year in the Gulf region.
But when she returned home from Iraq, she found her storage locker had been emptied of all of her belongings and her bank account had been depleted. She believes her boyfriend took everything and "just vanished."
Six months after her return to America, she lives in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, sharing a room with eight other women and attending a job training program. Her parents live in Jamaica and are barely making ends meet, she says.
"I'm just an ordinary person who served. I'm not embarrassed about my homelessness, because the circumstances that created it were not my fault," says Beckford, 30, who was a military-supply specialist at a U.S. base in Iraq - a sitting duck for around-the-clock attacks "where hell was your home."
It was a "hell" familiar to Noel during his eight months in Iraq. But it didn't stop when he returned home to New York last year and couldn't find a job to support his wife and three children. Without enough money to rent an apartment, he turned to the housing programs for vets, "but they were overbooked," Noel says.
While he was in Iraq, his family had lived in military housing in Georgia.
In New York, they ended up in a Bronx shelter "with people who were just out of prison, and with roaches," Noel says. "I'm a young black man from the ghetto, but this was culture shock. This is not what I fought for, what I almost died for. This is not what I was supposed to come home to."
There are about 200,000 homeless vets in the United States, according to government figures. About 10 percent are from either the 1991 Gulf War or the current one, about 40 percent are Vietnam veterans, and most of the others served when the country was not officially at war.
"In recent years, we've tried to reach out sooner to new veterans who are having problems with post-traumatic stress, depression or substance abuse, after seeing combat," says Dougherty. "These are the veterans who most often end up homeless."
About 350 nonprofit service organizations are working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans.
But the veterans still land on a hard bottom line: Almost half of America's 2.7 million disabled veterans receive $337 or less a month in benefits, according to the government.
Fewer than one-tenth are rated 100 percent disabled, meaning they get $2,393 a month, tax free.
"And only those who receive that 100 percent benefit rating can survive in New York," says J.B. White, a 36-year-old former Marine who served with a National Guard unit in Iraq. His colon was removed after he was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis, which civilian medical experts believe started in Iraq under the stress of war.
"I'd be homeless if it weren't for the support of my family," says White, who is trying to win benefits from the VA.
He also helps others, like Beckford, as head of a Manhattan-based social service agency that finds non-government housing for vets.
Noel now attends a program to get work in studio sound production. He was the protagonist of the documentary film "When I Came Home," which was named best New York-made documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival this year.
Just after the news reports about his plight, he learned the government was granting him the 100 percent disability compensation he sought - after being turned down.
Noel doesn't blame the Army, which "helped make my dreams come true," he says, recalling the military base life in Georgia and in Korea that his family enjoyed before his deployment to Iraq.
"I had a house, a car - they gave me everything they promised me," he says. "Now it's up to the government and the people we're defending to take care of their soldiers."
I'm deeply concerned that our mass media has been more and more strident in their attacks on individuals who profess to disagree with the official explaination for the World Trade Center tragedy. In the interest of fairness I've included some info from former BYU professor, Steven Jones.
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The Latest and Greatest Newsletter Page 2 Updated September 29, 2008
Scroll all the way down for a picture of Jill Stevens in a revealing swimsuit.
I discovered this on Google the other day. Did anyone report this story in the United States of America?
What does it say about the United States' military policy when the Marine Corp can come up with a re-enlistment ceremony like this in Baghdad? Semper Fi. WhoRah!
I've used this pic a couple of times before... but I just really like it. Scarey!
Research Project Seeks Veterans With Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
The
VA Salt Lake City Health Care System is investigating a medication for Veterans dissatisfied with their current PTSD meds. This experimental testing may result in another useful tool in dealing with PTSD.
Study participants must currently:
Be a veteran
Have ptsd
Be otherwise healthy
Be available for up to six months of study involvement
Participants will receive:
Medical and psychological assesment
Study medication
Supportive care
Pay for participation
For more information and confidential screening please call Lindsay Carpenter
Congress Delivers A 21st Century GI Bill for America's Newest "Greatest" Generation
New GI Bill Provides Increased Educational Benefits
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
The latest GI Bill considerably improves the opportunity for today's servicemembers to obtain their education, a senior Defense Department official said.
President Bush signed the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 on June 30. The new law mirrors the tenets of the original GI Bill, which gave returning World War II veterans the opportunity to go to any school they wanted while receiving a living stipend, Bob Clark, the Pentagon's assistant director of accessions policy, said.
"The original GI Bill was said to be one of the most significant social impacts of the 20th century," Clark said. "We believe the new bill is going to have a similar impact."
The new GI Bill is applies to individuals who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001, and offers education benefits worth an average of $80,000 – double the value of those in the previous program. It covers the full costs of tuition and books, which are paid directly to the school, and it provides a variable stipend for living expenses. It's also transferable to family members of career servicemembers.
Its only restriction is that payment amounts are limited to the most expensive in-state cost to attend a college or university in the state where veterans attend school, he said.
The variable stipend is based on the Defense Department's basic allowance for housing for an E-5, which averages about $1,200 a month, and $1,000 a year will be paid directly to the servicemember for books and supplies, he added.
Enrollment into the Post-9/11 GI Bill is free. Eligibility for the Montgomery GI Bill is based on service commitment and requires active-duty servicemembers to pay a $1,200 fee over the initial year of their enlistment.
The new bill requires that an individual serve at least 90 days on active duty after Sept. 10, 2001, and if discharged, be separated on honorable terms. Servicemembers discharged due to a service-connected disability are eligible if they served 30 continuous days on active duty. Servicemembers must serve 36 aggregated months to qualify for the full amount of benefits.
Servicemembers are entitled to benefits of the new bill for up to 36 months and have up to 15 years from their last 30 days of continuous service to use their entitlements. But as successful as Defense Department officials anticipate the new bill to be, Clark suggested that new recruits still enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill.
The Montgomery GI Bill gives benefits for higher education as well as vocational training, apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training, he explained. The Post-9/11 GI Bill focuses solely on higher education and can only be used at institutions that offer at least an associate's degree, he said.
"We recommend that all new recruits think hard before turning down the Montgomery GI Bill, because they will limit their opportunities for additional education without it," he added.
Servicemembers also are "highly encouraged" to use the Defense Department's tuition assistance program while on active duty, because the Post-9/11 GI Bill's full entitlements, such as the living stipend and book allowance, will not be available, Clark said.
"If you use the Post-9/11 GI Bill while on active duty, it will merely cover tuition or the difference of what tuition assistance will pay," he explained. "Another downside to that is each month you use [the new bill], you lose a month of your 36 months of eligibility."
So, if servicemembers serve on active duty on or after Aug. 1, 2009, and meet the minimum time-in-service requirement, they will be eligible for the new GI Bill while also maintaining benefits from the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill also brings good news for officers and for servicemembers who enlisted under the loan repayment program. Since eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is based on time already served, more servicemembers will be able to take advantage of its benefits, Clark added. Officers commissioned through one of the service academies or through ROTC and enlisted servicemembers participating in the loan repayment program don't qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill, he said.
Those servicemembers will be able to qualify if they finish their initial obligatory service. Commissioned officers must complete their initial five-year commitment if they attended a service academy or their four-year agreement if they were commissioned through college ROTC. Servicemembers whose college loans were paid off by the Defense Department as a re-enlistment incentive must finish their initial commitment – whether it is three, four or five years – before they can apply, Clark said.
"Any amount of time an individual served after their obligated service counts for qualifying service under the new GI Bill," he said.
Another facet unique to the Post-9/11 GI Bill is that it's transferable to family members. The feature gives the defense and service secretaries the authority to offer career servicemembers the opportunity to transfer unused benefits to their family. Though Defense Department officials still are working with the services to hash out eligibility requirements, there are four prerequisites that are subject to adjustment or change, Clark said.
Currently transferability requirements are:
-- Qualifying service to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill;
-- Active duty service in the armed forces on or after Aug. 1, 2009;
-- At least six years of service in the armed forces;
-- Agreement to serve four more years in the armed forces.
"We're really excited about transferability," Clark said. "That was one of the things about education and the GI Bill that's come up the most often from the field and fleet."
Individuals who may not qualify to transfer unused benefits because they leave the service before the new bill's effective date most likely still will qualify for the bill. As long as the separated servicemembers meet the minimum qualifying time served, they can contact their local Veterans Affairs office and apply for the program. While payments are not retroactive, eligibility is, Clark said.
"This new bill will allow our veterans to chase their dreams," Clark said. "It will allow them to go back and experience college like they deserve, much like their grandfathers did in World War II."
More information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill is available at local Veterans Affairs Office and at www.gibill.va.gov.
From the Veterans of Foreign Wars
We have Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia to thank for his rock-steady determination to get this bill passed.
Webb wrote his Senate Bill to mirror the original World War II GI Bill, which is widely regarded as one of the most significant pieces of legislation enacted in the last century.
Almost half of the 16 million men and women who served in World War II took advantage of the education benefit. They became the scientists, scholars, politicians and captains of industry who were directly responsible for the tremendous era of growth and prosperity the nation enjoyed during the latter half of the 20th century. Those GI Bill recipients also returned to federal coffers $7 for every $1 dollar spent on their education in the form of higher taxes paid on the higher wages earned.
Senator Webb issued this statement:
“For the past 17 months, my staff and I have been working every day to provide first-class educational benefits to those who have served since 9/11. I am delighted that after having opposed this legislation, the President has now pledged that he will not veto it when it comes before him as part of this year’s supplemental appropriations package.
“The bill being sent to the President contains every provision in S. 22, which has received meticulous scrutiny and the full support of every major veterans’ organization.
It will pay for a veteran’s tuition, books, and a monthly stipend, along the lines of the benefits given to those who returned from World War II.
As such, it fulfills the pledge I made on my first day of office to provide today’s veterans with the opportunity to move forward into an absolutely first-class future.
“I would like to again express my appreciation to the veterans’ service organizations, many of whom communicated their support of this bill directly to a skeptical White House, and to the 58 Senate and 302 House cosponsors of this landmark legislation. Congress rejected the allegations that claimed that the bill was too generous to our veterans, too difficult to administer and would hurt retention.
“It has now been nearly seven years since 9/11—seven years since those who have been serving in our military began earning the right for a proper wartime GI Bill. I am looking forward to the President living up to his word, and signing this legislation at his earliest opportunity.”
The America We Love
On a spring morning in April of 1775, a simple band of colonists -
farmers and merchants, blacksmiths and printers, men and boys - left
their homes and families in Lexington and Concord to take up arms
against the tyranny of an Empire. The odds against them were long and the risks enormous - for even if they survived the battle, any ultimate failure would bring charges of treason, and death by hanging.
And yet they took that chance. They did so not on behalf of a particular
tribe or lineage, but on behalf of a larger idea. The idea of liberty.
The idea of God-given, inalienable rights. And with the first shot of that fateful day - a shot heard round the world - the American Revolution, and America's experiment with democracy, began.
Those men of Lexington and Concord were among our first patriots. And at
the beginning of a week when we celebrate the birth of our nation, I think it is fitting to pause for a moment and reflect on the meaning of patriotism - theirs, and ours. We do so in part because we are in the
midst of war - more than one and a half million of our finest young men
and women have now fought in Iraq and Afghanistan; over 60,000 have been
wounded, and over 4,600 have been laid to rest. The costs of war have
been great, and the debate surrounding our mission in Iraq has been
fierce. It is natural, in light of such sacrifice by so many, to think more deeply about the commitments that bind us to our nation, and to each other.
We reflect on these questions as well because we are in the midst of a
presidential election, perhaps the most consequential in generations; a contest that will determine the course of this nation for years, perhaps decades, to come. Not only is it a debate about big issues - health
care, jobs, energy, education, and retirement security - but it is also
a debate about values. How do we keep ourselves safe and secure while
preserving our liberties? How do we restore trust in a government that
seems increasingly removed from its people and dominated by special
interests? How do we ensure that in an increasingly global economy, the winners maintain allegiance to the less fortunate? And how do we resolve our differences at a time of increasing diversity?
Finally, it is worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the
question of who is - or is not - a patriot all too often poisons our
political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us
together. I have come to know this from my own experience on the
campaign trail. Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for
President. And yet, at certain times over the last sixteen months, I
have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged - at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I
stand for.
So let me say at this at outset of my remarks. I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.
My concerns here aren't simply personal, however. After all, throughout
our history, men and women of far greater stature and significance than
me have had their patriotism questioned in the midst of momentous
debates. Thomas Jefferson was accused by the Federalists of selling out
to the French. The anti-Federalists were just as convinced that John
Adams was in cahoots with the British and intent on restoring monarchal rule. Likewise, even our wisest Presidents have sought to justify questionable policies on the basis of patriotism. Adams' Alien and
Sedition Act, Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, Roosevelt's
internment of Japanese Americans - all were defended as expressions of patriotism, and those who disagreed with their policies were sometimes labeled as unpatriotic.
In other words, the use of patriotism as a political sword or a
political shield is as old as the Republic. Still, what is striking
about today's patriotism debate is the degree to which it remains rooted
in the culture wars of the 1960s - in arguments that go back forty years
or more. In the early years of the civil rights movement and opposition to the Vietnam War, defenders of the status quo often accused anybody who questioned the wisdom of government policies of being unpatriotic.
Meanwhile, some of those in the so-called counter-culture of the Sixties
reacted not merely by criticizing particular government policies, but by
attacking the symbols, and in extreme cases, the very idea, of America
itself - by burning flags; by blaming America for all that was wrong
with the world; and perhaps most tragically, by failing to honor those
veterans coming home from Vietnam, something that remains a national
shame to this day .
Most Americans never bought into these simplistic world-views - these caricatures of left and right. Most Americans understood that dissent does not make one unpatriotic, and that there is nothing smart or sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America's traditions and
institutions. And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never
entirely drained away. All too often our politics still seems trapped in
these old, threadbare arguments - a fact most evident during our recent
debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal.
Given the enormous challenges that lie before us, we can no longer afford these sorts of divisions. None of us expect that arguments about
patriotism will, or should, vanish entirely; after all, when we argue
about patriotism, we are arguing about who we are as a country, and more
importantly, who we should be. But surely we can agree that no party or
political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism. And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America's common spirit.
What would such a definition look like? For me, as for most Americans,
patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country
rooted in my earliest memories. I'm not just talking about the
recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance or the Thanksgiving pageants at
school or the fireworks on the Fourth of July, as wonderful as those things may be. Rather, I'm referring to the way the American ideal wove its way throughout the lessons my family taught me as a child.
One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders
and watching the astronauts come to shore in Hawaii. I remember the
cheers and small flags that people waved, and my grandfather explaining how we Americans could do anything we set our minds to do. That's my idea of America.
I remember listening to my grandmother telling stories about her work on
a bomber assembly-line during World War II. I remember my grandfather handing me his dog-tags from his time in Patton's Army, and understanding that his defense of this country marked one of his
greatest sources of pride. That's my idea of America.
I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, listening to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness."
I remember her explaining how this declaration applied to
every American, black and white and brown alike; how those words, and words of the United States Constitution, protected us from the injustices that we witnessed other people suffering during those years
abroad. That's my idea of America.
As I got older, that gut instinct - that America is the greatest country
on earth - would survive my growing awareness of our nation's
imperfections: it's ongoing racial strife; the perversion of our
political system laid bare during the Watergate hearings; the wrenching
poverty of the Mississippi Delta and the hills of Appalachia. Not only
because, in my mind, the joys of American life and culture, its
vitality, its variety and its freedom, always outweighed its
imperfections, but because I learned that what makes America great has
never been its perfection but the belief that it can be made better. I
came to understand that our revolution was waged for the sake of that
belief - that we could be governed by laws, not men; that we could be
equal in the eyes of those laws; that we could be free to say what we
want and assemble with whomever we want and worship as we please; that we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams but the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs.
For a young man of mixed race, without firm anchor in any particular
community, without even a father's steadying hand, it is this essential American idea - that we are not constrained by the accident of birth but can make of our lives what we will - that has defined my life, just as
it has defined the life of so many other Americans.
That is why, for me, patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a
place on a map or a certain kind of people. Instead, it is also loyalty to America's ideals - ideals for which anyone can sacrifice, or defend, or give their last full measure of devotion. I believe it is this
loyalty that allows a country teeming with different races and
ethnicities, religions and customs, to come together as one. It is the
application of these ideals that separate us from Zimbabwe, where the
opposition party and their supporters have been silently hunted,
tortured or killed; or Burma, where tens of thousands continue to struggle for basic food and shelter in the wake of a monstrous storm because a military junta fears opening up the country to outsiders; or
Iraq, where despite the heroic efforts of our military, and the courage of many ordinary Iraqis, even limited cooperation between various factions remains far too elusive.
I believe those who attack America's flaws without acknowledging the singular greatness of our ideals, and their proven capacity to inspire a better world, do not truly understand America.
Of course, precisely because America isn't perfect, precisely because
our ideals constantly demand more from us, patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader or government or policy. As Mark Twain, that greatest of American satirists and proud son of
Missouri, once wrote, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the
time, and your government when it deserves it." We may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, and there are many times in our history when that's occurred. But when our laws, our
leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the
dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.
The young preacher from Georgia, Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a
movement to help America confront our tragic history of racial injustice
and live up to the meaning of our creed - he was a patriot. The young
soldier who first spoke about the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib - he is a
patriot. Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country's name;
insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution - these are
the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending that which is best
in America. And we should never forget that - especially when we
disagree with them; especially when they make us uncomfortable with
their words.
Beyond a loyalty to America's ideals, beyond a willingness to dissent on
behalf of those ideals, I also believe that patriotism must, if it is to
mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice - to give up
something we value on behalf of a larger cause. For those who have
fought under the flag of this nation - for the young veterans I meet
when I visit Walter Reed; for those like John McCain who have endured
physical torment in service to our country - no further proof of such
sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever
devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign,
and that goes for supporters on both sides.
We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men
and women in uniform. Period. Indeed, one of the good things to emerge
from the current conflict in Iraq has been the widespread recognition
that whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our
troops is always worthy of honor.
For the rest of us - for those of us not in uniform or without loved ones in the military - The call to sacrifice for the country's greater
good remains an imperative of citizenship. Sadly, in recent years, in
the midst of war on two fronts, this call to service never came. After
9/11, we were asked to shop. The wealthiest among us saw their tax
obligations decline, even as the costs of war continued to mount. Rather
than work together to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and thereby
lessen our vulnerability to a volatile region, our energy policy
remained unchanged, and our oil dependence only grew.
In spite of this absence of leadership from Washington, I have seen a
new generation of Americans begin to take up the call. I meet them
everywhere I go, young people involved in the project of American
renewal; not only those who have signed up to fight for our country in
distant lands, but those who are fighting for a better America here at
home, by teaching in underserved schools, or caring for the sick in
understaffed hospitals, or promoting more sustainable energy policies in
their local communities.
I believe one of the tasks of the next Administration is to ensure that
this movement towards service grows and sustains itself in the years to
come. We should expand AmeriCorps and grow the Peace Corps. We should
encourage national service by making it part of the requirement for a
new college assistance program, even as we strengthen the benefits for
those whose sense of duty has already led them to serve in our military.
We must remember, though, that true patriotism cannot be forced or
legislated with a mere set of government programs. Instead, it must
reside in the hearts of our people, and cultivated in the heart of our
culture, and nurtured in the hearts of our children.
As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the
extraordinary nature of America for granted. But it is our
responsibility as Americans and as parents to instill that history in
our children, both at home and at school. The loss of quality civic
education from so many of our classrooms has left too many young
Americans without the most basic knowledge of who our forefathers are, or what they did, or the significance of the founding documents that
bear their names. Too many children are ignorant of the sheer effort,
the risks and sacrifices made by previous generations, to ensure that this country survived war and depression; through the great struggles for civil, and social, and worker's rights.
It is up to us, then, to teach them. It is up to us to teach them that
even though we have faced great challenges and made our share of
mistakes, we have always been able to come together and make this nation
stronger, and more prosperous, and more united, and more just. It is up
to us to teach them that America has been a force for good in the world,
and that other nations and other people have looked to us as the last,
best hope of Earth. It is up to us to teach them that it is good to give
back to one's community; that it is honorable to serve in the military;
that it is vital to participate in our democracy and make our voices
heard.
And it is up to us to teach our children a lesson that those of us in
politics too often forget: that patriotism involves not only defending
this country against external threat, but also working constantly to
make America a better place for future generations.
When we pile up mountains of debt for the next generation to absorb, or
put off changes to our energy policies, knowing full well the potential
consequences of inaction, we are placing our short-term interests ahead
of the nation's long-term well-being. When we fail to educate
effectively millions of our children so that they might compete in a
global economy, or we fail to invest in the basic scientific research
that has driven innovation in this country, we risk leaving behind an
America that has fallen in the ranks of the world. Just as patriotism
involves each of us making a commitment to this nation that extends
beyond our own immediate self-interest, so must that commitment extends
beyond our own time here on earth.
Our greatest leaders have always understood this. They've defined
patriotism with an eye toward posterity. George Washington is rightly
revered for his leadership of the Continental Army, but one of his
greatest acts of patriotism was his insistence on stepping down after
two terms, thereby setting a pattern for those that would follow,
reminding future presidents that this is a government of and by and for
the people.
Abraham Lincoln did not simply win a war or hold the Union together. In
his unwillingness to demonize those against whom he fought; in his
refusal to succumb to either the hatred or self-righteousness that war
can unleash; in his ultimate insistence that in the aftermath of war the
nation would no longer remain half slave and half free; and his trust in
the better angels of our nature - he displayed the wisdom and courage
that sets a standard for patriotism.
And it was the most famous son of Independence, Harry S Truman, who sat
in the White House during his final days in office and said in his
Farewell Address: "When Franklin Roosevelt died, I felt there must be a
million men better qualified than I, to take up the Presidential
task...But through all of it, through all the years I have worked here
in this room, I have been well aware than I did not really work alone -
that you were working with me. No President could ever hope to lead our
country, or to sustain the burdens of this office, save the people
helped with their support."
In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my
mind - not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular
love for, and faith in, the American people. That is why our heart
swells with pride at the sight of our flag; why we shed a tear as the
lonely notes of Taps sound. For we know that the greatness of this
country - its victories in war, its enormous wealth, its scientific and
the American people; their toil, drive, struggle, restlessness, humor
and quiet heroism.
That is the liberty we defend - the liberty of each of us to pursue our
own dreams. That is the equality we seek - not an equality of results,
the community we strive to build - one in which we trust in this
sometimes messy democracy of ours, one in which we continue to insist
that there is nothing we cannot do when we put our mind to it, one in
which we see ourselves as part of a larger story, our own fates wrapped
up in the fates of those who share allegiance to America's happy and
singular creed.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of
America.
remarks of Senator Barak Obama, Independence, MO June 30,2008
4. Those with a social environment that produces shame, guilt,
stigmatization, or self-hatred.
DAV
HOSPITAL SERVICE COORDINATOR: 
“For the past 17 months, my staff and I have been working every day to provide first-class educational benefits to those who have served since 9/11. I am delighted that after having opposed this legislation, the President has now pledged that he will not veto it when it comes before him as part of this year’s supplemental appropriations package. 
sophisticated about a cynical disregard for America's traditions and
institutions. And yet the anger and turmoil of that period never
entirely drained away. All too often our politics still seems trapped in
these old, threadbare arguments - a fact most evident during our recent
debates about the war in Iraq, when those who opposed administration policy were tagged by some as unpatriotic, and a general providing his best counsel on how to move forward in Iraq was accused of betrayal.
The young preacher from Georgia, Martin Luther King, Jr., who led a
movement to help America confront our tragic history of racial injustice
and live up to the meaning of our creed - he was a patriot. The young
soldier who first spoke about the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib - he is a
patriot. Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country's name;
insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution - these are
the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending that which is best
in America. And we should never forget that - especially when we
disagree with them; especially when they make us uncomfortable with
their words.
Period. Indeed, one of the good things to emerge
from the current conflict in Iraq has been the widespread recognition
that whether you support this war or oppose it, the sacrifice of our
troops is always worthy of honor. 
George Washington is rightly
revered for his leadership of the Continental Army, but one of his
greatest acts of patriotism was his insistence on stepping down after
two terms, thereby setting a pattern for those that would follow,
reminding future presidents that this is a government of and by and for
the people.
And it was the most famous son of Independence, Harry S Truman, who sat
in the White House during his final days in office and said in his
Farewell Address: "When Franklin Roosevelt died, I felt there must be a
million men better qualified than I, to take up the Presidential
task...But through all of it, through all the years I have worked here
in this room, I have been well aware than I did not really work alone -
that you were working with me. No President could ever hope to lead our
country, or to sustain the burdens of this office, save the people
helped with their support."