Memorial Day - How does the Military treat those who served?
Our local station carried this account about a seriously wounded Iraqi Vet who is being treated like NO citizen of this country should be. There is also a video that shows a deduction of $120 a month on a $800 check for charges of equipment'...canteens, etc..while he was recovering from his wounds???? He is quite disabled and unable to walk.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Gary Pfleider II served his country for six years before he became a member of the new generation of disabled veterans.
Pfleider, a former Oregon National Guard soldier, was shot by a sniper while on patrol in Iraq in September 2007. He has only vague memories of the event, but now must live with a permanent reminder -- a brace he'll have to wear on his leg for the rest of his life.
"I remember grabbing a hold of my leg, and realizing I had blood on my hands," he said. "And from that point on until I got loaded onto the Stryker was just a big blur."
Three days after he was shot, Pfleider received a Purple Heart.
Almost two years later, he received a bill from the military for missing equipment.
The sum of the bill, which includes interest, is $3,175. It itemizes a list of gear the military issued to Pfleider that did not come back with his unit in 2008. The lists includes clothing items, canteens and grenades.
Pfleider, who now walks with a cane, believes the items were lost after he was flown out of the country for medical treatment. He doesn't believe he should be held responsible for the items, but the military disagrees.
The federal government has been deducting money from his disability check each month to cover the billed costs. And Pfleider said the feds withheld his tax return for the same reason. [snip]
I found the questionable policy of the military particularly interesting in light of the fact that Senator John McCain (Arizona)is the (R) ranking member of United States Senate Armed Services Committee. Being a bonifide 'war hero', you'd think he'd find the time to know about such policies being approved of by his committee.
Flashback: See the real McCain military voting record here:
McCAIN HAS NOT DELIVERED ON HIS PROMISES TO VETERANS
McCAIN REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST VETERANS’ HEALTH BENEFITS
REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST FUNDING FOR THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
But then John, the 'maverick', can't be bothered with such mundane tripe about our soldiers because he spends more time campaigning than he does attending to the business of his country and state. It wasn't for nothing that he earned the most votes missed of ANY senator, yes, including Barak Obama. That sad record is here.
But, it's an election year for McCain, and miracles, ABSOLUTE miracles can happen when he's pushed to the conservative edge. Perhaps he will have a campaign trail conversion and start actually caring about those who serve. He's busy bragging these days about getting an amendment passed through his committee to put 6,000 troops on the border.
Now this is particularly curious since the Obama administration is putting the guard on the border to HELP Mexico keep our guns out and NOT to enforce ANY immigration law.
Flashback: Bill O’reilly has given us the proof that MCCain did NOT want the guard on the border. Just a few years ago:
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ.: I do not favor using troops because they are not trained for it. They don’t have the kind of qualifications necessary. I have strongly favored us using all the technical equipment that our military has including satellites, including aircraft and other technical means.
Dealing with the injustice the military is handing out to our wounded, disabled troops might take time away from John's gambling habit and celebrating with less than honorable people. Can't have that!
John McCain has a long time, well known GAMBLING problem! His support and$ come from questionable people with questionable ties.
Mafia ties:
[snip] In 1995, McCain sent birthday regards, and regrets for not attending, to Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonano, the head of the New York Bonano crime family, who had retired to Arizona. Another politician to send regrets was Governor Fife Symington, who has since been kicked out of office and convicted of 7 felonies relating to fraud and extortion.
McCain's mafia ties go back further than that ... all the way back to Cindy McCain's mafia connected dad, who launched McCain's career and put him on the nipple of Charles Keating and friends. Cindy's dad took the fall for the mafia over illegal liqour distribution charges and was rewarded with a beer distributorship when he got out of the clink. Cindy's dad also helped the mob do some dirty business in the New Mexico horse racing market back in the day.
McCain Received $100000 From Firm Of Abramoff Notoriety
Feb 12, 2008 ... John McCain has touted his work tackling the excesses of the lobbying industry ... exploring layers of corruption that had allowed Indian tribes to part with tens .... What concerns me more than Abramoff's donations or ...
For McCain and Team, a Host of Ties to Gambling - NYTimes.com
Sep 28, 2008 ... HONING AN IMAGE Senator John McCain, as chairman of the Indian Affairs ...
[snip]Stumping in New Orleans in June, McCain continued to distance himself from the Bush administration, claiming he 'supported every investigation' into the government's role regarding the hurricane.
Why did McCain celebrate his birthday on a Mobster's Yacht?
[snip]The photograph substantiates reports that in late August, 2006, McCain celebrated his 70th birthday aboard a yacht, the Celine Ashley, rented by A-list con man Raffaello Follieri and his then-movie star girlfriend Anne Hathaway.
Follieri, who posed as Vatican chief financial officer in order to win friends and investments, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Manhattan district court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering.
Labels: McCain, memorial day, military, veteran