Veterans are Killing Themselves . . .

(I'm posting this from my other blog because I feel it's something that should affect the inside of each of us. Thanks for reading.)

I'm really upset today after reading an article in my local paper "Street Roots".
(June 13, 2008 edition)

Page 12 talks about the numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have committed suicide and attempted suicide. It also talks about our government's suppression of the real numbers.

It also includes some interesting facts from VeteransForCommonSense.org about how the military recruiters have lowered their standards to get "bodies" into the Army which included maximum age from 25 to 42, overweight, physically injured, criminal records, and lowered aptitude standards.

Now this is major for those of you who aren't familiar with military stuff. These people who they are letting in under the lowered standards are normally deemed "unfit" for duty because "experience has shown that they deal with the stresses of modern combat worse than their peers."

Veterans For Common Sense also states that "43,000 soldiers declared medically unfit for duty by a doctor have been deployed to combat in Iraq or Afghanistan."

Now, call me ignorant if you like, but if "fit for duty" veterans are killing themselves in record numbers, then what the hell can we expect of "unfit" soldiers? Why is our government sending people with physical or mental injuries into combat? What is going on? Do you know? Do you care?

Well, I care. I'm a veteran. I worked with veterans for 15 years after I left the military service. I assisted them with food, clothes, housing, jobs, benefits, medical and dental care, drug and alcohol treatment, toiletries, and even some maddening straight talk from time to time.

Why are there people like me out here doing this kind of work for our veterans? Because they are here. They need help. They need a place to sleep after being unable to find a job or their relationship ended. After they used drugs and alcohol to try and deaden the pain, the memories, the loneliness.

I remember watching a majority of our Congressmen and Senators standing out in front of one of the famous buildings in Washington, D.C. shortly after the war in Iraq began. They said they would take care of our veterans. The President of our country has said many times he will take care of our veterans.

All I see is talk. Veterans wait for medical appointments at VA, sometimes for months. The Iraq and Afghanistan vets get priority, but what does that mean if there are not enough physicians or mental health people to see them all?

The veterans file for disability because of injuries from combat. You think it takes days or weeks to get approved? Try months. Again, Iraq and Afghanistan vets get priority (along with the homeless), but how long does it take when there are not enough claims people to sort through the mounds of paperwork?

Did you know that the VA does not have a line item budget? Nope, they have to be separately approved a budget each year and it is rarely approved in a timely manner (thanks again representatives of the people).

Don't get me wrong, I think the VA generally does an awesome job with what they are given (scraps). They work under unbelievable conditions most of the time. Most of them truly care about the veterans they serve.

So, what's the answer to the suicide problem?
Well, I suppose we could start with complaining to our representatives about the lack of funding for VA (including more staff). Let them know that you're aware they lied when they said they would take care of our veterans (cause they're not doing it).

Then the VA could do something about seeing the combat vets sooner and speeding up the process for each veteran (whatever it may be). More money, more staff, more room, less wait.

But those are just band aids as far as I'm concerned.
Call me a little biased, but I think the solution is to fix the root of the problem.

BRING OUR TROOPS HOME!
END THE WARS!

There. I said it.
(I support our troops 100%! I don't support the war.)

Make sense to you?
If we're not sending our Brothers and Sisters, Husbands and Wives, Aunts and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, and Cousins and friends to the war . . .

THEN THEY WON'T WANT TO KILL THEMSELVES (or be killed) BECAUSE OF IT!

We stop the ever increasing flow of veterans with physical and mental injuries.
The VA can catch up at some point and be able to handle their patient load.
The VA will be able to process the backlog of claims they already have for all the other veterans after they take care of our Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

Sometimes I just get tired, you know?
I get tired of seeing just how well our government takes care of their veterans.
I get tired of seeing the photos of the ones who died today or this week.
I get tired of seeing the cost in civilian lives and money.
Our children will be paying for this for generations to come.

Our government can bail out multimillion dollar companies who made bad risk mortgages, but they can't help the working people who will lose their houses. Meanwhile, stock holders with those companies take home a pretty penny.

But that's another story for another day . . .

Inside Stuff and the Presidential Race

I'm always talking about inside stuff.
Everything comes from the inside.
Changes that are lasting come from the inside.

Speaking of inside stuff . . .
How is the presidential race making you feel inside?
Do you think our remaining two choices have the answers we so desperately need as a country?
What was going on inside when you heard about or saw Hillary Clinton concede?

Ever ask yourself why you were thinking or feeling those things when that happened?
What do you want for our country?

Just some "inside" things to think about.

Crazy Credit Card Shenanigans

I just had to get this one out!
Yeah, it's a rant, but there's advice at the end.
Good lesson for us all!

Thanks for reading. :)

So, I get my credit card statement from Chase.
I read over it and I've been charged a late fee because a payment didn't get there by a certain date.

Well, I could understand that if they didn't get the payment on time.
But here's the deal . . .
I pay my credit card a month in advance.

Well, I write Chase and tell them to check their records and they'll see that I've been paying my bill well ahead of the due date. I ask them to take the late charge off my account.

Here's what they do . . .
I get a written response stating "Unfortunately, we do not accept prepayments on accounts. It is our policy to apply payments as they are received. Hence we were unable to apply one of those payments to your next billing statement."

In closing they state "In researching this matter, we have determined that the fee did not result from an error caused by Chase Card Services. For this reason, we regret that we are unable to provide reimbursement".

Then I go online to see they've charged me a late fee for this month also because my payment is late again (when I'm actually paid a month in advance).

So, between me paying a month ahead, and them changing my due date, now I'm late even though I'm really not.

I get a $39 late fee, a possible rate increase and/or bad mark on my credit for paying ahead of time!
Oh, I'm sorry, make that a $78 late fee now.

They don't offer to take the late fee off "just this once" or anything!
What kind of deal is that?

They do offer to make it easy on myself by signing up for AutoPay so I'm never late.
Or change my due date so I won't be late.
Or online bill pay so I won't be late.
Phone payment so I won't be late.
Or U.S. Postal Service at least five days prior to my due date so I won't be late.

WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH CHASE CARD SERVICES.

I already pay with Online Bill Pay and I'm not late!
I'm just an ignorant consumer sucker who thought I'd be proactive and always have my account in good standing by paying ahead of time!

What kind of deal is this?
It's like they are setting me up so they can get extra fees from me on top of their interest rate!

Since when do people get punished for paying their debts ahead of time?
Who the hell does Chase think they are?
Oh yeah, they don't give a crap about me.
They have millions of other people lining up to get a credit card.

Well, here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to tell everyone I know, everyone at work, everyone on my newsletter list, everyone I meet, and anyone who will listen what a piece of work Chase is.

Companies used to worry about word of mouth, but seem to have lost that concern.
I'm going to give them a little taste of what it can do to hurt them.
And I'm going to tell them exactly what I'm going to do.
I'm sure it is going to cost them a lot more than $78!

Here's my advice to you.
Find out exactly what your card agreement says about these sort of things.
Better yet, pay the dang thing off so you're not giving anymore of your hard earned money to institutions with less than ethical standards and insatiable greed.

What The Inside First Means

It's been a while since I explained the whole concept of "The Inside First", so I wanted to share what it means and why people come here . . .

The Inside First is based on the belief that all things come from inside each of us.
If we don't like how things are, we change from the inside, not the outside.

We choose to stop allowing others to run our life, treat us poorly, or make us mad or stressed.
We choose to stop doing things to ourself that are harmful to our physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual self.

So, The Inside First is information you can use to help you do those things.
Think a little differently about how you go about stuff.
Understand that we're all human and make mistakes and have to work on ourselves to get to the place where we're happy.

So I may tell a story then what I learned from it.
Or I may rant about something and suggest changes.
Simply put, this blog makes you think.
Use your noodle for a change instead of going through life just existing.

True change begins on "The Inside First".

Announcing My Newest Blog!

If you enjoy The Inside First or PDX Bus, my newest blog may just make your head spin!

Light For The Living is straight from my perspective . . . an ordinary citizen.

Find out what's going on in the good 'ol U.S.A. these days.
It will make you stop and think.
It may get you riled up.
And hopefully it will get you off your butt and taking some action!

http://LightForTheLiving.blogspot.com

Give me some feedback on what you think!
Share it with everyone you know!

One Thing You Can Do About Iraq

Part of looking on the "Inside First" is recognizing when stuff is just not right with you.
I'm a veteran and this "war" just doesn't sit right with me.
I support my Brothers and Sisters and want them to come home . . . like yesterday!

Do you know that some of our vets have been sent back to Iraq for 4th and 5th tours?
Do you even know what that means?
Have you ever asked anyone to explain it?

So, I've been wondering what I can do.
I can't sit here and not be right with it any longer.

Today I found one thing I could do.
It starts with one thing.

I signed a petition for Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama, asking them to take a stand against our Presidents bill for more funding for the war in Iraq.

Thought I'd pass it along to you too.
Just in case this whole thing hasn't been sitting right with you either.
Here's the link:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/take-leadership-now-to-end-the-war-in-iraq

If that doesn't work just go to:
VeteransForPeace.org and click on the petition link

If you don't want to sign the petition, I understand.
Everyone makes their own decisions.

But do me one favor . . .
Watch Obama and Clinton (and McCain for that matter) and see how they vote on this very important piece.
It could be very eye opening for the candidate you may have picked to vote for this coming November.

Remember, words are just words.
What a person does (actions) will really tell you what they're all about.

Let's pray they all three make the right decision when the time comes.
Peace be with you.
De

I've Had Enough of This Mess! . . . Rant!

I often wonder if people will ever take the time to notice what's going on in the world today.
If they have noticed, when they will do something about it.

Gas prices are outrageous, yet the oil companies announce billions in profit.
The "war" in Iraq drags on with no solution in sight, yet we stay and more people die every day.

The price of food is skyrocketing and people with children can barely afford to feed them.
People are losing their homes by the thousands and the dollar is losing value like crazy.

The stock market is up and down like a whimsical carnival ride complete with the off-key blaring music. So much for that hard earned retirement fund.

Our choices for our next president are pretty much a joke (in my opinion). Yeah, we have representation from the African American community and even a woman. I'm SO glad for that! But I look past the skin color and gender and all I see is just another same old political gobbledygook in a pretty, attractive package.

I guess I'm just a "nobody", but if I could give everyone a little advice (and they would actually listen without bias), it would be this . . .

Get over yourself long enough to realize that we are all in this together.
Just because some, most, or all of this stuff has not affected you personally does not mean that it won't.
Ignoring it and hoping it will get better is not good enough.

Look inside yourself.
Take 5 minutes out of your stressful life for what is very important for a change.
Ask yourself if you are concerned about all this stuff going on.

You know inside what's up if you would just listen to yourself for a change instead of all the distractions the media throws at you (like Britney, and Heath Ledger, and Paris Hilton, etc.).

What happens to some
Affects us all
In one way or another

Have the courage to look past the skin color, the religion, the culture, the gender, the orientation, the political affiliation.
Lack of food will certainly look past it.

Hunger and homelessness has no bias.
Nor does high gas prices.
Nor does stock market plumments or crashes.
The price of war knows no racism or cultural bias. It will kill or cripple anyone in its wake.

It's not YOU or ME, or US or THEM.
It is WE!
WE are in this mess together.
Only WE can get ourselves out of it.

WE have a basic human right to water, food, shelter, warmth, love, dignity, and security.
It's time we got rid of the things that drive our demise . . . Ego and greed.

Koyaagnisgatsi.
It's a Hopi word for "Out of Balance".
That's what our world is.
Out of balance. Terribly out of balance.
WE need to work together to bring it back to balance.

Together we can have the world we truly want.
If we divide ourselves because we think we are better than "the other guy" for whatever reason, then we will pay the price.

So, gather up your water and your food.
Start taking some action on the injustices you see.
If you think I'm just another crazy white woman . . . that's ok too.
Deep inside you know what I'm saying is the truth.
Time will reveal the Truth In All Things.

I'll end my soapbox speech with a quote about truth:

"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is." (Winston Churchill)

I pray that everyone finds the truth and the courage to stand up in love.
Mitakuye Oyasin
(To All My Relations)

De