By The Last Boy In Line
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Dear Reality:
Sincerely,
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Dear Reality
Dear Reality
By The Last Boy In Line
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Dear Reality:
Sincerely,
By The Last Boy In Line
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Dear Reality:
Sincerely,
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Remember Me
Remember Me
By Curtis Bennett
January 29, 2019
I was once the pride of this country,
The healthy, the young, the strong and brave,
Then I quickly became the acceptable casualty,
In my country’s undeclared war,
In the name of national interest,
A country where I was too young to vote.
I went because I was still too young,
To know any better,
Though others cleverly refused,
Or ran away to hide.
I never once dreamed my own government,
Would ever lie to its own people,
But I was mistaken and they did for years.
I fought their war in a hell for one year,
Then came home and found another hell,
Awaiting from the very people and country,
Who determined I go in the first place.
Then their war, suddenly became mine,
And I was the convenient scapegoat!
Today I am the broken bodies and minds,
Shunted off, out of sight, behind heavy doors,
Of VA hospitals and mental wards to die.
I am in wheel chairs and braces, in hospital beds;
I walk the streets; I wander the railroad tracks,
I sleep beneath the stars.
By Curtis Bennett
January 29, 2019
I was once the pride of this country,
The healthy, the young, the strong and brave,
Then I quickly became the acceptable casualty,
In my country’s undeclared war,
In the name of national interest,
A country where I was too young to vote.
I went because I was still too young,
To know any better,
Though others cleverly refused,
Or ran away to hide.
I never once dreamed my own government,
Would ever lie to its own people,
But I was mistaken and they did for years.
I fought their war in a hell for one year,
Then came home and found another hell,
Awaiting from the very people and country,
Who determined I go in the first place.
Then their war, suddenly became mine,
And I was the convenient scapegoat!
Today I am the broken bodies and minds,
Shunted off, out of sight, behind heavy doors,
Of VA hospitals and mental wards to die.
I am in wheel chairs and braces, in hospital beds;
I walk the streets; I wander the railroad tracks,
I sleep beneath the stars.
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Dear War Criminals
Dear War Criminals
By The Last Boy In Line
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Dear War Criminals:
Sincerely,
By The Last Boy In Line
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Dear War Criminals:
Sincerely,
Friday, January 25, 2019
Donald Trump Says Average of 20 Veterans Commit Suicide Daily
Donald Trump Says Average of 20 Veterans Commit Suicide Daily
By Sean Gorman
Politifact.com
January 25, 2019
Topping Donald Trump’s 10-point plan to help U.S. military
veterans is a pledge to improve their mental health services.
"A shocking 20 veterans are committing suicide each and every day,
especially our older veterans," the President said during a speech in
Virginia Beach, where he excoriated the Department of Veterans
Affairs and laid out reforms.
We wondered whether Trump’s sad suicide number is correct.
The VA examined about 55 million veterans records from 1979
through 2014.
It found that in 2014, the latest year for which figures are
available, that 7,403 veterans took their own lives, or an
average of about 20 veterans a day.
The count updates a much-cited VA estimate that an average
of 22 veterans killed themselves each day in 2010.
The VA always acknowledged that this old study was limited,
because it was based on veterans living in only 21 states.
Notably absent were California and Texas - two states with very
high veteran populations.
The new figure of 20 veteran suicides a day is based on records
from every state.
The VA said that 65 percent of veterans who took their own lives in
2014 were 50 or older, a finding that jibes with Trump’s statement
that the daily suicides especially pertained to "older veterans."
For context, it should be noted that 75 percent of the nation’s
veterans are 50 or older.
On the other hand, the VA found that younger veterans had the
highest rate of suicides.
Those ages 18 to 29 had a suicide rate of 77 per 100,000 in 2014.
Veterans ages 50 to 59, by comparison, had a rate of 39 per
100,000.
In all age groups, the VA found that the percentage of veterans
who take their lives was substantially higher than that of adults
who never served in the military.
The rate for non-veterans ages 18 to 29, for example,
was 12.8 per 100,000.
The rate for non-vets ages 50 to 59 was 18.6 per 100,000.
The 2014 suicide rate for all veterans was 35.3 per 100,000;
the rate for all adult non-vets was 15.2 per 100,000.
After adjusting for differences in age and gender, the VA concluded
that veterans have a 21 percent higher risk of suicide than non-
serving adults.
Is the situation improving?
During a July 7 news conference, VA officials were asked whether
their research shows that there has been improvement in the
veteran suicide problem, since the updated number, 20 deaths a
day, was lower than the previous estimate of 22.
David Shulkin, the VA’s undersecretary for health, said the
department doesn’t view the new number as a sign of progress.
Shulkin said the average number of daily suicides may decreasing
because the aging population of veterans also is waning.
He stressed, however, that the suicide rate for veterans was rising.
VA figures show that the veterans suicide rate actually has
increased 32 percent since 2001.
That compares with a 23 percent increase in the rate for non-vets
during the same period.
According to the new report, the suicide rate among veterans
who used VA services increased 8.8 percent since 2001, while
the rate among veterans who didn’t use those services increased
38.6 percent.
Critics have said focusing on the daily number of veteran suicides
is pointless and that attention should be fixed on examining the
veteran suicide rate and how it compares with the rest of the
country.
Shulkin, during the news conference, said the daily suicide rate
figure has become so "ingrained" in public conversation that the
VA decided to recalculate it to ensure it’s correct.
Our Ruling
President Trump said, "A shocking 20 veterans are committing
suicide each and every day, especially our older veterans."
His claim is supported by recent research by the VA and we rate
the statement True.
By Sean Gorman
Politifact.com
January 25, 2019
Topping Donald Trump’s 10-point plan to help U.S. military
veterans is a pledge to improve their mental health services.
"A shocking 20 veterans are committing suicide each and every day,
especially our older veterans," the President said during a speech in
Virginia Beach, where he excoriated the Department of Veterans
Affairs and laid out reforms.
We wondered whether Trump’s sad suicide number is correct.
The VA examined about 55 million veterans records from 1979
through 2014.
It found that in 2014, the latest year for which figures are
available, that 7,403 veterans took their own lives, or an
average of about 20 veterans a day.
The count updates a much-cited VA estimate that an average
of 22 veterans killed themselves each day in 2010.
The VA always acknowledged that this old study was limited,
because it was based on veterans living in only 21 states.
Notably absent were California and Texas - two states with very
high veteran populations.
The new figure of 20 veteran suicides a day is based on records
from every state.
The VA said that 65 percent of veterans who took their own lives in
2014 were 50 or older, a finding that jibes with Trump’s statement
that the daily suicides especially pertained to "older veterans."
For context, it should be noted that 75 percent of the nation’s
veterans are 50 or older.
On the other hand, the VA found that younger veterans had the
highest rate of suicides.
Those ages 18 to 29 had a suicide rate of 77 per 100,000 in 2014.
Veterans ages 50 to 59, by comparison, had a rate of 39 per
100,000.
In all age groups, the VA found that the percentage of veterans
who take their lives was substantially higher than that of adults
who never served in the military.
The rate for non-veterans ages 18 to 29, for example,
was 12.8 per 100,000.
The rate for non-vets ages 50 to 59 was 18.6 per 100,000.
The 2014 suicide rate for all veterans was 35.3 per 100,000;
the rate for all adult non-vets was 15.2 per 100,000.
After adjusting for differences in age and gender, the VA concluded
that veterans have a 21 percent higher risk of suicide than non-
serving adults.
Is the situation improving?
During a July 7 news conference, VA officials were asked whether
their research shows that there has been improvement in the
veteran suicide problem, since the updated number, 20 deaths a
day, was lower than the previous estimate of 22.
David Shulkin, the VA’s undersecretary for health, said the
department doesn’t view the new number as a sign of progress.
Shulkin said the average number of daily suicides may decreasing
because the aging population of veterans also is waning.
He stressed, however, that the suicide rate for veterans was rising.
VA figures show that the veterans suicide rate actually has
increased 32 percent since 2001.
That compares with a 23 percent increase in the rate for non-vets
during the same period.
According to the new report, the suicide rate among veterans
who used VA services increased 8.8 percent since 2001, while
the rate among veterans who didn’t use those services increased
38.6 percent.
Critics have said focusing on the daily number of veteran suicides
is pointless and that attention should be fixed on examining the
veteran suicide rate and how it compares with the rest of the
country.
Shulkin, during the news conference, said the daily suicide rate
figure has become so "ingrained" in public conversation that the
VA decided to recalculate it to ensure it’s correct.
Our Ruling
President Trump said, "A shocking 20 veterans are committing
suicide each and every day, especially our older veterans."
His claim is supported by recent research by the VA and we rate
the statement True.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Dear Veterans
Dear Veterans
By The Last Boy In Line
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Dear Veterans:
Sincerely,
To enlarge this image simply left click directly on the image 👌
By The Last Boy In Line
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Dear Veterans:
Sincerely,
To enlarge this image simply left click directly on the image 👌
Monday, January 21, 2019
"Beyond Vietnam"
"Beyond Vietnam"
By Stanford MLK Institute
Monday January 21, 2019
On 4 April 1967 Martin Luther King jr. delivered his seminal speech
at Riverside Church condemning the Vietnam War.
Declaring “my conscience leaves me no other choice,” King
described the war’s deleterious effects on both America’s poor and
Vietnamese peasants and insisted that it was morally imperative for
the United States to take radical steps to halt the war through
nonviolent means (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 139).
King’s anti-war sentiments emerged publicly for the first time in
March 1965, when King declared that “millions of dollars can be
spent every day to hold troops in South Viet Nam and our country
cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma” (King, 9 March
1965).
King told reporters on Face the Nation that as a minister he had “a
prophetic function” and as “one greatly concerned about the need
for peace in our world and the survival of mankind, I must continue
to take a stand on this issue” (King, 29 August 1965).
In a version of the “Transformed Nonconformist” sermon given
in January 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King voiced his own
opposition to the Vietnam War, describing American aggression
as a violation of the 1954 Geneva Accord that promised self-
determination.
In early 1967 King stepped up his anti-war proclamations,
giving similar speeches in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Los Angeles speech, called “The Casualties of the War in
Vietnam,” stressed the history of the conflict and argued that
American power should be “harnessed to the service of peace
and human beings, not an inhumane power [unleashed] against
defenseless people” (King, 25 February 1967).
On 4 April, accompanied by Amherst College Professor Henry
Commager, Union Theological Seminary President John Bennett,
and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, at an event sponsored by
Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, King spoke to over
3,000 at New York’s Riverside Church.
The speech was drafted from a collection of volunteers, including
Spelman professor Vincent Harding and Wesleyan professor John
Maguire.
King’s address emphasized his responsibility to the American people
and explained that conversations with young black men in the
ghettos reinforced his own commitment to nonviolence.
King followed with an historical sketch outlining Vietnam’s
devastation at the hands of “deadly Western arrogance,” noting,
“we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we
create a hell for the poor” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 146; 153).
To change course, King suggested a five point outline for stopping
the war, which included a call for a unilateral ceasefire.
To King, however, the Vietnam War was only the most pressing
symptom of American colonialism worldwide. King claimed that
America made “peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give
up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense
profits of overseas investments” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 157).
King urged instead “a radical revolution of values” emphasizing
love and justice rather than economic nationalism (King, “Beyond
Vietnam,” 157).
The immediate response to King’s speech was largely negative.
Both the Washington Post and New York Times published editorials
criticizing the speech, with the Post noting that King’s speech had
“diminished his usefulness to his cause, to his country, and to his
people” through a simplistic and flawed view of the situation (“A
Tragedy,” 6 April 1967).
Similarly, both the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People and Ralph Bunche accused King of linking
two disparate issues, Vietnam and civil rights.
Despite public criticism, King continued to attack the Vietnam War
on both moral and economic grounds.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/beyond-vietnam
By Stanford MLK Institute
Monday January 21, 2019
On 4 April 1967 Martin Luther King jr. delivered his seminal speech
at Riverside Church condemning the Vietnam War.
Declaring “my conscience leaves me no other choice,” King
described the war’s deleterious effects on both America’s poor and
Vietnamese peasants and insisted that it was morally imperative for
the United States to take radical steps to halt the war through
nonviolent means (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 139).
King’s anti-war sentiments emerged publicly for the first time in
March 1965, when King declared that “millions of dollars can be
spent every day to hold troops in South Viet Nam and our country
cannot protect the rights of Negroes in Selma” (King, 9 March
1965).
King told reporters on Face the Nation that as a minister he had “a
prophetic function” and as “one greatly concerned about the need
for peace in our world and the survival of mankind, I must continue
to take a stand on this issue” (King, 29 August 1965).
In a version of the “Transformed Nonconformist” sermon given
in January 1966 at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King voiced his own
opposition to the Vietnam War, describing American aggression
as a violation of the 1954 Geneva Accord that promised self-
determination.
In early 1967 King stepped up his anti-war proclamations,
giving similar speeches in Los Angeles and Chicago.
The Los Angeles speech, called “The Casualties of the War in
Vietnam,” stressed the history of the conflict and argued that
American power should be “harnessed to the service of peace
and human beings, not an inhumane power [unleashed] against
defenseless people” (King, 25 February 1967).
On 4 April, accompanied by Amherst College Professor Henry
Commager, Union Theological Seminary President John Bennett,
and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, at an event sponsored by
Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, King spoke to over
3,000 at New York’s Riverside Church.
The speech was drafted from a collection of volunteers, including
Spelman professor Vincent Harding and Wesleyan professor John
Maguire.
King’s address emphasized his responsibility to the American people
and explained that conversations with young black men in the
ghettos reinforced his own commitment to nonviolence.
King followed with an historical sketch outlining Vietnam’s
devastation at the hands of “deadly Western arrogance,” noting,
“we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we
create a hell for the poor” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 146; 153).
To change course, King suggested a five point outline for stopping
the war, which included a call for a unilateral ceasefire.
To King, however, the Vietnam War was only the most pressing
symptom of American colonialism worldwide. King claimed that
America made “peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give
up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense
profits of overseas investments” (King, “Beyond Vietnam,” 157).
King urged instead “a radical revolution of values” emphasizing
love and justice rather than economic nationalism (King, “Beyond
Vietnam,” 157).
The immediate response to King’s speech was largely negative.
Both the Washington Post and New York Times published editorials
criticizing the speech, with the Post noting that King’s speech had
“diminished his usefulness to his cause, to his country, and to his
people” through a simplistic and flawed view of the situation (“A
Tragedy,” 6 April 1967).
Similarly, both the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People and Ralph Bunche accused King of linking
two disparate issues, Vietnam and civil rights.
Despite public criticism, King continued to attack the Vietnam War
on both moral and economic grounds.
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/beyond-vietnam
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Dear U.S. Military Industrial Complex
Dear U.S. Military Industrial Complex
By The Last Boy In Line
Saturday, January 19, 2018
Dear U.S. Military Industrial Complex:
Sincerely,
By The Last Boy In Line
Saturday, January 19, 2018
Dear U.S. Military Industrial Complex:
Sincerely,
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