Veterans Affairs

In which we discuss a problem that might require an airdrop, an amphibious assault, and Naval action...in other words, the whole State of North Carolina might need to get involved.

BlueSouth suggested pushing this idea to Daily Kos, which is why I've written another version.

Among the many things that anger me these days, the widely held belief that the Republican party represents people in the military is at the top of my list. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Starting with the chickenshit frat-boy in the White House and trickling all the way down to photo-op senators like Liddy Dole and Dick Burr here in North Carolina, it's hard to imagine any administration doing more to damage America's military than the Republican Party of Greed.

Join us for BlueNC Veterans Day on April 19.

As home to more active duty personnel than 47 other states (California, Texas and Virginia have more), North Carolina has a special relationship with the military. Military families and veterans abound all across the state, with extra high concentrations around Fayetteville, Jacksonville and Goldsboro. Having awakened slowly from the BushCo nightmare over the past six years, veterans in North Carolina are finally good and pissed.

at's why we've designated April 19, 2007 as Veterans Day at BlueNC. On that day, the day the first shot was fired in the American revolution, we're offering a special invitation to our many veteran readers to post entries sharing their ideas on war, politics, or anything else for that matter. This approach is modeled after the fabulously successful Women on Wednesdays initiative started by our own Southern Dem.

If you're a veteran - especially one with ties to North Carolina - we hope you'll consider joining this special conversation on April 19th.

It's been a busy BlueNC week. We closed out February with the first-ever Women on Wednesdays, and a record 13,008 unique visitors for the shortest month of the year. We got the scoop on "new rules" for the NC House, and today we have a second-term representative, Grier Martin, stopping by to answer your questions. He's a primary sponsor on the Renewable Portfolio Standards bill, and is intensely interested in veterans affairs and family issues.

He should be online around 8, so keep your eyes peeled and your questions coming. We'll have him for about an hour.

Happy Friday, everyone.

We met yesterday. We were doing what men often do...waiting! We struck up a conversation about little things like the weather, and it progressed to "where are you from" and where have you been and so on. He was a 30 year Army vet and we learned we had been some of the same places. He was in the 173rd Airborne with a base camp in 1970 near Long Binh...I had been there five years earlier...knew the place...had been nearby but further west and north.

There's more...

As I mentioned on Monday, we'll have the privilege of live-blogging with Grier Martin tomorrow morning (Friday) starting around 8 or 8:30. We can talk about anything you want - but hopefully we'll spend some time on the Renewable Portfolio Standards and veterans affairs here in North Carolina.

There are a bunch of questions over on the original announcement thread, and I'll plan to drag some of them over here to keep the ball rolling. Hope you can join us.

Ok, here's the real way to help. A whole lot better than putting those yellow ribbon magnets on your car.

I'm asking everyone I know to please write your U.S. Senator in support of S-713, a bill introduced Wednesday that would require the Veterans Administration to increase inspections of military hospitals, create a timeframe for repairs and improve access to mental health services. Under the bill, the amount of paperwork that veterans must complete in order to receive disability benefits also would be simplified. The bill has bipartisan support. A companion bill will be introduced in the House within the next few days, according to Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.). The House and Senate next week will hold hearings on how the Department of Defense and the VA are caring for U.S. troops who return from war. Several legislators recently have said they will introduce bills aimed at increasing aid for veterans and their families.

I just read this heartbreaking article in Newsweek about veteran care (or lack thereof) by the Veterans Administration. As the former wife of a Vietnam veteran, I know the difficulty he went through when trying to obtain benefits; he was told that he was classified as a "peacetime" veteran because he served in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer, even though he saw plenty of combat. I'm hoping that presidential candidates like mine will make this a topic at the forefront of their campaigns; in the meantime, I urge you to send this link with a note to your senator and representative demanding immediate action on this issue if they expect your vote the next time around. That's what "Support the Troops" REALLY means!

Click here for the article in Newsweek.

Two seemingly unrelated issues – energy policy and veterans affairs – are high on my list of priorities. Both have been grotesquely mismanaged by the Bush administration, yet each is critical for having a strong and secure nation. And while the federal government continues to dawdle on both fronts, the states are, fortunately, taking up the slack. Here in North Carolina, some of that work is being done by Representative Grier Martin of Raleigh.

Now in his second term representing District 34, Grier has a strong and progressive record on environmental issues, children and family legislation, and veterans affairs. With those issues in mind, I invited him to join us for a live-blogging session this Friday morning.

Of special interest is a new bill for Renewable Portfolio Standards of which Grier is a primary sponsor. The complicated legislation is now making its way through the House and we all need to understand what it’s about. Mark Binker has a good overview of the ins and outs in case you want to get some background in advance.

I’ve also asked Grier to share what North Carolina can and should be doing to help make up for the federal government’s incredibly poor performance in helping and supporting our veterans.