A little of THIS

[MillRatUSMC]

A little of THIS;
Shades of Vietnam...
Subject:* Letter from Iraq in newspaper
***
This is a letter that was printed in today's News and Tribune.* I think it speaks volumes as to how all our military personnel still in Iraq feel.

Dear Mom,
It's kind of funny that I'm over here praying for all of you while you're all over there praying for me.*
I've been getting a lot closer to God for a number of reasons.
Everyone's morale is dropping considerably.*
No one knows when we're going home.*
It seems like we're staying here for no reason at all.*
We keep having guys get shot (26 wounded since June 4).*
We have a lot of down time (idle minds are a dangerous thing) and now there's talk about us going back into combat operations (ambushes and raids).*
I thought we'd get to go home as soon as the war was over, but now there's no telling when.
The best thing I can do is try to stay positive but this is really testing me.*
I don't mind fighting.*
I don't mind helping, what I do mind is the
information gap and the fact that they hold mail for such a long time.*
Packages, we get right away but letters take a long time.
It seems like everyone thinks the climax of the war is over so we (soldiers) aren't worth another thought.*
Don't misunderstand me, but try to see.*
Letters from strangers have stopped, letters from family and friends are trickling (when they once poured), and the news seems to be picking us apart.*
I've heard of looting and stealing amoung soldiers but that isn't everyone or my unit!*
I've heard the news say we kill innocent people every day.*
They don't say that those innocent people were shooting at us before their buddy ran off with the weapon before the picture is taken.*
Why is America turning on us?*
What did we do wrong?
I'm sorry for complaining, but nothing seems to make sense.*
We are still dying and the American press thinks we are the bad guys.* We just want to go home.
I just needed to vent a little.*
Things are not as easy as I thought they'd be.*
The only easy part was fighting.*
The hardest part is peace.*
That's why I have been relying on God.
Andrew, infantryman
101st Airbourne

A little humor here;

This was written by a male commuter who found some joy in yesterday's protests in Roslyn (a suburb of DC).
I got off my train in Roslyn because I had to use the bathroom. When I was getting back on the train, there were protestors on the train platform handing out pamphlets on the evils of America. I politely declined to take one.
An elderly woman was behind me getting off the escalator and
a young(20ish) female protestor offered her a pamphlet, which she politely declined.
The young protestor put her hand on the old woman's shoulder as a gesture of friendship and in a very soft voice said, "Ma'am, don't you care about the children of Iraq?"
The old woman looked up at her and said, "Honey, my
first husband died in France during World War II so you could have the right to stand here and bad mouth your country.
And if you touch me again, I'll stick this umbrella up your ass and open it."

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo

[MillRatUSMC]

And a whole lot of THAT;
For all the seniors here, including yours truly!
What does it mean to grow older?
Until you're in your fourth or fifth decade of life, the finality of aging may not mean a lot to you even though it's a lifelong process. Childhood, adolescence and young adulthood are typically filled with feelings of immortality. It's often only when you start to notice physical changes in yourself that you accept that you're actually getting older.
If you're older than 60, you've probably already encountered these realities of aging, but you may also have realized that you have a lot more life left than you'd once thought. So what exactly is aging — what causes it, how does your body change and how long can you expect to live?
*
What causes aging?

The causes of aging are not fully understood, but most scientists theorize that aging is probably the result of a combination of factors including your genes, your environment and your lifestyle. According to the National Institute on Aging, theories of aging are generally grouped into two categories:
"Programmed" theories. These theories suggest that biological factors or programs in your body cause aging to occur on a set timeline. For example, one theory suggests that your immune system is responsible — it's programmed to decline, leading to disease and therefore aging and death. Another points to your hormones, proposing that — throughout your life — programmed changes in the production of hormones regulate your aging.

Damage or error theories. Theories in this group explain aging as a result of environmental factors that gradually damage your body and interfere with its normal function. For example, the wear-and-tear theory suggests that the cells and tissues in your body have essential parts that simply wear out over time. Another theory indicates that byproducts of your cells' normal metabolism (free radicals) damage the ability of your cells to work normally until eventually your organs no longer work. Environmental factors such as sunlight and toxins can also cause free radicals that trigger wear. Other theories suggest that genetic mutations or impaired protein synthesis — the process by which your cells produce protein — are behind damaged cells.

Scientists use these theories to study aging. Their research may one day help slow the aging process, extend human life, and keep you active and healthy for longer.
*
How does your body change?

You've most likely noticed some of the physical effects of aging — wrinkles, gray hair and slower reflexes — but what else is going on that you're not seeing? As you age, time takes its toll on the organs and systems in your body. How and when this occurs is unique to you. And everyone doesn't undergo the same changes. Still, in general, some of the age-related changes that occur include changes in your:
Bones. As you age, your bones become less dense as they slowly lose mass and minerals. Gradual loss of density weakens your bones and makes them more susceptible to fracture.

Brain. The number of neurons (cells) in your brain decreases. However, in some areas of your brain, the number of connections between cells increases, perhaps helping to compensate for the cellular decrease and maintain normal brain function.

Cardiovascular system. The size of your heart increases slightly. Your blood pressure increases, your maximum heart rate decreases and your heart may take longer to return to its normal resting state after physical activity.

Hearing. The normal wear and tear of sounds over the years can damage the cells of your inner ears. The walls of your auditory canals also thin, and your eardrums thicken. You may have greater difficulty hearing higher frequencies.

Kidneys. The size of your kidneys shrinks, and the amount your bladder can hold decreases. Your kidneys also become less efficient at removing wastes from your blood.

Muscles. Muscle mass and strength decrease, though increased physical activity can reduce this effect. The amount of water in your tendons and ligaments decreases, increasing stiffness.

Reproductive system. Women produce less estrogen, progesterone and testosterone as they age. The uterus and the vagina shrink, and there's less vaginal lubrication. Men produce less sperm, and their levels of testosterone decrease.

Skin. Your skin thins, and your nails grow at about half the pace they once did. Your sweat and oil (sebaceous) glands become less active, and the moisture in your skin decreases.

Vision. Your eyes are less able to produce tears, your retina thin and your lenses yellow. In your 40s, focusing on objects that are close-up becomes more difficult due to changes in your lenses. Later, your irises stiffen, making your pupils less responsive. This can make it more difficult to adapt to different levels of light. Further changes to your lenses can make you sensitive to glare.
*
How long can you live?

One hundred twenty-two years is the longest documented human life span. Though a life span this long is rare, improvements in medicine, science and technology in the last century have helped more people live longer, healthier lives. In the early 1900s the average life expectancy in the United States at birth was only about 50 years. Today, it's close to 77.
Moreover, the 85-plus group is the fastest-growing demographic segment in the United States, although the number of people 100 and older has exploded as well. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the number of people age 85 and older could increase from 4 million in 2000 to 19 million by 2050. And the number of people age 100 and older is projected to more than quadruple from 65,000 in 2000 to 381,000 in 2030.
In the last 10 years, scientists have made great progress in the study of aging. Currently, thousands of research projects on how to slow aging are under way in numerous medical specialties throughout the world. Scientists are studying a variety of topics including everything from cloning for spare parts to how DNA mutations affect aging to fighting cancer with viruses.
But longer lives also mean that some people may spend more time in an incapacitated state at the end of their lives, in part because the United States has done too little to promote healthy aging. Rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and alcohol abuse are still too high. However, researchers say it's never too late to clean up your act. For example, if you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease begins to fall almost immediately. Living a healthy lifestyle can improve how you age. No matter what your age, you can begin preparing now for your later years. You are the master of your own quality of life.
Clearly, old isn't what it used to be. And as more than 70 million baby boomers approach their retirement years, the definition continues to evolve.

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo

[MillRatUSMC]

A little of THIS part II

They're screwing the Veterans again...

On June 3rd, 2003 the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a lower court ruling that certain Veterans are not entitled to lifetime medical care for themselves and their families despite promises to that effect which were made to them at the time of their enlistments. It was a sad blow for those Veterans
concerned, but especially to those who have for a number of years worked tirelessly on their behalf. Colonel "Bud" Day and his "Class Act" group have devoted enormous time, thought and energy to achieve a just solution for millions of rapidly aging Veterans and this writer applauds them.
The Executive Branch, through successive Democrat and Republican Administrations, has opposed providing promised care, notwithstanding it was that precise Branch, through it agents in the Armed Forces Recruiting Services who proffered the promise. But in the political calculus, the cost of care would cut into funds available for other health and welfare programs, so in classic
vote buying, Congress has avoided stepping up to the promise proffered by the Executive in a perfectly Constitutional maneuver that has avoided responsibility, and associated costs. Congress must authorize the expenditure of funds for the promise made by the Executive, and there are neither enough Veteran "block votes" nor Congressional interest in being fair to those who wore
the uniform during WWII and Korea, to motivate them to do what is right over what is politically expedient. How utterly disgusting, disingenuous and tragic!
But wait, when the pool of WWII and Korean War survivors is sufficiently depleted, some self-righteous Congressman or woman will hold forth about how a promise was made to those aging Veterans and he or she will piously intone that the American people "demand" that they be cared for. In the meantime 1500 die every day, a number that will sharply increase in the months and years ahead, and then drop off as those Veterans go to their permanent reward. At the end of the "day," Congress will "throw a bone" to a pathetic handful of Veteran survivors in a shameless self-aggrandizing charade of political catharsis. No wonder those Veterans are angry, no wonder they feel betrayed. They have plenty of reason to be bitter given that a number of US Representatives, who have unlimited access to the best health care in the world at Bethesda and Walter Reed, promise to ask retired military members to help pick up the slack by dilution of available health care, but won't vote to fund the promise.
From the perspective of the enlistee, a military recruiter in uniform speaks for the US Government. Enlistees do not know or care who is responsible for what;
they are too young and too naive. Although it is well know to all, except enlistees, that recruiters have historically engaged in the Used Car Sales technique called "puffery," to an enlistee, a recruiter's promise is "gospel."
To the enlistee, it's all "the Government," and that Government is behaving more like a sleazy Used Car Dealer than as responsible elected official. Their dirty little secret is that, as one government bureaucrat told this writer in a similar instance, "just wait, the problem will soon go away."
If the United States Government, in this instance, the Legislative and Executive Branches, both of whom are dominated by Republicans, and this writer is a Republican, will not underwrite a specific promise made to an entire generation of Veterans, a promise that was well known within both those Branches at the
time, it's time to change the politicians in that Government in favor statesmen.
Reparations were paid to the Japanese who were interred in camps, during WW II;
"Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Welfare" has been the single largest reparations program in the history of the world and has lasted for generations;
the Congress recently funded fifteen billion dollars for AIDS programs in Africa; they underwrite an entire nation subsequent to the overthrow of its evil government; but the Congress won't keep a promise to those who wore the uniform, fought and who bear the scars of their service while serving the cause of
freedom in WWII and Korea-they should be ashamed, and Voters should get rid of them.
The biggest bunch of sleaze in history, both Democrat and Republican occupy offices in Washington DC these days.
Semper Fidelis
Larry Pate
God Bless America and the United States Marine Corps

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo


*

[gwladgarwr]

Originally posted by MillRatUSMC
A little of THIS part II

They're screwing the Veterans again...

Reparations were paid to the Japanese who were interred in camps, during WW II;
"Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Welfare" has been the single largest reparations program in the history of the world and has lasted for generations

Ricardo, I could not agree with you more when it comes to righting the wrong done to our veterans. At the end of the day, with the Supreme Court essentially upholding a lie made to millions of deserving vets, the Court has blatantly ignored a promise made by the government's own representatives as it has done repeatedly over the pst 227 years (ask any Native American).

On another note, please let me point out that reparations were not made to the "Japanese" interned (not 'interred', which means 'buried') - reparations were made to Americans just as red-blooded American as you and me. If any "Japanese" got a $20,000 check, someone needs to get that check returned. But, the same principle remains - the rights of Americans were denied in both of these cases just mentioned. One wrong has already been "addressed" - the question remains as to how to get these deserving American veterans what is rightfully theirs. And I'm just not sure how to go about it.