Palin Needs To See What Others Saw Long Ago Looking At Her

I was eating dinner last night with my husband when this came on the news,

At a rally for Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday, Palin said her son, "like so many others," came back from Iraq "a bit different" and "hardened." She also said veterans are forced to look at "our own president" and wonder if he can relate.

Needless to say, I pretty much gagged. The woman is out of her mind!

Paul Rieckhoff of the IAVA said it best with this,

"I hope this doesn't become a portable chew toy in a political campaign," he said. This is a great opportunity for Sarah Palin to sound the alarm on PTSD.

But unfortunately, Rieckhoff is giving Palin more credit than she deserves. Back in 2008, the Alaska National Guard was facing a crisis and they had to "look" at her.

In July of 2008 there was this piece of news that didn't seem to bother Palin much at all.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Army knew that the site chosen to build a family housing complex at Fort Wainwright was a toxic dump but proceeded anyway, in violation of federal laws and service policies, according to an audit by the Army’s own Office of Staff Judge Advocate that was released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite creating a hugely expensive debacle, sickening workers, spreading pollution and retaliating against whistleblowers, the base command has absolved itself and issued an "outstanding" rating to the official who green-lighted the project.

And this one

Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the Alaska Guard's top officer, warned in an internal memo that "missions are at risk." The lack of qualified airmen, Campbell said, "has reached a crisis level."

And then there was this too,

Veterans For America, a veterans advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., released a report on the Alaska Army National Guard Oct. 15 that stated the Guard does not adequately care for soldiers who return from deployment. The report accuses Gov. Sarah Palin of not taking action to address this issue.

And this,

Brig. Gen. Thomas Tinsley by self-inflicted gunshot wound

It is one thing to say foolish things but quite another to not give a crap about service people when she had a chance to do something and maybe, just maybe, make a difference before her son fell through the cracks after being trained to be "resilient" and then didn't get what he needed at home just like all the others before him, and well, sadly, after him.

Head of Veterans Organization Says Obama Is Not to Blame for Sarah Palin's Son's Issues, Urges Her Not to 'Politicize' PTSD
People.com
Char Adams
January 21, 2016

Paul Rieckhoff, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Sarah Palin (bottom left corner)
JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY; INSET:ALEX WONG/GETTY

President Obama isn't to blame for Sarah Palin's son's PTSD, the head of a New York City-based veteran's organization says.

"It's not President Obama's fault that Sarah Palin's son has PTSD," Paul Rieckhoff, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told NBC News on Wednesday. "PTSD is a very serious problem, a complicated mental health injury and I would be extremely reluctant to blame any one person in particular."

The comments came after Palin linked her son, Track's, recent domestic violence arrest to his PTSD and Obama's lack of "respect" for veterans.

Track, 26, who served in Iraq, was arrested in the family's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, on Monday for allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face, kicking her and threatening to commit suicide with an AR-15 assault rifle.
read more here

Guess someone else doesn't know this stuff either. Read this Opinion piece.

Disillusioned by America's treatment of vets? Place blame where it's due
Alaska Dispatch
Phillip Morrill
January 21, 2016

Sarah Palin has blamed Obama and post-traumatic stress disorder for her son’s troubles. She is absolutely right that today’s veterans face some tough challenges: PTSD, the worst economic growth since the Great Depression hindering civilian job prospects, flat wages since the 1970s, political impotence, lack of medical treatment and resources, outdated GI bills, etc.

I did not vote for Obama, but Obama did not get us into Iraq or Afghanistan. Those are the actions of George W. Bush -- a Republican. However, Obama is not innocent of military support and aggression in regime change -- Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Egypt (twice), Tunisia and Yemen to name a few.
read more here