West Point cadets have tested positive for COVID-19 after forced ceremony

16 West Point cadets test positive for COVID-19 upon returning to campus for Trump's commencement speech

Task and Purpose
David Roza
June 1, 2020

According to the campus newspaper, The Pointer View, the 1,100 cadets of the class of 2020 started returning to campus last week.

(U.S. Army/Matthew Moeller)

At least sixteen West Point cadets have tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) upon returning to the New York campus President Donald Trump's upcoming speech at the school’s commencement ceremony on June 13.

USA Today first reported the infections. A West Point spokesman confirmed the article’s findings for Task and Purpose.

The 16 cadets are receiving treatment but are not showing symptoms of the disease, Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, West Point’s superintendent, told USA Today.

Of the 16 affected cadets, 14 tested positive for the antibody which indicates they contracted the virus and subsequently recovered, USA Today reported.

The number is a small fraction of the 850 cadets who have returned to campus since spring break in March.
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Will Senator Sanders ever apologize for what happened to veterans?

Will Senator Sanders ever apologize for what happened to veterans?

Bernie Sanders' Senate work at the heart of VA's latest woes

Military Times
Leo Shane
February 18, 2016

He lead the Senate's veterans committee from 2013 to 2015, and touted his work repeatedly as proof he can negotiate with Republicans and reach critical compromises to help constituents. The 2014 reform legislation in particular, he said "increases accountability within the VA and ensures that all veterans have access to timely health care."

One major reason the Veterans Affairs Department can't fire troublesome employees: Bernie Sanders.

The Obama administration is moving to undo the Democratic presidential candidate’s past work as Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman in an effort to clean up the department, considering a change in employment rules for VA executives that Sanders fought for vigorously just two years ago.

In recent weeks, the VA has seen a host of job actions against senior employees overturned by the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent, "quasi-judicial" agency that serves as arbiter on a number of federal worker cases. They include the demotion of two VA executives accused of gaming the department’s hiring system for personal benefit, and the dismissal of a New York VA director over patient safety concerns.

The appeals fight has grown into an escalating intra-administration showdown between VA leaders, who call the decisions off-base, and protection board officials, who blame bad legislative changes for the unsatisfactory rulings.

Earlier this month, at a New Hampshire town hall event, Sanders acknowledged that "we should have acted sooner" on reports of wait-time problems and expressed regret that he didn’t have a quicker solution for "those long waiting lines and the lies that some administrators were telling us."
the link is still active and you can read it here

If you have not been paying attention all along, that should get you started to be aware, the recent reports are not new. Veterans are still waiting too long for appointments, among a lot of other issues, including feeling committing suicide at VA hospitals is the only way they can be heard. Nothing will ever get fixed for their sake unless we hold ever single one of them accountable and demand they answer to all of us!

Veteran Navy Corpsman lost Tricare and told Bernie Sanders he would kill himself

UPDATE Veteran who contemplated suicide reunites with Bernie Sanders The Naval Air Force veteran said he was buried in medical debt.

Ailing Navy veteran tells Bernie Sanders at Nevada town hall: "I'm gonna kill myself"

CBS NEWS
SEPTEMBER 15, 2019

In a dramatic moment caught on video, an ailing Navy veteran struggling to pay off his medical bills said he was contemplating suicide while speaking at a Bernie Sanders town hall in Carson City, Nevada. The veteran, named John, said Friday his Tricare was taken away, leaving him with more than $130,000 worth of medical bills.

"How are you going to pay it off?" Sanders asked the veteran.

"I can't, I can't. I'm gonna kill myself!" John responded.

In a video clip captured by CBS News' Cara Korte that has now gone viral, John told Sanders that he served 20 years in the Navy, including tours in Kuwait and Somalia.

"I saved lives. I was a Navy corpsman," he said. "We take care of our own except now. My Tricare is not acceptable anymore, they took it away."

The veteran said he suffers from Huntington's disease, a genetic disorder that causes the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. According to the National Institutes of Health, there is no treatment for the disease.
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Seth Moulton 'Fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire' and Washington

'Fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire': The only 2020 Democrat to experience combat finds it counts for little in political arena

The Washington Examiner
by Emily Larsen
September 07, 2019

But despite having what one Republican strategist described as “the most perfect resume of all time,” Moulton made barely a ripple in the crowded field of presidential hopefuls during his four-month bid. When his campaign ended last month, so too did the possibility that Democrats would nominate an experienced battle leader to be the next commander in chief.

It has been more than three decades since the United States elected as commander in chief a veteran who fought in combat. In 2020, that period will be extended after the only candidate who fought in battle dropped out without making a debate stage or registering above 1% in polls.

Two other Democratic candidates served in uniform in a war zone — Pete Buttigieg in Afghanistan and Tulsi Gabbard in Iraq — but neither fired a weapon or themselves came under fire. President Trump avoided Vietnam service because of bone spurs, Democratic front-runner Joe Biden because of asthma.

By contrast, Seth Moulton, 40, a Massachusetts congressman, served four tours in Iraq during his seven years as a Marine Corps officer from 2001 to 2008, retiring as a captain. He fought in one of the first American units to reach Baghdad in 2003 and led troops in intense battles in which some of his Marines were killed or wounded. He was awarded two medals for valor.

“I felt when I came back from Iraq that I'd seen the consequences of failed leadership in Washington, decisions made by people in Congress and the White House who had no idea what it was like to be a Marine in the infantry on the ground,” Moulton said. “I don't think you can ever fully understand it [combat] unless you've been through it yourself."
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Also

'You remain a frickin' coward': Trump taunting a 2020 Democratic candidate and retired Marine isn't a laughing matter for some veterans

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts during the singing of the national anthem. Stephan Savoia/AP

Gabbard's gray hair more important than how she got it? Seriously!

Gabbard explains why she keeps spot of gray in hair

The Hill
BY JESSICA CAMPISI
09/02/19

The 2020 hopeful took two weeks off the campaign trail for the joint training exercise mission in Indonesia.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a 2020 presidential candidate, on Monday explained why she hasn’t gotten rid of the gray area in her hair.

“I started going gray in that one spot during and after my first deployment to Iraq,” she said during an Instagram Live video while in Iowa. “And so I keep it as just a remembrance of those who we lost there and the cost of war and why we fight so hard for peace.”

“No, I’m not going to fix [it],” she added. “If you mean dye, no, I’m not going to dye it.”
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Gabbard spent two weeks in Indonesia training with the National Guard. You'd think that would be the biggest part of her recent activities but there is more focus on the fact she has some gray hair! 

Social media still not taking military women seriously.

First female combat veteran running for President reporting for duty...in National Guard

Gabbard takes presidential campaign break for Army National Guard training

By: The Associated Press
  August 13, 2019

Gabbard is the first female combat veteran to run for U.S. president. She was elected to Congress in 2012.

HONOLULU — Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is taking two weeks off from her 2020 Democratic presidential campaign to participate in Army National Guard training.

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard speaks at the Presidential Gun Sense Forum, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Gabbard announced the two-week break in a statement Monday. She will return to the campaign trail on Aug. 25.

Gabbard is a major in the Army National Guard who has served in the military for more than 16 years and deployed to Iraq in 2004 and Kuwait in 2008.
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Deported veterans advocate to bring their ‘brothers’ home

On the campaign trail, deported veterans advocate to bring their ‘brothers’ home

Although the exact number is unknown, the American Civil Liberties Union has documented almost 250 cases of deported veterans living in 34 countries

The Nevada Independent
Michaela Chesin
July 28th, 2019

“We’re asking the presidential candidates if they’re willing to support the repatriation of the veterans they have been deporting and to stop the deportation of those who already have been deported,” Lopez explained.

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to a large crowd of potential voters during a June campaign stop at the Doolittle Community Center in Las Vegas.

But her speech is interrupted by Las Vegas resident Cesar Lopez, who once lived in Harris’ home state of California. His voice grows louder from the middle of the crowd.

Veteran Cesar Lopez talks with presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris during a campaign event at the Doolittle Community Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 15, 2019. (Daniel Clark/The Nevada Independent)

“We need someone who will bring our veterans back,” he shouts, before quickly explaining that several hundred deported veterans are unable to enter the country that they risked their lives defending. The crowd breaks into applause, and Lopez continues: “Are you going to bring them back?”

This isn’t his first stop on the campaign trail. Just this year, 45-year-old Lopez has approached Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, ex-HUD Secretary Julián Castro and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. He usually starts by calling out to them from the crowd and then aims for a one-on-one conversation after the event. His goal is to hold them accountable to one promise: Bring his brothers home.

Although the exact number is unknown, the American Civil Liberties Union has documented almost 250 cases of deported veterans living in 34 countries. A study done by the ACLU highlights the lives and experiences of many of them. (People who aren’t United States citizens can enlist in the military, but they must have a permanent resident card, live in the United States and speak, read and write English fluently.)
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Veteran of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq running for President

Joe’s In: Former Congressman, 3-Star Admiral Sestak announces campaign for President.

JUNE 22, 2019

Thank you for taking the time to see why I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest … a President who has the depth of global experience to restore America’s leadership in the world to protect our American Dream at home … and one who is trusted to restructure policies where too many see only the growth of inequity not of the economy.

I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.

And while my announcement may be later than others for the honor of seeking the Presidency, the decision to delay was so I would be there with Alex, our daughter, as the brain cancer she had courageously beaten at four years old returned this past year. But with her same team of medical heroes, she has again overcome the single digit odds.

I had worn the cloth of our nation for over 31 years in peace and war, but after Alex’s first high-grade brain tumor, I needed to answer to you, the American people, who provided the military healthcare coverage that saved our daughter’s life. I served our nation as a U.S. Congressman for two terms from a Republican District in order to work for all Americans to have the healthcare coverage we fortunately had had for Alex.

Now, the hour has become late to restore U.S. global leadership that convenes the world for two primary objectives that serve our collective well-being here at home: putting a brake on climate change and putting an end to an illiberal world order’s injustices, from China’s control of the 5G network to Russian interference in democratic elections.

However, we cannot meet the defining challenges of our time without a united America. This is our Hobson’s Choice: not just to win this Presidential election, but to heal our nation’s soul by regaining the trust of Americans – all Americans – by a President who the people know will remain accountable to them alone, no matter the cost to him.

I ask that you would take a moment and watch the video(s) below. The first is my announcement summarizing why our next President must have a unique understanding of all the elements of our nation’s power: our economy and diplomacy, our military – including its limitations – and the power of our ideals. The other videos describe the foreign and domestic challenges we face, and the policies I will pursue as President, particularly accountability to America.
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Man Wants To Be Commander-in-Chief Without Military Women?

Trump faces new round of military controversies just days before the election
Military Times By: Leo Shane III
October 27, 2016

With less than two weeks left before the election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump finds himself in the middle of a new round of military-themed controversies that opponents say shows he’s unqualified to be commander in chief.

The problems began Monday, during an interview with a Florida television station where Trump stated that his campaign has impressive support among veterans and “I’ve been endorsed largely, at least conceptually, by the military.”

Campaign officials offered no further explanation of the remark, which drew criticism and confusion given the military’s strict rules against politicking in the ranks. The most recent Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families Poll showed about 40 percent of active-duty troops plan to vote for Trump next month.

“Well, I went to a military academy, which was from a different planet. ... We didn’t have women in the academy at that time. Today you have women, which is a whole other story, women in the Army and you see what’s going on. It’s like, it’s like bedlam. It is bedlam."
“... It’s something that people aren’t talking about, but what’s going on is bedlam, bringing women in the Army.”
read more here

He's not alone
Mike Pence said in 1999 that women shouldn’t be in the military.

It Doesn't Matter Unless Veterans Really Matter

Why It Matters written by Matthew Daily of Associated Press had this part that is very important.

THE ISSUE: There are an estimated 21.6 million veterans in the United States. Among them, nearly 9 million are enrolled in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. About 4.3 million veterans get disability compensation from the VA and nearly 900,000 have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

A 2014 law signed by President Barack Obama aimed to alleviate delays many veterans faced in getting treatment at VA hospitals and clinics and end the widespread practice of fake wait lists that covered up long waits for veterans seeking health care. Two years later, many of the problems remain.

But the problem is, none of this is new and since we live with it every day, every year, we know the struggles do not belong to who sits in the Oval Office. Every issue veterans and families face belong to Congress. The President sets, or is supposed to set, the direction the country needs to go in. The Congress has the obligation to fulfill their end of the deal, but they don't.

Congress has had since 1946 to find a way to take care of veterans. Think about that for a second. Then add in the simple fact that no wound is new. They declared two wars when there was already a line of older veterans waiting to be cared for in return for what their service did to them. Congress did not come close to honoring those they sent.

Want proof? Ok, here is what the House Veterans Affairs Committee had been in charge of since 1946.

House Veterans Affairs Committee
History And Jurisdiction
The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives was authorized by enactment of Public Law 601, 79th Congress, which was entitled "Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946." Section 121(a) of this Act provides: "there shall be elected by the House at the commencement of each Congress the following standing committees": Nineteen Committees are listed and No. 18 quotes: "Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to consist of 27 Members." This Act has since been amended so that there are now 22 Standing Committees in the House of Representatives. The number of Members (Representatives) authorized to serve on each Committee has been changed from time to time. There are currently 29 members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is the authorizing Committee for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Committee recommends legislation expanding, curtailing, or fine-tuning existing laws relating to veterans' benefits. The Committee also has oversight responsibility, which means monitoring and evaluating the operations of the VA. If the Committee finds the that VA is not administering laws as Congress intended, then it is "corrected" through the hearing process and legislation. We are the voice of Congress for veterans in dealings with the VA.

Legislation Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Veterans' measures generally.
Pensions of all the wars of the U.S., general and special.
Life insurance issued by the government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
Compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education of veterans.
Veterans' hospitals, medical care, and treatment of veterans.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief.
Readjustment of servicemen to civilian life.
National Cemeteries
Complete Jurisdiction of the Committee

The Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established March 15, 1989, with Cabinet rank, succeeding the Veterans Administration and assuming responsibility for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. Led by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA is the second largest of the 14 Cabinet departments and operates nationwide programs of health care assistance services and national cemeteries.

Care for veterans and dependents spans centuries. The last dependent of a Revolutionary War veteran died in 1911, the War of 1812's last dependent died 44 years ago, the Spanish American War's, in 1962. There are widows and children of Civil War and Indian War veterans who still draw VA benefits. Some 2,190 children and widows of Spanish-American War veterans are receiving VA compensation or pension benefits. The last American Doughboy, Corporal Frank Buckles, passed away on February 27, 2011. His passing signified the passing of the last of the World War I veterans.

As long as we are avoiding the fact that members of Congress have ditched their duty, it really doesn't matter who ends up in the chair. Veterans will continue to be failed by the same people who created their wounds in the first place. It has been going on for decades. Look up the voting record of the people you sent to do their jobs in Washington and then ask them why they didn't take care of those who went to war to do their jobs.

When you're done with that, ask them how much more money they plan on spending while veterans keep committing suicide after they survived those wars and came home to the mess Congress created. The reported number is the same as it was back in 1999 but there are about 5 million less veterans now.

The Last Thing PTSD Veterans Are is Weak

Joe Biden talks about a Captain and how he did not want the Silver Star. Why? Because the soldier he saved ended up dying. Personally, after all these years, the last thing these men and women are is weak.

How do they go from enduring ever considerable hardship, putting their own lives on the line day in and day out, and then end up having anyone think, they just couldn't handle it? Especially when you consider that few end up committing suicide while they are deployed but end up ending their lives after surviving combat.

The last thing they are is not strong enough. That's the problem. They are too strong emotionally and feel it all more than others. Would be great if some of these folks in charge would finally figure that one out.


WOW: Joe Biden PASSIONATELY Calls Out Donald Trump on His PTSD Comments, Shares Story of Son Beau FOX 10 Phoenix

Trump Says PTSD Veterans "Can't Handle It"

Trump suggests that vets with PTSD ‘can’t handle it’
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 3, 2016


Video by Donald Trump Speeches Events

Donald Trump is drawing criticism after he appeared to suggest that veterans who suffer from PTSD might not be as strong as those who don’t.

Trump made the reference Monday as he discussed his commitment to improving mental health services for veterans at an event held by the Retired American Warriors political action committee.
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Full Event: Donald Trump Speech at Retired American Warriors Town Hall in Herndon, VA (10/3/2016)

Mentioning Trump's Name Got Veteran Kicked Off Property of Another Veteran

GOP woos veterans, but Trump has rubbed some vets wrong way
Associated Press
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Published: September 6, 2016

Iraq war veteran and Nevada Republican party staffer Jon Staab talks with Vicky Maltman, a Reno veterans rights activist, before going out to canvass veterans, in Reno, Nev. on Aug. 19, 2016. Nicholas Riccardi/Associated Press

RENO, Nevada — It was more than a routine get-out-the-vote knock on the door when Iraq War veteran and Nevada Republican Party staffer Jon Staab asked Kenneth Olofson, a Vietnam veteran, if he'll be voting for Donald Trump. An instant bond was formed as the two swapped stories of service and those of relatives who fought in World War II.

"I don't miss an election," Olofson, 74 and a lifelong Republican, said. "Whenever I vote, I think of Normandy."

A few blocks away, Daniel Mendoza, also an Iraq war veteran canvassing for the GOP, was promptly kicked off another elderly veteran's property at the mere mention of Trump's name.

Two years ago, the Republican National Committee hatched a plan to bolster turnout for veterans, who traditionally lean Republican. The party calculated that 6.5 million veterans either didn't register to vote or didn't cast a ballot in the 2012 presidential election. In the shadow of the Obama administration's controversial management of the Veteran's Administration, the RNC compiled lists of veteran voters and hired veterans for an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort.

Then Trump won the party's presidential nomination, and his controversial rhetoric has rubbed some veterans the wrong way. The billionaire businessman has mocked Sen. John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War, threatened to withdraw from NATO and feuded with a slain soldier's family that criticized him during the Democratic National Convention.
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Johnson and Stein Invited to Commander-in-Chief Forum By IAVA

For over a decade and through multiple elections, IAVA has focused on finding every way possible to ensure veterans remain at the forefront of the American dialogue. As the 2016 election season continues to dominate headlines, IAVA will continue to be aggressive in advocating for our community to be a part of that dialogue. That's what our historic Commander-in-Chief Forum event on NBC next week is all about. 

As a non-partisan organization committed to advocating for the voices of all Post-9/11 veterans, IAVA applauds the efforts of some of Governor Gary Johnson's and Dr. Jill Stein's supporters to include their perspective in the conversation. We agree. The conversation focused on veterans should not end on September 7th  and with the major party candidates. IAVA is 100% committed to expanding the public conversation about the issues facing veterans with any viable candidate for President as often as possible.

As it stands today, Governor Johnson is qualified to appear on a ballot in all 50 states and exceeds 10% in a recent poll of active duty troops, Reservists and National Guard members conducted by the Military Times.  Though Mr. Johnson still does not meet the historical standard for general election meetings between candidates set by the Presidential Debate Commission, IAVA took the extra step to develop our own, more inclusive threshold for a series of Commander-in-Chief Forums.  We appreciate the patience of our members as we carefully underwent this important process. We have reached out to Governor Johnson's campaign to invite him to participate in an IAVA Commander-in-Chief Forum event and I had an extremely friendly and productive phone call with him yesterday. You can see a recap from The Military Times here.  

We have also reached out to Dr. Stein to invite her to engage in a dialogue with IAVA Members.

IAVA also believes we have a responsibility to inform our members that, as of today, neither Gov. Johnson nor Dr. Stein has even posted a veterans policy section on their website.  For anyone vying to be Commander-in-Chief, that would be an important early step. IAVA's comprehensive Policy Agenda, informed by our members nationwide, gives them an excellent place to go for guidance.

IAVA is always focused on empowering our generation of veterans and sharing our triumphs and challenges with all Americans. If national leaders want to talk seriously about veterans issues with our members, we're excited to help make that happen. But as a non-profit organization, IAVA can not do this alone.  We need all the help we can get to ensure our voices are front and center for all Americans during this important election season. Even more so, we need everyone to help after the election is over. IAVA is in this for the long haul. Our vital programs change and save lives daily. And just as our members will lead America for decades to come, we'll need support that continues long after the current media attention has faded.

We also look forward to uniting all Americans just days after Election Day for Veterans Day 2016. It will be the perfect time for people of all political backgrounds to come together around our veterans and chart a course ahead that benefits all of us for generations to come.

Our groundbreaking Commander-in-Chief Forum on NBC is just 5 days aways. Go to www.CommanderInChiefForum.org for all the latest news, FAQs and for ways to get involved online and on the ground. And keep checking your inbox. We'll have more exciting announcements in the days to come--and a way for you to submit your questions to the candidates.

Stay tuned!

Paul Rieckhoff 

Founder and CEO

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Purple Heart Veteran Getting Thousands to Send Trump to Earn One

Purple Heart recipient raises money in Trump’s name, but not to help Trump 
Boston Globe
By Kevin Cullen
GLOBE COLUMNIST
AUGUST 08, 2016

Kerr responded to all this not with anger but satire. He put up a GoFundMe page asking people to donate money to send Donald Trump to a combat zone where he could earn a Purple Heart. “I figured I’d get 150 bucks,” Kerr said.

By Monday, after various news outlets picked up his story and it spread on social media, more than 2,000 people had donated more than $54,000.

There was a high-end fund-raiser for Donald Trump on Nantucket over the weekend, where donors were asked to fork over as much as $50,000.

Cameron Kerr, a prolific but neophyte fund-raiser, couldn’t make the island gig, or another Trump fund-raiser at posh Oyster Harbors on the Cape. Still, the 29-year-old Kerr, a Massachusetts native, has raised more than $50,000 in Trump’s name in just five days.

It’s money Trump will never see.

To understand this, you have to go back to Stow, where Cameron Kerr grew up and decided to join the Army. He joined because of what he saw growing up. His parents mentored the orphans of African civil war, the Lost Boys of Sudan. He became friendly with a lot of the Lost Boys who resettled around Worcester.

Kerr was deeply affected by their stories of loss and survival, the kindness that Americans showed in helping them resettle, the Lost Boys’ resilience. He joined the Army to combat extremism, to protect the innocent, to hold accountable the very sort of people who would murder the families of his friends, the Lost Boys.
read more here

Too Late For Trump To Be Sorry?

Donald Trump said a lot of things that most of the veterans community find disturbing. From saying "I like people who weren't captured" going after John McCain, but insulted all POW's in the process.
Trump said "the military will do what I tell them to"

Trump said he was donating $6 million to veterans but,

More than a month later, about half of the money, roughly $3 million, has been donated to veterans’ charities, according to a summary released Thursday by the Trump campaign in response to inquiries from The Washington Post.

We also had the Purple Heart issue

Trump added that it was “such an honor” and invited Dorfman to join him on the stage. But Trump saying that he “always wanted” to get the Purple Heart has generated a backlash among some veterans, who said that no one seeks a Purple Heart, which is given to those who are wounded or killed in combat.

The fact is, there have too many times when Trump showed disrespect for far too many and that is the most troubling thing of all. The job he wants includes being Commander-in-Chief but he does not seem all that interested in learning a damn thing about service members or veterans. It very well may be a case of too late to say he's sorry but it is not too late for him to learn just enough to understand why he hurt so many.

Military families to Trump: Apologize for comments to Khans (+video)
Associated Press
By Jennifer McDermott and Seanna Adcox
AUGUST 2, 2016

Trump has been engaged in an emotionally charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son was killed in Iraq by a suicide bomber in 2004. Their sons were killed in Iraq about a week apart.

So when Karen Meredith heard the grieving parents of a decorated Muslim Army officer being belittled by Donald Trump, she cried.

Meredith said she hadn't wept over her son's death for a long time, but the Republican presidential nominee "ripped the wounds right open again."

"You don't attack one Gold Star family, because if you do, you're attacking a lot of us," Meredith, 62, of Mountain View, California, said Monday.

Trump has been engaged in an emotionally charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq by a suicide bomber on June 8, 2004. Trump stoked outrage by implying that Ghazala Khan did not speak while standing alongside her husband at last week's Democratic convention because of their Muslim faith. And he disputed their right to question his grasp of the Constitution.

Some of America's Gold Star families, or those who lost loved ones in war, have demanded that Trump apologize.
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Nadia McCaffrey Gold Star Mom On Trump Attacking Another Mom

Nadia McCaffrey is a friend of mine and has been a champion for military, veterans and families ever since her son Patrick was killed in action. Very, very proud of her. 

One of the Gold Star mothers who signed an open letter to Donald Trump says the GOP presidential candidate's criticism of Humayun Khan's mother was "out of place."

Veterans Try To School Trump On Purple Heart

Big difference between courage and ego, between sacrifice and swallowing pride. Trump's lack of respect for the wounded must leave him wondering why everyone is so upset.

Double Amputee Veteran Tammy Duckworth Blasts Trump for Joking About How Easy it Was to Get Purple Heart
People
Char Adams
August 3, 2016

Donald Trump is facing rebukes from military veterans again – this time for making a joke about how easy it is to get a Purple Heart after a veteran handed him one as a gift at a rally on Tuesday.

Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, led the way, posting a photo of herself in a hospital bed wearing the medal on her gown.

"This is how one usually looks when you are awarded a Purple Heart. Nothing easy about it," Tammy Duckworth

She was joined by other veterans who posted pictures with their Purple Hearts, medals awarded only to servicemen and women who are wounded or killed in uniform.
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What if Capt. Khan's Mom Was Your Mom?

Massachusetts Congressman, Veteran Lashes Out at Donald Trump
Beacon Hill Patch
By Alison Bauter (Patch Staff)
August 2, 2016

"As a veteran, I can't imagine what it would be like if Donald Trump treated my mom that way." Rep. Seth Moulton

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton had harsh words for Trump in light of the GOP nominee's attacks on Gold Star Khan family.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton had those and other withering words for Donald Trump Tuesday, joining a bipartisan barrage of condemnation in the wake of the Republican presidential nominee's comments toward a family whose son died serving in Iraq.

Trump has been taking heavy fire since critiquing Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed while serving in Iraq by a car bomber. Khizr Khan spoke against the GOP nominee at this year's Democratic National Convention, prompting harsh words in return from Trump.

Khan and his wife have both condemned Trump, saying he "knows nothing of sacrifice."
read more here

Trump Loves War?

Back from being unplugged on mini vacation.  I spent the weekend in New England with family and it was wonderful.  

Back in the real world of politics more unusual than the pitiful garbage being slung on both sides, the only things I cannot hold back on are politicians claiming the trouble with the VA is someone else's fault and a candidate going after a grieving Gold Star Mom.

Donald Trump has a habit of using veterans. We're all used to that since most politicians do it. The thing that got me was when he said that he loves war yet got deferments to stay out of Vietnam. He didn't love it so much back then when his own life would be put in danger.  
It also seems that he cannot even let his pride go for a family who lost their son in combat while saving the lives of others.

Showing a characteristic refusal to back down from a fight, Trump took the almost unthinkable step of publicly escalating a feud with the parents of fallen US solider, Capt. Humayun Khan, who blasted Trump at last week's Democratic convention as unfit for the presidency.

Trump doesn't back down from a fight when it is about him but what kind of a message did this send to those putting their lives on the line everyday for the sake of others if he cannot even put his pride on the line? Yet he wants to be Commander-in-Chief or does he want to be dictator? 

The thing that keeps getting missed is that there we had a hero leader, loving his men so much he was prepared to do whatever he had to do so that they could survive. It didn't matter to him what faith they practiced because they had faith in him and each other.  It did not matter to him how they voted because they were putting each other first.

Too bad it didn't matter to Trump enough to let this Dad say what he wanted to say and let it go simply out of respect for the son who gave his life.  He could not even let this Mom's silence go without saying something about her.

How much do you want to bet that the story would have dropped off the news cycle in a day or so had he simply shown true leadership instead of hot headed ego?

The other thing is there seems to still be a line of politicians hoping folks forget they have been in charge of the way veterans have been treated all along and the mess is actually their fault because they didn't bother to fix any of it.

Read the history of the VA and see what I mean. 

(And on a side note, anyone screaming when this hero was talking is an idiot. We heard enough of that when Vietnam veterans came home. If you cannot at least respect someone like Groberg, who can you respect besides yourself?)





UPDATE

Churchill: Another Muslim soldier's father speaks out against Donald Trump

"Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims," said Khan, whose Army captain son, Humayun Khan, died when he ran to halt a vehicle carrying a suicide bomber, likely saving the lives of troops on guard duty he had told to take cover and those at a mess hall nearby.