Tag: politics

Posted on

Veterans Day

If you know me In Real Life, you probably know that I’m not good with statistics.  My mind typically doesn’t process and/or relay that manner of information very efficiently.  Due to my understanding of how my brain works, I almost never speak or write about facts and figures.  It’s far easier for me to relate things from my emotional center than from my logic-driven center.  I’m going to break from that today.  I’m also going to rely heavily on cutting and pasting because I want to get these numbers, facts, and related information correct.  The reason for that is due to another rare occurrence around here; I’m posting on a serious topic.  Today is Veterans Day (the actual day, though it is being observed tomorrow) and in my humble opinion, as well as the opinion of many, many others, the way our veterans are treated is an abomination.  Like, how can many of our elected officials, past and present, look in the mirror knowing they’ve asked these men and women to sacrifice everything, often for not a goddamn thing?

So here’s a batch of facts from Green Doors dot org –

  • The number of homeless female veterans is on the rise: in 2006, there were 150 homeless female veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; in 2011, there were 1,700. That same year, 18% of homeless veterans assisted by the VA were women. Comparison studies conducted by HUD show that female veterans are two to three times more likely to be homeless than any other group in the US adult population.
  • Veterans between the ages of 18 and 30 are twice as likely as adults in the general population to be homeless, and the risk of homelessness increases significantly among young veterans who are poor.
  • Roughly 56% of all homeless veterans are African-American or Hispanic, despite only accounting for 12.8% and 15.4% of the U.S. population respectively.
  • About 53% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities, compared with 41%of homeless non-veteran individuals.
  • Half suffer from mental illness; two-thirds suffer from substance abuse problems; and many from dual diagnosis (which is defined as a person struggling with both mental illness and a substance abuse problem).
  • Homeless veterans tend to experience homelessness longer than their non-veteran peers: Veterans spend an average of nearly six years homeless, compared to four years reported among non-veterans.

Now, granted these numbers are from 2011, but I assure you this situation has not improved.  Here’s some more current info from a site called Military Wallet dot com  –

  • 89% received an honorable discharge.
  • 67% served 3 years or more.
  • 47% are Vietnam veterans
  • 15% served before Vietnam
  • 5.5% are Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

You may also be aware that veteran suicide rates are significantly higher than those of the general population.  Again, that’s troubling, and points to a greater need for care than we’ve been providing.  This, from Military Times dot com notes some of the rates, including recent changes –

In 2016, the most recent data available, the suicide rate for veterans was 1.5 times greater than for Americans who never served in the military. About 20 veterans a day across the country take their own lives, and veterans accounted for 14 percent of all adult suicide deaths in the U.S. in 2016, even though only 8 percent of the country’s population has served in the military.

I probably shouldn’t have read these stats at the coffeehouse, because it almost brought tears to my eyes.  This information is ridiculously easy to look up.  But nothing seems to change.  I’ve got a theory or two about the root cause, but I’m not going to politicize an issue like this one.  I promise you I don’t have any answers, other than reaching out to your elected officials and screaming at them to act like a human being and take care of these veterans.  Actually the screaming part is probably not a good idea.  But the reaching out to them part is.  So clicking on this link will take you to USA dot GOV and a page that will refer you to your legislators in both the House and the Senate.  I’m trying to make this as easy as I can for all of us to do something.

Lastly, if talking to a wall is not something you’re prepared to do, I’ve included some links to non-profit organizations that specialize in veteran specific issues.  I encourage you to vet them as carefully as you like, I just took a cursory glance, and if none of these strikes your fancy, it’s just as easy to find organizations charged with caring for veterans as it is to find veteran-specific statistics.

And if you choose to both tell a politician to do the right thing and also assist a vets group, good on you.

Give An Hour  works to match military and veterans struggling with mental health and well-being with volunteer health professionals that can help them recover. The nonprofit has provided 210,000 hours of service with over 858 active volunteers and 390 partner organizations.

Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans  is a non-profit agency that provides housing, supportive services and community outreach to help homeless and at-risk veterans and their families achieve self-sufficiency.

Fisher House Foundation  builds comfort homes where military & veterans families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital.

Semper Fi Fund  serves all branches of the military, Semper Fi Fund provides emergency financial assistance to post 9/11 vets who are wounded, critically ill, or were injured during their service. The nonprofit also provides support for vets and their families to provide a smooth transition back into their communities.

Our homeless population should be a point of shame for every elected official in the country.  Period.  End of statement.  Now add in the fact that so many of them are also veterans.

We need to fix this.

Peace

Posted on

Strange Bedfellows

Ahem.

*Takes careful aim, steps squarely on a sensitive anatomical part*

Sorry for the visual, but you were just taken back a few hours to my morning.  I was getting ready to get in the shower and a couple of streams of thought started coursing through my brain.  Now, the logical thing to do would have been for me to reach approximately 3.4 feet to my right, pick up my phone and write a note to myself, documenting my thoughts, so that when I sat down at the keyboard I could refresh my memory and take off on a really stellar production for you fine people.  I, however, chose not to do that.  So you’re left with whatever post-election detritus is bouncing between synapses.  My bad.

So, let’s start with this.  I was kinda watching the election results, both here, back home, and nationally.  I don’t know if “both” is being used correctly there, btw.  It feels to me like it should only be used for two items and not more than that.  But I’m sticking with it, so obvs I’m not that bothered by it.  Anyway, I was glad to see most of the results back home.  A little disappointed the State Rep that covers a large portion of DG lost.  True, he’s a Republican (pro-tip, I’m not) but he has proven himself in a very short time to be a huge supporter of ours (the fire service) and I know the guys from Local 3234 were out working on his behalf.  Yes, I’m a Democrat and I typically want Dems to win, but David had our backs and I’m sorry to see him go.  That is a regular post-election occurrence though, for the politically active.  New contacts must be made, newfound respect must be earned, and groundwork must be laid for the future of the working relationship.  I know the guys from 3234 are up to that task, they recognize the value in it.  Continuing the theme, many of the races from my old home county went south for my side.  I think the Dems picked up a couple of seats on the County Board, which is huge, but I was sorry to see a friend of mine, a guy I met through the party up there, and one I have mad respect for, was narrowly beaten out.  Keep fighting the good fight Carlos.  Also, another friend lost on her State Senate race.  Same thing for you Mary, I have crazy respect for what you do, please don’t stop fighting.

Meanwhile, here in central North Carolina, the Blue Wave crashed headlong into a Red brick wall.  I haven’t seen the results from the county races yet, but based on the state and national races, as well as some referenda, things don’t even look purple, you know?  Ok, I just GTS’d and confirmed my hunch, my county continues to be hard Red.  That’s ok, no regerts (not a typo, just a subtle attempt at humor) here.  Besides, I knew pretty much what I was getting into when I chose this area.  Following the old axiom “Be the change you want to see” may well be me moving forward.

In other news; the Heir To The Throne voted for the first time ever, and on his first eligible election no less!  So, yeah, I’m pretty proud of him for that.  He’s doing better than I did.  I missed voting for Jimmy Carter by less than a week.  Well, probably more like a month since Illinois didn’t have Election Day registration back then, but still.  I don’t remember my first ballot, but I vividly recall voting against St. Ronnie of Reagan in 1980, and everything he stood for.  I also remember sitting at the bar, in what is no longer a bar but actually a really nice restaurant, drowning my sorrows that night watching the results pour in.  (Ha!  No pun intended…)  My friend Jim and I were, of course, the only two “godless liberals” in the joint, don’t think that wasn’t annoying.  Not annoying enough, of course, to stir my inner activist to life.  That part didn’t come along for many years, more than it should have.

To avoid turning this into a totally political screed, here’s a completely random side note; do any of you out there know anything about opening up/running a bookstore?  I found myself in one in Chapel Hill a couple of weeks back, the first time I’d been in a real bookstore since I’d frequented the one back home in Woodstock.  It was such a cool vibe.  If it wasn’t an hour plus from here I’m pretty sure I’d be spending a regular amount of time there.  No such place exists here.  Tbh, I’m not sure this town could support it, what with the population (and, frankly, the populace) but that seems like it might be a pretty sweet retirement gig, you know?

Alright, one last thing.  I want to take a couple of minutes here to encourage you to subscribe to this fine piece of literariousity (not a real word) by clicking on the “SUBSCRIBE” button on either the mobile app or your desktop display.  I was chatting with the Great Vincenzo the other day, whining to him about how few readers I seem to be getting lately.  I don’t blame any of you, but rather the analytics that social media uses.  I’ve been finding my sanity to be much easier to maintain by not spending as much time on FB, IG, and the Twitterz.  On the flip side, my lack of random posting also drives down anything I do post, which pretty much consists of links to this place.

So, here’s a couple of photos, with really bad graphics inserted by yours truly, pointing out where to subscribe.  This first one shows the “SUBSCRIBE” button if you read me on your laptop/desktop.  It’s really pretty easy to find, as it’s directly to the right of the post as you read it.  Literally the second item down on the right hand side of the page.

This next one is if you read this on your mobile device.  It’s a little harder to find as you need to scroll down past the end of the post to find it, unless I can figure out how to get back in to the display settings for mobile readers, in which case I’ll relocate it so it’s easier to find.  At any rate, scroll down until you see the section I have highlighted and click on the button.  It’s pretty simple.  Just for clarity’s sake, if you subscribe you’ll get an email notification whenever I post something.  Currently I’ve got 15 subscribers, for whom I’m eternally grateful.  Btw, if any of you subscribers want to pop in to the comment section and sing the praises of your subscription, I’m totally cool with that too.  Not tryna put undue stress on anyone, but hey, help a brother out, ya know?

So, I lied about the one last thing part, there’s also this before I go…  If you voted yesterday (or if you early voted like I did) thank you!

If you didn’t vote, really?  wtf?

Peace