The lobbyist and spin doctors against the working American have launched all sorts of anti-union websites, one of their newest is using the "stop unions" phrase. So here's a nice little spot on Blogger where I can test some nice widgets for my own site Joe's Union Review
Had these fellas befriend me via MySpace, they got some cool aggressive tunes , take a listen, I enjoyed it.
In August Rebel Inc. teamed up with Iraq Veterans Against War and played some free shows for our active duty servicemen in NC, TX and GA, heres a snip of the story from Rebel Inc.'s blog:
The IVAW State of the Union Base Tour Update/review
Rebel inc. just finished our first tour which took us to 4 different stops in 2 weeks. The band joined forces with a group called the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). The group's message is clear, "you are not alone". The tour was designed to create outreach for vets as well as providing vets and active duty soldier's free entertainment. The tour was a success right from the start upon forming 2 new chapters of the IVAW in sought out cities.
The first stop was Fayetteville, NC (Fort Bragg) on August 6th. August 8th took us to Jacksonville, NC (Camp Legeune) where the Marines were thoroughly entertained. Then the tour moved to Savannah, GA (Fort Stewart) August 10th, where civilians, vets, and politicians enjoyed a hard hitting show with Lastman as the opener. From there we moved on to Austin, TX (Fort Hood) where we played a very unique venue, Ruta Maya. The crowd was very receptive to the show and the message and was a great setting for the closing of the tour.
Along with great entertainment for the troops, there was a big buzz about what rebel inc. and the IVAW were doing. A lot of press coverage was given to both parties along the way. Here are a few excerpts of what was written about this recent adventure. The rest of the articles and more information about the IVAW can be found at http://ivaw.org/
Below is the MySpace Player, ripped from MySpace, there's a good chance that in the near future it will disappear, if it does, just check em' out at http://www.myspace.com/rebelincmusic
The IAVA, Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran's of America, the foremost nonprofit, non-partisan advocate for our nation's returning warriors and their families, has a Congressional report card up for viewing.
Barack Obama scores a B. 7 points with vets, absent for 4 votes while campaining, voted for the GI Bill 2008 3 times, co-sponsored post-9/11 GI Bill
John McCain scores a D. Absent for 6 critical GI votes, including ALL GI Bill 2008 voting, did not co-sponsor post-9/11 GI Bill.
No wonder active servicemen have donated 6 times as much to Barack Obama's campaign. Even Ron Paul has generated 4.5 times as much contributions from our active servicemen than John McCain.
IAVA Action Fund’s 2008 Congressional Report Card takes a closer look at the progress we have to celebrate this year. In the following pages, every member of Congress is graded on his or her leadership and voting record on the most critical issues facing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. We are pleased to report that more than 150 legislators received a perfect score, a grade of A+. These legislators showed a consistent commitment to the support of our troops.
In particular, we’d like to recognize the crucial work of Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), John Warner (R-VA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Harry Reid (D-NV); and of Representatives Harry Mitchell (D-AZ), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Peter King (R-NY), David Obey (D-WI), Chet Edwards (D-TX) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). These lawmakers went above and beyond, not just voting in support of our veterans but also working behind the scenes to bring crucial veterans’ legislation to the floor.
The IAVA Action 2008 Congressional Report Card also serves as a tool to hold those in Congress accountable when they fail to vote in support of our troops and veterans. This year, 9 politicians earned Ds or Fs. These legislators must improve their voting records if they are to legitimately claim that they support our troops and veterans.
From the IAVA site, you can see how your Representative voted by clicking the image below:
The IAVA Action Fund is the foremost nonprofit, non-partisan advocate for our nation's returning warriors and their families. Our 2008 Veteran Report Card, based on the key veterans' legislation that came to a vote during the 110th Congress, grades every Senator and Representative on their level of support for our troops.
We hope this Report Card will serve as a resource to voters, the media, and elected officials. You can download the full Report Card here.
With all the quagmire of politics, left, right, democrat, republican, all the crap that usually goes split between the sides, something finally got taken care of, the new GI Bill that will give access to all of our returning veterans to get a higher education and pave a better path for their futures has passed. Here's the video I received in my e-mail.
Thank you everyone who has signed petitions along the way, I felt it was of utmost importance that our returning vets had a good chance towards a career when they come home, together people such as yourselves from many different blogs and sites got active and we were heard. Even when such high ranking people such as Senator John McCain staunchly opposing the measure and a Geroge W. Bush threatened veto against it, the American people have spoken.
With tremendous support and overwhelming passage in both Congress(256-166) and the Senate (75-22 McCain was a no show) and a reversal of the veto threat by the President, our returning vets now have a fighting chance
Dear Joseph,
Today, history was made.
Just this morning, President Bush signed the new GI Bill into law. Since we are only a few days away from celebrating the 4th of July, this milestone is a fitting way to honor our veterans who have bravely served this nation.
IAVA has led the fight for the new GI Bill from the beginning, and your dedication over the past year and a half ensured that our lawmakers kept it a top priority. Over 20,000 of you called your representatives in Congress, spread the word in your communities and signed the petition at www.GIBill2008.org. Thanks to your hard work, we finally achieved our goal.
Generations of veterans to come will benefit from this bill. Your support in this fight has been overwhelming- very few bills in recent history have received such an outpouring of public support. Together, we can be extremely proud of this victory.
In a few days, we'll let you know more about this remarkable bill and how IAVA plans to help veterans take full advantage of these new benefits.
Thank you for standing with IAVA throughout this fight.
It’s crunch time. President Bush wants a watered down compromise; we are fighting for the strongest reforms possible. Now is our best chance to stop the endless stream of dangerous imports that put all of us at risk.
INDIAN GUEST WORKERS RALLY AT CAPITOL:
Six more workers joined the week-old hunger strike by Indian guest workers Wednesday at a rally outside the Capitol to pressure Congress to support their struggle against exploitation. At the action, workers reported that hunger striker Christopher Glory was admitted to George Washington University Hospital Wednesday for dangerously low blood pressure. The workers' families and dozens of DC area activists also participated in a day-long solidarity fast Wednesday to support the campaign. Following the rally, workers and their supporters met with Congressional representatives and pressured them to hold hearings on abuses of workers under the guest worker program and ask the Department of Justice to protect the workers during an ongoing criminal anti-trafficking investigation against their former employer Signal International. A community meeting with representatives of the campaign will be held today at 7P. If the workers demands are not met, they will continue their strike outside the Capitol through Sunday, May 25 then move to Dupont Circle. Click here for ways you can support the campaign. - report/photo by Andy Richards
Millions of Americans—especially in rural and low-income urban areas—don’t have high-speed Internet access. Millions more who have, what we in America call, “high-speed” Internet pay much more for slower speeds than people in Europe or Japan.
How fast is your Internet access? How does your speed compare nationwide and around the globe? Are you getting what your Internet provider says you’re paying for?
Take the Communications Workers of America Speed Matters test to find out:
It’s crunch time. President Bush wants a watered down compromise; we are fighting for the strongest reforms possible. Now is our best chance to stop the endless stream of dangerous imports that put all of us at risk.
INDIAN GUEST WORKERS RALLY AT CAPITOL:
Six more workers joined the week-old hunger strike by Indian guest workers Wednesday at a rally outside the Capitol to pressure Congress to support their struggle against exploitation. At the action, workers reported that hunger striker Christopher Glory was admitted to George Washington University Hospital Wednesday for dangerously low blood pressure. The workers' families and dozens of DC area activists also participated in a day-long solidarity fast Wednesday to support the campaign. Following the rally, workers and their supporters met with Congressional representatives and pressured them to hold hearings on abuses of workers under the guest worker program and ask the Department of Justice to protect the workers during an ongoing criminal anti-trafficking investigation against their former employer Signal International. A community meeting with representatives of the campaign will be held today at 7P. If the workers demands are not met, they will continue their strike outside the Capitol through Sunday, May 25 then move to Dupont Circle. Click here for ways you can support the campaign. - report/photo by Andy Richards
Millions of Americans—especially in rural and low-income urban areas—don’t have high-speed Internet access. Millions more who have, what we in America call, “high-speed” Internet pay much more for slower speeds than people in Europe or Japan.
How fast is your Internet access? How does your speed compare nationwide and around the globe? Are you getting what your Internet provider says you’re paying for?
Take the Communications Workers of America Speed Matters test to find out:
A censored war, censored veterans, media black out of Pentagon propaganda "experts" on their payroll and the upcoming war with Iran. What is the facts? will we ever know?
We start our story with Joe Everybody, Kristofer Goldsmith,who starts his on Sept. 11 2001, with rage in his heart, he signed up to protect America
Goldsmith saw the World Trade Center towers collapse on September 11, 2001. He enlisted in the Army and went to Iraq in 2005. In Sadr City, he witnessed abuse of Iraqi civilians. He was assigned to take pictures of Iraqis found in a shallow grave, ostensibly for intelligence purposes, but they were only used as trophies by those who received them. After repeated commendations, he was expecting to return to civilian life and college when President Bush announced the “surge,” and the military adopted its stop-loss policy, essentially making Goldsmith a prisoner of war. He tried to kill himself rather than return to Iraq, but survived. He was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but then was discharged for misconduct as a malingerer. He now delivers pizzas and struggles to overcome his persisting symptoms with treatment through the VA.
This video was played at the "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan conference (3/13/08-3/16/08)", where dozens of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland and offered harrowing testimony about atrocities they had witnessed or participated in directly.
The BBC predicted that the event, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, "could be dominating the headlines around the world this week(*March---Joe)", and while it was truly broadcast internationally, here in the States it was almost completely blacked out.
Even with the bullshit media blitzing of supporting our troops, when it came down to actually listening to the over 1000 member group of veterans and getting their message out, The New York Times claimed that they had "not been aware of the group or its meeting,"
The Times’ D.C. bureau editor’s claim to have not heard of the hearings is remarkable, given that the AP newswire carried a story on the hearings, and IVAW has confirmed to FAIR that the D.C. bureau had been sent three separate rounds of different IVAW press releases. In addition, at least 150 Times staffers were sent press releases about Winter Soldier by the Institute for Public Accuracy, a group that encourages inclusion of overlooked facts and progressive perspectives in media coverage. Given that media organizations operating on a small fraction of the Times' budget were aware of and able to find the resources to cover these hearings, the Times’ D.C. bureau’s plea to ignorance about the hearings is all the more disappointing.
Blackouts are only the beginning, and the New York Times actually came forward to explain that the Pentagon had strategically placed "war experts into the media" to say all is going well in Iraq. They seem to have been placed there in an effort to sell the American public the Iraq war. From Source Watch:
"Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as 'message force multipliers' or 'surrogates' who could be counted on to deliver administration 'themes and messages' to millions of Americans 'in the form of their own opinions.' ... Don Meyer, an aide to Ms. Clarke, said a strategic decision was made in 2002 to make the analysts the main focus of the public relations push to construct a case for war." Clarke and her senior aide, Brent T. Krueger, eventually signed up more than 75 retired military officers, who appeared on television and radio news shows as military analysts, and/or penned newspaper op/ed columns. The Pentagon held weekly meetings with the military analysts, which continued as of April 2008, when David Barstow reported on the program in the New York Times.
So, if you don't read the Times, you know nothing of what I'm speaking about, do you? It has also been blacked out by the national media outlets, an illegal media propaganda campaign completely blacked out. Isn't this the type of thing we fought Hitler for?
Here is the official Pentagon website with the 8,000 pages of documents, the most interesting and revealing of them previously secret and only available to the Pentagon and the New York Times:
More than two weeks after the New York Times reported on the Penatgon's military analyst program to sell controversial policies such as the invasion of Iraq, the broadcast television news outlets implicated in the program are hoping to tough out the scandal by refusing to report it. Recently Media Matters of America (MMA) reported that, according to a search of the Nexis database, "the three major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, and NBC -- have still not mentioned the report at all."
The Pew Excellence in Journalism project has a chart showing that " there was virtually no mainstream media follow up to The Times’ expose" with the only national TV coverage being the introduction segment and live debate featuring CMD's John Stauber on the PBS NewsHour.
Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro and three dozen colleagues have sent a letter to the Department of Defense Inspector General calling for an investigation of this "propaganda campaign aimed at deliberately misleading the American public."
Last month. one of the propaganda team came forward and saw a vision, in April one of thePentagon’s propaganda team of military analysts exposed by David Barstow in the NYT, a Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney, speaking on FOX News, openly called for the US to begin committing “tit-for-tat” terrorist attacks by proxy inside Iran.
Craziness you may say, apparently Iran seems to believe it to be a fact, according to the Tahran Times, Iran's leading international daily, in an article entitled "Iran busts CIA terror network" (5/18/08) :
n a coordinated operation on May 7, Iranian intelligence agents arrested the terrorist network’s members, who were identified in Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces, the Intelligence Ministry announcement said.
The group’s plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure.
One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention, the Intelligence Ministry said, adding that the group’s main objective was to create fear among the people.
The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.
The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.
What's really going on in Iraq, Iran and in the United Stated media? I don't know if this generation will ever know.
Censorship is the bane of our society, to get some Journalistic integrity and/or some type of opposing view, check the links below and familiarize yourself with the sites.
A censored war, censored veterans, media black out of Pentagon propaganda "experts" on their payroll and the upcoming war with Iran. What is the facts? will we ever know?
We start our story with Joe Everybody, Kristofer Goldsmith,who starts his on Sept. 11 2001, with rage in his heart, he signed up to protect America
Goldsmith saw the World Trade Center towers collapse on September 11, 2001. He enlisted in the Army and went to Iraq in 2005. In Sadr City, he witnessed abuse of Iraqi civilians. He was assigned to take pictures of Iraqis found in a shallow grave, ostensibly for intelligence purposes, but they were only used as trophies by those who received them. After repeated commendations, he was expecting to return to civilian life and college when President Bush announced the “surge,” and the military adopted its stop-loss policy, essentially making Goldsmith a prisoner of war. He tried to kill himself rather than return to Iraq, but survived. He was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, but then was discharged for misconduct as a malingerer. He now delivers pizzas and struggles to overcome his persisting symptoms with treatment through the VA.
This video was played at the "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan conference (3/13/08-3/16/08)", where dozens of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland and offered harrowing testimony about atrocities they had witnessed or participated in directly.
The BBC predicted that the event, organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, "could be dominating the headlines around the world this week(*March---Joe)", and while it was truly broadcast internationally, here in the States it was almost completely blacked out.
Even with the bullshit media blitzing of supporting our troops, when it came down to actually listening to the over 1000 member group of veterans and getting their message out, The New York Times claimed that they had "not been aware of the group or its meeting,"
The Times’ D.C. bureau editor’s claim to have not heard of the hearings is remarkable, given that the AP newswire carried a story on the hearings, and IVAW has confirmed to FAIR that the D.C. bureau had been sent three separate rounds of different IVAW press releases. In addition, at least 150 Times staffers were sent press releases about Winter Soldier by the Institute for Public Accuracy, a group that encourages inclusion of overlooked facts and progressive perspectives in media coverage. Given that media organizations operating on a small fraction of the Times' budget were aware of and able to find the resources to cover these hearings, the Times’ D.C. bureau’s plea to ignorance about the hearings is all the more disappointing.
Blackouts are only the beginning, and the New York Times actually came forward to explain that the Pentagon had strategically placed "war experts into the media" to say all is going well in Iraq. They seem to have been placed there in an effort to sell the American public the Iraq war. From Source Watch:
"Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as 'message force multipliers' or 'surrogates' who could be counted on to deliver administration 'themes and messages' to millions of Americans 'in the form of their own opinions.' ... Don Meyer, an aide to Ms. Clarke, said a strategic decision was made in 2002 to make the analysts the main focus of the public relations push to construct a case for war." Clarke and her senior aide, Brent T. Krueger, eventually signed up more than 75 retired military officers, who appeared on television and radio news shows as military analysts, and/or penned newspaper op/ed columns. The Pentagon held weekly meetings with the military analysts, which continued as of April 2008, when David Barstow reported on the program in the New York Times.
So, if you don't read the Times, you know nothing of what I'm speaking about, do you? It has also been blacked out by the national media outlets, an illegal media propaganda campaign completely blacked out. Isn't this the type of thing we fought Hitler for?
Here is the official Pentagon website with the 8,000 pages of documents, the most interesting and revealing of them previously secret and only available to the Pentagon and the New York Times:
More than two weeks after the New York Times reported on the Penatgon's military analyst program to sell controversial policies such as the invasion of Iraq, the broadcast television news outlets implicated in the program are hoping to tough out the scandal by refusing to report it. Recently Media Matters of America (MMA) reported that, according to a search of the Nexis database, "the three major broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, and NBC -- have still not mentioned the report at all."
The Pew Excellence in Journalism project has a chart showing that " there was virtually no mainstream media follow up to The Times’ expose" with the only national TV coverage being the introduction segment and live debate featuring CMD's John Stauber on the PBS NewsHour.
Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro and three dozen colleagues have sent a letter to the Department of Defense Inspector General calling for an investigation of this "propaganda campaign aimed at deliberately misleading the American public."
Last month. one of the propaganda team came forward and saw a vision, in April one of thePentagon’s propaganda team of military analysts exposed by David Barstow in the NYT, a Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney, speaking on FOX News, openly called for the US to begin committing “tit-for-tat” terrorist attacks by proxy inside Iran.
Craziness you may say, apparently Iran seems to believe it to be a fact, according to the Tahran Times, Iran's leading international daily, in an article entitled "Iran busts CIA terror network" (5/18/08) :
n a coordinated operation on May 7, Iranian intelligence agents arrested the terrorist network’s members, who were identified in Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces, the Intelligence Ministry announcement said.
The group’s plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure.
One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention, the Intelligence Ministry said, adding that the group’s main objective was to create fear among the people.
The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.
The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.
What's really going on in Iraq, Iran and in the United Stated media? I don't know if this generation will ever know.
Censorship is the bane of our society, to get some Journalistic integrity and/or some type of opposing view, check the links below and familiarize yourself with the sites.
Regardless of your views on the war, our returning troops need to get the help they deserve from their former employer, the US government. The last thing we need is more homelessness.
Our push for a new GI Bill is really picking up steam. This morning, the Today Show on NBC ran a great segment featuring Todd Bowers, IAVA's Director of Government Affairs.
Todd served with the Marines in Iraq and was injured in Fallujah. When he came home, he couldn't afford to finish his education, and he was forced to drop out.
Take a minute now to watch the clip:
It's becoming clear that we're at a critical moment in this process. New Senators and Representatives are signing on to the legislation (bill number S.22 / H.R.2702) almost every day, and the media is taking notice. But there's still work to do.
More than 50,000 of our military service personnel and veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious wounds and permanent disabilities. Yet the federal government is not providing sufficient, timely, and predictable funding to treat their visible and invisible wounds of war. Our veterans stood up for us. Now it's time we stand up for them. Ask Congress to keep our national commitment to providing our veterans with the mental and physical health care they need.
Stand Up For Veterans is an initiative of the Disabled American Veterans, an organization of 1.3 million disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The initiative seeks to find public policy solutions for all veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have incurred devastating injuries and disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological wounds of war.
With all the money being spent on this war, why is it that the government seems to ignore the returning Veterans. I've written before that we need people who are capable of making a living in todays world and that they get the care they desperately need. We do not need more homeless people in our country. The government needs to take the steps to get these men and women the care they need. Without our voice, without the story being told that unfortunately will never happen.
Almost $500 Trillion! And these men and woman are having a hard time getting screened for PTSD. If you click that link you can see what that money could have bought. I'm sure a fraction of it could go towards making the homecoming of the returning vets a bit better. Then these private organizations, IAVA, WWP,VFW, etc., that are just scratching the surface of helping, just by the mass of personal that is out there needing help, could do so much more.
Suicide the uncounted death toll of the War on Terror
Without getting too deep into this subject, as I have already explained I have things to do, here's an excerpt of one veterans story as told by Boston.com:
James Schulze walked to the grave of his son, Jonathan, an Iraq war veteran. (Bill Greene/Globe Staff)
Family and friends had convinced him at last that the devastating mental wounds he brought home from war, wounds that triggered severe depression, violent outbursts, and eventually an uncontrollable desire to kill himself, could not be drowned in alcohol or treated with the array of antianxiety drugs he'd been prescribed.
And so, with his father and stepmother at his side, he confessed to an intake counselor that he was suicidal. He wanted to be admitted to a psychiatric ward.
But, instead, he was told that the clinician who prescreened cases like his was unavailable. Go home and wait for a phone call tomorrow, the counselor said, as Marianne Schulze, his stepmother, describes it.
When a clinical social worker called the next day, Jonathan, 25, told again of his suicidal thoughts and other symptoms. And then, with his stepmother listening in, he learned that he was 26th on the waiting list for one of the 12 beds in the center's ward for post-traumatic stress disorder sufferers.
Four days later, on Jan. 16, he wrapped a household extension cord around his neck, tied it to a beam in the basement, and hanged himself.
In life, Jonathan Schulze didn't get nearly what he needed. But in death, this tough and troubled Marine may help get something critical done.
The apparent failure of the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer him timely and necessary care has electrified the debate on the blogs and websites that connect an increasingly networked and angry veterans community. It has triggered an internal investigation by the VA into how a serviceman with such obvious symptoms faced a wait for hospital care.
Johnathan is not alone, there are countless thousands of vets out there needing help, who are either told to wait. Boston.com takes a critical look into this epidemic affecting our returning vets, with an entire section of their site which, unlike the Main Stream Media who tries to hide the fact that we are even in a war, reports of the struggles of our returning vets. They have a section on their site: A Promise To Keep- Veterans Care
Remember to say thanks by being a good union member, helping your employer make money and by helping your fellow brothers and sisters whenever you are needed.
Construction The NYS Dept of Labor site has 3 apprentice openings in NYC this month posted:
NY City Jobs Also to note, you have 2 more days to apply for NYC Bus Operator, which has a top pay of around $27 an hour. There is also tests for Police and Corrections opened continuously. You can view the recent job applications at The Department of Citywide Administrative Services website.
You can also view more apprentice opportunities in New York by visiting the NYSDOL website
Opportunities for women in construction For information on opportunities for women, please visit the Nontraditional Employment for Women web site at www.new-nyc.org.
Employment help for returning veterans Veterans can also find a warehouse of employment related services via the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Of America website in the resource area. Heres their job help section:
Hire Heroes USA Hire Heroes USA is a national non-profit organization, which provides career placement assistance to disabled veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our mission is to be the bridge to a fullfilling career for our heroes to ensure they have the opportunity to enjoy teh freedoms they fought to preserve.
RecruitMilitary RecruitMilitary was founded in February 1998 and quickly became a leader in the use of contingency search to place transitioning and veteran personnel in positions in corporate America. RecruitMilitary established its reputation on the basis of unparalleled service, attention to detail in all activities, and perhaps most important, great choices for both its job candidates and its employer clients.
Helmets to Hardhats Helmets to Hardhats provides the best career opportunities in building and construction trade to those who have earned the nation's support through their years of service and sacrifice, easing the difficult passage into civilian life for military families.
ESGR: Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Guardsmen and Reservists have the right to return to their civilian jobs following their service. National Guardsmen and Reservists who think their employers have acted unfairly -- for instance, if they believe they were fired because of their military service -- should contact the ESGR.
VetBiz Find out more about starting and running a veteran-owned business.
REALifelines The Recovery and Employment Assistance Lifelines initiative is a joint project of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Bethesda Naval Medical Center and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It will create a seamless, personalized assistance network to ensure that seriously wounded and injured service members who cannot return to active duty are trained for rewarding new careers in the private sector.
Career Command Post CCP specializes in bringing transitioning active duty military personnel and armed forces veterans together with civilian employers hiring for executive, managerial, professional, technical, skilled and semi-skilled positions, from the Military Transition Group, Inc.
VetJobs.com A great site for veterans and transitioning military personnel and their family members. Job openings for all levels and types of jobs. You can search for jobs (by type, keyword, and location), as well as post your resume sponsored by Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Free to job-seekers.
HireVetsFirst.gov Veterans seeking employment opportunities can use this free site to search for jobs, get help writing a great resume, and find out how military skills translate into occupational skills. Employers can also use this site to post job openings.
The last thing our country needs is more homeless veterans.
You can help, send an E-Active E-Mail to congress asking for them to adopt the IAVA recommendations on rewriting the GI Bill and while your at it put your name on the petition called Drowning Pool, for better Mental Health Care for our vets.
Regardless of your views on the war, our returning troops need to get the help they deserve from their former employer, the US government. The last thing we need is more homelessness.
(1)Strained by war, recently discharged veterans are having a harder time finding civilian jobs and are more likely to earn lower wages for years due partly to employer concerns about their mental health and overall skills, a government study says.
The Veterans Affairs Department report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, points to continuing problems with the Bush administration's efforts to help 4.4 million troops who have been discharged from active duty since 1990.
The 2007 study by the consulting firm Abt Associates Inc. found that 18 percent of the veterans who sought jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year. Many had taken advantage of government programs such as the GI Bill to boost job prospects, but there was little evidence that education benefits yielded higher pay or better advancement.
While there are great mostly independently resources such as Helmets to Hardhats, Hire A Hero, VetJobs and for getting them into the workforce once they return. While the health care isn't horrible, it's just not speedily available, the VA cannot adequately help the most severely injured and the veterans must rely on independent groups such as the Wounded Warrior Project, who I featured in an article in Union Review about a retired Fireman and 638 Steamfitter who go to extreme lengths to help the most severely injured to get the medical attention that our own government fails to. How? They go job to job and sell FDNY, NYPD and Union Construction Workers "Support Our Troops" T-shirts. They aren't alone there are hundreds if not thousands who help the WWP, think of all the good an organization like that could do if the government had kept their end of the bargain, and if Congress doesn't step up to the plate, we are going to have quite a few thousand new homeless veterans in this country.
How can you help our returning vets? Take a look at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America who has made Congressional recommendations in five key areas to assist our new veterans:
These men and women who risked their lives for this war need our help. The GI bill needs updating. They need better Mental Health Care.
(2)Rates of psychological injuries among new veterans are high and rising. At least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological wound, including depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
In addition, when troops are near an exploding mortar or roadside bomb, the blast can damage their brains without visible injury. Traumatic Brain Injury can lead to emotional problems; vision, hearing, or speech problems; dizziness; sleep disorders; or memory loss. Between 150,000 and 300,000 of the 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have traumatic brain injuries.
The ramifications of psychological injuries are clear. Untreated mental health problems can and do lead to unemployment, domestic violence, substance abuse, homelessness and suicide. Twenty percent of married troops in Iraq say they are planning a divorce. At least 40,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been treated at a VA hospital for substance abuse. The current Army suicide rate is the highest it has been in 26 years.
and they need better education.
(2)President Roosevelt spoke more simply:
“[The GI Bill] gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our armed forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.”
Today, 1.5 million troops are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to a very different future than the one FDR made possible for the Greatest Generation. The current educational benefits offered to veterans are far lower than the original GI Bill, covering only 60–70% of the average cost of four years at a public college or university, or less than two years at a typical private college. National Guardsmen and Reservists, “citizen soldiers” who leave behind civilian lives to serve alongside active-duty troops, receive even lower education benefits, and are inadequately protected against job discrimination. And Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are already swelling the ranks of the unemployed and the homeless. Nearly 200,000 veterans of all generations are homeless on any given night.
The last thing our country needs is more homeless veterans, they risked their lives for our country.
You can help, send an E-Active E-Mail to congress asking for them to adopt the IAVA recommendations on rewriting the GI Bill and while your at it put your name on the petition called Drowning Pool, for better Mental Health Care for our vets.
Rebel inc. just finished our first tour which took us to 4 different stops in 2 weeks. The band joined forces with a group called the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). The group's message is clear, "you are not alone". The tour was designed to create outreach for vets as well as providing vets and active duty soldier's free entertainment. The tour was a success right from the start upon forming 2 new chapters of the IVAW in sought out cities.
support their struggle against exploitation. At the action, workers reported that hunger striker Christopher Glory was admitted to George Washington University Hospital Wednesday for dangerously low blood pressure. The workers' families and dozens of DC area activists also participated in a day-long solidarity fast Wednesday to support the campaign. Following the rally, workers and their supporters met with Congressional representatives and pressured them to hold hearings on abuses of workers under the guest worker program and ask the Department of Justice to protect the workers during an ongoing criminal anti-trafficking investigation against their former employer Signal International. A community meeting with representatives of the campaign will be held 
