“A DIABOLICAL MERRY-GO-ROUND”
by Michael Gaddy, ©2015
(Nov. 11, 2015) — “Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.” ~James Madison
Has anyone noticed that it is most probably impossible for a candidate for president to win the election if they do not fully support war? Should this be a window into who is running this government and for what purposes? All candidates fully support “armies, debts and taxes” even if they are the “known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.”
We embark upon another day of adulation and undisguised worship for those who fight this government’s wars. Almost everyone believes that we must “support the troops,” for to do otherwise would be unpatriotic. Anyone with a basic understanding of the Constitution and the tenets of the charges at the Nuremberg trials must realize that our government, for the past 14 years, has been fighting illegal wars. As of yet, I have been unable to have anyone explain to me how one can support the troops without supporting these wars.
But, the question that gives me the most heartburn is this: why should our troops support a government that does not support them? It hasn’t been that long since we were regaled daily with stories of the ineptitude and outright misfeasance and malfeasance of the Veterans’ Administration. Yet, this lack of support runs much deeper than just the atrocity that is the lack of government-provided healthcare to veterans.
Allow me, please, to introduce you to two heroic veterans deserving of support: William Schism, a 36-year veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Next there is Robert Reinlie, also a 25-year veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. When these two men joined the US Military they were given the following written promise.
Serve 20 years honorably, and when you retire, the government will provide free lifetime medical care for you and your dependents. Serve your country, and it will care for you and yours.”
Well, both veterans grew old and their health began to fail. Suddenly they were told by the VA that they would no longer be treated in the VA hospitals but instead they could use their Medicare, which we all know is not totally free and has nothing to do with military service.
Into the battle stepped Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Colonel Bud Day, who, acting as their lawyer and the legal representative of thousands of veterans in similar conditions, took the VA to court in a class action lawsuit.
Colonel Day’s theory was straightforward. Military recruiters had offered free lifetime medical care in return for 20 years’ service. The veterans had accepted that offer by serving a minimum of 20 years. The government, by forcing the vets into Medicare, had breached its contract. Thus, the veterans were entitled to the promised medical care, and to damages. The wonderful ambulance chasers down at the Department of Injustice denied that such a promise had been made. In lieu of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, the DOJ bloodsuckers claimed that even if the promises were made, the recruiters did not have the authority to make them. Of course the trial judge sided with the government. Colonel Day appealed to a three-judge panel in the appellate courts. This three-judge panel reversed the ruling of the court judge and ruled the government had violated the contract with these veterans. Victory—right? Not so fast. The Department of Defense then appealed to federal court judges sitting en banc. The court agreed to hear the appeal. In a 9-4 decision the panel of judges agreed the veterans had been promised this healthcare and they had fulfilled their end of the deal by serving at least twenty years BUT—
“…because nowhere in our vast government hierarchy – neither in the Executive Branch nor in the Congress – could any statute, regulation, or other power be found that allowed military recruiters to fill their quotas by promising medical benefits, there was no contract to breach.”
Way to go, government—support those troops!
Ironically, unknown to the great majority of the masses; surely the goal of the government shills in this country known as the media, are the large number of veterans who have been left to a terrible fate in the hands of their enemies at the end of hostilities. We know there were troops left in the hands of the Russians at the end of World War I, for some of them were returned for money. World War II created a much larger debacle and concerted cover-up by this government as to what happened to over 22,000+ combat veterans who were held and never returned by our at-the-time allies, the Russians. (Source: Soldiers of Misfortune; Washington’s Secret Betrayal of American POWs in the Soviet Union by James Sanders, Mark Sauter and Cort Kirkwood) There are, of course, the 8,000+ left behind in Korea. (Source: A Chain of Prisoners; From Yalta to Vietnam by Brown and Ashworth) Then, over 2,000 left behind to who-knows-what at the hands of the Vietnamese, Chinese and Russians. (Source: Kiss the Boys Goodbye by Monika Jensen-Stevenson and William Stevenson) How were these troops supported by their government? How were they supported by you?
This takes us to the next unconstitutional, immoral war; Desert Storm. Will anyone remember today, while watching the parade or tributes on TV, the 17 men who were captured by the Iraqis and tortured and starved? Will anyone remember their lawsuit brought against the Iraqis and the frozen funds held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York?
In 2003, Federal Judge Richard W. Roberts determined these 17 POWs and their families were entitled to almost $960 million of the Iraqi assets held by the government. The government under George W. Bush moved immediately to block this much-deserved monetary award to these veterans. The president also instructed the US Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the veterans’ case in pursuit of the awarded damages. Bush claimed that if the monies were paid to these men, the rebuilding effort in Iraq would be adversely affected. Obviously, this money went from “supporting the troops” into the coffers of government contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel.
Who was “supporting the troops” in this debacle? If you claim to support the troops, what did you do to make this right? Did you vote for George W’s reelection back in 2004? And your vote supported those tortured and starved former POWs in their pursuit of compensation, how?
How was George W. Bush able to circumvent the decision of a federal judge and order the Supreme Court not to hear these veterans’ appeal? Have your forgotten that on September 11, 2001, our Constitution was suspended by the implementation of the Continuity of Government (COG) plan which placed unknown people in our government in positions of power over the courts and the legislature, not to mention the people? There is no record that 14 years later that order has ever been rescinded. We are still operating under the mandates of the COG because we are still involved in the “war on terror.”
How did this government again fail to “support the troops” of Operation Desert Storm? Perhaps this quote from the website desertstormvets.com will refresh your memory.
“The Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Veterans Affairs have been lying to the U.S. Congress, Gulf War veterans, and the American people about coalition forces’ exposure to chemical and biological agents during the war.
This criminal, reprehensible, shameful, dishonorable, and egregious act on their part has caused incalculable pain and suffering, caused many who risked their lives for our flag to die, inflicted severe financial hardships, caused many veterans’ children to be born deformed and disabled, caused many veterans’ children to become diseased, destroyed marriages and families, and eroded the trust of the American people in the institutions they once revered.
Gulf War veterans are truly the victims of patriotism. What they have suffered is the great American tragedy.
Those who have perpetrated and perpetuated this lie must be held fully accountable.”
Wow. The Desert Storm Veterans claimed they “are truly the victims of patriotism.” Is it remotely possible that same patriotism which has been on display this entire week, all over the media, and especially today, is responsible for the terrible crimes our government commits against its own veterans? Have we supported a government that doesn’t support its troops or troops who are controlled by that government?
“Our afflicted veterans are sick and suffering, and many have died. Others are now destitute, having spent tens of thousands of dollars, depleting their life savings, in an unsuccessful search for an explanation for their ailments. The veterans of the Gulf War have asked us for nothing more than the assistance they have earned. Our refusal to come to their immediate assistance can only lead others to question the integrity of the nation they serve.” ~ Former Senator Donald Reigle
One of the most perplexing questions in my mind is the unrealistic rate of suicides by those troops we claim to support. Why would people who are honored and supported by so many take their own lives in such large numbers? According to Suicide Wall by Alexander Paul, the number of Vietnam Veterans who have taken their own lives could be as high as 200,000. Author Chuck Dean, a Vietnam Veteran, stated in his book, Nam Vet, that at least 150,000 Vietnam Veterans have taken their own lives since the end of that war. Add to that the 58,000 plus who died during the war and the numbers begin to creep toward the total number of US casualties in World War II.
From Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the suicide rates among those veterans have exceeded those lost in combat.
“A majority are not receiving help from the Pentagon and VA system which are more concerned with concealing unpleasant facts than they are with providing care,” states Veterans Help Center.”
Some reports show the suicide rate among these veterans is as high as 22 per day. Are these veterans also a victim of patriotism? Does our continued support and adulation of all things military contribute to these deaths? Can you prove it doesn’t?
As I see it, we are riding on this diabolical merry-go-round: we support the troops as they do the government’s bidding in unconstitutional, immoral wars; the government then fails to support these troops with much-needed medical care; regardless, we continue to “support the troops” which by all accounts is supporting the government’s wars; the government then leaves many of these veterans in the hands of their enemy after the wars are over and lies to complete the cover-up; we continue to blindly support the troops which encourages our young people to join this military even though current and former members (veterans) are taking their own lives at a horrific rate; we claim these veterans are protecting our freedoms, yet they followed orders in seizing firearms from innocent citizens in New Orleans after Katrina, thus violating their oath to “uphold and defend;” our POWs are denied monetary compensation for their injuries so our government can rebuild a country destroyed using veterans; we are encouraged to support the troops while the government does everything in its power to ignore them once they have been used to accomplish the government’s agenda. Yay, government!
Sorry, folks, I’m getting dizzy riding this merry-go-round and it’s almost time for the Veterans’ Day Parade!
If you perhaps stop to wonder what has happened to our country morally and ethically over the past 14 years, please consider these words of Robert Yates who wrote as “Brutus” as an Anti-federalist.
“The liberties of a people are in danger from a large standing army, not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpations of power, which they may see proper to exercise; but there is great hazard, that an army will subvert the forms of the government, under whose authority they are raised, and establish one [rule] according to the pleasure of their leaders.”,
As previously mentioned our constitutional form of government was unlawfully suspended on September 11, 2001 and replaced with a Continuity of Government plan. We are still operating under that paradigm. Has this now-14-year “War on Terror” established a government that is being run “according to the pleasure of our leaders?” Has “supporting the troops” without question led to this encroachment of the rights of the people?
In Rightful Liberty