This is my real first political rant. I have been holding back to tell the truth. I have been holding back because I really haven't wanted to upset the apple cart in starting a following on this blog and the pending podcast. I just can’t hold my tongue. I can’t and won’t hold back any longer. The straw that broke the camel’s back is Sarah Palin. I warn you now… if you’re a fan of hers, think she is saving America’s values or think that she is a valuable asset to the political process, then stop reading now, unfriend me in all aspects of social media and probably delete my number from your phone. Sorry, but it’s come to that.
It was bad enough flipping through the TV last night when I heard the voice. The voice that makes my soul cringe. The Voice that makes my ears bleed. THE VOICE that means that somebody is willing to do whatever is necessary to win an election. Sarah Palin. FUCK!
At first I thought it was a flash of stupid that I have run into from time to time when I have not been successful in avoiding her lunacy in the media. She shows up in the strangest of places. Travel Channel, Outdoors Chanel, I even caught a quick glimpse on the Game Show Network for some odd reason. Nope… not this time, she was everywhere. Every news station had her on, it wasn’t going away. OF COURSE she was with Donald Trump. No question. I had a flashback to 2008… is “The Donald” announcing her as his running mate? Did she finally decide to walk across her front yard and move to Russia? Holy shit! Nope… not that lucky.
I made the mistake of listening to a part of what she had to say and in literally 30 seconds my blood was boiling. I am sure my best pal Ted could feel the “fire of a thousand suns” from 2500 miles away. She moved from comic book character to enemy number 1. For me, a proud veteran and supporter of many veteran’s causes, she crossed a line that she will never be allowed to uncross.
Her quote was "So when my own son is going through what he goes through coming back, I can certainly relate with other families who kind of feel these ramifications of some PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with. And it makes me realize, more than ever, it is now or never, for the sake of America's finest, that we have that commander-in-chief who will respect them and honor them. You deserve someone who will treat veterans better than illegal immigrants in America”
For those of you who don’t know what she is referring to, she is talking about her son, Track who is an Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq as part of the 25th Infantry Stryker Brigade. What he is “going through” is a domestic violence charge that included him, according to court documents, “allegedly punched his girlfriend in the eye, kicked her in the knee and then held an AR-15 assault rifle near his head, the 22-year-old woman told police who responded to the incident”. At one point, Track was "holding onto a gun, yelling 'do you think I'm a pussy?' and 'do you think I won't do it?”.
He was charged with fourth-degree assault, interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. All the charges are Class A misdemeanors.
He is FAR from the first veteran to do something of this sort. He, unfortunately, is FAR from the last one too. A lot of our men and women who volunteered to go to war for us come home with issues that they don’t understand or can’t deal with and need help controlling. That is NOT news. That also is NOT a political issue.
What made news (and me want to throw my TV out the window) was linking what her son did, what Track decided to do even if it wasn’t in his correct mental state, to President Obama. What she did was wrong. Pandering to her base by standing on the graves of brave young people and saying that ONE PERSON is responsible for her son’s actions is wrong.
Taking the responsibility out of Track’s hands and laying at Obama’s feet DOES NOT HELP HER SON! One of the first things that soldiers with PTSD talk about is feeling blame for what they did. And the first thing they are counseled on is not taking blame but accepting responsibility for their thoughts, feeling and actions. If he did indeed do the things that are in the police report, then they were his actions even if he didn’t have control. Those two things are linked and they should be treated as such. His actions have NOTHING to do with what has happened in our political arena. Typically speaking PTSD causes more than 22 veteran suicides per day and not homicides or other acts of violence.
Track very well might have PTSD. But it in NO WAY offers him a way out of what he may or may not have done nor excuses his mother to use it as a political weapon. It is a community issue not a political one used for getting votes. It is an issue that should be, and is being, dealt with in a lot of different ways. Are we doing everything we can? Nope. Not even close. Are we close to helping all of those in need? Nope. Not even close. Again… not news.
BUT if she wants to go there here are some facts that I would like her to talk about: The war in Iraq began under Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, who was President when Track served in Iraq. And in 2014, the Republican held Senate rejected a $24 billion bill to expand health care for veterans; only two Republicans voted for the legislation.
A second bill, with aid slashed to $16 billion, was passed months later despite the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate for the cost of veterans care at $35 billion through 2017. I’m not a mathalete, but I don’t think $16B will cover $35B.
Just last year, Obama signed a bipartisan bill to improve veterans' access to mental health resources. And the Veterans Affairs budget is at an all-time high
How in the hell do you blame one person when the Washington Political Machine has pillaged any money that was supposed to help the volunteer veterans of our country? How is this Obama’s fault? For those of you who don’t know me, I am not a 100% supporter of President Obama (or any politician for that matter), but this is an issue that I follow very close. An issue that will always be very near to me. I will not let her use this to gain votes for her or anyone else without telling the full story.
This is not one person’s issue. It is all of ours. WE have to do something about this. This issue will cost us more in the future than $35 billion. There is no cost on the lives we will lose in the future by veterans killing themselves in droves. There is no cost to the lives affected. But for some people there is a cost to gain a vote and they will use ANYTHING to get it. I won’t. I hope you won’t either.
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