Vietnam Reflections
 
 
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The Point Oct. 2008
-The Point-
Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
Chapter 172
17 N. Liberty Street
Phone 1-777-7001 Cumberland, Maryland 21502-2316 FAX 1-301-777-7041
1-800-482-VETS Email vva172@atlanticbbn.net
The First Chapter in the State of Maryland – The Gold Standard
October 2008
We Did It Again
Everybody who pitched in and made the steak feed at Mt. Savage a success; give yourselve a pat on the back. It went off so smooth I think we could turn pro. Once again the folks at the firehall could not have been any nicer, well maybe Danny Williams could smile a little more but it was still great. Porky made the extra little effort by opening up the pork house and soup kitchen. This annual event has become a great tradition. Well done!
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Sometimes I Amaze Myself.
Just in case you didn’t read last month’s editorial it was a great one. I actually wrote it before the latest financial scandal to rock this country and to wipe out a lot of individual fortunes. I would like to thank all of you idiot politicians who voted for de-regulation.
So for those of you who were a little lazy last month and have already put "The Point" in the bottom of the birdcage here it is again. Read it this time dammit, there will be a quiz next month.
Lotta Wind
Editorial Opinion
It’s been a long hot summer and the
Democratic National Convention started today so I guess things are going to get hotter. There was some great speechifying in tonight’s opening session. There was music and dancing and a genuine air of optimism it was warm and fuzzy, but do I believe anything is really going to change? In a few weeks the Republicans will hold their convention. There will be music and dancing and great speeches and a genuine air of optimism, but do I believe anything is really going to change?
Obama made a speech to the VFW last week stating the under him the VA will be fully funded with more care for the wounded veterans including PTSD care and more educational benefits a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage….hmmm. In a few weeks McCain will say just about the same thing, even though he did vote against the new GI bill.
So I guess as veterans we should be all a twitter with excitement there doesn’t seem to be any way we can lose no matter who gets elected.
Now there is only one problem as I see it. Didn’t we go through this same rhetoric in the last election? Didn’t both candidates promise the same thing? And how about the election before that and the one before that?
Does it seem to you that after they get elected the VA becomes a dumping ground for broken promises? Over the last several years the US has embarked on a course of “nation building.” Meanwhile back at the ranch America is literally falling down. Our infrastructure is crumbling; gangs are prevalent in every large city and now ever in some rural areas. How about our schools with what we’ve blown in Iraq we could rebuild every school in the States. Recently Allegany County got its first new school in 40 years.
Here’s something to think about the “Homeland Security Act” which allows the government to circumvent parts of the
Constitution now has a new police force in the county. Apparently according to one of our county commissioners we have a “crisis in law enforcement.” But what will this get us will we be safer in our homes. Do we need more cops or more carpenters? If we are going to re-build any country, re-build America first. Tighten up the borders, fix the economy, do something about flooding, feed everybody. Want to improve homeland security fire every politician at any level that lies, cheats or steals from the people or the country. Maybe we could learn from our nemesis China and stand a few of them against the wall. Okay that’s a bit extreme but you would only have to do one I bet. I like this country and I want to see it do well actually I want to see it do better. To paraphrase Bette Midler – are our best years behind us? Is America still the “shining city on the hill?”
Does the flag still stand for freedom? Or we in the middle of a fire sale and everything is up grabs to the highest bidder. Are we on our way to becoming the worlds police force and flea market?
With this coming election do I smell change in the wind, or is it smoke?
Re-build America first.
Steve Parsons
September 2008
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Famous People
If you watched the TV show Extreme Makeovers Home Addition tonight September 28, 2008 you were honored to see half a dozen members of VVA 172 standing tall on Liberty Street. You know it really is true that the camera puts on ten pounds. Anyway now that a small handful of us are famous I got to thinking about famous people who served in the war. Vietnam didn’t have too many, some like us became famous after the war. But, I couldn’t find the names of those who were famous before Vietnam. So I went to my reference book to check on famous WWII vets. People who were famous prior to the war and their service in it, what I found was no less than amazing, or at least interesting.
Gene Autry, the singing cowboy flew cargo planes over the hump in Burma. He also paid for his own flight lessons and learned to fly prior to enlistment.
Eddie Albert (Green Acres) USN
Yogi Berra gunners mate USN
Joey Bishop, USA special services
Rex Harrison RAF
Sterling Hayden OSS
Joe Lewis USA
Julia Child OSS spy
Burl Ives USA
Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) USMC
Robert Taylor USN (The Untouchables)
Rod Serling USA (Twilight Zone)
Ed McMahon USMC fighter pilot
P.M. Parsons USMC my uncle
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Have You Noticed?
Editorial Opinion
Have you noticed since the big crash in the financial system that the candidates have stopped talking about health care for the masses?
Have you noticed how everyday all of the news stations have financial “experts” on to tell us how we can get out of this mess? If their so dammed smart where were they a few months ago? Why weren’t they warning us that AIG, Lehman Brothers, and all the rest of the silver spooners were writing bad checks?
So now that they have a money crisis they are all pointing their fingers at each other and yelling “he did it!” The Repubs did it, the Dems did it, or was it Bill Clinton?
Back to health care now, as Chapter members get older the more we will need health care and for many of us where will it come from? I consider myself to be a fairly healthy fat person. I have some of the maladies that plague people of my age. I take a few meds which make day to day life a little more bearable, nothing exotic. Fortunately, I can get my meds through the VA as with most of my health care. If I had to purchase my meds on my own it would cost me in access of $600 a month. My wife takes in excess of $1000 a month in meds. Never in my life have I had a job that I earned enough money to pay for my own meds let alone hers. So what would I do if not for the VA? I would just have to do without as would my wife. I know many of you are in the same boat. Some Chapter members are even worse off, they don’ qualify for VA assistance and I know that some of you are just going without, or skipping doses and cutting pills in half, and some of you have just said ‘screw it!”
I know that some of the political geniuses out there are saying this is another liberal issue, or this is a conservative issue. How about this it’s a people issue is it that tough? Is it that difficult to figure out stupid?
So now back to the current election race, is anything really going to change? The candidates are in DC trying to vote on a bail out proposal. Today they failed to come to an agreement, so more delay. So once again the people who are in need get pushed to the back burner.
As I see it the problem is that all of the senators and congressmen and women have all of their meds and treatment for them and their offspring paid for. So they don’t care that much about health care. But, they are all rich and need to keep their monies safe. So you can bet their going to bail out Wall Street. Have you heard about any of these elected officials having their homes foreclosed on?
So what do we do? I don’t have any answers, who should we vote for? I don’t have any answers, or maybe I do. Let’s all just get pissed off and start raising hell it probably won’t help but it may relieve some pent up anger and keep you from having that heart attack you can’t afford.
Rebuild America First
Steve Parsons
October 2008
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Subject: The Wisdom of Larry the cable guy...... 1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers. 3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot. 4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. 5. Remember, half the people you know are below average. 6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest. 7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap. 9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have. 10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines. 12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments. 13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand. 14. OK, so what's the speed of dark? 15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now. 17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges? 18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. 19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice? 20. Why do psychics have to ask you your name? 21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?' 22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off. 23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. 24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, mightburn your but tomorrow. |