True Cost of War: Death, Wounded and Mamed

Iraq: Faces of War

1st Lt. Dustin D. Vincent could be one of the last soldiers to die in the Iraq War. He was killed by small arms fire in Kirkuk Province. Vincent was on his first deployment and you can only imagine the relief his family felt when President Obama announced that all troops would be home from Iraq by the holidays. The Mesquite, Texas 25 year old young soldier leaves behind a wife. Vincent is casualty 4484 in the Iraq War.

From DAVIDMIXNER.COM ~ February 9, 2011

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In the Huffington Post today David Wood has an article on U.S. wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and the grim milestone that on October 25, 2012 the number of American battle wounded passed the 50,000 mark. This figures doesn't include the over 253,330 servicemen and women who have suffered traumatic brain injury or the 5,225 American personnel killed in action in Afghanistan or Iraq, like 1st Lt. Dustin D. Vincent so many in their mid-twenties.

Anyone who watches the nightly news broadcast on Public Television will see the scroll of names and ages of military personnel who have recently died and I am always taken aback at the young ages of these men and women. It is a small final tribute to pay our men and women who serve and often wonder why each newscast on every network is not ended this way.

Four years ago Harvard economist Linda Bilmes estimated the lifetime cost of caring for the war wounded to be between $600 billion and $900 billion, recent data indicates that figure will rise.

The United States is a relatively young country with a long history associated with war. Going back to its founding with the American Revolutionary War that spanned a period from 1775-1783 and tallied up 25,000 casualties, almost topping that was the War of 1812 which really ended in 1815 and sustained 20,000 casualties.

So far the war the United States had with itself holds the record for casualties at 625,000 during the Civil War lasting from 1861-1865. Even adding the casualties from World War I (116,516) and World War II (405,399) both together doesn't top the Civil War statistics.

The longest period the United States went between being involved in a war was from the end of the Great Sioux War in 1877 and the beginning of the Spanish-American War in 1898. On average it seems America is most comfortable being involved is conflict somewhere in the world.

So you see just a little glance back at our history and it is easy to see why we are so obsessed with war. I put forth the argument that is has more to do with money than it has to do with principles or ideals. I wonder just how long it will take for us to evolve from this mindset to one that will truly be concerned with the betterment of mankind and creating a healthy global environment.

Source Material:

Huffingtonpost article by David Wood 11/7/2012

Congressional Research Service:American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics February 26, 2010

American War Deaths Through History

When the dust settles from the Election whirlwind...

Remember we still have many people hurting and in need from Hurricane Sandy.....don't turn your back on them, but run to them with your help.

Dear Friend, Although we have all seen extensive media coverage of Hurricane Sandy, I believe that the devastation is too massive to be conveyed through these usual sources of information.  As happened after Hurricane Katrina, there are many in the region who feel forgotten and abandoned. For that reason, we are determined to make sure that for a small number of victims, HCZ will be a clear sign that they have not been forgotten. This weekend, we were joined by Stan Druckenmiller and his wife, Fiona, and we saw destruction as far as the eye could see. Residents are without power and without a way to get the most-basic necessities. We now have a team of our full-time staff who are volunteering in the Rockaways, delivering supplies and assisting the residents there, particularly in the large public-housing buildings. Thanks to the generosity of a few donors, the HCZ staff has been able to distribute blankets, water, food and flashlights. These trips also have a symbolic purpose. We want our presence to be a reminder to the residents there that they have not been forgotten by this great city.  This is not a fundraising appeal – nor a request for volunteers. This is dangerous work, particularly because of the elevated possibility of crime due to the chaos and desperation there.  That said, I feel we are an organization that is one of the best suited to tackle the job.  I am writing to keep you updated about our work and to let you know that you are part of a team that is actively making a difference in the wake of this unprecedented disaster in the region. Thanks for your continued support and I hope that the storm has left you and your loved ones safe and warm. Sincerely, Geoff

"You People" - Remember your power on Election Day

"Common People" - PULP

Just sitting here musing on this and that and thinking about the upcoming election and what it really means to America. At least this is how I view things. America's middle class has been shrinking and that is not good, you see the middle class - common people are the backbone of this country and without a strong backbone the country will collapse.

In the past several years we have watched the rich Wall Street types run amok, un-tethered and un-punished for their misdeeds and yes for their greed. And now the Republican candidate for president rubs our nose in it by telling us that corporations are people too. And the really funny thing is that the United States Supreme Court agrees. Remember that ruling they made that overturned a Montana law that prohibited corporate spending in that state's election? A Citizen United deja vu moment all over again, the court reaffirming that corporations are people - at least as far as the First Amendment is concerned.

Hmm, maybe people but not human beings, right? Isn't it the human quality that we cherish, that warm, feeling, alive person that bleeds when cut, cries when hurt and reaches out a hand to help someone who has fallen.

And it really does frighten me to think that a person with Romney's beliefs might end up president of these United States. Because he doesn't really see the hurting people in this poor economy, he sees a different people, the corporations that need more tax breaks to survive and he sees those really rich people that run those corporations as needy as well.

Larry Womack wrote a really good article last August that appeared on The Huffington Post blog, you can read it here. In that article he wrote something I want to quote here because it is exactly how I feel on this subject:

"Real poverty is not knowing where your children's next meal is coming from. It's not being able to put shoes on their feet or take them to the doctor. It's living in constant fear of losing your job or getting sick. It's not having a car to take you to that job. It's wondering if you'll still have a hometwo months from now. It's hunger. It's cold. And, above all, it is fear. "

We have a lot of work cut out for us in this nation and turning our backs on the poor, the uneducated and the sick is not the place to start. I want a person at the helm who has at least some idea of what it is like to be one of "you people", who had to work hard to get to the top and knows that it can be done and knows that there are people who need help, hand-ups not hand-outs.

I will vote for President Obama this November, because between the two men he is the clear choice for me and what I believe. Because I want the weakest among us to be strong and if help is needed to achieve that goal that's OK with me. Because a healthier people, an educated people and a less-poor people does nothing but make this nation stronger.