Fourth of July in Petaluma
Thanks to the Argus Courier for bringing us fire chief Chris Albertson’s Guest Commentary on June 26th. His advice is timely, for danger of residential fire always exists, especially during the time fireworks are readily available.
Several years ago, our next door neighbors went away the weekend of July 4th. Someone, possibly a child, threw a firework onto the roof of those neighbors. Petaluma fire-fighters arrived promptly, climbed to the roof and put it out. That was lucky for us, as the neighbors’ house is quite close to our own and the fire could easily have spread to us. On another occasion, someone threw a bottle rocket into our driveway about midnight. Sounded like a bomb going off. Not a very pleasant way to be jolted awake when you have to get up early next morning to go to work.
A few years ago, our City Council discussed enacting a law that would have banned fireworks in Petaluma, except for the display at the fairgrounds. The Council refused, opting instead for a few restrictions on the dates and times when exploding the devices was permissible.
They could have shown some concern for combat veterans. Any kind of explosion has the capacity to startle a vet, given what they’ve just been through. It may even trigger some unpleasant memories.
Perhaps the annual show at the fairgrounds could be preceded by a reading, on a loudspeaker, of the Declaration of Independence, maybe even parts of our Constitution. Recalling these documents is at least as patriotic as a display of pyrotechnics.
Filed under War, veterans | Comment (0)
Parents: Don’t let your girls grow up to be soldiers
By Beth Grimes
According to a report in a The International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/25/opinion/edbenedict.php> women are now 15% of our military forces and more than 20% of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 70% of our female veterans have filed complaints that they were sexually harassed by the soldiers with whom they served and almost a third report being raped.
Female soldiers are now often wounded in combat, producing the same kind of post traumatic stress disorder suffered by men. Adding sexual assault by their male comrades in arms to this trauma has made them nine times as likely as men to develop PTSD. When women fighters are re-deployed after being on leave, they often have to return to the war with the man or men who raped them. Army brass apparently does not see this a problem.
How many Americans know that at least 191,500 women have served in the Middle East since 2001? A lot of them will add to the number of male veterans now seeking care from Veterans Administration medical services, including treatment for PTSD. Will female soldier rape victims be expected to participate in therapy groups filled with men? The VA claims it is going provide more clinics for sufferers of PTSD. How many of these will be for women only? The VA doesn’t say.
Sadly, male officers and political leaders refuse to admit that rape and harassment of female service members is a serious issue.
Filed under health, veterans | Comment (0)
MEMORIAL DAY 2008
How many Americans know that combat veterans commit suicide three or four times as often as non-vets? That a quarter of the homeless population are veterans? That it takes more than five years to get the Veterans Administration to deal with claims filed by injured vets? That almost twenty percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffered brain injury? That our Veterans Administration stonewalls as many vets who try to get their legitimate benefits as it can?
Is that the best our nation can offer returning troops, the ones tens of thousands of our car magnets claim to support? Can we do no better than a cold park bench or sidewalk to sleep on? Unemployment? Neglect of their health care needs?
Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer and Republican Kit Bond have introduced legislation that would require the VA to care for the wounded and that would offer our vets help in re-adjusting to civilian life. It’s called the HONOR Act. Anyone who can dial a phone can call a Senator or Representative and ask that they work to get this law enacted.
We can also show demonstrate our loyalty to those who willingly served the country by learning more about the problems faced by returning veterans. And writing a check to one of the veterans organizations who are working to give vets what government refuses to supply. One local one is San Francisco based Swords to Plowshares at
www.swords-to-plowshares.org and another is www.veteransforpeace.org .