rmiles7721

As you can see I am going to be peppering these in amongst my posts for the next few days. Since I’ve apparently had some sort of block over the weekend and posted about a tenth of what I normally do, consider them filler 🙂

The same deal applies that I put in my last post though, but I am going to drop the $$$ amount. Let me know of your donation (ANY AMOUNT) to Valour IT through the Marine team from this point forward and I’ll put your website link (if you have one) in a post that will sit on top of may main page for 30 days after the end of the fundraiser (November 11th). Consider it free advertising for your site. I don’t have a huge amount of traffic, somewhere in the vicinity of 1k a day but it ain’t too bad.

If you haven’t yet done so, please consider a small donation to the Valour IT Marine team. We’ve managed to assemble a team of over 65 bloggers but it’s tough for us to compete with the larger services.

Until yesterday we had a $2000 lead over the Army and a $7-8000 lead over Air Force and Navy. But our position is being overrun. We need reinforcements!

The devices that Valour-IT funds have a profound and visible effect on users/recipients and ALL money donated for Valour-IT goes to purchase and shipping of laptops, Wiis, and GPS devices (that means ZERO OVERHEAD). Valour IT provides powerful tools that help severely wounded vets (not just those with hand problems) speed up recovery and treatment, maintain a support system, and regain a sense of independence.

Valour IT facts:

• in 4+ years Valour IT has provided 4,100 laptops, over 30 Wii systems to VA hospitals, and nearly 100 handheld GPS devices
• Total online funds collected to date: nearly 3/4 of a million dollars
• Every dollar raised goes directly to wounded vets military medical centers and VA facilities nationwide, such as:

o Balboa Naval Hospital
o Brooke Army Medical Center
o Madigan Regional Medical Center
o National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda)
o Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton
o Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)
o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Here’s what your donation can provide:

Voice activated laptops:
1. Help wounded vets connect with still-deployed fellow service members (relieve anxiety about how their friends are doing, allow them to maintain a support system)
2. Allow vets to stay in touch with loved ones who can’t be at their bedside
3. Run therapeutic computer programs that help restore brain/vision function,
4. Can be used to research treatments, keep track of treatment regimen.
5. Retrain for post-military employment
6. Voice control makes using a computer one of the first things they can do on their own

Wii uses:

1. Physical therapists in VA hospitals and major medical centers are using Wii fit systems with their patients
2. Motivation: Wii Sports games key into natural competitive nature
3. Track progress in a fun way

GPS uses:

1. For those with very severe PTSD or TBI (memory problems, high anxiety, etc), having a GPS increases independence and restores a sense of competence. Short-term memory problems can make it hard to navigate of new locations. A GPS can mean the difference between success and failure.

Please help. These men and women have already given so much. The price of a nice six pack of beer or an inexpensive dinner seems the least we can to in return for their sacrifices.

So if you’ve read the post that’s been sitting on top of my front page for the last week you’ll have seen the big thermometer. Have you read it or know what Valour IT is all about? Basically each year this fundraiser is held to raise money for wounded servicemen and supplies them with voice-activated laptops and other useful equipment. It’s 100% tax deductible as Soldier’s Angels (the nonprofit behind Valour IT) is a 501c nonprofit organization and as such some companies that match funds for tax-deductible donations may also be eligible as well. Contact your employer to see if they participate or not.

The fundraisers are organized each year into four different teams and as such there is quite a bit of good-natured competition going on. The teams are the Marines, Army, Air Force and Navy.

Right now Marines are leading Army by about $2200 (of course) and a third of the way through the fundraiser we’ve raised slightly over 40% of our goal but unfortunately donations seem to be slowing down so here’s the deal. Anyone that donates at least $100 US and lets me know about it I will edit the post on top with a list of the donations and a link to your website along with the amount if you want it listed and will leave it there for another 30 days giving you a months free advertisement (although you may or may not want the linkage my site sends…)

If you would like to join the Marine team you can head over here and if you want to donate do so here.

The pictures in this post? The one on top is my father. The picture is from his graduation at Parris Island in 1965 during Vietnam. The second one is my lovely wife and our son who graduated from Parris Island in September of 2007. He’s currently a Corporal with the 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion and based in Twentynine Palms, CA.

…and the last one is my son again along with my father and mother. It was my father’s first time back to the island since he graduated in 1965 which is not surprising since Parris Island doesn’t seem to rank among the fondest memories of most Marines.

I mentioned in the title that this was about the results so far so I guess I need to at least post those as well.

Marines: $14,286

Army: $12,095

Air Force: $6790

Navy: $5,035

Sweet…

…and now back to our regularly scheduled debauchery.

Spc. Justin Slagle
 

Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Under new guidelines that are supposed to be issued today by the Obama Administration Federal drug agents will no longer pursue charges against pot-smoking patients as long as they are following state laws. Prosecutors are rightly being told that it’s not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in compliance of state laws.

I can see both sides of this argument and as long as the folks involved are truly following state law it’s a good thing.

Before I even get into an opinion of Marijuana it’s a step in the right direction as far as state’s rights go but unfortunately it’s just damned hypocritical. In an age where the government is trying to control everything they can and our states are giving up control over their own laws giving some back is a good thing. Unfortunately it’s bullshit. What’s it’s saying is that “yes, you can follow your own laws that’s you’ve already made. On this one thing. Temporarily. But we still have final decision making ability”.

As far as Marijuana itself, I’m on the fence here and probably lean toward legalizing it for various reasons. I don’t smoke pot. I don’t particularly like it. As a teen I smoked a lot of pot, probably your share too. There are several health issues with it including reduced motor function, reduced brain function and cancer. Then again there are a lot of issues with alcohol and cigarette smoking as well, both of which I indulge in, one heavily and one occasionally. That’s my decision and as long as I can make that decision as a responsible adult and choose not to do either in places where I shouldn’t then it’s my deal. For instance, I very rarely drink in public as I don’t want to impair my ability to drive or make important decisions. Occasionally I’ll have a drink at home but more often than not any beer I buy just goes bad before I can drink it.

The big problem with that is that just with alcoholics, not everyone who consumes Marijuana is a good decision maker and you’ll always have people who are irresponsible with it. You also have medical providers in some of the fourteen states that allow the use of medical marijuana that will prescribe it for anyone that wants it, whether they need it or not. I’ve seen (and posted here) too many people hurt or kill their children while under the influence of Marijuana that clearly would not have had they been in their right minds.

I don’t normally post about stuff like this and just stick to the criminals and douchebags simply because this is such a gray area for me. I have friends that partake in the privacy of their own homes and while I choose not to let that be a part of my life they aren’t hurting anyone but themselves. They are no less my friends than they would be if they didn’t.

Over the last two decades the war on drugs has been a huge failure both fiscally for the United States as well as diverting resources that could better be used elsewhere. It has also paved the way for an increase of militarizing civilian police departments around the country. As big a supporter of law enforcement as I am, I think that is a horrible thing.

Enough with the policy and politics as it’s obvious that I don’t really have an opinion either way. Back to the grind of scumbags and buttheads.

This Week’s Post Was Suggested By Beth

Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp
21 years old from Rosemont, Minnesota
3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
July 18, 2009

Ben
Kopp has been a fighter since the day he was born. When he was born his
mother was given morphine to stop her labor so the doctors could
deliver him via a cesarean section. But it caused his heart rate to
slow and when he was born he wasn’t breathing. But he recovered to the
amazement of everyone. “Ben has always been up for a challenge,” said
his mother, Jill Stephenson. “He came into the world a fighter.”

On
July 10, 2009, Cpl. Benjamin Kopp was wounded in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan. He was hit in the popliteal artery in his knee and the
loss of blood caused him to go into cardiac arrest on the operating
table at a battalion surgical center. As a result of his injuries, Cpl.
Kopp developed swelling in his brain and was put into an induced coma
to try and save his life. But he died on July 18.

But his
service didn’t end with his passing. Upon his death, by his own desire,
his organs were donated to people in need, saving their lives.

“Please
continue to say prayers for all of the men and women who so proudly
serve our country,” Stephenson wrote online. “Ben had a deep love of
country and has just left a legacy of heroism for all of us to cherish.
Be as proud of him as I was as his mother.”

You can read much more about Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp here.

These
brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may
enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to
call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This
post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about
Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can
go here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

This Week’s Post Was Suggested By Cindy

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

This Week’s Post Is Via Gazing At The Flag

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.