UPDATE on Fort Hood benefits for survivors

Last week I posted a piece regarding the 2009 Fort Hood massacre survivors receiving the Purple Heart. Sadly, at that time, they were not going to receive the financial benefits befitting that status because it was not being considered as "combat related".

Well I'm pleased to say that the Army has finally seen fit to ensure that the dozens of soldiers and surviving family members will receive extra hostile fire pay and other compensation that is long overdue.  This announcement comes from Army Sec. John McHugh a week after 36 Purple Hearts were awarded to the victims and relatives of the deadliest attack on a U.S. military base on home soil.

And please remember this case the next time you say your voice is not heard. This turn around by the Army and this Administration was due, in part, by the outrage you expressed to your representatives, on social media, on your blogs and anywhere else you expressed yourself.

Keep up the great work and keep the pressure on. Your voice can and does make a difference.

Feel free to read my original post at http://kate-krueger.blogspot.com/2015/04/shame-on-them.html.

KK

Who's the parent?

Depiction of kids walking alone

There’s a family in Maryland who are bringing their children up like kids around the world have been brought up for generations.  They go to the park, they go their friends, they ride their bikes and they hang out together just so long as they don’t cause any trouble and are home by a certain time. 

But somewhere along the way that became illegal. Seriously! 

These 2 kids in Maryland are 10 and 6 and were picked up for the second time by Montgomery County Child Protective Services. It appears they were about 1/3 of a mile away from their home when someone called 911. Heck we see kids all the time around Arizona by themselves and I wouldn’t think of calling 911 but in this case someone did and the CPS picked them up.

So what's my job?

When I started this blog I said that there needed to be a call to action. And I hope as I talk about the issues of the day that you are as outraged by the overreach, arrogance, corruption and general disregard for what you think as I am. If you’re not I at least hope I've got you thinking about it. Well let me tell what your job is.

The founding fathers set it up so that “We the People” are the Sovereign. In plain language that means that we are the boss. Now as the boss we need to manage our employee’s because any good business needs good management and we have coasted on that part for too long. The American people tend to trust that everything will be OK and the fat cats in Washington count on that. So let’s surprise them.

Shame on them…

While watching Purple Hearts awarded to the Fort Hood victims after 5 years, we could only think that at last someone was doing the right thing by these honorable soldiers. Although it is VERY belated, it was finally being referred to as a “terrorist act” and not “workplace violence”, as they had first determined it to be. But then, as we look deeper into this belated recognition, we find that it does not include any benefits. In plain language they get nothing but a hunk of metal.

It appears that the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act included language that stated Fort Hood victims were eligible for the Purple Heart honor; but nowhere in the act does it offer combat benefits for service members permanently disabled in attacks inspired or motivated by foreign terrorist organizations.  In short, what this means is that the survivors of this egregious attack will not receive benefits from their injuries because they were not sustained as “a direct result of armed conflict.”

"...Like sheep to the slaughter"

On Thursday Memories Pizza reopened after the attack on our First Amendment reached new heights in Indiana. While the Governor of Indiana was making news with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and all the controversy surrounding it the press was out hunting for someone to interview that would prove their point that homophobes ran wild in Indiana.

Instead they found a small family owned pizzeria who gladly serves everyone in their shop.  Their problems began with a hypothetical question by a local station asking if they would cater a gay wedding. The answer was that they were happy to serve gay people at their pizza shop, but if asked, they could not cater a same-sex wedding, because of their religious beliefs. In their minds it was very simple and reasonable.

Where to begin?

Welcome to my thoughts (and I have plenty of them). I’ve been quiet for too long and there is so much going on that impacts our future that I believe it’s time I start speaking up again.

Over the past months since I’ve been off the air, it seems like the world is tilting on its axis. It appears as if our Grand Old Document, the US Constitution, is being stretched to its breaking point and no one can stop it. Our immigration issues continue to grow with executive ordered amnesty. States are forced to issue drivers licenses to the Dream Kids, while thousands of criminals (illegal aliens) such as murderers and rapists have been released from our jails to roam free in different parts of the US instead of being dropped off and kicked back over to their own border.