troops

• Kind of a cool art story about a veteran with PTSD who healed by using his talents as a graffiti artist.

• Speaking of soldiers, I turned on the news this morning to a piece about soldiers with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries and the healing powers that animals can have on people. This program was started by a young soldier who served in Afghanistan and deferred studying at Harvard Med School to fight overseas and when he came back he decided to try and find solutions to these problems. He started Dog Bless You and now a philanthropist is giving away a free service animal to a soldier for every person who "likes" their facebook page.

NPR Did a story yesterday about the impact on the electorate changing demographics have. Teaser is that America is among one of the biggest and fastest demographic changes EVER. WOOT!

"It's not only a phenomenon of Phoenix and Dallas and Miami. Iowa, Utah, Nebraska are seeing substantial increases in their minority population, particularly their Hispanic population. And all of these changes are most concentrated and forceful among the young.

Today, the census tells us almost 47 percent of Americans under 18 are minority or non-white. Under 18, our youth population, will be majority minority by the end of this decade. And it kind of begs the question we're going to have to - we may have to come up with some new terminology once we are in that America."

• General Colin Powell spoke to the young people at the World Youth Peace Summit
  
• CNN does a story on concussion dangers for young athletes.
  
• In financial news, apparently the Millennial Generation is beginning to dive into the idea of the stock market. Those that are investing weren't investing before in stocks but that has doubled since 2003. We here at FM would also encourage some of those investments to be donated our way.
• Speaking of the changing market for the Millennial Generation - the rental market is taking a turn in the Twin Cities according to a report Saturday. Evidently a few years ago the majority of the rental market was made up by 30 and 40 year olds but that is changing now with Millennials taking over. Their findings, where were reported during the National Apartment Association Education Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas last month, were that wifi is critical, and renting provides a high end option to those who want fancy but can't yet afford or don't want to commit to a long-term mortgage.
• Another breaking news story about the tail end of the Millennial Generation (those born in the late 90's) it turns out the Vanity Fair cover with Justin Bieber sold the lowest ever. When asked about the cover the Vanity Fair spokesperson said "Who knew 12-year-olds didn’t buy magazines?" In the words of Perez Hilton "Umm, everyone!?!" I'd be interested to see if magazines are on their way out with Millennials and younger generations.
• In college affordability news: For Profit Colleges continue to be a train on tax dollars and run students into debt. Likely to run away and hit someone... I know it seems like I post at least a few stories like this a week but the higher ed lobby for for-profit schools is so strong that we have to do everything we can to bring to light those that are unfair and harming students.
• Student Loan means high flying career never materializes, but debt persists.
• Here's a story about how the minimum wage is boosting unemployment numbers. I expected this to be a right wing attack on the minimum wage saying we should cut it entirely because it doesn't help but this is actually starts off with a good argument for why it should be raised in New Hampshire who has legislation up to increase it to the federal standards.
  

  "New Hampshire officials may be thinking of young job seekers. Unemployment in the state averaged 18 percent for 16- to 19-year-olds in 2010. Horrible enough, though well below the national average of 25.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the minimum wage affects youths disproportionately: About half of those paid the federal minimum or less are younger than 25.

  Do penny differences really count when it comes to employment? The case that they do is stronger than it used to be, especially when it comes to less-productive workers such as teens. Particularly problematic for teens is the federal minimum wage, an old fixture of the American workplace."

  The concern I have: when the piece continues saying that the FDR set a high minimum wage saying that with more people making enough to get by they could work less hours and provide more jobs for more people. This hit companies who, the article claims, are getting less for more. I would argue that the "worker harder for less" ideology disproportionately hurts people and accounts for the significant increase in stress, anxiety, obesity, and other health problems we have in the US. When we say a 40 hour work week we're living in a disillusion. Because realistically, Americans work more like a 50+ hour work week, for 40hr pay. When you compare our work culture with those working 30-35 hour work weeks for the same pay they are much healthier than we are.

• Here's another probably Baby Boomer talking about how young people don't really know anything and that Democrats are stupid for listening/recruiting young people. Look for a full response to this later today.
• According to a new study in the UK, video games can help young people who have learning disabilities. Basically, using games that involve physical activities like the Wii and Kinect can help with motion tasks that can sometimes be difficult for those with disabilities. "Participants in the study were aged between 16 and 24 and had disabilities ranging from Down's Syndrome to autism spectrum disorders." Interesting study and a great idea for ways to help young people to be more independent despite challenges.
• DoSomething.org makes news with a new piece in Non-Profit Quarterly that details orgs that are making a difference through text messaging.
• Here's a good idea. A UK piece talks about apprenticeships for young musicians who want to get into the biz.

Have a great 4 day work week!

As young Americans march arm in arm toward Ground Zero in New York City, gather outside the White House, and congregate in cities around the country, we are reminded that this is the war of our generation.

We all recall where we were on the morning of September 11th, 2001. Nearly ten years later, we honor the resilience, devotion and sacrifice of thousands of Americans, many of them young, who have made this day possible. Today we express our deep gratitude to those who protect us and remember the thousands of individuals who have lost their lives to terrorism. As we reflect today, we send our thoughts and prayers to the men and women who are still in harm’s way.

Let us seize this moment and stand shoulder to shoulder with our peers who join us in the streets. Together, let us honor the thousands of young men and women who serve our country. Help thank our friends in uniform, support our young veterans, and pay tribute to those who have given their lives at the links below.

Thank you,

Matthew Segal, OUR TIME

There seems to be a grand solution to the Don't Ask Don't Tell problem that has plagued the US Military has now been uncovered.

According to a release from the Human Rights Campaign

"The ban on open military service by lesbian and gay Americans is on a path to repeal this week with the White House, Pentagon leaders and Congress outlining a process that includes votes in the House and Senate as early as Thursday. Legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be considered as amendments to the National Defense Authorization bill – the same vehicle by which the law was enacted 17 years ago. The Obama administration endorsed the approach today in a letter to Congressional leaders from Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag.

"We are on the brink of historic action to both strengthen our military and respect the service of lesbian and gay troops,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Today’s announcement paves the path to fulfill the President’s call to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year and puts us one step closer to removing this stain from the laws of our nation."

February of 2009 there were 1,454,515 soldiers on active duty.

According to a 2008 piece in the NYTimes women are more likely to be discharged under Don't Ask Don't Tell

"While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women."

The piece goes on to say that the number of gay men and lesbians discharged from the military in 2007 rose to 627 from 612 in 2006. Total LGBT groups say that there are over 65,000 gay men and lesbians serving in the American armed forces with over a million LGBT veterans.

West Point graduate and Iraq war Veteran, Lt. Dan Choi was quoted in a GetEQUAL release after the news about DADT surfaced:

"My question still remains, and I’ve yet to find anyone signing off on yesterday’s compromise able to give me a direct answer to, "when exactly will the discharges stop?" ...

"Until the President signs the papers that fully and immediately end the firing of patriotic, gay and lesbian service members, then there is no cause for celebration and no reason to trumpet mission accomplished for a job not yet done.

"My concern here is for my fellow soldiers serving in uniform and how this law will affect them. We've heard a lot of talk about how this compromise can work politically, but on the day this passes Congress, no one has been able to explain how this will have any impact at all on those of us serving in uniform. Unfortunately, we have been handed an imperfect, eleventh hour compromise with no viable alternative,” continued Choi.

In a NY Times report last week on troops in Afghanistan:

From 2002 to 2008, the average age of service members killed in action in Afghanistan was about 28; last year, it dropped to 26. This year, the more than 125 troops killed in combat were on average 25 years old.

In a 2003 National Youth Survey from CIRCLE (PDF) of 15-25 year olds 85% of those polled said they believe LGBT's should have equal protection when it comes to employment.

No word yet from conservatives who believe we should support the troops if they in fact meant all of the troops or just the straight ones.

Great new ad from Operation Free

Our national security organizations are taking climate change seriously and congress needs to do the same:

• The DOD has put climate change into their quadrennial defense review which was released this week.
• The CIA has created a center on climate change.
• The Marines are committed to reducing their carbon pollution by 30 percent by 2025
• The Navy is committed to reducing their carbon pollution by 50 percent by 2020 of homeland bases.
• The Navy is also going to sail a green battle group in 2020, using alternative fuels.
• The Navy is also testing a F18 that runs on biofuel.
• The Marines have a FOB or forward operating base training facility that is net zero.
• Many bases have implemented smart grid technology and renewable energy sources.
• The Pentagon (building) was weatherized and rehabbed to become LEED certified and their energy bill went down from 2.9 million to 2.2 million a month.

Please Retweet the video if you can:
RT @ceworks: Check out Operation Free's latest video on clean #energy and #climate change: http://bit.ly/djOmJQ #p2 #secureamerica

William Smith has done an amazing amount of important research that as a former soldier is very important to him and to our returning young members of the armed forces. --Sarah

First, what makes me qualified to write this article? I am a Veteran, I utilized the Montgomery GI Bill, I use VA for my health care and I have worked in Higher Education for the past nine years as a Public Health Educator. Since June 1989, I have been and will always be an American soldier. Like many Veterans, I enlisted for military service because of my sense of pride and duty to my country. I was assigned to the famed 1st Infantry Division — the Big Red One (BRO) at Ft. Riley, Kansas. Furthermore, I was assigned to one of the oldest units in the Army: Headquarters & Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment —- Hamilton’s Own.

One November day in 1990, the BRO was called to duty as part of Operation Desert Shield. My unit deployed to Saudi Arabia at the end of December 1990 and returned to Ft. Riley at the end of May 1991. I was awarded the Bronze Star for my service during Desert Storm.

I received an Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army in June 1992 and enlisted in the Army Reserve in October 1992. I remained in the Reserve until December 1997.

Soon Veterans will be able to begin utilizing the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act or as it is more commonly referred to as the GI Bill for the 21st Century. This new GI Bill is a significant improvement to the Montgomery GI Bill which helped pay for my undergraduate education – well barely, it helped with living expenses but not for tuition and books. The GI Bill for the 21st Century will enhances one of the most fundamental benefits for Veterans aside from eligibility to utilize the Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System. For more information about the GI Bill for the 21st Century, click here.

The question that Administrator’s in higher education need to begin asking themselves is, are our country’s college and university campuses prepared for the estimated 580,000 next generation of Veteran’s of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are our campuses prepared to address the unique needs that these students will bring to campus – different life experiences than traditional students, increased mental and physical health issues, increased utilization of campus disability services, support networks and organizations for students who are Veterans, etc.?

Let’s look at the current profile of all Veterans and what the potential issues faced by college campuses:
Basic Facts About Veterans (click to make larger)

Based on this FY 08 data there is the potential of approximately 65.5% of those receiving educational benefits are also being compensated for PTSD.

Looking at the number of amputees from the current VA data, there is also the potential from theses veterans to seek higher education on our campus and Disability Offices in concert with Counseling Services will need to position themselves to accommodate their needs.

Now let’s look specifically at OEF/OIF Veterans
Profile of Service Members Currently Deployed

Total number currently deployed includes all branches of service
Profile of Service Members Currently Deployed

It is estimated that there are 1.8M OIF/OEF Veterans to date since 2001.

Profile of Service Members Currently Deployed

It is projected that approximately 580,000 Veterans will take advantage of the GI Bill for the 21st Century. This was signed into law in 2008 by then President Bush and significantly increases the educational benefits to Veterans from the previous Montgomery GI Bill.

Current research on students who are Veterans is limited. Most of the research is dated from the post Vietnam era. I was able to find one qualitative study that was conducted by Dr. DiRamio – assistant professor of higher education administration at Auburn University; Dr. Ackerman – associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Regina Mitchell – doctoral candidate in education leadership at Central Michigan University. Their study is titled, "From Combat to Campuses: Voices of Student-Veterans" () and was published in the NASPA Journal in 2008.

What they found is that students who are Veterans typically move through four transitional periods in the course of their initial enlistment, deployment to a combat zone, coming home, and transitioning to campus life. These are classified as Military Moving In, Moving Through, Moving Out, and Campus Moving In stages. It is a great article to read (PDF).

The common issues that OIF/OEF Veterans will bring with them to college campuses are high rates of mental health disorders (PTSD, depression and increased alcohol use); increased rates of suicide and suicidal ideation; learning issues as a result of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI); and physical disabilities. PTSD is the result of any event that inspires fear, helplessness, and threat of annihilation.

Personnel in combat zones are exposed to high levels of stress and threat every day. Tours of duty typically last 12 months and current rotations have troops doing repeated tours of duty. This can have a significant impact on troop’s ability to manage this high level of stress over time. Combat related PTSD may include the following: recurrent recollections or dreams about war; flashbacks that cause the veteran to relive various trauma; avoiding any reminders of combat; emotionally numbing; hyper-arousal (feeling of being on edge and alert for new threats). PTSD and depression are often times linked among Veterans.

It has been reported that nearly half of veterans with PTSD were also depressed. Depressed veterans often times feel: worthless and profoundly sad; have poor concentration; have a lack of interest in social activities; have feelings of hopeless and helpless; experience a change in appetite; have difficulty sleeping or over sleeping; are irritable; and experience suicidal thoughts or attempts.

An article in the LA Times emphasizes the need to be mindful that

"some service members may actively avoid a diagnosis of a mental health problem, fearing the negative consequences of being diagnosed with a stress disorder or depression….these troops are worried that their career could be hurt or co-workers would have less confidence in them after a diagnosis."

This article also noted the need for

"thousands more mental health professionals – both government hospitals and the civilian health care systems – are needed to meet the need of troops and veterans, and new training is needed for current medical professionals."

According to the article Bringing the War Back Home

"the youngest group of OEF/OIF veterans were at the greatest risk for receiving mental health or PTSD diagnosis compared to veterans 40 years or older."

Campus Counseling Centers must become mindful of the unique conditions these students will present in terms of their exposure to trauma in the combat zone. They must be prepared to address the potential increase of students seeking services. Clinicians will need to be prepare to address the trauma of combat – high combat stress situation and loss of comrades. Campus clinicians must also become familiar with the resources that are available to Veterans and how to refer them to the VA or Vet Center‘s for treatment and care.

The use of alcohol among Combat Veterans as a means of self medication to cope with PTSD, depression, or social anxiety disorders is also of concern.

"In 2003, there were an estimated 25 million veterans comprising roughly 11.5 percent of the 217 million non-institutionalized civilians aged 17 or older in the United States. Approximately 93 percent of veterans are male, and 8.4 percent were between the ages of 17 and 34. (SAMHSA, 2008).

"An estimated 56.6 percent of veterans used alcohol in the past month compared with 50.8 percent of their nonveteran counterparts in 2003. Heavy use of alcohol also was more prevalent among veterans, with an estimated 7.5 percent of veterans drinking heavily in the past month compared with 6.5 percent of their nonveteran counterparts" (SAMHSA, 2008).

"An estimated 13.2 percent of veterans reported driving while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year compared with 12.2 percent of comparable nonveterans"(SAMHSA, 2008).

The VA has approximately 94 alcohol dependence treatment program (ADP) and 42 drug dependence treatment programs (DDTP). Each ADTP and DDTP provides services that include intervention support activities, emergency medical services including detoxification, clinical and vocational assessment, consulting liaison, ambulatory/out-patient and after-care services.

Again, campus clinicians need to become familiar with the resources that are available to Veterans and how to refer them to the VA or Vet Center’s for treatment and care.

Many Veterans have become victims of Traumatic Brain Injuries as a result of the employment of IED or road side bombs. TBI is the result of sudden trauma that causes damage to the brain when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. The victim may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. Other symptoms may include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, or attention.

Some of the consequences resulting from TBI include problems with cognition (thinking, memory, and reasoning), sensory processing (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), communication (expression and understanding), and behavior or mental health (depression, anxiety, personality changes, aggression, acting out, and social inappropriateness).

This type of injury, along with other injuries that result in physical disabilities such as amputation may bring an increased demand for the utilization of campus Disability Services. Again, these services should become familiar with the services provided by the VA to assist students who are Veterans. One program at my local VA hospital provides veterans with PDA’s and GPS’s to assist with calendar and task reminders and with direction finding.

The Student Veterans of America (SVA) is a coalition of student veterans groups from college campuses across the United States. The SVA was founded in January of 2008 and works to develop new student groups, coordinate between existing student groups, and advocate on behalf of student veterans at the local, state, and national level. SVA has published a guide for college campuses to use to prepare them for an increase of Veterans attending their schools. Key points from the guide are as follows:

• Survey student veterans for their needs and concerns.
• Work with student veterans during registration periods to ensure they are able to quickly enroll in classes.
• Develop easy to use procedure to notify institution (all parts of it to include professors, departments, programs, support offices) in the event they are called to duty. Ensure point of contact is promoted and easy to find.
• Keep in mind that Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and programs do not cover all the needs of student veterans.
• Consider developing institution specific scholarships, programs and other student veteran’s resources.
• Evaluate the admissions process to ensure veterans are not disadvantaged. Student transitioning out of active service face a host of admissions difficulties.
• Be mindful that Veterans have dramatically different life experiences, especially younger veterans, that their counterpart traditional students.
• Do not treat them the same as you do student straight out of high school or other first time students.
• Develop veteran specific orientation programs. Partner with local veterans organizations and military units for presentations and assistance.

In the end, the important thing to remember is that our Service Members have volunteered to provide service to their country. Whether their motivation to enlist was the result of a sense of patriotism, a duty to country, or as a way to pay for higher education they have earned the benefits they receive once their enlistment obligation has been met. It then becomes the obligation of Institutions of Higher Education to ensure that the unique needs of these students will be met on college campuses in order for our Veterans to be successful students.

It is the Army Core values that I learned in Basic Training and throughout my tour of duty in the Army that continue to guide me today and have proven to be useful in all aspects of my life – loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Our colleges must be prepared to take on the needs of these returning service men and women.

Resources for Veterans

Transition Assistance Program
Department of Veteran Affairs
Iraq and Afghan Veterans of American
After Deployment
Military Health System

See Works Cited below the jump

Vet Voice offers another contrast between Obama and Jindal's speeches. Obama offered tangible support to the troops and veterans while Jindal offered up meaningless rhetoric about national security and failed to mention at all the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or discuss veterans issues.

Open Secrets is reporting that troops overseas are giving to Barack Obama over John McCain at a rate of 6 - 1:

According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul.

Despite McCain's status as a decorated veteran and a historically Republican bent among the military, members of the armed services overall -- whether stationed overseas or at home -- are also favoring Obama with their campaign contributions in 2008, by a $55,000 margin. Although 59 percent of federal contributions by military personnel has gone to Republicans this cycle, of money from the military to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent has gone to Obama.

How does that stack up against previous years?

"That's shocking. The academic debate is between some who say that junior enlisted ranks lean slightly Republican and some who say it's about equal, but no one would point to six-to-one" in Democrats' favor, said Aaron Belkin, a professor of political science at the University of California who studies the military. "That represents a tremendous shift from 2000, when the military vote almost certainly was decisive in Florida and elsewhere, and leaned heavily towards the Republicans."

In 2000, Republican George W. Bush outraised Democrat Al Gore among military personnel almost 2 to 1. In 2004, with the Iraq war underway, John Kerry closed the gap with President Bush, but Bush still raised $1.50 from the military for every $1 his Democratic opponent collected.

The real question is this - is this indicative of a trend in support for Obama across the armed services (enlisted and officers)? And if so, does it translate into votes? It certainly does go along way towards disproving Republicans' claims to speak for (and have the backing of) the troops.

Hat tip to Jonathan Singer at MyDD, who first brought this to my attention.

First some youthy news:

• Two articles are out today on polling. The Michigan Messenger does a great job analyzing a PEW study on the demographics of cell-only and "cell-mostly" users and how pollsters are dealing with under-represtentation of these demographics in their polling. If that's a little too data-geek for you, Campus Politico has a good "polling 101" story that might be a little more your speed.
• At Tapped, Tim Fernholz questions the effectiveness of a voter registration drive launched this week by the Hip Hop Caucus.
• Matt Zeitlin at PushBack follows up on that post, noting that celebrities are not an effective way to move young voters to the polls.
• Teaming up with SPIN, CMJ, and others, Head Count has launched a 90 day voter registration challenge. They hope to register 100,000 voters by the end of the 90 days. You can watch a video of SPIN at the Warped Tour interviewing an artist about the program here.
• NDN notes Connecticut Democrats are out-registering Republicans among young voters by 4.3 - 1. That registration and turnout advantage might help Democrats defeat Republican Chris Shays in the fall. Shays is the lone Republican congressman in New England.
• South Carolina young Republicans are not feeling the love from John McCain, and Young Republicans nationally are having a tough time drawing young people to the convention.
• Meanwhile, Young Democrats are thriving in delegate-rich Florida.
• Tech President argues that 2008 is a boring year in tech/politics. While 2004 and '06 saw huge paradigm shifts in how we organize, 2008 is all about refining those practices.

Some less-youthy, but very interesting news:

• Democrats are getting ready to spend $20 million to register and GOTV latinos.
• The Nation writes about MoveOn's 10th birthday and how far the organization has come.
• A new study by the RAND Corporation tells us the obvious - to win the war on terror, we need to stop fighting the war on terror.
• Finally, the Washington Post has a front-page story basically calling "liar liar pants on fire" on the McCain campaign for their latest ad attacking Sen. Obama.

The great people at WesPAC and BraveNewFilms are drawing attention to a very important bill that is scheduled to appear today on the House floor.

Mike talked about the joint venture between Sen. Webb and Sen. Hagel last November when they began to make rumbles about it. Its sad that its only now getting traction, but hey.. its the sausages being made.

I sat down with Bill Smith a thirty-something Gen X'er who served in the first Iraq war and received the Bronze Star.

AK: when did you go into the service?

Smith: June 1989

AK: Why?

Smith: I felt obligated to as a citizen you know, it was giving back and a family has a history of it. You know, also for the challenge to myself.

AK: Were there any expectations you had about it?

Smith: Not really, I wasn't really thinking about expectations I knew what I was getting into in terms of basic training and the job I was getting into.

AK: did you expect to have college be paid for?

Smith: No. I knew I was going to be paying into the GI bill, its not something you get at no cost, most people don't know that. When I did it in '89 it was $100 of your monthly pay check for the first year went into the [GI] bill and you had to serve 3 years to get it something like that... I can't really remember for certain...

The impression I had was that it would help pay for college. I don't know if they still have it but there is the Army College Fund that you get based on your ASVB score. That's where you might qualify you for certain specialties or incentives but I don't know if they still do that. I didn't get the ACF but, I thought it was like $25,000 which would pay a significant fund. Today, of course it wouldn't and I don't know if they still do it.

AK: Did most people you served with think that they would have college paid for?

Smith: Idon't know - it wasn't really top of the conversation, so I'm not really sure. I don't think any of us thought it would cover all of the costs of college I knew it wouldn't I assumed everyone else knew. I knew it might help pay for college.

AK: Do you have any student loan debt now from school?

Smith: Oh yes. Lots of student loan debt

AK: Do you feel cheated at all?

Smith: I think a lot of student think that you pay the price of your education but you never get compensated by employers in terms of salary for that. I think most students feel that way. Colleges sell it as an investment and then you pay for it the rest of your life. Like now, I have a 30 year mortgage for my education. I mean this goes deeper than the GI Bill but it makes me mad.

AK: What do you think about the existing GI Bill?

Smith: The GI Bill for me didn't pay my tuition - and I don't know if the current one would. Or if it was even designed to pay for our troops to go to school. I think the most value was maybe $600 a month for me. But it paid my moving expenses and sometimes rent and food. It supplemented my income. It helped but it didn't pay for college at all.

AK: Should it?

Smith: Yeah. Particularly for people who put themselves in harms way in times of conflict or war. I think its not just the sacrifice the troops are making, being away from their children or families or having fun with friends, but the physical and mental effects combat has on an individual.

We should support them in ways that help them transition out of the armed forces and providing them with educational benefits is a key to that. Even the VA benefits is a part of that. But veterans are the highest homeless population in the country - and that's a problem. Whether thats a result of no education or other mental health issues I think there's a relationship there.

Education is supposed to open the doors to life... ya know?

AK: What did you think of the video?

Smith: The video was powerful. I'm shocked I didn't even realize, I mean, I had known that they were going to do this, and change it, but I was shocked McCain wasn't cosponsoring and I tried to find out why and I just don't understand why he's not co-sponsoring the bill. The message I left on the website basically said he's selling himself as a supporter of the troops but his words aren't turning into action. The words are meaningless unless he's going to take care of us. And clearly he isn't.

Bill graduated from Baker University in Kansas in 2003. The current Congresswoman for his district (mine as well) Rep. Nancy Boyda is a co-sponsor of HR 2702.

It has yet to be determined why someone like John McCain is not.

On a creaky plane ride between JFK and my equally creaky connection in St. Louis, I happened to read an article in today’s New York Times questioning the democratic principles of the Iowa caucus system: Caucuses Only Empower Some Iowans.

It’s a must read.

For months we’ve been hearing about how Iowa allows for the kind of retail politics that allows for real participatory democracy, but if you’re not part of the Iowa chamber of commerce, and you’re not someone whose bread and butter relies on the caucus every four years (read: the state parties and paid bloviators like David Yepsen), they’re probably the most anti-democratic part of our entire nominating system. As many smart people have pointed out before me, granting one of the whitest, most rural states in the nation almost total power over deciding the nominee (at least for the Dems this year, if not the GOP) is in no way fair to the other 99% of the country, and in fact completely ANTI-democratic.

To ad insult to injury, only a whopping 6% of Iowans manage to drag their asses out to participate in a given year. Even with an average of 49% turnout (in 2004), young voters can’t catch a break in the media narrative. Yet somehow Iowans get a big fat pat on the back from the media every four years because a few die-hards manage to drag themselves out to the caucus and it makes for great copy and even better economics for the state. This is all amply covered in the New York Times piece.

The piece did mention something so obvious (and frankly, wrong) about this system that pretty much nobody talks about it. Caucuses require physical participation at a particular time and place. That’s very demanding in comparison to a primary, in which one can vote at an time during the day. Naturally, this by default excludes certain types of people from participating – night shift workers, service workers, poor folk, disabled folk, and, the big no brainer: our troops.

Iowans serving our country abroad in Afghanistan, Iraq, and any number of stations outside of Iowa are excluded from the caucus by default. So not only are we getting less input from young Iowans, we’re excluding the voices of those most impacted by current policy decisions. This seems particularly important in light of the ruckus the youth vote community kicked up when some campaigns made noises questioning the legitimacy of out of state voters, and perhaps even more so in light of recent remarks by John Edwards about troop withdrawal times and residual forces. Whatever the media says, the candidates are offering different visions for the war and our foreign policy going forward. It’s scandalous that those most affected by those decisions will have no say in selecting their future commander in chief.

Yet another reason why the Iowa caucus has to go. Some folks have pointed at the shortened primary schedule this year and suggested that this will indeed by the swan song for the Iowa Caucus. Here’s hoping.

Now I’m hopping in my car to hit an Obama event downtown. Hopefully it won't be a full house by the time I get there. If not, I’ll have my first video segments uploaded late tonight.