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Commander's Corner
Where has
the time gone? I can still taste Ann’s Thanksgiving Dinner from here at
the Post Home. It’s now time to get into full swing as the weather will be
improving. We have scheduled our spring clean up for Saturday April 1st
starting at 1000 am. We will have hamburgers and hot dogs for the clean up
workers.
Membership: We are behind our goal. On 1 March we should be at 95% and we
are only posting 88.5%. There are a lot of renewals to be done and we can
do better. We were doing so well before Christmas so I know we can do it.
There are a great deal of eligible persons in this area. Talk to them.
Show them some of the other articles in this issue about the Boy Scouts,
increasing costs of veterans health care and the ACLU. The American Legion
is much more than just a social quarters. Every member we have makes us
stronger.
LAST NEWSLETTER IF YOU HAVEN’T RENEWED!!!
On March 1st the Auxiliary will again be hosting the Veterans from the
Soldiers Home for lunch. It’s amazing that they have been doing this 3
times a year and this year marks the 30th Anniversary of this event.
Thanks Ladies for a job well done.
We will again be sponsoring 12 boys for Boys State. What hasn’t been
determined yet is how many high schools we are supporting. We are hoping
to the new South County High School this year to West Potomac, Mt Vernon
and Hayfield High Schools.
The 17th District conducted a joint 4 Chaplains Memorial Service on 5
February. It was a very nice service recognizing the four Chaplains aboard
the troop ship USS Dorchester during WWII which was sunk with a loss of
2/3rd’s of its passengers and crew of over 900. They stayed on board with
the sinking ship and gave away their life preservers so that others might
live.
Check the calendar for upcoming events such as the 17th District Spring
Conference, Department Spring Conference and American Legion Birthday
Observance. Also, the 17th District Commander will visit Post 162 during
our Post meeting on 15 April. Let’s have a good showing for this meeting.
Bill Strawsburg
Acting Commander
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Club News
January is
over and we are getting ready for NASCAR, this year (my) Mr. Wiggles will
still kick Dewitt’s you know what. Go Mr. Wiggles! NASCAR draws every
Tuesday night; we also have tacos on Tuesday.
Chili cook – off went very well. Everyone that made chili went to a lot of
trouble.
Thanks to Sammie Do for all his hard work. Don’t forget to check out the
web site the pictures are very good. Linda’s Super bowl party was a lot of
fun. We even had a special game for all the guys that were here, for those
who did not come. You missed out on a fun game.
I would like to thank Dennis for working on our Oyster Thursday. Dennis
goes out and gets us the best oysters he can find. Dewitt cooks the
oysters with an assortment of toppings. They both work very hard all day.
Thank you both.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Sammie Do March 20
Dewitt March 21
Helen L March 10
Ron Lewis March 29
April 7th Keith Jones
Don’t forget to sign up so we can wish you a happy birthday!
Don’t forget up coming events
Tuesdays Taco Tuesday 2nd Thursday Wings
3rd Thursday Oysters
Last Thursday Shrimp
Every Friday Pizza by Ralph
First Friday, Third Saturday Karaoke with Babs
Thanks to Ray Harrigan for all his work on our web site. He does a
wonderful job.
Words of wisdom from the purple circle:
Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot
“Ann”
Operation Manager
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Left Behind
From the
New York Times 13 Feb 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Left Behind
By DAN SHEA of Seattle, WA
MY brother Lt. Col. Kevin Shea was killed by a rocket attack in Falluja on
Sept. 14, 2004. He knew the risks when he joined the Marine Corps in 1989.
But he also thought that if anything ever happened to him, the United
States government would take care of his wife, Amy, and his two children.
Sadly, that's not the case.
Since Kevin died, Amy has had to deal with not only the grief of losing
her husband and her best friend, but also with the difficulties of
financially coping with life without him. Like most military spouses,
during her time with Kevin, Amy endured multiple moves across the country
and long deployments that forced her to put her career on hold.
There are federal programs to assist her, but she and other widows of
service members have found that these programs do not provide nearly
enough.
You see, basically, a widow of a service member killed in the line of duty
has two programs (excluding Social Security) to rely on for financial
help. The first is a survivors' plan paid by the Department of Defense,
which is about 41 percent of the deceased person's monthly salary before
taxes. The second program is a dependent's compensation paid by the
Department of Veterans Affairs that is $1,033 a month tax free, plus a
modest sum added for every dependent child.
Sounds fair, right? But here's the problem: under the current law, the
payment from the Defense Department to a surviving spouse is reduced
dollar for dollar by the Veterans Administration's payment. So while you
would think my sister-in-law, as the wife of a lieutenant colonel whose
basic monthly salary is $4,431.60, would receive about $2,850 a month (41
percent of $4,431.60, or $1,817, plus $1,033), in fact, all she's getting
is $1,817, that is, $784 from the Pentagon and $1033 from Veterans
Affairs. Moreover, if Amy, who is 41 years old, remarries before the age
of 55, she gets nothing.
The wife of a low-ranking enlisted soldier, say, a Marine lance corporal,
is even worse off. All she gets is the dependent's payment of $1,033,
because there is nothing left of her husband's salary after this so-called
widow's tax takes its bite.
We all know it's not about the money, but come on, how can you survive on
that in this economy?
This past Veterans Day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to endorse an
amendment proposed by Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, to the
defense authorization bill that would have eliminated the widow's tax. The
bill then went into conference, where House and Senate members worked out
various differences before a final vote by Congress. During that time, the
amendment was removed. One can only assume that certain members of the
Senate had no intention of backing the amendment but were reluctant to
appear unsupportive of our troops on Veterans Day, of all days.
If President Bush really wants to honor the men and women fighting this
war — and dying like my brother — then he should call on Congress to
eliminate the widow's tax. It's the least he can do.
Dan Shea is a lawyer for an insurance company.
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DoD
Proposed Tricare Hikes
By Gerry J.
Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2006 – The Defense Department is proposing that
working-age military retirees and their families pay higher premiums to
help address rising health care costs that have doubled over the past few
years, senior DoD officials said here today.
The proposed changes would apply only to eligible military retirees under
age 65 and their families, officials said. There would be no change for
active duty military or their families, or military retirees age 65 or
older and their families.
When the Tricare health care program for active duty and retired military
members and their families was established in 1995, retirees then were
contributing about 27 percent of the cost of their benefit, Dr. William
Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant secretary of defense for “DoD
Proposes”…continued
health affairs, said during an interview with Pentagon Channel and
American Forces Press Service reporters at the Pentagon.
However, military health care costs doubled from $19 billion in 2001 to
just over $37 billion in the 2006 defense budget, Winkenwerder said. And
today's average military retiree contribution for health care coverage has
dropped to about 10 to 12 percent, he said.
"Their contribution did not change, while the value of the benefit
continued to rise," Winkenwerder said. If approved by Congress and signed
off by the president, the proposed Tricare rate hikes for retirees under
age 65 would be phased in over fiscal 2007 and 2008. That should bring up
younger retirees' share of Tricare costs closer to the 1995 level, he
said.
By comparison, Winkenwerder said, civilians under private plans generally
pay between 35 and 40 percent of their health care costs.
The current Tricare Prime annual enrollment fee for retirees is $230 for
individuals and $460 for families for both enlisted and commissioned
military retirees, according to DoD documents. The proposed changes would
increase Tricare Prime enrollment fees for junior enlisted retirees at pay
grades E-6 and below to $325 per individual and $650 for families by
October 2008.
Enlisted retirees at pay grades E-7 and above would pay $475 for
individuals and $950 for families by October 2008 under the proposed
changes. And retired officers of all ranks would pay $700 per individual
and $1,400 per family.
After that, the share of health care costs paid by military retiree would
be indexed to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program that covers
federal workers and retirees. If nothing is done now, then DoD could be
paying $64 billion for military health care in 2015, Marine Gen. Peter
Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today during his
testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
Another reason for increased DoD health care costs, Pace told the
committee, is that many younger military retirees are using their Tricare
health care benefits at the behest of their civilian employers, rather
than access company health plans.
Finding ways to manage increased military health care costs "is something
we just have to face up to, because it's an enormous amount of money,"
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, at the same House hearing with Pace,
said to committee members.
The alternative to not raising rates, Winkenwerder said, would be to
degrade a first-class benefit for retired military members and their
families.
"You can see our benefit is a much better benefit, and we want to keep it
that way," Winkenwerder said.
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Auxiliary News
Hello
everyone! Spring is just around the corner and we are having a pretty mild
winter, all things considered.
At our February meeting we introduced three new members: Amy Barnish,
Shelly Hooks and Jacquie Reed. They received their pins from Special Guest
17th District President Nancy Harting in a candle light ceremony.
Refreshments followed the ceremony.
We want to wish a Happy (belated) Birthday to the following: Aileen
O’Hearn 31 Jan; Joetta O’Neill 14 Feb; Margaret Sullenberger 28 Feb;
Leslie Berry 7 Dec; Brenda Sigmon 26 Jan and Kathy Nourse 12 Dec.
Remember your desserts for the upcoming Veterans dinner on 1 March
starting at 11:00 a.m. We will be serving corned beef & cabbage. If you
can spare some time, we could certainly use some help.
Membership, Membership, Membership. We are currently at 90.9% of our goal.
We need 13 more to get to 100% for the year. While we are ahead of the men
in percentage points, our top two new member recruiters are Bill
Strawsburg and Charlie Krear. Let’s get those renewals in and see if one
of you ladies can be top recruiter.
Please mark your calendars for April 28th & 29th. We will be at Fort
Belvoir distributing poppies. Please come out and spend 2 or 3 hours.
“Guys” we need you, too, they love the vests and hats. We had 23 people
participate last year.
Upcoming activities include a car wash, bake sale and raffling of gift
baskets.
Our best wishes go out to Fran Ricker who is at home busy “nursing” her
husband Lou. Hang in there you two.
Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family and friends of our recently
departed Donna “Sam” Schiller. If you ever met Sam I’m sure she made you
smile or laugh, she will be missed.
Has everyone got their bags packed for Virginia Beach? Spring conference
is coming up 24 – 26 March.
Remember we only need 13 more renewals/new members to reach our annual
goal.
Linda S. Kowatch
Unit Secretary
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NASCAR Club
It’s that
time of year again. The cars are in Daytona and SPEEDWEEKS have started.
There are a lot of changes this year with teams, drivers, sponsors, etc.
so pay attention. The BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT was just held on the 12th of Feb.
with a “rookie”, Denny Hamlin getting across the finish line first. He now
has a permanent invitation to the SHOOTOUT forever.
This year there are two people that have stepped up to assist with the
NASCAR Club whenever I travel or cannot otherwise make it on drawing
night. They are Sam (Sammy-Do) Ramseur and Ann Kuntz. Please be gentle
until they are up to speed.
As with previous years, the procedures are the same this year. We have a
full list now but the “waiting list” will be available behind the bar for
additional people wishing to sign up in the event we have an opening
available.
There is also an e-mail contact list located in the NASCAR sign up list
behind the bar. Please fill in your e-mail address at your earliest
convenience. I will use this to do blanket e-mails in case there is any
information that needs to go out. This will save me having to call
everyone.
I look forward to a great NASCAR year.
Dewitt Duggar
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Bock Blasts UN Report
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 13,
2006) - The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization blasted a
new U.N. report calling for the closing of the detention facilities at
Guantanamo Bay as “incredibly inaccurate.” A draft of the report that has
not yet been released was reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. The paper
said that the report concludes that violent force-feeding of hunger
strikers, incidents of excessive violence used in transporting prisoners,
and combinations of interrogation techniques “must be assessed as
amounting to torture.” “That’s not the Guantanamo Bay that I saw,”
American Legion National Commander Thomas L. Bock said. Bock led a
delegation of Legionnaires to Guantanamo Bay Feb. 6-9.
“We visited the detention centers at Camp Delta and toured the cells. We
visited the medical clinics. We talked to the guards and ate the same food
the detainees ate,” Bock said. “Their medical care is state-of-the-art,
superior to what’s given to our veterans I might add, and as far as the
food goes, well, I recommend the steak and eggs.” “When detainees engage
in a hunger strike,” Bock said, “each of them is placed in a hospital
under full medical supervision. When I visited last week, only four
detainees were refusing food and they were tube fed (internal feeding). A
nation that values life cannot sit back and watch people starve to death,”
Bock said.
He pointed out that all detainees are offered 4,200 calories per day of
culturally appropriate meals.
“The United States may be the only country whose captured enemy-combatants
gain weight during their detention,” he said. “The members of Joint Task
Force Guantanamo are absolute professionals. One guard had feces hurled on
him just moments before we arrived. He calmly showered, changed his
uniform and returned to work. The abuse at Guantanamo is coming from the
detainees and it’s aimed at our military.”
The U.N. report relied heavily on accounts given by detainees, detainee
attorneys and their families. The accounts are consistent with an al Qaeda
training manual that first surfaced in Manchester, England, and instructs
extremists to claim torture and mistreatment during detention by
“infidels.”
The U.N. Commission on Human Rights includes Cuba, China, Sudan, Saudi
Arabia and other nations not known for their compassionate treatment of
prisoners.
“These accusations are a slap in the face to every dedicated military
professional fighting the war on terror,” Bock said. “The U.N.
researchers should have talked with survivors of the Hanoi Hilton, the
German Stalags, North Korean prisons, or Japanese prison camps during
those wars to understand the real definition of maltreatment. I have
seen it with my own eyes -- the treatment given to these men who have
vowed to destroy America is far better than what’s given to inmates at
virtually any U.S. prison in America. It far exceeds the standards set
forth by the Geneva Convention.”
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Boy Scouts 'a religion'?
Attorneys for group battle agnostics over lease of public land
Posted: February 16, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Rees Lloyd
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Arguments in a major Boy Scouts case argued in Pasadena, Calif., before a
three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – a case that is
certain to be headed for the Supreme Court -- centered on the contention
that the revered organization is actually a religion and should therefore
not be given a lease of public land.
The case was brought by self-declared agnostics Lori and Lynn
Barnes-Wallace and Michael and Valerie Breen, along with a son of each, in
protest of a lease of parkland in Balboa Park and Fiesta Island by the
city of San Diego to the Boy Scouts of America. The agnostics sued the
city on a claim that the lease to the Boy Scouts – out of more than 100
leases, including to the YMCA, a number of Jewish groups, one of which
conducts Sabbath services on parkland, and the Girl Scouts – violates the
Establishment of Religion Clause of the First Amendment, and that they are
suffering "inferior usage" thereby because they don't want to have to
apply for permits, or pay usage fees, to the BSA. The case is
Barnes-Wallace, et al. v. Boy Scouts of America, Nos. 04-55732, 04-56167.
A federal judge in San Diego granted the summary judgment to the
agnostics, finding that the Boy Scouts are a "religion" because of the Boy
Scout Oath, which includes doing one's duty to "God and my country," and
the Boy Scout Law, which includes "reverence" as one of 12 precepts. Also,
the Scouts require a belief in God as a condition of membership.
The city itself is not part of the appeal. It settled with the American
Civil Liberties Union to avoid further expense, agreeing to terminate the
lease and to give the ACLU $940,000 in attorney fees. The appeal continues
since the Boy Scouts, if they prevail, want to be able to contract for a
lease with the city again.
The case has drawn national attention because the federal judge's finding
that the BSA is "a religion" imperils the future work of not only the Boy
Scouts, but all organizations that recognize a transcendent higher
authority, including community service organizations like Rotary and
Kiwanis, Alcoholics Anonymous, which works directly with the courts and
government, and veterans organizations like the American Legion, whose
constitutional preamble begins "For God and Country," almost identical to
the Boy Scouts Oath.
"If the Boy Scouts are 'a religion,' so are we in the American Legion. Is
the ACLU going to sue our 2.7 million wartime veteran members next,
claiming we, too, are 'religion'? Are they going to sue to destroy the
religious symbols at our veterans' memorials on public property? The Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier? Our work in Boys State, Boys Nation, with the
government? Our Oratorical Contests with schools?" a Legionnaire asked
after Tuesday's court session.
The crucial cultural question of who or what "is a religion" was argued by
lawyers for the parties and submitted for decision to three lawyers
sitting as Ninth Circuit Justices: William C. Canby, Andrew J. Kleinfeld
and Marsha Berzon.
Attorney Rees Lloyd attended the oral arguments for the San Diego Boy
Scout case and filed this exclusive report for WND.
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