Yup, they’re a Texas company!!

A Texas e-commerce company has announced a plan to give personalized banners to families whose loved ones are returning from Iraq or other international deployments to let the soldiers know there are those who care for them.

The company called Buildasign said its promotion will offer up to 10,000 signs – 3 feet by 6 feet – to families to help them welcome home their returning loved ones.

Disclaimer: Your’s may say something completely different than this example. Just sayin….

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A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Bethesda, Maryland, today at the site of the new Walter Reed Medical Center. The new facility will combine the National Naval Medical Center with the current Walter Reed, offering more complete care to all members of the armed forces.

President Bush attended the ceremony and spoke about the many benefits that the new facility will provide Veterans, including increased access to medical specialists.

The construction of this new facility is particularly newsworthy because of the revelations two years ago about the terrible conditions at the current Walter Reed. (more…)

I’ve got my mojo back. I’d like to introduce everyone to SSG Jason R. Arnette. Jason was killed on 1 April 2007 in Iraq and is the Hero of the Week on They Have Names. Please take the time to honor this young man’s life and sacrifice by checking out his profile on They Have Names.

This Friday, June 27th, you can catch the special webcast of Wynonna Judd’s live performance at Alaska’s Operation Gratitude, a concert for the U.S. military. Check out http://www.attblueroom.com/music for the streaming webcast beginning at 8:30 p.m. ADT!

Not only can internet users enjoy the concert, but U.S. service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will be able to watch and interact with the country music superstar via video conferencing provided by AT&T.

I hope you and your readers will get a chance to check out the website to enjoy Wynonna Judd’s live performance as she honors our American military men and women, 8 PM ADT, on Friday June 27th!

Remember this line: “Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.” That was Congressman Jack Murtha on Wednesday, May 16, 2006. Not only that, but Murtha said that the accounts were true. He followed up his slander with, “”They actually went into the houses and killed women and children.”

Surely you’ve heard that the case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani has been dismissed. This brings the number of Marines charged and found guilty in the Haditha case to….ZERO!!

In response to this, Congressman Murtha issued the following apology…
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Iraq’s military is progressing by leaps and bounds. With the surge producing the best possible environment for the government to plant their feet in the sand and put their shoulder to the wheel of progress, a lot is being done to ensure that the nation can defend itself. We all know that a military needs more than just combat troops. There is a saying, at least in the Army, that it takes ten support Soldiers for one combat arms Soldier to be effective. That Soldier has to be armed, fed, rested, paid, etc. The Iraqi military is quickly accomplishing that piece on its own.
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However, this battle will be on the Olympic tracks and fields. With the momentum building toward the Olympic Games in Beijing, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple remarkable U.S. Army Soldiers who will represent the nation at the upcoming Olympics.
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General William Wallace has always been my favorite General. Partly because I’m a huge fan of Braveheart and partly because when we were sitting on the border of Kuwait prior to the US invasion, Gen. Wallace visited our Troop and gave an uber-motivating speech. I wish I had a voice recorder, because that thing would have gone down as one of the most famous battle speeches in history! Landing and taking off in his helicopter topped the whole experience.

And six years later, Gen Wallace is still talking straight. He recently wrote an op-ed that I wanted to make sure you got to read:
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After some very publicized neglect when it comes to Veterans issues, such as the omission of Veterans Loans from the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress is taking steps to improve the lives of Veterans. One such effort, the Helping Veterans Keep Their Homes Act of 2008 (HR 4884), is being led by Representative Bob Filner (D-CA). Filner is the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Although the rate of VA Loans going into foreclosure remains lower than the national average, many Veterans are still in danger of losing their homes. The bill aims to alter the guidelines for refinancing a VA Loan by removing the requirement that a Veteran must have 10% equity in his or her home to refinance. Another proposed change would lower the amount of the funding fee for VA Home Loans. With the exception of fee exemptions related to disabled and deceased Veterans, the fee currently ranges from 0.5% to 3.3% of the total loan amount. If the bill passes, the funding fee would be changed to a flat 1% of the total loan amount for all borrowers. VA Loan Limits would also be raised from $417,000 to $730,000.

Another bill seeking to aid Veterans is the Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008. The bill passed in the House and Senate and was sent to President Bush on June 6. The bill aims to financially aid Military personnel called to duty by allowing for penalty-free distributions from their 401(k)s. It also allows individuals who have flexible spending healthcare plans to cash in on their unused balances. Analysts expect the president to sign the bill into law.

Congress is also taking action to update the Montgomery GI Bill for the 21st century. The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), would provide more money for Veterans to attend college and extend the time Veterans have to use their educational benefits from ten to fifteen years.

A lot of people think that I’m a “Republican hack” or an “agent of Bush” or whatever because of my views. The fact is that I really can’t be classified. I like to think that I’m a realist, not a Republican or Democrat. I’m not registered under either party (technically, I’m a Libertarian).

I tend to look at things from a Soldier’s perspective. I joined the military to make my country stronger and protect my fellow citizens. So, naturally, I’m going to side with people whom I think are going to meet those goals. About a week ago, I attempted to compare the two G.I. Bills that are competing in Congress. From the limited information I was able to gather, I deduced that the McCain bill was better. While it is in some ways, I’ve been able to compare the two side by side and have changed my mind. Now that I have all the information, I think the Webb bill is actually better, though it has its faults. I’m not afraid to admit that I was wrong. Now, I need to convince you why. Warning: what follows is my inner nerd coming out again as I actually read through each bill and compared them to each other.
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