Ayotte Blocks Cuts to New GI Bill

From November 11, 2011, that's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Portions." November 10, 2011 at the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Kelly Ayotte has an exchange with Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Norton Schwartz. Ayotte observes, "I'm deeply troubled by the reports about what happened at the mortuary at the Dover Air Force Base. And I'm sure you would agree with me this is outrageous that remains of our soldiers would be put in a landfill and not treated with the appropriate dignity and honor which they deserve." The weasely Gen Schwartz feels the need to 'clarify,' "Let me clarify the allegation about putting remains in a landfill. These were portions."
Ayotte's been a strong advocate for veterans throughout her Senate career and Thursday, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued the following:










New Hampshire leader stands for post-9/11 vets

PRESS CONTACT

Tel: 212-982-9699

press@iava.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2016) — Today, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the leading voice for post-9/11 veterans and their families, celebrates the courage of U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) to block attempts on the Senate floor to pass the so-called “Veterans First” Act. The proposed Act includes $3.4 billion in cuts to the Post-9/11 GI Bill over the next five years, hurting military recruiting, retention and morale.


“Today, Senator Ayotte stood up for our veterans. By blocking these outrageous cuts, she has shown her dedication to over 113,000 New Hampshire veterans,” said IAVA Founder and CEO Paul Rieckhoff. “As the wife of an Iraq war veteran currently serving in the Air National Guard, she understands firsthand the sacrifice made by IAVA members and their military families. We issued a call to the entire Senate and one courageous voice answered. Senator Ayotte has single-handedly assured that these cuts will not happen before the Congressional summer recess begins tomorrow. IAVA is proud to work with elected officials on both sides of the aisle on issues that most impact vets, and we call on the rest of the Senate to follow Senator Ayotte’s lead and block these cuts.”


IAVA, which led the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill in 2008, has focused national attention on congressional attempts to cut the earned veteran benefit. Since IAVA launched the #DefendTheGIBill campaign in February 2016, IAVA members have sent more than 31,000 messages to Congress asking them to take a stand and opposed any cuts to the Post-9/11 GI Bill and promise to never use veterans’ benefits as a piggy bank. We call on the rest of our US Senators, the President and Mr. Trump to stand with us to block these cuts.


“When our country was attacked, our men and women in uniform voluntarily stepped up to defend this nation, and we should not be cutting the post-9/11 GI Bill benefits they have earned. Unfortunately, while there are worthy aspects to this legislation, the Veterans First Act will make cuts to our veterans’ housing allowance, so I strongly oppose the bill moving forward in its current form,” said Senator Kelly Ayotte.


On Wednesday, IAVA escalated its defense of the GI Bill by launching an ad campaign in Connecticut and Georgia targeting Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), leaders of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Today is a victory in a key battle to defend the GI Bill, but IAVA’s fight won’t over and our members won’t be satisfied until

Chairman Isakson announces the cuts have been removed entirely.


The Post-9/11 GI Bill has been used by nearly one million veterans and their family members to accomplish educational goals and chart new career paths. For more information about IAVA’s campaign to defend the GI Bill, visit: DefendTheGIBill.org.

Note to media: Email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699 to speak with IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff or IAVA leadership.


Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the leading post-9/11 veteran empowerment organization (VEO) with the most diverse and rapidly growing membership in America. As a non-profit founded in 2004, IAVA’s mission is to connect, unite and empower post-9/11 veterans. Celebrating its 11th year anniversary, IAVA has connected more than 1.2 million veterans with resources and community, and provided more than 5,800 veterans with personalized support from IAVA’s Master’s level social workers.

veterans

Detroit Public Television Announces Two Primetime Specials on Race Relations:

Detroit's Public Television Channel 56 notes:

Detroit Public Television Announces Two Primetime Specials on Race Relations:

July 27^th – An American Black Journal Town Hall Meeting

with Stephen Henderson at Focus: HOPE

Tonight at 9pm - PBS NEWSHOUR: America in Black & Blue

As we try to understand and move forward following the recent tragedies in St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Dallas, Stephen Henderson, American Black Journal host and editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press will lead a frank conversation with advocates and  community leaders live from Focus: HOPE in Detroit on July 27, 2016 from 7:30 to 8 p.m.. The conversation will continue online following the live broadcast until 8:30 p.m. at www.americanblackjournal.org

The show will explore important topics including police & community relations, equity, privilege, and systemic issues exacerbated by racial attitudes that we all carry but may not readily recognize.

Confirmed guests include:

Agustin Arbulu: Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights

Dr. Jay Marks: Oakland Schools Student Engagement Consultant—Social Justice/Diversity

Kurt Metzger: Principal at Kurt R. Metzger & Associates and formerly of Data Driven Detroit

Kimberly Papillon: national lecturer and consultant on medical, legal and judicial decision-making

This special live ABJ Roadshow is part of the ongoing coverage by the Detroit Journalism Cooperative called The Intersection and is made possible with support from the Kellogg Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Knight Foundation and Renaissance Journalism.

And, tonight starting at 9 p.m. on Detroit Public Television (DPTV), PBS will present AMERICA IN BLACK & BLUE, A NEWSHOUR WEEKEND SPECIAL, addressing the early July incidents in Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and Dallas, and the interaction between police and communities of color. DPTV’s One Detroit will continue the conversation on July 27 by broadcasting American Black Journal (ABJ) LIVE from Focus: HOPE—a special roadshow episode on racial attitudes in Detroit and beyond.

[C.I. note: Sorry, didn't get this up in time for that broadcast but video is below]

AMERICA IN BLACK & BLUE will be hosted by journalist Alison Stewart, with reporting from PBS Newshour weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan, and special correspondents Chris Bury and Michael Hill.

After a week of violence, grief and horror, with five police officers shot dead in Dallas, and two African American men shot dead by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana, this news special will dig deep to explore the roots of these events, competing accounts of responsibility and justice, and televise the conversation that America is having around so many losses, mutual fears, and also around the common ground where progress may be made.  

The special will draw on recent and upcoming PBS content, including FRONTLINE’s “Policing the Police,” the Gwen Ifill special “America After Ferguson” and the forthcoming documentary, “The Talk,” about the talk that many parents of color have with their kids about interacting with police. For more information, visit www.pbs.org/newshour/

Please join us for both of these important programs.

Rich Homberg

President and CEO

Detroit Public Television

248-640-4169 - rhomberg@dptv.org  - @RichHomberg

Our Values: Trust, Achievement, Growth, Creativity, Service, Respect, Teamwork

public television

Protesting, requesting ammo (and the Emmys)

To say that Iraqis were warned not to protest today would be putting it mildly.

As AFP noted yesterday, the security forces issued an announcement that anyone protesting would be dealt with "as a terrorist threat."

Which raised the question of who's in charge of the puppet government in Iraq -- a question everyone in the press will work overtime to avoid.

Iraqi Day ‏@iraqi_day  5h5 hours ago

Great coverage by NRT for today demonstration ,Sadr in Video addressing the people in #Baghdad #Iraq Tahrir Square

4 retweets4 likes

 

 

 

AL JAZEERA notes:

The demonstrators massed in Tahrir Square on Friday, holding placards reading "Yes, yes to reform. No, no to sectarianism. No, no to corruption". 
The protest went ahead despite the security forces warning late on Thursday that the rally called by the influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was "unauthorised" and would be treated as a "terrorist threat".
Sadr has led repeated protests in recent months, some of them breaching the central Green Zone government and diplomatic compound.


Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada had halted protests during the holy month of Ramadan.




ALSUMARIA has a photo essay of the protest.





In other news . . .


How poorly planned is the current phase of the never-ending Iraq War?

They're using press conferences to request ammo for the troops.


NASHVILLE PUBLIC RADIO quotes US Maj Gen Gary Volesky declaring, to Fort Campbell families yesteray in a video conference from Iraq, "We're shooting a whole lot.  We're asking the Army to send a lot more rounds that they thought we were going to need."





Non-Iraq, big congratulations to Tracee Ellis Ross on her first Emmy nomination for lead actress in a comedy -- it's long overdue.  Ava and I've already weighed in on how Julia Louis-Dreyfus does not deserve another Emmy [see "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Ava a..." and "Media: Boycott what?"].  If you're late to the party, Meryl Streep -- one of the country's finest actresses -- has not been handed four Academy Awards in a row.  Julia is talented, but she's not that talented, no one is.

Especially not when up against a nominee like Lily Tomlin (last year and again this year, congrat to Lily) or (this year) Tracee.

And congratulations to Allison Janney for getting two nominations this year and to Laurie Metcalf for earning three.

And, like many, I am hoping this is finally Taraji P. Henson's year.

There were a lot of talented and worthy nominees this year (including Lili Taylor and Gaby Hoffmann) but the failure to nominate Sofia Vergara and her continued failure to be awarded an Emmy?  Not something I want to be explaining in 20 years when so many of her peers awarded in the Best Supporting Actress in a Sitcom category are long forgotten -- as they will be.

Julia Louis (in the Best Actress category) might want to explain in future years why she didn't have the good taste to rule herself out of the competition after four consecutive wins for the same role in four seasons of the show -- the not-so funny show which fell out of the golden circle this year as the 'token show' always does.  VEEP better be ready for the backlash, it's already begun.




The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.






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