iava at Brave New Films

Bush and McCain Take Credit for the GI Bill They Opposed

2008-09-21T13:25:22Z

Well, it's taken me seven years, but I think I have finally figured out President Bush. All this time I thought he was just shamelessly lying to us, but as it turns out, he's just using a different dictionary than we are—one in which the words mean the opposite of what we know them to mean.

For example, today Bush had this to say about the passage of the GI Bill for the 21st Century:

The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. … I want to thank members who worked hard for the GI Bill expansion, especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Burr, McCain. This bill shows that even in an election year, Democrats and Republicans can come together to stand behind our troops.

Now, I would define "close collaboration" as the coming together of multiple parties who put aside differences for a common goal. Bush, on the other hand, thinks "close collaboration" means that the White House and Pentagon should do everything in their power to scare people into thinking Jim Webb's bipartisan plan to expand educational benefits for returning veterans would "harm" our country's troop retention rate.

Headzup: Treating Our Soldiers Like Dogs

2008-07-12T10:50:09Z

President Bush is asked about deploying unfit soldiers, not paying for soldiers' college, and the fact that some deceased soldiers were cremated at a pet crematorium.

Call your Congressman now 202-224-3121

Read more about it here--
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/10/fallen-us-troops-cremated-at-friends-forever-pet-cremation-service/
and here--
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080508/1a_lede08_dom.art.htm

Download daily Catch and Release Comedy™ political cartoons to your mobile phone or iPod at www.headzup.tv

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Headzup: Why Does Bill-O Hate Our Homeless Vetertans?

2008-06-15T21:29:59Z

Bill O'Reilly doesn't believe that there are close to 200,000 homeless veterans on any given day. Even though the Department of Veterans Affairs confirms the stat. Watch Bill-O's actual denial here-- salsa.democracyinaction.org Then go check out the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America at www.iava.org And see what you can do to help. Download daily Catch and Release Comedy™ political cartoons to your mobile phone or iPod at www.headzup.tv

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Demand Action For Our Veterans!

2008-06-15T21:30:19Z

This is an ad by IAVA and it is powerful. Many still talk about "honoring our troops" while ignoring them in their moment of need.

Watch it.

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Bush Administration Still Screwing Veterans

2008-01-12T20:11:17Z

Shocker, I know. Paul Rieckhoff and his great organization, The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Of America (IAVA), is on the case. Here is their response to the damning Dole-Shalala report just released:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
CONTACT: Michael Houston, IAVA (212) 982-9699 michael@iava.org

IAVA Responds to Dole-Shalala Commission Report: Today's Draft Report Should be a Wake-up Call for All Americans

NEW YORK Following today's final public meeting of the Dole-Shalala Commission, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, released the following statement:

Today's draft report from the Dole-Shalala Commission has shown the American public that the Walter Reed fiasco is just the tip of the iceberg. Their findings should be a wake-up call for all Americans, said Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq veteran and Executive Director of IAVA. Last week the Secretary of the VA resigned. This week disabled Iraq veterans are suing the VA. Our veterans' healthcare system is facing tremendous challenges at every level and the Department of Defense and the VA are not ready to respond.

IAVA commends the Commission for their hard work and dedication, and we wholeheartedly endorse their call for fundamental changes and strong leadership to address the crisis facing veterans, said Rieckhoff. We urge the news media and American combat veterans of all generations to ensure that the recommendations of this report are implemented. Today's findings should not be buried in the back pages of our nation's newspapers beneath Lindsay Lohan's DUI.

Tale from a dedicated screening host

2008-09-27T07:15:14Z

Mark Grossklag hosted a screening of Iraq for Sale in Illinois this past Veterans Day and wrote in with the following:

On Veterans Day we screened â€œIraq For Saleâ€ for 138 people in St. Charles, IL at a local Arts Theater. Our community, located 35 miles west of Chicago, is primarily high income, high growth suburbia, and although you see many vehicles with the trendy â€œSupport Your Troopsâ€ ribbons on their vehicles, not many people actually like to get much closer than that when it comes to issues like the war in Iraq and the baggage that comes with it. Our screening was not only to increase public awareness to the private contractor issues in Iraq, but also to Iraq Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) the first and largest organization dedicated to the health and well being of our Troops and Veterans (and their families) of these wars. Please visit their website to see how you can â€œSupport the Troopsâ€ best by listening to them and getting our political leaders to do the same. These are the same Troops/Vets who have been on the ground in these wars and who are in constant communications with those that still are in Iraq & Afghanistan, and thus can tell us best what problems the Troops face there and how we might solve them in the most efficient and less costly (from both a monetary and loss of human life perspective) manner.