Received via email:

Major media networks are diminishing or secularizing Memorial Day by including current veterans with remembrances.
By including living veterans, it takes away the meaning and spirit of this ultimate sacrifice that those killed-in-action have made.
It almost seems that the mainstream only wants us to see that only martyrs can give their lives for a cause. To keep a secular view in the public mind and esprit de corps for the fallen in check.

This is not what Memorial Day is for.

Memorial Day is only for those brave military service personnel that gave the ultimate sacrifice for the United States and that is their lives.

For all U.S. veterans we have Veterans Day.

-Anonymous

Editor’s note: Google got it right!

Diverse News Editor’s Note: Memorial Day’s proper meaning is to commemorate military personnel who were killed while on active duty.  Veterans Day is to honor those who have served and are currently serving (over 180 active duty days).

Washington, DC, May 26, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — For more than 20 years, PBS has been proud to honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, their families at home and all those who have given their lives for our country with the NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT. The multi award-winning event, broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, will be co-hosted for the fifth year by Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (CSI: NEW YORK) and Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (CRIMINAL MINDS), two acclaimed actors who have dedicated themselves to veterans’ causes and supporting our troops in active service. The 21st annual broadcast of THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will air live in HD on PBS Sunday, May 30 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our service members around the world on the American Forces Network.

The evening, that has become an American tradition, offers viewers a time to remember, to heal and bring our country together. The 2010 event will focus on three themes:

• The concert will honor the sacrifices, suffering and love of a new generation of young military widows whose fallen spouses served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• On the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, the broadcast pays tribute to the heroic service of the soldiers who fought and perished in this “forgotten war.”
• The concert will also pay homage to the more than 125,000 WWI and WWII service members who did not come home but rest in 24 military cemeteries in the foreign lands where they fought for liberty.

Joining co-hosts Sinise and Mantegna will be an all-star line-up that includes: distinguished American leader Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.); Oscar, Golden Globe and multiple Grammy award-winning music legend and humanitarian Lionel Richie whose distinguished career includes over 100 million records sold; Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley; Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Blythe Danner; acclaimed actors Dennis Haysbert and A.J. Cook; classical crossover artist Katherine Jenkins; three time Tony-nominated Broadway star Kelli O’Hara; and Grammy-winning gospel/adult contemporary superstar Yolanda Adams in performance with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly.

The ‘American Heroes’ Vignettes Premiere During Military Channel’s Live Coverage of the National Memorial Day Parade on May 31st

INDIANAPOLIS and SILVER SPRING, Md., May 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – The American Legion and Military Channel have teamed up to honor troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, including three soldiers who never made it back home.  A series of ten, one-minute vignettes, “American Heroes” premieres Memorial Day on the Military Channel, which co-sponsored the production with The American Legion – the country’s largest veterans service organization with about 2.5 million members worldwide.

Produced by Creative Street Entertainment, “American Heroes” includes the dramatic and poignant stories of those who fell in battle, suffered severe injuries, helped repair war-torn communities, or made it home to help other wounded warriors.  Each American hero is honored with a Norman Rockwell Moments portrait at the close of the vignette.  The profiles will air on the Military Channel for an entire year, starting with the network’s live coverage of the National Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 31 from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT.

“The ‘American Heroes’ stories are a collection that encompasses several different aspects of what it means to be a hero in wartime.  First and foremost, we think of those who gave their lives – those whose memories we will honor forever,” said Clarence Hill, national commander for The American Legion.

“Then there are those who return home with severe injuries, yet go on to succeed in the civilian world. We have American heroes who take care of wounded troops at VA hospitals, who have helped Iraqi children in their devastated cities, or who have taught their own families how to be heroes,” Hill said. These vignettes really highlight the sacrifices of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how veterans of those wars continue to serve our country.”

“Partnering with The American Legion to create these ‘American Heroes’ vignettes is emblematic of Military Channel’s commitment to sharing compelling stories of heroism from within the U.S. Armed Services,” said Henry Schleiff, general manager and president of Military Channel, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater.  ”And what better day to launch these poignant stories than Memorial Day, a hallowed day for our country to recognize the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women serving in uniform, who have preserved our freedom and liberties while bringing security to the world.” Read More »

By Gary Goldfarb

May 20, 2010/ PHILADELPHIA – With all the recent news of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 law, a Mexican being beaten and the Mexican president calling the law ‘racist’, does this mean that Mexicans are of a certain race?

Last I checked, Mexico is a country. Let’s switch countries around to see: So, if a Mexican police officer said, “I’m going to beat the f***ing American piss out of you, Homey! You feel me?” to an American, would that be racist?
Mexico and the United States were invaded and conquered by the Spaniards [Europeans]- remember, the conquistadors? The Spaniards beat the natives in what is now Mexico. The other Europeans [English] ‘invaded’ and beat the Spanish-Europeans and the United States is now what it is. (See below video):

Now we have the Mexican president, Calderon (which is a Spanish [European] surname), saying that the Arizona 1070 law is ‘racist’.
Once again, switch countries around to let’s say, Canada, which was also conquered by Europeans [French]. Would it be ‘racist’? No, that’s because Canada is just another country. (See video below):

Now, the United States’ people are made-up of mostly European decent, with Blacks making-up 13%. What part of Mexico is European?
In our minds, we have been trained to think of Mexicans as ‘Latinos’ – who came-up with this?
The Latin world, as we know it, is basically every single country south of the U.S. including many Caribbean, but not all, countries. Some Caribbean countries are almost all elusively Black. Are there any Blacks in Mexico? I haven’t seen any, minus tourists. At one point in time, c. 1570, Blacks outnumbered Spaniards 3:1 Brazil has many Blacks but not Mexico. Whatever happened to the Black Mexicans?

Reciprocating, if we call most countries’ people south of the U.S., ‘Latinos’ – what do the Latinos call the northern countries’ peoples?
It’s time we all recognize our true history.
And don’t forget, on these continents, both North and South, we are all Americans.

-Gary Goldfarb ©
Diverse News

INDIANAPOLIS, May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, the head of the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization stated his group’s opposition to repealing the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ (DADT) policy.

“We feel strongly that the current policy has served the U.S. military well for 17 years and it would not be wise to make a major cultural change in the middle of two wars,” The American Legion National Commander Clarence E. Hill wrote. “Moreover, the Department of Defense has already directed a study on the policy and it would be premature to act before the commission conducting the study releases its findings.”

The American Legion was concerned with reports that members of the House might seek an amendment to the FY11 defense authorization bill, which would repeal the law.

“Under current policy, men and women are already allowed to serve their country regardless of their sexual preference. Allowing homosexual members to announce their preference within the ranks could jeopardize the unit cohesion which is so essential to military success,” said Hill, a retired U.S. Navy captain and veteran of the Gulf War.

“The military is a unique environment, in which DADT has worked well, without diminishing our nation’s war-fighting capability,” Hill continued. “Indeed, the core purpose of our military is to fight and win our nation’s wars. Enacting any law that does not enhance the military’s ability to accomplish that mission would be detrimental to the security of our nation. We believe that the repeal of DADT would be such an action.”

With a current membership of 2.5-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation.

WASHINGTON, May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Practicing what they preach – helping to make a real difference in veterans’ lives – members of The American Legion spent nearly one million hours volunteering at VA medical facilities in fiscal 2009.

The nation’s largest veterans group is also one of America’s largest volunteer organizations, its ranks populated by what VA Secretary Eric Shinseki recently described as “people who are regularly, habitually and deliberately kind.”

Shinseki highlighted the critical importance of volunteerism when he addressed graduates May 15 at the University of Maryland-University College. Last month, Adm. Mike Mullen told the Council on Foundations that community non-profit groups are the answer to meeting veterans’ needs, once they’ve left the federal system. Mullen is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Lately, Secretary Shinseki and Admiral Mullen have been placing an exclamation point on what we’ve been doing for a long time – volunteering to help out veterans and their families,” said Clarence Hill, national commander of The American Legion.

“Lobbying Congress on veterans issues is something we do extremely well, but The American Legion isn’t centered on Capitol Hill. We’re a huge grass-roots organization that does most of its good work at the local level.

“Everywhere you find a VA hospital or clinic, you’re bound to find an American Legion post, too – and Legionnaires from that post spend a lot of their time visiting disabled and wounded veterans,” Hill said.

About 6,300 members of The American Legion volunteered 916,598 hours of their time in FY 2009 to visit with veterans. Although that effort saved VA $18.5 million, Shinseki said that monetary value was only part of equation when it came to veterans reaching out to other veterans.

“There are some things they do that we can’t put a price on. What’s the price of a ‘thank you’? What’s the going rate for dignity and respect for a combat veteran? Such values cannot be calculated,” he said.

While The American Legion makes a strong contribution every year to VA’s Voluntary Service Program and Suicide Prevention Program, its outreach Read More »

WASHINGTON, May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Testifying before a House subcommittee today, The American Legion said that veterans’ preference in the federal job market “is being unlawfully ignored by numerous agencies.”

“The reality is that employment opportunities are not being properly publicized,” said Joe Sharpe, the Legion’s economic division director, in his written testimony. “Federal agencies, as well as federal government contractors and subcontractors, are required by law to notify the Office of Personnel Management of job opportunities.

“But more often than not, these opportunities are never made available to the public,” he said.

Sharpe testified before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, chaired by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.

Sharpe said that such behavior on the part of some federal agencies makes the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) a critically important program, since it investigates violations of veterans’ preference policy and corrects unlawful practices.

“The mission of VETS is to promote the economic security of America’s veterans,” Sharpe said. “The American Legion is eager to see this program grow, and especially would like to see greater expansion of entrepreneurial-based, self-employment opportunity training.”

The American Legion has recommended about $340 million for fiscal 2011 to fund five Dept. of Labor programs created to serve veterans:

• Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS): Offers employment and training services to eligible veterans through non-competitive “Jobs for Veterans” state grant programs.
• Transition/Disabled Transition Assistance Programs (TAP/DTAP): Help servicemembers who are separating from active duty with their return to the civilian world and work force. ($267M, including VETS funding)
• Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP): A competitive state-grant program for agencies and organizations that offer jobs to homeless veterans. ($50M)
• National Veterans’ Employment and Training Services Institute (NVTI): Ensures that staff for federal and state employment services are highly trained and proficient in dealing with veterans’ needs. ($6M)
• Veterans Workforce Investment Program (VWIP): Provides training and support services to veterans to lead to higher wages and long-term careers – especially those with service-connected disabilities, are recently separated from active duty, or have significant barriers to employment. ($20M)

Sharpe also recommended $61 million in funding for the Office of Personnel Management to improve compliance with veterans’ preference rights in the job market. He reminded the subcommittee that employment rights of veterans and servicemembers are covered by the Veterans’ Employment Opportunity Act of 1998 and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

The TAP and DTAP programs need to be expanded quickly, The American Legion says, to include many National Guard and reserve members whose businesses have suffered –or have been lost – while they were serving their country. While DoD estimates that 79 percent of active-duty troops attend TAP seminars, only 35 percent of reserve components do the same.

“These attendance numbers are a disservice to all transitioning servicemembers,” Sharpe said. The American Legion wants DoD to make its TAP and DTAP sessions mandatory for all servicemembers leaving active duty.

Discussing the VWIP program, Sharpe noted that current funding allows it to operate in only 15 states. “The problem is clearly a lack of adequate funding. The budget baseline needs to be increased to … train eligible veterans in all 50 states in FY 2011,” he said.

At the start of the hearing, Rep. Obey – who chairs the House Appropriations Committee – expressed frustration over congressional reluctance to fully fund programs favored by The American Legion and other veterans service organizations.

He said he favored almost all of the programs proposed by the score of testifying witnesses, but noted the combined cost would increase President Obama’s proposed FY 2011 budget by $14 billion. But in light of the massive federal deficit, Obey said, Congress is being asked to trim $3.5 billion from the president’s figure.

“Congress needs to realize that there are deficits that need to be considered other than federal budget deficits,” Obey said, “like deficits in jobs and opportunities and care.”  With that prologue, he opened the morning round of testimony.

April 24, 2010 / PHILADELPHIA / DIVERSE NEWS / – With just 37 minutes into the published story on YAHOO! there were over 33,000 replies.

Many comments were relating the law to racism, discrimination and civil rights violations. Only problem with this is that the word civil applies to citizens.
Dictionary.com defines ‘civil’ as:
1.
of, pertaining to, or consisting of citizens: civil life; civil society.
2.
of the commonwealth or state: civil affairs.
3.
of citizens in their ordinary capacity, or of the ordinary life and affairs of citizens, as distinguished from military and ecclesiastical life and affairs.
4.
of the citizen as an individual: civil liberty.
5.
befitting a citizen: a civil duty. etc.

So, are the Arizona citizens going to have to worry about this law?
-Gary Muniz

PHILADELPHIA, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — Veterans and other volunteers will gather Wednesday, April 14, at noon at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial to voice their concern over vandalism and to offer their support by patrolling at the site.

The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is organizing veterans and others to monitor activities at the Memorial starting this week through Memorial Day. Veterans will be asked to speak at the noon press conference to voice their concern about the desecration of the Memorial.

More detail will be provided about the patrols and other measures to halt the vandalism from skateboarders and inline skaters, who have actually been destroying devices designed to halt such activity. Scores of veterans already have contacted the fund volunteering to patrol at the site on Front and Spruce streets.

A limited number of copies of the surveillance tapes showing the vandalism will be available, as well as new, more prominent signage outlining illegal activities at the Memorial. The Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides oversight at the Memorial in cooperation with the Fairmount Park.

Three juveniles from the Philadelphia suburbs were apprehended March 7 by police who have charged them with desecration of a memorial, a third degree felony that is punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Coordinating the Veteran activities will be Dennis Best, vice president of the Memorial Fund, assisted by James Moran, Memorial Custodian.

The Memorial Fund last fall completed the first phase of its “Duty to Remember” Campaign for the restoration and preservation of the Memorial at Spruce and Front Streets. The fund is working to raise $500,000 for the second phase which will involve creating an opening in the “wall of scenes” on the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to make it easier for police to spot offenders and also create greater awareness at the enclosed site. For more information, visit www.pvvm.org. The Memorial honors the 646 Philadelphians who were lost in the Vietnam War.

18 March 2010
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates honored women in the military during a Pentagon ceremony March 18. Plus, Reserve Soldiers are reunited with their families. Pentagon