Also please remember that victims of Hurricane Katrina are still struggling to recover almost a year later. At least 1,836 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their homes. Peace Takes Courage has put together a list of organizations that are still working to help victims of the storm. Even the smallest amount helps, so please donate. Please visit Peace Takes Courage - Aid for information on how you can help Katrina victims.

"Backdoor Draft"

The Inactive Ready Reserve (Backdoor Draft) is being called up,
because Uncle Sam doesn't have enough troops in the Soldier
Warehouse.

Now, people can go into the military at age 42.
It's called the Father-Son Buddy System.

It is obvious that the military
is running out of soldiers who are not exhausted.

If the criminals in the White House were to activate the Military Draft, they know the anti-war movement would quadruple over night.

I spent one tour in Vietnam as an Army medic, and that was enough for me and my family.

American soldiers spending two and three tours in Iraq,
are going to have two and three tours of added PTSD, or if you will,
two and three tours of added betrayal.

The American Public Has Absolutely No Idea Of The Long Range Effects Of Post-Traumatic War Stress.

But then again, the American public is not emotionally
connected to the war in Iraq.

When I came back from Vietnam, the
American public didn't care if I had been to Vietnam or Baskin Robbins.

I wish to God this last statement was grossly exaggerated.

I will close
with this bit of borrowed prose from the past, with my added tidbit:

"Uncle Sam needs a helping hand, cause it doesn't have enough troops
for Viet-nam.

Now Iraq is another war, and the lies keep coming like
they did before."

Mike Hastie
Vietnam Veteran
August 19, 2006
~~~~~
~~~~~
Tonight and Tomorrow Night

This weekend, RadioNation with Laura Flanders marks the anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by returning to Mississippi and Louisiana with two must-listen broadcasts.
On Saturday, the show will be in Biloxi, MS for a special town meeting sponsored by the NAACP and OXFAM. We'll hear from residents, activists, Danny Glover, NAACP president Bruce Gordon, OXFAM president Ray Offenheiser and many others. Then, on Sunday, RadioNation will be in New Orleans at the People's Hurricane Relief Fund, where you'll hear from the people who refuse to let this city die. Tune in this weekend!
Broadcast each Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 to 10:00pm EST on the Air America Radio Network, and available for listening online, RadioNation also produces a one-hour version, which is provided free to noncommercial community and college stations. If you missed last week, you can still listen online to interviews with Nation columnist Patricia Williams and Nation writer James Galbraith, who elaborated on his online exclusive report questioning the official account of the August 10 terrorist arrests.
And watch this space and The Nation online next week for a special collection of material marking the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.