When a shot to center of mass just isn’t enough

I was reading my “home town” newspaper the other day and I ran across an article that was a bit disturbing.
I have edited names and places for my satisfaction, Emphasis and comments are mine.
A 21-year-old Roswell man was arraigned in a Chaves County courtroom Monday after police said he was wounded by a gunshot during a home invasion attempt nearly two weeks ago.

According to court records, police arrested LXXX GXXXX, 21, on June 16 in connection with a home invasion a day earlier, at the 400 block of East SXXXXX Street.

Gxxxx was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, attempted aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property.

About 6 a.m. on June 15, police responded to a call that a man had attempted to gain access to a home along Sxxxxt Street. The homeowner told police he shot the man in the chest, records show. Good on him, taking the initiative and not being a victim. See the 2nd amendment has a reason.

Homeowner Gxxxxxxxx Sxxxxxx told police the man was knocking on his door and ringing his doorbell early that morning.

Sxxxxxx told police he got his gun (as you should when something is afoot at the wee hours of the morning) before opening the door and the man said "someone was after him." The man said he needed to talk to Sxxxxxx inside his house.
(Nope, no one steps over the treshold unless they are know, trusted or have a warrent)
Shortly after, the situation escalated and the man tried to force his way into the home.

Sxxxxxx shot the man once through his security door. (I wonder the caliber and fire arm used. Seems that this should have been enough of a detterent to keep this A##hole out. I would have double tapped and have LARGE Calibler-High Velocity weapons for this reason)

After he fired the shot, he heard two or three gunshots outside the house, according to court records. (See Lib's, the Bad guys have them, so why not defend thyself and home?)
No one else was injured. (Good Weapons Managment on the citizen's part)

Sxxxxxx told police he noticed that the man was wearing a bullet-proof vest and holding a gun, records show.
Now the criminals are showing up with better protection than Law enforcement or citizens. I am sure that the courts will dismiss the fact that this is clearly intent to do harm and protect himself.

Sxxxxxx identified Gxxxx in a photo lineup and police arrested him on an outstanding warrant on June 16.
(Again, another scumbag that the system has turned loose because the justice system is too worried about the rights of people who have absolutely no moral compass and will kill you for their next hit of meth.)

At the time of the arrest, Gxxxx was wearing the bullet-proof vest which had a hole in the chest area.
(Lucky A##hole, now some Public Defender flunky will get him off on a reduced charge)
Police said Gxxxx also had a bruise on his chest, according to court records.

(Too bad, Should have been well veinilated in his chest and heart area for his trouble.)

Chaves County Assistant District Attorney Stephen Kovach said he didn't believe Sxxxxxx would be charged with any crime. (Well at least in the southwest they still have a bit of common sense when a homeowner defends himself)

Court records show the vest was taken during a burglary at the home of a Chaves County Sheriff's deputy on May 9.

The incident isn't the first time Gxxxx has been in trouble with the law.
NO SH#T????

In January 2006, he was arrested on charges of attempted residential burglary when police said he broke into a home at the 700 block of SherXXX Lane.

Gxxxx pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 364 days at the Chaves County Detention Center in June 2006.
Too bad, I think this P.O.S should have gotten a Looooong sentence for the agravaited part of the crime. He shows up with a Bullet Proof Vest, Gun, and trys to force his way in to a home. How can they not put him away for a very long time? IF that isn't intent I don't know what is.

New GI Bill awaiting President and Farewell to a good blog

Last week the House and Senate passed the measure that will finally do something right for those who have served this country. What is sad, the only reason that the President is willing to sign this into law is because they filled the bill up with so many other items that he wants passed into law rather than do something for the men and women in uniform.

Here is a brief Run down on the benefits to come shortly..

Under the New GI Bill
Post 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act (S.22/H.R. 2702)

This proposed benefit will cover the full cost of education at any public school in the country and many private schools. To qualify for the benefits a veteran has to have served at least 90 days of active duty service post-9/11 and have remaining entitlement. Only post 9/11 active duty service counts toward this benefit. Any remaining Chapter 30 or 1607 entitlement can be converted into this new education benefit. There is no requirement to buy-in to qualify and the benefits last for 15 years after separation.

This benefit discards the outdated benefits system and replaces it with a WWII-style GI Bill that provides upfront tuition payments directly to the school, provides a book/supply stipend of $1,000/yr and a monthly living stipend.

The tuition payments can be used at any public or private school but are capped at the cost of the most expensive public school in the state. However, more expensive private schools offering a veterans-only scholarship will see that scholarship matched dollar for dollar up to the full cost of tuition.

The monthly living stipend will be based on the Department of Defense Basic Housing Allowance (BAH) for that region. The stipend will be pegged to the E-5 with a dependent rate for the zip code of the school.

Tuition: Paid upfront to the school at the beginning of each term
Capped at the tuition cost of the most expensive public school in the state
More expensive schools offering veterans scholarships will be matched dollar for dollar
Books/Supplies: $1,000/yr. paid upfront and divided by academic term
Monthly Living: Based on DoD’s BAH rate for E-5 w/dependent
Time to Use Benefit: 15 years
Buy-in: None

Reservists will continue to receive a percentage of the active duty rate based on the length of their active duty service. However, this new benefit will allow reservists to accumulate active duty service from multiple tours (more service = higher benefits). Lastly, every reservist called to active duty will now have 15 years to use their benefits, no longer just those that do 8 years of active duty or select reserve.
90 Consecutive Days 40% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
6 Cumulative Months 50% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
12 Cumulative Months 60% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
18 Cumulative Months 70% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
24 Cumulative Months 80% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
30 Cumulative Months 90% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
36 Cumulative Months 100% (Tuition, Books, & Living Stipend)
Time to Use Benefit: 15 years (see above)
Buy-in Requirement: None

This has been long overdue from our country and congress to fund an education and future for all the men and women who have served our nation in this time of war.

And finally, a fair winds and following seas to the blog Aloha Dump. Trickish Knave has found; like I have after retiring, there isn't enough time on that clock to get everything done in the day.
So he has placed the blog in layup. I imagine that it also has something to do with the fact that, after leaving the navy, there isn't quite as much to generally piss a person off in the day and so there for, you don't really have the overwhelming need to vent on a blog.

If you haven't seen it, go to the first postings and have a read. There are some good sea stories and stories/observations of living "Aloha". Its a great read if you have ever been stationed in Hawaii.

New GI Bill media Update

Here are some articles to update on the New GI bill...
Comments and insight are welcome....
New GI Bill Could Bring More College Benefits
Congress is considering proposals from Sen. Jim Webb and Sen. John McCain
By Kim Clark
Posted June 12, 2008

Sinking in education debt, Friends University freshman Amariee Collins was intrigued by Air Force ads promising to help pay tuition. So, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the Wichita, Kan., student deferred her dream of a degree and volunteered for active duty. Four years of stateside service later, she enrolled at the University of Houston and made a heartbreaking discovery: She still couldn't afford to attend college debt free. The Montgomery GI Bill would cover only about $11,000 of the school's $18,000 annual cost.
Amariee Collins (left) wants an increase in the education benefits offered to soldiers such as this group from a White House ceremony.
Amariee Collins (left) wants an increase in the education benefits offered to soldiers such as this group from a White House ceremony.
(Jeffrey MacMillan for USN&WR)
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"I could be mad," the 25-year-old pre-med major says now. But she's choosing to funnel her frustration into action. At her part-time job at the campus veterans' center, she warns would-be soldiers about the reality of the education benefits. And she's rallying support for a controversial bill in Congress that would pay nearly all costs for a local public university for post-9/11 veterans.

Americans brought up on the lore of the original GI Bill, which raised millions of World War II veterans into the middle class by offering nearly free rides to universities as expensive as Harvard, are often surprised to learn that tuition inflation has so outstripped today's benefits from the bill.

Many of those are young people like Collins, who respond to recruiting ads promising more than $70,000 to pay for college. They often fail to read the fine print or understand the impact of tuition inflation. Since 2002, for example, the government has raised the standard academic-year education payment by a total of $1,800 to cover inflation. Meanwhile, the cost of attending a public university has risen by about $4,200, and the cost of a private university has risen by more than $7,000. Even more surprising to many are the controversies and presidential politicking bubbling in Washington over a bipartisan effort to give today's 1.4 million active-duty soldiers and 500,000 post-9/11 veterans something close to a debt-free degree.

A bill overwhelmingly passed by the Senate would give post-9/11 veterans 15 years to claim four academic years' worth of payments covering tuition at their state's most expensive public university, textbooks, and rent for a two-bedroom townhouse. Students who wanted to attend a more expensive private college could collect a check for the amount of their state university's tuition and then get a one-for-one federal match for every dollar in scholarship their private school offered. The bill was spearheaded by Sen. Jim Webb, a Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy, and is backed by a bipartisan group of 58 senators, a majority of representatives, most major veterans' organizations, hundreds of university officials, and a Who's Who of retired generals. "There is unanimous opinion on the Hill and in the administration that improvements are needed," says Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state and a backer of the bill.

Webb, a Virginia Democrat, notes that studies show the original GI Bill repaid at least $5 to taxpayers for every $1 spent on benefits. "You don't lose money when you pour it in somebody's head," he says. "The people who have been serving since 9/11 have given more than anyone in their generation. They have earned the same benefits as their grandparents."

The bill has been at least temporarily stymied, however, by a debate over just what improvements are needed and how much generosity the nation can afford. Leading the opposition: a formidable array including President Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam veteran and the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

Gates and other brass are lobbying against Webb's bill, arguing it is so generous that it would make it harder for the Pentagon to persuade experienced soldiers to re-enlist. The Congressional Budget Office predicted the proposal could reduce the re-enlistment rate by about 16 percent, likely forcing the military to pony up billions more in bonuses or other re-enlistment sweeteners to keep its best soldiers in the midst of a war. Bush has expressed concerns about the costs and promised a veto if the House's fiscally conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats follow through with threats to pay for the bill with a "Patriot Tax" on those with incomes over $500,000.

Counterplan. McCain and several other Republican senators drafted a lower-cost and re-enlistment-friendlier bill that would bump up the basic education benefit by almost $3,000 a year and add another $4,200 a year for soldiers who stayed in the service for at least 12 years. In response to requests from the Pentagon, the alternative bill would also allow soldiers who served at least six years to transfer some of their unused education benefits to their spouse or children.

While transferability has won widespread support, the stingier payments have attracted criticism from many of those McCain no doubt hopes will vote for him in November. McCain's proposed $14,000-a-year benefit, while covering the average tuition, fees, and room and board of a public university, is too paltry for the "crazy costs" facing many veterans hoping for a college education, says American Legion spokeswoman Ramona Joyce. Besides, Joyce notes, while the better benefits might lure 16 percent of experienced soldiers out of the service, the Congressional Budget Office also found that it would be so attractive to civilians that it would increase recruiting by 16 percent.

Some campaign analysts predict a compromise bill will likely make it into law soon. McCain is currently polling behind Obama, who is a cosponsor of the more generous bill and may be considering Webb as a vice presidential candidate. Congressional negotiators in mid-June were quietly trying to add transferability provisions to Webb's bill and make a few other tweaks. Their goal: a compromise that helps veterans and allows all sides to proclaim victory.

New GI Bill Part Deux

WASHINGTON (AP) — After promising to veto a huge Iraq war-funding bill because it contains unrelated domestic spending, the White House now wants to boost the costs even higher by letting troops transfer ramped up GI Bill education benefits to their spouses or children.

The White House is signaling that President Bush could sign the hotly contested and long overdue war funding bill if the benefit transferability provision is added to the 10-year, $52 billion improvement to GI Bill college benefits proposed by Democrats and many Republicans.

"It's like the Yogi Berra story: 'I don't like that restaurant. Besides, the portions aren't large enough,'" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in an interview. "They don't like it, but they want more."

"It's not a bad idea," Pelosi added. "It just costs money."

A Democratic leadership aide, who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely, said Democrats were unlikely to yield to the White House demands.

"There is a great deal of reluctance to increase the cost of the bill to accommodate the president when he is otherwise complaining that we're spending too much," the aide said.

The imbroglio over the GI Bill is the biggest remaining hurdle to getting Bush's pending $178 billion war funding requests enacted. He has vowed to veto any measure exceeding his request, but the new veterans program is extraordinarily popular, and a veto might be difficult to sustain. That's one reason why White House representatives are trying to negotiate a compromise.

Democratic leaders are likely to dump most other domestic add-ons opposed by Bush, despite a sweeping vote in the Senate last month to add significant new domestic spending to the measure.

In addition, House Democratic leaders are to drop efforts to extend unemployment benefits, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Wednesday.

Under an unusual procedural setup, it's up to the House to vote next on the war funding bill, while also significantly scaling back a companion package of additional spending passed by the Senate last month.

In addition to the GI Bill benefits and an extension of unemployment insurance, the Senate added more than $10 billion for various other domestic programs, including heating subsidies for the poor, wildfire fighting, road and bridge repair, and health research. The Senate vote was a surprising 75-22, but the result dismayed House leaders, who are seeking to give Bush a bill he will sign.

The addition sought by Bush could cost $2 billion a year, or $20 billion to $25 billion over a decade, assuming the right to transfer benefits to family members involves the more generous benefits proposed by Democrats. The Democratic GI Bill, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is aimed at guaranteeing returning Iraq war veterans the equivalent of a four-year education at a public university.

A senior White House official said Wednesday that adding Bush's benefits transfer plan to the GI Bill provision wouldn't guarantee a presidential signature, but that it could prove to be an important element to reaching an agreement.

The two sides also are wrangling over a plan in both the House and Senate bills that would block new Bush administration rules designed to cut spending on Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled by $13 billion over the next five years.

Meanwhile, moderate to conservative Democrats continue to worry that the new veterans' benefits package will pass in violation of pay-as-you-go rules that are supposed to require that new federal benefits programs are "paid for" with new revenues or spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

Last month, House Democrats used a one-half of a percentage point increase in tax rates on wealthy taxpayers to finance the new benefits, but the Senate rejected the idea.
New Poll: 80% Of Americans Say Student Veterans Shortchanged By Current GI Bill; 9 Out Of 10 Say Honor Current Heroes As America Did In The Past.


The overwhelmingly majority of Americans believe that veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are not getting the educational benefits they need or deserve, and an even more significant percentage support an update to the current GI Bill to give student-veterans more and better access to such benefits.

These are the major findings of a new national survey commissioned by The Campaign for a New GI Bill and conducted by Whitman Insight Strategies, the prominent New York based strategic research firm. The survey of 1,000 registered voters has a margin of error of plus/minus 3.1%.

“The current G.I. Bill is depriving far too many of our troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts of the same educational opportunities that I and some eight million other Americans so greatly benefited from,” said Jerome Kohlberg, legendary financier & World War II veteran who is founder and chairman of The Campaign for a New G.I. Bill. “Today’s student veterans have sacrificed so much for our country. Why should they have to sacrifice their college education when they return from the battlefield. In fact, America has a solemn obligation to them.”

Kohlberg went to college on the original “free ride” G.I. Bill, which, at the time, fully paid for a U.S. veteran’s higher educational pursuits. It allowed him to receive his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College, a business degree from Harvard, and a law degree from Columbia. This paved the way for Mr. Kohlberg’s very successful career in which he became a pioneer in the investments industry as the senior founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

“No matter what respondents views of the war on terror, one thing is crystal clear—American voters want our returning veterans to have the same opportunities as past veterans did,” said Matthew Boulay, Director of The Campaign for a New GI Bill.

“In a year when there have been so many candidate debates, forums, and rallies, we believe it’s time that veterans’ issues, particularly education and health care, should be a focus of our next President,” Boulay said. “After the attention paid to pastors, fundraisers, flag pins, spouses, and rhetoric, we believe it’s high time for our candidates to state clearly their position on issues affecting the men and women of the Armed Forces, Reserves and National Guard who have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each presidential candidate should tell our vets what they can expect when they return from duty.”

Among the survey’s major findings are:

- 81% of Americans say that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are not getting enough support in transitioning back to civilian life.

- 91% of Americans support providing these veterans with a funded college education for their service.

- While 85% of Americans believe that the original GI Bill of 1944 was fair to returning World War II veterans, 67% say that the current GI Bill is not fair and 3 out of 4 say that it doesn’t do enough for veterans.

- More than 8 of 10 Americans support a comprehensive 21st Century GI Bill.

- 91% of Americans agree that the government should make good on its promise to help veterans get a college education and that we should reward current heroes like we rewarded those in the past

- 83% of Americans believe that a new 21st Century GI Bill will benefit America. (94% of Americans say that the original GI Bill was a good idea, and 91% believe it benefited America).

The Campaign for a New GI Bill is a 501-C-4 non-partisan organization set up to promote a new, fair deal for today’s veterans. For more information, go to the web site www.NewGIBill.org. For a copy of the full survey, contact Bruce Bobbins or Bill Cunningham at Dan Klores Communications, 212-685-4300.


GI Bill Falls Far Short Of Veterans' Current College Costs

Military vets who joined up in order to pay for school find their benefits barely cover cost of books.

Evan Aanerud didn't think he'd have to work full time to put himself through school. He joined the Marine Corps Reserves to fulfill two childhood dreams: to serve his country and to go to college. The 24-year-old's dad was a recruiter for the Corps, so he'd heard of the GI Bill, the program that provides money for education to veterans, and he knew from the ads he saw on television that the military would help him pay for college.

"When I came back from Iraq, I was surprised with the amount of money I ended up getting from the GI Bill," he said. That amount was $282 a month when Evan was at a community college. When he transferred to California Polytechnic State University and the rules surrounding his GI Bill benefit changed, he got $430 a month. "That's about the cost of one-quarter of the books, and that's about all that I got," he said.

New GI Bill

So far in my blogging, I haven’t thrown my hat in the political arena for a variety of reasons. But, there is a bill currently waiting for the POTUS to sign off on that would benefit all the Vets and soon to be Vets that have made a substantial sacrifice for our country during the Global War on Terror.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, S.22, is designed to expand the educational benefits that our nation offers to the brave men and women who have served us so honorably since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The bill would mirror the educational benefits provided to veterans returning from World War II. A House companion bill, is H.R. 2702

What is starting to chap my ass about the law makers of our country is that the POTUS, and an un-named member who is running for the same office are publicly opposed to passing this into law.

The administration's and the un-named member running for office argument is that if a GI Bill benefit is too good, it'll reward veterans too richly for their service and draw them away from re-enlisting.

They are more worried about keeping the current boots on ground than doing the right thing and actually providing a real benefit for American men and women who have served our country.

Our country has a tradition – since World War II – of offering educational assistance to returning veterans. In the 1940s, the first “GI Bill” helped transform notions of equality in American society. The World War II GI bill paid for veterans’ tuition, books, fees, a monthly stipend, and other training costs. Approximately 7.8 million veterans used the benefits given under the original GI bill in some form, out of a wartime veteran population of 15 million. For every dollar invested in veterans, seven dollars were generated.

Over the last several decades, Congress passed a number of other GI bills that also gave educational benefits to veterans. However, benefits awarded under those subsequent bills have not been as expansive as our nation’s original GI bill. Currently, veterans’ educational benefits are administered under the Montgomery GI Bill. This program is designed for peacetime – not wartime – service.

Increased educational benefits would be available to members of the military who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001. To qualify, veterans must have served at least two years of active duty, with at least some period of active duty time served beginning on or after September 11, 2001.

The bill provides for educational benefits to be paid for a duration of time linked to time served in the military. Generally, veterans would not receive assistance for more than a total of 36 months, which equals four academic years.

Benefits provided under the bill would allow veterans pursuing an approved program of education to receive payments covering the established charges of their program, and a monthly stipend of $1,000. The bill would allow additional payments for tutorial assistance, as well as licensure and certification tests. Benefit payments would be limited to the costs of the most expensive public institution in the state in which the veteran is enrolled.

Veterans would have up to fifteen years, compared to ten years under the Montgomery GI bill, to use their educational assistance entitlement. Veterans would be barred from receiving concurrent assistance from this program and another similar program.

Currently, veterans’ educational benefits are administered under the Montgomery GI Bill—a program designed primarily for peacetime – not wartime – service. The demands placed on soldiers and sailors in this post 9/11 era are much greater than when Congress established the current program. With many of our military members serving two, three or four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is past time to enact a new veterans’ education program modeled on the World War II era GI bill.

The GI Bill of the World War II era sparked economic growth and expansion for a whole generation of Americans; a more robust GI bill holds the same potential for today’s economy. The United States has never erred when it has made sustained new investments in higher education and job training – and its veterans. Educated veterans have higher income levels, which in the long run increases tax revenues. Approximately 7.8 million veterans used the benefits in some form, out of a wartime veteran population of 15 million. For every dollar invested in WWII veterans, seven dollars were generated.

A strong and reliable GI bill will have a positive effect on military recruitment.

Better educated veterans have a more positive readjustment experience and lower levels of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The education of our nation’s veterans is a cost of war. A very small percentage of Americans have stepped forward to serve our country through military service; they have earned the right to have a bright future when they have completed their service. A GI bill that properly rewards honorable service is the right thing to do.

The estimated $2 billion a year needed for the program is a pittance compared to what we spend on Welfare, not to mention illegal immigrants who are sucking off the benefits of our country.
Welfare benefits in 2006 were $354.3 billion. This was 2.7% of GDP and this includes Medicaid, food stamps, family support assistance (AFDC), supplemental security income (SSI), child nutrition programs, refundable portions of earned income tax credits (EITC and HITC) and child tax credit, welfare contingency fund, child care entitlement to States, temporary assistance to needy families, foster care and adoption assistance

Three former Presidents, a dozen U.S. Senators, three Supreme Court Justices and fourteen Nobel Prize winners went to school on the GI Bill. Under today’s Montgomery GI Bill, these same leaders would receive only a fraction of the money necessary to get the same level of education.

I fail to see how that men and women who have done the job and paid a price should have anything less than what is pumped out to no load welfare cases.

and yes; I plagiarized like hell from multiple sources to write this post.