Vets REJECTED from Long Beach Vet's Parade Participation. DO SOMETHING! (tags)
This is in response to the article written in the Long Beach Press Telegram regarding the three groups of veterans and their families who were REJECTED from participating in the Veterans Day Parade, even though they and their families served and are continuing to serve their country with honor. My son just returned from his second tour in Iraq. We both believe in the Constitution ,which includes the right to speak out against this war. It is something that he is proud to fight for and will continue to follow orders if he is sent back to Iraq. While watching the entire parade from the sidelines, I was saddened to see that there were no participants from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan at all! That means that the only participants of this war that wanted to march in the parade were excluded. The city, as well as Val Lerch, who continued to try to make this a political issue, bear responsibility for this lack of support for our soldiers currently serving in this war. How could Council member Lerch, a proud member of this committee, overlook this glaring omission if he supports the troops? By the way, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans for Peace carried no signs whatsoever. It was very important to us that we honor all the troops, and we enthusiastically applauded all participants. Also, please note, we had plenty of enthusiastic responses from the crowd and a few public displays of apology. This is an important point, because the city and committee knew we marched in last year’s parade without incident and that we are valid members of the military, unlike other groups like the medical insurance van, etc. This is why several cities, including La Palma, Palm Springs, Santa Monica, and other cities nationwide were inviting our groups to march in their parade; they understand that you can support the troops but not the administration’s policies that continue to blindly send our loved ones to die in a war that should never have happened in the first place. Apparently, the Veterans Day Committee and the city of Long Beach do not understand the difference. --Pat Alviso, Military Families Speak Out, Long Beach, CA, USA, Pat Alviso & Jeff Merrick, Military Families Speak Out Orange County & South Bay Chapter, www.mfsooc.org www.myspace.com/ocmfso 562-833-8035 Support Our Troops. Bring Them Home Now! Take Care of Them After They Get Home!
Wanted: 100 New Friends in L.A. Area (tags)
Wanted: 100 New Friends in Los Angeles (and environs) to organize and attend The Fund for Authentic Journalism’s first fundraising event, and the announcement of the 2004 scholarship recipients....