Nation honors veterans and the fallen on Memorial Day

Across America Monday, citizens will mark Memorial Day with ceremonies and parades honoring those who gave their lives in war, as well as with less solemn events like barbecues with family and friends. 
Despite the day's solemn ethos, Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal told the Associated Press that the fun events should be enjoyed.
 "I'm in the service so that they can enjoy that," said McNeal, 39, who is stationed in Suffolk, Virginia, and was in New York for Fleet Week. "They made the sacrifice so everyday citizens don't have to worry about the evils of the world."
Monday is the climax of a weekend of events honoring America's military. On Sunday, Marine Corps chaplain Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben lauded the sacrifice of veterans around the world in a service at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan.
"What they have done has allowed us to be here," Kibben told the the roughly 200 worshippers Sunday at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan, including active duty servicemen and women. Memorial Day, she said, was a time to remind ourselves of the meaning of sacrifice and to put personal struggles and difficulties in perspective.
Also Sunday, President Obama arrived at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan to speak with troops and visit soldiers being treated at a base hospital. At least 2,181 members of the U.S. military have died during the nearly 13-year Afghan war and thousands more have been wounded.
Obama has directed all government agencies in the United States to fly their flags at half-staff on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
On Saturday, Democratic congresswoman Tammy Duckworth served as grand marshal of Chicago's Memorial Day Parade and struggled to hold back tears during a wreath-laying ceremony to honor fallen soldiers. She lost her legs and partial use of an arm when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in Iraq in 2004.
More than 300 Junior ROTC students from Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville marched in the city's parade. Afterward, still dressed in their uniforms, they chatted, bantered and ordered ice cream from a vendor's truck while waiting for a bus that would take them back home.
Their instructor, 1st Sgt. Stephen Roberts, an Army veteran, said the students practice all year to march in the parade.
"They enjoy it a lot," Roberts said. "We tell them about it at the beginning of the year. Our rifle, our drum teams, our flags, they practice every day. They come in on their own accord. They do their own practices. It means a lot to them. They're very proud to do this."
In Massachusetts, Boston Marathon survivor Jeff Bauman and his rescuer, Carlos Arredondo, helped plant tens of thousands of flags Saturday at a cemetery to honor soldiers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Leave no man behind: Why is Team Obama unable to bring home Marine held in Mexico?

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day in honor of our American servicemen and women who have sacrificed their lives defending us both at home and abroad. Many of our troops enlist in the military upon adulthood and have served in wars before their classmates have even graduated from college. These men and women are true American heroes and we must protect them just as well as they protect us.
Unfortunately, despite President Obama’s Memorial Day proclamation that we shall “never forget” the sacrifices of our soldiers, he and Secretary of State John Kerry have forgotten about a living American hero in dire need rescue: U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi.
Tahmooressi, only 25-years-old, is currently jailed in Tijuana, Mexico, after he accidentally drove across the border with three legally owned guns.
During the four years he served in the Marines, he did two tours in Afghanistan. While on the battlefield, he saved eight Marines from the Taliban, and in a separate incident he saved a Marine from bleeding to death after he stepped on an IED and lost his legs. Tahmooressi also suffered a concussion when his vehicle hit an IED.  
On March 20, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs diagnosed Tahmooressi with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Though he is from Florida, Tahmooressi chose a facility in San Diego for treatment, and he moved there shortly after his diagnosis. He had friends in the area and began dating a girl he met at church.
On the night of March 31, he drove alone to meet some friends near the Mexican border.  Because he was in transition, his truck was filled with his possessions, including a ladder strapped to his roof.


As midnight approached, Tahmooressi says he got lost due to border checkpoint closures, redirected traffic and lack of signage. Because he was unfamiliar with the area, he wound up at the El Chaparral inspection area at the Tijuana border.  
He was granted entry into Mexico but was stopped by Mexican border agents when he tried to turn around and re-enter the U.S. He was cooperative with the agents and immediately disclosed that he had three legally owned firearms in his truck. Fearing the Mexican authorities would seize his guns, he called 911.
“My problem is I crossed the border by accident and I have three guns in my truck and they’re trying to take my guns from me,” he told the dispatcher.
“So you’re in Mexico…There’s nothing I can help you with, sir…You’re not on American soil anymore,” she responds.
He answered, “I don’t know if I’m really on …I’m not sure if I’ve crossed yet.” 
Tahmooressi went on to say that there was not a “turn around point," and then the call ended.  
No one disputes that Tahmooressi violated Mexican law by entering the country with firearms, and the U.S. respects Mexico’s right to autonomously prosecute suspected criminals.
But the U.S. and Mexico also share mutual goals and work together as partners to eradicate drug cartels. In fact, the U.S. recently assisted Mexico in capturing the notorious drug lord known as "El Chapo" Guzman, the kingpin of the Sinaloa drug cartel. We provided intelligence, boots on the ground and even a surveillance drone.
Unfortunately, the Mexican government has chosen to unreasonably prosecute an American. The only thing Tahmooressi is guilty of is making an honest mistake by unknowingly entering Mexico while in possession of his legally owned firearms.
The Mexican government has chosen to criminally charge a member of our military who has no criminal record, who was not in possession of drugs or other illegal contraband, who was not engaged in suspicious activity that suggested his alignment with a cartel and who suffers from a serious yet treatable mental disorder. Tahmooressi was diagnosed with PTSD after fighting in an international war on terror aimed not only at protecting Americans, but also Mexicans.
According to California Rep. Duncan Hunter’s deputy chief of staff, Joe Kasper, Mexican prosecutors initially discussed charging Tahmooressi with gun trafficking, despite a complete lack of evidence.
In defense of Mexico's prosecution of Tahmooressi for three charges of firearms possession, Alejandro Gonzalez Guilbot, head of Mexican customs in Tijuana, stated that Tahmooressi never claimed he was lost. This is nothing less than a lie. The 911 recording, obtained by Hunter, clearly proves that Tahmooressi was lost.  
It should not go without mentioning that Guilbot, a lifelong public servant to Mexico, is under investigation by the Ministry of Public Service because of his lavish possessions, including a 2012 Rolls Royce Phantom valued at over $300,000, a BMW, a Lexus, many other luxury cars, a million-dollar home in a gated community in Houston and another property in Texas.
The Mexican government’s tactics also included telling Tahmooressi’s lawyer that he could not consent to an interview because there was no paper or pen in the entire jail. After an unreasonable delay, authorities eventually found writing materials.
In the United States, most states require a “preliminary hearing” 30 days after arrest if the defendant is in custody. In Mexico, however, the delay is considerably longer. Tahmooressi's evidentiary-type hearing is not scheduled until May 28, almost two months after his arrest.
Not only should Tahmooressi be released in the interest of reasonableness and justice, but also to show compassion for his mental health and safety.
Mexico has failed to treat Tahmooressi for his PTSD. In March, while in a Tijuana jail cell, he slit his throat and tried to escape because of he feared for his safety.
After he was treated, officials chained all four of his limbs to his hospital bed. Now back in jail, he remains chained to his bed by one leg.
Equally egregious is our own government’s lack of desire and priority to negotiate Tahmooressi’s release.
Hunter has worked tirelessly, and essentially single-handedly, to get the help of our top officials. He has written numerous letters to Secretary of State John Kerry and has yet to receive a response. Kerry was in Mexico earlier this week and "raised" the issue, but to what extent is unknown. Despite Tahmooressi's condition, the U.S. Consulate has not visited him since May 9, and it has told Hunter that it has not scheduled any future visits with him.
Hunter has asked Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to suspend all funding to Mexico for equipment transfers and training. In 2013, we trained over 3,000 Mexican troops. Between 2008-2011, the Department of Defense gave $428.7 million worth of equipment to Mexican security forces, including planes, Blackhawk helicopters, and scanners. Hunter has yet to receive a response from Hagel.
It is not in Mexico’s best interest to prosecute a man who indirectly fought to protect the lives of Mexicans while representing the United States in Afghanistan.
Tahmooressi was not the first person to mistakenly enter Mexico, and he will not be the last.
President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, you must not allow the wrongful prosecution of an American hero. You must not allow Mexico to hold our solider hostage for an honest mistake. You must not allow a young man, who suffers from PTSD as a result of protecting you, your families and fellow Americans, to be chained to a bed and continue to go untreated. 
Now is the time for you to demand Mexico release Andrew Tahmooressi or face serious consequences. 
Time is of the essence.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/05/23/why-is-team-obama-unable-to-bring-home-marine-held-in-mexico/#

Flags in at Arlington National Cemetery

Civil War Veterans, Fourth of July or Decoration Day

Ortonville, Minnesota

1880

 

Majority of judges behind wave of gay marriage rulings were Democrat-appointed

State-approved bans on same-sex marriage have been falling at a rapid clip since the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act last year. 
The changes -- gay couples can now wed in 19 states and the District of Columbia -- reflect shifting social and political attitudes toward same-sex marriage. But they also reflect, in several cases, the opinions of Democrat-appointed judges who single-handedly struck down state-approved bans.   
In a testament to the influence of judicial appointments, most of the judges responsible for the decisions over the past year were appointed by either President Obama or, two decades ago, Bill Clinton. 
Among the justices to recently effect a major state change was U.S. District Judge Michael McShane in Oregon. 
He threw out the state's voter-approved gay marriage ban on Monday. 
McShane was nominated by Obama in January 2013 and was confirmed several months later. He was in a position to effectively enact gay marriage from the bench, as state officials earlier refused to defend Oregon's ban and said they wouldn't appeal. 
The National Organization for Marriage sought to intervene, but both McShane and a federal appeals court rejected its attempts to argue in favor of the ban. 
The next day, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III overturned a 1996 Pennsylvania law barring recognition of gay marriage, calling it unconstitutional. 
The National Organization for Marriage protested again, calling the ruling an "end-run around the democratic process" that "places the capricious will of one man above the desires of millions of citizens." 
But Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, on Wednesday decided to end his court fight because "the case is extremely unlikely to succeed on appeal." The governor's decision means that same-sex marriage will remain legal in Pennsylvania, without the threat that a higher court will reinstate the ban. 
In Pennsylvania's case, the judge who threw out the ban was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush. 
Only one other judge -- of the eight who have ruled against gay marriage bans since the DOMA decision -- is Republican-appointed. The other is Bernard Friedman, a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan who struck down that state's gay marriage ban in March, though the decision is being appealed. Friedman was appointed by Ronald Reagan. 
Three of the judges -- in Oregon, Virginia and Utah -- were appointed by Obama in the last few years. Two were appointed by Clinton. One, in Idaho, was appointed by regional judges. 
Several of these cases are still being litigated. In 29 states, judges are being asked whether gays should have the right to marry. 
Advocates see a clear trend where gay marriage will increasingly be legalized. 
After the Pennsylvania decision, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Director Rea Carey said: "The momentum for same-sex marriage across the entire nation is unstoppable." 
But opposition in some places remains strong. A spokesman for Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said he will vigorously defend the state's constitutional ban against the lawsuit brought by four gay couples. 
In Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert said at a news conference Thursday he also is committed to defending his state's ban, and he blasted decisions against doing so by leaders in other states. 
"For elected officials, governors or attorney generals, to pick and choose what laws (they) will enforce I think is a tragedy, and is the next step to anarchy," Herbert said. "We have an obligation as a state to defend those laws." 
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

VA

'Why didn't they prepare?' Hundreds of VA vacancies, as returning vets strain system

WASHINGTON –  Despite rampant allegations of veterans stuck in limbo waiting for care, hundreds of jobs remain unfilled at the Department of Veterans Affairs -- including at some of the very locations where doctors supposedly were too short-staffed to see patients. 
A search by FoxNews.com on Friday of the USA Jobs federal employment website showed more than 1,080 current vacancies in health-related fields at the VA. 
A search of the words “VA” and “physician” yielded 167 jobs openings with top-range salaries of roughly $295,000 a year. There are 18 openings alone in the Phoenix VA Health Care System – the same one facing allegations that up to 40 people died while waiting for treatment.
One full-time position is for the chief of medicine. The vacancy, posted April 15 and open until June 13, comes with an annual salary up to $235,000.  
The VA pitches the job as a don't-miss opportunity. The ad boasts that “as a VA physician, your opportunities are endless” -- the agency offers "generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities.”
So why the vacancies, at such a critical time? 
In recent weeks, whistleblowers have come forward to criticize how the agency is handling its massive caseload. The allegations generally accuse local VA facilities of pushing off patients and then manipulating their own records to make it seem like they’re receiving care in a timely fashion.
Officials, in explaining the overburdened system, have pointed to the influx of veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the long-term care of aging vets from Vietnam.
“We go into Afghanistan, leave Afghanistan for Iraq with unfinished business in Afghanistan,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday, suggesting these problems were years in the making. “Ten years later, we have all of these additional veterans -- in the past five years, two million more veterans needing benefits from the VA. That's a huge, huge increase.” 
But the hundreds of vacancies show that the VA, with the influx of veterans a well-known factor, is not even operating at full capacity now. 
Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, questioned why the department didn't better prepare for the returning veterans by staffing up. 
“These are self-inflicted wounds. This isn’t a money issue. This is a prioritization issue,” he said. "They knew there were going to be more veterans who needed care. Why didn't they prepare?" 
Hegseth, a Fox News contributor, said he’s not surprised that lawmakers are trying to shift the blame. “It’s cover your ass time,” he said. 
The inspector general at the VA says 26 facilities are now being investigated nationwide, including the one in Phoenix.
Some have accused administrators of cooking the books and creating an environment that encouraged VA staff to manipulate wait times of veterans who need medical or mental health care. Others, though, have called the scandal political theater and say for the most part, the VA medical system works.
In a letter to veterans Friday, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki vowed to do better and promised to investigate every allegation brought to the department’s attention.
“As we approach our observance of Memorial Day and its special significance to our nation, VA is re-doubling its efforts, with integrity and compassion, to earn your trust,” he wrote. 
On Wednesday, President Obama broke his silence on the issue, vowing to “fix whatever is wrong” but stopping short of calling for Shinseki’s resignation.
As the scandal plays out in D.C., the VA continues its march to fill the hundreds of vacancies for health care officials at its clinics and hospitals across the country.
Among those is also a position in Kansas City, Mo., for a full-time radiologist, with a pay range of $98,967 to $295,000.
There are also openings at the VA teaching hospital in Danville, Ill., for urologists, pulmonologists and dental laboratory technicians. The facility also has an opening for an outpatient pharmacist, tasked with dispensing “appropriate medications and counseling patients on proper medication administration and storage.” The salary range is between $101,580 and $123,776.
Calls to the VA for comment were not returned.

Allen West: Obama administration's response to jailed Marine's plight 'very embarrassing'

Former Florida congressman Allen West told Fox News’ Andrea Tantaros Friday the Obama administration's reaction to the plight of the Marine jailed in Mexico on gun charges is “very embarrassing."
Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who grew up in Southern Florida, was arrested March 31 after he says inadvertently crossed into Mexico with weapons in his truck.
West noted that Secretary of State Kerry was in Mexico this week, but did not demand the Mexican government release Tahmooressi.
“So right now what we have are these very neutered, pajama boy leaders, faux leaders in Obama and in Kerry and it’s very embarrassing,” West said. “It is a sad state of affairs that a Marine is being detained, a combat veteran, who could possibly be suffering from PTSD, who is guilty of nothing.”
West also said he believes the Mexican government is attempting to make money from holding the Marine.
“It’s extortion,” he said, later adding, “this is absolutely heinous, it is appalling and it’s unconscionable.”