STAND

STAND

It’s Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2009.

Two days ago, one of my buddies, a former paratrooper and combat engineer, remarked that he was mildly perturbed (not his choice of words) that so many people were busily taking credit for the fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989 – twenty years ago), and the Iron Curtain it represented. He remembered spending three years buried up to his fourth point of contact in snow, helping tankers from the two border US Cavalry Regiments improve their fighting positions along the East German and Czechoslovakian borders. His thinking was simple – the Evil Empire failed for many reasons, but none of those things could have happened if there hadn’t been hundreds of thousands of American servicemen who deterred their every advance, all over the world, for over forty years.

There were wars in Korea and Viet Nam. There were pseudo-wars in dozens of other places. And there were tens of thousands of American servicemen stationed at flash points all over the world – standing watch at some lonely outpost – for what was then over 40 years.

For that time, all of West Germany was an armed camp. Two US Armored Cavalry Regiments stood that watch on the East German and Czech borders for forty years. I was one of those Cavalrymen for most of seven years. Those Cavalry Regiments stood that border for 40 years – fully loaded for war. At any moment, every single trooper knew he would likely be the first to find out about the start of the next world war. He’d have a ringside seat for the best, albeit short, view of a great conflagration when it started. It was his job to raise the alarm and do whatever he could to slow them down. Slow them maybe just a few minutes – and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines would roll to emergency deployment positions – all in very well practiced and extraordinarily deadly ballet. In just a few minutes, two Army Corps with as many as six heavy Army Divisions, several Marine Expeditionary Forces, uncounted Fighter and Bomber Wings, and the crews of scores of Navy warships at sea and under it would be ready for an all out continental war in Europe.

Back in the US, Airborne Divisions would mobilize in hours, several more heavy Divisions would pull out their cold weather bags and marshal for movement to European war stock sites, and Carrier Groups would set best courses and flank speed to war stations. But they, and their brothers in arms on the ground in Europe knew – it would be too late. The next war would be “come as you are”, and the guys on the ground in Europe would live or die with what they had and could carry.

And they stood there in Europe, just like they did all over the world.

All on hair triggers to rush into the gap to stop the Evil Empire.

All very aware they were horribly outnumbered and alone.

Every day.

Every night.

For over forty years.

And now its another 20 years since the fall of the Evil Empire. There are more enemies, there have been more wars, and more pseudo-wars. More flash points around the world. More soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines – standing watch on some distant lonely outpost. Not to enslave anyone – not for the glory of digging a hole to crap in – and certainly not for the money.

Never knowing.

Every day.

Every night.

For another twenty years.

I heard a Viet Nam veteran say he’d asked his father (a WW II vet) for advice before he deployed to Viet Nam. His father’s advice was, “You don’t have to stand tall over there. But you do have to stand.”

I believe the Evil Empire failed because the United States succeeded.

And I believe the United States has succeeded, in part, because its often forgotten warriors are willing to stand that post.

In some hell-hole outpost.

Never knowing.

Every day.

Every night.

As long as our country asks them to.

D. Johnson

LTC, US Army (Retired)

What is happening in America has to be very disturbing for those of you who are currently serving, and have served. The 1st Amendment to our Constitution gives Americans the right of free speech, right to assemble, and the right to petition our government with their grievances.

Matter of fact, if you read the Declaration of Independence you will see that it lists grievances against the British empire.

We who have taken an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States........" are truly the Guardians of our Nation's honor. At a time when we have witnessed serious discrepancies in military voting we must hear the call to arms. Do not allow your voices to be discounted.

I encourage you to read the healthcare legislation and understand how it may affect TRICARE. Those of us who have visited a Veteran's Administration hospital know the shortcomings and failures with a government run healtcare facility. An informed and involved citizenry is a powerful weapon, and is the basis of what makes America great.

Do not stand down, do not be intimidated, and always remember that there is no statute of limitations on the oath we took, nor our service to this Republic.

Steadfast and Loyal, LTC(R) Allen B West

Washingtoons
16 June 2009
Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Retired)
Reprinted from "Wheels on the Road" Magazine
“The Twilight Zone”

Greetings fellow Americans, here we are for another monthly installment of our political assessment. This month’s title is appropriate because Rod Serling could not have written this script any better. Everyday we wake up and have to ask ourselves, “Are we in some kinda parallel universe”? Actually Serling had an episode which fits appropriately.

Therefore I googled up what has to be my favorite Twilight Zone episode, “To Serve Man”. Here is the synopsis of the episode, which was available upon search.

“A race of aliens known as the Kanamits, they were tall, land on earth and promise to be nothing but helpful to the cause of humanity. Initially wary of the intentions of such a highly advanced race even the most skeptical humans are convinced when their code-breakers begin to translate one of the Kanamit’s books with the seemingly innocuous title, “To Serve Man”.

Sharing their advanced technology, the aliens quickly solve all of the Earth’s greatest woes, eradicating hunger, disease, and the need for welfare. Soon humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits’ home planet, which is supposedly a paradise.

All is not well, however, when a code-breaker discovers the Kanamits’ true intentions: Their book, “To Serve Man”, is a cookbook, and all their gifts were simply to make humanity complacent, much like fattening pigs or cows before they are slaughtered.”

Here we are today and the Kanamits are the far left liberals and their book is “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky.

How many people mindlessly followed, ok, well, I will not call him an alien, Obama’s empty rhetoric of “change and hope”? How many were hypnotized by the promises of everything being taken care of and the seas rising.

They just boarded that spaceship while others where telling them, beware. Now we are hearing people state, this is not what I voted for, too late, you have been served up on a plate.

One of the groups which is now trying to jump from the Obama spaceship is the Jewish community who voted about 78% as a block. All the while the American Jewish community was being told about associations with Louis Farrakhan, Rev Jeremiah Wright, and Khalid Rashidi. There were those warning them to read his book, “Dreams of my Father” where Obama said he would, “stand with his muslim brothers”. What did we hear back from the mindless lemmings? Obama loves Israel. Obama will not betray Israel.

My response, “To serve Israel”.

Another group which wholeheartedly drank the kool aid to the tune of 97% was my own black community. I cannot tell you how many times I had deep discussions with family and friends about the 2008 Presidential elections. It would always end up with something like this, “Allen, you just hate him and I don’t care about those issues. I want a black president.” Well, they certainly indeed have a bi-racial muslim raised President of whom they can now attribute a burgeoning national unemployment rate of 9.4%, which is probably doubled in the inner city black community.

And will Obama do anything about illegal immigration which denies the black community jobs, and depresses wages?

My response, “To serve Blacks”.

I remember election night when Obama was declared victor, kind of goes along with the whole imperial Caesar image. On that night people stood in awe, similar to watching the Kanamits.

Obama made a statement which echoes in my mind, “Chicago is coming to Washington DC”. Well, it certainly has and all the corruption and coercive practices was in tow. We have seen a private sector CEO fired. Banks have been strong armed to not only take government funding but to also not repay TARP funds received. We have seen the greatest automobile manufacturer in the world brought to its knees, now owned by the government and unions.

Our healthcare is now the new target and the remedy is not to have solutions driven by medical professionals, just more government intervention. It will cost over $1Trillion and we have no idea as to how this will be paid for....here is a bet, rationing and higher taxes. But, everyone will have healthcare, no woes.

We have 16-19 “Czars” who are unconstitutionally placed in positions to dictate and influence National policy but only answer to our imperial fearful leader. There is no Congressional oversight and these Czars are above the appointed Cabinet positions. In essence, Chicago came to the White House and has created a shadow government.

I watched this President deliver a speech before a university in Cairo (not Georgia where the syrup is made) Egypt loaded with historical inaccuracies. It was a speech which, again, made a point of apologizing for America and appeasing the vilest of enemies with whom we are embroiled in global combat operations.

This President recently was “outraged” at the shooting death of an abortion doctor in Kansas, who had performed countless late term procedures. I do not condone this murder, but when contrasted against the death of Army PFC William Long, I am outraged.

Private Long was killed by a converted jihadist from Memphis Tn originally named Carlos Bledsoe. This fella had somehow secured a Somali passport, attended a Yemeni terrorist training camp, and returned to America where his goal was to kill American Soldiers. Furthermore, a laptop confiscated from this homegrown terrorist had a target list of churches and synagogues.

Our President boarded a plane to Egypt, gave another worthless speech, and then some 72 hours after the shooting delivered a statement where he was, “saddened”.

We have two American journalists sentenced to 12 years hard labor in a Country which has been testing missiles and underground nuclear weapons. We are now implementing a policy of reading Miranda rights to captured terrorists. We now are giving released detainees taxpayer dollars to “start anew” and have great new lives in resort locations like, Bermuda.

My response, “To serve America”.

Now, I could go on and talk about a quadruped debt, and remember this has all occurred in 5 months….Katie bar the Door!

What makes all this even more despicable is the complicity of a media that has become nothing more than cheerleaders. Once upon a time there was honor and integrity in the news, now it is nothing more than manipulated propaganda. Heck, ABC is about to broadcast a news segment, one hour, from the White House.

The media is simply seasoning us for the modern day Kanamits, the liberal socialists.

Who will make a stand for the American people? All I see are bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News, and concerned American citizens being alerted, they broke the code and found the cookbook.

This is the closing narration from the episode, “The recollections of one Michael Chambers, with appropriate flashbacks and soliloquy. Or more simply stated, the evolution of man, the cycle of going from dust to dessert, the metamorphosis from being the ruler of a planet to an ingredient in someone’s soup. It’s tonight’s bill of fare from the Twilight Zone”.

Stop drinking the Kool-Aid, don’t look into the light, stop following the Kanamits, unless you wish to be “served”.


Steadfast and Loyal,
LTC(R) A B West

After my last rant (Crap, Apr 09), I got a deluge of hate mail from lawyers about my “slurs” regarding professional lawyer-politicians. The general tenor of the messages I received was that, while there may be some bad lawyers, most are quite good people. So, Crap, the Sequel is born.

Clearly, the folks who responded to me must have poor reading skills. They clearly missed my apple barrel allegory. I guess I have to make my points to “esquires” a bit less subtly.

So, here we go.

---Alert---

Plain talk follows.

If someone bakes, I call them a baker.

If someone lies, I call them a liar.

Professional lawyer-politicians are deathly afraid of our military and our military veterans. Professional lawyer-politicians recognize themselves as weak and lacking in conscience. At the same time, they know our military personnel, at every level, are better men and women. Americans know this as well, at a visceral level. That’s why Congress’ approval rating is lower than MSNBC’s viewer ratings, and conversely, why our military is very likely the most honored institution of our society. What other group competes?

- The press and media?

- Church and clergy?

- Academia?

- Wall Street?

- The Judiciary?

- Maybe the US Postal Service?

- How about the Department of Motor Vehicles?

- Certainly not political parties, local, State and federal?

So, if you know you are overmatched going into a fight, you have three options:

- Run

- Improve yourself.

- Weaken or marginalize your opponent.

So, what do you think the political parties have decided to do?

They can’t run away, because they can’t DO ANYTHING. They have no marketable skills except voting themselves perks and buying votes with your tax dollars. Self improvement is hard work, so they rationalize that their abysmal and dishonorable performance in representing their constituents is good enough. That leaves one option – use their power and position to cut down their opponent.

That’s why they can’t let the military vote.

That’s why they print ballots days before an election and refuse extra time for military absentee votes to be received (New York Special Election for Congress, Apr 09). Then, even when the Dept of Justice files a face-saving lawsuit to extend the time, they sue for 15 days less than the minimum time needed to turn the ballots around. Because they want to marginalize veterans, the Dept of Veteran’s Affairs offers up proposals to require private insurance to pay for combat related injuries. Their disdain for all things military shows clearly when the Dept of Homeland Security distributes an official government position paper to remind local and State law enforcement that returning military personnel are threats – they have combat skills and are ripe recruitment targets for those well known terrorist cabals like anti-illegal immigration groups, anti-abortion groups, and those gun clinging Second Amendment freaks who are buying out ammunition stocks across the nation.

Yes, that is some warped logic. Some spineless, pin-striped, bureaucrat wonk, writing a paper which warns that members of the most respected institution of our society are at high risk to somehow go astray and become the same enemy they’ve been fighting – a slap in the face to soldiers who are fighting just to make sure the manicured wonk is safe to buy his six dollar lattes.

I’m going out on a limb – I’d call that ironic.

What’s next? Is NASCAR to be designated a terrorist organization? Truck drivers? Tea party attendees? I’ll bet you a dollar to a donut that the real reason that soft and fuzzy political appointee wrote that DHS paper is because he lost a girlfriend to some returning soldier. She’d been dating this well-dressed guy with a BMW working in DC. Then she met Sergeant Joe with his re-up pickup truck. I’ll bet she dumped Latte Boy faster than you can spend $20 at a strip club.

But do politicians really believe that crap about terrorists in the military?

No, they don’t. They’re only trying to weaken those they see as rivals. Self-preservation is what politicians do for a living.

And oh, by the way. Both political parties do the same damn thing.

- That’s why over half of our States’ voting laws basically preclude our military from voting.

- That’s why State legislatures don’t enact legislation needed to allow our military to vote, even though the State politicians know exactly what’s needed. The smart military lawyers at the National Defense Committee (www.nationaldefensecommittee.org) have repeatedly recommended precisely what’s needed in every State to each State’s Secretary of State and key members of the State Legislatures – yet year after year, we see little or no action by the politicians.

- That’s probably one of the reasons the Florida and national Republican parties donated money to virtually every politician running for dog catcher in 2008, but not even a penny to the congressional campaign of Allen West (LTC, USA, Retired).

Politicians are afraid – and they should be.

- After the Civil War, six of the next seven Presidents were veterans of that war.

- After WW II, the next eight Presidents were veterans of that war.

- When our current crop of servicemen and women become politically involved, and with the support of the previous generations of Veterans, there is a significant possibility that a significant number of professional politicians will be replaced by veterans again.

So Yes, Secretary Napolitano, I’m a Veteran – and yes, I want a Revolution.

- I want friends, family, and veterans to fight for the right of our military to vote.

- In the meantime, I want our military to fight through the ridiculous obstacles that prevent them from voting, and through voting, force the political parties to come to them.

- Then I want to see more veterans run for office, and win.

Then we’ll see a revolution.

A revolution the way it’s done in the United States of America.

By voting bums out – and putting men and women of conscience in.

Ruck the Vote!!!!

Don Johnson

The Small Print

Don Johnson doesn’t like professional politicians. He thinks they make snakes seem like philanthropists by comparison. If you have a position on this issue, feel free to comment on this rant at our new blog militaryvoting.blog . If you think our military deserves the right to vote, donate your time and/or your money to Count US In. You can donate at the website www.countusin.us. If you want to volunteer to help us out, contact Lizz at lizz@countusin.us . If you think Don needs to be cut down a notch or two, email him at ids49@comcast.net. His comment to those who disagree with him – Bring it on!!

Oh, and by the way, Lizz reminds me to tell you that we have Facebook, Twitter and other stuff of that ilk.

I have no idea what the f#@%k those terms relate to, but word on the street is – Lizz likes being tweeted.

(What the hell does that mean?)

Ed.Note: YES, she does!

How long will you take this crap?

New York’s 20th Congressional District had a special election to replace its US Representative. It was held this month (April 2009). It is politically significant in some ways, but there is controversy as to who won. As of this writing, it is still a very close vote.

But this special election in New York is even more significant in another arena – politicians and lawyers (often the same) at several levels of government, both State and Federal, did everything they could, to deny the right to vote for deployed military personnel who were legitimately registered to vote in that district. But that wasn’t enough. Some of the military personnel from that district who were deployed, managed to overcome the serious obstacles placed in the way of their votes, and actually managed to get their votes to their voting supervisors in time – and an army of lawyers is hard at work trying to figure out how those votes might be ignored.

Look it up. If you’re reading this, you can do an internet search and find credible articles that explain the details. Make sure you note how the ballots weren’t printed until it was already far too late to get them to personnel in combat zones. Don’t miss the vote by the NY State Elections Board where four politicians couldn’t agree to extend the time for receiving military absentee ballots. And be sure to read how the Dept of Justice, sued NY to force them to extend that same deadline – it is generally accepted that 45 days is the absolute minimum turnaround time for absentee ballots – NY was only allowing 23. So I’ll bet you’ll be surprised when you read that the Dept of Justice only asked in their lawsuit that NY should be ordered to extend the time limit to allow a 30 day turnaround. – that’s right, the DoJ only asked for an extension of seven stinking days – when the politician-lawyers at DoJ knew full well that the minimum they should have asked for was a 22 day extension.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. We need military personnel to get involved in the electoral process, and we need it for two reasons.
1. First – If military personnel vote, they will have clout with the political parties. Until they vote, the parties will continue to ignore the needs of the military. Oh sure, they’ll get you bullets and send you into harm’s way. But then, while you’re deployed, they’ll still float bills that pretend to make you pay for health care for your service related injuries.
2. Second – When military personnel get engaged, and see broken things, they fix them. Maybe, by engaging in the political process, our brothers and sisters in arms will see how broken our political system is – and decide to fix it by running for office. Hell, we could send a ton of politician-lawyers to the unemployment offices. That alone would improve our government.

Next I’ll hear from politicians and lawyers who claim that not all politicos and lawyers are skunks, and not all of our military veterans are saints. Both observations are true. But allow me an analogical turn here to explain how I use those premises to arrive at my simple conclusion. Lets say there are two barrels of apples in a store. One is full of great looking red apples, but probably has a few bad ones mixed in. The other is a stinking, slimy, pot of gooey rotten apples, but the store owner assures you that a customer took a great looking apple out of that barrel a while back. Now those politician-lawyer apologists want me to stick my arm, up to my shoulder, into that barrel of crap, to see if I can find one more good apple in the bottom of the barrel. Not a chance in hell.

I know what soldiers do. I know they aren’t saints. I sure wasn’t. But I do know this for a fact – we Americans trust our military, and our military has earned that trust. I have no trouble concluding that we can pick an apple from the barrel of great looking apples with a high degree of confidence – and no, we won’t get a saint – but we are a lot less likely to get slimed.

My question is simply this –
HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO PUT UP WITH THIS CRAP?
Soldiers – Are you going to allow politicians to deny your right to vote – then try not to count your votes when you manage to get a ballot in?
Families and Friends – Are you going to allow politicians to walk all over the rights of your sons, daughters, spouses, buddies?
Veterans – Are you going to allow politicians to mistreat another generation of your brothers and sisters in arms?
Citizens – Are you going to allow politicians to spend trillions on welfare and utopian social engineering, yet cut services for the men and women who defend your very lives, and liberties?

The overwhelming majority of politicians are lawyers. And while some small percentage of them are veterans, its not enough. I say, the sooner we change that balance, and get more veterans to enter politics, the better off we’ll be.

But it can’t happen unless we help our military vote and become engaged in the political process. If they vote, they have clout and the political parties will be forced to pay attention to them. When they participate, they’ll quickly seize on the fact that they could do a much better job.

So, donate your time, money, energy – to Count US In. We’re engaged in a really dirty fight right now, to get the States to allow our military to vote – then count those votes when they get them.
We need volunteers, so sign up to help us organize campaigns for military voting law reform in your State.
We need money, so send Count US In a donation (tax deductible – at least for now).
We need a voice, so pass the word about Count US In. Invite us to talk at your meeting. Talk about Count US In instead of dissing your neighbor at the Little League game. And most importantly, tell anyone you know in the military, to use the Count US In website as a voting resource ( www.countusin.us ).

Help your military vote – because they deserve your support.

Do that, and I promise you – someday, you’ll go to vote, and you’ll have a soldier, sailor, airman or marine on the ballot for some post. And you’ll smile. Because when that day comes, you won’t ever again have to stick your arm in that barrel of crap.

Carry on.
Don

Small Print
Don Johnson and Count US In want all our military personnel to exercise their right to vote, and we want their families, friends and other veterans to help motivate and facilitate those votes. We also want everyone to kick around a politician about once a week – especially State politicians who are primarily responsible for voting laws. Your comments, suggestions, donations, and input are welcome at www.countusin.us . You say you’re a lawyer or politician and you wanna kick Don’s butt? He laughs at you – your soft hands and skinny arms – and your silly pin striped suit. But, make a large enough donation to Count US In, and he might apologize. Not really.

A message from Allen West: Our Spokesman

A Message from Allen West, Spokesman: Count US In

Greetings to all of our outstanding service men and women who stand guard on Freedom’s ramparts protecting our American way of life. I am truly honored to have been selected as the National spokesman for Count US In, a non-profit, non-partisan organization formed to help YOU vote and make your voice heard in Washington (www.countusin.us).

I cannot stress enough the importance for those who support and defend our Constitution to be involved in electing representatives to uphold our Constitution. We as current service members and Veterans must remain engaged in our American political process. Our America is a Republic which means the elected officials are responsible to the people, who should determine the role of its government.

All of us, current and former members of our Armed Forces, must know the issues and ensure our voices are heard. Below are a few items currently on the Hill in which you may have interest. If you have other issues or concerns to discuss, please let us know so we can help provide information about them.
Defense Spending:
see http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/03/17/gates_readies_big_cuts_in_weapons

The Blair-Holt Firearms Bill which affects current and future gun owners.
See http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45

A very crucial situation was just presented regarding health insurance and coverage for the military and shows the power of the veterans’ voice. The American Legion made a statement on this item as did other veterans’ organizations like the DAV, and the White House tabled the proposal in response to this strong stand. This just shows IF you make your voice heard--directly to your President: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ and to Your elected representatives, you too can be the agent for change. (see http://ourvoice.legion.org/story/1448/legion-white-house-dont-bill-our-heroes and http://www.dav.org/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=117)


We entreat you to please pay attention to these issues—and all issues that affect your life and livelihood and contact your representative in the US Congress and Senator to let your insights be known. If you don’t know who your reps are, visit http://www.countusin.us/index_files/Election_resources.htm or http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/. We’ll try to keep you informed on pressing issues.

Your vote is your voice—the elections may take place in 2010, but now is the time to let your elected officials know where you stand and how you want them to represent you—if they don’t, then you vote them OUT!

Again, it is an honor and one I take very seriously to "stay on the wall" and provide over-watch for all of you deployed and retired. I will send out these occasional notes as necessary.
Steadfast and Loyal
LTC(R) Allen B West

Join Count US In in their fight for democracy here at home.

Preparing for the 2010 Vote

March, 2009


I just got an email from one of our volunteers. She’s going to start organizing to support military voting at a military base. Her question was basically “Where do I start?” It so happens that she is a member of one of the local political parties, and volunteers there often. She’s politically active, in other words. You’d expect that from someone who is volunteering to help military personnel become informed on voting issues (both local and national), and also to help them cast their votes. This is downright Jeffersonian, and altogether commendable.


So, our incipient volunteer went to her local political party headquarters to find out where to get started in getting military people into the voting process. Why? Because she naively thought political parties are supposed to care – about the process, and about our servicemen. Here’s an excerpt from her email to me:
The (party) chair did not have any suggestions as it is so hard to keep track of military coming and going from different states and cities….


This illustrates a great truth, in just one phrase – And it doesn’t matter which political party our volunteer is affiliated with. It is this – None of our political parties give a flying f#@% about military voters. (Politically Correct Caveat - My comments are not meant to demean “flying f#@%s” as a group. Most “flying f#@%s” are loyal, hardworking Americans. I myself, have several friends who are “flying f#@%s”, and one who is a flaming “flying f#@%”).


“But Don”, you say, “Surely the conservatives love our soldiers.” In truth, I really think every red-blooded American loves our servicemen. But here’s where I make you face the cold hard facts – the real truth of the matter is – if you don’t vote, you are invisible to any of the political parties – military personnel don’t vote, so the parties don’t care – at all.


Let me repeat that – there is no military vote. Right now, today, our soldiers can’t vote. According to a recent Pew study, over half the States have what amount to impenetrable barriers to voting by our servicemen and women. Since they can’t vote, they have no voice. No voice means our servicemen and women are politically useless to the parties and politicians (except for the photo every one of them has in their election brochure and in their office). Since there is no military vote, the politicians devote their efforts to groups that do vote, however poor that voting record is – since it is sure to be better than the military voting record.


It’s a conundrum. Our fighting force can’t vote, so they have no clout, so the politicians feel no obligation to pass meaningful voting legislation to help them vote.


But, there is a way out. You just have to get enough votes turned in, regardless of the obstacles, to show you are a force. It doesn’t matter what you vote for, or what candidate you support. If military ballots show up at the polls in any numbers at all, every politician worth his earmarks will bend over backwards to pander to you. They just can’t help themselves – they’ll do damn near anything for a vote.


One of the worst voting cohorts in our society is the 18-24 age group. Yet the political parties move mountains to get the “youth vote”. Why aren’t they interested in the same cohort in the military? You guessed it. The military voting record is even worse. It’s only about a third of the horrible voting record of their civilian compatriots. All the civilian youth voter has to do is sober up by Tuesday to vote. For a serviceman to vote, he needs to move the heavens, the earth, ten layers of barnacle encrusted bureaucrats, and the US Snail.


But they can. They must. Count US In wants to help.


Count US In, along with friends, family and veterans organizations, is organizing right now for the 2010 elections. We want to help our servicemen break the code on the ridiculous Civil War technology (US Snail) they’re forced to use to vote today. We want to help bring military votes to the ballot boxes in November 2010, so they become a force to be reckoned with. If they vote, the parties and the politicians will not be able to ignore them. The parties think the military will all vote alike (what the hell do they know), but that doesn’t matter at all. If they see growing numbers of military votes, the military will become a force, and will have a voice. Having a voice means some encrusted bureaucrat at the Dept of Defense may spend an extra minute to get those deployment orders right this time – it means the Armed Services Committees will address soldier’s issues instead of just procurement issues – it means they’ll pay attention at Veteran’s Affairs after a soldier gets out of the service – it means all the parties will beat a path to the serviceman’s door. It means a lot – it means their rightful place at the table.


In our system, a vote means everything. If you don’t vote, you don’t matter. Right now the system is rigged to make our military fail at the ballot box. Let’s change that right now.



The election of 2010 is just around the corner. To influence State legislatures in time to force improved legislation, we need to mobilize NOW! To be represented, our military needs power. To get power, they have to vote. To vote, our military needs a grateful nation’s help.


But wait!!! There’s more!!! We want to Count YOU In! Get off your ass, and kick some politician around a bit. You pay that politician’s salary, so get your money’s worth. We’ll show you how, and it feels great. Then, we need you to support our troops with something besides a bumper sticker. To get all this started, just go to the Count US In website www.countusin.us , and Volunteer, Donate, Call, Write, Tweet (@militaryvote).
Ruck the Vote!!!
Don

Small Print
Don Johnson and Count US In want all our military personnel to exercise their right to vote, and we want their families, friends and other veterans to help motivate and facilitate those votes. We also want everyone to kick around a politician about once a week – especially State politicians who are primarily responsible for voting laws. Your comments, suggestions, donations, and input are welcome at www.countusin.us . If you are unfamiliar with the term Ruck the Vote, then you are a slacker and haven’t read all of Don’s rants – do your homework and read them at the website. Wanna kick my butt? Feel free to try to at the website