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Labor's Stake in the Fight for Veterans' Health Care

Suzanne Gordon and Ian Hoffmann Labor Notes
A grassroots resistance to Trump Administration VA privatization schemes is being mounted by AFGE union members many of whom, at the VA, are veterans themselves,

The Volunteer Army and What We Really Mean When We Salute the Troops

Barrett Swanson The Guardian
The U.S. has now effectively traded a universal military draft for the far more insidious policy of economic conscription. And while it has become something of a ritual for civilians to address veterans with: “Thank you for your service,” to commend those who have voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way, the ritual also betrays a more profound reality. We are thankful we ourselves aren’t economically desperate enough to have to enlist in this country’s endless wars.

books

The War He Survived Was Vietnam

Michael Yates CounterPunch
Liberal opinion holds that the Vietnam War was a mistake. The right continues to see it as a noble cause. Author Michael Uhl calls the slaughter in Vietnam planned and deliberate, saying that the United States would not tolerate then or now efforts by people in the Global South to escape the imperialist trap. Uhl writes as a participant, first as an intelligence officer and then as an historian, to paint a merciless and highly detailed picture of US policy at its rawest.

Friday Nite Videos -- December 2, 2016

Portside
Creedence Clearwater Revival | Fortunate Son (Lyrics). 638 Ways To Kill Castro. Do Not Resist (Documentary). Your Dog Understands More Than You Think. #Veteran Stand for #StandingRock.

#Veteran Stand for #StandingRock

Thousands of veterans are traveling to Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline — and this man is leading them

Dr. Orange: The Secret Nemesis of Sick Vets

Charles Ornstein and Mike Hixenbaugh ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot
For decades, the military and the VA have repeatedly turned to one man to guide decisions on whether Agent Orange harmed vets in Vietnam and elsewhere. His reliable answer: No.

"I Didn't Serve, I Was Used": How Veterans Are Losing the War at Home

Ann Jones TomDispatch
A friend of mine, a Vietnam vet, told me about a veteran of the Iraq War who, when some civilian said, "Thank you for your service," replied: "I didn't serve, I was used." That got me thinking about the many ways today's veterans are used, conned, and exploited by big gamers right here at home.
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