Women veterans across the country
have reached an important
crossroads in determining their
political place in the great
national VA debate.

Shall we continue to be
Parrot-Heads and repeat, repeat,
repeat every little blip that
the VA says, or do we turn our
laser guns of scrutiny onto
the VA's every word to
determine if they really do
have our best interests at heart?

This is not a usual and
comfortable place for us to be,
for sure, and some may fall into
it easier than others. Just
put your right arm out
and measure off your distance
and take it from there when
the call goes out.

For those of us who study the
every move [ or lack of ]
by the VA agency, we can tell
you without hesitation that
this agency is the biggest run
in our stockings since the
Taliban and it's no longer
an option to stand around and
let the VA steer our fate!

We have to find our place
in shedding ourselves of old
ways and old notions. We are
no longer in a safe federal
environment. Nobody at the top
cares if we live or die.

In todays new
government-by-Monkey-Squad,
they thrive almost exclusively
on public or constituent
"outcry". That's right......
noise, gripe, noise, gripe!
They only minimally recognize
a single leader speaking for
all. We are treated as loners
with single person agendas and
it's because they only see us
and nobody else standing behind
us. It's all about the noise,
you see.

Perhaps the best example of
that is the forced resignation
of Trent Lott in the Senate,
or how about Michael Brown of FEMA.

If we are to survive the
inadequacies and life hazards
of this VA system, all of which
is adversarial and incompetent
at the same time [ the worst
possible combination known
to womankind ]
then we are going to have to
change how we do business on
national Girl-Vet issues.

Our brothers are already very
much out there and do get it.
But Holy Tamoly us Girls do have
a ways to go yet!

With the availability of the
Internet, we now have to look
at new and creative ways to
protest and advocate against
this VA turkey. Get creative
and find your own way.

Email drives are everywhere
now and if you are called
upon, then please join
and support them.
These are easy to support,
just use the given email address
and know the issue a little and
say: "Hey NumbNuts!
Wake up from your coma and
fix this mess, would ya??
-- signed, Girl-Vet"

You can actually hold a
Girl-Vet Party at your home
or office, have eats and play
cards, then take turns at the
computer signing on and
sending out your Nasty-Grams.

Just how easy can this be??


Then there is the all new
Internet electronic Petitions.
These are fun and you get
to see what the rest of
your group is doing too.
The issue is stated, you
get to decide if you want
to sign or not, then you fill
out the little Blank form, then
POOF!! -- you are a signature
on a Petition. You may receive
an auto-reply message on your
own email account that you can
either delete or hold onto.

Supporting websites with your
HITS is another way to protest.
Most websites have a Hit-Counter
which triggers when you come in.
VFJ has one and the owners
are able to make arguments
in protests and advocacy
about how many Hits of
support they have from you.
The VA does understand HITS
and when you tell them we
have nearly 2 million of them,
it gets the VA's attention.
Promote other websites so
their HITS will increase and
the owners can use this as
a weapon of argument.

Then there are the Blogs,
just like THIS one !
Most Vet websites DO have
a FORUM page, and the FORUM
is where you can Talk Back!!
Yeah Baby -- say it loud!

You can either write your own
original Blogs or you can Click
on the REPLY button on the end
of someone else's BLOG and make
a comment or answer to what
they have said.
COOL !

The BLOGS are merely personal
commentaries or editorials on the
issues of the day, and don't you
KNOW it, we Vets DO have VA
issues by the truckload.

Even more compelling, there are
times when we have to go out and
klunk the heads of other women
in the VA, and who better to do
it than US ?? The Boys are not
always that comfortable
verbally clobbering a nut farm
headed by high-heels so it is
here that us Girls are needed to
the rescue. You can start to
see how the Boys could easily
get mixed messages about
public criticism of VA women
who need to go home to their
husbands and have a good life.
Yes Boy-Vets need YOU to
snap the bras of VA skirts!


And let's get real, there are
plenty of those around too. Just
get a load of the woman Governor
of Louisianna who couldn't pull
her head out of her jewelry box
long enough to take care of
New Orleans!! Yes, it's true
women veteran protesters and
advocates are needed and we have
to find a way to ease into that
whole scene comfortably. We
have to make it our own, but
still get the job done.

Sometimes the honor that we
all walk with, is more about
what we stand for or against,
instead of going with the flow.
And inside the modern day VA
system, going with the flow is
certain death and doom and
unintended consequences.


Now.....let me see....how
did we used to do that thing?
E-Y-E-S R-I-I-I-G-H-T !!

Well, I finally found something worth reading on a site for "vets"! I've been trying to find other female vets who are tired of getting the run around by the VA and our "brother" vets!

I used the net to get much needed eye surgery...guess who responded and got it done? VP Cheney! I'm still looking for an organization BY women, FOR women, to deal with issues UNIQUE to women. I found that the VFW, American Legion, etc. were totally hopeless when it came to help regarding women's issues. We need to start our own non-profit organization and get Washington's attention. Lots of sisters are in a unique situation in our current conflict in the middle east and I'm sure they will appreciate someone/someplace to go and get help when they need it.

What do you say? Shall we "ladies" get together and get something done?

Chevy47
Another Ft McClellan Vet