International Falls Daily Journal - Community News - Comments

What a wonderful

kay — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:11:27 -0500

What a wonderful contribution to Intl Falls. Thank you to the Knudson family.

Congratulations to the

roj2000 — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:54:39 -0500

Congratulations to the "navyhornet"!!!! Good luck with your new assignments/jobs.

Addiction is involved in the

waugh — Fri, 30 May 2008 05:35:52 -0500

Addiction is involved in the accident treatement

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waugh

Addiction treatment and recovery resources for the addict and their families. http://www.addictiontreatment.net

Being a "horn tooter" rather

Anton1965 — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:31:33 -0500

Being a "horn tooter" rather then a "jug puffer", I find the only distinction I can find of the "Hiram Abiff" you speak of is he lured the Queen of Sheba, Solomon's wife, to fall in love with himself and run away with him, this after no doubt, being paid a handsome sum of money to help build his temple. So much for honesty or conviction of ethical standards by Hiram for sure. In all honesty I guess some responsibility should rest with Solomon for not paying attention to detail or staying at home often enough. Of course, the story of Hiram's exploits of Solomons wife are not verified in history. To be sure, no Hiram built any part of Solomon's temple as Hiram was a "brass worker not a mason and arrived at Solomon's temple after the temple was built. I myself don't understand why anyone would want to "dig up" a rotting corpse of anybody, especially the rotting corpse of the man who lured the kings wife away. Well, as you said, I guess its just one of those "secret" mysteries. To be sure, no man in our fair city ever lured any mans wife away to be his fair maiden, after all, who would want such an honest women to be cooking his beans!

Before the internet and

Thomas L. Johnson — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:59:01 -0500

Before the internet and before Dan Brown, about all we could ever learn about the Masons was what they were allowed to share with us, which was, as this article reveals, precious little. As a member of the famed jug and fife band called Pete's Puffers, I was able to visit the lodge for both Masonic and order of the Eastern Star meetings. Of course, we were kicked out when the mumbo jumbo started, so we never got to hear about Hiram Abiff and his death and resurrection. And that was okay. Everytime you take out a dollar bill, you are reminded that the Masons, though numerically a minor player in the American story, have wielded a large influence, particularly the all-seing eye that festoons our every dollar.
Because this wonderful DJ site has allowed us a forum to explore things, I am posting today in order to elicit the comments of those of you who have a deeper knowledge of the secret societies than does this former puffer of jugs in C, F, and G. [I was always something of a blowhard].

Diane is an integral, behind

lesleyk — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:59:18 -0500

Diane is an integral, behind the scenes part in helping seniors in this community. She works harder than she has to, to make sure her people are taken care of. I wish we could see someone like Diane win a Citizen of the Year award!

Kudos to her and Myrna Meadows for working hard to keep that program here! Now let's see Barb Dorry try to take it away from this community!

I think this is a great idea

Anton1965 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:56:41 -0500

I think this is a great idea and I will sure be there to ask a lot of questions that have been on my mind about social security benifits, burial benifits and maybe even a haircut and hots. Thanks for doing all the work it takes to pull this off and again thanks for bringing "The Wall" to town last summer for all of our enjoyment in what ever way we wanted to think about the past.

TLJ, Have to agree with ya

roj2000 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:31:22 -0600

TLJ,

Have to agree with ya on those comments. You left out GHW Bush. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Got screwed, to be blunt. I'm still a Biden man, and the Huckster is a great one too!! But money and good looks will make you President most of the time. What about JC Watts from the State of OK? Now there's a guy who could help someone win. But, he must have got caught with his zipper open, cause he just dropped off the radar. However, in the end it's McCains election to lose. But Hillary will pull out every dirty trick in the book to get the top of the ticket, and will use "Barry" to help her try to win. But a McCain/Huckster ticket may win also. And, NO, I didn't die (sorry to let everyone down). I just had surgery last week and I'm finally getting back to my nasty self. But, it's good to have Anton/TLJ sounding off again. It's good to have some real competition, besides "self-servo" and a couple other "pasta God lovers"!!

Ok, the problem with being

mwk1013 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:40:08 -0600

Ok, the problem with being upset for people expecting the "guvment" to take care of their own is your belief that family and friends are better able to take care of those struggling with the after effects of war. That would be great if that were true, but in a large number of situations, it's just not. Well-meaning family members and loved ones are NO substitute for professional psychological care, particularly when you're dealing with PTSD. Trust me, I know this first hand. Love and support alone don't heal extreme psychological issues. And good psychological care is expensive to obtain on one's own. That's why veterans SHOULD be able to rely on the government.

Also, keep in mind that vets of wars like WWII, Korea in large part fought different kinds of wars than those in Vietnam and Iraq. Guerilla warfare is the key...IEDs, ambushes by "civilians"...I would never begin to compare the atrocities of either types of combat, but it's not unreasonable to think that while vets of all wars likely face challenges from PTSD/PTSS, that many vets of Vietnam or Iraq might face challenges different from many vets of wars with more conventional forces. It's not just a matter of how people welcomed vets home. That's a far too simplistic answer for a really complicated problem.

I don't know if stats of homelessness among vets get inflated or not. It's certainly possible b/c it's an emotional issue and tugs on all the right heartstrings. But heck, roj, you were in the military...most people there don't make a lot of money, and in this day and age, more than ever don't even have high school diplomas...so once you get home and get out, you have minimal education, possibly limited job skills depending on what you did when you were in, and not much extra money, you're already at a disadvantage. Now if you're all messed up mentally (and this can start with small things like having less patience, having anxiety problems, insomnia to full blown PTSD where you almost cease to be functional) and don't have $ to provide your own health (psychological) care, and you can't rely on the government, you're pretty much screwed.

It's great that you go out of your way to hire vets, and I'm sure you probably do a great deal more than that, being a vet yourself, but the fact that you yourself haven't run into people who are totally jacked up doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of them...I happen to know personally, or know of (friends of friends) at least 5-6...and I maybe know/know of 50 Iraq vets. In my "scientific" statistical sample, (LOL) that's 10%...not enough necessarily that you would constantly run into such severly troubled people, but enough to be worried about, surely!! And for some of those people I know, they had extremely supportive friends and family...and it just hasn't helped their situation.

So I commend the VFW for doing what they can!!

No, roj. I had given you up

Thomas L. Johnson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:14:00 -0600

No, roj. I had given you up for dead. It was Anton1965 with his love letter to International Falls who got me interested in suspending my rehab to comment on your anything-but-love letter.
Ironically, Mr. Romney dropped out just about the time I dropped in. If Huckaby had a fraction of Romney's money, the Republican would have a pretty good chance next year, don't you think? He is easily the most likable candidate out there and this country likes affability a whole lot more than ideology. Reagan was a nice guy with a winning smile and a nice haircut. Like Kennedy. Like Clinton. Unilke Nixon or Hubert Humphrey or Walter Mondale or John Kerry. Likability wins presidential elections, for the most part. And John McCain will not prove to be a very likable man, at least not if he goes against Barry Obama. But he will kill Hillary.

As George W. reminded us

Thomas L. Johnson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:23:01 -0600

As George W. reminded us yesterday, the government is good at solving problems. Or are you helping pick up the mess from the tornadoes that rampaged through the South this last weekend creating more desgtruction that even Mr. Huckaby?

TLJ, Was it "ME" who

roj2000 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:08:25 -0600

TLJ,

Was it "ME" who stirred you up today? I would never have equated you with Rush Slimeball!! Nothing to be ashamed of by being a "Draft Dodger"! Heck, I was one. I joined the Navy and hid on submarines in stead of going off to war. So, I guess I'm in your category. HUH?? So, what have you done to help a so called "homeless" Vet? Yeah, thought so. Nothing!! Just like millions of other Americans, you all leave it up to the VA or the Guvment to care for these folks. Why, heck, the Guvment screwed them up, then they should fix them. No need for family or community support. As for your uncle, that was a different time. Today, it's the "Me, Me", generation! I'm not denying anything, other than the "stretched" facts of the number of homeless vets. This is everyone's problem, not just the VA or Guvment.

Schmitty53, One of the

roj2000 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:39:52 -0600

Schmitty53,

One of the problems I have is the basis for your stat's; which happen to come from the "National Coalition Of Homeless Vet's". Talk about an unbiased fact basis. That's like me using info from the GOP to try to convice a Democrat something is true. But, that being said, who's fault is it if only "one" vet is homeless?? The Vet, the VA, the Vet's family members? So when the Nam vets came home they weren't welcomed by the "civilian" population, so THAT is where I put MUCH of the blame!! Don't rely on Uncle Sugar to do "everything". Take care of your own. In my own company, I go out of my way to hire a vet over someone else. I probably could go to court for that, but I feel a "Vet" has been there and done that, much more than any "non-veteran". And for the past 15 years, only a couple of them have let me down. I have much more I could say on this, but I will let others chime in.

roj2000, It's copy and paste

Schmitty53 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:08:13 -0600

roj2000, It's copy and paste info but I hope it helps. The info is from the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans website.

How many homeless veterans are there?

In May 1994, NCHV released "Report To the Nation" providing a reasonable estimate of homeless veterans by state and major geographical locations within the state. We estimated the total homeless veteran population to be 271,750. Eight states accounted for 47% of the homeless veteran population, California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. No other national estimate has been conducted since that time.

NCHV would like to see a requirement that all organizations that federal homeless assistance funding be required to collect minimal data on the veteran status of the clients they serve. This would enable some trend analysis to be developed that could result in more targeted resource allocation. Senator John McCain has introduced S312 that would require that the grantee identify veterans in all federally funded emergency shelter programs and connect the veterans with Department of Veterans Affairs for counseling on veteran benefits. A similar bill should be introduced in the House.

The myth

The DVA estimates there are at least 275,000 veterans who are homeless on any given night of the year, with more than double that number homeless at some point during the year (i.e., more that 500,000 veterans homeless at some point during the year). The highest estimate is that DVA has some contact with about 38,000 homeless veterans during the course of the year. For veterans one of the biggest myths is that the Department of Veterans Affairs takes care of all veterans for all things. Community groups whether they realize it or not are serving veterans that the DVA is not able to.

The DVA myth gets enhanced because the DVA does a wonderful public relations job about how many programs they have to serve homeless veterans. What gets left out of the message is the number they don’t serve and how much communities have to make up the difference. Although the DVA has increased their partnerships with community-based organizations, most communities still believe that the DVA will take care of every veteran in need.

My two cents:

The bigger the number, chart or graph, the more scary it looks and sounds!

Thought I would add this:
Why are veterans homeless?

There are many individual situations that triggered the entry into homelessness by veterans and others. Most often the reasons are grouped into these main areas:

Employment
Lack of jobs paying living wage
Lack of job skills
Housing Affordable housing unavailable
Health issues
Substance abuse
Mental health
Other health issues that prevent employment

I don't know the exact

lesleyk — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:59:01 -0600

I don't know the exact numbers, Roj, but the vet numbers here are extremely high! I know of several in the Falls that are or were homeless. There is an organization out of Duluth, MAC -V and they have some great stats on the vet issue here. If you want further contact info for these guys I would be happy to share it. They were very helpful and drive to the Falls whenever there is a veteran in need or a meeting they think would be helpful to help them do a better job here.