Yesterday, Gen. Clark received the letter below from a young veteran. Failing to provide adequate education benefits for our returning soldiers will only dissuade a large number of our best and brightest from choosing military service over other career options. The armed forces will remain strong only if we attract the most talented Americans with a promise of a bright future after they have served our country. We can do better.

21 May 2008

General Clark,

My name is Michael B. I am an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. I served with the 89^th and 42^nd Military Police Brigades in Baghdad, Balad and Ashraf, Iraq in 2004 and 2005. I was only 18 years old when I left my home to go and serve my country. I was a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for six years and was just separated in April. I am now 23 years old and cannot use my GI Bill anymore. According to the VA, the chapter 1607 GI Bill that I was using is only available to drilling reservists. And I've been told that I cannot use the Chapter 1606 GI Bill anymore.

I'm telling you these stories so that you can hear from someone on the 'front lines' of this battle. I've sent letters to both Senator Bob Casey and Senator Arlen Specter (my senators) asking them to support the new GI Bill. I'm spreading the word among my fellow vets and my family and friends, asking them to spread the word about Bush and McCain not supporting the GI Bill. I've heard that they won't support it because they fear that too many soldiers will want to get out of the military to use their new GI Bill. The net effect of that would be that retention rates drop. Should anyone ever doubt that Americans will stop answering their nation's call?

Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are misguided and fearful. I helped three young men join the Army National Guard recently. All three are satisfactory recruits with bright futures. Never should anyone doubt that our military will crumble because of college tuition assistance. If anything, the new GI Bill will help make the decision to join the military easier.

I greatly admire you sir and have appreciated the work that you do for veterans across America. Thank you for your time. God bless you!

Your Fellow Vet,

Michael B.

VoteVets has just released a TV ad demanding that John McCain vote for the New GI Bill. Click here to watch the ad, then email your Senators, demanding that they provide our troops with the education they deserve!

This week, our veterans are counting on us more than ever.

Senator Jim Webb's New GI Bill, which would give our returning soldiers the education benefits they need, is up for a Senate vote this week. We're so close to reaching that critical 60-vote majority to overcome unprecedented filibusters and the opposition of President Bush and John McCain, but we need your help. That's why VoteVets has just released a TV ad demanding that John McCain do the right thing and vote for the New GI Bill.

Click here to watch the new VoteVets ad that is airing across the country. Then email your Senators, demanding that they provide our troops with the education they deserve today!

The original GI Bill transformed American history, providing an education for returning soldiers and helping to create America's middle class. But today, the standards of the original GI Bill are failing to keep up with rising tuition costs to the point where the average benefit doesn't even pay for half the cost of an in-state student's education at a public college.

The White House has voiced concern about the bill, arguing that if returning troops are offered a good education, they will choose college over extending their service. It's offensive to suggest that we should fix the system so that civilian life is unappealing to service members, thereby forcing them to stay in the military.

Moreover, failing to provide adequate education benefits for our returning soldiers will only dissuade a large number of our best and brightest from choosing military service over other career options. The armed forces will remain strong only if we attract the most talented Americans with a promise of a bright future after they have served our country.

Now is the time. We must come through for our veterans and ensure that they can obtain a quality education after serving our country.

Click here to watch the new VoteVets ad that is airing across the country. Then email your Senators, demanding that they provide our troops with the education they deserve today!

President Bush has led our country into a disastrous foreign policy, and continues to ask our troops to pursue his failing strategy. The least we can do now is honor the service of those who have put their lives on the line and have courageously done everything that has been asked of them.

After you've emailed your Senators, please forward this message to everyone you know.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

P.S. Our soldiers have fought hard for our government, and it's time our government started fighting hard for them. Click here to watch VoteVets' new TV ad, and then urge your Senators to vote for the New GI Bill!

House OKs plan to improve GI education benefits

Thu, May 15, 2008 (1:22 p.m.) | The Associated Press via Yahoo

The House on Thursday passed a Democratic plan sharply boosting education benefits for Iraq-Afghanistan veterans and awarding people whose unemployment benefits have expired with a 13-week extension.

The 266-166 fell short of the two-thirds needed to overcome a promised veto by President Bush.

The Democratic plan would impose a surtax on individual incomes exceeding $500,000 to pay for the 10-year, $52 billion cost of boosting the GI Bill to provide Iraq veterans with college educations. Couples would pay the tax on income exceeding $1 million.

It comes on the heels of the unexpected defeat of a $163 billion bill covering the costs of funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Republicans withheld support for the funding measure in protest of Democratic tactics. That kills the war funding for now, but it'll be revived next week in the Senate.

This bill (The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act) is the same bill that General Clark and VoteVets have worked to get passed.

See: McCain must lead the charge
By Wesley K. Clark and Jon Soltz | Los Angeles Times | April 10, 2008

General Clark went well beyond the mainstream Democratic Party in preemptively positioning himself, and those who stand with him, to confront a growing threat to peace, and also to our Party. For those who picked up on Clark’s stance early the lag between him sounding an alarm and more people hearing it has been hard to accept, but as hard as it’s been for the netroots to take that danger in, compared to the institutional Democratic Party they have been relatively quick to respond.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Volunteers of all ages ~~

Recently, General Clark has asked for our help to not only change the debate from troops and tactics to strategy and diplomacy, but he has also asked, several times, for us to help several candidates get elected to Congress in 2008.

Hey,.. yep I made it here! :) How could I not? ;)

First, I have to include the UStream.tv video of Clark's speech featured at YKos website, mostly because I actually had little time to actually listen to him attentively while taking pics .

Our nation's troops need your help, right now!

This week, the Senate will consider an amendment offered by military veterans Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that puts on paper one of the greatest things we can do to support the troops and the military -- guaranteeing them proper time on the homefront, to improve our readiness.

Call your Senator at 202-224-3121 and tell them to support the Webb-Hagel Readiness Amendment.

Their amendment simply says that active duty troops should have as much time home as they had on deployment, and that National Guard and Reserve troops should have three years at home after their one-year deployment. Besides being a just and fair thing to do for those who are making tremendous sacrifices for all of us, it is just good military policy.

The war in Iraq is breaking our fine Army and Marine Corps. You've heard the stories about deployments being extended again and again, and troops coming home only to turn around and head right back. It has led to our troops being depleted and exhausted. Not only that, but it has seriously damaged our ability to defend this nation. Many units are simply not combat ready, and God forbid an attack by a rogue nation necessitates opening up a new war front, our forces would be unable to respond. Further, extended and frequent deployments of our National Guard has left us much more vulnerable at home.

As Major General Batiste, a former commanding general in Iraq said, "In addition to our country's lack of strategic focus and failure to mobilize the country, our military is at a breaking point. The Webb-Hagel Amendment is a step in the right direction to force our leadership to come to grips with the gross mismatch between capability and requirements."

Tomorrow, we're going to be on Capitol Hill, to speak out in strong support of this bill. But we need you to back up our efforts.

Call your Senator's office at 202-224-3121 and tell them to support the Webb-Hagel Readiness Amendment. If you served in OIF or OEF, be sure to note that to the staffer you speak with. Remember, be polite with the person answering the phone, but firm in saying you support the troops, General Clark's WesPAC, VoteVets.org, and Senators Webb and Hagel.

Let's make this happen, and really support the troops!

Sincerely,

Peter Granato

Iraq War Veteran

Veterans Outreach Coordinator, VoteVets.org

Interview with General Wesley Clark

With Josh Berthume | 7/04/2007

The Texas Blue is a leading voice in Democratic politics in Texas, dedicated to advancing progressive ideas. Since launching on January 1, the Texas Blue has covered and commented on many aspects of statewide and national politics. In June, the Texas Blue published a multi-part series featuring stories from veterans about their experiences at war and at home, recognized medical experts on the impact of war, and family members of wounded combat veterans.

Lawmakers and veterans alike spoke about the issues facing veterans today on the Texas Blue's weekly podcast "Who's Blue," including House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Congressman Bob Filner; House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Congressman Chet Edwards and VoteVets.Org Co-Founder Jon Soltz.

This week, General Wesley Clark joins Josh Berthume on Who's Blue to discuss those issues, his political activism through WesPAC and VoteVets.org, and what he views as a dangerous foreign policy precedent being set by the Bush administration in regards to Iran and the Middle East.

Listen to the interview here!

Today, during a Foreign Affairs Hearing on the Iraq Escalation, Major General Batiste offered an astoundingly realistic and frightening rassessment of Iraq, US Foreign Policy, and the near-broken state of our Military. His 13 minute assessment can be watched here . I tried to embed the video but had no luck.

It’s been over 40 years since LBJ refused to choose between Guns and Butter, and we all came out losers because of it. Had he chosen only Guns, fewer Americans would have paid an economic price, and had he settled on Butter alone, its likely America would not have sacrificed at all. But LBJ couldn’t make that choice; instead he told America you can have this war and eat butter too.