​Address begins around the 10 minute mark.

I'm on the fence here, but tipping to one side. So let's get into this. On one side, I do feel bad about the people killed in the chemical attack. That's my humanitarian side. I don't like watching people get killed, and I want to stop more death. But I have questions. Are we 100% sure about this chemical attack and it's origins? Are we 100% sure lobbing missiles at the plants isn't going to make it worse? 

Now, let me be clear here. I am tipping towards this being an awful idea. This is a joint deal between us and the UK and France. We're knocking heads with Syria and Russia. And we're going after another middle eastern country. Another one. And right now we really need to be pulling our troops completely out of the middle east. 

This is a group of people who have been killing each other since the beginning of time, and our missiles haven't and aren't going to stop this. So at this point, I think our considerations should be less on lobbing missiles and more and yanking our troops completely out of the region, and then pulling our money out as well. If they want to kill each other, fine. But how about we stop financing it? 

Is stepping in to an ongoing battle in the middle east that we of course won't allow our military to actually win worth going to war with Russia over? Because right now, that is, in fact, the risk we are taking. Do we want a war with Russia? Over the middle east? Because no matter what happens between us and Russia, the countries in the middle east are going to spend the next few thousand years trying to kill each other anyway. So is it worth the risk? Is it worth another war? Is it worth having yet another generation of our young men and women killed and maimed? 

And why do we have money to lob missiles at Syria but we don't have the money to build the wall? Or keep our Veterans of past wars off the streets? Or take care of them? What happened to America first? Because I'd like to see America first sometime before I die. And while we spend all this money to lob missiles and risk war with Russia, we could be using that money on America. On our people. On our security. 

​OK, I'm getting off my soap box now. I don't know about you guys, but I am sick of war. 

So, the other day there was an epic false alarm in the state of Hawaii.

Can you imagine picking up your phone to check your notifications and seeing that bit of horror?! I would assume this was the brown note struck in Hawaii. But really, what do you do? You're on an island. The missile was apparently only something like 20 minutes out. No message came for at least 30 minutes saying this was a mistake. What kind of shelter does one take against a ballistic missile? It's sort of like the drills during the Cold War where the kids practiced getting under their desks in case of a nuclear missile. It isn't really going to do any good. 

Everyone was reeling from that one when the threat was found to be false. I'm sure the people of Hawaii had to collectively change their shorts, but the rest of the country was left sitting here wondering how such an epic screw up could actually happen. Speculation began, with some even claiming it was actually a drill after all. 

Then, as you guessed, began the blame game. Who was at fault? Why did this happen? Blame Trump at all costs. 

A lot of this went on, but we're going to use Jamie Lee Curtis' excuse for why Trump was at fault as the example, because it was one of the first to get picked up across the world. 

First, let's talk about where this came from. This is stemming from the back and forth between Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. This is one of those interactions where Trump will never be right. If he responds, he's egging him on. If he doesn't respond, he's ignoring a major security threat to the USA. Now, I'll be honest. I have my own ideas on how to handle Little Rocket Man, but not being former military or having an inside view of exactly how it works in reality, I'm not sure my own idea is feasible. I would not, however, be talking to him over Twitter. I'm not saying that Trump is wrong, but I'm not saying he's right, either. He can't be ignored, but I'm not sure tweets are helping the situation.

However, North Korea isn't exactly a new threat. This hasn't been a new thing as of 2017. As many of you already know, we had a "police action" in North Korea. Many of you also probably know that it never really came to an official end. North Korea has been threatening to blow up the USA since before I was born, and since before Kim Jong Un took over. Responses have been different from president to president. But I think the recent reaction should fall somewhere between the reactions of Obama and Trump. And if that fails, my personal plan, which again, I'm not 100% sure is feasible. 

​Anyway, the missile threat blame game stems from this interaction between Trump and Kim Jong Un. 

The only problem is that that warning wouldn't have been any less terrifying even if we had an alliance with North Korea. We could be at a period of total peace and that warning would have struck the brown note. 

Hawaii has something that is a prime target, and the people there know it.

Pearl Harbor. 

Pearl Harbor isn't just a monument. It's still an active base. If I am remembering correctly, even the Navy SEALs work out of Pearl Harbor. For a country that wants to cause damage to the USA, start a war, or anything else, Pearl Harbor is a prime target. Just ask the Japanese. 

Now a days, people assume a missile strike or any other attack will happen in large cities and financial districts, and they are correct. Those are prime targets if your goal is to disrupt our economy or cause maximum casualties. But Pearl Harbor is a target if you want to disable the Naval fleet and cause tactical damage that makes defense difficult. Where North Korea would lob a missile - if they ever did - would depend on what Kim Jong Un wanted to damage. Terrorists tend to go for large cities because they want to damage the economy and cause mass death. But North Korea might set it's sights on our military bases instead to establish power and cut our defense. And let's face it, the Navy is important for that. 

Kim Jong Un is not exactly a stable and reasonable person. He desires power to extreme levels, he desires powerful optics even if he has nothing to back up those optics, and he wants to be historically immortal. He's power posturing right now. I have no idea if he is as dangerous as he wants the world to believe or not. The problem is, Trump doesn't want to be cowed, either. He's not going to let Kim get the upper hand, even in optics. So yes, they are going to have a tough time not poking each other. 

Kim, however, would not be more stable depending on who our president was. The possible threat would be there no matter what. He was doing similar crap during Obama's presidency. Obama didn't poke him on Twitter, but he did his fair share of poking. Obama, however, had a track record of drawing lines and then walking them back. As far as Kim was concerned, he had Obama, he wasn't a threat. Now, we have a new president, so Kim has to get him under his thumb, and it isn't proving successful. Trump hasn't developed a record of advancing or walking back lines yet, so Kim doesn't really know yet where he stands. But he does known Trump is willing to poke back. Now he's got to test him to see where the line is. He's watching to see if Trump will make good on the strong words or walk it back like Obama did. 

Kim would react negatively either way. If he gets poked, he's going to ramp it up for those optics, whether he can back it up or not. If we ignore him, he's still going to ramp it up, because he desires power and immortality, so he won't allow himself to be ignored. 

So no, this isn't 100% Trump's fault. What this was was a failure of the system. Although I have to say, the video linked above makes a great case for why it may have actually been done on purpose and why it was actually a success. The people of Hawaii are well aware of the threat to themselves. It has happened before. And if they are scared of imminent doom because of the back and forth between Trump and Kim, they managed to react well to their doom the other day. That could have been real horror down there with people panicking and getting hurt, but it wasn't. So no, I'm not convinced the masses are as worried about that back and forth as Hollywood and the media wants us to believe. Sure, it's worrying. It always is. But we're not in the state of mass panic being portrayed. It's not even really an everyday thought. I think most people get what is actually happening there. 

Here I sit at my computer reading an article and the corresponding open letter penned by the gentleman in question, hand over my mouth and blood boiling. 

Major Skelton was seriously wounded in combat and is living with the aftermath of those injuries. 

Because of issues with his mouth, he was having issues eating and drinking, something that has apparently happened before. He called the VA, who told him to go to his local emergency room and have them put in a feeding tube. With a feeding tube comes liquids that must be put in it to actually feed him, and apparently he had used a brand called Jevity for this purpose before. 

This time, however, the VA persuaded him to switch to a different brand, Diabetisource. 

Six days later, he receives a letter from the VA telling him they don't cover Diabetisource, and he would have to find and pay for the feeding tube liquid himself. 

Imagine that. 

Now, a lot of you are aware of the issues with my father's illness as well. My father passed in April 2016 from Glioblastoma (aggressive brain cancer; same illness as John McCain). We had our own fun with the VA. At first, they told my father that they were not set up to do chemotherapy and radiation at our local VA. None of his medications were covered. And when the time came, he was not welcome in their nursing home, either. This is after it was "assumed" he had contracted the illness as a effect of exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, something many other veterans have won claims for and many more - and their widows - are still fighting for. 

In my father's case, a well worded letter to a state senator (Richard Burr), opened the flood gates, and suddenly they were set up to do chemotherapy and radiation! And his medications were suddenly covered, too! Imagine that! He was still not welcome in their nursing home, but we figured the largest battles were won and let it go. 

I have friends - more than there should be - who are fighting with the VA over various combat related injuries and the ongoing treatment, and illnesses contracted overseas, from hepatitis to hearing loss. Each of these people describes dealing with the VA over these cases as being like pulling teeth (OK, let's be fair, they use much more colorful wording than that, but we're keeping it clean here). None of this should be, especially for injuries during combat. 

And especially when the soldier is following the suggestions of the VA, like Major Skelton above had done. 

However. 

Just this month, a soldier - active duty - received gender reassignment surgery in a private hospital covered by the military. This surgery isn't just a snip job. It requires hormones, therapy, and a list of other things, which can also include cosmetic surgery to make the person appear to be the gender they have chosen. 

So this person's sex change was "medically necessary" and deemed OK to cover, but Major Skelton's feeding tube liquid isn't covered?! The feeding tube liquid the VA expressly suggested he use?! 

Now, to be clear, I have not found details of anything else covered for this sex change other than the surgery itself. I assume the surgery was the changing of the genitalia and not the cosmetic surgery. It does not say whether hormones and therapy were covered as well (from other items I have previously read, however, it appears these things are covered). It also does not state whether or not this person was already transitioning before they entered the military. So as far as I see it, we're not being given enough information here, including how long this person will be non-deployable. As usual, the news sources covering this story are more concerned with this being a big middle finger to Trump's transgender ban than they are to giving real details about how our tax dollars are being spent. 

Major Skelton's injuries were from combat. I don't have an issue with tax dollars being spent for his care. But unless this person lost their gender identity in combat, I think the priorities of our military are a little screwed up. We have veterans sleeping on the streets, freezing to death. Just the other day, we were all getting teary eyed over the veteran who helped the stranded woman and is being helped by a GoFundMe campaign to get him off the street. Why does he need a GoFundMe? Why aren't we helping to get this guy off the street? We can't help homeless vets, but we can cut off their willies?! 

Look. I'm a very live and let live kind of gal. I really could not care less if people want to change their genders. I really couldn't. It's your body, do whatever the hell you want to to it. It doesn't affect me at all. But this does. This is tax dollars. The government is 100% tax payer funded. So that affects me directly. And I believe those tax dollars should go to giving the best care to combat wounded, those who got sick from military practices or from exposure to illness in foreign lands (with the exception of STDs),  and homeless vets. Once all these folks are being cared for with the best possible care - which they currently aren't - then we can discuss whether or not we're going to cut off people's willies with tax payer money and make them non-deployable for extended periods while still getting paid as a soldier. In the meantime, feed Major Skelton. Like, immediately. 

I've seen a lot of people making jokes about this, but I want to take a different path.

Why the hell not?!

Ya know, Dennis Rodman does have an unusual relationship with the little North Korean fatty, so why not? I mean, it really couldn't hurt, right? Sure, Rodman's a weirdo, but apparently Kim likes him. So honestly... I'd let him give it a shot. It beats the hell out of nuclear war.

The only real issue I'd have is for Rodman's safety. While they do have an unusual relationship, Kim isn't exactly the most stable person on Earth. This is a man who has killed his own family members in brutal ways. I don't see it as far fetched that Rodman could get hurt here. 

But if he's willing to give it a go and he's got Kim's ear, I'd let him. I'm a big fan of trying to de-escalate wars and what not. It would be great if we could get Kim to calm the heck down over there. Truth be told, Kim wants the world's eye on him. He wants to be the news, he wants to be historic. He wants to go down in history for something. And I think a good deal of what is going on over there has to do with that. He wants his people to believe he has the world cowering at his feet. And he wants to be infamous in the history books for generations after he's died. 

And most of the answers so far have involved more of our young men and women being shipped into a war zone, issues with China (and Lord help us if they get pissed and call in their debts), etc. I've suggested using special operations people to go in there and take Kim and his higher ups out and then sending in troops to establish new leadership and a new government. 

And then here comes Dennis Rodman. Yeah... it couldn't hurt. I think he needs some training before he goes over there. I think he needs to be aware that Kim is unstable and it could mean his own doom if he goes there, regardless of the relationship they've had. 

Do I think Rodman is going to prevent a war? No. Not really. But he may be able to delay things over there for a little while. Maybe a few missile tests would be held off. And it could buy us some time to work things out with China so we can bring North Korea to a screeching halt with little to no lose of life in American - or any other - troops. 

Give it a shot. Train him up a little, give him a psych evaluation, and if he still wants to give it a shot, go for it. 

I am pushing for this really hard right now, and I need your help. Really, I hate to be opportunistic, but I don't think I have a choice right now. At the moment, with John McCain's diagnosis of glioblastoma, people are looking it up. Congress and Senate are thinking about it. We have a very short window of time before eyes turn elsewhere and this is forgotten about again. 

John McCain is one of many. There are a lot of Vietnam Veterans who have passed on or are currently suffering from this disease. And many more will be diagnosed. It is also starting to rear it's ugly head in our more recent Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Here's the breakdown. The prognosis for glioblastoma is 1 - 3 years. My father was formally diagnosed on Nov. 1, 2014. He died April 22, 2016. He was told that, with treatment, he might live as long as 5 years. That didn't happen. Chemo and radiation are not covered under insurance. My father had medicare and a backup insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield. I highly doubt Obamacare covers it, either, although I don't know for sure. Dad's care was paid for out of pocket, from treatments to hospital stays to the nursing home. Chemo is massively expensive. The nursing home with memory unit was $6000 a month, plus we had to supply his basic needs aside from food. 

There will be pain. There will be personality changes. Massive ones. There will be memory loss. 

This disease is devastating on so many levels. 

On top of all of this, the VA does not recognize glioblastoma at all. Our Vets are on their own. Around 800 cases (as of 2014) have been settled. Why the rest haven't been, we'll never know. These Vets and their families get no death benefit, they get no medical care, they get no access to VA nursing facilities. The families get no assistance caring for their loved one, and sometimes - like with my family - assistance is desperately needed.  

It is time someone started to care. 

All I ask is that you all write a letter to your local Congressman and Senators. Also, call the number on the graphic above. Let them know it is time to recognize glioblastoma. Do it now while they are still in that daze from the news of McCain's diagnosis. It's time we get taken seriously. It's time to stop screwing our Veterans. 

Write, call, fax, tweet. Let's get it done. Contact them often. 

Edit:

Apparently, I have upset the Twitter gods. If you need more information about Agent Orange and brain cancer - as well as other cancers - please see this link. 

Also, two things.

1. This isn't about John McCain. This is about our Veterans. John McCain's diagnosis has brought this illness into the forefront and we're trying to use this short window of time to get help for the many Vietnam Vets suffering from this. 

2. Even if it was about John McCain, what of it? Learn to value human life. Politics aside, he's a human being, and he is about to enter into an illness you could never possibly imagine if you haven't experienced it yourself. Put your politics aside for half a second and learn how to value human life.

According to this, John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer. 

You guys. I don't care if you like John McCain or not. I am going to ask that you pray for him either way. I wouldn't wish glioblastoma on my worst enemy. 

My father - also a Vietnam Veteran - was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme stage IV in October 2014. He passed away from the disease in April 2016. The life expectancy is 1 to 3 years. My father... became a different person with the disease, and it wasn't a nice person. Our situation got very, very violent (if you followed my previous blog long enough, you may remember a time period where I suddenly "went dark" and quit posting. During that period of time, my mother and I and our dog had to leave the house while the state took over and began the process of removing my father and putting him into a special nursing facility. But in the meantime, he was trying to find us). 

If you are interested in the entire story - diagnosis, how he changed and what he went through, the legal aspects, etc. - I can send you a link to the video series I shot about this. I won't post it here due to time span of the videos - it's about two hours of complete video time, I believe - so you can ask and I'll send you a link if you want to see it.

This doesn't mean John McCain will go through this. Different things happen to different people. But either way, he's in for a tough time. This isn't going to be easy on him or his family and friends. 

He will, of course, get treatment my dad wasn't given. Glioblastoma isn't recognized as an effect of Agent Orange, even though over 800 cases (as of 2014) have been settled. I had to get Senator Burr involved, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for the immense amount of work he did to get my father treatments the VA denied him until Burr got involved. There are a lot of people out there suffering with this disease. A lot of spouses and widows begging for help. A lot of Vietnam Veterans wondering why their country abandoned them in their time of need. I hate to use this as an opportunity, but maybe it is time the American people took a look. John McCain is another Vietnam Veteran with glioblastoma. 

To John McCain and his family - not that he'll see this - you all have my prayers. I can't offer anything else but my prayers. But you can depend on them.