Talking Points Memo has been on this story from the start. It began with an inquiry into just what the McCain campaign was thinking when they had him stand in front of a giant lime green backdrop for his speech last night...again. Turned out the green was actually from the grass in front of what appeared to be a huge mansion, which, again, seemed an odd choice, optics-wise. But TPM kept digging and figured out that the image was of Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA.

An odd choice, no? Why ever would they use that as the backdrop for McCain's nomination acceptance speech I wonder? Hmm. Could it be...

...several readers have suggested that perhaps one of the tech geeks charged with setting up the audio/visual bells and whistles for the evening was tasked with getting pictures of Walter Reed Army Medical Center but goofed and got this instead.

Pretty much says it all, doesn't it? To their credit The California Democratic Party is on it and the message is clear (from a CDP press release):

Today, John Heaner, [Region 13 Director, and Walter Reed Middle School PTA Board member], will be in front of Walter Reed Middle School to underscore how out of touch John McCain is.  Thursday night's convention photo op disaster illustrates that McCain and Bush have ignored the wounded troops at Walter Reed Hospital for so long they can't even tell the difference between the hospital and the school in North Hollywood.

I just got off the phone with John who told me the this was about the hypocrisy of John McCain and Republicans who

"...claim to care about wounded soldiers but no one in his campaign could spot the difference between the hospital where we send our wounded soldiers and the middle school where I send my little girls."

He said that John McCain "took ownership" of that image the second he walked out on that stage

"...during the biggest night of his life, for the biggest speech of his life."

So far, the McCain campaign is refusing comment, for obvious reasons, but they may not be able to for long. John told me the media interest in this is out of control. He'd already spoken to NBC, ABC, NPR among others and had to go because The New York Times was calling on the other line.

As if it couldn't get better, the school's principal, Donna Tobin, has released this statement:

"It has been brought to the school's attention that a picture of the front of our school, Walter Reed Middle School, was used as a backdrop at the Republican National Convention. Permission to use the front of our school for the Republican National Convention was not given by our school nor is the use of our school's picture an endorsement of any political party or view."

TPM deserves a lot of credit for staying on this story and props to CDP for its rapid response today.

There's more...

Illinois' disabled veterans are at "rock bottom" -- "dead last" -- in benefits and claims processing of applications for disability. But Illinois' veterans take a back seat because their junior senator is running for president.  And that senator, Barack Obama, has missed an astonishing number of hearings and meetings of the Senate Veterans committee.

Obama is nothing if not audacious in touting his veterans committee membership as contributing to his "foreign policy" experience for the presidency, while his own state's veterans suffer.  The Chicago Sun-Times ran a devastating investigative series in 2004-2005 (see Truthout) that showed that Illinois' veterans rank last, or near-last (depends on the graph) in disability awards of the 50 states and Puerto Rico (Illinois average:  $6,961; New Mexico average: $12,004). The New York Times's 2007 article shows Illinois' disabled soldiers are still waiting over two years later: "Illinois, which has deployed the sixth-highest number of soldiers of any state, has the second-largest backlog."

Sen. Obama admitted he didn't know anything about problems at Walter Reed before the WaPo's shattering series. And Sen. Obama has missed KEY votes for disabled veterans -- including a measure that would create "common disability ratings."

There's more...

Crossposted on Beltway Progressive, RaisingKaine, and DailyKos.

The Army has a new ad aimed at parents of young men, telling them to listen to their kids rather than discourage them from enlisting to go to the Middle East. In this diary I challenge them - and you - to listen to Mike's story in honor of vets on Independence Day.

You'd think living between Walter Reed, Fort Belvoir and Fort Meade, I'd have met more returned vets. I have met only a few. Mike has a compelling story to tell, if only the right people would only listen to him.

Mike was seated on a stool in my favorite Irish pub. A pint of Harp and a shotglass of Rumplemintz were in front of him, and the only two other empty barstools were on his right. As soon as we pulled up to the chairs, and he leaned over to introduce himself, smile, and shake our hands.

There's more...

VFA's Bobby Mulller will be guest-posting here on MyDD, every Thursday, for a month or so, Jerome

Over the past few weeks, my colleagues and I at Veterans for America have been busy on the blogosphere.    

On March 1, I posted a diary at Daily Kos and Huffington Post entitled, "What does America owe to those who serve?" 

I talked about my outrage, as well as my lack of surprise, over the situation at Walter Reed.  

I wrote that, sadly, this is the way we have always treated injured service members and veterans in this country -- like disposable commodities.

There's more...

From todays Equal Time Radio:

Some of todays topics:

Katie Morisette from Operation Golden Soldier talks about how the Medical Hold system works and the difference between active duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers. How they help them and YOU can too.

Rape in Iraq a national disgrace.

Listen to the archive here at todays date 3/23/07:
http://equaltimeradio.org/?page_id=56

I think you all will find Katie's story interesting. If you check the most recent previous weeks, you will find some very interesting conversations, with Katie Morisette's husband and others, concerning soldiers and what is really going on.

This show is based very near Fort Lewis and McChord AFB.

Do you think you know all of what is going on at Walter Reed and other military hospitals? Then you haven't heard these stories.

The talk radio show is only an hour long with commercials, so they usually get to the meat of the subject fairly quickly.

Update: Frank from Equal Time Radio posted this at the Pierce County Democrats site.

On this weeks Equal Time, we have the honor of interviewing Katie Morisette who with her husband Major Bill Morisette formed an organization to help returning,wounded soldiers weave their way through our government’s attempt to use them and then throw them away. Last week we interviewed Major Morisette about the shoddy way his unit was equipped and (NOT) trained in the run up to bushcorp’s war for profit and oil. By the way, Major Morisette has been on medical hold for ….THREE YEARS.

Operation Golden Soldier is dedicated to helping our brave soldiers sort through the process of Medical hold and discharge or re-activation. They need your help. Katie and Bill Morisette aren’t just sitting around complaining, they are DOING something, and they deserve your support.

Operation Golden Soldier:
http://operationgoldensoldier.com

PCD site: http://www.piercecountydemocrats.org/

Kevin
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http://washingtonwoman.blogspot.com/

http://equaltimeradio.org

There's more...