Remembrance Day

[Bushfire]

In Commonwealth countries such as Australia, we remember those who fought and died during the great war on armistice day.

I always try to remind myself of how lucky we are to be alive and free and the young men who gave their lives for the notion of that freedom. I can only hope we can keep a world fitting to their memory.

Lest we forget.

 

[deermanok]

Well said, friend.

 

[HC]

Amen

 

[Matthew323]

Veterans Day is always a poignant day for me, as I remind myself that even in peacetime, soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, coastguardsmen, & merchant mariners are constantly putting their bodies & lives at risk every single day in order to perform their daily duties.

Every week during peacetime, someone in one of the 5 branches of the armed forces, or the merchant marines (which is an adjunct of the Navy Department), dies as a result of the their service. Usually as a result of an accident. Every day, multiple someones, not on the front lines exposed to enemy fire, is seriously injured/maimed for life as a result of their service.

God bless all who have served our nation's armed forces, alive & dead, in whatever capacity, combatant & non-combatant alike.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Today is also the 246th birthday of our Marine Corp

 

[snapbang]

Amen

 

[MTY]

Here are a couple of things most do not know about US veterans.

It takes on average 3 generations before a draftee's descendant earns an income equivalent to that of someone in his cohort group that was not drafted.

Each county in the country has a dollar amount that is used to means test veterans out of their benefits. The three counties closest to my location each have a different dollar amount. In one county you can be denied benefits, but if you move one county over you can qualify.

In the mid nineties, two laws were passed. One for the taxation of Social Security, and the other to means test veterans out of their benefits.
'
A senior working veteran can see three things happen. Social Security becomes taxable at a certain income point, medicare payments for the required part B can rise several hundred dollars per month, and the veteran can be denied VA benefits that were earned. This occurs in part because of the increased AGI reported due to taxable Social Security.

Work for a lot of senior veterans is a method of keeping the hands and mind busy to avoid thinking about things one would rather forget. The problem is that the government makes it financially prohibitive to work.

 

[Matthew323]

Here are a couple of things most do not know about US veterans.

It takes on average 3 generations before a draftee's descendant earns an income equivalent to that of someone in his cohort group that was not drafted.

Each county in the country has a dollar amount that is used to means test veterans out of their benefits. The three counties closest to my location each have a different dollar amount. In one county you can be denied benefits, but if you move one county over you can qualify.

In the mid nineties, two laws were passed. One for the taxation of Social Security, and the other to means test veterans out of their benefits.
'
A senior working veteran can see three things happen. Social Security becomes taxable at a certain income point, medicare payments for the required part B can rise several hundred dollars per month, and the veteran can be denied VA benefits that were earned. This occurs in part because of the increased AGI reported due to taxable Social Security.

Work for a lot of senior veterans is a method of keeping the hands and mind busy to avoid thinking about things one would rather forget. The problem is that the government makes it financially prohibitive to work.

That's the situation that I find myself currently in. Did not pay into Social Security as much as many of my peers, am being denied VA benefits for several, what I consider extremely immoral, unethical, but completely legal reasons, and finding myself in need of a full time job just to purchase the basic necessities.

It is why I am trying to effect a move out of Baltimore City, MD to Mena, Arkansas. I need to live in a more rural setting. In addition to hunting and fishing....

I want to be able to grow most of my own food. To have a root cellar to store root vegetables, cabbages, winter squashes, apples, etc. To water bath can foods. To pressure can foods. To dehydrate foods, herbs, & spices. To ferment foods other than kombucha & yogurt, both of which I have a small amount of experience with. To return to baking all of my own bread, something I used to do, but have not so done for over 7 years now. I would like to grind my own grain for bread making, using sprouted wheat berries. If at all possible I would like to build a wood-fired oven to bake breads/pizza in.