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With VFW Members Dwindling, Posts Shutting Their Doors
Newhouse News ^ | 1/29/2008 | Jeff Barr

Posted on 01/29/2008 2:39:37 PM PST by Incorrigible

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To: NELSON111

“Hmmm guess they really should have waited for him to kill a family of 4”

No, actually he was the safest driver I knew - never had an accident and his car was showroom condition.


81 posted on 01/30/2008 7:40:15 AM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: NELSON111

“I have a GTO...I can handle it at 150mph on the interstate

It depends on which GTO. Is it the Tempest with no brakes?

And does driving on the Autobahn turn me into an evil person and then when I get home on the parkway, I am good again?

Or am I evil when doing 65 in a 55 but good the next day when that same interstate got rid of its archaic law and made it 65 again?

Thank you for your leftist/relativist logic.

“Maybe I shouldn’t call the cops on all these drunks I see weaving all over the road after they leave the cantina.”

I am going to call you out on this. I am going to claim that in this day and age of draconian DWI laws, you are false in claiming that you see “drunks weaving all over the road” I drive from 35k to 50 k a year and that does not happen any more!

So put up or shut up - link me to at least 2 drunks that you saw in your area in the recent past.

I dont think you can.


82 posted on 01/30/2008 7:47:13 AM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: NELSON111

“Cool...by that logic there should be no speed limits...”

No - I’ll type this real slow so you can understand.

I am saying that actions should be illegal not things.

Do you understand the difference?

We all agree that hitting things and causing damage or harm is evil. I will be the first one to pull the switch.

However, in the absence of harm or damage, why should things be illegal?

Do you know who goes to jail if a drunk is stopped at a light and get rear ended by a teetotaler?

ITS THE DRUNK - now what kind of justice is that and is that the slippery slope that all these vets gave their lives for.

The problem is leftist/relativist thinking and it is ruining this country - and in just the last 30-40 years.


83 posted on 01/30/2008 7:53:37 AM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: Tired of Taxes

I wanted to join.

I was told that my Cold War / Gulf War naval service did not qualify.


84 posted on 01/30/2008 10:03:40 AM PST by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: SmithL

That is news to me (they would not let me join) and makes no sense either. I was on both...why Boomers but not Fast Boats? Fast Boat life was actually more grueling!


85 posted on 01/30/2008 10:05:47 AM PST by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: Doohickey

Been on both and I found it odd as well.


86 posted on 01/30/2008 10:15:48 AM PST by NucSubs (Rudy Giuliani 2008! Our liberal democrat is better than theirs!)
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To: NucSubs
Here's the VFW Eligibility List of acceptable awards: http://www.vfw.org/resources/pdf/eligibility05.pdf (revised October 2005).

Earning the SSBN Nuclear Deterrent Patrol Breast Insignia after January 21, 1961 is what qualifies a Submariner for VFW membership. Go figure.

87 posted on 01/30/2008 10:22:57 AM PST by SmithL (My tagline dropped out)
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To: blaveda; NucSubs
blaveda: "When I returned from Viet Nam we were not exactly welcomed with open arms at the VFW. I was actually mocked that I really didn’t serve in a “real war” as the stalwarts of the post claimed. Needless to say there has been a huge disconnect between me and the VFW. I still smart from that remark"

NucSubs: "I wanted to join. I was told that my Cold War / Gulf War naval service did not qualify."

Based on your experiences, I can see why the VFW's membership is dwindling. Sounds like the group has only itself to blame. My father wasn't with the VFW; he was with the Catholic War Veterans which might not have the same strict requirements. Still, there's a sense that the senior citizens don't want to make room for the younger crowd in these veterans associations. What a shame.

88 posted on 01/30/2008 10:32:01 AM PST by Tired of Taxes (Dad, I will always think of you.)
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To: Doohickey; NucSubs
Lookie, lookie:


United States Submarine Veterans, Inc.

89 posted on 01/30/2008 10:50:16 AM PST by SmithL (My tagline dropped out)
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To: spanalot
How many members have been pulled over [for DUI] and despite never having an accident in their life, they lose their license.

Recently I heard a member of the Indiana Board of Medicine state that two-thirds of all drivers stopped in Indiana for DUI could be diagnosed as alcoholics. If the blood alcohol level was more than .14, it was over 80%.

90 posted on 01/30/2008 10:56:41 AM PST by CholeraJoe ("A dead whale or a stove boat!")
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To: spanalot
Do you know who goes to jail if a drunk is stopped at a light and get rear ended by a teetotaler? ITS THE DRUNK - now what kind of justice is that and is that the slippery slope that all these vets gave their lives for.

The drunk should go to jail...and the teetotaler will get the ticket. That is a fact.

Now...let me type something real slow for you...BEING DRUNK...INTOXICATED...hampers your ability to safely drive a multi-ton vehicle that can kill people. It slows your reaction time. It causes you to weave into other people's lanes (I've witnessed it numerous times and unfortunately...I've done it a couple of times back in the day...20 or so years ago). Being drunk while driving IS AN ACTION. Do you get that?

And these vets should know better. I'm a vet...still active duty and a member of the VFW. I know I do. I am careful to ensure that none of my ACTIONS (such as drinking one too many beers or shots) could ever possibly harm another person.

I guess some people are more selfish. "Let me do what I want to do...and if I do hurt or kill someone...then you can punish me...but for God's sake...don't prevent me from having my fun on the off chance I might have a wreck because I was impaired. I mean...what are the odds?"

Why should things be illegal? There are numerous things that are illegal that don't cause harm or damage solely because we seek to advert the possible pain and suffering that those actions would cause.

91 posted on 01/30/2008 11:36:02 AM PST by NELSON111
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To: spanalot
No, actually he was the safest driver I knew - never had an accident and his car was showroom condition.

I'd say he's one of those exceptions to the rule, like my Great Grandfather who lived through combat in 2 wars and smoked like a chimney until he died in his 90's.

The average drunk driver is a murder waiting to happen. Even the one's with no priors wipe out people and entire families with grim regularity here in NM.

92 posted on 01/30/2008 11:51:10 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: spanalot
I am going to call you out on this. I am going to claim that in this day and age of draconian DWI laws, you are false in claiming that you see “drunks weaving all over the road” I drive from 35k to 50 k a year and that does not happen any more!

Bull crap. I can give you two easily.

1) 6 Months ago...coming home from church in Jacinto City (east Houston). Church was where I was filling in for a pastor and is off of Mercury Drive...near I-10 and 610. Drunk driver, Hispanic man, weaved over into our lane as we were exiting onto the feeder that leaves I-10 and gets onto 610 South. He was going the same direction we were...610 South on the east side. He was driving the speed limit but was weaving all over...and then through a Busch beer can out the window (drinking such crap beer should be a crime in itself). He moved over 3 lanes of traffic, almost hitting a car. It was at that time I activated my On-Star emergency...and they called HPD dispatch. We followed the guy...on the line with On-Star...all the way to the guys house...in south Houston (Scarsdale area for those familiar)...and HPD never showed up...even though we passed 2 (TWO!) HPD squad cars parked at a 7-11. And...once the guy got out of his car and went inside...its over. You cannot be arrested for DUI if the officer is not there to see you driving (if you have a decent lawyer). WE waited for 5 minutes...pissed off since the dude had almost ran us and about 20 other people off the road...and HPD never showed up.

2) Case 2 - We were driving down a rural road in Brazoria county and were passed by a car that was weaving all over the place a few months before the previous incident. She almost ran off the road several times. I called 911 (I was in my GTO...which does not have On-Star). The Sheriff just happened to have a deputy very close and dispatched them (who turned out to be a High School friend of mine) and I followed her giving them updates on where she was going until they caught her and hooked her drunk butt up.

3) Just 2 months ago a guys was weaving on the beltway (toll-road). I flagged a Harris county constable down and pointed him out. Who knows...he might have had a medical condition...but with the number of people who was weaving around and almost hitting...he didn't need to be on the road.

4) Not me personally...but my best friend...who is a LEO...was working a DUI-related traffic fatality late at night in rural Galveston County...when they were almost done...was hit (as were two other LEO's) by another drunk going 60. Dude was so drunk he didn't see the ambulance or the 4 cop cars. Drunk hit my friends squad car and it hit him...knocking him 20 feet into the air and into the ditch..almost killing him. He was life-flighted to Herman.

So call me out. I don't know where YOU live...but here in SE Texas...in the Harris and Galveston counties area....it is one of the HIGHEST DUI areas in the country...mostly because of our illegal immigrants who go to the cantina and tie one on...but also because our redneck buddies go to the bar and have a 12-pack. It's not like Oregon where people go to the pub and have 3 beers and go home. I've got 3 kids (8, 5 and an infant)...and I be damned if I am going to lose them to some drunk.

93 posted on 01/30/2008 11:57:20 AM PST by NELSON111
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To: ReignOfError

I’m not quite 57 and I was in Nam 72-73 USS Midway CVA-41 ... VA 93 Blue Blazers


94 posted on 01/30/2008 1:16:45 PM PST by clamper1797 (I fear for our republic)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

“The average drunk driver is a murder waiting to happen”

Statistically, that is no where near true.

There are about 200 million incidents of “drunk driving” every year but only 8000 innocent deaths. Thats .004 percent so take that “murder waiting to happen “ propaganda someplace else.

So why are we throwing 1.5 million people in jail.

I’ll tell you why, to keep us “occupied” while the real decay in this country can continue unabated. Plus, it keeps lots of lawyers in skotch money.


95 posted on 01/30/2008 1:43:44 PM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: NELSON111

“Now...let me type something real slow for you...BEING DRUNK...INTOXICATED...hampers your ability to safely drive a multi-ton vehicle that can kill people. “

Thats a lie - there are about 200 million “drunk” drives every year and only several thousand innocent deaths.

Take your MADD propaganda to Canada and try to raise some money.

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:t9xJmr0WU_oJ:virginiaduidefense.blogspot.com/2006/12/madd-uses-donations-to-buy-beer-for.html+canada+madd+donations&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us&ie=UTF-8


96 posted on 01/30/2008 1:53:59 PM PST by spanalot (*)
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To: NELSON111

“it is one of the HIGHEST DUI areas in the country...mostly because of our illegal immigrants “

Well it sound like the problem is illegals and not what I am discussing - HONORABLE VETS WHO HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND ARE BEING THROWN IN JAIL.

PS - see my other posts re: how only a few thousand innocent deaths occur every year from drunk driving - which happens about 200 million times a year.

The odds are infinitesimal.


97 posted on 01/30/2008 1:58:28 PM PST by spanalot (*)
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The VFW has recently allowed sons and parents of eligible VFW members to join in what is called the MENS AUXIALARY. The American Legion has a similar program called SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION.
For those that are saying “If all vets could join they would have plenty of members”. Check out AMVETS. You need to have completed boot camp to be eligible.
The VFW is controlled by medals/awards, while the Legion is controlled by dates, usually if one rates the NATIONAL DEFENSE MEDAL, (sometimes referred to as the GEDUNK RIBBON)they are eligible for the American Legion.
There are periods and areas that people may be eligible for the VFW but not the AL.
BTW IT IS NOT THE ORGANIZATION THAT CONTROLS MEMBERSHIP, they are controlled by CONGRESS as ALL Sanctioned Vets Groups are authorized by Congress, who controls the charters etc. and dates of eligibilty.

VWF LIFE, AL, FRA, AMVETS LIFE.


98 posted on 01/30/2008 2:17:45 PM PST by xrmusn
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To: blaveda
When I returned from Viet Nam we were not exactly welcomed with open arms at the VFW.

I had the same experience at the same time with an American Legion Post.

Those dipshits thought they were the '72 Dolphins.

99 posted on 01/30/2008 2:26:29 PM PST by HIDEK6
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To: spanalot

only a few thousand innocent deaths occur every year from drunk driving -

I think that pretty much sums things up!


100 posted on 01/30/2008 2:30:37 PM PST by tpanther
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