A few minutes earlier, while working on this note, I watched a rebroadcast episode where Jeannie conjures up "Tony Millionaire".
Bill Clinton WAS NEVER opposed to American involvement in the Vietnam War. Bill Clinton was OPPOSED ONLY TO BILL CLINTON serving the United States in Vietnam.
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https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106775685
npr
Final Words: Cronkite's Vietnam Commentary
July 18, 2009 4:00 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
Parting words from Walter Cronkite: His famous Vietnam commentary, originally aired on a special CBS News broadcast Feb. 27, 1968.
GUY RAZ, host:
Parting words tonight from the late Walter Cronkite. On February 27th, 1968 during a CBS News Special Report, Cronkite did something that changed America's perception of the Vietnam War.
Mr. WALTER CRONKITE (Anchorman): I wrote a three-minute closing for the program, which seemingly, without reluctance, our stern and uncompromisingly fair news president Dick Salant approved.
(Soundbite of TV program, "CBS Evening News")
Mr. CRONKITE: (Reading) Tonight, back in more familiar surroundings in New York, we'd like to sum up our findings in Vietnam, an analysis that must be speculative, personal, subjective. Who won and who lost in the great Tet Offensive against the cities? I'm not sure. The Vietcong did not win by a knockout but neither did we.
Then, with as much restraint as I could, I turned to our own leaders whose idea of negotiation seemed frozen in memories of General McArthur's encounter with the Japanese aboard the Battleship Missouri.
We've been too often disappointed by the optimism of the American leaders...
(Soundbite of TV program, "CBS Evening News")
(Reading) Both in Vietnam and Washington to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds. For it seems now more certain than ever, that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past.
To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, if unsatisfactory conclusion. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations.
But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.
This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.
from my private journal as Kerry Burgess: August 4, 2006
I started thinking about this movie again today. I think it is because the F6F Hellcat was the first aircraft the Blue Angels used in their demonstrations. Also, I read in the Seattle Times today that there have only been something like 215 pilots that have flown with the Blue Angels and something like only 31 people have even commanded the Blue Angels squadron. I started thinking after I read that information that I was not only a member of the Blue Angels while a midshipman, but I later was the commander of the team, perhaps in 1989. Don't actually remember anything about it though.
TV Show Episode Scripts > I Dream of Jeannie (1965) > Season 1 > Richest Astronaut in the World
I Dream of Jeannie (1965) s01e17 Episode Script
Richest Astronaut in the World
General Peterson.
Well, are you gentlemen ready?
Yes, sir. We're just on our way.
The experiment's at 2:30. You better hurry.
We'll be on time.
Carry on.
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https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/i-dream-of-jeannie/images/8/81/IDOJS1E1_54960.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151119232146
http://dtlon6z3v1kfl.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/08082543/0fef9637bc89512be1eed5dc8aac4b75--barbara-eden-old-hollywood-glamour.jpg
https://www.seeing-stars.com/Images/ScenesFromMovies/JeannieBeach3.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/I_dream_of_jeanne_eden_hagman.JPG
TV Show Episode Scripts > I Dream of Jeannie (1965) > Season 2 > How Do You Beat Superman?
I Dream of Jeannie (1965) s02e12 Episode Script
How Do You Beat Superman?
Um Hi, major.
I want you to see that she gets home safely.
Oh, don't worry. I have a black belt in karate.
http://hvom.blogspot.com/2015/10/bulldog.html
Posted by Kerry Burgess
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2015
Bulldog
JOURNAL ARCHIVE: From: auto-confirm@amazon.com [mailto:auto-confirm@amazon.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 10:10 PM
To: Kerry Burgess
Subject: Your Order with Amazon.com
Thanks for your order, Kerry W Burgess!
Kerry Burgess
RENTON, WA 98056-8471
United States
Delivery estimate: June 22, 2010 - June 26, 2010
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series
[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 16 June 2010 excerpt ends]
JOURNAL ARCHIVE: Posted by H.V.O.M at 8:41 AM Friday, August 13, 2010
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels
In December, 1974 the Navy Flight Demonstration Team downsized to more economical subsonic McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II and was reorganized into the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. This reorganization permitted the establishment of a commanding officer, a flight leader, added support officers, and further redefined the squadron's mission emphasizing the support of recruiting efforts.
1946: The "Navy Flight Exhibition Team" is formed and takes the name Blue Angels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Angels
Today is a very special and memorable day in your military career that will remain with you throughout your lifetime. You have survived the ultimate test of your peers and have proven to be completely deserving to wear the crest of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
The prestige of wearing the Blue Angels uniform carries with it an extraordinary honor — one that reflects not only on you as an individual, but on your teammates and the entire squadron. To the crowds at the air shows and to the public at hospitals and schools nationwide, you are a symbol of the Navy and Marine Corps' finest. You bring pride, hope and a promise for tomorrow's Navy and Marine Corps in the smiles and handshakes of today's youth. Remember today as the day you became a Blue Angel; look around at your teammates and commit this special bond to memory. "Once a Blue Angel, always a Blue Angel," rings true for all those who wear the crest of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Welcome to the team.
[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 4 August 2006 excerpt ends]
http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/battlestar
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/battlestar/season3/galactica-308.htm
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
3X08 - HERO
Original Airdate (SciFi): 17-NOV-2006
Cottle: Have Dr. Stoffa call me as soon as you arrive. And, Bulldog, you're gonna be fine. Just remember it'll take some time.
Bulldog: All right.
Adama: Lieutenant... you forgot something.
(He proffers a Fleet uniform.)
Bulldog: I can't. Bill, I --
Adama: Take it. You're not gettin' off that easy.
(He takes the uniform.)
Adama: once a pilot, always a pilot, Bulldog.
[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 13 August 2010 excerpt ends]
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https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106775685
npr
July 17, 2009 10:01 PM ET
When President Lyndon Johnson saw that newscast, he turned to his press secretary, George Christian, and famously said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost the country."
http://hvom.blogspot.com/2018/07/pony-express.html
Posted by Kerry Burgess
Homeless Veteran Of Microsoft
I am Kerry Burgess. This is what I think.
FRIDAY, JULY 06, 2018
Pony Express
&&&
&&&
George Bush: We must not let the children of the future shake their heads at our behavior.
http://articles.latimes.com/1995-07-05/news/mn-20449_1_space-station
Los Angeles Times
U.S., Russian Spacecraft Go Separate Ways : Docking: Shuttle Atlantis ends historic 5-day linkup with space station. It leaves with three crewmen who have been in orbit since mid-March.
July 05, 1995 from Associated Press
HOUSTON — Astronauts and cosmonauts watched their ships part and fade into the blackness of space Tuesday in an orbital pirouette that ended five days of flying as a single craft.
"We're just shaking our heads at how quickly this has all gone by," said Charles Precourt, pilot of the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis.
See also possible future updates and see also other posts by me on this topic including: http://hvom.blogspot.com/2016/10/galileo.html
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-82/sts-82-day-09-highlights.html
STS-82 Day 9 Highlights
Back to STS-82 Flight Day 08 Highlights:
On Wednesday, February 19, 1997, 6:00 a.m. CST, STS-82 MCC Status Report # 17 reports:
Discovery's astronauts bid farewell to the Hubble Space Telescope early this morning as they placed the orbiting observatory back into its own orbit to continue its investigation of the far reaches of the universe.
from my journal as Kerry Burgess
Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at 04:32 am (Pacific Time USA)
I wonder if that's the same day I remember graduating from United States Navy basic training in Orlando.
Must have been.
The uncertainty in my mind is because of vague memories I still have about those last days before we left.
I can still visualize that last day, had my seabag and sunglasses on and the company commander sending us off and I can visualize myself walking for the last time out the door of that barracks we had been in for 8 weeks.
I went across base to begin Basic Electricity and Electronics School for the Electronics Technician occupation rating, a rating I chose because it was one of only two ratings in the Advanced Electronics Field, along with Fire Controlman, and the ET rating required several more weeks of electronics training than FC and I found that appealing to me. Several weeks later, being completely unprepared for unhindered access to cheap alcohol, having been sheltered from alcohol and then on my own with no old woman screeching at me, with no closed door in her house I could ever escape to away from her, I let myself get kicked out of school and sent out to the fleet to work in the deck department as a non-rated sailor. Working my butt off, as since 14 years old, from my own personal initiative and with no personal role models in my past experience, I had become accustomed to regular employment, I was allowed to select a rating to aspire for and I chose the gun/missile Fire Controlman (FC) (in the last days of the Fire Control Technician Missiles (FTM) rating) and worked my way back up and my next fleet assignment was with a bunch of push-button technicians whose career track had been the same as my original aspirations with the ET rating. They went to school for several courses of instruction and were advanced to Petty Officer Third Class (E-4 paygrade after entering recruit training as E-3 paygrade) without ever working a day in the fleet. I had spent over a year - a total of 419 days to be exact - on a shakedown period for the USS Taylor FFG-50 where I had many responsibilities including being responsible for the boatswain locker, helmsman, lookout, repair locker personnel, damage control, others.
All I know for certain is my official military records tell me I was transferred from basic training by the United States Navy on Monday, July 16, 1984.
The previous Friday was the 13th.
The details I vaguely recall are about how my company, C155, finished the course of instruction several days before the other company's finished. The reason, I vaguely recall, is that several companies began the course of instruction during the same week but on different days of the week. So we started on a day before the others started and we finished a few days before the last company finished. If we started on a Monday then others started on Friday. So we finished on a Monday and they finished on a Friday. But we all graduated on the same day, which I believe was a Friday and I have reason to believe was the 13th. I can't imagine we were goofing off for over a week waiting for the other company to finish the course. K076 was the female company I remember starting with us on the same day and I think they were in the same large classroom with us for classroom instruction. I remember a vast number of sailors being on the field for graduation ceremony and my company was a large group of sailors.
The answer might be out there somewhere on the internet but I can't find it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/releaseinfo
IMDb
The Last Starfighter (1984)
Release Info
USA 13 July 1984
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/fullcredits
IMDb
The Last Starfighter (1984)
Full Cast & Crew
Lance Guest ... Alex Rogan / Beta Alex
http://www.tv.com/shows/the-twilight-zone/the-fever-12601/trivia/
tv.com
The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 17
The Fever
Aired Jan 29, 1960 on CBS
Quotes
(Closing Narration)
Narrator: Mr. Franklin Gibbs, visitor to Las Vegas, who lost his money, his reason, and finally his life to an inanimate metal machine variously described as a one-armed bandit, a slot machine or, in Mr. Franklin Gibbs's words, a monster with a will all its own. For our purposes we'll stick with the latter definition because we're in the Twilight Zone.
http://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/wiki/Stargate:_The_Movie_Transcript
STARGATE WIKI
Stargate: The Movie (1994)
EXT—HOTEL ENTRANCE, DAY
[Rain pours down as Daniel, carrying two large suitcases, exits the hotel. He pulls his jacket's hood over his head to provide some protection and tries to cover his one suitcase with his coat. An uniformed man with an umbrella approaches from a car parked just outside the hotel.]
KAWALSKI
Doctor Jackson?
DANIEL
What? Yes?
KAWALSKI
Someone wants to speak with you.
INT—CAR
[Catherine flips through a file, which includes a diploma from UCLA, as the officer continues to talk to Daniel.]
DANIEL
The Air Force?
From 9/18/1965 ( premiere US TV series "I Dream of Jeannie"::series premiere episode "The Lady in the Bottle" ) To 1/7/1997 ( Bill Clinton - Remarks on Receiving the Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and an Exchange With Reporters ) is 11434 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 11434 days
From 9/18/1965 ( premiere US TV series "Get Smart" ) To 1/7/1997 ( Bill Clinton - Remarks on Receiving the Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and an Exchange With Reporters ) is 11434 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 11434 days
From 1/17/1991 ( the date of record of my United States Navy Medal of Honor as Kerry Wayne Burgess chief warrant officer United States Marine Corps circa 1991 officially the United States Apache attack helicopter pilot ) To 2/21/1997 is 2227 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 12/8/1971 ( premiere US TV series episode "Night Gallery"::"Camera Obscura" ) is 2227 days
From 1/17/1991 ( the date of record of my United States Navy Medal of Honor as Kerry Wayne Burgess chief warrant officer United States Marine Corps circa 1991 officially the United States Apache attack helicopter pilot ) To 2/21/1997 is 2227 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 12/8/1971 ( premiere US TV series episode "Night Gallery"::"Quoth the Raven" ) is 2227 days
From 3/9/1964 ( the debut of the Ford Mustang automobile ) To 6/29/1995 ( the Mir space station docking of the United States space shuttle Atlantis orbiter vehicle mission STS-71 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-71 pilot astronaut and my 3rd official United States National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 11434 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 11434 days
From 10/28/1994 ( premiere US film "Stargate" ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 847 days
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/27/1968 ( CBS News broadcast "Report from Vietnam by Walter Cronkite" ) is 847 days
From 3/4/1939 ( premiere US film "Secret Service of the Air" ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 21174 days
21174 = 10587 + 10587
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 10/28/1994 ( premiere US film "Stargate" ) is 10587 days
From 1/29/1960 ( premiere US TV series episode "The Twilight Zone"::"The Fever" ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 13538 days
13538 = 6769 + 6769
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 5/15/1984 ( as Kerry Wayne Burgess I began active service for an enlistment period of six years as a United States Navy enlisted sailor and United States of America military service continued to Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps general ) is 6769 days
From 7/13/1984 ( premiere US film "The Last Starfighter" ) To 2/21/1997 ( the landing of the US space shuttle Discovery orbiter vehicle mission STS-82 includes me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-82 pilot astronaut and my 4th official United States of America National Aeronautics Space Administration orbital flight of 4 overall ) is 4606 days
4606 = 2303 + 2303
From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 2/22/1972 ( premiere US TV series "Kung Fu" ) is 2303 days
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-02-22/news/mn-31286_1_night-landing
Los Angeles Times
Shuttle Lights the Sky in Rare Night Landing
February 22, 1997 From Washington Post
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Putting on a spectacular light show, the shuttle Discovery returned to Earth before dawn Friday like a blazing comet, leaving the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope behind in orbit with a new lease on life.
Leaving a trail of fire as it streaked above Houston at 8,700 mph, Discovery settled to a ghostly nighttime landing at the Kennedy Space Center just 18 minutes later, at 3:32 a.m. EST, to close out a five-spacewalk, $350-million overhaul of the famous telescope.
"You lit up the entire sky with the orbiter and its trail," astronaut Kevin Kregel radioed the crew from mission control in Houston. "It was pretty impressive."
http://www.tv.com/shows/i-dream-of-jeannie/the-lady-in-the-bottle-252676/
tv.com
I Dream of Jeannie
The Lady in the Bottle
Season 1, Episode 1, Aired Sep 18, 1965
Quotes
(after Jeannie kisses him) Tony: I must have gone further into orbit than I thought.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031908/releaseinfo
IMDb
Secret Service of the Air (1939)
Release Info
USA 4 March 1939
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031908/fullcredits
IMDb
Secret Service of the Air (1939)
Full Cast & Crew
Ronald Reagan ... Lt. 'Brass' Bancroft
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=53761
The American Presidency Project
William J. Clinton
XLII President of the United States: 1993 - 2001
Remarks on Receiving the Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and an Exchange With Reporters
January 7, 1997
The President. Thank you very much to Dr. Lashof and the members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses; Secretary White; Secretary Brown; Secretary Shalala; Deputy Director Tenet. I'd like to say a special word of thanks to Dr. Jack Gibbons for the work that he did on this. I thank Senator Rockefeller, Senator Specter, Congressman Lane Evans for their interest and their pursuit of this issue, and all the representatives of the military and veterans organizations who are here.
I am pleased to accept this report. I thank Dr. Lashof and the committee for their extremely thorough and dedicated work over 18 months now. I pledge to you and to all the veterans of this country, we will now match your efforts with our action.
Six years ago hundreds of thousands of Americans defended our vital interest in the Persian Gulf. They faced a dangerous enemy, harsh conditions, lengthy isolation from their families. And they went to victory for our country with lightning speed. When they came home, for reasons that we still don't fully understand, thousands of them became ill. They served their country with courage and skill and strength, and they must now know that they can rely upon us. And we must not, and will not, let them down.
Three years ago I asked the Secretaries of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs to form the Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board to strengthen our efforts to care for our veterans and find the causes of their illnesses. I signed landmark legislation that pays disability benefits to Gulf war veterans with undiagnosed illnesses. DOD and VA established toll-free lines and medical evaluation programs.
I am especially grateful to the First Lady who took this matter to heart and first brought it to my attention quite a long while ago now. I thank her for reaching out to the veterans and for making sure that their voices would be heard.
To date, we have provided Gulf war veterans with more than 80,000 free medical exams. We've approved more than 26,000 disability claims. HHS, DOD, and the Veterans Department have sponsored more than 70 research projects to identify the possible causes of the illnesses.
But early on, it became clear that answers were not emerging fast enough. Hillary and I shared the frustration and concerns of many veterans and their families. We realized the issues were so complex they demanded a more comprehensive effort. That is why, in May of 1995, I asked some of our Nation's best doctors and scientists, as well as Gulf war veterans themselves, to form a Presidential advisory committee that could provide an open and thorough and independent review of the Government's response to veterans' health concerns and the causes of their ailments.
Since that time, we have made some real progress. The Department of Defense, with the CIA, launched a review of more than 5 million pages of Gulf war documents, declassifying some 23,000 pages of materials and putting them on the Internet. Through this effort, we discovered important information concerning the possible exposure of our troops to chemical agents in the wake of our destruction of an arms depot in southern Iraq.
The committee made clear and the Defense Department agrees that this new information demands a new approach, focusing on what happened not only during but after the war and what it could mean for our troops. Based on the committee's guidance, the Department of Defense has restructured and intensified its efforts, increasing tenfold its investigating team, tracking down and talking to veterans who may have been exposed to chemical agents, and devoting millions of dollars to research on the possible effects of low-level chemical exposure.
I'm determined that this investigation will be comprehensive and credible. We haven't ended the suffering. We don't have all the answers, and I won't be satisfied until we have done everything humanly possible to find them. That's why I welcome this committee's report and its suggestions on how to make our commitment even stronger. I also take seriously the concern regarding DOD's investigation of possible chemical exposure. I'm determined to act swiftly on these findings not only to help the veterans who are sick but to apply the lessons of this experience to the future.
I've asked the Secretaries of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs to report to me in 60 days with concrete, specific action plans for implementing these recommendations. And I am directing Secretarydesignate Cohen, when confirmed by the Senate, to make this a top priority of the Defense Department. I'm also announcing two other immediate initiatives.
First, I've asked this committee to stay in business for 9 more months to provide independent, expert oversight of DOD's efforts to investigate chemical exposure, and also to monitor the Governmentwide response to the broader recommendations. The committee's persistent public effort has helped to bring much new information to light, and I have instructed them to fulfill their oversight role with the same intensity, resolve, and vigor they have brought to their work so far. Dr. Lashof has agreed to continue, and I trust the other committee members will as well.
Second, I'm accepting Secretary Brown's proposal to reconsider the regulation that Gulf war veterans with undiagnosed illnesses must prove their disabilities emerged within 2 years of their return in order to be eligible for benefits. Experience has shown that many disabled veterans have their claims denied because they fall outside the 2-year timeframe. I've asked Secretary Brown to report back to me in 60 days with a view toward extending that limit.
And we will do whatever we can and whatever it takes to research Gulf war illnesses as thoroughly as possible. Every credible possibility must be fully explored, including low-level chemical exposure and combat stress.
I know that Congress shares our deep concern, and let me again thank Senator Specter, Senator Rockefeller, and Congressman Evans for being here. Caring for our veterans is not a partisan issue. It is a national obligation, and I thank them for the approach that they have taken.
As we continue to investigate Gulf war illnesses, let me again take this opportunity to urge the Congress to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention which would make it harder for rogue states to acquire chemical weapons in the future and protect the soldiers of the United States and our allies in the future.
This report is not the end of the road, any more than it is the beginning. We have a lot of hard work that's been done, and we have made some progress, but the task is far from over. The committee's assessment gives me confidence that we are on the right track, but we have much yet to learn and much to do.
As we do make progress, we will make our findings public. We will be open in how we view Gulf war illnesses and all their possible causes, open to the veterans whose care is in our hands, open to the public looking to us for answers. I pledge to our veterans and to every American, we will not stop until we have done all we can to care for our Gulf war veterans, to find out why they are sick, and to help to make them healthy again.
Thank you very much.
Q. Mr. President, this has been studied to death. Do you believe that there is a Gulf war illness?
The President. I believe that there are a lot of veterans who got sick as a result of their service in the Gulf. And I leave it to the experts to determine whether there is one or a proliferation of them and exactly what the causal connections were. That has been apparent for some time. That's why the Congress agreed to support our efforts that for the first time gave disability payments for people with undiagnosed conditions.
But let me say that I think that this committee has done a good job. I think—I want to compliment the work that has been done in the last few months by John White in the Defense Department in facing up to the things which were not done before. No one has ever suggested that anybody intentionally imposed— exposed American soldiers to these dangers, and there is nothing—there is no reason that anyone in this Government should ever do anything but just try to get to the truth and get it out and do what is right by the veterans.
And there are also—I think we need to be a little humble about this. There are a lot of things that we still don't know. That's what Dr. Lashof said. And that's why these research projects are so very important.
And the final thing I'd like to say is we don't know all the answer here. You heard that— Dr. Lashof said that sometimes, when people are exposed to substances that can cause cancer, it may not be manifest for 10 years, which is why I want to thank Secretary Brown for urging that we scrap the 2-year rule. We have to be vigilant about this. And my successor will be working on this. We will be monitoring this for a long time to come.
But we've got a process now the American people and the veterans and their families can have confidence in. We've got the appropriate commitment of personnel and money. And more important, we've got the appropriate commitment of the heart and the mind. And I'm convinced now that we will do justice to this issue and to the people that have been affected by it.
NOTE: The President spoke at 10:55 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/trash-of-the-titans-1485/trivia/
tv.com
The Simpsons Season 9 Episode 22
Trash of the Titans
Aired Sunday 8:00 PM Apr 26, 1998 on FOX
Quotes
Moe: You're gonna need to come up with a slogan that people are gonna remember you by.
Homer: Awwh, can't someone else do it?
Moe: Can't someone else do it… that's PERFECT.
- posted by Kerry Burgess 3:25 PM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Thursday 06 September 2018
