Indicted

WOW

That is all I can say! Ruffin Poole was indicted on 51 charges. He’s being described as ex. NC Gov Easley’s right hand man. He showed up at the Federal Building in downtown Raleigh this morning…in cuffs. I was at the Fed Building this afternoon handing out press packets to local news affiliates for Waterfront Sportsman and the EIC.

I stood across the street talking with a member from our group and as I looked at the Fed Building I thought to myself, “My god…what have we become?”

When I read the press packet information I just shook my head in sadness, disgust, and anger at the opening sentence, “How much damage has the Hunt/Easley/Perdue dynasty of misappropriations of environmental funds done to Homeland Security and the well being of our military and their families in the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan?”

How could you? That’s what I would ask these gov’t officials. We ALL have to live on this Earth…regardless of our political affiliations, ethnicity, social class, creed, religious beliefs, etc. etc. etc. Why would elected “trusted” officials ALLOW, CONDONE, and ASSIST in acts that have harmed and killed people in NC. Why would they? How could they? How do they sleep at night? How do they look their children and grandchildren in the face KNOWING the water they drink is contaminated? And to allow our military bases to become contaminated is LOW. I come from a military fam and know quite a few ppl still enlisted. Our military personnel and their families go through a lot…and now they have to be exposed to toxic waste on the bases in NC. Disrespectful, dishonorable, and shameful.

I’ve been working withWFS and EIC for almost a year and not once have I felt that they should give up. The only thing I’ve felt is that the group should not have to exist. We shouldn’t have to band together to expose these atrocities, because these atrocities shouldn’t even be happening. We shouldn’t have to witness the spreading of sludge on the grounds of an elementary school. We shouldn’t have to be banding together protesting the mining of Uranium in a climate that’s not suitable to do so. We shouldn’t be witnessing our shorelines disappearing. We shouldn’t be getting sick from drinking and bathing in tap water. We shouldn’t have to watch our govt officials and their constituents get indicted for the mess that they’ve done.

To quote Michael Jackson, “Look what we’ve done to the world…look what we’ve done.”

Base Realignment and Closure

I’m a Military Brat and proud of it! Both my grandfathers served and my dad served also.  One thing about growing up military is that you never fully retire. It’s a lifestyle…not just a job. You stay connected to the military families you meet throughout your travels and you stay aware of what is going on with military families; which brings up the topic of Base Realignment and Closure…BRAC.

The link below is from the government is worth the read

 

www.gao.gov/new.items/d09217.pdf

 

 

Here are my main thoughts/questions:

1. The military bases that these families are moving to are not deserted, so where are these people going to live?

2. The towns that are losing their military bases are also losing civilian jobs…so where are those people going to work?

3. With the contamination at Camp Lejune and other military bases is it safe/smart/logical to move even more people to the area?

4. Do the bases NEED to be closed?

5. What is to be done with the empty bases?

6. Refer to #1

7. When it comes to NC was the truth told about the water quality and available space at our bases?

8. Refer to #3

I’m not being like that boy on the bus who told Forrest, “You can’t sit here.” I’m just raising my hand and asking some simple questions? It doesn’t seem like the BRAC has been well thought out. It really brings out my “WTF?” face when things are done that offer SHORT TERM solutions. This isn’t 1639, people live past the age of 20 so we need to start making decisions based on what will happen in 20+ years.