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Speaking Truth to Power
| BIOGRAPHY |
| WINTER SOLDIER -- LET IT SNOW! |
RUSS
SCHEIDLER
SCHEIDLER
 |  |  |  |  |
Russ Scheidler served in the U.S.
Marine Corps, 1969-1972, one of
four brothers serving
simultaneously in the Corps. His
older brother, Ed Worthley, died
as a result of two tours in
Vietnam, which prohibited Russ
from serving there. Instead, Russ
was ordered to Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. After discharge from the
Marines, he was a member of
VVAW.
Russ.scheidler@vetspeak.org
Marine Corps, 1969-1972, one of
four brothers serving
simultaneously in the Corps. His
older brother, Ed Worthley, died
as a result of two tours in
Vietnam, which prohibited Russ
from serving there. Instead, Russ
was ordered to Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. After discharge from the
Marines, he was a member of
VVAW.
Russ.scheidler@vetspeak.org
I guess I’ll never understand the maniac millionaires who are building a new
baseball stadium without a roof in a place where snow can stop a baseball
game at both the beginning and the end of the season. They continue to
do things that just don’t make any sense. Like, building a new stadium with
taxpayer's money that has no roof in a place that has five months of winter
or starting wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Things that you just
cannot win.
I mean look at history. The Twins were frequently snowed out of their early
season games and they finally had to build a stadium with a dome roof.
Now they want to build another with no roof. Hey, the weather here can kill
you in more ways than one. Now, the maniac millionaires have started wars
in the two most lethal places on the planet.
Just ask Alexander the Great or any of the Caesars or the British. Nobody
has been able to subdue these two places for any length of time. Perhaps
the people are just too crazy or the environment is just too extreme.
So, the home team won the season opener and that always feels good.
Still, I could not go for more than half an inning without thinking about the
Winter Soldier Investigation that happened in Washington, DC on
March 13-16. Maybe it was all the snow outside, but it sure feels like the
winter of our discontent.
I went with a contingent of other VetSpeak.org compatriots. We were like
the parents, or even grandparents, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War,
people who testified to the truth of the current wars. There has never been
a war without abuse of the populace and there never will be. The old
Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) folks who came to provide
security for the testimonies, all came knowing we were attending a moment
in history.
We were not disappointed. The new, well-funded, version of the Swift Boat
Liars for Bush had threatened to disrupt the proceedings. The Gathering
of Eagles, now also known as “The Beagles” or “The Gaggle of Geese”
(they got some new nicknames there), could not put up more than about 40
or 50 people at a time. They even were offering to pay people's travel
fares to come and disrupt the proceedings, and let them sleep in their DC
office if they couldn’t afford a hotel room.
The DC cops took them at their word and came out in force. By the late
afternoon of the first day, they were closing down shop. They had
prepared to be very busy but were bored instead. The VetSpeak and
VVAW folks manning the gate surprised the cops by being very efficient
gatekeepers throughout the facilities. The only disruption came from an old
guy who snuck in and made about two seconds of disruption before he was
competently removed from the proceedings.
Perhaps, the most magical moment came when Dick Gregory arrived and
attended for a while. He is still a magnificent individual. He did not forget
that at the first Winter Soldier Investigation in 1971, the Vietnam Veterans
dispersed the Michigan Nazi Party members with relish! I pray the man lives
for another hundred years. But, I drone on.
The real stars of the day were the Iraq and Afghan Veterans Against the
War. They brought tears to all that heard their testimonies. They brought
much hope to my heart. There was even a phone call from an active duty
unit in the war that was ready to provide any testimony they wanted! It
seems that the proceedings were produced live streaming on the internet.
I was on the security team, so, I heard very little of the testimony. I pray
that the media that was there will produce some of the most elegant
recordings that the world has ever seen. For that was the quality of the
proceedings. It is unfortunate that the domestic media buried this elegant
affair.
This generation of veterans has so much more on the ball than we had.
They are, without exception that I saw, levelheaded, intelligent, and
committed that this madness must end.
Every single one of them, that I had the privilege to speak with, was effusive
with praise for the security job that the old guys and gals were doing. Even
more gratitude was given for the work that we did a generation ago. “If you
guys hadn’t done what you did back then, we wouldn’t have had a place to
start”.
So, where does a veteran get off determining that the war he fights is
wrong? A veteran on the podium answered that question, “Well, we’re not
really stupid”!
Two more wars down and again the first casualty is Truth! The maniac
millionaires lied about both wars and now we’re stuck in a quagmire civil war
in Iraq and the Taliban have just grown the largest poppy crop the world
has ever known. Watch out for cheap heroin flooding a town near you.
My companions and I drove all the way and arrived home mere hours
before it snowed again, 3-5 inches. It’s late tonight and it’s still snowing.
I am very honored to have participated in the recent Winter Soldier
Investigation as a member of the security force. I feel lucky to still be alive
after a generation of Post Traumatic Stress (I keep working to not let it
become a disorder “D”).
So, let the new generation take the reins, or pass the torch or whatever
seems the right analogy to you. These young people are the best I’ve ever
seen.
Hey, it’s still snowing outside! Winter Soldier, let it snow!
Semper Fi,
Uncle Russ
baseball stadium without a roof in a place where snow can stop a baseball
game at both the beginning and the end of the season. They continue to
do things that just don’t make any sense. Like, building a new stadium with
taxpayer's money that has no roof in a place that has five months of winter
or starting wars in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Things that you just
cannot win.
I mean look at history. The Twins were frequently snowed out of their early
season games and they finally had to build a stadium with a dome roof.
Now they want to build another with no roof. Hey, the weather here can kill
you in more ways than one. Now, the maniac millionaires have started wars
in the two most lethal places on the planet.
Just ask Alexander the Great or any of the Caesars or the British. Nobody
has been able to subdue these two places for any length of time. Perhaps
the people are just too crazy or the environment is just too extreme.
So, the home team won the season opener and that always feels good.
Still, I could not go for more than half an inning without thinking about the
Winter Soldier Investigation that happened in Washington, DC on
March 13-16. Maybe it was all the snow outside, but it sure feels like the
winter of our discontent.
I went with a contingent of other VetSpeak.org compatriots. We were like
the parents, or even grandparents, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War,
people who testified to the truth of the current wars. There has never been
a war without abuse of the populace and there never will be. The old
Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) folks who came to provide
security for the testimonies, all came knowing we were attending a moment
in history.
We were not disappointed. The new, well-funded, version of the Swift Boat
Liars for Bush had threatened to disrupt the proceedings. The Gathering
of Eagles, now also known as “The Beagles” or “The Gaggle of Geese”
(they got some new nicknames there), could not put up more than about 40
or 50 people at a time. They even were offering to pay people's travel
fares to come and disrupt the proceedings, and let them sleep in their DC
office if they couldn’t afford a hotel room.
The DC cops took them at their word and came out in force. By the late
afternoon of the first day, they were closing down shop. They had
prepared to be very busy but were bored instead. The VetSpeak and
VVAW folks manning the gate surprised the cops by being very efficient
gatekeepers throughout the facilities. The only disruption came from an old
guy who snuck in and made about two seconds of disruption before he was
competently removed from the proceedings.
Perhaps, the most magical moment came when Dick Gregory arrived and
attended for a while. He is still a magnificent individual. He did not forget
that at the first Winter Soldier Investigation in 1971, the Vietnam Veterans
dispersed the Michigan Nazi Party members with relish! I pray the man lives
for another hundred years. But, I drone on.
The real stars of the day were the Iraq and Afghan Veterans Against the
War. They brought tears to all that heard their testimonies. They brought
much hope to my heart. There was even a phone call from an active duty
unit in the war that was ready to provide any testimony they wanted! It
seems that the proceedings were produced live streaming on the internet.
I was on the security team, so, I heard very little of the testimony. I pray
that the media that was there will produce some of the most elegant
recordings that the world has ever seen. For that was the quality of the
proceedings. It is unfortunate that the domestic media buried this elegant
affair.
This generation of veterans has so much more on the ball than we had.
They are, without exception that I saw, levelheaded, intelligent, and
committed that this madness must end.
Every single one of them, that I had the privilege to speak with, was effusive
with praise for the security job that the old guys and gals were doing. Even
more gratitude was given for the work that we did a generation ago. “If you
guys hadn’t done what you did back then, we wouldn’t have had a place to
start”.
So, where does a veteran get off determining that the war he fights is
wrong? A veteran on the podium answered that question, “Well, we’re not
really stupid”!
Two more wars down and again the first casualty is Truth! The maniac
millionaires lied about both wars and now we’re stuck in a quagmire civil war
in Iraq and the Taliban have just grown the largest poppy crop the world
has ever known. Watch out for cheap heroin flooding a town near you.
My companions and I drove all the way and arrived home mere hours
before it snowed again, 3-5 inches. It’s late tonight and it’s still snowing.
I am very honored to have participated in the recent Winter Soldier
Investigation as a member of the security force. I feel lucky to still be alive
after a generation of Post Traumatic Stress (I keep working to not let it
become a disorder “D”).
So, let the new generation take the reins, or pass the torch or whatever
seems the right analogy to you. These young people are the best I’ve ever
seen.
Hey, it’s still snowing outside! Winter Soldier, let it snow!
Semper Fi,
Uncle Russ
You’ve entered the No Fly Zone
over Waybelo, Minnesota. It’s the
last day of March and the home
team is playing the baseball
opener. It started snowing about
9 o’clock this morning and it’s still
snowing now that the game is
over. Some parts around here will
see a foot of snow before it’s all
said and done.
over Waybelo, Minnesota. It’s the
last day of March and the home
team is playing the baseball
opener. It started snowing about
9 o’clock this morning and it’s still
snowing now that the game is
over. Some parts around here will
see a foot of snow before it’s all
said and done.