L.A. Union StageHand At Obama Rally Fired For Wearing USS George H. W. Bush T-Shirt and Hat In Honor Of His Navy Son

AS a union actress I don't consider myself anti-Union. At least not anti-actors' unions. SAG, AEA and AFTRA, for the most, have created working and safety standards that were and are very necessary. However, I have never appreciated the fact that unions often get involved in politics where they have no place, but they often do, and unfortunately some of my union dues goes to issues that I am opposed to.

That said, the stage workers' union, IATSE, just fired an L.A. stage hand, Duane Hammond, because he happened to be wearing a USS George H. W. Bush T-Shirt, which he refused to turn inside out, and a cap that he refused to remove. The union took offense, apparently, to the fact that he was wearing wardrobe that mentioned the "Bush" name at a location that was setting up for an Obama rally, in spite of the fact that it wasn't a pro-Bush logo, but simply the logo of the ship his son happens to be serving on in the U.S. navy. All this poor man wanted to do was honor his son's service for the past 3 years on the ship that was named after Bush senior. Even though he tried to explain the reasons for wearing the shirt to his union bosses he was unceremoniously sacked.

According to an update, and obviously after much unwanted publicity, the union apologized to Hammond and apparently are "bending over backwards" to make up for their reprehensible actions. This should never have happened, even if Hammond had been wearing a pro-Bush T-shirt. This is a free country, at least I thought it was.

Holiday Cheer For Our Service Members

The holidays are fast approaching and as you make out your holiday card list, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year, why not add a soldier to your list:

The American Red Cross is partnering with Pitney Bowes to send holiday cards to military personnel, veterans and their families both here and abroad. The deadline is December 10th. Click here for guidelines. For the cost of a card and a stamp you can bring good cheer to someone who deserves it. They also have free cards you can download.

If you feel like sharing a little more than a card, there are organizations that send care packages, year round, to soldiers across the globe. Some of my favorites include:

Treats For Troops- You pick a soldier to shop for, and then have at it. You can also adopt a troop to send a package to. There is a wide variety of items to choose from.

Operation Gratitude- This is a wonderful organization that is totally voluntary, every penny you send them is used to ship packages to our service members. Corporate donors provide all the items, but each box costs $10.00 to ship, and as of today they only have enough funds to ship one-quarter of the 70,000 packages. The organization receives names of soldiers and each care package is personally addressed to them. Especially during the holidays, our service members can feel homesick and depressed, and receiving a card or care package can brighten their spirits. In fact, one soldier wrote to the founder of the organization the following letter:

"HI Carolyn Our unit will be leaving Iraq in a few weeks. I just wanted to thank you for your support of all soldiers over here. Your care packages helped lift morale here greatly and you should know helped save the life of a young soldier.

We had a soldier who never got mail, care packages, or anything. He did not have much family and as it turns out was planning on committing suicide on Christmas, but because that soldier received your care package it was like a Christmas gift. It made the soldier change his mind.

soldier now writes letters and emails to folks whose names were in the box and the soldier's attitude and outlook on life has really improved. This is not a story--it is true. We found out when the soldier finally opened up and talked to the Chain of Command about what was going thru his mind and got help for his depression.

Your care package made a major difference in a human life. Because of your organization, one less family received terrible news at Christmas time.

This has been my third deployment here and I remember how on my first deployment, I almost never got mail and then received a care package from your group. It made me feel much better about being separated from my loved ones. Is there anything I can do to help out? Your group has helped me so I think I should return the great favor. What can I do to help out? Send $$ donations? Just name
it. V/R, SFC J.S."

Our men and women in the military need and deserve our support. $10.00 isn't too much to sacrifice for those who put their lives on the line for us every day.

"Hope Rides Eternal" for Sgt. Eddie Jeffers' Dad

How does one react to the death of one's child in a war that many deem "immoral"? For some, like the Cindy Sheehan's of the world, it turns into seething anger and ugliness, for others...for those who believe that this is the ultimate battle between darkness and light, for those who walk in faith with God, it turns into acceptance, with a grace, strength and humility that is beyond comprehension. One such person is David Jeffers, the father of Sgt. Eddie Jeffers, patriot, brave soldier and author of the powerful "Hope Rides Alone" opinion piece. This is my tribute to both Eddie and David. Rest in Peace Eddie.

In a recent post (upon learning of Eddie's tragic and untimely passing) I wrote about how guilty I felt for not having followed through with a simple request Eddie's dad made of Eddie's 'admirers' in May. Soon after publishing that last post, I received an email from David Jeffers that brought tears to my eyes. For some reason, he was unable to post a comment on my blog, so he asked that I post the content of his email after I read it.

What touched me most, was that this man, in the midst of what both he and his family are going through, had the graciousness to reach out to me in kindess, in order to comfort and alleviate my feelings of regret.

Here is what he wrote:


Incog,

How about if I take the first step? It's Dave; Eddie's father. My dear friend you have no need to feel guilty or apologize. I appreciate you spreading the word about Eddie's article. I encourage you and your readers to check at www.newmediajournal.us for my tribute article about Eddie. It will be out Monday morning and is titled "Hope Rides Eternal." I know you want to do something, so here's three things you can do and I hope it helps alleviate your pain and guilt:

1. Continue blogging; it is vital you do this.
2. Honor Eddie's life with a commitment to stand for what he believed in. That will be addressed in my article and on my blog in the coming months.
3. You can give money to Eddie's favorite charity, www.fisherhouse.org.

I hope this helps, God bless you. Do not fret another moment. My family loves you and more importantly, so does Jesus.

In Christ
Dave Jeffers
Ps. 37:4

I wanted to wait until I had read his beautiful tribute to his son (which, too, brought tears to my eyes) published in The New Media Journal, today, before I published his email. I highly recommend reading it.

So, this is for you David. Thank you for your past military service, and that of your son! I will continue the fight, in any way I can, to ensure your son's death was not in vain. And I will donate to fisherhouse.org in his name.

May you and your family be showered with all of God's good blessings in these sad and trying times.

God Bless all our soldiers, this country and the world!

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

William Wordsworth

Dave Jeffers blog. He will be continuously posting a call to arms.

Welcoming Home the troops at DFW Airport

This is a heartwarming video. Kleenex optional.

I seem to have missed this story, but Bert Brady was named ABC's Person of the Week, in February 2007, for his dedication to Dallas/Fort Worth's 'Welcome Home a Hero' programme. Brady, a 69 year old Vet, spent 300 days last year welcoming home the troops arriving at DFW Airport, because he believes it is important that our soldiers feel appreciated and proud of their service, unlike the hostile reception the Vietnam Vets received upon their return Stateside.

He's joined by many other people including other vets, business men and women, housewives and children, all there to make our troops feel loved and supported by handing out cookies, along with warm smiles, handshakes and hugs.

What a great idea! Too bad there aren't more programmes like this at every airport in the U.S.

Remember Me- In honour of our brave soldiers

This is a beautiful video honouring our soldiers, created by Lizzie Palmer, a 15 year old Ohio high school student, who plans on joining the U.S. Army after she graduates. She says:

"I only hope I can make America as proud as our troops today have, and I hope I can honor them in the way they deserve with my videos. I love talking to American military personnel, but it's not very often
that I get the chance. Hope you all have a great day and God bless!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!"