Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I support our troops, and pray that their actions, be swift, direct and that they all return home safely.
I hope this letter finds you, and your familles all well, and that in these uncertain times,
you find moments to be joyful.

I need to express my thoughts now, or I will choke on my conscience.

Friends of mine, have encouraged me to use my flair for writing, and express some thoughts
on the war and matters at home. I can assure you, it was very trying, to write an elegant, well crafted letter, about a topic that stirs very strong emotions in us all.

When one thinks of war, it is hard to separate emotion, and opinion, from propaganda, and from facts. Regardless, of what political stance you take on the war, when the dust has settled, and smoke has cleared, if you take your political opinion out of the picture, there are two things that will remain.

The price tag of having fought the war, and The American Veteran.

When the last infantryman, has gone home, America will take on the arduous task of rebuilding and liberating yet another country other than our own. If America feels the need to liberate a people and rebuild a country, please consider this....

Our country's National Deficit is over 15 figures, and in layman's terms, would take a contribution of over 105,000 Dollars from every American household to clear.

There are currently 70 Million Americans who are employed and without Health Insurance in this country. Medical insurance is on the rise, and medical over billing by hospitals is rampant. Our doctor's take to the streets in strike about malpractice insurance. The working poor of this country must visit emergency rooms for needed care.

Workmen's compensation not only shrugs off the worker, it strangleholds the small businessman forced to provide the required coverage. The politically correct point their fingers at 30 Million smokers who bear the brunt of taxation in the way of health care. Yet there are 70 Million uninsured, and 40 Million Americans who will die of non smoking related heart disease.

Our police force is more than reliable, but not every Policeman has a bullet proof vest and new technology is just starting to reach into their area of expertise. September 11th furthermore illustrates our need for better communications at home. One must question the rebuilding of a country in the Middle East, that has seen no peace, since the dawn of time, when the men and women who provide our safety here at home, do not have every tool they need to insure our safety or theirs.
It would be refreshing not to have to see the local First Aid Departments or The American Red Cross ask for donations. We no longer have that same secure feeling when entering an airplane.
Times have changed here at home.

In Iraq, we will rebuild their schools. Yet, I have never in my lifetime, met a teacher here, who teaches in our nation's education system, who has told me that their educational budget met their needs. In the Midwest, physical education is taught by out of shape home room teachers, because gym teachers are laid off due to budget cuts. The value of the education we provide to our greatest national asset, this nation's children, can be illustrated by the number of high school children who were allowed to skip school to protest this war. While protesting this war, few of them knew the geography of Iraq, or the name of Iraq's capital, and thought that Condolezza Rice might have been Uncle Ben's competition. One must question why the next generation knows more about Brittany Spears, and think Hans Blix might be the opening band at Ozzfest. One must question why we have educated a generation of students, that has no knowledge of current events, or American history,then turns their back on the American flag, excising their rights as an American, disgracing every veteran who have laid his or her life on the line, to provide that very same freedom.

In Iraq, we will build a universal health care system, not one exists here. In our country, Doctor's take the streets in strike, over malpractice insurance. The working poor of this country must visit emergency rooms for needed care.

In Iraq, we will build a modernized railroad, when at home we bail out Amtrak.
We depend on oil, but our mass transit suffers.

Our Social Security System was designed in 1934, and cannot meet the needs of the baby boom generation nor the needs of the disabled. The disabled are told that the system is overwhelmed and that simple decisions regarding their claims may take a year. Waiting almost 24 months for benefits is the norm, and Social Security Lawyers have become our new national product. A considerable amount of money is spent enforcing laws requiring that every restaurant owner who hires our Mexican friends, insure that our Mexican friends be made legal. Paying our Mexican friends Social Security Benefits they are legally entitled to, will cost 120 Billion Dollars. Unlike other countries, Mexico makes no contribution to our Social Security System. Our Social Security System is in trouble and 12 percent of the wages that you have earned in your lifetime support this tom foolery.

I recently have had conversations, with a single Mom, who provides for her three children without child support. She was struck by a drunk driver, and had both legs amputated. She now fights for a disability determination, and still must wait for benefits.

I have read about a man named John Hunter, who was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gerhig's disease. He was given the standard life expectancy, of three to five years to live. Yet, he was denied his disability, because although he might be dead soon, right now, he walked to well. This happens right here in America. Again, he was born here.

There were 14 Types of Agent Orange were used in Vietnam, Veteran's who returned home raised children with birth defects and a disease called Spina Bifida. Yet, a person with Spina Bifida can't walk into Social Security get disability without a delay or a fight.

The last Gulf War produced over 5.5 Million Veteran's, while a nation hangs yellow ribbons in support of our troops in this war, Defense Department records indicate there are currently 89,207 Veterans waiting for benefits, and 111,316 Veterans who have had their benefits denied. Wasn't the Gulf War over a decade ago?

While war protesters, will argue that Iraq processes no weapons of mass destruction. One might question why 20,000 Veteran's of the Gulf War suffer poor health from the effects of destroying chemical weapons at a bunker in Khamisiyah, Saudi Arabia. One must question why 5,000 Veteran's are now in lawsuits, suing chemical companies that provided Iraq, the very chemicals to make such weapons. It's interesting to know that 14 of those chemical companies are located in Germany, our ally, 2 in France, and 2 were housed in our country. Both plants in Maryland and Nashville have been closed.

Gulf War Veterans have returned home with Gulf War Syndrome. Many have returned home with ALS or Lou Gerhig's disease. Many from one particular Air Base in Texas, have ALS. Yet, No one knows why. A defense department study on Gulf War Veteran's who were diagnosed with ALS stated, that Gulf War Veteran's were twice as likely to have ALS. The findings were inconclusive, and came after the life expectancy of a Veteran diagnosed with ALS.

For less than a decade, I was an employed as an Electronic Technician for a defense contractor here in New Jersey. It was there, that we produced generators and systems for the M1 Abrams Tanks, The Army and Navy Blackhawk, Seahawk, and Apache Helicopters. It is those very units, in the Gulf War and this war I helped build. My metal inspection stamp is etched in those units. I know this. As an Electrical Inspector, I followed the parts from the raw material stage, through their completion, where I would test them, over drive them, and test many different functions to determine their quality before the went to the field. It was my job to insure that if you were getting in an Abrams tank, my parts were getting the troops there and back. Is it a coincidence that I now have ALS, after my exposure to those high intensity electromagnetic fields?

Why must a person with a terminal illness have to fight with Social Security for almost a year to gain disability benefits?

It is very ironic, that on May 1st of this year, as you read this, I will appear before Congress, to tell Congress my story, and the stories of others you have read.

It will be the one year anniversary of my applying for disability that I still fight for.

I will be sitting in front of the very same Congressmen I have written, trying to fight for my disability, and trying to change the laws regarding this issue. It is my personal observation, that Congress spends more time yielding the floor to each other than they do voting on such important issues.

Congressmen, do not rely on the Social Security System nor does the President, but yet they are the very people who decide my fate and the fate of you and your families. Please make yourselves informed. Out of the 538 members of Congress, there is only one Congressman, who has family serving in the war in Iraq. It seems to me that when this form of government was designed, President's were called Commander's in Chief, because they too, fought in wars.

All politics aside, taking the pro war or pro peace stances, out of the equation, I am as humanitarian as the next guy, but it seems to me, before we go off rebuilding a country other than our own, or liberating a people, we as a nation should look to provide for our own beforehand.

Every person with a disability should be given their benefits without a fight.

We should look to improve our nation's health care system, education system, and the very manner we protect ourselves.

We as a nation, should look to improve the very way we govern ourselves, before we go setting the example for the world.

Absolutely, more importantly, and with most certainty, if you have laid down your life in defense of the land of the free and the home of fhe brave, you and you family should be honored, you should be given your benefits, be given the utmost respect and be told thank you.

One cannot embrace freedom without celebrating the men and women who have picked up a weapon, in defense of a nation that provides this very freedom, regardless of how you feel about the war.

Humanitarian efforts should start at home first.

Sincerely,

Ron Riker
Beach Haven, NJ