I’ve attended most of the major antiwar protests in Washington since 9/11. At a 2005 protest, a cop tried to whack me on the head with a wooden pole. At a 2007 protest, I snapped a picture showing George W. Bush hanging next to the U.S. Capitol. But my favorite protest was a potent little ruckus that I almost missed. On a sunny late summer day in 2013, I ambled to downtown Washington to hike with a bunch of folks who enjoyed bantering as much as I did. The route for the jaunt started on the National Mall, passing by the Smithsonian, heading toward the World War II Memorial and points...
military veterans
Episode 309: Three Marine Corps Vets Explain Why You Should Never Join the Military
78 Minutes Not Safe for Work Pete invited Jared, Luke and Typo from the Biting the Bullet podcast to come on the show. The BTB podcast is three Marine Corps veterans who do their best to warn people off of joining the military. Pete asked them to come on and give their best arguments for why no one should ever join the military. This is an episode you can share with anyone you know who is thinking of enlisting. Biting the Bullet Podcast Lions of Liberty Podcast Indiegogo for The Monopoly on Violence Pete's Patreon Pete's Bitbacker Pete's Books on Amazon Pete's Books Available for Crypto...
Veterans Struggle To Gain Access To Medical Marijuana
By Patrick McKnight Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana programs. Despite this expansion military veterans often face greater obstacles to gaining access to medical marijuana than other groups. Veterans suffer widespread health problems including chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate higher than the general population. When veterans seek medical care from the federal Veterans Administration health system, they not only lack access to medical marijuana but may fear jeopardizing all federal benefits...
How America’s Gun Violence Epidemic May Have Roots in Overseas War Zones
In recent months a string of school shootings in the United States has rekindled the debate over gun violence, its causes and what can be done to stop it. But amid endless talk of school shootings and AR-15s, a large piece of the puzzle has been left conspicuously absent from the debate. Contrary to the notion that mass murderers are at the heart of America’s gun violence problem, data from recent years reveals that the majority of gun deaths are self-inflicted. In 2015, suicides accounted for over 60 percent of gun deaths in the U.S., while homicides made up around 36 percent of that...