Some numbers to think about active duty 1,380,082 number of living veterans 26,403,703 and the number drawing veterans benefits are 2,735,559 these are voting age people, that usually DO vote. Most are married and have children many of them have adult children, like myself I have 3 voting age children, and you all better believe I tell them my opinions. Does that mean they will vote that way, NO, but they will listen to me and I will have an influnce on their decisions, because what affects me affects them. That means there is a potential 100 million Americans directly affected by policies these candidates can possibly impact in their lives, veterans benefits, home loans, old age care, medical care, etc.

But it isn't just about those potential 100 Million Americans that testvet mentions, this is about Real Sacrifice this Country, when Civilian and Military leaders start the Drums or War beating, Who Will Actually Do The Sacrificing these Wars of Choice Bring!

After WWII this Country stopped Sacrificing, it's left to the Military Personal Serving and Their Families, while Country uses catch phrases, with No Real Meaning, to satisfy in their chosen lifestyles and political debates.

What are the Military Spouses for Change (MSC) calling for, watch this Video to find out:

Military Spouses for Change (MSC)
YouTube Video

This is what I put in the Video description and what 'testvet' was calling for also with his last sentence, Please contact the campaigns of the people you support and ASK them to please  commit to this group and see if we can enable a debate before Super Dooper Tuesday.:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  Margaret Mead.

Military Spouses for Change are trying to lure Democratic and Republican candidates to address the largest military community in the country face-to-face.

"These candidates are asking to be the next commander in chief. I feel like our families and service members, if nothing else, deserve an audience," organizer Carissa Picard said.

Visit their Site,Sign Up and Join Them, Support their Everts, Demand the Candidates for the Presidency Answer their Call For An Honest Debate, Contact All the major News Outlets with their call for a Face to Face Debate, Contact All the Televised News Outlets to Carry the Debate, Live, so as many as possible can Listen to these Spouses and Family Members who, besides those Actually Serving, are the Only Ones Sacrificing!

Soldiers' wives trying to lure presidential candidates to Fort Hood

Spouse group: Action needed for wounded vets

'testvet' also put this up and I'll repeat their request from their site and news articles:

   As much as individual presidential candidates talk about health care plans or personal values, the fact remains that we are electing a war president.  We are electing a president who will probably spend the bulk of his or her first term managing military conflicts and performing extensive foreign policy damage control.  In 2008, the next President will inherit at least two wars and the costs of those wars, internally as well as internationally, will continue to grow long after the last service member comes home.  

    Consequently, Military Spouses for Change[1] is inviting the presidential candidates from both parties to Fort Hood, Texas (Killeen), on February 1st, to talk about foreign policy, our military, our veterans, our wounded warriors, and our military families.  

    Fort Hood is the largest military installation in the United States. There are almost 46,000 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood and more than 24,000 spouses. On any given day, at least a third of these soldiers are deployed to Iraq and every week at least two soldiers from Fort Hood (on average) are killed in Iraq. (I am 34 and I know more widows than my mother knows.)

    This kind of event has never been done before and it needs to be done now.  Not only because Americans on both side of the aisle need to be reminded (before Super Tuesday) that we are electing the next Commander-in-Chief, but also because our service members and their families deserve to be addressed and heard by the people who wish to be elected in that position.  

    We also think this country's large veteran community should know which candidates truly value the military and veteran vote (if not for moral reasons, then for practical reasons).  There are approximately 1.4 million active duty service members in America and 1.2 million in the National Guard/Reserves.  If you include the spouses, that comes to a total of 4.1 million votes.  

    Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 in 8 adults were veterans (26.4 million) in 2003.  If we assume that at least half of those adults were married, then we have approximately 39 million vet couples giving us a total of almost 43 million American adults who are currently serving in the military, have served in the military, or are married to someone serving or who had served.  That is not an insignificant number.

    As an organization and as military spouses, clearly U.S. foreign policy is important to us. But the American public has an interest in this as well, not only for fiscal reasons (e.g., we have spent 447 billion dollars on the war in Iraq alone), but for national security reasons.

    Furthermore, what about the depletion of our states' National Guard and reserve units?  How are we going to replenish those units so that individual states can respond to a natural disaster or, heaven forbid, another 9/11?

    So far 1.5 million service members have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. What are the candidates' positions on the possibility of reinstating the draft if, for example, we become engaged with Iran before he or she enters office?  

    Since September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense has reported more than 64,000 wounded and 4,000 killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, has reported treating 250,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, including 95,000 for mental health conditions.

    Meanwhile, an estimated 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are expected to seek care from the VA within the next ten years, at a projected cost of 7 to 9 BILLION dollars.  A recent DoD taskforce assessing the mental health capabilities of the military announced:  "The system of care for psychological health that has evolved over recent decades is insufficient to meet the needs of today's forces and their beneficiaries, and will not be sufficient to meet their needs in the future."  ( MHTF Report pdf )

    What do the candidates propose to do for our returning wounded warriors and their families?  How do we effectively identify their mental, physical, social, and financial needs and how do we effectively meet those needs?

    The suicide rate is the highest in almost 30 years and the propensity to serve is at a 20 year low. Consequently, the Army and Marine Corps are relying on reenlistment and recruiting bonuses that will cost nearly 2.5 billion dollars next year.

    Iraq is the defining electoral issue of 2008.  Nothing can be done domestically until we have settled our foreign affairs in such a way that does not require a large military presence in hostile countries.  Yet because Texas is not an early primary state, it does not warrant the attention of the Presidential candidates.  Nonetheless, we cannot imagine an event more powerful than these candidates answering questions posed to them by the very people whose service and sacrifice allow forums such as these to exist.  

    Shouldn't we ascertain which candidates are the most qualified (from both parties) to lead our nation and our military prior to Super Tuesday?   And shouldn't this be done in front of an audience of service members, veterans, wounded warriors, advocates, and their families?

    If you have any questions or are interested in being involved, please contact:

    Carissa S. Picard

    President

    Military Spouses for Change

mydragonflies placed a graphic at testvet6778's diary that can be very useful

If you do what I did, sent it out to my E-List of individuals, a few political boards, and Veterans Groups boards, as well as posted the diary on my own site, as I will do with this.

Should 'testvets' Diary have made it to a recommend list on a very popular Progressive Board, I leave that up to you.

But one thing is Certain, this call for a Presidential Debate by this Group  Military Spouses for Change (MSC) should be Hitting Every Front Page on the Web, of All Political Groups! E-Mails should be filling up the News Media's In-Boxes! Telephones should be ringing off the hook at All the Media Outlets especially the Corporate TV News Channels, which should be signing up in Masse to air this Live across the airways at the same time!

This Country needs to get off it's Collective Apathedic Ass and Finally Understand the Realities that face the Few Who Actually Serve and are Sent into it's Wars, as Well as what Their Families Face and Both wanting Answers to the Questions that have Always Existed by Veterans, Families of, and the Active Military!