4 JUL 06: FREEDOM FROM PUPPETS

On this U.S. holiday, we have some fairly big news to report - a new "acting Commander in Chief" is on duty. In Columbus. And no, this title has not been seized by Jim Wetherington.

"I am now acting Commander in Chief of this 'Operation Independence Day,'" says the flier I received from retired Sgt. Raymond Johnson. We introduced you to him last month [12 Jun] - the Purple Heart soldier turned Pastor, who battles post-traumatic stress disorder. I'm not sure why he'd take on a new title like this. Unless, of course, no one else would claim it....

"The time to attack is right now!" Raymond Johnson's flier declares. With Operation Independence Day, he means - a mission to ensure all veterans receive full medical attention and respectful treatment. He urges people to write state lawmakers, governors and U.S. Senators. Write the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the letter might be stolen from an employee's home.

"It's time to stop the puppets!" says the bottom of Raymond Johnson's flier. He says some V.A. employees "spend more time in red tape than in doing the right thing by you and me." But let's be fair here -- maybe these employees are simply shy, and fell more comfortable filling out forms all day.

(Hmmmm - stop the puppets?! Fort Benning's top officers might join this campaign, if it keeps the S.O.A. Watch protesters away....)

The flier from Raymond Johnson talks of his plan to go to Washington, and speak "directly to the President of the United States." If he could simply raise enough money to make a substantial donation to the Republican Party, this might actually happen.

But before he goes to Washington, Raymond Johnson has to stay out of trouble at home - and that leads me to another document Johnson left me the other day. It was a "formal apology" letter, for blowing his top while visiting his psychiatrist at Martin Army Hospital. Is it really good for a church pastor to have a fuse that's shorter than his sermons?

Raymond Johnson reportedly took two letters to the psychiatrist's office 16 June. One of them was signed by Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. But he admittedly did NOT have an appointment to see the psychiatrist - so apparently lawmakers have to show up at Fort Benning in person to have any clout.

Raymond Johnson writes the Martin Army Hospital psychiatrist kept asking if he intended to harm anyone. Johnson denied it -- but then things "escalated," and he claims before long, "there were over 30 people demanding me to stay in the hospital...." Don't you wish all walk-in patients received this sort of personal attention?

"Thirty people restrained me," Raymond Johnson writes, "and injected me with substances...." In Europe, I believe some people have called this the Tour de France....

Raymond Johnson somehow thought the Friday night fight at Martin Army Hospital was going to kill him. He says he was left so injured, he had to go to St. Francis Hospital the following Sunday for treatment. Since Johnson has so many injuries from his military years, it's amazing he can point out any new ones.

Raymond Johnson's letter formally apologizes for his 16 June behavior - but he also wants Fort Benning and the F.B.I. to investigate how he was treated that night. After all, should it take 30 people to restrain this retired and already-aching soldier? How badly does the Martin Army Hospital staff need to visit a health club?

With a salute to current military personnel and all our veterans, let's check other things we spotted on the Third of July:

+ The high temperature in Columbus hit 98 degrees F. for the third day in a row. "Magic 98," this is not....

+ WRBL visited the Phenix City shopping center where Don's Fine Foods used to be - and discovered it's practically deserted. City Council member John Storey claimed crime is "a small reason" for this. That sign reminding people of the two shootings at Don's Fine Foods must be the big reason.

+ The jury foreman in the corruption trial of Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy told the Montgomery Advertiser jurors held hands and prayed every day, during deliberations. Scrushy was convicted on every count - so maybe he found a group that's more "born again" than he is.

(Would Don Siegelman's attorney use the jury room prayers as grounds for an appeal? The 1999 lottery vote showed Siegelman doesn't care much for conservative Christians. Will he dare to claim God exerted undue influence?)

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: FREE children's games and fireworks at "Thunder on the Hooch" along the Chattahoochee.... FREE music and games for the holiday at Duck Samford Park in Auburn (fireworks iffy).... FREE prison labor from - no wait, that's a Cathy Cox attack ad....

Your PayPal donations can help build a better blog, and keep it independent-minded. To make a donation, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 9256 (+ 215, 2.4%)

If you mention this blog in public, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.