If you haven’t been following the ridiculous debacle surrounding Connecticut’s state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal claiming he “misspoke” when he -repeatedly – claimed to be a Vietnam Veteran, you can catch up on numerous news sites.

But the word from our National HQ is this:

ROCKY HILL, Conn., May 21, 2010 — The department commander of Connecticut’s largest war veterans’ organization is demanding an apology from state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal for claiming he was a Vietnam veteran when he is not.

“Only those who served in Vietnam or offshore or in neighboring countries can rightfully call themselves a Vietnam veteran,” said Richard G. DiFederico, department commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

“Mr. Blumenthal is not a Vietnam veteran, and whether he misspoke, was misquoted or regrets that some people believed he was a veteran of that war is not the issue,” said DiFederico, of Oakville. “The issue is about the top law enforcement officer in my state — someone whose very position requires higher standards of personal integrity and accountability — who won’t apologize to those he has deeply offended.”

Press reports earlier this week confirmed that Blumenthal, a Vietnam Era veteran who served honorably in the Marine Corps Reserve, alluded to being a Vietnam veteran on several public occasions. He is currently running as a democratic candidate to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).

On Tuesday, the West Hartford mayor arranged for the democratic campaign committee to rent the meeting hall inside VFW Post 9929 for a press conference, which at the time many believed was the perfect venue for Blumenthal to issue a public apology to all Vietnam veterans. Instead of apologizing, he became defiant, and launched into full campaign mode to defend his record as a public servant.

“This issue isn’t about Mr. Blumenthal’s great service to the state’s veteran and military population, it’s about him refusing to apologize for claiming to be something he is not,” said DiFederico, who served in the Navy as a member of the 1983 multinational peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon.

The VFW department commander said Blumenthal needs to apologize to the 3.4 million servicemen and women who served honorably in Southeast Asia, as well as to 5.3 million Vietnam Era veterans who served honorably elsewhere. But ultimately, DiFederico said, Blumenthal must apologize to Connecticut’s quarter-million veterans, military and their family members.

“The attorney general was considered one of the best friends a veteran could have in our state. It is a true shame that he let a false claim of Vietnam service change all that.”

The Supreme Court has issued a ruling on the Mojave Cross. From our National HQ site:

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2010 — After seven months of deliberation, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling to tear down a cross-shaped veterans memorial in the middle of the Mojave Desert Preserve, but the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. said there is still work to be done before the 76-year-old memorial is seen again.

“Their ruling was a strong step forward, but the 5-4 split decision only protects the memorial today and doesn’t yet allow the congressional approved land transfer to occur or remove the plywood box that currently encases it,” said Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., of Sussex, Wis.

“A decision today could have protected this memorial outright, along with establishing precedent to protect thousands of other veterans’ memorials that currently reside on federal, state or municipal property throughout the country,” he said. “The high court chose instead to remand the case back to the district court, which means we may have to go through these proceedings all over again.”

In Salazar v. Buono, the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of a seven-foot-tall Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial that VFW members erected in the shape of the Latin cross in 1934 to honor 53,000 Americans who fell in battle during World War I. The opposition, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, claimed that a cross on federal lands violated the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the federal government from creating a national religion or endorsing one religion over another.

Congress agreed in 2002 to give the one-acre memorial site to the VFW in exchange for five acres of privately owned land elsewhere within the 1.6 million-acre Mojave Desert Preserve. Lower courts, however, ruled that the government could not cure an Establishment Clause violation with a land swap. A plywood box has covered the cross ever since.

“Those World War I VFW members erected a memorial in the middle of the Mojave Desert 76 years ago to honor their dead,” said Tradewell. “Their use of the cross was no more sectarian than our nation’s use of the cross on our second highest military medal for bravery. We hope the district court agrees with us, because modern-day political correctness standards should not be applied to a 1934 gesture to honor the fallen.”

From an email from an email from the PA VFW State Commander Frank Mills:

With time running out in this legislative session, PA VFW State Commander Frank Mills has asked all posts to contact their local state senator and state representative to ask them to get HB 169 passed through the House and Senate. We have supported numerous small games bills over the past few years and we believe that HB 169 would best serve the interests of non-profits who run the games as well as the State through better clarity in defining how the games would be governed. Passing this bill would be a win-win for all involved including the many needy organizations and individuals who come to non-profits for donations.

We know that SB 211 made it through two of the required three rounds of Senate committee hearings in part due to the proposed taxation of small games, but that effort to tax the games was dropped. Please ask your legislators to fast track the committee review process for HB 169 to get this issue on the front burner. There was good interest in raising the limits in part by the recent budget process and we want to keep this momentum going.

The House unanimously cleared HB 169 during the last session so it can be done quickly. It would have passed if it were not for the stone walling of Senator Armstrong. Armstrong retired. Now let’s put the issue before all legislators again to ask them to get the job done..

Passing legislation to raise the limits is long overdue and with the State unable to help fund many local organizations, and with more people being rendered needy due to the economy, the additional funds raised by higher limits will help many people. Lawmakers and the Governor just approved the for-profit gambling facilities to expand their offerings so they can make more money, so why can’t non-profits offer higher prize limits to bring in more funds to donate locally. The casinos certainly aren’t taking care of those who turn to our VFW posts for contributions. This is the message all VFW members need to send to their state lawmakers to get prize limits raised before lawmakers go home for the holiday break.

Please ask the legislators to share any thoughts or concerns they have with HB 169 or SB 211 (the senate version of the bill with some differences to 169 … Dept. prefers 169).

Tell them you are interested in meeting with them at any time to elevate and activate this issue. And one last key issue to emphasize: some lawmakers may think that on a $5,000 game the post brings in $5,000 in earnings, which is not even close to reality. Tell them the game sponsors average 18-20% of earnings on a game prize, which in the case of a $5,000 game is $900-$1,000, which VFW posts often give away in one donation.

Act today by emailing or calling your legislators. There are only a small amount of voting days left in this legislative session … snail mail will move too slow so use email or phone calls. And ask your friends who support VFW posts and other non-profits who offer the games to get on board to help make noise about this issue. Stress that the donations given out as a result of small games improve public safety, support youth programs, help charities, pay for school supplies, support the Red Cross, send care packages to troops, help military families experiencing financial crises, and all of the others ways the donations help people. They need to hear this good news.

Thank you, and please copy these addresses below on your emails:

teachus@pahouse.net; kmccall@pahouse.net; devans@hacd.net; jcorman@pasen.gov; dpileggi@pasen.gov; shsmith@pahousegop.com; jscarnati@pasen.gov; jorie@pasen.gov; mwaugh@pasen.gov; rrobbins@pasen.gov; pbrowne@pasen.gov; jpippy@pasen.gov; repbilldeweese@pahouse.net; mcohen@pahouse.net; rbuxton@pahouse.net; msturla@pahouse.net; dsandman@vfwpahq.org;

This is an important issue not just for our post, but for all the posts across the state! Act today!

From our national HQ website:

The VFW is pleased to announce it has now provided more than three million free phone calls between deployed service members and their families back home in the United States, courtesy of VFW Operation Uplink™ “Free Call Days”.

This is a fantastic program and has made a difference to our soldiers serving overseas. VFW Operation Uplinkâ„¢ was launched in 1996 to connect active-duty troops and hospitalized veterans with their loved ones. The program uses contributions from supporters to purchase phone time for the men and women who are serving — or have served — this great nation, as well as hospitalized veterans.

To find out more information about Operation Uplink, check out their website.