Second of two parts of Mr. Rosebrock’s report from last Saturday’s meeting of the California Democratic Party Executive Board where a resolution protecting VA property in Brentwood from non-Veteran uses was, controversially, barred from consideration. Part 1, ‘The Day the Democratic Process Left the Democratic Party,’ Nov. 20. Keywords: Sanford Cook, Joseph P. Hoar.
One member of the California Democratic Party brought disgrace upon the entire Party by turning his back on 20,000 homeless Veterans and blocking a resolution on their behalf, while defending the Westside Machine’s wealthy constituents who live in multi-dollar homes.
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman has been the public servant for the 30th District of the United States Congress for 40 years. His District includes the Los Angeles National Veterans Home, which is the largest VA healthcare center in the nation and serves more than 300,000 Veterans.
The Congressman is the steward of this sacred land that is available for all Veterans, even though they do not reside in his District. Thus, the responsibility is enormous and far-reaching. His time and efforts should be devoted to protecting this sacred trust and not facilitating the giving away for a public community park.
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Sue Young, executive director of the Veterans Park Conservancy, Congressman Waxman and Flora Krissiloff, a senior deputy to Mr. Yaroslavsky, and, by the way, vice president of the Veterans Park Conservancy, posed for a photograph. They were holding a rendering of the proposed public park on Veterans sacred land.
The rendering shows the "majestic wrought iron fence" intended to beautify the entryway into Brentwood, for which the VA was hoodwinked into donating $1 million of Veterans healthcare money. The concrete part of the "fence" includes the denigrating slur of "Beauty, Honor, Country" instead of the noble "Duty, Honor, Country."
The Business of Soul-Selling
Make no mistake that last Saturday the California Democratic Party sold its heralded legacy of defending the defenseless to Ms. Young, one woman who, for two decades, has coveted the quietude and sacredness of Veterans sacred land to turn it into a clamorous community park.
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who misled the California American Legion into believing they were endorsing a Veterans park for the “sole purpose of providing Veterans a place to heal from war,” until they learned the real truth — that it was going to be “a public park for the entire community.”
As a result, the American Legion sent a letter, via U.S. Certified Mail, to Ms. Young’s organization rescinding its previous endorsement. The Legion put her on notice not to use its honorable and noble name with her deceptive mission and re-emphasized that it did not endorse her group’s public park.
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who wrote, “Refused” on the certified mail envelope containing the American Legion’s letter, and further wrote “RTS” – Return To Sender. The California American Legion subsequently had to re-send the letter, which she begrudgingly accepted. This arrogant attitude prompted the Legion’s State Adjutant to send a certified letter to all members of Southern California’s U.S. Congressional delegation explaining why they had rescinded their previous endorsement of her so-called “Veterans park.”
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman whose organization plagiarized and denigrated America’s revered watchword of “Duty, Honor, Country” when she manipulated VA bureaucrats and the Westside Machine into allowing her group to irreverently engrave in stone on Veterans property, “Beauty, Honor, Country.” This was her group’s mission to beautify the entryway into Brentwood.
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who hoodwinked the VA into donating $1 million of Veterans seriously needing healthcare money so that she could build a pretentious wrought iron fence to beautify the entryway into Brentwood and enhance her fellow homeowners’ property values at the expense of Veterans. (She is a past president of the Brentwood Homeowners Assn.)
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who has coveted Veterans sacred land for more than two decades with the emphatic plan to convert it from a quiet haven for Veterans healing from war into her own fiefdom for selfish amusement and entertainment,
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who has bragged about turning Veterans sacred land into a “Central Park West.”
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who manipulated the Brentwood Community Council into taking prompt action after hearing her presentation about so-called “visual blight” supposedly created by Veterans living in recreational vehicles and campers parked alongside San Vicente Boulevard next to her “fence.” Ms. Young requested a “No Parking zone for aesthetic reasons” to be enforced so that the public would have an unobscured view of her “majestic wrought iron fence.”
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who wants to take Veterans hallowed land and “provide a home for birds and wildlife," including a “butterfly sanctuary,” while 20,000 Veterans are homeless in Los Angeles.
The California Democratic Party sold its soul to a woman who wants to use Veterans land for “family picnics” and "military re-enactments and other community celebrations,” when this sacred land was specifically deeded to be a safe and quiet haven for Veterans to heal from war, and not be reminded of it.
Stop the Sellout
On Nov. 15, under the leadership of Veterans Bob Handy, Sanford Cook and four-star Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, the Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party asked that its “Resolution to Protect a National Sacred Trust” be heard, and that a choice be made between serving the “needs” of America’s Veterans or succumbing to the “wants” of a wealthy community group.
One vote spoke out on behalf of the California Democratic Party to satisfy one woman’s desires and essentially chose to serve the "wants" of wealthy homeowners who want to take the sacred land of the National Veterans Home for their own playground.
Hopefully, somebody in the California Democratic Party will take the same kind of leadership that the California American Legion did when they learned the truth about Veterans Park Conservancy’s mission to build a public park on Veterans sacred land.
Hopefully, somebody in the Democratic Party will stand up to Sue Young as the Legion did when they told her not to associate their noble and honorable name with her self-serving plans at the expense of America’s Military Veterans.
Change We Can Believe in?
President-elect Barack Obama promised “hope” and “Change we can believe in.” Let us all hope that this new leader of our free and democratic nation will have the courage to step up and change the un-democratic process that transpired within his Democratic Party on Nov. 15.
Twenty-five million Military Veterans across America are depending upon our new Commander-in-Chief to honor the promise he made on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2008: “Let us rededicate ourselves to keep a sacred trust with all who have worn the uniform of the United States of America; that America will serve you as well as you have served your country.”
Mr. Rosebrock is a U.S. Army Veteran, Vietnam-era, HQ USARHQW, Schofield Barracks. He s Co-Director of We the Veterans and Director of The Veterans Revolution, and a member of the American Legion Press Assn. He may be contacted at dutyscalling@aol.com
