"Meet the New Press" Celebrates Armed Forced Day Saturday - Granite Grok

“Meet the New Press” Celebrates Armed Forced Day Saturday

          

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The US Department of Defense website tells us that Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May.
President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.
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On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense.
With this in mind, we will "honor our military in their patriotic service in support of our country" on the radio program with a special lineup this week…
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Gail Giarusso and Allison Scamman caused quite a stir a while back when they attempted to contact their congresswoman, Carol Shea Porter, about her lack of support for the troops.. They were treated rather rudely and have to this day been unable to gain an audience with the first term congresswoman. We’ll talk about some rather vicious hate mail they recieved at the time from a "peace loving" individual. (Click below where it says "click to continue reading…" to read a Union Leader story about the mistreatment by Shea-Porter and Gail’s response, also printed in the Union Leader)They were also part of the now famous "Moms of Fury" video of a visit with NH’s other congressman, Paul Hodes.  
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Joining us will be Blue Star Mother Karen Thurston who helped organize and participated in the winter "Moms" troop rallies in answer to the antiwar crowd’s gatherings. We’ll talk about upcoming events to plan your display of support for the troops here in the Lakes Region. Other special guests may join us as the show moves along…
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Other topics will include
It all starts at 11 AM Saturday on Newstalk 1490 WEMJ. If you’re not in the Central NH broadcast area, follow these instructions  for livestreaming, or check it out later on the MTNP Podcast page.
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This is the original Union Leader Story about the Shea-Porter/ military families dust up:

Critics Rap Shea-Porter Over Calls

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By MICHAEL COUSINEAU
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
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Stratham – Two Stratham women say they believe U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter was trying to silence her pro-war critics by calling them after they had written letters to newspapers criticizing the new congresswoman for hosting anti-war protesters at her Dover office last month.
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 But the 1st District Democrat said she has phoned dozens of constitutents with family members serving in Iraq, regardless of their feelings about America’s continued military presence in Iraq. “It’s my job to listen,” she said. Allison Scamman, whose sister is an Army first lieutenant serving in Iraq, said Shea-Porter called her Tuesday and spoke for at least 20 minutes. “It was not a positive call,” Scamman said. “I felt that it was a phone call to intimidate me, to stop my freedom of speech.”
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A second woman, Gail Giarrusso, said she received a call from the congresswoman on Jan. 29, the same day she sent an e-mail taking issue with a Shea-Porter staffer who called her to complain about her critical letter that appeared in the Portsmouth Herald.
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Shea-Porter confirmed to the New Hampshire Sunday News that she had talked with the two women, but said she and her staff weren’t trying to intimidate anyone. “We all have our personal filters. The very fact that we call people of all different positions is we’re respecting them and listening to them,” she said in a phone interview from her Washington office Friday. “In the end, I can only vote one way. I can’t vote for both positions.”
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Scamman, a member of a group who greets troops stopping at Pease International Airport en route to and from Iraq, said she had called Shea-Porter’s office at least twice seeking answers days before speaking to the congresswoman. “I discussed the war with her and I said that every time she speaks out about the war, she’s causing the terrorists to help break the will of the American people and violence increases in Iraq and she’s putting my sister in harm’s way,” said Scamman, the daughter-in-law of former New Hampshire House Speaker Douglas Scamman. “And she told me, well, that’s too bad because she was elected by her constituents that were anti-war and that they were the ones that were voting her into office and she did not consider me a constituent … because I do support the war in Iraq and her door was closed to me as a constituent,” Scamman said.
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Shea-Porter, a freshman Democrat, said she did not say those things and remembers inviting
at least one of the women to her office for cider, the same drink offered to the anti-war protesters at her Dover office Jan. 11. “I said a majority of Americans and a majority of New Hampshirites want us out of Iraq,” said Shea-Porter, who rode an anti-war tide into office last November.
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Giarrusso, also a “Pease greeter,” said she and the congresswoman disagreed over the war. “She basically was trying to convert me to her viewpoint, which was not going to happen,” said Giarrusso, who’s a friend of Scamman and whose nephew served two tours in Iraq. “We just viewed things too differently, so she said, ‘We’re just never going to agree.’”
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Shea-Porter said she has made “maybe a couple of dozen” calls to constituents who have written letters and have relatives serving in Iraq. “If it’s particularly poignant or moving, I pick up the phone and call them,” she said. “I think it’s important for them to hear from me directly, especially if there’s some anguish in the letter.” Shea-Porter said of the phone calls: “I hope that they help. I hope they understand I read their letters … and at a very minimum, I am very supportive of their servicemen and women.” The congresswoman said she has phoned people on both sides of the war. “I’ll call if they’re for me or against me,” she said. She said the “overwhelming majority” of letters her office has received have supported her war position. Shea-Porter said she didn’t believe she or her staff acted inappropriately. “I would have been delighted if my congressman before had called me and allowed me to express myself,” she said. “I just find it so ironic that people yell that Washington isn’t listening and here I am listening.”
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Scamman said her sister, Sarah Snyder, runs personnel services for all of Iraq in Balad and “they get mortared all the time.” She and Giarruso both voted last November for Shea-Porter’s opponent, incumbent Republican Jeb Bradley. Both said they were upset over the anti-war protesters in the congresswoman’s office. “Our family members are over serving in a war and I just don’t think a congresswoman or congressman should be serving war protesters,” Giarrusso said. “It’s disrespectful to our troops during a time of war.
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Shea-Porter, who was in Washington that day, said “everybody should have access” to her. “It’s right in the Constitution — the right to petition for redress,” she said. “I’m fulfilling my Constitutional duty by allowing everyone to come in and tell me their story,” she said.
This was written in repsonse, and was also printed in the Union Leader:

Rep. Shea-Porter Should Be More Considerate Of Military Families

By Gail Giarrusso
In an article in the New Hampshire Sunday News, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter denies that she and her staff tried to intimidate me and silence my attempt to speakout for our troops.
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I would like to clarify information regarding my issue with the congresswoman and her staff.  As I have said in the past, I emailed my representative with concerns on a very important issue, the Iraq war.
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No response.
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In the past,I was able to count on a repectful response from Rep. Jeb Bradley even when we disagreed on the issue of concern. He would acknowledge my concerns, explain his stand on the particular issue,and assure me that he would consider my views when acting on behalf of the citizens of New Hampshire. This was always done in a written response.
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My letter to the editor criticizing Shea-Porter’s position on the Iraq war appeared in the Portsmouth Herald on Jan.27.  I received a phone call from a woman on Carol Shea-Porter’s staff the following Monday morning, Jan. 29,criticizing my viewpoints and informing me that Rep. Shea-Porter and her staff disagreed with my views.
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This woman spoke in an angry tone of voice and I felt she was attempting to silence my side of the issue. Not once did she refer to the email I had sent to Rep. Shea-Porter previously or her concern for my nephew and his safety while he serves this nation in harm’s way.
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After this upsetting phone call, I sent another email to Rep. Shea-Porter informing her that I was upset that she did not have the courtesy to respond to my email; however her staff was quick to call me after my concerns with the Portsmouth Herald. I asked her if this was how she trained her personnel to deal with military families. I advised her that I would not be intimidated by her staff attempting to silence me.
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I did receive a phone call from Rep. Shea-Porter on Monday evening; she was attempting to convert me to her viewpoint.
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After she realized this was not going to happen, she stated, ”We are just not going to agree.”
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I informed her once again that I will continue to contact her regarding my concerns and speak out publicly on behalf of our troops. She then ended the conversation.
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I have continued to email our representative regarding my concerns over the non-binding Iraq resolutions and informing her of my views regarding how this is affecting our military.
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As of this writing, I have not received a response to any of my emails.
Is this the type of constituent service we can count on with Rep. Shea-Porter in office?
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Gail Giarrusso of Stratham has a nephew who has served to tours in Iraq

 

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