"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from." Brenda Marles

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 'failed' veteran who died by suicide, lawsuit says

WPTV
By: Dave Bohman
Jul 27, 2023

This is a case about not listening to the needs of a Marine veteran who was reaching out to get help

WPTV
Brenda Marles describes the heartbreak of losing her husband to suicide and why she is suing the West Palm Beach VA.

According to her lawsuit, he went to the VA in January 2021 complaining "of anxiety, hallucinations, chest pain, insomnia, night sweats, and 'having crazy dreams.'"

The suit claims his PTSD was triggered in part by the Jan. 6 siege on the nation’s capital days earlier.

But after two visits to the West Palm Beach VA, the suit claims Rico Marles told his wife, "he did not believe anyone in the [Emergency Department] took his complaints seriously." Instead, "he felt 'brushed off.'"

After returning from his second VA visit, Brenda Marles said she fell asleep next to her husband. Then heard, "the sound of a pop."

Rico Marles shot himself.

Brenda Marles said her husband's suicide left her diagnosed with PTSD.

"This is a nightmare that I'm not going to wake up from," she said. read more here

I hate to read something like this. Not just because it is so sad, but because it is still happening. Veterans fight our battles and then have to fight the government for what they need to heal and recover. They give up and then it is up to the families to fight for them. That's what happened to us in the '90s. My husband is still here and the VA is doing everything he needs. Once his claim was finally approved they have been wonderful but it was a hell of a battle to get there. The thing that wounds my soul the most is this is still happening and Brenda Marles has to fight the battle as a widow and her own battle with PTSD after her husband committed suicide. WHY?

Fox lies about election costs them hundreds of millions, but what about everything else?

Dominion-Fox News live updates: Settlement reached for $787.5 million

ABC News
By Aaron Katersky and Olivia Rubin
April 18, 2023

Dominion Voting Systems, in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, accused Fox News of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories that the voting machine company rigged the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden's favor, in what Dominion claims was an effort to combat concerns over declining ratings and viewer retention. Fox defended its coverage, dismissing the suit as a "political crusade in search of a financial windfall."

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion," Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos said outside the courthouse following the announcement of a settlement. It was not immediately clear where this admission took place, beyond Fox's statement that "We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false" -- or whether Fox News had agreed to a more formal acknowledgement in a public way.
read more here

That was the news on one of the biggest crimes in recent history. FOX was supposed to be a news station with journalists. At least that was what their viewers thought. They defended them, no matter what they said. It didn't matter if it cost them relationships with families and friends because they thought they we right. 

And now, FOX settled before the trial that would cause all the liars to admit what they did in court. At the last minute, FOX agreed to pay $787 million dollars for lying about Dominion. What about everything else?

What about the people who voted for President Biden? What did this do to the rightfully elected President, Joe Biden? What about the House and Senate members that refused to hold anyone accountable for anything that was done, not just to Biden, but to all the voters? What about the election workers that were threatened? What about all the people so filled with rage after being lied to, stormed the US Capitol, and ended up in jail, facing trial, or losing everything they had?

What about the House, Senate, and local government members, not just supporting the lies but doing all they can to remove the right of the people to vote the way they want to?

So fine, FOX has to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for lying when they knew what the truth was. The question is, what happens to them after all the harm they have done to everyone else?

Heroes of January 6, 2021 honored

To see what is happening in the US Capitol today, on this the second anniversary of when our democracy was being attacked, is sickening. That is true. At the same time, what else happened this day in Washington DC is hopeful because people who risked their lives to defend what so many simply take for granted were rightfully honored.

In the process of President Biden listing all the things they went through, he mentioned how #PTSD does not just happen to veterans. Members of the police force, members of the House and Senate, and workers serving the elected are battling PTSD because of what happened that horrible day. Along with them, election workers, simply doing the duty of counting and processing the votes were honored for the price they ended up having to pay because they were lied about and targeted by those who lost.

When you have PTSD, you know that terrors do not end because they come in many different events by many different people, but they do not have to defeat us because other events and other people do things to help us heal!

Among those honored was "Capitol Police Officer Howie Liebengood, who died by suicide after serving on the front lines during the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol" and his widow fought to have the unseen price paid as a price paid in the line of duty.

Widow of fallen Capitol Police officer wants his death classified as ‘in the line of duty’

“That’s not what this is about,” Wexton said of the loss of access to the benefits. “This is more about the principle of their understanding that PTSD and the tragedy that went along with the events of January 6 is real. And that the stigma that follows police officers around after this, and then the reluctance to seek help, is also real.” read more of this here

President Biden awards 12 Citizens Medals on Jan. 6 anniversary

War of Powers in Washington DC

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 6, 2023

While the American people are accustomed to the simple fact that all politicians have an ego, we should never be willing to accept them putting their own self-interests ahead of the people and the country they take an oath to serve. We have seen a war of powers being waged beyond comprehension for the last two years that has resulted in the chaos in Washington DC. 

Some of them use their claims of "faith" to justify lying and hating, seeking revenge against anyone seeking to hold them accountable for their actions. Others, also people of faith, hold to the truth and are willing to fight for what is right against those only claiming what they want people to believe they are.

To believe an entire body of those elected to serve as Republicans is all contemptible will surrender all hope for this nation. There has to be some among them still willing to do what is right for the sake of the country and put the country first. It is ever more apparent the majority of members of the GOP side of the house would rather have a divided party, as well as a divided House. As President Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Two years ago, we were warned about people claiming to be "loyal" to the country, while they were only loyal to those only loyal to themselves. Selfish people always existed, and sadly, always will. The thing is, the American people used to be able to discern which selfish people were able to at least serve the country with equal measure toward themselves. That became frighteningly apparent two years ago this day.

We were warned about giving those selfish people power with no limits would cause great harm to this nation they claimed to love. We saw that on display over and over again leading up to the inability of GOP members of the House to elect a Speaker of the House, third in line to the President. They put their self-serving interests ahead of the good of the country. The fringe wants to have everything their way and McCarthy is willing to give them whatever they want so he can have the power he craves. Nothing else matters to Kevin McCarthy more than Kevin McCarthy. It doesn't matter what the country will pay in the end as long as he gets what he wants, and the rest of them are following the same goals based on their own self-interest.

McCarthy fights to lock down a deal in longest speaker contest in 164 years

CNN

Kevin McCarthy is locked in a fight for his political future as the California Republican attempts to win the votes he needs to become speaker of the US House of Representatives in what has now become the longest contest in 164 years.

McCarthy suffered a string of defeats on Thursday as the House took round after round of failed votes. The longer the fight drags on, the more dire it becomes for McCarthy as it risks further defections and a loss of confidence in the GOP leader. House Republicans are scheduled to hold a conference call Friday morning, a source familiar told CNN, and the House is set to reconvene at noon ET.
read more here

Read the article on NPR as a reminder

And this is why those who sided with evil, should not be in charge of the House they were willing to allow to fall for the sake of what they wanted for themselves. The question is, who among them is willing to put the country first and serve her, instead of themselves in that party? Who among them is willing to renounce the R after their name and declare independence from them to caucus with the Democrats when they can agree on Bills and Laws instead of serving vindictiveness and hatred? 

This is Kevin McCarthy on video addressing what happened two years ago today.

If you are wondering what this has to do with #PTSD then you haven't been paying attention since many of those serving in the House on that day, have been fighting it ever since. The only way we know to begin to heal when someone harmed us is for them to be held accountable.

What Trump's feeble fable cost supporters, and the rest of us

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 14, 2022

While the hearing is explained on NPR it left a lot of questions for me.

An audio recording of former President Donald Trump talking to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is played during the ninth House Select Committee hearing to Investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Trump already decided he was going to declare he won before the election,

Trump had long planned to declare victory, no matter the results. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said Brad Parscale, Trump's former campaign manager, told the panel he understood that Trump planned as early as July to insist he won the November election, no matter the results.

Doesn't that mean everyone else in his circle knew he was lying and then turned around to dupe their supporters?

In a different clip, Stone said: "F*** the voting, let's get right to the violence. We'll have to start smashing pumpkins if you know what I mean."

Trump and his circle used the people long before the election was even held. Doesn't that mean they didn't care about setting up all those people to commit crimes and dupe them out of their money on top of it?

Despite publicly declaring he won, Trump privately admitted he lost the election. Testimony from former White House officials demonstrate that while the president was publicly forging a campaign to overturn the election, he privately was acknowledging his loss.
In an audio clip, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that while in the Oval Office, Trump said something to the effect of "We lost, we need to let that issue go to the next guy."

Trump knew everything he was saying was a lie, yet to this day, he still repeats his lies. Doesn't that also mean he is using his supporters and taking advantage of all of them, including the ones that already ended up being convicted?

Secret Service had tips about expected violence on Jan. 6. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on Dec. 26, a Secret Service field office shared a tip that had been received by the FBI. The source said the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, planned to march into D.C. with weapons.

Trump wanted to use the Insurrection Act to call in the National Guards and law enforcement to put down the mob he sent to the Capitol. Doesn't that mean he made them a target of the National Guard and law enforcement officers?

Election deniers are running for office all over the country. They are 60% of the people trying to be put in charge of your vote. Did they know what Trump was up to and didn't care about earning your vote because they are prepared to just claim they won and repeat what Trump did to the people of this country? If they didn't know he was lying, how incompetent are they? How many courts had to deny every claim Trump and his circle made with absolutely no evidence provided to support such a feeble fable?

With all the members of the House and Senate wanting to put in charge to change the rules to suit what Trump tried to do, doesn't that mean they are trying to dupe you too? Just claim they won and take the office no matter who has to pay for it?

They have already shown they don't care what people want or need because they think they're set up to take the office no matter what or who has to pay for it. Will the voters finally open their eyes and defend this country to make sure these people do not get the power to remove the only voice we have?

No matter what it is you regret, you're not alone

Yesterday I was watching the January 6th hearing trying to hold people accountable for attacking our Capitol. One of the people in the crowd who stormed it was Stephen Ayres. He spoke about how he went from having a job for twenty years and being a family man, but he also spoke about falling into social media sites. He was convinced the lies about the election being stolen had to be true because he believed the people telling him that.

He had no idea it would cost him his job because he believed the lies he heard. He had no idea he'd end up living with regrets about things he could not change. The thing is, while he couldn't change what he had already done, he had control over what he does. He used the opportunity to speak to the House Committee so they would understand how people like him, ended up being a part of the attempt to overthrow the government.

The other thing was, that he went to some of the Capitol Officers that had been wounded in the attack and apologized to them. Considering that some members of the House and Senate have not even acknowledged their suffering or pain, caused while protecting them, that is something they have not heard nearly enough of.

Rioter shakes hands with officers who defended US Capitol during Jan. 6 riot after hearing (CNN)

Capitol rioter Stephen Ayres shook hands with officers who defended the US Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection after Tuesday's hearing.

Ayres could be seen shaking hands with former DC Metropolitan Police Officers Michael Fanone, Daniel Hodges and US Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino A. Gonell. read more here

Maybe you're wondering what this has to do with PTSD. It comes with a lot of regrets too. Most of the officers have PTSD and 4 officers committed suicide.

Wiki

If you have regrets about what you did because you believed a lie, what do you plan on doing about it? What good does it do to regret what you did if you do nothing about it? Did you hurt members of your own family? We know that happens since everyone was all pumped up thinking they were the only ones knowing what the truth was. Now you know better and you were wrong. So what do you do about it?

Do you stay estranged from your family because you don't have the courage to admit you were wrong, or do you go to them and apologize to them so you can rebuild the relationship the liars destroyed?

Do you feel bad so many officers were hurt and just get on with your own life, or do you do what Stephen Ayres did, and take a chance of at least saying you are sorry for what you did to them?

The thing is, ignoring what you regret doing, no matter what it is, will block any future happiness you may be able to get a chance to have. As with Ayres, the officers said the apology was offered and left it at that. It's up to them if they accept his apology or now but at least he knows he tried.

How about you go to bed tonight knowing that at least you tried to make up for the harm that you did, so you can put it behind you?

No matter what it is you regret, you're not alone and safe bet, someone still loves you!

Wandrea "Shaye" Moss could have been you

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 22, 2022

 The January 6th committee has provided this country with a wake-up call to the truth.

The entire series thus far has proven that Donald Trump knew he lost the election. They proved he was told over and over again what he was doing was illegal. As for what legal punishment he and his coconspirators will receive, the question believers in the lie need to be asking themselves is, "Can we be forgiven?"

They didn't just protest in the streets. They marched armed to the homes of election officials. They marched to the homes of average people like Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, an election worker, along with the home of her Mother and Grandmother.

This is from CNN

The single most compelling witness of the January 6 committee hearings so far

Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, had been working in relative anonymity in Fulton County until, without warning, Giuliani and Trump fixated on the notion that they had somehow committed actions that were proof positive of votes being stolen for Democrats in the 2020 election. Trump called Freeman a "professional vote scammer" and a "hustler." Giuliani said that Moss and Freeman had been passing around USB ports like "vials of cocaine or heroin." (Moss said at Tuesday's hearing that her mother had been handing her a "ginger mint," not a USB drive.) In the wake of those false and racist allegations, Moss detailed how people had tried to barge into her grandmother's home and how Trump supporters had villainized her and her mother. (Her mother, who was known as "Lady Ruby," said she no longer liked being called that.) Moss said of the threats she had received: "A lot of them were racist. A lot of them were just hateful." "I haven't been anywhere at all," she said through tears.

How many of us watched Moss testify, listened to what happened to her, fully aware that it could have been any one of us, standing up for the truth only to end up threatened by liars?

Most of us had friends we cared about and thought they cared about us until they turned against us for simply telling them the truth and refusing to allow their lies to go on unchallenged. I lost more than I can count and most of them, I helped through very difficult times. None of that mattered, because the lies they wanted to share, mattered more.

Arizona Speaker of the House, Russell Bowers had the same thing happen to him.

Within state after state, anger and rage took over as the lie was pushed. People honoring the rule of law, loyalty to the country, and to the truth, were accused of being liars. because they dared to not only speak the truth, they dared to fight for it, despite threats from those trying to force their will onto everyone else.

How many of us watched the videos of the day these people were unleashed to invade the US Capitol ranting and raving about how everyone else was betraying our country when they in fact had been the only ones committing the crimes against what this country stood for?

I don't know about you, but if one of my ex-friends had a "come to Jesus moment" and apologized, I'd forgive them, but the damage is already done to the trust friends are supposed to have. The relationship we had would be over and a new one would have to begin. Trust would have to be earned back and not just handed over to them.

The other thing we all have to acknowledge is the lives of all the people. like Moss and her family, will never be the same again. What does justice look like for them? Who can pay them back for the lost months and endless nightmare caused by those who inflicted it as well as those who incited it?

If you want to see what the cause of PTSD looks like, you have been seeing it unfold during these hearings and the basis of these was brought on by pure evil!

2 Thessalonians 2
2 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.