Vietnam Veteran hung flag upside down over "Obamacare"

The Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act was legal and the government could impose fines for people able to buy health insurance but refused to do it. This law says everyone has to be covered or pay a fine. Poor people with no means to pay for insurance will be covered much like Medicaid covered some. Adult children under 26 are able to be on their parents plans. No one will be turned down for coverage because they were already sick (preexisting) or cut off because they got sick.

These things happened and sent families into crisis after crisis over health insurance issues that were unfair. While some healthy people today decide to not buy insurance, they never stop to think who will pay for them if they end up with a very expensive illness, like cancer, in the future. Our healthcare is not broken but paying for it has been making people "sick" trying to figure out how to take care of themselves.

This whole debate has been hyped to death so much so that a Vietnam Veteran decided to hang his American Flag upside down over this issue but not for the other ruling the Supreme Court came out with the same day saying it was ok for someone to lie about being a war hero. They said Stolen Valor was unconstitutional and lying was covered under freedom of speech.

Looks like politicians have been practicing that right to perfection.

Local veteran explains why he hung flag upside down
GRAYSON COUNTY, TX -- Hundreds of people across the nation were outraged when the supreme court upheld President Barack Obama's health care law. One Sherman man showed his disapproval with a controversial action that met with disapproval of it's own. Jul 9, 2012
Reporter: Kristen Shanahan

GRAYSON COUNTY, TX -- Hundreds of people across the nation were outraged when the supreme court upheld President Barack Obama's health care law. One Sherman man showed his disapproval with a controversial action that met with disapproval of it's own.

A Veteran of the Armed Services, Tim Deater, says he was so upset when he saw a flag flying upside down he wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Bill Cowan says he did hang up the flag with the union down for more than a week and he wants people to know why.

Bill Cowan, a Vietnam Veteran, says he hung the American Flag upside down June 28th when the high court upheld President Obama's health care overhaul. A law that affects the way americans receive and pay for their personal medical care.
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We have a Rottweiler/Hound and he will go into contortions just to bite his own tail. He walks sideways just to keep it in his mouth. For some reason he doesn't seem to understand it is attached to him. A lot of people in this country are doing the same thing because instead of hearing truth about things that really do effect their lives, they are lied into forgetting about common sense.

Medicare, Medicaid and the VA are "socialized" medical coverage programs. They are all paid for by taxpayers. In the case of the VA, it was also paid for by the men and women after they served this country putting their lives on the line and getting wounded for it, or at least were willing to do it but cannot afford private insurance and have no other way to take care of their health.

Has anyone stopped to think about them? Ever wonder what all the layoffs did to the veterans who would normally go to a civilian doctor? Ever wonder if disabled veterans would have to wait so long to see a doctor if non-disabled veterans were able to go someplace else?

Neighborhood evacuated over lost Fort Carson bomb

Jogger Finds Military Device Along Trail
KMGH News
Deb Stanley
New Media Producer
July 10, 2012

FALCON, Colo. -- Bomb squads from two different agencies were sent to Falcon Monday night, after a jogger discovered a suspicious device.

The jogger found the device along Black Hills Drive in the Meridian Estates subdivision, according to KRDO-TV.

Deputies with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office called the Colorado Springs Bomb Squad and explosives experts with Fort Carson.

They determined the ordnance came from the military, KRDO reported.

People living in the area were evacuated for a short time until the device was deemed safe.
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Why Veterans Make Excellent Employees

Why Veterans Make Excellent Employees
by EMILY
JULY 10, 2012

People have all kinds of mixed feelings when it comes to hiring veterans. The fact of the matter is, there are a multitude of benefits to hiring veterans, and most of the perceived drawbacks are based on myths. Unemployment is well-known to cause depression, and depression can exasperate PTSD symptoms. With unemployment of post 9/11 veterans at 16.7% according to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA) and 12.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) versus the civilian population at 8.7%, one easy way HR pros can help veterans with their mental health, is to hire them.

Vice president of strategic business development for Monster Government Solutions, Susan Fallon, explains that Military veterans have a wide range of skills they bring to the table, that their civilian counterparts may not possess. Being adaptable, able to work well in groups, handling and performing under pressure, leadership, and being goal-oriented, are all traits that veterans have, according to Fallon.

“This isn’t about patriotic duty, this isn’t about doing something good.” she said

“This is strong business practices.”

Concerns about returning vets mental health affecting their work performance, or worse, the safety of your workplace, are in large part unfounded. These concerns about PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) triggered violence, actually seem to be the result of unfair media hype. As blogger for the At War Blog on the NY Times website, Mike Haynie, pointed out in his post “As Attitudes on PTSD Shift, Media Slow to Remove the Stigma” returing veterans are actually less likely to commit homicide than civilians. 16, out of every 100,000 returning veterans committed a homicide in 2008, versus 25-28 per 100,000 civilians. The last thing we need to be doing to our returning warriors is sticking them with false stigmas.
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Soldier's family sues defense contractor

Family of slain US soldier sues Canadian military contractor for 2011 shooting in Afghanistan
By Associated Press
Updated: Tuesday, July 10, 3:58 PM

LOS ANGELES — The family of a California soldier killed in Afghanistan sued a Canadian military contractor for rehiring a security guard, an Afghan national, after he allegedly threatened to attack U.S. troops and eventually ended up killing two service members and wounding four others.

The federal wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday claims Tundra Strategies failed to document threats made by Shir Ahmed and didn’t report to U.S. military officials the danger he posed before the March 2011 attack at Forward Operating Base Frontenac.
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Soldier from St. Augustine found dead at Fort Hood

St. Augustine soldier's death at Fort Hood under investigation
Posted: July 9, 2012
From staff reports

A soldier from St. Augustine was found dead in his house at Fort Hood on Monday.

The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, according to a report from Fort Hood.

Pfc. Joshua J. Holley, 26, entered service in February 2010 as an infantryman, the report said.

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UPDATE

Either one of these reporters got the story wrong or there were two deaths at Fort Hood.

Killeen: Fort Hood Releases Name Of Soldier Found Dead At His Home

KILLEEN (July 10, 2012)--Fort Hood officials have released the name of a staff sergeant who was found unresponsive at his home in Killeen on Thursday.

Staff Sergeant Queston Lynn Newell, 35, whose home of record is listed as Killeen, entered active duty service in August 1996 as a mechanized infantryman and served more recently as an air and missile defense crewmember, Fort Hood officials said.

He was assigned to Company D, Warrior Transition Brigade, Fort Hood, since March 2011.
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Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July

Veteran of 4 armed services dies on Fourth of July
By KVAL News
Published Jul 9, 2012

FLORENCE, Ore. - Ron Mossholder, a veteran of four different armed services, died on the Fourth of July from lung cancer.

He would have turned 85 on July 14.

Services for Mossholder are planned Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Three Rivers Casino.

Tom Adams from KVAL News interviewed Mossholder in May after a caregiver discovered Mossholder's interesting past.

Mossholder was honorably discharged from the Navy, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard and Army; once sparred with Muhammed Ali; and helped manage the cleanup after the Exxon Valez oil spill.
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Firefighter may lose job for serving in Iraq and having PTSD

A veteran fights to keep his job
Chief looks to terminate firefighter being treated for PTSD for not working
By Brendan J. Lyons
July 9, 2012

Jeffrey Wright sits on the porch of his home Friday, July 6, 2012 in Troy, N.Y. Wright is a war veteran diagnosed with PTSD and is a married father of four. The City of Troy Fire Department is seeking to fire him due to fire chief's decision not to allow him to work. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

TROY — The Troy fire chief is trying to fire a firefighter who is undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service in the Iraq war.

Jeffrey Wright, 36, had once served as grand marshal of a city parade.

He was an Army Reserve staff sergeant who became a city firefighter in 2007, about two years after he returned from Iraq. He was notified in writing last December by Chief Thomas O. Garrett that he is being targeted for termination. Wright said he has not worked since February 2010 and has been undergoing treatment for PTSD since 2009 related to his combat service.

"The city of Troy's records reflect that you have been continuously absent from the Troy Fire Department and unable to perform the duties of firefighter for more than one year by reason of a disability other than a disability resulting from an occupational injury or disease," Garrett wrote in the letter to Wright. "As permitted by Section 73 of the NYS Civil Service Law, it is the city's intention to terminate your employment ..."
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Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help PTSD wounded veterans

Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help wounded veterans
By NBCMiami.com and msnbc.com staff

Florida Marine Sgt. Enrique Trevino is more than halfway to his goal of completing one million push-ups to raise money and awareness for wounded veterans.

"In the very beginning, there were a lot of people who said your body can't handle it," Trevino told NBCMiami.com. "That's their first mistake was telling a Marine you can't do something."

Trevino began his one million push-up pursuit as a New Year's fitness resolution, but soon realized he could turn it into an opportunity to help the Wounded Warriors Project. The organization helps veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where Trevino himself has served, get reacquainted into post-military life.

He said not all vets return with wounds that one can easily see.

"People who are suffering from PTSD. Those are scars that are not seen, but people don't notice everyday," Trevino pointed out. "I'm just trying to bring awareness to those veterans who're transitioning into civilian life, and just make sure they're never forgotten."
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We Remember

We Remember
Too many news producers say there is just not enough interest in our veterans. I think this video proves that is just what they think and not what they know.

I received a link to "We Remember" and smiled when I saw the number of views it has received. It is not an MTV video. Not a rap video. There is not glitzy concert with a "headliner" screaming instead of singing. It is a song about remembering our veterans and how most of the people in this country feel about them.

While news producers want to think that murder, sex and politics along with other crimes should be all they report on, the rest of the country hungers for something good and honorable to be reported on.

When a veteran commits a crime and has PTSD, the headline makes sure to mention that it is about a veteran. Why is that? Is it because they are only 8% of the population? Why is it they need to make sure everyone sees that word?

When it was reported that "Data from the Department of Justice indicates that the homicide offender rate in the civilian population during that same period varied between 25 and 28 homicides per 100,000 young American males – implying that veterans might actually be less likely than their non-veteran, age-group peers to commit a violent homicide." Did we get to read that in every single newspaper and online news in the country? Did we ever get the news that when it comes to veterans with PTSD they were more likely to kill themselves than harm anyone else?

I actually had a site rep dealing with veterans in legal trouble stunned by this report.

We have about 24 million veterans in this country yet compared to how many end up in trouble, it always seems to be such a huge problem but no one is pointing out that we are not seeing millions of reports about veterans getting into trouble. As a matter of fact, while the reports have been coming out more with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home, the crime reports are lower than reports of them taking their own lives.

If your local news is not covering veterans, (we know the big boys on cable news won't) you may want to mention how many views We Remember received in just over 6 months.

1,438,473

So yes America does care about our veterans and yes, we do remember.

Uploaded by ICASHQ on Dec 13, 2011 Country music recording artist Dwayne O'Brien performed his song "We Remember" (available on the CD "Song Pilot" at www.flightsongrecords.mybigcommerce.com) at the annual convention of the International Council of Air Shows last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. And he produced this video to be projected on the screens behind him while he sang. We hope that you'll share this link widely with friends and family who appreciate America's aviation legacy and all that our country's airborne warriors have done to defend our country. Many thanks to Dwayne O'Brien for both performing his wonderful song and producing this moving video.

This video was sent to be in an email link. A lot of what you see posted here comes from emails. If you find a video or news story that you think needs attention, just send me the link.

Soldier's text to Mom "I just can't take living anymore"

Fort Bragg soldier's story shows why preventing military suicides is a 'frustrating challenge'
By GREG BARNES
The Fayetteville Observer
Published: July 9, 2012

Fayetteville, N.C.— At 3:37 a.m. on May 19, Fort Bragg Pvt. Eric Watson sent a text message to his mother:

"I love you mom. I just can't take living anymore and I'm so sorry. I will always be with you."

The message set off a flurry of texts between Watson and his mother, Angela Moore, who said she tried to keep her son on the phone until she could get someone to check on him.

Watson, who Moore said had tried to overdose on pills and alcohol, was found in time.

Watson's story provides insight into how far the military has come in helping mentally ill soldiers, even as too many continue to slip through cracks in the system.

At the same time, the fact that Watson ended up in the Cumberland County Detention Center three days after his suicide attempt -- where jailers weren't even told to put him on suicide watch -- raises questions about Fort Bragg's handling of his problems.

Military suicides are soaring.

According to an Associated Press analysis, from the first of the year to June 3, suicides among active-duty U.S. military service members averaged nearly one per day.

The 154 suicides represent the highest rate since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began a decade ago and an 18 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.
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