Donations desperately needed

Donations desperately needed!

This is the hardest thing for me to do. Ask for help for myself.

I received my tax exempt from the IRS last year but did not ask for any donations because I was still attending classes at Valencia College. When I finished, I applied for the State of Florida Tax Exempt and received it.

So far I have not really asked for help but today I really need it. No one has donated and I am fast approaching being overdrawn.

I am in need of help so that I can go out and film a couple of events this weekend and coming week.

Last week I went to a meeting at the Reserve center and handed out all the material I had for Point Man Ministries so that they would know about the free service Point Man provides helping veterans and their families with Combat PTSD. I have to order more, plus Bibles and other books. These are not free and cost Point Man money, so I need donations for that as well.

The link to PayPal is on the sidebar. Please donate and help me do my job helping veterans and their families.

Whistleblower files suit after being pressured to send PTSD wounded back

Wilm. doctor files whistleblower lawsuit over treatment of PTSD
WECT
Posted: Aug 23, 2012
By: Ashlea Kosikowski

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – A Wilmington doctor has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit in U.S. District Court claiming he was wrongfully terminated when he reported to military officials that the contractors running the military hospital at Camp Lejeune mishandled cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

In the suit, Dr. Kernan Manion also claims that the Deployment Health Center (DHC) where he worked didn't have safety protocols to protect those at the base from patients who were diagnosed as posing a violent threat to others.

The doctor said he was wrongfully terminated when he brought this to the attention of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense after his supervisors reportedly ignored his concerns.

Dr. Manion is a board certified psychiatrist. He currently has an office on Eastwood Road in Wilmington.

In 2009, Dr. Manion was hired by Spectrum Healthcare Resources and Nitelines Kuhana JV LLC, two healthcare contractors, to provide psychiatric treatment to members of the military who recently returned from combat duty. Many patients suffered from PTSD or TBI.

According to the suit, Dr. Manion believed that he was "under constant pressure from his superiors to rate patients as acceptable for deployment…even in circumstances where patients were diagnosed as posing a violent threat to themselves or others or were dangerous for combat deployment due to the presence of a significant mental illness."
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Reasons to always read from more than one source

This is a typical reason to make sure you read more than one source on a story.

Scott says Florida leads the nation in cutting its unemployment rate
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 4:04 by admin
TALLAHASSEE

Gov. Rick Scott said today that Florida has led the nation in reducing its unemployment rate since December 2010 _ the month before Scott became governor.

Based on the latest state-by-state employment statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, Florida’s unemployment rate in July stood at 8.8 percent, a 0.2 percent rise from the previous month but a 2.3 percent drop from the December 2010 rate of 11.1 percent.

Previously, Scott had touted the fact that Florida had the “second” highest decline behind Michigan since December 2010. But Michigan’s July unemployment rate jumped up 0.4 percent last month, allowing Florida to claim the spot for the largest decline in that period. Based on the July numbers, Michigan’s rate has declined 2.2 percent since December 2010, putting it in second place.

“Overall, Florida’s long-term trend is positive,” Scott said in a statement. “Florida companies have added 130,300 more private sector jobs than we had in December 2010. We are focused on making Florida the best place to grow private-sector jobs.”
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Sounds great but when you read about what else is going on Scott doesn't want to talk about you discover what sounds good, usually isn't good for everyone.

Thousands frustrated by Florida's new unemployment compensation laws
Miami Herald

When 65-year-old Raymond Togyer isn’t polishing his resume or cold calling potential employers, he’s spending hours trying, unsuccessfully, to navigate Florida’s labyrinthine unemployment compensation system.

Togyer — who was laid off for the first time in his adult life from a high-paying civil engineering job in June — has spent the last seven weeks sending and resending letters, staying on hold for hours and checking state websites, all to no avail.

He is one of hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Floridians flummoxed by what has become the most tightfisted unemployment compensation system in the nation.
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The other example of this is when you hear some Democrats talkers on radio gleefully talking about the hurricane heading into Florida during the GOP convention. Do they stop to think about what a hurricane means to the people living in Florida? Do they think about the members of the National Guards ready to once again put their lives on the line in case they are needed to save us? Do they think about the police, firefighters and emergency responders, doctors or nurses ready to spend days on end taking care of the wounded?

I moved into Central Florida right before Charlie, Francis and Jeanne hit in 2004. Talking about Isaac hitting Tampa means a lot of lives will be on the line with a lot of extra people taking up hotel rooms because of the convention the displaced will need if their homes are destroyed. Most of them live in mobile home parks and will have to evacuate them to be as safe as possible. These guests of Florida will not know what to expect with hurricane force winds and it is really shameful anyone would get a "kick" out of this happening.

The other side is just as bad. This is what Rush Limbaugh said.

Rush Limbaugh blames Obama for Hurricane Isaac
Published: 23 August, 2012

What did the one giant, detestable blob of hot air say about the other? If you managed to catch conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s Wednesday morning rant about Hurricane Isaac, you may already know.

During Wednesday morning’s broadcast of Limbaugh’s nationally syndicated radio show, the legendary host called attention to the tropical storm slated to hit Florida next week right at the same time that Republicans from across the United States are expected to scurry down south for the GOP National Convention.
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Here is another example since we keep seeing the ads put out against President Obama topped off with the speeches being given from the Romney/Ryan team.

Medicaid plan would transform health care in Florida
By William E. Gibson
Orlando Sentinel
Washington Bureau
August 22, 2012

WASHINGTON – Florida'sfast-growing Medicaid program -- which cares for the state's impoverished children and for most senior citizens in nursing homes -- would lose roughly a third of its federal money under budget plans embraced by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan.

The Ryan plan would cut Medicaid nationwide by $810 billion over 10 years and reduce Florida's allotment by $35 billion by 2022 -- about one-third less than current projected spending -- according to an analysis by Families USA, a nonpartisan advocacy group for health-care consumers. An Urban Institute study found similar results: a 31-percent cutback for Florida by 2021.

The biggest impact may be on those who seek nursing-home care.

About 60 percent of Florida's nursing-home patients – 77,239 in fiscal 2010 -- rely on Medicaid. The cost that year was $2.7 billion, 13 percent of the Medicaid budget, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

"Many would be left out in the cold," said Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care, an advocacy group in Tallahassee for nursing-home residents. "If nursing homes are not getting paid, they aren't going to take them. So it could be a desperate time for potential residents."
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FOX News identified Navy SEAL in Bin Laden raid

SEAL who wrote bin Laden raid book identified
By Kimberly Dozier
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 23, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Navy SEAL who wrote an account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden under a pseudonym was identified Thursday as (read it on Army Times because I won't print it) who retired from the Navy last summer.

("He") was first identified by Fox News. One current and one former U.S. military official confirmed the name, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss military personnel matters.

The book, “No Easy Day,” is scheduled to be released Sept. 11, with the author listed under the pseudonym of Mark Owen. Penguin Group (USA)’s Dutton imprint, the publisher, asked news organizations Thursday to withhold his identity.

“Sharing the true story of his personal experience in ‘No Easy Day’ is a courageous act in the face of obvious risks to his personal security,” said a statement by Christine Ball, Penguin Group spokeswoman. “That personal security is the sole reason the book is being published under a pseudonym.”

Special Operations Command spokesman Col. Tim Nye said the retired SEAL could be endangered by being identified, which could also expose those active-duty SEALs the author worked with in the killing of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last year.
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Beau Biden hits Romney on veterans spending

Beau Biden hits Romney on veterans spending
Romney campaign says Ryan budget plan would actually spend more on veterans.
By Scott Kraus, Of The Morning Call
August 23, 2012

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden on Wednesday lit into cuts he claimed Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan would be forced to make to veterans services in order to hit the deficit reduction targets in Ryan's 10-year budget plan.

Biden, an Iraq War veteran and the son of Vice President Joe Biden, appeared in Allentown with Mayor Ed Pawlowski and a handful of veterans in between stops in Philadelphia and Scranton aimed at dinging the Republican ticket on spending cuts contained in Ryan's Path to Prosperity budget plan.

"Paul Ryan's budget, if you believe what it says, would cut the [Veterans Administration] by $11 billion," Biden said. "How is that conscionable to do? At the same time, he is doubling down on the Bush tax cuts."

The campaign is basing the figure on the 19 percent across-the-board cut to "non-defense discretionary spending" it says would be needed over 10 years to reach the Ryan budget's target of $1 trillion in spending reductions — some $900 million of which have not been detailed — in order to reduce the deficit.
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readRyan's bill and know that this was the subject of widespread horror as soon as he put it in front of congress and most Republicans voted for it long before Romney picked him as his running mate.

This is what Michelle Bachmann wanted to do January 28, 2011

Disabled Veterans Decry Wrongheaded, 'Heartless' Budget Cuts

Romney wants to sell it off an privatize it. How is it possible he "believes" in what he wants to do until someone asks him about it and then he denies it?

Retired Army chaplain still ministering for veterans

Retired Army chaplain still ministering for veterans
By Melissa Bower
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Posted Aug 23, 2012

Chaplain Gary “Sam” Sanford feels strongly for veterans coping with post-combat issues and wounded warriors.

After all, he’s dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder himself as well as ministered to Soldiers for more than 30 years as an Army chaplain.

“Stuff from the past, you can never completely bury it, you never completely get rid of it, and that’s why I’ve got a heart for these guys dealing with PTSD, because I deal with some stuff myself,” he said.

Sporting his unit insignia-covered “God Rod” at military ceremonies, funerals and events, the 6-foot-4 chaplain is hard to miss. Although he has a couple of “God Rods,” the original was carved by a Soldier from the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, La., in 1989. It began as a long wooden walking stick with a vine wrapped around it — originally a snake. The 5th were called the “Red Devils.” Over the years, military friends and Soldiers to whom he’s ministered have given him so many unit insignias that his original staff, like the chaplain himself, is coated in U.S. military history.

A retired colonel, Sanford served as an Army Reserve medic for six years before joining the Army chaplaincy. Wanting to be a youth minister, Sanford realized he could serve the largest youth group in the country — the U.S. Army. He served as an active-duty Army chaplain for 30 years.
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Expert says PTSD not sign of weakness

The latest news in PTSD is that prior life has more to do with ending up with PTSD. I haven't posted the "news" everyone else in the blog world seems to think is so important it needs to be spread around the world, because it is pure nonsense that has come up at least once a year since experts started to study PTSD. It is along the same line as the so called "experts" saying that TBI causes PTSD, which is something else that is pure BS. TBI is caused by a traumatic injury to the brain like being near an IED blowing up. PTSD comes from the traumatic event itself like surviving it when friends did not. Two different "wounds" from the same event.

This article sets the record straight.

Expert says PTSD not sign of weakness
By Melissa Bower
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Posted Aug 23, 2012
Fort Leavenworth, Kan

A nationally renowned expert in post-traumatic stress disorder stands by her belief that PTSD is not a mental illness.

“Having issues with PTSD is not a sign of weakness,” Dr. Bridget Cantrell told members of the Fort Leavenworth community Aug. 20.

“It’s not a personality flaw, it’s not based on education, culture, rank … it’s not a mental illness, and I stand by that.”

Cantrell has her doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology, works as a private mental health provider and also runs a nonprofit group, Hearts Toward Home International. Through her nonprofit group, Cantrell conducts mental health awareness seminars for the military. She visited Fort Leavenworth Aug. 20-21 to conduct a series of seminars for the Family Advocacy Program on post.
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130 Division Marines, Sailors Return from Afghanistan

130 Division Marines, Sailors Return from Afghanistan
The 1st Marine Division's headquarters battalion served seven months as the command element for NATO ground forces in Helman province.
August 22, 2012
By Sgt. Jacob Harrer, 1st Marine Division

First Lt. Christopher Mcquade, the tactical movement control center officer-in-charge with 1st Marine Division, holds his one-year-old son Landon. Credit: Lance Corporal Corey Dabney

Hours before sunrise, Amanda Saul waited at the barracks for her husband to return from Afghanistan. She had been awake for four days with excitement—the deployment was ending early.

Amanda, a 22-year-old native of Grand Junction, Colo., moved back to Colorado for the deployment and said she received much support from her family in the absence of her husband, Cpl. Jeremy K. Saul, an embarkation specialist with the 1st Marine Division's Headquarters Battalion. Though close to family, she appreciated her husband’s help with chores and was happy to finally have him back home.

“Being able to come home to someone every day makes a huge difference,” she explained.

Amanda is one of dozens of friends and families who gathered to welcome home more than 130 Marines and sailors of the unit. After serving for seven months as the command element for NATO ground forces in Helmand province, the Division returned during a homecoming event on base Wednesday.
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Making a federal case out of Hassan's beard is stupid

Shave him since he used to do it himself with no problem at all! All of a sudden he has a reason to have a beard?

Court Weighs Whether Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Should Be Forcibly Shaved
August 22, 2012
NPR
by EYDER PERALTA

During a hearing in front of a military appeals court, a panel of judges considered arguments on whether Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Hassan should be forcibly shaved.

Hassan's murder trial has been put on hold while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces decides on what to do about Hasan's beard. Hasan is charged with killing 13 people and wounding more than two dozen others in a shooting spree in November of 2009 at the Fort Hood Army post.

Lawyers for military judge Col. Gregory Gross made the argument that forced shavings are not unusual in the military.
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Making a federal case out of this is delaying justice for the families of the dead and the wounded he is accused shooting.

Cops find decapitated head of 2 year old in freezer

If you have a problem understanding why cops end up with PTSD too, read this and then think about what it was like for the cops to see it.

NJ mom who once lost custody decapitates son, 2
Posted: August 22, 2012
By KATHY MATHESON
Associated Press

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - The 911 call from Chevonne Thomas was rambling and incoherent, but authorities said she made one thing clear: Her 2-year-old son had been stabbed, and "I did it."

What police found at her Camden rowhouse early Wednesday was even more horrifying.

Thomas had decapitated her son and placed his head in the freezer.

The 33-year-old mother later fatally stabbed herself after hanging up on emergency dispatchers, a violent end to a troubled life.

Thomas only recently regained custody of son Zahree after allegedly leaving the boy unattended in a car, telling police she had smoked marijuana laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP and blacked out in a nearby park.

Distraught family members who arrived at the scene late Wednesday morning, shocked expressions on their faces, declined to comment. Some neighbors described strange behavior by Thomas, who had just moved to the street from elsewhere in the city. Others saw no evidence of problems.

"Because, had we known something was up, I'm quite sure all the neighbors on this block would have talked to her," said Tayari Horcey, who lives a few doors from Thomas. "But, you know, people hold stuff in. You don't know what's going on."

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