Struggling vets: 'It’s hard to get back into society’

Struggling vets: 'It’s hard to get back into society’
Sunday, November 2, 2008 1:33 AM EST
By RONALD DEROSA


TORRINGTON — Respect, reverence and acknowledgment of those who serve in the military has been a platform of great attention in recent election seasons and continues to be so this year.



Life after being discharged, however, isn’t always easy, and a number of transient veterans are living at homeless shelters and eating at soup kitchens right here in Torrington.



Four veterans sat down with The Register Citizen this week at the Community Soup Kitchen, 220 Prospect St., where some receive their only hot meal of the day.



"When you get out of the service, and you’ve killed a couple of people, it’s hard to get back into society," said Dennis Frenette, 54, who was born in Waterbury and served in the Air Force. "I think they should help in the transition."

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Efforts under way to create Veterans Court in the Valley

Efforts under way to create Veterans Court in the Valley
KTAR.com - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Jim Cross/KTAR

Many United States soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have been unable to leave the battlefield behind them, and now an effort's underway in the Valley to help soldiers get through the court system.


Several groups are working to create a Veterans Court in Maricopa County. It would handle criminal cases involving all soldiers, but primarily it's designed to address the unique needs of combat veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries suffered on the battlefield.

"They haven't gone off of being on full alert," said Bill Richardson, a former Mesa police officer and Marine veteran who is behind the idea.

Retired Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields is spearheading the effort.

Fields said veterans face special problems.

"These are people who were civilians, signed up to be part-time warriors, if you will, but now they're full-time warriors and part-time civilians... We're trying to get basically ahead of the curve, unlike we did for Vietnam, Korea, World War II."

Fields and Richardson said the Arizona Supreme Court, Superior Court, police departments and others are on board with one exception, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
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Portland VA says personal info of patients posted online

Portland VA says personal info posted online
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Portland,OR,USA
11/2/2008, 3:01 p.m. PST
The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Veterans Affairs officials say personal information from more than 1,500 Portland patients was mistakenly posted on a Web site.

Portland VA spokesman Mike McAleer says the breach involved patients who had stayed in local lodging at the VA's expense while undergoing treatment at the Portland VA Medical Center.

No medical information was disclosed, but some Social Security numbers were.
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Def Jam exec dies of self-inflicted gunshot, police say

Def Jam exec dies of self-inflicted gunshot, police say
Story Highlights
Shakir Stewart was found Saturday afternoon in the bathroom of his Georgia home

He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital

Police described the shooting as self-inflicted


ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The executive who succeeded Jay-Z as the head of hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Atlanta, police said Sunday.

Executive vice president Shakir Stewart, 34, died on Saturday, his New York-based label said in a statement.

Stewart was found Saturday afternoon in the bathroom of his home in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Cobb County police spokeswoman Cassie Reece said Sunday. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Police described the shooting as self-inflicted and would not say who discovered Stewart.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/03/defjam.suicide.ap/index.html

Five homeless shot dead in Los Angeles

Five homeless shot dead in Los Angeles
Five homeless people -- three men and two women -- were found shot dead on Sunday in Los Angeles area, a police spokesman said.

The five bodies were found under two major highways north of Long Beach, 50 kilometers south of Los Angeles, said police sergeant Dina Zapalski.

She said police were alerted to the apparent murder victims by an anonymous caller Sunday morning. She offered no additional details about the grisly discovery.

"There's two female adults and three male adults," said Los Angeles County Coroner's Office Assistant Chief Ed Winter.
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I wonder if the person or people who did this realize Christ Himself was homeless?

I CAN'T RECALL WHEN THE WORD VETERAN... CAME TO MEAN WORTHLESS FREELOADER

Subject: I CAN'T RECALL WHEN THE WORD VETERAN... CAME TO MEAN WORTHLESS FREELOADER


TO ALL VETERANS FROM AGNES M "IRISH" BRESNAHAN US ARMY CAPTAIN SICG/MI 10 SEPTEMBER 1971 TO 10 JUNE 1977

T&P SC CHEMICAL EXPOSURE STATESIDE EFFECTIVE DATE 11 JUNE 1977 SITE OF CHEMICAL EXPOSURE FORT MCCLELLAN ALA, FORT RITCHIE MD AND FORT DRUM NY DIAGONESED AT WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER 1973.


IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ON TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2008... VETERANS ARE VISABLE AT THE POLLING STATIONS AS VETERANS... WEAR YOUR DOG TAGS, HATS, ETC... ALL OF US MEN AND WOMEN NEED TO SHOW THAT WE ARE VETERANS VOTING... VOTING FOR WHAT WE EARNED, VOTING THAT ALL VETERANS THEIR WIDOWS/WIDOWERS CHILDREN.. ALL ERAS.. RECEIVE THE PROPER MEDICAL TREATMENT AND DIGINITY OF KEEPING OUR OATH... THE US GOVERNMENT HAVE NOT KEPT THEIR PART OF THE OATH... INSTEAD DEIND EVEN BASIC MEDICAL CARE... TOO MANY OF US HAVE DIED KEEPING OUR OATH. ALL OF US WOULD PROUDLY WEAR THE MILITARY UNIFORM OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY AGAIN. WE LOVE OUR COUNTRY EVEN THOUGH THIS GOVERNMENT THOWS US AWAY.... PLEASE PLEASE... ALL BRANCHES ALL ERAS LET ANYONE WHO SEES YOU ON 4 NOVEMBER 2008 KNOWS YOU OFFERED YOUR LIFE FOR OUR COUNTRY....STAND PROUD....

I SALUTE YOU YOUR FAMILY AND CHILDREN .... AS WE WILL BE KNOWN AS THE NOBLE GENERATION.


WELCOME HOME SIMPER FI... VOTE


IRISH BRESNAHAN

Toby Keith killed PTSD video When War Comes Home Part Two

Dear NamGuardianAngel,

Video Disabled

A copyright owner has claimed it owns some or all of the audio content in your video When War Comes Home Part Two. The audio content identified in your video is Yesterday's Rain by Toby Keith. We regret to inform you that your video has been blocked from playback due to a music rights issue.

To think that when this nation faces losing more of our men and women serving this country after they come home than we do while they are deployed because of PTSD, and this man finds it necessary to have this video blocked from reaching them! What an outrage!

National Guards and Reservists are presenting with higher rates of PTSD, families are falling apart and suffering because they don't know what PTSD. They lack the proper support, educational outreach and hope more than the regular military does, and their numbers are skyrocketing as well.

I actually buy the music I use for these videos, spend countless hours looking for the right songs to reach as many different people as possible knowing everyone's taste in music is different. It takes days on end of hard work to put these videos together for the sake of all who serve and our veterans. Now I have to turn around and find someone else's music to use!

Now I get to go to the music store again, spend hours searching for a song that will mean as much, spend money I don't have buying another CD when I don't make any money off what I do. He makes a bundle. I wonder if he would work 16 hours a day for free out of love while worrying about bills I can't pay because the troops, the National Guards and Reservists, their families and our veterans need as much help as they can get?

I do all of this because I remember what it was like with my Vietnam Veteran husband were going thru all of this with absolutely no support at all, feeling alone and lost. I don't want any other family or veteran to have to go thru any of this the way we did but I guess Toby Keith just doesn't get it. No wonder Country Music Awards passed him by! He sure has the talent but I wonder if he has the heart after something like this.

The PTSD videos I do are non-political because PTSD doesn't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican. It only cares you are a human exposed to trauma. I don't know what Toby Keith's problem is when it comes to using his music on a video like this or the label that produces his CD, but I think it's pretty disgraceful that a video like this would cause them to object. You'd think they would take it as a compliment that the words in the song meant so much out of thousands that it would be selected for a video for the sake of those who serve.

To those who loved this video, I'm sorry you can no longer pass it on. I'll rework it with someone else's music and will never again use Toby Keith for any video I create. I really hope if you buy his music you consider what just happened and think twice about spending any money on his music when he just killed a PTSD video that was helping thousands of families who serve this country and need our real support.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

http://www.namguardianangel.org/

http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

On the Couch Online: Does Tele-Therapy Work?

Forgive me for really cutting this one down but there isn't much new in this. Online mental health help works for some but not for others. That's what this all boils down to. Mental health problems and treatments are never one size fits all. What works for some people, doesn't work for other.

When I help people understand what PTSD (which is the role I determined to stay in) the people emailing me have nothing to gain by being dishonest. I help them understand what PTSD is, support them until they are ready to go for help and then make suggestions for them to get it. I cannot diagnose them or treat them or provide medication. That is not what I do but there are some great therapists I've been posting about doing great work online. People tend to be a lot more open and honest when they aren't looking at someone face to face, but I can see how this could be a problem. When you read this article, keep and open mind and understand, what works for some doesn't work for everyone.

On the Couch Online: Does Tele-Therapy Work?
By Alice Park

That's why, despite its obvious benefits, even advocates of online therapy don't consider it a substitute for in-the-flesh sessions. "Hell, no," says Dr. Alexander Obolsky, a psychiatrist at Northwestern University School of Medicine and a proponent of remote services. "Nothing is going to replace a well-trained psychiatrist providing face-to-face treatment. But it may bring a different set of patients to mental health who can benefit." Patients like the women Stark has reached. Even if the only advantage of telemental health were to bring like-suffering people together on the Web, say experts, that's an essential first step in mental healing — recognizing that you need support.

Returning troops faced the airport screening from hell

After 15 months in Iraq, servicemembers face an arduous process of returning to ‘normal’
By Heath Druzin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, November 3, 2008

ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait — It was midnight and home was within grasp, but after 15 months of grueling battle and fleeting sleep, the soldiers of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment now faced the airport screening from hell.

After carefully packing their bulging bags with clothes, body armor and trinkets picked up in Iraq, 305 soldiers had to empty everything for security officials who picked through shirts, underwear and socks looking for contraband. The check came between two X-ray scans and two metal detectors, a process that took about three hours.

Graffiti on the wall of the screening room summed up the grumbling of many of the bleary-eyed troops.

"The government treats me like I’m the terrorist," it read.

Staff Sgt. Douglas Reynolds mulled over what he saw as a contradiction.

"People coming from India to the United States can get into the country easier than this," he said with a resigned smile.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58578

John Ripley, Vietnam War hero, dies at age 69

John Ripley, Vietnam War hero, dies at age 69
Marine John Ripley dies at age 69, credited with holding off North Vietnamese tanks in 1972
AP
Nov 2, 2008
(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, who was credited with stopping a column of North Vietnamese tanks by blowing up a pair of bridges during the 1972 Easter Offensive of the Vietnam War, died at home at age 69, friends and relatives said Sunday.

Ripley's son, Stephen Ripley, said his father was found at his Annapolis home Saturday after missing a speaking engagement on Friday. The son said the cause of death had not been determined but it appeared his father died in his sleep.

In a videotaped interview with the U.S. Naval Institute for its Americans at War program, Ripley said he and about 600 South Vietnamese were ordered to "hold and die" against 20,000 North Vietnamese soldiers with about 200 tanks.

"I'll never forget that order, 'hold and die'," Ripley said. The only way to stop the enormous force with their tiny force was to destroy the bridge, he said.

"The idea that I would be able to even finish the job before the enemy got me was ludicrous," Ripley said. "When you know you're not going to make it, a wonderful thing happens: You stop being cluttered by the feeling that you're going to save your butt."

Ripley crawled under the bridge under heavy gunfire, rigging 500 pounds of explosives that brought the twins spans down, said John Miller, a former Marine adviser in Vietnam and the author of "The Bridge at Dong Ha," which details the battle.

go here for more
http://www.newsweek.com/id/167102


Colonel John W. Ripley is a revered Marine Corps legend, one of the most decorated Marines of the Vietnam War and an acclaimed authority on performance under extreme adversity. Col. Ripley, a U.S. Marine combat commander, who also commanded the British Royal Marine Commandos in combat, single-handedly blew up the Dong Ha bridge in Vietnam, thus blunting the largest North Vietnamese Army offensive (the 1972 Easter Offensive) of the Vietnam War. His heroic action at Dong Ha Bridge was chosen to memorialize and symbolize the entire history of all Naval Academy graduates who fought in that war, dramatized by a diorama in the Academy's memorial hall entitled "Ripley at the Bridge."

He is the subject of dozens of books and the recipient of a host of honors, including the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars with Combat "V," a Purple Heart and the Cross of Gallantry. He and one other Marine share the distinction of more combat experience than any other active duty Marine. He has held professorships at The Naval Academy, Virginia Military Institute and Oregon State.

He served as Director of Marine Corps History and Director of the Marine Corps Historical Center. Col. Ripley has served before the Justice Department and on a Presidential Commission as an expert witness on women in combat. He is regularly asked to testify before both Houses of Congress and is called to address the FBI regularly on issues related to the military. A renowned authority on gound combat, he has appeared on national networks FOX, CNBC and CNN and is often quoted in the National Review. He is also a highly sought-after speaker before professional audiences as an expert in combat leadership, high performance and the value of humanities, classics and liberal arts in corporate life.

http://premierespeakers.com/john_ripley/bio

Lieberman calls McCain "Independent" over and over again?

McCain rally in Peterborough NH is on CNN. Liebermann just introduced McCain and said McCain was a "true Independent" over and over and over again. When did McCain switch parties? Why is it in the last few months McCain is suddenly ashamed of being a Republican when he supported the party with all his heart and soul all the other years before? Shocking! Wonder if Cheney wants to take his endorsement back? No I don't think so because Cheney knows, Halliburton wins if McCain wins. All the defense contactors win if McCain does, but the troops, the people they send to war don't have the same kind of support and neither do the veterans. One more thing that is standing out is the faces in the small crowd. McCain talks about brining people together but the lack of diversity at his rallies show he can't even get a diverse group together at a rally so it's very unlikely he can get anyone together on anything.

He talked about Stevens being convicted but didn't mention his name or the fact he's the Senator from Alaska and a Palin pal. He attacked Congress, as usual, as if he had no part in any of it.


He talked about regulatory bodies, even though he's been against all of them, yet again, acting as if he had nothing to do with it.

McCain stumbled over every sentence he had to say, stuttering and trying to figure out what that next word was supposed to be.

He talked about Reagan working with Tip O'Neil to fix social security, then he said it was his record? Ok, so how did that work out to be his record?

"We cannot raise anyone's taxes in a bad economy" but he doesn't say a single word about how he is supposed to pay for anything that has to be fixed or to pay for what they blew or to help out the middle class that has been suffering all these years.

"I've always put my country first" but he picked Palin without thinking about what the country deserved. He only thought about himself.

Q & A

Honest elections question from woman

"Concerned by reports from the media" he then brought up Acorn and Mickey Mouse, even though none of the fake applications will bring in any votes. Said FBI is conducting and investigation.

Economic crisis question by man on stock market loss and taxes

"I don't think there's any doubt there's affects in decreased revenue." He then said he wants to "scrub" every agency.
"7 years 40% increase in the size of government." Which he voted for every single one of them.

Illegal immigration question from woman

"Immigration is a federal responsibility" temporary worker program, drug cartels just as dangerous as illegal immigration. "These are God's children and need to be handled in a humane way."

Man was talking about "One" volunteers and Bono. Crowd did not look to impressed.

Man said McCain took unfiltered questions unlike another candidate and McCain let him get away with that even though Obama takes all questions. Ask "Joe the Plumber"

Energy question. He talked about coal and nuclear power. He didn't say anything about "drill baby drill."

Tax credit question for green businesses.

"Federal buildings need to be energy efficient." Tax credits for businesses.

"50% tax increase on small businesses will be done by my opponent."

College student question on student loans.

"Give break on paying back loans" Didn't McCain vote against grants for student loans?

Education question was asked McCain said No Child Left Behind was not funded, then switched the question over to autism and brought up Palin saying she would take that over.

All in all, not great for the GOP when suddenly McCain wants to avoid being linked to any of them.


http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live_asx.html?stream=stream3

Vermont State Police need help after National Guardsman was attacked

Assault at Guard firing range investigated

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 2, 2008 10:37:48 EST

JERICHO, Vt. — Police are looking for two suspects who allegedly assaulted a Vermont Army National Guardsman at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho.

Police say 23-year-old Jordan Paquette of St. Albans was assigned to keep trespassers off the firing range while drills were taking place on Saturday when two men in dark clothing approached the post around 6 p.m.

Police say when he asked them to stop and identify themselves, they refused and assaulted him. Paquette received minor injuries.

The two men then fled.

Anyone with information is asked to call state police.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_guard_assault_110208/

What Wednesday in America can bring after election

If Senator Obama loses the election, (which does not seem possible at this point) he will return to the Senate with his head held up high. Obama has managed to inspire people to vote who have never voted before. He brought young people into politics in greater numbers than ever before. He ran a campaign that refused to get down into the mud, make outlandish claims and refused to yield to the temptation to get as ugly as the McCain campaign. Obama proved that experience is not as important as judgment. McCain had plenty of experience but it was the wrong kind of experience for a great number of people in this country. He gave people back hope. Obama will return to working for the average people in this country who have been forgotten. He will return to working for the veterans on the Veterans Affairs Committee. Not many know that he was advised to take a more high powered Committee position, but he wanted to take care of veterans who held his heart. Even one of my neighbors didn't know and she supported Obama.

If McCain loses, he returns to the Senate with a dark cloud hanging over his head. Not only did he run a campaign showing he cannot make up his mind on much at all, he ran one of anger, infusing hatred, supporting lies, bearing false witness against another Senator and allowing his followers to call Obama a traitor and terrorist. He will return to the Senate after insulting the women of this country with the selection of Sarah Palin and then lying about her history no matter what evidence came out afterward. McCain, who once enjoyed the respect of this nation as a former POW, used it to excuse everything he has done since. From the multitudes of houses he owns, to the multitudes of foreign cars he owns, to his $500 shoes, he has excused it all with having been a POW.

No matter what comes Wednesday, Obama has nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be proud of. He made this country return to hope, was greeted around the world as the restoration of the American ideals and will be forever loved by millions who gathered in record breaking numbers to hear him speak. McCain will forever be a comical joke played on the American people that isn't very funny at all. Had it not been for the Palin pick and the curiosity factor, not many would go to hear him speak at all but worse is that he didn't care he made the choice to hand this nation over to Sarah Palin instead of the truly deserving people in the Republican party.

Why Obama-McCain race deserves 'historic' label
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Sunday, November 2, 2008


Washington -- Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama often tells voters that the 2008 election is "a defining moment in history." Candidates usually think their particular race is historic, but in this case, it actually is.

Voters themselves feel they are standing at a watershed moment, whether Democrat, Republican or the dwindling conflicted few still undecided two days before the end of a two-year campaign. Half say they are scared of what might happen should the wrong man win.

The candidates themselves embody the moment: The 47-year-old Obama, on the brink of making history as the first African American president, urges voters to take the leap into the future. The 72-year-old Republican nominee, John McCain, warns that his rival is dangerously inexperienced and urges voters to stick with his record in times of peril.
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Brooklyn Woman Survives 36-Hour Ordeal in Guyanese River

Brooklyn Woman Survives 36-Hour Ordeal in Guyanese River
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A 48-year-old Brooklyn woman who survived almost two days bobbing in a river said she was kept alive by the desire to see her 19-year-old daughter again.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — A 48-year-old Brooklyn woman who survived almost two days bobbing in a river here said she was kept alive by the desire to see her 19-year-old daughter again.

The woman, Sherry Haynes, who was born in Guyana, was riding across the Corentyne River, which separates Guyana and the neighboring South American nation of Suriname, in a water taxi on Oct. 24 when it apparently snagged on a fishing net and capsized.


She was in Guyana to spread her brother’s ashes along Guyana’s rivers, as he had wished. The trip along the Corentyne was supposed to last just 20 minutes.

Only Ms. Haynes and a crew member on the boat survived the accident. Six people died, including her sister and a nephew, who also lived in the New York area.

“My husband told me he would have given up after the first night, but I am not like that,” she said on Saturday. “At nights I drifted to Suriname, and in the day to Guyana, and then back again. The tides were very strong.”

Ms. Haynes, who works at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, said prayer kept her going. She said she realized people were trying to rescue her when she saw police boats in the river.

“But none came close to me,” she said. “I saw them in the distance.”

Nearly 36 hours after she went into the water, Ms. Haynes hit a sandbank. A cattle herder rescued her, fed her and called the authorities.
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Visitors to Vietnam memorial exhibit reflect and connect in Clearwater

Visitors to Vietnam memorial exhibit reflect and connect in Clearwater

By Mike Brassfield, Times Staff Writer

The black metal of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is polished to a gleaming reflective finish. When you look at the 58,260 names etched onto it, you see yourself looking back. • People who visit the memorial tend to use one word to describe it: Overpowering.

"It's unbelievable how many died. You don't really get a perspective until you see it," said Nancy Patterson of Clearwater Beach, who found the name of her younger brother, killed in an ambush near Da Nang at the age of 20.

The wall, a 3/5-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., continues to be on display today and Monday in the Carpenter Complex just north of Bright House Network Field.

A steady stream of people are making pilgrimages to it. They drive up in Harleys, minivans, Porsches and beat-up pickups. They have McCain and Obama bumper stickers.

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Father of children killed in Floral City learned of shooting on Internet, says he's "in a shambles"

Father of children killed in Floral City learned of shooting on Internet, says he's "in a shambles"
Nov 1, 2008
The father of two of the three children killed Friday in Floral City said Saturday that he's "in a shambles" over the deaths of his family.

Tony Lietz, 25, of Holiday said he found out what happened after a somewhat ambiguous call from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office sent him to check the Bay News 9 Web site. That's where he learned that his high-school sweetheart, 23-year-old Alicia Chomic, and her three children had been shot to death.

"You don't expect something like that to happen," Lietz said Saturday, still sounding shaken. "I'm devastated...As far as I knew, everybody was happy. This was out of the blue."

Police seek St. Louis-area cop killer

Police seek St. Louis-area cop killer
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo., Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A 41-year-old man suspected of shooting a St. Louis-area police officer to death was being sought Sunday, officials said.

Investigators allege the man, a convicted drug dealer, walked up to Sgt. Michael King of the University City, Mo., police department as he sat in a parked squad car Saturday night and shot him to death, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The suspect allegedly then jumped into a nearby car and led police on a high-speed chase. The suspect was described as driving a light-colored, four-door 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Missouri license plate 2AB 28J.
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Minister shot dead, deacon wounded before funeral

Minister shot dead, deacon wounded before funeral
Story Highlights
Records: There was a yearlong dispute between gunman and minister

Rev. Donald Fairbanks Sr., Dowdell Cobb were shot Saturday morning

Shootings happened just before the funeral of a 71-year-old woman


COVINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- A gunman fatally shot a Cincinnati minister and wounded a church deacon just after the two men arrived at a northern Kentucky church to attend a funeral, police said.

Court records in Hamilton County, Ohio, revealed a yearlong dispute between the accused gunman and the minister, the Rev. Donald Fairbanks Sr.

Fairbanks and Dowdell Cobb were shot just before 11 a.m. Saturday, police said. The gunman chased one of the men to a nearby park, where he shot the man a second time, said Lee Russo, the police chief in Covington, Kentucky.

It was unclear which of the men was shot in the park.

Frederick L. Davis, of Covington, quickly surrendered to police and was charged with murder, first degree assault, criminal mischief and violating an emergency protection order. He was being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/02/church.shooting.ap/index.html

Too many admitted into Warrior Transition Units

Too many admitted into Warrior Transition Units
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 2, 2008
In a rush to correct reports of substandard care for wounded soldiers, the Army flung open the doors of new specialized treatment centers so wide that up to half the soldiers currently enrolled do not have injuries serious enough to justify being there, The Associated Press has learned.

Army leaders are putting in place stricter screening procedures to stem the flood of patients overwhelming the units — a move that eventually will target some for closure.

According to interviews and data provided to the AP, the number of patients admitted to the 36 Warrior Transition Units and nine other community-based units jumped from about 5,000 in June 2007, when they began, to a peak of nearly 12,500 in June 2008.

The units provide coordinated medical and mental health care, track soldiers’ recovery and provide broader legal, financial and other family counseling. They serve Army active duty and reserve soldiers.

Just 12 percent of the soldiers in the units had battlefield injuries while thousands of others had minor problems that did not require the complex new network of case managers, nurses and doctors, according to Brig. Gen. Gary H. Cheek, the director of the Army’s warrior care office.

The overcrowding was a “self-inflicted wound,” said Cheek, who also is an assistant surgeon general. “We’re dedicating this kind of oversight and management where, truthfully, only half of those soldiers really needed this.”
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Video McCain failed Commander-in-Chief test in 2001

AFPVeteran McCain can't bank on US military vote
AFP

Veteran McCain can't bank on US military vote
22 hours ago

CHICAGO (AFP) — War hero John McCain should have been able to count on fellow veterans to back his White House bid, but Democrats have managed to trim the Republican lead by actively courting the military vote.

With the United States engaged in two unpopular wars, the military vote is worth more than the relatively small number of ballots it represents.

Democrats are hoping the visible support of top former commanders and troops on the ground will help overcome a decades-long reputation that they are weak on defense.

Republicans continue to beat the drums of patriotism in an attempt to distract voters from the worsening economic crisis.

McCain meanwhile has built his campaign narrative around his lifelong service to his country and his ability to lead in dangerous times.

The former navy fighter pilot who spent five and a half years in a Vietnamese prison camp pauses every rally and town meeting to thank the "guys in the funny hats" for their military service.

He vows to bring troops home from Iraq "in victory and honor, not in defeat" to chase Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden "to the gates of hell" and to "fight for what's right for America."

And the Arizona senator has mounted constant attacks on the judgment and experience of Democratic rival Barack Obama, a 47-year-old first term senator who has never served in the military.

Yet McCain is expected to win the military vote by a narrower margin on November 4 than President George W. Bush did in 2004, even though Bush sat out the Vietnam war in the Texas national guard and was running against decorated Vietnam veteran John Kerry.

"The best guess is Bush won (the military vote) 60-40 and I'm guessing it will be lower than that for McCain," said Peter Feaver, a professor at Duke University who specializes in civil-military relations.

A Gallup survey in early August found 56 percent of veterans supported McCain while only 34 percent planned to vote for Obama.

At the same point in the 2004 presidential race, 55 percent of veterans backed Bush and 39 percent backed Kerry.

Since then, McCain has fallen sharply in the national polls and Obama has expanded his lead from three points to eight in Gallup's tracking of registered voters.

It is likely that McCain has also lost support among veterans, Feaver said, explaining that while members of the military tend to "skew on the Republican side," they also tend to track the sentiment of the general population.

Democrats have also "assiduously courted the military" in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, he added.

They sharply criticized the Bush administration for neglecting returning veterans following the scandal over conditions at the Walter Reed Medical Center and have pushed through legislation which would improve medical benefits and expand college funding for returning veterans.

"Then you have Obama, who has exceptional appeal to three groups over-represented in the military: African Americans, Latinos and young people," Feaver said in a recent interview.

Obama, who served on the senate's veterans affairs committee and has been active in expanding benefits and fighting homelessness among veterans, has also tapped into discontent among veterans frustrated with the way the Iraq war has been handled and the strain that multiple deployments has put on families.

He has called for a staged withdraw from Iraq and greater focus on the war in Afghanistan and regularly asks injured veterans to speak on his behalf at rallies and even at the Democratic National Convention.

His highly organized grassroots campaign has set up chapters of Veterans and Military Families for Obama across the country to knock on doors and make calls on his behalf.

And he recently added Colin Powell, Bush's former secretary of state and the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to his tally of endorsements by retired generals.

There are plenty of veterans who believe McCain's military service is sufficient testament to his character and ability to be commander-in-chief
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I would really love to know what people think qualifies McCain to be Commander-in-Chief when he was pushing to invade Iraq right after 9-11? I mean, aside from his disgraceful record of voting against veterans, while Obama has really supported them, Obama was against invading Iraq when McCain was pushing to do it. Seems to me on test one, McCain failed miserably.

Unearthed Video: McCain Pushed Bush Iraq War Agenda Two Months After 9/11


Recently unearthed video shows that just two months after 9/11, John McCain was not only fully aware of the Bush Administration's Iraq War Agenda, but also that he actively helped make the argument for war.

In an interview broadcast November 28, 2001 on ABC News Nightline, McCain:

* Said that the Bush Administration would build a case for military conflict with Iraq, and expressed his support for such action

* Advanced false claims made by the Bush Administration about the threat of Iraqi WMD

* Connected Iraq with 9/11 by repeating the false claim that 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta had met with Iraq intelligence authorities in Prague before 9/11
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/30/unearthed-video-mccain-pu_n_130680.html
Go to this link and see it with your own eyes. McCain was on Nightline on November 28th talking about the need to invade Iraq. He failed the Commander-in-Chief test and began to prove that he does not know how to "win" wars as he claims. He failed the part of the test on sending men and women into harms way without need or facts. He was pushing for this before the trumped up charges were even presented to Congress. Obama had the right judgement and listened to Generals who said that invading Iraq was wrong, believed it was wrong so much that they resigned. Then McCain did the most deplorable thing of all. He failed the veterans wounded for his fantasy of flight.