Farmers dump crops durning pandemic shut down...families go hungry?

update Dole donating more than 2 million pounds of fresh produce to food banks, communities in need

update Free milk, cheese and yogurt at SUNY Morrisville dairy drive-through to support families, farmers

update: Idaho farm gave away potatoes for free so they wouldn't go to waste Cranney Farms in Oakley has thousands of potatoes they were expecting to sell. Instead of dumping them, they gave them away.

Milk to be rescued from Wisconsin dairy farmers, given to people in need

In a press release sent early Wednesday morning, the Hunger Task Force said it will commit up to $1 million to the Wisconsin Dairy Recovery. The money will be used to buy it back from dairy farmers and supply it to those in need.

Stop dumping harvest when you can feed the hungry

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 14, 2020

We just had Easter, the day we honor the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, but too many forget what He taught us. That is apparent today when farms are dumping produce and milk, because they cannot sell it.

"About 7 o’clock Tuesday night, Golden E Dairy got the call that any dairy farmer would dread. They were being asked to dump 25,000 gallons of fresh milk a day because there was no place for it to go as the marketplace for dairy products has been gutted by the closure of restaurants, schools, hotels and food service businesses." USA Today

Dean and Betsy Brightly turned a farm of just a few hundred acres in the late 1970s to over 2,000 acres today and grow a plethora of plants with a focus on cabbage and butternut squash. Brightly Farms has never had to dump food like they did this year as demand dropped for their crop they refrigerate until this time. “We still have a couple hundred tons,” said Dean, “which is over $100,000 worth of product that we probably are going to have to dump.” RochesterFirst

They said they had no choice, but they did, and still do. They can choose to do the right thing by helping the food banks all across the country to feed the hungry.

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.

Matthew 25:44-45 ’

As they are dumping their harvests, this is what is happening as people line up for whatever they can get to help them feed their families.

Six THOUSAND families line up in their cars for hours at a food bank in San Antonio as millions across the country turn to charity organizations to keep from going hungry during coronavirus lockdown

Families in need waited hours to get their hands on fresh fruit, vegetables and other non-perishable goods that have become hard to find in traditional stores as panic-buying leaves shelves empty. The sight of long rows of cars waiting outside food banks has become more frequent since the pandemic has made its impact on the United States, with similar scenes seen in Florida and Pennsylvania in the last two weeks. Daily Mail

Do the right thing and contact your local food bank to see how you can help instead of wasting what you were blessed with.

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Luke 12:17-21

UCF Restores Program helping people under stress from Coronavirus Pandemic

UCF Restores Program Offering Coronavirus Mental Health Help

My News 13
BY JUSTIN SOTO ORANGE COUNTY
APR. 12, 2020

"We thought this was a good opportunity to reach out to the community in general, talk about stress, talk about how to manage stress and give us an opportunity to see if we can help people during this time when a lot of us may be feeling kind of shut in and alone," Beidel said.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting Monday, the University of Central Florida will be bringing a new mental health resource geared towards helping people manage stress during these uniquely challenging times.

UCF Restores will post video sessions on Facebook page twice a week
Sessions aimed at providing tools to help deal with stress
Learn more at UCFrestores.org

The University of Central Florida Restores program is working to help you and your family deal with the stress the coronavirus pandemic can bring.

UCF Restores is a clinical research program that regularly helps veterans, active duty personnel, and survivors of mass shootings or sexual assault through post-traumatic stress disorder.
read it here A couple of years ago, I interviewed Dr. Beidel about this progam.

Dr. Deborah Beidel delivered a message that veterans and responders need to hear. You can fight to #TakeBackYourLife. It takes a lot of work, but there are a lot of people out there who are ready, willing and able, to fight right by your side.

We failed to hold them accountable for any of this

Now is the time for accountability from the Senate

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 13, 2020

No matter what side you are on politically, the Senate Intelligence Committee did not do their job and too many citizens paid the price for it!
Intelligence report warned of coronavirus crisis as early as November: Sources

"Analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event," a source said.

As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. (ABC News)

There were already reports about how the President did not read the daily Intelligence briefings.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he never read or considered reading a memorandum in which his top trade adviser warned of the need to implement an "aggressive containment" strategy to prevent a massive loss of life and economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic.

So who did? The larger question should be, knowing the President did not read the reports, what did the Senate know and when did they know it?

CNN reported the head of the Senate Intel Committee sold stocks ahead of the pandemic hitting here. (CNN) Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to review his sale of up to $1.7 million in stocks last month ahead of the sharp market decline that's resulted from the novel coronavirus global pandemic, according to Senate documents."

The problem goes way beyond making a buck off of this. As we have learned recently, the President was given reports ahead of time about the global pandemic hitting the US. In tern, the Senate Intelligence Committee would have been informed as well. They did nothing for us knowing the President was not getting the country ready.

Instead of doing whatever they could to get the information out to the Governors to take action ahead of time, they used it to make money.

This is what the Senate Intelligence Committee is responsible for....

"Access: While all Senators have access to classified intelligence assessments, access to intelligence sources and methods, programs, and budgets is generally limited to Intelligence Committee members (and to members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee). By law, the President is required to ensure that the Committee is kept “fully and currently informed” of intelligence activities—meaning that intelligence agencies are required, generally in writing, to notify the Committee of its activities and analysis. This includes keeping the Committee informed of covert actions and any significant intelligence failure."

The question is, what are we going to do about this? Here is what else they are supposed to do

But every branch of the government has Senate committees that are supposed to be making sure those branches are doing their jobs, considering that is why they were placed on those committees.

Why didn't the members who were advised what was coming, not make sure the other committees were also aware and prepared?

We have troops stationed all over the world, yet they did not have what they needed to protect themselves. They are making masks from t-shirts.

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tyler Fraser demonstrates do it yourself facemask options per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance highlighted in NAVADMIN 100/20 onboard Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) April 6. (Screen grab of U.S. Navy video/Taylor Curry)

Military.com
By Oriana Pawlyk
6 Apr 2020

The military branches are requiring troops to make their own cloth face masks after the Pentagon's latest policy directed face coverings for all personnel during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Defense Department announced Sunday that troops, DoD civilian employees, contractors and family members are encouraged to make simple coverings out of clean T-shirts and other household materials. The do-it-yourself face coverings are mandatory whenever people cannot maintain six feet of social distance in public areas or places of work, according to the policy, signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
read it here

We can simply remain deluded into thinking that those we elect to represent us are doing their jobs, or we can assume none of them are. The most frightening part is, we failed to hold them accountable for any of this.
UPDATE
Add this to all of that!
Number of troops diagnosed with COVID-19 jumped nearly 50 percent over the weekend

COVID-19 positive 4 employees, 14 patients at West Palm Beach VA

4 employees, 14 patients at West Palm Beach VA Medical Center test positive for coronavirus

WPTV News
By: Linnie Supall , Matt Papaycik
Apr 10, 2020

3,700 veteran patients at VA medical facilities around the country have tested positive for COVID-19, the Veterans Affairs Department said.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Four employees at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials confirm.

A spokesperson wouldn't provide any additional details about the conditions of those patients.

In addition, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 14 veteran patients at the West Palm Beach hospital have tested positive for COVID-19.
read it here

Veteran with cancer cannot get treatment from VA because of state borders and COVID-19

Veteran and family plead for hospitals to treat his stage 4 cancer

KALB News
By JOJUANA PHILLIPS
Apr 10, 2020

"I was informed that my father had no scheduled appointment. Even all of the CT scans, his chemo, everything had been canceled, but no one had contacted us," said Barron who's been trying to contact the VA Hospital in Shreveport to see if her father's treatments could be moved to that location.

BENTLEY, La. (KALB)- 64-year-old Byron Walters has been to Vietnam and back, serving his country in the United States Army.

He's currently battling the COVID-19 pandemic with the rest of Louisiana on top of stage 4 cancer.

"I have prostate cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer and liver cancer," said Walters as he explained that he's due for his fourth round of chemotherapy.

The VA Hospital in Houston, Texas has been treating him since he found out about his cancer and that's where he was scheduled to travel for his next appointment this month. He's been told that his treatments should be done no more than 3 weeks apart.
read it here

What we do now will show what we truly are, a curse on the earth or blessing to all

Let this be my solemn vow

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 9, 2020

The world is in crisis now. The Coronavirus pandemic does not acknowledge national borders and has crossed over all the world. It strikes old and young, male and female.

Each nation has experienced great sadness. Some people have used this for their own sake. They have taken all they could, leaving many with nothing. They did not care if they spread death or not.

Yet all nations have also experienced acts of great kindness and compassion. When some risk their own lives so others may live. The list is long and worthy of so much more than simple expressions. When this is over, the world will be forever changed by what we do right here and right now.

When this season of misery is over, those who decided to take, shall be known for what they truly are and condemned for taking pleasure out of the suffering they caused.

When this season of misery is over, those who decided to give, shall be known for what they truly are and treasured for all they were willing to do for the sake of others.

When this season of misery is over, they will mourn for those they could not save and we shall comfort them.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

When this is over, the rich who used this time for their own profit shall be known for what they truly are.

Proverbs 22:16
Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

The rich, who decided to use their wealth to help others, will be known for what they truly are.

Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

All of us will be judged for what we truly are.

James 2

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Didn’t God choose poor people in the world to become rich in faith and to receive the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
6 Yet, you show no respect to poor people. Don’t rich people oppress you and drag you into court?
7 Don’t they curse the good name of Jesus, the name that was used to bless you?

And those who did whatever they could for the sake of others, shall be known for what they truly are.

We Show Our Faith by What We Do
14 My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him?
15 Suppose a believer, whether a man or a woman, needs clothes or food
16 and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do?
17 In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things.

Let us know who shall be blessed when this misery passes and let this be our solum vow, "to take this moment and live each moment" choosing to be defined by what we can be....worthy.

Matthew 5 The Beatitudes Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them.
He said:

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let There Be Peace on Earth

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me

Let There Be Peace on Earth

The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father

Brothers all are we

Let me walk with my brother

In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me

Let this be the moment now.

With ev'ry step I take

Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment and live

Each moment in peace eternally

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jill Jackson / Sy Miller

Let There Be Peace on Earth lyrics © Mccg LLC

The world now knows what trauma is and you can help them heal if you have PTSD

Advice getting through another crisis

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 8, 2020

"So now go do the best things in life

Take a bite of this world while you can

Make the most of the rest of your life"

Disturbed - Hold on to Memories

I am going to start this the way I usually end a video...with what you are empowered to do. "...go do the best things in life...make the most of the rest of your life."

Right now the world is living through global pandemic trauma. Life as they knew it ended. As of yesterday "There are at least 387,547 cases of coronavirus in the United States and at least 12,291 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases." according to a CNN running update. That means at least that many have experienced the trauma of fighting for their lives. Even more have experienced the trauma of it coming into their families and the fear of it happening to those who have thus far escaped it.

While some people take a callous attitude to take advantage of the trauma, many more are going out to make sure others stay alive, even if it means they are subjecting themselves to more trauma.

Aside from hurricanes and this pandemic, I survived life altering trauma 10 times. I know what it can do to lives, but the key is, only if we allow it to gain control.

This is from ABC News

Calls to US helpline jump 891%, as White House is warned of mental health crisis

Last month the “Disaster Distress Helpline” at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) saw an 891% increase in call volume compared with March 2019, according to a spokesman for the agency, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In fact, this March – ending little more than a week ago – saw 338% more calls to the helpline than in the month before, when the deadly virus began to take hold inside the U.S. homeland, and government officials began taking more extreme measures to stop its spread.

There are 57.8 million Americans currently living with mental or substance use disorders, according to SAMHSA.

Two ways to look at the report are, it is terrible that many are in crisis, or, there are many more fighting for their lives and acknowledging they need help. Please take that as a sign it is OK to ask for help if you need it too.

But what else can we do against something we have no control over? Look at what we can control. We can control how we act and react.

We control what we do if we are healthy enough to help others.

We control if we act out of kindness and patience, or react with selfishness.

We control if we show that we are suffering too and are afraid to comfort someone else, or react with judgement unwilling to show we are not super-human.
read it here

FOX headline on ventilators worse than "misleading" while Americans are dying

There is a saying in the news business, "If it bleeds...it leads." That is because bad headlines get the most attention.

News programming uses a hierarchy of if it bleeds, it leads. Fear-based news programming has two aims. The first is to grab the viewer's attention. In the news media, this is called the teaser. The second aim is to persuade the viewer that the solution for reducing the identified fear will be in the news story. If a teaser asks, "What's in your tap water that YOU need to know about?" a viewer will likely tune in to get the up-to-date information to ensure safety.

Headline on FOX "New York City stockpiled ventilators for a pandemic, only to later auction them off: report"

And what they reported afterward the headline

Those ventilators were then auctioned off some time before 2016 because the city could not afford to maintain them in working order, partially because the model of ventilator the city had purchased was no longer in production after 2009, the report said.

Naturally some friends on Facebook are sharing the headline without reading...or mentioning the rest of the article.

It Is Your Choice To Be Contagious Or Value Isolation Directives

Stop being responsible for spreading death

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 6, 2020

The only way COVID-19 is spread, is one person to another. The only way to stop it, is choosing to stop spreading it!

Contagious

Or

Value

Isolation

Directives

Coronavirus map: Tracking the spread in the US and around the world

We have seen too many irresponsible people putting their own desires to enjoy their lives come before the lives of all others.

We saw it with spring breakers flocking to beaches in Florida.

Thousands of spring breakers traveled from one Florida beach to cities across the US. Mapping their phone data shows the importance of social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Business Insider
Aaron Holmes
Mar 27, 2020

Steve Nesius/Reuters

Despite guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus, spring-break partiers flocked to Florida beaches earlier this month.

Newly released phone location data shows how people congregated at one Florida beach before traveling across much of the US.

The data shows about 5,000 devices traveling from a single beach in Fort Lauderdale in one week to cities spanning the eastern US, including New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and Houston.
read it here

We saw it during Bike Week

Coronavirus-fueled permit pulls don’t appear to lower Daytona Bike Week traffic

Daytona Beach News Journal
By Nikki Ross
Posted Mar 14, 2020

Despite the city of Daytona Beach trying to curtail Bike Week by revoking permits because of coronavirus concerns, thousands of bikers thundered onto Main Street on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Florida Deparment of Health announced Saturday morning two more Volusia County residents tested positive for coronavirus, a 29-year-old male and a 70-year-old male. The county now has five coronavirus cases.

And according to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, an additional 20 people are being monitored for coronavirus in the county: one in Daytona Beach, four in Ormond Beach, three in Port Orange, two in New Smyrna Beach, three in Deltona, five in DeLand and two in DeBary.

Friday night, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry announced the city had revoked permits for any gathering of 100 people or more. That decision went into effect at 8 a.m. Saturday.
read it here

This map shows the spread in Florida

New Department of Health Map Allows Users to See COVID-19 Cases By Zip Code

NBC Miami
By Willard Shepard
April 4, 2020

The Florida Department of Health has launched a new update to their interactive COVID-19 map, which now allows users to see confirmed cases by zip code.

The interactive map allows users to see what is going on where they live, or work. Hotspots in the map are highlighted in red.

Expanded testing for the virus at sites set up by Florida’s National Guard in South Florida, and across the state, has resulted in valuable data for the Department of Health.
read it here

The choice is ours. The people paying for what we choose to do right here...right now, belong to us.

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital Director orders "all hands on deck" exposing them and veterans to COVID-19

Veterans hospital employees fear new work-from-home ban will endanger community

Chicago Sun Times
By Jake Wittich
Apr 5, 2020

The hospital’s new director, James Doelling, sent an email to Hines VA staffers calling for “all hands on deck” after many employees had already been working from home for weeks.

Employees at the Chicago-area Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital are concerned about a new “all hands on deck” directive that would send employees who have already been working from home amid the coronavirus outbreak back into the field.

The workers include social workers, dietitians, psychiatrists and more at the hospital whose services began shifting to telehealth practices when Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 began mid-March.

Some — like a social worker and mother of a 3-year-old — started working from home weeks ago while others began teleworking as recently as last week.

But that seemingly came to an abrupt end last week when the hospital’s new director, James Doelling, sent an email to Hines VA staffers calling for “all hands on deck” as the center prepared for a surge of veterans in need of services.
read it here

Why is the VA still forcing veterans for in person comp exams during pandemic?

KARE 11 Investigates: VA continues high-risk exams during COVID-19 crisis

KARE 11 News
A.J. Lagoe, Steve Eckert
April 3, 2020

But veterans across the country, some of them high-risk for coronavirus infection, say they’re still being ordered to attend in-person benefits exams with VA contractors.

ST PAUL, Minn — “I was told I needed to go into New York City next week to get an in-person benefits exam,” said a 30-year-old Stamford, Connecticut Army Veteran. “I said, ‘I can’t do that for obvious reasons.’”

That veteran spoke on-camera and on-the-record but asked not to be named over fears it would negatively impact his benefits claim. He’s part of a new lawsuit that states the Department of Veterans Affairs is risking veterans’ lives during the COVID-19 crisis by forcing veterans to attend pension exams or risk losing their benefits.

“It’s an unnecessary risk,” said attorney Harold Hoffman who filed the lawsuit against the VA. “It’s not just risky, there is no reason for the risk!” he added.

In order to limit coronavirus exposure for vulnerable veterans, the Veterans Benefits Administration closed its 56 regional offices, including the St. Paul office on March 19th.
read it here

Veteran Service Groups join forces to insure veterans get their relief checks

Senators, VSOs to VA: Work with IRS to ensure all veterans get federal $1,200 relief checks

Connecting Vets
ABBIE BENNETT
APRIL 03, 2020

Not all veterans or their beneficiaries file annual taxes. But the government plans to primarily use prior tax filings to determine eligibility and where to send the federal coronavirus relief payments.

Leading Veterans Affairs lawmakers in the Senate and top national Veteran Service Organizations are calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that all eligible veterans can receive federal relief checks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senators Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., who lead the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, urged the VA Under Secretary for Benefits Dr. Paul Lawrence to create a plan between VA and the IRS to ensure veterans and other VA beneficiaries who don't have to file tax returns still get the checks without additional red tape.

VSOs representing millions of veterans nationwide also sent a letter to VA and the Treasury Department urging them to take "whatever actions necessary to identify and electronically pay" the relief to veterans who do not file tax returns. Those groups included: Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America, Military Officers Association of America, Fleet Reserve Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project, Blinded Veterans of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
read it here

Miami VA hospital rationing medical masks...but USAID sent them overseas?

Report: Federal Agency Shipped Face Masks Overseas as Veterans Affairs Hospital Rationed Them

National Review
By MAIREAD MCARDLE
April 3, 2020

A federal agency reportedly shipped face masks overseas from a Miami warehouse even as a nearby Veterans Affairs hospital was rationing them due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Boxes of N95 protective masks for use by medical field personnel in New Rochelle, New York, March 17, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had a warehouse of face masks sitting unused in Miami while a Veterans Affairs hospital in the city was telling its health care workers to use the same face mask for an entire week, Fox News reported.

Later, USAID exported the masks overseas. Since then, however, the administration has reportedly halted USAID shipments of personal protective equipment out of the country.
read it here

Nurses warn "significant deficiencies in VA readiness to respond to the coronavirus epidemic"

VA staffers sound alarm over shortages in staffing, equipment

Military Times
Leo Shane III
April 3, 2020

Nurse Irma Westmoreland said the Veterans Affairs hospital where she works has already run out of paper gowns and is warning staffers to ration their use of linens out of concerns the facility may run out of protective equipment for use on a daily basis.

Members of National Nurses United protest between shifts at the Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland, Calif., on March 23, 2020. A similar protest is scheduled for next week at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Brooklyn, to raise concerns about a lack of resources for staff to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of NNU)

The site — the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga. — has only had five confirmed cases of coronavirus so far.

“When we get a surge of cases, where will we be?” said Westmoreland, a 30-year employee at VA and vice president of National Nurses United, which represents 12,000 nurses at 23 different VA sites across the country. “I’m afraid for my co-workers and I’m afraid for my family.”

Union officials are raising concerns this week about what they see as significant deficiencies in VA readiness to respond to the coronavirus epidemic, which has already killed more than 6,000 Americans.

On Monday, NNU members from the Brooklyn VA facility in New York City are planning a between-shifts protest of conditions there, promising no disruption in care but also more public awareness of the problems staff are facing.
read it here

If our marriage lasted all these years with PTSD...so can yours!

Is your marriage strong enough for isolation and PTSD?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 2, 2020


People like me have been telling veterans the worst they can do is to isolate. Right now, the worst thing for their health is to be out. It is saving their lives but eating away at them at the same time.

This is a trying time for any marriage. When you add a veteran with PTSD, it can make it even harder to go from day to day. I am sharing this with you so that you can learn from our long history and be able to take some of the extra stress off your shoulders.

This morning my husband and I were talking about how isolating during COVID-19 pandemic has tested our marriage. It is hard being together all the time. Then again, it has not just been a few weeks for us. We've been together 24/7 since the end of September. Now that is a test of a marriage!

We moved from about 1,600 miles, with no clue where we would live. We had to walk away from the house we made an offer on in New Hampshire, and our house sold in Florida. The day we passed papers was our 35th anniversary. I was unemployed because I had to leave a job I loved and pretty much, we were homeless, with plenty of money in the bank.

My attitude was that it was a second honeymoon and a road trip!

Our long marriage has been tested over and over again. The first test came was when mild PTSD exploded! When it did, I already knew what PTSD was since I had been researching it for years. I had no clue that it could get worse with other traumatic events.

Readers of Wounded Times know our story very well, so I do not want to rehash all of that right now. You can read about it in the book I wrote back in 2002 and then republished in this edition.

For The Love Of Jack His War My Battle

(I am not trying to make money off this, and when you see how little it costs, you'll believe me.)

Here is a video I did with a good friend of mine on this book.

LOVE

No matter what, let them know you love them. It does not mean you have to approve of the way they act. It does not mean you are supposed to always like them. He asks me "Do you love me?" out of the blue and I aways say "Yes, always...and sometimes I even like you." Do not expect perfection out of yourself or your marriage...or them! Nothing is ever perfect.

Love them enough to learn what PTSD is and be empowered to act and react appropriately. I have a lot of videos on PTSD that can help you understand them better. Learn why they think irrationally, have overblown reactions or, end up looking for an argument.

Take some stress off your shoulders knowing what you can do to cut unnecessary tension and stop blaming yourself for the way they act. It really has nothing to do with you but if you do not know what is going on with them, you will end up blaming yourself.

No matter how much I knew about PTSD, I still blamed myself for what I lacked or what I was not good enough for. If you know nothing about PTSD, it is worse for you!

Patience

No one automatically has patience. It requires practice! The more you work at it, the more natural it will be to let things go. Before you react to them trying to piss you off, ask yourself how important it is to get into it with them. Most of the time, you'll decide to just shake your head instead of pounding your fist. If it is important enough then stand your ground but think before you speak. An unspoken word does not have be regretted. Once you say it, you can apologize all you want, but the damage is done.

I used to argue until I decided to just walk away. He knows he is in more trouble if I said nothing. Most of the time, he follows me, acknowledges my anger is beyond words. He says he is sorry and then tells me to come talk to him when I am over it. We have avoided many heated arguments that way and my blood pressure stopped changing the color of my face!

Take Care Of Yourself

There were times early on in our marriage when I forced him to come with me. I learned the hard way, neither of us enjoyed whatever it was I wanted to do. I started to just go off by myself. He was always invited but if he did not want to go, I went and had a good time.

I learned to live for myself! I went to movies with friends because he could not stand movie theaters. I went shopping by myself because he had a hard time with crowds. Most of the time I went to family events alone and when asked where he was, I just said he was having a bad day. No excuses and no other explanations were needed.

To some our marriage is not "normal" but for us, it became our "new normal" just as yours can be. Do not try to be like others and find what works for you.

If our marriage lasted all these years with PTSD...so can yours!

Seniors and disabled veterans, do not assume you will be getting the stimulus check

UPDATE Veterans urgent!

The Internal Revenue Service has set a deadline of May 5 for veterans to register for dependent payouts, after initially saying they would have only two days. But the guidance, along with warnings that veterans who don't complete the form now will have to wait until next year for their stimulus funds, has left some confused and scrambling.

"We have several veterans with no Internet access," one email received by Military.com said. "Are you able to get at least 25 copies of this IRS form mailed to us?" Military.com

UPDATE They changed their minds!

Mnuchin reverses course, won't force seniors to file tax return for coronavirus stimulus check

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration backtracked Wednesday evening on new rules for getting stimulus checks, saying Social Security recipients won't have to file a tax return to receive a payment.

The move is a response to pressure from elderly Americans and senators to rescind guidance issued Monday that said seniors needed to file a return to get the checks of up to $1,200, even if they weren't ordinarily required to file taxes.

Why some Americans may have to file tax returns before they see a coronavirus stimulus check

CNBC News
Lorie Konish
APR 1 2020

KEY POINTS
A $2 trillion stimulus bill passed by Congress last week included checks of $1,200 to $2,400 to be sent to Americans.
In the legislation, the government said it would deploy those payments using information from tax returns, or 1099 forms for others who don’t typically file those documents, such as some Social Security beneficiaries.
New guidance from the IRS said that those who don’t file returns will have to do so in order to get their payments. Now, some lawmakers and advocacy groups are pushing back.

NoDerog | iStock | Getty Images

There may be a catch for individuals who typically don’t file a tax return but are expecting to receive a stimulus check.

They may have to send a return to the government in order to get paid.

New guidance was released on Monday by the IRS, which said there would be “no action required for most people.”

For some, though, that’s not true.

“People who typically do not file a tax return will need to file a simple tax return to receive an economic impact payment,” the IRS stated. “Low-income taxpayers, senior citizens, Social Security recipients, some veterans and individuals with disabilities who are otherwise not required to file a tax return will not owe tax.”

That new information drew strong pushback from certain members of Congress and advocacy organizations, who argue that those individuals should not have to file just to get their money.
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VA Employees not getting hazardous duty pay during pandemic

VA Workers Sue for Hazardous Duty Pay During Pandemic

Military.com
By Richard Sisk
30 Mar 2020

There was no immediate response from the VA to the lawsuit. As of Saturday, the VA had reported a total of more than 770 confirmed cases of coronavirus among veterans nationwide and at least 16 deaths.

Visitors stroll through a long, glass-walled corridor that connects a dozen buildings at the new Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the hospital on July 21, 2018. The $1.7 billion medical center replaces an aging and crowded facility in Denver. (AP Photo/Dan Elliott)

The union representing more than 260,000 civil service employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs filed a lawsuit Monday, claiming they are owed hazardous duty pay of 25% above their typical salaries for working during the coronavirus epidemic that has infected more than 770 veterans nationwide.

The suit, by the American Federation of Government Employees filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., also included plaintiffs from the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Agriculture and said they also were entitled to hazardous duty pay under sections of the U.S. Code.

In addition, the lawsuit alleged that "there are likely thousands of other federal employees who have been exposed to the coronavirus while performing their official duties and are entitled to hazard pay pursuant to federal law."

"It is our hope that the government does right by these employees and pays them the hazardous duty pay they've earned," AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement announcing the filing of the suit.
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At least 185 VA employees had tested positive for coronavirus

VA projects high levels of employee absenteeism as coronavirus response ramps up

Federal News Network
By Nicole Ogrysko
March 30, 2020

At least 185 VA employees had tested positive for coronavirus as of late last week, Mark Takano (D-Calif.), chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, said Friday from the House floor.

As many as 40% of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs may be absent from work — due to their own illness or fear of getting sick — during a severe coronavirus outbreak, the agency estimated.

The figure was one of several “planning assumptions” in the department’s coronavirus response plan, which VA made public late last week.

“Public health measures of temporarily closing schools, declaring other closures and quarantining household contacts of infected individuals are likely to increase rates of absenteeism due to employees with school-aged children,” the Veterans Health Administration wrote.

VA’s Office of Inspector General, whose staff spent a week making unannounced visits to 58 medical centers, 125 community-based outpatient clinics and 54 community living centers around the country, began noting higher-than-normal levels of absenteeism among the agency’s staff in mid-March.

The department announced Sunday it would officially begin that responsibility, with the opening of 50 beds to non-veteran and non-coronavirus patients in New York City.

Individual states must ask for VA backup assistance through FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center and their own Department of Health and Human Services regional emergency coordinators. Once the request has been issued, VA will decide whether it has the capacity to respond in a local region.

VA already deployed some of its mobile vet centers units in mid-March, the department said Monday. VA employees volunteer to deploy with these mobile units, which serve as an extension to the department’s brick-and-mortar medical facilities and community clinics across the country — especially during major hurricanes, wildfires, mass shootings and other disasters.
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Virus spikes throughout the VA...but the VA is helping civilians? Seriously?

Reminder: The VA was not able to keep up with the needs of our veterans, so they pushed to be able to send them into civilian healthcare. Now, with COVID-19, they are sending doctors and nurses to help civilians at the same time they still do not have what they need to take care of veterans! Pay attention people because none of this makes sense and should outrage everyone!

Novel coronavirus cases among veterans spike as testing expands through VA network

ABC News
By Quinn Owen
March 30, 2020

A federal watchdog report released last week found VA hospital supplies of medicine used to treat critically ill patients "may be insufficient."

The number of veterans testing positive for novel coronavirus has spiked to 1,166, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported Monday, as thousands more seeking treatment get tested at VA hospitals across the country.

On Friday, the agency had reported about half as many positive tests. The data from the agency shows that its cases mirror trends throughout the U.S., with VA hospitals in New York, Michigan and Louisiana reporting high numbers of confirmed patients.

Over the weekend, the VA announced it was opening its doors to non-veteran patients in New York City to help ease the coronavirus response burden. The activation is part of the VA's "Fourth Mission," to serve as the nation's emergency back-up health care system.

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Archbishop Elpidophoros addresses the faithful regarding #COVID19

While some seem to think that going to church is OK, this is what our Archbishop thinks about our obligation to our communities and especially the healthcare workers.