Firefighter Severely Burned in ’06 Dies in Staten Island Blaze

Mary DiBiase Blaich for The New York Times
Lt. Robert J. Ryan in an undated family photo.


Firefighter Severely Burned in ’06 Dies in Staten Island Blaze
By MICHAEL WILSON

The fire burned so hot that it melted a smoke detector, dripping molten plastic through Lt. Robert J. Ryan’s fire jacket and across his neck and shoulders. It was the kind of injury that could have tempted others to leave the Fire Department, but he chose to stay, spending a year recuperating, and returning to work in 2007 with twisted pink scars above his shirt collar.

His determination to return cost him his life. Lieutenant Ryan, 46, coming off the first engine to arrive at a house fire in the New Brighton section of Staten Island on Sunday morning, was killed when the attic ceiling collapsed on him, knocking off his helmet and air mask, the Fire Department said.

“Unconscious, he was carried out of the building by his fellow firefighters who were standing right around him when the accident occurred,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a news conference at Richmond University Medical Center, where Lieutenant Ryan was pronounced dead. “Firefighters and E.M.S. personnel on the scene tried to revive him, but they were, I am sad to say, unsuccessful.”

Lieutenant Ryan is the first member of the department to die while fighting a fire since Jan. 3, when Lt. John H. Martinson was killed in a blaze in a 14th-floor apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
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Fast-moving fire kills three children in Cincinnati

Fast-moving fire kills three children
Published: Nov. 24, 2008 at 12:14 PM

CINCINNATI, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Cincinnati firefighters say they were too late to save three children who died early Monday in a house fire.

The children, all under the age of 10, died in a predawn fire that broke out in a home on State Avenue just blocks from the fire station that received the alarm.

Officials told The Cincinnati Enquirer that the two-story home was nearly engulfed in flames when the first fire equipment arrived.
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Teenagers with history of hardship find empowerment in aiding others

Teenagers with history of hardship find empowerment in aiding others
By Cathy Zollo


Published: Monday, November 24, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 24, 2008 at 1:11 a.m.
Gonzalo Moody spent Sunday lugging boxes of turkey, green beans, potatoes, rolls and pies to families struggling in this economy.



Moody, 19, was among the 25 or so teenagers from the YMCA's Bowman Ranch, Transitional Living Program and Youth Shelter, taking part in the event. YMCA board members escorted the youngsters.

The deliveries are as much about helping the teenagers as helping the families who get Thanksgiving dinner, say board members. The youngsters -- some in foster care, some just getting out of it and some who need an escape from the streets -- ranged in age from 11 to 19.

They benefit from helping others and working toward a common goal alongside adults. They went in groups to a dozen front doors Sunday, dropping off the heavy boxes and wishing families a happy holiday.
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Deputies: Teen kills brother over a hat

November 23, 2008
Deputies: Teen kills brother over a hat
TAMPA -- An argument between two brothers turned physical overnight, and ended with one of them fatally stabbing the other, deputies said today.

The fight between brothers Deadreart J. Holmes, 18, and Jason Phifer, 22, started just after 1 a.m. this morning at their Tampa home at 12509 Sugar Pine Way, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.

Holmes stated he was going to stab his brother, then left the bedroom they shared and returned with a knife. Deputies say Holmes stabbed Phifer in the chest, in front of a third brother who is 14.

Phifer ran into his mother's room, told her his brother stabbed him and collapsed. The family called an ambulance, but it was too late.

Deputies say the fight was over a hat that Phifer had borrowed and left in someone's car.
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http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2008/11/deputies-teen-k.html

Christmas Charity Appeal: Andy McNab on fighting the battle that does not end

Christmas Charity Appeal: Andy McNab on fighting the battle that ...
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom


Combat Stress is one of the charities you can support in this year’s Telegraph appeal. Here, Andy McNab, who has seen brave friends devastated by the aftermath of war, explains why it is such a vital cause.

With thousands of members of the Armed Forces returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rising dramatically.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this. The ancient Greeks recorded similar symptoms in their soldiers after they returned from battle. They understood that their veterans would require support. But somehow the Greeks’ lessons were lost on us.

During the First World War, a PTSD sufferer would have been placed against a wall and shot because it was believed that this condition was brought on by weakness of character. During the Second World War, the sufferer was instead sent down the coal mines and made to wear a LMF (lack of moral fibre) armband.

Even today, PTSD suffers are stigmatised. This has to stop. Any service personnel hit by the disorder are casualties of war, just as much as soldiers hit by an enemy bullet. More service personnel who fought in the 1982 Falklands War have gone on to commit suicide than the 255 killed in action.

I know this from experience. Two of my closest friends have committed suicide as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, and many more have suffered terribly for years. My SAS troop, 7 Troop, was never more than 12-strong, so we knew each other very well. Frank Collins and Nish Bruce were a bit older than me and they became my heroes. I operated with both of these men in South East Asia, as well as under cover in Northern Ireland. Frank eventually left the SAS, got ordained into the Anglican Church and became an Army Padre.
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Recalled 12 year old spare tired causes fatal crash

How a 12-year-old recalled tire caused a crash that killed one man, paralyzed another
Rene Stutzman | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 24, 2008


SANFORD - The tire was a Firestone ATX, the subject of one of the nation's biggest consumer-product recalls. Millions of Americans read or heard news reports about it in 2000 and 2001, warning that it was dangerous.

But for a decade this particular tire was just a spare, bolted to the underside of an aging Ford Explorer.

A lawsuit settled in October revealed how in 2005 -- long after consumers and mechanics had stopped checking -- this tire did exactly what safety officials feared: It shredded at 65 mph.

Rotated into service on the right rear hub of the 1993 sport utility vehicle, the tire flew apart on Interstate 4 near Sanford, and the Explorer went out of control.

Its driver, Michael Enriquez, a Deltona father of four on his way home from work, hit the brakes. The vehicle skidded across the median, flipped and plowed head-on into an Infiniti driven by Douglas George Gibson, 56, of Orlando.
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Sword-Wielder Killed At Scientology Center

Sword-Wielder Killed At Scientology Center
Security Guard Shoots Man Waving Pair Of Samurai Swords At Hollywood Building, LAPD Says

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24, 2008
(AP) Police said a man who waved a pair of Samurai swords on the grounds of a Hollywood Scientology building had a "previous relationship" to the church, but released little other information about the man shot and killed by a security guard.

The unidentified man, described as being in his 40s, approached three guards Sunday in the parking lot of the Scientology Celebrity Centre, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara said.

The man was "close enough to hurt them" when one of the guards shot him, Hara said, and after questioning the guards and looking at surveillance tape decided the shooting was justified.

"The evidence itself, it's very, very clear," Hara said. "The security officers were defending their safety."
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Unhappy couples staying together as economy makes divorcing too costly

‘I just want to leave him, but I can’t afford it’
Unhappy couples staying together as economy makes divorcing too costly
By Alex Johnson
Reporter
msnbc.com
updated 7:42 p.m. ET, Sun., Nov. 23, 2008
what pastors, family therapists and matrimonial counselors have long struggled to accomplish: keeping troubled marriages together.

Marriage counselors and divorce lawyers nationwide say more distressed couples are putting off divorce because the cost of splitting up is prohibitive in a time of stagnant salaries, plummeting home values and rising unemployment.

While the stress of economic uncertainty often worsens already shaky unions, it also can make couples more financially dependent on each other, said Pamela Smock, a researcher at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27808110/

1 dead, 2 wounded in N.J. church shooting

1 dead, 2 wounded in N.J. church shooting
Published: Nov. 23, 2008 at 6:14 PM

CLIFTON, N.J., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A man opened fire in a church in Clifton, N.J., Sunday, killing his estranged wife and critically wounding two other people before fleeing, police said.

The shooting -- just before noon in the vestibule of St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church -- left Reshma James, 24, dead and a 47-year-old woman, described as James's cousin, and a 23-year-old man clinging to life with head wounds, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.
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Non-combat death in Iraq

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who
was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pvt. Charles Yi Barnett, 19, of Bel Air, Maryland, died on Nov. 20 of
injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Tallil, Iraq.
He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

The incident is under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Police search for shooter in mall slaying Tukwila, Washington.

Police search for shooter in mall slaying
Story Highlights
Police trying to determine if mall shooting was gang-related

Some people said group of teens had been involved in a fight

Store manager: "Parents grabbed their kids and ran out of there"

Mall placed on lockdown while police search for suspect


(CNN) -- Authorities continued to search for the person who shot one man to death and critically injured another Saturday evening at a shopping center in Tukwila, Washington.



The shooting victims, believed to be in their 20s, were removed from the Westfield Southcenter on stretchers and taken to Harborview Medical Center, police spokesman Mike Murphy said Saturday.

He didn't know how many times they were shot.

A woman who appeared to go into labor and a man who suffered a neck injury as people rushed from the shopping area were also taken to the hospital, Murphy said.

Eyewitness Chris Plummer told CNN affiliate KIRO-TV there was a fight between a group of 18- to 20-year-olds, and one of them pulled out a gun and started shooting. Plummer told KIRO-TV he was standing next to the shooter when bullets started to fly -- six to seven shots in all.

Murphy told KIRO-TV that authorities are trying to determine whether the shooting was gang-related.

The mall was placed on lockdown as SWAT teams searched store-to-store for the shooter. At least two people were detained for questioning, but neither was the shooter, Murphy said.

Shoppers and employees described a chaotic scene.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/23/mall.shooting/index.html

PTSD:“Killing really changed me.”

When I was in Ohio for the IFOC conference, I was interviewed by another chaplain who is also a therapist. I told her about the depth of cuts. They come in all sizes when we're talking about PTSD. Combat soldiers have the deepest cuts because they are exposed to horrific events more often and they are also forced to kill. The second comes the police officers, there again, horrific events and often they are force to kill. The third level are the National Guards, reservists and firefighters. They are exposed to horrific events as well, but in their core, they do what they do in order to help. Most never think of having to take a life when they enter into the world of the citizen soldiers but they find themselves in combat between Iraq and Afghanistan, a rock and a hard place. The numbers are higher for the citizen soldiers but I believe the depth of the wound is higher in the soldiers, then the Marines, Navy and Air Force. Each time they kill, the cut of the wound sinks deeper.

I do not come to this conclusion lightly. It's from years of communicating with them online. It comes from listening to them from different walks of life. Just as I believe the God factor plays a huge role in the wounded warriors, also from what they've said, it does not take a lot to see what connects them and what makes them different.

Study: PTSD rates higher for troops who kill

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 22, 2008 12:51:21 EST

CHICAGO — New research presented at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies shows post-traumatic stress disorder rates are higher in service members who have had to kill someone.

Shira Maguen, health sciences assistant clinical professor at the University of California, began her research when she realized that the Vietnam vets she treated at the San Francisco VA Medical Center were “really struggling with taking another life,” she said, adding that they often told her: “Killing really changed me.”

She started hearing the same complaint from veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but found “there’s not much discussion” about the issue in VA and Pentagon research. She and her colleagues decided to look into past research to see if there was a correlation between those who had killed and those who had mental health issues. They found that killing is “strongly predictive of PTSD.”

She talked to 259 veterans involved in the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, and found that if a person had killed someone, they were 3½ times more likely to have symptoms of PTSD than someone who hadn’t killed.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_ptsdkill_112208w/

Staff Sgt. Travis Twiggs and the story behind the story

Here's the story behind the story. It isn't written in the article from Bill Finnegan in this version or the one the New Yorker published.


Dear Ms. Costos,

I've recently started researching a story about the difficulties faced by soldiers now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that a lot of journalism has already been produced on this subject, but it seems to me that PTSD and related problems can't get too much publicity. The New Yorker is also able to devote more time and space to a subject such as this one than most other magazines and news outlets are.

Subject:
New Yorker Magazine interview
Date:
7/9/2008 6:02:58 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From:
billfinn@rcn.com
Reply To:
To:
Namguardianangel@aol.com
I would like to speak to you, if you have a few minutes. I am looking for leads and insights and I gather, from what I've read so far, that you have a lot of experience in this area.

Please give me a call or drop me an email if you might be willing to chat.

Thanks.

Sincerely,
Bill Finnegan

William Finnegan
Staff Writer The New Yorker Magazine 4 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA

Well, I emailed him back and we spent about an hour on the phone. Bill spent some time on my blog and picked the "subject" which turned out to be Travis Twiggs. In July he emailed me that he was in Texas.

When I first posted the link to the New Yorker, I was devastated. Finnegan said that he was using some quotes from me but said his editor cut me out of the story. I thought for once the videos I did would finally get some attention because the need is so great. I keep getting contacted by reporters and others working on PTSD and they will pick my brain dry, which is fine but when I am stuck in obscurity no matter what I know or how many hours a day I spend doing this, they don't take any of this into consideration at all.

When this article was in the New Yorker, I decided to avoid doing a rant but now that the UK picked it up, enough is enough. There is always someone behind these reporters giving them the stories they cover. When it came to Travis Twigg, there was another one working on this story, to make sure the world did not forget about him. Lily Casura at http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/ also had her site gone over looking for information on Travis by Bill and other reporters. When it came time to publish the stories by these so called reporters, none of them gave her any credit either. Just go into her site and see how well she covered the story of this hero who was let down. Had it not been for us, he would have ended up just another veteran who met a tragic end. We did not let the story die but the "real reporters" who have their names published around the net did until they thought they had an easy way to cover this.

It's one thing to spend countless hours a day trying to bring the suffering of our veterans into the light of day, doing it for the sake of helping them, without much financial gain, and another to use people like us.

I don't make a habit of posting emails I receive but if I just ranted about this without proving it, no one would believe me. I've been doing this for 26 years! I track it everyday and live with it so all of this is personal to me. I take this so personally that in 2004, the hours I spend were taking too much time and I was working too many hours. I figured Florida would give me the chance to do this full time and work a part time job for the income. In February of 2005 I started my other blog after several others and 9,992 posts later, you can see how much went into that one. It's at http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/.

Last year, I started this one to devote it to trauma, mainly focusing on the men and women who serve this nation and the veterans. This post is 4,781. Think of how much work goes into this. Think about all the articles I read that don't get posted. If it's the editor's fault when a reporter tires to give credit where credit is due, then they are eliminating getting their hands on stories people like me find. I know I will not be so willing to help a reporter the next time. As for the reporters who think they can just take the work other people do and get all the credit for it, you should think twice about doing it because you never know when a blogger will be so fed up with the way they are treated that they turn around a blast you publicly. Finnegan can live with the global fame he's getting for this, he has the true talent to write a compelling story but as for the state of his heart and conscience, that is left up to your own imagination.

Sergeant Travis Triggs: Driven over the edge
Times Online - UK
A US soldier tried to drive himself and his brother over the rim of the Grand Canyon. When that failed, he blew their brains out. What did the war do to Sergeant Travis Twiggs?

William Finnegan
When the Twiggs brothers got to the Grand Canyon, on May 12, Willard called his girlfriend, a married woman in Louisiana, on Travis’s mobile phone. She had to see the canyon someday, he said. “It will make the hair on your arms stand up.” A few minutes later, driving east along the South Rim past a spot called Twin Overlooks, Travis took a sharp left and drove his Toyota Corolla straight towards the 5,000ft drop. The Corolla jumped over the kerb, but did not take the plunge. It got caught in a small fir tree clinging just below the rim.

Travis and Willard Twiggs were not in trouble with the law. Willard, 38, was a former maritime-logistics specialist in New Orleans. He had been working in construction, intermittently, since Hurricane Katrina. Travis, 36, was a Marine Corps staff sergeant, a decorated combat veteran with one tour of duty in Afghanistan and four tours in Iraq. In January 2008 he had created a minor stir by writing an article about his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Marine Corps Gazette.

Twiggs emphasised his recovery; he soon found himself working with a new unit, the Wounded Warrior Regiment, spreading the word about the treatment and prevention of PTSD. In late April, he met President Bush at the White House. Rather than shake the president’s hand, Twiggs bear-hugged him, proclaiming: “Sir, I’ve served over there many times — and I would serve for you any time.”

Three weeks later, he tried to drive into the Grand Canyon. Witnesses said the brothers behaved oddly after the crash. They tried to reverse the Toyota out of the tree branches but could gain no traction. They did not want anyone to call for help. One seemed interested only in finding his cigarettes. They put on backpacks, said they were going to continue with their plans, and set off on foot before park rangers arrived. More likely, they went across the road and waited in the scrubby conifer forest while the rangers cleared the wreck.

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Disabled veteran's dream of a new home comes true

Laney Cope and her father, Joshua, test the water in the pool at their new Oakland home this week. (Gary W. Green, Orlando Sentinel)

Home at last: Disabled veteran's dream of a new home comes true
Nov 22, 2008
Darryl E. Owens | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 22, 2008
As soon as the Honda Element eased into the driveway Tuesday morning, a barefoot Laney Cope bolted from her car seat and scampered around to the passenger side to greet her father. The 2-year-old just couldn't wait. Neither could Joshua Cope.The doors of his adaptive vehicle couldn't open soon enough, the hydraulic ramp couldn't lower quickly enough, and his motorized wheelchair couldn't roll out of the hold fast enough. Finally, this was the day. Joshua and Erica Cope were homeowners.


The Copes' 3,775-square-foot house, nestled on a tree-lined half-acre plot in this west Orange County town, was built and paid for by West Orange Habitat for Humanity. The group's "Home at Last" project, which will be dedicated this morning at Oakland Avenue Charter School, was a pioneering venture to build a house for a severely injured veteran of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Its first recipient: Army Sgt. Joshua Cope.

Usually, recipients of Habitat houses must invest hundreds of hours of their own labor in building their home, which in the United States costs an average of $60,000. The "sweat equity" requirement was waived for the Copes.
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The Copes tour their new home Photos

Do you know a severely injured vet who need a home?
Josh Cope - Long journey back, a step at a time Photos

Two US Generals and Iraqi General survive suicide bomber

Close call

Senior leaders’ MRAP is destroyed by suicide bomb, but they survive
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Nov 22, 2008 8:05:14 EST

Two U.S. generals and an Iraqi general survived an Aug. 24 suicide car bomb attack that destroyed the armored vehicle in which they were riding.

The attack occurred as a convoy rolled out of Forward Operating Base Marez on the edge of Mosul, said Multi-National Division-North spokesman Maj. Dan Meyers. “They had just left the base,” he said.

The bomber aimed his car, packed with 800 pounds of explosives, at a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle carrying Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, and Brig. Gen. Raymond “Tony” Thomas, assistant division commander for support of Multi-National Division-North. Also riding in the vehicle were an Iraqi general, a linguist and the MRAP crew, said MNSTC-I spokesman Col. Steven Wujciak, who added that he did not know the Iraqi general’s name.

The generals were on what Wujciak called “a normal battlefield circulation,” a phrase the military uses when senior leaders tour their areas of operations, visiting troops. Although the blast destroyed the vehicle and left a crater five feet deep and 10 feet wide, none of the vehicle’s occupants was seriously hurt, he said.

Thanks to the MRAP’s protection, the only casualty of the attack was the suicide bomber.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/army_generals_112208w/

If you think you had a bad day, read this

Pasco man pulled from burning house, sent to jail
By Erin Sullivan, Times staff writer
Saturday, November 22, 2008

ZEPHYRHILLS — A few minutes before 11 o'clock Friday morning, Henry Morgan's wife called his cell phone. When he answered, he could barely make out her voice because she was crying.

"The house is on fire," she shouted.

And then the phone went dead.

Morgan didn't know if she was stuck inside the house. He kept trying to call her back, but her phone wouldn't pick up. He and his wife, Sherry, live in the 1,200-square-foot house with their three children — daughters Brandy, 17, and Sierra, 13, and son Cameron, 7 — along with several cats and dogs. One of the cats had just had kittens.

Morgan jumped in his pickup truck and sped to the house on Chester Drive in Zephyrhills. He and Sherry have been married for 20 years and the house is nearly paid off. But he works in construction and is only getting one or two days of work a week. Sherry, who had always been a stay-at-home mom, went to work at a daycare about a month ago. They didn't want to lose their house to foreclosure, so something had to go.

They canceled their homeowner's insurance.

When Morgan got to the house one side of it was engulfed in flames. There were three firetrucks, two rescue vehicles and tons of emergency workers. Morgan, 41, said he didn't see his wife or children or pets so he thought they were inside the house.

And he ran toward it.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/fire/article912912.ece

St. Petersburg Times hero to single mom laid off

November 21, 2008
Followup: Readers respond to unemployed single mom's story
At least six people want to interview Annie Lesso for a job.
Dozens more want to donate money to her and help her give her kids Christmas. Others want to give her advice.
Dozens of readers reacted to Lesso's story, which appeared in the St. Petersburg Times Friday, and detailed her plight trying to get a job in the current economy.
Lesso, a 45-year-old widow, was laid off Oct. 1 from her job as an airline manager. She has sent out 200 resumes and has not received one reply.
"There have been many articles in the Times that I wanted to respond to and offer some assistance,'' wrote Sandi Ford of St. Petersburg. "I had to respond to this one because it hit so close to home. I have been a single working mother most of my adult life and have been laid off twice so I know what Annie Lesso is going through. I felt exactly the way she does - that my faith would get me through - and it did.''
Several said they might have a job opportunity for Lesso. One paramedic company wanted to interview her for a management position that paid $45,000, the same amount she was making before she was laid off.
Another wanted to talk to her about a new career. "Your story about Annie Lesso was compelling and made me cry,'' wrote Lynne Herrick of Valrico, a district sales manager at American Family Life Assurance Co. "I have been a single mom and know the emotional strain it can put on you, knowing you are the provider of your children and yet through all of this she relies on God and is reaching out to others in her church. What an amazing woman!''

Related content:Lesso's struggles show job crisis is far-reaching

Angel to homeless, Brenden Foster died in his mom's arms

May the Good Lord comfort Wendy and Brenden's family. This little angel changed the world for the better.
Brenden Foster: 'I had a great time'
Brenden Foster, who inspired countless people around the world with his wish to feed the homeless, died early Friday in his mother's arms. He was 11. Read more »
By Elisa Jaffe BOTHELL, Wash. -- The day I met Brenden Foster, I met an old soul in an 11 year old's body.

"I should be gone in a week or so," he said calmly.

When I asked him what he thought were the best things in life, Brenden said, "Just having one."

I didn't understand how this child, who was a year younger than my own son, could be so courageous facing death.

"It happens. It's natural," Brenden told me.

Three years ago, doctors diagnosed Brenden with leukemia. The boy who once rushed through homework so he could play outside found himself confined to a bed. But there was no confining his spirit.

"I had a great time. And until my time comes, I'm going to keep having a great time," he said.

Brenden's selfless dying wish was to help the homeless.

"They're probably starving, so give'em a chance," he said, "food and water."

But Brenden was too ill to feed them on his own. So volunteers from Emerald City Lights Bike Ride passed out some 200 sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle.

Then Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.

A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.

And here in Western Washington, KOMO viewers from all over took part in the Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor. Hundreds with generous hearts donated six and a half huge truck loads of groceries and more than $60,000 in cash to benefit Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.

Brenden touched hearts all over the world. His wish came true, and he lived to see it.
"He had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish," said his grandmother, Patricia McMorrow. "It gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning."

"He's left a legacy and he's only 11," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's done more than most people dream of doing just by making a wish."


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Watch the story
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Boy shares heartbreaking last wish
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Marine from Miami non-combat death in Iraq

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Gunnery Sgt. Marcelo R. Velasco, 40, of Miami, died Nov. 19 from injuries sustained in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The incident is currently under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Viewers could have saved teen as they watched him die online

This is to all the people who watched this teenager die.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? What would it have cost you if you contacted the police to let them know what you were seeing even if he was faking? Would it have cost you anything at all? What's wrong? Were you afraid some of the other people on line would have made fun of you if you were wrong but reacted as any decent, normal human being would have? The medical examiner said that if someone had picked up a phone and reported it, his life could have been saved but all of you just watched him die debating if he took enough pills or if he really did want to die. How horrible are you? Do you feel any shame? Remorse?

Is it because he's a stranger? Well I have news for you. So is everyone else you're online with.

I spend my days trying to save the lives of people who want to die because they have lost hope. They are all strangers but they are people who need help and then I go into CNN to see this! There is no excuse for any of you that would ever make this right. The difference between me and you is that I can go to bed at night knowing I did what I could everyday to make a difference in a stranger's life but you get to go to bed knowing someone took their own life while you watched and did nothing.

Officials: Teen commits suicide on webcam as others watch
Story Highlights
Some urged him to take more drugs; others debated whether he had used enough
Hours passed before someone notified authorities, officials say
Teen had a history of depression; posted suicide note online
Dad laments that no one gave him "the assistance that he was crying out for"

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- With his webcam trained on him, a Florida teenager died in his bed of a drug overdose while others watched over the Internet, officials said Friday.

Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said it was clear that the teen committed suicide.

Some of those watching urged him to take more drugs while others debated whether he had taken enough to kill himself. Hours passed before someone finally notified authorities that he appeared lifeless, officials said.

The teenager was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon in Pembroke Pines, Florida, said Wendy Crane, investigator for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.

The cause of death was found to be an overdose of benzodiazepine, an antidepressant, as well as other opiate drugs used to treat depression, Crane said. CNN is not reporting the teenager's name.

The youth's body was found in his apartment behind a locked door, which police broke down. Police turned off the webcam and computer, Crane said.

Watch CNN's John Zarrella detail the webcam suicide »

The story
With his webcam trained on him, a Florida teenager died in his bed of a drug overdose while others watched over the Internet, officials said Friday.

Some of those watching urged him to take more drugs while others debated whether he had taken enough to kill himself. Hours passed before someone finally notified authorities that he appeared lifeless, officials said.

The teenager was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon in Pembroke Pines, Florida, said Wendy Crane, investigator for the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.

Read full article »

UPDATE ON THIS STORY
Teen Commits Suicide Live on Web

By RASHA MADKOUR, AP
Nov. 22) -The family of a college student who killed himself live on the Internet say they're horrified his life ended before a virtual audience, and infuriated that viewers of the live webcam or operators of the Web site that hosted it didn't act sooner to save him.

Only after police arrived to find Abraham Biggs dead in his father's bed did the Web feed stop Wednesday — 12 hours after the 19-year-old Broward College student first declared on a Web site that he hated himself and planned to die.

"It didn't have to be," said the victim's sister, Rosalind Bigg. "They got hits, they got viewers, nothing happened for hours."

Biggs announced his plans to kill himself over a Web site for bodybuilders, authorities said. He posted a link from there to Justin.tv, a site that allows users to broadcast live videos from their webcams.
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http://news.aol.com/article/teen-commits-suicide-live-on-web/256594?icid=200100397x1213345890x1200878860

Substance abuse numbers higher, but not drug counselors

The military seems to have a habit of making things go from bad to worse. First they don't do enough to get the soldiers to understand what PTSD, then they do, along with people stepping up across the nation, then they don't have enough people to take care of them. Then they want them to stop using drugs to kill off what they don't want to feel, but yet again, not enough people to take care of them. Like I said, it's like they're trying to hold off a tsunami with a beach shovel!

More soldiers seeking drug abuse help

By Gregg Zoroya - USA TODAY
Posted : Friday Nov 21, 2008 6:48:57 EST

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The number of soldiers seeking help for substance abuse has climbed 25 percent in the past five years, but the Army’s counseling program has remained significantly understaffed and struggling to meet the demand, Army records show.

About 13,500 soldiers sought drug counseling this year and 7,200 soldiers were diagnosed with an abuse or dependency issue and enrolled in counseling, according to Army data. That compares with 11,170 soldiers reporting to drug counseling in 2003, when 5,727 enrolled.

Army records show 2.38 percent of all soldiers had positive results on routine drug urinalysis screening, a 10-year record. In 2004, when combat troops returned from Iraq in large numbers, 1.72 percent had positive results.

The Army requires one drug counselor for every 2,000 soldiers, yet is currently operating with one for 3,100 soldiers, a chronic shortage exacerbated by the increase in substance abuse cases.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/gns_drughelp_112108/

National Resource Directory For Wounded Warriors, Families And Caregivers

Department of Defense Launches National Resource Directory For Wounded Warriors, Families And Caregivers


The Department of Defense today launched the National Resource Directory, a collaborative effort between the departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

The directory is a Web-based network of care coordinators, providers and support partners with resources for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans, their families, families of the fallen and those who support them.

“The directory is the visible demonstration of our national will and commitment to make the journey from ‘survive to thrive’ a reality for those who have given so much. As new links are added each day by providers and partners, coverage from coast to coast will grow even greater ensuring that no part of that journey will ever be made alone,” said Lynda C. Davis, Ph.D., deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

Located at http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.org , the directory offers more than 10,000 medical and non-medical services and resources to help service members and veterans achieve personal and professional goals along their journey from recovery through rehabilitation to community reintegration.

“The VA is extremely proud to be a partner in this innovative resource. This combination of federal, state, and community-based resources will serve as a tremendous asset for all service members, veterans, their families and those who care for them. The community is essential to the successful reintegration of our veterans, and these groups greatly enhance the directory’s scope,” said Karen S. Guice, M.D., executive director, federal recovery care coordination program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The National Resource Directory will prove to be a valuable tool for wounded, ill, and injured service members and their families as they wind their way through the maze of benefits and services available to them in their transition to civilian life. The Department of Labor is pleased to have the opportunity to work with our partners at DoD,” said Charles S. Ciccolella, the assistant secretary of labor for the veterans’ employment and training service.

The National Resource Directory is organized into six major categories: Benefits and Compensation; Education, Training and Employment; Family and Caregiver Support; Health; Housing and Transportation; and Services and Resources. It also provides helpful checklists, Frequently Asked Questions, and connections to peer support groups. All information on the Web site can be found through a general or state and local search tool.

The National Resource Directory’s launch in November is a key feature of Warrior Care Month.

http://www.defenselink.mil/utility/printitem.aspx?print=http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12357

Col. James C. Burris, Vietnam War veteran passed away at 78

Col. James C. Burris, Vietnam War veteran
Baltimore Sun - United States
November 21, 2008
Col. James Curtis Burris, a highly decorated career Army officer who fought in the Vietnam War, died Nov. 13 at his Havre de Grace home of cancers related to exposure to Agent Orange. He was 78.

Colonel Burris, who was born and raised in Tulsa, Okla., graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1948.

Born into a military family, Colonel Burris was the grandson of two Civil War veterans and the son of a World War I veteran. He enlisted in the Army in 1948 and was selected to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1954.

Assigned to the infantry, he served in Korea and South and Central America. He completed three combat tours of duty in Vietnam during the 1960s, where he was a combat leader with the 101st Infantry Division. During his 25 years of service, Colonel Burris held numerous command assignments throughout the world.



He was decorated for valor and heroism during combat with two Bronze Stars, three Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, a Distinguished Flying Cross and 39 Air Medals for combat assaults in Vietnam.

Other decorations included the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist's Badge, plus numerous decorations from foreign governments.
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Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected

Post-Traumatic Stress Under-Treated: Local Soldiers Affected
Target 11 Investigates Treatment Gaps
A recent study was highly critical of the care the soldiers are receiving when it comes to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Target 11 talked to a local soldier who said the military turned its back on him.

Robert Reeb spent the past 17 years in the military.

In the summer of 2006, he returned from Iraq and that's when his troubles began.

"I started using inhalants, and anything I could," said Reeb.

Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he was sent to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland.

But halfway through, the treatment program was cut off -- Reeb was ordered back to Pennsylvania and discharged under honorable conditions.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said Reeb was given numerous chances, but repeated problems eventually led to his discharge. But a recent survey by the RAND corporation uncovered troubling statistics about the treatment soldiers returning from battle receive.

While some 300,000 soldiers suffer from PTSD, the study revealed only half who need it are getting treated and of those, slightly more than half received care labeled "minimally adequate".

Terri Tanielian conducted the study and said the military can do better.

"There are a number of opportunities that exist within the Department of Defense and the VA where there are tools and settings where you would hope and expect that higher quality care would be delivered," said Tanielian.

Congressman Jason Altmire agrees it's a big problem.

"It's a problem with the quality of care they are getting," said Altmire.

Altmire believes the situation facing Reeb and other soldiers is preventable.

"Certainly he did not get the treatment on the front end that he should have. And unfortunately he took a downward spiral and his life went in a different direction," said Altmire.
go here for more
http://www.wpxi.com/news/18010844/detail.html

Decorated Marine one day, in jail another

How War Ravages the Warrior
Reported by: Sean Carroll
Email: scarroll@13wham.com
Last Update: 11/20 9:28 pm

(Caledonia, N.Y. /Iraq) - The decorated Marine served two tours of duty in Iraq. He was in the Marines for 13 years. After Iraq, he returned home and served two years in prison--for a home-invasion assault he committed in Virginia.

"I'm here to defend my country and take part in a war on terrorism and then, unfortunately, I go and terrorize an American couple in their own home," Gianforte said.

Gianforte still says, as he did from the get-go, that he does not recall one moment of that attack.

"If I can do anything to keep someone else from having to go through this, than so be it," he said.

"Let me go through the hell so you don't have to."

Sergeant Gianforte's hell began in Fallujah with house-to-house combat searching for insurgents.

"Five weeks, inside a city, everyday you're in fire-fights, everyday you're losing friends…it's watching 13 of your friends get killed," he said.

With two tours under his belt, Caledonia's marine found himself at a Virginia Beach base training for a third deployment.

One night he hit the town with his buddies, drank a bit, then, with another Marine, bashed in the door of Dan and Debbie Shain’s home.

"They were accusing him of being a terrorist and that he killed people, and that they were going to kill him and his family," said Debbie Malone-Shain.

After a SWAT team pulled Gianforte off Dan Shain's beaten body, the decorated marine found himself in jail.
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Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive

Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive
KFDA - Amarillo,TX,USA

Posted: Nov 20, 2008 10:48 PM EST
Searching for Osama Bin Ladin was his mission and bringing democracy to the less fortunate was his goal.

Every American is affected by the war in Afghanistan and Iraq in some way.

2001 Palo Duro graduate and Army Sergeant David Vasquez earned a purple heart during his first of four tours to Afghanistan and Iraq.

By telling his story he says he wants to help Americans understand the struggles and triumphs of fighting the enemy.

During his first tour Sergeant Vasquez says his platoon was asked to pull hair samples from dead Iraqis for DNA tests, in hopes of finding Osama Bin Ladin.

"You'd come across what I'd describe as a dead dog." He says,"A couple of times you'd be engaged by some diehards I guess you could say who, I think they were high on Opium because allot of the times when they would engage us they didn't seem that they were sober."

The hardest part for Vasquez was loosing fellow platoon members he calls his brothers.

"Having them killed was like having a two by four to the face but you still have a job to do."

And demonstrating the courage to continue on is why Vasquez says many of his fellow solider's developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
go here for video
Mental Effects of War In-Depth Exclusive2:39

go here for more of story
http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=9390442

Veteran shares hidden wounds of Iraq war

Denita Hartfield in Iraq. She survived a roadside bomb attack in Iraq in 2005 that has caused traumatic brain injury, now considered a signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Veteran shares hidden wounds of Iraq war
BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
sshepard@bakersfield.com Thursday, Nov 20 2008 7:07 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 21 2008 7:34 AM

Denita Hartfield’s broken ribs are whole again.

The gunshot wound to her arm is now a scar.

From the outside, the injuries she suffered when her Army convoy came under attack in Iraq in 2005 seem to be healed. But inside, it’s a different story.

“I tried to go back to school when I got home ... and I failed my first class ever,” said the 34-year-old Bakersfield resident, who has her masters degree and is now enrolled in Ph.D. courses.

“I’d read a whole page of text and I couldn’t remember one sentence. I couldn’t read my own writing.”

The 17-year Army veteran had constant headaches and chest pain. It was hard to walk straight. Her memory was poor, her speech slurred and she sometimes fumbled when trying to do a task as simple as picking up a pen.

Earlier this year Hartfield was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, a series of physical, behavioral and cognitive impairments caused by shaking of the brain, which often occurs during a roadside bomb or rocket-propelled mortar blast.

ABOUT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Who is at-risk:

The condition is most common among veterans who survived a blast, explosion or head injury, especially those who don’t remember events before or after the incident, suffered symptoms of a concussion or who lost consciousness.

Symptoms specific to traumatic brain injury:

• headaches

• dizziness

• ringing in the ears

• fatigue

• intolerance to light and noise

Common behavioral and emotional changes:

• irritability

• apathy

• agitation, aggression

• anxiety

For more information or to seek help for a veteran who may have traumatic brain injury, contact the Kern County Veterans Service Department at 868-7300.
go here for more of this story
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/616174.html

Man crushed by 5,000 pound pole at high school

Man crushed by 5,000 pound pole at high school
The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, Nov 20 2008 12:39 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 21 2008 7:21 AM

A construction worker died Thursday when a 5,000 pound concrete pole fell on him at Frontier High School.

David Krogman, 57, was helping to unload the cylinders from a big rig onto the school’s football field, according to Sean Collins with the Kern County Fire Department. The school is at 6401 Allen Road in northwest Bakersfield.

go here for more

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/615756.html

Wounded Warrior Awareness Day of terrible treatment

Wounded Warrior awareness day was one of reports of terrible treatment. It should make us all aware of aspects we don't pay enough attention to.

Is this anyway to treat the wounded?

This Captain had to wait a month for a primary care doctor and a year for surgery. Think about that. He is a member of the National Guard. While he said things have changed since the scandal of Walter Reed, this had happened to our wounded. If they didn't come out and tell their stories, no one would even be aware of any of this. Why should they have to? Who is watching over the wounded? Anyone?

I remember when the story of Walter Reed came out in the Washington Post. There was a great uproar across the nation but not all of it was upset over the way the wounded were treated. Some of it was directed at the Washington Post instead for reporting on it. Imagine that!

We ask so much of the men and women serving this nation in uniform, especially the members of the National Guards. We ask they to leave their families, their regular jobs, businesses, give it all up so they can deploy and then if they have the bad luck to get wounded, they are put thru hell even more. When you think about Capt. Perez waiting a year for surgery, think about what that did to him and his family.

Capt. Adrian Perez collects his thoughts while recounting his story of recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq. Perez, of the Army National Guard's Manpower Analysis section, spoke at the Army National Guard Readiness Centeras part of Wounded Warrior Awareness Day, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy)(Released)

Wounded warrior shares his experiences with Army Guard audience
By Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va., (Nov. 20, 2008) - Education was the goal of Wounded Warrior Awareness Day held here at the Army National Guard Readiness Center yesterday.

“What we want to do today is educate ourselves,” so we can take action, said Brig. Gen. Leodis Jennings, special assistant to the director of the Army National Guard. “It doesn’t have to be a real overt action.

“It can be something as simple as sitting down and talking with them and asking if they need help and how you can assist,” he said.

During the event, which featured several speakers and information booths and was hosted by the ARNG’s Soldier/Family Support Service Division, Capt. Adrian Perez of the Army National Guard’s Manpower Analysis section, and his wife Sara, spoke about their experiences when Perez was wounded in 2006 while serving in Iraq with the 1st Armored Division’s 16th Engineer Battalion.

For the Perezes, the experience proved frustrating.

Injured during a patrol by an Improvised Explosive Device that left him partially blind and with wounds to his shoulders and back, Perez was evacuated first to a hospital in Mosul, then to Landsthul, Germany, and finally ended up at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Once at Walter Reed, that’s “where it almost gets comical,” said Perez, who said he had to find his own way to Walter Reed after flying into Washington with six other wounded Soldiers.
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http://www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/2008/11/112008-Wounded.aspx

VA worker, 13 others charged in fraud scheme

If they are found guilty, they should have to face the families of the disabled veterans who had their claims denied and ended up killing themselves. Face the veterans who ended up homeless because their claims were not taken care of. Face the kids who waited for help for their parent and none came in time to save the family. If they are guilty of this, they should have to travel across the country handcuffed to chairs so they have to listen to the veterans who trusted them. Then they can go to jail!

VA worker, 13 others charged in fraud scheme

By Brett Barrouquere - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 20, 2008 16:37:08 EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Veterans Administration employee and 13 other people have been charged with conspiring to steal nearly $2 million in disability claims.

Veterans Affairs service representative Jeffrey Allan McGill and Daniel Ryan Parker, a veteran and officer with the Disabled American Veterans, were among the 14 charged Wednesday by a federal grand jury with conspiring to defraud the U.S. of $1.9 million through the submission of false veterans disability claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The indictment outlines an alleged scheme for veterans to falsely claim to have suffered from bipolar disorder, hearing loss, frostbite, back injuries and other ailments and disabilities.

The indictment says veterans received lump-sum payments for back pay and then kick backed as much as two-thirds of it to Parker and McGill.

“They’re all veterans,” U.S. Attorney David Huber said at a news conference Thursday. “That’s what’s sad about all of this.”

Parker, 37, of Crestwood, is free on $25,000 bond. He is also charged with stealing $47,000 from Disabled American Veterans. His attorney, Brian Butler of Louisville, said his client plans to plead not guilty.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_vafraudscheme_112008/

Did House chaplain once hide clergy sex crimes?

Survivors group: Did House chaplain once hide clergy sex crimes?
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Thursday November 20, 2008


Roll Call revealed Wednesday that the Catholic priest who currently serves as chaplain for the House of Representatives formerly oversaw a retreat outside Chicago where troubled priests were sent, including those accused of sexual misconduct.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has issued a statement concerning these revelations about Rev. Daniel Coughlin. "Sadly, this is a familiar pattern in the Chicago archdiocese: a priest who successfully keeps quiet about clergy sex crimes wins a promotion. ... Among other questions, Coughlin needs to be asked, 'Did you ever call the police about any of these known or alleged crimes and if not, why not?'"

What Hastert's staffers did not ask, and Coughlin did not volunteer, was that he had spent the previous ten years, from 1990 to 2000, first directing a retreat for troubled priests and then serving as their vicar. A dozen of the priests Coughlin was responsible for were ultimately forced out of the priesthood and at least ten were alleged sexual abusers.
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A Soldier's Story Tonight on 13WHAM News at 5

A Soldier's Story Tonight on 13WHAM News at 5
13WHAM-TV - Rochester,NY,USA


Related Links
Learn More About Gianforte's Story
(Caledonia, N.Y)-Shawn Gianforte was a local hero, serving two years of duty in Iraq. Then, he served two years in prison.

The Caledonia native is now home. 13WHAM brought you his story last year when we interviewed him behind bars as he served time for an assault in Virginia that he doesn’t remember.

Gianforte, who accepted full responsibility for his crime, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But he says he never got the help he needed when he returned home from Iraq.

Thursday night, beginning at 5, 13WHAM’s Sean Carroll will bring us the story of Sergeant Gianforte’s recovery and road home.

Lawyer says AWOL Marine planned to surrender

Lawyer: AWOL Marine planned to surrender
Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA

By Tom McGhee
The Denver Post


Lance Hering says he was headed to Virginia where a psychiatrist was to evaluate him for the attorney who planned to defend him from U.S. Marine desertion charges when he was arrested, according to a police report.

The Boulder resident's case was being handled by James Culp, an Austin, Texas, attorney who specializes in military law, according to a report made by Port Angeles Washington police detective Jesse Winfield.

Culp didn't immediately return a call.

Hering, 23, is accused of deserting the Marine Corps after faking his disappearance in Eldorado Canyon in 2006 to avoid service in Iraq.
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GOP image goes from bad to worse, even Lincoln would have switched

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln78.html

Republicans, for the most part, have honored this kind of attitude. The problem is, the elected have not. Thanks to CSPAN and their coverage of the floor speeches, we have an enormous record of exactly where the elected Republicans have been on every issue. It has not been with the kind of morality Abe Lincoln was talking about. It has been with corporations and watching out for the rich. While they had absolutely no issue at all in funding the two occupations, these same people had a huge problem with funding the men and women who participated in both of them and then needed the nation to tend to their wounds of body and mind.

Think of this. In 2005, with two military campaigns producing more and more wounded, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were after the Gulf War. Where was the planning for them? Why wasn't the GOP demanding increases for the VA when they held all the power? Why weren't they holding the same kind of hearings the Democrats were holding in the basement rooms, also covered by CSPAN? When the Democrats were holding up charts about the increases in the wounded and the need to take care of our veterans, the GOP were arguing against the increases and President Bush said they would have to find the funding to do anything. One more point to contemplate here is that none of the GOP elected were asking for any accountability at all no matter what the news papers were reporting or the GAO.

It was not until the following year when the Democrats took control in the November election that things began to change. In January of 2007, the Democrats took control over the committees and moved mountains out of the way. The biggest increase in VA funding in the history of the USA. The GI Bill was passed. Hearings were held on how to best take care of the veterans and programs were started that were needed since 2001. Think of where we could have been had the GOP been as interested in doing the right thing the way Lincoln talked about as they were in doing what was just perceived to be "right" attacking the morality of other people.

Think about how many veterans would still be alive today had they been taken care of when it came to PTSD. Had they received the help they needed when they needed it, it would have saved the 18 veterans committing suicide each day and the 12,000 attempted suicides each year would not have happened if they had the treatment and hope they needed to want to go on.

Read it here. I'm not making these numbers up.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/21/
cbsnews_investigates/main4032921.shtml

This should have never been morally acceptable to any of them but they were too busy just agreeing with Bush and disagreeing with the Democrats instead of working with them to do the right thing. Why didn't they take the lead when they had control? Most of them managed to vote in favor of the changes once the Democrats wrote the bills but they didn't do any of it when they had the chance.

These are the senators who received lower than a C, which we all know is just average.

Alabama
Senator Jeff Sessions F
Senator Richard C. Shelby D


Alaska
Senator Lisa Murkowski D
Senator Ted Stevens D

Arizona
Senator Jon L. Kyl D-
Senator John McCain D

Colorado
Senator Wayne Allard D

Florida
Senator Mel Martinez D

Georgia
Senator Saxby Chambliss D-
Senator Johnny Isakson F

Idaho
Senator Larry E. Craig D-
Senator Mike Crapo D

Indiana
Senator Richard G. Lugar D+

Iowa
Senator Charles E. Grassley D

Kansas
Senator Sam Brownback D
Senator Pat Roberts D

Kentucky
Senator Jim Bunning D-
Senator Mitch McConnell D

Louisiana
Senator David Vitter F

Minnesota
Senator Norm Coleman D

Mississippi
Senator Thad Cochran D
Senator Trent Lott D

Missouri
Senator Christopher S. Bond D
Senator Jim Talent D+

Montana
Senator Conrad Burns D+

Nebraska
Senator Chuck Hagel D+


Nevada
Senator John Ensign D-

New Hampshire
Senator Judd Gregg D
Senator John E. Sununu D

New Mexico
Senator Pete V. Domenici D

North Carolina
Senator Richard Burr F
Senator Elizabeth Dole D-

Ohio
Senator Mike DeWine D+
Senator George V. Voinovich D

Oklahoma
Senator Tom Coburn F
Senator James M. Inhofe D-

Pennsylvania
Senator Rick Santorum D-

South Carolina
Senator Jim DeMint F
Senator Lindsey O. Graham D-


South Dakota
Senator John R. Thune D+


Tennessee
Senator Lamar Alexander D
Senator Bill Frist D


Texas
Senator John Cornyn D-
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison D+


Utah
Senator Robert Bennett D
Senator Orrin G. Hatch D


Virginia
Senator George Allen D+
Senator John W. Warner D+

Wyoming
Senator Michael B. Enzi D-
Senator Craig Thomas D

If you really want to know how many voted against veterans, go here and see the members of the House and how bad they are.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f86_1217015024
Care to guess what party these senators belong to? They make great speeches when they know we're listening but what they say when they do when they think we aren't watching is totally different.

Now maybe you may have a better idea of what the GOP really need to do from here on.

Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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

Poll: GOP image goes from bad to worse
Posted: 02:09 PM ET
From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

A new poll out Thursday paints a bleak picture for the GOP.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican Party has hit a new low.
Just 34 percent of Americans in a Gallup Poll released Thursday say they have a favorable view of the party, down 40 percent from a month ago, before the election.
What’s worse: 61 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party.
According to Gallup, that unfavorable rating is the highest the polling organization has recorded for the GOP since the measure was established in 1992.
The poll of national adults was conducted on November 13-16 with a three percent margin of error.
The numbers are slightly up from a CNN poll released last week that indicated a 54 percent unfavorable rating for Republicans. Only 38 percent of those polled had a favorable rating for the party.
Meanwhile, Democrats continue to bask in the glow of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic victory on November 4. The Gallup poll suggests that 55 percent of Americans hold a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 39 percent saying they have an unfavorable view. Those numbers are mostly unchanged from a mid-October survey.
Read the rest of this entry »

After 63 years, vet learns of brother's death in Nazi slave camp because of story on CNN

Bernard "Jack" Vogel died in a Nazi slave camp in the arms of fellow U.S. soldier, Anthony Acevedo, in 1945.

After 63 years, vet learns of brother's death in Nazi slave camp
Story Highlights

U.S. soldier, Bernard "Jack" Vogel, died at a Nazi slave camp in April 1945

His younger brother, Martin, had long sought details about his final moments

With CNN's help, Martin was put in touch with the medic who held his brother

The U.S. Army has never officially recognized the 350 soldiers held at the slave camp

By Wayne Drash
CNN.com Senior Producer


ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- For 63 years, Martin Vogel longed for information about how his only brother -- his best friend and a fellow U.S. soldier -- died in World War II.


He knew that Bernard "Jack" Vogel had tried to escape from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, but the details were sketchy. Martin was so devastated after the war, he didn't ask too many questions. But as time passed, his thoughts often drifted to his brother.

"A month doesn't go by that it doesn't come up in the course of my own thoughts," said Martin Vogel, now 82. "But to me, it's always there: What if this? Why didn't he do this? And what happened to him? And that's what bothered me."

The Boston resident read an article last week on CNN.com about Anthony Acevedo, a World War II medic who was among 350 U.S. soldiers held in a Nazi slave camp called Berga an der Elster, where dozens of soldiers were beaten, starved and killed. Less than half survived captivity.
In the piece, Acevedo mentioned a soldier by the name of Vogel who died in his arms.
Listen as Acevedo tells Martin Vogel: "I had him in my arms" »

For the first time in his life, Martin Vogel was about to learn the truth about his brother's death.

By week's end, he would also learn about his uncle's undying love for his brother -- and what he believes is the ultimate betrayal by the country his brother died for, the United States of America.

"You don't know how much this means," Martin Vogel said between sobs. "You don't know how much this means."
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/11/20/worldwar.two.folo/index.html

Listen as Acevedo tells Martin Vogel: "I had him in my arms" »
The story
For 63 years, Martin Vogel longed for information about how his only brother -- his best friend and a fellow U.S. soldier -- died in World War II.

He knew that Bernard "Jack" Vogel had tried to escape from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, but the details were sketchy. Martin was so devastated after the war, he didn't ask too many questions. But as time passed, his thoughts often drifted to his brother.
"A month doesn't go by that it doesn't come up in the course of my own thoughts," said Martin Vogel, now 82. "But to me, it's always there: What if this? Why didn't he do this? And what happened to him? And that's what bothered me."

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India:Teenage boy thrown under train by mob over love letter

Teen thrown under train for writing love letter
Mom begs for mercy, watches 'helplessly' as India boy dies in caste conflict

PATNA, India - A teenage Indian boy was thrashed, paraded through the streets with his head shaved and then thrown under a train for daring to write a love letter to a girl from a different caste, police said Thursday.

Manish Kumar, 15, was kidnapped by members of the rival caste on his way to school and was killed as his mother begged for mercy, police in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar said.

One man has been arrested and a policeman suspended.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27821172/

Undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer at father's funeral

Undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer
Sheriff apologizes; other pallbearers thought it was 'a drug deal gone bad'
updated 22 minutes ago
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Five sheriff's deputies will be disciplined after they used a Taser while serving an arrest warrant on a man at his father's funeral.

Gladwyn Taft Russ III was serving as a pallbearer at the service last Saturday and was loading his father's casket into a hearse when the undercover deputies approached him.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before using a Taser on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife, who lives in another state. After his father died on Nov. 11, Russ agreed to surrender to authorities after the funeral.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27822770/

Extreme Makeover for Spc. Patrick Tutwiller after Iraq and tornado

Makeover: Stars descend on community
Carla Strand
City-County Editor
Thursday, Nov 20, 2008

CHAPMAN -- Before a crowd of thousands of people and with TV cameras rolling, the Patrick Tutwiler family was introduced to their new home built by volunteers working with the television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Many of those thousands waited four to five hours through a sunny, chilly and often breezy Tuesday, after e-mail messages sent out by the show Monday night stated the family would be home early to avoid the potential for bad weather late Tuesday.

Joy Burton, who teaches grades 1-8 at the Enterprise Academy, said students from the school attended about two hours of classes Tuesday morning before buses headed to Chapman to watch events unfold.

“This is a once in a lifetime experience,” she said. “There are some things you can’t teach them about. They have to see it for themselves.”

Spc. Tutwiler, who joined the Army following 9/11, was wounded in the neck by a sniper’s bullet while serving in Iraq in 2007, and was back home in Chapman recovering from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, when the tornado occurred.

Within a matter of months, the family would have been forced to leave after Tutwiler is medically discharged from the Army.

“It was fitting that we named a veteran on Veteran’s Day to receive a home,” said Diane Korman, senior producer, Lock and Key Productions, which produces “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
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Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry

Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry
Jay Hamburg and Kate Santich | Sentinel Staff Writers
November 20, 2008
Unable to keep up with the growing ranks of hungry people, a Central Florida food bank turned to a group of local religious leaders to issue an interfaith plea to the community: Give before the cupboards go bare.

As the economy declines, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has struggled to keep up with unprecedented demands. The nonprofit agency distributed 2 million pounds of food last month. That compares with 1 million in October 2007.

And the gap between supply and demand keeps growing, said Dave Krepcho, the food bank's president and chief executive officer.

"We need to close that gap, not only with food, but we need to close it with faith," Krepcho said Wednesday at the agency's first multi-faith forum on hunger.


During the event at Lake Eola Park, the group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders all declared it is the faithful's duty to the help the poor and hungry.

"What we need to do is issue a clarion call to the greater faith-based community to take responsibility," the Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed in Longwood.
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Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

Good Lord! I feel like I should be posting this on my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room because it feels like that's what I've been doing for 26 years! Is anyone listening to anything I have to say? Can't an advocate some attention by someone who can actually do something with what I've been screaming about?

We have IFOC Chaplains all across this country and they are fully trained, licensed, insured, FBI background checks done, and most of us are ordained. We're good enough for the police and fire departments but not good enough for the military or the VA to turn to in this crisis. What's wrong here?

I am not only a Senior Chaplain, but I belong to NAMI, on the veteran's council and I'm also a lifetime member of the DAV Auxiliary. I've passed the test with the IFOC and passed the test on Military Cultural Competence. Everything I say about veterans with PTSD comes from living with one and studying them for 26 years as well as talking to them, emailing with them and holding them when they crash. I haven't just talked to the wives of PTSD veterans, I am one!

Here we have General Casey' wife saying there is a shortage of mental health help and no one is asking us to help. This is a crisis and has been for a long time. Families are falling apart, kids are suffering and veterans are committing suicide. Domestic violence is going up and most of it does not need to happen if the wives know what PTSD is, understand it and then they can prevent the escalation of arguments turning into life or death situations. Who's in charge here and how do you get past people who do not want to listen?

Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 16:02:09 EST

Prolonged, continuous deployments and their effects on military families need to be seriously addressed in the coming year, said the wife of the Chief of Naval Operations, the wife of the Army chief of staff, and other senior spouses who participated in a panel discussion Nov. 18.

“It’s also long-term effects — we do not know the effects of these deployments on our children,” said Sheila Casey, wife of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, noting that little research has been done to date in that area.

“You do a study, and you are already there. The effects are already there,” she said.

“The Air Force is the newer service to commit to longer deployments,” said Bev Fraser, wife of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. William Fraser. “We’ve learned from our sister services, but we’ve learned it’s still difficult.”

One things the Air Force is beginning to see, she said, is that retention is not always a positive thing these days. For some, it’s about “being bitter because you have to stay in” due to the faltering economy and civilian job market.

One thing Casey said she hears everywhere she travels to talk to Army families is difficulty in getting access to medical and mental health care.

“Doctors are deployed, and staff levels are down. It’s hard to get appointments. And you have to get an appointment to get a referral,” she said.

The military has been working to get more mental health doctors in its network, she said, but there is a shortage of mental health providers nationwide.
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VA document-shredding no shock to vets

VA document-shredding no shock to vets
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:14:41 EST

Doubts were raised Wednesday about whether the Bush administration can do anything to restore confidence in the Veterans Affairs Department following the discovery last month of almost 500 key benefits claims documents in shredding bins at regional offices.

But the problem, initially discovered by teams of auditors from the VA inspector general’s office, didn’t exactly shock the veterans’ community. Veterans have complained for decades about VA losing or destroying claims documents, making an already complicated process even more difficult to deal with.

Veterans’ advocates attending a roundtable discussion arranged by the House Veterans Affairs Committee said VA’s admission of mishandling documents is a sign of the fundamental problems that veterans have seen for years.

Rick Weidman, executive director for government affairs of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the only real news is that VA now acknowledged the problem.

“Shredding is not the issue,” he said, calling instead for focus on “the integrity of the process.”

Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., said he is worried that leaving key documents to be shredded is a sign of a larger workload problem and pressure to meet production quotas. Mitchell said it has led him to wonder whether VA officials have been completely honest when they said they had all of the resources they needed to handle claims.
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Fort Carson:Army shreds documents on friendly fire deaths

Army shreds documents on friendly fire deaths
John Byrne
Published: Thursday November 20, 2008


In late 2006, two American soldiers from Fort Carson died in Iraq. The army said the privates were killed by enemy action. But in October of this year, Salon revealed that the two men had in fact been killed by friendly tank fire.

Now, Salon has found that the documents related to the men's deaths were shredded just hours after the story was published.

"Three soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo. including two who were present in Ramadi during the friendly fire incident, one of them just feet from where Nelson and Suarez died were ordered to shred two boxes full of documents about [Albert] Nelson and [Roger] Suarez," reporter Mark Benjamin writes. "One of the soldiers preserved some of the documents as proof that the shredding occurred and provided them to Salon. All three soldiers, with the assistance of a U.S. senator's office, have since been relocated for their safety."

The night the Salon story ran, Oct. 14, 2008, a staff sergeant told three soldiers to shred two boxes of documents relating to the privates' deaths.
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Brigadier General Anthony Cucolo, right, presents Jean Feggins the American flag that draped the casket of Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, of Philadelphia, during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1285-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2006
Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public/Industry(703) 428-0711
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died December 4, 2006, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered from small arms fire while conducting security and observation operations. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Killed were:

Private First Class Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia.

Private First Class Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21 of Miami.

The incident is under investigation.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/amnelson.htm