Not sure what to make out of this. Scams happen all the time. I did a quick search but didn't find much on this woman. I never heard of her, read anything about her, but that doesn't mean that much. I focus on PTSD, but take a great interest in Agent Orange. My husband was exposed, is in the registry and we get the updates, which has hung over our heads ever since the VA doctor said "No health effects yet!" and that was a long time ago. I also take interest for another personal reason. My friend Capt. Agnes Irish Bresnahan who suffered because of PTSD and Agent Orange until the day she died, March 11, 2009.
This link was sent to me by another friend of Irish and a champion for Agent Orange awareness.
Agent Orange Quilt of Tears This is one of the reasons I feel it should be posted. People taking advantage of veterans are just as bad as the ones that claim to be veterans when they are not. What do they hope to gain? I will never understand this.
The other part of this article is that it says the only way to know is a blood test and that is true. The VA also finds where the veteran was and if there was spraying in the area at the time the veteran was there.
Veterans Target Of Mold Lady by Paul C. Clark Staff Writer August 27, 2009 The woman who thrust herself into the center of the Oak Ridge Elementary School environmental mystery, terrifying parents, is at it again.
Linda May, a self-proclaimed "mold expert" who drove the news coverage of the longstanding health problems at Oak Ridge for weeks, trying to get herself hired as an expert witness and to sell $345 medical tests of questionable validity to worried Oak Ridge parents, has moved on to another target audience: elderly, ailing veterans.
On August 11, May appeared on Veterans for Veteran Connection, an internet radio program, selling the same test kits for Agent Orange exposure. Agent Orange is a pesticide chemically unrelated to mold and was used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War.
On the show, May claimed that the test kits are approved by the US State Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). "We are approved to do the testing for Agent Orange T-2 toxin for all government agencies in the US," she said of her company, Warbler of Illinois. T-2 is a toxin found in mold and is chemically unrelated to Agent Orange.
All that sounds impressive, but May, as usual, didn't provide anything to back up either her personal qualifications or the claims she made for the test she is selling. She said the Warbler of Illinois lab is in Pontiac, Illinois, in a secret location. On the show, as in Guilford County, she repeatedly turned down requests to verify her credentials and those of her purported laboratory by saying they were deep government secrets. When she was operating here, she refused to provide her resume, the number of the patent she claims to hold on the urine test, any US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for the test, or proof of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) registration for the claimed laboratory – a registration that is required for labs offering medical tests in the United States. read more here Veterans Target Of Mold Lady
Toyota Accused of Hiding Evidence Former Lawyer at Automaker Charges Evidence in Rollover Cases Was Concealed, Destroyed
(CBS) By CBS News Investigative Unit Contributor Myron Levin
A former attorney for Toyota has accused the automaker of illegally withholding evidence in hundreds of rollover death and injury cases, in a "ruthless conspiracy" to keep evidence "of its vehicles' structural shortcomings from becoming known."
The explosive allegations are contained in a federal racketeering suit filed in Los Angeles by Dimitrios P. Biller, former managing counsel for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., who claims his complaints about the company's legal misconduct cost him his job.
Toyota, which is second to General Motors in car and truck sales in the U.S., called Biller's charges "inaccurate and misleading," in a statement issued late Friday to CBS News. "Toyota takes its legal obligations seriously and works to uphold the highest professional and ethical standards," the company said.
Company lawyers have not filed an answer to Biller's lawsuit, but have brought a motion to seal the complaint, claiming it is "rife with privileged and confidential information" that Biller, as a former Toyota lawyer, has no right to divulge.
A hearing on the motion has been set for September 14.
Biller, who did not return phone calls, worked for Toyota Motor Sales, based in Torrance, Calif., from 2003 to 2007. He was involved in defending rollover lawsuits that blamed injuries and deaths on instability and weak roofs of the company's SUVs and pickups. read more hereToyota Accused of Hiding Evidence
Seven slain, two injured, at Ga. trailer park
Police: ‘We've never had such an incident with so many victims'
updated 36 minutes ago
BRUNSWICK, Ga. - Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home located on a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said.
Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering called it the worst mass slaying in his 25 years of police work in this coastal Georgia county. He wouldn't say how the victims died and released few other details.
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Aug 29, 2009 16:21:27 EDT
FORT BLISS, Texas — A Fort Bliss soldier charged with murder in the shooting death of a local high school student has been found incompetent to stand trial, the Army announced Saturday.
Spc. Gerald Polanco, 37, will be transferred within the next week from the Otero County Detention Facility in New Mexico to the Bureau of Prisons and hospitalized for up to four months, the Army said in a news release. Justice Department officials plan to place Polanco in a medical center in Missouri or one in North Carolina, Polanco’s attorney John Convery told the El Paso Times.
Polanco’s family has requested the North Carolina center because they consider it more modern, he said.
Convery told The Associated Press that he had already talked to the newspaper and that was all he was prepared to say.
He said previously that Polanco and his family tried unsuccessfully to get the soldier help through his unit before the shooting. Polanco’s family also has tried to get treatment for him at the Otero County jail, Convery said.
read more here Bliss E4 charged with murder found incompetent
I will never understand how the men and women we send into combat are not given everything they need while they risk their lives, any more than I can understand how this same nation can abandon them when they come home.
I said a long time ago that this blog is not about politics but holding them accountable for what they do and do not do. If this is true and these soldiers did not get everything possible to protect them as well as everything they needed to fight with, then President Obama and Secretary Gates have a lot to explain.
Fallen soldier worried about lack of equipment
By Keith Eldridge Watch the story FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - The grieving family of a local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan says he often expressed concern about a lack of ammo and other resources to fight the war.
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, was one of four soldiers killed Tuesday in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan. It was Williams' first tour there.
Although he was only a private first class, his family says Dennis was wise beyond his years when it came to the military.
"What he was told and what he heard is that ammo was low, conserve your stuff, and he just didn't feel that they were equipped like they should have been - like it was a low-budget war," says Dennis' brother, David Williams.
Dennis and the 4,000 members of the 5th Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis have only been in Afghanistan a month and have already lost six soldiers.
The other three soldiers killed in Tuesday's roadside bombing were identified as Capt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California; Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona; and Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
Two other Stryker Brigade soldiers were killed last week
Marine officer receives Bronze Star for leading attacks in Afghanistan August 29, 2009 8:28 am
A Marine officer at Camp Pendleton has received the Bronze Star for bravery for leading multiple assaults on Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.
Maj. James W. Eagan III was a platoon commander with the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion in southern Afghanistan in 2007. While other Marines were assigned to help tutor Afghan security forces, the Special Operations forces were assigned to seek out and confront the Taliban.
Times Publishing hit with $10 million judgment in libel suit
By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, August 29, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG — The former chief of medicine at Bay Pines VA Medical Center prevailed Friday in a libel lawsuit against Times Publishing Co.
The jury found against the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times and awarded Dr. Harold L. Kennedy more than $10 million in damages.
"We are very disappointed by the verdict," said Times Executive Editor and Vice President Neil Brown. "We believe our reporting and editing of these stories met the highest journalistic and ethical standards.
"The Times will appeal the jury's decision.''
The lawsuit was filed over three articles that appeared in the Times in December 2003 about Kennedy's reassignment from chief of medicine to his subspecialty of cardiology. Kennedy filed suit in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court in 2005.
read more here Times Publishing hit with 10 million judgment in libel suit
Public suicide in Pasco agonizes family, haunts stranger
By Camille C. Spencer, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, August 30, 2009
NEW PORT RICHEY — David Miller was getting ready for bed on Aug. 14 when one of his mutts started barking.
Miller, in boxer shorts and flip flops, peered outside a front window at his house on Widgeon Way. He spotted a German shepherd yelping and opened his garage door.
The German shepherd ran from Miller's garage back to a pavilion across the street in River Ridge.
Miller, 41, went inside his house, put on a pair of pants and grabbed his glasses and cell phone. He drove toward the pavilion and shined his headlights toward it.
A man's body was hanging by the dog's black nylon leash, tied to a set of white rafters in the pavilion. His blue and white tennis shoes dangled to the ground. A beer can and a cell phone, still ringing, sat on a forest green picnic table nearby.
read more here Public suicide in Pasco agonizes family
Police seek suspects in Virginia Tech students' deaths
The bodies of two sophomores with bullet wounds were found in a campground area of the Jefferson National Forest.
By Shawna Morrison
The bodies of two young Virginia Tech students from central Virginia were found Thursday in a remote area of Montgomery County, and authorities are considering their deaths to be a double homicide.
The victims are David Lee Metzler, 19, of Lynchburg and Heidi Lynn Childs, 18, of Forest, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
In the Virginia Tech student directory, Metzler's major is listed as industrial and systems engineering. Childs is listed as a biochemistry major. Both were sophomores.
Sheriff Tommy Whitt said both victims appeared to have been shot where they had parked in a day-use area of Caldwell Fields. The area is a large group campground in the Jefferson National Forest more than eight miles down Craig Creek Road, where a shooting range and Camp Tuk-A-Way are located, off U.S. 460.
read more here http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/216886
linked from AOL news
Suicides climb in New Orleans 3:24 CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the effects on mental health caused by Hurricane Katrina.
4 years after Katrina, NOLA mental health system still in crisis Story Highlights New Orleans continues to face crisis of mental health needs, resources
Study: Before storm, area had 487 inpatient psychiatric beds; now,190
Police officer's slaying by mentally ill man renewed spotlight on city's needs
By Stephanie Smith CNN Medical Producer
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- As the storm raged outside her hospital room four years ago, an equally consuming force hijacked Alesia Crockett's mind: deep depression.
For days, Crockett lay in darkness and a tangle of sweaty hospital bed sheets, one among hundreds of desperate patients trapped inside Charity Hospital in 2005, while outside, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath battered the city.
Crockett had been admitted to Charity's inpatient mental health unit after having a psychotic episode. She had struggled for years with bipolar disorder, an illness that causes her to volley between euphoria and profound depression.
She said she barely remembers Katrina.
"Most of the time, I was in a fog, but I do remember some things," Crockett said. "Where my room was, I could see thousands of people wandering, and I could see the waters rise."
Crockett, and many other New Orleanians suffering from chronic mental illness -- and those with what is called "soft depression," or nonchronic mental illness -- say Katrina may have relented days after it hit New Orleans proper, but their mental health issues have not.
In January 2008, a New Orleans police officer was killed by a man suffering from psychosis due to schizophrenia, New Orleans police said. The officer, Nicola Cotton, approached 44-year-old Bernel Johnson for questioning about a rape. A struggle ensued, and Johnson overpowered and killed Cotton with her own gun, police said.
Victims of repeated abuse suffer complex trauma
Story Highlights
It's challenging for people freed from captivity to adjust to a new life
Experts in child sexual abuse cases say perpetrators mentally manipulate kids
Recovery is possible, but it could take several years.
By Madison Park
CNN
(CNN) -- For 18 years, a girl who was whisked away into a secret backyard compound was forced to grow up in isolation.
By the time authorities discovered Jaycee Lee Dugard, she was a 29-year-old mother of two who had spent more than half of her life in sheds. One of the alleged abductors, Phillip Garrido, is the father of her two daughters, according to police.
Garrido and his wife, Nancy, face 29 felony counts, including kidnapping for sexual purposes, forcible rape and forcible lewd acts on a child. They pleaded not guilty Friday. The maximum penalty for each defendant, if convicted, is life imprisonment.
Dugard, who disappeared from South Lake Tahoe, California, in 1991, faces a challenging road to recovery. Dr. Kerry Landry, a child psychiatrist in Durham, North Carolina, said that repeated abuse causes complex trauma.
UPDATE
Looks like this news site is a bit late on reporting on this. This came out a day after Army Times had announced it was already approved.
Veterans who saved 100 soldiers ask Obama to present citation
Sunday, August 30, 2009
By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ray Tarr, 59, has a fake eye, a dent in his head, a withered arm and wince-inducing scars on his back, all courtesy of a rocket-propelled grenade that slammed into his tank in Cambodia in 1970.
"We had a saying in Vietnam," he shrugged last week in recollection. "When someone died or something bad happened, we just said, 'It don't mean nothing.' "
But the actions of his unit on March 26, 1970, a few months before he was wounded, did mean something -- resulting in a Presidential Unit Citation issued in March, 39 years after the fact.
Now the veterans of that battle are asking President Obama to present the citation to them personally in the East Room of the White House this fall. It could happen as early as October.
With a First Cavalry infantry company pinned down, outnumbered and out of ammunition, Mr. Tarr's Alpha Troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry rushed to save 100 men.
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 29, 2009 8:17:21 EDT
The news filtered down to Capt. John Poindexter and his troops around noon.
Four kilometers away from their position, an infantry company was surrounded by a battalion’s worth of North Vietnamese fighters. The Americans were running low on ammunition, and casualties were mounting.
Poindexter reached a decision — a decision he and his soldiers knew they had to make.
“The choice, to me, was one of [the] certainty of suffering versus a lifetime of guilt,” he said. “It was a collective realization of what we were getting ourselves into, but the consequence was to see a hundred men killed.”
For the next eight hours, Poindexter and his soldiers would battle the jungle and a determined, dug-in enemy force as they fought their way to their fellow soldiers.
The battle that day, March 26, 1970, was fierce and bloody.
Mother Of Fallen Marine Sets Up Fund For Veterans
Fund Will Benefit Easter Seals' Veterans Services
POSTED: 10:53 am EDT August 28, 2009
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- The mother of a Marine from New Hampshire who was killed in Afghanistan has started a fund to benefit veterans.
The fund is named in honor of Michael Ouellette, a 1999 graduate of Memorial High School in Manchester. He was serving his third tour of duty since 2006 when he was killed in combat in March.
read more here http://www.wmur.com/news/20599742/detail.html
Record High Temperatures Won't Stop Camp Pendleton's Marines and Sailors From Building a Park in San Juan Capistrano
From Iraq to San Juan Capistrano, These Marines and Sailors Are Happy to Serve Their Country and Their Community as They "Come Back to Give Back"
SANTA ANA, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/28/09 -- Approximately 400 Marines and Sailors from Camp Pendleton will brave the heat this week as they volunteer to build a private park in the Habitat for Heroes and Foundations for Families(TM) development of homes in San Juan Capistrano.
For four days -- August 31-September 3, 2009 -- approximately 100 Marines and Sailors per day will trade their uniforms for blue jeans and travel to San Juan Capistrano to build a neighborhood park for the families who will live in this 27-home development. In addition to assisting on the five homes under construction, they will plant grass, flowers and trees, and pour the foundation for a flagpole for the new park at 24611 Calle Rolando.
The Marines and Sailors are from the 1st Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group at Camp Pendleton. They will be working on site from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on those four days.
"These Marines today are the best of our society," said Kevin Stewart, LtCol, USMC, Commanding Officer of the 1st Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group. "They raised their hand to serve their country. Many will be going to Afghanistan and Iraq to serve. And this week, they have taken it upon themselves to come out here and give back. It shows the high quality of today's Marines. You can be proud of the Marines who are serving our country."
read more here http://ca.sys-con.com/node/1086679
The tributes and speeches for Senator Kennedy were very moving, but above that, they proved political divisions should not divide people. The emails have turned even more disgusting about Senator Kennedy totally ignoring what he accomplished, what he did for others and how when it came to being human, politics didn't matter at all. He could argue with another Senator one minute and then call them to find out how they were doing the next. He cared about "people" more than he cared about sides.
This is from last night when Senator Orrin Hatch spoke about his friend.
Senator Orrin Hatch on Senator Ted Kennedy's life
I really wish that people would return to being human all the time and stop allowing politics to take over everything. The passing of Senator Kennedy showed that even senators can rise above it. These are the political leaders. If they can do it, why can't the rest of us? Republican Senators showed how deeply they care about Senator Kennedy, but there are some in this country more willing to hate than even contemplate how remarkable he was. This even though so much about their own personal life has been changed because of him. They never bothered to look up all the parts of their own lives he made better.
Whenever I post about someone in politics I am not sure of, I look up their record. This is how we can get politics out of everything. There are some you may not agree with all the time but on the issues that matter to you the most, you should know what the truth is. There are some with great voting records for veterans and some poor ones. You cannot tell by the party they belong to because they are humans like the rest of us. What I really hope to do with posting on records is to stop the hatred one side has for the other.
I didn't know too much about Senator Hatch, so I looked him up on VoteSmart. This is something we all need to do no matter what party we belong to. My primary issue is veterans. Use the links for what you care about most. It is not a matter of getting someone out of office but it is holding them accountable for what they do once they get there. It's the responsibility of all of us to make sure they do what they say they will do once they get there.
Date Bill Title Vote Outcome 09/27/2008 Continuing Appropriations HR 2638 Y Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (78 - 12) 05/22/2008 GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions S Amdt 4803 N Amendment Adopted - Senate (75 - 22) 01/22/2008 Defense Authorizations Bill HR 4986 Y Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 3) 10/01/2007 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 HR 1585 Y Bill Passed - Senate (92 - 3) 05/11/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 HR 4297 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (54 - 44) 05/04/2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2006 HR 4939 NV Bill Passed - Senate (77 - 21) 02/02/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 HR 4297 Y Bill Passed - Senate (66 - 31) 02/02/2006 Tax Rate Extension Amendment S AMDT 2735 N Motion Rejected - Senate (44 - 53) 11/17/2005 Additional Funding For Veterans Amendment S AMDT 2634 N Motion Rejected - Senate (43 - 55) 10/05/2005 Health Care for Veterans Amendment S AMDT 1937 N Motion Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) 11/08/2001 Veterans Affairs and HUD Appropriations Act of 2002 HR 2620 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (87 - 7) 10/15/1999 Veterans Affairs and HUD Appropriations bill, FY 2000 HR 2684 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (93 - 5) 07/07/1998 Space Station Termination Amendment S Amdt 3062 N Amendment Rejected - Senate (33 - 66) 09/27/1994 Fiscal Year 1995 Appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development HR 4624 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (90 - 9) 08/04/1994 Fiscal Year 1995 Appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development HR 4624 Y Bill Passed - Senate (86 - 9) 09/22/1993 Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill Fiscal Year 1994 HR 2491 Y Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 9)
2007-2008 In 2007-2008 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator Hatch a grade of C.
2006 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 50 percent in 2006.
2006 In 2006 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator Hatch a grade of D.
2006 Senator Hatch sponsored or co-sponsored 12 percent of the legislation favored by the The Retired Enlisted Association in 2006.
2005 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 33 percent in 2005.
2004 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 0 percent in 2004.
2004 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the The Retired Enlisted Association 0 percent in 2004.
2003-2004 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 100 percent in 2003-2004.
2003 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the The American Legion 100 percent in 2003.
2001 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 76 percent in 2001.
1999 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 33 percent in 1999.
1997-1998 Senator Hatch supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 0 percent in 1997-1998.
1989-1990 On the votes that the Vietnam Veterans of America considered to be the most important in 1989-1990 , Senator Hatch voted their preferred position 50 percent of the time.
Date Bill Title Vote Outcome 09/27/2008 Continuing Appropriations HR 2638 NV Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (78 - 12) 05/22/2008 GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions S Amdt 4803 NV Amendment Adopted - Senate (75 - 22) 01/22/2008 Defense Authorizations Bill HR 4986 Y Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 3) 10/01/2007 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 HR 1585 Y Bill Passed - Senate (92 - 3) 05/11/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 HR 4297 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate (54 - 44) 05/04/2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2006 HR 4939 Y Bill Passed - Senate (77 - 21) 02/02/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 HR 4297 N Bill Passed - Senate (66 - 31) 02/02/2006 Tax Rate Extension Amendment S AMDT 2735 Y Motion Rejected - Senate (44 - 53) 11/17/2005 Additional Funding For Veterans Amendment S AMDT 2634 Y Motion Rejected - Senate (43 - 55) 10/05/2005 Health Care for Veterans Amendment S AMDT 1937 Y Motion Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) 11/08/2001 Veterans Affairs and HUD Appropriations Act of 2002 HR 2620 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (87 - 7) 10/15/1999 Veterans Affairs and HUD Appropriations bill, FY 2000 HR 2684 NV Conference Report Adopted - Senate (93 - 5) 07/07/1998 Space Station Termination Amendment S Amdt 3062 Y Amendment Rejected - Senate (33 - 66) 09/27/1994 Fiscal Year 1995 Appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development HR 4624 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate (90 - 9) 08/04/1994 Fiscal Year 1995 Appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development HR 4624 Y Bill Passed - Senate (86 - 9) 09/22/1993 Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill Fiscal Year 1994 HR 2491 Y Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 9)
2006 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 80 percent in 2006.
2006 In 2006 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Senator Kennedy a grade of B+.
2006 Senator Kennedy sponsored or co-sponsored 35 percent of the legislation favored by the The Retired Enlisted Association in 2006.
2005 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 92 percent in 2005.
2004 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 100 percent in 2004.
2004 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the The Retired Enlisted Association 0 percent in 2004.
2003-2004 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 0 percent in 2003-2004.
2003 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the The American Legion 50 percent in 2003.
2001 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 84 percent in 2001.
1999 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 100 percent in 1999.
1997-1998 Senator Kennedy supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 60 percent in 1997-1998.
1989-1990 On the votes that the Vietnam Veterans of America considered to be the most important in 1989-1990 , Senator Kennedy voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.
Enhancing Mental Health Care For decades, Senator Kennedy was a national leader in the cause of mental health care. He understands the unique challenges faced by the 54 million Americans with mental disorders. Also in 1996, Senator Kennedy joined Senators Domenici and Wellstone to enact Mental Health Parity legislation to help eliminate unjust annual and lifetime limits on mental health coverage which differ from those imposed on other covered illnesses. In 2000, Kennedy and his same Senate colleagues, Senators Domenici and Wellstone, introduced the comprehensive Mental Health Early Intervention, Treatment and Prevention Act of 2000. The bipartisan legislation addressed a wide range of mental health issues, including an antistigma campaign, training for teachers and emergency services personnel to identify and respond to individuals with mental illness, continuing education on mental health care for primary care physicians, suicide prevention, centers for post-traumatic stress disorders, funding to develop integrated treatment of serious mental illness and co-occurring addiction, funding for community based services for adults and children at high risk of adverse outcomes, and jail diversion initiatives. In 2001, Senators Domenici, Wellstone and Kennedy introduced the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act to strengthen and make permanent the mental health insurance parity protections passed five years earlier. Congress enacted a one-year extension of the existing law, but Senator Kennedy continued to fight for lasting legislation with the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act Amendment of 2006, which would eliminate the discriminatory treatment of mental illness by requiring insurers provide parity between mental health benefits and medical and surgical benefits. In 2008, after more than 10 years of effort, Senator Kennedy championed historic legislation to reform the inequities in the way mental health and substance use disorders are treated by the insurance industry. This legislation co-sponsored by Senator Domenici, assured individuals living with mental health and substance abuse issues that their mental health benefit would be treated equally with the medical-surgical benefit regarding treatment limitations and financial requirements. This means that co-pays, out of pocket expenses, and deductibles cannot be treated differently than they way medical and surgical coverage is provided. This legislation assured equity for 113 million Americans. Better treatments and potential cures for mental illnesses are also of great interest to Senator Kennedy, who has championed increased mental health research funding. This funding increased from 2004 – 2009, from $35 million dollars to over $70 million. Response to Mental Health Needs Following 9/11: Senator Kennedy’s commitment to the citizens of Massachusetts affected by September 11th, particularly the families of victims of the terrorist attacks, has been critical to the success of the Commonwealth’s mental health response to the tragedy. Soon after September 11th, the Senator called together disaster relief and mental health organizations to plan a coordinated response to September 11th for the families of victims of the tragedy. His leadership provided immediate avenues for collaboration between disaster response agencies and ensured a timely and comprehensive response. Senator Kennedy made his Massachusetts staff completely available to assist with the Department Of Mental Health’s (DMH) FEMA funded crisis counseling program. His staff were in almost daily contact with DMH, as well as the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA), in order to facilitate referrals of families to counselors, assist with entitlement and relief fund issues and help to coordinate with other state and federal agencies. His office prepared services and referral guides for families of victims, developed a comprehensive Web site, and assisted DMH and MOVA in providing training to counselors. In 2005, Senator Kennedy sought to extend the period for COBRA coverage for spouses and children of victims of the terrorist attacks for an additional four months. Supporting Massachusetts Hospitals and Health Providers Senator Kennedy worked closely and diligently with Massachusetts hospitals and health providers to sustain their unparalleled achievements in quality health care. No state has a greater commitment and as impressive a record of success in training quality health care professionals as Massachusetts. Senator Kennedy fought hard for the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, which restored many of the excessive cuts made by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. As a result of the 1999 law and Senator Kennedy’s efforts, Massachusetts hospitals received over $250 million over five years in payment increases under Medicare. Home health agencies in the Commonwealth received approximately $15 million over five years. Senator Kennedy also pushed for passage of the Benefits Improvement Protection Act of 2000, under which $212 million over five years was intended for Massachusetts hospitals, $33 million for Massachusetts home health agencies and $54 million for nursing homes in the Commonwealth.
Helping Military Families Senator Kennedy was always a champion of military families and children. In 1985, Kennedy introduced legislation to improve the lives of military families. The bill included provisions that would make it easier for military wives to get government jobs, required the military to pay attention to the children who moved with their parents, and reduced the costs that servicemen had to pay when they were transferred from one base to another. In addition, Kennedy was a successful voice for bumping up the date of a three-percent military pay raise, arguing that military pay lagged more than 10 percent behind civilian pay for comparable jobs. In 1989, Kennedy won passage of the National Military Child Care Act. This important legislation established the DOD child-care system that is still viewed as one of the best in the country today. Military families make difficult decisions and numerous sacrifices to defend our freedom, and the Military Child Care Act is just one way we can begin to compensate them for this. Since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has fought tirelessly to ensure that families who have loved ones deployed overseas get access to the best care and services possible. In April of 2008, Kennedy introduced the National Month of the Military Child, which honors and recognizes the achievements of children of service members. Senator Kennedy deeply understands and cares about the effects that the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan have on military children. Protecting our Troops and Modernizing our Armed Forces Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, Kennedy worked to guarantee effective vehicle armor and body armor for our troops to protect them from improvised explosive devices in Iraq. Again and again, Pentagon procurement has fallen short, and troops have suffered needless casualties and deaths. In 2003, Senator Kennedy met Brian and Alma Hart at the burial of their son John at Arlington National Cemetery. On October, 18, 2003, the Bedford, Massachusetts resident was killed in Taza, Iraq when enemy forces attacked his patrol using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. Before his death, John asked his parents to do something to improve the availability of armored humvees to American troops in combat. After hearing this story and John’s plea, Senator Kennedy invited the Harts to testify before Congress and later secured over $1 billion in funding for armored vehicles for our troops. Said Mr. Hart in 2008, “Senator Kennedy taught me that government can function for the common man.” In 2005, the Senate Armed Services Committee continued to provide additional protective gear to our troops. The committee, with Senator Kennedy’s support added nearly $835 million for Army and Marine Corps armored vehicles. In 2007, Senator Kennedy offered an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act, calling for additional funding to the Joint IED Defeat Organization’s (JIEDDO) budget to explore ways to mitigate the effects of Explosively Formed Projectiles (EFPs). Again and again, Pentagon procurement has fallen short, and troops have suffered needless casualties and deaths. He has been a consistent champion of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle or MRAP. The services were slow to recognize that these heavily armored vehicles could protect our troops better than up-armored humvees. Senator Kennedy has pressed for a full and fair investigation into why the Marine Corps disregarded a universal, urgent needs statement calling for MRAPs in 2002 because he feels that quicker and more complete fielding of MRAPs could have saved soldier’s lives. He continues to press for streamlining for the urgent needs process to insure that our soldiers receive the best equipment possible as rapidly as possible. Senator Kennedy led the fight to preserve the Air Force’s newest, most capable airlift platform, the C-17, a unique aircraft that facilitates the delivery of necessary materials to our troops all over the world. Senator Kennedy was a strong proponent of a reasonable and affordable mix of strategic airlift. He authored language requiring the testing of C-5A and C-5B aircraft undergoing the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) and Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP) before any aircraft can be retired. Only after understanding the outcome of these two programs to modernize our C-5 fleet can the Congress and the Air Force make responsible decisions on the proper mix of the two platforms. Protecting Equal Opportunity for Women in Combat In 1991, Kennedy strongly supported legislation to repeal the ban on women serving as combat aviators. The bill made it possible for women to play a full and complete role in our national defense by discontinuing an archaic law preventing women from combat aviation. By repealing these outdated statutes, Sen. Kennedy helped to achieve equal opportunity for women in the military. Caring for our Wounded Warriors In 2008, Senator Kennedy was a champion of Wounded Warrior legislation contained in the FY08 Defense Authorization bill. In response to alarming statistics of increased suicides in the Army and the lack of adequate mental health care, he introduced National Guard and Reserve Mental Health Access Act of 2008 to improve access to mental health care for our returning Guard and Reserve men and women by requiring the prompt implementation of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration program, a pilot program for tele-mental health, create mental health Directors in each state and territory, and provide for an anti-stigma campaign.
Photo credit: Joseph D. Sullivan | Victoria Nemes, the wife of officer Michael Nemes, follows the coffin after the funeral mass in Rocky Point. (Aug. 28, 2009)
Family, colleagues mourn Southampton police officer
August 28, 2009
By SUMATHI REDDY
A motorcade of police motorcycles and cars pulled into St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. And the hundreds of white-gloved police officers lined up Friday outside of the Rocky Point church stood tall and saluted as they prepared to say goodbye to one of their own.
Michael Nemes, 37, a five-year veteran with the Southampton Town Police Department and a former New York City Police Department officer, was killed last weekend in North Carolina while riding a personal watercraft. Officials have said Nemes, of Eastport, drowned but they are still investigating his death.
read more here Family colleagues mourn Southampton police officer
Utah soldier mourned by family, including 60 foster siblings
Crossfire » Kurt Curtiss told family his Afghanistan tour was 'brutal.'
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 08/28/2009 06:26:33 PM MDT
As a boy, Kurt Curtiss didn't understand all the tragic stories that guided dozens of children through the open door of his mother's foster home in Diamond Valley, Arizona.
All he knew was that he had plenty of brothers and sisters to play with, to fight with, and to lean on in difficult times.
Today, Curtiss' four siblings and more than 60 foster siblings are leaning on each other once again, as they try to come to terms with the 27-year-old soldier's death in Afghanistan.
read more here http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13225138
Father of soldier returning from Iraq killed
(AP) – 4 hours ago
FORT CARSON, Colo. — A soldier returning home from Iraq received grim news as soon as he arrived — his father died in a car crash while en route to greet him.
read more here Father of soldier returning from Iraq killed
August 28th, 2009 DJ AM dies Posted: 09:14 PM ET NEW YORK (CNN) — Nearly a year after surviving a plane crash in South Carolina, disc jockey Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein was found dead in his New York apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist said.
His publicist,Jenni Weinman, said the circumstances of his death were unclear.
Goldstein and Travis Barker, the former drummer for rock band Blink-182, were the only survivors of a September 2008 plane crash in South Carolina that left both critically injured. http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/
McCain is a Vietnam Vet, was a POW, but when you listen to him, you'd think he never met a veteran needing the VA. I guess he never reads what Vietnam Vets have to say either. His voting record is usually against veterans anyway. The big problem for him now is that he has shown politics comes before veterans and that is sickening. Now he makes it even more clear by pushing the talking points painting veterans as stupid fools willing to believe anything when they can find the real truth in their own hands and straight from any VA hospital, provided by their doctors honoring their end of life decisions knowing they are fully capable to do it. This is what the Vietnam Veterans had to say and then there is a link to the post I did with the real facts on the so called "death book" some politicians have been using to put fear into our veterans instead of honoring their intelligence.
Shame on John McCain! The veterans finally figured out that while he is a Vietnam veteran, he has never had their backs when it came to his votes. Shame on FOX as well because they are really pushing this for what they think they'll gain instead of understanding they are insulting veterans instead.
McCain perpetuates 'death panel' for veterans myth
Speaking with Fox editorialist Sean Hannity on Thursday, U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), a beneficiary of government-funded health care, supported the myth that President Barack Obama's health insurance reforms would establish some kind of nebulous, undefined "death panel."
Hannity was specifically talking about the literature, "Your Life, Your Choice," which he insinuated somehow encourages sick and dying veterans to not be a burden on society.
The claim is an echo of the latest attack on the proposed insurance reforms.
First came Palin's allegation that a so-called "death panel" would have killed her down syndrome baby.
More recently, RNC Chairman Michael Steele alleged that a VA pamphlet dredged up by the Obama administration is encouraging vets to "commit suicide."
Hannity's cleverly-worded question merely piggy-backed on this fallacy, albeit through the use of softer terminology.
Addressing McCain, the Fox pundit asked, "Is that the kind of death panel that people were maybe afraid of ... ?"
McCain, a veteran himself, answered: "Yes."
He added: "But, I think they're also concerned because they're well-read, they're knowledgeable, they're informed. They know what's happening in other countries where basically there is a rationing of health care, particularly when people reach a certain age, as to what kind of treatment people can get and if they can get it, and the incredible delays seen in acquiring that kind of care. So, I think it's not just that. I think it's the example of government-run health care in other countries, which is not ... Wa ... America is not ready for that."
