Clay County’s once-promising top lawman is under scrutiny

Sheriff’s swagger loses luster: Clay County’s once-promising top lawman is under scrutiny

Florida Times Union
By Eileen Kelley
Jun 30, 2019

They spoke on the phone about four times a month. The older man understood military life, the younger man was just stepping into it.

Darryl Daniels cautioned Larry Smith about the pitfalls of having to leave a spouse for extended periods when out in the field. He guided him on how to develop a strong, committed marriage. To Smith, the former Navy man turned sheriff’s officer was a mentor.

Smith’s wife, Cierra, introduced the two as he got ready to graduate from Florida A and M University and be commissioned in the U.S. Army.

Cierra Smith had worked for Daniels at the Duval County jail since 2013. She called him “Uncle D.” She seemed to revere Daniels, a man twice her age.

Larry Smith said he didn’t look to Daniels in the same father-figure way, although he did respect him for his sacrifices as a military man and law officer.

When Cierra and Larry Smith held their wedding reception in September 2015, Cierra picked Daniels — not a best friend or relative — to give the bridal toast. Larry Smith selected his younger brother.

Fifteen months later, Larry Smith discovered a trove of emails between his wife and Daniels. They were rife with stories and reflections of the things Daniels and Cierra Smith had done together while Smith was likely out in the field for the Army. He then came across a video link on his wife’s iPad.

He clicked on the link and a video popped onto the screen, a video that stunned him. The images showed his wife performing a sex act on his mentor, her boss, the chief of the Duval County jail at the time. Both were in their uniforms. They were in an office, Larry Smith would later tell investigators with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
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U.S. Rep. Susan Wild "without specific training in mental health, we cannot recognize and act on the warning signs"

Op-ed by U.S. Rep. Susan Wild: ‘I can only make sense of the loss of my partner in life if I can save someone else’s life’

THE MORNING CALL
JUN 30, 2019

I didn’t run for Congress thinking that suicide prevention and awareness would be a cornerstone of my platform. Yes, I was aware of the pressing problem of veteran suicide, and that the number of suicides has increased dramatically. Never, however, did I think that this issue would become so very personal to me. Sadly, on May 25th, it did. On that day, the person who was my best friend, confidante, and partner in life, took his own life.

I cannot begin to describe the impact of receiving a phone call from an unknown police officer, telling me that my beloved had committed suicide. Disbelief was my first reaction, so much so that I thought it was a prank call. Fairly quickly, however, my mind gathered the warning signs that had existed, and which, sadly, I did not act upon with enough urgency.

For those who think I am assigning blame to myself for this act, and who have rushed to reassure me that there was nothing I could have done to stop this act of madness, you should know I have gotten to a place of peace in terms of my role. Because I now realize that without specific training in mental health, we cannot recognize and act on the warning signs, unless we learn more.

So it has become a new part of my mission to do as much good as I can in this public position I now occupy. Having only recently experienced this tragic loss, I am not yet an expert on the subject. However, I intend to become one. I can only make sense of the loss of my partner in life if I can save someone else’s life, and, just as importantly, can save another family from the devastation of losing their loved one to suicide.
read it here

American history is offensive to Nike?

Ruled by the offended instead of the brave?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 2, 2019

Since when is it OK to obliterate the history of this country and the people who put their lives on the line to live it? 

It seems that anyone who is offended by something is suddenly empowered to dictate to all others. You know the type. Bow down your free will, your own thoughts, and forget about silly things like history and facts.

Their Mom's must have really gotten carried away with telling them "you're special" because evidently, they are all that matters.

The "American" who first thought it was OK to take a knee during a football game while the National Anthem was playing, has just been handed the Nike crown to do with as he pleases. 

It is complete with 13 stars and now, it seems that it is so offensive to him, they have joined the NFL cowards afraid to take a stand for those who paid the price for "Americans" like him to speak his own mind.

Somehow he ended up believing that everyone not only had to hear what he had to say...they had to subject themselves to his power.

I just saw the movie Aladdin and like the song Jasmin sings...I won't be speechless in return.

Nike Nixes ‘Betsy Ross Flag’ Sneaker After Colin Kaepernick IntervenesThe Wall Street JournalBy Khadeeja Safdar and Andrew BeatonUpdated July 1, 2019

Nike Inc. NKE -0.53% is yanking a U.S.A.-themed sneaker featuring an early American flag after NFL star-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick told the company it shouldn’t sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive, according to people familiar with the matter.

The sneaker giant created the Air Max 1 USA in celebration of the July Fourth holiday, and it was slated to go on sale this week. The heel of the shoe featured a U.S. flag with 13 white stars in a circle, a design created during the American Revolution and commonly referred to as the Betsy Ross flag.

After shipping the shoes to retailers, Nike asked for them to be returned without explaining why, the people said. The shoes aren’t available on Nike’s own apps and websites.

“Nike has chosen not to release the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July as it featured the old version of the American flag,” a Nike spokeswoman said.

After images of the shoe were posted online, Mr. Kaepernick, a Nike endorser, reached out to company officials saying that he and others felt the Betsy Ross flag is an offensive symbol because of its connection to an era of slavery, the people said. Some users on social media responded to posts about the shoe with similar concerns. Mr. Kaepernick declined to comment.

The design was created in the 1770s to represent the 13 original colonies, though there were many early versions of the America flag, according to the Smithsonian. In the 1790s, stars and bars were added to reflect the addition of Vermont and Kentucky as states. U.S. flag designs continued to change as states were admitted to the union until the 50th star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.read it here

I was born and raised in New England by first generation American parents who understood that this country was worth working hard to make a better place, as well as worthy of risking their lives to defend. My Dad and uncles were all in the military.

Our history began by those who were much more offended by being ruled by someone else, namely, the King of England, than they were concerned about what price they would pay for the freedom they were willing to die for.

For a company to be yield to someone being offended by what so many were willing to die for to obtain equals being ruled by someone else...namely the king of the take a knee stunt no matter what football fans thought of it...or him.

Nice work Nike. Maybe you need to appeal to Heaven for a miracle to get your reputation out of the gutter this time too.

"Appeal To Heaven"
The phrase is a particular expression of the right of revolution used by British philosopher John Locke in Second Treatise on Civil Government which was published in 1690 as part of Two Treatises of Government refuting the theory of the divine right of kings.

Locke's works were well-known and frequently quoted by colonial leaders, being the most quoted authority on the government in the 1760-1776 period prior to American independence. Thomas Jefferson was accused of plagiarizing Locke in certain sections of the Declaration of Independence by fellow Virginian delegate Richard Henry Lee.

Prior to Colonel Reed's suggestion and Massachusetts General Court establishing the Pine Tree flag as the standard of the Massachusetts navy, "an appeal to Heaven" or similar expressions had been invoked by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in several resolutions, Patrick Henry in his Liberty or Death speech, and the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms. Subsequently, it was used again by the Second Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence.

Do they know that men and women gave their lives to obtain our freedom from England? 

The Revolutionary War (1775-83)

Or the men and women who once again defended this nation in 1812? Or that is what was behind the writing of the National Anthem they protest?

More gave their lives so that everyone would be free?

Civil War (1861-1865)

We are not perfect but so far, most generations have tried to make it better than it was...until this generation decided history no longer mattered and companies like the NFL and Nike gave them the power over the rest of us.

Arizona governor to withdraw Nike financial incentives after shoe company pulls ‘Betsy Ross’ American flag sneakers


More of us are offended they are not only offended, but that they GET TO RULE BECAUSE THE ARE BRATS! Wonder if he'll take a knee on the 4th of July while everyone else is looking up?

80 years later, Tuskegee Airman received diploma

Tuskegee Airman receives diploma 80 years after high school

By: The Associated Press

July 1, 2019

   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri man who was unable to finish high school but went on to serve as crew chief

A Tuskegee Airman displays a Congressional Gold Medal given to all Tuskegee Airmen during a ceremony commemorating Veterans Day and honoring the group of World War II airmen on Nov. 11, 2013, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that James Shipley got the diploma in a Sunday ceremony.
read it here

Florida police officer proved what good Cops do...and bad guys do to them

To anyone who wants to think that all Police Officers are the bad guys...this proves why they should always have their cameras on. Watch what this guy does to the officer...including trying to grab his gun and then dragging him off the road.

Video shows Florida police officer being dragged by car during traffic stop

Green Beret from Utah died in Afghanistan

Utah soldier dies in Afghanistan

Deseret News Utah
Jasen Lee
Published: July 1, 2019

SALT LAKE CITY — A decorated soldier from Ogden has died while serving in the Middle East.

Sgt. 1st Class Elliott Robbins, 31, died Sunday in a noncombat incident in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, while serving in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, according to a Pentagon report. The incident is under investigation.

A Green Beret, Robbins was assigned to D Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Airborne Group in Fort Carson, Colorado.

His parents said he was deployed in January — his third tour in the Middle East — and was set to return to Utah any day. Robbins leaves behind a wife and an infant son.

His father, Freeman Robbins, was a career Army man himself and said some of that military dedication may have rubbed off on his son. He said his son was proud of his country and proud to serve it.

"What can a parent say? I mean, they're proud that their child does well in what he does," Freeman Robbins said. "He was an Army medic and saved a lot of lives. How can you not be proud of something like that?"

Freeman Robbins says his son served with valor, earning multiple awards. He admitted that at times it was difficult to read about why he Sgt. Robbins received the awards — knowing he was put into some very dangerous situations.
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90,000 Navy "Blue Water" veterans have the law on their side now

update ‘Blue water’ veterans’ claims delayed until next year

“Time is of the essence in this matter. Blue Water Navy Veterans are dying every day,” John Wells, retired Navy commander and the executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy, wrote in a letter to Wilkie Monday morning. “These veterans have waited long enough.”

President Trump signs Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans bill into law

Connecting Vets
ABBIE BENNETT
JUNE 26, 2019

President Donald Trump has signed into law the "Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act," requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide disability benefits to veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam.

The bill is just one more provision in a decades-long fight to guarantee the same benefits to nearly 90,000 Navy veterans who served in the waters offshore of Vietnam that their land and brown-water comrades are entitled to after potentially being exposed to toxic Agent Orange.

Two weeks ago, the Senate passed the bill unanimously and the House passed it unanimously before Memorial Day.

Earlier this month, the final legal battle for Blue Water veterans to qualify for VA disability benefits for exposure to the cancer-causing toxin appeared to be over.
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Disabled veteran survived combat...attempted suicide and struggles to stay alive

Past struggles emerging about disabled veteran charged in NT bomb scare

WBFO News
By MARIAN HETHERLY
JUN 27, 2019

"After giving up on life he became suicidal and prayed that God would just kill him like Jesus Christ. He miraculously got extremely motivated from peer to peer mentoring without remembering the suicide actions for 6 months, but the same day he retired his brother-in-law fell off a cliff and died. Staff Sergeant Payne felt guilty he endured and survived all these hardships."

We are learning more about a disabled veteran who prompted a bomb scare at North Tonawanda City Hall earlier this week.

North Tonawanda Police say Timothy Payne, 36, remains in custody and is scheduled for a hearing in NT City Court Friday morning for criminal possession of a weapon. He also was evaluated by medical personnel.

Payne was arrested Tuesday afternoon after police found a loaded pistol, two military-style rifles and 400 rounds of ammunition in his van. Bomb Squad agents were also called in after another item found appeared to be explosive. Police now say it was a hitch lock, which "could be construed as a pipe bomb."

In fact, they say further investigation has found that Payne appears to be living out of his van since traveling to New York from North Carolina looking for work. He has ties to NT and met with the mayor to express his distress about not being able to find work, but police say Payne has made no threats to anyone.
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Colorado missing sheriff’s deputy remains found

Missing Gypsum man found dead inside his pickup truck, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office says

7 News Denver
By: Ryan Osborne , Óscar Contreras
June 28, 2019

“The love and support this community has shown in the search for Tayler has been beyond words,” Porter said. “This support has been a comfort to his family, friends, co-workers, and the entire community.”

GARFIELD COUNTY, Colo. – A missing sheriff’s deputy who was last seen Tuesday in a rural area of Garfield County was found dead Friday, according to a spokesperson with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.

Tayler Esslinger, 26, of Gypsum, who was last seen Tuesday and was believed to be heading into the mountains, was found in his vehicle Friday afternoon. A cause and manner of death was not immediately released.

“We are very heartbroken by today’s turn of events in this discovery,” said Eagle County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jessie Porter in a news release. “While it was not the outcome we had all been hoping and praying for, these last few days have shown how the circumstances of one individual can pull us together to make us all stronger.”
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Teenager charged with murder of 70 year old Vietnam veteran

Teen arrested for murder of 70-year-old Vietnam veteran

FOX 2 News
Jun 30 2019

(FOX 2) - The teen who was charged with shooting and killing an elderly man after his granddaughter snuck him into her house has been arrested.

David Kentrell Williams was arraigned June 27. He's been charged with one count of 2nd Degree murder and the one count of a felony weapon possession.

According to police, the 17-year-old came over to the victim's house after his girlfriend snuck him inside. That's when Williams got in an argument with Jamie Mintz, a 70-year-old Vietnam veteran. Mintz asked Williams to leave.

Detroit police said the two fought over a gun, and Mintz wound being shot and killed. Police said Williams then left the home with the gun.
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Soldiers Died by Suicide at Arizona-Mexico Border

Official: Soldiers Died by Suicide at Arizona-Mexico Border

The Associated Press
28 Jun 2019

Officials say 20-year-old Pfc. Steven Hodges of Menifee, California, died June 1 near Nogales, and 21-year-old Pfc. Kevin Christian of Haslet, Texas, died Sunday in Ajo, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Nogales.

TUCSON, Ariz. — A medical examiner says two soldiers helping secure the Mexico border in Arizona died by suicide.

Pima County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Greg Hess said Thursday the soldiers died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
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Vietnam veteran shared decades of PTSD pain so others may find hope to heal too!

Vietnam veteran shares PTSD struggle to help others

KSTP ABC 5 news
June 27, 2019

Hanson got help from doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Thursday, was able to proudly wear his uniform and hear his name and details of his service announced to a stadium full of people.

It may seem strange to talk about a serious subject like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at a baseball game, but Vietnam War Veteran David Hanson, of Shorewood, knows that's a little like what living with PTSD is like — outside you make everything seem ok, but inside there's tremendous pain.

"It's still a little tough to understand why a lot of the public had such hatred for the Vietnam vets," Hanson said.

June 27 is PTSD Awareness Day – a day meant to bring attention to the mental condition thousands of veterans live with as they are haunted by tragic experiences from war. It can affect anyone who has experienced trauma.

For Hanson, who was a sergeant in the Air Force, the flashbacks and nightmares came decades after his time in combat during Vietnam. He said he became obsessed with safety and security at his home, checking locks multiple times and hiding weapons in several places.

"I started having flashbacks, more vivid dreams, couldn't sleep at night that drove me to three attempts at suicide," Hanson said.

"His breaking point brought our family to our knees," said Cori Hintzman, who said her family had no idea. "I was so shocked with how much pain he had inside and what he lived with everyday. I had no idea, and I lived with him my whole life."
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"The thing that brings us all together is love..." at Jarheads funeral

'Tough to Lose Your Brothers': Funerals Held for Marine Motorcycle Club Bikers

The Associated Press
By Michael Casey
29 Jun 2019

"The thing that brings us all together is love, love for my Dad." Matthew Ferazzi

Members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club and a police honor guard salute as the casket of Michael Ferazzi is loaded into a hearse outside St. Peter's Catholic Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Friday, June 28, 2019. Ferazzi, a motorcyclist and retired police officer, was killed in a fiery crash that claimed the lives of seven people riding with the Jarheads Motorcycle Club in New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A motorcyclist who was among seven killed in a collision with a pickup truck last week was a family man, proud Marine and dedicated public servant, mourners said Friday at a funeral that drew about 200 people, including leather-clad bikers and law enforcement officers.

The funeral for Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire, was held at a church in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The rumbling of motorcycles echoed through town as dozens of bikes made their way to the service.

Many riders were fellow members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, with which Ferazzi and the other six killed were riding when they died. They hugged one another as Ferazzi's flag-draped casket was carried into the church and offered a military salute alongside their bikes as the service ended with the Marine Corps hymn on bagpipes.

"Tough to lose your brothers, especially so many at one time," said Jarheads member Paul Downey as he and his fellow bikers got on their motorcycles for the ride to the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

"He had a lot more life in him," said retired Lt. Col. Joe Murray. Ferazzi was in his American Legion post, he said, and the two marched in parades together.

"He didn't need to die when he was obviously enjoying the ride with his buddies," Murray said. "But it's good he died doing something he loved."
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PTSD Awareness is watching them fall

Raising PTSD Awareness, hardly working

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 30, 2019

While it seems as if there are more people "raising awareness" on PTSD and suicides, than ever before, we need to recognize that it is hardly working. Once we accept that fact, then maybe we can change the outcome. Until we stop settling for something that is not working, nothing will change.

Back in 2008, I was at an event with the VA. I talked with a couple of mental health professionals, I once admired, until I asked them what they thought of "Battlemind." 

It was a program the DOD was using to get servicemembers to "train their brain" to become mentally tough. The results we astonishingly abysmal.

When they gave me the usual talking points as to why they were spreading the program out as much as possible following the DOD as a guide, I pointed out the results.

The reply from the "professionals" was "it is better than nothing."

Thirty-seven years ago, that answer may have been acceptable, since few knew what was going on with researchers working very hard on finding the best treatments. 

I know because I read their books with a dictionary at the local library month after month with as much free time as I could spend there. It was 1982 and we did not even have computers in our homes.

Now we have cellphones, putting the world in the palms of our hands, but as oblivious as most were back then, it seems to be accepted as trendy now.

I read stuff being shared all over social media and wonder if anyone has really given any of it any thought at all. Do they ever wonder how large the chain of domino knockdown is?

Sure, it is cool to watch stunts like this, but the result is, something that stood up...fell down.

This article sums it all up very well.

Statistics on PTSD in Veterans

U.S. News and World Report
By Elaine K. Howley, Contributor 
June 28, 2019

This article is based on reporting that features expert sources including Freda C. Lewis-Hall, MD, DFAPA; Janina Scarlet, PhD; Rand McClain, DO; Ken Yeager, PhD, LISW

AS GENERAL WILLIAM Tecumseh Sherman famously noted during the Civil War, “War is hell.” It’s hell for civilians caught in the cross-fire and can be hell for the political powers that petition for it. But most especially war can become an exceptionally cruel and lasting hell for the soldiers tasked with waging it.

Once called shell-shock, then Vietnam Veteran’s Disorder, a condition now referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder is common among military personnel who have served, and it, too, is considered a hellish condition by many people who have it. Though PTSD occurs at higher rates among military personnel than the general population, we now understand that it can develop in anyone who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event.

How Common Is PTSD Among Veterans?
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder among veteran varies depending on which conflict a service member was involved with.

About 11 to 20 out of every 100 veterans (or between 11 and 20%) who served in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have PTSD in a given year.

About 12 out of every 100 Gulf War Veterans (or 12%) have PTSD in a given year.

About 15 out of every 100 Vietnam veterans (15%) were currently diagnosed with PTSD when the most recent study of them (the National Vietnam Veteran Readjustment Study) was conducted in the late 1980s. It’s believed that 30% of Vietnam veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime.

The article also had this.

These troubling statistics point to another complication of life after war for veterans – a lack of support and connection to others, Yeager says. “The whole idea of the band of brothers is a very real neurophysiological situation. You never feel more alive or more connected with people than you do when you’re in that combat field and I think for many vets combing back who’ve had their neurotransmitters firing at a very high rate, they struggle with ‘how do I find this again? Where can I get this kind of feeling alive?’”

read the rest of the article here

Should you wonder if it is worth it the next time you see something you want to share? Yes! Share what works. Share what is offering hope to those who have lost theirs. Share facts. Share real support. Then maybe we can run the knockdown of dominos in reverse and watch them all stand up. 

Disabled workers may be forced to fold last flag

Dozens of disabled workers face layoffs after Huntsville flag manufacturer’s federal contract ends

WAFF 48 News
By McKinley Strother
June 28, 2019

“We’re for employment of all persons. We want to make sure people with a disability have a seat at the table.” Wes Tyler

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - A federal court ruling ends a 25-year flag contract for a Huntsville-based company. The court upheld the U.S. Veteran Administration’s Rule of Two, meaning that veteran-owned companies will be given priority over AbilityOne nonprofits as bids are awarded.

Phoenix in south Huntsville has been producing interment flags for Veterans Administration since 1994. The company primarily employs disabled or veteran flag-makers.

“The contract was cancelled and the final shipment will be made in about 10 days," said Wes Tyler, Phoenix’s VP of Manufacturing and Business Development.

The AbilityOne Program has its beginnings in a 1938 law that allows nonprofits to be awarded certain federal contracts as long as they meet quality and pricing requirements, and 75 percent of the employees are people with disabilities. Through its AbilityOne contracts, Phoenix employs 791 people, 75 of which are veterans.

Nearly two dozen people work on Phoenix’s contract with the VA to manufacture interment flags, 95 percent of whom have a significant disability. Phoenix has produced more than 2.1 million flags since beginning the contract.

“People have come and gone but we still have a lot of folks like myself that have been here 24 years," said Wanda Duboise.

Duboise is worried about her professional and financial future. “I’m still trying to be optimistic that someway or another it can turn around for us," said Duboise.
read more here

Retired Green Beret received Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in Afghanistan

Green Beret received valor award upgrade for 2005 firefight

Military Times
By: Kyle Rempfer
June 21, 2019

Retired Master Sgt. Larry Hawks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on June 21 for his actions in Afghanistan back in 2005.

The ceremony took place at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School auditorium on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to an Army news release.

Hawks received the DSC — the second highest military decoration awarded to a U.S. soldier — for gallantry under fire as a member of 3rd Special Forces Group on July 24 and July 25, 2005, in Afghanistan.

“Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, while conducting armed reconnaissance of a town, came under intense enemy small arms, rocket propelled grenade, and mortar fire," the citation reads, according to the Army release. “While moving to interdict enemy combatants attempting to reposition themselves on the high ground west of the village, he discovered one of his comrades was pinned down by enemy fire.”

"Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, without regard for his own safety dismounted from his vehicle and charged toward the enemy position on the high ground. Under continuous fire, he engaged and neutralized the enemy position.”

His actions led to 15 confirmed enemy killed in action, the capture of 14 insurgents, and the recovery of over 30 light and heavy weapons, according to his older Silver Star citation.
read more here

Give your love story a fighting chance against PTSD

Your love solid as a rock!

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 29, 2019

If you love someone with PTSD, you may think that it is hopeless. Trust me on that one, I remember what that was like. 

Why does there seem to be more and more reasons to walk away and less reasons to stay?

Sure you've heard all the talk about "being broken" and "damaged" along with all the other hurtful stuff people say. What they say is based on the inability to learn much at all about what it takes to be a survivor.  After all, those are the only people who get hit by PTSD...those who survived what put their lives in danger.

If they are a veteran of service caused PTSD, that makes them very special, and it also causes a deeper level of PTSD. 

They care so much about others, they were willing to die to save them. While most people automatically run away from danger, they made it their job to run toward it.

When you love them, it is so easy to mess up. It is easy to question why they seem to be so much different than the person you fell in love with. You'll find answers. You'll find reasons to blame and most of the time, you blame them.

Isn't it time that you invested your time to find out exactly what the real reason for the changes is?

I did. After 37 years when I heard the song "Solid" As A Rock by Ashford and Simpson, all I could think about was all the effort that went into our relationship has left us solid as a rock.

It is the reason why I wrote For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle in 2002 and republished it in 2012.

Want to avoid losing time when you could be enjoying celebrating a love that is solid as a rock with someone who was able to love so much they risked their lives for it? Read the book, watch the videos on YouTube and you can show your love is so strong you were willing to help them heal and fight by their side.

Solid
Ashford and Simpson

And for love's sake, each mistake
Ah, you forgave
And soon both of us learned to trust
Not run away, it was no time to play
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is
That's what we've got, oh
Solid, solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot
Oh, you didn't turn away
When the sky went gray
Somehow we managed
We had to stick together (oh, oh)
You didn't bat an eye
When I made you cry
We knew down the line
We would make it better (oh, oh)
And for love's sake, each mistake
Ah, you forgave
And soon both of us learned to trust
Not run away, it was no time to play
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is (oh, oh)
That's what we've got (oh)
Yes, it is
Solid, solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot
Oh, gone with the wind
Another friend
Got in between
Tried to separate us (oh, oh)
Oh, knock-knock on wood
You understood
Love was so new
We did what we had to (ooh, ooh)
And with that feeling
We were willing to take a chance
So against all odds, we made a start
We got serious, this wouldn't turn to dust
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is, oh
That's what we've got, oh
Solid (yes, it is)
Solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot , hot
Solid, solid as a rock (you know it, well, you know it, baby)
Solid, solid as a rock (lovin' me, lovin' me, oh)
Solid (don't leave me, baby)
Solid as a rock (well, well, well, well)
Solid, solid as a rock (every day it gets sweeter, now)
Solid, solid as a rock (good, good, well, it's good, good, good)
Solid
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson
Solid lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

What the Dems need to know about veterans

What should the next president know about veterans?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 28, 2019

For the last couple of nights I tried to make it through watching the Democrats debates, but ended up changing the channel.

How is it that they have missed what our veterans actually want in return for their service?

PBS News Hour

We heard a lot about how awful civilian healthcare system is. We know that, since we live with it all the time. So how is it that none of them managed to acknowledge that sending disabled veterans into that system subjects them to the same problems they are already dealing with in the VA system?

It puts them into a long line of patients who were there before them. New patients always have to wait for first appointments. 

It makes them wait even longer to see a specialist, if they find one willing to deal with the VA.

What makes all this even worse is the fact that civilian doctors do not understand military culture or their unique healthcare needs.

That's the conclusion of a study published in Family Practice titled "Caring for veterans in U.S. civilian primary care: qualitative interviews with primary care providers."

This is not a new issue for them. It was one of the reasons the VA started in the first place. Veterans are not civilians and their wounds, the healthcare issues that created the disability originated with their service to this country. In other words, they pre-paid for their healthcare.

Taking a look at the civilian healthcare system, their track record is too unreliable to subject veterans into that system.

While current military and veteran suicides have increased, the suicides in the civilian population have gone up as well.

Suicide rates among people 15 to 64 increased significantly during that period, rising from 10.5 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2017, the most recent year with available data, according to annual research published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics..."

How is it possible that President Trump and members of Congress thought it was a good idea to send veterans into worse care instead of fixing the VA?

How are they not ashamed to admit how little they know about our veterans unique needs?

We have the same problems in civilian care the veterans have to deal with. We wait for appointments, then wait for appointments with specialists. 

We deal with insurance companies deciding what care they will pay for instead of what doctors decide is necessary.

They cannot sue for malpractice if the doctor does not work for the VA

A doctor who he thought worked for VA, but was actually an independent contractor, botched his diagnoses delaying treatment for months. In the meantime, his condition became so grim that he feared for his own life. According to documents obtained by Connecting Vets, the hospital openly admits that Tally received second-rate care while at a VA emergency room in Loma Linda, Calif., about 56 miles east of Los Angeles.

But they can sue the VA if their care was provided by the VA.

PTSD is something that over 7 million Americans are suffering from, but the President thinks private doctors should also take care of veterans dealing with PTSD combat caused? They cannot even take care of the first responders suffering from what their jobs did in their own communities!

This "choice" is not what the veterans want or deserve from any president! They want a VA that works for them!