According to reports from the AP there were at least 11 protestors killed during the protests for George Floyd as of June 2, 2020. We all saw the horrible images of looters, rioters destroying property, as well as what happened when police responded to protestors. We saw them being attacked, vehicles destroyed and every other horrible thing that happened.
The thing is, we also saw humanity at its best. Officers joining protestors, walking and praying with them. We saw protestors protecting officers. We saw a lot, but as much as we were affected by the images, we tend to forget that they are also affected by what they see on a daily basis. They see the bad results of what people choose to do, as well as when they choose to respond with acts of kindness.
Right now there are government officials talking about defunding law enforcement. It is almost as if they think there is no need for them to be there. It isn't as if everyplace is like Mayberry with Andy and Barney being able to protect the community.
Instead of getting rid of officers, how about we do the smart thing and get rid of bad ones at the same time we get those who need help to heal because of their jobs actually get it?
According to Officer Down it was 147. For 2020 so far it has been 97.
From 2008 throughout 2010, I trained to help first responders heal because of their jobs. Crisis Intervention Teams seemed to focus on the victims, more than the responders but the need was clear to me.
Please take a serious look at just a few of the times when they showed up to mass shootings and notice how fast they responded. As bad as the incident was, it would have been much worse had they not been on their jobs willing to die for others.
•9:35:39 The first 911 call to police was received.
•9:36:06, a dispatcher broadcast that there had been a shooting at Sandy Hook school.
•9:39:00 The first Newtown police officer arrived at the school. Two more officers arrived 13 seconds later. Gunshots were heard.
•9:39:34, a police officer encountered an "unknown male" running along the east side of the school.
•9:40:03, the last gunshot was heard.
USA Today
Pulse Nightclub (CNN)Here's a timeline of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, when a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53
1:58 a.m320 people are enjoying a "Latin flavor" event at Pulse
2:02 a.m. ET:An officer working extra duty in uniform at the club hears gunshots and engages the shooter. Some 100 officers from the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Orlando Police Department respond to the chaotic scene over the next 45 minutes.
Mandalay Bay Resort58 people were killed and more than 850 injured when a gunman opened fire at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip on October 1, 2017.
Using multiple rifles, Paddock opened fired on the crowd of 22,000 people below him, from a distance where he would have had no ability to distinguish individual targets.
10:05 p.m.: Paddock starts shooting out the window.
10:12 p.m.: Police inside the hotel start to close in.
10:15 p.m.: Paddock stops shooting out the window.
There are many more of these times, but I am sure you noticed how much worse it could have been. Consider that the next time you want to approve of law enforcement being off the jobs they do.
It is with a heavy heart that I have given up on what I have dedicated the last 38 years to. My focus has been on veterans fighting PTSD all these years. But lately, I have gone from waking up in the morning, wondering what I could do to help, to waking up wondering why I even bother to try.
While individual veterans have supported the work I do, the truth is, the Veterans Community never really did. They just wanted what I could do for them with my camera and giving them publicity. Understandable since I am not one of them.
I did not plan on making this announcement on D-Day but it just worked out that way. I gave up my tax exempt and constraints of belonging to groups. From this day forward, I will write and speak for myself...as myself. This is my turning point, just as D-Day was the turning point of WWII, when soldiers like my Father-in-law hit the beach of Normandy.
All too many have been, for 76 years since that fateful June 6 on France’s Normandy beaches, when allied troops in 1944 turned the course of World War II and went on to defeat fascism in Europe in one of the most remarkable feats in military history.
My heart is forever with veterans and I will not abandon you. My phone still works and my email has not changed. With that said, from this point on, Wounded Times will be about anyone dealing with PTSD and so will PTSD Patrol
I trained for decades to do this work because I understood what it was like to suffer after surviving. I did it ten times. Personal knowledge of what it does gave me a greater understanding of what others endure. So, yes, this was all very personal to me. On the flip side, I also understand what it is like to heal and how to do it.
My faith has sustained me, guided me and healed me. It has allowed me to see the glory of God's work through me as more and more veterans found the way to heal and my life has been blessed by many sharing what they have done with what they learned from me. Now I want to share that with everyone else.
I have been beaten down many time before but as the sun set on one attempt, it lifted on another. I hope, I pray, that this turning point will help others be aware that tomorrow can be a lot better than this day was.
I Will Rise
There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Chris Tomlin / Jesse Reeves / Louie Giglio / Matt Maher
Storytellers Project to stream show about never giving up
USA Today
Michelle Rogers
June 5, 2020
The USA TODAY Network's Storytellers Project will stream the show, part of its virtual season, at 8 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 11.
Bouncing back. Recovering. Getting help and getting on with it.
The Storytellers Project will celebrate resiliency in all of its forms during a show on June 11 from the USA TODAY Network.
“For so many reasons, now feels like a time when we could use stories of meaningful resilience in the face of adversity of all kinds,” said Megan Finnerty, founder and director of the Storytellers Project. “We are so fortunate to have storytellers willing to be vulnerable, and honest.”
The series, called “LIVE, In Your House," has been drawing hundreds of thousands of views since debuting April 2, when the COVID-19 pandemic started closing down venues where in-person shows had been held across the country. Shows are now streamed on the Storytellers Project’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. read it here
When Drew Brees took the position of defending the flag and the National Anthem for the sake of our veterans, he was supported. He was also attacked for doing it. Then he was forced to apologize for doing it.
What the hell is wrong with the NFL? Are any of you thinking at all? Protesting during the National Anthem hurts veterans and fans, along with tremendously patriotic people, but your players insist it is their right to do it.
How can you not see that it is not that they are doing it. It is when they are doing it?
It is one thing to demand the attention of the media coverage of the game and all the cell phones held in the hands of fans to make a statement, but it hurts too many people instead of getting them to support the movement.
We have seen how millions of Americans have joined in one the fight for justice, taking to the streets in protest. We have seen police officers join in by taking a knee in solidarity.
The National Anthem is not the time to do it! Try letting the players do it during halftime and allowing them to kneel for 8 minutes 46 seconds. You want the fans to come back, especially when there is a pandemic? Then support both causes. Stop offending those who are emotionally attached to both sides and you will probably see the fans take a knee as well as the players!
Here are all the current and former military leaders blasting Trump’s response to nationwide protests
Task and Purpose
Jared Keller
June 4, 2020
Since the earliest days of his presidency, President Donald Trump has showered "his generals" with an absurd amount of adoration, transforming America's military brass from mere advisors to symbols of legitimacy and trust within his administration.
But in the protests that have followed the death of unarmed African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer — and Trump's subsequent threats to deploy the military to quell protests nationwide — the president's implicit reliance on generals appears weakened as military leaders speak out and contradict the president's message of force.
In recent days, several generals from past administrations have spoken out strongly against both Trump personally and the approach his administration has taken to the violence that has rocked in recent days, from current Defense Secretary Mark Esper referring to American cities as "battle space" to Trump's demand that governors use the National Guard to "dominate" protestors in their states.
The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have on-demand coronavirus testing for its employees up and running just yet, despite its best intentions to screen anyone who presented symptoms or believed they had been exposed.
VA has tested about 12% of its health workforce for the virus, Richard Stone, executive-in-charge at the Veterans Health Administration, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday afternoon.
His comments contrast with those the department made one week ago before another congressional committee, when Jennifer MacDonald, chief consultant to the deputy VA undersecretary for health, told a House appropriations subcommittee any symptomatic employee or anyone who wanted a test could be screened.
“We’re not hearing that,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the committee’s ranking member, said. “We’re not hearing that from the folks on the ground. We’re still hearing that they’re not being tested.”
“Senator, you are exactly right, we’re not there yet,” Stone said. “Although we’ve tested over 12% of our employees, and it is our intent to have on-demand testing for all of our employees, we’re not there yet.”
Military children shouldn’t be penalized for seeking mental health care, senators say
Military Times
Karen Jowers
June 2, 2020
The proposal would require the service surgeons general to give “liberal consideration” to children raised in a military family, because of the potential challenges of military family life, when deciding whether to grant a waiver allowing them to join the military despite prior mental health conditions. It the waiver is denied, a mental health provider would have to review the request.
Army Lt. Col. Rudy De La Rosa with his daughter Samantha, who graduated from Air Force basic military training in May, 2019. She successfully fought to overcome notations in her dependent medical record that initially kept her out of the military. (Photo courtesy of De La Rosa family)
Senators are seeking to end “undue discrimination” against military dependents and civilians with prior mental health conditions who seek to enter the military.
“Children who face the stress of parents being deployed, moving frequently and other sacrifices should never be penalized for seeking mental health care,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who introduced legislation in May, along with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.
