VA Debated PR Plan on Vets’ Suicides/By Jason Leopold

consortiumnews.com

VA Debated PR Plan on Vets’ Suicides

By Jason Leopold
April 22, 2008

Senior officials at the Veterans Administration debated internally how to downplay evidence of a stunning number of suicides and suicide attempts among veterans who were treated or had sought help at VA hospitals around the country, according to newly disclosed internal VA e-mails.

On Feb. 13, 2008, Ira Katz, the VA’s mental health director, and Ev Chasen, the agency’s chief communications director, exchanged e-mails discussing P.R. strategy for handling this troubling news, according to evidence made public Monday in a federal court case in Northern California.

The exchange came in the context of how to handle inquiries from CBS News, which was reporting on the surge of suicides among U.S. veterans – reaching an average of 18 per day – with part of that rise attributed to soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“BODY OF WAR”, PHIL DONAHUE DOCUMENTARY, COMING TO NEON MOVIES, DAYTON, MAY 30

Phil Donahue’s new documentary, “Body of War”, will be

at the NEON MOVIES downtown Dayton beginning on May

30 for an Open Run.  Check www.NeonMovies.com for

dates and times.

The interview linked below is with the

wheelchair-bound protagonist in the film, Tomas Young,

member of Iraq Vets Against the War.

VIDEO | Interview With Tomas Young of Film “Body of War”

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040808A.shtml

Truthout’s Geoffrey Millard interviews Tomas Young, Iraq veteran and subject of the new film “Body of War.” Young discusses the extreme difficulties of his injury and having incurred them in a war he feels was not worth fighting. Accompanying the interview is a review of the film by Camilla Herrera of Greenwich Time.

UPDATE>BUSTED FOR PROSTITUTION RELATED OFFENSES,DAYTON

It’s a little, obscure list, but apparently an interesting one nonetheless. The list, of people convicted of prostitution related offense in Dayton Municipal court is normally compiled by the Prosecutors office, approximately quarterly.

No list has come out since August of ‘07, so i called the Prosecutor’s office to find out where’s the most recent list? Delayed. The Dayton Court’s have been undergoing incremental conversion to a new computer system and the programming for this list is down near the bottom of the list of projects. An attorney for the Prosecutor’s office said she hoped the new list will be available in the next month or so. Hopefully.

The previous listing of offenders has had nearly 250 views so far this month, indicating an on-going interest in this “vital statistic“…hope to post the next exciting list soon…

The Freedom to Starve: Why the Left Should Reject Ron Paul

By SHERRY WOLF12/26/07 “Counterpunch‘ – — “POLITICS, LIKE nature, abhors a vacuum,” goes the revamped aphorism. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s surprising stature among a small but vocal layer of antiwar activists and leftist bloggers appears to bear this out.

At the October 27, 2007, antiwar protests in dozens of cities noticeable contingents of supporters carried his campaign placards and circulated sign-up sheets. The Web site antiwar.com features a weekly Ron Paul column. Some even dream of a Left-Right gadfly alliance for the 2008 ticket. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, liberal maverick and Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich told supporters in late November he was thinking of making Ron Paul his running mate if he were to get the nomination.

No doubt, the hawkish and calculating Hillary Rodham Clinton and flaccid murmurings of Barack Obama, in addition to the uninspiring state of the antiwar movement that backed a prowar candidate in 2004, help fuel the desperation many activists feel. But leftists must unequivocally reject the reactionary libertarianism of this longtime Texas congressman and 1988 Libertarian Party presidential candidate.

Ron Paul’s own campaign Web site reads like the objectivist rantings of Ayn Rand, one of his theoretical mentors. As with the Atlas Shrugged author’s other acolytes, neocon guru Milton Friedman and former Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan, Paul argues, “Liberty means free-market capitalism.” He opposes “big government” and in the isolationist fashion of the nation’s Pat Buchanans, he decries intervention in foreign nation’s affairs and believes membership in the United Nations undermines U.S. sovereignty.

US SENATOR SHERROD BROWN:A 2007 RETROSPECTIVE

A year ago, due to the hard work of people like you, Ohioans turned Ohio blue by electing Ted Strickland to lead our state, Jennifer Brunner to restore fair elections, Marc Dann as our top law enforcement officer, Rich Cordray to manage our state’s finances, and selecting me to serve in the U.S. Senate.

During the campaign, I promised I would put the middle class first as Ohio’s U.S. Senator. I have honored that commitment.

To date, I have held 71 roundtables from Toledo to Marietta, from Ashtabula to Cincinnati. I have held legislative conference calls with Ohioans on issues ranging from agriculture to education to job creation.

Thanksgiving 2007: The American Predicament/Huffington Post

Jon Robin Baitz|

Posted November 21, 2007 | 11:46 PM (EST) in the

The Huffington Post

 

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Read More: Christopher Hitchens, Curb Your Enthusiasm, George Bush, Giving Thanks, Keith Olbermann, Mad Men, Marian Wright Edelman, Michel De Montaigne, New York Times, No Child Left Behind, Sidney Lumet, Thanksgiving, The Children’s Defense Fund, Walter Reed, Warren Buffett, Breaking News

After five years of being mostly in L.A. where Thanksgiving generally happens under the harshest of desert suns, I am back home in New York, which pleases me. I was considering sharing my mother’s marvelous and slightly eccentric recipe for turkey, bathed in garlic and a good olive oil and cooked in a brown paper bag, which is not to be opened until the bird is cooked. I have done it many times, to (first) the bafflement and worry, and then (inevitable) pleasure of friends, and it always produces a gorgeous and succulent bird. I’ll save it for next year.

 

 

At Passover, I am the one who causes the trouble, and asks unpleasant questions about the current iteration of the land of milk and honey. So you can tell where this is going, regarding the giving of thanks. If you are lucky enough to share the day with friends and family, there is usually a moment where you take in the gathered, the noise, the remains of the meal, kids, dogs, parents, all more or less equally sedated, and sort of smile. You smile at the good fortune of being with people you love, and have known for a very long time. At the safety of it. In my case, there is much to be grateful for. Health, faculties more or less intact, sense of humor more or less intact, and a small measure of financial security for now. So without turning Thanksgiving into some sort of secular Yom Kippur (one is enough, really), a little accounting is in order between the glazed yams and the turkey sandwich the next day.

CBS News Reports a Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans

The casualties do not always take place on the battlefield, and for many, survival may be too painful to bear…CBS News has produced a shocking investigation into the suicide rate among veterans over the last 12 years, a report which could dramatically change our view of the human cost of war.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/cbsnews_investigates/main3496471.shtml

Musings an Miscellania 11/17/07

NY Times movie Critic A O Scott discusses movies about the Iraq War in a short video”column“ http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/26/movies/20071028_IRAQMOVIES_FEATURE.html

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MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann: How to Really Support Our Troops [VIDEO]

Olbermann is the antithesis of the Faux News O’Reilly/Hannity spin cycles. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/waroniraq/68165

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HOMOPHOBIC  MINISTERS WANT TO DERAIL DAYTON CITY GLB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE

On the local front, it appears that much of the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance opposition to the City of Dayton’s proposed ordinance granting gays and lesbians equal protection against discrimination is driven by homophobic hysteria. Members of the alliance have ties to national church groups with strong stands against homosexuality, especially the Southern Baptist’s. I find it very troubling that an organization ostensibly geared toward fighting discrimination would employ discriminatory tactic to deny others equal protection under the law.The proposed ordinance is scheduled for discussion and a vote at the next City Commission meeting Nov 22 @6 pm. Commissioners should ignore the homophobic rantings of the local Talibanist’s and pass this legislation post haste

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State may cut benefits for kids Parents fighting Medicaid limits on mental-health care/

Saturday, November 17, 2007 3:56 AM

By Alan Johnson and Catherine Candisky

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

KIRK IRWINDISPATCH

Keegan McCann, 6, walks to the car with his father, Jay, after being picked up from school at Ohio State University’s Harding Hospital. Keegan, who is severely autistic, attends the school 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week.

“Bye, Dad.”Simple words to most parents; they hear them every day.

But they were very special words to Jay McCann when he heard them for the first time recently from Keegan, his 6-year-old, severely autistic son.

“That moment felt like the day he was born,” McCann said. “I saw a rebirth of my son.”

A rule proposed by the Strickland administration has McCann and other parents concerned that their children may be deprived of the specialized services they now receive.

The administrative rule, which would limit some services eligible for Medicaid payments in an attempt to head off action from the federal government, is scheduled for a public hearing Monday before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.

MEGA VOTE/HOW CONGRESS VOTED 11/05/07 UPDATE

Congress.org presents:

November 5, 2007 In this MegaVote for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District: Upcoming Congressional Bills - Senate: Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 Senate: Conference Report on Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 Senate: Veto Override on Water Resources Development Act of 2007 House: Conference Report on Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 House: Veto Override on Water Resources Development Act of 2007 House: United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act House: Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 Posted in Blue Dog Democrats, George Voinovich, Health Care, MIKE TURNER, SHERROD BROWN, U S Senate, US CONGRESS | No Comments » MEGA VOTE/HOW CONGRESS VOTED 10/22/07 UPDATE Posted by leftofdayton on October 22, 2007   Congress.org presents:   October 22, 2007 In this MegaVote for Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District: Recent Congressional Votes - Senate: Commerce/Justice/Science Appropriations Act, FY2008 House: Internet Tax Freedom Act House: Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act House: Overriding the Veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act Upcoming Congressional Bills - Senate: Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 House: Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 House: Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 House: Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act   Recent Senate Votes   Commerce/Justice/Science Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (75-19, 6 Not Voting) The Senate approved this $55.4 billion bill that would fund the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, NASA and other science agencies. Sen. George Voinovich voted NO……send e-mail or see bio Sen. Sherrod Brown voted YES……send e-mail or see bio   Recent House Votes   Internet Tax Freedom Act - Vote Passed (405-2, 25 Not Voting) The House passed legislation that would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes through November 2011. Rep. Michael Turner voted NO……send e-mail or see bio Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act - Vote Passed (377-38, 16 Not Voting) This House bill would require rail carriers transporting hazardous substances to pass inspection and to provide their workers with supplementary safety equipment. Rep. Michael Turner voted YES……send e-mail or see bio Overriding the Veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - Vote Failed (273-156, 4 Not Voting) The House came thirteen votes short of overriding the President’s veto of H.R. 976, a bill that would reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Rep. Michael Turner voted YES……send e-mail or see bio   Upcoming Votes   Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 - H.R.3043 The Senate is expected to complete this $600 billion bill funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for the 2008 fiscal year. Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 - H.R.3685 The House is scheduled to take up this bill on Wednesday that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on sexual orientation. Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2007 - H.R.505 Under this bill, Native Hawaiians would be permitted to organize into a governing entity that could negotiate with the federal government. Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act - H.R.3867 This bill is intended to improve the government’s small business contracting programs.   MegaVote is powered by Capitol Advantage © 2007.   No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.15.5/1085 - Release Date: 10/22/2007 10:35 AM Posted in George Voinovich, Health Care, MIKE TURNER, SHERROD BROWN, U S Senate, US CONGRESS, US Government | No Comments » « Previous Entries   Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Andreas09 by Andreas Viklund.