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WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2008 – Actor and director Ben Affleck and other celebrities joined more than 1,000 volunteers over the weekend to put together care packages for deployed troops at the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, Calif. Actor and director Ben Affleck helps Operation Gratitude volunteers assemble care packages for deployed troops in the National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, Calif. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Operation Gratitude, a California-based troop-support group, organized the event that also included actress and model Kathy Ireland and “Days of Our Lives” soap opera stars Deidre Hall, Jay Kenneth...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2008 – While deployed to Iraq, Jacob Fletcher wrote to his mother, Dorine Kenney, asking her to send one of his buddies a care package, as his friend hadn't received anything from home since he arrived overseas. Jacob's Light Foundation volunteers pack care packages for deployed servicemembers at the Brentwood American Legion Hall in Bay Shore, N.Y. The New York-based troop-support group sends care packages and letters to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan each month. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The next week, Kenney sent the package out and, soon after, started...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2008 – Wounded servicemembers are finding an unlikely resource for care at Arkansas State University in a new program officials there hope will catch on at other college campuses. Susan Tonymon, director of the Beck Pride Center at the university’s Jonesboro campus, described the program in an “ASY Live” interview on BlogTalkRadio.com. The university opened the center in October 2007 as a supplement to Veterans Affairs programs, Tonymon said. The campus is an ideal place to reach out to wounded troops, she said. “Arkansas State University is a very military-friendly campus,” Tonymon said. With a National...

12/3/2008 - ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- For National Guard members who are about to deploy, there is a lot to think about before heading overseas. Changes have to be made to school and work schedules, arrangements have to be made for routine household chores, but for many, child care is one thing that weighs heaviest on their minds. For Guard family members, there is help. The National Guard's Child Care Subsidy Program works to assist spouses and family members with the costs of child care during deployment. The program, which has been around for about five years, grew out of...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2008 – The Air Force Warrior and Survivor Care Program is reaching out to wounded airmen from the point injury on the battlefield and throughout their rehabilitation and reintegration and beyond, the program’s manager said yesterday. The program’s success relies largely on family liaison officers and community readiness consultants, John Beckett said in a “Dot Mil Docs” radio interview on BlogTalkRadio.com. “The backbone of that entire program is what we call the family liaison officer,” he said. “The family liaison officer is assigned to a family to be their personalized assistant, if you will, to help...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2008 – Marine Lt. Gen. Ronald S. Coleman, deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs, spoke with American Forces Press Service about the Marine Corps’ wounded warrior care program and the Corps’ policy of allowing seriously injured Marines to return to active duty. The following questions and answers were taken from that interview. Q. The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment is the only wounded warrior program of the services set up so that the regimental commander, an 0-6 (colonel), answers directly to a three-star general. Why is your program set up that way and does it...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2008 – In January 2006, as Marine Lt. Ray Baronie was lying in a hospital bed recovering from wounds he suffered in Iraq, a Marine lieutenant colonel in his dress uniform, sporting a question mark-shaped scar on the side of his head, paid him a visit. Marine Capt. Ray Baronie, commander of Company A, Wounded Warrior Battalion East, Camp Lejeune, N.C., walks through his barracks inspecting renovations. Baronie was injured when an anti-tank round struck his vehicle in Iraq in 2005. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Remarkably,...

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 17, 2008 – Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts was not exactly what the doctor ordered when the leaders of Safe Harbor called and interviewed him for a job to be an advocate for wounded warriors. Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts made the unlikely move from cook to wounded sailor advocate. Now his colleagues call him a "super star" in his field. U.S. Navy courtesy photo.   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Pitts had none of the experience to make him a likely candidate. He had no medical background. No psychiatric background. Not even a...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2008 – The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment’s Call Center is dedicated to helping wounded Marines and their families with various issues and referral assistance. Navy Cmdr. William Tanner, the Wounded Warrior Regiment’s regimental surgeon, said the call center is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Any Marines [or] sailors that have served with Marines, and their families, [and] have questions and need help can call into the center,” Tanner said Nov. 6 on the “DotMilDocs” radio program on BlogTalkRadio.com. The call center’s mission is to provide support through distribution of information, resources, advocacy...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2008 – Navy Adm. Mike Mullen didn’t like the way wounded Vietnam veterans were treated when he first entered the service in 1968, and he is working to ensure that America’s wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan get the care and help they need and deserve. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a Pentagon Channel podcast interview yesterday that as one of the leaders of the U.S. military, he is passionate “about seeing to the needs of those who are wounded – who have sacrificed so much, whose lives have been changed so...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2008 – Whether you are a young soldier leaving boot camp for a tour in Germany or a seasoned military police officer working in Iraq, receiving a care package from home can be a huge pick-me-up. A Web site launched in September provides many ideas to families and friends wanting to send care packages to love ones stationed abroad. Abby Tymchak of Wayne, N.J., was inspired to create the site, called “The Soldiers Family,” when she found out her husband, Army Sgt. Scott Kowalski, was being deployed overseas for at least a year. Initially, she said,...

John McCain´s health care reform proposal was pretty impressive until he demonstrated his complete inability to defend it against a very weak attack. It sort of makes you wonder if McCain really knows how his own proposal works. Barack Obama is running around saying – and running ads to the effect – that McCain wants to institute a tax on employer-provided health insurance. This is what we used to call a Clinton truth. It is technically true, but designed to mislead. McCain´s plan recognizes that people´s reliance on their employers for health care benefits is the root of all kinds...

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2008 – The Defense Department, in conjunction with the military services and the Department of Veterans Affairs, has created a framework to help wounded, ill and injured servicemembers not only survive, but also thrive as they transition from military service back into their communities. “We want them to really not only survive their injuries, but now thrive in what’s called oftentimes ‘the new normal,’” said Lynda C. Davis, DoD lead for case/care management reform for wounded, ill and injured servicemembers and their families. “We’ve been able to, jointly with the services and [Veterans Affairs], develop a framework...

KARMAH — Approximately 500 Iraqis were treated during a combined medical engagement (CME) here, Sept. 15. Iraqi doctors and a surplus of primary healthcare medicine were made available to citizens during the CME, which was held by Marines of Regimental Combat Team 1. “The goal is to reach out to men and women in the area, see what they need medically and try to provide them for their needs,” said 2nd Lt. Mark Beaudette, a platoon commander with Weapons Co., TF 1st Bn., 3rd Marines, RCT-1. A CME brings local physicians and medicine to an area that doesn’t necessarily have...

I can't believe what I just saw a cop do...

Democrats adopt goal of health care guaranteeUpdated: Aug 9, 2008 04:57 PM EDT PITTSBURGH (AP) - Democrats have shaped a platform that commits the party to guaranteed health care for all. The adoption of that plank Saturday in Pittsburgh headed off a potentially divisive debate and brought the party closer to the position held by defeated presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton. Barack Obama, likely to be the Democratic nominee, has stopped short of proposing to mandate health coverage for all. He aims to achieve something close to universal coverage by making insurance more affordable and helping families pay for it.

Sauerberg prescribes U.S. health care fix Steve Sauerberg still sees patients for about two hours each morning. The rest of the day, the family doctor travels the state, urging Illinois voters to elect him in November to the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Dick Durbin.Sauerberg, 55, of Willowbrook, has headed a medical practice in LaGrange for about 25 years. Now the physician hopes to launch a second career doctoring the American government - especially the nation's health care system. Sauerberg • Candidate PROFILESteve Sauerberg , 55, Republican candidate for the U.S. SenateOccupation: Family physicianHome: WillowbrookFamily: wife, Nancy; children, Neal,...

Which side are you on? The time is now for an American solution that will secure our families' health and a healthy economy. The first order of business for the new President and Congress in 2009 should be to pass health care legislation that guarantees quality, affordable health care for all. We are asking everyone to tell us which side you are on: - I’m for a guarantee of quality affordable health care for all.- I’m for leaving us on our own to buy private health insurance.Which Side Are You On?

As this presidential campaign continues, the candidates' comments about health care will continue to include stories of their own experiences and anecdotes of people across the country: the uninsured woman in Ohio, the diabetic in Detroit, the overworked doctor in Orlando, to name a few. But no one will mention Claude Castonguay — perhaps not surprising because this statesman isn't an American and hasn't held office in over three decades.

4/11/2008 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Since 3-year-old Al Amreeki left Balad Air Base, Iraq, with more than 45 percent of his body burned from a stove fire at his home, he has come a long way due to treatment from Airmen and medics throughout the world. The young boy's uncle brought him to the Air Force Theater Hospital in Iraq Jan. 25, and since then the boy has traveled aboard a C-17 Globemaster III to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and onto Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and finally arriving by commercial air bus to...

The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1. The supplies, donated by the International Red Cross, are for Iraqis affected by the recent upsurge in violence by criminals. The donated supplies will replenish what was used during the civil unrest in the city and will increase supplies on hand. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut Director General of Health Warehouse April 1.“It is very important...

GETTYSBURG, Pa.—Seamus Garrahy (center right), former Marine, cooks steaks for Marines who visit his home in Gettysburg, Pa. Garrahy continually opens his home to Marines who visit Gettysburg. (Photo courtesy of www.gunghosauce.com). (RELEASED) LIBERTY MOUNTAIN, Pa. (March 21, 2008) -- Marines with Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, II Marine Expeditionary Force, gave back to the military community here Feb. 29 - March 2. Marines assisted wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital and had a helping hand from another patriotic citizen working behind the scenes. “They assisted the wounded warriors. I assisted them with steaks and beverages,� said...

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2008 – The majority of severely wounded warriors say the military health system is on the right track, and is doing all it can and should to provide their care, a new Zogby International survey shows. The poll of 435 servicemembers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan shows 77 percent are satisfied the military health system is doing all it can to meet their health care needs, and nearly 60 percent said their trust and confidence in the system has increased since they began receiving medical treatment for their wounds. The poll was conducted Feb. 27 and...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – If laughter is the best medicine, deployed troops are getting huge doses when they open care packages full of red clown noses. “The mission of The Red Nose Institute is to share the art of clowning, spread joy and laughter to our military, and perhaps boost their morale by the distribution of red foam noses,” said Cheryl Herrington, the institute’s president and a professional clown known as “Sweet Pea.” Clowning is a sideline for Herrington, who works as a psychiatric nurse and knows the value of a simple smile. She grew up as an...

On Sunday, December 16, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romny told NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert, “The plan we put together in Massachusetts I think is working in Massachusetts.…I happen to like what we did. I think it’s a good model for other states.” Merrill Matthews here offers a different view.

Will Hillary Clinton as president tap into workers' wages to achieve her goal of health insurance for all Americans? The possibility exists as the candidate was pressed on the matter during a television interview today. Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, the Democratic senator from New York said she might be willing to have wages garnisheed if people refuse to buy health insurance.

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING 1 FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE, BASED ON CRITERIA PRESCRIBED BY 2 THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO 3 PREPARE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA 4 FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PERSON IS OBESE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE 5 MATERIALS TO THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO 6 MONITOR THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS 7 OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9 SECTION 1. (1)...

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 28, 2008 – Health care for wounded troops needs to remain on the cutting edge of technology, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a visit to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility here. Dr. David Cifu, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center medical director, tells Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes of Virginia; and Sandy Cartwright, the general’s wife, about treatment facilities at the center in Richmond, Va., Jan. 24, 2008. Cartwright and Forbes visited the center to learn...

CAMP STRIKER — Soldiers with U.S. Army Europe's Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, have continued to "improve their foxhole" since their arrival here in August, and the evidence is visible in the recently upgraded Troop Medical Clinic (TMC) here. "We got the mission in September to provide a Level 2 clinic to support Camp Striker," said Maj. John McMurray, Medical Troop commander. "This TMC is a 24-hour medical treatment facility offering a pharmacy, X-rays, a lab, physical therapy, behavioral health and patient hold capabilities for all Soldiers." "The level 2 TMC allows the troop population on Camp Striker...

This is an outstanding lecture on the economy and the future. It conatins the basics of a rational approach to our problems. I have never seen anything like this in that it is comprehensive, off the cuff and quite entertaining. If you have 45 minutes this can alter your understanding of what is and what should be. Steve Forbes did this for the Telescom Conference last Fall. The URL is: HERE. This man should be our President. In the upcoming financial crises we need someone who can think on their feet.

Col. Thomas James, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, greets Maj. Qussey Moniey Aibddily, Iraqi police chief, at the Tunis Health Clinic re-opening, near Iskandariyah. Photo by Pfc. Amanda Mcbride, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs. FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — Tunis is an example that Iraqis are not only ready to secure their towns, but take care of the physical needs of their own people. The city recently celebrated the opening of a renovated health clinic near Iskandariyah. The Tunis Health Clinic will have the ability to provide health care to more than...

I am a small-government conservative/libertarian and have hated the concept of socialized medicine almost all my life. But now, I could live with universal health coverage in the U.S.. Here's why. We now have the worst of both worlds: we are paying for universal health coverage, but not getting it. In fact, we pay more for health care in taxes than countries that provide universal coverage. Then we pay more than that amount again in private coverage. Additionally, what we have now in the U.S. is nowhere near a free market in health care. Defending the status quo is not...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 – The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have partnered to put in place 10 federal recovery coordinators charged with managing the care of severely injured servicemembers and their families for as long as a lifetime. Officials from the two departments today signed an agreement outlining the role of the coordinators. These are the first positions of their kind in the military health care system and were put into place in response to recommendations from servicemembers, families and by the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors. “This agreement will help ensure our...

10/22/2007 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- A group Bagram Air Base Airmen joined with their civilian and sister service counterparts Oct. 17 to help bring a better life to the people of Afghanistan, one family at a time. Dubbed Operation Care, the all-volunteer effort collects and delivers clothing, toys, candy, school and hygiene supplies to Afghan families in need, with the most recent mission bringing supplies to families visiting the Korean Hospital here. "I like doing this," said Senior Airman Elisa Rosemond of Greenwood, Wis., and a member of the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. Airmen Rosemond, who...

It's true that the U.S. health care system is a mess, but this demonstrates not market but government failure. To cure the problem requires not different or more government regulations and bureaucracies, as self-serving politicians want us to believe, but the elimination of all existing government controls. It's time to get serious about health care reform. Tax credits, vouchers, and privatization will go a long way toward decentralizing the system and removmg unnecessary burdens from business. But four additional steps must also be taken: 1. Eliminate all licensing requirements for medical schools, hospitals, pharmacies, and medical doctors and other health...

Normally I don't forward forwarded emails I receive to FR but this one has so much stuff in it that if even half of it is true, attention must be paid. The red emphasis was in the original I received. >>>> I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan.  Something similar to what we have in Canada.  I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie.  As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan...

The goal of universal healthcare plans, including the one Clinton designed while first lady, has been to rein in waste and profiteering, then redistribute the savings to the public in the form of guaranteed healthcare. But these new "post-partisan" plans have been stripped of all effective cost containment. They simply force businesses, individuals and taxpayers to pick up the tab. Apparently, if you can't beat the medical-insurance complex, join it. If it passes, the new system could be in place next year. Under the proposed California compromise, employers will have to pay a share, but the ultimate responsibility lies with...

Like getting cold cocked in a barroom fight .. it hit me today ...

...As she spoke, memories of the Clinton years wafted through my head — government by seminar running into the late hours. But as she will tell you (before you even have a chance to ask), she has learned a lot since the early 1990s, and while the conversations may still be endless, they are also more restrained. And it’s true. The plan she unveiled yesterday is much simpler than the one she came up with 14 years ago. Back then, she and her staff were like technocratic engineers, one of her advisers told me, trying to patch every last gap...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2007 – The new Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here represents “an evolution in how we embrace, treat and honor,” wounded warriors, the Army vice chief of staff said at yesterday’s opening ceremony. (Video) Gen. Richard A. Cody said the new center demonstrates the military’s commitment to doing everything within its power to help wounded troops heal and go on to live productive lives. The 31,000-square-foot, $10 million center offers some of the most state-of-the-art care found anywhere in the world and makes good on the military’s promise to take care...

FORT LEWIS, Wash., Sept. 11, 2007 – When the first planeload of soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade returned here last night after their second deployment to Iraq, they didn’t arrive to a darkened, padlocked brigade headquarters. Members of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade rear detachment at Fort Lewis, Wash., prepare for the unit’s redeployment from Iraq. From left are: Darlene Pacheco, the brigade’s family-assistant representative; Melissa Townsend, wife of Brigade Commander Col. Steve Townsend; and Army Maj. Kyle Marsh, rear detachment commander. Photo by Donna Miles   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available....

How Green Is My Reality by: Bethany Stotts, September 07, 2007 In an Alex Gregory New Yorker cartoon featuring two cavemen, one notes to the other, “Something’s just not right—our air is clean, our water is pure, we all get plenty of exercise, everything we eat is organic and free-range, and yet nobody lives past thirty.” Although the cartoon was originally meant as a satire, a Citizens Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE) publication shows why this joke carries a hard edge among environmentalists. Written by CARE Executive Director Marita Noon and Research Assistant John McCulloch, “Environmental Utopia” attempts to demonstrate...

RUSH: If John Edwards is going to require every one of us under his universal health care plan, socialized medicine, to go to the doctor all the time -- it's going to be mandatory; the government is going to make us go to the doctor -- then I have an idea. I think the government should make every American have access to a lawyer. I think the federal government should take over the whole legal field, just like they're taking over the whole health care industry. Take over the legal business. Set prices for all services. Set salaries for all...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- When he came to, the Marine's arm hung lamely. It was broken by ball bearings hurled so hard from a suicide bomb that they also became embedded in his gun. Yet Brendan Poelaert's thoughts quickly turned to his patrol dog. The powerful Belgian Malinois named Flapoor had served him as partner and protector for the past four months in Iraq. Now, the dog staggered a few steps along the Ramadi street, then stared blankly. Blood poured from his chest. "I didn't care about my injuries, my arm," his handler says. "I'm telling the medic, 'I...

Al BLASEM, Iraq, Aug. 17, 2007 — U.S. and Iraqi troops joined forces to treat nearly 200 citizens of al-Blasem, Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, Aug. 14. Soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 10th Iraqi Army Division, worked together to make the medical mission a success. While the medical team screened and treated ailing Iraqis, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers secured the area. “We’re helping the Iraqi people help themselves. The smiles on the faces of the Iraqi children and the gratitude...

NAIROBI, Kenya - A humanitarian group has turned down $46 million worth of U.S. food aid, arguing that the way the American government distributes its help hurts poor farmers. CARE said wheat donated by the U.S. government and sold by charities to finance anti-poverty programs results in low-priced crops being dumped on local markets and small-scale growers cannot compete. Other experts said they share CARE's concern, but stressed that food donations are sometimes needed when a natural disaster harms a local area's agriculture, such as the flooding that North Korea says has devastated vast tracts of its farmland. The Atlanta-based...

Pfc. Anthony Graves, Paso Robles, Calif., native, and medic with the Fort Stewart, Ga., based A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment helps draw a coloring book with 4-year-old Rusil, an Iraqi girl living in the Suleikh neighborhood of Adhamiyah. The girl's injured leg was apparently the result of a stray U.S. bullet, and the Soldiers from A Troop have made it their mission to make sure she gets proper medical attention. Photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Baghdad is a city full of sad stories. Soldiers on patrol hear...