Fisher House Flapjack Fundraiser Jan 12, 2019

Fisher House Flapjack Fundraiser Jan 12, 2019

 Friends of Fisher House pass this on to all your friends and come to join us at Applebee's and help the Las Vegas Fisher House or make a donation to Nevada Veterans Foundation

Something to think about

“How long are you going to wait before you demand the best for yourself and in no instance bypass the discriminations of reason? You have been given the principles that you ought to endorse, and you have endorsed them. What kind of teacher, then, are you still waiting for in order to refer your self-improvement to him? You are no longer a boy, but a full-grown man. If you are careless and lazy now and keep putting things off and always deferring the day after which you will attend to yourself, you will not notice that you are making no progress, but you will live and die as someone quite ordinary. From now on, then, resolve to live as a  grown-up who is making progress, and make whatever you think best a law that you never set aside. And whenever you encounter anything that is difficult or pleasurable, or highly or lowly regarded, remember that the contest is now: you are at the Olympic Games, you cannot wait any longer, and that your progress is wrecked or preserved by a single day and a single event. That is how Socrates fulfilled himself by attending to nothing except reason in everything he encountered. And you, although you are not yet a Socrates, should live as someone who at least wants to be a Socrates.” 

Congressional Reform Act

Regardless of your political leanings, I hope you will consider this message and pass it around, if for no other reason than to generate conversation about this issue.  This may be someone's pipe dream for all I know, but we can dream, can't we?

 Trump Rule’s Congressional Reform Act Of 2018:

1 – No Tenure / No Pension.  A Congressman / Woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.  No more perks go with them.

2 – Congressman / Woman ( past, present & future ) participate in social security.  All funds in the Congressional Retirement Fund move to the Social Security System immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social Security System, and Congress participates with the American People.  It may not be used for any other purposes.

3 – Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4 – Congress will no longer vote themselves pay increases. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5 – Congress loses their current Healthcare System and participates in the same Healthcare System as the American people.

6 – Congress must equally abide by all the laws, they impose on the American people.

7 – All contracts with past and present Congressman / Woman are void.  The American people did not make these contracts with Congressmen / Women.  The Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their terms, then go home and go back to work, and not get all kinds of freebies!  They should live under the same laws we all live under for a change.

If each person contacts a minimum of 20 people, It will only take 3 days for most people in the United States to receive this message. It’s time for us to take action.

Take Action: Blue Water Navy Bill Must Pass Before End of Year LR Lou Rothenstein

 Regardless of the Veteran organization, one might belong to, this is an easy way to get the attention of your Senators in Washington to help get this Blue Water Navy Bill through the hang-up.  

Background:  In July, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2018, to end the injustice of denying Vietnam, Korean DMZ, and Thailand veterans who suffer from life-threatening health conditions the care and benefits they deserve. This important bill continues to be stalled in the Senate. The VFW needs your help to make sure this bill is passed before the end of the year. If the Senate fails to do so, the bill will die and may never be considered again. Take Action: Contact your Senators to demand that the Senate passes H.R. 299. The Senate must not delay passage of this important bill while Blue Water Navy veterans sicken and die from diseases related to exposure to Agent Orange.   CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION Please show your support on social media: Click here for Twitter On Facebook (copy and paste the text below): I stand with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and call on @vachair and the full Senate to pass H.R. 299! Rather than continue studying the health of Blue Water Navy veterans for yet another decade while those veterans sicken and die from diseases related to exposure to herbicides, the Senate must grant long-overdue benefits to the thousands of veterans who served their country off the shores of Vietnam. http://capwiz.com/vfw/issues/alert/?alertid=80552661 Or Call (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your Senators.

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Mule: When bravery was abundant

Mule:  When bravery was abundant

James Earl Parker Jr., code name Mule was born October 25^th, 1942 in Rockingham, North Carolina.  He passed on October 9^th, 2018.  He was a friend and one of my favorite storytellers. A fellow member of China Post 1, he was the official historian of history in general. We often discussed someone from the past that had an impact on the world as we know it, perhaps the heroics of some who fought and died honorably for what they believed in, and several people we both knew or worked near over the years.   Not only did he contribute to the field of intelligence, but he was also a teacher of history and had that rare ability to help one measure the impact that one small operation or person had on much larger conflicts.  Our local groups, both formal and informal will miss Mule.  

The following is from his blog which is has been a refuge for me to retreat to over the years, “Muleorations” http://www.muleorations.com/about-the-author.html.  Jim wrote of his experiences in Vietnam, Laos and other areas of the world he experienced from his travels, people he worked with or knew, and his service in the U.S. Army and CIA.  

“When Jim was 15 years old he ran away from home, ending up in Havana, Cuba. His parents were not amused and not long after he returned he was enrolled in the Oak Ridge Military Academy for an attitude adjustment.

There he learned discipline but he was still driven by a-rambling', rambunctious curiosity; summers he worked as a Myrtle Beach lifeguard. He went on to UNC/Chapel Hill, played lacrosse, flunked out, went with a couple of buddies down to Managua, Nicaragua but was chased out by what would become the Sandinistas. He flew to Florida, worked at a Miami hotel, returned to college for one more semester before dropping out to join the US Army.

THE VIETNAM WAR ITS OWNSELF 2nd edition chronicles his Vietnam War experiences; Parker was among the first in as a 22-year-old Second Lieutenant Platoon Leader in 1965 and he was the last to leave in 1975. In between, he married, graduated UNC and joined the Central Intelligence Agency. His first CIA assignment was upcountry Laos where he led Hmong hills tribe guerrillas against two divisions of North Vietnamese mainline soldiers. His detailed account of this top secret activity was published in hardback by the Naval Institute Press, titled CODENAME MULE - reprinted in paperback by St Martin's Press as COVERT OPS.  His LAST MAN OUT also reports on his Vietnam experiences. 

After para-military chores in Laos/Vietnam, Parker went on to serve undercover as a case handler in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, retiring in 1992.

He's been places and done things.

In the military, he received the Bronze Star with "V" and the Purple Heart. In the CIA, he received two Certificates of Outstanding Service, a Certificate of Distinction and the Intelligence Medal.

Statement by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. on the Passing of Senator John McCain

 

08/25/2018 08:42 PM CDT

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. NR-248-18
Aug. 25, 2018

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Statement by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. on the Passing of Senator John McCain

Statement by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr.:
"Senator McCain exemplified what it means to be a warrior and dedicated public servant. Both as a naval officer and as a member of Congress, he was a lifelong and tireless advocate for the men and women of the U.S. military.

"He traveled the world to meet personally with Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, to hear what they had to say, and to see firsthand our military in action on the front lines. Senator McCain recognized the sacrifice and hardships military members and their families can experience and proudly served as their champion in Congress. He visited our nation's wounded warriors around the country to offer encouragement and to thank them for their service. Through his tenacious and selfless leadership in the Senate, he fought hard to ensure our Armed Forces remained strong and had the support and resources needed to succeed when placed in harm's way.

"While we mourn Senator McCain's passing, we are eternally grateful for his distinguished service to our nation, his advocacy of the U.S. military, and the incredible example he set for us all."

STAND UP FOR BILL (And Other Veterans and Their Families)

STAND UP FOR BILL

(And Other Veterans and Their Families)

I would like to create state and federal legislation that does the following:

1.  Directs the Veterans Administration (VA) and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services to create free, accredited continuing professional education (CPE) for civilian health care workers and paramedical case workers (including social workers and chaplains) on veterans health issues. 

2.  Directs all health care providers to change their intake forms and health questionnaires to ask if patients “had any US military service” in order to “begin the conversation”.   Self identified veterans should be asked to fill out an additional military questionnaire.  A proposed format is available.

3.  Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to require that all health care workers (including VA health care workers and CHOICE doctors) be familiar with compensable diseases and disabilities so they can refer Vets and their families to the VA benefits office for evaluation and additional assistance. 

4.  Directs the VA and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services to use public service announcements and other media to reach out to veterans and their families to inform them about presumed connected disabilities and report back to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Nevada state governor and the veterans legislative committee annually on the effectiveness of these techniques.  

5.  Directs the VA and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services to prominently display flyers and other media on presumed connected disabilities to all offices that work with veterans and their families, including VA cemeteries.

6.  Directs the VA and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services to prominently display flyers and other media about survivor benefits to all offices that work with veterans and their families, including VA cemeteries.

7.  Directs the VA and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services to contact civilian support groups that routinely work with people who have one of the presumed connected disabilities (e.g. the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and work with them to identify veterans, children and grandchildren who have a disease presumed connected to military service. Identified veterans and family members should be referred to designated VA resources.  Records of these referrals should be rolled up to the governor, state legislative affairs committee and the Secretary of  Veterans Affairs on a yearly basis. 

8.  Directs each state to keep records and prepare a yearly report to the governor, the veterans legislative committee and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs evaluating the effectiveness of the training delivered, contacts made and media used to provide information to veterans, spouses and health care professionals.

WE MUST ACT NOW

•   We must make sure that Vietnam Veterans who have a presumed connected disease take full advantage of the benefits that they earned by their service to our country.

•   We must make sure that Vietnam Veteran survivors have access to the benefits that their loved one earned by their service to our country.

•   We must make sure that veterans from other conflicts such as the Korean War, the Gulf War, Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan, certain defense department projects and Camp Lejeune know about the diseases and disabilities presumed connected to their military service.

•    We must act now to protect the children and grandchildren of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.

The VA has recognized certain cancers and other health problems as presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service. Veterans and their survivors may be eligible for benefits for these diseases.

•          AL Amyloidosis

•          A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs

•          Chronic B-cell Leukemias

•          A type of cancer which affects white blood cells

•          Chloracne (or similar acneform disease)

•          A skin condition that occurs soon after exposure to chemicals and looks like common forms of acne seen in teenagers. Under VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides.

•          Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

•          A disease characterized by high blood sugar levels resulting from the body’s inability to respond properly to the hormone insulin

•          Hodgkin's Disease

•          A malignant lymphoma (cancer) characterized by progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, and by progressive anemia

•          Ischemic Heart Disease

•          A disease characterized by a reduced supply of blood to the heart, that leads to chest pain also called coronary artery disease

•          Multiple Myeloma

•          A cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in bone marrow

•          Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

•          A group of cancers that affect the lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue

•          Parkinson's Disease

•          A progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects muscle movement

•          Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset

•          A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling, and motor weakness. Under VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of herbicide exposure

•          Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

•          A disorder characterized by liver dysfunction and by thinning and blistering of the skin in sun-exposed areas. Under VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of exposure to herbicides

•          Prostate Cancer

•          Cancer of the prostate; one of the most common cancers among men

•          Respiratory Cancers  (includes lung cancer)

            and cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus

•          Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma) A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues

•          Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis aka Lou Gehrig’s disease causes the death of neuron controlling voluntary muscles.  This disease is associated with service in Vietnam.

If you would like to help me in this effort, or if you have ideas  on how to spread the word about presumed connected disabilities, please feel free to contact me.  I am Barbara Rodgick and I am the widow of an Agent Orange Vet.  My phone number is 425-442-7563 and my email address is barbara98065@gmail.com.  8/18/18