Political correctness

A Culture of Political Correctness

by Guy Rodgers

www.actforamerica.org

Dear Bob,

The horrific massacre at Ft. Hood has exposed the degree to which political correctness impacts government and military action — and media coverage.

Fox News contributor Lt. Col. Ralph Peters (retired) exhibited a courage and clarity that has been lacking in most media coverage when, during two different interviews I saw, he angrily and indignantly denounced what he referred to as a “culture of political correctness” in the leadership of the military.

He pointedly asserted that this was an act of Islamist terrorism, and listed just some of the telltale signs to back up his position. For instance:

* Nidal Hasan opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and would argue with his patients, vets returning from combat, against the justification for the wars.

* Hasan said the “war on terror” was in fact a war against Islam.

* There is evidence that Hasan believed “infidels” deserve beheading.

* Internet postings in Hasan’s name months earlier compared suicide bombers to heroic soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

Col. Peters went on to blame the culture of political correctness for the failure of the Army to take any action against Hasan, in spite of an awareness that Hasan held these views.

Other evidence of Hasan’s beliefs include statements he made to colleagues that Muslims have the right to rise up against the U.S. military, and that they have the right to rise up against their “oppressors” — the United States.

A fellow student at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences complained about a presentation Hasan gave that “justified suicide bombings and spewed anti-American propaganda.”

Here’s the disturbing question that needs to be asked: Could this act of terrorism had been prevented had there not been such a politically correct reluctance to act on what was known about Hasan?

Imagine if the Army had acted. It’s easy to envision the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) indignantly blasting the Army with statements alleging “discrimination.”

Yet if the Army or law enforcement authorities had stepped in, taken action months ago, and brushed aside the typical and predictable rants from groups like CAIR, is it possible that twelve dead soldiers and one dead police officer would be alive today?

Why are so many in government and the military apparently afraid of “offending” a group like CAIR, which deserves to be investigated for its many questionable activities and ties to terrorists, not accommodated? (See our petition calling for such an investigation.)

But in the aftermath of this terrorist act, too few in the media or government have been willing to call it that. There has been a desperate search for another motive, the most common focusing on his mental state.

Edina Lekovic, communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), also appeared on Fox News. Lekovic was unequivocal in her remarks, claiming Hasan was “clearly disturbed” and comparing him to the killers at Virginia Tech and Columbine.

Remarkably, only a minute or so after making this unsubstantiated claim as if it were fact, when asked about any possible connection to Islam, she warned we must not “rush to judgment.”

But isn’t that precisely what Lekovic did when she asserted Hasan was “clearly disturbed?” Is she a psychiatrist? Did she examine him?

Of course not. What qualifies Lekovic to assert Hasan was like the Columbine killers? Nothing.

She did exactly what she is warning others not to. She “rushed to judgment.” And while anyone who is contending that this massacre has all the earmarks of a terrorist attack is challenged, no one on the Fox News program challenged Lekovic’s unverifiable claim falsely asserted as fact.

Why not? Political correctness?

More political correctness. Prior to killing 13 people on Thursday, Hasan gave away furniture and Korans, a telltale sign of a jihadist preparing for martyrdom.

So how does a Washington Post story characterize Hasan’s giving furniture away? As an act of kindness.

But the tide may be turning. Facts are stubborn things. There are just too many signs that Hasan was in fact a radical Muslim bent on jihad. Too many signs to be ignored.

ABC News last night ran a headline asking if the Army missed signs that Hasan was an Islamic extremist.

On Fox News Sunday, Bill Kristol referred to an AP story that quoted colleagues of Hasan at Walter Reed Hospital who admitted they did not report his suspicious actions due to fear of appearing to be discriminatory toward Muslims.

It may well be determined that Hasan had emotional problems. It may also turn out that he didn’t.

But as Brit Hume stated on Fox News Sunday, even if Hasan had emotional or psychological issues, the facts clearly point to the conclusion that Hasan was a radical Islamist who acted on his beliefs.

You can help enlighten America about the truth of this terrorist attack.

Forward this email to everyone you know.

And help us shed light on one of the leading “enforcers” of the political correctness that is undermining our ability to prevent terrorism. If you haven’t done so already, sign our petition calling for a government investigation of CAIR’s questionable activities and ties to terrorists.

Let’s not let the purveyors of political correctness mislead us yet again.

Swine Flu -- One of Most Massive Cover-ups in American History

Here you go folks. The facts and serious research on swine flu vaccines and another instance of big business using the United States and for that matter governments around the world to suck more money out of us.

Swine Flu -- One of Most Massive Cover-ups in American History

More war

The Co-Author of Muslim Mafia Answers CAIR

Dear Bob,

Yesterday we emailed you Rep. Sue Myrick’s op-ed response to CAIR’s counterattack. We know many of you forwarded this to others as it began popping up on blogs across the internet!

Today’s email contains a FrontPage Magazine interview with Dave Gaubatz (see below), co-author of the new blockbuster book Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America.

In many prior emails we have pointed out the common propaganda strategy employed by Islamists of attempting to “demonize” those who level factual critiques against radical Islam. That’s why one of Gaubatz’s responses jumped out at us:

Instead of addressing the numerous factual pieces of intelligence showing their support of the Islamic terrorist ideology, they [CAIR] do exactly as their ‘internal documents’ indicate. They begin intimidation, extortion, blackmail, and other related threats to silence their critics.

We are grateful for the courage of Rep. Sue Myrick; the Representatives who joined her at the press conference last week calling for an investigation of CAIR (Rep. John Shadegg, Rep. Trent Franks, Rep. Paul Broun); Chris Gaubatz (who infiltrated CAIR); and the co-authors of Muslim Mafia, Dave Gaubatz and Paul Sperry.

Kelly Cook was asked by one of our chapter leaders yesterday why we push so hard to build a bigger and bigger organization. Here’s one reason — strength in numbers. The bigger we are, the stronger our voice, and the harder it will be for Islamists to succeed in their efforts to destroy those who speak out against their evil ideology.


CAIR Exposed – by Jamie Glazov
Posted By Jamie Glazov On October 21, 2009 @ 12:11 am In FrontPage

http://frontpagemag.com/2009/10/21/cair-exposed-by-jamie-glazov/




Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Dave Gaubatz, the first U.S. civilian (1811) Federal Agent deployed to Iraq in 2003. He is the owner of DG Counter-terrorism Publishing [1]. He is currently conducting a 50 State Counter-terrorism Research Tour (CTRT). He is the co-author (with Paul Sperry) of the new book, Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that’s Conspiring to Islamize America. [2] He can be contacted at davegaubatz@gmail.com [3].

FP: Dave Gaubatz, congrats on your book Muslim Mafia. The book is causing quite a bit of controversy. Tell us what the book is about in general and what is now going on.

Gaubatz: Thank you Jamie.

First I would like to thank everyone involved in the extensive research to make the book possible, the co-author Paul Sperry, and WND. I believe the book speaks for itself, showing CAIR Executives involvement in terrorist ties.
You ran a great review by Daniel Pipes of the book the other day here [4].

Naturally and fully expected, CAIR is on the defensive. Instead of addressing the numerous factual pieces of intelligence showing their support of the Islamic terrorist ideology, they do exactly as their ‘internal documents’ indicate. They begin intimidation, extortion, blackmail, and other related threats to silence their critics. These tactics have always worked for them for 15 years. Unfortunately for them they have finally met someone who knows how they play their game. I am not boasting but I was trained by the elite Federal Agency of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and we are tenfold better at protecting national security than they are at supporting terrorism against America.

FP: CAIR is not hiding their displeasure with you. Do you feel physically threatened?

Gaubatz: I did not hide from terrorists in Iraq and there will never be a day I will hide in America from terrorists or their supporters. The day when Americans begin hiding from terrorists is the day we have lost our country and our children’s future.

I have always conducted my research in a legal and professional manner and the truth will always prevail. Maybe I am ‘old fashioned’ but I love my country and while others are intimidated by CAIR and their supporters, I am not. Americans need to be proud of our country and keep in mind many of the CAIR Executives and their supporters are not even U.S. citizens, and many of the ones who are do not (according to their own documents) pledge allegiance to America. Simply residing here does not give anyone the right to advocate the destruction of America.

FP: Let’s talk about some of the charges that CAIR is making against you. CAIR is accusing you of being an “Islamophobe.”

Gaubatz: I owe my life to Muslims from Iraq who risked their lives for me and many Americans in 2003. The family of Mohammed Rehaief (Iraqi lawyer who rescued Private Jessica Lynch in Nasiriyah, Iraq) are examples of Muslims who truly represent the Islamic people. They saved my life on several occasions and I had the opportunity to rescue their family from Al Qaeda who had threatened their lives.

Further I have always advised all children are innocent and I (like many American troops) would have given my life for them in Iraq. During many of my lectures I have informed people they should not fear the Islamic people, but have every right to be an ‘Islamic Scholar Phobe.’

There are numerous Islamic scholars in America who have openly called for the destruction of America and Israel. There are many Imams who openly distribute violent material in their mosques and Islamic Centers and they are allowed by many ‘liberal’ elected officials to do so. Somehow they believe calling for the death of innocent men, women, and children are covered under the First Amendment to our Constitution. I disagree as do millions of Americans.

FP: CAIR has advised that you have stated President Obama is Muslim.

Gaubatz: Everyone should always keep in mind CAIR leaders are taught to ‘twist’ words and statements of their targets (reference the CAIR document titled ‘hit list’ in the Muslim Mafia book). I have talked with hundreds of Islamic leaders and reviewed the materials in their mosques. A common Islamic belief is that ‘ALL’ humans are born Muslim and it is the fault of negligent parents who turn them into Jews and Christians.

Readers can ask Yusef Estes who is a prominent Islamic leader and frequent guest of Dar al Hijrah, Falls Church, VA. Estes was the primary witness to my ‘pseudo’ conversion to Islam a couple of years ago at Dar al Hijrah. Estes immediately informed me Muslims do not use the term converting to Islam. He advised people ‘revert’ back to Islam and explained the reasoning as I described above. Readers should know by now if I say something it can be verified. In this case I have an audio recording of my pseudo ‘conversion’ to Islam and my discussion with Estes at Dar Al Hijrah.

FP: CAIR has advised that you and your researchers illegally obtained the documents from their National office.

Gaubatz: CAIR’s Nihad Awad, Hooper and Saylor may have forgotten many of their conversations they had with several of my researchers. I can easily remind them in court with video and audio footage. The CAIR leaders were going to destroy documents related to criminal and national security interests. The materials were being shredded and ‘wiped’ clean from their computers. Unlike former ‘Enron’ employees I would never allow intelligence related to the destruction of our country to be destroyed by terrorist supporters. Anyone who would should question their own loyalty to our country and our children. I highly encourage investigative reporters to conduct an extensive review of why the CAIR Virginia and CAIR Maryland offices closed.

FP: Do you have plans on conducting further first-hand research and can you clarify when the researchers finished their research within CAIR?

Gaubatz: I have never stopped conducting first-hand research on Islamic terrorist groups operating in America. As long as our children’s futures are in jeopardy I will continue.

FP: Any recommendations for our elected officials and law enforcement?

Gaubatz: America has the best law enforcement in the world. The ‘street level’ officers want to protect America and do their jobs, but unfortunately many of their Directors have become ‘stooges’ for CAIR. I recommend the Directors of these brave officers either do their jobs or get jobs being ‘lackeys’ for CAIR or ISNA. America needs leadership not ‘lackeys.’

Pertaining to our elected officials. They need to decide if they support an American who served his country for 23.5 years, risked his life in Iraq for people of all races, religions and cultures, served his Presidents both Republican and Democratic, held our nations highest security clearances, and has evidence to verify anything I have ever written or said. Or they can support organizations that advocate the destruction of our country and the futures of our children. I give my utmost thanks to our elected officials who are supporting my research. They are America’s true heroes.

FP: Any words for CAIR or their supporters?

Gaubatz: I have always said I look forward to the day when CAIR Executives or any of their supporters and I can put everything on the table in a court of law (U.S., not Sharia). CAIR is afraid of the truth and will fold before this ever happens. The Executives should get with their attorneys, let their egos not play into their decisions, and reveal to them their complete involvement in their support of terrorist groups, their blackmail and intimidation tactics of small and large U.S. companies, of people, and the negative statements they have made toward ‘one another’ to my researchers. I have no problem reminding them.

Readers should keep up with WND, FPM, and my blog at www.daveg.us [5]. Videos, documents and more are forthcoming.

FP: Dave Gaubatz, thank you for joining us.

War of the world

Here's the latest on the "War of the world", that would be Islam's plan to take over and kill or subjugate us all.

Rep. Sue Myrick op-ed:

Last week, I held a press conference on Capitol Hill attended by three of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to call for a federal investigation (s) into a non-profit group called the Council on American Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R.)

Here are the facts:

1. CAIR has documented ties to the terrorist organization HAMAS. This is stated fact by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In an April 28, 2009 letter to US Senator Jon Kyl, the FBI wrote the following:
“As you know, CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development in the United States v. Holy Land Foundation et al. (Cr. No. 3:04-240-P (N.D.TX.). During that trial, evidence was introduced that demonstrated a relationship among CAIR, individual CAIR founders (including its current President Emeritus and its Executive Director) and the Palestinian Committee. Evidence was also introduced that demonstrated a relationship between the Palestinian Committee and HAMAS, which was designated a terrorist organization in 1995. In light of that evidence, the FBI suspended all formal contacts between CAIR and the FBI.”

In case you are not familiar with the Holy Land trial referenced above, it was a Dallas, Texas trial that ended with guilty verdicts on 108 counts of funneling money ($12 million) to HAMAS.

2. The purpose of our press conference was to make public an internal CAIR memo that documented CAIR's stated goal of placing CAIR interns in the offices of members of Congress, especially the members who serve on the Homeland Security, Judiciary and Intelligence Committees. Let me be clear here, CAIR, a group whom the FBI says is affiliated with the terrorist group HAMAS, is trying to place their interns in the offices of those members who serve on the three committees that handle national security related issues. National Security is the first responsibility of the federal government.

3. Following our press conference, CAIR, immediately labeled we four members as bigots and started their public relations campaign to discredit us by claiming that we were against Muslims working on Capitol Hill. We never said that. At no time during our press conference did we even insinuate that we were investigating Muslims being interns on Capitol Hill. Go to http://www.youtube.com/suemyricknc09 and watch the press conference yourself.

Our focus was and is on CAIR and CAIR alone, not Muslims.

Likewise CAIR tried to make this a Republican vs. Democrat thing, because the four members at the press conference happened to be Republican.

How then does CAIR explain Democrat Senator Charles Schumer’s call earlier this year for a government-wide ban on CAIR in the federal government due to their ties to HAMAS? Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer has likewise made public her opinions of CAIR and any Google search will find her remarks.

4. CAIR is spending time, money and energy to position themselves as the spokespeople for the moderate Muslim community. Problem is CAIR is not a moderate Muslim organization. It is a radical front group for HAMAS. So who is CAIR competing with for this designation? The real moderate Muslim groups/individuals in America. Groups and individuals like the following who are committed to countering Islamist extremism:

Dr. Hedieh Mirahmadi – President World Organization for Resource Development and Education (WORDE)
Zeyno Baran – Director for the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute
Farid Ghadry – President of the Reform Party of Syria
Manda Zand Ervin – Founder and director of the Alliance of Iranian Women
Omran Salman – Arab Reformists Project, 'Aafaq (Arabic for “horizons”).
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser – American Islamic Forum for Democracy
Karim Bromund – Director of Inter-Religious Affairs for the Islamic Supreme Council of America

I SUPPORT the Muslim individuals and groups mentioned above. These groups renounce terrorists and their radical ideology. They are trying their hardest to be heard and recognized in America, but are being overshadowed and out-funded by CAIR. Today, when something happens that impacts the Muslim community, the media calls CAIR (an unindicted co-conspirator to terrorism and a HAMAS front group) for comment on behalf of American Muslims. What an insult the media is performing on the Muslim community. Instead they should be calling Muslim groups/individuals like those named above. This is part of the reason we are focusing our attention on CAIR and exposing them for who they are. For one they pose a threat to our national security, and two, they deny the ability of legitimate Muslim groups to gain credibility.

5. In July of this year I held a summit on Capitol Hill where I introduced the leaders of eight moderate Muslim organizations to the heads of several US Agencies, Members of Congress and congressional staff. For example, they met with representatives from the State Department, USAID, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. How can I be against Muslims working on Capitol Hill and hold such an event? Go to http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.3881/pub_detail.asp and read for yourself about this summit.

See through the lies and realize what is really going on here.

We are trying to expose a HAMAS Front Group (CAIR) for who they are, and they are crying we are anti-Muslim hoping that media outlets will ignore the terrorist claim and instead pick it up as a race/religion story. When those claims don’t work, they claim it’s a Republican political thing.

Americans, on this subject we need to stop the Republican vs. Democrat, Conservative vs. Liberal, Christian vs. Muslim division and unite on one simple point…. CAIR is a front group for HAMAS. It was named as an un-indicted co-conspirator in a terrorism case that lead to 108 convictions of funneling $12 million to HAMAS. Because of the evidence produced in that case, the FBI severed all ties with them. This same CAIR, by their own admission, is trying to place people inside the offices of members of Congress who deal with national security issues (judiciary, homeland security and intelligence committees). I serve on one of those committees, Intelligence, am the co-chairwoman of the House Anti-Terrorism Caucus, and have spent the better part of the last four years working every day on terrorism related issues.

If we Americans fail to set aside our political, religious and ideological differences and unite when we encounter the enemy in such stark and plain terms, then God help us.

Islam moves forward infiltrating us

WND Exclusive
FBI agent says bureau muzzling him
Counter-terror investigator claims Muslim allowed to hinder probes
Posted: March 06, 2003
8:00 pm Eastern

By Art Moore
© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com

An FBI counter-terrorism agent claims he is being silenced by his agency to cover up its mishandling of a pre-Sept. 11 probe into alleged supporters of Osama bin Laden.

Chicago-based Special Agent Robert Wright received a rejection letter yesterday from the head of the FBI's public affairs office in response to his request to disclose details of his charges. One of Wright's claims is that the FBI allowed a Muslim agent to hinder an investigation due to religious loyalties and sensitivities, reflecting a pattern of conduct by the agency that has harmed the nation's security.

Wright said he also discovered later that this same agent hindered a probe of University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who was arrested last month on terror-related charges.

WorldNetDaily obtained a copy of the letter from FBI public affairs chief Michael P. Kortan, which argues that the information Wright wants to make public includes sensitive and classified material related to pending cases.

"That's nonsense," Wright's attorney David Schippers told WorldNetDaily. "Everything Bob's got is public. He's got it documented with public sources."

Wright claims his investigation in 1999 of Yassin Qadi – later named by the government as a key financial backer of al-Qaida – ran into a roadblock when Special Agent Gamal Abdel-Hafiz refused to wear a wire to record a meeting with a Muslim businessman connected to Qadi.

According to Wright, Abdel-Hafiz stated in his defense, "A Muslim does not record another Muslim."

Wright says Qadi, a wealthy Saudi businessman, helped fund the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of two American embassies in Africa.

Two stories

The FBI claimed in a statement last December that Abdel-Hafiz objected to the wire because the meeting was to have taken place in a mosque, though the agency now says only that the Muslim agent's supervisors were responsible for the decision.

Schippers claims that the FBI changed its story because it "found out everybody involved was ready to testify."

FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell insists that the initial statement was a misunderstanding.

"It may have been an area sensitive to [Muslims], but it wasn't technically a mosque," Cogswell told WorldNetDaily. "My understanding was that it was a convention facility, and they were to meet in the area reserved for prayer."

But Schippers insists the FBI essentially has made Wright out to be a liar and contends that the agency gives the appearance it has something to hide.

"If there is nothing there, fine, make it open, lay it out; or lay it out to a grand jury," Schippers said. "But don't hide it and tell everybody who knows about it that they can't say anything."

The FBI's Cogswell maintains, "We're not hiding anything."

"The decision as to whether he should wear the wire was made by managers in consulation with the Chicago office, not by the agent," he said.

In its December statement, the FBI said Abdel-Hafiz has been working since February 2001 in Riyadh, handling liaison with authorities in Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, and "has met all FBI performance and security standards."

No place to turn

In his letter, Kortan noted that the federal whistleblower statute allows FBI employees to disclose sensitive information to the attorney general, FBI director, deputy FBI director and the Office of Professional Responsibility.

Schippers said Wright filed a formal complaint with the inspector general of the Justice Department in October 2001, shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, but was told he should take his case to Congress.

"When I asked them why they weren't going to do it, they told me that it was because they didn't have the facilities to conduct such an investigation," said Schippers, who headed the U.S. House of Representatives' 1998 impeachment inquiry of President Bill Clinton.

'This whole thing is insanity," Schippers said. "There is some reason the FBI doesn't want Bob to talk."

Schippers is working in conjunction with the legal watchdog group Judicial Watch, which has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington to allow Wright to publish a manuscript entitled "Fatal Betrayals of the Intelligence Mission." The document is Wright's assessment of the FBI's anti-terror failures and his ideas about how to restructure the agency.

"It's well-documented that their incompetence, recklessness and neglect contributed significantly to 9-11, and that's what [Wright's case] is all about," Judicial Watch chairman and general counsel Larry Klayman told WND. "It's also quite clear that they have not cleaned their act up since 9-11."

Klayman says that Wright's complaints have resulted in a demotion to "paper pusher" and "chief dishwasher" in the Chicago field office.

Wright's version

Wright gave his version of events in an affidavit filed in a civil rights lawsuit Abdel-Hafiz brought against him, which claimed discrimination on the basis of national origin and religion.

Wright said that while working with the international terrorist squad at the Chicago office in 1999, he learned that Qadi – who had become the subject of an investigation – had asked Abdel-Hafiz to meet for a discussion about the probe. Qadi's connection with Abdel-Hafiz came about through the businessman's accountant, who was a personal friend of the Muslim agent.

The U.S. Attorney's office agreed that it would be valuable for Abdel-Hafez to wear a wire to record the meeting, but the Muslim agent objected.

In a telephone conference that included Wright, a fellow FBI special agent, three U.S. attorneys and the Dallas office supervisor, Abdel-Hafiz explained why he would not wear the wire or meet in a specially equipped room, according to Wright.

Abdel-Hafiz first said he feared for his safety, the affidavit said.

When told that the FBI would give protection, Abdel-Hafiz said he did not trust the agency to protect him, according to Wright.

After a U.S. attorney continued to press for an answer, Abdel-Hafiz stated: "A Muslim does not record another Muslim."

Wright said that after the discussion, which was ended by Abdel-Hafiz's Dallas supervisor, he telephoned FBI headquarters in Washington and spoke with Acting Unit Chief Christopher Hamilton, who "told me I would have to understand" the Muslim agent's "perspective."

According to Wright, the U.S. attorneys documented the events, believing the case would be re-visited.

Wright later learned that an agent in Florida had a similar experience with Abdel-Hafiz, who refused to record a Muslim in his investigation. Schippers said that probe involved the Florida professor, Al-Arian.

Schippers says Wright continues to try to get his story out, but "at every step they refuse to let him talk."

"He's going to have to take his job in his hands to assert his First Amendment rights," Schippers said.

Another FBI whistleblower has warned of the bureau's purported counter-terror shortcomings.

Veteran agent Colleen Rowley sent a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller last week, warning that the bureau is not prepared to deal with new terrorist strikes that could result from a U.S. war with Iraq.

Rowley, a 22-year veteran of the bureau's Minneapolis field office, said that Mueller had a responsibility to warn the White House that the bureau would not be able to "stem the flood of terrorism that will likely head our way in the wake of an attack on Iraq."

Will Dad die before we talk?

My father holding me

9/10/09 Thursday
I got a letter from my sister last night. Dad has pneumonia, this time in the other lung from the one he had it in last time. Really not good. He is already incredibly weak and has been bedridden for some time now from the last bout with pneumonia and then the chemotherapy on top of it. It is hard. Here we finally are breaking down the wall, hopefully restoring the relationship between a father and son, and the possibility exists he may die before this can happen. So pray. You know I am praying.

There’s not much else important to me right now. We’ve had lots of rain and there is more on the way so that should help clean the soil. I might put some seeds out, I might not. Weeds I’ll chop for sure. Today I must run to Midland and drop off some stuff to the Texas Veteran’s guy for our dispute with the VA. There was something else I need to do while in town but can’t remember right now. Oh yeah, I must get canned dog food that I can mix Rascal’s medicine in.

I’ve been thinking on things of God a lot lately. Reading the old testament about the history of Israel and their constant need to separate themselves from the evils that surrounded them. How they would let the habits and practices of the people around them creep in and become a part of their lives. This would always lead to a separation from God and to destruction. There are some really not pretty pictures there.

So I will work and meditate today. Think on these things as I chop down weeds.

Corruption, Anger, Cancer, Death

I’ve been researching Dr. Burzynski, who’s breakthrough cancer treatments have been severely squashed by our very corrupt FDA. I heard about him on GLC’s housecall program featuring Dr. Scott. Because my father is dying of brain cancer and that the chemotherapy is so devastating I latched on to their mention of this treatment. What an incredible story I found of the greed and heartlessness of the mega corporations who make billions in the treatment of cancers, and have placed their people in key positions of the government. Thus they have literally sent children to their death by denying, no forbidding under penalty of the law, them treatment from Dr. Burzynski. Folks, this is OUR country, the FDA and other government agencies ostensibly work for us. Obama and congress say they are fixing health care but choose to be blithely unaware of these activities by those who are immune from criminal prosecution. God this makes me mad as I learn of these things. Please check this out and if you can make it as public as you can. It is through publicity and our voice/vote that these things can be changed. When you shine a light and expose darkness the rats run for cover. Here’s Dr. Burznski’s site http://www.burzynskiclinic.com/
Here’s just one of the many testimonies of this issue. http://www.whale.to/cancer/burzynski.html
I encourage you to look into this as deep as you can, especially if you know someone battling cancer.
We need to take our country back, we need to demand our congress, who work for us, whom we elect, do our bidding instead of the bidding of the big money corporations whose desire for profit, and power, is such that they willingly and knowingly choose for us little people, and our children, to die when they could give life. We need to stop being sheep led by the nose to death as we are shorn of everything we have.
Here's more links http://www.ouralexander.org/burzynski.htm
This one is a heartbreaking one involving the death of a two year old
http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/blevins1.html

Here's a link to a veteran's website. He's a survivor of TBI as well as severe chronic pain from the injuries received in Iraq or Afghanistan. Can't remember at the moment despite having just read it. Anyway go to it to http://www.painfoundation.org/learn/programs/military-veterans/e inspired.

Fighting for a purple heart, Why?

Can Brains Be Saved?
Medical breakthroughs are bringing new hope to people with traumatic brain injuries


by Lee Woodruff
published: 07/12/2009

September 6, 2008, was a clear-blue Indian summer day in Nebraska. Jennifer Ruth sat in the stands and watched her 12-year-old son, Derek, run with the football. She was unconcerned when he was tackled in a routine play. But as he fumbled the ball, she remembers seeing his right arm drop oddly, almost in slow motion. "He never does that" flickered through her mind. The coach noticed a glazed look on Derek's face in the team huddle. He pulled him aside and asked him for the date, score, and his brothers' names. Derek answered correctly. Then, minutes later, he screamed, "My head," pulled off his helmet, and collapsed.

Derek was taken to a trauma center and went into surgery. After several weeks in the ICU and months of therapy, he is regaining his physical and cognitive abilities. At first, he could only give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down response to questions; now he reads at a sixth-grade level and tackles algebra problems.

A decade ago, Derek's prognosis might not have been hopeful. But thanks to advances in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the outlook for patients has dramatically improved. " Research points to the amazing regenerative powers locked in our brains," says Dr. Col. Rocco Armonda, senior Army neurosurgeon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. "The proper therapies can help with the unlocking."

Each year, 1.4 million people in our country sustain brain injuries, and 9% will end up with lifelong impairments. Causes of TBI include car accidents, playground accidents, falls by the elderly, and domestic violence. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3.2 million Americans are living with long-term disabilities from brain injuries. This figure does not include the estimated 320,000 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have TBI, according to the latest statistics.

You may think you don't know anyone with a brain injury, but they're all around you. One could be the person you see lose his temper with the store clerk because sports-induced concussions left him short-fused. Another could be your neighbor who keeps locking her keys in the car or the man who looks healthy but needs a few tries to push a revolving door.

Despite its prevalence, brain injury bears a stigma. To many of the uninitiated, a person with TBI equals "slow" or "retarded."

I used to be one of the uninitiated. Then, in January 2006, my husband, Bob, was injured in Iraq by a roadside bomb while covering the war for ABC News. Hundreds of pieces of rock shrapnel became embedded in his face, neck, and back, and his skull was shattered. Doctors were unsure whether he would ever be able to walk or talk again or regain much mental function. They also told me that if and when he regained consciousness, I could expect that his healing would be largely concluded by the end of two years.

Bob spent 36 long days in a coma. When he woke up, his abilities were severely limited. I watched, devastated, as he could not identify words like "scissors" or "helicopter." But he was determined for the sake of our family to recover, and he devoted himself to rehabilitation. Today, apart from mild aphasia—difficulty in finding the appropriate word to use—he is back as a husband and father and on the air as a journalist at ABC News.

While each injury and recovery is as varied as the patient affected, scientists now know that the healing process in the brain can go on much longer than originally believed. For instance, even three-and-a-half years after the bomb blast, Bob's speech continues to get more fluid.

Innovations in cognitive rehabilitation have played a key role in improving people's outcomes. Twenty years ago, rehab consisted of rote memorization, repetition, and trying to get patients to meet certain benchmarks. "One of the advancements in rehabilitation is to make the therapy person-centered," says Dr. Lori Terryberry-Spohr, brain-injury program manager at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, Neb. "We can tailor it to the individual's goals, strengths, hobbies, interests, and occupations."

Colin Smith, 22, is a Marine who was shot in the head in October 2006 by a sniper in Iraq. He lay in a coma for five weeks. When he awoke, he couldn't talk, move his limbs, or track movements with his eyes. But thanks to the rigorous rehab regimen he is undergoing near his hometown in Ohio, he has regained those abilities. As part of therapy, animal-lover Colin walks dogs for a local shelter. This activity helps on many levels: It improves his mobility, uses his sense of direction, and helps him get re-accustomed to working amid the noise and interruptions of normal life.

In order to understand how cognitive rehabilitation works, you need to know how the brain functions. Neurons, or nerve cells, in our brains send impulses to one another to facilitate memory, thought, and speech and enable movement. When the brain is injured, the connections between neurons are temporarily or permanently disconnected or stunned.

One helpful analogy is to think of the brain's neural pathways as highways. A brain injury is like a jackknifed tractor-trailer stopping traffic. With proper medical attention and therapy, the brain repairs itself. Neurons that ran from point A to point B can grow back in different ways and make new roads, and the brain rebuilds new paths to functions like speech and memory. They might not be exactly the same as before, but they're still effective.

"The more sophisticated the function, like complex thought or writing, the longer it takes," Dr. Armonda says. "But over 70% of our patients with the most severe injuries are now approaching functional independence after treatment, and that was unheard-of previously."

The basic principle behind cognitive rehab is for patients to relearn their own abilities and develop specific strategies to make up for injury-related deficits or losses. So, someone who has trouble recalling complicated words may learn to remember them by associating them with something familiar. When Bob can't find the name he is looking for, I've watched in amazement as he quickly runs through the alphabet to trigger the word he wants. Devices like BlackBerrys and cellphones can also be used to compensate for a loss in a person's sense of time or organizational skills.

Cognitive therapy isn't only about improving the so-called executive functions—reading, writing, planning, sequencing. It's also being used to address the changes in personality that sometimes occur with TBI, such as difficulty in emotional control. Dr. Mary Hibbard, professor of rehabilitation medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, says, "If someone's emotions overwhelm him when confronted with a problem, it reduces his executive-thinking abilities. They're all closely interconnected."

Robin DeVries, a 52-year-old nurse, slipped on the ice in a parking lot three years ago and struck her head. For months, she thought she was "going crazy" with symptoms like severe headaches, insomnia, memory lapses, and vomiting. She wrote checks for incorrect amounts and at times became completely overwhelmed with anger or sadness.

After seeing specialists, Robin was eventually diagnosed with TBI and went through cognitive rehab. She learned coping methods that she can use when she is feeling tearful or angry. "I've taught myself to take a personal time-out," Robin says. "I go for a walk or head into the bathroom. I practice deep-breathing exercises or even do something as simple as count to 10."

A recent analysis of several neurological studies found that early intervention resulted in better outcomes. "As soon as a patient can participate, it is recommended that therapy should begin," Dr. Hibbard says. "This is a critical period when damaged neurons begin to make new connections. And although younger brains have greater ability to regenerate, rehab has been found to be equally effective even for those 55 and older."

In a groundbreaking study released last December, researchers at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in Washington followed 360 injured veterans in a clinical trial. They found that cognitive treatment that taught people how to think through tasks enhanced their cognitive recovery. It also helped return them to work or school at a higher rate than those whose treatments focused on physically executing the tasks.

Quantifiable physical evidence that cognitive rehab works does not exist, but experts are confident that it soon will. "We now have MRIs that use neuro-imaging to show all kinds of detail in the brain, and these advancements will continue," says Dr. Steve Flanagan, chair of rehabilitation medicine at the Rusk Institute in New York. "Someday we'll be able to see how certain areas of the brain are wired and to map new growth."

Such hard evidence could be a huge help in making cognitive therapy more widely available. No figure exists of how many facilities offer it, because most health-insurance plans do not cover it. Only the state of Texas mandates insurance reimbursement for cognitive rehabilitation following brain injury.

"You'd never have a problem getting insurance to cover a broken bone or injured shoulder, but it is routinely denied for therapies that help brains heal," says Susan H. Connors, president and CEO of the nonprofit Brain Injury Association of America. Her group is working with federal and state lawmakers to raise awareness of TBI and to improve reimbursement for therapy. "Brain injury is often invisible since changes are on the inside," Connors adds. "Because of this, help and awareness are not as widespread as they should be."

Families of people with TBI are often advised that their loved one's recovery will be a " marathon and not a sprint." Derek Ruth's mother sees positive change occur in her son almost daily. Still, it's difficult for her not to have definite answers to him about his future, to be unable to promise him that his life will be back to exactly what it was before his injury.

"Derek works so hard just to make it through one day, tying his shoes and getting dressed," she says. "But brain injury is like no other injury. He can be doing his algebra and the same afternoon be unable to recognize a black spade from a red heart in a card game."

Jen remains optimistic—along with her son's doctors—as she watches his slow but incredible healing progress. "There isn't a day that goes by where I don't believe Derek is going to continue to improve."

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Lee Woodruff is the author of the recently published essay collection "Perfectly Imperfect: A Life in Progress." To learn more about TBI, visit the Bob Woodruff Foundation at www.remind.org

Battle rages inside for many Iraq veterans


Ken Klotzbach/Post-Bulletin

Gabe Cruz struggles while talking about his memories of the Gulf War and the care he has received in the Veterans Administration system. He carries worn papers and a notebook with him to keep his experiences and treatments in order.

4/3/2009
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

One moment he's talking about his Dachshund named Gia, with relaxed joy evident in his face, voice and posture.

The next, an uninvited memory pushes into his mind and tears begin to stream from his eyes.

"I've tried to commit suicide a couple of times. But the damn gun didn't go off," says Cpl. Gabe Cruz, a veteran of the first Gulf war. "I had a 12-gauge shotgun with a slug in it and it just went 'click!' -- and then faith kicks in."

As veterans re-enter the civilian work force, return to their families and their neighborhoods, many will enter a lengthy healing process.

They'll need the help of friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to find a renewed sense of grounding, said Mark Frenzel, program manager with Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraq Freedom with the Veterans Administration in Minneapolis.

It's important for veterans and their kids to get reacquainted. Spending time together, perhaps going through photographs from special events or looking through report cards, is a good way to let that happen, Burnes said.

Cruz says he served in Kuwait and Iraq during the first Gulf war as a "tanker" with the Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment. He was responsible for the tank turret and eventually became a gunner, firing 9mm and M16 guns. He has documents that confirm his 100 percent war-related disability.

"There was six of us. There's two of us left," he says. "There was six of us and four of us are gone, sir, and they did take a gun to their mouth. It just hurts. It just stings. It really stings."

Suicide among veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is high.

"The suicide rate among this group of veterans is twice that of the national average. And suicide is a very real outcome from being in combat," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who works full-time helping soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester.

A note left behind by one of his crew members, Cruz said, explained "'I just can't take this any more. I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you. But whatever I caused you, it isn't half what I'm going through' -- and then he pulled the trigger."

Thousands of U.S. soldiers are coming home with concerns, memories and injuries they -- and you -- will have to deal with.

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Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=2&a=392821


Veterans struggle to truly come home

4/4/2009
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

After returning stateside from serving in the Gulf War in 1991, Gabe Cruz had a stable job.

He was a surveillance specialist with the Lubbock, Texas, Health Department, tracking the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the west Texas population. He was considered a public health expert, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.

"I oversaw 42 counties. I dressed in shirts and ties and I worked in nice clothes," he says.

But he experienced a personal tragedy and an emotional breakdown at work, and he lost his job. Anything can trigger such an unexpected downward spiral for veterans who might think they've returned to normalcy.

"I went crazy," Cruz says, showing his disability documents that state, "you were found running barefoot in the street, claiming people were shooting at you."

He had a flat tire and "I just started crying. I couldn't get it together."

While on active duty, most routine things are predetermined, so changes in routine can throw off veterans.

"I remember one guy getting off the plane, met his wife and family at the airport, went to have a meal and felt completely overwhelmed because the waitress put a menu in his hand," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who helps soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester. "Because he didn't have to choose anything. He didn't have to choose what to eat for 16 months. And he didn't know how to act. He didn't know how to respond."

Cruz uses the disability statement as if it's proof for non-believers.

"I read it over and over (because) I forget," Cruz says. "I think any logical person would say they'd want to forget the worst parts."

He has formed a relationship with a woman and her two children, but he struggles. In post-war relationships, when a woman rolls her eyes in response to his behavior, he says, he knows it's over.

"I sleep in the garage because I don't want the kids to see me. ... It's cold in the garage. It's more embarrassing, though, if they were to see me," he says.

Severe panic attacks are the problem. Any unexpected noise can set one off.

"You just see some little kid's head split open....," the words spill out of his mouth almost too fast to follow, an intrusive memory that he'd rather not relive, but he stops himself with fits of sobbing, then regains control.

Delayed stress can hit veterans

Delayed post-traumatic stress affects veterans, often years after they return from war, said Mark Frenzel, program manager with Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraq Freedom with the Veterans Administration in Minneapolis.

Veterans specialists like Frenzel and Burnes want Minnesotans to understand that they can help veterans return to stable civilian life. But it's a long road.

"Don't make any quick decisions," Burnes advises family members. "It takes over two years to reintegrate to home life. If they're deployed for a year, it's going to take two years to readjust and re-establish their roles."

It's better to get help early, she said, because recovery will take longer if the veteran delays getting help.

"They left, they've been gone a year, year-and-a-half. The wife, the husband, the parents have moved on. They've all established sort of normalized roles during that time and all of a sudden the veteran has to come back and reinsert themselves," Frenzel said. "Being in a war zone, combat, you need to be hyper vigilant. The adrenaline's flowing. How do you replace that high they've been experiencing?"

When Cruz seeks care, he's often in the midst of a crisis, desperately in need of medication to ease intrusive thoughts, auditory hallucinations he can not suppress.

"I hear tanks. I hear gunners," Cruz said. "You can hear your commander talking to you and your fellow soldiers yelling at you."

Cruz doesn't want to be medicated into a zombie state, so he avoids medication, walking a thin line between loss of control and overmedication. But when war thoughts take control of his mind, he needs help to escape them. That's when he visits health providers, hoping for a prescription to stave off flashbacks.

But, seeing his agitated state, it's easy for health providers to believe he's an addict.

He says he doesn't drink or take street drugs. Alcohol, for him, would make the flashbacks, nightmares and reaction to loud noises even worse.

Cruz says his pain is real. He believes his back problems came from shrapnel from a mortar round that scraped across his back, knocking him down.

"The concussion just folded me backwards," he says. "Right when they get close you hear them -- 'sceerrrr!,'" he says.

Variety of stresses

Returning veterans experience a variety of stresses, Frenzel said.

One in four returning veterans has a traumatic brain injury. Brain injuries can cause impulsive behavior, agitation and outbursts of frustration. And 44 percent of returning vets have mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress, depression or another diagnosable mental illness.

Cruz has a scar along the side of his head from an improvised explosive device or mortar round.

"I took this blow here. I'm not exactly sure how I took it off of a tank, they say I took it off the tank," Cruz says. "Part of my brain still works. But if you ask me what street I turned on five minutes ago, my memory's shot."

He doesn't trust the Veterans Administration and has been banned from a Rochester medical center after missing too many appointments.

Cruz says he no longer believes in God.

After he'd been back in the United States a while, he was sleeping at his parents' house one night when a thunderstorm rolled through. He awoke in a fit and hit the wall next to his bed.

"My fist went right through it, and my dad was like, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Friendships

The effect of war can be tough on friendships, too.

"These soldiers form their strongest bonds with their fellow soldiers, so they may not be willing to talk about their experiences in Iraq," Burnes said. "If it's a non-military friend, that non-military friend needs to accept that. And they also need to understand that the veteran has changed, because you can't go through combat and come back the same. So don't plan on having the same relationship. Accept that growth and maturity have happened while they've been gone."

Cruz agrees.

"I miss the Army. I miss my friends. I miss being able to tell somebody I got your back," Cruz says.

He would serve again if he could, to protect the children of today from having to go to war.

"I would do this over again, 1,000-billion times," he says.

Employers

Employers, coworkers and health-care workers all need extra patience with returning veterans.

Most likely, a veteran will never share his or her entire story with you.

"Understand that they may have little patience, or they might be irritable. And coworkers need to not personalize that, because the veteran may have been triggered by something and is privately trying to deal with that," Burnes said. "Kind of back off and kind of give them some space. The last thing they need is somebody to be really in their face."

For Cruz, memories flood back without invitation.

He was responsible for setting up the tank's turret and eventually became a gunner, fighting against Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard in the Medina Division.

"We had the largest tank battle since Patton. It was rough, because you see all these hoards and hoards of people surrounding you," he said. "There's nothing worse than cleaning someone, or you actually hit someone that's full of gangrene and you've got to clean that off your tanks -- watching the dogs eat -- we shoot them. I saw kids getting out trying to dig holes to bury these people. Then you get to Kuwait City and you see that they killed women and cut children up, and after that you shoot them in the forehead.

"You are slightly spooked all of the time, and afraid," he said. "There are some horses that, if they get spooked, they are useless." That's the way Cruz feels; incapacitated by a fear.

Health care

One medical center in Rochester won't see Cruz any longer because he took too many pain pills, and another won't because he keeps missing appointments because of his memory loss, he says.

He writes notes to himself in a notebook, as many people with brain injuries do. He even wears a watch with an alarm to remind him of the appointments.

"Then they beep and I'm like, what's it for? And then I start going through the (notebook) and I began thinking, what am I looking for?"

To a medical provider not used to such a high number of people living with brain injuries, the patient might appear inappropriately angry -- frightening enough to ask the veteran to leave.

Instead, Burnes said, health providers should take time to figure out what's going on with the patient.

Patients should be assessed for depression, post traumatic stress and brain injuries, she said. "It may be beneficial if they know that they're dealing with a veteran to do a reminder call, that's because the memory component can be affected. Watch for signs of alcohol abuse."

It's important to remember the trauma veterans have experienced, Burnes said.

"What I hear from veterans is please ask people not to ask questions like 'did you kill somebody or did you see anyone die,'" she said. "Because, more than likely, that happened. That's not something these veterans are ready to talk about."

Healing

Perhaps it's part of Cruz's healing process to speak out.

"I want people to learn. I want people to see -- it's human life," he said.

A woman at a local medical organization hung up the phone on him after he became agitated.

"She told me to just deal with it and during the conversation, she got real snippy. I was like, look, lady, the advice you're giving me, you may as well just give me a bottle of whiskey and a shotgun with a round in it and let me blow the back of my head off. I'm going crazy here. And she said, 'Oh well' -- and hung up. ... Why don't they understand that I'm afraid? I'm always, always, always, always, always afraid. ... It's just not fair not to be able to get angry."

About 20 percent of veterans will continue to struggle on a relatively long-term basis, Frenzel said. But there are many services, including many new ones, that can help. But veterans or their loved ones must take action to get help.

Burnes said most veterans, after adjusting, are able to return to a stable life.

"There's hope," she said. "The bad news is that you have it -- PTSD or TBI. The good news is that it's treatable."

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Reporter Jeff Hansel covers health for the Post-Bulletin. Read his blog, Pulse on Health, at Postbulletin.com.
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Copyright 2009 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC

House resoulution

H. Res. 178 --- In the House of Representatives, U. S.

Whereas traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults in the United States;

Whereas at least 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year;

Whereas each year, more than 125,000 of such Americans sustain permanent life-long disabilities from a traumatic brain injury, resulting in a life-altering experience that can include the most serious physical, cognitive, and emotional impairments;

Whereas every 21 seconds, one person in the United States sustains a traumatic brain injury;

Whereas at least 3.17 million Americans currently live with permanent disabilities resulting from a traumatic brain injury;

Whereas traumatic brain injuries may have a life-altering impact on both Americans living with resultant disabilities and their families;

Whereas concussions are serious injuries to the brain and multiple concussions can lead to lifelong disability and death;

Whereas most cases of traumatic brain injury are preventable;

Whereas traumatic brain injuries cost the nation $60 billion annually;

Whereas the lack of public awareness is so vast that traumatic brain injury is known in the disability community as the Nation's 'silent epidemic';

Whereas traumatic brain injury is the signature wound of the global war on terrorism as a result of roadside bombs and blasts;

Whereas the military personnel who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States in such war and who return to the United States with traumatic brain injuries will require additional Federal, State, and local resources;

Whereas there is a need for enhanced public awareness of traumatic brain injury;

Whereas the designation of a National Brain Injury Awareness Month will work toward enhancing public awareness of traumatic brain injury; and

Whereas the Brain Injury Association of America has recognized March as Brain Injury Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That House of Representatives--

(1) supports the designation of an appropriate month as National Brain Injury Awareness Month; and

(2) urges the President to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States, Federal departments and agencies, States, localities, organizations, and media to annually observe a National Brain Injury Awareness Month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.


March 23, 2009

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http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=hr111-178

Army Setting up TBI Program in Europe

"...Cognitive rehabilitation treatment helps with memory problems..."

March 24, 2009
Stars and Stripes|by Seth Robson

VILSECK, Germany — The Army is setting up a program at bases across Europe to treat soldiers who return from combat with mild traumatic brain injury.

European Regional Medical Command public affairs chief Steve Davis said last week that the TBI treatment program is being established at 17 base clinics and at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

This month, Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, head of the Pentagon's Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, reported that as many as 360,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan may have suffered service-related brain injuries.

ERMC TBI program manager Maria Crane said she did not know how many Europe-based soldiers are likely to have TBI. She also could not provide the cost of the new program. She said 80 staff members are being added to clinics in Europe to deal with TBI cases.

"It is mostly primary-care providers — psychiatrists, neurologists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, neurosurgeons and social workers," she said.

The decision to increase staffing was based on a gap study that looked at data that suggest 20 percent of soldiers involved in blast injuries show TBI symptoms, she said.

The Bavarian Medical Command is setting up its portion of the TBI program in temporary facilities at Vilseck and Bamberg.

Anne Felde, the Bavarian TBI program's clinical director, said the goal is to concentrate resources at the two hubs. At smaller communities, nurse case managers will assess patients to determine if they should travel to Bamberg of Vilseck, or if they can be treated by local primary care providers, she said.

Like the Europe-level ERMC officials, the staff in Bavaria also could not provide data on the number of soldiers it expects to treat. However, 25 to 30 staff members are being added to clinics to work on the program, Felde said, adding that she expected a significant number of soldiers to need treatment for the condition.

"We have an infantry population that deploys a lot and experiences a lot of bombs and explosions," she said.

Vilseck is home to the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, which recently returned from Iraq, while nearby Grafenwöhr is the home base of the 172nd Infantry Brigade, currently deployed to Iraq.

Soldiers who return from deployment are screened for health problems, including TBI, Felde said. Those with severe TBI, where there is obvious physical damage to the brain, are sent to the U.S. for treatment, she said.

Felde said mild TBI symptoms include headaches that don't respond to painkillers like Tylenol or Motrin; memory and concentration problems; irritability; balance problems; reading difficulty; problems in communication and self-expression; sleep problems; depression and anxiety; and ringing in the ears.

"They (mild TBI sufferers) are able to function, but they may have some impairment that leads them to seek treatment," she said.

Ordinarily people who suffer a concussion recover without treatment. Combat veterans often take longer to recover for a variety of reasons, she said.

"They may have had multiple blast experiences on multiple deployments," she said. "They may have a combination of TBI and [post-traumatic stress disorder]."

Researchers are attempting to unravel the disorders, which share many symptoms, but there is still much that is not known, Felde said.

"The two things seem to feed off each other," she said. "When you are having headaches and can't focus, PTSD is harder to recover from. Likewise, when you are having nightmares and flashbacks and trouble sleeping, it impairs TBI recovery."

Treatment for TBI typically involves sleeping pills and strong pain medication to dull headaches. Sometimes medication is injected directly into a patient's head to numb the nerves causing the headaches, Felde said.

Cognitive rehabilitation treatment helps with memory problems. Soldiers are taught how to organize their lives in ways that allow them to stay on top of things. Or they might do exercises that involve responding to lights on a switchboard while performing another activity such as reading, a process that helps them conquer problems with divided attention typical among TBI sufferers, she said.

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More TBI stuff

You will probably find that I'll be posting more stuff regarding TBI. There's so much I get that I want to share in order to raise awareness of our issues

By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 22, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE

They live together in a Victorian house on a quiet street in this college town. Mostly men in their early 20s, they play video games, watch movies, tell stories and practice playing guitar.

But members of the unofficial fraternity at 506 Grove Ave. aren't students at the University of Virginia. They're military members learning how to live with traumatic brain injuries, or TBI.

Lakeview Virginia NeuroCare is one of two civilian-run programs in the United States that offers advanced rehabilitation to military patients with mild to moderate brain injuries. Most, like 22-year-old Edward Bennett of Virginia Beach, suffered blast injuries in combat, or during the course of their work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others were injured in car accidents, falls or training exercises.

Military officials estimate more than 300,000 troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan may suffer from brain injuries, often from explosive blasts. About half of those injured recover spontaneously over a matter of months.

But repeated concussions or exposure to blasts can wreak havoc on the brain. Between 45,000 and 90,000 military members or veterans are thought to suffer from more severe and lasting symptoms. Mild to moderate TBI - the diagnosis for most soldiers at Grove House - usually causes slowed mental processing, short-term memory loss, difficulty sleeping, headaches, irritability and anger control issues.

Other problems include difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and sensitivity to light and sound.

"If someone goes untreated, they're going to have problems for the rest of their lives," said F. Don Nidiffer, a psychologist and Lakeview Virginia NeuroCare's executive director.

"We've had people with severe injuries who recover very, very well, and some people with mild injuries who don't recover well at all," he said. "You can lose an arm or a leg and that can be very tragic, very sad. If you have a brain injury and it's severe, and you don't recover well, it can have a tremendous impact on families."



Bennett was an engineering student at Old Dominion University when his Virginia National Guard unit, the 237th Engineer Company, was mobilized for Iraq. One of the unit's main jobs was clearing Iraqi roads of explosives. After being in the vicinity of dozens of controlled detonations, Spc. Bennett found himself sometimes grasping for words, feeling dizzy and having balance problems. He noticed himself drifting off course when he walked along the steel grate pathways that criss-crossed the base.

Doctors diagnosed him with traumatic brain injury and post-concussive syndrome, and sent him back to the United States.

He spent two months last summer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, then was assigned to a Virginia Beach-based unit for wounded Guard and reserve members.

His doctor there suggested Lakeview Virginia NeuroCare, and Bennett began the program after Thanksgiving.

He spent hours working one-on-one with Gary Levine, a speech/language pathologist. Levine is known among the tight-knit staff and patients for two things: playing the banjo, and wearing Hawaiian shirts.

Levine taught Bennett how to turn verbal or written words into images, which the brain finds easier to process. He helped him make visual associations, using mnemonic memory devices. (Instead of memorizing a list of groceries to buy, Bennett learned to link each item to, say, objects hanging on the walls of his apartment. Later, by walking through the apartment in his mind, he can recall what was on the list.)

Hawaiian shirts aside, Levine serves as a mental drill instructor. He'll ask patients to push a button every time they hear the number "two" among a long string of digits. He'll cue up a different computer program that requires listeners to signal every time they hear a number that's one smaller than the figure preceding it. The drills strengthen neurological pathways that promote higher level brain function.

One of the goals, Levine said, is to get patients functioning in complex environments without losing their concentration or having their attention fragmented - an essential skill if they want to stay in the military.

Although brain injuries don't always heal, people with mild to moderate impairment can often learn to compensate.

"It may seem harder or take more energy," Levine said. "But the end result is the same. You pass a point where you can do everything you did before."

Grove House residents often learn something new, too: how to play the guitar.

Levine and Jim Hardiman, a social worker with the program, share a love of music. Levine plays guitar and banjo; Hardiman, the guitar. They came to realize that strumming an instrument requires cognitive and motor skills, but it also serves as a stress reducer. They figured it could be a perfect outlet for military TBI patients, many of whom also struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

With the assistance of a retired Marine officer who donates guitars to anyone at Grove House who wants them, Hardiman and Levine now run a weekly music therapy session.

"It's something we all have in common," Hardiman explained. "I don't have PTSD, but I have trouble making a G-chord sometimes."

In January, the group was working on two songs: "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Man of Constant Sorrow."

Bennett has kept up with the guitar since leaving Charlottesville.

"It takes a lot of coordination," Bennett said recently. "I'm getting better. I think my transitions are really good. I can go from note to note without looking anymore."



The focus at Grove House is not just clinical rehabilitation. The program also works to reintegrate patients into the community by arranging unpaid jobs for a few hours a week, having them shop for and cook dinner once a week, and arranging outings for those who may struggle with being in crowds.

Perhaps the most powerful part of the program, though, is the unstructured time at the house. Actually living with "the other guys" was the best part of Bennett's time in Charlottesville.

The house sleeps eight. Rank doesn't matter much. Patients tend to be young, male and enlisted, but women, officers and older military members have passed through Grove House since the program began about seven years ago. Nidiffer estimates 80 to 90 percent of patients are soldiers, Guard members or Army reservists.

"Everybody there can relate to you," Bennett said. "At home, you're kind of hesitant to tell your wife some of the things you went through, and sometimes when you do tell your wife, she wishes you hadn't."

Caretakers like Darlene Brevard, a small woman with big hair and perfectly painted nails, are at the house round the clock and keep it running smoothly. "Mama D," as the men call her, is Grove House's mother hen. She sets out barbecue sandwiches, potato salad and Tater Tots for lunch, empties the dishwasher, and makes sure the refrigerator is stocked. She is generous with hugs.

Therapy, assessments and appointments fill most weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. But after-hours activities help stimulate healing, too.

Assembling model ships and planes helps with fine motor skills. Playing Wii requires hand and eye coordination. Growing vegetables in a greenhouse that will soon be built in the backyard will strengthen what's called "higher order thinking": planning, judgment, organization, concentration.

Army Lt. Col. Michael Jaffee is a neurologist, psychiatrist and national director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

He said Lakeview's program fills a need that military and Veterans Affairs facilities couldn't meet at the beginning of the war in Iraq.

Military hospitals could handle emergency injuries, and the VA offers long-term care for those grievously wounded in battle. Nothing existed in the middle, for patients who could possibly return to active duty but needed more help regaining function than they could get at Walter Reed or Bethesda.

Lakeview's program bridges that gap - and does it in a way that allows patients to bond with other military members without the pressure of being a soldier.

"They're not just there to be patients and receive therapy," Jaffee said. "They are there to become vital and productive members of that community."

Many of the 119 military patients who have been treated at Grove House have had to overcome significant physical wounds as well as brain injury, Jaffee said. That makes it even more impressive that approximately 30 percent of their patients have returned to active duty.

Bennett hopes to re-enroll in the ROTC program at Old Dominion University. He will resume classes, part-time, this summer, and plans to take a full load in the fall.

He knows engineering courses will put his memory and critical-thinking skills to the test.

"I'm processing stuff almost like I was," Bennett said. "I'm not as worried about going back to school."

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The program

Lakeview Virginia NeuroCare in Charlottesville is one of two civilian-run programs in the U.S. that offer advanced rehabilitation to military patients with mild to moderate brain injuries.

The program bridges the gap left by military hospitals, which handle emergency injuries, and the VA, which offers long-term care for those grievously wounded in battle, and allows patients to bond with other military members without the pressure of being a soldier. In addition to the clinical rehabilitation, after-hours activities also help healing. Assembling model ships and planes helps with fine motor skills, playing Wii requires hand and eye coordination, and learning to play the guitar requires cognitive and motor skills and serves as a stress reducer. The program also works to reintegrate patients into the community by arranging unpaid jobs for a few hours a week.

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Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com

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Should parents worry?

Should Parents Worry About Sports Injuries?

Watch short video for great advice:

http://www.ketv.com/news/18728039/detail.html

February 16, 2009

Derek Ruth has spent the last 6 months relearning 13 years of lessons. The Malcolm junior high student's life was forever changed after he sustained a traumatic brain injury during a September football game.

Derek's mother, Jen, remembers that game well. "He came to the sidelines, knew the score of the game," said Ruth. "He was coherent; he knew a lot."

Moments later, Derek collapsed. Paramedics flew Derek to an area hospital and doctors determined the then 12-year-old sustained a brain injury. It was later determined Derek had two subdural hematomas, and doctors temporarily removed two pieces of his skull.

Derek has since had to relearn basic motor skills such as walking and talking. He continues therapy to regain use and control of his body.

"We don't know all of the reasons some individuals have what we call catastrophic major traumatic outcomes," said Dr. Lori Terryberry-Spohr, the Brain Injury Program Manager at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.

"In a more serious injury, often there's bleeding on the brain that completely kills out brain tissue. That's where we have to work to retrain other parts of the brain to pick up those skills or to rewire those skills so they can still be completed, but in a different way."

Terryberry-Spohr said injuries to the extent of Derek's are rare. Less severe head injuries such as concussions, she said, are not. Dr. Terryberry-Spohr cited research that suggests one out of every four high school athletes will experience a concussion during their high school career.

Most of those victims, she said, will recover wihtout complications as long as those people are not reinjured during their recovery. "We do believe," said Terryberry-Spohr, "if we can more accurately identify individuals that have had milder brain injuries or concussions on the field, then we can prevent more serious and catastrophic injuries."

Terryberry-Spohr also noted the benefits of children and teenagers participating in sports. "The benefits of physical activity are tremendous, we know that," she said. "Benefecial to cardiovascular systems and overall health. But we have to be able to do it safely."

Terryberry-Spohr said experts are focused on prevention in terms of having good equipment and well inflated helmets in addition to better identification of smaller injuries.

Jen Ruth, Derek's mother, has a message for parents concerned about their children participating in contact sports, as Derek was when he sustained his injury. "I don't think you can focus on, 'it was a football injury.' People have car accidents and other things, and you still drive."

Jen Ruth also believes the physical benefits Derek experienced while participating in sports are now helping him in his recovery. "The doctors have said being in good physical condition before, the muscle strength, coordination he had before, is just going to help him in the long run," said Ruth.

Ruth added that the same determination and focus Derek showed on the field are now his assets in rehabilitation. "I think there's a lot of good that comes out of sports, kids playing, being on teams, learning responsibility, a lot of good comes out of it," said Ruth. "You can't live your life afraid."

Terryberry-Spohr encourages parents, coaches and trainers to keep watch for the signs of a possible concussion. Warning signs include disorientation, balance difficulties, possible headache, dizzines and nauseua.

The Centers For Disease Control offer tool kits for athletes and adults. Each tool kit contains print-off cards listing the warning signs of concussion.

Veteran of George's war

Here's a link to a video about how our government is treating one of the many soldiers who have been injured in Iraq. It's called Veteran of George's war wants a bailout.