Concerns
What are your three biggest concerns?
Sunday, January 19, 2014
#BringBoweHome ... Seeking the Release of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl (USA)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Poor Guy in Watertown with a Shot-Up Boat ... Give Him Free Money?
The Poor Guy (David Henneberry) with the Shot-Up Boat in Watertown, Massachusetts
BeResilient Dave ... I'm sure you're a good guy! |
Here are some more recent and (very) questionable fundraising campaigns:
- Murderer George Zimmerman receives donations in the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS after killing an unarmed African-American youth
- Actor George Clooney raised $15,000,000 in one night for Barack Obama's reelection campaign
- Warner Brothers Pictures has over $3,000,000 raised (for them) TO PRODUCE A MOVIE based on the popular Veronica Mars television series
- An estimated $3 BILLION was raised ... wasted on negative campaign ads and wining and dining multi-billionaires ... during the 2012 presidential election campaign
- American Red Cross
- USO
- Salvation Army
- Wounded Warrior Project
- American Cancer Institute
- Help4VetsPTSD ... They got $0!
StayTheCourse Boston ... You're in our prayers! |
CombatCounselor ... OUT!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Boston, Terrorism, the Media, and Human Nature
Boston ... Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved-ones of the two victims who lost their lives as well as those who were injured and the first responders who put their lives in peril to save others. Decoy devices are quite common among terrorists, so let's hope they have successfully cleared the area of additional IEDs.
As was the case with Sandy Hook, this event is and will receive a great deal of attention for days, if not weeks, not to mention many anniversaries to come. That is EXACTLY WHAT THE PERPETRATORS AND TERRORISTS WANT AND NEED TO EXIST!
The purpose of terrorism is, obviously, "to terrorize" and you cannot terrorize without the mass media. The mass media (TV, radio, internet) profit from these events because humans have a sick need to be entranced by trauma and gore. So disasters such as these are extremely profitable for the networks, stations, and websites because humans are innately sadistic.
Think about the times you've arrived at the source of a traffic jam only to find people rubber-necking to see if the can view some blood and gore ... even on the opposite side of the highway! I cannot tell you how many times I have been delayed on LA freeways only to find a fender fender or a flat tire miles away that people could not resist gawking at.
"Sadistic" may be a strong word, but characterizes rather succinctly the need people have to view traumatic, bloody scenes. Other examples of this phenomena are the people who hear of a tragedy (fire, earthquake, hurricane, etc.) and feel compelled to go to the scene, PUTTING THEIR LIVES, AND THOSE OF THEIR FAMILIES IN SOME CASES, IN PERIL!
Bullfights, car races, boxing, ultimate fighting, running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain
and other events where there is a high probability of blood and guts being exposed are extremely popular. You have to be "a little slow" (to put it nicely) to watch 33 cars go round and round and round and round until somebody FINALLY crosses the finish line hours later, usually a rather anti-climactic event and the lowlight of the race...hopefully there were a few crashes!
Why do we humans act this way? One reason is that people are inherently curious creatures. Beyond that, there is some subconscious satisfaction in seeing others suffer. The suffering of others gives us a momentary feeling of superiority or a sense of "wow...I'm sure glad that wasn't me!". In either case, it makes it feel, on a level we are not necessarily aware of, that we are better off or safer than others and that can be very comforting. Another reason people may rush to a disaster scene is to be able to say "I was there!" ... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, GOT THE T-SHIRT!
A woman actually canceled her Hawaiian vacation to go to Arizona TO WATCH THE JODI ARIAS MURDER TRIAL ... Are you serious ... Jodi Arias over Hawaii? Now that is sick!
I have done it myself, so even perfect people like me are not immune! I was in Paris the weekend Princess Diana was killed. We had walked by the Ritz Hotal that very afternoon on our way back to our room from the Eiffel Tower. The next morning, we woke up to a French NEWSFLASH claiming that Princess Diana had been killed early that morning. We we're planning on visiting that area along the Seine later that day (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) to visit the Hard Rock Cafe (I collect Hard Rock sweatshirts, having visited the Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Budapest, Rome, Seoul, London, Edinburgh, Brussels, Munich, and many other franchises). It was two in the afternoon when we arrived at the hill next to the entrance of the tunnel and could see the doomed Mercedes as the police continued their investigation. A rather large makeshift memorial had already been erected on that very hill being comprised of hundreds of bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and cards from people communicating their grief and condolences. She truly was the "People's Princess" as I had observed during my three years in England. I was also in London the following weekend, visiting Buckingham Palace where the memorial extended for hundreds of yards along the fence, 50 feet deep in some places, with the same flowers, balloons, signs, and stuffed animals. It was quite a spectacle and something I will not forget soon. Even more memorable was the funeral coverage (no, I was not there) and the true heartfelt grief and sadness the people of England were feeling. It was very sad and an incredible experience...I WAS THERE!
Again, my blessings go out to the dead and many injured, physically AND psychologically, by this horrific event. We as a nation have been very lucky since 9/11/2001 and need to be prepared and vigilant for.future attacks ... IT IS INEVITABLE. And humans being humans, some will die, many will flock to the scene, and even more will find a way to profit from the tragedy. Whether it is a con artist setting up a fake website in one of the victim's names to solicit donations (to him or her) or ABC programming untold hours of coverage from every perspective imaginable. Can we really blame ABC for trying to profit from the misery of others? No, not really, because that is the business they are in and owe it to their shareholders and viewers to give them what them want or need. What the media, ABC is only an example, can and should be chastised for is giving the perpetrator or terrorist organization the publicity, the coverage they need to be successful. Whether it is for their 15 minutes of fame, satisfaction of a long held grudge, or instilling terror in the populace. Terrorism could not exist without the worldwide media where disasters can be televised around the world literally seconds after it happens and sometimes AS IT HAPPENS in the case of smartphone camera that make capturing news AS IT HAPPENS, then going viral on YouTube as all of us sadistic humans click on the Facebook link.
In conclusion, I truly mourn for the dead, wounded, and their families involved in the Bostonh Marathon Attacks. I have provided a psychological perspective of human nature because it seemed to be a compelling story on which to discuss the topic. I hope I have not detracted from this sad turn of events and pray I did not offend anyone because that was not my intention. I am a compassionate person, but there are times to get your message across and this seemed like one of them. I hope you learned something from this discussion because that is my only intent ... AND NO, I DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY DOING THIS!
#PrayForVictims
Monday, March 18, 2013
Tuition Assistance (TA) Suspension Versus Military Suicides...Let's Get Our Priorities Straight!
by
T.C. Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret)
"CombatCongressman"
Air Force Tuition Assistance (TA) suspension is a TEMPORARY SOLUTION to a short-term problem ... SUICIDE is a PERMANENT SOLUTION to a temporary problem. TA is a very popular program, recruiting and retention tool, and valuable entitlement to our military men and women.
With sequestration comes program cuts, usually "soft" programs like TA over weapon system programs like to beleaguered F-35 program. So the temporary "suspension" of TA has troops up in arms and rightfully so. The White House Petition asking the president to save the TA program has garnered over 80,000 of the 100,000 required signatures to force Obama to address the issue. I started a White House Petition several months back when the criteria for presidential action was just 10,000 signatures and few petitions came close to that mark, so 80,000+ signatures is quite a milestone...congratulations!
My previous petition was similar to the one I recently started and even though tens of thousands saw my pleas for action, we received only 71 of the required 150 signatures to even get the petition viewable on the website, and WAY SHORT of the 10,000 signature requirement. What does that tell you about the priorities of our citizens? 71 signatures out of 25,000+ possible ... NOT A VERY GOOD CONVERSION RATE.
More men and women in uniform COMMITTED SUICIDE last year than were KILLED IN COMBAT! 6,900+ Military and Veterans die by their own hand each year and the negative stigmas against anxiety, depression, PTSD, and mental health treatment in the military are the cause.
We (military men and women and Veterans) learn NOT TO ASK FOR HELP for these very real and debilitating psychological problems because we fear being ostracized by superiors and peers, losing our security clearances, and/or possibly losing our careers. Until military men and women are GIVEN CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT and the IGNORANCE OF OUR LEADERS are addressed, our heroes will continue to take their own lives!
Please read my articles on these stigmas, one of which (THE STIGMA KILLING AMERICAN HEROES) was recently published in De Oppresso Liber magazine. There is also a recent post on our WHITE HOUSE PETITION, asking President Obama to address this extremely important issue and allow our troops to receive CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT, thereby reducing the stigmas, I have discussed very briefly here, over time.
Please sign our WHITE HOUSE PETITION and read more about the issue elsewhere in this blog: http://www.Congressman.blogspot.com
Tuition Assistance WILL RETURN ... LAST YEAR'S 7,000 DEAD HEROES WILL NOT! Be selfless, THINK ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE FOR A CHANGE, PUTTING ANY SELFISH CONCERNS TO THE SIDE FOR NOW.
If our military men and women put as much effort into saving 7,000 lives each year as they do trying save an ENTITLEMENT that will only benefit them personally, our petition would succeed in record time. It is time to start thinking about someone other than yourselves, character traits like "empathy" (being able to put yourself in sometime else's shoes, feeling their pain, etc) and "selflessness", which is one of the Air Force Core Values by the way, and put your effort into more critical activities. It is time to be selfless and end these absurd yet deadly stigmas, empathizing with those afflicted by painful memories and emotions instead of ensuring that YOU have that AA Degree by the time you jump ship for the private sector.
BLESS YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOYAL SERVICE!
Key Words: PTSD,suicide,military,stigma,stigmas,troops,co confidentiality,confidential,mental,health,treatment,ignorance,career,security,clearance,CombatCounselor
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
SIGN OUR WHITE HOUSE PETITION: To help end military suicides and the negative stigmas surrounding PTSD and mental health treatment in the military
Until our WHITE HOUSE PETITION reaches 150 signatures, it will not be publicly viewable on the Open Petitions section of We the People (the White House Petitions webpage), so be sure to share these URLs with all of your friends and followers:
Short: http://wh.gov/oKbz
URL: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/help-end-military-suicides-and-negative-stigmas-surrounding-ptsd-and-mental-health-treatment/DTjdBHdY
Petition Verbiage:
More of our men and women in uniform die by their own hand than are killed in combat! Nineteen (19) military/veterans commit suicide each day and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a factor in many of those deaths.
Military men and women DO NOT HAVE THE CONFIDENTIALITY available in the private sector when seeking treatment for their problems (e.g. PTSD, depression, anxiety), causing negative PTSD and mental health treatment stigmas. Because troops fear losing their career or security clearance, they REFUSE TO SEEK TREATMENT, many killing themselves instead.
END THE STIGMAS NOW, today, by giving confidentiality to our military, before one more hero dies by his or her own hand!
Read more in The CombatCounselor Chronicle: http://combatcounselor.blogspot.com/2012/12/article-stigmas-killing-american-heroes.html
WE NEED 100,000 SIGNATURES BY APRIL 12TH, 2013 IN ORDER FOR THE PRESIDENT TO TAKE ACTION, SO GET THE WORD OUT NOW:
Facebook Post:
More of our men and women in uniform die by their own hand than are killed in combat! Nineteen (19) military/veterans commit suicide each day and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a factor in many of those deaths.
Military men and women DO NOT HAVE THE CONFIDENTIALITY available in the private sector when seeking treatment for their problems (e.g. PTSD, depression, anxiety), causing negative PTSD and mental health treatment stigmas. Because troops fear losing their career or security clearance, they REFUSE TO SEEK TREATMENT, many killing themselves instead.
END THE STIGMAS NOW, today, by giving confidentiality to our military, before one more hero dies by his or her own hand!
Read more here: http://combatcounselor.blogspot.com/2012/12/article-stigmas-killing-american-heroes.html
Please SIGN OUR WHITE HOUSE PETITION to end military suicides and the negative mental health and PTSD stigmas in the military by clicking on the link below.
IF YOU REALLY APPRECIATE AND SUPPORT OUR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN, SHARE THIS POST WITH ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS...NOW!
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/help-end-military-suicides-and-negative-stigmas-surrounding-ptsd-and-mental-health-treatment/DTjdBHdY
Know Your Credit Score: VantageScore to Replace FICO?
A: 900–990
B: 800–899
C: 700–799
D: 600–699
F: 501–599
“VantageScore is the credit industry’s first credit score developed jointly by the three national credit bureaus. This innovative new approach to credit scoring simplifies the credit granting process for consumers and creditors by providing a consistent, objective score to the marketplace. Credit scoring is used to help potential lenders and users of credit reports quickly measure your credit worthiness and decide the type of risk they are taking by doing business with you. In addition to your credit score, lenders may also consider other factors such as your income, assets, length at current residence and employment history. There are many different scoring models used in today’s marketplace and different criteria used by different lenders. Regardless of what scoring model is used, they all have one purpose: to summarize your credit worthiness.”
1. Make payments on-time
2. Keep a good balance of accounts and credit limits (higher is better)
3. Maintain a reasonable debt to credit limit ratio (not too high and not to low)
4. Use your accounts and credit cards regularly (at least once a year)
5. DON'T close accounts if possible, particularly before shopping for a loan!
AnnualCreditReport.com
Key Words: Trans Union, Equifax, Experian, Kohl’s, credit reports, FICO, VantageScore, credit, score, bureau, consumers, creditors, lenders, risk, business, payment, bankruptcy, history, accounts, limits, debt, payments, balance, credit card, blemish
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
ARTICLE: THE STIGMAS KILLING AMERICAN HEROES
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Letter to The Honorable Patty Murray (D - WA) Regarding Military Suicides
The Honorable U.S. Senator Murray,
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
"The Daily Insanity" (@tDailyInsanity Twitter Question to @CombatCongressman
"@CombatCongress Shouldn't need majority to expect fairness in ballot access, election rules, campaign funding. What will YOU do if elected? -- The Daily Insanity"
"@tDailyInsanity Thank you for the great question! I will give it some thought and post my response on my blog: http://www.CombatCongressman.blogspot.com"
This is a radical yet simple approach and a change I believe would be hard to sell, particularly to those large donating machines that control many elected officials today. In my own campaign, I plan on limiting spending to "as little as possible", effectively utilizing social networking at a fraction of the cost of TV, radio, and print advertising. I will also get out into my district and meet the people, what I call "leadership by walking around", shaking hands, listening to what my constituents have to say, giving them my card, and shaking their hand ... asking for their vote by looking them in the eye and telling them "you can count on me ... Integrity First, Honor Always!"
Monday, February 25, 2013
CombatCongressman Channel on YouTube - Message to President Obama
Visit http://www.Help4VetsPTSD.org for more information |
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Double Standards, Waste, and Favoritism in the Military
Double Standards, Waste, and Favoritism
In the September 10th, 2012 issue of Air Force Times, a magazine dedicated to news and events related to the United States Air Force (USAF), there were several letters posted condemning the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for applying double standards to retired officers who were publicly supporting political candidates, knowing very well that many well-known flag officers (Colin Powell and Wes Clark among them) have blatantly done the same exact thing, but on a much grander scale. I agreed with many of the people who wrote to the publication and am not surprised by the double standard imposed by the chairman, because flag officers are routinely held to a different, far more lenient standard than their lower ranking subordinates. Now that is leadership, leadership by example ... or is it?
I was also appalled by another article describing Air Mobility Command's (AMC) "contract" with a Carolina pro hockey team. AMC and the author apparently believed it was "OK" to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to one sports team while ignoring dozens of others in several different sports in the process. Why did AMC, whose headquarters is in Illinois, think they needed to support a team, under the guise of public relations, in another state and a thousand miles away, spending unreported sums on "an 18-person luxury box" among other things? Saint Louis, Missouri has several pro sports teams and is less than 25 miles from Scott Air Force Base, so why did the Saint Louis teams not get the contract or even a chance to bid on it?
Besides showing favoritism in contracting, WASTE clearly and quickly comes to mind when the Department of Defense (DoD) in general and the Air Force in particular are cutting people and benefits rather than tightening the belt on such extravagant items as LUXURY SUITES. We also do not know if the contract was open to bids from other sports teams or if it was a "SOLE SOURCE" contract, one which excludes other bidders normally because what the government is contracting for can ONLY COME FROM ONE SOURCE, the contractee in question, in this case the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team.
Finally, and on a similar note, their was a photo of General Edward Rice, Commander of Air Education and Training Command (AETC) in San Antonio, Texas, throwing out the first pitch at an August 18th New York Yankees game (published in the September 17th, 2012 issue of Air Force Times) which also seemed inappropriate on more than one level. I understand that the Air Force has to reach out to the public in terms of positive public relations, but why select the Yankees when General Rice's closest Major League Baseball franchise would be the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers? One would think that General Rice, being commander of AETC, which last time I checked, was located on Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, would support a local team over one thousands of miles away. The Yankees were not even playing a Texas team for crying out loud ... they were playing the Boston Red Sox!
That article and the accompanying photo (similar to the one above) lead me to a couple questions: First, why was General Rice in New York and what genius thought it would be a good idea to show support for a team whose closest Air Force base is in New Jersey? And second, why was General Rice out of uniform, wearing a NY Yankees hat with his Air Force "blues"? If General Rice saw another airman in uniform at the game wearing a Yankees hat (or any team's hat for that matter), that airman would surely get a good old fashioned butt-chewing AT THE VERY LEAST.
So why, I ask, are there double standards depending on the rank of the individual? Why the "in your face" waste when good, hard working, patriotic airmen are being drummed out in thousands while major commands and generals live the high life? I have not even mentioned Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's $800,000+ bill for government plane rides home every weekend, but that is a different story ... or is it?
Chris Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret)
CombatCongressman
You can read the original letter to the editor in The CombatCounselor Chronicle
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