Concerns



What are your three biggest concerns between now and the midterm election in November 2014?

What are your three biggest concerns?

Sunday, January 19, 2014

#BringBoweHome ... Seeking the Release of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl (USA)

#BringBoweHome ... Seeking the Release of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl (USA)



Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, USA - Captured June 30, 2009

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was captured on June 30th, 2009 while on patrol near the town of Yahya Khel in the Paktika Province in Southeast Afghanistan and near the border with Pakistan.


Bowe recently received national media attention after this video was exposed:






For more background on his capture and efforts for his release, read more here:






This young man has been in captivity for nearly 5 years, but have you heard much, if anything, about him? Probably not. Why is our government and the media covering this up and what are they doing to ensure his safe release or recovery?



You and your family members are home, safe, and secure, but Sgt Bowe Bergdahl's family has been worrying about their son, brother, and grandson for nearly five years ... PLEASE SIGN THIS WHITE HOUSE PETITION, endorsed by Bowe's father Bob on Twitter:




Let's help #BringBoweHome soon and safely!






Key Words: sgt, Bowe, Bergdahl, bob, US, Army, Afghanistan, patrol, capture, captured, captivity, Taliban, Pakistan, Navy, SEALS, CombatCounselor, combat, counselor

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!
I heard that they have started a fundraising campaign for the poor guy that got his $50,000 boat shot-up by the Watertown Police Department ... Poor guy ...

HEY WAIT ... IF HE'S RICH ENOUGH TO PARK A $50,000 YACHT IN HIS DRIVEWAY, HE CAN PAY FOR HIS OWN DARN BOAT! WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE? MAYBE THE CITY OF WATERTOWN SHOULD PAY FOR IT ... THEY DEMOLISHED IT!

Seriously, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of people in Boston more deserving of a donation ... like the parents of the 8 year old boy that died, or the others KIA (killed in action), or the lady that lost her legs, or the rest of the victims and families scarred physically and emotionally by this horrific attack.

I think the guy with the boat comes in last, behind the victims in Boston, West Texas, Sandy Hook, etc ... etc ... etc ... What about you? What do you think?

Share or G+ this post if you think the guy with the boat is SOL (that's poop out of luck for you civilians) ... comment if you feel strongly either way!

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
I think all of that money could have gone toward much more worthwhile causes, such as:

  • American Red Cross
  • USO
  • Salvation Army
  • Wounded Warrior Project
  • American Cancer Institute
  • Help4VetsPTSD ... They got $0!
StayTheCourse Boston ... You're in our prayers!

StayPresent ... BeResilient ... StayTheCourse  
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?

I was watching 60 Minutes on CBS recently and there was a story on the three national credit bureaus, Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian, and the fact that ten percent (10%) of Americans, one in every 10, have errors on their credit reports.  I was even more shocked to learn that one out of five of us, five percent (5%), have errors on our credit reports BAD ENOUGH TO HURT OUR CREDIT SCORES!  I will get back to these problems, huge problems in-fact, a little later, but first I want to understand the credit reporting process a little better.

I am one of a minority of Americans who check their credit reports and FICO scores regularly.  I visit one of the “BIG 3” every four months for a free credit check through AnnualCreditReport.com. DO NOT CONFUSE AnnualCredit Report.com, where you can get a FREE credit report once a year from each of the BIG 3 credit reporting agencies, with FreeCreditReport.com, a website that will charge you for services and mimics the free site in order to sway you into purchasing “credit monitoring”.  

Most people do not need credit monitoring and can monitor their own credit by doing what I do, checking my credit on one of the BIG 3’s websites every four months, in doing so, checking three times a year FOR FREE and ensuring there are no errors or identity theft occurring.  For example, I will check Experian in March, Trans Union in July, and Equifax in November each year.  I normally enter a recurring reminder on my Microsoft Outlook calendar or Google Calendar, making it easier to remember.  The only problem you may encounter is trying to check a report to soon and wasting a little time, so make sure you wait at least a year before trying to check your credit with each agency.


There is a new rating system replacing the old “FICO” score, which ranged from 300 to 850, called the “VantageScore”, which is based on information from your credit report.  Your credit information may differ among the BIG 3 national credit reporting agencies and, as a result, your VantageScore based on each of those reports may vary.  A VantageScore ranges from 501 (being very bad) to 990 (being very good) and, from Experian at least, you also receive a RISK GRADE in the following ranges:
A: 900–990
B: 800–899
C: 700–799
D: 600–699
F: 501–599
You are also assigned one of five applicable CREDIT CATEGORIES based on your risk grade, including “High Risk” (F); “Non-Prime” (D); “Prime” (C); “Prime Plus” (B); and “Super Prime” (A) and given a percentile score, indicating where your credit rating ranks, on a scale of 1 to 100 among U.S. consumers.  According to Experian:
“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.”
Your credit score, now called VantageScore, is used for a variety of things, things you may not be aware of.  Most of us know that your score not only influences, it determines whether or not you will get a loan (home mortgage, car/consumer loan, etc.) and the interest rate that goes along with it.  The better your VantageScore, the lower the interest rate.  With the “prime” interest rate hovering around 3.25% for the past year, one of the lowest in history, those with the best credit will normally be able to get a loan with an interest rate close to prime.  If you have negative entries (late payments, loan defaults/collections, bankruptcy, or foreclosure) on your report, your Vantage Score will drop and the interest rate you receive on your loan will rise exponentially depending on how bad your score is.


Other things affect your VantageScore beside poor payment history and bankruptcy, including how long your credit history is, how many credit accounts you have, the credit limits on those accounts, and the debt to credit limit ratio.  Other things affecting your score negatively are closing accounts and having too many accounts at any given time.  The logarithm used by the BIG 3 to determine your score is a closely held secret and trying to figure it out is not an exact science, but some things you can do to maintain a good credit score are:
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!
Many people do not understand that your VantageScore also influences other areas of your life.  According to Forbes magazine, things, other than loan interest rates, that can be affected by your credit score include your home and car insurance rates, renting a home, getting hired or not, getting utilities for your new home, professional licensing, and even whether or not you will be investigated as a possible TERRORIST … seriously!

Now that you understand the system we are working with, I would now like to get back to the problems with the credit scoring process reported by 60 Minutes and discussed earlier.  Because your credit score has such a large and significant impact on your life in so many areas, there is a failure in the system when five to ten percent of citizens are affected negatively because of errors that ARE NOT THEIR FAULT!  


60 Minutes highlighted the story of one woman who attempted to fix errors on her reports with the BIG 3 for SEVERAL YEARS.  A person with bad credit, with a name and social security number totally unlike hers, was mistakenly being included on HER CREDIT REPORTS!  When she tried to fix the problem, the BIG 3 ignored her request or refused to believe her, EVEN AFTER THE OTHER WOMAN AND HER CREDITORS SIGNED AFFADAVITS SUPPORTING HER CLAIMS!  People lose jobs and houses over things like this and the BIG 3 were totally unresponsive.  60 Minutes indicated that this was not an isolated incident and reported that it appears to be a systemic problem, a problem the BIG 3 refuse to address or fix … another example of Institutional Terrorism ™ at work in America.


My own credit history was flawless, without a late payment or other blemish for over 30 years and a FICO Score very close to a perfect score of 850.  We regularly shopped at Kohl’s, a discount department store chain, for clothes and household items three or four times a year.  Kohl’s offers special discounts for the credit card customers, so we applied for a card and used it every few months.  We have most of our credit card, utility, and other recurring payment accounts on “auto pay”, having the statement balance taken out of our bank account automatically every month.  Because we only shopped at Kohl’s every few months, that option was not possible, so I relied on their email “payment due” reminders and, as a backup, statements mailed to our home to remind me to make a payment.

While paying our bills one weekend, I suddenly remembered that we had shopped at Kohl’s a while back and I had not received an email or statement, so I logged in to their website to see when the payment was due.  I do not know about you, but time flies by and when I saw that our account was over 60 days past due, I was flabbergasted!  I knew it had been a while, but did not realize it had been 60 days.  


I immediately called Kohl’s and told them I was sorry for the late payment, asking to make a payment immediately over the phone.  After doing so, I asked the woman if Kohl’s had reported our late payments to the BIG 3 and she indicated that they had.  I told her that I had not received a reminder email or statement in the 60 days since making the purchases and asked her if she could PLEASE remedy the discrepancy with the credit bureaus, having had “golden” credit for 30 years.  She rudely told me “I guess you are the only customer out of thousands of Kohl’s customers not to receive a statement!”  I told her “yes, I guess I am” and asked her again, very nicely, if she could help us out.  She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was a liar and that she would do nothing to help me, so I asked her to close our account.  She told me that Kohl’s had already closed our account, again without even notifying us!  


What kind of business reports negative information to the BIG 3 and closes a (very good) customer’s account without ever sending an email, statement, late notice, or calling to find out what was going on?  We shopped almost exclusively at Kohl’s, spending from $2,000 to $3,000 a year at their stores and had a perfect payment history, 53 straight months without a late or missing payment, a pretty good customer by most standards, and Kohl’s closes my account for a simple oversight?  I admitted and continue to assert that, in the end, I AM RESPONSIBLE and should have paid much closer attention to our obligations, but Kohl’s not only failed to help us succeed, THEY INSULTED MY CHARACTER!

As a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, I take great pride in my core values and character, so if you really want to upset me, question my character!  Kohl’s has lost two very good customers, customers who spent in excess of $10,000 over a 5-year period, paying on time in all but the last two months.  So who is the loser here?  Kohl’s and their shareholders … NOT US … we still buy clothes, from J.C.Penney!

The moral of this story is that a small error, particularly one you caused yourself, can cost you BIG TIME when it comes to your credit score.  After Kohl’s reported our two late payments to the BIG 3, our FICO scores dropped from the low to mid-800s to 620!  Thankfully, we were not refinancing our mortgage or buying a car at the time because we would have been turned down or forced to pay an interest rate far above prime … all for a simple mistake and two late payments in 30 plus years.

Because credit scores play such a significant role in our everyday lives, making the difference between success and failure, owning a home or living on the street in some cases, it is critical that the BIG 3 get it right and when they do not, they need to respond quickly and with compassion … but they do not and probably will not UNLESS FORCED TO DO SO.


If my constituents decide to support me for political office, I will go after the BIG 3 and ensure that no more citizens are terrorized by ignorance, incompetence, or lack of concern for customers.  I will fight Institutional Terrorism, as my family experienced with Kohl’s (and other large companies/organizations) and like the poor woman in the 60 Minutes story experienced with the BIG 3.  Why? Because it is the right thing to do and because American citizens deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.   Citizens in general and customers in particular should be given the benefit of the doubt instead of automatically being assumed a liar or con artist.  Innocent until proven guilty?  Maybe in the courts, but not by large organizations like Kohl’s, Experian, Trans Union, Equifax, and others, perpetrating Institutional Terrorism on innocent Americans.


Americans are all struggling financially in this economy, even the richest of the rich have suffered losses ... not that we feel too sorry for the millionaires and billionaires who are "suffering" out there. Financial problems invade many if not most homes across the country, so it is important to communicate effectively with your partner about financial issues, ensuring that both parties are at least informed about the current situation, even if it happens to be bleak.  Relationship success is based on communication and teamwork, particularly when it comes to finances. Four eyes are much better than two are, especially when large organizations, like the BIG 3, think they can act with impunity, ruining lives without a thought about it.  So keep a regular eye on your credit reports by visiting either Experian, Trans Union, or Equifax once every four months at this FREE SITE: 

AnnualCreditReport.com


Key WordsTrans 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

Copyright 2013 – C.T. Sorrentino and 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC – All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

ARTICLE: THE STIGMAS KILLING AMERICAN HEROES


Abstract 

On average, one military member and 18 Veterans commit suicide each day, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant factor in many of those deaths. The negative stigma surrounding PTSD and military mental health treatment exist partly because the brave men and women who make up our military are hesitant to seek mental health treatment from military practitioners. Our young men and women in the military are returning from deployments having experienced horrifying events, either directly or as an observer. PTSD incidence is reported to be as high as 20 to 30 percent of our military returning from recent combat. Until military and civilian leaders understand the connection and impact the negative military mental health stigma has on our force's mental health and morale, these needless deaths will continue. The negative stigmas regarding PTSD and Veterans are perpetuated by the media. As long as these stigmas are perpetuated in the media, young heroes, our military and veteran men and women, will continue to die. We need a positive dialogue started in this country, educating the public, our elected officials, and military leaders, about the problems in military and Veteran mental health treatment and figure out a way to fix them soon! We also need leaders willing to give our men and women in uniform the confidentiality they need when seeking treatment for their problems, be it PTSD, depressions or anxiety. We need leaders who are going to do the right thing and end the negative stigmas against PTSD and seeking mental health treatment in the military … now, today, before one more American hero dies by their own hand!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Letter to The Honorable Patty Murray (D - WA) Regarding Military Suicides


January 21st, 2013

The Honorable U.S. Senator Murray,

First of all, thank you for your concern and efforts to help reduce military suicides through your support and leadership in passing the Defense Authorization Act of 2013.

Unfortunately, an office and/or education are going to do little to solve a problem that is caused by ignorance and a flawed system. The primary solution in reducing suicides will be by providing confidentiality to our military when seeking mental health treatment as well as education for leaders so that they understand the importance of therapy/counseling for their troops over the promotion of their own careers.

I am a retired military officer, disabled Veteran, and expert in the treatment of mental health problems with a focus on active-duty military and Veterans.  I have also written and spoken extensively on this topic in one of my blogs - http://www.CombatCounselor.blogspot.com - and the CombatCounselor Channel on YouTube - http://www.YouTube.com/combatcounselor. My article, "The Stigmas Killing Young American Heroes", will be published in De Oppresso Liber magazine later this month. You can also find an earlier version on the blog link above.

With more troops being lost to suicide than combat, we must do something soon. One active duty military and 18 Vets die EVERY DAY by their own hand, 6,900 each year, so something MUST BE DONE...SOON! Our heroes deserve no less. 

I recently sponsored a petition on this topic on the White House Petitions website, but only managed to collect 70 signatures even though my pleas reached tens of thousands of my followers and subscribers. Apathy and ignorance are rampant in this country and I will do whatever I can do to eliminate both, particularly when it comes to the well being of our military and Veterans, in my lifetime.

Thank you again for your service country and your concern for our military men and women. 
Respectfully,

C.T. Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret)
MS, LPC, NCC

PS - It has been well over one month and I have not heard a single word from Ms. Murray



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

"The Daily Insanity" (@tDailyInsanity Twitter Question to @CombatCongressman


I received a Twitter tweet from @tDailyInsanity (The Daily Insanity), a popular account with over 13,000 followers and a Facebook page with 300 "LIKES", so I promised to answer the anonymous author's question.  The question was:
"@CombatCongress Shouldn't need majority to expect fairness in ballot access, election rules, campaign funding. What will YOU do if elected? -- The Daily Insanity"
I replied with the following tweet:
 "@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"
After giving the question some thought as promised, my response is, WHEN elected, I will follow the rules and traditions set forth by generations of congressman before me in addition to our founding fathers.  A majority is required in a federal constitutional republic such as ours to pass legislation (bills) into law.  A simple majority will do much of the time, but a 3/5 majority is required in some situations (Corrections Calendar) and a 2/3 majority in others, including overriding a presidential veto (a very difficult thing to do) as well as voting on constitutional amendments.

As far as fairness in ballot access and election rules are concerned, you do not provide enough information to provide an appropriate comment to a rather historically sensitive process.  I believe the rules governing ballot access and election rules are clear and fair, but there may be still be difficulties in implementation if that was your intention. Although women and minorities have much better access to the voting booth than in years past, I am sure there are still places where some have not fully embraced those rights.  If I discovered unfair or illegal restrictions in the ability of certain people to vote in my district, the problem(s) would get my full attention and I would ensure swift and appropriate actions taken by authorities overseeing the process in question.  The right to vote is one I take extremely seriously and I would not tolerate the hindering of ANY UNITED STATES CITIZEN'S constitutional right to vote.

Finally in terms of campaign funding, a completely separate issue in my eyes, I feel very strongly that we as a nation waste far too much money on political campaigns, money that could be spent on much better things than television attack ads, chartered aircraft, and countless other wasteful campaign tools.  According to Public Radio International 1, presidential and congressional candidates spent between six and seven billion on campaigning in 2012 ... BETWEEN $6,000,000,000 and $7,000,000,000 ... that is a whole bunch of zeroes my friends!  Moreover, that does not include the local races for governor, state assemblies, mayors, and so on.  We could be looking at $10,000,000,000 in all if we considered every campaign in a given election year.

I find it appalling that we waste $10 billion on getting people elected and the process occurs every two years, although a fraction of the spending occurs in midterm elections, taking into account that Obama and Romney accounted for 20% or nearly $2 billion of the $10 billion spent in the 2012 election.  Comparatively speaking, according to Dave Gilson (writing for Mother Jones magazine 2), Abraham Lincoln spent over 260 times less in the 1860 election ($2.8 million in today's dollars) than was spent last November.  That still seems like a lot of money to me even if 2012 numbers dwarf that amount.

To answer your question, I believe we desperately need campaign-spending reform.  I do not know about you, but I start "tuning out" the political rhetoric, attacks, and other garbage spewing from my television only days after the campaign ads start.  What good are they really doing and is it worth $10 billion?  I say not.  My reforms would impose strict limits, as is the case in many European countries, setting caps on campaign spending commensurate with the level of the race. An example follows:

·         Presidential Elections:          $250,000 Limit per Candidate
·         Congressional Elections:       $100,000
·         Gubernatorial Elections:       $  50,000
·         State House / Senate:           $  25,000
·         Mayorial / Judge / Other:   $  10,000 

Modern advertising has changed drastically in recent years with the advent of social media and just think how much could be done on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogs, including much more focused advertising as is the case with Facebook, YouTube, and Google AdSense or AdWords.  Print advertising has become outdated and television is slowly becoming obsolete because of DVRs and TVO, with citizens recording their favorite shows and fast forwarding through commercials, particularly campaign ads. What a huge waste of money!

If television stations want to focus on the issues in a particular race, they could give, voluntarily and on their own dime, a specific amount of airtime to candidates, but all candidates should get equal amounts of time in equivalent time slots to maintain fairness. We could achieve several things if we could implement all or some of my suggestions above:

1.   The billions we spend every two years could go toward reducing the deficit or paying for the things that would preclude reductions in personnel and benefits, usually the first two things on the chopping block when things get tight.

2.   We might actually be able to focus on important issues, knowing that candidates will want more "bang for the buck" and eliminating or at least reducing the negative "attack" advertising that has become commonplace in today's elections.

3.   If campaign funding caps such as those above were enacted AND strict limits on individual and corporate donations were enforced (say $2,500 maximum in a presidential election) AND candidates were given a modest campaign stipend by the government, then the SUPER PACs, lobbyists, and other large donors would have FAR LESS control and influence on candidates.  Candidates would then be able to focus on more critical issues, such as those that are important to their constituents rather than those of the “big spenders”.


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!"

I hope this answers your question.  Feel free to comment or contact me for clarification or additional information.  Thank you for taking the time to reach out and for taking interest in my opinion.

Regards,

Thomas C. Sorrentino, LtCol, USAF (Ret)
a.k.a. CombatCongressman

1. Source: http://www.pri.org/stories/politics-society/government/estimated-cost-of-2012-campaign-6-billion3276.html

2. Source: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/historic-price-cost-presidential-elections


Monday, February 25, 2013

CombatCongressman Channel on YouTube - Message to President Obama


THE STIGMA KILLING YOUNG AMERICAN HEROES is based on ignorance and bureaucratic processes that have needed changing for decades, if not centuries. The brave men and women that make up our military are hesitant to seek mental health treatment from military practitioners because they are afraid, and rightly so, that their careers and/or security clearances could be at stake if they did. 

Our young men and women in the military are returning from deployments having experienced horrifying events, either directly or as an observer. Estimates range from 20 to 50 percent of those returning from combat suffer from a mental health issue of one kind or another. The incidence of PTSD has been reported as high as 20 to 30 percent of military returning from recent combat. Yet many, if not most, do not seek treatment because they are afraid they will damage their career. 

This video was made upon request of President Obama in preparation for the 2012 State of the Union address. He had requested videos to be uploaded voicing relevant concerns and there is nothing more important than saving human lives, particularly those of our brave men and women in uniform, so I sent him this message asking him to help end the negative stigmas against PTSD and mental health treatment in the military. He never responded.

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


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