Venezuela to Shrink US Embassy Staff, Require Tourist Visas

Monday, March 02, 2015

Did you know:

-VIETNAM AT 50 | Rolling Thunder escalated US involvement in Vietnam's civil war, pulled ground troops into combat.

-Venezuela to shrink US Embassy staff, require tourist visas.

-Iraqi premier gives ultimatum ahead of hinted Tikrit attack.

-Activists say Islamic State releases 19 Syrian Christians .

-Navy judge named in Guantanamo discrimination complaint lifts no-touch order to female guards.

-If Obamacare plaintiffs win, millions lose: Our view.

-Obamacare rule harms millions: Opposing view.

-US Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs visits First State Monday.

-Lawmakers press Veterans Affairs for improved access to rural health care.

-Veterans wants to use outside care when VA can’t help.

-Veterans Choice Card hardly used to provide private care: Less than four percent of $10 billion earmarked for care has been spent.

-Health care by VA was top notch.

-Idaho’s nursing shortage is over – except where it isn’t.

-Ours: Delegation puts VA secretary on the spot.

-Headway being made in developing biomarkers for PTSD.

-PTSD: no cure but help is available.

-Doctor: Postpartum depression occurs in 1 in 8.

-Formerly homeless female Veterans rewarded at Olive Garden in Warner Robins.

-Guest Column: Testing patient patience at local VA clinic.

-D.N.A. Database Offer a Better Path to Health Care Research.

-Vets groups plan session on toxic substances.

-Pittsburgh area Air Force reservists may get help for Agent Orange exposure.

-Veterans Officials say 48 Arkansas claims’ dates altered.

-VA report: 48 claims’ dates at Little Rock benefits center altered.

-VA Refuses to Recognize Veteran’s Wife and Child.

-Controversy erupts over Confederate soldiers in Veterans Hall of Fame.

-The Inside Story of How A For-Profit College Hoodwinked Students and Got Away with it.

-Veterans Seek More Donations Urgently in Expanding Beaufort National Cemetery.

-Soldier fights for right to bury her father.

-Homeless Marine gets last wish to be buried in Dress Blues.

-Through K-9 Warriors, Veteran links others to service dogs.

Did you know:

March is National Professional Social Work Month. The National Association of Social Workers’ 2015 theme for this annual observance is “Social Work Paves the Way for Change.” This year’s theme honors the nation’s more than 600,000 professional social workers and the millions of people positively impacted by social work. Social workers have worked to improve the rights of women, African-Americans and other ethnic minorities. Social workers—more than any other profession—recognize that more must be done to address persistent social problems such as discrimination, poverty, lack of education and health care access. In March, the Department of Veterans Affairs celebrates National Professional Social Work Month throughout VA, recognizing the numerous contributions that VA social workers across the country make to Veterans’ health care service delivery. VA employs more than 11,000 master-level social workers and trains more than 1,000 Master of Social Work (MSW) interns annually. It is also the single largest employer of social workers, with the largest graduate training program in the country. VA social workers continually make a difference in the day-to-day lives of millions of Veterans by helping to build, support and empower positive family and community relationships.

VIETNAM AT 50 | Rolling Thunder escalated US involvement in Vietnam's civil war, pulled ground troops into combat.Hundreds of Air Force and Navy pilots would be drawn into Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing campaign focused on North Vietnam now largely regarded as a failure that escalated U.S. involvement in the civil war, pulled American ground troops into combat and led to scores of downed U.S. flyers spending years in North Vietnam POW camps

Venezuela to shrink US Embassy staff, require tourist visas.Venezuela will shrink the size of the U.S. Embassy staff, limit the activities of U.S. diplomats and require American citizens to apply for visas if they want to come bask on the beach.

Iraqi premier gives ultimatum ahead of hinted Tikrit attack. Iraq's prime minister called on Sunni tribal fighters to abandon the Islamic State group Sunday, ahead of a promised offensive to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown from the extremists.

Activists say Islamic State releases 19 Syrian Christians .The Islamic State group released at least 19 Christians on Sunday who were among the more than 220 people the militants took captive in northeastern Syria last week, activists and a local leader said.

Navy judge named in Guantanamo discrimination complaint lifts no-touch order to female guards.A military judge has lifted his restraining order and is again allowing female prison guards to touch an alleged war criminal while moving him between Guantanamo’s most clandestine prison and legal appointments.

USA Today: If Obamacare plaintiffs win, millions lose: Our view.On Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear the most serious challenge to Obamacare since a single vote at the high court kept the law alive in 2012. As legal challenges go, the latest complaint is bizarre: If the plaintiffs lose, they face little or no harm. If they win, about 8 million people around the USA face substantial injury.

USA Today: Obamacare rule harms millions: Opposing view.In King v. Burwell, four Virginia residents are a challenging an IRS Obamacare rule in the Supreme Court. While the case involves only a handful of plaintiffs, it is really about the millions of Americans who are victims of Obamacare's mandates and penalties.

WDDE-FM (NPR-91.1): US Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs visits First State Monday.US Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Robert McDonald will visit the Wilmington VA Medical Center Monday. McDonald will be joined by Congressman John Carney and Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons as he tours the facility and meets with veterans.

TribLive (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review): Lawmakers press Veterans Affairs for improved access to rural health care.The Department of Veterans Affairs is failing to make enough rural health care available to veterans who live far from VA medical centers, a breakdown that violates the intent of a 2014 federal law, more than two dozen senators say.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Veterans wants to use outside care when VA can’t help.Regarding the letter “Most service members appreciate care they receive at VA hospitals" (Feb. 24): I do appreciate the care and acknowledge I would probably be dead if it were not for the VA currently — as I don’t see how anyone could afford the $700-plus monthly co-pay my medication has on Medicare, or most private insurance.

The Florida Times-Union: Veterans Choice Card hardly used to provide private care: Less than four percent of $10 billion earmarked for care has been spent.The Veterans Choice Card, as the name implies, is supposed to give veterans a choice.

The card is designed to give any veteran, like many of those in Jacksonville, who waited longer than 30 days for an appointment or who lives more than 40 miles from a VA facility, the ability to seek civilian health care.

La Crosse Tribune: Health care by VA was top notch.I thought it was time for someone to come to the defense of the Veterans Administration. I have been treated by the VA since 2004, and I’ve had excellent treatment by the entire staff.

The Washington Times (Idaho Statesman/AP): Idaho’s nursing shortage is over – except where it isn’t.Idaho's nursing workforce isn't in bad shape. It is in lopsided shape. Eastern Idaho is awash in nurses, while hospitals in Boise bring in traveling nurses a few times a year and send recruiters to conferences in search of people to hire… [Anna Roy’s] husband is a doctor at the Boise VA Medical Center, and [she] took a job in the hospital's anticoagulation clinic.

Rapid City Journal: Ours: Delegation puts VA secretary on the spot.More than three years after the [VA] announced that it was considering closing its medical center in Hot Springs, South Dakota’s congressional delegation finally got its meeting with the department’s top dog. On Wednesday, Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem met with VA Secretary Robert McDonald looking for promises and answers about the fate of the medical center.

eFamily Practice News: Headway being made in developing biomarkers for PTSD.Researchers are making significant headway in developing objective, reliable, and valid biomarkers to discriminate individuals with warzone [PTSD] from healthy controls, according to Dr. Charles R. Marmar. “It’s clear that over the next four or five years we will identify very clear biological, psychological, and other behavioral risk and resilience profiles,” Dr. Marmar told attendees at the annual meeting of the American College of Psychiatrists.

Sedalia Democrat: PTSD: no cure but help is available.Once a veteran or active military personnel has PTSD the affliction is with them for life. There is no cure, but local help is available and having a support system of family or other vets is beneficial... “I think a lot of people in our area, veterans especially…do not realize what a tremendous resource we have here in Missouri with the veteran’s hospital in Columbia. It’s an outstanding facility...”

Burlington Free Press: Doctor: Postpartum depression occurs in 1 in 8.Postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbirth and occurs in at least one in eight women, according to Dr. Yael Nillni. Nillni is a licensed psychologist and an advanced fellow in women’s mental health at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Women’s Health Sciences Division at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

WGXA-TV (ABC-24) (Video): Formerly homeless female Veterans rewarded at Olive Garden in Warner Robins.Six formerly homeless female veterans were recognized at the olive garden in Warner Robins for completing a 90-day program with the Carl Vinson Veterans Hospital and the Genesis Joy House… A victim of [PTSD], [Lily] Davis says it was a period of feeling lost[,] but the Genesis Joy House helped her get back on her feet.

Kingman Daily Miner: Guest Column: Testing patient patience at local VA clinic.Signing up for veteran's health care as with anything else concerning the federal government can be a hassle. I'm a Korean War veteran in pretty good health for my age. As such I have never looked for VA help, but folks have told me I should look into it and maybe find some help I can use. So I went down to the little green office on Harrison Street…

The New York Times (Room for Debate): D.N.A. Database Offer a Better Path to Health Care Research.We don't have to choose between privacy and scientific breakthroughs… What is the point of collecting data if it cannot be harnessed?... Veteran Affairs…[has] health-related data on millions of veterans stretching back 20 years in their system. The V.A.'s new Million Veteran Program seeks to add genetic information to that dataset.

Quad-City Times: Vets groups plan session on toxic substances.Several Quad-City area Vietnam Veterans of America chapters will host a town hall meeting Saturday on Agent Orange and other toxic substances armed forces members may have been exposed to during America’s latest wars.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh area Air Force reservists may get help for Agent Orange exposure.The VA appears ready to change its mind in the wake of a January report from the Institute of Medicine concluding that C-123 reservists were likely exposed to dangerous levels of dioxin, the toxic chemical in Agent Orange. The VA is expected to make an announcement this week about treatment and benefits for these reservists.

The Washington Times (AP): Veterans Officials say 48 Arkansas claims’ dates altered.An inspection of the Little Rock veterans benefits center found that staff members were marking overlooked claims - many almost 2 years old - to make them appear as if they had just been filed. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports ( ) the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office reported that the practice threatened to further delay benefits to Arkansas veterans.

Military Times (AP): VA report: 48 claims’ dates at Little Rock benefits center altered.A surprise inspection of the Little Rock veterans benefits center revealed staff members marking overlooked claims — many almost 2 years old— to make them appear as if they had just been filed. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the [VA OIG] reported the practice threatened to further delay benefits to Arkansas veterans.

Advocate.com: VA Refuses to Recognize Veteran’s Wife and Child.The [VA] has ordered an Iraq war veteran to pay back federal benefits she earned for her wife and child, claiming that she was issued them by mistake, since her home state of Texas does not recognize her marriage. After serving in the military for five years, including during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Melissa Perkins-Fercha left active duty and received a 50 percent disability rating from the [VA].

News 13: Controversy erupts over Confederate soldiers in Veterans Hall of Fame.The Civil War officially ended 150 years ago, but a new battle front has opened up in Tallahassee. Lawmakers may have to decide if Confederate soldiers can be inducted into the state’s Veterans Hall of Fame… [Three] nominations were temporarily tossed out after the Department of Veterans Affairs said Confederate soldiers are technically not veterans.

Think Progress: The Inside Story of How A For-Profit College Hoodwinked Students and Got Away with it.On Monday, [Patricia Ann] Bowers and 14 other Corinthian students launched a debt strike, informing the Department of Education (DOE) that they have no intention of repaying the debts incurred through their tortuous Corinthian experiences.

WSAV-TV (NBC-3): Veterans Seek More Donations Urgently in Expanding Beaufort National Cemetery.A group of Lowcountry veterans is continuing their goal to expand Beaufort National Cemetery. They are raising money to purchase five additional acres they estimate would allow for 3,000 to 4,000 more grave sites.

Military Times: Soldier fights for right to bury her father.A few years ago during a visit with her father, a Marine Corps veteran, in St. Louis, Army Sgt. 1st Class Yvette James asked about his burial wishes when that time came… But James…found herself plunged into an intense month-long family battle when her father, Clinton Brownlee, died Jan. 25… James wants to have her father cremated and buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

FOX News: Homeless Marine gets last wish to be buried in Dress Blues.An Oklahoma City homeless veteran who died Thursday after being diagnosed with cancer is being buried in Marine dress blues to honor his dying wish. KOCO-TV said Donnie Loneman loved being a Marine and made his final request after he was told he had three weeks to live… The station reported that the Oklahoma City [VAMC] and several veterans organization came together to assist Loneman in his last days.

Press of Atlantic City: Through K-9 Warriors, Veteran links others to service dogs.Gabriel Ruiz wasn’t sure about getting a service dog. The army veteran who suffered traumatic brain injury when rocket fire struck his convoy in Iraq has enough trouble when he’s out in public. He didn’t want the attention a large dog could bring.