Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lost his bid to become
Turkey’s supreme leader in last month’s elections. So he’s taken the
country to war to increase his popularity and improve his chances of
victory in snap elections in November.
Turkish bombers continued to pound Kurdish positions in Northern Iraq
early Thursday after killing an estimated 100 Kurds a day earlier.
Erdogan broke off peace talks with the Kurdish militias and launched
this latest assault after failing to win enough seats in Parliament to
change the constitution. The ambitious Erdogan needed 330 deputies to
make sweeping changes to the constitution that would give the president
unlimited executive power making Erdogan de facto emperor of Turkey. His
plan was frustrated by the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP)
that won an unprecedented 13 percent of the vote. The HDP is determined
to prevent Erdogan from realizing his dream of becoming Turkey’s
imperial sultan . The current war against the Kurds in Syria and Iraq is
designed to whip up nationalist sentiment in order to put Erdogan “over
the top” in elections that could come as early as this Fall.
-- Mike Whitney, "Power-Mad Erdogan Launches War in Attempt to Become Turkey’s Supreme Leader" (CounterPunch).
Sunday, August 02, 2015
Truest statement of the week II
While President Obama and the Democrats seek to distance themselves
from proposals to privatize Medicare, Ryan and Bush only openly express
what many Democrats are thinking. The Obama administration, with the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) leading the charge, is working to gut Medicare
and transform it into a poverty program with barebones coverage for the
majority of working class and middle class seniors.
In 2013, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the ACA would reduce Medicare spending by $716 billion from 2013 to 2022. Under the first four years of the ACA, home health care under Medicare is being cut by 14 percent, including $60 million in 2015 and $350 million in 2016. While doing nothing to rein in the outrageous charges by pharmaceutical companies for cancer and other life-saving drugs, the Obama administration’s proposed 2016 budget includes $126 billion in cuts from what Medicare will pay for these drugs.
In what constitutes a historic attack on the program, Obama hailed as a “bipartisan achievement” passage of a bill in April that expands means testing for Medicare and establishes a new payment system in which doctors will be rewarded for cutting costs, while being punished for the volume and frequency of the health care services they provide.
-- Kate Randall, "Fifty years on: Medicare under assault" (WSWS).
In 2013, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the ACA would reduce Medicare spending by $716 billion from 2013 to 2022. Under the first four years of the ACA, home health care under Medicare is being cut by 14 percent, including $60 million in 2015 and $350 million in 2016. While doing nothing to rein in the outrageous charges by pharmaceutical companies for cancer and other life-saving drugs, the Obama administration’s proposed 2016 budget includes $126 billion in cuts from what Medicare will pay for these drugs.
In what constitutes a historic attack on the program, Obama hailed as a “bipartisan achievement” passage of a bill in April that expands means testing for Medicare and establishes a new payment system in which doctors will be rewarded for cutting costs, while being punished for the volume and frequency of the health care services they provide.
-- Kate Randall, "Fifty years on: Medicare under assault" (WSWS).
A note to our readers
Hey --
Yet another Sunday.
First, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
And what did we come up with?
That's what we came up with. See you next week.
Peace.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Yet another Sunday.
First, we thank all who participated this edition which includes Dallas and the following:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
Ruth of Ruth's Report,
Wally of The Daily Jot,
Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.
And what did we come up with?
That's what we came up with. See you next week.
Peace.
-- Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I.
Editorial: Iraq protests
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi got it.
"Early warning sign" is what he dubbed Saturday's protests in Iraq.
It's a shame the press didn't get it.
The New York Times did it's usual lousy coverage of protests.
Saturday's "Iraq snapshot," however, focused on the protests.
Haider's right that the protests are an early warning.
And they're a warning to him as much as to anyone.
Installed by the White House last year, Haider's supposed to serve the interests of Barack Obama.
But doing that will ensure continued protests.
So does the puppet cut the strings or not?
Having shown no spine in the last 12 months, we don't see Haider sticking up for the Iraqi people.
We also don't see the press giving two s**ts whether he does or not or about what happens to the Iraqi people.
"Early warning sign" is what he dubbed Saturday's protests in Iraq.
It's a shame the press didn't get it.
The New York Times did it's usual lousy coverage of protests.
Saturday's "Iraq snapshot," however, focused on the protests.
اعلام الربيع العراقي
التظاهرات الشعبية ضد الفساد الحكومي والفاسدين الذين حكموا وسرقوا باسم الدين وزعموا اتباع آل البيت في حكمهم
.
Haider's right that the protests are an early warning.
And they're a warning to him as much as to anyone.
Installed by the White House last year, Haider's supposed to serve the interests of Barack Obama.
But doing that will ensure continued protests.
So does the puppet cut the strings or not?
Having shown no spine in the last 12 months, we don't see Haider sticking up for the Iraqi people.
We also don't see the press giving two s**ts whether he does or not or about what happens to the Iraqi people.
TV: The Clown Departs
Johnny was the hall monitor.
It wasn't a high demand or glamour position.
All it really required was that you be fair and tell the truth.
Last week came confirmation that Johnny wasn't up to the task, that he'd played favorites.
Yes, Johnny is Jon Stewart.
Stewart takes his tired act off Comedy Central finally this week and does so after reports leave his integrity in tatters.
On Media Buzz (Fox News) today, host Howard Kurtz and guest David Zurawik attempted to discuss the revelations of a POLITICO report which revealed Stewart had long taken dictation for the White House.
They failed, however, because they couldn't stop yammering about his two secret meetings with US President Barack Obama.
Those meet-ups were rewards for doing as instructed and you had to wonder if either Howard or David had actually read the POLITICO report which detailed how various people in the White House spent considerable time over the years ensuring, via e-mail and phone calls, that Jon Stewart -- and his Daily Show -- were enlisted in Barack's defense nightly.
Jon Stewart has never been an honest broker.
He played the village idiot once Barack got into office as he upped the mugging and mincing to make himself the fourth stooge.
In contrast, he simmered like an outraged adult when Bully Boy Bush occupied the White House.
Again, Jon Stewart has never been an honest broker.
This year, he attempted to call out disgraced reporter Judith Miller for her pre-war coverage of Iraq.
As the knuckle draggers in his cult applauded, sentinent adults grasped that he'd repeatedly had Colin Powell on the same show and fawned over Colin The Blot.
The Blot because he lied to the United Nations as he argued for war on Iraq.
Jon tried to score points via Judith Miller and that's only all the sadder (Miller is clearly a deeply disturbed person who can't even pretend to be rationale these days) when you realize that last week he chatted and grinned with 'historian' Doris Kearns Goodwin.
It's a funny sort of outrage over dishonesty he has.
Miller, a lousy reporter, refused to be skeptical of insider sources and presented all their (false) claims as sourced and factual.
Kearns Goodwin, a longtime enabler in the truest sense of the word, was kicked off PBS' The NewsHour in 2002 when her mass plagiarism was exposed -- it would later turn out that she plagiarized in more than one book.
Jon, last week, didn't bring that topic up.
He never brought any topics of note up, for the most part.
He fawned through one 'celebrity' interview after another.
They were beyond shallow and few had the guts to note reality: Stewart rarely appeared to be listening as he hunched over waiting to utter his pre-written funny.
He was a lousy interviewer.
Possibly because he'd taken a sacred cow to task, David Zurawik felt the need to say something nice -- anything -- in his Baltimore Sun column? He offered this:
But Stewart, in addition to turning young adults on to the political process, did something even more significant: He taught a mass audience to think of politics as prime-time entertainment on a nightly basis.
Some might say thinking of politics as entertainment is a bad thing — another instance of TV dumbing down the culture. But I don't think anyone, even his harshest critic, would accuse Stewart of dumbing down anything.
Zurawik is a media critic worth reading -- even when his opinions are flawed.
The quote above is flawed thinking.
Jon did dumb down politics and discourse and he did so regularly.
He was dishonest repeatedly.
We remember, for example, his attacking a bad press conference Bully Boy Bush held.
We attacked many of them ourselves.
But when we tried to be funny in this space, we didn't try to lie.
Jon 'opened' with the press conference being part of May sweeps.
It was his attempt to get a ha-ha.
But the press conference took place before May sweeps.
It took place, in fact, in April.
Even with a team of writers, he was unable to get an honest joke out of it so he lied.
This is dumbing down.
And you can see it in Rachel Maddow's hideous MSNBC show which is not about new or anything really but what Jon did on The Daily Show and what Lizz Winstead tried to do with Air America Radio.
None of this is news.
And you can't tell truths using lies as building blocks.
Jon Stewart's influence is felt throughout MSNBC's failed programming, where various self-infatuated hosts smugly go for 'jokes' and 'amusements' while pretending to be news anchors.
It's not a legacy worth bragging about but it's all he has, all these years later, other than a guest shot on The Nanny and ending up on the cutting room floor for First Wives Club. This week, the hairy, wind-up doll of basic cable departs and not a minute too soon.
It wasn't a high demand or glamour position.
All it really required was that you be fair and tell the truth.
Last week came confirmation that Johnny wasn't up to the task, that he'd played favorites.
Yes, Johnny is Jon Stewart.
Stewart takes his tired act off Comedy Central finally this week and does so after reports leave his integrity in tatters.
On Media Buzz (Fox News) today, host Howard Kurtz and guest David Zurawik attempted to discuss the revelations of a POLITICO report which revealed Stewart had long taken dictation for the White House.
They failed, however, because they couldn't stop yammering about his two secret meetings with US President Barack Obama.
Those meet-ups were rewards for doing as instructed and you had to wonder if either Howard or David had actually read the POLITICO report which detailed how various people in the White House spent considerable time over the years ensuring, via e-mail and phone calls, that Jon Stewart -- and his Daily Show -- were enlisted in Barack's defense nightly.
Jon Stewart has never been an honest broker.
He played the village idiot once Barack got into office as he upped the mugging and mincing to make himself the fourth stooge.
In contrast, he simmered like an outraged adult when Bully Boy Bush occupied the White House.
Again, Jon Stewart has never been an honest broker.
This year, he attempted to call out disgraced reporter Judith Miller for her pre-war coverage of Iraq.
As the knuckle draggers in his cult applauded, sentinent adults grasped that he'd repeatedly had Colin Powell on the same show and fawned over Colin The Blot.
The Blot because he lied to the United Nations as he argued for war on Iraq.
Jon tried to score points via Judith Miller and that's only all the sadder (Miller is clearly a deeply disturbed person who can't even pretend to be rationale these days) when you realize that last week he chatted and grinned with 'historian' Doris Kearns Goodwin.
It's a funny sort of outrage over dishonesty he has.
Miller, a lousy reporter, refused to be skeptical of insider sources and presented all their (false) claims as sourced and factual.
Kearns Goodwin, a longtime enabler in the truest sense of the word, was kicked off PBS' The NewsHour in 2002 when her mass plagiarism was exposed -- it would later turn out that she plagiarized in more than one book.
Jon, last week, didn't bring that topic up.
He never brought any topics of note up, for the most part.
He fawned through one 'celebrity' interview after another.
They were beyond shallow and few had the guts to note reality: Stewart rarely appeared to be listening as he hunched over waiting to utter his pre-written funny.
He was a lousy interviewer.
Possibly because he'd taken a sacred cow to task, David Zurawik felt the need to say something nice -- anything -- in his Baltimore Sun column? He offered this:
But Stewart, in addition to turning young adults on to the political process, did something even more significant: He taught a mass audience to think of politics as prime-time entertainment on a nightly basis.
Some might say thinking of politics as entertainment is a bad thing — another instance of TV dumbing down the culture. But I don't think anyone, even his harshest critic, would accuse Stewart of dumbing down anything.
Zurawik is a media critic worth reading -- even when his opinions are flawed.
The quote above is flawed thinking.
Jon did dumb down politics and discourse and he did so regularly.
He was dishonest repeatedly.
We remember, for example, his attacking a bad press conference Bully Boy Bush held.
We attacked many of them ourselves.
But when we tried to be funny in this space, we didn't try to lie.
Jon 'opened' with the press conference being part of May sweeps.
It was his attempt to get a ha-ha.
But the press conference took place before May sweeps.
It took place, in fact, in April.
Even with a team of writers, he was unable to get an honest joke out of it so he lied.
This is dumbing down.
And you can see it in Rachel Maddow's hideous MSNBC show which is not about new or anything really but what Jon did on The Daily Show and what Lizz Winstead tried to do with Air America Radio.
None of this is news.
And you can't tell truths using lies as building blocks.
Jon Stewart's influence is felt throughout MSNBC's failed programming, where various self-infatuated hosts smugly go for 'jokes' and 'amusements' while pretending to be news anchors.
It's not a legacy worth bragging about but it's all he has, all these years later, other than a guest shot on The Nanny and ending up on the cutting room floor for First Wives Club. This week, the hairy, wind-up doll of basic cable departs and not a minute too soon.
Mailbag
Reader Bill H e-mailed to ask if Ava and C.I. know Joe Concha at Mediaite?
No.
His August 2nd article, however, appears to indicate Joe knows Ava and C.I.'s work -- specifically "TV: The train wreck known as MSNBC."
Of that piece, reader Jo'el e-mailed to say that she didn't think Ava and C.I. were particular fans of Cenk Uygur?
No, they're not but they believe in credit where credit is due and argue Cenk's show was more in keeping with the supposed goals of a news outlet than anything Rachel Maddow churned out.
Brenda K e-mails to note that she is supporting Hillary Clinton and wants to know if we were sincere about posting a reader's endorsement of a candidate "whether you support them or not?"
Yes, and, Brenda, if you'd bothered to write one of Hillary, it would be posted this edition.
But you didn't, did you?
Several readers e-mailed to ask where our summer fiction edition was?
You know what?
We tried it and we failed.
That's this summer.
We tried it and it failed.
We failed.
The notion of doing one?
We're burying it.
We had one piece that was worth it and we may float it at some point this summer but the reality is our summer read ended in 2014.
We retired our collages when Bully Boy Bush left the White House.
We've retired other features as well.
The summer fiction edition is now one of those retired pieces of the past.
Reader Meagan wants to know when Ava and C.I. will return to covering entertainment programming?
Meagan writes, "I've enjoyed the media reporting they've done this summer and it's important and needed but, honestly, I'm one of the Nick Lachey fans they pissed off years ago with 'TV: Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey Reporting for Duty' -- a piece I now love, by the way."
Jose Z is among those noting that some of the community sites -- and even this -- appear in low production mode.
What's up?
Blame it on the summer heat.
Blame it on 10 years plus for many of us.
In the words of John Lennon, we're all doing what we can.
Which is not enough for reader Raymond who states, "If you 'forget' or refuse to do a 'This edition's playlist' again, you've lost me."
We do have one this edition.
From The TESR Test Kitchen
"I really think you could cover more healthy foods, foods that don't taste like bacon," e-mailed reader Sierenna.
For you, we'll try once.
Yogurt, it's not just a cry for Gurt to pay attention.
Yoplait, the most heavily advertised of all yogurts is forever trying out new flavors.
Currently, they're offering "LIMITED EDITION" flavor Rainbow Sherbert.
It's not a bad taste . . .
. . . it's just not anything that tastes like sherbert -- rainbow flavor or any flavor.
We prefer the fruit flavors -- cherry, lemon, etc.
And we rate this non-flavor "LIMITED EDITION" flavor a failure.
For you, we'll try once.
Yogurt, it's not just a cry for Gurt to pay attention.
Yoplait, the most heavily advertised of all yogurts is forever trying out new flavors.
Currently, they're offering "LIMITED EDITION" flavor Rainbow Sherbert.
It's not a bad taste . . .
. . . it's just not anything that tastes like sherbert -- rainbow flavor or any flavor.
We prefer the fruit flavors -- cherry, lemon, etc.
And we rate this non-flavor "LIMITED EDITION" flavor a failure.
This edition's playlist
3) The Mamas & The Papas' Deliver.
5) Diana Ross' Swept Away.
6) Laura Nyro's Christmas and the Beads of Sweat.
7) Tori Amos's Unrepentant Geraldines.
8) Chrissie Hynde's Stockholm.
9) Carly Simon's Coming Around Again.
10) Sam Smith's The Lonely Hour.
New files show how spooks tried to cover up child abuse
Repost from Great Britain's Socialist Worker:
The MI5 security service pushed for a cover-up of child abuse allegations against Peter Morrison, according to Whitehall files.
Morrison was a Tory MP and aide to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
A key paper from November 1986 shows Sir Antony Duff, then director general of MI5, writing to cabinet secretary Robert Armstrong, who is now a Lord.
It referred to inquiries into an MP said to have “a penchant for small boys”.
The MI5 chief added, “At the present stage the risks of political embarrassment to the Government is rather greater than the security danger”.
The Duff note was disclosed to Peter Wanless, head of the NSPCC charity, and Richard Whittam QC, who published a review last year.
It was supposed to bring to light all the apparently missing documents over the abuse scandals.
However a series of documents have now emerged that were previously thought to be lost or destroyed.
Wanless and Whittam said Sir Antony’s words are a “striking example” of how “the risk to children is not considered at all”.
One of Morrison’s victims said earlier this year, “He’d leave me alone for a little bit, and then he’d come at me again. Before long, he had my trousers off.
“At one point we stopped for petrol, and I thought about running out of the car, but I realised the doors had some sort of child lock and I couldn’t get out.
“I was so frightened. It was the most horrendous experience of my life.”
Morrison took the boy to a house, probably Elm Guest house in Richmond, in 1982. He raped the boy. The boy escaped and reported the attack to the police.
A year later the police returned his clothes and said a man had been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. It was a lie.
Westminster
The papers include documents and correspondence relating to senior Westminster figures.
They include Morrison, former home secretary Leon Brittan and Sir William van Straubenzee, former Tory Northern Ireland minister. All three are dead.
The documents have not been disclosed but a description of them has. In them is a file referring to the security risks posed by the “unnatural sexual proclivities” of diplomat and deputy director of MI6 Sir Peter Hayman.
Other papers relate to former head of MI5 and MI6 Sir Maurice Oldfield and his alleged connection to the Kincora boys’ home in Northern Ireland (see box).
Abuse victims say Oldfield visited Kincora.
The newly discovered files will be passed to the Goddard public inquiry into institutional abuse. The files were released on the day parliament closed for the summer.
Three workers at the Kincora boy’s home were convicted in 1981 of sexually abusing children there in the 1970s.
Yet British establishment figures, including senior politicians, were also involved.
The security services knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it.
The papers included a file about former Northern Ireland minister Sir William Van Straubenzee,
which “contained references to the Kincora boys’ home”.
Another group of papers contain allegations made by former military intelligence officer Colin Wallace. Successive governments denied receiving the allegations.
Wallace told his superiors what was happening and put out a press release as early as 1973. Yet Kincora is excluded from the child abuse public inquiry.
New files show how spooks tried to cover up child abuse
by Simon BasketterMorrison was a Tory MP and aide to then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
A key paper from November 1986 shows Sir Antony Duff, then director general of MI5, writing to cabinet secretary Robert Armstrong, who is now a Lord.
It referred to inquiries into an MP said to have “a penchant for small boys”.
The MI5 chief added, “At the present stage the risks of political embarrassment to the Government is rather greater than the security danger”.
The Duff note was disclosed to Peter Wanless, head of the NSPCC charity, and Richard Whittam QC, who published a review last year.
It was supposed to bring to light all the apparently missing documents over the abuse scandals.
However a series of documents have now emerged that were previously thought to be lost or destroyed.
Wanless and Whittam said Sir Antony’s words are a “striking example” of how “the risk to children is not considered at all”.
One of Morrison’s victims said earlier this year, “He’d leave me alone for a little bit, and then he’d come at me again. Before long, he had my trousers off.
“At one point we stopped for petrol, and I thought about running out of the car, but I realised the doors had some sort of child lock and I couldn’t get out.
“I was so frightened. It was the most horrendous experience of my life.”
Morrison took the boy to a house, probably Elm Guest house in Richmond, in 1982. He raped the boy. The boy escaped and reported the attack to the police.
A year later the police returned his clothes and said a man had been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. It was a lie.
Westminster
The papers include documents and correspondence relating to senior Westminster figures.
They include Morrison, former home secretary Leon Brittan and Sir William van Straubenzee, former Tory Northern Ireland minister. All three are dead.
The documents have not been disclosed but a description of them has. In them is a file referring to the security risks posed by the “unnatural sexual proclivities” of diplomat and deputy director of MI6 Sir Peter Hayman.
Other papers relate to former head of MI5 and MI6 Sir Maurice Oldfield and his alleged connection to the Kincora boys’ home in Northern Ireland (see box).
Abuse victims say Oldfield visited Kincora.
The newly discovered files will be passed to the Goddard public inquiry into institutional abuse. The files were released on the day parliament closed for the summer.
Kincora probe blocked
Colin Wallace in the 1970s
Three workers at the Kincora boy’s home were convicted in 1981 of sexually abusing children there in the 1970s.
Yet British establishment figures, including senior politicians, were also involved.
The security services knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it.
The papers included a file about former Northern Ireland minister Sir William Van Straubenzee,
which “contained references to the Kincora boys’ home”.
Another group of papers contain allegations made by former military intelligence officer Colin Wallace. Successive governments denied receiving the allegations.
Wallace told his superiors what was happening and put out a press release as early as 1973. Yet Kincora is excluded from the child abuse public inquiry.
Baldwin Announces Growing Support for Major Bipartisan VA Reform Bill
Senator Tammy Baldwin's office issued the following last week:
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Contact:
press@baldwin.senate.gov
(202) 224-6225
Baldwin Announces Growing Support for Major Bipartisan VA Reform Bill
Jason
Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act would provide VA with the tools
it needs to address the problem of overprescribing practices
Senators Durbin, Franken and Klobuchar join The American Legion, MOAA, AMVETS and others in endorsing legislation
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today announced that support
continues to grow for her bipartisan legislation aimed at providing
safer and more effective pain management services
to our nation’s veterans, the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act.
In just a month, Senator Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation
has gained support from:
Disabled American Veterans Wisconsin, Disabled American Veterans
(DAV), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), The American Legion, Paralyzed
Veterans of America (PVA), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans
of America (VVA), Association of the United States
Navy (AUSN), National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS),
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), American Veterans
(AMVETS), American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), American Federation
of Government Employees (AFGE), and Trust for America's Health (TFAH).
In
the U.S. Senate, the legislation is cosponsored by Democrats and
Republicans: U.S. Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL),
Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and U.S. Senators
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN),
Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar
(D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA),
Jerry Moran (R-KS), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jon
Tester (D-MT).
“The sad truth is that the number of
veterans taking opioid painkillers is disproportionately high, compared
to the general population,”
said Senator Durbin.
“The VA is exploring different ways to help veterans alleviate their
pain.
This bill assesses the scope of the issue and recommends ways to help
veterans obtain the best and safest care. I commend Senator Baldwin for
her leadership on this important issue.”
“Unfortunately, our veterans' battles don't always end when they come home,”
said Senator Franken. “Too many of our servicemembers return with
mental and physical wounds sustained while protecting our freedoms, and
I believe we have a special duty to ensure that they get the care and
support they need to cope. But we cannot continue
overprescribing and over-relying on medications that all too often lead
to tragic consequences. This bipartisan bill would help provide our
veterans with safer, more effective pain management plans.”
“As a former prosecutor, I know the
havoc drugs can wreak on families and also that every struggle with
drugs is unique—there is no one-size-fits-all strategy in this fight,”
said Senator Klobuchar. This bipartisan legislation gives the VA
the ability to offer our nation’s veterans a diverse set of proven tools
that can help combat addiction.”
“Too many of our
nation’s veterans have returned from overseas only to fight another
battle here at home. Tragically, stories like Jason Simcakoski’s exist
all around the
country, including in my home state of West Virginia. Far too many
young West Virginia veterans have faced the horrors of PTSD and failed
to receive the quality of care they deserve. These are heartbreaking
examples of the grave magnitude of overmedication,
and we must do everything in our power to prevent deadly opioid
overmedication in our VA facilities. I am proud to join with Senator
Baldwin to strengthen opioid prescribing guidelines and improve pain
management services at the VA. This legislation will not
only provide our veterans a healthier transition to civilian life, it
will save lives,” said Senator Capito.
“The American Legion applauds the
Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act and Senator Baldwin’s
efforts to reform prescribing practices for veterans,” said Ian
DePlanque, Director of the Legislative Division for The American Legion.
“Medications in and of themselves are tools
– not necessarily good, not necessarily bad – you want to make sure
you’re using the right tools in the right situation. There are other
tools that are available. Some complementary and alternative therapy
might work better for particular veterans or for veterans
that may have circumstances that are particularly exacerbating.”
“The Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act is an extremely important and timely piece of legislation,”
said VADM Norb Ryan, USN-ret., President of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).
“MOAA fully supports this bipartisan effort and commends Senator Tammy
Baldwin for championing such a critical bill that will keep veterans
safe and provide
VA with the necessary tools to more effectively manage pain services.”
“AMVETS thanks Senator Baldwin for her
ongoing support of all American veterans and especially for her
leadership in the development and introduction of the
Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act,” said Diane M. Zumatto, AMVETS National Legislative Director.
“Once enacted, this legislation will go a long way towards reducing
veteran addiction to prescription medications, thereby greatly improving
their quality of life, their ability to secure and retain appropriate,
living-wage jobs and to continue their service to our great nation.”
“AFGE strongly supports the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act and commends Senator Baldwin for her leadership on this critical patient safety issue for our nation’s veterans,”
said Beth Moten, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Legislative and Political Director.
“This important legislation establishes lifesaving preventive measures
that ensure safe opioid prescribing practices while expanding available
treatment
options consistent with current best practices and research.”
On August 30, 2014, U.S. Marine Veteran
Jason Simcakoski died at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center as a
result of mixed drug toxicity.
The Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act
would provide VA with the tools it needs to help prevent this type of
tragedy from occurring to other veterans and their families.
"This
is an opportunity to take all of this and learn from it. We have a
chance to create a new path; or we can continue how we currently are and
keep making the same mistakes we are today,”
said Heather Simcakoski, Jason’s widow. “When I look back at the
past, I want to know we made a difference. I want to believe we have
leaders in our country who care. I want to inspire others to never give
up because change is possible."
"This
legislation from Senator Baldwin is one of the most important actions
we can take to save the lives of our greatest assets, our veterans,”
said Marv Simcakoski, Jason’s father.
Senator
Baldwin’s bipartisan legislation, crafted in close consultation with
medical professionals, veterans service organizations, and the
Simcakoski family, focuses on strengthening the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) opioid prescribing guidelines
and improving pain management services by putting the following reforms
in place:
·
Requiring
stronger opioid prescribing guidelines and education for VA providers
including stricter standards against prescribing dangerous combinations
of opioids with other drugs and
for prescribing opioids to patients struggling with mental health
issues;
·
Increased
coordination and communication throughout the VA with medical
facilities, providers, patients and their families surrounding pain
management, alternative treatments for chronic
pain, and appropriate opioid therapy; and
·
Holding
the VA system accountable for appropriate care and quality standards
through consistent internal audits as well as GAO reviews and reports to
Congress.
In addition to improving opioid therapy and pain management, the
Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act helps strengthen
patient advocacy, expand access to complementary and integrative health
and wellness, and enhance VA hiring and internal audits.
View an online version of this release
here.
###
Isakson Pays Tribute to Georgia Marine Slain in Chattanooga Attacks
Senator Johnny Isakson is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. His office issued the following last Sunday:
Isakson Pays Tribute to Georgia Marine Slain in Chattanooga Attacks
WASHINGTON
– U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today paid tribute to U.S. Marine
Corps Lance Cpl. Squire K. “Skip” Wells,
the 21-year-old Cobb County, Ga., native who was killed during the July
16, 2015, shooting rampage at military sites in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Isakson delivered the following eulogy on the floor of the Senate:
“While we have a pause in our
business for a moment, I rise to offer a brief but sincere eulogy. At
this very moment in Woodstock, Georgia, Skip Wells, United States Marine
Corps Lance Corporal,
is being buried and being worshiped. Thousands of Georgians are at the
First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia, to attend his funeral.
“Skip Wells was murdered in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July 16th while he was doing his duty as a
Marine, recruiting people to come into the United States military. Skip
graduated from Sprayberry
High School just a few years ago, played musical instruments in his
church orchestra. He was a great student, had thousands of friends, and
was a young man we would all be proud of. His life was taken from us by
an enraged person on a religious tear.
“When a young man 21-years-old dies
in the prime of life, we ask ‘Why?’ In particular, as one who wears the
uniform of the United States Marine Corps, we ask ‘Why?’ It is
inexplicable.
“We also know that in the book of
Ecclesiastes, it tells us that there is a time for everything; a time to
be born, and a time to die. But is there ever really a time for a young
Marine's life to
be taken? And then it causes us to really think about something.
“As we act in this United States
Senate, as we guide our country, hundreds of thousands of young men and
women volunteer to wear the uniform of the United States of America, and
when they put it
on, they never know when that day to die might come. But they have all
made the commitment that they are ready, willing and able to die for the
country they love, the United States of America.
“To Skip's mother Cathy, to his
extended family, to all those that knew Skip, we send our condolences
and our best wishes for them to recover over time and heal.
“In Woodstock, Georgia, right now an
inscription is being read which I want to read on the floor of the
Senate, because these words are comforting, they mean something, and in a
time of grief for
all of us, I think they are important.
“Skip's mother wanted this as a part of the ceremony. It's entitled ‘To Those I Love.’
‘When I am gone, release me. Let me go
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears, Be
happy, we had so many years.
I gave you my love and you can only guess
How much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown
But now it's time I traveled alone.
So grieve a while for me if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for a while that we must part
So bless those memories in your heart.
I won't be far away for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near
with all my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and ‘Welcome You
Home.’
“The
book of John, Chapter 15, 13th verse says this: ‘Greater love hath no
one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’
“Skip
Wells laid down his life for all the people of the United States of
America, for his family and his friends. We ask God to bless and bring
mercy to his family. We thus ask God to bless the
great country that Skip wore the uniform and died for, the United
States of America.”
###
AMANDA MADDOX
|
|
Press Secretary
|
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OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON
|
|
131 Russell Senate Office Building | Washington, DC 20510
|
|
phone: 202.224.3643
| fax: 202.228.0724
|
|
Highlights
This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.
"Iraq snapshot" -- most requested highlight of the week -- C.I. covers the Iraq protests and provides the context.
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Study in Hypoc...'' -- Isaiah examines the reality of candidate Hillary.
"THIS JUST IN! HILLARY'S FAN CLUB GETS UGLY!" and "Hillary lovers attack the press" -- Wally and Cedric on the idiots.
"Beauty and the Beast -- It's over, I quit," "The Wiz," "Extant -- Molly on the prowl," "Extant (Lucy)" and "Extant -- the custody battle" -- Mike, Stan, Betty, Marcia and Ann cover TV.
"jill stein is not the nominee" and "Shove it up your ass, Paul Street" -- Rebecca and Elaine are tired of hearing Jill Stein is the nominee when she's not.
"Tom Brady" -- Mike on the non-scandal.
"Why is Barack in Kenya?" -- instead of selling his Iran deal.
"Does it ever end?" -- Ruth wonders as do we.
"third term barack?" -- he's never been as cute as he thinks he is.
"I don't like fear tactics" -- Trina speaks for all.
"Hillary doesn't know where she stands" and "Investigate Hillary's e-mails" -- Ann and Marcia weigh in.
"John Kerry: Aging Drama Queen" -- Kat thinks the years are showing on Kerry.
"THIS JUST IN! THAT AND THE VOTERS!" and "He forgot the voters (again)" -- Wally and Cedric tag team Barack.
"Sanders offers nothing but exhaust fumes" -- Amen.
"Cilla Black" Kat notes a passing.
"Jude wants Hillary "to certify under the penalty of perjury"" -- Ruth on the never ending scandals.