A few weeks ago, I was watching an old episode of Boston Legal. My favorite character Alan Shore, played by James Spader, mentioned during a closing argument that in 2009, over 6,000 veterans committed suicide. That seemed like a pretty shocking statistic to me, so I decided to investigate further and what I found was appalling.
In December 2007, a Veteran Affairs (VA) internal memo written by the VA Mental Health Director said that there were 12,000 veterans attempting suicide every year. In addition, there were roughly 18 suicides per day, well over 6,000 per year, and these numbers don’t include servicemen and women on active duty. It seems the writers of Boston Legal got it right this time. The suicide rates are highest among male veterans of our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which means for the most part, we are talking about young men in their twenties. Young men who should have their whole lives ahead of them, but for some reason feel suicide is their only option.
The Chief Clinical Psychologist for the Army Reserve and National Guard cites multiple and extended deployments as the cause. Many veterans return home suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries and/or depression. In many cases the VA has delayed or denied disability and medical claims from veterans because they are unable to prove that these conditions are “service-related”. When I read that, I literally felt sick.
Now I admit I’m not a big fan of our current wars. In fact, I’m not a big fan of war in general. That being said, I respect and honor those individuals who are willing to sacrifice their lives for our safety. I can’t believe that we are asking them to sacrifice so much, only to return to so little. So my question to you this week is, “What should be done to ensure veterans receive proper follow-up care when they return home? What can you personally do to support an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Who is Elena Kagan?
On Tuesday, Elena Kagan moved one step closer to becoming he third woman on the United States Supreme Court when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to endorse her nomination. The committee's vote sends Kagan's nomination to the full senate for debate and vote. She is widely expected to win confirmation. Kagan has already shattered glass ceilings for women in the law. She was the first woman U.S. Solicitor General and the first woman Dean of Harvard Law School.
In this class we will study the Supreme Court and how they interpret the public policy that governs us all. Supreme Court justices serve for life, so their views can have an impact far into the future, yet most people know little about them.
My assignment to you this week is two-fold. First, I would like you to post one interesting fact about Elena Kagan. You can do this through a quick search on the Internet. You may not post something that has already been mentioned by someone else. Second, I would like to know, "If you were a Supreme Court Justice, what would be one law that you would want to change in America"? Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 27th, 2010.
In this class we will study the Supreme Court and how they interpret the public policy that governs us all. Supreme Court justices serve for life, so their views can have an impact far into the future, yet most people know little about them.
My assignment to you this week is two-fold. First, I would like you to post one interesting fact about Elena Kagan. You can do this through a quick search on the Internet. You may not post something that has already been mentioned by someone else. Second, I would like to know, "If you were a Supreme Court Justice, what would be one law that you would want to change in America"? Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 27th, 2010.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Bringing Oil to America's Shores
We all know about the Gulf Oil spill which occurred after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit on April 20, 2010. The explosion killed eleven workers, injured seventeen others and set off what has turned out to be the largest environmental disaster in United States history. Although hearing about the spill is almost unavoidable on the news, it is easy to not give it too much thought when you live in a land-locked state like Indiana.
Recently, I heard a news commentator say that the Gulf of Mexico as we know it, will never been the same again in our lifetime. I immediately thought of my childhood memory of swimming in the warm waters of the Gulf and how excited I was to see such a vast body of water for the first time. For some reason, the effect of the spill really dawned on me that day – and it made me very, very sad.
No one really knows how much oil has been spewing into the Gulf these last few months. The Department of Energy estimates 1.4 million gallons/day, BP estimates a “worst case” scenario of 2.5 million gallons/day and many experts agree it could be as high as 4.2 million gallons/day. At the time of this writing, by the lowest estimates approximately 85 million gallons of oil have spilled in to the Gulf already and that number continues to grow daily. To see current, live feed of the oil spill, please access the following link:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/view_live_video_feed_of_bp_gul.html
So, my question to you this week is, “How should we go about “cleaning up” this disaster, and what can we do to prevent disasters such as this in the future?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 20th, 2010. My heart and prayers go out to our fellow Americans affected by this disaster. To donate to the wildlife rescue, please go to: http://www.nwrawildlife.org/
Recently, I heard a news commentator say that the Gulf of Mexico as we know it, will never been the same again in our lifetime. I immediately thought of my childhood memory of swimming in the warm waters of the Gulf and how excited I was to see such a vast body of water for the first time. For some reason, the effect of the spill really dawned on me that day – and it made me very, very sad.
No one really knows how much oil has been spewing into the Gulf these last few months. The Department of Energy estimates 1.4 million gallons/day, BP estimates a “worst case” scenario of 2.5 million gallons/day and many experts agree it could be as high as 4.2 million gallons/day. At the time of this writing, by the lowest estimates approximately 85 million gallons of oil have spilled in to the Gulf already and that number continues to grow daily. To see current, live feed of the oil spill, please access the following link:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/view_live_video_feed_of_bp_gul.html
So, my question to you this week is, “How should we go about “cleaning up” this disaster, and what can we do to prevent disasters such as this in the future?” Answers are due no later than Tuesday, July 20th, 2010. My heart and prayers go out to our fellow Americans affected by this disaster. To donate to the wildlife rescue, please go to: http://www.nwrawildlife.org/
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