From: Jake <jakewest_tn@yahoo.com>
To: Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, December 22, 2010 8:06:56 PM
Subject: [Peckers_Pics] Model Wars; Dec 23, 2010; Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated G
- Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today? Get it done!
- Did you do any physical activity? If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! Own a bike? Ride it to lunch, work, park, lake!
- It is our hope that our male fitness photos shall inspire you!
Today's Health - Wellness / Exercise / Reflections:Next Step: Repeal "DADT" for Mentally Ill TroopsRobert David Jaffee; Dec 22, 2010; Huffington PostThe Senate did the right thing in passing landmark legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The 65-31 vote in favor of repeal will allow gay and lesbian troops to serve openly. I applaud this civil rights victory and hope that such openness and tolerance will also come for mentally ill troops.
There is no question that guns in the hands of mentally ill troops will trouble many people. I understand this, though I believe the fear to be mostly based on a myth.
Many will cite U.S. Army Sgt. John M. Russell, who in May 2009 shot up a clinic for servicemen suffering from post-traumatic stress and killed five troops; and Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan who killed 13 military personnel and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood last November. While it is possible that Russell had become delusional about others impeding his career track, he had no history of mental illness. And Hasan, who is receiving a mental health examination following an Article 32 hearing, planned his massacre for which he has shown no remorse, qualities characteristic of a psychopath, not a psychotic or mentally ill person.
As I have stated many times before, studies show that the severely mentally ill with no substance abuse problems commit only 3 to 4% of violent crime in this country.
Still, I recognize that psychotics, like me, sometimes misread a situation, and that in those situations psychotics can become violent.
I must point out, however, that I have never been violent, not as a civilian and not when I held a gun in three experiences as a volunteer in programs associated with the Israeli Army. I volunteered for those programs, even though I knew that I suffered from major depression, a depression that had turned psychotic by the time I reached my early thirties.
What about competence? Can a mentally ill soldier handle his or her duties as a fighter?
My mental illness did not prevent me from doing more pull-ups than all but one man and outrunning all the men in my unit in Marva, a basic-training equivalent for non-Israeli citizens, in 1990.
Nor did it prevent me in 2007 from completing a program called Sar-El, one that former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel also took part in some years ago, in which I packed duffel bags with night-vision goggles and hefted heavy-duty batteries for armored vehicles.
It is true that I did not complete Marva, my introduction to the Israeli Army, because my depression became exacerbated when I got injured, and I evidenced signs of psychosis in my third program in 2009 after entering a mini boot camp with the IDF's combat engineers.
It is not gay people alone who have been bullied in a military setting. I was bullied in 2009 though that had nothing to do with the IDF, whose commanding officer showed compassion for me, and everything to do with a few thugs in my group. Had I joined that program with a buddy, as all the other men in that boot camp did, I don't doubt that the group dynamics would have improved and that I would have completed the course.
While I lacked experience and dexterity in, for instance, tying knots, adjusting knee pads and handling a gun, that could have been remedied with a little assistance and patience from another member of the unit.
All of which leads me to believe that depressed, psychotic and suicidal soldiers need help, whether it's from a buddy or a clinician. Mentally ill troops should probably not serve in a combat capacity until they have tamed their illness, but that does not mean that they lack courage or honor. It is worth pointing out that Abraham Lincoln overcame two depressive episodes including suicidal feelings, subdued his melancholy and rallied the Union troops on the front lines in the Civil War.
I have written before about the increased rates of suicide in the U.S. military and about the shamefulness of a policy (one, like DADT, that apparently dates back to the Clinton administration), in which the families of troops who commit suicide do not receive condolence letters from the president.
Though President Obama supported the repeal of DADT, he has yet to change the nation's policy on these condolence letters regarding troops who otherwise conducted themselves honorably in the field.
It strikes me that this is more than an oversight as this issue has long been broached by mental health groups.
Now comes word from The Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of the leaders in the fight to prevent the repeal of DADT, may have blocked legislation to prevent suicides among reservists in the U.S. military. That legislation, sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and named in honor of a reservist who committed suicide, was incorporated by the House in May into the National Defense Authorization Act for 2011.
McCain's camp denied the accusation that he blocked this provision from the final bill.
What is going on here? Why would President Obama ignore requests to send condolence letters to the families of troops who committed suicide? And why would Senator McCain, his lethal adversary, who disagrees with Obama on just about everything, potentially object to a provision in a defense bill that would provide funds for more mental-health counselors for mentally ill troops?
Could it be that there is a greater stigma against the mentally ill than there is against gays and lesbians?
As disappointed as I am in Obama on this issue, I am even more disappointed in McCain, who reportedly attempted suicide as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after he had been tortured and forced to sign a statement of disloyalty to the U.S. Of all our nation's leaders, McCain knows what it is like to be suicidal and should have compassion and understanding for our troops who have considered taking their lives.
Surely, Obama and McCain can agree on that.
Consider joining:
- Members of Peckers Pics should join our President Barack Obama group . (Health Care Public Option, Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, Repeal DOMA @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBiden2008/join
- Bearhug Submission - Roommates (Wrestling fiction)(Your Yahoo Profile must have Age, Gender, Location before you apply for membership!). http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BearhugSubmission_/join
Take Action:
- Boycott advertisers of Glenn Beck on Fox News as well as all of FOX NEWS! Glenn has lied about Health-care, called our President a racist, and is anti-gay rights.
- Update: DADT has been repealed. President Obama has kept his promise!
- Boycott Bill O'Reilly and FOX News and their advertisers. Bill discussed a French commercial by McDonalds that was meant to show that McDonalds is Gay Friendly. Bill said what is next? Is McDonalds going to get be Al-Qaida friendly as well? Further, Bill said that McDonalds would never show a gay friendly commercial in the USA. Imagine, Bill is comparing Gays to Al-Qaida!
- Boycott Arizona the home of senile - Sen. John McCain: because of their Hateful anti-Immigration Law that encourages racial profiling and increases hatred towards minorities. A remedy: Demand Republicans to support Immigration Reform. Further, Their Senator McCain voted against ending DADT and blocked Immigration reform! We shall hold the voters of Arizona responsible!
- NEW: Boycott Target and Best Buy for donating money towards anti-gay political candidates/organizations.
- End DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). It prevents Fed'l employees and Gays in the Military from gaining equal benefits. It prevents married gay couples from gaining Fed'l Benifits.
- We need ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act). We do not want to be fired from our job because we are GAY!
- Boycott Salvation Army as they will not hire Gays! Do not donate to them
- Boycott Gold's Gym for donating loads of money to anti-gay candidates.
This group is called "Peckers Pics." The English - slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues. In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!" Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?" Warning: This may stoke you!Remember your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
End of DADT signing ceremony - President Obama; Dec 22, 2010Third Way's Lanae Erickson & Rob Keast joined President Obama,Vice President Biden, Speaker Pelosi and others for the official signingceremony to repeal the ban on gays serving opening in the military -Don't Ask Don't Tell.
End of DADT signing ceremony - President Obama; Dec 22, 2010
by Julia Rubin | December 22nd, 2010; StyleiteThis summer we posted about Target's donations to openly anti-gay politicians and the organizations that support them. To catch you up to speed, Target donated $150,000 to MN Forward, a nonprofit which helped fund Tom Emmer's campaign for Minnesota governor. The anti-gay rights-leaning Emmer won the Republican nomination but ultimately lost the gubernatorial race.What confused us about this situation was that Target is famously a wonderful place for gay employees. In fact, in 2009 and 2010 the Human Rights Campaign awarded them a perfect rating of 100% in their Corporate Equality Index. So we asked: "How could a company that sponsors pride events and offers domestic partner benefits to its employees also without remorse back a candidate who opposes the people it cares about so much?" It just didn't make sense. (And it should be noted that Target's 2011 Index entry states that the company has been "penalized under Criterion 6 for a large-scale public blemish to their recent records, namely, for failing to take any corrective action in response to significant community concerns.")
Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel issued a public apology. "Target will take a leadership role in bringing together a group of companies and partner organizations for a dialogue focused on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including GLBT issues," he promised. But an investigative piece by Abe Sauer over at The Awl shows that perhaps nothing has really changed. Writes Sauer:
According to documents filed with the FEC in October 2010, Target continued donating to a bevy of anti-gay politicians even after Steinhafel apologized and committed to reforming the review process for future political donations. These donations even included some of the same anti-gay politicians the company had already been criticized for supporting.
After Steinhafel's August 5 letter, Target's Political Action Committee, helmed by the former right hand of Senator Thune, Matt Zabel, recorded $41,200 in federal election activity. Of that total, $31,200 went to anti-gay rights politicians or PACs supporting those candidates.
Further complicating the situation is the fact that Target will continue to sponsor Twin Cities Pride. A Pride spokesperson told Sauer they are "carefully considering the input we've received from the community and we're working with Target to figure out how to best move forward in a way that is mutually beneficial for all parties involved."
This is certainly a messy, confusing and frustrating situation --- especially since Target won't explain their tactics. The only thing they would say to Sauer was this: "As previously indicated, we're taking a thoughtful and planful approach to this issue. Target is engaged in ongoing dialogue, both internally and externally, with a variety of leaders and expects to have more to share soon regarding our plans."
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment