Tag: PTSD

Commentary: On Veterans Day, Let’s Recommit to Healing Invisible Wounds of War with the Help of a Wagging Tail

RealClearWire

As Americans observe Veterans Day this year, it’s important to be mindful of the challenges facing former military members. The wounds of war—both seen and unseen—should be top of mind. Beyond simply recognizing the struggles, we should also recommit ourselves to doing something about it. And for returning military heroes facing the invisible scars of battle—notably Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury—a valuable medicine is often four legs and a wagging tail. 

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Keith Ellison’s Son Appears to Berate Officers Suffering From PTSD

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Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, berated cops who are presently away from the job as many of those officers suffer from PTSD related to the George Floyd riots.

Ellison placed the blame for the recent uptick in violence squarely on cops recently, as he suggested that law enforcement has abandoned the city amidst his own council’s attempts to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). He then suggested that officers are lying about having PTSD because they hate the citizens of Minneapolis. Although he hedged this claim almost immediately, his words drew a sharp response from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA).

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Bill Would Change Ohio Workers’ Compensation for First Responders with PTSD

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by Todd DeFeo   Emergency personnel in Ohio who suffer work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could soon be eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim even if they do not experience an accompanying physical injury. Current law prohibits workers’ compensation claims for psychological conditions without an underlying physical condition. However, state lawmakers are considering the change as part of House Bill 80, which creates the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) budget. The state is looking to fund the BWC to the tune of $319.8 million for Fiscal Year 2020 and $324.8 million Fiscal Year 2021. That represents a significant increase from the estimated $304 million BWC will receive in the 2019 fiscal year and the nearly $264 million it saw in 2018. The County Commissioners Association of Ohio and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce expressed concern about the PTSD provision. “Ohio has always required that an employee have a physical harm or injury in order to participate in workers’ compensation,” Kevin Shimp, director of labor and legal affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, told members of the House Finance Committee. “The so-called ‘mental-mental’ claim – a psychological condition that arises solely from the stress – has never been compensated in Ohio. This exclusion was originally a…

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Steve Gill Talks to Colonel Mark Tillman About His Time on Air Force One Circa 9-11 and Love of Country

Julie Carr

  On Thursday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am-Steve Gill spoke to Colonel Mark Tillman who is in town to attend the Reboot Alliance luncheon in effort to help raise money for veterans and first responders who are suffering with trauma and PTSD disorders. Towards the end of the segment, Tillman and Gill reminisced about how Americans used to be proud of their country after 9-11 by displaying a love for country and unity by installing flags and decals on cars, and chanting USA at baseball and football games. They agreed that this enthusiasm has been lost and that in order for the country to move forward we need to get that type of mentality back. Gill: There is non-profit here in the Nashville area called Reboot Recovery. It’s a Tennessee based nonprofit that offers trauma healing courses to veterans and first responders nationwide. And today they’re kicking off their weekend of Memorial Day with a banquet where Colonel Tillman is going to join them. He is the guy who was literally flying Air Force One the day of 9-11. He’s going to be…

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New Bill Provides Tax Exemption for Ohio’s Disabled Veterans

Andrew Shirley

A bill currently under consideration by the Ohio Legislature would exempt disability service pay, made to honorably discharged veterans, from state income taxes. House Bill 18 (HB 18) was introduced to the Ohio House of Representatives last month. Wednesday, the bill finally came to a vote where it passed by an almost unprecedented  98-0 votes. It has now been introduced tot he Senate where it is expected to pass with similar support. In a statement,  the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Erica Crawley, (D-Columbus) stated: This is a great example of how the legislature can work together to deliver real results that have a minimal fiscal impact on the state and keep Ohio’s promise to our veterans by eliminating hardships, Rep. Crawley is a Navy veteran. The Department of Veterans Affairs defines disability compensation as: Disability compensation is a monetary benefit paid to Veterans who are determined by VA to be disabled by an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service. These disabilities are considered to be service connected. To be eligible for compensation, the Veteran must have been separated or discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. As of 2013, over 800,000 of the more than 21…

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California Governor-Elect: Gun Culture Has Become Normalized

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“I don’t want prayers. I don’t want thoughts,” said a mother whose son died this week when a lone gunman opened fire in a bar in California. Susan Schmidt-Orfanos’ son Telemachus had already survived the onslaught of another lone gunman at a music festival in Las Vegas last year. This week, he went to the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, along with other survivors of the Las Vegas massacre. Schmidt-Orfanos’ son died Wednesday less than 10 minutes away from home. He was at the bar when a shooter fired into the crowd, killing 12 people. Schmidt-Orfanos said Congress needs “to pass gun control so no one else has a child that doesn’t come home.” The shooter, Marine Corps veteran Ian David Long, 28, apparently killed himself after gunning down customers in the bar. Investigators are looking for clues to Long’s “state of mind” before Wednesday’s late-night shooting. “It’s a gun culture,” California’s Democratic Governor-elect Gavin Newsom lamented Thursday. “You can’t go to a bar or a nightclub? You can’t go to church or a synagogue? It’s insane is the only way to describe it. The normalization, that’s the only I can describe it. It’s become normalized.” Paul…

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