We’ve all heard how Donald Trump says he is going to take care of our veterans like nobody else. He says he is going to do great things for our veterans. Well, check this on how he handled a PTSD question yesterday. He’s totally clueless. Clearly uninformed. Here is from a story in the Chron today:
“When you talk about the mental health problems — when people come back from war and combat, and they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen many times over, and you’re strong and you can handle it. But a lot of people can’t handle it,” he said.
“And they see horror stories. They see events that you couldn’t see in a movie, nobody would believe it,” he added.
The comment drew condemnation from critics as well as veterans’ groups that have been working for years to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues in an effort to encourage soldiers to seek treatment.
David Maulsby, the executive director of the Texas-based PTSD Foundation of America, told The Associated Press that, at first, he hoped Trump’s remarks had been taken out of context. But after watching a recording of the exchange, he said the Republican nominee’s words were detrimental to veterans struggling with PTSD symptoms.
“At the very least, it’s a very poor choice of words. PTSD is basically a rewiring of the brain as the result of trauma or prolonged trauma. That is not a reflection of a person’s strength, character, stamina — any of that,” Maulsby said.
“Our veterans who are struggling with post-traumatic stress as a result of their combat need to be encouraged to seek help, and not be told they are weak or deficient in character in any way, shape or form,” he said.
Zach Iscol, a Marine veteran and executive director of the nonprofit Headstrong Project, which helps provide free care for veterans suffering from PTSD, said Trump’s comments weren’t “just wrong, they’re dangerous.”
“The biggest barrier we have to people getting help is the stigma of getting help,” he said. “It just shows a complete misunderstanding of what post-traumatic stress disorder is.”
Here is the entire article: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Trump-angers-with-suggestion-that-vets-with-PTSD-9642998.php.
Trump has been playing a lot of folks the past 15 months. Now it looks like he’s been playing our veterans. Snake oil, anyone?
The Trump campaign said Trump’s remarks were taken out of context. The old taken out of context response. How can you take something out of context when that was the whole context? Oh, brother!
Trump has certainly been performing “brilliantly” the past eight days. It looks like Governor Mike Pence will be playing a lot of defense tonight.
Hillary picked up another key GOP endorsement yesterday. Here is from USA Today:
Michael Chertoff, once the lead Republican counsel on the Senate committee investigating the Clintons’ Whitewater land deal, is now officially backing Hillary Clinton for president.
Chertoff, who went on to become the secretary of Homeland Security under George W. Bush, told Bloomberg View over the weekend that he made the decision because of the importance of national security.
“I realized we spent a huge amount of time in the ’90s on issues that were much less important than what was brewing in terms of terrorism,” he said.
Chertoff also said that while the Clintons have made some mistakes they dwarf in comparison to the need for national security.
And:
“Trump’s sense of loyalties are misplaced,” he said. He added that the way Trump has handled the situation with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado — he has defended calling her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” and went on a Twitter tirade in the wee hours of the morning last week — brings up concerns of impulse control.
“Not only did he seem at the debate to lose his temper, but to get up at 3:30 a.m. and reach for your smartphone is to me a hysterical reaction. If you’re president, the button you reach for is not the Twitter button; it’s the nuclear button,” he said.
National Night Out in H-Town will go up against the VP debates this evening.
This ought to be an easy one. Name the MLB hitter with the most plate appearances this season?
Commentary doesn’t listen to local sports talk radio these days. Maybe a little of 790 AM when I first get out and about in the morning and the radio still is on the station that was covering the ‘Stros the night before – 790. I don’t much approve of the trend in sports talk when they are talking about movies and women as in sexual objects – you get the picture. I want them to be talking about sports – period.
Right now I have my radio on Sirius and mostly on CNN because of the election. Every once in a while, I will check into 790’s Charlie Pallilo because his takes are all sports and they come with knowledge, honesty and class. His takes are solid. It turns out Charlie is being replace by Josh Innes – yes, Josh Innes. A few years ago, Innes’ former 610 AM co-host Rich Lord asked Josh if he would be watching the World Serious and Innes said no. What? The World Serious is the biggest event in a MLB season and a local sports talk guy is skipping the event?
Here is what Innes told the Chron yesterday:
“I wasn’t hired by 790 to be white noise and not make some kind of impact. I was brought in to win and generate revenue and ratings and breathe life into what has not been a very interesting radio market right now. It’s very dull. There’s nothing that’s special.”
Ok. It looks like he just called out every radio sports talk show host in town.
I also didn’t like Innes’ gross and classless on-air takes and so I gave up on 610 AM. Have not been back since unless it is to listen to the Texans. Now Innes is on the same station as the ‘Stros. A lot of folks reacted negatively to Innes’ return. I don’t blame them. I don’t like the idea that this fella is now on the same station that carries ‘Stros games.
SpringerDinger of course led MLB with 744 plate appearances.
In the Chron today there is a story on the ‘Stros and what we have to do next season to get better. The story says we have to solve our first base situation. We let Chris Carter go last season and he ended up with 41 dingers with the Brewers.
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