Author Archives: BZ

Gwyneth Paltrow compares online attacks to surviving war: It’s a ‘bloody, dehumanizing thing’

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Bryan Sykes SFC Green BeretFrom the NYDailyNews.com:

In an interview with Re/code, the GOOP founder talked about Internet commenters and how she has learned to ignore their negativity.

by Kirthana Ramisetti

Gwyneth Paltrow has a message for Internet trolls: Look inside yourself before attacking others.

The actress spoke out about online commenters in an interview with Re/code on Tuesday, in advance of a surprise appearance at the Code Conference, a two-day event of “top industry influencers in media and technology” taking place in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

“It’s culturally acceptable to be an anonymous commenter,” she said. “It’s culturally acceptable to say, ‘I’m just going to take all of my internal pain and externalize it anonymously.'”

So far, not so stupid.  Drowning in self-pity perhaps, but not so stupid.  She promptly, however, crosses into stupid:

“You come across (online comments) about yourself and about your friends, and it’s a very dehumanizing thing,” the star said. “It’s almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing … My hope is, as we get out of it, we’ll reach the next level of conscience.”

With that in mind, SFC Bryan Sykes (photo above) had the following to say regarding Paltrow’s comment.

To Miss Paltrow,

I’d first like to start out by saying how terrible I feel for you and all your friends that on a daily basis have to endure mean words written by people you don’t know. I can only imagine the difficulty of waking up in a 12,000 square foot Hollywood home and having your assistant retrieve your iPhone, only to see that the battery is low and someone on twitter (the social media concept that you and all of your friends contribute to on an hourly basis to feed your ego and narcissistic ways), has written a mean word or 2 about you. You’ve hit the nail on the head, war is exactly like that. You should receive a medal for the burden you have carried on your shoulders due to these meanies on social media.

You said, “Its almost like, how in war, you go through this bloody dehumanizing thing and then something is defined out of it.” I could see how you, and others like you in “the biz”, could be so insecure and mentally weak that you could pair the difficulty of your life on twitter to my brothers who have had their limbs ripped off and seen their friends shot, blown up, burned and disfigured, or wake up every morning in pain – while just starting the day is a challenge. How about our wives? The ones that sign on to be there for us through thick and thin, that help us to shake the hardships of war upon our return? And do all this while being mothers to our kids, keeping bills in order because we are always gone, and keeping our lives glued together. They do all this, by the way, without a team of accountants, nanny’s, personal assistants, and life coaches. Yeah, reading a mean tweet is just like all that.

You know what is really “dehumanizing”, Miss Paltrow? The fact that you’d even consider that your life as an “A-list” celebrity reading internet comments could even compare to war and what is endured on the battlefield. You and the other “A-listers” that think like you are laughable. You all have actually convinced yourselves that you in some way face difficulty on a regular basis. Let me be the first to burst your bubble: a long line at Starbucks, your driver being 3 minutes late, a scuff mark on your $1200 shoes and a mean tweet do not constitute difficulty in the eyes of a soldier.

Understand me when I say this: war does not define me. It is a chapter in my life that helped shaped me. Being a husband and father is what defines me. Remember, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never…be close to what war is.

I don’t suppose anyone could have written this reply better than SFC Sykes.

BZ

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115 days to see a doctor — welcome to ObamaKare, visible now in VA clothing

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Obama Lying to AmericaYes, ladies and gentlemen, many of our veterans are customarily waiting 115 days to see a doctor at VA facilities.  That is, if the VA isn’t lying about those wait times.

That was confirmed this week in a report by the VA Inspector General which can be seen in its entirety here.

From the WashingtonTimes.com:

1,700 vets not on official wait list at Phoenix VA facility, preliminary report finds

 by Jacqueline Klimas

A preliminary report released Wednesday found “serious conditions” at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs facility, including hundreds of veterans who were never placed on an official wait list and faulty scheduling practices that meant some veterans would never see a doctor.

Repeat: “some veterans would never see a doctor.”

“We identified an additional 1,700 veterans who were waiting for a primary care appointment but were not on the [electronic wait list,]” the report from the VA inspector general said. “Most importantly, these veterans were and continue to be at risk of being forgotten or lost in Phoenix [healthcare system’s] convoluted scheduling process. As a result, these veterans may never obtain a requested or required clinical appointment.”

Requested = nice.  Required = mandatory.  And required by whom?  Why, that would be the medical system itself, not the patient.  As in: required by the system that could not remotely fulfill its own requirement?

Correct.

And here’s the rub: Mr Obama has patterned ObamaKare after the glorious VA medical system.  Wasn’t it Mr Obama who said, in 2009 at a VFW convention in Phoenix, Arizona, that he was going to “clean up” the VA?  And wasn’t that promise made FIVE years ago?  Didn’t he say he was going to “cut those backlogs, slash those wait times, deliver your benefits sooner“?  Why, yes, he did.

In case you’ve forgotten, the transcript is here.

Why doubt that allegation?  Let’s play the video, shall we?

The full 32-minute speech is here.  And herein Mr Obama promised:

“Whether you’ve left the service in 2009 or 1949, we will fulfill our responsibility to deliver the benefits and care that you earned. And that’s why I’ve pledged to build nothing less than a 21st-century VA. And I picked a lifelong soldier and wounded warrior from Vietnam to lead this fight, General Ric Shinseki.

“And we’re keeping our promise to fulfill another top priority at the VA, cutting the redtape and inefficiencies that cause backlogs and delays in the claims process. This spring, I directed the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to create one unified lifetime electronic health record for the members of the Armed Forces, a single electronic record, with privacy guaranteed, that will stay with them forever. Because after fighting for America, you should not have to fight over paperwork to receive the benefits that you’ve earned.”

A speech that so many people seem to have conveniently forgotten now, mostly Leftists and Demorats.

Even back in 2007, Mr Obama made promises about the VA whilst he ran for President, such as the “Sacred Trust” Kansas City speech.  He said:

“To keep our sacred trust, I will improve mental health screening and treatment at all levels: from enlistment, to deployment, to reentry into civilian life. No service-member should be kicked out of the military because they are struggling with untreated PTSD. No veteran should have to fill out a 23-page claim to get care, or wait months – even years – to get an appointment at the VA. We need more mental health professionals, more training to recognize signs and to reject the stigma of seeking care. And to treat a signature wound of these wars, we need clear standards of care for Traumatic Brain Injury”

So upon those promises in 2007 and 2009, who is to be responsible?  Will it be Mr Obama?  Will it be the current VA head, General Shinseki?

One thing upon which you can be guaranteed: it will not be Mr Obama.

BZ

 

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Who said it? Who told the truth about blacks?

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blacks-cant-be-racist-posterTwenty years ago, who said:

“There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved. After all we have been through. Just to think we can’t walk down our own streets, how humiliating.”

This man has an interesting take on the state of blacks in America, having called some blacks “sub-human.”

“You know you fear black males.”

And, oh: who actually made the quote above?

Why, that would be the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

The truth about blacks: out of the mouths of themselves.  Shhhh.  Don’t let the truth escape or be placed into the mainstream.

BZ

 

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Hillary not quite so “anointed” by Demorats?

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Hillary Clinton TiredFrom, of all places, Politico.com:

The ‘Wary of Hillary’ Democrats

by Maggie Haberman

Everyone knows about the “Ready for Hillary” Democrats — the rapidly proliferating parade of elected officials and activists getting behind Hillary Clinton’s increasingly likely 2016 presidential campaign.

But there’s also a smaller but increasingly vocal group making its presence felt lately — call these Democrats the “Wary of Hillary” Democrats. They’re not outwardly opposing a Clinton candidacy. But they are anxious about the spectacle of a Clinton juggernaut, after seeing what happened when she ran a campaign of inevitability last time.

The reservations, expressed mostly in private company, have been given voice in recent days by some of the party’s most prominent governors.“She is an enormously capable candidate and leader, but I do worry about the inevitability, because I think it’s off-putting to the average voter,” Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a longtime Obama ally, told CNN earlier this month. “And I think that was an element of her campaign the last time. As an enthusiastic Democrat, I just hope that the people around her pay attention to that this time around.”

by Joe Schoffstall

Today, the State Department was asked to name one accomplishment from a Hillary Clinton-run initiative. They could not answer the question.

Better yet, there’s a video:

Even better, here’s another video, where the folks on Morning Joe can’t quite seem to identify one good reason that Hillary Clinton should be president:

That’s odd; I can’t either.

BZ

 

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