PRAY FOR AMERICA: THANK GOD for His many blessings on America throughout it's history. May we then ask that AMERICA once again be a blessing TO GOD, by once again submitting to HIS will in our affairs - both personal and national - that He may truly "heal our land." (2 Chron. 7:14)
[Memorial Day Concert - 8 PM TONIGHT, PBS: I encourage you and your family to tune in to the program tonight as I hope it will be a great one as the one last year. Please tune in!
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
LATEST SAHEED NEWS! May 22 - "Pastor Saeed Forcibly Returned to Prison after Beating" - By Caitlin Burke,CBN News, May 22, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/May/Pastor-Saeed-Beaten-Sent-Back-to-Iran-Prison/ "Saeed Abedini, a U.S. pastor imprisoned for his faith, was severely beaten at an Iranian hospital before being returned to the brutal Rajai Shahr prison. His Iranian family claims the transfer was unexpected and the reason is unclear. But one of the guards involved in the transfer suggested recent Iranian nuclear talks could be a motive, the family said...""
We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.\
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- For leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
- GO TO SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release
The U.S. State Department believes the Russian army is now prepared to launch an invasion of eastern Ukraine if President Vladimir Putin decides to pull the trigger, according to a senior Administration official."At this point, they are amassed and they could go at a moment’s notice if Putin gave the go ahead," the official said...Top Ukrainian security officials said Thursday that Russia now has 100,000 troops on its side of the Russia-Ukraine border.(Sources: CBS News, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Daily Beast)
As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
NEWS/PRAYER ALERT!"Kim Jong-un Calls for Execution of 33 Christians" - 3/7/2014; http://www.presidentialprayerteam.com/Prayerwatch?pw=3651 "North Korea tyrant Kim Jong-un has reportedly ordered that 33 Christians believed to be working alongside South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook be put to death. The South Korean missionary - who was arrested last year - and his accomplices have reportedly started 500 or so underground churches..."[PRAY that the plans for execution would be rescinded, and these believers released.] [Che\ck out: They'll Be Dead By Morning (What Difference Will It Make) http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2014/03/theyll-be-dead-by-morning-what.html
NEWS ALERT/PRAISE! "Iran Allows Surgery on Ailing, Imprisoned Pastor" - CBNNews.com,March 07, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/March/Iran-Allows-Dire-Surgery-on-Ailing-Imprisoned-Pastor-/ The Iranian government has finally allowed doctors to perform surgery on imprisoned Pastor Benham Irani.Irani suffered from a herniated disc and bleeding intestines and urgently needed medical care. PRAY for the final release of Pastor Irani and others imprisoned for their faith.
Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/ PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan]
Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
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Continue to Pray for EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
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The last subject we should be engaged in over Memorial Day weekend is the hapless handling of the medical care for the people who have made the most personal sacrifices for this country. Instead of honoring them properly we are having a national debate about who screwed up and why these venerated Americans are not receiving the services they deserve.
Thankfully, Steven T. Miller has been relieved of duty as a result of the whole affair. Oops, that is the wrong guy who was about to retire and became a sacrificial lamb. He was the temporary head of the IRS who left three minutes early from his job after the IRS fiasco. Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health at the VA, who announced his retirement a year ago and had a successor picked, is the new fall guy that the Obama Administration thinks is going to assuage the concerns of Congress and the American people. God forbid it works. The healthcare of our veterans is too important.
This is a completely separate issue from the huge backlog of disability claims that the Obama Administration has focused on and partially relieved. This is about the massive medical care system developed during the 20th century which became fully developed in the aftermath of the World War II. It now encompasses 153 hospital and 773 outpatient centers. This system came to fruition during a different time when medical care was less sophisticated and hospital care was less available. Despite this there is a backlog of 344,000 medical claims. The only real solution to this problem is to gradually phase out the segregated health care system for veterans.
There is no doubt that many good people work in the system and many good things are done for the veterans, but the argument ends there. If Americans would had seen in full glory the inadequacy of the system provided for our veterans, they would have erupted and never allowed Obamacare to pass. The poorly operated and politically manipulated system displays in HD multi-pixel glory the inability of the federal government to operate a medical system.
I spoke with Dr. John R. Ammon who is an anesthesiologist. He is not a pedestrian doctor, having trained at both Harvard and Stanford, and then later becoming the President of the American Board of Anesthesiology. Ammon worked several days a month for five years in the recent past at the VA hospital in Phoenix which has come under fire from whistleblower Dr. Sam Foote. Ammon stated “VA medical care is typically for veterans who cannot afford the private health care historically utilized by the majority of Americans. The VA system is commonly used as a teaching facility, utilizing government-employed doctors and frequently physicians nearing retirement.” Ammon believes that the standard of care is definitely below the level provided at nearby private hospitals.
When Dr. Ammon was asked whether he agreed that the VA Health Care System should be ended, he concurred with one proviso. The military has certain facilities that treat soldiers coming from combat areas with conditions like blast and burn injuries which are highly specialized and do a superior job. The level of care for the average veteran in the VA system is below standard and Ammon believes it would be vastly improved in the private and university health care systems throughout America. Ammon declared that “the VA system, a ‘single-payer,’ government-run bureaucratic system, is exactly where medical care is ultimately headed under Obamacare for all U.S. citizens.”
Ask yourself these simple questions: if a veteran has a medical emergency, why should that person not be sent to the closest medical facility near their home? If a veteran needs continuing physical therapy, why do they have to be located near a VA facility to receive that care and why does their family have to move near the VA facility to be close to their loved ones? Why can’t their care be delivered at a location close to their home or at their home? If VA hospitals are such a quality system, why don’t our seniors have such a system set up for their care under Medicare? The answers are simple: the system is an anachronism and should be dismantled. The veterans should receive vouchers or a medical card that allows them to receive care at the best location for them. The system is dysfunctional and needs to be phased out. It is nothing more than a system of rationing medical care that is resulting in the death of honored Americans.
We can spend the next year pointing fingers and extracting recriminations. General Eric Shinseki has been in charge of the Dept. of Veteran Affairs the entirety of the Obama Administration. He may have been a capable boss when wearing four stars on his shoulders, but he has been an atrocious overseer of the vast bureaucracy that does not snap to attention. For over five years he has presided over a system in decline, but now he tells us he is the man to fix it. He says he is the second most angered person over this matter next to our President, but what will they do? The VA Health System should not be fixed, it should be dissolved.
That is why on this Memorial Day you should think about the various organizations that clean up after the VA. The ones that take care of what the VA Health System does not do for our finest public servants. Consider a gift to the Wounded Warrior Project [http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/]or the Semper Fi Fund.[https://semperfifund.org/] Or if you want to think of the people currently in the service, consider Operation Gratitude[http://www.operationgratitude.com/].
Please don’t leave the care of our veterans and current service people in the hands of the government. It is clearly not up to the job.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Bruce Bialosky is the founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and a former Presidential appointee.
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