Obama vs. Trudeau

Every week we are sending a copy of Faces of Combat to President Barack Obama and Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau. It's a race to see who will be the first to recommend the book to the American public. These are the reports of our ongoing correspondance.

If you would like to have your letter included with the books we send, please fax it to Idyll Arbor at 360-825-5670 or email Dawn at IdyllArbor.com. We will accept PDF files and Word documents attached to your email.

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8 May 2009

Week 13

We now have legislation in both the House and Senate that requires mental health screening for troops before and after they go into combat.

U.S. Reps. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., introduced legislation in the House that would require a face-to-face mental health screening for all soldiers before they are deployed on a combat mission, after their tour and every six months for two years following their return. The bill is a companion measure to legislation introduced in the Senate by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., last month.

The story titled "Rehberg seeks troop counseling" is here.

If you want to know why two Congressmen from Montana have sponsored the bill, you can read the first chapter of Faces of Combat here.

This is a good start for finding people who need help. It does not guarantee that they will be able to get the help they need. We are going to continue this crusade until appropriate health care is available. Many voices are required, including yours. Please help.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On May 20 Eric is Eric is a panelist for National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse.
His calendar is here.

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20 April 2009

Week 12

The big flap this week is that the head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, is afraid returning veterans will join right-wing extremist organizations. Given how badly we treat veterans returning with PTSD, that's not a big surprise.

We destroy them and discard them.

Check the stories here and here.

Maybe it's time to treat our veterans right and give them the help they need to return to civilian life successfully.

Well, that's what we're trying to do here. If you read Faces of Combat, PTSD & TBI, you'll know, too, where the problems are and what we can do to help.

We are going to continue this crusade until appropriate health care is available. Many voices are required, including yours. Please help.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On May 20 Eric is Eric is a panelist for National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse.
His calendar is here.

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13 April 2009

Week 11

Yet another initiative from the Obama administration. This time they are setting the stage for immigration reform. You can read about it here.

In the article the President says immigrants who are long-time residents but lack legal status “have to have some mechanism over time to get out of the shadows.”

Could we not consider the needs of our veterans, servicemen, and servicewomen first?

If you think our current citizens who have risked or are risking their lives are more important, please join us in writing to the President and our representatives in Congress and let them know about the needs of our military personnel.

In fact, if you donate the postage, we will donate the books. You can donate postage by calling us at 360-825-7797. $3.00 will get a book sent to the government official you specify. Additional donations would be appreciated to cover the costs of the books. We are a small company in tough economic times, but this is one of those issues where we are willing to sacrifice a little to help others who have sacrificed much more.

We are going to continue this crusade until appropriate health care is available. Many voices are required, including yours. Please help.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On April 18 at 1 p.m. Eric is presenting at the statewide nursing convention in Great Falls, MT.
Eric will be interviewed by Mary Woods of One Hour At A Time at 12 pm, Pacific time. Please listen to him on http://va.radiopilot.net
His calendar is here.

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6 April 2009

Week 10

I received the following email last week.

Mr. Blaschko at Mr. Trudeau’s request all correspondence is sent here and then forwarded to him. Two copies of your book have been sent to Mr. Trudeau so there is really no need to keep sending multiple copies. Should we receive any more we will dispose of them.

lj

Laura Jordan
Executive Assistant
United Press Syndicate
(816)581-7305

Some people might be discouraged, but I think my response holds more promise for our veterans and military personnel.

Dear Ms. Jordan:

Thank you for letting us know that copies of Eric Newhouse's book have been sent on to Mr. Trudeau. I will be happy to stop sending additional copies of the book if one of the following three conditions is met:

1. President Barack Obama holds up a copy of the book and tells the American people they need to read it to understand why our returning servicemen and servicewomen need vastly improved health care.

2. Mr. Trudeau uses the book in Doonesbury with the message that the book shows current health care conditions and offers useful suggestions for improving health care.

3. And my preferred outcome: All veterans, regardless of discharge status, all American military personnel, and all contract military personnel receive appropriate treatment for the damage they suffered fighting for our country.

None of these conditions, and certainly not the last one, have been met.

In the meantime I will continue to send copies of Mr. Newhouse's book in the hope that it will make a difference. If you must dispose of the books, please consider the possibility of sending the accompanying letter on to Mr. Trudeau and donating the book to a Vets Center or to a public library.

All the best,
Tom Blaschko
President, Idyll Arbor

We are going to continue this crusade until appropriate health care is available. Many voices are required, including yours. Please help.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On April 18 at 1 p.m. Eric is presenting at the statewide nursing convention in Great Falls, MT.
Eric will be interviewed by Mary Woods of One Hour At A Time at 12 pm, Pacific time. Please listen to him on http://va.radiopilot.net
His calendar is here.

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30 March 2009

Week 9

Why do we need to help our veterans? Because if we don't, we will be seeing many more stories like this one, "Gulf War veteran who killed his four children CHOOSES to go to the electric chair." One look at this man's face and anyone can see the ravages of war and a hard life afterwards.

We don't need a military that comes back wounded and unable to fit into civilian society because of PTSD or TBIs. We need to make sure that they get the care they need to return to productive civilian life. Stories like this one are more encouraging. "Michelle Obama's Military Mission."

As always, we ask you to support our military personel, even if you don't support the wars. It's for their good, but it's for your good, too.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Michelle Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On April 2 Eric is the keynote speaker for Generations 9 in Salt Lake City.
On April 18 at 1 p.m. Eric is presenting at the statewide nursing convention in Great Falls, MT.
His calendar is here.

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23 March 2009

Week 8

Stop-loss is going away! For more about that take a look here. Health care is next.

We'll keep working until the health care issue is brought before America and vets get the services they deserve. Please help by sharing your comments to our leaders and by working with organizations that help our military.

We received a tribute to Marine Cpl. Brett Lundstrom, a member of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, that we want to share with you here.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

On March 24 Eric will be interviewed by Dr. Kevin Keough for his podcast Warrior Traditions. You can listen any time after that date by going to the website.
On March 28 at 1 p.m. Eric is speaking at the Great Falls, MT, Public Library.
His calendar is here.

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16 March 2009

Week 7

This week we discover that Presidents in the 21st century have to solve problems in the first 50 days. (They used to have an equally artificial 100.) As I recall, George _. Bush hadn't even found the W keys for his computers that soon.

Too bad the pundits who are complaining about the President's lack of progress aren't pointing to the Republicans blocking the path or their own history of supporting the economic nonsense that caused the problems in the first place. And in the meantime veterans and active military personnel, who need medical services for PTSD and TBI, are wrapped in red tape instead. Please help our leaders understand the kind of care that needs to be done.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

Some of our leaders are doing what they can to help. Others are standing in the way. Let them know what you think about what they are doing. Send us a letter or e-mail and we will include it in our packages.

On March 24 Eric will be interviewed by Dr. Kevin Keough for his podcast Warrior Traditions. You can listen any time after that date by going to the website.

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9 March 2009

Week 6

We seem to be sailing between Scylla and Charybdis these days. Trying to get through without losing everything may really be the only plan. I only hope that we can find a way to sacrifice our financial "wizards" who got us into this mess instead of the veterans who are fighting to keep us safe. As always, any help you can give is appreciated.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

Please help our veterans by making your views heard. Send us a letter or e-mail and we will include it in our packages.

Monday Eric is keynote speaker at the Advocacy Conference of NAADAC/NAATP in Arlington, VA. He will be at Meriter Hospital in Madison, WI, on Wednesday.
Check here for Eric's speaking and broadcast schedule.

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2 March 2009

Week 5

Remy Benoit sends a heart-felt letter to Garry Trudeau asking for his help in getting appropriate treatment for our veterans.
"Be there for us and we will be there for you."

You can also read Remy's review of Faces of Combat here.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF) [Afghanistan, the destroyer of empires.]
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF) [Looking for commentary on Afghanistan and the partial pullout from Iraq.]

Please help our veterans by making your views heard. Send us a letter or e-mail and we will include it in our packages.

Check here for Eric's speaking and broadcast schedule.

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23 February 2009

Week 4

We have been getting great responses from Eric's article on truthout. Two are included here
From Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense about failures in health care for veterans.
From Cheryn English of FMS Productions about the need to look at alternate methods of treating PTSD.

Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF) [Health care for veterans is a step toward better health care for all of us!]
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF) [We need better ways of treating PTSD.]

Please help our veterans by making your views heard. Send us a letter or e-mail and we will include it in our packages.

Check here for Eric's speaking and broadcast schedule.

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16 February 2009

Week 3

Eric Newhouse, the author of Faces of Combat, PTSD & TBI gave us letters to put in the packages this week. In them he offers his services in promoting better health care for our veterans. If you have anything you need help with, please let Eric or us know and we will do what we can to support your work.
Here is what Eric had to say to President Obama. (PDF)
And what he had to say to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

The others are our weekly letters thanking both men for what they have done so far, explaining why the package is being sent, and letting them know what we hope to accomplish.
Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF) [Three patriotic Republicans are all that are needed to pass legislation to help our veteran.]
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF) [It's even worse than you can show in your strip, especially the TBIs.]

We hope to have many more letters for next week. Please help our veterans by making your views heard.

In other news, Eric wrote an article about the Montana National Guard model for treating returning soldiers on truthout. He discusses how the model will help and what else is needed to fulfill our commitment to our vets. You can see it by following this link.

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9 February 2009

Week 2

We have three letters going out in the packages this week.
The first is a heartfelt request for President Obama from Remy Benoit, who has worked with Vietnam era veterans to get their story told. (PDF)

The others are the weekly letters to explain why the package is being sent and what we hope to accomplish.
Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

We hope to have many more letters for week 3. Please help us out.

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2 February 2009

Week 1

First week, we're just getting started. There is one letter in each package today.
Letter from Tom Blaschko to President Obama. (PDF)
Letter from Tom Blaschko to Garry Trudeau. (PDF)

We hope to have many more letters for week 2. Please help us out.