Author: Anita Vogel

Flashbacks, nightmares, the shakes….years ago they called it shell shock or battle fatigue, today they call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD and it’s affecting thousands of veterans returning home from war.

That’s why it’s the subject of a large scale Navy Conference in San Diego today.

Both the Navy and the Marines are actively studying PTSD – how to combat it, how to treat it – and how to move on. The biggest focus is on the notion of resilience and how some veterans are able to fend off symptoms of PTSD after traumatic events on the battlefield and others are not.

The marines are conducting their first forward looking research project on resilience and whether it’s in one’s genetic make-up or whether it’s something can be learned. The Navy says resilience is the process that allows you to thrive and go where you need to go.  With that in mind their study involves interviews and thorough medical examinations to see exactly who has resilience and who doesn’t and why.

Military leaders are also presenting demonstrations of new tools they are using to treat PTSD, many of which they say are highly effective.  One of them is a virtual reality computer system that uses video game technology to re-create the sights and sounds of the battlefield so that experts can isolate what might be bothering someone.

In addition military medical officials are also now able to use a brand new care management registry….an on-line data base of medical records.  It allows medical staff to track a patient from the date and location of their injury, either psychological or physical, all the way through their treatment.  They’re calling it a cradle to grave experience, and they insist it will also help treat others by better keeping track of what worked and what didn’t.

But perhaps the biggest change that many say is far more important than any new technology is a change in attitude among the military leadership.  The fact that the leadership is recognizing and taking ownership of these issues says one navy captain, is a very big deal.  It used to be where they would sweep this issue under the rug, now it’s out in the open and the focus of a major military conference, says Captain Paul Hammer.”We’re in an unprecedented time” says Hammer, where you have an all volunteer force carrying the burden.  Hammer says it’s important for veterans to seek treatment early so they don’t have to be impacted by PTSD for decades to come.

They’re called Confucius Classrooms, named after an ancient Chinese philosopher and they are becoming more and more popular throughout the United States.  They are classes, paid for in part by China and designed to teach U.S. school kids Chinese language and culture.  Proponents say it’s one extra tool students can use to be competitive in the global environment, but critics say it’s nothing more than a subtle attempt by the Chinese government to spread pro-China propaganda.

Confucius classrooms have been around for the past few years and there are currently 60 of them from New York to Oregon.  Each is administered through a network of organizations and universities that have deals with the Hanban, China’s official language teaching agency.  Chinese officials insist the programs have nothing to do with communism and the curriculum was created to help clear up misunderstandings about China.  Some parents are not so sure.

In Hacienda Heights, California, just east of Los Angeles, the notion of a Confucius Classroom was highly controversial and caused an uproar in the community.  Many parents and longtime community members spoke out against the program suggesting that their kids would be exposed to a communist agenda.  However, in the end some issues were resolved and the school board voted to put the classes in place to begin this fall.

At Riverview Elementary, in Lakeside, California, just outside of San Diego, third graders are learning Mandarin at a rapid pace.  The principal there, Olympia Kyriakidis insists this is a major asset for her students.  She says in addition to Spanish and multi-media classes, her kids are going to be at the top of their game and ready to compete in the global market.   As for concerns that there might be some hidden message being taught in the classes, Kyriakidis says she and her staff personally review all the materials by hand and have yet to find anything off color.  She says it’s all about language and culture, no politics.

The principal also points to a large American flag hanging in the corner of the room, and says no matter what it’s America First…. each class starts with the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States.

It used to be a golden ticket to a high paying job, but nowadays you have to wonder if earning an MBA or law degree could be a liability that could leave you saddled with mountains of debt. 2009 was a tough year for graduate students, even ones from top schools, to land that perfect job.

For example the Graduate Management Council which tracks these matters says their research shows companies that hired 12 MBAs on average in 2008 only hired half that many in 2009. And the picture doesn’t look much better for law school graduates. Big firms aren’t hiring nearly as many students as they did in 2008 and for those they do hire, they are often delaying the start date… leaving grads hanging for months.

Still career counselors say, fear not for these educated young adults because the job market will improve. In the meantime, says Kip Harrell of MBA Career Services Council, offers this advice to those looking for work, “Hope is not a strategy, and you should always be on your A game.”

Harrell adds that graduating students should have their plan A, B and C… and be prepared to take action on plan C if they have to.

Imagine getting better care for less money. That’s what the new healthcare law is promising, but some say it’s already happening at direct primary care clinics around the country.

At Qliance in Seattle, doctors say the program is much like a gym membership. You pay a monthly fee and see your doctor as much as you want for all your standard primary care needs, flu-shots, check-ups, prescriptions etc. Doctors say by cutting out the insurance company and collecting payment directly from the patients, they can keep costs down and provide more quality care.
For companies the cost to insure employees is around 55 dollars each, for individuals with no health insurance around 75 dollars. A bargain says one patient Trish Younggren. “I would pay more if I could,” says Younggren. “The accessibility to the care here is unbelievable.”

Local seattle based employer Becker Trucking is sold. They have 70 employees covered by Qliance and owner Frank Riordan says he’s saved 12.5 percent in costs already. “It has been a success for us,” says Riordan.

There are thousands of direct primary care clinics up and running in 21 different states, but health care experts say they won’t work for everyone. The programs are designed to benefit small firms with 100 employees or less. Most primary care clinics are simply not equipped to handle large corporations with thousands of employees. That notion says Dylan Roby of UCLA could “put the physician and the organization at risk of losing money.” Roby says large firms will most likely be better off with whatever insurance they currently have.

In addition the new healthcare law calls for everyone to carry health insurance by 2014. That means even people who are affiliated with a direct primary care clinic like Qliance will have to carry additional “wrap-aound” service to cover emergency and catastrophic care, and that’s an additional expense.

No matter what many patients who are used to seeing their doctor whenever they want say that’s the way they like it…. Trish Younggren of Seattle says she’ll never look back. “It is better that anything I had when I was fully insured.”

It’s no secret cities, counties and states across the nation are deep in the red and desperate to raise some cash….and that means raising taxes.

Everything from candy and soda to blueberries are being targeted. In Washington State they really want to soak it to Joe Six-pack with a proposal to TRIPPLE the beer tax!

Even though they’re not calling them “TAXES” – your local government is likely hard at work taking more money out of your pocket.

Jospeh Henchman from the Tax Foundation in Washington says,
“Americans have an historical antipathy towards taxes so politicans are always looking for ways to avoid being called a tax raiser, so one way to do that is to not raise taxes and another way to do that is call things non-taxes, call them fees.”

There’s been a hike in registration “fees” for retailers who sell noisemakers in West Virginia. And in Kentucky they’re proposing a additional “fees” on golf and hot air balloon rides. Other states are charging extra for visits to the hair salon and the bowling alley.

Tax advocates suggest that the sales tax is simply too narrow.
Lenny Goldberg of the Tax Reform Assoication says it had a commission on tax policy and pretty much everybody agreed that the sales tax wasn’t enough and the question was posed should they go heavily on services?

In fact the federal government is now taxing services.
Hidden in the new healthcare bill is a 10 percent tax on tanning salons. That’s expected to raise a whopping 2.7 billion dollars to help defray some of the costs associated with the healthcare legislation.

In Del Mar, California, the city council is asking voters to allow the 11.5 percent hotel tax to apply to summer cottage rentals.

The town’s mayor says every town has a way of extracting or getting expenses paid one way or another, “whether it’s sales tax or transient occupancy or parking or whatever it is we all have to pay our bills.” says Richard Earnest.

But even small fees can raise big money for your local government to spend. In the Golden State a proposed soda tax could raise an extra 1.5 billion dollars a year….and that’s hardly pocket change.

If you’re in the market for a home these days, you might have a tough time trying to figure out whether it’s a buyers or a sellers market.    Homeowners looking to sell their homes are having to drop their prices, but buyers are having a tough time getting even the smallest loans from the banks.

Even people with near perfect credit and enough cash for a 20 percent down payment are struggling these days to qualify for a suitable loan.   One small ding on your credit report, even something like an unpaid bill can hurt your chances.

Where as a 20 percent down payment used to be the golden ticket to an easy loan process, times have changed.  In today’s tight lending market buyers are having to cough up more than that to prove they are worthy of a loan.  Add to that the ability to show cash reserves and proof positive that you are gainfully employed.  Veteran realtors say this is a reaction from banks to the  loosy goosy lending practices from over the last decade.

“We had in a sense you could say promiscuous lending to begin with a few years ago,” says Whit Prouty of Strong and Prouty Realty.  “Now we have the crash and the lending pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.”

This, despite a 200 billion dollar infusion of cash to the banks by the Obama Administration to ease the credit crunch.  Most prospective home buyers will tell you they’re not feeling it yet.  Even the Federal Housing Administration which has been charged with helping more people get into homes is also tightning lending practices.    

Buyers in expensive, high end markets like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco face the additional difficulty of high prices.  Most borrowing requires a jumbo loan to cover the cost of the house… and good luck getting one of those any time soon.

There might be a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to a housing rebound, but realtors say it’s dim and distant at the moment.

Voters may have deja-vu in Arizona on Friday. Former Alaska Governor and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin is expected to share the stage with her former running mate from 2008 in an effort to put the spotlight on Senator John McCain’s re-election campaign to the United States Senate.

McCain is being challenged in the Republican primary by former Congressman and radio talk show host, JD Hayworth, who has a conservative following in Arizona. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Hayworth behind McCain by just seven points, a substantial gain from a previous poll.

McCain says that while he is confident, he will fight for every vote.

Political experts believe Palin, who is popular with Tea Party groups, could help McCain win over the most conservative members in his party.

Hayworth points to a Facebook page, Sarah Palin Supporters for JD, as proof that he has the edge on the Tea Party vote and has high hopes that he will be sharing the stage with Palin after the primary.

However, leaders of four of the largest Tea Party organizations in Arizona put out a joint press release earlier this month pledging neutrality in the primary.

Lindsay Stewart contributed to this report.

According to the American Medical Association, roughly two percent of medical students are entering primary care internal medicine.  That’s an alarming number say medical experts who fear a lack of adequate compensation and ability to even pay back hefty medical school loans is keeping students away from family medicine.

The fomula used to pay doctors is based on a system developed by a Harvard economist 20 years ago called relative value units or RVUs.  It is a point system that tabulates points based on how much training a doctor has or what kinds of equipment is used or procedures are performed.  Theoretically the more procedures and higher tech equipment involved in the patient’s care, the more the docotor can bill.

Specialty doctors like cardiologists and radiologists tend to have no problem garnering rvu’s, but primary care physicians can’t seem to add up enough to make it worth their while these days.

The average medical student comes out of medical school with anywhere from $140 to 200 thousand dollars in medical loans.  While specialists can command salaries of up to $500 thousand dollars annualy, primary care physicians might make around $190 thousand dollars a year .      

Considering the workload, the cost of doing business and the cost of living period, many medical students are shaking their head and looking into more specific fields.

There has been an effort to revamp the rvu system over the years to level the playing field, but  it is a small part of the overall healthcare debate on Capitol Hill.  There is however a group called the Meidcare Payment Advisory Commission, which among other things is recommending a one time bonus to primary care physicians to entice future doctors…but no word on whether that will be adopted by any government panel.

Until then many in medicine are concerned that primary care physicians will become a dying breed, even still those who acknowledge the need to update the reimbursement system, caution moving too fast, at the risk of harming the patient in the end.

30-year-old registered sex offender John Gardner appeared in a San Diego courtroom today for a status conference in his murder trial. Gardner was charged last week with the rape and murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King from San Diego…. who was missing for a week before her remains were found in a shallow grave near the shoreline of a local lake.

In court Gardner seemed quiet and cooperative and agreed to a delay in his preliminary hearing from next week to August 4th.  His attorneys said they were behind on receiving and reviewing police reports and other paperwork, and needed more time. The Judge agreed.

Late yesterday the nearby Escondido Police Department announced they too were looking at Gardner in connection with the disappearance and murder of another young San Diego girl missing for more than a year, 14-year-old Amber Dubois. Her remains were discovered over the weekend in North San Diego County.

Authorities won’t say exactly why they’re looking at Gardner as a possible suspect in the Amber Dubois case…but there are similarities. Both Dubois and King disappeared while out by themselves and not too far from each other.  John Gardner is a registered sex offender who lives in the area, so police would be looking at him anyway. There are probably other factors that that have yet to be revealed.

Gardner was convicted back in 2000 of molesting a 13 year old girl. According to court records, a psychiatrist recommended the the longest prison sentence possible under the guidelines, because he showed no remorse and was likely to endanger other underage girls. However he ended up serving just five of a six year shortened sentence.
Gardner has pleaded not guilty to killing Chelsea king.
No word in court today about the charges relating to Amber Dubois.

Judge David Danielson has issued a gag order on the case which prohibits anyone associated with the court trial from talking to the media.

Barbara Boxer is signing up for another run at the U.S. Senate, but the road to reelection, and what would be Boxer’s fourth term, is far from certain.

After 18 years in the Senate, her favorable ratings now hover around 50 percent. Boxer (D- Calif.) says she’s ready to get voters back. She adds she knows this will be a tough reelection battle but that it’s a challenge she’s up for.

“I just have to tell you, I’ve run for office many many times,” says Boxer. “I’ve won ten times in a row, and many of those races, many were very difficult.”

Three republicans have lined up to take her seat. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlet Packard, former congressman Tom Campbell, a known expert on the economy, and state assemblyman Chuck Devore — considered the most conservative in the race.

Polls show Boxer ahead of her opponents, but that lead has narrowed in recent months.
And political experts say Californians could blame the incumbent for the state’s flagging economy.

“The question is: What’s going to happen to those conservative democrats who are frankly fed up with deficit spending,” says Matt Klink of Cerrell Associates. “Barbara Boxer is linked inextricably to the Obama agenda.”

The lynch-pin for this race will likely be pulled during the GOP primary. Republican voters in Calif. tend to lean towards more conservative candidates who lack a broad appeal on social issues like abortion and the environment.

That could leave moderate Carly Fiorina with the best chance in November. As a former top executive, Fiorina has an open checkbook and can finance her own race if she chooses.

Boxer has raised more than $7 million and while GOP challengers are edging in, her poll numbers are very close to those from 2003, when she was easily reelected.

But this year there is the Tea Party movement, which is already helping Chuck Devore raise funds but will likely support any of the three GOP candidates who emerge from the primary.

And while many might look to what happened in the Mass. Senate race to imagine what could happen in Calif., analysts like Klink point out the difficulty of such a comparison. In Mass. there was an open seat while in Calif., Boxer is a long-time incumbent. Klink warns one should never  underestimate the power of office.

You could call it an old-fashioned political gunfight in the west. Former GOP Congressman and TV/radio personality J.D. Hayworth announced Monday he would take on veteran Senator and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain for his Senate seat.

Hayworth accuses McCain of being out of touch with Arizona voters on issues like illegal immigration, taxes and a slew of other things he says are important to people in the Grand Canyon state.

He says McCain is more of a moderate than a maverick…and has turned into a Washington establishment politician rather than the independent voice he claims to be.

Political observers say this could be the the toughest re-election the four-term senator has ever faced…but in response McCain chuckles and points out he’s faced tough races before. He reminds people he came from behind to clinch the GOP nomination in 2008…after he had been written off….and that he takes every race seriously.

He’ll have some big names coming into Arizona to campaign for him next month, like former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and newly elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

For his part Hayworth has a few well-known political types backing him as well. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Minuteman co-founder Chris Simcox who today abandoned his own campaign for Senate to support Hayworth.

But let’s not forget about polls and money…both of which McCain is on top of right now. The latest polls show McCain at least 20 points ahead of Hayworth and when it comes to cold hard cash…McCain has a lot more of it–nearly five million dollars more.

The primary is set for August.