Los Angeles County Democratic Party Announces Additional Endorsements for the November 4, 2014 Elections

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) has announced additional endorsements for the November 4, 2014 elections.  More endorsements for local races will be considered.  For more information or for a complete list of current endorsements, visit www.lacdp.org/endorsements.

 

Los Angeles County Democratic Party

Additional November 4, 2014 Endorsements

 

BALLOT MEASURES

 

Proposition 1 - YES - Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014

Proposition 47 - YES - Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. Initiative Statute

Proposition 48 - YES - Indian Gaming Compacts. Referendum.

Azusa Unified School District Measure K - No Endorsement

Redondo Beach Measure BE - YES

Redondo Beach Measure CM - YES

Santa Clarita Measure S - NO

 

CANDIDATES (*Incumbent)

 

Fullerton Joint Union High School District

Joanne Fawley

 

Inglewood Mayor

James Butts*

 

Santa Monica City Council

Sue Himmelrich

Kevin McKeown*

Pam O'Connor*

 

Santa Monica Community College District

Nancy Greenstein*

Louise Jaffe*

Maria Loya

Barry Snell*

 

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Oscar de la Torre*

Laurie Lieberman*

Ralph Mechur*

Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein

 

Santa Monica Rent Control Board

Steve Duron

Nicole Phillis

 

West Basin Municipal Water District

Div. 1 - Harold Williams

   

TAPS Provides Comfort to Suicide Survivors

By Shannon Collins
DoD News Specials and Features, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 - When family members of Defense Department service members lose their loved ones to suicide or other deaths, they have more than the support of family, friends and their community. They have the support of the Tragedy%20Assistance%20Program%20for%20Survivorsstaff.

TAPS is a not-for-profit organization that meets its mission by providing peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, casework assistance and connections to community-based care. It provides immediate and long-term emotional help, hope and healing to all who are grieving the death of a loved one in military service to America.

For Rebecca Morrison, TAPS suicide survivor communications liaison, it has a personal connection as well. Morrison's husband, Army Capt. Ian Morrison, was a U.S. Military Academy graduate and Apache helicopter pilot. In 2011, he deployed to Iraq, and after 10 months, he returned with anxiety issues, depression and insomnia.

"Ian was a very active, happy, positive guy. He worked out all of the time and ate healthy," she said. "In 2012, in the last two weeks of his life, he didn't sleep. He hardly ate. He stopped going to the gym. He seemed very anxious most of the time. The main issue he talked about was sleep."

Morrison had been teaching elementary school students at Fort Hood, Texas, and was working on her master's degree when Ian started having trouble and lost his life to suicide. As his unit memorial approached, Morrison said, her college professor gave her the TAPS phone number.

"I had just had the funeral; I was just terrified basically, and I called TAPS really late, about the night before," Morrison said. "I told Bonnie Carroll my story a little bit. She said, 'Hold on, I'm going to connect you with someone whose story is similar to yours, and she's going to call you and help you.' I was like, 'She's never going to call.'"

"Probably two minutes later," she continued, "Kim Ruocco called me and just let me pour my story out. She gave me the support to get through the next day. Some TAPS representatives came to the memorial and supported me."

The support affected Morrison so much that she began volunteering at TAPS, and now she works there full-time.

"Within the first week of Ian's death, I started in counseling with a traumatic grief specialist who knows a lot about suicide, and I tried to remember things I enjoyed before Ian's death," she said. "I allowed myself six months to go crazy and grieve and not get off the couch. Then I made myself do something every day. I ride my horse. I play music. My faith in God has been huge. I deal with this every day; I wish I didn't have to. But there was someone who was there for me and pulled me through and held that flashlight in that dark time, and if I can be that for someone else, then what a gift I can give back."

A personal tie

Ruocco, the director of the TAPS "postvention" programs, has a personal tie as well. In 2005, her husband, Marine Corps Maj. John Ruocco, a Cobra gunship pilot and father of her two sons, returned from a tour in Iraq, and 10 weeks later, he was preparing for a second tour when he lost his life to suicide.

It has been nine years since her husband's death, Ruocco said, and she uses her loss to help other families.

"When they come to us," she said, "our hope is that we can take this family who has now had this horrible crisis, and we can help them to reset that family in a healthy direction, a healthy grief process that includes educating the children around suicide, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. We help mothers to model for the child health seeking, self-care, problem solving and all different kinds of things to integrate with the families so that it's moving forward in a healthier way, a healthier journey than they may have had if they didn't get the help they need."

When her children are struggling with something, Ruocco said, she teaches them that it is OK to say, "I need to talk to you about this," or "I need to talk to somebody else about this," or "I need support around this," or "I'm feeling a certain way."

"We need to help families incorporate these thoughts and that's really what we do here at TAPS with these families," she added. Ruocco said she hopes Defense Department leaders will encourage service members to use these phrases as well and to speak up when they are feeling any sense of hopelessness, especially in the current climate of downsizing.

"As we're downsizing, so many of these guys who have been to war and seen combat may be struggling with post-traumatic stress and depression and may hide their symptoms for fear that that may be the one thing used to have them pushed out of the military," Ruocco said. "It's really important for us to help these guys get treatment for injuries and illness and to let them know that if they have to leave the military, there's another life out there, a community out there that wants to embrace them and support them."

Even leaders need help

The key, Ruocco said, is for leadership to relate to the service members and to let them know that even they themselves seek help sometimes.

"Seek help no matter what rank you are, because once you can get help and get through it, you become an example for someone else and you save a life, and that's the biggest gift you can give to your brothers and sisters in arms," she said."It is to have the knowledge and to have the skills now, because you've been through it -- you can now empathize, identify and support somebody a lot better than you would have before going through it yourself."

Ruocco said that when she speaks to service members at events, she has a line of people who want to talk to her and who tell her they never thought it was OK to say out loud that they were having problems.

"We've got to encourage them to talk to one another, to talk to their peers, talk to their leadership, because chances are they've been there too, and they've had the same struggles," she said. "It's really sad when you have somebody die by suicide and then his peers come forward and say, 'I was struggling with that too. Why didn't he tell me?'"

"It happened in my husband's case," she continued. "His guys came forward after his suicide, and they had had the same traumas, the same losses and exposures, and they told me, 'I was talking to him, but he never said it to me.' You've got to trust your peers the same way you trust them with your life on the battlefield. Trust them with what you're going through when you get back, too, and get some help together, because they're going through it. They're just not saying it out loud all the time."

Resources are available

Morrison and Ruocco said they are glad to put their tragedies to a positive use with TAPS and that they encourage people who are considering taking their lives to reconsider and use the many resources available to them.

"Each one of these guys is valuable, each one of them," Ruocco said. "We mourn each one of them. We look at them and say, 'He had so much to give.' I don't care how much trouble they're in, what kind of addiction, depression, or post-traumatic stress issues they have -- it's fixable. There are so many good programs out there. You do not have to ever feel like you can't get through it to get to the other side.

"The country wants to support them," she added. "The military wants to support them. They want them to be OK. They deserve to be okay. They deserve the help, so I hope they ask for it."

Families of the fallen can call TAPS, a 24/7 tragedy assistance resource, at 1-800-959-8277. Service members and their family members needing support can call Vets 4 Warriors, a 24/7 confidential peer-to-peer support help line run by veterans at 1-855-838-8255 or visit http://www.Vets4Warriors.com.

Another resource available is the Military Crisis Line, available athttp://www.militarycrisisline.net, or by calling 1-800-273-8255 and pressing 1, and by texting 838255. The Military%20Crisis%20Linealso is available to service members overseas in the following locations:

-- From Europe, dial 00800-1273-8255 or DSN 118-8255.

-- From Korea, dial 0808-555-118 or DSN 118.

-- From Afghanistan, dial 00-1-800-273-8255 or DSN 111.

Dempsey Stresses Reflection, Strength, Resolve at 9/11 Remembrance

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 - Today's observance of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is about reflecting and remembering and about love for the 184 lives that ended at the Pentagon that day, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a remembrance event at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Following a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., marking the time when a hijacked plane struck the building that day, the chairman told family members and friends of those who died in the attack that he realizes ceremonies like today's are especially tough and emotion-filled moments for them. "It takes a great deal of courage to keep coming back here," the chairman said. Noting that Sept. 11 also is about strength and resolve, Dempsey paid tribute to the children who lost parents in the attacks, and the men and women who were roused by the events of that day and joined the military to defend the nation, the generation that has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Letter from a victim's mother The chairman read from a letter he received from a mother whose daughter died in the 9/11 attack and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. "She said, 'The pain of losing someone you love, even years later, never really goes away,'" Dempsey told the audience. "At any instant, a smell, color or song, or a date on the calendar like today, can bring into stark relief that first raw moment when everything changed.' She said, 'If there's any secret to grieving, it's that there can be sorrow and joy, sadness and pride, to exist in the same space at the same time.' And she learned that grief is not a lack of faith, nor a sign of weakness. It's just the price of love." Today's remembrance offers all Americans the opportunity to rededicate their lives "to the causes of our great nation and its great future," Dempsey said. "For as one of our nation's leaders said, 'We could easily allow our time and energy to be consumed by the crisis of the moment, of the day [but], we must also lay the groundwork to help define our future,'" he added.   Introducing "the man who spoke those words and strives to live them every day," the chairman turned the podium over to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Proving the Possible

Hundreds of Memphis students with red pom-poms welcomed Secretary Duncan to town on Wednesday, the final day of this year’s “Partners in Progress” back-to-school bus tour. Tennessee — in its fourth year of a federally funded Race to the Top grant — was one of the first grantees tapped to implement a comprehensive statewide plan for improving education, with broad community support.

Students from Cornerstone Preparatory School in Memphis, Tenn., cheered when the bus tour arrived. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education)

Race to the Top — an investment that represents less than one percent of total education spending in America — has combined with other federally supported reform programs to fuel significant education improvements in states across the country. But, as Arne pointed out, the credit for encouraging early results goes to state and local partners—educators, families, faith-based, business and civic leaders — who’ve been determined to make things better for children, even though change can be hard.

“What’s going to sustain this is the hard work, the heart, the commitment of folks doing this,” Arne told more than 100 supporters of district and charter schools in Memphis. “The cumulative impact of all that hard work has been extraordinary.”

That impact is evident at Cornerstone Prep, which serves children in one of Memphis’s poorest neighborhoods. Once a school where only 2 percent of students were proficient in math, scores in that subject have increased by 23.1 points over the past three years and scores in reading and language arts have increased by 13.2 percentage points. T-shirts worn by the faculty and staff at Wednesday’s rally also attest that Cornerstone is “Proving the Possible.”

College banners are everywhere on campus, to keep everyone focused on the end goal. To the students cheering in the hot schoolyard out front, Arne delivered a back-to-school pep talk.

“A lot of people will tell you what you can’t do,” Arne said. “Don’t listen to them. Use that as fuel to keep you going.”

Changes, Challenges and Champions in Nashville

Earlier in the day, Arne joined National PTA President Otha Thornton and parents and teachers from Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools to discuss the impact in classrooms of some of the largest changes America’s schools have seen in decades.

Tennessee, like nearly every other state in the country, is in the early stages of implementing new and higher standards, better assessments and ways to use data and technology to boost student learning, as well as new efforts to support teachers and principals — all aimed at ensuring that all students are truly ready for college and careers. These changes are starting to show results, but challenges remain.

America’s high school graduation rate is at an all-time high and dropout rates are down, but one-third of high school graduates report having to take remedial classes in college. “What that tells you is they weren’t ready,” Arne said, citing the statistic. “They weren’t prepared…And that simply isn’t good enough.”

In a town hall at Nashville’s William Henry Oliver Middle School, Arne applauded PTA members for their strong stand for student and teacher success during this transition.

Secretary Duncan at a town hall at Nashville’s William Henry Oliver Middle School. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education)

“This is new for everyone,” said panelist Kayleigh Wettstein, who teaches third grade in Nashville. “As teachers, we have to get on board and be really great role models for our students.”

Parents need support to understand these changes, too. Many nodded knowingly when ED Principal Ambassador Fellow Jill Levine, who leads a magnet school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, talked about the new ways that educators are teaching math and how those methods can be unfamiliar to parents who learned a different way to work with numbers.

For Wettstein, whose students tend to come from homes where English isn’t the first language, “not all parents are the same. We have to differentiate for our kids and we have to differentiate for our families as well.”

Parent Anita Ryan marveled at a recent project at her daughter’s school, involving All of the Above, a novel about four students and their quest to build the world’s largest tetrahedron and prove their urban school isn’t a “dead end.” Ryan’s daughter and her class read the book. They studied the math behind pyramidal shapes and the engineering involved in building giant ones. They wrote persuasive essays about winning approaches to break the record. And they worked in teams to test their theories.

The Common Core State Standards that Tennessee developed with more than 40 states encourage that kind of multi-faceted, project-based learning, Ryan said. As a result, students like her daughter “get it.” “They know it. They retain it,” she said.

One risk of this big transition in education is the potential for over-testing of students, Nashville Superintendent Jesse Register said. In his district, they have identified redundancies — “we were doing too much,” Register said — and are looking for ways to scale back testing without sacrificing important data and accountability.

“Where there’s too much testing, let’s have an honest conversation about that.” Arne said, reflecting on how he views testing in his own children’s public schools. Measuring what students know and where they need more help is a way to “make sure great teaching is leading to good results, not just teaching to the test.”

Talking about another form of accountability, Arne encouraged parents and educators to look behind politicians’ rhetoric and press them to genuinely value education and invest in public schools. For too long, politicians let standards slip to make themselves look good while students were being handed worthless diplomas. Elections, he said, are the ultimate form of accountability for officials who control education budgets and policy, but campaigns rarely focus on education, especially at the national level.

Arne threw out an idea for the next race for the White House. “In 2016, could we have a presidential debate about education, where the entire nation focuses on it? Could PTA host that debate?”

Reflecting on the tour, the Secretary noted the extraordinary ways that communities in all three states we visited—Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia—have seized the opportunity to bring about bold change in education.

“I don’t learn much sitting behind my desk in Washington. I need to get out.” (Arne has visited all 50 states and more than 350 schools in his five-and-a-half years as Secretary.) “This is a time to get better … and to do it together,” he said.

From the tour’s kickoff with First Lady Michelle Obama in Atlanta, where counselors, mentors and other role models are inspiring students to set their sights on higher education, toSpace Camp at NASA’s Rocket Center in Huntsville, where kids explore the wonders of STEM, to an early learning center in Chattanooga, where parents are determined to give their babies a great start in life — partners across America are coming together to build a better future for all students.

And that’s real progress.

Melissa Apostolides is a member of the Communications Development team in the Office of Communications and Outreach.

Proving the Possible

Hundreds of Memphis students with red pom-poms welcomed Secretary Duncan to town on Wednesday, the final day of this year’s “Partners in Progress” back-to-school bus tour. Tennessee — in its fourth year of a federally funded Race to the Top grant — was one of the first grantees tapped to implement a comprehensive statewide plan for improving education, with broad community support.

Students from Cornerstone Preparatory School in Memphis, Tenn., cheered when the bus tour arrived. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education)

Race to the Top — an investment that represents less than one percent of total education spending in America — has combined with other federally supported reform programs to fuel significant education improvements in states across the country. But, as Arne pointed out, the credit for encouraging early results goes to state and local partners—educators, families, faith-based, business and civic leaders — who’ve been determined to make things better for children, even though change can be hard.

“What’s going to sustain this is the hard work, the heart, the commitment of folks doing this,” Arne told more than 100 supporters of district and charter schools in Memphis. “The cumulative impact of all that hard work has been extraordinary.”

That impact is evident at Cornerstone Prep, which serves children in one of Memphis’s poorest neighborhoods. Once a school where only 2 percent of students were proficient in math, scores in that subject have increased by 23.1 points over the past three years and scores in reading and language arts have increased by 13.2 percentage points. T-shirts worn by the faculty and staff at Wednesday’s rally also attest that Cornerstone is “Proving the Possible.”

College banners are everywhere on campus, to keep everyone focused on the end goal. To the students cheering in the hot schoolyard out front, Arne delivered a back-to-school pep talk.

“A lot of people will tell you what you can’t do,” Arne said. “Don’t listen to them. Use that as fuel to keep you going.”

Changes, Challenges and Champions in Nashville

Earlier in the day, Arne joined National PTA President Otha Thornton and parents and teachers from Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools to discuss the impact in classrooms of some of the largest changes America’s schools have seen in decades.

Tennessee, like nearly every other state in the country, is in the early stages of implementing new and higher standards, better assessments and ways to use data and technology to boost student learning, as well as new efforts to support teachers and principals — all aimed at ensuring that all students are truly ready for college and careers. These changes are starting to show results, but challenges remain.

America’s high school graduation rate is at an all-time high and dropout rates are down, but one-third of high school graduates report having to take remedial classes in college. “What that tells you is they weren’t ready,” Arne said, citing the statistic. “They weren’t prepared…And that simply isn’t good enough.”

In a town hall at Nashville’s William Henry Oliver Middle School, Arne applauded PTA members for their strong stand for student and teacher success during this transition.

Secretary Duncan at a town hall at Nashville’s William Henry Oliver Middle School. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Education)

“This is new for everyone,” said panelist Kayleigh Wettstein, who teaches third grade in Nashville. “As teachers, we have to get on board and be really great role models for our students.”

Parents need support to understand these changes, too. Many nodded knowingly when ED Principal Ambassador Fellow Jill Levine, who leads a magnet school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, talked about the new ways that educators are teaching math and how those methods can be unfamiliar to parents who learned a different way to work with numbers.

For Wettstein, whose students tend to come from homes where English isn’t the first language, “not all parents are the same. We have to differentiate for our kids and we have to differentiate for our families as well.”

Parent Anita Ryan marveled at a recent project at her daughter’s school, involving All of the Above, a novel about four students and their quest to build the world’s largest tetrahedron and prove their urban school isn’t a “dead end.” Ryan’s daughter and her class read the book. They studied the math behind pyramidal shapes and the engineering involved in building giant ones. They wrote persuasive essays about winning approaches to break the record. And they worked in teams to test their theories.

The Common Core State Standards that Tennessee developed with more than 40 states encourage that kind of multi-faceted, project-based learning, Ryan said. As a result, students like her daughter “get it.” “They know it. They retain it,” she said.

One risk of this big transition in education is the potential for over-testing of students, Nashville Superintendent Jesse Register said. In his district, they have identified redundancies — “we were doing too much,” Register said — and are looking for ways to scale back testing without sacrificing important data and accountability.

“Where there’s too much testing, let’s have an honest conversation about that.” Arne said, reflecting on how he views testing in his own children’s public schools. Measuring what students know and where they need more help is a way to “make sure great teaching is leading to good results, not just teaching to the test.”

Talking about another form of accountability, Arne encouraged parents and educators to look behind politicians’ rhetoric and press them to genuinely value education and invest in public schools. For too long, politicians let standards slip to make themselves look good while students were being handed worthless diplomas. Elections, he said, are the ultimate form of accountability for officials who control education budgets and policy, but campaigns rarely focus on education, especially at the national level.

Arne threw out an idea for the next race for the White House. “In 2016, could we have a presidential debate about education, where the entire nation focuses on it? Could PTA host that debate?”

Reflecting on the tour, the Secretary noted the extraordinary ways that communities in all three states we visited—Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia—have seized the opportunity to bring about bold change in education.

“I don’t learn much sitting behind my desk in Washington. I need to get out.” (Arne has visited all 50 states and more than 350 schools in his five-and-a-half years as Secretary.) “This is a time to get better … and to do it together,” he said.

From the tour’s kickoff with First Lady Michelle Obama in Atlanta, where counselors, mentors and other role models are inspiring students to set their sights on higher education, toSpace Camp at NASA’s Rocket Center in Huntsville, where kids explore the wonders of STEM, to an early learning center in Chattanooga, where parents are determined to give their babies a great start in life — partners across America are coming together to build a better future for all students.

And that’s real progress.

Melissa Apostolides is a member of the Communications Development team in the Office of Communications and Outreach.

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, the U.S. came under...

09/11/2014 10:57 AM EDT

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, the U.S. came under attack when four commercial airliners were hijacked and used to strike targets on the ground. Nearly 3,000 people tragically lost their lives. Because of the actions of the 40 passengers and crew aboard one of the planes, Flight 93, the attack on the U.S. Capitol was thwarted. 

Today the National Park Service, its volunteers, and its partners work to honor their sacrifice and to try to understand more fully the legacy of Flight 93 and the other events of 9/11.

Photo from the Flight 93 National Memorial: Tami A. Heilemann

September 11th Memorial Observance As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Pentagon Memorial, Thursday, September 11, 2014

General Dempsey, thank you. 

Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, distinguished guests, family members, survivors: 

We will never forget what happened on this day, at this hour, in this place an act of terror that shook the world and took the lives of 184 Americans. 

Today, we remember those we lost on that day this day as we are surrounded by those who loved them.  We celebrate our nation's strength and resilience, surrounded by those who embody it... and we draw inspiration from the ways in which survivors and victims' families continue to honor their legacy.

Our thoughts also turn to others whose lives were forever changed that day:

• the first responders and survivors, whose heroism and resilience we celebrate;
• the Pentagon personnel who came to work the next day with a greater sense of determination than ever before;
• and the men and women in uniform who have stepped forward to defend our country over 13 long years of war, bearing incredible sacrifices along with their families.  

 

We live at a time of many complicated challenges.  But America has always faced challenges and we have always responded as a nation united in purpose, woven together in a fabric of strong character and resounding commitment to each other, and to our country.

To lead our nation at such a defining time requires not only the courage and the vision to lead, but the humility that recognizes this unique privilege.  These traits are embodied in our Commander-in-Chief.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

NASA Astronaut Steve Swanson Returns to Earth

Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA rests in a chair outside the Soyuz Capsule just minutes after he and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), landed in their Soyuz TMA-12M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev returned to Earth after more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 39 and 40 crews. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

8 Initial Steps Women Can Take to Improve Their Relationship with Money Money Directly Impacts Her Overall Satisfaction in Life, Says Business Coach

Do women have different relationships with money than men? Very definitely, yes, says entrepreneur and business coach Meriflor Toneatto.

“For women, money is an emotional currency, tied to our sense of self-worth and confidence, which can lead us to financial pitfalls that ultimately limits what we pursue in life,” says Toneatto, a certified business and life coach, and author of “Money, Manifestation & Miracles: 8 Principles for Transforming Women’s Relationship with Money,” (www.moneymanifestationandmiracles.com).

A woman’s emotional relationship with money directly impacts her overall level of satisfaction in life – or lack of it, Toneatto says.

“Wealth isn’t just about money; it’s about the quality of a woman’s overall life,” she says. “Greater awareness of how you feel about your life can yield helpful insights regarding your relationship with money, which can immediately change for the better.”

There are a number of ways to start doing that. Toneatto reviews eight of them:

•  Give yourself permission.For better or worse, women tend to seek support or permission for significant life decisions. Skip a step and give yourself permission. It’s important to have an open mind and heart as you proceed with financial self-improvement, which includes being grateful for who you are right now, warts and all, for arriving at this moment in your life.

•  Be honest.  Total honesty is the best way to get to the root of your feelings, beliefs and attitudes about money. Women often keep secrets about our true feelings, especially regarding money.

•  Put yourself first. Commit to taking care of yourself and putting your needs at the top of your priority list. Think of it as “self-full” rather than “selfish.” When you love yourself, you’ll experience positive changes that will benefit those around you; you will operate better. “Self-fullness” may include scheduling uninterrupted time alone for reflection, reading, meditation, physical training and other ways to get in touch with your emotions.

•  Start a money journal.Consider keeping a gratitude journal and, taking it a steep further, a financial journal. What you focus on will grow, so focus on being grateful about money and you’ll start to see positive changes in your life.

•  Practice forgiveness. A key way to move beyond your emotional obstacles with money is to let them go and forgive. Practicing forgiveness is a powerful way to remove what’s standing between you and having more money in your life.

•  Feel prosperous and richnow. Prosperity and wealth is a state of mind. It’s essential that you don’t feel poor because that brings your thoughts toward poverty. Your goal is to take stock of what you have now, embellish it with gratitude, and enjoy the return.

•  Pay attention to synchronicities. As you begin to work on transforming your relationship with money, pay attention to what comes back to you as a result of your intention. Be aware of coincidences, synchronicities and opportunities that come your way. This may include new clients at unexpected places, hearing references to new books or even a mentor, or the possibility that you’re at the right place at the right time.

•  Celebrate the big and small – have fun! We always notice the big things in life, but we tend to overlook the little steps we took to get there. They all count! And, take heart in your journey – an adventure of self-discovery, love, courage and possibility. This is at the heart of true, lifelong self-improvement.

“Just like other crucial life factors, such as health and spiritual well-being, a healthy financial relationship is a lifelongcommitment, and what I detail here is just the beginning,” she says. “Maintaining the right money mindset will require further guidance for some women.”

About Meriflor Toneatto

Meriflor Toneatto is the founder and CEO of Power With Soul, a company dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs and professionals by helping them transform their relationship with money. The author of “Money, Manifestation & Miracles: 8 Principles for Transforming Women’s Relationship with Money,” (www.moneymanifestationandmiracles.com), Toneatto holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and management and graduate certifications in personal, professional and financial coaching. A former corporate executive, she is a recipient of the Amethyst Award for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement from the government of Ontario, Canada.

The Story of the Pentagon 9-11 Flag

By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 - Anyone who saw the American flag unfurled at the Pentagon on Sept. 12, 2001, knows how Francis Scott Key felt two centuries ago when he was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Soldiers from A Company, 3rd Infantry "The Old Guard" -- gather the giant garrison flag being lowered from the side of the Pentagon, where it had hung beside the impact site of the 9/11 terrorist attack, Oct. 11, 2001. The flag was ceremonially retired. DoD photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The day after the terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the scene was still chaotic. Only essential military and civilian workers were required to come to the building. Parking was at Reagan-National Airport, as all U.S. airspace was still closed. As employees got off the Metro train, Pentagon police stood with weapons examining everyone's badge. Those without a Pentagon ID were told to keep traveling on. The conversation in the building was about friends who remained missing.

At the site, firefighters were putting out the final embers that were burning in the roof. Then word came that President George W. Bush wanted to see the damage to the Pentagon himself.

Garrison flag

No one knows who originally came up with the idea for unfurling the flag to the right of the damaged areas on the building, but Army Maj. Gen. Jim Jackson, then the Military District of Washington commander, made it happen.

He sent over to nearby Fort Myer, Virginia, for the largest flag they could find. The U.S. Army Band had a garrison flag the largest authorized for the military and sent it over.

During Bush's visit to the impact site, 3rd Infantry Regiment soldiers and Arlington, Virginia, firefighters unveiled the flag and draped it over the side of the building. Then they stood and saluted.

It was a moment that quickened the heart. The United States had been attacked, the Pentagon had been hit, friends were gone, thousands were killed in New York and Pennsylvania, yet the American flag still flew.

That flag signified the unconquerable nature of the American people. Those inside the building already were preparing to take the battle to the attackers and bring them to justice.

The flag flew on the side of the building for the next month. Each night, workers illuminated it with floodlights. Members of A Company of the 3rd Infantry Regiment -- "The Old Guard" -- took the flag down Oct. 11.

A treasured symbol

The flag is soot-stained and ripped at one spot where it rubbed up against the building. It now is in the care of the Army's Center of Military History.

It is treasured as the 9/11 generation's Star-Spangled Banner, because they, like Francis Scott Key during the British attack on Baltimore in 1814, looked to the flag for inspiration and comfort.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Never-Before-Published Photo of Marilyn Monroe Found in a Shoebox

Marilyn Monroe is arguably one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century.  It is not often that a never-before-seen pristine image of her from her prime emerges. But one such photo was discovered in a shoebox of old family photos from more than half a century ago.

This photograph of Marilyn Monroe was taken during a little known adventure that occurred in 1954 when she went to Korea for 10 days to visit the troops.  She interrupted her honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio in Tokyo to go to Korea with the USO.  This was the first time she had ever been out of the United States. With Marilyn is my grandfather, Col. Jack Kelsey, who was the commander of the Taegu Air Force Base.

At the time of the photo she was 28. She died a short eight years later on Aug. 5, 1962.  If she were alive today she would be 84 years old. 

As the CEO of Life Care Funding, I’m a long-term care specialist and senior advocate.  As I looked at this photo of Marilyn with my late grandfather, it struck me that today she would be the same age as many of the people I work with, helping them navigate the maze of long-term care options and the complexities of funding care.  Other stars from that era, such as Betty White, Florence Henderson, Shirley Jones, and Wilford Brimley, to name a few, are now spokespeople for companies that help seniors with a variety of health and retirement issues.

Would Marilyn have joined their ranks in her later years?  Would she have become an advocate and spokesperson for her generation?  Would we now look at her as a different type of icon taking on causes and issues important to her and her contemporaries?  We will never know, but we can enjoy her work and images from the past as we wonder what might have been if she had lived past the too youngage of 36.

It was an incredible discovery for us to find this photo and it’s my pleasure to share this precious family heirloom with the world.

 

Marilyn Monroe in Korea 1954, courtesy Chris Orestis of Life Care Funding
*the photo is property of the Orestis family and registered with the Library of Congress

About Chris Orestis

Chris Orestis, nationally known senior health-care advocate, expert, and author is CEO of Life Care Funding, (www.lifecarefunding.com), which created the model for converting life insurance policies into protected Long-Term Care Benefit funds. His company has been providing care benefits to policy holders since 2007. A former life insurance industry lobbyist with a background in long-term care issues, he created the model to provide an option for middle-class people who are not wealthy enough to pay for long-term care, and not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

Face of Defense: Airman Encourages Healthy Eating

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Kimball
DoD News Specials and Features, Defense Media Activity

BAUMHOLDER, Germany, Sept. 11, 2014 - When it comes to healthy food, not everyone enjoys eating it, but we know it is good for us.

Army Spc. Katarus Moore picks ripe tomatoes from the Warrior Center greenhouse at Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany, Sept. 4, 2014. Moore started an organic fruit and vegetable cooking course that focuses on cooking healthy with limited space and utilities. DoD photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Kimball  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution imageavailable.

And as many military dorm and barracks residents know, it can be difficult to eat healthy, maintain fitness standards and still fulfill day-to-day military obligations.

Limited kitchen space, minimal access to fresh foods and a lack of cooking knowledge are just a few of the setbacks that most first-term dorm residents face.

Army Spc. Katarus Moore, a petroleum specialist here, knows what it is like to face this issue and has developed a way to teach others how to "cook fresh with less."

Moore grew up in Dallas, learning his culinary arts from his great-grandmother and attending cooking classes in high school. He has spent his entire Army career living in the barracks, perfecting his cooking methods with minimal kitchen space and limited items.

This summer, Moore and other members of the Baumholder Warrior Zone have harvested a fully organic garden full of fresh fruits and vegetables for military members to use in a cooking class he teaches that focuses on cooking enjoyable, healthy meals with limited kitchen utilities.

"I have been wanting to help teach dorm residents healthy eating habits, as well as how to cook with their small dorm kitchen spaces," he said. "Also, people kept coming to me with cooking questions, and our garden had just ripened with fully organic fruits and vegetables, so I thought, 'Now it's my chance to teach.'"

PENTAGON MEMORIAL

09/11/2014 08:40 AM CDT

Lights are shown illuminating the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon, Sept. 10, 2014. The memorial was created to remember and honor those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

TRIBUTE TO THE LOST

09/11/2014 08:19 AM CDT

Lights are shown illuminating the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as the sun sets at the Pentagon, Sept. 10, 2014. The memorial was created to remember and honor those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

HONOR THE LOST

09/11/2014 07:53 AM CDT

Lights are shown illuminating the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as the sun sets at the Pentagon, Sept. 10, 2014. The memorial was created to remember and honor those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

HONOR THE LOST

09/11/2014 07:53 AM CDT

Lights are shown illuminating the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as the sun sets at the Pentagon, Sept. 10, 2014. The memorial was created to remember and honor those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Discovering the POWER of the Air Force

Achieving the Air Force energy vision of“making energy a consideration in all we do” involves a clear understanding of how energy impacts the Air Force’s critical capabilities. In support of these efforts, the Air Force addresses research and evaluation needs through AFRL’s Advanced Power Technology Office (APTO).

A portable Data Acquisition system gathers information from ground equipment during flightline operations, providing insight on how the equipment performs in real-time. (Photo provided by the Air Force Research Lab/Released)

Flightline power requirements for Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) within the Air Force are currently unknown. Legacy AGE does not monitor or report energy utilization data or power use during aircraft service and maintenance. Without a baseline for comparison, the performance of new energy technologies and electrification of flightline maintenance activities cannot be objectively evaluated.

APTO conducted research to develop and demonstrate a methodology to gather information for legacy flightline systems, including real-time maintenance operational data, as well as aircraft phase inspection, generator fuel usage, and generator efficiencies testing data.

APTO has been collecting real-time flightline maintenance and phase inspection data for the A/M32A-60 and B809, two trailer-mounted ground power units used to provide electrical power for starting and servicing aircraft. The gathering efforts occurred at multiple Air Force bases over several months. As a result, APTO is developing a unique Data Acquisition (DAQ) system to capture AGE power statistics from Air Force flightlines and aircraft in real-time.

Data reporting will provide insight on operational history, continuous and peak power requirements for flighline AGE, identification of equipment strengths and weaknesses, and probability of successful transition of the technology in support of overarching objectives.

This information can then be developed into a model that will allow AGE assets to be aligned with actual airframe service and maintenance requirements. Additional DAQ system and data collection developments under this effort will continue to enhance AGE power collection data efforts across the Air Force.

The research conducted by APTO addresses priorities of the Air Force Energy Strategic Plan and fosters a culture of energy awareness by measuring and reporting fuel consumption and load profiles for flightline AGE.

Additionally, the project demonstrates the ability to gather definitive energy usage data from legacy equipment and establishes baselines for evaluation of emerging technologies with the overall goal of reducing fuel dependency.

The APTO program executes technology development and demonstration of alternative energy technologies on behalf of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy.

APTO’s mission is to scope and develop technologies to meet user requirements, progress solutions through Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), and highlight technology transition activities for Air Force enterprise use.

Story and information provided by the Air Force Research Lab.

Expedition 40 Soyuz TMA-12M Landing

Ground support personnel are seen at the landing site after the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft landed with Expedition 40 Commander Steve Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev returned to Earth after more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 39 and 40 crews.Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls