The powder was sodium dichromate, a deadly poison. This can lead to serious long term health problems, which Glen now has. He has headaches, nasal congestion, severe nosebleeds, constant chest pain with skipped heartbeats, shortness of breath since the lower part of his lungs collapsed, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, vomiting without nausea, loss of feeling on his left side and torso, high blood sugar, kidney stones, blacking out and memory loss. He has to undergo chemotherapy and takes over 35 medications a day. He’s just 30 years old. His parents are his caregivers now.

Why am I posting this about Glen? Because I got angry when I read the rest of the story. It seems he has tried to contact Pa. Senator Arlen Spector, but has gotten no calls returned. He is trying to get VA help, but they are dragging their feet. The staff for Senator Bob Casey has been trying to get help for him through the VA, but they have not heard anything. Why is this young man being forced to wait for help? Why are his parents the ones who are paying the bills? Bootay enlisted the day after 9 11. This is how he gets treated by the government after serving in the Iraq war? I wonder how many other young soldiers are out there suffering like Glen, wondering if they will get help for their illness gotten in Iraq. We need to write, email, or call our state representatives about this. They all need to be more aware of what is going on. It doens’t matter than Glen lives in Pennsylvania as I am sure there are soldiers in every state undergoing the same problems Glen is. Take action. Help our veterans, no matter what their age.

Information about Glen Bootay was gathered from an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer written by Kevin Ferris.

On Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday Obama will be sworn in. How fitting to be on this day. Sean Wilentz, professor of history at Princeton University said this moment “speaks of a hunger for leadership and a hope that he (Obama) will be it.” Yes, we need a leader, one who will be strong enough to deal with all the obstacles being dumped in his lap.

With the economy in a slump, unemployment at an all time high, and two wars going on where American soldiers fighting terrorists, Obama will have his hands full. In a poll taken by the Associated Press-GFK, 37% of the people polled felt Obama will be an “above average” president while 28% thought he would be an “outstanding” one. Some of the media seem to have declared Obama and his family celebrities, claiming he will be the “paparazzi president”.

Obama modified a few campaign promises. He isn’t going to push for the instant repeal of the Bush tax cuts due to the economy. Everything will take time including withdrawal from Iraq and shutting down the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Obama has shown an ability to learn things quickly and can change course if necessary- vital things for the President of the United States.

He felt he had taken extraordinary measures to deal with the frozen credit markets.He feels tax cuts are the “right course of action” to help the economy. He started his presidency in a recession and is leaving during another recession. However, during his 8 years as President there were 52 straight months of job growth.

He told the reporters he felt the biggest threat to Obama would be an attack on the U.S. He said “there’s still an enemy out there that would like to inflict damage on America–on Americans.”

So, in all fairness I will list the good things he did for the U.S. Leadership in fighting AIDS in Africa. Focus on school achievement on his NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT. Achievement of a prescription drug benefit for retirees and other Medicare recipients. Immigration reform. These cannot be denied nor neglected to be told. We do need to ask a question of ourselves: How would we have done sitting in that office in the White House day after day dealing with all the things Bush dealt with? How would we have handled the aftermath of 9-11? Hurricane Katrina? Would we have done things a lot differently? How much pressure is the president under 24-7? We can only guess.

The following narrative by a concerned voter, please take a moment to consider the details uncovered from readily available sources:
This election has me very worried. So many things to consider. About a year ago I would have voted for Obama. I have changed my mind three times since than. I watch all the news channels, jumping from one to another. I must say this drives my husband crazy. But, I feel if you view MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, you might get some middle ground to work with.
About six months ago, I started thinking ‘where did the money come from for Obama’. I have four daughters who went to College, and we were middle class, and money was tight. We (including my girls) worked hard and there were lots of student loans. I started looking into Obama’s life.
Around 1979 Obama started college at Occidental in California . He is very open about his two years at Occidental, he tried all kinds of drugs and was wasting his time but, even though he had a brilliant mind, did not apply himself to his studies. ‘Barry’ (that was the name he used all his life) during this time had two roommates, Muhammad Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, both from Pakistan .
During the summer of 1981, after his second year in college, he made a ’round the world’ trip. Stopping to see his mother in Indonesia , next Hyderabad in India , three weeks in Karachi , Pakistan where he stayed with his roommate’s family, then off to Africa to visit his father’s family. My question – Where did he get the money for this trip? Nether I, nor any one of my children would have had money for a trip like this when they where in college. When he came back he started school at Columbia University in New York . It is at this time he wants everyone to call him Barack – not Barry. Do you know what the tuition is at Columbia ? It’s not cheap! to say the least. Where did he get money for tuition? Student Loans? Maybe.
After Columbia , he went to Chicago to work as a Community Organizer for $12,000. a year. Why Chicago ? Why not New York ? He was already living in New York . By ‘chance’ he met Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko, born in Aleppo Syria , and a real estate developer in Chicago . Rezko has been convicted of fraud and bribery this year. Rezko, was named ‘Entrepreneur of the Decade’ by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association’. About two years later, Obama entered Harvard Law School . Do you have any idea what tuition is for Harvard Law School ? Where did he get the money for Law School ? More student loans?
After Law school, he went back to Chicago . Rezko offered him a job, which he turned down. But, he did take a job with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. Guess what? They represented ‘Rezar’ which Rezko’s firm. Rezko was one of Obama’s first major financial contributors when he ran for office in Chicago . In 2003, Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with ‘seed money’ for his U.S. Senate race. In 2005, Obama purchased a new home in Kenwoood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (less than asking price). With ALL those Student Loans – Where did he get the money for the property? On the same day Rezko’s wife, Rita, purchased the adjoining empty lot for full price. The London Times r eported that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born Billionaire loaned Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before Obama’s new home was purchased. Obama met Nadhmi Auchi many times with Rezko.
Now, we have Obama running for President. Valerie Jarett, was Michele Obama’s boss. She is now Obama’s chief advisor and he does not make any major decisions without talking to her first. Where was Jarret born? Ready for this? Shiraz , Iran ! Do we see a pattern here? Or am I going crazy?
On May 10, 2008 The Times reported, Robert Malley advisor to Obama was ‘sacked’ after the press found out he was having regular contacts with ‘Hamas’, which controls Gaza and is connected with Iran . This past week, buried in the back part of the papers, Iraqi newspapers reported that during Obama’s visit to Iraq, he asked their leaders to do nothing about the war until after he is elected, and he will ‘Take care of things’. Oh, and by the way, remember the college roommates that where born in Pakistan ? They are in charge of all those ‘small’ Internet campaign contribution for Obama. Where is that money coming from? The poor and middle class in this country? Or could it be from the Middle East ?
And the final bit of news. On September 7, 2008, The Washington Times posted a verbal slip that was made on ‘This Week’ with George Stephanapoulos. Obama on talking about his religion said, ‘My Muslim faith’. When questioned, ‘he make a mistake’. Some mistake. All of the above information I got on line.
If you would like to check it – Wikipedia, encyclopedia, Barack Obama;
Tony Rezko; Valerie Jarrett: Daily Times – Obama visited Pakistan in 1981; The Washington Times – September 7, 2008;
The Times May 10, 2008, Now the BIG question – If I found out all this information on my own, Why haven’t all of our ‘intelligent’ investigative journalist members of the press been reporting any of these interesting relationships?
A phrase that keeps ringing in my ear – ‘Beware of the enemy from within’!