nhenley's blog

Many former soldiers are finding it difficult to return to 9-to-5 America. The number of disabled vets from all wars deemed "unemployable" by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tripled from 71,000 to 220,000 between 1996 and 2005. Unemployable vets receive about $2,393 a month, with the total cost of the program now $3.1 billion a year (up from $857 million in 1996). That staggering price tag doesn't include the bulk of recent vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who will enter the system over the next few decades.  Read More »

Fans of Florida Governor Jeb Bush often like to whisper that he, not George W., was the brother who should have been President. Jeb, they insist, is the smart one, and the more genuine conservative. So they felt especially smug last month when President Bush, on the same day his poll numbers plunged to 31%, visited Florida to tout his Medicare prescription plan with the help of Jeb, whose own numbers have hovered in the mid-50s since he took office in 1999. Descending Air Force One, the President playfully straightened Jeb's necktie on the Tampa tarmac — and then spent much of the day fielding questions about whether he was grooming his younger brother to succeed him in 2008. Rather than dampen speculation, he only stoked it it by declaring that Jeb would make "a great President."

That endorsement was just part of what seems like a growing Jeb publicity push before he leaves office next January, as Florida Governors are limited to two terms.  With tropical storms already pounding Florida, Jeb's face and his well-regarded command of hurricane management promise to be on prominent display from now through fall.  Read More »

Tyrone Lewis is the embodiment of scholastic achievement: senior class president, honor roll student, basketball and football team captain, record-breaking basketball guard and winner of an athletic scholarship to Niagara University. For the past month, he has been working on his speech for today's graduation ceremony at Harry S. Truman High School.

But Lewis, 18, will address his classmates by remote video. Police and school officials have banned him from the ceremony not for anything he did, but because of possible death threats from a street gang angry over testimony Lewis' sister gave in a murder case.  Read More »

Wheelchair-confined Richard Paey committed almost exactly the same violations of Florida prescription drug laws that radio personality Rush Limbaugh did, with a different result: Limbaugh's sentence, in May, was addiction treatment, and Paey's, in 2004, was 25 years in prison. Both illegally possessed large quantities of painkillers for personal use, which Paey defiantly argued was (and will be) necessary to relieve nearly constant pain from unsuccessful spinal surgeries after an auto accident, but which Limbaugh admitted was simply the result of addiction. (In fact, if Limbaugh complies with his plea bargain, his conviction will be erased.) Paey's sentence now rests with a state Court of Appeal.  Read More »

When a huge and primarily Caucasian public university such as Texas A&M can effectively enlarge its enrollment of minority students not including taking into account race as an admissions factor, other schools should take notice, in order to follow suit.   Read More »

Oil companies should always take hurricane season seriously; even more advance planning will be necessary with the busy forecast in coming years.  Predictions are for as many as 16 named tropical storms this season, with about six forming into Category 3 hurricanes or higher.  The Gulf of Mexico produces about a third of the nation's oil and a fifth of its natural gas, so a major hurricane can have a severe effect on prices.  This year, average gasoline prices have risen to almost $3 a gallon, with natural-gas prices jumping as well.  In addition, the challenge of moving employees inland and shutting down drilling operations, companies face having damaged platforms or drilling rigs out of operation for months.  Part of the problem is that the industry as a whole is so short of workers right now that many companies are still working to fix last year's equipment failures.  Read More »

Teens entering college or starting their first job may have a lot on their minds, but the possibility of falling prey to identity theft is probably not among them. 

I recently heard a true story about a young man who, at age 7, had his identity stolen.  A thief used his name - and his spotless credit record - to buy a $40,000 houseboat.  The young guy wasn't aware of the crime until 10 years later, when he applied for his first job.  Soon after, he learned that he had two names listed under his Social Security number and a horrible credit history.  Increasingly, thieves are targeting those too young to file a tax return, get an auto loan, or even own a credit card.  Young people are attractive to identity thieves, experts say, because they have a clean credit record and are less likely to check their credit history, allowing the theft to go undetected longer.   Read More »

The Dixie Chicks' album was plummeting - many DJs wouldn't play their music on the air, in 03, because of the comments one of its members made.  While on tour in 03, singer, Natalie Maines, made comments about President Bush.  She later apologized for disrespecting President Bush during that London concert in 2003, but now, she's taking it back. "I don't feel that way anymore," she told Time magazine for its issue which hit newsstands last Monday. "I don't feel he is owed any respect whatsoever."   Read More »