When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home. What's Next?

This past weekend the nation honored all those who have served, serve now and those who made the supreme sacrifice to keep us the "Land of the Free."

More focus is being placed on what happens when Johnny and Jane come marching home. Will there be jobs for them, will they be able to get an education, will they even have a place to live?

More importantly there's a growing focus on the quality of life they'll live. Earlier this year I had the honor of meeting Chad Robichaux. He's a PhD, MBA and Director of the Mighty Oaks Warrior Training Division. His resume also includes 8 tours in Afghanistan with the elite Marine Corps Force Recon. While I know just how he served those tours in Afghanistan and with whom, I'm only allowed to say he served "with small, specialized Naval units." You can do the math from there.

Chad and his team help soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He's qualified because he's a PTSD survivor himself. Both Chad and his wife are very candid about what they went through and how it motivated them to reach out and help others.

Chad runs his programs in Westcliffe, CO a small community nestled in the Wet Mountain Valley of South Central Colorado. Chad says many soldiers with PTSD tend to look for small towns because they can simply hide from family and society.

Chad shared some stunning numbers with me, numbers that I've verified because I didn't first believe them when I heard them. There are 58,000+ names on the Vietnam War Memorial. What is far less known is over 160,000 Vietnam-era troops have committed suicide. War victims just as if they'd been killed in combat. No monuments for them.

As for recent/current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the numbers are equally stunning. The government tell us "officially" we're losing a vet from those conflicts to suicide every day. Chad says the number if much higher, well into the teens. Every day.

One of the problems is simply time spent in actual combat. Since World War II combat time has gone up. Here's what's posted on the Might Oaks website:

• World War II – 6 months
• Korea – 9 months
• Vietnam – 13 months
• Our current troops in Iraq / Afghanistan – 45 months

I asked Chad if more could be done starting with basic training to prepare for life after war. He says no. Our military are trained to fight, to seek out and destroy the enemy. But he adds, when they finally come home, it's up to us, the people they fought to defend, to step up and both recognize the signs of PTSD and reach out to help them.

It starts with the family unit. Chad has one program called "Fight Night." Because of his national reputation in Mixed Martial Arts, I thought he was using those skills as some sort of therapy. Instead he says, it's about these vets, who after fighting in times of war must now fight even harder for their families.

In the best of circumstances, the stress and strain on military families is enormous.

Ideally, the problems could all be solved if there were no more wars. Sadly, other people keep starting them and our men and women, as they've done since we became a nation step up to defend us.

The government is doing what it can, but it's not near enough. It's now more than ever, OUR duty to not only welcome them home, but for them to once again feel at home physically and emotionally.

For all of us the work begins right after we say "Welcome home soldier."

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"

Best Election Analysis Ever

We're being bombarded today, and will be in the days to come by pundits about "what happened?" last night.

Most of it is just blather. Oh bother. Why bother?

Back in 1994 I was News Director for KBMT-TV in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX. A Democrat, Jack Brooks, had served over 40 years representing our district. He's in the background of that iconic shot of LBJ taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One on that dark day in Dallas.

Brooks was beaten by a Republican upstart who ran his campaign out of his garage. It was a stunner of an upset.

The obvious question to Brooks was, "Why do you think you lost?" His response? "Because the other guy got more votes than I did."

An eyewitness to history with four decades in the house, he could have gone on and on. He instead decided simply to move on. After all, the other guy got more votes than he did.

A good example for all of us.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

Making the case, again, for Cameras in the Courtoom.

Two horrific criminal cases here in the Denver area have me raising the issue of cameras in the courtroom, or in too many cases NO cameras in the courtroom.

I begin with the mass-shooting in Aurora. James Holmes is charged with shooting 12 people to death and wounding 58 others in a movie theater. Other than his initial appearance we the people have been denied live/taped coverage of proceedings. What we get are "Artist's Sketches" or in my opinion, cartoons.

                                                               (Courtesy: Denver Post)

Another sad case involves Austin Reed Sigg, charged with the abduction and subsequent murder of Jessica Ridgway.

Both have made the beginning of a line line of court appearances as the "justice" system drags on to a conclusion, we hope, likely years down the line.

Judges make the decision whether or not to allow cameras in courtrooms. Judges are either appointed to the bench by people we elect, or are elected themselves. They are servants of the people, not the other way around. But they are the undisputed rulers of their domains and in too many cases don't allow cameras, and by extension we to see the legal process as it happens, either live or taped.

Here are the current laws, by state as to access to courts by cameras.

As a 4-term board member of the Radio-Televison News Directors Association, I twice represented RTNDA (Now RTDNA) twice at the National Judicial College in Reno making the case for full access by cameras to courts ranging from Federal to Local. While many judges have saw the proverbial light, many have not. The most frequent push back I always got was that judges didn't want lawyers "showboating" in front of the cameras. Really? As opposed to showboating in front of juries and judges themselves?

The worst offender of course, is the highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court. Other than the rarest of occasions with audio being allowed, nary a camera has made inside the room where the most important legal precedents of our nation are set. The Supreme Court Justices are appointed by an elected President and approved by an elected Senate. Servants all of we the people.

Coming full circle to the Holmes case, RTDNA Executive Director makes a clear and concise case in how a"Colorado Court got it wrong."  I've known Mike and worked with him for a long time and his points are well taken. Today's cameras as incredibly small. Surveillance cameras are everywhere, in private and public buildings, stop lights and the list goes on. Ironically courts use them in legal cases as evidence.

They just don't allow them to document the process itself. And that, is wrong.

The courts belong to us. The judges work for us. The time is long overdue for them to realize just that. Nothing about the judicial process should be cartoonish. Yet sadly, it is.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversations about you"

It's the Deficit Stupid!

This is not an endorsement of either major party candidate for President. Rather it's an endorsement of the one and only issue you need to think about before you cast your ballot.

The Deficit. Check out the National Debt Clock for the current, and very scary numbers. It's so huge that it defies description. How it will impact us all is easy. We're going broke. In fact we are broke.

As a nation we're like a bunch of people who got together for a big fancy steak dinner. We've chowed down on prime rib, filet mignon, drinking 18 year old scotch and are ordering cheesecake for desert. We're looking around the table figuring one of us is going to pick up the tab right?

Wrong. Everyone's credit card is maxed out and our only choice is to all try and sneak out on the bill or spend a long night washing dishes. Both solutions fraught with peril to our prestige as a nation. In fact our existence as a nation.

President Obama asked former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles to form a commission and come up with solutions. Both men are patriotic, brilliant and solution seekers. They put together a bi-partisan team and came up with a road map to reduce the monstrous deficit. Read it here.

After much praise and fanfare, it was stuffed in a drawer where it resides today. That's because there was no sugar in it to help the medicine go down. It's because it would require actual political courage to enact the measures to save us from joining Thelma and Louise driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

The debates are over. A myriad of pundits have opined. It's time to cast your ballot. Before you do, ask yourself which of the two candidates is best prepared to lead us in digging out of a very deep and dark financial hole. It will take no small amount of courage. It will take all of us to be part of the solution. All of us.

We can't have equal pay if there is no money. We can't have Medicare or Social Security if there is no money. We can't grow our economy if there is no money. We can't compete in the global market place if there is no money. We can't defend ourselves if there is no money.

There is no money.

The question isn't are we better off that we were four years ago. It's "Will we be better off as a nation four years from now?"

Ignore the made for TV sound bites. Ignore the nonsense being posted on Social Media. As Al Simpson says, look at the Math, not myth.

It's time to decide. While you do the National Debt Clock is ticking. Upward.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

Walking to School

A week and a half ago, young Jessica Ridgeway left for school. Her mom watched her walk down the street on her way to a park where she'd meet friends for the rest of trip to school.

It was the last time she was seen alive. Her body was found a week later in a field. A community mourns and is anxious for revenge. There is a monster loose among us and if FBI profiles are to be believed, it's likely someone who's been in the community for a while.

Kids shouldn't disappear on the way to school. It's not right. It's a sad testimony how our civilization has become, less civilized.

We were in Atlanta visiting our own grand kids following the story online, hoping against hope for a happy ending. There was no happy ending.

Our grand kids are never out of the sight of family or very trusted adults. They're escorted to the bus stop for school, watched as they board and there is always someone there to pick them up after they get off the bus home.

All sorts of activities that kids do are monitored. Closely. It's the way our world is these days.

Growing up as a kid my friends and me walked to school right up to the time we were old enough to drive. We thought nothing of it. We'd walk to cub scout meetings, often at night albeit as a group but mostly without an adult escort.

We thought nothing of it.

I'll bet you when they catch the monster that did this, it (can't refer to it in human terms) will have a previous record. Just like the driver of the hit and run car that killed a young woman a few weeks earlier. One reporter on TV literally unfurled pages of documents showing the suspect had a LONG list of prior arrests for drugs, DUI and well, it was a long list. But the system kept on letting him out. An innocent woman is dead. Justice? Ask her family. It should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.

One of the problems with our so-called "Justice System" is we keep on letting bad people out over and over again, to commit crimes over and over again.

When the "Justice Center" was built in downtown Denver, much was made of its beauty of design. WHY? They should have taken a page out of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and built it ugly. An example of where you end up when you break the law. Arpaio gets all sorts of grief from a long list of liberal do-gooders. His response is simple and to the point. Don't break the law and I won't arrest you.

We have a second home in south-central Colorado and our drive down takes us by the Super Max in Florence. It's good to know that the place is designed to keep the worst monsters among us locked up and under control. In most cases they throw away the key.

If government insists on building "Shovel Ready" projects, then build more jails. Make them big, ugly and scary looking. We need judges who will put people away, literally when they do bad things. One thing I like about the Chinese system of justice is when you're convicted they take you out back and shoot you in the head. Cuts down on recidivism.

Do-gooders love to carry "Thou shalt not kill" signs. The quote is right, you're not supposed to kill but if you read further into scripture the point is made there's a price to pay when you do.

I hope they catch the monster that took Jessica away from us. I hope they punish this monster to the fullest extent of the law. I am not so sanguine about our "Justice" system's courage to do so. Weak lawmakers make weak laws. We have too many weak lawmakers. We have people who have been on death row for the most heinous crimes. They've been there for decades. Appeals, motions blah blah blah. Their victims are dead. They live on.

It's just plain wrong and innocent children like Jessica shouldn't have to pay for it.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you" (And don't mind sharing an opinion from time to time)

Presidential Debate Primer

Tonight's the night. Romney vs Obama at DU. Time now to manage expectations.

1. First, this really isn't a debate but more of a series of highly rehearsed responses to expected questions from the moderator, regardless if they actually deal with the question. It's all about the sound byte. It's a game of "Gotcha!"

If a candidate begins a response with  "The fact of the matter is ...." it means they aren't going to answer the question. Or at least try not to because ...

Jim Lehrer is tonight moderator. I've met him a couple of times. He's a nice guy but a no-nonsense questioner. This is his 12th Presidential Debate. You can't fool him. He's also convinced organizers to make tonight's event more of an interview format with fewer questions, but longer segments for questions, answers and follow-up. He'll challenge every response with both candidates.

2. There's something else on the stage tonight. An 800 pound gorilla called the DEFICIT. It passed the $16 Trillion mark during the Democratic Political Convention. How much is $16 Trillion? Well, it's about $60 Thousand for each and everyone of us. Each and everyone. It will be even more tomorrow.

Both candidates will at least mention it, blame each other for it and the key will be if either offers some real ideas to reduce it. Not likely, as it could be perceived as a "gaffe" and you know what the media does with gaffes.

3. Speaking of the media, they will outnumber the actually number of real people in the audience or at least in the building by about 3-1. As a former television news director, executive producer and network field producer let me tell you that there really is no bias in at least the national media. It's just that most of the national folks are out or touch with reality and any sense of what goes on here on Main Street USA.

One could say they're mostly stupid, but that would be impolite. Let's just use the term "Obtuse."

I can't tell you the number of times I got bizarre requests for story coverage for stories that didn't even exist. These folks live and work in Washington DC and New York City. They go to cocktail parties with the same people they cover and often inter-marry! It's incestuous. They have little if any clue as to what the real issues are that impact us outside of their world. (See previous comments on deficit)

After the debate, these folks will tell us what really was said and what it meant. They don't think we have enough intelligence to make up our own minds on what we heard. It's true.

Do don't listen to them. They're, you know, obtuse. Make up your own mind. Be your own pundit.

I will say this about local media, they're by and large very fair. They live and shop where we do and their kids go to the same schools as ours. They're clear in separating opinion from reporting. They live with us here on Main Street USA. They're worth a listen.

4. It's important we respect the process. President Obama and Governor Romney have had the courage to put their name on the ballot, to say "this is what I believe in and this is what I want to do." We are free to agree or disagree with either candidate but let's respect the fact they made a deeply personal decision to run for office. Along with wearing the uniform, the most patriotic thing anyone can do is run for office. Act accordingly, especially on Social Media. Name calling and F-Bombs do nothing to bridge the scary political divide that exists in America. (See earlier comments on deficit)

5. Do your home work. I suggest reading the report of the Simpson-Bowles Commission. It was ordered by the President, and both Republican Senator Alan K. Simpson along with former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles put together a remarkable roadmap to dig us out of a frightening financial hole. (See earlier comments on deficit)

The report, was filed away in some box. Like the Ark of the Covenant scene from that Indiana Jones movie.

Here's the link to the report. 

As you read, or at least skim through the report you'll see there's very little sugar inside to let the medicine go down. The trouble is, it will take no small amount of political courage to make the tough decisions that need to be made in Washington and executed here at home. (See earlier comments on deficit.)

Look, listen, ponder as if the future of our nation depends on it. Because it does.

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!"

E-Mags in a word: Cool!

I like to read. You know, stay current on stuff I'm interested in from news, to sports to hobbies. Like most folks, I subscribe to several magazines and have done so for years.

But like everything else, the publishing business is going digital. Publications like Businessweek, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic and even Model Railroader are all available on digital devices like your iPad.

The best part is you get your issue days before the print issue ever arrived. And it's more than just the same content in the print version. I just downloaded the latest issue. My favorite part, the "Leading Off" photos are incredible in a digital format. There's also sections for breaking news. The content evolves like it never could in print. Best of all, lots of video and interactive content.

Businessweek is also making good use of electronic delivery, with updated audio content and you can esaily share stories of interest with friends on Twitter and Facebook.

Our most recent subscription is to National Geographic. They're doing an absolutely fabulous job of transitioning their epic coverage of our world into digital content. Always a great read, it's become a great experience.

My hobby is model railroading. Model Railroader Magazine has been part of the hobby way before I was born. Now the magazine arrive via Zineo, and while not quite as elegant a delivery system as others, it's still fun to learn more about my hobby on my iPad.

Of course there are many other publications available digitally, you must have your own favorites. But what a grand experience when the content is digital shareable and ever changing.

Finally I rarely read actual books anymore, you know, the ones that sit on bookshelves. You can buy bestsellers for devices like the Nook or Kindle and of course my favorite, the iPad. Libraries have full digital collections and there's always a new read waiting for me when I digitally return one just completed.

The digital world can be bewildering sometimes, and often annoying. Especially Facebook during election season. But the digital evolution of magazines and books is here to stay and just going to be better and better. I like it!

Brian Olson
Owner/Consultant
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you!!