It has been, sadly, a hellish Shabbos, filled with kidney stone pain and lack of rest. The VA is holding firm in their reprisals for my public evisceration of their religious discrimination, aggressive Christian proselytizing tactics and blatant violations of my Civil Rights. They have cut off my pain medication and I am holding off going into their Urgent Care (which my new Primary Care Physician has advised me to do if the pain become unbearable) until I become too exhausted and the pain becomes too severe for me to cope with any further. Truthfully, I dread surrendering myself again into the hands of the VA’s own version of the Christian hoards.

Although I have to admit it came as no great surprise, I was disappointed yesterday when the Iowa City VA Hospital & Clinic apparently struck back in response to my on-going vigorous and justifiable campaign to assert my Constitutional Rights and assist the Iowa City VA Hospital & Clinic in rectifying an alarming pattern of religious discrimination.

Even after my meeting with the VA patient advocate and a representative from Chaplain Services Wednesday (accompanied by my Rabbi), the VA has agreed to rectify only one of the issues of religious discrimination I have brought forward: they have agreed to provide kosher food for patients who request it. During my three hospitalizations at the Iowa City VA Hospital I had been denied kosher food and had to endure each hospitalization without eating. Regarding all other issues, both those I have addressed within my blog and others: the VA has refused outright to take action on some, and others the VA has agreed only to "look into."

Certainly the Iowa City VA’s resistance to correcting obvious and on-going examples of religious discrimination was serious enough on the face of it; but yesterday they upped the ante.

First of all I would like to express my appreciation for all the feedback, suggestions and support I received in response to my previous post regarding religious discrimination at the Iowa City VA Hospital & Clinic. I followed up on many of your suggestions, including contacting Congressman Loebsack’s office – an idea I got from Mchll’s note. I sent out a bevy of e-mails late last night and by first thing this morning I heard back from Congressional staffers in Loebsack’s Iowa City office.

Since moving back to Iowa about two years ago I have been thrust into a struggle with the Iowa City Veterans Hospital & Clinics over religious discrimination and Christian proselytizing.

My assessment of the candidates and predictions following tonight’s debate are as follows:

Equality legislation in Oregon may soon be a reality.

Today in a press release issued by the son and designated successor of Oral Roberts,

A review of my thoughts on topics of interest for the day.

A facsimile of an open letter sent to Bill O'Reilly (Political Satire)