American’s Lack Will Of ‘Sacrifice’ In Their Flag Waving Arogance!! ‘Bring Them Home, NOW’ and Take Care Of Them When They Return!!!
V.A. Traitors Get Their First Vietnam Vet Kill
October 21, 2005 By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes. [Excerpt]
WASHINGTON Veterans groups and House Democrats blasted VA plans to review all post-traumatic stress disorder claims because of irregularities in their compensation system, calling it insulting to heroes who have served their country.
“To the VA, this is simply a process seeking out voids in paperwork,” said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., at a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. “But to veterans, it’s a jolting realization that their day-to-day struggles are being questioned again.”
Critics called it a way for the department to save money by shirking its duty to care for disabled veterans. Quentin Kinderman, deputy director of legislative service for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, called the IG report flawed and the proposed review a waste of money.
“There is very little potential to reduce the number of cases here,” he said. “And we’ve very concerned about the impact of the review and publicity on veterans, especially those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who need the kind of counseling that the VA can provide.”
Udall said in one case, a veteran in his district committed suicide after hearing about plans for the review. Officials from New Mexico found the man, a Vietnam veteran, with information regarding the review beside his Purple Heart when he took his life.
[This new rule, designed to cut thousands off the VA rolls, demands that a Vet document the “specific incident” that caused his or her PTSD. Since most armed forces PTSD is brought on by an extended period of cumulative stress in combat, rather than a “specific incident,” that makes meeting the new requirement nearly impossible. Then, no more disability payments. This is nothing less than murder. But it’s important murder. Got to save money somewhere. The Bush Buddy war-profiteers need their billions. Can’t have Halliburton going without. What are some dead Vets compared to that? Thomas]
VA under fire for plan to review all post-traumatic stress disorder claims
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, October 21, 2005
WASHINGTON — Veterans groups and House Democrats blasted VA plans to review all post-traumatic stress disorder claims because of irregularities in their compensation system, calling it insulting to heroes who have served their country.
“To the VA, this is simply a process seeking out voids in paperwork,” said Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M, at a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill. “But to veterans, it’s a jolting realization that their day-to-day struggles are being questioned again.”
In August, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to review 72,000 cases where veterans had received a 100 percent disability rating for post-traumatic stress disorder, after an investigation of 2,100 such cases found that more than 25 percent lacked justification for those claims.
Jon Wooditch, acting inspector general for the department, said Thursday that the goal of the comprehensive review was not to cut benefits but to find reasons behind inconsistencies in the way claims are rewarded.
For example, in Illinois, only about 2.8 percent of PTSD cases receive the 100 percent rating, and the average yearly payment for treatment is $6,961. But in New Mexico, more than 12 percent of PTSD receive that highest disability claim, and the payment average there is $12,004.
“We want to make sure everyone is receiving what they’re entitled to under the law,” he said.
But critics called it a way for the department to save money by shirking its duty to care for disabled veterans. Quentin Kinderman, deputy director of legislative service for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, called the IG report flawed and the proposed review a waste of money.
“There is very little potential to reduce the number of cases here,” he said. “And we’ve very concerned about the impact of the review and publicity on veterans, especially those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who need the kind of counseling that the VA can provide.”
Democrats echoed those concerns, and called for a halt to plans to review the cases.
Udall said in one case, a veteran in his district committed suicide after hearing about plans for the review. Officials from New Mexico found the man, a Vietnam veteran, with information regarding the review beside his Purple Heart when he took his life.
“The manner in which [VA officials] have proceeded has done more harm than good,” he said.
Cynthia Bascetta, director of income security issues at the Government Accountability Office, said the VA does need to review how it handles cases for efficiency purposes, but she told the committee the department’s proposed approach is flawed.
She said officials need to sample both completed claims cases and rejected applications to find inefficiencies and mistakes in the process, which Democrats also asked for.
Ranking member Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., also questioned the review, noting that federal law prohibits veterans benefits from being revoked unless officials can prove fraud occurred.
Wooditch said cases reviewed that lacked evidence to prove the 100 percent PTSD disability claim were likely not the result of fraud, but instead simple mistakes in paperwork or administrative review.
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, August 25, 2005
Ronald Nesler of Las Cruces, N.M., a Vietnam veteran rated 100 percent disabled with post-traumatic stress disorder, learned this month that his case, as decided in 1997 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, lacked documents to support the finding of service-connected PTSD.
The VA regional office in Albuquerque advised Nesler in an Aug. 11 letter that he has 60 days to provide evidence he was exposed to the stressful wartime incidents described in his claim papers years ago.
SNIP: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=30337&archive=true
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“It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now
geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificually induced psychosis of
war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear.” : General
Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951
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Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind…War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”
John F. Kennedy
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Andy Rooney, 60mins:
*THANKS, ANDY*
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Video ‘First week of October ’05’:
*ONE WEEK IN IRAQ*
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U.S. CASUALTY MAP;click on map for interaction site:
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This is a Silent Honor Roll shown on the PBS ‘News Hour’, now Almost Daily, that was started at the Beginning!
As of Today, 10-22-05 there are 50 Pages with 5 ‘Honor Roll’ links per page!
If you take the Time to View ‘ALL’ the Pages/Photo’s and Information Instill This Thought Into Each American Military Face You See, ‘Try and Picture 30, 40, 50, 60 or More Iraqi Faces, Children-Women-Men, Killed for Each Of These Faces You Are Looking At’
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
If that is true than
THIS LINK SPEAKS VOLUMES!
PS: And while you’re at it, think about 58,000Plus Of Vietnam
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Pretty disgusting. I was not amazed at how low this administration will go, but I am still appalled every time I see one of these outrages.
is like “Healthy Forests” and “Clear Skies.” Orwellian double-speak disguising the exact opposite of this administration’s policies and intentions. It’s more than disgusting; it’s infuriating.
Not just the Administration but those that Support these Tragic Times!!
These are the Same Ignorants that Still Believe they had a Tax-Cut and Haven’t a Clue as to what their Little Yearly Contributions to a Society Gains for them on a 24/7 Daily Basis!
But Let Something Happen In Their Lives Where They Need Societies Help, Out Of What They Already Get ‘Cheaply’ and They Start Screaming Bloody Hell for what they Expect Instantly when they don’t get it that way!!!!
Should have Added:
They Wave Their Flags, Call Themselves ‘Real Patriots’, Send Others Into Battles, and So Many Hypocricies, Yet They Don’t Want To Even Think About or Pay For That hich They Have Created With Their Support!!
I highly recommend it though! Thank You! You may or may not know that I lost my Uncle to PTSD in June, he was a Vietnam Vet. It just hit like a trainwreck for him and us, I think the Iraq problems triggered him severely. We also had a Korean vet come to Crawford and just stand there and cry, he had just been diagnosed with PTSD finally after years and years of unidentified struggle. He just stood there and looked at the tents and the signs and the people who came and cried, I suppose he cried like that young man/almost child wished that he could have cried when he had to live through all of it.
Many Vietnam, Korean, even WWII Vets went into Relapse because of the Buildup and Invasion and Now Guerilla/Insurgent/Civil War!! The Nightmears/Thoughts/Experiances Raced Back into Concious!!
Really Sorry to hear about your Uncle! Know Way Too Many who are Suffering from PTSD and because it happens in the 24/7 Nature of War is Extremely Hard to even Surpress!!
Rep. Udall is fairly safe in his District and he needs to fight this due to the large number (by percentage) of New Mexicans in the National Guard and Army Reserves. We’re a poor state with limited economic opportunities and the NG and AR are one way to get enough money to put food on the table.
I just hope someone uses this issue in ’06 when they run against Rep. Heather (Dingbat) Wilson. Romero, who has the intelligence of a tamale, came this close to throwing her butt out of office last year. A Dem with two neurons to rub together could take the seat and the destruction of the Veteran’s Administration by the Bushies is a good issue to use.
Gov. Richardson would be a good candidate for the seat but he seems to have his eyes on the Presidency. Too bad. He’d make a good Representative and a lousy President.
very well written. Thank you.
Thank you.
The Red Regime can not sink any lower… oh wait… they always seem to find a way don’t they(?)
Why is it that we the people are not entitled to be told just how many have been DISABLED in Iraq and Afghanistan??
2,000 tragically gone, but I think Mr. Joe Q Public should see the disabled. Every damn day.
Show our disabled as well as the disabled women and children we “so called liberated”.
xoxo
This made me so furious that I couldn’t even respond. Then I went Googling.
Democrats have actually done something! Richard Durbin (Ill.) sponsored an amendment to a military spending bill (H.R. 2528) that specifically prohibits this ptsd review. The amendment was co-sponsored by Patty Murray (Wash.), Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii), and joined by Barak Obama. It passed the Senate 98-0 on a voice vote and is now in conference committee.
Here’s the status & conference committee members from Thomas: Senate insists on its amendments, asks for a conference, appoints conferees Hutchison; Burns; Craig; DeWine; Brownback; Allard; McConnell; Cochran; Feinstein; Inouye; Johnson; Landrieu; Byrd; Murray; Leahy.
There was an article about it yesterday (!) in Stars and Stripes. Snips:
Yeah, sure, they want the veterans get their benefits. Right. I think it’s a preemptive strike against veterans coming home from Iraq. Their greed knows no bounds, nor does their capacity for inflicting pain on others.
I’m going to email some of those conference committee critters in the next day or two. If somebody knows an easy way, let me know, or I’ll post the email addresses as soon as I can.
Hope others will join me. In the current climate, I think we have a good chance to stop this atrocity!
Thanks for that!!
Us Vets have been working on this also for our Fellow vets who are Suffering, and Many have Regressed since the Buildup Spin and Invasion!
If you pick up More put it up in another Diary, I’m online in limited time frames because of work etc. and most of that time is geered towards Connections on All That Is/Has been going on!!!
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and I’m grateful for your hard work. It helps me understand my Vietnam veteran friend and gives me an outlet for my anger. He’s had such a hard life … self-medication, homeless for a while, prison, and more — the whole nine yards.
Now he’s dying of cancer related to agent orange, diagnosed at a VA in 1999, and untreated (!). They never told him. I am so angry! But I want to do something constructive for those who are coming home now, and I think I can take on a few emails!