Military service

[wrag]

So everyone understands.

Serving your country and your contryman is something I feel is special.  IMHO it takes special people.

Now!  

With what congress/the politicians are about to do to service connected disabled Vets and full service Vets (20 years) is sickening!

If a politicain is in anyway disabled during their period of service they get their FULL retirement AND their FULL disability.  The fact that they do't pay into or get Social Security but get their own special retirement is another thing altogether.

If you're a full service vet and a disabled vet you get your disability and then they subtract that disability payment from your retirement!

Now, it seems, they want to disavow anyone that didn't actually get injured/wounded during actual combat.  

So what if you get/got badly injured working on a vehicle?

What about if you were/are affected by agent orange?

Gulf war syndrome?

The latest word on the military created anti-malaria drug doesn't sound good!  But it's not a combat wound?

Again serving your country and your countrymen is generous and special!

Serving these politicians is...........

Hmmmmmm..

"Suppose you were an idiot.....and suppose you were a member of Congress.....But I repeat myself" ~~ Mark Twain

"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."~~Hillary Clinton, 1993

Many of you are well enough off that... the tax cuts may have helped you... We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good. -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, San Francisco, June 28, 2004 ~ or...





You a vet?  I'm thinkin BOHICA!

With that said.  Considering the above I'm amazed anyone would risk their health and future welfare to this system!  

Pretty sure you can guess what I told my children.

Oh Well

"The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it." --John Stuart Mill


HMMMMMM.............  most interesting.......

"These things I believe: That government should butt out. That freedom is our most precious commodity and if we are not eternally vigilant, government will take it all away. That individual freedom demands individual responsibility. That government is not a necessary good but an unavoidable evil. That the executive branch has grown too strong, the judicial branch too arrogant and the legislative branch too stupid. That political parties have become close to meaningless. That government should work to insure the rights of the individual, not plot to take them away. That government should provide for the national defense and work to insure domestic tranquility. That foreign trade should be fair rather than free. That America should be wary of foreign entanglements. That the tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. That guns do more than protect us from criminals; more importantly, they protect us from the ongoing threat of government. That states are the bulwark of our freedom. That states should have the right to secede from the Union. That once a year we should hang someone in government as an example to his fellows." --Lyn Nofziger

[ASTAC]

I've heard these "rumors" before, but could never find a source...do you have one?


BTW..that 2nd quote from H. Clinton sounds like something out of the communist manifesto...."We are going to take things away from you on the behalf of the common good"..yeah she'll get my vote in 2008 with talk like that.

[wrag]

YEP.......

here ya go

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----- Original Message -----
From: WGAVITT@aol.com
To: ColonelDan
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 2:07 PM
Subject: Administration wants to cut $$ for Vet Homes


Subject: [Tucson Citizen] Bush wants to cut vets' care
(Relayed to me by Art Krause and Jay Vargas)

      Crossing the wires over the weekend -- FYI.
     

     




      Monday, April 11, 2005



      Bush wants to cut vets' care

      Gannett News Service





            GNS photo

            Dean Goodman, 84, pays bills in his shared room at the Southwest Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jennings, La.
           
      WASHINGTON - Veterans' nursing homes run by states and the federal Veterans Affairs Department - havens for more than 40,000 former service members - are under fire in this year's budget battles.

      President Bush's proposed 2006 budget would drastically cut financial support for up to 80 percent of the veterans in the nation's 129 state-run homes and allow the VA to reduce the number of its nursing home beds from the 13,391 now required by law.

      Congress is fighting back. Both the House and Senate adopted budget plans that do not include the Bush proposal to cut support to the state veterans' homes. The proposal still has several steps to go before the battle is over.

      With an insurgency still raging in Iraq, the proposed cuts anger Warren "Billy" Hoag, who lives at the Southwest Louisiana War Veterans Home in Jennings, La. Under Bush's proposal, the World War II Navy veteran would not qualify for VA financial aid at the state-run home because he does not have a disability stemming from his military service.

      "Cutting us back right now is not right," said the wheelchair-bound Hoag, who claims to be 69 but is actually 83. "They always do it to veterans, but that doesn't make it right. With a lot of scuttlebutt about it (the proposed cuts), it's apt to happen but it makes me mad."

      In addition to the change in eligibility, the VA wants to hold back $104 million in grants it would provide next year to rehabilitate and build new state veterans homes until it can finish a study on the system's capacity and its future needs.

      Under the state veterans home program, costs are shared between the federal government and states. The VA provides 65 percent of a state home's building cost and the state contributes 35 percent.

      The state is responsible for operations and maintenance, and receives $59.36 a day from the VA for each eligible veteran living in the state-run nursing home. That funding stream would be sharply reduced if the VA stipend, known as a per diem grant, can be applied only to veterans with disabilities related to service or those who are catastrophically disabled.



            GNS photo

            Mildred Freiburger, 84, served in the Navy Medical Corps and now lives in Jennings, La., at the Southwest Louisiana War Veterans Home.
           
      VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said the agency wants to revise the criteria for long-term care to focus on veterans who became disabled while on active duty and those who have catastrophic injuries, such as spinal cord problems or traumatic brain injury. Included in the new focus would be patients requiring short-term care after a hospital stay such as for hip replacements and those needing hospice or respite care, he said.

      The change would mean a savings of $496 million in long-term care next year for the VA, Nicholson said.

      The bulk of the savings, or $293 million, would come from reducing the per diem grants to the states, said Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, the VA's acting undersecretary of health.

      Dr. James F. Burris, the VA's chief consultant for geriatrics and extended care, said the new eligibility criteria, if approved, would apply only to veterans entering the VA-run and state-run nursing homes after the proposal is adopted. All current residents would continue to receive grants, he said.

      Burris said veterans who don't have disabilities related to active duty service or who are not considered in need of catastrophic care would still be able to use Medicare, Medicaid and private funds to pay for the nursing home care.

      Lourdes E. Alvarado-Ramos, assistant director for the Washington Office of Veterans Affairs, said about 80 percent of the veterans currently in state-run nursing homes would no longer qualify for the VA daily support grants if the Bush proposal is approved.

      She said some state veterans' homes could be forced to shut down because the VA money provides an average of about 29 percent of a home's revenue.


     




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

Change your email address when needed by signing in at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteranIssues/

Forward to other veterans, tell them to Sign up at:
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[wrag]

OH and here ya go for some more.......

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http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Scott_032905-P1,00.html

 

       

       

       

       
     Larry Scott: Are You Really a Veteran?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

     
     
       
     Rep. Steve Buyer is redefining your status

            March 29, 2005

            [Have an opinion on this article? Go to the Discussion Forum to sound off.]

            Are you really a veteran? Better check it fast. I did. I've got my DD-214 that says "honorable discharge." I've got the red-white-and-blue VA identification card complete with lousy picture and the "service-connected" rating. So, I must be a veteran. Right? Not if Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, has his way.

            Buyer is trying to rewrite the definition of "veteran" in a cold and calculated manner that could cost millions of veterans their benefits. Buyer recently won a political tug-of-war and replaced Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) as chairman of HVAC. Smith was known as a true friend of veterans and often broke ranks with his party to forward legislation favorable to the veteran community.

            Not so with Buyer. In a recent interview with journalist Tom Philpott, Buyer stated, "While some veterans' organizations like to create a theme, that 'A veteran is a veteran [and] there is no difference,' I disagree."

            Shortly after winning the chair at HVAC, Buyer said, "Some of the veterans service organizations, they are having this belief that everyone should have open access to the VA system, when in fact I believe that the VA system should follow its core constituency and the intent of Congress when we laid out our priorities, and that was in fact to take care of our disabled and indigent veterans first." (This subject was covered in my Military.com article on "Welfarizing the VA.")

            So, what is happening here? Buyer is trying to redefine "veteran," and in so doing, reshape benefit programs to meet his new definition. In short, this means fewer benefits for fewer veterans.

            The two keys here are Buyer's references to "intent of Congress" and "core constituency." By rejecting the "intent of Congress" when they passed legislation defining benefits and eligibility, Buyer is telling us Congress was wrong and he is going to change it. By referring to the VA's "core constituency" as "disabled and indigent veterans," he is eliminating veterans who do not fall into those categories.  

            This is just plain absurd! And it is wrong! As Buyer continues to redefine who is really a veteran, here is some of what's at stake.

            The bipartisan Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission will hold its first meeting soon. The Commission will review whether Congress went too far by allowing concurrent receipt of military retirement and VA disability payments. Also on the table is a change in the way disability ratings are determined, and a restructuring of the definition of "service-connected." Buyer says he cannot guarantee veterans who currently have disability ratings that they will be exempt from Commission findings.

            Buyer also wants the Commission to consider offering lump-sum payments to veterans with current disability ratings of 20 percent or less. These "cash now" settlements would deny veterans the right to pursue any compensation claims in the future. A veteran with a progressive condition, one that causes degenerative disability with age, would have no right to further compensation.

            What's really on the table when it comes to redefining a veteran and available benefits? Buyer says, "I think everything should be on the table."

            Everything! Buyer is even suggesting that service-connected disabilities be combat-related only. This would eliminate treatment and compensation for injuries received while on active duty but not directly related to combat.

            Buyer also took aim at the veterans' service organizations, saying their view that all veterans should have access to VA healthcare abandons values like duty and sacrifice. He chided the service organizations for using inflammatory rhetoric. "I asked them to be very careful with the words they select because ... they have an impact all over the country. It is upsetting to me when someone refers to veterans as whiney," Buyer stated.

            Well, there you have it in his own words. The chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee calling our service organizations "whiney" and accusing them of abandoning values like duty and sacrifice.

            It would be easy to dismiss Buyer as part of some lunatic fringe on Capitol Hill trying to stick it to veterans. But that is not the case. Buyer speaks for the majority in Congress who speak for the current administration.

            And, Buyer is the one guilty of inflammatory rhetoric. Demeaning our service organizations and their attempts to preserve veterans' benefits is a slap in the face to ALL veterans. Our service organizations have, in the past, often done too little too late. Sometimes we wondered where they were as the VA budget took hit after hit. Now they find themselves in the position of doing what they were meant to do and being castigated for it.

            Fellow veterans, if this is not a call to action, I don't know what is. We cannot allow Congress to redefine who is a veteran. We cannot allow Congress to restructure veterans' benefits and reshape the definitions of disability. We have worked too hard for too long to not receive proper recognition for our service to our country.

            It's time to put severe pressure on Congress. Recently 400 disabled veterans did just that when they jammed Committee hearings, booing and jeering Buyer and others who want to cut benefits. This new level of activism must increase if we are to preserve our benefits and guarantee a properly funded VA for the veterans of the future.

            In 1789 President George Washington said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars and how they were treated and appreciated by this country."

            If we do nothing now we will only be able to say that we did nothing.
           
     


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

Change your email address when needed by signing in at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteranIssues/

Forward to other veterans, tell them to Sign up at:
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Yahoo! Groups Links

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    VeteranIssues-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[wrag]

Originally posted by ASTAC
I've heard these "rumors" before, but could never find a source...do you have one?


BTW..that 2nd quote from H. Clinton sounds like something out of the communist manifesto...."We are going to take things away from you on the behalf of the common good"..yeah she'll get my vote in 2008 with talk like that.

Her 1st one too IMHO

Compare?

"Comrades! We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all."~~Nikita Khrushchev

"All our lives we fought against exalting the individual, against the elevation of the single person."~~Vladimir Lenin

"There is the great, silent, continuous struggle: the struggle between the State and the Individual."~~ Benito Mussolini

"The main plank in the National Socialist program is to abolish the liberalistic concept of the individual"~~Adolph Hitler

"At a time when our entire country is banding together and facing down individualism, the Patriots set a wonderful example, showing us all what is possible when we work together, believe in each other, and sacrifice for the greater good."~~Ted Kennedy

"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society."~~Hillary Clinton, 1993

Many of you are well enough off that... the tax cuts may have helped you... We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good. -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, San Francisco, June 28, 2004 ~ or...

"...from each according to his means, to each according to his needs." -- Karl Marx, 19th Century

[rabbidrabbit]

As a service connected 100 percent disabled vet I find this disgusting.  Working for the Military is very very different from working a civilian job.  You consistently and repeatedly put everything on the line for your people and country just to have some jackazz who knows little to nothing about service or honor try to take away the remenants of your life after the damage was done in such service.

[bunch]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
As a service connected 100 percent disabled vet I find this disgusting.  Working for the Military is very very different from working a civilian job.  You consistently and repeatedly put everything on the line for your people and country just to have some jackazz who knows little to nothing about service or honor try to take away the remenants of your life after the damage was done in such service.

Even worse, you're not puting it on the line for your country (although that is why you're putting it on the line), you're puting it there for the pol you just described

[Airhead]

Service connected 100% disability pensions were a scam, people- the criteria was an "other than dishonorable" discharge issued between 1964 and 1975 because the "Vet" served during a "time of war" and was "entitled" to a pension- sheee****, I know of one guy who got drummed out of the Service during basic in 1974 cause he pissed the bed and had an emotional reaction, and today that dude is drawing 660 dollars a month because he wet the bed at 18 years old...and served for five friggin weeks, 35 years ago.

I know of another "gentleman" who's just turned 62 (so he's on the SSI handout now also) who lasted three months before he was discharged in 1965 for wanking off on his fellow soldiers' head gear at night. In fact this guy reinlisted under a different name and joined the Navy where he got busted wanking off on thier ballcaps- I'm almost surprised he's only drawing one VA disability pension instead of two of them.

Under the old rules any single one of us who served could suffer a "breakdown," have it diagnosed as "service connected" (evidence being to support your case being you aren't gainfuly employeed, you use drugs, you have relatives willing to testify you're weird) and- BINGO- you're in the money in a 660 dollar a month paycheck for life.

This has been a cash cow, and a cottage industry for lawyers representing dirt bags who happened to have been drummed out of boot camp, long enogh. It's total BS.

[rabbidrabbit]

Originally posted by Airhead
Service connected 100% disability pensions were a scam, people- the criteria was an "other than dishonorable" discharge issued between 1964 and 1975 because the "Vet" served during a "time of war" and was "entitled" to a pension- sheee****, I know of one guy who got drummed out of the Service during basic in 1974 cause he pissed the bed and had an emotional reaction, and today that dude is drawing 660 dollars a month because he wet the bed at 18 years old...and served for five friggin weeks, 35 years ago.

I know of another "gentleman" who's just turned 62 (so he's on the SSI handout now also) who lasted three months before he was discharged in 1965 for wanking off on his fellow soldiers' head gear at night. In fact this guy reinlisted under a different name and joined the Navy where he got busted wanking off on thier ballcaps- I'm almost surprised he's only drawing one VA disability pension instead of two of them.

Under the old rules any single one of us who served could suffer a "breakdown," have it diagnosed as "service connected" (evidence being to support your case being you aren't gainfuly employeed, you use drugs, you have relatives willing to testify you're weird) and- BINGO- you're in the money in a 660 dollar a month paycheck for life.

This has been a cash cow, and a cottage industry for lawyers representing dirt bags who happened to have been drummed out of boot camp, long enogh. It's total BS.

I know many gentlemen who had backs broken, arms ripped off, and other permanant and severe injuries like mine.  We all must be faking too!

BTW, getting yourself a lawyer to go for a VA claim is beyond rediculous.  It's not the health care system FYI.

[Airhead]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
I know many gentlemen who had backs broken, arms ripped off, and other permanant and severe injuries like mine.  We all must be faking too!

BTW, getting yourself a lawyer to go for a VA claim is beyond rediculous.  It's not the health care system FYI.

Yes, it IS a free healthcare system, for many that simply don't deserve it. They even run a free shuttle bus for the three hour trip to Fort Miley in Ess Eff, and the two "100% service connected disabled" who have a combined length in service of less than six months I've previously mentioned are on this bus quite often- in addition to many other dirtbags who have used the VA as a free healthcare system.

[rabbidrabbit]

Why did you quote me then not reply to anything I said?

I'm sure there are some who got a much better deal than they deserved and there are many who did not get nearly what they deserved.  That is the price of bureaucracy.

[Airhead]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Why did you quote me then not reply to anything I said?

I'm sure there are some who got a much better deal than they deserved and there are many who did not get nearly what they deserved.  That is the price of bureaucracy.

Yup, some got a much better deal than they deserved- and that's what's bankrupting the system...it's abuses. If you wish to shrug it off as the price of beaucracy, and say to continue on and accept these abuses, then I say your course of action will result in the bankruptcy of the entire system.

[wrag]

More .........

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See email from Robert White, below my notes... You can say what you want about
the VA, VSO's, etc
The VA claims process does NOT work.. it takes forever, appeal, deny, etc
Far too many die while claim is on going..

Anyone who is entitled to a federal or state benefit should not have to pay to get that benefit.
 If you have to use a lawyer to get your social security, VA etc... the agency should pay the lawyer..
it should not come out of your back pay, etc. Veterans should be able to use a lawyer
at any part of the claims process

some more info on LSC and  Veterans Consortiums Pro Bono Program
. transcript of a meeting..
http://www.lsc.gov/welcome/transcripts/05020402.pdf

also see:  http://www.vetsprobono.org/
The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program provides: free attorneys to veterans and their qualifying family members who have an appeal pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). If an appellant has filed an appeal with the Court and has been unable to obtain his or her own attorney after 30 days, he or she can request assistance from The Veterans Consortium.

Each appellant who requests ProBono Program assistance receives a thorough review of his or her VA claim file. Approximately 40% of the cases evaluated by the Program are accepted for referral to a volunteer attorney. An appellant whose case is not accepted into the Program receives substantive legal advice about his or her case and an explanation as to why the Consortium cannot place the appeal with a volunteer attorney.


also see these web sites to find a veteran attorney

 http://www.vetapp.gov   and http://www.vetadvocates.com

Court is at:  http://www.vetapp.uscourts.gov/

another source to help find an attorney is thru the http://www.lsc.gov  web site

http://www.rin.lsc.gov/scripts/LSC/PD/PDList7.asp


----- Original Message -----
From: Robert White
To: VeteranIssues-owner@yahoogroups.com ;
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 12:59 AM
Subject: The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program IS A FRAUD


http://www.vetsforjustice.com/

The Veterans Consortium

Pro Bono Program

IS A FRAUD

After the Veterans Court was established Congress found that 80% of the cases before that Court were filed by Veterans without attorneys, resulting in access to that Court being a joke.

Congress, with the intent of helping Veterans obtain meaningful access to the Veterans Court allotted funds to pay for attorneys through the Legal Services Corporation. [ http://www.lsc.gov/ ].

Four National Veterans Organizations, the American Legion, the DAV, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America formed the Veterans Consortium and submitted the winning bid for all that federal money.

First note, that the VFW is "missing" and doesn't even pretend to care about Veterans having attorneys, although the VFW has very substantial resources, from dues, it's Bingo's, and bars, and has profiteered off America's Veterans.

We have contacted the Veterans Consortium, numerous times, with proof a whole class of Veterans have had their VA Records illegally destroyed by VA Officials, seeking legal assistance.

The Veterans Consortium has turned us down every single time!

And despite their fraudulent claim that they help Veterans they turn down with legal advise they have not helped, NOR given us any legal advise.

Legal assistance from the Veterans Consortium is given to Veterans in an arbitrary, and capricious, manor, at best, and according to many e-mails we have received is far less then "meaningful", when assistance is given.

So where are all those millions of taxpayer dollars the Veterans Consortium receives?

We have e-mailed the Veterans Consortium, the American Legion, the DAV, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the VFW, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, asking several questions, including WHY they did not assist a whole class of Veterans that were harmed.

We only received one response, and that was from John McNeill, Deputy Director with the VFW, who said they would help if we gave then a specific example of a Veteran being cheated by having his VA Records illegally destroyed by VA Officials.

We sent him solid evidence of the founder of http://www.VetsForJustice.com having his VA Records not only destroyed, but proof of an ongoing cover-up by VA General Counsel, Tim S. McClain, and several judges on the Court of Veterans Appeals.

We haven't heard anything since sending him the evidence.

The National Veterans Groups, especially the VFW, DAV, and so on have millions and millions of dollars they make turning Veterans into drunks with their bars, and profiteering off us with dues, and off our wives with their Bingo's.

PLUS they get massive federal grants....AND STILL TURN THEIR BACKS ON US WHEN WE NEED ATTORNEYS!!!!!

The Veterans Consortium, the American Legion, the DAV, the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the VFW, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America should all be investigated, and prosecuted, for FRAUD!

And every Veteran that belongs to those groups should take appropriate action to change the policies of their group, and to get their leadership investigated.

Those groups were chartered to help Veterans, NOT TO PROFIT OFF US!!!

We need to support the new Veterans Party and become as active as our health allows to assist our fellow Veterans in their quest for basic human rights, fair treatment by the VA, and justice from our government.





How do the Veteran Groups Stack Up...Helping Veterans with Attorneys????

According to the Official Records posted at the Veterans Consortium Web Site, the American Legion, which bills itself as the Largest Veterans Organization in the World, donates the total amount of $21,105 for a year, to help Veterans before the Court of Appeals for Veterans get attorneys from the Veterans Consortium.

And the American Legion claims to care about Veterans???

Can anyone spell "PROFITEERING OFF AMERICA'S VETERANS"???

The leadership of the American Legion, the World's LARGEST Veterans Group, should bow their heads in shame at how they have BETRAYED America's Veterans fighting the VA in Court.

The much smaller DAV donated $99,225, or OVER FIVE TIMES AS MUCH AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST GROUP, THE AMERICAN LEGION.

The National Veterans Legal Services Program donated a "token" $5,285, I guess to "justify" their seeking donations, while the Paralyzed Veterans of America donated $114,267.

Meanwhile, Covington & Burling, whom we assume is the law firm, donated $406,882 for the Veterans Law Program.

In other words, a law firm, with less resources then the "Worlds Largest Veterans Group", donated OVER TWENTY TIMES AS MUCH MONEY FOR ATTORNEYS FOR VETERANS!!!

And the VFW donated NOTHING according to the records posted at the Veterans Consortium Web Site.

If you belong to any of these groups you have a right to demand that they explain their extremely clear BETRAYAL of America's Veterans.

The main reason so many Veterans are cheated by the VA is because the established Veterans Groups, the American Legion, and VFW, pretend to care about Veterans, but the facts show THEY HAVE BETRAYED US, they profiteer off us, and they turn their backs when we ask for help, or provide sub-standard assistance that refuses to stand up for Veterans.

The best established Veterans Groups is the DAV, and Paralyzed Veterans of America, although they have the resources to do a lot more then they do, to help Veterans.

The American Legion, and VFW, should be investigated for the fraud they inflict on America's Veterans, and any Veteran worth his salt that belongs to either of those groups should DEMAND that their leadership be held accountable for shirking their duty to America's Veterans. For betraying us.

Just where does all those hundreds of millions of dollars from Veterans Dues, from their bars, from their Bingos, and other "hustles" really go to?

They damn sure aren't being used to


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

Change your email address when needed by signing in at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteranIssues/

Forward to other veterans, tell them to Sign up at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteranIssues/join

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteranIssues/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    VeteranIssues-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[rpm]

Let me get this straight. It's the Bush administration and republicans that are pushing this, but you are blaming it on Hillary Clinton? In those out of context quotes she says nothing about cutting Vet's benefits. But, I guess you could make believe she is out to get you. I suppose the republicans that are trying to take them away are just there to help you.

[wrag]

Originally posted by Airhead
Yes, it IS a free healthcare system, for many that simply don't deserve it. They even run a free shuttle bus for the three hour trip to Fort Miley in Ess Eff, and the two "100% service connected disabled" who have a combined length in service of less than six months I've previously mentioned are on this bus quite often- in addition to many other dirtbags who have used the VA as a free healthcare system.

Hmmm BTW 100% is considerably more then $660.00.  

Many?  Many that don't deserve it?????

WHO, SIR, ARE YOU TO MAKE THAT JUDGEMENT??????????????

Have you served?  Have you been in combat?

Your point is abuse?  Abuse of the system?  State Welfare abuse is far worse, and in a far greater numbers.  Shall we add in the cost of treating all the illegals?  Have THEY even tried to serve this country or it's people?????

Airhead ....... do you have a soul?

I ask because I've noticed several of your post on the BBS.  Begining to think your handle fits you.  SOOOOO in keeping with a promise made to me long ago, God Bless YOU, be with you and keep you well.

I say this because, to me, your post frequently seem higly judgemental of others in what seems to be a critical manner.

Further when I look upon your post I find myself thinking that perhaps this person has NOT walked a mile in the shoes of those he has so readily passed judgement upon.

Have you ever been to a V.A. hospital?  Sat there all day to see someone in order to see someone, etc. etc. etc. ?????

Have you ever had to jump through all the V.A. hoops just to see a Doctor?

You must see someone to make an appointment to see someone, often over 30 days later, that will decide if you will get to see a Doctor.  Which is also often over 30 days later.

Have you been through the process that is required to become even partially disabled?

I am only 10% disabled.  Agent Orange related.  Took over 2 years, almost 3, just for that.

Almost spent 2 christmas's in the VA hospital.  Had to go through, cat scans, MRI's, physicals, and finally surgery.  Lived with (at least to me) allot of pain for much of that time and after.

Now it's mostly just a continual moderate pain on my left side.  Got muscles on my left side that never seem to relax.  Reaction to the pain I guess. You can actually see the difference when comparing with my right side.  They just hurt.  All the time, some times worse, sometimes not too bad.  Depends on what I do that day or what I did over the last 3 or 4 days.

No prolonged standing, No heavy lifting, No prolonged sitting, and I may not drive for a living.