Comments on: JIM TOWEY: "VA WANTS WOUNDED WARRIORS TO COMMIT SUICIDE"

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:09:41 +0000

All those guys who came home from World War II had unions, and started a huge wave of strikes across the country and got their benefits that way which led to the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, that put limitations on what unions could do.

By: SGT MASON, ALISHIA S

SGT MASON, ALISHIA S — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:57:34 +0000

THANK YOU BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW IT IS TRUE

By: SGT MASON, ALISHIA S

SGT MASON, ALISHIA S — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:55:47 +0000

AS FUNNY AS THIS WAS…. YET NOT EVERYONE GETS SPOILED LIKE SOME..

MY FRIENDS GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED FROM THE VA FROM VITAMINS TO TOOTH PASTE TO PHONES; I HAVE ASKED ALL I GET IS B.S.

PLEASE BE MORE UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE YOU MUST EITHER BE ON REALLY GOOD MEDS OR DRUNK-

HELLO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE RIDICULOUS SUICIDES IN THE MILITARY & VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TOUCHY SUBJECT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE COMING HOME BUT YET THEY ARE STILL AT WAR, AND TO TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES…

JOKING IS NOT COOL BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS DIFFICULT AND YOU PROBABLY DON’T USE IT OR ARE THE ONES GETTING SPOILED….

By: SGT MASON, ALISHIA S

SGT MASON, ALISHIA S — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:51:08 +0000

COME HOME TO ME! WE NEED TO HAVE EACH OTHERS BACKS IN THIS TIME AND AGE BEFORE THEY JUST ORDER SNIPERS TO TAKE US OUT FOR WHAT 25 CENTS? THOSE YOUNG 18 YEAR OLD TRIGGER HAPPY RECRUITS WOULD LOVE TO~WITHOUT A CLUE

By: SGT MASON, ALISHIA S

SGT MASON, ALISHIA S — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:48:32 +0000

I AM SO SORRY WHAT THE PUBLIC DID TO YOU NAM VETS! DID THE GOVT. FOLLOW YOU TOO? WHY DO I LET IT GET TO ME?!

AT LEAST THEY KINDA ADMITTED TO “AGENT ORANGE” THE VA LOOKED ME IN MY EYES AND TOLD ME “DEPLETED URANIUM” IS GOOD FOR YOU AND THEY LOVE IT!!!

DEPLETED URANIUM IS A RADIOACTIVE PARTICLE THAT IS B.S.

PLEASE EAT SEAWEED ALL DAY EVERY DAY EVERYONE; I TRULY BELIEVE IT PULLS OUT THE CHEMICAL POISONING/CANCER/TOXINS…

By: SGT MASON, ALISHIA S

SGT MASON, ALISHIA S — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:41:07 +0000

OH YES!!! THE VA BAKER ACTED ME ON A VA 52 ON LABOR DAY?!!

I BELIEVE I CURSED OUT THE WRONG NURSE!

I AM A SICK SICK B#TCH (WHATEVER) FROM COMBAT IN IRAQ ALL THE WAY FROM 2004-2005 WITH THE 66TH TRANSPORTATION COMPANY; I DEVELOPED THE POST B.S.

IF YOU ARE TOO PLEASE WRITE OR CALL ME! ALYCE_D4LIFE@YAHOO.COM

813-313-7206

I FEEL LIKE I AM BEING WATCHED, TARGETED AND MESSED WITH HEAVILY BY THE VA/GOVT./AND ETC. THIS MONTH MY DISABILITY CHECK DID NOT COME!

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ANY TIME BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE A COMBAT VETERAN WITH ISSUES LIKE “PTSD”/CHEMICAL POISONING/DU/ETC” THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STAYING STRONG AND AT LEAST KEEPING FAITH!

By: Dan Botsford

Dan Botsford — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:05:50 +0000

Just because someone calls themselves a democrat or republican, liberal or conservative doesn’t make it so. “Judge a person by their actions not words.” by that criteria Rupert hardly qualifies as a Human being much less a democrat, assuming you are implying democrats are in favor of human rights, healthcare, labor unions, ect….

I don’t know why you wrote “a brief three years” but that disqualifies a lot of draftees from the Vietnam era, not to mention the fact you are using the VA yourself. What gives you the right to the VA care you would deny so many others? Why aren’t you out there starting a business so you can buy your own insurance? What qualifies you to judge the service of others?

By: P. Termini

P. Termini — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:38:32 +0000

Are these guys related to Hitler? This reminds me of genocide. Let’s think about this! Any disabled Veteran should be pressured to commit suicide because they are taking money from the government. Let’s take this two steps further. There are thousands of disabled men, women, and CHILDREN that are disabled in the U.S. and are getting a disability check from Social Security. We should also persuade them to commit suicide so they’re not a burden on the Social Security budget. Let’s not forget the horrible economy and the men and women that have lost their jobs which leaves them and their families getting welfare so their families can survive. Maybe there should be a cap of a year they can collect. If they can’t provide for their families by then, then maybe we should persuade the family to commit suicide as to not burden the governments budget. If either of these men were put in that position would they walk the walk and not talk the talk and persuade their families it’s time to end our lives. If their child at the age of 18 was to enter the service and acquired a disability would they have the strength and courage to hold them while they watched them die? I am a Catholic and they are not living their faith. They can state they are Catholic but in reality are not or they would be helping these wonderful human being who have so selfishly served our country. God put us on this earth for a purpose and HE alone will take us home to HIM.

By: John Feeney

John Feeney — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:42:59 +0000

If these two guys condone suicide, they lied when they claimed to be Catholics.

By: MDeluna

MDeluna — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:21:30 +0000

I am a disabled veteran and some of these articles really make a person think. I guess that’s what they are for. When I read some of the articles, I see alot opinions. Why aren’t your articles referenced? I’m not sure if I believe everything I read here. I would like to use some of Gordon’s writtings for my college classes but can’t do it without proof.

By: Tom Barnes

Tom Barnes — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:50:15 +0000

Send me your phone number and your exact address with a zip code. I will get you help.

Tom1052@verizon.net

By: Mike Bailey

Mike Bailey — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:39:08 +0000

it took 3 purple hearts to get a “get out of Nam free card” remember the big stink they made about John Kerry and his 3 purple hearts? since you can prove you were in nam and you can’t get your physical injuroes SC, what about your mental issues? PTSD is a valid claim and you say the shrinks are filling you with pills, at a minimum you should be getting a pension unless you get SSD and if not and get SSI the VA should still pay you the difference between SSI and the Pension to bring you up to the minimum. threatening to harm your wife is not cool you do NEED help

By: Willie James Davis

Willie James Davis — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:51:04 +0000

VA has determined that I am permanently and totally disabled but without a percentage. I have been applying since 1988 and received my last denial of benefits September 4. I have had two hip replacements and one revision; three back fusions; rotator cup surgery; surgery on a pinched nurve in my neck…. Why is it so difficult for VA to recognize my situation. My condition was caused from injuries received during active duty. I can remember places but not names and faces and so I am in a “Catch 22″ situation. My records were lost–or so I was told, then someone stole the information–that was publicized. I turned down a purple heart because I was told if I accepted it I would be sent home. Is there no record of the offer? I went to the hospital twice in Nam. What does a veteran have to do to get the benefits they deserve? The psychiatrist is pumping me with pill, but each day, I feel like I am falling deeper and deeper into a mental funk. HELP! I don’t want to kill my wife!

By: pmacdonald

pmacdonald — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:15:24 +0000

Veterans Today Brings Hope. 9-08-09
Peter Macdonald 465 Packers falls Rd Lee NH 03824 603-659-6217
(Veterans Today) web site published a letter that I wrote 9-6-09 that I had no idea that these were my words at the time writing it. I have spent the last couple of days in a different world. I just finished reading G. Duff’s (Veterans Today staff writer) article about suicide and the responses. I was surprised to see that I had written a response from the mind of a disabled veteran that the VA is attempting to force into suicide. Society is unwilling or incapable of grasping the difficult path even today, which a returning veteran must face and endure. Granted I am not your typical 100% disabled Veteran. I was injured many times during my tour. During four separate times (three combat related) these injuries became permanent life changing disabilities. For over thirty years believing that my returning to where no one should go was normal became a part of me. The VA hospital or medical was a dreaded place back then, to go. Long lines and care from foreigners that did not speak English just did not make since. A policy that gave immunity for wrongs inflicted on the veteran by those burdened with caring for us allowed experimenting with our lives protocol. The long lines have become a part of the past because of the wasted money on impressive new building to spread the lines out. Now most if not all the doctors at least speak broken English. The newspapers now manipulate the facts instead of just ignoring them to protect the politician. The perfect example is NH’s US Rep Shea-Porter. The news makes her out to be the Veterans answer but fails to tell the other side of her brutal destruction of veterans that can or will not help her public image. The newspapers censoring my opinion on government wrongs makes the Veterans Today Web a hope that just might enlighten the public that Veterans are people also.
I read a great article in the Dover NH paper today about (Seacoast group to expand suicide prevention efforts). At no time does the prevention include the Veteran. Medical conditions of our returning military may not appear for years after discharge. The VA through miles of paper work and extensions can destroy the balance left in our minds before costing their budgets. We lose our wife’s, family, friends and dreams that built the desire to come back. We become isolated or homeless that society rationalizes as the once child that had potential, turned out to be just a loser. The VA silently prays for suicide before the public can understand that we are people also. Killing in a civilized society is wrong so for this society to grasp how routinely we learned to do it is taboo. We look for a way to step to that next adventure to escape the brutality of this one. It is just like being there and becoming complacent with the fact in seconds you will leave the hell of this benjo ditch and be in the next world. It is like the veteran is praised for the political image of people like Shea-Porter then swept under the rug hoping suicide will allow the budget to promote their pet projects instead. Opinions like this one must be censored to protect society and suicide prevention from helping those that gave so much from costing them more than they are willing to spend. If a site like Veterans Today can publish my letters the liability question holds no truths. Maybe the returning veterans of today will some day be allowed to hold their head up in a society that so far has been unwilling to understand whom we are.
Peter Macdonald Sgt USMC Semper Fi

By: Mike Bailey

Mike Bailey — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:11:12 +0000

Bottom Line this is about MONEY Towey has written his own end to life guide and has been trying to force the VA to purchase a 1/2 million copies of it since 2001, it is simple greed………

By: Tom Keller

Tom Keller — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:16:49 +0000

Good work, Gordon.

By: SMaj Grotto

SMaj Grotto — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:04:24 +0000

Some of the info here raised or brought up a situation a good friend of mine ran into about 8 years ago. He was Oscar Johnson, Medal of Honor reciepent who came back from WWII and served 30 years in the National Guard and retired as a WO4. He never used the VA Hospital. Three weeks before he passed on, he was ill but had the strength to go to the VA Hospital. He filled out the necessary paper work, never gave him any additional info and the gal told him he was over income and couldn’t get in!!!! He got up quietly and went to a civilian hospital and checked in. This was in my opinion, the height of being insulted. He told me not to worry about it. He died some weeks later. This is not a new issue, a guy in my unit received two Silver Stars and was over income. This kind of treatment puts the VA in a bad light. What else is killing the VA is NON SERVICE connected disability pension. I a guy who served ONE day in a period of war and twenty years later falls off a bar stool in….where ever, he can be eligible for a $1,000 per months pension. What makes this sad is some poor vet trying to get 10% for ten years can’t. Oh yeah, they named the VAMC in Iron Mountain MI after Oscar.

By: Tom Barnes

Tom Barnes — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:20:19 +0000

Annie, to answer your question, I am not sure exactly what we do! However, be aware that no one really understands a disabled veteran and his/her world unless it is another disabled veteran. It is the same thing as asking someone who does not have MS or a brain injury or pancreatic cancer to try and put themselves in the other guys shoes. Largely, that is impossible. It is not their experience. It is our experience.

I guess the logical thing to say is that we organize as best we can and do what we can as often as we can to make sure we get adequate government compensation for disabled veterans. We do not have that yet. There has never been an effort to compensate disabled veterans for what the attorney's call "quality of life" in pension disbursement.

We have to make the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees aware of the fact that disabled veterans, in line with modern thinking about disability compensation, start to recieve an amount of money each month which is in line with standard "quality of life" guidelines for similar disability cases in the American workplace.

Please understand, I am not in any way an expert on pension plans or anything that has to do with the legalities of this stuff. However, I have been led to believe from fairly significant research on this issue for the novel I just finished writing about disabled veterans that presently in the Summer of 2009 the experts hired by the D.A.V. to argue the case for quality of life compensation for disabled veterans in front of Congress believe that present pension amounts are 25% to 50% below where they need to be to meet civilian standards.

In other words, according to those attorneys hired by DAV to research and argue the case in front of Senator Akaka three weeks ago, disabled veterans should be receiving 25% to 50% more money in their disability pensions than they are presently receiving this summer of 2009.

That is the best information that I have available at this time. I suppose we should all take this seriously enough to mount an email campaign to Congress.

I have taken the liberty of writing an email. Here it is:

I am asking you to introduce legislation for immediate passage in Congress to increase disabled veterans compensation for totally disabled veterans 25% over present amounts. This would be in order to compensate for quality of life negation by the severity of their service connected disabilities. This would be for both schedule rated 100% totally disabled and individually unemployable totally disabled veterans and should be enacted immediately so as to take effect in 2010.

The 2008 General Convention of the Disabled American Veterans passed a resolution concerning this problem of quality of life inequity for totally disabled veterans. Page 14 of the resolutions passed at that convention reads as follows:

RESOLUTION NO. 058INCREASE DISABILITY COMPENSATION

WHEREAS, it is the historical policy of the Disabled American Veterans that this

Nation’s first duty to veterans is to provide for the rehabilitation of its wartime disabled;

and

WHEREAS, the percentage ratings for service-connected disabilities represent, as

far as can be practicably determined, the average impairment in earning capacity

resulting from such disabilities in civil occupations; and

WHEREAS, compensation increases should be based primarily on the loss of

earning capacity; and

WHEREAS, disabled veterans who are unable to work because of service

connected disabilities should be entitled to compensation payments commensurate with

the after-tax earning of their able-bodied contemporaries; NOW

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Disabled American Veterans in

National Convention assembled in Las Vegas, Nevada, August 9-12, 2008, supports the

enactment of legislation to provide a realistic increase in Department of Veterans Affairs

compensation rates to bring the standard of living of disabled veterans in line with that

which they would have enjoyed had they not suffered their service-connected disabilities.

ALTERNATE REQUEST FOR TAX EXEMPTION LEGISLATION

If the request outlined above cannot be met due to excessive cost, I am asking you that in place of this legislation, other legislation be enacted. The alternate course of action is to allow totally disabled veterans both schedule rated 100% and Individually Unemployable Totally Disabled veterans to be exempt from taxes.

All veterans gauge the government’s degree of responsibility toward veterans by how the government treats totally disabled veterans. That treatment is the measuring stick of effectiveness for all veterans.

The recent wars in Southwest Asia coupled with the American overseas military adventures of the last fifty years have brought us volunteer armed forces manned almost entirely with the sons and daughters of the working class or the lowest of the middle class. It is now clear that they have been introduced to Service realities and the danger of action for the almost exclusive benefit of America’s elites and their business interests.

Injuring these young people for the financial gain of relatively few wealthy Americans with portfolios linked to the war industries is unethical. But largely ignoring their needs once they have been injured and are unable to care for themselves is flirting with civil war. You must take this warning seriously.

When among themselves and believing that they cannot be overheard, veterans often talk of organized violence due to this betrayal. We are talking about almost 23 million people with military training. This is an extremely dangerous situation that must be handled immediately. The danger here is very real.

The disability system is broken. We all know that. Veterans are watching very closely as to how the government will rectify the longstanding abuse and neglect of disabled veterans. Properly taking care of the totally disabled veterans is the key to defusing this situation. It will be a bellwether measure for action by veterans. Totally disabled veterans are in a situation that approaches a nightmare reality few of us can appreciate. Please take care of them now, in this legislative year, for all of our sakes.

I do not need to be contacted however, if you wish to reply to this message, please contact me at my email address noted above. Please act immediately on legislation that enhances quality of life for totally disabled veterans.

Tom

By: Bill Moore

Bill Moore — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:48:01 +0000

I recognize the strong feelings and responses this topic can bring forth. Strong feelings often lead to strong words. People also can be easily manipulated by those who know what ‘hot buttons’ to push – as in… “Every doctor, every nurse, every administrator working for Veterans Affairs is now being painted as a heartless bureaucrat devoid of professional ethics and their sworn responsibilty that is at the heart of their profession.”

I don’t think your overall characterization and his views are fair. Your “Towey is a reprehensible political charlatan …extremist Catholic…” comment lowers considerably what you bring to this debate; from a thoughtful participant and contributor to simply a smoke machine operated by a ‘staff writer’.

By: Debbie V.

Debbie V. — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:19:27 +0000

Dear Peter,

I hear you. I can only understand so much, but I accept that you served without question and with honor. Most people here in America are too protected and not strong enough to hear the mind of one of their own warriors – who will always carry somewhere within – the images and memories of war seared into their soul. Memories that others cannot even begin to imagine. These people believe they are not strong enough and worse… it’s easier to not know and therefore be free of the burden of knowledge… because that then would require reponsibility. I believe your statement is more of a reflection of the general public… and it is sad. Not many can bear the weight. Not many want to. Stay strong, Peter. Veterans like you Peter need a way to unite to have their voices carried to the people and wake them from their slumber and expose the prepertrators who use war for their own gain while using our land’s most precious resource, our children. Thank you Peter for saying how it is. I pray that there will soon be a powerful, peaceful and effective way to reach the people with your message and those that served.