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• Toledo, Ohio Veterans Affairs expansion planned for Toledo
• Tuscaloosa, Alabama Housing to aid area homeless veterans
• Atlantic Maryland U.S. veteran fights for a more peaceful future
• Knoxville, Tennessee Extra names could fill veterans memorial
• Seattle, Washington Man who stole veteran’s identity is sentenced
• Tampa, Florida Hope for Lejeune vets after VA agrees to pay benefits for one
• Redwood City, California Search for Stable Housing Dominates Vets Resource Fair
• Greenwood,South Carolina DAV seeks names of deceased vets for Memorial Day honor

SEAN HANNITY’S FREEDOM CONCERT SCAM:  ALMOST NONE OF CHARITY’S $ WENT TO INJURED TROOPS, KIDS OF FALLEN TROOPS; G5S FOR VANNITY?

By Debbie Schlussel

****03/19/10:  SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE: My Response to Freedom Alliance’s/Oliver North’s Weak “Non-Response” & New Lies  ****

For the last several years, Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance “charity” have conducted “Freedom Concerts” across America. They’ve told you that they are raising money to pay for the college tuition of the children of fallen soldiers and to pay severely wounded war vets.  And on Friday Night, Hannity will be honored with an award for this “Outstanding Community Service by a Radio Talk Show Host” at Talkers Magazine’s  convention.

But it’s all a huge scam.

In fact, less than 20%–and in two recent years, less than 7% and 4%, respectively–of the money raised by Freedom Alliance went to these causes, while millions of dollars went to expenses, including consultants and apparently to ferry the Hannity posse of family and friends in high style. And, despite Hannity’s statements to the contrary on his nationally syndicated radio show, few of the children of fallen soldiers got more than $1,000-$2,000, with apparently none getting more than $6,000, while Freedom Alliance appears to have spent tens of thousands of dollars for private planes.  Moreover, despite written assurances to donors that all money raised would go directly to scholarships for kids of the fallen heroes and not to expenses, has begun charging expenses of nearly $500,000 to give out just over $800,000 in scholarships.

In February 2009, a well-known conservative writer sent me this, about a friend at FOX News:

The guy went on to tell me about Hannity’s “Freedom Concerts,” which are staged across the country with the proceeds going to children of slain soldiers. Of course, as the guy tells it, there’d be a lot more money every concert to go to the cause if Hannity didn’t demand–and get–use of a Gulfstream 5 plane to fly him and his family/entourage to the concerts; a “fleet” (that’s the word the guy used) of either Cadillac or Lincoln SUVs for him and his family/entourage; and several suites at really expensive hotels for him and his family/entourage. The promoter apparently values Hannity’s star demands at well over $200,000 per event. The source says he heard that Oliver North pulled Hannity aside at one of the concerts and told him that this had to stop. But that may mean that, from now on, Hannity has to fly on a G4 instead of a G5, gets only a few luxury SUVs, and two or three suites.

North is the founder and honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance.

I began investigating these claims, and lo and behold, I discovered that Freedom Alliance gives very little money to the children of slain troops to pay for college and even less to wounded troops.  The stories of injuries to troops and how much Freedom Alliance gives them–$200 for a soldier from a poor neighborhood who lost three limbs–is heartbreaking.  Soldiers with traumatic brain injuries, severe wounds to the face from disfiguring burns and explosions, and multiple amputations got $1,000 or less, with only a handful of exceptions.

The tax forms available to the public for the Freedom Alliance–for the years 2006-2008–paint a tragic story, a story of a charity that makes gazillions and spends very little for the purposes it claims, a charity that spends millions more on its small staff and crony consultants than it ever gives in scholarships to the children of the fallen or severely injured troops or in aid to the injured troops themselves.  While Hannity’s Freedom Concerts take in millions, only a few hundred thousand go to the claimed intended recipients.

Over a year ago, when I began looking into this story, I contacted both Sean Hannity and the Freedom Alliance seeking comment and an accounting for where the money went.  Both declined to answer any of my questions.  Hannity refused to respond to an inquiry I sent to his personal private e-mail address asking him about the lavish expenses described in the e-mail above.

Freedom Alliance press secretary Alan Moore scheduled an interview for me with Freedom Alliance president Thomas Kilgannon, who in the past used Freedom Alliance resources to promote a book he wrote on the United Nations.  But when Moore asked me what the interview would be about and I answered truthfully, the interview was not granted, and my calls to him were never returned thereafter.  I told him I’d be asking Mr. Kilgannon about the expenses paid for Hannity and about the paltry percentage of Freedom Alliance funds actually going to the kids of fallen troops, to severely injured troops, and to anything other than expenses, consultants, and printing.  I wanted to know why Freedom Alliance had spent $60,000 for “aviation services” in 2006.

Keep in mind that a charity is considered reputable if no more than 25% of its revenue goes to expenses and no less than 75% of it goes to the intended charity recipients.  Given that, Freedom Alliance’s balance sheets are embarrassing in their shamelessness.

According to its 2006 tax returns, Freedom Alliance reported revenue of $10, 822, 785, but only $397,900–or a beyond-measly 3.68%–of that was given to the children of fallen troops as scholarships or as aid to severely injured soldiers.

On the other hand, 62% of the money went to “expenses,” including $979,485 for “consultants” and an “advisor.” Yes, consultant/advisors got more than double what injured troops and the kids of fallen troops got. The tax forms show that “New World Aviation” got paid $60,601 for “air travel.” Was that for Hannity’s G5? Like I said, neither the charity nor Hannity is talking. And finally, that year, Freedom Alliance spent $1,730,816 on postage and shipping and $1,414,215 on printing, for a total of $3,145,031, nearly half the revenue the charity spent that year and about eight times what the injured troops and the children of fallen ones received.

That’s especially heartbreaking when you compare the hundreds of thousands consultants got and the millions spent on printing and postage to the outrageously small amounts given to wounded soldiers. In 2006, Freedom Alliance gave only $1,000 to a soldier from Bay City, Michigan, whom the charity says was in the following condition:

Face was blown up and lost sight in one eye.

And that $1,000 was relatively generous, when you consider this soldier from Romulus, Michigan, whom Freedom Alliance only gave $200:

SM [serviceman] was involved in roadside bomb incident in Iraq, which caused loss of both legs and left arm.

Romulus is a mostly Black Detroit suburb, which is one of the poorest cities in Michigan and in America. Freedom Alliance gave this brave soldier roughly $67 per limb. That’s sickening.

So is the fact that this soldier, from Alexandria, Virginia, also only got $200 from Freedom Alliance:

SM was wounded in Iraq by an IED explosion.  Lost right arm and severe shrapnel wounds to upper body and face.

Also appalling is the fact that in each year’s tax returns soldiers described as having brain trauma injuries, multiple amputated limbs, and severe burns over most of their bodies get a few hundred bucks each from Freedom Alliance and in almost every case, no more than $1,000.

That year, while fat-cat consultants and expenses took millions of Freedom Alliance’s money, seriously wounded troops to whom Freedom Alliance donated received a pathetic average of $785 each and the college student kids of the fallen got a paltry average of $2,943 toward tuition. Yes, out of millions raised that year by Sean Hannity at his Freedom Concerts, only $309,000 was given out in scholarships to 105 students, and only $110,703.82 was given to the wounded soldiers.

Freedom Alliance’s 2007 tax returns aren’t much better. Out of $12,459,317 it raised that year, only $895,347–or just 7%–went to seriously wounded troops and scholarships for fallen troops. 53% went to expenses, including $1,464,627 in postage and $1,151,428 in printing. $604,995 went to “professional fees” and “consultants.” Out of millions paid for Freedom Concert tickets and raised in fundraisers by Hannity listeners, only $596,500 went to college scholarships for soldiers who died in battle, and only $299,897 went to horribly injured troops. 208 student children of the fallen got an average of $2,868 apiece for tuition, though many got only $1,000 or less. 382 soldiers with serious injuries got an average of $785 each.

And, again, that year, the amounts given to soldiers with such grave injuries is despicably tiny. This soldier, from Killeen, Texas, got only $500 from Freedom Alliance:

SM was wounded in Iraq on June 18, 2007 in Digula Province, Baquba, Iraq. An IED exploded on the truck, he took shrapnel to the face, which cut off a piece of his nose. Also had shrapnel in throat and cheeks, which cut open his face and the inside of his throat.

This soldier, from Brady, Texas, also received just $500 from Freedom Alliance:

While serving in Baghdad Iraq, SM was hit with an IED blast. Sustained disfigurement, blindness, and superficial burns on face, hearing loss to right ear, TBI, peppered shrapnel to the face and right upper extremity.

And then, there are the 2008 Freedom Alliance tax forms, which were signed in November 2009 and filed only recently.  That year, Freedom Alliance took in $8,781,431 in revenue and gave $1,060,275.57 total–or just 12%–to seriously wounded soldiers and for scholarships to kids of the fallen.  Remember, this is well below the 75% required to be considered a legitimate charity.  And after claiming in written letters to donors that 100% of the money donated, via the Freedom Concerts or otherwise, to the scholarships would go directly to the scholarships and not to expenses, the Freedom Alliance decided to do the contrary and charge expenses anyway–charging a whopping $436,386 to give out $802,250 in scholarships.  That means that 35% of the $1,238,636–all of which was supposed to go to scholarships for these kids of the fallen–went to Freedom Alliance.

Freedom Alliance spent $5,375,654–or 61% of its total revenue earned in 2008–on expenses, but actually 80% of the total revenue spent and given out for that year.  That includes $1,055,791 spent on postage and $925,392 on printing.  It spent $157,041 on travel.  Is this the item that includes the money for the alleged Sean Hannity Gulfstream flights?  Like I said, neither the charity nor Hannity will answer questions.

Meanwhile, 167 students got an average of just $4,803.89 each in tuition.  With the amount this charity raises, these kids should all be getting a free ride paid for by Freedom Alliance.

And 299 very seriously injured soldiers got an average of just $805.21 each for very grave injuries.  And the heartbreak of their stories and the disgustingly low amount donated to them continues.  This soldier, from Laurel, MD, got just $1,000:

SM lost both legs and one arm, below elbow, due to IED blast.  SM also lost hearing in both ears on April 21, 2008.

Wow, while Sean Hannity and his friends at Freedom Alliance are paying their crony consultants hundreds of thousands of dollars, they’re giving this soldier $200 per limb lost or rendered useless.

This soldier, from Fort Sam Houston, Texas (where my own father was first sent when he was drafted during Vietnam), fared even worse in Freedom Alliance’s “generosity,” receiving only $165:

SM is a bilateral amputee with 30% facial burns sustained during IED blast, 31 May 2008, OEF.

Just $165 for that?  Pathetic.  And so very tragic.

Since Sean Hannity is always bragging about his phony “investigations” (stuff he just rips off from others) and “investigative” skills, you’d think he could figure out how to read a tax return and bother to look at Freedom Alliance’s.  But you would be wrong.  He has neither the skills nor the desire.  He knows better and is well aware that they waste money on him and his luxe accommodations and travel.  But this isn’t about that or truly about helping the troops and the kids of our war dead.  It’s about promoting himself, the same way Angelina Jolie and Madonna get the press to film them in Africa.

To make matters worse, Hannity deliberately lied to his radio audience about how much money was going to the kids of the fallen American soldiers.  On May 28th of last year, Hannity told his listeners, “Our new sponsor, Boca Java, just pledged $30,000 to the Freedom Concerts.  That will provide a full one-year college scholarship for a kid of a fallen soldier.”  In fact, Freedom Alliance’s tax forms indicate it has never given any student more than $6,000 in a school year, and usually it’s been far less.  Many students only get $1,000, which will barely cover anything at most colleges, today.  A Boca Java spokeswoman told me that last year was the coffee purveyor’s last one sponsoring the Freedom Concerts, as it now donates directly to the troops, sending them free coffee and through sales of its Brew of Bravery.

A friend of mine was one of the artists who performed in Hannity’s Freedom Concerts and was shocked when I showed him the tax forms and the expenses.  He no longer performs at the concerts because he was tired of the egomania.  Now, he’s just angry.  “We paid our own way and for all of our costs and expenses to perform because we thought we were helping the troops and their families and that all the money was going to them.”

In investigating Freedom Alliance and its tax forms, I learned that the organizations which evaluate charities are entirely worthless.  Freedom Alliance is certified as “Best in America” by the “Independent Charities of America.”  It is also rated a “Four Star Charity” by “Charity Navigator.”  Both of these “ratings” are posted prominently on Freedom Alliance’s website, misleading donors into believing they are donating to a worthy cause, when in fact they are mostly donating to a black hole of expenses.  Even Charity Navigator notes in its strange, illogical, and mostly inaccurate Four Star rating that Freedom Alliance has a fund-raising “efficiency” of only nine cents on the dollar.  And, in fact, Charity Navigator’s ridiculous rating formula robotically crunches numbers in a way that considers the money spent mostly on consultants, postage, and printing as having gone to the wounded soldiers and kids of fallen soldiers, when in fact that’s not where it went at all.  It simply can’t be taken seriously.

And I’m not the only one who noticed.  The comments on Charity Navigator’s Freedom Alliance page are indicative that those who checked this charity’s tax forms also note the scam.

“Wonkling” wrote:

If you look at the actual 990, it breaks down its program expenses. They actually spent more money this past year on postage than they did over the past 4 years on scholarships. They paid 60k to an air company, millions to consultants, marketing, fundraising. Their actual expenditures on funds for children of killed/disabled veterans is far less than what they paid themselves or their consultants. Having a large capacity (4 stars) should not overshadow a cumbersome efficiency rating (2 stars).

“Chickenbone” wrote:

Since 2003 Freedom Alliance has collected in cash $48,241,571! Since 2003 they have spent on the Wounded and Dead Veterans and their Families $1,781,782 or .036 cents on the dollar, according to their own IRS 990’s!

Yes, Sean Hannity’s Freedom Concerts are just a giant con.  His gushing lumpenconservatariat fans and listeners actually believe he’s doing good, while he travels in style around the country feeding his ego.  It’s a win-win for him.  But it’s a lose-lose for the donors (who are mostly hard-working, Middle Americans who want to help our troops and their families and bought concert tickets and held other fundraisers) and mostly a loser for the kids of the fallen troops and the troops, themselves, who survived with very serious injuries.

You’ve heard the saying, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”  I love patriotism, but in this case, Sean Hannity’s “Freedom Concerts” and the Freedom Alliance are Exhibit A of that saying.  But they’re not really patriots.  Not even close.  Their only patriotism is to the faces they see in their mirrors.  Hey, Sean, you’re a “Great American.”

Sadly, the real great Americans–the ones who gave their lives and the ones who survived but gave their limbs and their skin for this country–are getting ripped off.

****  UPDATE, 03/18/10:  Just as I expected, the liars and frauds at Freedom Alliance want to keep the gravy train going for them and their cronies.  So they’ve issued a “response,” which doesn’t refute a single fact in here and frankly provides no hard evidence of anything . . . because they don’t have any. One of the “prominent bloggers” who posted the phony response is Erick Erickson, a guy who supports Rand Paul and the other 9/11 Truther Paul, and who defended Emily, Zanotti, the lunatic who has been stalking me for four years and who praised Muslim death, rape, and torture threats against me and my family.  Yes, sadly, there are a growing number of anti-Semites on the right, and Erick Erickson is one of them.  And the anti-Semites are now the defenders of this rip off of our seriously wounded troops and the kids of our fallen heroes.

Here is my response to their extremely weak PR attempt at CYA:

In fact, the Freedom Alliance “response” doesn’t answer any of the questions I raised and goes on to lie more. They don’t address why they gave a triple amputee only $200—and in fact there are many of these examples provided in their tax return addendum, but I only cited a few for brevity’s sake. They also lie and claim that they gave a lot more money to charity b/c they categorize it as “program expenses.” But I’m sorry—calling $3 million in consulting fees, printing, and postage “program expenses” doesn’t change the fact that it still went to their cronies, not to a fund and not the soldiers who only got on average less than $900 apiece. It also doesn’t change the fact that out of the money spent (I didn’t use the money they claim they raised for their scholarship fund) the vast majority goes to those kinds of expenses.

Also, the “scholarship fund” is really a war chest for something else. We’ve been at war since 2001, when we went into Afghanistan, and we’re winding down in Iraq. Unless the kids were born in 2001 or thereafter, many of these kids are in college now and Freedom Alliance is giving them a pittance toward their college tuition, while they continue to build this massive war chest. With a giant multi-million dollar fund, why aren’t they giving the kids a free, complete ride to college? And how many kids of deceased troops will there be in the future? Enough to exhaust a multi-million dollar fund? Doubtful.

Moreover, because they hoarded millions of dollars, their returns show the fund shrunk by several million dollars with bad investments and market losses. That money could have put these kids through college for the entire time. What’s their excuse for the soldiers with no limbs and with severe burns? Are they waiting for two decades from now when technology is better? $165 for a soldier who is blind and his face blew up? No excuse for that. Their “response” is simply a non-response and an attempt to cover up the fraud. I will be posting more on this and on more fraud at Freedom Alliance, in the coming days. Stay tuned.
DS

VA Recognizes “Presumptive” Illnesses in Iraq, Afghanistan

Decision Simplifies Application for Disability Pay

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki today announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps to make it easier for Veterans to obtain disability compensation for certain diseases associated with service in the Persian Gulf War or Afghanistan.  This will be the beginning of historic change for how VA considers Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses.

Following recommendations made by VA’s Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task Force, VA is publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that will establish new presumptions of service connection for nine specific infectious diseases associated with military service in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War, or in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001.

“We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan Veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for answers to health questions, and seek benefits from VA,” said Secretary Shinseki.

The proposed rule includes information about the long-term health effects potentially associated with the nine diseases: Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever), malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, Visceral leishmaniasis and West Nile virus.

For non-presumptive conditions, a Veteran is required to provide medical evidence that can be used to establish an actual connection between military service in Southwest Asia or in Afghanistan, and a specific disease.

With the proposed rule, a Veteran will only have to show service in Southwest Asia or Afghanistan, and a current diagnosis of one of the nine diseases.  Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted over the next 60 days.  A final regulation will be published after consideration of all comments received.

The decision was made after reviewing the 2006 report of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), titled, “Gulf War and Health Volume 5: Infectious Diseases.”  The 2006 report differed from the four prior reports by looking at the long-term health effects of certain diseases determined to be pertinent to Gulf War Veterans.

The 1998 Persian Gulf War Veterans Act requires the Secretary to review NAS reports that study scientific information and possible associations between illnesses and exposure to toxic agents by Veterans who served in the Persian Gulf War.

Because the Persian Gulf War has not officially been declared ended, Veterans serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom are eligible for VA’s new presumptions.  Secretary Shinseki decided to include Afghanistan Veterans in these presumptions because NAS found that the nine diseases are prevalent in that country.

Noting that today’s proposed regulation reflects a significant determination of a positive association between service in the Persian Gulf War and certain diseases, Secretary Shinseki added, “By setting up scientifically-based presumptive service connection, we give these deserving Veterans a simple way to get the benefits they have earned in service to our country.”

Last year, VA received more than one million claims for disability compensation and pension.  VA provides compensation and pension benefits to over 3.8 million Veterans and beneficiaries.  Presently, the basic monthly rate of compensation ranges from $123 to $2,673 to Veterans without any dependents.

Disability compensation is a non-taxable, monthly monetary benefit paid to Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service.

For more information about health problems associated with military service during operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and related VA programs go to www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/ or go to www.va.gov for information about disability compensation.

#   #   #

VA Note: due to difficulties this morning, hyper links are not included in today’s clips.

Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA Attempting To Make It Easier For Iraq, Afghan Vets To Obtain Disability Benefits.
2. Chief Technology Officer: VA Needs New Disability Claims System.
3. Shinseki Participates In Forum On Fatherhood In The Military.
4. Officials In North Carolina Await Word On Vets Home Funding.
5. School Officials Say New GI Bill Program Is Running More Smoothly.
6. Iraq Vet, Doctor At Odds Over Medical Marijuana.
7. Roseburg VA Improves Care For Women Vets.
8. Group In Texas Trying To Help Personalize Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
9. “In Memory Day” To Honor Vietnam Vets.
10. NRC Fines VA Hospital For Making Prostate Cancer Treatment Errors.

Have You Heard
Watch out Starbucks! The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Stars & Stripes Café now has three branches. The Café is a Veteran-run enterprise serving gourmet coffees, teas, real fruit smoothies, Danishes and homemade biscotti. The business is overseen by staff from Vocational Services and the Community Support Program. Veterans initially start out as Incentive Therapy (IT) workers and then progress onto Compensated Work Therapy (CWT), with added responsibilities. Currently six CWT workers, one Chapter 31 (VBA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) Veteran, and three IT workers are employed in the three cafés. More than 20 Veterans have worked in this enterprise since it began, with a few moving on to competitive employment.

1.         VA Attempting To Make It Easier For Iraq, Afghan Vets To Obtain Disability Benefits. In a story published by at least 74 news sources, the AP (3/19, Hefling) reports, ―The Veterans Affairs Department took steps Thursday to make it easier‖ for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans ―to get disability benefits.‖ The agency ―has proposed a regulation change that lets veterans qualify for benefits by showing only that they served in the recent conflicts, or in the Gulf War, and have a diagnosis of any of nine diseases,‖ including malaria and West Nile Virus. The AP notes that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki ―made the decision‖ to propose changing the regulation ―after a recommendation by theagency‘s Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task Force.‖ In its ―National Briefing‖, the New York Times (3/19, A17, 1.09M) runs a shortened version of the AP story.

2.         Chief Technology Officer: VA Needs New Disability Claims System. The Navy Times (3/19, Maze, 54K) reports, ―Bailing wire and bandages can‘t save the veterans disability claims process, the Veterans Affairs Department‘s chief technology officer said Thursday at a roundtable discussion about ways to cut the growing backlog of claims and improve accuracy.‖ The comments from Peter Levin, who said ―we are going‖ to ―build a new‖ disability claims system, ―came at a meeting organized‖ by the House Veterans Affairs Committee ―to toss around ideas for repairing‖ the current system. The Times notes that a ―short-term solution proposed‖ by the Obama Administration ―is what VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has called the ‗brute force‘ option: hiring more people to process claims.‖ The Federal Times (3/19, 40K) publishes the same story.

3.         Shinseki Participates In Forum On Fatherhood In The Military. The Fayetteville (NC) Observer (3/19, Ramsey) notes that on Thursday, a ―forum sponsored by the White House‖ and the US Department of Veterans Affairs explored ―the challenges of fatherhood in the military.‖ After noting that the ―forum was held at the John D. Fuller Sr. Recreational /Athletic Complex,‖ the Observer adds, ―Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki spoke at Thursday‘s meeting and sat on a seven-person panel during the forum.‖

4.         Officials In North Carolina Await Word On Vets Home Funding. The Kinston (NC) Free Press (3/19, Anderson, 11K) reports state and local officials in North Carolina ―have their fingers crossed as they wait for word that the US Department of Veterans Affairs will release $12 million in federal funds to start construction on a veterans nursing home in Lenoir County.‖ North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue ―announced during a September 2009 visit to Kinston that the ‗conditional‘ grant had been approved — approval is contingent upon a review by the federal VA of all plans and other documents related to the home, a 100-bed facility.‖ The Free Press adds, ―The application must work its way through the federal VA bureaucracy up to the office of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki,‖ and if ―he approves, Shinseki will send a letter to the state veterans division.

5.         School Officials Say New GI Bill Program Is Running More Smoothly. The AP (3/19, Kallestad) reports, ―The new GI Bill program for veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq is running more smoothly in Florida after a shaky start, university and college officials assured a Senate panel Thursday. The redesigned ‗Post-9/11 GI Bill‘‖ got ―off to a wobbly beginning last fall when intended recipients often waited months for their checks and schools had to wait for tuition and fees payment from the federal government. ‗The system seems to have had some great growing pains and implementation pains, but it now seems to be moving much, much smoother,‘ said Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, who chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee.‖

6.         Iraq Vet, Doctor At Odds Over Medical Marijuana. Fox News‘ Fox And Friends (3/18, 7:53 a.m. ET) broadcast that ―20% of soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from‖ post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ―and some veterans say the only way they can cope is with medical marijuana.‖ The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, ―will not pay for this.‖ Fox News interviewed Iraq war veteran Paul Caulken, the founder of the New Mexico Medical Marijuana Patient‘s Group, who defended the use of medical marijuana, and Dr. Andrea Barthwell, the founder and chief executive officer of EMGlobal, a healthcare and drug policy consulting firm, who said ―there are two‖ Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for people with PTSD and ―we expect‖ the VA ―to support a standard of care‖ that medical marijuana ―just does not meet.

7.         Roseburg VA Improves Care For Women Vets. The Roseburg (OR) News-Review (3/19, Korengel, 18K) says Marcia Hall ―started her position‖ as women veterans program manager for the VA Roseburg Healthcare System on ―Dec. 1, 2008, in response to a mandate from Veterans Affairs headquarters in Washington, DC, that all VA facilities create a position such as hers.‖ That ―mandate was meant to prepare the VA system for a projected surge in women veterans 4 knocking on the VA‘s door for medical care.‖ The News-Review notes that while Hall and veteran Kimberly Jasper O‘Neal, a Roseburg resident, ―both say there is room for more improvements‖ in medical care for women in the local VA system, O‘Neal ―appreciates how the changes made so far, such as allowing her to see one doctor for all her medical needs, have improved her life.

8.         Group In Texas Trying To Help Personalize Vietnam Veterans Memorial. On its website, KRIS-TV Corpus Christi (3/18, Vats) reported, ―A local veteran‘s group is trying to help out on a national effort to recognize those killed during the Vietnam War in a way never done before.‖ The group, which includes Vietnam vet Ram Chavez, is ―working towards the national effort to add pictures to the thousands of faceless, engraved names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial‖ in Washington DC.

9.         “In Memory Day” To Honor Vietnam Vets. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (3/18, Crompton, 223K) reports the late Dennis Gump, ―is among 70 veterans who will be honored next month as part of ‗In Memory Day‘ at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial‖ in Washington, DC. The ―designated day honors Vietnam veterans who died as a result of their service in the Vietnam War but who do not meet‖ US Department of Defense ―guidelines to be listed on the memorial, which generally require death as a result of a combat injury. Veterans honored during In Memory Day may have died because of conditions related to post-traumatic stress disorder or illness caused by exposure to Agent Orange or similar herbicides used during the war.

10.       NRC Fines VA Hospital For Making Prostate Cancer Treatment Errors. In continuing coverage, FierceHealthcare (3/19, Bowman) reports, ―Nearly two years after medical errors at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center came to light, which involved 97 of 116 prostate cancer treatments being performed incorrectly,‖ the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ―announced its second biggest fine ever against a medical facility.‖ On Wednesday, the NRC ―proposed a $227,500 fine against the Department of Veterans Affairs, the parent of the Philadelphia hospital.‖ FierceHealthcare adds, ―Despite the fine, the VA insists that it has taken all the right steps in dealing with this situation, according to the New York Times.‖ The WHYY-FM Philadelphia, PA (3/18, English) website also took note of the NRC fine.

• Houston, Texas Center helps veterans transition
• Redwood City, California County offering vets services
• St. Augustine, Florida Veterans nursing home takes shape
• Salisbury, Maryland Veterans center proposed for Salisbury
• San Francisco, California San Francisco: a great place for veterans
• Indianapolis, Indiana Veteran gets benefits restored after WTHR report
• Kinston, North Carolina State, local officials await veterans home funding
• Richmond, Virginia VA to settle racial bias complaint against Richmond facility

Veteran gets benefits restored after WTHR report
Posted: Mar 18, 2010 3:40 PM MDT
Updated: Mar 18, 2010 3:52 PM MDT

Lt. Col. Steve Avery Sandra Chapman/13 Investigates

Indianapolis – A local Gulf War pilot is getting his just due as a result of a 13 Investigates report.

In November our investigation found the V.A. denying veterans their benefits, and their credit for war time service.

Now it appears the government is making amends and taking steps to stop vets from getting lost in the system.

Lt. Col. Steve Avery’s weak knees can barely support the weight of the find: hundreds of pages of medical records that the US Department of Veterans Affairs criss-crossed the country to dig up.

For two years they sat in government files as the former Gulf War pilot failed to convince the V.A. that he flew covert missions in and out of Kuwait, and suffered exposures to depleted uranium and insecticides.

Now, months after a 13 Investigates report prompted the V.A. to review Avery’s case and its own internal policies, there is good news for him and veterans to come.

“They’ve given me 100-percent disability, my wife and children have certain benefits,” Avery told 13 Investigates.

For starters, Avery’s compensation is increasing to more than four times the monthly amount he received in 2007. The smaller amount was based on a 60-percent disability rating. But now the government says the retired Lt. Colonel is no longer able to work.

“I’m not complaining or anything, but when you go over there and go on these missions, you’re not given credit for anything,” said Avery. “You need help and thanks to [Sandra Chapman] and Channel 13 and several other people here I really appreciate your helping us out,” he added.

The Defense Finance Center at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Lawrence and in Cleveland are among the agencies that helped. Payroll specialists used his earnings and check vouchers to confirm his Desert Storm flights.

In the government’s award letter, the V.A. says, “All reasonable doubt is resolved in [Avery's] favor …that [he] served on active duty while flying missions to Southwest Asia during the Gulf War.” But the agency denies a connection between his Desert Storm service and his bad health.

Initially the V.A. refused to even consider Gulf War benefits for him or his squadron.

The 707th out of Charleston, South Carolina, wasn’t officially activated, and there was no way for the V.A. to confirm Avery’s participation in covert missions. Old Air Force records were tossed out.

After 13 Investigates exposed the gap, Rep. Steve Buyer, Indiana’s ranking Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, called for a top level investigation, in a letter to V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki.

“This is drawn attention nationwide at the Air Force Reserve and the Pentagon,” said Avery, who has gotten the support of veterans across the country.

Within weeks, V.A. Centers all across the nation received new directives, alerting workers to new policies and a new operations unit at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The unit will help confirm war time duty for all veterans, whether they were officially activated or only used for temporary covert missions.

“At least the people in the future they’ll have it documented so if something happens, they won’t have to flounder around and wait and beg for 3 or 4 years to get their situation taken care of,” said Avery

The V.A. still denies Avery and his squadron were exposed to toxic chemicals. While many of his comrades are too sick to go to war with the V.A., Avery vows to make a stand, no matter how weak, his knees.

It could take as many as two years before Lt. Col Avery’s appeal regarding toxic exposures is resolved.

Officials from Veterans Affairs say according to the law, veterans must provide evidence they suffered exposure traveling to or from a war zone or in the line of duty.

Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA IG Says Hospitals Need To Give Disability Exams Sooner.
2. Duckworth Inducted Into US Army Women Foundation Hall Of Fame.
3. Louisiana VA Secretary Praises Veterans Service Officers.
4. Professor: Study Questions Ethical Objections To Organ Donation.
5. Vet Center Opens In California.
6. VA Rep To Speak At Conference On How To Help Returning Vets.
7. VA Hospital Fined $227,500 For Prostate Cancer Dosage Mistakes.
8. Report: Despite Improvement, VA Still Facing “Significant” Cybersecurity Obstacles.
9. White House, VA Holding Public Forum On Responsible Fatherhood And Healthy Families.
10. VA Rules Contaminated Water At Camp Lejeune Caused Veteran’s Cancer.

Have You Heard
Has a veteran ever asked you about a rumor that VA’s Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) or Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) won’t pay if a policy holder dies in a car accident and wasn’t wearing your seat belt? Or it won’t pay if the covered veteran was in a motorcycle accident and wasn’t wearing a helmet? That’s all they are, rumors… they are completely false! SGLI and VGLI coverage will pay insurance benefits to a covered veteran’s beneficiaries regardless of whether he or she was wearing a seat belt or a helmet. While wearing a seat belt and a helmet are important precautions to prevent serious injuries in car and motorcycle accidents, they will not affect payment of SGLI or VGLI benefits. Check it out for yourself and learn about other SGLI and VGLI rumors and myths here.

1.      VA IG Says Hospitals Need To Give Disability Exams Sooner. In a story published by at least 113 news sources, the AP (3/18) reports the Office of Inspector General, the “internal watchdog” for the Veterans Affairs Department, “says VA medical centers need to give compensation and pension medical exams to veterans sooner in order to expedite disability claims.” The AP notes that Sen. Daniel Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “says the VA needs to devote more resources to fixing the problem. The VA has told the inspector general it will do that.” KHQ-TV Spokane, WA (3/17, 11:06 p.m. PT) aired a similar report.
Akaka, Shinseki Agree On Importance Of Disability Claims Reform. The last story in the Washington Times (3/17, Fales, 77K) “Sgt. Shaft” column said that a recent hearing on the VA budget, Akaka and VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki “agreed that reforming the VA disability claims system must be a top priority.” The Times noted that in commenting on the matter, Akaka said, “It will take years and significant resources to fully train new VA claims staff on the complex existing procedures. We need to bring systemic change to the current process if VA is to provide veterans with the timeliness and accuracy they deserve.”
Grassley: More Money Not The Answer To Improving VA’s Record On Evaluating Claims. KLJB-TV Davenport, IA (3/17, 9:00 p.m. CT) broadcast, “The Federal government says between 50 and 70 percent of benefit claims to Veterans Affairs are being unjustly denied.” Congress “recently approved additional” VA funding, but in a letter he sent to Shinseki, Sen. Grassley (R-IA) “said it’s clear that devoting more taxpayer dollars is not the answer” to solving the problem of claims being wrongly denied. Grassley “hopes to have a response from the Department of Veterans Affairs by next Friday.”

2.      Duckworth Inducted Into US Army Women Foundation Hall Of Fame. The Honolulu Advertiser (3/18, 130K) reports, “Veteran Affairs Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth was inducted” Wednesday “into the US Army Women Foundation Hall of Fame at a ceremony” in Washington, DC. Duckworth, “a McKinley High and University of Hawaii graduate who lost both legs when the helicopter she was piloting was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq, was cited for her ‘dedication, valor, patriotism and service.’ She was joined by retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, a highly decorated veteran who was cited for paving the way for women in the military.” KITV-TV Honolulu, HI (3/17, 6:03 a.m. HT) aired a similar report.

3.      Louisiana VA Secretary Praises Veterans Service Officers. The Monroe (LA) News Star (3/18, Gunter, 30K) reports, “Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Lane Carson made a quick stop Wednesday in Monroe to recognize veterans service officers in northeastern Louisiana. Statewide, some 37,000 veterans receive more than $640 million in benefits from the federal government because of the efforts of the veterans service officers, who have a presence in Louisiana’s 64 parishes, Carson said.” The News Star adds, “Several veterans from the Northeast Louisiana War Veterans Home met with Carson, asking him to meet Gov. Bobby Jindal to discuss restoring funds taken from the state’s veterans homes in 2009, and once again proposed for 2010, so they can once again have their own doctors and pharmacists.”

4.      Professor: Study Questions Ethical Objections To Organ Donation. In continuing coverage, the WHYY-FM Philadelphia, PA (3/17, English) website said a new study by the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania “seems to knock down some of the ethical objections to paying people to donate an organ,” including a kidney. WHYY offered a quote from Penn assistant professor Scott Halpern, who said, “We allow people to get paid to play” in risky sports “or to be workers in a coal mine,” and the “risks of kidney donation are relatively small by comparison.”

5. Vet Center Opens In California. The Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (3/18, Horseman) reports “many southwest Riverside County veterans home from war struggle with trauma from combat.” However, the Vet Center, which is new to Temecula, “is designed to help those veterans and their families.” The facility “had its grand opening Saturday.”

6.      VA Rep To Speak At Conference On How To Help Returning Vets. The Whittier (CA) Daily News (3/17, 14K) noted that “Manual Martinez, a Veterans Administration team leader,” is scheduled to speak when “St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 7056 Washington Ave., presents ‘Transition From Active Duty to Civilian Life,’ a Stephen Ministry conference, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.” Martinez “will discuss the transition from active duty to civilian life for returning troops and veterans. The discussion will educate the families and friends of returning veterans about their” experiences, “how to work with them, and what resources are available.”

7.      VA Hospital Fined $227,500 For Prostate Cancer Dosage Mistakes. In a story run by at least 116 news publications, the AP (3/18, Loviglio) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs was fined $227,500 after incorrect radiation doses were given to 97 veterans with prostate cancer at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, a federal agency announced Wednesday.” The

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) levied the fine against VA, which “was cited for lacking procedures to ensure and verify the treatments were done correctly, failing to properly train staff and neglecting to immediately report mistakes.” The AP notes, however, that Richard Citron, director of the medical center, said “issues” with the prostate cancer treatment “do not reflect the high level of health care offered in Philadelphia or throughout the VA system.” The Washington Post (3/18, 684K) publishes a shorter version of this AP story, making it the lead “Nation Digest” item.

8.      Report: Despite Improvement, VA Still Facing “Significant” Cybersecurity Obstacles. Federal Computer Week (3/18, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, “Despite a major improvement in cybersecurity, the Veterans Affairs Department still has ’significant’ obstacles to overcome to meet federal cybersecurity standards, according to a new report released by the VA’s Office of Inspector General.” The “new fiscal 2009 report is a summary of the VA’s compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and was prepared by the Deloitte & Touche LLP independent accounting firm.” After noting that the IG released a summary of the report earlier this month, Federal Computer Week adds, “The report summary did not include a response to the criticism from VA officials.”

9.      White House, VA Holding Public Forum On Responsible Fatherhood And Healthy Families. The lead item for “Need To Know” in the Fayetteville (NC) Observer (3/18, Allen) reports, “1The White House and the Department of Veterans Affairs are holding a public forum” Thursday “on Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families.” The “event is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the John D. Fuller Sr. Recreational/Athletic Complex on Bunce Road and is open to the public.”

10.    VA Rules Contaminated Water At Camp Lejeune Caused Veteran’s Cancer. The Quincy (MA) Patriot Ledger (3/18, Hanson, 48K) reports, “The federal Department of Veterans Affairs has ruled that chemical contamination at a Marine Corps base caused a rare cancer in a local veteran. The decision grants a full service-related disability pension” to 46-year-old Paul Buckley, “who has multiple myeloma, an incurable form of cancer that attacks blood plasma. It links the cancer to drinking water that was polluted by a fuel spill at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.”

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania VA fined over radiation doses
• Lakeport, California Seven tax tips for disabled taxpayers
• Lafayette, Louisiana Veterans rally for hospital in Lafayette
• Branson, Missouri Program to help returning veterans find jobs
• La Porte, Indiana Fountainview offers veterans’ benefits seminar
• Monroe, Louisiana Veterans official praises work of service officers
• Hampton Roads, Virginia Two events worth knowing about for veterans
• Omaha, Nebraska Study would look at lung cancer in older Navy veterans
• Chattanooga, Tennessee Veterans Medal Of Honor Moves Through Senate
• Wareham, Massachusetts Vets receive help on trip from local business, volunteers

BIGGEST WAR OF VETS AGAINST “VET HATING” SPECIAL INTEREST AND VA CORRUPTION IN THE COUNTRY

WHERE ARE THE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS?

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor

Robert Rosebrock and a group of aging WW2, Korea and Vietnam vets have spent two years protesting the misuse of billions of dollars of veteran land.  Eventually, when they received no support from the major service organizations, AMVETS, the American Legion and the VFW, they began displaying the American flag in the “distress mode,” meaning upside down as indicate in our flag code.  This is the way a military unit would communicate that they were surrounded and about to be overrun.  Rosebrock and his group had no idea how accurate their appraisal was.

Soon afterward, the VA security police got huge budget increases, a new building and new Hemi powered cruisers.  They began, illegally, cruising the Los Angeles streets, following protesting vets, issuing threats, harassing homeless vets and, as a last straw, ticketing Robert Rosebrock illegally for what the called an “unlawful protest.”

The officers themselves tell us they feel sick about it.  They work for Donna Beiter and Ralph Tillman who have been giving veteran land away for “dog parks” or to wealthy prep schools or for gay theatre groups or Jewish homeowners associations, everyone gets a piece but the thousands, estimated to be as many as 20,000 in the area, of homeless veterans.  Vets sleep outside the million dollar fence our Beiter/Tillman gang had built with VA funds, a fence meant to beautify the Brentwood neighborhood made famous by OJ Simpson. 

With billions allocated by the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve homeless vets, one of America’s biggest scandals, it isn’t just Beiter and Tillman who have another agenda.  It’s the service organizations, the ones whose members, when asked time and time again by Rosebrock, a lifetime Legion member himself, to help, were “too busy” or had other priorities.  One of the biggest priorities the American Legion has had in years is the Mojave Cross.  This is two pieces of pipe held together by a coat hanger, way out in the desert, on federal land.  The government wants it taken down and the Legion wants it up.  Nobody sees it, nobody cares or should care except, well, the Legion, a Legion too busy to get involved in helping Rosebrock find a solution to the problem of thousands of homeless veterans.

This is wartime.  Soldiers are dying but more vets are dying, ten to one, a thousand to one over the rate troops are dying in combat.  We kill more at home than any enemy could, kill them through neglect, abuse and bureaucracy.  We also do it through massive and endemic corruption, a disease that has been at the heart, not only of the DVA but the service organizations as well. 

I can’t call all VFW, Legion and AMVET posts bad.  Some are highly supportive of many progressive and pro-veteran causes and, from time to time, their massive political power is used to help vets.  Often, however, it is not.  In reality, they are extremely ineffective and highly political organizations that pander to the basest instincts, hatred, fear and greed.  I can’t call them “neo-con” because they lack the political savvy and sophistication of this pack of con men.  The shame is not that men have organized into groups proven outdated and useless, its that they have so much power and influence, all tragically misused.

Los Angeles is where their faults are laid bare most of all.  The VFW and Legion members, almost universally, are abusive and derisive of the American Civil Liberties Union.  The ACLU supports free speech, gay rights and minorities, especially when groups seem to be singled out as part of an attack on the Constitution.  We lose our rights when “the least of us,” the most vulnerable are attacked.  Once one group loses their rights, everyone is at risk.  This is why the ACLU exists.  It is, perhaps, the most genuinely patriotic group in America.  It does what is right, what is American at the cost of what is popular.  They have even defended the tub of lard “blowhard” Rush Limbaugh, someone who had bashed them for years on the radio, until he needed legal help.

Then he “ran home to mama.”

Service groups, who spend much of their time fighting anti-smoking laws, love “flag” issues.  When it comes to veterans issues and standing up to corruption, and this is about corruption, not rules, not money, it is simple fraud, malfeasance and abuse of authority.  Political power, the massive Waxman/Zionist Democratic political machine of West Los Angeles with its big money supporters, the insurance industry execs, crooked bankers and the liberal Hollywood crowd, don’t want a facility for homeless veterans in their neighborhood.  They seem to have found allies in the regional DVA leadership, Donna Beiter and Ralph Tillman, found them “somehow.”

Found.

An army of Legion, AMVET and VFW members should be demanding that these bureaucrats be trashed, that Waxman’s group be crushed at the polls and that the heroes that are defending America get what America has promised.  Instead, Robert Rosebrock and a dozen or so of his associates are all that we see.  The sign outside the stolen veteran land says, Beauty, Honor, Country.  What could be more beautiful than an American hero sleeping on concrete?

Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA NWIHCS To Host Women Veterans Focus Group.
2. VA Sued For Violating Veteran’s Free-Speech Right.
3. Baker: Health Information Exchange Will Be Off For At Least Another Month.
4. Contract Signing Brings VA Clinic In Oregon “Step Closer To Reality.”
5. New Jersey Committee Approves Fundraising For Purchase Of Veterans Outreach Vehicle.
6. After Receiving Advice From Veterans, US Army Revamps Basic Training Regimen.
7. Hospitals To Test Whether Progesterone Can Help TBI Patients.
8. Vietnam Vet’s Lawsuit Over Antipsychotic Drug First To Go To Trial.
9. Homeless Veterans Honored Prior To Burial At Riverside.
10. Vietnam Vet Receives Belated Honor.

Have You Heard
Jackson VA Conducts Rural Outreach
Recently, the Jackson VA Medical Center sent a Mobile Health Clinic to Greenwood, Miss. where VA staff members treated over 50 Veterans of all ages. Ellis H. Smith (left), a 100-year-old WWII Veteran, was one of them. View the photos

1.      VA NWIHCS To Host Women Veterans Focus Group. The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star (3/17) reports, “Female veterans are invited to join in an evening to learn what the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system is doing to meet their needs. A Women Veterans Focus Group will” take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on March 30th, “in the Prairie Room on the second floor of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System Lincoln Division, 600 S. 70th St. The VA NWIHCS is partnering with local county veterans service officers to highlight information about the VA’s Women Veteran Health Care Program.”

2.      VA Sued For Violating Veteran’s Free-Speech Right. The AP (3/17) reports the Department of Veterans Affairs “is being sued for allegedly denying an Army veteran his free-speech right to display an upside down American flag in West Los Angeles.” On Tuesday, the “American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit…on behalf” of 67-year-old Robert Rosebrock, who “has protested at a VA complex every week since March 2008, saying the VA isn’t using its property to care for veterans.” After noting that the “lawsuit says VA police removed the upside down flag in late February or early March when Rosebrock refused to display it properly,” the AP adds, “VA spokesman Phil Budhan in Washington says there was no immediate comment.”
This story is also covered in a report aired by KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA (3/15, 5:42 p.m. ET), and by the Los Angeles Times (3/17, Pool, 776K), which notes that for “103 Sundays in a row, Rosebrock has led a group of military veterans in a protest of what they claim is the VA’s commercialization of the sprawling Wilshire Boulevard medical center’s grounds.” The Los Angeles Times (3/17, Barboza, 776K) also notes the lawsuit in its “L.A. Now” blog.

3.      Baker: Health Information Exchange Will Be Off For At Least Another Month. In continuing coverage, Bob Brewin, writing his “What’s Brewin’” blog for NextGov (3/17), notes, “The Veterans Affairs Department doesn’t plan to turn on for at least another month a system that exchanges information in veterans’ electronic health records with the Defense Department, Roger Baker, VA’s chief information officer told me.” According to Brewin, VA had “shut down its side of the Bidirectional Health Information Exchange (BHIE) with Defense” earlier this month “because of a software glitch that resulted in VA clinicians getting bum patient information.” Brewin says that while the exchange is shut down, VA “will get patient information from Defense the old fashioned way: by phone and fax.”

4.      Contract Signing Brings VA Clinic In Oregon “Step Closer To Reality.” The South Lincoln County (OR) News (3/17, Card) reports, “A Veterans Affairs Clinic based in Lincoln County took a step closer to reality last week with the signing of an award letter and contract by the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners.” No “opening date has been set” for the clinic, “but VA officials had previously indicated they planned to begin operations within 60 days after the contract was signed.”

5.      New Jersey Committee Approves Fundraising For Purchase Of Veterans Outreach Vehicle. The Gloucester County (NJ) Times (3/17, Barna) reports, “Legislation to allow” the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs “to raise outside funds specifically for the purchase of a community outreach vehicle has cleared a state Senate committee.” The bill now “heads to the full Senate for consideration.”

6.      After Receiving Advice From Veterans, US Army Revamps Basic Training Regimen. The AP (3/17, Shafer) reports, “Heeding the “advice of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans,” the US Army is revamping its “basic training regimen for the first time in three decades.” Commanders “are dropping 5-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and exercises that hone core muscles. Battlefield sergeants say that is the kind of fitness needed to dodge across alleys, walk patrol with heavy packs and body armor or haul a fellow soldier out of a burning vehicle.”

7.      Hospitals To Test Whether Progesterone Can Help TBI Patients. The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (3/17, Cevallos) reports, “Starting this month, patients rushed to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center” with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which researchers “say…is now stepping into the limelight as the signature illness of the wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, “may get a shot of a sex hormone” called progesterone. The “county hospital is joining Stanford, San Francisco General and about a dozen hospitals across the country to test whether progesterone, a hormone pregnant women produce in abundance, can stop the brain from wreaking self-destruction after an accident.”

8. Vietnam Vet’s Lawsuit Over Antipsychotic Drug First To Go To Trial. Bloomberg News (3/17, Feeley, Fisk) reports, “AstraZeneca Plc’s antipsychotic drug Seroquel helped cause a Vietnam veteran to develop diabetes, a lawyer for the man argued in the first” lawsuit “to go to trial over the medicine.” Veteran Ted Baker, who “contends he was taking Seroquel to deal with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress syndrome tied to his military service, is among thousands of people with claims pending in state court in New Jersey alleging that AstraZeneca misled US consumers about the drug’s health risks.”

9.      Homeless Veterans Honored Prior To Burial At Riverside. The Los Angeles Daily News (3/17, Lin, 122K) reports, “Decades after they served their country during the Vietnam War and even World War II, the bodies of five military veterans lay, unclaimed, in the Los Angeles County morgue.” The veterans “had no place to call home” and “no family to bury them,” but on Tuesday, the “homeless vets were honored with a 21-gun salute, taps played by bagpipers and a folded American flag. The funeral at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village was part of a two-day service that will culminate today with burial in Riverside National Cemetery, where the Southern California veterans will be saluted by a patriot guard.” The Contra Costa Times (3/17, 186K), a newspaper in Walnut Creek, California, ran the same story.
The Ventura County (CA) Star (3/17, Willer-Allred) notes that the “services and burials” for the homeless veterans “are being coordinated through the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, which is available in 25 cities across the country and has provided burial services for more than 600 homeless veterans since the program’s inception in 2000. According to the National Alliance on Homelessness, California has the largest number of homeless people in the nation, and one out of four is a veteran.”

10.    Vietnam Vet Receives Belated Honor. Near the end of “Across The USA News From Every State”, the AP (3/17) notes that in Fredericksburg, Virginia, 69-year-old Phillip O’Donnell “has received a belated Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam.” O’Donnell “was awarded the medal for his meritorious service as a pilot during the war, but he never got it because of an administrative oversight.”

• Elmira, New York Let government run health care
• Walnut Creek, California Veterans get a proper burial
• New Concord, Ohio Veterans find comfort in support group
• Burlington, Massachusetts Lejeune survivors must be heard
• San Juan, Puerto Rico Equipment at PR veterans clinics not clean
• Hartford, Connecticut Bond Commission Approves Money For Veterans
• Los Angeles, California Veteran sues VA over removal of upside-down flag
• Des Moines, Iowa Relocated veteran spouses now eligible for unemployment
• Lincoln, Nebraska Focus group provides info about women veterans’ health care
• Farmington, New Mexico County approves resolution to support proposed VA hospital

The ‘Attorneys for Veterans’ or ‘choice’ legislation took effect in June 2007 and now the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) seeks a roll-back after years of working against the right of veterans to obtain legal counsel.

The adversarial system veterans face is bad enough but with the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs now being pushed by VSOs that have become part of the problem in denying and delaying veterans disability claims, the DAV seeks to make a horrible situation worse.

Don’t veterans deserve the right to legal counsel as early as possible when they confront a hostile bureaucracy? Just what the hell is the DAV’s problem?

A letter by veterans advocate Kurt Priessman to the Senate and House Veteran Affairs Committee Chairpersons and members reveals the main issues.

March 15, 2010

Good Evening,
 
Recently the DAV, after testimony by its Commander, Roberto Barrera, sought to overturn legislation providing basic choice to veterans to seek attorneys to represent them ((Public Law) P. L. 109-461) [the 'Attorneys for Veterans' legislation].  Many individuals I correspond with are in complete disagreement and feel that the Veterans Service Organizations in the rural areas cannot do an adequate job as they are undermanned, overworked, lack training and resources, and despite many representatives doing yeoman’s duties are at a distinct disadvantage. 
 
To portray attorneys as complete scoundrels is absolutely unwarranted, as is portraying veterans as complete dolts, and many veterans feel this position by the DAV is a flagrant misrepresentation fed by a definite conflict of interest.  In fact, many veterans feel that there should be an expansion of the attorney – claimant relationship to allow veterans the opportunity for attorneys to begin representation at the onset of the claim.  
 
Many of the basic fundamentals of the Constitution are denied veterans serving on active duty (Feres Doctrine, etc.), and this is no less than a restriction of a veterans right to due process.  There can be little doubt that rather than being advocates for veterans, there are too many instances of delays and denials, discouragement of valid claims, and failures of the Department of Veterans Affairs adversarial system and its extensions, the VFW, the DAV, AmVets, and the American Legion. 
 
As example, the VFW argued my claim had no merit, that it was legally held by the Haas Stay (repudiated directly by the Haas staff attorney Ethan C. Kallet, Esq.), and would not assist me in attempts to solicit information concerning any phase of my claim.  In essence, they appear to be instruments of the DVA, repeating whatever the VBA says.
 
Please convey this sentiment to members of the Senate and House Veteran Affairs Committee Chairpersons and members of the respective Committees.  There can be no less an evil than the DVA’s action in Cushman vs Shinseki, (2008-7129), decided in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or the conversation with Chief Justice Roberts in Astrue vs Ratliff, who was startled that ’in litigating with veterans, the government more often than not takes a position that is substantially unjustified’.   Veterans deserve a choice at the earliest opportunity possible, we cannot afford to continue a 1,000,000 claim backlog, or a process lasting eight (8) years or more to decide.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 

Kurt Priessman, MSgt, USAF (Ret)
B.A., M.B.A., C.P.M., Veteran Advocate

ACLU/SC Sues Veteran’s Affairs Department

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sued the Veteran’s Administration today for denying a 67-year-old Army veteran his free-speech right to protest the agency’s failure to use part of its property in west Los Angeles for the benefit and care of veterans, particularly those who are homeless.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of Robert Rosebrock, who along with other veterans has protested the VA’s land-use policies every Sunday since March 9, 2008. As part of their protest, Rosebrock often displays the American flag upside down on a fence outside VA property as a distress symbol to draw attention to their cause. On Feb. 28, VA police demanded that he remove the flag, and when Rosebrock refused, they removed it themselves. A week earlier, VA police had allowed Rosebrock to display the flag right side up at the same site.

”The VA has shown a basic misunderstanding of the meaning of the First Amendment of the Constitution, the very document that Mr. Rosebrock and other veterans have served in the military to protect” said Peter Eliasberg, managing attorney and Manheim Family Attorney for First Amendment Rights at the ACLU/SC.

The recent harassment of Rosebrock by VA police continues a campaign by the VA of selective enforcement against him depending on how he displays the flag during his protests. For 66 weeks in a row, Rosebrock hung the flag right side up without any interference from the VA police. However, after he started hanging the flag upside down in June 2009, he was quickly cited six times for “unauthorized demonstration or service in a national cemetery or on other VA property.” Rosebrock also received an e-mail from Lynn Carrier, associate director of the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, which said in part that he and his fellow demonstrators “may not attach the American flag, upside down, in VA property including our perimeter gates.”

The VA eventually dismissed the citations against Rosebrock, but the recent action of the VA police in removing a flag that Rosebrock had hung upside down makes it clear that the agency’s unconstitutional policy of denying him his free speech rights continues.

The VA complex was specifically deeded to the United States in 1888 as a home for disabled veterans. Rosebrock and his fellow veterans demonstrate in front of a portion of the complex that the VA is planning to lease for use as a public park. Another portion of the land is now leased to a nearby private school for tennis courts, which veterans are not allowed to access. Other buildings on the land are leased for use as theaters. Rosebrock was particularly incensed last year when the VA allowed a “celebrity carnival” to take place on the property, at a time when there are more than 6,500 homeless veterans in Los Angeles, including some who sleep on the streets outside the land that is to be leased as a public park.

“Our protest is an outcry that sovereign and sacred land deeded for the use and care of veterans is being stolen away and leased to private, special interest groups with no transparency or accountability for the money generated,” Rosebrock said. “The U.S. Flag Code allows for the flag to be displayed upside down when property is in danger. It’s clear to us that this property is in danger, and has been for a long time.”

Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA Using National Center To Train IT Workers.
2. Judges, States Offering Leniency To Vets.
3. Vets Service Officer: Cemetery Not Threatened By State Legislature Proposal.
4. Health Inspectors Find Problems At Rhode Island Vets Home.
5. Minnesota Legislators Move To Change How Military Plate Fund Money Is Used.
6. Vet Hopes North Carolina Will Legalize Medical Marijuana.
7. Scientists Hope Memory Altering Techniques Can Be Used To Treat PTSD.
8. Study: Aggressive Treatments Do Not Lower Heart Problem Risk In Diabetes Patients.
9. Ethicists Criticize Organ Donation Study Co-Conducted By VA Researchers.
10. VA Grant Money Used To Assist Homeless Women Vets.

Have You Heard

Women at War
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re running a series of photos on VA’s Flickr page
depicting women at war. The image above—taken in 1983—is of the Air Force’s first all-female crew to fly an overseas mission.

1.      VA Using National Center To Train IT Workers. Federal Computer Week (3/16, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, “The Veterans Affairs Department has expanded its use of virtual technologies and distance learning in its new National Information Technology Training Academy,” which “began operating a month ago in West Virginia. The goal of the center is to train up to 200 VA employees at a time to strengthen their IT support skills and to improve transparency and information sharing in the department, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said March 12.”
CIO Prepared To Cancel Troubled IT Projects. The Federal Times (3/16, Neal, 40K) reports, “Veterans Affairs Department Chief Information Officer Roger Baker has a message for his IT staff: If their projects get out of hand, he will cancel them,” as was done last month with 12 projects that were behind schedule and over budget. The Times adds, “By standing up and killing failing projects, Baker hopes to change the culture at VA to deliver savings through better technology. He also wants the IT department to roll out projects incrementally, introducing new technology as it becomes available rather than waiting for an entire project to be complete.”

2.      Judges, States Offering Leniency To Vets. The New York Times (3/16, A14, Schwartz, 1.09M) reports, “Many veterans…have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq burdened by post-traumatic stress, drug dependency and other problems. As veterans find themselves skirmishing with the law, judges are increasingly finding ways to provide them with a measure of leniency.” States, meanwhile, are “forming special courts to ensure that veterans in court receive the treatment their service entitles them to.”
Tulsa County Veterans Court Reps Meet With Congress, VA. On its website, KOTV-TV Tulsa, OK (3/15, Wright) reported, “Representatives from the Tulsa County Veterans Treatment Court returned Sunday from Washington. They were in the nation’s capital to talk to Congress about expanding the program,” and while there, they also “met with members of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

3.      Vets Service Officer: Cemetery Not Threatened By State Legislature Proposal. The Redwood Falls (MN) Gazette (3/16, Krause) reports the “veterans cemetery project in Redwood County is not being threatened by a new proposal at the state legislature” which says the land must be within Redwood County borders. The Gazette adds, “The veterans cemetery project, said Marty Caraway, Redwood County veterans service officer, is still on track” and much of the design and development work for the project has been done. The Gazette notes that Caraway “said the cemetery needs approximately 50-70 acres of land.”

4.      Health Inspectors Find Problems At Rhode Island Vets Home. The AP (3/15) noted that last month, an “unannounced inspection” of the “troubled Rhode Island Veterans Home” by the “state Health Department…found poor attention to the medical needs of two residents and an insufficient level of activities for others. According to the AP, the Providence Journal (3/15, Salit, 133K) “reported that a resident who complained of possibly ill-fitting dentures waited longer than three months to see a dentist,” while another resident “waited longer than policy dictates for treatment of constipation” and “some residents with dementia” did not get the “proper amount of therapeutic activities.” The AP notes that after a “2008 study of the home found” problems at the home, including “‘dysfunctional’ policies,” a “new administrator was named.”

5.      Minnesota Legislators Move To Change How Military Plate Fund Money Is Used. The Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/16, Brunswick, 347K) reports states legislators in Minnesota “moved quickly Monday to close what they saw as loopholes in how money from the state’s ‘Support Our Troops’ license plate money is used, after revelations that money from the plates partially funded the salary of a political appointee in Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office last year.” After noting legislation “was introduced that would restrict the use of the fund and require reporting to the Legislature if transfers are made from the account,” the Star Tribune said money from the plate “is split between the Department of Military Affairs for family members of deployed service members and the Department of Veterans Affairs for grants for homeless and needy veterans.”

6.      Vet Hopes North Carolina Will Legalize Medical Marijuana. The Gaston County (NC) Gazette (3/16, Barrett, 28K) reports Iraq veteran Joshua Cook is “one of many North Carolina residents who hope their illegal use of marijuana might soon become acceptable in the eyes of the law.” State Reps. Kelly Alexander Jr. and Nick Mackey, “two Mecklenburg County Democrats, are co-sponsoring legislation that would make North Carolina the 15th state in the nation to legalize the medical use of the drug.”

7.      Scientists Hope Memory Altering Techniques Can Be Used To Treat PTSD. According to the Wall Street Journal (3/16, D1, Wang, 2.08M), new techniques that scientists are developing to alter memories could one day be used to treat people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety-related conditions. The Journal says such techniques, which involve replacing bad memories with less fearful ones, include treating patients with a hypertension medication propranolol, as well as studying whether behavioral therapy can be used to modify memories.

8.      Study: Aggressive Treatments Do Not Lower Heart Problem Risk In Diabetes Patients. In continuing coverage, WebMD (3/16, Laino) reports, “Lowering blood pressure and blood fat levels to below current guidelines did not bring down higher risks of heart problems for diabetes patients, according to new results” from the “Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial,” a “landmark federal study.” WebMD adds, “The new results show that lowering systolic blood pressure — the top number — to 120 rather than the usual recommended 140 did not lower heart attacks, strokes, or death from cardiovascular causes, reports William Cushman, MD,” of the Veterans Affairs hospital “in Memphis, Tenn.”
US News & World Report (3/16, Kotz) notes that Cushman, the VA hospital’s chief of preventive medicine, “emphasizes…previous research has shown that diabetics can significantly lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes by getting treated with high blood pressure medications if they have a systolic blood pressure above 140 or a diastolic (lower number) pressure above 90.”
The Memphis Daily News (3/16, Wilemon) reports, “Research led by…Cushman” is the “focus of an article published Sunday in The New England Journal of Medicine.” Cushman “is the lead author of the article about a nationwide, eight-year study to determine whether more intensive drug therapies are needed for diabetics at risk for heart disease.”

9.      Ethicists Criticize Organ Donation Study Co-Conducted By VA Researchers. The Philadelphia Inquirer (3/16, Goldstein, 326K) reports, “With 106,131 Americans now on waiting lists for an organ — 83,754 of them for kidneys — researchers at the University of Pennsylvania” and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center “sought to find out whether financial incentives would increase living organ donation. Their findings — that payments would draw more participants without relying disproportionately on poor people — are highly controversial,” and several ethicists have “criticized the study.” The Inquirer adds, “The idea of paying donors for organs has long been taboo because of concerns that it would unduly influence some people — particularly the poorest — to donate without fully appreciating the risks.”

10.    VA Grant Money Used To Assist Homeless Women Vets. On its website, WVEC-TV Hampton Roads, VA (3/15, Farrell) reported, “In 2004, Doctor Mickey Collins and her husband, Waverly, founded Malachi House International, Inc. in 2004 as a training and educational organization to help people who were poor or homeless build better lives for themselves.” Four years later, they applied for and received a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, using that money to “purchase properties where former military members could live as they received help for post-traumatic stress (when needed), as well as career/job training while they searched for employment. All of the veterans receiving assistance are women, among the estimated 6,500 female veterans who are homeless.”

• Sioux City, Iowa American Legion to have open house
• Green Bay, Wisconsin Vets help others ease into home front
• Kirtland, New Mexico Proposed Kirtland VA facility draws interest
• Gainesville, Florida Yes, the VA does care about homeless veterans
• Bristol, Rhode Island Inspection finds problems at RI Veterans Home
• Melrose, Massachusetts Dial-A-Lawyer for Veterans to be held April 29
• Cherry Hill, New Jersey NJ Senate committee OKs bills to assist veterans
• Riverside, California San Manuel supports American Indian Veterans Memorial
• Jacksonville, North Carolina Lejeune vet receives full disability on contaminated water claims

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break.

In Iraq, Mr. Oldani had performed the jangling work of detonating improvised explosive devices and had seen six of his fellow Marines burned alive in an armored vehicle. He left the service with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress syndrome that, the judge concluded, had clouded his judgment. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the prison term could have been nearly five years; Judge Chambers decided on just five months, with three years of supervised release and treatment.

Many veterans like Mr. Oldani have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq burdened by post-traumatic stress, drug dependency and other problems. As veterans find themselves skirmishing with the law, judges are increasingly finding ways to provide them with a measure of leniency.

“More and more courts are noticing and asserting, in a variety of ways, that there seems to be some relevance to military service, or history of wartime service, to our country,” said Douglas A. Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University and an expert on sentencing.

At the federal level, judges are bucking guidelines that focus more on the nature of the crime than on the qualities of the person who committed it. States, too, are forming special courts to ensure that veterans in court receive the treatment their service entitles them to.

While veterans are not considered to be more likely to be arrested than the rest of the population, estimates released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2008 found 229,000 veterans in local jails and state and federal prisons, with 400,000 on probation and 75,000 on parole.

Read more at New York Times.

- A reunion for veterans of the Gulf War (Southwest Asia),  1990 to Present -

Operations Desert Storm – Enduring Freedom – Iraqi Freedom

Guest of honor for the banquet will be Ross Perot.  Join us as we give Mr. Perot the Desert Storm Patriot Award.
Where
Wyndham DWF Airport North
4441 W. John Carpenter Freeway
Irving, TX 75063

When 
August 5-8 2010

Reservations, Call: 877 999-3223 – Need to tell them it is for the Gulf War Reunion.

You do not have to be a member of the National Gulf War Resource Center to come to this event.  It is for ALL Veterans.

Enjoy a long weekend with those you served with and meet their loved ones too. 

Go to Six Flags, tour Dallas or learn about the new VA regulation dealing with veterans from 1990 to today wars in Southwest Asia.

You can register on line at our store.

• Amarillo, Texas Telemedicine Doctors consult patients online
• Silver City, New Mexico Van gets veteran service back on road
• New Orleans, Louisiana VA building could end up in legal dispute
• Columbus, Ohio Bonus program for Ohio veterans moving forward
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls veteran says 7 war medals stolen
• Vacaville, California Vallejo veteran battles government for war money
• Anderson, South Carolina Upstate Veterans Home Gets A New Addition
• Green Bay, Wisconsin LZ Lambeau will provide welcome home for Vietnam vets
• Memphis, Tennessee Fragment from Vietnam Veterans wall given to soldier’s survivors
• Whistler, British Columbia Increasing number of military vets competing in Paralympic Games

* Find out What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans *

1. Accupressure Technique Touted As PTSD Treatment.
2. Number Of Vets Diagnosed With PTSD At Hospital Rose 114% Since 2005.
3. Controversy Grows Over PSA Prostate Cancer Screening Test.
4. Study: Aggressive Drug Treatment Strategies For Diabetics Ineffective.
5. Relatively Little Aid Seen As Available For Homeless Women Veterans.
6. Newport News Facility Serves Homeless Female Veterans.
7. VA Medical System In Colorado Adapting To Women’s Needs.
8. Providence VAMC Celebrating Women’s History Month.
9. VA To Hold Guam Women Veterans Conference.
10. Home Town Remembers Pacific War Hero.

Have You Heard
VA-purchased equipment is flying down the slopes and gliding across the ice at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Games in Vancouver this week. Five Veterans are competing in Vancouver and the adaptive sports equipment they will use to compete and for day-to-day mobility (wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs) were provided by VA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service (PSAS). This is the first Paralympics Winter Games in which athletes will be competing with equipment provided by VA. The Veterans competing are: Chris Devlin-Young (Alpine Skiing), Heath Calhoun (Alpine Skiing), Patrick McDonald (Wheelchair Curling), Sean Halsted (Cross Country Skiing) and Andy Soule (Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon). The 2010 Paralympics Winter Games, held in Vancouver March 12-21, feature the top U.S. athletes taking on the world’s best in alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, wheelchair curling and sled hockey. Learn more about these Veteran athletes and follow them through the Paralympics. Check local listings for special television highlight wrap up coverage by NBC April 10.

1.      Accupressure Technique Touted As PTSD Treatment. The Santa Rosa (CA) Press Democrat (3/13, Hay) reports that the Santa Rosa-based research group The Stress Project “is trying to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs to adopt” alternative medicine emotional freedom techniques, or “EFT” therapy, “as a standard treatment for veterans with PTSD.” Sometimes referred to as “tapping,” the group claims that the technique, in which patients are trained to tap on acupressure points as they review and come to terms with past traumas, can reduce PTSD, depression and pain. Although some clinical psychologists working with VA may use the technique, the VA itself has not recognized it, and the article says that EFT is “not used at the VA’s National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park, and no doctors knew enough about it to comment, a VA spokeswoman said.”

2.      Number Of Vets Diagnosed With PTSD At Hospital Rose 114% Since 2005. According to the San Bernardino County (CA) Sun (3/15, Steinberg), “49,637 patients diagnosed” with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “were treated” last year at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda. The Sun continues, “With an influx of veterans from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of patients diagnosed with PTSD at the Loma Linda medical center has soared 114 percent from 2005, Veterans Affairs officials say,” although “not all of that increase is from veterans coming out of the war on terror. Many fought in Vietnam, and as they enter retirement, they are haunted by images of the current conflicts, said Dennis Bull, a staff psychologist at the Loma Linda veterans hospital.”

3.      Controversy Grows Over PSA Prostate Cancer Screening Test. AFP (3/13, Santini) reports the “growing debate” over common use of the PSA procedure to screen for prostate cancer, after the developer of the process said it has become a “hugely expensive public health disaster.” The article notes that the American Cancer Society “does not recommend” the prostate specific antigen test, because it does not distinguish between fast0 and slow-developing forms of the disease and often gives erroneous results, and its discoverer, Richard Albin of the University of Arizona, in a column in the New York Times “deplored PSA screenings’ annual cost of at least three billion dollars, much of that paid for by Medicare, the insurance program for the elderly, and the Veterans Administration.”

4.      Study: Aggressive Drug Treatment Strategies For Diabetics Ineffective. The AP (3/15) reports, “Key results from a landmark federal study are in,” and they are “disappointing for diabetics: Adding drugs to drive blood pressure and blood-fats lower than current targets did not prevent heart problems, and in some cases caused harmful side effects. A decade ago, the federal government launched the three-part study to see whether intensely lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, or fats in the blood would reduce heart attacks and strokes in diabetics.” After noting that two years ago, the blood sugar part of the study “was stopped…when researchers saw more instead of less risk with that approach,” the AP adds, “The blood-pressure part of the study was led by Dr. William Cushman, preventive medicine chief” at the Veterans Affairs hospital “in Memphis, Tenn.”
The New York Times (3/15, A11, Kolata, 1.09M) also notes Cushman’s work on the study, as does the Los Angeles Times (3/15, Maugh, 776K), which says Cushman “and his colleagues at 77 medical centers enrolled 4,733 diabetics with high cholesterol levels and existing cardiovascular disease or a high risk of developing it.” The Chicago Tribune (3/15, 534K) publishes the same story. MedPage Today (3/14, Phend, Peck) said Cushman’s research, along with research involving diabetics and fats in the blood, were both part of the “highly anticipated Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial.” Results of research from the trial were presented Sunday “at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Atlanta, Ga. and released simultaneously online in the New England Journal of Medicine.”

5.      Relatively Little Aid Seen As Available For Homeless Women Veterans. The Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette (3/14, Haynie) reports, “As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, more and more female veterans are becoming homeless. The number has doubled in the past decade, with an estimated 6,500 homeless female veterans in the country — about 5 percent of the homeless veteran population. Homeless advocates said the trend is particularly troubling because so few programs cater to homeless female veterans.” The homeless coordinator at the Fort Wayne VAMC “said she has put at least six formerly homeless female veterans in their own apartments during her three years with the Fort Wayne VA,” including two Iraq or Afghanistan veterans.

6.      Newport News Facility Serves Homeless Female Veterans. The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (3/13, Lessig, 76K) profiles two homeless female military veterans in residence at the Malachi House in Newport News, and which is especially seeking female veterans. Although neither of the two, both army veterans, served in combat, one says she suffers from PTSD and depression, which she attributes to military sexual trauma, while the other lost her son and broke her leg in an automobile crash.

7.      VA Medical System In Colorado Adapting To Women’s Needs. On its website, KUNC-FM

Greeley, Colorado (3/12, Hood) said the Veterans Affairs “medical system has traditionally been geared toward treating an aging male population,” but that “model is changing in Colorado,” where among other things, a planned “$300 million dollar hospital” in Denver “will open its doors…with a dedicated space for a women’s clinic.” KUNC added, “If President Obama’s proposed budget for next year is approved, funding for women veteran’s health care could grow by as much as 10 percent nationwide.”

8. Providence VAMC Celebrating Women’s History Month. In the lead item for his “Veterans’ Journal” column in the Providence (RI) Journal (3/14), George W. Reilly reports, “With 450,000 women now enrolled in the Veterans Administration health-care system, the Providence VA Medical Center is celebrating Women’s History Month this month.” According to Reilly, the hospital, which last year “hired a full-time women veterans’ program” manager, “provides a variety of care and services to meet the comprehensive needs of women veterans.”

9.      VA To Hold Guam Women Veterans Conference. Guam’s Pacific Daily News (3/15) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs will hold its fourth Guam Women Veterans Conference from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 26 at the Outrigger Guam Resort in Tumon.” After noting that the theme of the conference “is ‘Writing Women Back Into History,’” the Daily News adds, “There will be a variety of topics that include readjustment issues for women, department benefits and services, financial and entrepreneurial opportunities, and financial investment information, according to a department news release.”

10.    Home Town Remembers Pacific War Hero. NBC Nightly News (3/13, story 13, 2:45, Holt, 8.37M) reported, “This weekend, a reminder of how great” was the courage of the “greatest generation” who won World War II. NBC (Thompson) added, “In the borough of Raritan, New Jersey, home to more than 6,000 people, one name stands out. John Basilone. It’s on a bridge, an athletic field, a street and a room in the library. A long-ago local hero. To some just a name, until this weekend. The nation will once again learn of the bravery of John Basilone, one of three Marines featured in the HBO miniseries ‘The Pacific.’ The son of an Italian immigrant, one of 10 children, Basilone’s courage in World War II’s Battle of Guadalcanal made him a national hero, singlehandedly killing 38 enemy soldiers.” Called back to the States to sell war bonds, “Basilone said he felt like a museum piece. He returned to the Pacific, and died on Iwo Jima” at the age of 28. He is one of three Marines featured in the HBO miniseries ‘The Pacific,’ which debuts Sunday. And his memory is kept alive in his hometown by an annual parade in his honor.

“MILITARY TRASH, NEGROES, INJUNS, MESSICANS AND QUEERS, RAPID CITY HATES EM’ ALL”

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor

Rapid City, South Dakota has a long history of racial discrimination against African American Airmen, dating back to the 1940s.  “Negroes, Messicans, Red Skins,” Rapid City hates them all, especially if they are serving their country.

Police Chief Steve Alexander of Rapid City says his officers spied the “gay marriage license” of a 9 year Air Force veteran by looking thru a window.  Nobody believes this, especially not the American Civil Liberties Union which filed suit against the department this week.  It seems officers looking for Air Force Sergeant Jene Newsome’s “partner” for an alleged warrant in Alaska saw the mysterious document “on a kitchen table through a window” and reported it to Chief Alexander who called Newsome’s base commander.  Alexander’s management style and the quality of the Rapid City police have long been in question.  A bent license plate could always buy a bashed in head or a night in jail in Rapid City, especially if you are the wrong color.

Newsome, a valued and highly trained veteran with an excellent record was forced to resign under “don’t ask, don’t tell.”  However, there are some inconsistencies to the police account.

Police forces don’t serve misdemeanor warrants for jurisdictions out of state or thousands of miles away.  As a matter of economics, it is hard to extradite an armed robber from Ohio to Michigan.  Something else is going on here, something fishy.  A look into the history of Rapid City made it clear, this is a town that wants the Air Force to only assign ”whites only,”  nobody else is welcomed, a history well recorded, well verified and brutally attested to.

“In plain sight” searches are only covered in automobiles and for drugs, weapons or stolen goods, not “marriage licences.”  The simple fact that the police cover story involves, not only an illegal search but stalking, harassment and, technically, 4th degree criminal sexual conduct, better known as “window peeping,” is also at issue.

Of course, we all know nothing was seen, certainly not a document in a drawer or closet.  Imagine the qualifications needed to be a patrol officer in “Rabid City.” 

• Minimal vision:  20/03 both eyes
• Able to read, not only upside down but through doors, walls and in the dark
• Own step-ladder for “window peeping” needed
• No education, morals or background checks required

Chief Alexander explained to reporters that he felt duty bound to report homosexual conduct to the Air Force.  He claimed he had an obligation to pass on “privileged information” to the Air Force, no matter if it was illegally gotten.  We have yet to hear an explanation as to why an Air Force officer would accept information from such a source, much less act on it.  There is clear culpability on the part of the Air Force command at Ellsworth Air Force Base in this travesty also.

The ACLU claims this is a simple case of police misconduct.  There is also an additional issue with the Air Force.  Airman Adam Grant, public information spokesman for Ellworth Air Force Base said Sergeant Newsome was discharged in accordance with DOD procedures set down by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.   It is a certainty that Secretary Gates will be “redirecting” a career or two over this issue.

TARGETING THE MILITARY AS A PATTERN OF HARASSMENT.

There is no known provision for police agencies to search the homes of military personnel for information regarding their sexual orientation.  In fact, singling out members of the military for illegal searches or harassment has an unpleasant unpatriotic aspect to it.  Some would go as far as to call it treason.  This is where more of Rapid City’s history of discrimination comes in.  This kind of behavior is nothing new in Rapid City, in fact it dates back to as early as 1942 and has been addressed by two American Presidents personally, Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy.  Rapid City has been this big a stain on America.

Suggestions have been made that all businesses inside the corporation limits of Rapid City, South Dakota be declared “off limits” to service personnel until members of the military can be guaranteed full citizenship rights regardless of race or sexual orientation.  We also request that all veterans consider “steering clear” of Rapid City and her business community until this problem is addressed and proper support for our armed services can be reestablished with proper rule of law.

The unwillingness of the city and their Chief of Police to abide by America’s Constitution and her laws is a good reason for the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force to begin defending their own.  Any of the commands currently at Ellsworth could be easily moved to the Selfridge facility outside Detroit.  The Michigan economy could use the boost and it might just avoid the continual need for “commissions” to investigate areas of the country that don’t seem to be able to get “with the program.”

Rapid City has a long history of anti-Indian/Native American racism with a history of literally thousands of complaints over the years.  Discrimination in housing and employment are common and Federal commissions are regularly engaged in attempts to bring the Rapid City community into compliance with laws that apply to the rest of the country.

Rapid City’s hatred of “Negroes” dates back nearly as long and was the subject of a major investigation headed by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 1963.  In fact, Rapid City is infamous for being one of the most racist cities in the United States.  Here are some excerpts from that earlier report:

Statement by President Harry S. Truman:

Statement by President John F. Kennedy:

Findings:

Listed were numerous incidents of open discrimination, statistics and a description of Rapid City as an island of intolerance.  “Hate” is the appropriate word. 

 The rest of the United States has moved forward, falling in behind our laws, our tradition and our loyalty to our men and women in uniform.  This is not an issue of sexual orientation, though such things should have been behind us long ago.  Were the Airman Liz Cheney, media darling, instead of an African American, we wouldn’t be reading about it now.  The issue is race, the issue is anti-military feeling and the issue is ignorance.

It is also an issue of law and respect.