Sunday March 25, 2007, 1:11 am
This is monstrous! They spend billions to create weapons, build war planes and pay mercenaries! Yet when it comes to caring for injured, disabled troops, forget about any benefits.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 5:33 am
Thank-You for posting this Robert. It's past time the American people knew what is going on with our men and women in the service. They deserve better then this.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 5:56 am
The Pat Tillman Story: A National Disgrace . . . NBC has confirmed the Pentagon Inspector General report finds that nine army officers, including as many as four generals - knew that former NFL star Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April 2004, but neglected to share his cause of

Sunday March 25, 2007, 6:50 am
Too tragic...words fail me: Jon Town has spent the last few years fighting two battles, one against his body, the other against the US Army. Both began in October 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq. He was standing in the doorway of his battalion's headquarters when a 107-millimeter rocket struck two feet above his head. The impact punched a piano-sized hole in the concrete facade, sparked a huge fireball and tossed the 25-year-old Army specialist to the floor, where he lay blacked out among the rubble.

"The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground." Men from his unit had gathered around his body and were screaming his name. "They started shaking me. But I was numb all over," he says. "And it's weird because... because for a few minutes you feel like you're not really there. I could see them, but I couldn't hear them. I couldn't hear anything. I started shaking because I thought I was dead."

Eventually the rocket shrapnel was removed from Town's neck and his ears stopped leaking blood. But his hearing never really recovered, and in many ways, neither has his life. A soldier honored twelve times during his seven years in uniform, Town has spent the last three struggling with deafness, memory failure and depression. By September 2006 he and the Army agreed he was no longer combat-ready.





But instead of sending Town to a medical board and discharging him because of his injuries, doctors at Fort Carson, Colorado, did something strange: They claimed Town's wounds were actually caused by a "personality disorder." Town was then booted from the Army and told that under a personality disorder discharge, he would never receive disability or medical benefits.

Town is not alone. A six-month investigation has uncovered multiple cases in which soldiers wounded in Iraq are suspiciously diagnosed as having a personality disorder, then prevented from collecting benefits. The conditions of their discharge have infuriated many in the military community, including the injured soldiers and their families, veterans' rights groups, even military officials required to process these dismissals.

They say the military is purposely misdiagnosing soldiers like Town and that it's doing so for one reason: to cheat them out of a lifetime of disability and medical benefits, thereby saving billions in expenses.


The Fine Print

In the Army's separations manual it's called Regulation 635-200, Chapter 5-13: "Separation Because of Personality Disorder." It's an alluring choice for a cash-strapped military because enacting it is quick and cheap. The Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't have to provide medical care to soldiers dismissed with personality disorder. That's because under Chapter 5-13, personality disorder is a pre-existing condition. The VA is only required to treat wounds sustained during service.

Soldiers discharged under 5-13 can't collect disability pay either. To receive those benefits, a soldier must be evaluated by a medical board, which must confirm that he is wounded and that his wounds stem from combat. The process takes several months, in contrast with a 5-13 discharge, which can be wrapped up in a few days.

If a soldier dismissed under 5-13 hasn't served out his contract, he has to give back a slice of his re-enlistment bonus as well. That amount is often larger than the soldier's final paycheck. As a result, on the day of their discharge, many injured vets learn that they owe the Army several thousand dollars.

One military official says doctors at his base are doing more than withholding this information from wounded soldiers; they're actually telling them the opposite: that if they go along with a 5-13, they'll get to keep their bonus and receive disability and medical benefits. The official, who demanded anonymity, handles discharge papers at a prominent Army facility. He says the soldiers he works with know they don't have a personality disorder. "But the doctors are telling them, this will get you out quicker, and the VA will take care of you. To stay out of Iraq, a soldier will take that in a heartbeat. What they don't realize is, those things are lies. The soldiers, they don't read the fine print," he says. "They don't know to ask for a med board. They're taking the word of the doctors. Then they sit down with me and find out what a 5-13 really means--they're shocked."

Russell Terry, founder of the Iraq War Veterans Organization (IWVO), says he's watched this scenario play itself out many times. For more than a year, his veterans' rights group has been receiving calls from distraught soldiers discharged under Chapter 5-13. Most, he says, say their military doctors pushed the personality disorder diagnosis, strained to prove that their problems existed before their service in Iraq and refused to acknowledge evidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury and physical traumas, which would allow them to collect disability and medical benefits.

"These soldiers are coming home from Iraq with all kinds of problems," Terry says. "They go to the VA for treatment, and they're turned away. They're told, 'No, you have a pre-existing condition, something from childhood.'" That leap in logic boils Terry's blood. "Everybody receives a psychological screening when they join the military. What I want to know is, if all these soldiers really did have a severe pre-existing condition, how did they get into the military in the first place?"

Terry says that trying to reverse a 5-13 discharge is a frustrating process. A soldier has to claw through a thicket of paperwork, appeals panels and backstage political dealing, and even with the guidance of an experienced advocate, few are successful. "The 5-13," he says, "it's like a scarlet letter you can't get taken off."

In the last six years the Army has diagnosed and discharged more than 5,600 soldiers because of personality disorder, according to the Defense Department. And the numbers keep rising: 805 cases in 2001, 980 cases in 2003, 1,086 from January to November 2006. "It's getting worse and worse every day," says the official who handles discharge papers. "At my office the numbers started out normal. Now it's up to three or four soldiers each day. It's like, suddenly everybody has a personality disorder."

The reason is simple, he says. "They're saving a buck. And they're saving the VA money too. It's all about money."

Exactly how much money is difficult to calculate. Defense Department records show that across the entire armed forces, more than 22,500 soldiers have been dismissed due to personality disorder in the last six years. How much those soldiers would have collected in disability pay would have been determined by a medical board, which evaluates just how disabled a veteran is. A completely disabled soldier receives about $44,000 a year. In a recent study on the cost of veterans' benefits for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Harvard professor Linda Bilmes estimates an average disability payout of $8,890 per year and a future life expectancy of forty years for soldiers returning from service.

Using those figures, by discharging soldiers under Chapter 5-13, the military could be saving upwards of $8 billion in disability pay. Add to that savings the cost of medical care over the soldiers' lifetimes. Bilmes estimates that each year the VA spends an average of $5,000 in medical care per veteran. Applying those numbers, by discharging 22,500 soldiers because of personality disorder, the military saves $4.5 billion in medical care over their lifetimes.

Town says Fort Carson psychologist Mark Wexler assured him that he would receive disability benefits, VA medical care and that he'd get to keep his bonus--good news he discussed with Christian Fields and Brandon Murray, two soldiers in his unit at Fort Carson. "We talked about it many times," Murray says. "Jon said the doctor there promised him benefits, and he was happy about it. Who wouldn't be?" Town shared that excitement with his wife, Kristy, shortly after his appointment with Wexler. "He said that Wexler had explained to him that he'd get to keep his benefits," Kristy says, "that the doctor had looked into it, and it was all coming with the chapter he was getting."

In fact, Town would not get disability pay or receive long-term VA medical care. And he would have to give back the bulk of his $15,000 bonus. Returning that money meant Town would leave Fort Carson less than empty-handed: He now owed the Army more than $3,000. "We had this on our heads the whole way, driving home to Ohio," says Town. Wexler made him promises, he says, about what would happen if he went along with the diagnosis. "The final day, we find out, none of it was true. It was a total shock. I felt like I'd been betrayed by the Army."

Wexler denies discussing benefits with Town. In a statement, the psychologist writes, "I have never discussed benefits with my patients as that is not my area of expertise. The only thing I said to Spc. Town was that the Chapter 5-13 is an honorable discharge.... I assure you, after over 15 years in my position, both as active duty and now civilian, I don't presume to know all the details about benefits and therefore do not discuss them with my patients."

Wexler's boss, Col. Steven Knorr, chief of the Department of Behavioral Health at Evans Army Hospital, declined to speak about Town's case. When asked if doctors at Fort Carson were assuring patients set for a 5-13 discharge that they'll receive disability benefits and keep their bonuses, Knorr said, "I don't believe they're doing that."


Not the Man He Used to Be

Interviews with soldiers diagnosed with personality disorder suggest that the military is using the psychological condition as a catch-all diagnosis, encompassing symptoms as diverse as deafness, headaches and schizophrenic delusions. That flies in the face of the Army's own regulations.

According to those regulations, to be classified a personality disorder, a soldier's symptoms had to exist before he joined the military. And they have to match the "personality disorder" described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the national standard for psychiatric diagnosis. Town's case provides a clear window into how these personality disorder diagnoses are being used because even a cursory examination of his case casts grave doubt as to whether he fits either criterion.

Town's wife, for one, laughs in disbelief at the idea that her husband was suffering from hearing loss before he headed to Iraq. But since returning, she says, he can't watch TV unless the volume is full-blast, can't use the phone unless its volume is set to high. Medical papers from Fort Carson list Town as having no health problems before serving in Iraq; after, a Fort Carson audiologist documents "functional (non-organic) hearing loss." Town says his right ear, his "good" ear, has lost 50 percent of its hearing; his left is still essentially useless.

He is more disturbed by how his memory has eroded. Since the rocket blast, he has struggled to retain new information. "Like, I'll be driving places, and then I totally forget where I'm going," he says. "Numbers, names, dates--unless I knew them before, I pretty much don't remember." When Town returned to his desk job at Fort Carson, he found himself straining to recall the Army's regulations. "People were like, 'What are you, dumb?' And I'm like, 'No, I'm probably smarter than you. I just can't remember stuff,'" he says, his melancholy suddenly replaced by anger. "They don't understand--I got hit by a rocket."

Those bursts of rage mark the biggest change, says Kristy Town. She says the man she married four years ago was "a real goofball. He'd do funny voices and faces--a great Jim Carrey imitation. When the kids would get a boo-boo, he'd fall on the ground and pretend he got a boo-boo too." Now, she says, "his emotions are all over the place. He'll get so angry at things, and it's not toward anybody. It's toward himself. He blames himself for everything." He has a hard time sleeping and doesn't spend as much time as he used to with the kids. "They get rowdy when they play, and he just has to be alone. It's almost like his nerves can't handle it."

Kristy begins to cry, pauses, before forcing herself to continue. She's been watching him when he's alone, she says. "He kind of... zones out, almost like he's in a daze."

In May 2006 Town tried to electrocute himself, dropping his wife's hair dryer into the bathtub. The dryer short-circuited before it could electrify the water. Fort Carson officials put Town in an off-post hospital that specializes in suicidal depression. Town had been promoted to corporal after returning from Iraq; he was stripped of that rank and reduced back to specialist. "When he came back, I tried to be the same," Kristy says. "He just can't. He's definitely not the man he used to be."

Town says his dreams have changed too. They keep taking him back to Ramadi, to the death of a good friend who'd been too near an explosion, taken too much shrapnel to the face. In his dreams Town returns there night after night to soak up the blood.

He stops his description for a rare moment of levity. "Sleep didn't use to be like that," he says. "I used to sleep just fine."

How the Army determined then that Town's behavioral problems existed before his military service is unclear. Wexler, the Fort Carson psychologist who made the diagnosis, didn't interview any of Town's family or friends. It's unclear whether he even questioned Town's fellow soldiers in 2-17 Field Artillery, men like Fields, Murray and Michael Forbus, who could have testified to his stability and award-winning performance before the October 2004 rocket attack. As Forbus puts it, before the attack Town was "one of the best in our unit"; after, "the son of a gun was deaf in one ear. He seemed lost and disoriented. It just took the life out of him."

Town finds his diagnosis especially strange because the Diagnostic Manual appears to preclude cases like his. It says that a pattern of erratic behavior cannot be labeled a "personality disorder" if it's from a head injury. The specialist asserts that his hearing loss, headaches and anger all began with the rocket attack that knocked him unconscious.

Wexler did not reply to repeated requests seeking comment on Town's diagnosis. But Col. Knorr of Fort Carson's Evans hospital says he's confident his doctors are properly diagnosing personality disorder. The colonel says there is a simple explanation as to why in so many cases the lifelong condition of personality disorder isn't apparent until after serving in Iraq. Traumatic experiences, Knorr says, can trigger a condition that has lain dormant for years. "They may have done fine in high school and before, but it comes out during the stress of service."

"I've never heard of that occurring," says Keith Armstrong, a clinical professor with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. Armstrong has been counseling traumatized veterans for more than twenty years at the San Francisco VA; most recently he is the co-author of Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families. "Personality disorder is a diagnosis I'm very cautious about," he says. "My question would be, has PTSD been ruled out? It seems to me that if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, let's see if it's a duck before other factors are implicated."

Knorr admits that in most cases, before making a diagnosis, his doctors only interview the soldier. But he adds that interviewing family members, untrained to recognize signs of personality disorder, would be of limited value. "The soldier's perception and their parents' perception is that they were fine. But maybe they didn't or weren't able to see that wasn't the case."

Armstrong takes a very different approach. He says family is a "crucial part" of the diagnosis and treatment of soldiers returning from war. The professor sees parents and wives as so important, he encourages his soldiers to invite their families into the counseling sessions. "They bring in particular information that can be helpful," he says. "By not taking advantage of their knowledge and support, I think we're doing soldiers a disservice."

Knorr would not discuss the specifics of Town's case. He did note, however, that his department treats thousands of soldiers each year and says within that population, there are bound to be a small fraction of misdiagnosed cases and dissatisfied soldiers. He adds that the soldiers he's seen diagnosed and discharged with personality disorder are "usually quite pleased."

The Army holds soldiers' medical records and contact information strictly confidential. But The Nation was able to locate a half-dozen soldiers from bases across the country who were diagnosed with personality disorder. All of them rejected that diagnosis. Most said military doctors tried to force the diagnosis upon them and turned a blind eye to symptoms of PTSD and physical injury.

One such veteran, Richard Dykstra, went to the hospital at Fort Stewart, Georgia, complaining of flashbacks, anger and stomach pains. The doctor there diagnosed personality disorder. Dykstra thinks the symptoms actually stem from PTSD and a bilateral hernia he suffered in Iraq. "When I told her my symptoms, she said, 'Oh, it looks like you've been reading up on PTSD.' Then she basically said I was making it all up," he says.

In her report on Dykstra, Col. Ana Parodi, head of Behavioral Health at Fort Stewart's Winn Army Hospital, writes that the soldier gives a clear description of PTSD symptoms but lays them out with such detail, it's "as if he had memorized the criteria." She concludes that Dykstra has personality disorder, not PTSD, though her report also notes that Dykstra has had "no previous psychiatric history" and that she confirmed the validity of his symptoms with the soldier's wife.

Parodi is currently on leave and could not be reached for comment. Speaking for Fort Stewart, Public Affairs Officer Lieut. Col. Randy Martin says that the Army's diagnosis procedures "have been developed over time, and they are accepted as being fair." Martin said he could not address Dykstra's case specifically because his files have been moved to a storage facility in St. Louis.

William Wooldridge had a similar fight with the Army. The specialist was hauling missiles and tank ammunition outside Baghdad when, he says, a man standing at the side of the road grabbed hold of a young girl and pushed her in front of his truck. "The little girl," Wooldridge says, his voice suddenly quiet, "she looked like one of my daughters."

When he returned to Fort Polk, Louisiana, Wooldridge told his doctor that he was now hearing voices and seeing visions, hallucinations of a mangled girl who would ask him why he had killed her. His doctor told him he had personality disorder. "When I heard that, I flew off the handle because I said, 'Hey, that ain't me. Before I went over there, I was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.'" Wooldridge says his psychologist, Capt. Patrick Brady of Baynes-Jones Army Community Hospital, saw him for thirty minutes before making his diagnosis. Soon after, Wooldridge was discharged from Fort Polk under Chapter 5-13.

He began to fight that discharge immediately, without success. Then in March 2005, eighteen months after Wooldridge's dismissal, his psychiatrist at the Memphis VA filed papers rejecting Brady's diagnosis and asserting that Wooldridge suffered from PTSD so severe, it made him "totally disabled." Weeks later the Army Discharge Review Board voided Wooldridge's 5-13 dismissal, but the eighteen months he'd spent lingering without benefits had already taken its toll.

"They put me out on the street to rot, and if I had left things like they were, there would have been no way I could have survived. I would have had to take myself out or had someone do it for me," he says. The way they use personality disorder to diagnose and discharge, he says, "it's like a mental rape. That's the only way I can describe it."

Captain Brady has since left Fort Polk and is now on staff at Fort Wainwright, Alaska; recently he deployed to Iraq and was unavailable for comment. In a statement, Maj. Byron Strother, chief of the Department of Behavioral Health at Baynes-Jones hospital, writes that allegations that soldiers at Fort Polk are being misdiagnosed "are not true." Strother says diagnoses at his hospital are made "only after careful consideration of all relevant clinical observation, direct examination [and] appropriate testing."

If there are dissatisfied soldiers, says Knorr, the Fort Carson official, "I'll bet not a single one of them has been diagnosed with conditions that are clear-cut and makes them medically unfit, like schizophrenia."

Linda Mosier disputes that. When her son Chris left for Iraq in 2004, he was a "normal kid," she says, who'd call her long-­distance and joke about the strange food and expensive taxis overseas. When he returned home for Christmas 2005, "he wouldn't sit down for a meal with us. He just kept walking around. I took him to the department store for slacks, and he was inside rushing around saying, 'Let's go, let's go, let's go.' He wouldn't sleep, and the one time he did, he woke up screaming."

Mosier told his mother of a breaking point in Iraq: a roadside bomb that blew up the truck in front of his. "He said his buddies were screaming. They were on fire," she says, her voice trailing off. "He was there at the end to pick up the hands and arms." After that Mosier started having delusions. Dr. Wexler of Fort Carson diagnosed personality disorder. Soon after, Mosier was discharged under Chapter 5-13.

Mosier returned home, still plagued by visions. In October he put a note on the front door of their Des Moines, Iowa, home saying the Iraqis were after him and he had to protect the family, then shot himself.

Mosier's mother is furious that doctors at Fort Carson treated her son for such a brief period of time and that Wexler, citing confidentiality, refused to tell her anything about that treatment or give her family any direction on how to help Chris upon his return home. She does not believe her son had a personality disorder. "They take a normal kid, he comes back messed up, then nobody was there for him when he came back," Linda says. "They discharged him so they didn't have to treat him."

Wexler did not reply to a written request seeking comment on Mosier's case.


Thrown to the Wolves

Today Jon Town is home, in small-town Findlay, Ohio, with no job, no prospects and plenty of time to reflect on how he got there. Diagnosing him with personality disorder may have saved the Army thousands of dollars, he says, but what did Wexler have to gain?

Quite a lot, says Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, a Washington, DC-based soldiers' rights group. Since the Iraq War began, he says, doctors have been facing an overflow of wounded soldiers and a shortage of rooms, supplies and time to treat them. By calling PTSD a personality disorder, they usher one soldier out quickly, freeing up space for the three or four who are waiting.

Terry, the veterans' advocate from IWVO, notes that unlike doctors in the private sector, Army doctors who give questionable diagnoses face no danger of malpractice suits due to Feres v. U.S., a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that bars soldiers from suing for negligence. To maintain that protection, Terry says, most doctors will diagnose personality disorder when prodded to do so by military officials.

That's precisely how the system works, says one military official familiar with the discharge process. The official, who requested anonymity, is a lawyer with Trial Defense Services (TDS), a unit of the Army that guides soldiers through their 5-13 discharge. "Commanders want to get these guys out the door and get it done fast. Even if the next soldier isn't as good, at least he's good to go. He's deployable. So they're telling the docs what diagnosis to give to get what discharge."

The lawyer says he knows this is happening because commanders have told him that they're doing it. "Some have come to me and talked about doing this. They're saying, 'Give me a specific diagnosis. It'll support a certain chapter.'"

Colonel Martin of Fort Stewart said the prospect of commanders pressuring doctors to diagnose personality disorder is "highly unlikely." "Doctors are making these determinations themselves," Martin says. In a statement, Col. William Statz, commander at Fort Polk's Baynes-Jones hospital, says, "Any allegations that clinical decisions are influenced by either political considerations or command pressures, at any level, are untrue."

But a second TDS lawyer, who also demanded anonymity, says he's watched the same process play out at his base. "What I've noticed is right before a unit deploys, we see a spike in 5-13s, as if the commanders are trying to clean house, get rid of the soldiers they don't really need," he says. "The chain of command just wants to eliminate them and get a new body in there fast to plug up the holes." If anyone shows even moderate signs of psychological distress, he says, "they're kicking them to the curb instead of treating them."

Both lawyers say that once a commander steps in and pushes for a 5-13, the diagnosis and discharge are carved in stone fairly fast. After that happens, one lawyer says he points soldiers toward the Army Board for Correction of Military Records, where a 5-13 label could be overturned, and failing that, advises them to seek redress from their representative in Congress. Town did that, contacting Republican Representative Michael Oxley of Ohio, with little success. Oxley, who has since retired, did not return calls seeking comment.

Few cases are challenged successfully or overturned later, say the TDS lawyers. The system, says one, is essentially broken. "Right now, the Army is eating its own. What I want to see is these soldiers getting the right diagnosis, so they can get the right help, not be thrown to the wolves right away. That is what they're doing."

Still, Town tries to remain undaunted. He got his story to Robinson of Veterans for America, who brought papers on his case to an October meeting with several top Washington officials, including Deputy Surgeon General Gale Pollock, Assistant Surgeon General Bernard DeKoning and Republican Senator Kit Bond of Missouri. There Robinson laid out the larger 5-13 problem and submitted a briefing specifically on Town.

"We got a very positive response," Robinson says. "After we presented, they were almost appalled, like we are every day. They said, 'We didn't know this was happening.'" Robinson says the deputy surgeon general promised to look into Town's case and the others presented to her. Senator Bond, whose son has served in Iraq, floated the idea of a Congressional hearing if the 5-13 issue isn't resolved. The senator did not return calls seeking comment.

In the meantime, Town is doing his best to keep his head in check. He says his nightmares have been waning in recent weeks, but most of his problems persist. He's thinking of going to a veterans support group in Toledo, forty-five miles north of Findlay. There will be guys there who have been through this, he says, vets who understand.

Town hesitates, his voice suddenly much softer. "I have my good days and my bad days," he says. "It all depends on whether I wake up in Findlay or Iraq."


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Sunday March 25, 2007, 6:55 am
Thanks for this story Robert.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 8:28 am
How much more can the American people take/accept of this man's behavior and his total disregard for our soldiers??????????????

Think of tomorrow-
plant a seed
grow a forest
for Mother Nature
and her animals...................

Sunday March 25, 2007, 9:19 am
My husband went through a similar situation. He was lucky that his chaplain urged him to ask for a med board. And, yes, they've tried to prove that his problems were pre-existing conditions. The interesting part, though, is that before they sent him to Iraq, he DID NOT have a phyisical check up, but somebody DID sign the papers saying that he was in a perfectly good condition to go and that he did have a check up. A year later, all that documentation (which was to be kept by his unit) was LOST.
This "war on terror" has resulted in thousands of casualties, and soldiers that were wounded in battle, but also soldiers whose problems began shortly after being discharged. The number of disabled vets (or those who should be called disabled vets) is greater than ever before, yet it is now that our President, and the representatives of American people, come up with such shameful and inhumane decisions.
The saddest part is that most Americans do not really care that their wishes are not well represented in the government. Stories like this make the news, but are soon forgotten, and nothing has changed. Unless there is a draft, that might affect ALL Americans, nothing is going to change.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 10:19 am
What do you expect from a bunch of draft dodgers? They want a war, but THEIR families will not fight it, and they expect others to be mere cannon fodder ,and thus expendable. Nor does it seem that the wounded foot soldiers are worthy of proper treatment/pensions if and when they return from active duty bearing the scars.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 11:41 am
Now, don't be so hard on our fine president. I should think our sons and daughters would be proud to die for a great cause-- Halliburton's bottom line. I mean, this is pretty much the only way these poor losers are ever gonna turn a profit for anyone!

Sunday March 25, 2007, 11:43 am
Thanks for posting this Robert - the truth that so many Americans either do not know or choose not to know. Walter Reed is the tip of the iceberg. Benefits have been covertly cut throughout Bush's tenure while he spouted patriotic BS and buddied up to the vets w/swiftboat liers and other cheap neo-con tricks. Not a word coming out of this man's mouth is believable. Why is he still there? Because no one has the backbone to impeach. And so we play these games with Bush and company until the man is really gone in 08. The damage he has done to the vets is disgusting by cutting benefits. He also MIS used the National Guard and no one seemed to mind at the time - they should be here guarding our shores not in a foreign country but this way they are limited to TWO years of benefits. Crafty, heh? These Iraqi vets may have welcome home parades but when it comes to the real needs that they and their families face, the government through this administration is only going to let them down. That has been their approach and plan all along. It is absolutely essential that ALL Americans wake up and smell the coffee - Bush is NOT on the side of the Veteran - he is their worst enemy.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 1:11 pm
Oh, I'm sorry! This must be the WRONG country I'm living in!! I thought it was AMERICA, NOT RUSSIA...........

Sunday March 25, 2007, 1:39 pm
To begin, the most unfortunate comment is that I am not at all surprised; and we should prepare--unless we unite like ne'er before, behind our troops ang against this administration who would so coldly use them for his own personal gains, as well as those of his cronies and the corporations tagging along raping the American public and robbing us of the most precious gift from our troops. These actions go beyond repulsive; they are treasonous. If this does not meet the bar for "high crimes and misdemeanors," then may the Gods help us because the U.S. is doomed!!!

We are, however, talking about a President who has not shown his face once at Dover Air Force Base to meet the incoming Fallen; he is the first president in our history to behave this way. Even his father had the class and conscious to do that. Not this one; the arrogance is so overwhelming that we need purge ourselves of this administration. I'll take Nancy Pelosi as President any day over this current administration. And the fact that so many withint "the party" have gone along with this and shed their duties and responsibilities to those troops, and to America, decries a purging of those representatives, nor re-election!!!

Impeachable offense!!! YES, YOU BET!!! Even General Washington faced off on that charge over the Revolution that made this country America; we need demand media coverage of our Fallen!!! It's America's chance to say our final good-byes and thanks to those who have given the greatest sacrifice of all. And to expect that ANY troop can come through the hell that is Afghanistan and Iraq, without being a "bit off," is inhuman!!! And that's not what I want for a Commander in Chief for our troops!!!!

Cheers,

Maureen

Sunday March 25, 2007, 1:48 pm
This so called "WAR" belongs to President Bush and ALL of his supporters.....DEATH ADVOCATES. OUR Commander in Chief NEEDS a well deserved IMPEACHMENT.....the so called "WAR" which in reality is an INVASION/OCCUPATION of Iraq needs to end NOW.....Troops are not numbers....they are all our well loved family members....to injure them and then just cast them aside becuse they did not conveniently DIE for this DIRTY BUSH WAR is more than an OUTRAGE......this government has been STOLEN from the American People......Will we take it back??? from the Worlds Biggest Terrorist???? who lives in the BLACK HOUSE in Washington DC?????

Sunday March 25, 2007, 2:14 pm
Are any of the people posting on this topic military?? If you are not, then all your information is second hand. My husband is a US Marine and he gets better medical care than I ever could hope for, as do the other troops with real problems. Military doctors have become complacent with their jobs as so many soldiers, sailors and Marines have falsely complained of ailments to get a life-long pension. It is a disgrace that people would use the system like that. I understand the angst of the American public. But with this sort of thing happening all the time I could understand why they might make the "hurdle-jumping" to get disability benefits more difficult.

Case in point-- A Marine comes back from Iraq after being shot in the hand (I am not sure of all the circumstances around the injury). He out of the Marines on 100% disability with a settlement of $100,000. But, you will never see that on the news because then people would not have anything to complain about.

This continuing battle overseas is tragic-- as it has been for the las 1800 years. I'm just curious how anyone else would have handled the attacks on the United States? I am just happy that people like my husband are willing to step up to the plate and protect American's rights to talk bad about the President and those who voted for him.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 4:38 pm
Thank you Robert for the article. It is a shame and disgrace to this President for the treatment towards our troops....disgrace to this whole system..it makes me sick!!

Sunday March 25, 2007, 4:40 pm
KelliTRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) is "documented" for many military personnel returning to the USA from Iraq and Afghanistan ... and many VA hospitals aren't equipped and don't have trianed personnel experienced enough to deal with TBI ...

let's read your best suggestions for these "victims" of Bu$h's illegal wars.

Sunday March 25, 2007, 10:28 pm
PLEASE ~ FLOOD SPEAKER PELOSI (& REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS) WITH ALL THE MORAL, LOGICAL, PATRIOTIC, REASONS & TRUTHS TO HELP HER (THEM) UNDERSTAND THIS ADMINSTRATION MUST BE IMPEACHED, & NOW!!! WE MUST RE-EARN RESPECT FOR OUR NATION, AND SHOW RESPECT TO OUR TROOPS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND, ALL CITIZENS!!!!! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.... before it is too late......
PEACE,
Kathleen
~The Angel Power Emporium~

Monday March 26, 2007, 2:08 am
wouldn't surprise me what with all the corruptness of this world today.

Monday March 26, 2007, 3:56 am

The situation concerning the treatment of our troops is the most despicable thing; so much blood and suffering is on the hands of Bu$h and Co. I'm waiting for their karma to catch up with them. No punshment is too strong.

Monday March 26, 2007, 3:59 am
Thank you for sharing this important story, Robert. I hope people will share this information with anyone planning on serving in the Armed Services.

Monday March 26, 2007, 5:34 am
I have Two words for Bush Stop It .

Monday March 26, 2007, 5:35 am
I have Two words for Bush Stop It .

Monday March 26, 2007, 6:27 am
As sickening as it is, I am not at all surprised! The whole Bush administration is a shame upon America. They spen BILLIONS on a sensless war, shipping off all our people. Alot of them get killed and the ones who survive face another battle. No money for those who need it here! Cancelled benefits. Lies, lies, lies. That's what the Bush administration is all about. Yet another example of his ineptitude, lack of moral judgement and heart. His graduated from ASS UNIVERSITY WITH HONORS! I can't wait for the day when he is FINALLY replaced and I don't have to see his sickening little smirk on the TV any more. Did you ever hear of anyone from HIS family fighting the war in the middle east? Of course not. But if they did, I bet they would receive the best treatment ever. OUT WITH BUSH! BRING OUR TROOPS HOME! END THIS SENSLESS WAR! SPEND ALL THAT MONEY HERE TO HELP OUR OWN! And believe me~ there are MANY who need help. Thanks to Bush and a hugely sorry health care system! BAH!

Monday March 26, 2007, 7:53 am
From the very first
bush has been a liar and a war monger. The only reason we went to war in Iraq was to show his daddy he could one up on him. Dont tell me the military hospitals are so great. I am a Navy brat and was married to a career soldier. I have dealt with quite a few military hospitals. I nearly died in one till my sister-in-law took me out of it and put me in a civilian hospital. Bush should be removed from office. He and cheney are total a** holes. Maybe they cvould go spend a day in fighting gear on the front lines.

Monday March 26, 2007, 8:13 am
It is a disgrace for our country not to have enough money ,to provide medical help to our service men and women when they are send back home with medical problems..They are doing there jobs for us. Now our goverment should take some of the war money and provide for our service men and women.

Monday March 26, 2007, 9:45 am
The conservitives say the librals dont support our troops because they want to bring them home. Bush is the one that dont support our troops. Not only by cutting their benifits, along with all the poor in this country, but not giving them what they need to fight a war. Why do they have to buy their own equipment?

Monday March 26, 2007, 9:50 am
I have 4 words for G.W.BU-SH. YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED.

Monday March 26, 2007, 11:33 am
John J.......Some time ago, can't recall how long but a soldier started a lawsuit against the Army against them making soldiers pay for their own equipment.
I have not heard a thing since it was reported on national news. But, I'd bet the Army got this shut up in the media!!!!!!

Think of tomorrow-
plant a seed
grow a forest
for Mother Nature
and her animals.........

Monday March 26, 2007, 1:46 pm
This article should not be a surprise to anyone, considering that it has already been discussed openly that Bush has been into the alotted section of funds set aside for the Medical Treatment for the vet's when they come home. Everyone knows already that there won't be enough. Nothing is going to help it now, what has been done has been done. There really isn't any good crying over spilt milk, (I believe the saying goes).

Monday March 26, 2007, 4:47 pm


Army deployed seriously injured soldiers.

Salon.com’s
Mark Benjamin has a new report documenting how U.S. soldiers with
debilitating injuries and other medical conditions, including female
soldiers who were pregnant, were deployed for weeks to the desert
training facility at Fort Irwin, California. “In some cases, soldiers
were sent there even though their injuries were so severe that doctors
had previously recommended they should be considered for medical
retirement from the Army.” Military experts say the decision “was an
effort to pump up manpower statistics used to show the readiness of Army units.” 1:34 pm | Comment (136)

Monday March 26, 2007, 6:09 pm
There are a lot of people who need to see this story. Print it, post it, forward it, write letters about it to your newspaper. It needs to be seen by those who are still rallying behind this Bush idiot.

Monday March 26, 2007, 8:34 pm
You my friends have made my day. My computer crashed and I'm having a heck of a time. Lost most of my info. pics. documents etc. On top of that everything that's back up is all new, so I hope this comes through. It's really great to know that you are concerned and care, so keep up the good work. Together I believe we can make a difference or least get rid of the neocon warmongers..

Monday March 26, 2007, 8:59 pm
I noted~We need to do some weed eating get bush out.~Thanks

Monday March 26, 2007, 9:57 pm
As bottom of the pork barrel as the Bush Administration is, whats the surprise? Its business as usual. Has "anyone" ever thought that this is another form of "ETHNIC CLEANSING" by our government\?? What better way to get rid of the poor, and the minorities? THINK ABOUT IT!! ITS PERFECT!! Its what "RICH" white elitists/supremest have done sense the creation of government. IMPEACH!!! Before its too late.

Tuesday March 27, 2007, 12:02 am
One word: IMPEACH ! Why the heck has NOTHING been done, not only about this latest atrocity, but every single thing this "administration" continues to do warmongering ,and every other impeachable offense? Shows ya how much bush cares about anything other than his own warped , crooked, self. For this "man" to continue be "commander-in-chief" is a CRIME . A JOKE. A SHAME. A SHAM. AN INJUSTICE TO not only our troops and veterans, but for EVERY LIVING BEING ON EARTH.

Tuesday March 27, 2007, 5:08 am
It would be monstrous IF it was an accurate report, which it is not.

Tuesday March 27, 2007, 5:23 am
Bob Woodruff on ABC has talked about how bad things are for the injured soldiers. Read his stuff. He's been through it all.

Tuesday March 27, 2007, 3:04 pm
The countries of Latin Amrica are suffering him too.I wish in the next elections move yourself.In my country Uruguay to vote is obligatory.In spite of that more than 90% of the citizens go to vote!!!
To vote is a right and an obligation to make you responsable of the people you elect.Think about other countries that are suffering the politics of Mr. Bush...unless.Vote not only for you...for the rest of the world!!

Wednesday March 28, 2007, 10:12 pm
Lawmakers Fault Veterans' Care Under Bush
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/032807HA.shtml
The Army's new acting surgeon general said Tuesday she is concerned about long-term morale because the military lacks money to hire enough nurses and mental health specialists to treat thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I cannot comprehend ANY acceptable reasoning for such despicable actions!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, help me understand how ANYone, NOT be flooding politicians & the media with outrage over such cold, cruel, unethical, un-religious, ETC., shameful, and, UNFAIR treatment of veterans!!!!!! I've also been reading about Chapter 5-13 which the current administration "okays" while ruining the lives of honorable veterans. In fact, some major cases occur at Ft. Collins, CO!!! Veterans returning with purple hearts & other honors, as well as, horrible disabilities are deemed to have "personality disorders" that caused their injuries AND, therefore, although given honorable discharges, they canNOT receive ANY military benefits - & MANY also must repay the government a slice of their re-enlistment bonuses, equaling thousands of dollars!!! And, the doctors are encouraged to this as often as possible (saving the military billions of dollars to be used "elsewhere"!!! [Yes, I'm reading primary resources!] Read this article: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070409/kors Then check out ALL the relevant articles at: http://www.thenation.com I need and would deeply appreciate input on this, especially from veterans, (for further research I want to do).
PEACE~
The Angel Power Emporium~ P.S. IMPEACH NOW!!!!!

Wednesday March 28, 2007, 10:20 pm
ATTENTION ALL READERS: Please, help me understand how ANYone, NOT be flooding politicians & the media with outrage over such cold, cruel, unethical, un-religious, ETC., shameful, and, UNFAIR treatment of veterans!!!!!!
Peace~

Friday March 30, 2007, 4:05 pm
YOU REALLY THINK 'HE' GIVES A RATS POTUTIE ABOUT THE BOYS AND GIRLS HE SENDS OVER THERE. I DON'T THINK SO, THAT'S WHY HE POSTED NEWS BLACKOUTS OF RETURNING COFFINS.....

Friday March 30, 2007, 5:28 pm
Thank you for this story. Our men and women in service deserve so much more. I wish there were a way we could get rid of Bush, but it doesn't look too promising.

Friday March 30, 2007, 9:55 pm
Our Soldiers are being treated worse than Slaves, They Brainwash them to Hate and Fight and Kill And then Claim they have a personality disorder when the Horror of what they do and have done to them Creates mental problems. What are they going to Say When the Spent Uranium starts Causing All The Radiation poisening problems Say They must Be Terrorists Working with the Iranians or They wouldn't have Any Radiation Problems. Yeah That Will Solve that Problem Then They Can Throw Them in GitMo and Withhold Medical Treatment And keep them from Talking to anyone. Sounds Cynical Maybe Maybe Not With The Corrupt Scum Thats Running Things. IMPEACH, IMPRISON AND TRY THEM FOR WAR CRIMES NOW ! !

Saturday March 31, 2007, 5:12 am
Sat March 31
Well it's almost April Fools day, but look who is being "fooled", and by the guy and party who are so patriotic about war. And, now, it's war when, where, and why WE want it - even if it's unprovoked or there is no "threat" to our freedom or way of life as they say to get us to support it all. Lord help us.

Saturday March 31, 2007, 6:17 am
This Why They Are So Quick To Play With Everyones Money , We Gave Them The Power By Letting Them Do This And Thinking They Deserved It For All The Hard Work They DO. Do They Lose Ther Benefits For Their Faults ????
Subject: Read this all. It is not long, but very important!!!


We have all seen this one before, but it helps to be reminded that this is our money that they are taking for themselves while those of us who are paying are doing without. Are their retirements worth more than ours???

WHY WAIT UNTIL 2008? THERE IS AN ELECTION IN 2007. I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR ELECTION IN 2007.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!
KEEP IT GOING!!!!
2008 Election Issue!!
GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC.
This must be an issue in "2008" Please! Keep it going.

SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

Our Senators and Congresswomen DO NOT pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.
Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..
For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.
Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA..! ZILCH ...

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;

"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK "!

>From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.
Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for another 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator! Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to:
Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us
Then sit back.....
And see how fast they would fix it.

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.

Saturday March 31, 2007, 11:19 am
Folks if all the war crimes, scandals, illegalities, bribes, conflicts of interest, proganda, hypocrisy, deception, no bid contracts, billions misplaced with no record of where it went, and maybe the neocons even involved in the 9/11 conspiracy, it would take volumnes to list them all. People cannot grasp one crime until the next day another one pops up and the previous ones disappear from the limelight. If there was ever a cause for impeachment and prosecution for war crimes and all the others they have committedt it would be the PNAC neocons. Most of you have responded in somewhat the same way I believe. But besides working our fingers on the keyboard this group in different areas could start grass root efforts, meetings, protests, documentary screening like 'Iraq For Sale', Eternal Vigilence', Outfoxed ', 'Private Warriors' and so many others to activate more people than just us preaching to the choir. Thanks for all the input and the good work you re doing.

Saturday March 31, 2007, 11:49 am
. . .this kind of behavior is nothing new from this Administration-- Why we are "shocked and awed," I do not know but this is typical-- I have too many family and friends who endure the subject matter outcome on a daily basis-- that is to say, my family and friends who have served , continue to try to scratch out a living without being given a hand. . . not a hand out but just a hand eh-- OMIGOODNESS . . .when . . .where . . .and how do we end such madness? Behavior like this is not a part of the American dream but more like an American's nightmare except when awake one must acknowledge that this is reality.

Saturday March 31, 2007, 5:22 pm
In truth, it is OUR dedicated ACTION which can save us. Again.... we must constantly remind the corporations and politicians of what WE THE PEOPLE expect from them!!!
Peace~

Saturday March 31, 2007, 7:34 pm
I remember several years ago when the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Magazine ran a story about the early part of this problem. The DAV and other veterans service groups often send trained people in to see if hospitalized veterans need anything basic (toiletries, etc.) They will also answer benefits questions etc. Well, the article was about how these trined reps were not being allowed in to see wounded vets. They then found out about the stories of vets being told that they were better off taking much smaller lump sum settlements instead of filing for disability... they were being told that it would take YEARS for their claims to be processed & they would not receive any income from the military in the mean time.

Saturday March 31, 2007, 9:11 pm
Hi Kellie, PLEASE, don't let a few good folks blind you from the truth and extensiveness of this problem, For every fine example you share, we can find many others without "happy" endings. HOW can doctors, especially without extensive combat experience, and truth in their heart, know FOR SURE when someone is "faking" it? No, I do realize that statement is rather broad, yet my point is truth. Not all military personell is "crazy" (like our leaders). I have known vets with mystery health problems and they were REAL, even not proovable. Therefore, keep compassion in your heart when tempted to judge.
Our own family doctor is in Iraq right now, and, he is extremely rare in that he is certified for many military duties, i.e., doctor, sugeon, shooter, and, flying planes and helicopters, plus he sends back articles for our newspaper weekly. He holds high positions for Ohio's National Guard as well as doctors, and, upon his return will be establishing a new project on the federal level. Yet, when at home, this phenominal human spends his time in his family practice, which is located in an a rural area of extensive poverty. Our doctor would NOT tolerate veteran situations such a John Town's et al!!!
Peace~

Saturday March 31, 2007, 9:20 pm
Kelli, one more thing... are you also positive the attack in NYC was fully instigated by "foreignors"?!? I'm very curious about that, because of my background in history with recent truths added. I am far too patriotic to NOt ask such questions and seek out truth. My ancestors helped pioneer this nation and I hurt when it is losing its ways of goodness!
George, how did you determine this was a false report? I'm seeing examples of the same situation all over true Internet news and other RELIABLE resources, so I don't understand how you'd think its wrong.
Peace~

Saturday March 31, 2007, 9:28 pm
Anyone who hasn't yet watched that award-winning documentary "Iraq for Sale" ought to watch it. It's on Google video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6621486727392146155

Sunday April 1, 2007, 6:41 am
Thanks for the link, xochi, but, sadly, I doubt if it will impinge upon the neocon conscience, let alone those of Bush and Cheney. The horror of the total incompetence of these contractors, and their disregard for the safety of their duped employees is breathtaking. Then there is the fraud, and corruption as well. This latter aspect might well be less important if it were the case that these companies were doing a worthwhile, efficient job. But they manifestly are not! Why has there been no oversight of their performance, and why are they exempt from prosecution? Who are they answerable to? So, looking at the bigger picture, the whole enterprise is a total scam, and a way of enriching these neocon-supporting companies, at the taxpayers' expense, for past political favours. Impeachment would be too good for the perpetrators of this rip-off.

Monday April 2, 2007, 6:16 am
Our elected leaders once again turn their backs on those who serve in the military, expendable young men and now women. These soldiers were accepted into service without psychological disorders then discharged with them, logically saying their tour in the military is responsible. The US continues to spend tax dollars inappropriately, ignoring the plight of wounded soldiers and their families. Shameful and immoral.

Monday April 2, 2007, 4:50 pm
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans fall for this bait and switch administration. Where are all our citizens who actually think for themselves?

Just found this link on my IP's homepage pointing out the difference between the words and actions of our president: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9248749&ft=1&f=1003. "Text follows"

President Bush went to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., Friday, his first trip there since revelations six weeks ago about deplorable living conditions for wounded soldiers in the facility's outpatient housing.

Substandard conditions and policies at the hospital brought resignations after they were exposed in news reports. The president used the occasion to apologize to veterans for what they endured during their recovery, and to vow that the problems will be fixed.

"We're not going to be satisfied until everybody gets the kind of care that their folks and families expect," the president said.

Still, President Bush came under criticism today.

Some wondered why he waited so long after the news broke to visit Walter Reed personally. And they asked why he didn't take a first-hand look at repairs being done at one of Building 18, which soldiers he met told him was particularly troubled.

Democrats said the problems at the Army medical center are part of a larger picture — that of an administration that has cut funding for veterans programs and which didn't adequately plan for the war and its long-term effects.

Tuesday April 3, 2007, 12:11 am
If we don't get this crazy man out of office I think I'll move to Canada

Tuesday April 3, 2007, 12:37 am
Be careful what you wish for, coming to Canada has it's own problem with your administration, is what I call the dividing "blade of grass" between the two countries. What "he" does down there will affect us and already has. To come across the border to go shopping in Bellingham, or party in Blaine, or live or fish at Roberts point, we must have a passport! ! ! This is the Bush Legacy for Canada, and if you come across to our side without your passport your border guards won't let you back into the USA. Jon Stewart just said a funny but it is so true, You send captain Ahab to protect the whales is like sending president "what's his name to protect his country!

Tuesday April 3, 2007, 7:26 am
Lamargo, that's Bu$h's "legacy" to the snior citizens of the U$A and Canada; our seniors can no longer go to Canada or Mexico for their "cheaper" prescription drugs, without paying $95 to get a U$ pa$$port; and Canadians can no longer shop in Bellingham or Buffalo, Point Roberts, etc.

Tuesday April 3, 2007, 8:43 pm
There's no money to be made when Vets benefits are honored.

K.

Tuesday April 3, 2007, 8:53 pm
Dubya’s World

* 37 million people now live below the poverty line -- 12.9 million of those are children.

* The official poverty line is an income of $19,157/yr for a family of four.

* A single parent working full-time for minimum wage makes $10,712/yr.

* 3.9 million families had at least one member go hungry because they couldn't afford enough food.

* 1,600,000 jobs lost in the private sector since Dubya took office.

* 46.6 million people lack health coverage.

* 1.7 million VETERANS -- including some Iraq War Veterans -- have no health insurance.

* 750,000 Americans are homeless, 250,000 of them are Veterans

Are these the "Christian" moral values of the Republican Party?

Saturday April 14, 2007, 4:40 pm
noted