Tina Dupuy on the Stephanie Miller Show (2011/11/11) by karlfrisch

Heartthrob John Fugelsang was subbing Friday when I was on to talk about vets and Occupy Wall Street.

The obscene human costs will continue to add up as the war machine rolls on:

Pentagon bean counters see an extra $40 billion in annual costs if President Obama sends 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, but Michael Blecker sees mainly this:

More than 13,000 new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder. An additional 8,000 or so traumatic brain injuries. More suffering and need coming home in the form of wounded vets than the country can easily handle.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced more diagnosed cases of PTSD and debilitating injuries per capita than any other war in the nation's history, health care experts say. And veterans who encounter homecoming trouble are becoming homeless more quickly than ever, street counselors say.

It's something most people don't consider when they think of sending more soldiers overseas, said Blecker, head of San Francisco's Swords to Plowshares veterans aid agency. But they should, he said - especially now, as Obama prepares to make a speech to the nation Tuesday.

In his address, the president will announce plans for Afghanistan that are almost sure to involve dispatching tens of thousands of new troops there in the cause of defeating al Qaeda and its terrorist allies.

"We have this theme in this country that we will support our troops, all work as a team, but there are so many cases when they are just released from service and left on their own," Blecker said. "We treat them as second-class citizens, but they are the ones who pay the price."

There are proportionately more vets than ever suffering from PTSD and disability upon coming home because military armor and rescue capabilities are better than ever, experts say. That means fewer soldiers die of serious wounds, and more survive with lost limbs, injured brains and the damaging memories of horror.

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Dear 24 Hour Cable News Channels:

I understand your dilemma, I really do. You have 44 minutes on the hour to fill with content. And it has to be compelling stuff, so that the viewer isn't tempted to channel surf to your rivals. In the situation like the Fort Hood shootings, where news is coming scattershot and conflicting, it's even more difficult.

See? I get it.

But having said that--and I say this with love and respect--PLEASE, SHUT. THE. F#@K. UP. Don't spend time guessing on motivations when there is so little information available. Don't surmise terrorist intent when you can't possibly know. And for the love of everything holy, don't go to criminal profiler Cliff "A Hammer Sees Everything As A Nail" Van Zandt (a crime of which Keith Olbermann is also guilty) to make up utter bovine excrement.

At the time that Van Zandt was waxing rhapsodic over possible terrorist inclinations, remember, the news was that there were two or three shooters, one of whom was dead (Hasan, the single shooter, was alive and being treated at the time). That Maj. Nadil Hasan was of Jordanian, Arab, or Palestinian birth (he was born in Virginia of Palestinian immigrant parents), that he was a recent Muslim convert (he had been a practicing Muslim his whole life), that he was suffering from PTSD, or secondary PTSD from his work with returning vets in Virginia, that he was sympathetic with suicide bombers, angry at bad evaluations, upset at being deployed to Iraq, frustrated by the Army's dismissal of the harassment he got at Ft. Hood about his faith and/or desperate to get out of his upcoming deployment.

Bottom line: we didn't know enough. It was irresponsible of you to try to make suppositions when the information (including the fact that he was alive) was so sketchy.

And to focus on the one known of his name and then presuming his faith (A lot of 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants don't necessarily practice the religions of their grandparents, yet still have Middle Eastern names, and I will reiterate, in those early hours, WE DIDN'T KNOW) to then suggest jihadist and/or terrorist sympathies was to give legitimacy to all those hate-mongers like Michelle Malkin and Fox & Friends anchors Doocy and not-Doocy to once again, call into question ALL Muslims.

Don't you get it? "Terrorism" is not defined as "any violence by any Muslim anywhere at any time for any reason." If it's true that Hasan had been the victim of harassment because of his religion and that contributed to his state of mind, then those who create and foster an environment that makes it acceptable to demonize and dehumanize Muslims were right there with him, pulling the trigger. To focus on Hasan's faith as you did in those early hours was the lazy approach and avoids the deeper reasons:

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Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA sits down with Rachel Maddow to discuss his group's 2008 report card on how members of Congress voted on Veterans issues. John McCain: D. Barack Obama: B.

RIECKHOFF: There were 53 original co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle [for the new GI Bill]. Eventually, right-wing folks like Senator Warner got involved with folks on the left like Senator Webb. Every major veteran services organization in the country supported it, more ¾ of the House. So, this was kind of a legislative locomotive. And one of the only blocks along the way consistently was Senator McCain.

So, it's not a partisan issue here. The G.I. bill had tremendous support. And he was just really behind this legislative issue. Now, he's made attempts to go back and say he was holding out for transferability. Transferability, being able to transfer your G.I. bill benefits to your family members. It was already in the law. It was at the discretion of the Department of Defense.

So, it's kind of a red herring there. But the reports are out there now. Everybody can check the vote. Go to VeteranReportCard.org, you can check their votes and everybody else who's up for reelection this year.

I know Senator Obama didn't serve in the military or endure years of torture thirty years ago, but isn't it time everyone acknowledge that John McCain simply doesn't own the veterans issue because of his history? His service is certainly admirable, but in order to claim that you support the troops, you actually have to, you know, support the troops -- not be one of the only "road blocks" standing in the way of the most important veterans bill of the past 40 years.

Full transcript below the fold:

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I know they're making it harder for vets to get disability, but this is outrageous:

The VA rejected an Afghanistan veteran's disability claim for PTSD last month, citing his membership in VoteVets.org as a reason for the denial.

Staff Sergeant Will King retired from the Army in late 2003, after serving in both the first Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan. As one of the first troops into the Afghan theater after 9/11, Will had been awarded a Bronze Star after participating in fierce fighting in the Shah-e-Kot Valley in March 2002. I know, because I was there with him.

As the months turned to years after his retirement, however, Will started having problems as the Iraq War dragged on. Depressed and unable to sleep, he thought it might be PTSD. Because, as those who study PTSD know, this is perfectly normal: The symptoms of PTSD frequently have a delayed onset that can take months or years to fully materialize. That's why, in April 2007, Will filed a claim with the VA for combat-related PTSD. The VA eventually agreed with Will and diagnosed him with mild PTSD. But Will felt like his condition was worse than that. And to boot, he thought it was getting worse. So Will appealed, and filed another disability claim with the VA in November 2007: He felt his symptoms were serious enough to warrant an increase in his disability rating from "mild" to "moderate."*

Unfortunately for Will, the VA denied his claim six months later, in May 2008. And while I won't challenge the VA's ultimate decision (I'm not a doctor), I find it repulsive that they cited Will's membership in VoteVets.org as a reason to deny his claim.

This is what the VA told Will in his denial letter:

The examiner states your PTSD symptoms are still present but you do not report symptoms at a degree or level which appears to suggest more severity. The examiner concurred with the previous diagnosis and assigned Global Assessment of Functioning Score of 52, stating you have occasional suicidal ideation but are able to cope with these symptoms and continue to function. The treatment reports from Memphis show you are currently involved with VoteVets.org, an advocacy group for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. You indicated involvement with this advocacy group makes you feel coping with your symptoms is worthwhile. The treatment note of March 10, 2008, indicates no homicidal or suicidal ideation and no thought disorder.

SF Chronicle:

Thousands of Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans are returning home only to become casualties of war - at their own hands. Suffering from psychiatric injuries, 1,000 veterans under Veterans Administration care are attempting suicide each month. Almost 40 percent of the young men and women returning from combat almost have proven mental health injuries that include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, major depression and traumatic brain injury.

But when they seek help, disabled veterans face a claims system so mismanaged and inefficient that they often must wait more than five years for any assistance. The Department of Veterans Affairs is choking on a backlog of some 600,000 unresolved benefits claims. Even after their eligibility has been established, thousands of veterans cannot obtain adequate mental health treatment. While they wait for the care they are owed, veterans are dying. About 126 veterans per week commit suicide. Vast numbers of veterans are living with mental illness, sometimes so severe that they are unable to work. Nationally, about 154,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and twice that many are homeless at some time during the year. Read on...

I've said before that I'm the granddaughter of a career military officer. There is no excuse for the treatment of vets and it horrifies me that we're adding tens of thousands of more vets every year from Iraq and Afghanistan. They say that the measure of a society is how they treat the neediest among them. What does this say about us?

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Actually, I don't know that the Bush administration ever thinks things through, come to that...

First up in our ongoing scandal rotation is the shameful way that soldiers and returning vets have not had their medical needs met by the Bush administration. The RAND group recently testified before Congress of yet another reason that may pique the interests of the Corporatists in office: providing medical treatment earlier significantly cuts the long term costs, not to mention the collateral costs of drug use, marital problems, unemployment and suicide.

So now will you take care of the wounded? There’s profit in it.

And then there is the ultimate card of the fear-mongering set: the Global War on Terror™. Unfortunately, for all their talk of wanting to combat terrorism, studies released this week have found that incidents of terrorism have remained unchanged from last year, although anti-American sentiment amongst terrorist safe havens in Somalia, Algeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Mali, and Yemen increases, as does al Qaeda's ability to plan another attack on us, thanks to their undisturbed presence in Pakistan. Heckuva job, Bushie.

And finally, the pathetic No Fly List. It turns out that even the blatantly partisan Washington Times finds the No Fly List worthy of ridicule, not just because of the 9,000 false positives that occur daily, but especially with the news that several flights have gone out without the promised Federal Air Marshalls because these same FAMs have found their names (along with everyone who goes by Mohammed or Ali) on the list and have been refused entry onto the planes they've been charged to protect.

You heard me. Because of this always-growing, all-consuming terrorist no-fly list, some of the people that are supposed to be on the plane to stop the terrorists on the plane are getting mistaken for suspected terrorists and being kept from getting on the plane.

Making Light: When you use an electronic voting system, you must audit the results if you want to have confidence in them.

Cliff Schecter: NYT found 121 cases in which vets of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one after their return from war.

The Moderate Voice: Don't Democrats call this voter suppression? Jeralyn points out the suit does have some merit.

The Mahablog: Wired for morality.

The Reality-Based Community: Progressives who will accept nothing less than the TwoMinutes' Hate, and conservatives who think of a "reasonable" liberal as one with no backbone, will not find what they want in Sen. Obama.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Jack Rice in the Cross Hairs, The Weekly Scrivener, RaceWire, Pacific Views

Bob Morris of the leftie tree-hugging Politics in the Zeros here with more links for you.

Coffee, tea or torture? U.S. Company Jeppersen Dataplan is being sued for arranging logistical support for CIA torture flights but our freedom-loving government of course wants the suit dismissed because the documents are "classified."

Media conglomeration often creates unmanageable companies says Oligopoly Watch. Thus big media companies often end up fracturing into smaller pieces whether they want to or not. Works for me.

A solar power tower is a wondrous thing indeed. Acres of photovoltaics and mirrors reflect sunlight to a solar reflector at the the top of a giant obelisk, creating steam from piped-in water thus powering the turbines.

The V.A. is overwhelmed. Claims can take months, sometimes years, to process. During that time, the veteran gets no medical help. Since 90% of claims are accepted, let's provisionally accept claims and get vets the help they need fast.

HeadZup has the inside scoop on why Trent Lott is resigning. (And don't let the door hit you on the way out, Trent.)

Send tips to bob (at) polizeros (dot) com

NOW:

For many Iraq and Gulf War veterans, the transition from battlefield to home front is difficult. Bouts of fierce anger, depression and anxiety that previous generations of soldiers described as "shell shock" or "combat/battle fatigue" now earn a clinical diagnosis: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But the relatively new medical label doesn't guarantee soldiers will get the care they need. On Friday, September 28 at 8:30 pm (check local listings), NOW looks at how America's newest crop of returning soldiers is coping with the emotional scars of war, and some new and innovative treatments for them.

NOW Online will reveal facts and figures about vets and PTSD, and offer resources for coping. Also, an interview with veterans advocate Paul Rieckhoff about the denial of veteran benefits, and a deeper look at this week's children's' health care bill debate.