This is so much worse than your typical conflict-of-interest case. This guy pushed a less-effective drug because he was the manufacturer's minion? I wonder how those Iraq veterans with the busted-up legs feel about this. I hope a few of them track this guy down and let him know what they think of him.

But let's not ignore the manufacturer in all this. After all, it was probably their idea:

A former surgeon at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who is a paid consultant for a medical company, published a study that made false claims and overstated the benefits of the company’s product in treating soldiers severely injured in Iraq, the hospital’s commander said Tuesday.

An investigation by Walter Reed found that the study cited higher numbers of patients and injuries than the hospital could account for, said the commander, Col. Norvell V. Coots.

“It’s like a ghost population that were reported in the article as having been treated that we have no record of ever having existed,” Colonel Coots said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “So this really was all falsified information.”

The former Army surgeon, Dr. Timothy R. Kuklo, reported that a bone-growth product sold by Medtronic Inc. had much higher success in healing the shattered legs of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed than other doctors there had experienced, according to Colonel Coots and a summary of an Army investigation of the matter.

Dr. Kuklo, 48, now an associate professor at the Washington University medical school in St. Louis, did not respond to numerous e-mail messages and telephone calls to his office and home seeking comment over the last two weeks. Walter Reed officials say he did not respond to their inquiries during their investigation.

Army investigators found that Dr. Kuklo forged the signatures of four Walter Reed doctors on the article before submitting it last year to a British medical journal, falsely claiming them as co-authors. He also did not obtain the Army’s required permission to conduct the study.

“This was a real letdown for us to have one of our former members do something like this,” one of those doctors, Lt. Col. Romney C. Andersen, wrote in an e-mail message Tuesday. Dr. Andersen, now posted at a combat hospital in Baghdad, said he could not comment further without the permission of his commanders.

It was Dr. Andersen who brought the problem to the Army’s attention last year, prompting the inquiry. In its March edition, at the Army’s request, the journal retracted the article — something that has gone largely unnoticed outside orthopedic circles.

Video Update: Sit Room's Abbi Tatton just reported on the story: Download | play Download | play

The internets were abuzz immediately when this strange shot of McCain during his RNC acceptance speech gave more ammo during closeups for another Colbert Report 'McCain Green Screen Challenge' to videophiles with a knack for chroma key effects, but what caught Josh Marshall's eye was the building being used as the backdrop with the green green lawn that was providing the fodder. Initial speculation that it was one of McCain's innumerable mansions quickly faded when his readers confirmed that it was actually Walter Reed Middle School in North Holllywood, CA (pictured on right, above), but why?

A local Bay Area reporter for NBC picked up on it and called the school to find out. The receptionist said, "We were all wondering that, What was that about? We don't know," but TPM is reporting that they do plan to release a statement. [see update below]

An odd fact, uncovered by TPM's Greg Sargent, is that the school actually served as the backdrop for Matt Santos' announcement of his presidential candidacy on The West Wing. Not really sure what to make of that, but it is quite an odd coincidence in any case.

Continue reading »

We usually don't cover daytime TV here at C&L, but Montel Williams told the truth to conservative commentator Rachel Alexander's blah blah blah blaming the Democratic Congress for "bogging down" healthcare for veterans:

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Montel will also address the ever growing problem in America of soldiers who are returning home from Iraq with insurmountable injuries and financial problems. We’ll hear from Jerry, whose vehicle was hit just before he was scheduled to return from his second tour in Iraq. After first being pronounced dead at the scene, Jerry was later revived and treated at the burn center, only to be released early due to overcrowding. How can our troops be treated like this after putting their lives on the line?

Montel particularly points out that our "reservist" President Commander-in-Chief ought to "quit turning his back on those who are doing his dirty work."

AP Via Yahoo:

Turns out the trouble at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the focus of a firestorm of criticism over poor treatment of wounded war veterans, reached into the mailroom.

The Army said Friday that it has opened an investigation into the recent discovery of 4,500 letters and parcels — some dating to May 2006 — at Walter Reed that were never delivered to soldiers.

And it fired the contract employee who ran the mailroom. Read more...

What is it with the Bush Administration and contractors? The Republicans have always decried big government and how poorly it functions, but in the past six years they have certainly proven that corporations and contractors are far worse.

It's so typical for this administration.  Ignore problems at Walter Reed for years that were caused by your own negligence and incompetence until you're caught.  Then pay lip service to wanting to fix the problems.  Worse yet, use your callousness to justify furthering a philosophy that will only enrich your cronies, not make things better.  I heard VAWatchdog's Larry Scott discuss this on the Thom Hartmann Show yesterday.  Anybody want to make a bet that the report will recommend the privatization of services at Walter Reed?

VAWatchdog.org

We have a problem.

The Dole / Shalala Commission is set to have their first meeting on April 13.  Their report is due by the end of June.

This gives them a little over two months to analyze the problems in the military and VA healthcare systems and come up with solutions for their report.

Can that be done?  No!

There's a nasty buzz making its way around Capitol Hill that the report was "written" long ago...and the "writers" have just been waiting for the right place and time to forward their agenda.

Story here...

  Alberto Gonzales gave NBC's Pete Williams an exclusive interview yesterday -- shockingly, considering he bailed early on a press conference in Chicago Tuesday to avoid any purge questions -- yet ended up directly contradicting himself about the purge.

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How do these two statements square?:

"I was not involved in the deliberations over whether or not the US attorneys should resign..."

"I know why I asked these United States attorneys to leave and it was not for improper reasons..."

So, he had nothing whatsover to do with selecting which attorneys to get rid of, yet he knows why he got rid of them? Is he trying to say that he had nothing to do with "the deliberations" -- meaning his subordinates reviewed the cases and recommended these particular eight -- then signed off on it personally based soley on their advice? Either way, this doesn't fly because the "performance-related reasons" excuse -- the only possible explanation other than deliberate poltical interference -- is bogus.

You gotta love how Brian Williams mentions at the end that his viewers can find the entire interview with transcript online.

(h/t Heather)

Cincinnati Enquirer:

Rep. Jean Schmidt wrote in her weekly column sent out to reporters on Monday that stories about horrible conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center were "overblown."

Schmidt, a Clermont County Republican, decided to take "several hours" to travel to the hospital in Washington, D.C., to see the situation "first hand." Her conclusion?  "I found the situation at Walter Reed to be overblown by both politicians and the media."

Oh really?  Does this look overblown to you?

  This is a joke, right?

USA Today:

Disclosures of substandard housing for troops treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are prompting Congress to investigate whether the Army is running a plush ward at the complex for VIPs at the expense of ordinary war casualties.

House investigators are asking "if the allocations of resources is in any way adversely impacting the treatment of the troops," Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., told USA TODAY in response to inquiries about the six-suite ward. Tierney leads a House subcommittee investigating allegations of poor care at Walter Reed. "Our nation's military, our returning heroes, are the true VIPs," he said. Read more...

Click here for a slideshow of the posh living conditions. With all the money we pour into the defense budget, you'd think every wounded soldier would get to recover in conditions like these. We all know they deserve it. Caviar for some. Cockroaches for others.

  Salon's Mark Benjamin appeared on Hardball last night to talk about his searing exposé about wounded soldiers from Ft. Benning being deployed back to Iraq. Benjamin first broke the story about the terrible outpatient conditions at Walter Reed two years before Dana Priest and The Washington Post exposed it to the national media. It's nice to see that this story didn't take another two years.

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It looks like House Democrats want answers:

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton and Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Vic Snyder have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to undertake an immediate review of allegations that wounded and injured soldiers are being sent to Iraq.

It's amazing that someone like Matt "The Eggman" Drudge has the power to shape the debate while honest and fearless reporting on soldier mistreatment like this goes unnoticed for so long. Glenn examines this phenomenon further.

 Rep. LoBiondo put out a statement on Friday asking Secretary of Defense Gates to ask for Kiley's resignation in view of all the horrible news coming out of Walter Reed.  Looks like he got his wish.

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MSNBC:

The Army announced the retirement Monday of its surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, in the latest fallout from the controversy over outpatient care of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Kiley, who headed Walter Reed from 2002 to 2004, submitted his retirement request on Sunday, the Army said in a statement Monday.

He is the third high-level official to lose his job over revelations of substandard living conditions and bureaucratic delays at the facility overwhelmed with wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The UK is concerned about after-care for their returning troops as well. (updated by John A)

  The Daily Show blasted the Bush administration again last night over Waltergate. Yesterday they pointed out how the White House refuses to take responsibility for their myriad screws-ups. Tonight they went after the "Support The Troops" mantra they so miserably failed to live up to, and are now denying they ever employed.

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This isn't the first time we've caught the Bushies slinking away from their failed propaganda techniques. The internet just makes it too easy.

And fear not, C&L'ers. Jon assured us he'll be covering Libby in full tomorrow.

This is a step in the right direction but certainly just the tip of the iceberg. I'm confident the Congressional Democrats will dig into this and dig deep.

MSNBC:

George W. Bush on Tuesday appointed Bob Dole, the former Republican presidential candidate, to head a commission of inquiry into the treatment of injured veterans in US military hospitals following revelations of appalling conditions at Walter Reed – the leading US army medical centre.

The president's announcement came on the second consecutive day of tough congressional questioning of generals, with senators alleging that America's soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were being "short-changed".

Mr Bush announced that Mr Dole would lead the nine-member commission with Donna Shalala, a Democratic former secretary for Health and Human Services. Several other inquiries have been launched in the past few days, including an internal army investigation into conditions at Walter Reed.

Grover Norquist famously said he wanted to shrink government to the point he could drown it in a bathtub.  Therefore, in honor of this pillar of the Party of Coulter, I dub the latest salvo on the part of the Republican party to deflect accountability and rationalize corruption and ineptitude "The Norquist Defense."

Seeing the Forest:

Have you been following the VA Hospital mess? Read this. The Republicans privatized care at Walter Reed (corruptly throwing a contract to the SAME PEOPLE - Republican campaign contributors - who screwed up ice delivery after Katrina). They gutted the professional staff and cut everything so the money would flow to a few rich fucks instead of to caring for the troops.

But what are they telling the public? That it's an example of the problem with GOVERNMENT! After firing all the professional staff and outsourcing everything they're telling people that government can't fire people so they don't care about the troops.

Republicans: Gut the government, pocket the funds, then BLAME the government when things stop working.

Phillip Mattera at TomPaine digs deeper and finds a far more damning picture, not about the government, but about the executives running it.