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H/T to Ernie1812 who brought this story to my attention in his diary on VetVoice yesterday.
Thanks for reading.
AR
VetVoice: The blog for troops and veterans | My book on Amazon
by Brandon Friedman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:15:51 AM PDT
Why there isn't a public outcry over this in a country proud of its military tradition and of its armed services is beyond me. With all the warmongering you would expect the authorities to work to secure the military's support, if nothing else. And causing undue resentment in the armed services is never a good thing.
Of course, it fits in perfectly with the Bush Administration's neo-liberal mentality: As long as you're useful you're treated with a modicum of respect, since you are needed, but the moment you slip, the moment you outlast your usefulness, you are on your own, used and discarded.
Just today I've heard that a new leftist party, composed of former Eastern German communist and Western German socialists is becoming the primary opposition party in Germany because the gap between the rich and the poor has widened there, although Germany is certainly a welfare state (as it should be!) and the gap is miniscul by US standards.
How much more will it take before US citizens realise that they're far, far worse off that they used to be and that they should and can demand reform? In France, for example, demonstrations against the government - any government - are an almost weekly occurrence. They're still very well off - despite the boogyman of ''losing competitiveness - and, all things considered, with their healthcare and social services they are far better off than US citizens.
Of course, Marx and Engels realised all those years ago that the political class in the United States forms what is basically a cycling oligarchy, so the deck is stacked indeed against the average citizen. But there is strength in numbers, and in demonstrations. Change? No individual is needed to affect it (although a competent one certainly helps). Popular reactions help.
Omne malum nascens facile opprimitur, inveteratum fit plerumque robustius. - Cicero
by Dauphin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:07:35 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
The diary reads:
Could this veteran have been senile and maybe a little unstable? Sure, maybe. He was 89 years old. But given what we know now about how the VA treats disabled veterans of the current wars, I doubt it.
Senility and instability are medical conditions, which deserve medical attention and treatment, and not neglect to the point of suicide.
Even if -- perhaps especially if -- this man were senile and mentally unstable, here is an example of the failure of his medical care.
by rerutled on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:58:37 AM PDT
by Brandon Friedman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:59:39 AM PDT
Just like the guy who set himself of fire to protest the Iraq war was a "drunk."
Try as you might, you cannot spell HOPE with the letters GOP.
by David Kroning on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:33:15 AM PDT
you into something that you are not.
Character assasination has become the norm today.
It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. Ansel Adams -6.5 -6.75
by Statusquomustgo on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:56:30 AM PDT
Dismiss, Discredit, Destroy
Dump Steny Hoyer
by mataliandy on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:59:44 AM PDT
by Statusquomustgo on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:08:09 AM PDT
never the system, just a few individuals who can be forgotten.
The military is being abused, from the commander in chief on down. I'm so sick of the canard that only republicans care about supporting the troops.
It is indeed a national disgrace.
"There's been a little complication with my complication"
by dash888 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:50:19 AM PDT
But I do think he was in despair.
by jvantin1 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:51:34 AM PDT
...for wearing his full military uniform to Walter Reed when he needed double-knee replacement surgery 18 years ago. He lived in Germany before he retired, and between the Korean war, flying combat missions in the Nam for 3 years, two riding accidents on his horse, and a near-fatal one on the autobahn, I guess he felt the need to pull his rank at WR. I always thought he was on some sort of power trip, and laughed him to scorn for doing it--which I think that's the reason he disinherited me, among the fact that we're also total opposites on the political spectrum!
Maybe all of our servicemembers should just wear a General's uniform to the VA hospital. Seriously, though, this is the one place I believe where just serving your country is all the "rank" you should need to get proper medical care.
"Great men do not commit murder. Great nations do not start wars". William Jennings Bryan
by ImpeachKingBushII on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:22:38 AM PDT
I'm sorry to hear about your personal estrangement from your father.
What your message leaves me with is the vision of a man, frightened that he will not get medical care except if he evokes as much respect as he can from the VA through his rank.
He must have been terrified.
by rerutled on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:44:37 PM PDT
It amazes me that so many people refuse to acknowledge mental health as a legitimate medical condition but believe chiropractors can cure their ear aches.
This man served our country. He deserved the treatment and care to ensure his last years were comfortable. His family deserved better. The United States government and society as a whole, failed Mr. Chapman. What a tragedy.
detroitist - chronicling the life and times of the city that God intended.
by Woodwards Friend on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:25:52 AM PDT
besides ... we aren't at 89 what we were at 25 .. Kos was right about Republicans .. they want to destroy government
John McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion
by Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle on Tue May 06, 2008 at 12:01:28 PM PDT
That's the conclusion I've come to, that obedience is the root cause. Obedience is touted as a virtue, but it relieving the individual of responsibility for the moral value of his own acts, it sets the predicate for risk-taking and violent aggression, which, in retrospect, the moral person can't reconcile. Only the sociopath comes away unaffected by the anti-social behavior his obedience to the directives of superiors leads him to engage in.
We tend to overlook or forget that obedience is the central component of every gang-like organization. And, it isn't enough to say that following orders is no excuse. The fact is that once obedience becomes habitual, it's just like every other human habit very difficult to break. Easier for some people to just break themselves.
How do you tell a predator from a protector? The predator will eat you sooner rather than later.
by hannah on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:55:25 AM PDT
as Fromm named a certain personality type, which is a product of the modern world (from early capitalism onwards), does nothing to alleviate the problem.
by Dauphin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:12:43 AM PDT
the inclination to obey.
In one sense, obedience is a social glue in that it facilitates the transmission of acquired wisdom from one generation to the next. In other words, the individual who's obedient to instruction actually benefits.
However, those motivated by the authoritarian impulse actually give directions that are ultimately harmful to the individual who carried them out. "hard choices" is a sort of short-hand for the process which inevitably means that someone else (not the person giving the order) is going to have it hard.
There's no power associated with giving positive directions and having them carried out for the benefit of the actor. Which is why, to be felt, power has to hurt.
by hannah on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:21:21 AM PDT
as a personality type common among certain social strata actually feels both a need to submit to an authority which he perceives as strong, and wants to dominate the weak, who arouse his contempt. Basically, the authoritarian character knows only two sexes: The powerful and the powerless.
It's why nazism had such a tremendous appeal among the lower middle class: The authoritarian character was most prevalent in that social stratum, together with feelings of insecurity over the future and resentment over Germany's humiliation.
It's this type of people which makes for the most dedicated apparatchiks.
by Dauphin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:00:00 AM PDT
That seem always to support Bush no matter what?
by mbzoltan on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:03:46 AM PDT
"The great lie of democracy, its essential paradox, is that democracy is first to be sacrificed when its security is at risk." --Ian McDonald
by Geenius at Wrok on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:18:10 AM PDT
The authoritarian character (Hitler was a prime example) respects authority only as long as he perceives it as strong. Hitler, for example, admired Great Britain and despised the Indian revolutionaries as long as he saw her as strong. When he began to perceive Britain as weak, he began to have contempt for her.
by Dauphin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:29:50 AM PDT
Robert Altemeyer's research on the authoritarians determined that the leader types actually knew they were advocating "wrong" or "bad" concepts, but that they justify it because it is for the greater good, so to speak.
by TexasTwister on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:46:45 PM PDT
Obedience to legitimate orders is also a central component of any successful military. Do you completely dismiss the worth of the very military this vet served in? You know, the one that pretty much saved the world from Hitler?
There are of course many more examples. But please tell how you would organize such an effort absent willing obedience.
"The president was writing checks to the Georgians without knowing what he had in the bank," said a senior administration official.
by perro amarillo on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:13:28 AM PDT
Much like the US Government owes our veterans the best healthcare possible in exchange for their service, the US Government also owes its' people something in exchange for their taxes.
The problem is that people have been listening to the wrong politicians since the advent of Nixon.
For example, in this country, people tend to get more outraged over the cost of social services, while ignoring the costs of waging war and national defense.
People should be upset that their tax dollars are basically funding the coffers of private corporations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead, we get diatribes against people who are on welfare and other social services. It's absolutely pathetic. People on welfare and social services are labeled as the bogeyman. They are harassed, generalized and blamed for a lot of problems.
As a disabled (by law but I don't feel disabled) American with Section 8 housing assistance, I get pissed off whenever someone accuses me of leeching off the system. I applied legally for my assistance and I got it. They make adjustments based on my income.
Regardless, I am getting more and more fed up with this country everyday. We should get free healthcare for our taxes.
Instead, we have let capitalism and free market hooey run amok.
I hate to go off-topic but I just got home from working third shift and somehow, I feel like ranting.
Conservatives are close-minded, shallow, superficial people that live in a fantasy world where everything is black and white and there are NO shades of gray.
by Brad007 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:16:18 AM PDT
Take the French system: 7 hour workdays with paid overtime and paid leave. Aren't happy and fresh workers inherently more productive than bitter, overworked serfs?
by Dauphin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:19:24 AM PDT
...that'll mean that CEO of Company-X won't be able to make $400-billion in personal profits, and we can't have that.
This is totally tangential, but there's an episode of the Cartoon Network cartoon Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends called "Cookie Dough" that even hits this point. The main character, a smart, but egotistical imaginary friend named Bloo has seized upon an opportunity to sell cookies made from a recipe belonging to Madam Foster, the woman who created the foster home in the first place, in order to make money.
Initially, the money was to pay for a new roof for the home, but as more and more money came in, Bloo began wanting more and more profits. So, while all the other imaginary friends at the house were busy working hard to make the cookies, Bloo ran around watching his giant screen tv, playing billiards with his crystal-ball billiard table, and ordering emerald-encrusted crust pizza delivered in a cardboard box made from a really rare tree.
At one point, Bloo enters the kitchen and tells Eduardo, who is sweet, innocent, Spanish-speaking imaginary friend that Bloo's laying him off. Eduardo responds, "But this job is all I have." Bloo counters, "Sales are down, we're all taking cuts here. I had to settle on having this giant statue of myself made with 23-carat gold instead of 24. Luckily the diamond teeth help distract the eye from that."
It all comes crashing down for Bloo though when everyone quits, leaving him alone to make the cookies, which he has no clue how to do.
Scenes like that drives it home how well written the show can be. It just sneaks this major commentary/criticism of our current state of economics in this country into what some would pass off as just a cartoon.
by vacantlook on Tue May 06, 2008 at 12:34:43 PM PDT
...How the Reich Wingers love attacking "Welfare Queens" but have no problem with the waste at the DOD, let alone the cost of this Bullshit war they've cooked up.
I would argue that the 89 year old vet probably had some form of PTSD that went undiagnosed. I've seen a couple of scary episode with my great uncle (82nd Airborne-Sicily, OVERLORD, MARKETGARDEN, the Ardennes)--I really think that generation(WWII-Korea) is riddled with PTSD as it never got treated or recognized.
When There is No More Room Left in Hell...CONSERVATIVES Will Walk the Earth!
by jds1978 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:08:50 AM PDT
He made it to 1952 before killing himself.
My mother's favorite cousin was sent to the South Pacific theater. He killed himself in 1957.
So yes, I'd agree there was a lot of PTSD that went unremarked in that generation.
But back to VA medical benefits, my stepdad was career army. WHen he was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-80's, the care he received at Walter Reed was wonderful.
There is no excuse for allowing the VA system to deteriorate to the extent that it has--any fool can do the logic: active war in 2 theaters=increased demand on VA medical infrastructure. The failure to amp up in anticipation of need was a willful failure.
One of many willful failures, but arguably among the most despicable
by keschen on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:03:51 AM PDT
A lot of the reason that right-wingers, even in the working and middle classes, revile the cost of social services over the cost of military waste and corporate welfare, is thinly-veiled racism on the part of the right-wingers and the Rush Limbloats that enable them.
Right-wingers don't criticize the ENORMOUS cost of bailing out corporations because they're run by (usually) clean-cut, old white gentlemen. They don't criticize the disproportionately HUGE cost that the Iraq occupation is costing because, in their warped mentality, our military's getting rid of all the brown people. And why would the right-wingers want social services if (even though they'd be benefited as well) all of "those" minorities in our country would share the benefits of universal healthcare and competitive education with them?
Right-wingers don't like to share, particularly when it comes to sharing with the "other" people who don't look like them.
Not even his fellow POW will vote for John McCain.
by boofdah on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:55:33 AM PDT
In times of scarcity, humans have alway resorted to in-group/out-group behavior: If there's less for "them" there's more for "us." With the increase in wealth disparity in the country accelerating as fast as it is, the working classes are fighting for an ever shrinking piece of the the pie. So of course the first people everyone blames are those who don't look/sound like "us."
My personal opinion is that if the trend continues we are going to have the stage set for politics similar to the 30's, the breeding grounds of the fascist/socialist dichotomy.
Bring the WAR home
by EthrDemon on Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:04:08 AM PDT
You hit it right on the head! Selfishness and fear of the other define the current day right winger.
by TexasTwister on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:48:50 PM PDT
...which addressed the very same concerns you expressed. That diarest brought out a great point, too. Seems America as a whole is working itself to death. We often take the "vacation check" rather than the badly-needed time off, which quite ironically, would stave-off many of the health problems we face because we're constantly running non-stop on the corporate treadmill. You can't put a price on good health. Many nations, especially in the EU have realised this and have mandated lowering their average hourly work weeks, and that their citizens take vacations.
But this is what happens when our corporations are allowed to move their assets to offshore bank accounts in the Cayman islands; when we still give them taxbreaks for outsourcing American jobs overseas to foreign countries who don't require the health and retirement benefits our workers need and rightfully demand!
Yet these same companies who close shop here in America, expect us to treat their personal, private so-called right to "individual citizenship" as some sort of sacred cow, above the economic and civic responsibilities and national loyalties that is the moral and right price of that "citizenship".
The Founding Fathers didn't say in the preamble to our Constitution, "a government of, by and for the corporations"! Somehow the notion of responsibility and accountability has given way to the concept of endless corporate greed and their pervasive "go to hell" or as they like to say, "privatization" (of everything) attitude which says, "we've gotten ours, and the rest of you are on your own"!
by ImpeachKingBushII on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:48:04 AM PDT
Anyway, 81% of citizens DO realize they're worse off, according to a recent poll. Let's see if the media lets people understand how MUCH worse John W. McBush would make that. Remember, there are limits to what even us hard fighters can do. I'm so frustrated right now I'm considering dropping our of all my Democratic ativist groups and resigning as a Neighborhood Leader. I feel like I've done everything for four years and the Republicans just have us by the balls.
We're retiring Steve LaTourette (R-Family Values for You But Not for Me) and sending Judge Bill O'Neill to Congress from Ohio-14: http://www.oneill08.com/
by anastasia p on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:01:22 AM PDT
Why there isn't a public outcry over this in a country proud of its military tradition and of its armed services is beyond me.
Because our country is not actually proud of our military tradition and armed services - it's proud of aggressive machismo. Once someone becomes "weak," they are no longer of use in the aggression game, and thus no longer a source of pride.
by mataliandy on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:03:17 AM PDT
The Europeans, especially the French, have it right when it comes to protest. Americans complain about their government, but don't do anything about it.
Economic: -8.88 Social: -8.21 www.politicalcompass.org
by Covin on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:24:39 PM PDT
Dudehisattva...
by Dood Abides on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:41:01 AM PDT
and she routinely tells me how disgusted she is with some of its policies and employees, but she also tells me about how it often has its hands tied because of a lack of funds.
What a tragedy.
by Melchuck29 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:38:12 AM PDT
By the Bushies.
John McCain will end Roe v. Wade if he's president.
by Phoenix Woman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:28:12 AM PDT
I can't comment on the overall V.A. budget, because I haven't reviewed it. Anyway, I'm not a budget analyst.
As someone who receives his health care through the V.A. health system, though, I can tell you that over the past seven years the Bush administration has imposed a program of centralization and consolidation on the system.
Now, the centralizaton and consolidation may save money, but it imposes time and money costs on the veterans and their families, because they have to drive longer distances to reach the treatment centers. Some veterans receive reimbursement for mileage, but that is set at a low figure and does not cover their costs.
Outpatient clinics which served substantial local populations for decades have been closed or have seen certain services stripped and relocated to the largest cities.
Even most of the waiting room furniture was removed from the outpatient clinic from which I formerly received my basic care.
We're all in this together.
by JTML on Tue May 06, 2008 at 09:01:53 AM PDT
Wright. Certainly, our present administration is a disgrace.
The White House will be The People's House--B.Obama
by Phil S 33 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:41:38 AM PDT
who's spent a year in a POW camp.
I know what untreated PTSD looks like.
It doesn't go away.
Weeping.
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell
by zic on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:54:29 AM PDT
and arrest Bush for the murder of this man?
I'd even say it was premeditated, since Bush's cuts to veteran services directly led to this man's death.
NFTT Progressively supporting the troops
by Timroff on Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:09:25 AM PDT
by negligent operation of the government is I think the best you can do. Of course, all the deaths in Iraq could probably be called premeditated...
by EthrDemon on Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:06:33 AM PDT
It took Congress to pass the budgets that allow the VA to be strapped for funds. Both parties are guilty there.
by ColoTim on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:28:32 AM PDT
the VA and suicide right now
Fight for Peace.
by operculum on Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:12:10 AM PDT
find a way to make caring about our veterans into a reality TV show people would start to pay attention.
This is bad for Obama and good for McCain.
by NMDad on Tue May 06, 2008 at 09:03:02 AM PDT
Like the Iraq vet on Queen for a Day Extreme Home Makeover. He lost a leg and is raising more kids than you can count without a scorecard as a single Dad.
Somebody needs to do a mental health follow-up on these families that get taken from the skids, made celebrities out of, then left. Not to mention, if the guy wasn't making it before, how is he gonna afford the increased property taxes on this (at least) half-million-dollar home?
If you haven't, watch James Gandolfini's Alive Day special on HBO. It's hard to watch, especially because so many of these severely wounded vets would go back to Iraq if they could. Their service is honorable--this fucking war...not so much.
But hey, I have a made-in-China "Support Our Troops" magnet on my car, so it's all good, right? (Not)
"Troll-be-gone...apply directly to the asshole. Troll-be-gone...apply directly to the asshole."
by homogenius on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:23:09 AM PDT
to wider attention.
the way we treat our veterans breaks my heart.
Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D. 76 days until the '08 elections. Let's paint the country BLUE!
by TrueBlueMajority on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:26:53 AM PDT
wide narrow
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