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SATURDAY -- 10 MAY 2008

#4 - THREE TAMPA VA COPS PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF VERBAL ABUSE -- The VA "...will act immediately and appropriately to discipline employees and to protect the rights and safety of our patients, should that become necessary."

#3 - REPORT: VA NOW ACCEPTING CLAIMS FOR HYPERTENSION LINKED TO AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE -- Will determine service-connected status at a later date, but claims are expected to be approved.

#2 - U.S. ARMY'S STOP-LOSS ORDERS UP DRAMATICALLY OVER LAST YEAR -- Thousands of new stop-loss orders were issued to keep soldiers from leaving the service after combat tours were extended from 12 to 15 months last spring.

#1 - UPDATE: VETS' ATTORNEY ANALYZES "BLUE WATER NAVY" DECISION -- "It is a sad day...because the VA...will now be able to continue to deny benefits to deserving veterans who are suffering the effects of Agent Orange exposure."

FRIDAY -- 09 MAY 2008

#9 - UPDATE: "BLUE WATER NAVY" DECISION TO BE APPEALED -- National Veterans Legal Services Program intends to appeal this decision, which adversely affects all Blue Water Vietnam veterans.

#8 - VA FLIP-FLOPS ON VOTER REGISTRATION, GOES BACK TO "NOT HERE" POLICY -- "VA's decision, during wartime, to block voter registration for our hospitalized veterans is shameful, outrageous and despicable."

#7 - VA RESEARCH: TELEHEALTH INTERVENTION BENEFITS PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS -- "With video and telephone technology, nurses have the ability to interact regularly with patients and provide a sense of security."

#6 - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT VETERANS' SUICIDES -- Here are some questions and answers on veteran suicides, what information exists, and what changes in care have been made.

#5 - CARS TAKE A POTHOLE BEATING GETTING TO THE PITTSBURGH VA -- City is paving elsewhere. "I guess they think they can get a lot more political bang for their buck if they go to more high-profile areas."

#4 - JIM STRICKLAND'S MAIL BAG: VOLUME #33 FOR 2008 -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog readers.

#3 - VAOIG REPORT: SCOPES OF PRACTICE FOR UNLICENSED PHYSICIANS ENGAGED IN VA RESEARCH -- "...The majority of the scopes of practice were not in compliance...and occasionally did permit providers to engage in activities generally performed by licensed personnel..."

#2 - FED UP WITH BUREAUCRACY, A FAMILY DOCTOR GIVES UP ON TRICARE -- Even the most basic services required special approval because so few doctors or hospitals were on the approved list.

#1 - U.S. DEPLOYS MORE THAN 43,000 GIs UNFIT FOR COMBAT -- "They are repeatedly exposed to high-intensity combat with insufficient time at home to rest and heal before redeploying."

THURSDAY -- 08 MAY 2008

#8 - "BLUE WATER NAVY" VETERANS LOSE CASE IN U.S. COURT OF APPEALS -- Offshore Vietnam vets will not get presumptive benefits for exposure to Agent Orange. VA's "Boots on the Ground" rule stands.

#7 - VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY MAY HELP PTSD PATIENTS -- "We think that, aided by medications, virtual reality is going to be a useful way to help people haunted by an experience confront their fears in a more complete and therapeutic way."

#6 - MAN WHO STOLE DECEASED MOTHER'S VA BENEFITS IS SENTENCED TO PRISON -- He cashed approximately 22 VA benefits checks made payable to his mother, forging endorsements on each check.

#5 - FOR PHYSICAL THERAPIST, UNSEEN INJURIES IN VETERANS OFTEN WORSE -- "They just think the headaches will go away, that their joints hurting is just part of it. But it's not. Their bodies have been traumatized. They just can't see it."

#4 - VETS' ATTORNEYS TESTIFY ABOUT NEW VETERANS' BENEFITS LEGISLATION -- Richard Cohen, Executive Director of the National Organization of Veterans' Advocates, before the Senate Vets' Committee.

#3 - UPDATE: VETERANS HAPPY BOSTON-AREA VA FACILITIES WILL STAY OPEN -- "I just hope someone speaks up and makes sure they enhance the services like they promised us."

#2 - PROSECUTOR PROTECTS VETERAN'S BENEFITS BY HAVING HIM ARRESTED -- Vet taken to Court from VA hospital so he would no longer be a fugitive and lose his benefits.

#1 - VA RESEARCH: IBUPROFEN LINKED TO REDUCED RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE -- The study found veterans who specifically used ibuprofen for more than five years were more than 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

WEDNESDAY -- 07 MAY 2008

#8 - VIDEO: BOB FILNER SAYS VA IS GUILTY OF CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE -- From CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Tuesday, May 6, 2008.

#7 - IRAQ WAR STRAINS U.S. ARMY MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM -- "They're kind of a canary in a coal mine. They're a good barometer to understand the human cost of the war."

#6 - CONGRESSMAN CALLS FOR VA TO INVESTIGATE REPORTS OF POOR CARE AT TWO PRIVATIZED CLINICS -- "Several veterans have reported being told they cannot get regular tests ordered by doctors due to cost. These practices are simply unacceptable."

#5 - VA CONSTRUCTION WORK PROMPTS ASBESTOS EXPOSURE WORRIES -- Sausalito officials shut down a VA construction project after alarmed residents complained about dust and raised concerns about asbestos exposure.

#4 - JIM STRICKLAND'S MAIL BAG: VOLUME #32 FOR 2008 -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog readers.

#3 - BOB FILNER ACCUSES VA OF CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE, BUT WHAT WILL HE DO ABOUT IT? -- House Vets' Chair has history of inflammatory language when describing VA practices. Will he act on this allegation, or is he just trying to get a headline in an election year?

#2 - SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF DEPLOYED TROOPS NEEDS BOOST, SOME BELIEVE -- The VA does not allow the department to directly counsel family members of veterans, leaving them to draw support from friends, private clinicians or military unit resources.

#1 - SECURITY CLEARANCE DECEPTION by Larry Scott -- Pentagon's new policy leads troops to believe that mental health issues will have no bearing on getting a security clearance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

TUESDAY -- 06 MAY 2008

#9 - RESEARCHERS TEST SOLAR-POWERED MILITARY FIELD HOSPITAL -- Florida International University is working with military planners to develop a makeshift mobile hospital that runs completely on solar power.

#8 - VA RESEARCH: INCREASED CO-PAY CAUSED OLDER VETS TO CUT BACK OR STOP MEDS -- Increases in co-payments for potentially life-saving medications can significantly increase the odds that older adults will take the drugs less often, and may even discontinue taking them.

#7 - ALL FOUR EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS VA HOSPITALS TO STAY OPEN -- After years of hearings, meetings, delays and thousands of dollars spent on consultants, the VA has decided to leave all four hospitals intact.

#6 - VA OFFICIAL SAYS VETERANS' SUICIDES NOT REFLECTION OF AGENCY NEGLIGENCE -- "A suicide does not mean negligence on the part of a medical center director or a network director. Suicide occurs just like cancer occurs."

#5 - COMMON SOIL FUNGI COULD LOCK DEPLETED URANIUM OUT OF HARM'S WAY -- "You can go to just about any soil, and you'd find fungi that would lock away uranium."

#4 - GOVERNMENT CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES: WOUNDED IN WAR, ILL-TREATED AT HOME -- Report says federal government is not doing enough to help some civilian employees wounded while deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

#3 - VET'S DAUGHTER SAYS HIS SUICIDE WAS A STATEMENT ABOUT VA BENEFITS -- 89-year-old Grover Chapman killed himself outside a VA clinic. "No matter what I apply for at the VA, they turn me down."

#2 - WORLD WAR II MUSEUM GOES HOLLYWOOD -- "This is not just a show about how Hollywood affected the war, but about how the war affected Hollywood."

#1 - WHY ISN'T CONGRESS INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING "BLUE WATER NAVY" VETERANS? -- Offshore Vietnam vets still looking to find sponsor for bill granting fair compensation.

MONDAY -- 05 MAY 2008

#9 - VIDEO: STOLEN VALOR -- MEDAL OF HONOR PHONY GOES ON TRIAL -- From ABC World News with Dan Harris, Sunday, May 4, 2008.

#8 - JIM STRICKLAND'S MAIL BAG: VOLUME #31 FOR 2008 -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog readers.

#7 - VA STILL ACCEPTING COMMENTS ON "SERVICE IN THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM" RULE -- "Blue Water Navy" vets still left out of Agent Orange presumptives as VA continues "boots on the ground" rule.

#6 - PRIVATE HOSPITAL OFFERS BRAIN INJURY SCREENINGS FOR VETERANS -- The VA "can't go out and advertise and do the kind of outreach we're doing...Our hope is to get every vet in the state who's at risk of TBI to access services."

#5 - FOR MANY WAR VETERANS, BLINDNESS BECOMES A BITTER LEGACY -- "We won't know for months. We can see the individuals and they may be perfectly fine, and then down the line they have problems."

#4 - IS ECSTASY (MDMA) THE KEY TO TREATING PTSD? -- At last the incurably traumatized may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And controversially, the key to taming their demons is the "killer drug" Ecstasy.

#3 - VA RESEARCH: RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN TREATMENT OF HEPATITIS C AMONG VETS -- Were Blacks less likely to receive medical care than Whites because of patient preference or provider bias?

#2 - INSIDE JOB: VFW BINGO OPERATION LOOTED OF MORE THAN $170,000 -- Four people are charged with stealing money meant to help sick veterans and their families.

#1 - A PURPLE HEART FOR PTSD? -- Army psychologist makes controversial proposal even though PTSD does not meet regulatory requirements for medal.

SUNDAY -- 04 MAY 2008

WEB SITE SERVER MAINTENANCE DAY

SATURDAY -- 03 MAY 2008

#7 - MINNEAPOLIS VA'S ADULT DAY CARE PROGRAM GETS A REPRIEVE FROM CLOSING -- Officials at the VA center say family response has caused them to reconsider decision.

#6 - VA'S NEW TRAVEL NURSE CORPS HITS THE ROAD -- "The program helps VA medical facilities address supplemental staffing needs while also ensuring there is a continued commitment to quality and safety."

#5 - TRAUMATIZED MARINE IGNORES DOCTOR'S ORDERS TO SAVE INJURED MOTORCYCLIST -- Others drove past the injured motorcyclist, who lay bleeding to death on the side of the road.

#4 - NEW VETERANS' BENEFITS BILL PASSES HOUSE VETS' COMMITTEE -- "We must act now and intercede on behalf of these disabled veterans who are being left languishing in a system not capable of responding to their immediate needs."

#3 - VA RESEARCH: EDUCATION AND SIMPLE MEASURES IMPROVE HYPERTENSION CARE -- Focused and inexpensive measures improved high blood pressure control and treatment among veterans.

#2 - NEW LEGISLATION WOULD HELP "TEST VETS" OF PROJECT 112 -- "We have some veterans that are long dead because of the exposure they received, and that's just plain wrong."

#1 - WEBB'S NEW G.I. BILL GAINS MOMENTUM AS McCAIN'S OFFERING FINDS LIMITED SUPPORT -- Webb spokeswoman: "We still think our bill is the gold standard and should go forward with the highest possible number of benefits possible."
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OF SPECIAL INTEREST
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VOTE SMART - VOTE VET: NEW VETERANS' VOTING INFORMATION PAGE -- See how the presidential candidates voted on veterans' issues.

A LOOK AT THE VETS' COMMISSION'S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS -- Don't expect any action on recommendations that will cost the government money.   (download Commission report here)

GUN BILL NOT ANTI-VETERAN -- Let's use some common sense instead of nonsense.

VA'S PATIENT RECORD FLAGS: THE REST OF THE STORY -- More about who can flag a veteran's medical records and what can be done about it.

VIDEO: GULF WAR ILLNESS - CONSPIRACY TEST  -- Discovery Channel program explores the mystery of Gulf War Illness as five GW veterans volunteer for the latest genetic testing to look for answers.

            
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LATEST PUBLISHED ARTICLES on        
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SECURITY CLEARANCE DECEPTION by Larry Scott -- (05-07-08)   Pentagon's new policy leads troops to believe that mental health issues will have no bearing on getting a security clearance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

OLD AND IN THE WAY (04-28-08)   As the "new vets" from Iraq and Afghanistan, just 2% of the veteran population, are given priority at the VA, the other 98% find themselves pushed to the rear of the line, now the forgotten of previous conflicts.

GUN BILL NOT ANTI-VETERAN (10-01-07)   Let's use some common sense instead of nonsense about H.R. 2640. If you're a veteran or you have been diagnosed with PTSD, don't worry, they aren't coming for your firearms.

WHAT PROMISE TO VETERANS? -- by Larry Scott (07-01-07)   It’s the great American myth; an urban legend of epic proportions. But, there was no promise made, so there’s nothing to keep. Now, it’s time for a new, in-your-face attitude:  WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS -- YOU OWE US!
         
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