Friday, May 16, 2008

Keeping them honest....

... is full-time work for an army of citizens.

Brandon Friedman has a post up about how a memo at the VA calls for a halt to diagnoses of PTSD because of 'an increased number of "compensation seeking veterans".'

Did anyone consider the consequences of war?

[another rhetorical questions]

--the BB

6 comments:

johnieb said...

But, but,

Sec of DVA Peake says "It was only one bad apple, he's been 'counseled', and he's very sorry."

It's an idea that has been circulating among administration types for several years; one former VA administrator near the top of Medical Services tried to undermine the category "PTSD" in an American Enterprise Institute study about two years ago: too many diagnoses. Is AEI close to the Dubya Follies? They developed the "Surge Strategy" for Iraq, which was implemented more than a year ago. Are we there yet?

It may not be fair to condemn all administrators for the cataclysmic evils we suffer; even as competent a crew as Petreaus's can't do much with such stupid policies as the Republican era has inflicted upon us.

Fran said...

Um, I am not a psychiatrist nor doctor, but I am thinking that like being gay, PTSD is not a choice.

I am also thinking that PTSD is something you are not born with, but something that results from living deep in the horror that evil war.

As I type this, I am listening to a story on NPR about a soldier broken and his wife's tireless fight on his behalf.

God have mercy on us all.

johnieb said...

I wouldn't say "like being Gay", but I didn't choose it and I wasn't born this way.

O/T: y'all come see my grandson pictures!

Under there... said...

I know a lady who is finishing up her doctoral research on traumatic brain injuries. She has several offers to consider. The top two are in Germany and the US. The one here is work for the VA in DC, but she is torn because she wants to see the election results this fall before she is sure. Her fear is that if there is a continuation of the same folks in power there will be pressure to mess with the science and spin the results for political purposes. She is not a conpsiracy nut. She is very intelligent and has listened to people in the field tell horror stories. It scares me when someone of her intellect would be afraid of our government. There must be something to it. The link in your post just confirms the kind of crap that goes on in the VA.

Paul said...

Alas, these are sad days for the American people and the world, when it comes to the US government. Many of us are, literally, counting the days until the little shit leaves office. May our long national nightmare come to an end!

Best wishes to your friend on making the choice that results in the highest good of all concerned.
And thanks for stopping by and commenting!

johnieb said...

It grieves me to say it, but I believe your friend should take the job in Germany. No matter who is elected, it will take months, perhaps longer, to purge the higher bureaucrats in the system.

I must add, in defense of the innocent, that in my part of the country, medical services to those veterans already in the system is well done, though, as those who know me may expect, I know more truly horrible stories than most people want to hear. For example, my friend who recently underwent surgery chose to go private after an extended encounter with VA.

And so it goes.