The Last Great Half-White Hope?

Ready for more of this? That's what we'll get if Hillary or McSame get elected.

Prissy tires of hearing how much they care for the troops, when so clearly they do not. Obama may not be perfect, but he sure beats the alternatives...

Listen below to The Progressive Revolution with Prissy Patriot and Betty Buckaneer discuss suicide among soldiers with a family affected by their son's suicide five months after returning from Afghanistan. Enjoy the show and remember... we've only just begun;)

Dearest Readers, Prissy has been too bogged down with veterans matters to blog as of late. Our interview is with Gold Star mother and veterans advocate Susan Coats. It's important to point out that Brandon Ratliff, Susan's only child was a republican who did not disagree with the premise for war in Afghanistan. Many of us did not at that time...but yet he was not treated like a hero upon his return home. It happened in to veterans from Korea and Vietnam. It still happens to soldiers getting off the bus today...

PTSD and veterans health are non-partisan issues and both sides should face the fact our soldiers MUST be made whole when they are sent into a war unprepared and returned home to a government who refuses to spend the money to take care of their injuries, whether they be of mind or body is irrelevant. The care was promised to them and its up to Dubya and friends to make good on the promise.

If Dubya couldn't/wouldn't pay for their care, someone in the House or Senate needs to take a stand and stop paying for his war. If war could be considered a business, fixing broken soldiers is the cost of doing that business. Interestingly enough, the so called "anti-war" crowd seems to be the most upset about this lack of care for soldiers issue...and like Granny says, "You can't make it right, but you can make it up" So congress, listen to Prissy's Granny.

The Veterans Administration lying from the very top isn't surprising, they are Dubya's people...its really a shame he/Cheney and other war planners (especially those ones with dual citizenship) were never on the front lines of Vietnam. Perhaps they would appreciate that war is not glamorous and maybe we wouldn't be dealing with them now...of course with McCain, he has no excuse for not supporting the troops. He thinks more wars is supporting them, in his untreated psychological state of mind.

No one should have to sue the VA to make them do their job, in the private sector, most people are simply fired! That is until Bushworld invaded America...Good job to Paul Sullivan of

Veterans for Common Sense for his passionate advocacy in taking care of our soldiers. Check out the site for up to date details on the lawsuit.

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Click to listen to our 15 minute show on Freepress.org. Thank you to our young, cute producer RayRay...not that we noticed! The Progressive RevolutionIntro song: Another Fascist Day by Victoria Parks

McClatchy Washington Bureau VA Lying About Number of Veterans Suicides

WASHINGTON — The Veterans Administration has lied about the number of veterans who've attempted suicide, a senator charged Wednesday, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year when the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

"The suicide rate is a red-alarm bell to all of us," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray also said that the VA's mental health programs are being overwhelmed by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, even as the department tries to downplay the situation.

"We are not your enemy, we are your support team, and unless we get accurate information we can't be there to do our jobs," Murray told Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield during the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing.

Mansfield told Murray and the other senators that he didn't think the VA had deliberately tried to mislead Congress or the public.

Murray remained skeptical, however, saying that the VA has demonstrated a pattern of misleading Congress about the increasing number of soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are now seeking help and straining Defense Department and VA facilities and programs.

Nearly 1 in 5 troops has mental problems after war service

WASHINGTON - Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more.

As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government.

Only about half of those with mental health problems have sought treatment. Even fewer of those with head injuries have seen doctors.

How long has the VA known there were problems with the system? When the first study was done in 1985 the Government Accountability Office told them...and told them AGAIN Feb 14, 2005 VA Health Care: VA Should Expedite the Implementation of Recommendations Needed to Improve Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Services

Congress highlighted the importance of VA PTSD services more than 20 years ago when it required the establishment of the Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Special Committee) within VA, primarily to aid Vietnam-era veterans diagnosed with PTSD. A key charge of the Special Committee is to make recommendations for improving VA's PTSD services. The Special Committee issued its first report on ways to improve VA's PTSD services in 1985 and its latest report, which includes 37 recommendations for VA, in 2004.

The Special Committee reports also include evaluations of whether VA has met or not met the recommendations made by the Special Committee in prior reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a world leader in PTSD treatment and offers PTSD services to eligible veterans. To inform new veterans about the health care services it offers, VA has increased outreach efforts to service members returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Outreach efforts, coupled with expanded access to VA health care for these new veterans, are likely to result in greater numbers of veterans with PTSD seeking VA services.

Congress asked us to determine whether VA has addressed the Special Committee's recommendations to improve VA's PTSD services. We focused our review on 24 recommendations related to clinical care and education made by VA's Special Committee on PTSD in its 2004 report to determine (1) the extent to which VA has met each recommendation related to clinical care and education and (2) VA's time frame for implementing each of these recommendations.

GAO determined that VA has not fully met any of 24 Special Committee recommendations in our review related to clinical care and education. Specifically, we determined that VA has not met 10 recommendations and has partially met 14 of these 24 recommendations.

Because there isn't enough stress being repeatedly sent to a war zone Troops Face Foreclosure on Homes While Deployed

WASHINGTON — As the home foreclosure crisis sweeps across America, military and financial aid groups say they are hearing from a rising number of troops who say they are falling behind on their mortgage payments and struggling to keep their homes.

"The Army as a whole has seen an increase in soldiers and families seeking assistance for mortgage foreclosures," says Army Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb, an Army spokeswoman, citing data from branch legal offices trying to advise soldiers.

Neither the Pentagon nor the Department of Veterans Affairs track the number of military families facing foreclosure. Numbers of mortgage delinquencies are kept, however, by USAA, a San Antonio-based financial services company that serves military members and their families. The company declined to release figures, saying in a statement only that "we have seen an increase."

Quotes of the Day

The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations. ~David Friedman

A great war leaves the country with three armies - an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves. ~German Proverb

What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world. ~Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, 1864

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. ~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

It doesn't require any particular bravery to stand on the floor of the Senate and urge our boys in Vietnam to fight harder, and if this war mushrooms into a major conflict and a hundred thousand young Americans are killed, it won't be U.S. Senators who die. It will be American soldiers who are too young to qualify for the Senate. ~George McGovern

Today's The Progressive Revolution was in honor of soldier LT Brandon Ratliff, Army Reserves LT Brandon Ratliff (1972-2004)

One more All-American hero gone: He was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Football Player, Tennis Player, Swimmer, Soccer Player, Hiker, Collector of many things, Certified Scuba Diver, Lover of music, Wanderer, Historian, College Graduate, Debator and highly decorated Soldier, just to name a few.