On 10/4/07, Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Golly gee willikers, we *can't* pay for kids to get > vaccines when we're at war! And we sure can't pay for > those troops, coming home after so long, to get any > better education either...heck, we hafta libel - uh, I > meant LABEL - those with PSTD as having "personality > disorder" to prevent that pesky after-battle care from > draining our profits...
And it's not just after literal battle. Virtually everyone who goes to Iraq has a number of experiences that are almost sure to produce acute PTSD... and those who are repeatedly traumatized are at high risk for chronic PTSD. And those who admit any kind of significant trauma prior to their military service are being denied VA care due to a pre-existing condition. That pretty much guarantees that those who are at the very highest risk for chronic PTSD will be denied care. It's horrible. And it's worst for women. Just one example, which I may have shared here before. Our troops are under orders when driving to stop for nothing. People in the road -- "Speed bumps," in the sick humor that is part of how people get through this kind of thing. Can you imagine being the driver o even a passenger in a vehicle where you know that at any moment you might (a) be blown to bits or (b) run over innocents? Toss in the sight of bodies along the road (which the overwhelming majority of those who serve see) and get shot at, or near, occasionally... all this adds up to a nervous system that comes home quite different, perhaps permanently. I hate the fact that this war killed Wes, but at least he doesn't have to live with all this. (He was his AAV's driver.) http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=71741 > When they came home from Iraq, 2,600 members of the > Minnesota National Guard had been deployed longer than > any other ground combat unit. The tour lasted 22 > months and had been extended as part of President > Bush's surge...Anderson's orders, and the orders of > 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for > 729 days. Had they been written for 730 days, just one > day more, the soldiers would receive those benefits to > pay for school. "Which would be allowing the soldiers > an extra $500 to $800 a month," Anderson said... Aagh. Too bad the voters can't just recall the kleptocrats, like we can with the governor here in California. Nick -- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages: 408-904-7198 _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
