Even more crap about this Jerk

[SheWolf]

Originally posted by namgrunt
Maj.Mike

I never joined the Corps just to get bennies. It doesn't make a difference if they had never legislated all the goodies which folks drool over. I would still have become a Marine.

Semper Fi!

well that's cool,, and when I joined the service it really wasn't for the bennies either,, however,, I deserve the bennies I earned and it irks me when they try to get out of giving them

[TracGunny]

Nor did I volunteer for benefits.

MAJMike, help me out here, please direct me to the information that shows President Bush cutting the crap out of our benefits.

SheWolf, and what benefits would those be?

Veterans: The President’s FY 2005 budget for VA medical care is over 40% larger than when he took office – enabling a million more patients to receive treatment. He has also implemented changes to ensure that veterans receive timely and quality medical care, shortened the time needed to process a veteran’s disability claims, and put VA on track to eliminate the waiting lists for veterans in need of medical care this year.

The President also signed into law two bills to support our veterans and their families.

H.R. 3365, the Military Family Tax Relief Act of 2003, provides tax relief and other benefits to members of the armed services and their families.

H.R. 1516, the National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003 establishes, within four years, six new national cemeteries in southeastern Pennsylvania; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Bakersfield, California; Greenville/Columbia, South Carolina; and, Sarasota, Florida.

President Bush has proposed record levels of support for America’s veterans. Since 2001, the President has increased VA healthcare funding by more than 30-percent, and the proposed FY 2004 budget is the largest annual discretionary increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs ever requested by a President.

Improving Access to Health Care for Veterans

President Bush has provided America's veterans with unprecedented medical care budget increases – more in his first two years in office than in the period from 1995-2000. Since 2001, the President has increased VA health care funding by more than 30-percent.

The President’s record requests have enabled VA to improve on its core medical mission to provide high-quality health care to veterans with service-related disabilities, with low incomes, and with special healthcare needs.

Under the President’s leadership, VA will care for 1.4 million more veterans in 2004 than in 2000, and has opened 194 new community-based clinics to be more responsive to veterans’ needs.
The Bush Administration took action last summer to provide medicine prescribed by private physicians to some veterans who had been waiting more than 30 days for an appointment.
The President’s FY 2004 budget will enable VA to eliminate the waiting list by summer 2004.

More Responsive to Veterans

Since 2001, the average time to process a disability claim has been reduced by 30 percent, and the inventory of disability claims has been reduced from a peak of 432,000 to 253,000. VA has also established special teams to focus on long-overdue cases and has already cut by half the number of cases pending for more than 6 months.

Under the Bush Administration, the Department of Defense and the VA have developed a proactive partnership to work together benefiting veterans, military beneficiaries, and taxpayers. The VA-DoD Joint Executive Council was formed to further improve quality and access for health care and to bring about a seamless transition for new veterans moving from military to civilian status.

Fulfilling our Nation’s Promise

Some 1,800 veterans die every day. Most of these are World War II and Korea veterans. The President’s budget supports fulfilling our Nation's promise to provide veterans with a dignified final resting place.

The families of veterans and military retirees have also made tremendous sacrifices. Surviving spouses, children, and some parents of veterans who are either killed in action or die of service-related causes may receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

Dependents’ educational assistance is available to spouses who have not remarried and children of veterans who are either killed in action or die of service-related disabilities.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/veterans/

[SheWolf]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TracGunny
[B]Nor did I volunteer for benefits.

MAJMike, help me out here, please direct me to the information that shows President Bush cutting the crap out of our benefits.

SheWolf, and what benefits would those be?

well,,, I know the VA hospitals are still closing, and turning away Veterans.......

now the response is that they are turning them away only for non-service related conditions,,,

but some conditions can't be separated.....

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by SheWolf


yep ya gotta wonder how many doctored pics, fake publications etc are showing up,, after all it is an election year

speaking of which,,, I hope they are giving voting classes in Florida

e-mail the Tehran Times?

IO did and the story is legit!

Here's their story just type in Kerry in the search section and you'll find yet another Kerry story, that I've posted below.

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http://www.tehrantimes.com/

---

Date: Saturday, February 07, 2004
Senator kerry Would Seek Direct Talks With Iran: Adviser

WASHINGTON (IRNA) -- Democratic presidential hopeful John kerry will seek direct talks with Iran if he wins the White House, his foreign policy chief said Thursday.

Rand Beers, national security issues coordinator for the Massachusetts senator, was critical of President George W. Bush for shunning direct dialogue with Iran after branding it a member of an "axis of evil," dispatches indicated.

Speaking to a foreign policy forum, Beers said the question of nuclear non-proliferation was one of the most significant issues facing the world and Washington should press harder to advance negotiations.

Beers said kerry, currently leading the pack in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, sought more direct efforts to thaw relations with Iran that have been frozen since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"John kerry is not saying that he is looking for better relations with Iran. He is looking for a dialogue with Iran," Beers said. "There are some issues on which we really need to sit down with the Iranians."

He listed the cultivation of opium poppies in neighboring Afghanistan as among the questions kerry would like to take up directly with Tehran.

[SheWolf]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk


e-mail the Tehran Times?

IO did and the story is legit!

Date: Saturday, February 07, 2004
Senator kerry Would Seek Direct Talks With Iran: Adviser

WASHINGTON (IRNA) -- Democratic presidential hopeful John kerry will seek direct talks with Iran if he wins the White House, his foreign policy chief said Thursday.

He listed the cultivation of opium poppies in neighboring Afghanistan as among the questions kerry would like to take up directly with Tehran.

okay so he's wrong for wanting to talk,, or at least have a dialogue with Iran??? although I got a chuckle about him wanting to talk about poppies,,,,,

again,, I didn't say the stuff wasn't true,, just know how things get doctored up to fit some peoples ideas,,,

[MAJMike]

Well said, Sgt. namgrunt.

That's why we all fought, to preserve our right to diasagree (peacably) and to vote for whom we want.

We are all Americans and can make our own decisions because most of us on this forum have given time and effort to protect those rights.

Carry on.

[CAS3]

Originally posted by SheWolf


well that's cool,, and when I joined the service it really wasn't for the bennies either,, however,, I deserve the bennies I earned and it irks me when they try to get out of giving them

Hear we go again!
SheWolf, I have a few questions. In your profile, you state you are not a Marine. What are you getting benefits for from the VA. Benefits are for a medical illness or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. How do you earn a benefit? You don't you are granted a benefits or eligible for a benefit.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has NEVER tried to take away anyones service connected disability benefits.

Since I had posted (in the VA forum)the fact that I have a copy of the independent budget and no one has requested to see it I am under the impression that you are all aware of how much money the DVA needs and how much was allocated.

also posted by shewolf...
well,,, I know the VA hospitals are still closing, and turning away Veterans.......

now the response is that they are turning them away only for non-service related conditions,,,

but some conditions can't be separated

It amazes me to see that people are under the impression that VA hospitals are closing. There is currently a proposal on going. It is called CARES and has not yet been implemented. Amazingly enough, you would only see a hard copy of which VAMC might be closing if you attended the meeting...which I did! There is nothing in circulation to prove that any hospitals are closing in the very near future. However, there are many clinics opening in order to expedite treatment for veterans.
Also, VA has had priority ratings for quite some time now. No veteran has ever been turned away from a VAMC. They may have to wait for a patient that has a more urgent problem but that is the same in ALL facilities.
As a service connected veteran, I have had no problems with VA treatment.
If you feel it is absolutely impossible to get to a VA hospital for a service connected injury or illness, you can be seen in a private hospital and notify VA within 48 hours for a claim for payment to be filed.

Listen people, I have said it a million times. Stop *****ing about it here...contact you congressmen and local politicians if you have a personal gripe. The only way to make change is to start on that level.

[MAJMike]

One question -

In an autocracy (oppposite of a democracy) do you really think that there is a newspaper called the "Tehran Times" and that they have an online edition?

And, the website ends in ".com" which is a westernized website suffix (ie. ".com" is basically used in the US and the western hemisphere. Each country has it's own "dot suffix" for websites - in France it's .fr, In germany it's .it Iran is .ir

There probably aren't 5 websites in all of Iran, and THIS AIN"T ONE OF 'EM!

Come on people, most of you are former Marine NCOs and Staff NCOs, you are smarter than this!

[SheWolf]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by CAS3
[B]
Hear we go again!
SheWolf, I have a few questions. In your profile, you state you are not a Marine. What are you getting benefits for from the VA. Benefits are for a medical illness or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. How do you earn a benefit? You don't you are granted a benefits or eligible for a benefit.



you are correct CAS3 ,, I am not a Marine,, I am, however, a retired Veteran receiving disabilty compensation for a service related injury...... I come to this forum for support because my son is a Marine,,, soon to be on his second tour in Iraq...

we can play semantics about whether a benefit is earned, granted or eligible,,, when I enlisted,, I enlisted under the Vietnam Era GI Bill,,, that I earned because I fullfilled my contract, so I earned them,,,

I have my VA card for my service related injury,,, which,,, thankfully I haven't had to have looked at,, it's really a small thing,,, but I earned it,, or was granted it and am eligible for it....

[MAJMike]

Just who is Rand Beers?

A quick "google" shows that he is a former Marine officer and rifle platoon commander in Viet Nam:

Rand Beers, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at harvard University, is a retired senior civil servant with 35 years of service.* He began as a Marine officer and rifle company commander in Vietnam (1964-1968).* He entered the Foreign Service in 1971 and transferred to the Civil Service in 1983. *During most of his career he served in the State Department's Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, including as Office Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary for regional affairs focusing on the Middle East and Persian Gulf.* He was Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (1998-2002).* He also served in four positions on the NSC Staff at the White House during four Administrations.* His functions included Director for Counter-terrorism and Counter-narcotics, Director for Peacekeeping, and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs (1988-98).* His final government position was as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism on the NSC Staff (2002-2003).* He resigned in March 2003 and retired in April.* He began work on John Kerry's Presidential campaign in May 2003 as National Security/Homeland Security Issue Coordinator.
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Knock him if you will, he's one of our own.

[TracGunny]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SheWolf
[B]

Originally posted by TracGunny
Nor did I volunteer for benefits.

MAJMike, help me out here, please direct me to the information that shows President Bush cutting the crap out of our benefits.

SheWolf, and what benefits would those be?

well,,, I know the VA hospitals are still closing, and turning away Veterans.......

now the response is that they are turning them away only for non-service related conditions,,,

but some conditions can't be separated.....

Which takes me back to my original question...

[SheWolf]

[Originally posted by TracGunny [/i]
[B]

Which takes me back to my original question...

oops I think I forgot your question....

senior moment.........

[usmc4669]

SheWolf:
yep ya gotta wonder how many doctored pics, fake publications etc are showing up,, after all it is an election year

Have you seen the new one of President Bush with his arm draped over the shoulder of some woman with his hand on her breast? Yes it sure is an election year.

[TracGunny]

SheWolf: No problem, I've been having those "moments" since... since... what were we talking about?

Seriously, you mentioned vanishing, or the possibility of vanishing Veterans benefits. I was curious as to what benefits you were refering to... they could affect me.

[greensideout]

I think the discussion was , "crap about this Jerk".

If there is a good reason to vote this guy in as President, I would like to hear it.