Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, second right, and Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake, right, laugh as President Bush inspects an air horn during a send off to members of Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride, Thursday, April 24,2008, on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
18 veterans commit suicide a daywhich is a living testament to the idiocy of both George W Bush and his foolish and illegal Iraq war and oil grab ~ a war which has left a lasting stain of shame on every veteran who participated and a nation who condoned it: Allen L Roland
If your not outraged ~ your on life support.
In a stunning admission, top officials at the Veterans Health Administration confirmed that the agency’s own statistics show that an average of 126 veterans per week ~ 6,552 veterans per year ~ commit suicide, according to an internal email distributed to several VA officials. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3204.shtml
Brig. Gen. Michael J. Kussman, the undersecretary for health at the VA, sent that email, dated Dec. 15, 2007. Kussman had inquired about the accuracy of a news report published that month claiming the suicide rate among veterans was 18 per day.
In an email response to Kussman, Ira Katz, the head of mental health at the VA, confirmed the statistics and added “VA’s own data demonstrate 4-5 suicides per day among those who receive care from us.”
Excerpt: " Last week, in a federal courthouse in San Francisco, that email will be cited as evidence that the VA has failed to properly treat veterans who suffer from PTSD and veterans who are suicidal. Those allegations were made in a class action lawsuit filed against the VA by two veterans advocacy groups, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, alleging a systematic breakdown at the VA has led to an epidemic of suicides."
"The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). "Our veterans deserve better."
And that they do ~ here is Andrea Gibson's heartfelt three minute poetic lament to those damaged and forgotten souls ~ who Bush could care less about :
Freelance Online columnist and recognized therapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net
Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net
