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WEDNESDAY -- 01 OCTOBER 2008

LEGISLATION WILL ALLOW VA TO CONDUCT WIDESPREAD HIV TESTING -- Another obstacle to routine screening for HIV is about to fall, this time for the VA, the nation's largest provider of HIV care.

ARMY CREATES SUICIDE PREVENTION BOARD -- The board will look at how to handle the high-stress climate facing recruiters who may be both under pressure from their job and victims of PTSD.

MAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGALLY WEARING MEDALS -- He was never in the service, but wore a Navy Captain's uniform adorned with a Navy Cross and other medals.

UPDATE: BUSH SIGNS BUDGET BILL, RECORD VA FUNDING INCLUDED -- The legislation is one of the few bills this election year that simply had to pass.

VAOIG REPORT: VA LOSES MILLIONS ON NONCOMPETITIVE CLINICAL SHARING AGREEMENTS -- The VA "lacks reasonable assurance it received the services it paid for because performance monitoring controls over noncompetitive clinical sharing agreements are not effective."

STOLEN MEMORIALS BECOME QUICK BUCKS FOR METAL THIEVES -- Grave markers are especially enticing because they are easily removed and cemeteries typically aren't guarded.

ARMY AND SEARS TEAM UP TO SELL "BIG RED ONE" CLOTHING LINE -- But, some veterans of the 1st Infantry Division are not happy about civilians wearing their unit patch.

TUESDAY -- 30 SEPTEMBER 2008

VIETNAM VET SAYS HIS URGENT CARE WAS DELAYED BECAUSE VA IS SWAMPED WITH "NEW" VETERANS -- "I asked them why they couldn't get me in sooner, and they said they were filled right up."

NEW YORK STATE CUTS BENEFITS FOR BLIND VETERANS -- Wall Street meltdown blamed for budget cuts that leave blind veterans with less money each month.

VA RESEARCH TARGETS RELATIONSHIP AGGRESSION AMONG THOSE WITH PTSD -- "We are hoping we can conduct these interventions in such a way that they could be useful for the VA and could be extended to community populations as well."

FORMER VA EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH VETERANS' ID THEFT -- Prosecutors say they allegedly stole checks, credit card and bank account numbers from combat veterans.

THE "NEW" INTREPID MUSEUM IS COMING HOME -- Freshly painted and once again shipshape from stem to stern, the fabled survivor of Pacific war battles will be slotted into its familiar Hudson River berth.

JIM STRICKLAND'S MAIL BAG: VOLUME #63 FOR 2008 -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.

MONDAY -- 29 SEPTEMBER 2008

FOUR-LEGGED PRESCRIPTION FOR VETERANS' STRESS -- "He has a constant need for attention. You can't ignore him. All I want to do is hang out with Vegas."

GULF WAR VETERAN CLAIMS GOVERNMENT RED TAPE IS KILLING HIM -- "These last few years have been a living hell, trying to deal with diagnoses of multiple illnesses."

DISABLED VETS FORCED TO BATTLE SOCIAL SECURITY FOR BENEFITS -- Servicemen deemed fully disabled by the VA are rejected repeatedly by the federal agency.

WOUNDED WARRIOR'S LONG-DISTANCE CARE PULLS FAMILY APART -- "He's in the right place for the highly specialized care he needs, but unfortunately, it's almost 1,000 miles away from his home."

ARTIST DISPLAYS WORKS FROM IRAQ WAR -- "It's not about being pro or against. It's about what it's like to be there."

"WAR JOKES FROM HELL" ARE "NO LAUGHING MATTER" -- Author and veteran Marc Levy: "Misunderstood on the home front, freighted with secret guilt and shame, after a time, far from the bullet's madding crowd, gallows humor may lose its healing cautery."

WEEKEND -- 27 & 28 SEPTEMBER 2008

TUCSON VA TESTING NEW SUPERBUG SCREENING MACHINE -- New device has helped Tucson VA dramatically cut MRSA infection-transmission rate.

FAMILY OPPOSED VA'S FATAL FEEDING TUBE REMOVAL -- Mother says the high cost of son's care led the VA to seek an end to his life.

BIOTECH FIRMS GET RIVAL DEALS TO BUILD NEW ANTHRAX VACCINE FOR GOVERNMENT -- Both companies are competing to supply the Strategic National Stockpile with 25 million doses of a recombinant, or genetically engineered, anthrax vaccine.

IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO "LAST CALL" FOR TAX REBATE CHECKS -- Veterans and seniors have until October 15 to file to receive their economic stimulus payment.

UPDATE: SENATE PASSES VA BUDGET, SENDS TO PRESIDENT -- Bill includes "must do" budgets with other agencies operating on continuing resolution.

VIDEO: FISHING IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR DISABLED VETERANS -- From NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Friday, September 26, 2008.

PRIVATIZED VA CLINICS FOCUS OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ATTACK AD -- Bruce Lunsford of Valor Healthcare accused of "mistreating our veterans" by opponent.

LATEST DEFENSE BILL OFFERS A MIXED BAG FOR MILITARY -- One provision will allow military not in uniform and veterans to render a military salute during the playing of the national anthem.

REBUILDING TOGETHER RENOVATES HOME FOR LOW INCOME VETERANS -- "This means everything to me. My wife and I are on a fixed income so this is a big help."

VIDEO: FLYGIRLS FROM WORLD WAR II HOLD REUNION -- Report is from KTXA-TV in Dallas and CNN, Friday, September 26, 2008.

FRIDAY -- 26 SEPTEMBER 2008

AFTER SERVING IN BATTLE, SOLDIERS HAVE A FIGHTER IN COURT -- "I have represented 20 or 25 soldiers and they have received the maximum they could. That doesn't happen with unrepresented soldiers."

IN HIGH-TECH MOVE, VA JOINS INTERNET2 -- VA intends to explore how the Internet2 Network may be used to support medical data sharing, distance learning, high resolution image transfers and health science applications like video for home healthcare.

HOUSTON SOLDIERS' SUICIDES PROMPT SCRUTINY -- "You've heard that recruiters are kind of insensitive to their recruits and tell them anything, but that pressure comes down all the way from the top. It'll change your personality."

ARMY SAYS VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY OFFERS "CURE" FOR PTSD -- Director of Military Internal Medicine says of those who choose VR therapy: "...There's a good chance you're going to be cured."

VA OFFICIALS HELP PATIENTS GET ABSENTEE BALLOTS -- Social workers at the Northport VA are making sure veterans are getting voter registration information.

UPDATE: BOB FILNER BLASTS VA FOR DELAYS IN OUTSOURCING NEW G.I. BILL PROGRAM -- House Vets' Chair: "I could find a geek to do this stuff for $1 million. We've got kids all over the country that could do this work...It's not that conceptually difficult."

THURSDAY -- 25 SEPTEMBER 2008

DoD TO RE-ENGINEER ITS ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEM -- This as agency's health record database gets so big it shows signs of collapsing.

WORLD WAR II VETERAN ENSURES THE FALLEN ARE HONORED -- "So I started walking cemeteries...I found an awful lot of vets who didn't have stones."

FEDS TARGET MINNEAPOLIS VETERANS HOME IN NEW PROBE -- The Justice Department wants to know if residents' civil rights were violated as a result of improper care at the Minneapolis Veterans Home.

VA AND KAISER PERMANENTE PREVIEW ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SHARING -- "The ultimate goal is for all providers and patients to have secure digital access to the right health information at the right time..."

UPDATE: LAWMAKERS PRESS FOR CRIMINAL REVIEW OF MARION VA -- This while government attorneys want Marion widow's lawsuit thrown out of court.

UNDER THE RADAR, HOUSE APPROVES VA / MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, PENTAGON, HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGETS -- Senate is expected to pass the legislation by Friday and send it to the President for his signature.

UPDATE: CHANTIX STUDY PROMPTS BOB FILNER TO SAY HE HAS NO CONFIDENCE IN THE VA -- House Vets' Chair says "A new administration" is what it will take to get VA to admit they have a problem in the human research area.

VA RESEARCH FINDS WIDELY USED INHALER COULD INCREASE RISK OF HEART ATTACK OR DEATH -- It's the latest research to raise questions about the safety of anticholinergic inhalers such as Spiriva and Atrovent.

JIM STRICKLAND'S MAIL BAG: VOLUME #62 FOR 2008 -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.

WEDNESDAY -- 24 SEPTEMBER 2008

VETS ANGRY OVER SENTENCE GIVEN TO FORMER DAV CHAPTER COMMANDER IN THEFT CASE -- "He took our trust...If it was Vietnam, I would've fragged his ass."

VA AND U. OF MINNESOTA SEEK CAUSE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE -- Studying "A beta molecules" in the brain that may stick together and become dangerous.

UPDATE: HOUSE PASSES BILL TO REWARD WORLD WAR II FILIPINO VETERANS -- Bill would not approve pensions, but would make different one-time payments to U.S. citizen and non-citizen Filipino veterans.

UPDATE: SALISBURY VA EMPLOYEES BLINDSIDED BY CHANGES AT HOSPITAL -- Employees are concerned that some veterans will have to go to local hospitals for urgent care and end up footing the bills.

VA RESEARCH ON RACIAL DISPARITIES WITH COLON CANCER -- When compared with whites, African-Americans get colon cancer more often and die from it more often.

VA HANDS OUT $36 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR HOMELESS PROGRAMS -- Secretary Peake: "Our partnerships with community-based organizations provide safe, temporary housing while these veterans return to productive lives."

VA INCREASES DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND BURN SCARS -- The change goes into effect in 30 days and those receiving compensation under the old system can have their cases reviewed.

UPDATE: VA TO LEASE MOST OF MONTROSE CAMPUS FOR PRIVATE HOMES -- Local Pol: "It's moving too fast, and in the wrong direction. It should be for veterans and their families, not big time developers. They see a gold mine."

VA MAKES ALS A PRESUMPTIVE COMPENSABLE ILLNESS FOR ALL VETS -- Secretary Peake: "Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action."

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OFF WITH HER HEAD? (05-19-08)   Norma J. Perez is still employed by the VA, even after writing an email urging subordinates to deliberately misdiagnose PTSD. Her continued employment makes a mockery of the VA's mental health care system.

SECURITY CLEARANCE DECEPTION  -- (05-07-08)   Pentagon's new policy leads troops to believe that mental health issues will have no bearing on getting a security clearance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

OLD AND IN THE WAY (04-28-08)   As the "new vets" from Iraq and Afghanistan, just 2% of the veteran population, are given priority at the VA, the other 98% find themselves pushed to the rear of the line, now the forgotten of previous conflicts.

GUN BILL NOT ANTI-VETERAN (10-01-07)   Let's use some common sense instead of nonsense about H.R. 2640. If you're a veteran or you have been diagnosed with PTSD, don't worry, they aren't coming for your firearms.

WHAT PROMISE TO VETERANS? -- by Larry Scott (07-01-07)   It’s the great American myth; an urban legend of epic proportions. But, there was no promise made, so there’s nothing to keep. Now, it’s time for a new, in-your-face attitude:  WE ARE U.S. MILITARY VETERANS -- YOU OWE US!
         
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