Veterans Claims Help

LZ CORK– ST. VALENTINE’S DAY 2015

Posted on January 26, 2015 by asknod

Leslie “Butch” Long

As promised, our war hero Butch Long is recovering slowly and regaining his strength. He hasn’t graduated from his wheelchair yet but all in good time. We’re on for Congressman Kilmer presenting his medals and the CIB he somehow missed the boat on in 1969. Of more import is a slight problem I am hoping some of you may be able to help me out on.

I know I am going to be crucified for this but I’ll just go ahead and step smartly on my necktie. While Butch was in the ICU back in November/December, he took his upper dentures out before he went to sleep and carefully wrapped them in a kleenex to keep them clean. Some industrious gomer cleaning up threw them away the next morning while he was still asleep. No one in ICU would take responsibility and Butch is out half of his dining capabilities. This is becoming a serious problem as it’s hard to thrive when you cannot eat. Medicare is not going to come to the rescue. And because Butch didn’t serve after 9/11/2001, the Wounded Warrior Project has declined help.

However, I do have a lead through Representative Kilmer’s VA honcho. She, a Veteran and a denture builder (dentist?), may be able to do it for a greatly reduced rate as she’s done it for another Vet in similar circumstances. Butch and his wife are not well-heeled and are very proud as are most Vets. They don’t cotton to handouts-including mine. I am meeting resistance in any help I try to give so I am hoping a deluge of well-meaning Veterans from the asknod family will step in to help me fill the breech. They can’t deny total strangers right? This is straight across the board. Every dime you folks donate to him goes to him. I’m just the wheel man. This is how Vet charities are supposed to work. He and his wife will probably kill me for doing this but I cannot think of more deserving souls and most certainly no more deserving Veteran.

I do not have a 501(c)(3) so you’ll be writing the check directly to them. If you don’t think that’s a worthy idea, I’ll pitch another one to you. His wife Barb “works” for the Key Peninsula Bischoff Food Bank. They are a 501(c)(3) and you can write the donation off if your goal is a tax writeoff. Or, if you feel sufficiently motivated, you might think about dividing your donation in two equal parts and give equally to both projects. I’m not on the best of terms with God so I can’t speak for Him but I expect he’d smile on this endeavor.

I donate all my excess food production to Bischoff as it is distributed very locally here on the Key Peninsula. I sometimes accidentally drop money on the floor there as I’m scatterbrained and suffer old timers disease. There are a lot of “underemployed” since the last economic rearrangement out here and a middling number are Veterans. Cupcake also generously contributes from her real estate company as well. After the Christmas rush, there’s always a dearth of food and money to help the needy in an enterprise of this nature. By rights, you’d think everybody would be going on a Jenny Craig New Year’s diet and trying to shuck some pounds and there would be even more food about.

Now, some proscriptions are in order. If you are destitute yourselves, please refrain from donating. The last thing we need is more problems elsewhere across our underfruited plain. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is right out. Please do not get a bad case of generous. It may embarrass Butch and backfire on me. I can’t take the money unless you write the check or money order in his name. This is a temporary phenomenon until I can get his rating increased to a living wage because his SSI check barely covers the rent. The new Affordable Care Act also means he has to pay the hospital back some shekels for his three-week staycation. If I can get him up to 100%, VA will cover his dental but not before. That’s VA’s catch 22- A grateful nation honors its Sons of War-sort of.

If you can believe it, the VA gave Butch a whopping 10% for “scars” covering less than 15% of his body in 1970. Somehow, they forgot about the SMC K for his right eye-the one the shrapnel went through the year before. It missed going into his brain by less than an inch. He’s been somewhat functionally blind ever since and was just reluctant to admit it to anyone. VA didn’t volunteer remuneration for that and I aim to rectify it. One big problem is they aren’t regurgitating his claims files in spite of me putting dynamite under their asses. I’ve turned that over to Rep. Kilmer’s folks now as well. The next step will be a Writ of Mandamus but I’m praying for VA to just be a stand up organization and disgorge them. Until that happens, we’re in the here and now.

I enclose pictures here of Butch’s right arm. I doubt any of you have ever seen the effects of a mortar round on human flesh. Due to the minute size of the retained metal fragments, they tend to surface much later over time. They couldn’t pick them out in 1969 and they certainly can’t now. Butch has been pulling them out for decades. VA somehow neglected to even issue him a pair of tweezers and a box of bandaids. We have another Vet here on the Key Peninsula (Gordon) who had an encounter with a Bouncing Betty in 1967 near Quang Tri and he suffers similar problems. Unfortunately, he did lose his right eye and few other of his 2,000 body parts. All those black spots are bits of the mortar. The right side of his body looks like someone spilled pepper on snow. The red spots are healing areas.

If you are interested in helping, you can make a check payable to Leslie C. Long, care of me here at my place. I’m going to present them to him on St. Valentine’s Day at his awards ceremony. Similarly, if you’d be interested in helping out the KP Bischoff Food Bank, I’d be forever in your debt. It will certainly help tide them over and keep body and soul together for those without.

The address is: Leslie C. Long

c/o Alex Graham

14910 125th Street KP N

Gig Harbor, WA 98329

Substitute KP Bischoff Food Bank as payee and use my address for them as well. I promise to keep you apprised of your combined efforts here. KP N stands for Key Peninsula North. We live on a stretch of land like Florida. Imagine KP N being the north end like Orlando as opposed to KP S (South) being Miami. Allow me to illustrate with Google Earth.

I’ve never done this before. Then again, I’ve never been faced with this challenge. We former Air Force types tend to make do and “requisition” things as needed from our own resource pool. I’d be obliged if you felt moved to help out. Seems St. Valentine’s is also an auspicious time to get a heart-especially the Purple variety.

I thank you for your generosity in advance. No pay pals. No FundsRus. Just good old fashioned snail mail checks like good neighbors do. 100% of the ordnance will hit the target.

LZ CORK is a Multipart Series

Here’s the next installment

Posted in Food for the soul, General Messages | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, HCVETS, Inspirational Veterans, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, VA Medical Care, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 4 Comments

BVA’s ESKINAZI– THE PROBLEM BEGAN IN 1988

Posted on January 23, 2015 by asknod

When we think of delay in our VA benefits sector, we ascribe it to too few raters being asked to decide too many claims with too little information in real time. Unfortunately, in VAland, “real time” is three months ago. Veterans are on the cusp of an exciting age of electrons boldly going where no electrons have gone before (VBMS). Boldly venturing off the cusp seems to be the impediment at the VBA.

In theory, VA’s IT sherpas should be reaching the summit of electronic information retrieval. Access to it, once you have it assimilated in a word-searchable .pdf format, is childsplay. This is what we envision VA’s ratings departments are attaining in the transformation towards a paperless system. Hey, the mailrooms are freeing up additional personnel. Everything is now going to Cheeseville and Newnan’s Own down in Georgia. There, all the paper gets converted magically 24/7 into those bold little electrons. Either the fibreoptic cables or the electrons are misbehaving because this avalanche of information can’t make it back to the VAROs in that pesky “real time” we need to make VBMS a reality. VA’s version of reality, like their math, can often be cruel.

BVA’S ADJUDICATION TIMES—POST-VJRA

In 1989, it took from July 13th to October 20th to get a denial on my back , hips and hearing. I had a hearing test but no back C&P exam. I immediately appealed with a NOD and got a DRO hearing. There, in July 0f 1990 I was granted an exam for my back that September. It resulted in a denial again and I filed my Form 1-9 in February 1991. I had my BVA necktie party in March of 1992 and the DAV told me I was done. I got 0% for hearing, 0% for tinnitus. No mention of the brand new COVA. From start to finish was a ripping three years and seven months.

BVA’s Commander of the 7th Cavalry, Colonel (Brevet Maj. General) Laura Eskinazi, reached the nadir of hypocrisy recently when she blithely ascribed the new three to four year debacle of appeals backlog at the BVA on the advent of the Court of Veterans Appeals.

Really, Laura? You want to die on that hill? 300,000 Veterans awaiting action outside your front door and that’s the repair order? Repeal that pesky VJRA and let’s get back to our old three-Judge boards with one being an M.D.? Ooooookay. Let’s count the judges as they say on Sesame Street. It is mathematically impossible to reduce the BVA’s backlog with the number of VLJs as it currently stands. And, much like a log jam in front of a low bridge, it merely metastasizes as time goes on.

Laura knows this and has known it for years. She is now in a position to correct an intractable, growing dilemma and wants to blame it on the 1988 Congress. No mention of a repair order. Oh. Wait.

EXPORTING THE BACKLOG TO DC

The 58 VAROs, in a vain attempt to appease USB Hickey and comply with than insane Kaizen mantra of 2015, 125 days and 98% accuracy have simply punted to the BVA. An old French philosopher once opined Mes problèmes sont vos problèmes. Here, he couldn’t be more spot on. The backlog at the local VAROs is abating like a Roto-Rootered drain. Pretty soon you’ll start hearing that sucking noise as it empties. Unfortunately, there will be a line from Seattle to DC of appellants awaiting that mythical “one decision on review” promised us by Congress in a timely manner.

Here’s Laura’s take on it:

“[T]he law mandates that appeals be reviewed in the order they are received.”

Laura. You know that’s not true. You personally invented the “rocket docket” which seems to be able to leap tall piles of older dockets at a single gesture of your hand.

The current process at the BVA is streamlined to one decision per judge per day. Even using the new, improved Eskinazi rocket docket model for the easiest of easy denials, we’re talking about reducing 100 claims a day on an excellent month when everyone isn’t on vacation or attending HR kareoke training in Orlando. Sounds good on paper view. Or are they saying pay-per-view?

WHY THE BVA WILL NEVER CATCH UP

Count the judges. On a good month, with a bunch of pedantic appeals, an Acting Veterans Law Judge can be assigned to it from the Staff Attorney pool of 500 or so JD slaves. These future VLJ judges in the wings are given the accrued benefits claims and an easy thumbs down but the numbers still do not add up. Even with the one hundred adjudications a day, the number of actual weekdays worked each year still precludes ever catching up.

Even allowing for a two week vacation to Wally World with the Missus and the rugrats, Mr VLJ is going to work approximately 230 days a year in good health with no dental checkups. Like the VA, I’m being overly optimistic with that number but as long as we’re in Six Sigma fantasy land, it’ll do for a starter. Carried out, that is 230,000 potential adjudicatory actions by VLJs- be they remands, grants or denials. With 300,000 waiting in the wings, that easily carries over the leftover 70,000 appellants into 2016. But that is not all-not by a long shot.

The CAVC is now becoming quite a Veteran tourist attraction. More and more of us are wandering off the BVA reservation penniless and discovering gazillions of law dogs begging to take our cases regardless of their merit. It used to be that 2,000 cases a year from the BVA was high tide. This last year it was 4,438. The CAVC judges armored up and hired two extra ones. Farthinkers, they. That disturbing statistic skews Laura Eskinazi’s math because 65 percent of the decisions at the CAVC either reverse, vacate or set aside BVA decisions which are substantially unjustified. Now we have 72,884 souls on the BVA’s Group W Bench. But wait. There are more returning from the VAROs yet again like dead Chicago voters materializing out of the woodwork in November. Remember remands are like boomerangs and 80 % of these things come back like a bad penny.

Introducing that error factor into the BVA decisions process and, by association, the VAROs who contrived this little game of Hide the Claim, the dynamic becomes one of a Rube Goldberg eternal motion machine that accomplishes nothing. We see a government entity- the VA in this case- engaged in measuring metrics of how many claims in, how many claims out but never how many done correctly which will never enter the system again. Absent this correction factor, the statistics are meaningless.

Making matters worse, Eskinazi would have us return to the pre-VJRA stone age of BVA hieroglyphics and the secret handshake. Imagine 40 Boards of three judges each (if one wasn’t on vacation) where one was a doctor of something-a gynecologist for argument’s sake. He will be allowed to opine on PTSD and Hepatitis C- a veritable jack of all diseases and master of none. In the event of his absence, the other two judges would still form a quorum legally. 40 decisions out the door each day with 100% accuracy and we’ll brook no more discussion on the subject. The doctor has spoken. Next?

Ms. Eskenazi said the problem began in 1988 when it became possible to appeal a Veterans Board of Appeals decision to a judge, adding another layer to the process. Prior to that, the final decision on appeals would be made within the agency.

Using this model, the BVA backlog will move inexorably forward but will still never begin to achieve it’s goal of six months to a year. Why this glaring statistic is so hard to absorb speaks volumes for the myopic VA hierarchy. Like a junkie being sent to rehab, they are mortified at the thought that their decision making authority may be curtailed or diffused by “subcontractor rent-a-judges” brought in to alleviate the situation. Judging by how hard it is to rid ourselves of the Sharon Helman’s of the VHA, we can understand Laura is loathe to hire a bunch of new judges. She’d simply have to lay them all off in five or ten years. Well, that’s assuming we aren’t foolish enough to go gadding about and start some new wars. Perish the thought. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Posted in BvA Decisions, VA BACKLOG | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, BVA backlog, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Gulf War Claims Help, Gulf War Vets Help, Help with vA Claims, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, VA HCV Claims Help, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 6 Comments

CAVC–WHY A WRIT CAN BACKFIRE–WE FIXED IT, YOUR HONOR.

Posted on January 22, 2015 by asknod

In keeping with Writ week, I peruse the Court decisions daily for fodder to illustrate how and why your writs can go astray. Here, Ms. Rhonda Hunt is going to find out that she was granted what she asked for. She is using Daniel Krasnegor and Co. as a shield bearer. She is also paying the filing fee which indicates she’s not indigent.

What happens next is predictable. So predictable that I was careful to bring my problems to a boil and keep them simmering for almost two years to give VA plenty of rope to clothesline themselves with. Ms. Hunt is complaining that Fort Fumble in Whacko, Texas has held her remand hostage for several years. VA is preparing to “fix” it as only they can fix your wagon.

Rhonda Hunt’s Holy Crusade Writ

Instead of adjudicating or responsibly dealing with Ms. Hunt in a nonadversarial manner, the RO jury quickly opens the door a crack and hands out an envelope with her SSOC continuing the denial. This squanders scarce judicial resources and will force Rhonda to climb back on the hamster wheel for several more years awaiting her claim’s immaculation as a certified, Form 8-stamped, Substantive Appeal ready for transmission to the BVA.

One thing you can be assured of. No one at VBAWACO even cracked the c-file. This puppy was Adobe II’d and sent to the copier. $50 dollars says they copied and pasted the denial onto the SOC verbatim just to satisfy Judge Mary. Sadly, Schoelen is relegated to simply stating that the VA and the RO have complied with Rhonda’s request.

And when she and Mr. Krasnegor finally get a seat in DC at Vermin Lane NW, they’ll be insulted yet again by the paternalistic system set up to run us until we drop in the traces. Fortunately, her chances with Mr. Krasnegor are light years ahead of using her local DAV.

That is what will happen to many of you who arrive at the CAVC seeking this avenue of relief. Be aware of it. Always do everything in your power to prove you have been diligent in pursuing the claim but realize VA is heartless. Here, going after an extra-schedular rating was futile. Rhonda should know, and unfortunately does now, that going for extraschedular is like saddling up for the Holy Grail Crusade. Don’t expect a miracle. Good intentions aside, very few claims increases are achieved via this approach. Your circumstances must be so unique and extraordinary as to defy imagination for VA to even consider it.

Posted in Extraordinary Writs of Mandamus, Tips and Tricks, Veterans Law | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, CAvC/COvA Decisions, Disabled Veteran, Gulf War Claims Help, HCV Veterans, HCVETS, Help with vA Claims, Help with vA HCV Claims., Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, VA Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus, VA extraschedular rating, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 3 Comments

CAVC– BIRTH OF A WRIT- ACT II SCENE 4–THE BITCHSLAP

Posted on January 20, 2015 by asknod

As to whether LawBob Squarepants could get any more obnoxious, the verdict is in. Having snuck in to work on Saturday and filing his appearance before the Court electronically, he’s now compounded it with interest.

Rarely do Veterans filing Writs ever ask for an oral hearing. Perhaps of more import, very rarely are they ever granted. LawBob estimates maybe 30 or so in the twenty five years of the CAVC have surfaced. But then, rarely has the sound of a VA bitchslap reverberated across two decades of worthless promises and broken agreements to one Veteran. Perhaps of more import, we have the added spectre of a broken VR&E system that has been caught with it’s pants down cheating.

I sure don’t cotton to be the recipient of that oral award but Bob does it for one simple reason. It sets valuable precedence just as Mr. Groves’ recent writ did. An oral presentation tends to have Tourette’s Syndrome moments such as the one before the Supreme Court when the VA’s litigator inadvertently was forced to divulge that in 60% or more of cases, the BVA was “substantially unjustified” in their litigating position. This is the awkward spectre the OGC wishes to avoid. Airing the dirty laundry on paper is unfortunate. Putting it on Youtube is right out in VA’s mind.

A Writ poses another unfortunate spectre for VA. The pace of their required response is accelerated to light speed. There is no time to rehearse pedantically for hours in front of a mirror to summons the proper amount of servitude and debasement before the Judge. The OGC has to fish or cut bait. They must choose a “fight or flight” posture in less than a week. VA can’t find toilet paper in the bathroom in less than a week. Is the Veteran blowing bubbles? What do we have on him? Run a CBI and see if we can unearth some dirt. Belay that order. Grant the claims at 0% and issue an SOC! Somebody fall on their sword! Ask for an OIG investigation! Keep Bob and Allison in the dark on this if you can.

Most Veterans have a shaky posture on one or another facet of a Writ. Few have a full house and fewer still have a flush like me. In some of my adjudications, VA has committed themselves to a course of action that doesn’t permit a line of retreat. For instance, it is now impossible for VA to “reconsider” their SOC they sent out telling me there is no such thing as a “totally disabled” rating. There is no way to drag back a SSOC reiterating why there won’t be a greenhouse in my 2014 Christmas stocking. This is the pearl necklace you create methodically over time.

A Writ would have no substance if I simply arrived with a grab bag of gripes the OGC and the Seattle VARO could solve before they even had to make their first appearance before the Judge. You want them to arrive still pulling fresh punji sticks out of their asses and begging for time to set matters aright. You want the judge to dryly comment that it would seem they’ve had twenty years to accomplish that already. Granted, Judges try desperately to appear impartial but we all know differently. Judge Davis is a hard ass by any judicial metric so it behooves us to appear as pure as the driven snow and also a whole lot more wronged than a pregnant, abandoned wife with five starving kids.

Appearance is everything. Check. Standing is essential. Check. Perseverance and long-suffering are more imperative than ever to create the perfect storm. And Checkmate. Once that hurdle is overcome, the Judge merely presides over a sackcloth and ashes ceremony where the miscreant (VA) gets points for authentic groveling. Somewhere at the end of each utterance by the Judge will be a “And be quick about it”. VA will need to comply with each element of perfidy individually and with celerity. They will not be allowed to assemble all the repair orders and present them neatly bundled up for inspection. This is going to resemble Supermarket Sweep with a hunt on for the big ticket items to appease the wronged soul and avoidance of the impending sanctions of the Judge. I will also be asking personally for my EAJA fees over this above and beyond LawBob’s. Oral Presentations are an excellent forum for these dog and pony shows if you are a Veteran. Not so much for VA. They tend to avoid them like Ebola.

And the Writ unfolds like an umbrella…

The LawBob Oral Bitchslap

My job is now simple. I’m what we used to call the the guy in back now and I’m okay with that.

The Birth of a Writ Series continues here:

https://asknod.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/cavc-birth-of-a-writ-the-bitchslap-back/

Posted in CAVC Knowledge, Extraordinary Writs of Mandamus, Veterans Law | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, VA Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus, VA Independent Living Program, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | Leave a comment

ILP–MR. BOYD, WON’T YOU GRANT ME MY I-L-P

Posted on January 19, 2015 by asknod

VA’s VR&E Gomer David Boyd Seattle Washington

I must make amends to Janis when (and if) I ever get to Heaven. As some know, a big part of my Writ is to provoke what the Veterans Rehabilitation and Education arm of VA has been avoiding for three and a half long years. No one has stood their ground with enough legal acumen to drive an ILP claim for big, big dollars through to the Court. Most of you do not know the largesse they’ve been syphoning off to the other side of the books- i.e. the Vocational Benefits side.

My friends all drive Porsches. I must make amends.

Here’s the dough we’re talking about. Each severely disabled Veteran, and mind you, only the “severely disabled”, get this big ILP goody. The maximum award, per Vet, under ILP is $25,000.00 locally. If it goes over that, an authorization up to $60,000.00 must be obtained from VR&E-again-locally. If it goes over that, they refer it to the VACO down on Vermin Lane NW. On paper, there really is no limit because no one ever laid into them until member Bruce did down in Atlanta Georgia. That time they crumped and started actually granting ILP as it was intended. Seattle is a different story.

raised planter (greenhouse #3) Ruh-oh, Rorge! Lettuce freeze! All dead!

raised planter (greenhouse #3) Ruh-oh, Rorge! Lettuce freeze! All deeeeeeead!

Our illustrious Mr. Boyd is a disgruntled Army Lifer who served between Vietnam and the first Gulf War I. It’s rumored that he didn’t pass the USPS employee MMPI test so he applied to the VA. He’s living proof if you hang around long enough you get promoted up to a GS-14. Of course, the downside is you still hit the mental glass ceiling . Hey, we’re talking VR&E here, not the VBA.

Mr. Boyd and company subscribe strictly to the first word in their job description (vocational) and eschew the idea that “avocational” is part of their mission. If they obfuscate long enough, as in to mid-September every year, without granting anything substantial under the ILP program, all those riches transfer over into the Vocational side to be devoted to far more deserving Vets seeking a real-yep-vocation.

Ungawa. Kale no grow in greenhouse number 4 cheetah. Aruu?

Ungawa. Kale no grow in greenhouse # 4 cheetah. No heat.

Here’s the most amusing part of all this. Boyd and Co. aren’t as adroit as the front line VSRs and RVSRs, let alone in the league of a DRO. Their denial decisions are too vague and deny the exact item based on the same old standard format. This allows the camel’s nose under the tent as any lawyer can attest. By telling me I do not need another greenhouse because I already have three or four (I don’t), they are admitting I need at least one. When I say I must eat pesticide-free veggies and it’s easier to grow them, they change course and say I can (and should) go buy them. Note they are admitting they now agree with my need for pesticide-free produce. This is now a different rationale that will need another, different set of reasons and bases for the denial. And so on. Each change in denial rationale creates a quagmire of new legal defenses to buttress their logic for a new denial. In the process, they’ve lost sight of the fact that they now admit the greenhouse is necessary and vital to my independence in everyday living- BUT- my existing greenhouse(s), unheated and non-ADA compliant- is sufficient for my needs.

Also missing is any cogent rebuttal to say my cryoglobulinemia and porphyria is good to go and I can hang out outside in winter in the unheated greenhouse watching nothing grow. They merely mention they have “reviewed” my medical records. Not being doctors, they are precluded from making medical decisions a la Colvin v. Derwinski

No heat in cold frame (greenhouse #2) Spinach dying. Where’s Super Dave when we need him?

Any first year law student knows not to give away the farm this way but the VR&E folks don’t have that “go for the jugular” like a DRO. They fail to put belts and suspenders on their ratings. Coming from the social, liberal, poly-sci side of the sheets, they couch all their denials gently and with a lot of sighs. Sighs will never substitute for CFRs and most certainly not for 38 USCs. Absent any reasons and bases for the denial other than vague “We looked at the records and the medical and decided you don’t need it.” is insufficient to stand up in a court of law. Read a denial for degenerative disc disease. It’s supported six ways to Sunday and easily defensible all the way up to the CAVC in a lot of cases. There are invariably 30 CFRs citing to both Part 3 and 4. Mr. Boyd’s failure is viewed by the Court thusly:

A bare conclusory statement, without both supporting analysis and explanation, is neither helpful to the veteran, nor ‘clear enough to permit effective judicial review’, nor in compliance with the statutory requirements.

2 month old romaine in unheated greenhouse (#1). Shooting for late-May salads but adequate for independence in everyday living needs.

Above, you may have noticed, I used the word “locally” twice. VR&E Offices in the 58 VAROs across the planet are autonomous. Each one is a Kingdom where the Head Poobah gives the thumb up or down. If you disagree, you ask for an “Administrative Review” and it is sent to the DC VACO for a “pre” appeal. Many claims are granted right there. If it is asking for an extraordinary sum or the request is not appropriate, it goes back to the VARO for denial and proceeds through the normal appeals channel like an ordinary claim.

Petite, french-style salad greens a la VR&E.

Mr. Boyd apparently is suffering from an ADD malady. He “lost” my NOD once and then artfully shipped the new one off to DC to be associated with my appeal on my Hepatitis in 2011. After the SOC rebuttal, he declared the grant had expired (two year maximum) and suggested I reapply.

After several more denials under various different reasons, Mr. Boyd waited patiently until the new, revised M 28 R Manual was issued on March 31, 2014. Shortly after, he utilized their brand new regulations to deny it unequivocally.

Unlike other agencies at your local Veterans Service Center, the VR&E folks have to have a listed phone number. This allows us to actually call them and talk to them. Imagine calling the most intelligent life form at the Seattle VR&E (and incidentally the head honcho) and explaining that VR&E cannot use a recent rule change to justify the SSOC. Try then to wrap your mind around the non sequitur answer:

“Well, Mr. Graham, I suggest you point out my using the new M28R in your rebuttal to the SSOC if you feel I’m wrong.” Mr. Boyd authored the decision and is oblivious to his error apparently. In VAland, he has now lost the presumption of regularity as he is unaware of his own rules and regulations. What appears irregular is irregular and the presumption that VA officials are knowledgeable in their profession does not attach…

As I said, these people have no idea what they are about. They have a fixed denial logic. There simply no longer are ILP grants other than cordless phones, shoe horns, grab bars near toilets/showers and top shelf can grabbers. A rare thing might be a set of headphones for the hearing challenged (with medical proof of deafness certificate) tied into the TV. Unfortunately, if the TV is old and incompatible with a bluetooth connection, the new M28R forbids replacement of the TV with a newer one that is.

The VA is desperately trying to strangle the ILP avocational model down to a Earl Scheib $99.95 paint job in spite of Congress’ intent. My appeal will be the first to combat this new proclivity because Mr. Boyd and his sidekick were foolish enough to state ILP was strictly vocational. With the utilization now of the new M28R as denial rationale, they have erected a huge red flag that is ripe for reversal. I doubt anyone attempted a Writ for a VR&E entitlement but who would think you’d have to fight them for twenty one years and still be getting the run around on anything?

Remember, a Writ requires the VA to explain why they screwed up. We will soon be treated to a recital of the ins and outs of ILP and most especially the new revised M28R. VA is going to have to explain in detail why a program of such extreme value cannot find 2,700 severely disabled souls to fill the slots every year and at the same time justify six different reasons why I am ineligible as well.

In VA law, you are not allowed to arrive at Court after you have denied a Vet and come up with new reasons made up ten minutes before you get there. A claim or VR&E request has to have logical reasons and bases for the denial so the poor stupid Vet can formulate a cogent defense. Otherwise, the Court says:

Next, the Secretary attempts to mitigate the Agency of Original Jurisdiction’s (AOJ) silence on the ILP Greenhouse denial cited by the petitioner by explaining why that evidence is not sufficient to support the petitioner’s arguments. The Court, however, cannot accept the Secretary’s attempt to provide a statement of reasons or bases on behalf of a silent AOJ decision followed by an equally silent SOC and SSOC. See Martin v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Comm’n, 499 U.S. 144, 156 (1991) (“‘[L]itigating positions’ are not entitled to deference when they are merely respondent counsel’s ‘post hoc rationalizations’ for prior agency action, advanced for the first time in the reviewing court.”).

These guys are in so far over their heads they don’t know they’ve already drowned. Unfortunately, the OGC isn’t that mentally challenged and will be trying to figure out how to get David Boyd unstuck from this tar baby.

What, me worry?

P.S. Thanks for the heads up on the M28R brainfart, Bruce. That’s why I have minders.

Posted in Independent Living Program, M-21 info, Veterans Law, VR&E | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Gulf War Claims Help, Gulf War PTSD, Gulf War PTSD Claims, Gulf War Vets, Gulf War Vets Help, HCV, HCV Health Tips, HCV Veterans, HCVETS, Help with vA Claims, Help with vA HCV Claims., Helping Veterans, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, vA CLAIMS FOR PTSD, VA HCV Claims Help, VA Independent Living Program, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 3 Comments

FACEPLACE–DECEMBER DETRITUS

Posted on January 19, 2015 by asknod

Picture taken outside the Capitol of disgruntled donkeys leaving the Senate last week

I apologize for allowing all this valuable social media to crop up on my desktop but the Writ of Extraordinary pissed offness set me back chronologically. Therefore, subscribing to the better-late-than-never school of thought, I immediately disgorge the backlog of humor.

Life is too short to be deprived of these gems. As usual, not everyone can be accommodated. Due to excessive political incorrectness and a policy of G-rating shaded slightly to the R side, I was forced to weed out several that might give the impression I was slanted politically. I remain a stalwart free-thinker and possibly a Libertarian. I am not, however, a member of any preconceived political school of thought. Whatever Congress has not abrogated to themselves, I feel is a state’s right. They’ve had over two hundred years to get it right by now. Arriving at this late date with new Second Amendment interpretations of what a “militia” is seems like sour grapes. We at asknod also look forward to the plethora of Jeb Bush jokes soon to begin populating the internet should he foolishly throw his hat in the ring. We wonder how much bad press will suddenly surface about his days as Florida’s First Imam back in the days. Ignore the D’s and R’s and revel in the sheer humor.

Humor is essential and helps build strong psyches 12 different ways. It’s been proven to cause hernias from excessive laughter. Santa was not harmed in the filming of these pictures. Any resemblance to you or your pets is purely coincidental. No rights reserved.

Posted in FACE HUMOR, Humor | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod veterans humor, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, Gulf War PTSD, Gulf War PTSD Claims, Gulf War Vets, Gulf War Vets Help, HCV Veterans, HCVETS, Help with vA Claims, Help with vA HCV Claims., Helping Veterans, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, vA CLAIMS FOR PTSD, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | Leave a comment

CAVC–BIRTH OF A WRIT–ACT II SCENE 3-JIM DANDY TO THE RESCUE

Posted on January 17, 2015 by asknod

As per the game plan, after firmly sticking my foot in the door at 625 Wagonburner Lane NW, I summoned my faithful sidekick LawBob Squarepants-he of the juris doctor persuasion. He converses much better in VAspeak than I could ever hope to. With the introduction of his representation, old Judge Davis is actually going to have to handle this above board. I’m sure he was envisioning a quick trip on the Shortline Railroad over to the BVA where they could JMR it to death. No such luck. This baby is airborne with impressive credentials now.

Nothing like sneaking in to the CAVC on a Saturday and leaving a surprise for the Tuesday morning three-day weekend. Revenge, in this case, is a dish best served right before a hangover. Happy Martin Luther Day, Mizz Bradley. The LawBob is my shepherd. I shall not want.

The Birth of a Writ Series continues here:

https://asknod.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/cavc-birth-of-a-writ-act-ii-scene-4-the-bitchslap-2/

Posted in Extraordinary Writs of Mandamus | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, HCV Decisions, Help with vA Claims, Help with vA HCV Claims., Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, vA claims for PCT, VA Extraordinary Writ of Mandamus, VA HCV Claims Help, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | Leave a comment

VARO PHILADELPHIA–BACK TO OVERTIME

Posted on January 17, 2015 by asknod

In a stunning turnaround in less than two shakes of a lamb’s tail, the Philadelphia VARO reversed course and took back the unthinkable-$15,000.00 “team bonuses” for those stalwart raters who would stay the course at their desks, through thick and thin, to reduce the stupendous backlog. Even offers of personally sending out for Starbucks® Double Vanilla Mocha and Chinese from Mann’s was met with a polite “no thank you” by raters. Yeah. Right. In your dreams, jelly beans.

Actually, they were all gung ho until the Washington Times’ Jacqueline Klimas spilled the jelly beans. Only then did ratings crews evince a desire to backtrack out of their former enthusiasm to embrace the new program. Funny how that works.

Can you imagine a VA DRO saying ‘Well, you know my crew and I talked it over and we were totally on board with this because Veterans, as stakeholders, would benefit immensely. Several team members then voiced their worries that it might be disadvantageous, and maybe even adversarial, to even consider trying to speed up what is a very, very difficult process under the best of circumstances. We consider the Vet first and worry that haste might result in an error. None of us could live with that on our conscience.” Who’s been sneaking off to Denver and smoking what-and how much?

Philadelphia VA ratings team members discussing the pros and cons of $15 K bonuses (on break).

Posted in Humor, vARO Decisions, VARO Misfeasance | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Gulf War Claims Help, Gulf War Vets Help, HCV Decisions, HCV Veterans, HCVETS, Help with vA Claims, Help with vA HCV Claims., Helping Veterans, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, VA HCV Claims Help, VA PABLUM, VARO Information, Veterans Benefits, Veterans claims help, Veterans Humor, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 6 Comments

AO- GREAT NEWS ON THE C-123 AO VETS BATTLE.

Posted on January 17, 2015 by asknod

Seems the Institute of Medicine came up with the wrong answer after endless conjecture. So much so that the government withheld it as long as possible in an effort to either coerce the scientists into a different prognosis or corral the parameters of the ensuing report. Neither effort succeeded and the cat is out of the bag. Prognosis? AO kills. AO also continues to kill when left on the skin of aircraft decades later.

This is a no brainer. The Air Force is not one to insulate aircraft. Hence, when you get to altitude, the A/C becomes cold. When you return to earth, condensation on its surfaces occurs much like that on a toilet bowl tank on a hot day. Moisture re-released the AO into the interior of the aircraft where it was free to move about. And move about it did. The miracle is that the IOM came down on our side-or that we even heard they did. From what we’re hearing, sometimes the VA doesn’t think we need to bother our ourselves with confusing information that is contentious.

Maj. Wes Carter

I wrote this up back in February 2013 when I first heard about it. Wes Carter has done a marvelous job of pursuing this to a fruitful outcome. Sadly, he should not have had to. As Lincoln opined at his second inaugural address “For he who shall have borne the battle, his widow and his orphan son.” Wes added the postscript that nowhere was it written that you had to endlessly pester the VA to investigate the obvious. This seems to be the surreal theme song that haunts the VA. Why on earth abrogate for yourself a motto you have no intention of honoring?

Well done, Wes. I rode in a lot of Air Am and RLAF $1.23s into and out of Long Tieng but I don’t think any were spray buggies. They do have a definite aroma though.

Posted in AO, Vietnam Disease Issues, Vietnam War history | Tagged Agent Orange, ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, Gulf War Vets Help, Helping Veterans, Service Connection, VA claims, vA claims for PCT, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help., war mementos | Leave a comment

CAVC WRIT–MAINTAINING YOUR SANITY

Posted on January 17, 2015 by asknod

I get numerous letters from all of you asking me how I kept (and keep) my brain box screwed on securely while waiting for a process that has encompassed years and even decades. Simple. Start a garden. In addition, I suggest you buy a seedling Douglas Fir tree and measure it at the beginning and the end-if you ever get there. I planted a Noble fir that I had as a 5-foot tall live Christmas tree in 1993. I didn’t know it would be used as a measuring stick at the time. It’s now taller than the roof of that second story house or approximately 32 feet. I’m still not finished but VA implies I can see the light at the end of the chunnel.

Mental health and the assurance that others are getting the same shoddy treatment you are is important for your mental health as you travel this road. No one wants to think s/he’s stupid and is doing it incorrectly. That’s the beauty of Veterans Claims blogs. It provides a venue for the “You too?” audience. After you find yourself among thousands of others in this lifeboat, you need to focus the dead time constructively.

Two things come to mind. All work and no play makes for a dull Johnny/Jane Vet. It’s important to always seek out pertinent knowledge concerning the particulars of your claims. VA OGC precedents are very valuable and little known. They aren’t often cited in CAVC decisions but are just as lethal. Never sit back and say you’ve assembled all the pertinent cites or info on a claim. Always research it to death. In the interim, take a breather. Get a hobby. If you are a para/quadraplegic, I know one hobby that entertains many. Model railroads. It’s also a good venue to pursue as an ILP claim. I know. VA’s VR&E weenies are going to say it’s not necessary or vital to your life. Throw down and get your psycobabble shrink to argue otherwise that it’s a prerequisite to your continued sanity. Or do what I did. Begin a garden. I like it for the win/win outcome. Free food. Inherit a goat and some horses and you have a complete nature cycle of turning shit into chow. File an ILP claim for a greenhouse and say it’s imperative to your sanity to be able to go outside (safely) and garden in a heated greenhouse in winter.

The rewards are multifold. You get a valuable source of Agent Orange-free veggies and fruit that you know the history of. You don’t spend money on gas to go get them. If you grow too much, you take it to the food bank so it isn’t wasted. But mostly, a garden allows you to slow down to the speed of light and view nature at it’s speed, which, oddly enough, is about the same speed the VA operates in. Trees might be more apropos in my protracted struggle but corn is a more natural analogy for most of you. Here in the northwest corner of the Left Coast, we need about 110 days for corn. That’s might similar to Allison Hickey’s claim that one day in this glorious new year we’ll see a 125-day claim that’s 98% perfect in every respect. Corn never lied to me. I’m still skeptical but I’m a sucker so I’ll wait and see if she’s funning me.

Be it the ParaLine railroad to nowhere or a small 20 X 20 patch, a pastime that soothes the senses is infinitely superior to fussing and fretting 10 hours a day querying the IRIS and 800 VA gomers. When you finally arrive in the winner’s circle, don’t be ashamed to push further and pursue the ILP option. Congress intended it for America’s most severely disabled. There never used to be a “necessary and vital” codicil. VA dreamed that up to screw you in VA’s OGC Precedent 6-2001. No one has ever challenged it-yet. And then a few assholes like Bruce and me came along that couldn’t be rolled like turnip wagon drivers with a room temperature IQ. The sky is the limit in this game until a Court says it isn’t. No one’s been there yet.

The beauty of law, and more appropriately VA law, is that we are King. Everything was created for us. Precedential decisions support our grants and ratings. VA has to prove the intent of Congress was NOT to award certain largesse. In this, we’re in the catbird’s seat. Numerous decisions say that it is presumed Congress knows what it is about when it writes a law. Further, it is presumed that Congress never intended some of the absurd results VA feels are par for the course. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, as Bruce and I did, is to stand up and prove them wrong. Wrap yourself in the armor of righteousness or find a law dog who will.

Food for the soul

Winning is inevitable as VA subscribes to the squeaky wheel theorem assuming your claim has a basis in fact. Most do. But never lose sight of life. Your mental health during this trying time has to be fed and watered in equal parts. Your spouse and children cannot be neglected at the expense of your claim. I’ve made that mistake and had to reassess priorities. Fortunately, VA is time-challenged and this allows us that down time we so desperately need to keep body and soul afloat.

Find yourself a hobby. Hell, figure out the value of π to about fifty places if you’re bored. I got to about 3.14159268 before I lost interest. Gardening was more rewarding. The upside is all the prep afterwards. Playing squirrel Nutkin and packing all that food away is a great mental reward when you really need it. Well, that and trying to figure out a million new ways to prepare butternut squash. Pretend you’re Bubba in Forrest Gump and talking shrimp.

For those of you with a mobile zip code who are temporarily disenfranchised from a home, I suggest camping out near the front door of your VA regional office. If nothing else, a bucket or hat in front of you will elicit contributions to take the sting out of waiting. Besides, you’ll meet a lot of other like-minded Vets who commiserate with you when they come out of the RO. Chances are your claim(s) will magically develop wings with little or no effort on your part.

Lastly, keep your humor close and your anger at bay. No matter how bad it gets, I assure you there is someone much less fortunate than you. There are large numbers who decided the wait was too long and exited prematurely either by giving up or punching out. I’ve been in this lifeboat for nigh on 25 years but have met some who began several decades before me. It always amazes me how they managed to make it to here in one piece.

Remember, die trying- don’t suck on a lead lollipop.

Posted in AO, Food for the soul, Food for thought, Independent Living Program | Tagged ASKNOD BOOK, asknod.org, asknod@wordpress.com, Disabled Veteran, DIY vA Claims, Gulf War Claims Help, HCVETS, Help with vA Claims, Helping Veterans, Korean War Vets Help, Service Connection, VA claims, VA Independent Living Program, Veterans claims help, Vietnam Veterans Claims Help. | 4 Comments

Veterans Claims Help

LZ CORK– ST. VALENTINE’S DAY 2015

LZ CORK is a Multipart Series