CHRISTMAS ON THE MALL

Posted on December 22, 2012 by asknod

Great shot of the east leg to the Washington Monument. I found it on my facepage

15600_10151314513918606_470682699_nFew things affect me like this wall.

 

Posted in All about Veterans | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

BVA–THE DAV REP TOLD ME I’D WIN

Posted on December 21, 2012 by asknod

FROM THE CITY OF

BROTHERLY LOVE

VARO

Imagine going in, filing with the VSO, losing and going up on appeal. Imagine doing this without a shred of medical evidence. Imagine that the “skin disease ” you’re claiming is the same thing you entered service with. Imagine leaving service with a BP of 108/70. In short, imagine being a fit as a fiddle after thirteen months of service stateside during the Vietnam era. No AO exposure wipes out the presumptive for the DM2 and prostate cancer. No history of any hep or gastric upset in the STRs. Nevertheless, the Vet is convinced that the VA is remiss. The DAV does nothing to dissuade him. In the end they are left grasping for something-anything- to hang this suit on.

Neither the Veteran nor his representative have offered any explanation as to why they believe the current hypertension, Hepatitis C, diabetes mellitus, prostate disability, and skin disease are related to service. In his July 2008 VA Form 9, the Veteran provided a statement to the effect that he was entitled to compensation for injury due to alleged negligence of military medical personnel. He has not, however, explained how the current disabilities at issue are related to service, nor has he offered or reported lay or clinical evidence that relates the claimed disabilities to service. The record contains no indications that the disabilities are related to service.

So, three and one half years down the road, the Vet and the DAV dude look at each other and go “Ruh-oh, Rorge?” That’s a lot of carbon footprint with nothing to show for it. You don’t get a gold star after your name for saving the planet when you cut that many trees down and forget the nexus letters, et cetera.

Filing claims is no more complicated than chopping wood. Everything has a technique. When you seek out the services of an organization that advertises their expertise in this field, you expect the best. When said organization has the imprimatur of the VA on it as being acceptable, you should feel extremely at ease. What happened here, in the real world, is unfortunately all too common. This was the Merry Christmas our Philadelphia Phil got from his DAV rep.

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Posted in BvA HCV decisions, VSOs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BVA–34 CLAIMS TO NOWHERE

Posted on December 21, 2012 by asknod

Obviously this pro se rocket boy didn’t get the sticky note on filing for just a few claims and then expanding his horizons. Thirty four claims is a boatload of paper to appeal. Several things can be gleaned from this. The Vet has a lot of years of service

The Veteran served on active military duty from June 1968 to June 1971 and April 1972 to April 1989.

It’s very conceivable he’s injured all these things during those years. Knowing the military, it’s far more likely than not. Getting it into the STRs is one thing. Getting a Doctor to sign off on a nexus for everything but the kitchen sink is difficult because the diseases/injuries are outside the scope of any one specialty doctor. Going this alone with no legal help is asking for failure but filing this many claims makes you look like a  Charter Member of the Safeway Slip of the Month Club.

Use this claim as a guide on “How not to File”.

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Posted in BvA Decisions, Tips and Tricks | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

CHRISTMAS JOKES PART DEUX

Posted on December 21, 2012 by asknod

From Firebase Richard we get the latest snow humor.

group therapyshopliftingwoodsy but still tartarmed robberyblackmailFrom Bobdogsground zero

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Massive domestic spying

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Laura

On December 12, 2012, The Wall Street Journal published an article by Julia Angwin entitled U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizens.  A short video interview with the author is accessible.   (Linking directly to the text brings up a blocking WSJ subscription ad but a Google search for the article may bypass it.)

In short, the National Counterterrorism Center has been given sweeping surveillance powers.

“…Now, NCTC can copy entire government databases—flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and many others. The agency has new authority to keep data about innocent U.S. citizens for up to five years, and to analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior. Previously, both were prohibited. Data about Americans “reasonably believed to constitute terrorism information” may be permanently retained…”

The federal government can even share our data with foreign governments.

There were howls of protest against the Bush Administration about privacy issues in the Patriot Act.  What happened to that healthy ire?    The four principles below still mean a great deal to veterans and most Americans but our elected representatives don’t seem to care.

stamps

Posted in General Messages, Guest authors | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

OH, GOODY. THE FIRST CHRISTMAS JOKE

Posted on December 20, 2012 by asknod

From member Cal. This is good.

Three Veterans  died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.
‘In honor of this holy season’ Saint Peter said, ‘you must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.’
The English  Fusilier  fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. ‘It’s a candle’, he said.

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‘You may pass through ‘ Saint Peter said.
The Scots Grenadier reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, ‘They’re bells.’

images (2)
Saint Peter said ‘You, too, may pass through.

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The Irish 11B (infantryman) started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a bright red pair of women’s panties.
St. Peter looked at the Vet with a raised eyebrow and asked, ‘And just what do those symbolize?’
The infantryman replied, “These are Carol’s.”

And So the Christmas Season Begins……

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Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

MEREDITH AND ABBEY

Posted on December 20, 2012 by asknod

Confirmation from Jim that all dogs go to Heaven. I’m not certain about cats.

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Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month.

The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.

She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.

I told her that I thought that we could, so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? Abbey died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I ‘m happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls.

I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey & Meredith, addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office.

A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had. Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it.

Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’
Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away. Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog.  Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in so I’m sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.By the way, I’m easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Posted in Food for the soul | Tagged , | 1 Comment

WHEN DO WE GET DRACO?

Posted on December 20, 2012 by asknod

I found this while looking for my cure. The question is when will it be available for testing? Some of us can’t wait. DRACO appears to be the miracle cure yet there does not seem to be any concerted effort to sign up test subjects. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, a new procedure called hemopurifying is coming on line. This, in conjunction with DRACO, might be the silver bullet. Getting these procedures out of the lab and into a hospital is the trick. Let’s not study it to death.

One disturbing finding (unsubstantiated) is that DRACO may not be effective against HCV which is a single-stranded RNA virus. DRACO is reputed to be effective only against double-stranded RNA. No one seems willing to go out on a limb and discuss this facet. All articles just say “may” as to its efficacy. Here’s a great blog about the subject.

Posted in HCV Health | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

THE LATEST HICKEYGRAM

Posted on December 20, 2012 by asknod

In what appears to be a humorous stab at Christmas cheer, Under Secretary for Veterans Benefits Alison A. Hickey prematurely announced that in addition to ratings (and denials) handed out this December, all mailings of the “Big Brown Envelope” will contain a candy cane.  Later, the Under Secretary explained that due to funding issues, inclusion of the candy canes this year wasn’t feasible. She indicated VA will ask Congress to include additional funding for this new endeavour in 2013. Implementation is expected to commence in the December 2016 mailings as VA gears up for this exciting new venture.

In other VA news, a new addition to the M 21 Book of Denials mandates Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs) will henceforth be required to actually read the C-file and certify in writing they have done so prior to issuing their denials. Tho old practice of simply stamping “DENIED” on it and sending it up to Steno for typing is right out. This is rumored to endanger the new target date of 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 for resolution of claims in 125 days. Accuracy, however, will not be affected and remains at its current level of 89%.

Hickey also announced the 2013 Human Resources Conferences will be held June 3-6 and July 22-25 to take advantage of mid-week specials on airline flights. The choice of a backwater town called Papeete on the island of Otaheite was cited as an opportunity to keep the conferences small, discreet and centrally located. Recent public outcries over extravagant spending have given VA a black eye and the Under Secretary felt this was the appropriate response to downsize the get-togethers and still maintain cohesion in training. VA has set aside a paltry $8 million for the training in an attempt to assuage hard liners in Congress.  Training sessions, including Rap Karaoke, will include rhyming CFR couplets to make assimilation of the regulations easier. VA has hired several famous look-alike Rappers for this including Ddevil, 10¢, and 2kool4school. Ice-carving sculptures and cheese/wine tasting venues will remain unchanged due to their immense popularity in earlier years.

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NCPA REPORT

Posted on December 20, 2012 by asknod

This analysis, spotted by Joe Average Vet and sent to me, is an in-depth, cogent assessment of what is wrong. As a noted carpenter once observed “To a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. To the VA, every claim is the same. The process for deciding them has been flawed for almost a century and the remuneration criteria is pegged at 1945 levels.

We cannot expect change when the powers invested in changing it cling to an antiquated, unworkable tenet. Another report from the Army Times plows the same ground we are already all too familiar with.  Time for a new approach to hammers.

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Posted in VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment