SURPRISE! SURPRISE! SURPRISE!-HAMER’S BAAAAAAACK.

Posted on November 23, 2012 by asknod

Jim Nabors had a way with those words that keeps coming back again and again. Member Dan writes me with the disturbing news that vA is sniffing around his 17 year old rating and measuring him for a Texas necktie party. What is all the more tragic  is the gomer who got him into this fix. Remember dear old Mr. Hamer? Steven W. Hamer? How many Steven W. Hamers who worked as a VSO can there be? Damn few.

Capt. Dan  (Lt. Dan was another guy unrelated to this story) writes “Gee. Do you suppose  that Steve turkey is the same S.W. Hamer (DAV rep) who hung me out to dry back in the early nineties down at 810 Vermin Ave. NW? I almost wrecked my keyboard blowing coffee through my nose. Dan was describing exactly what my dear old DAV SO Ronald D. Ampe did to me outside the Hearing Room at the Seattle R.O. on July 11th, 1990.  Both conversations started out like this:

“Hi there. Hamer. Steve Hamer. You’re ah… let’s see, wait, I’ve got it here………….. Capt. Dan. Right. Sorry. I haven’t had a chance to look at the C-file. I was just assigned to you this morning and I’m not up to speed. How about a five minute mini-synopsis of this so I have some ammo before we go in. It’s opening day for the dove hun-ah Bob had a death in the family down in North Carolina and had to hustle down there suddenly so I got the call. You understand, right? So what’s the skinny?”

Once inside the hearing room, both conversations sounded like ” I feel this would be the most fruitful for the vA and the veteran deserves a rapid conclusion….. We want what’s best for the vA and…… The vA has been very considerate and we don’t want to disturb that relationship…. ” Well, gee. Good thing you brought plenty of rope to hang me with Mr. Hamer/Ampe. The vA sure didn’t arrive with enough. A remand granted him 100% from 1987 when his commission ended. vA is now returning and eyeing that. The claim was adjudicated in 1995 which means although he’s in the 25 year ballpark on effective date, he’s not home-free in vA’s mind. They view it as only 17 years old and thus fair game.

Back to 95 and Dan. Hang him they did. They stuck some bogus attachment about mental disorders in there even though his injuries were physical with a progressive (and aggressive) disease process. Now, seventeen years later they are innocuously asking to review all this mental mishmash and to sort it out anew a la 3.105(e) also known as “Oops. We screwed up in 95, Cap’n Dan. So sorry. Good thing we caught it before 20 years was up or else you would have been scott free. We’ll be nice and not ask for all the shekels back but henceforth, your 100% gig is null and void. Or… you could file a new claim and we’ll take a look at it in 2015 and give it the 125-day treatment.

Hamer wasn’t very good as a  DAV VSO service officer for Capt. Dan and he didn’t fair very well doing SO for himself. It’s a small claims world. The Hamers and Ampes , by virtue of of their utter lack of legal credentials, will forever be remembered-unfavorably, I might add.. I’m sure this is not the last we’ve heard of the Continuing Adventures of Bungle a lot Steve.

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WHO IS THAT?

Posted on November 23, 2012 by asknod

Okay. Who is it coming in on the search engines with “Alien abduction of hepatitis children”? Or “eating feces”? There are several other bizarre things that search engines bring here. I posted several about alien abduction being a leading risk factor for HCV. Another about a BvA case where a soldier blamed eating feces on his HCV, etc. Some of my humor is coming back like a boomerang.  But who Googles this stuff?

Posted in General Messages | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

VET SUES VA AND WINS OVER HCV

Posted on November 23, 2012 by asknod

How many times have you been told that HCV is not a “robust” virus? That it cannot be transmitted via sex or jetguns? That it’s highly improbable that any Veterans ever picked up this bug in service in spite of an infection rate far higher than their comparable civilian cohort?  If you don’t clean the gear, anything’s possible. If they were using it on a Vet with HCV before you, the chances of you getting it are pretty good. In fact, it’s actually plausible. That’s what the Judge said to vA’s chagrin and disbelief.

Air Force Veteran Robert Metzler had one of those delightful butt-tractor excursions in 2007. Oddly he didn’t have the hep. the year before as documented by testing but once apprised of the not-so-sanitary practices of the vA, a retest after the colonoscopy revealed it in full bloom.

vA, true to their roots, denied any complicity and mouthed the usual platitudes. Invoking Immaculate Conception, or, on the other hand, perhaps some risqué, extramarital sex with the “other” woman, they took the path of pious innocence. “Not it!” they chortled in unison.

One thing we all seem to forget. No hospital or medical complex is immune from the deprecation of ignorant or misbehaving individuals. As evidenced by the events in Exeter, New Hampshire, any medical enterprise is subject to sabotage. As much as vA is touted as having cutting edge medicine and outstanding resources, I’m living proof that you don’t always get the Numbah 1 surgeon, G.I. Mr. Metzler likewise ended up on the wrong end of the butt periscope. It does not surprise me that vA was able to fabricate another impenetrable wall  of innocence. This they do with utter regularity as evidenced by the plethora of them we regularly read about in BvA decisions. This time it was different.

Dr. David Nelson, a board-certified doctor in internal medicine, testified that “there is less than a 0 percent chance” Metzler contracted hepatitis through his colonoscopy, according to the ruling. But the judge, despite acknowledging that VA records “strongly suggest” Metzler couldn’t have been infected by the colonoscopy, said the veteran had no other risks associated with contracting the virus.

Because the action was brought before the US. District Court, they couldn’t depend on their own BvA judges to rubber stamp it with a denial. Likewise, without the CAVC as an  backstop to affirm it,   Judge Jordan turned the proceedings on their ear and ruled in favor of Metzler.

What is unfortunate is what I discovered. Absent an attorney willing to carry the water, many of these adjudications never see the light of day. The propensity of these judges to award paltry sums as they did here scares away attorneys who are leery of the same. Why fight for several years for four hundred thousand dollars when you expend a hundred thousand on overhead and a doctor to testify in your behalf? The money simply isn’t there. Had Mr. and Mrs. Metzler received the $30 million asked for, attorneys would perk up and take notice. So would the vA.

My prospective attorneys looked at my case and logically determined a District Court Judge would examine the facts and determine I wasn’t going to be around for much longer and might award $250 to $500 K-hardly worth the effort even if we won. Justice was thwarted and vA won by default. Here, they didn’t in spite of their typical “It is not at least as likely as not that the HCV was contracted at the pristine facilities vA regularly maintains for its veterans at vAMC facilities.” This is one of those lovely occasions where the nexus letter blew up like an IED to their utter surprise. I’ve never met a doctor willing to go so far out on a limb and declare there was virtually 0% probability. He was paid well. He went above and beyond the call and proclaimed “less than 0%“. Pray, tell us of this negative integer and the percentage in  a negative integer probability index.

Whenever someone tells you you are blessed to be receiving care at a vAMC, print a copy of the pictures below and remind them this was the third surgery to “get it right”. The one below that is the forth surgery that positively, beyond the shadow of a doubt , for sure got it right and no kidding this time. Print a copy of the Military.com article and point out the vA’s “nexus letter”. This is absolutely asinine on its face. Why send out letters saying “Gee, Bob. It appears we may have given you the bug on your last butt TV episode but hold tight. We’re cranking out a good letter absolving us. Get the test just for shits and grins, but remember-we’re blameless and we’ll have documentation on that if you choose to sue. Not it!”

Posted in vA news, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

T-DAY FACEBOOK

Posted on November 22, 2012 by asknod

Rebeccamarie Beque MignoneSalaiz put this up on my facesite. Beautiful. Now there’s a name that won’t fit on a check.

Posted in Complaints Department, Gulf War Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SHOWTIME @ 1400 HRS

Posted on November 22, 2012 by asknod

From all of us here (Kiedove, Kel552, Joe Average Vet and Nod), we wish you the finest and warm Thanksgiving. Memories of who will not be seated there are equal to them being there. We have two empty seats here at Casa Nod who will be sorely missed this year.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Posted in Food for the soul | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

DoD Vietnam interactive timeline

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Laura

Bookmark this link in your Vietnam research folder. This overview might be helpful in reconstructing when certain events happened during the Vietnam conflict and much  earlier.  The first contact between the US and Vietnam was in 1833.

Use the arrows to flip through the pages and click on dates of interest for more details. This DoD-created timeline should provide a credible history and useful narrative.

There are also many resources and timelines on Asknod under Vietnam War Resources.

Click to go to site.

 

Posted in Guest authors, research, Vietnam War history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

G-rated humor

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Laura

I found these corny jokes online.  I don’t know who created the cartoon.

A 5-year old boy mistakenly stepped into the women’s dressing room at a health club.
Women screamed and grabbed their towels.
“What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen a kid before?”

_____________________________________________________________

A man goes into a drug store and asks the pharmacist if he can give him something for the hiccups. The pharmacist promptly reaches out and slaps the man’s face.
“What did you do that for?” the man asks.
“Well, you don’t have the hiccups anymore do you?”
The man says, “No, but my wife out in the car still does!”

___________________________________________________________

Marriage advice: A career is a fine thing. But while you’re busy earning your salt, don’t forget to pay attention to your sugar.

______________________________________________________________

Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

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WARNING ON TOGETHERWESERVED

Posted on November 20, 2012 by asknod

Prescript. 3/14/2021– This post, still alive after all these years, was published on 11/20/2012. Comments on my site never close nor get censored. Please note that before you begin a diatribe telling us about how magnificent President Brian Foster is. I cannot speak to what it (the site) has become in the last nine years. I joined USAA in 1966 under my father’s policy and still belong. I have no idea what they (USAA) find appealing in hanging out with this TWS outfit. I have nothing against him or them. I merely reported my personal experience in 2012. You may decide from your own encounters what it is (or isn’t) now in 2021. As my grandmother used to say, “If you can’t say something nice about somebody, come on over here and sit beside me.”

Dateline- November 20th, 2012

How about Together We Sever you from $19.95 a year (or until you find the cancel button).

Just a little update on the website from one of our members. Apparently Togetherweserved has an interesting hook for new members. In order to pickpocket you for the one year $19.95 membership, they offer it free. The hook? Why, they just need your credit card to confirm your identity. In the small print it says if you do not opt out in 10 days then you agree to pay the $20.00 for a year. So free suddenly morphs into an Andrew Jackson coupon.  They’ll continue to dun you yearly until you find the little “Cancel” button disguised up in the upper left corner of your site stats. It’s easy. You gave them your credit card info.

Their financial office does put up a good argument for the $20.00. They connect you with all your buddies- assuming they join too. They have several “disabled Vets” working there diligently counting your cash as it rolls in. Disabled as we know can consist of 0% for Tinnitus. So Ladies and Gentlemen Vets. Forewarned is forearmed. Don’t fall for the ploy. For 0 dollars, you can dig around on Facebook. For $39.95 you can find anyone in the United States for a year. It’s called a CBI or criminal background investigation check. They sounded like a genuine outfit but alas. There’s a P.T. Barnum born every day. Some Vets sites (I’m not naming any here personally) are even low enough to take Vets for a ride. Sure, no one can debate they provide a “service”. I’m certainly not saying they don’t. I’ll let you folks weigh in and comment on if it’s worth the dough.

For the next year, you can go on my profile page and post outrageous medals and claims! I don’t care. I have wiped mine clean.

P.S. 3/10/2019-Five years after this post, I find this blurb in a #wired post dated in 2008:
“

TogetherWeServed.com… launched its Air Force site last December. President Brian Foster said at that time the California company had been operating its popular Marines and Navy sites for years without complaints.

But after signing up more than 50,000 [Air Force] members in the first few weeks, participation in the site suddenly slowed as a PowerPoint presentation from Air Force Maj. Mark D. Hedden began circulating online, Foster said.

50,000 Vets at $20 each-just in 2008 for just Air Force Veterans. That, ladies and gentlemen, is One million dollars. I guess it takes a lot of money to put up a good website. I pay WordPress about $100 a year for asknod.org. Maybe I should require everyone to pay to absorb my incredible legal wit and knowledge. Not. I enjoy being able to sleep at night with a good conscience. There are no pay walls here nor will there ever be.

P. S. Here’s an email from one of my readership re trying to exit TWS this week (11/14/2021)…

Admin@togetherweserved.com

12:13 PM (1 hour ago)

to me

Thank you for reaching out to us. I understand you may feel that politics is being thrown in your face. I happen to be right there with you. My political PTSD meter is about pegged. This, however, is not about politics. This is about the survival of our website. If more members would see the value of TWS and support us through a paid membership, we would not have to go searching for advertisers. You see in this day and age where Facebook has made it seem like the internet should be free, (though you sell your soul and all your information to anyone by using their “free” website), TWS is struggling to keep afloat. We also have a huge number of vets that feel it should be against the law to charge for a veteran website, even though it costs millions to build these websites and hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep them running. Throw a pandemic and the average age of our members in there and you get the idea.

So, I hope you can forgive us for trashing your inbox with a note from Fox. I’ve removed Fox from your preferences so you should not receive another one. I truly wish that you would reconsider, your military history profile on TWS is your legacy to family and future generations to come. If you still wish your profile to be deleted, we will honor that request. You have to open each photo to download. There is no easy way to download them all

Thanks for reaching out. We appreciate it.

Diane Short

TWS Admin

P.S. Here’s a follow-on article for your reading pleasure:

TOGETHERWESERVED–THE CANCEL CULTURE
Posted in Complaints Department, Veterans Charity concerns | Tagged , , , , , | 38 Comments

WHY I ONLY VISIT FACEBOOK ONCE A WEEK

Posted on November 19, 2012 by asknod

This is good. I must admit. Thanks Deb. Only someone with HCV can find this kind of humor in such a dark world.

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NEW ARMY MEDAL

Posted on November 19, 2012 by asknod

In what was widely hailed as a foregone conclusion, Secretary of Defense Leon “the pants” Panetta announced the Army will be creating a new medal to honor those who refrain from shooting back at Afghan soldiers engaged in “blue on green” attacks. The medal will obviously be a compendium of those two colors with a yellow  vertical streak and also feature an “R” device for refraining in the face of multiple murders during a single event. Bronze oak leave clusters will represent additional incidents with a silver cluster representing five. Secretary Panetta said he hopes this will become the signature award from this theatre of war.

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