On this Veterans' Day I am thinking of a client who went into the Service with no psychiatric history and got PTSD during Desert Storm. His Army doctor chose not to treat this injury like any other, but instead invented a pre-service personality disorder diagnosis based on undocumented adolescent misbehavior. This got him the soldier out of the mental hospital and the service, without the expense and bother of treating his actual injury. I suppose it helped the doctor and the Army meet their budgets - everybody wins!
Before they put him on the street, the Army told him to fill out a VA disability application, but didn't tell him that the doctor's bogus diagnosis guaranteed summary rejection because there was no service connection. He didn't even get an independent examination.
Now maybe this veteran "should have" demanded an actual evaluation but keep in mind that he's a young guy, not the healthiest camper at this point, and all the Men In Suits are telling him nothing can be done. He, his family and his local community suffered the consequences for 15 years, and these were not insignificant.
Finally someone talks him into going to VA and asking specifically for a PTSD test. The doctors basically go, "Well d'uh!" and he starts getting appropriate treatment plus disability. From here on out the story is ok, but what about those 15 years?
It's a debt unpaid.
I'd bet cash money that this guy is just one of thousands. It's not as if these injuries don't have expensive consequences; no, the cost of these injuries is carried by the veteran, by their families and maybe by their local communities. The rest of us - so proud to "Support The Troops!" - are freeloading, skipping out on a debt.
To collect that debt, there is a long and wasteful litigation process that might get justice in this one particular case, but what about the others? Do they all have to sue?
Do we really want 1,000 or more Desert Storm veterans - and God knows how many Vietnam veterans, and the rest - having to lawyer up just to get what we owe them? Are we just hoping that they'll go away or die off to save us money?
There is a fair alternative.
We could treat these cases the way Agent Orange cases are now treated: there should be a registry, not litigation. In particular, if you have service-connected PTSD and were discharged due to mental-health-related behavior, the behavior should be rebuttably presumed to be due to the PTSD, and you get disability as of the date of discharge.
This would take an Act of Congress to make this small change to 38 USC 1110. That's not going to be easy, but if everyone with a Yellow Ribbon magnet asked their Congresscritter for action, we'd see action - there's an election coming up, after all.
It may not be cheap (although come to think of it, it saves court costs so maybe it would save money in the long run). but it's one way to show that all those the Yellow Ribbons and "Thank You For Your Service" are for real or for show.
Ask your Congresscritter and your VSO how they feel about this.
And America's veterans: thank you for your service. For real.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Tuesday: Bleedin' Science
I don't really have the education to be a scientist but I can do science!
Thursday, November 05, 2015
Simplification Thursday: Parting with Pocketless Polo
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| Pocketless Polo to Pass |
This means my polos with no pocket have no purpose.
I feel like I am impoverishing myself to get rid of something that I bought (even if years ago), but part of feeling comfortable in my adequate prosperity is letting go of the habits of poverty. When I was poor, I had to save everything because I did not know when I might need something, but now that I am prosperous, I can let that go.
It helps that I can pass on the shirts to a thrift store where they will be reused. This gives me a small pleasure that offsets the concern about impoverishment.
The thing that tips the balance toward action is treating November as a month for simplifying my life, in anticipation of my new job starting in December. The job is a great opportunity, but it means that anything I want to keep doing, I'll have to do more efficiently - and that means getting rid of clothing that I don't need.
So goodbye pocketless polo - you were good when I needed you, but I don't anymore. Go to someone else who may need you, and we'll both be better off.
Wednesday, November 04, 2015
Wednesday and Professor Chesterfield
The counter lady reminded me that I'd bought a cat today a while back and somehow it hadn't made it into my bag. It's pretty honest of them to have held on to it, but I suppose that's part of community and all that.
When I set it down, Chesterfield was the first to investigate it. I was almost as fascinated as he was to observe him figuring out what happened when he batted the ball inside. He's not smart like humans are, but he appears to have something going on in terms of a process of figuring things out.
Tuesday, November 03, 2015
Tuesday zumba
I have started taking the 6:30pm Zumba class at the Fauntleroy Y. It's much closer than the West Seattle Y, and by the time class is over and I've showered, I'm ready to relax at home.
I had a brief moment of startlement when I got an email saying my IRS job status had changed, but when I followed up, the change was to "hired" so I'm quite happy.
I had a brief moment of startlement when I got an email saying my IRS job status had changed, but when I followed up, the change was to "hired" so I'm quite happy.
Monday and the Pansy
I really enjoy the high quality pictures I can now take casually, and it also amuses me that "pansy" is used in a derogatory way when the plant is ... for its size ... remarkably tough.
Monday, November 02, 2015
Free Continuing Legal Education Webcasts, Events & Recordings - Nov.1, 2015 #MCLE (4freeCLE)
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
Memes - October 2015
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| Gun Nuts Are Frightened People |
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| Fun Fact About The 2nd Amendment |
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| This Version Is Wordier |
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| Today's GOP Thinks You Have A Bad Memory |
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| I'm Just Trying to Be Helpful |
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| Sometimes The Truth Leaks Out |
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| I Just Liked This Photo |
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| It's An Old Joke, But I Like It! |
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| One Of The Best Putdowns Ever |
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| It Was Only Last Year... |
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| The Whole Email Thing Is Off The Subject Anyway |
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| The Palin Business Model |
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| I Could Not Believe How Stupid That Committee Sounded |
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| Some Prosecutors Get Used to Bullying Defendants Who Have No Education Or Money, But That's Poor Preparation For Attacking A Clinton LOL |
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| Obsessing On Blumenthal Was One Of Those Ideas That Must Have Sounded Good When Drunk |
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| Could Gowdy Be A Democratic Party Mole? |
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| Tinkering With A Church Sign Generator |
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| If You Can't Follow The Rules, You Can't Be A Role Model. Period. |
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| Clinton Was Remarkably Restrained, Actually |
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| "Serve And Protect" - Yr Doin' It Wrong |
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| Remember Last Year's Panic? |
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| Will Rogers Is Timeless |
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| I Don't Do "You're Ugly" Humor, But Fiorina's Delusional Proclamations Are Cartoonish |
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| They Threatened To Withhold Their Labor... |
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| What A Bunch Of Whiners! |
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| Like I Said: Serve And Protect |
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| Any Politician Who Says God Told Him To Run Is Asking To Be Mocked |
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thoughts on getting rid of clothing
What I'm thinking of today:
Clothing wears out; that's just a fact of life.
Other clothing are no longer appropriate; I am changing size as I get more fit, and it's nice to see some stuff will never fit right on me again.
However, it can be difficult to toss clothing. Clothing is not just a covering for the body; it is a repository for memory and personality. Pitching it, as needed, can feel like a loss. It also feels wasteful to clog up landfills. My contribution may be small, but it adds up.
Fortunately, recycling clothing feels like growth. The easiest way is when the clothing is still useful, just no longer appropriate for me. Reselling it at a consignment shop, on ebay or craigslist, might provide a little cash to sooth the sting of parting. Offering it through freecycle or one of the "Buy Nothing" groups of facebook offers a different reward, that of community. But there remains the old cloths that are too worn to give away.
A small amount of the fabric can be used in projects. I've used the canvas from old jeans as plant blocking cloth, and little bit of cotton fiber might be o.k. in the bottom layer of a planter. A few rags can be used around the house as rages, but there's a limit to how much of that I need.
Therefore I was greatly cheered to be informed of a place (conveniently located at my gas station) where I could drop off a bag of clothing, however worn, and the fiber would be recycled. As I go through my house, downsizing that which I no longer need, I find the process is simplified when I have a bag labelled "rags"
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