What's New
| VA Secretary Pressed by Senator on High Percentage of Wrongly Denied Benefit Claims |
March 16, 2010, Washington, DC (CQ Politics) - A leading Republican senator on Tuesday asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to explain why so many veterans’ benefit claims are wrongly denied, resulting in a high rate of reversal on appeal. |
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| Profile of New Veterans' Courts in New York Times |
Defendants Fresh From War Find Service Counts in Court - VCS Supports Veterans' Courts March 15, 2010, Charleston, West Virginia (New York Times) — When Judge Robert C. Chambers handed down Timothy Oldani’s federal sentence for selling stolen military equipment on eBay, he gave the former Marine a break. |
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| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Philanthropist Bobby Willis to Build New $3.3 Billion Hospital for VA in Farmington, NM for Rural and Native American Veterans |
Proposed state-of-the-art Kirtland veterans clinic could provide as many as 8,000 jobs March 14, 2010, Farmington, New Mexico (Farmington Daily Times) — A proposed veterans complex in Kirtland centered around a new hospital, backed by a wealthy entrepreneur and costing an estimated $3.3 billion promises to bring state-of-the-art medicine and other benefits to veterans, as well as 8,000 jobs to the local economy. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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VCS Weekly Update: The Rising Cost of War - Too Many Deaths, Too Much Money
Written by Veterans for Common Sense
Monday, 14 September 2009 09:32
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September 14, 2009 - This week, Veterans for Common Sense focuses on the escalating Afghanistan War fiasco. The frequent reports of massive civilian deaths, fuel tanker explosions, rampant drug smuggling, and bogus elections reveal a devastating tragedy.
With record U.S. battlefield casualties, experts believe the Afghanistan War is already lost. We know you want to know the facts about the human and financial devastation cased by these two wars. VCS calls on journalists to investigate and report on the true costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our national debt is more than $11 trillion. But where are the daily headlines and news broadcasts describing the trillions spent, and the hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans physically and psychologically wounded? Exactly How Many People Are Dead, Wounded, Injured, or Ill? The full scope of 425,000 battlefield and post-war casualties caused by the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are rarely summarized by the press. This is due in part because the Pentagon intentionally only reports deaths and wounds. In contrast, VCS strives to report all casualties - killed, wounded, injured, and ill - on the battlefield and under VA care after fighting overseas. A new article, Censorship American Style: Hide the US War Dead from the American People, reveals the disturbing Pentagon and press blackout of Iraq and Afghanistan war battlefield casualties. Our service members killed in the two wars are one tragic result, and we must honor their dedication to our Constitution. In addition, VCS demands a full public accounting of the civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We agree with a recent editorial written by Joseph Galloway at McClatchy News, who lamented how the Afghanistan War is not worth one more life, and he lists several very good reasons. What are the Financial Costs of Two Escalating Wars? The deaths caused by both wars are equally heartbreaking to families of troops here in America as well as and the families of civilians killed overseas. VCS wants to know: how much do these deaths, wounds, injuries, and illnesses cost American taxpayers - either directly or through our support of the Iraq government? The amount of funds our US military has paid to families of Iraqi civilians killed or maimed in operations involving American troops skyrocketed from just under $5 million in 2004 to almost $20 million in 2006, according to Pentagon financial data. The cost has since been taken over by the Iraqi government - a government funded by our tax dollars and our purchases at the gas pump. VCS wants a full reporting of the counts and costs of everyone killed, wounded, injured, and ill, plus the costs of disability benefits and healthcare for veterans in the U.S., Iraq, and Afghanistan. If you believe, like we do, that it is of vital importance to get the truth out to the American people, then please, click here to give to VCS today. Your contribution is tax-deductible, and will be put to work right away. Thank you, Veterans for Common Sense |









