Yearly Archives: 2008

Pentagon Plans National Mental Health Campaign

May 2, 2008, Washington, DC – Senior military officers could be talking about their emotional struggles on YouTube and MySpace this year, in a Pentagon campaign to urge troops into counseling for wartime mental problems. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced … Continue reading

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Jury Acquits Six in Anti-Iraq War Protest in Maine

May 1, 2008 – Six longtime anti-war activists arrested last year for refusing to leave the Federal Building when it closed for the day were found not guilty Wednesday of criminal trespass. A Penobscot County Superior Court jury deliberated for … Continue reading

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May 3 Editorial Column: President George W. Bush Admits He Approved Torture

May 1, 2008, Washington, DC – The American people have heard President Bush and his spokespeople say many times that the U.S. government does not engage in torture. Whether Bush was believed or not is another story — especially in … Continue reading

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May 3: VCS Supports Sen. Bond’s Bill to Open VA’s Vet Centers to Active Duty Troops

May 2, 2008 – Active and reserve service members would be eligible for mental health counseling from one of the 207 veterans’ centers operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs under bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday. [Note: Veterans for Common Sense … Continue reading

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Union’s War Protest Shuts West Coast Ports

May 2, 2008, Seatle WA – West Coast ports were shut down on Thursday as thousands of longshoremen failed to report for work, part of what their union leaders said was a one-day, one-shift protest against the war in Iraq. … Continue reading

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Audit: Vets With Brain Injury Still Not Getting Proper Care

May 1, 2008 – Many Iraq war veterans with traumatic brain injury are not getting adequate health care and job assistance for their long-term recovery despite years of government pledges to do so, Veterans Affairs Department investigators say. “Significant needs … Continue reading

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May 2: Shh! . . . . (VA E-Mail Conceals Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans)

Official VA e-mail from February 13, 2008, where top VA official concealed the enormous and growing suicide epidemic from CBS Evening News. http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/VA_email_021308.pdf  The e-mail was obtained by attorneys representing veterans in the lawsuit Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United … Continue reading

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May 6: Congress Holds Hearing to Investigate VA Scandal Concealing Veteran Suicide Epidemic

Witness List for Hearing, “The Truth about Veteran Suicides” Where: 334 Cannon House Office Building When: May 6, 2008, 10:00 a.m. Witness Panel 1: The Honorable James B. Peake, M.D., Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Accompanied by Gerald Cross, … Continue reading

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May 2 VCS and VUFT Lawsuit Profiled: ‘Epidemic of Suicides’

Paul Sullivan, Executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, urged Congress to enact legislation to immediately to overhaul the VA.  “Congress should legislate a presumption of service connection for veterans diagnosed [with] PTSD who deployed to a war zone after … Continue reading

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May 1 VCS in the News: Vets’ Case Rests With Call to Overhaul System

May 1, 2008 – Veterans are suffering and dying because of a broken-down mental health system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the only remedy is a court-ordered overhaul, a lawyer for advocacy groups told a federal judge Wednesday … Continue reading

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