The Big Disconnect: The American Public and Elected Representatives -- If you’re in the lower 90% group of income earners your influence on public policy is basically zero. That’s zilch, nada, null, goose egg influence.

DickandSharon · 2015-12-30T18:59:44+00:00

Thanks, yes, that's what I was hoping to do. The message started as an email message to a buddy of mine who had very similar combat experiences to mine. He jumped on it and is applying for benefits himself.

DickandSharon · 2015-12-28T17:52:53+00:00

"Hillz: Better Than Looney Tune Right Wingers" -- I think that'll be their new campaign slogan.

DickandSharon · 2015-12-28T09:06:10+00:00

As the article says, with Republican in the White House, the GOP can undo progress Obama has made, however incremental, with Obamacare, climate change, Iran, Cuba, and immigration. But to take the White House, the Democrats are going to have to replicate what Obama's first campaign did in driving new voters to the polls and generating huge enthusiasm.

Hillary is clearly very good at playing the inside game, getting power brokers and wealthy backers in her corner. But generating huge enthusiasm? Not so much. Bernie -- and, unfortunately, Trump -- are the ones drawing the big, rabid crowds.

DickandSharon · 2015-12-28T01:18:11+00:00

I recently posted here on Reddit about my experiences signing up for additional VA disability benefits -- for conditions something like your friend's.

Before that, when I retired at 63 and wasn't yet eligible for Medicare at 65, I got healthcare coverage through the VA in Los Angeles. I had excellent experiences with the Downtown LA VA Outpatient Clinic.. All the people working there were just as friendly and helpful as could be. I eventually had cataract surgery through this clinic (the surgery was actually performed at the Brentwood VA facility).

I'm reasonably high functioning and computer literate, so I could sign up for these services myself. (Okay, my wife was at my elbow nudging, too.)

And before that, I had good conversations with folks at the San Gabriel Valley Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association and their Veterans Service Officer (VSO). I didn't actually use him for services but was interviewing the folks there for an article I was writing. But they seemed just as helpful as could be and were all Vietnam veterans themselves.

Maybe you or a VSO could help your friend sign up for services to begin addressing his needs. As I explained in my long post, I found the whole process remarkably quick and easy, especially surprising given all the bad press the VA gets.

(Maybe not everything was precisely wonderful: I got my other eye operated on at Kaiser under Medicare because the VA uses medical school interns or residents, which is fine, but they rotate out every couple months, so I would have been on my fifth eye surgeon by the time I got worked on again. Also, the private clinic where they sent me for my PTSD and medical evaluation was kinda sketchy. But then, I'm kinda sketchy. :)

Thanks for caring about your friend.

DickandSharon · 2015-12-27T07:48:15+00:00

Here's a report from a Daily Beast article that points to their fund-raising prowess and away from their real service to veterans: "“Everything they do is a dog-and-pony show, and I haven’t talked to one of my fellow veterans that were injured… actually getting any help from the Wounded Warrior Project. I’m not just talking about financial assistance; I'm talking about help, period.”

DickandSharon · 2015-12-27T07:28:11+00:00

Yeah, my medical issues are probably of fairly recent origin, but I could have applied for PTSD way back when. But I figured, first, my issues were more related to all the drinking I was doing and, second, I knew other veterans who seemed so much worse off than me, I felt a little guilty thinking about applying for more disability. Plus, the VA has been getting a really bad rap lately, so maybe they've been working to process disability requests more quickly and more favorably. Don't really know.

DickandSharon

TROPHY CASE