RESPONSE TO A DAV REPRESENTATIVE

 

 

 

Dear Ms XXXXXXX of the DAV,

I read with interest your e-mail remarks concerning Veteran XXX XXXXXXX and I certainly agree there should be no name calling to anyone. 

Veterans need to deal with the government/VA biased issues with our politicians with data and logic.  Even this is non-effective since our own government, congress included, has created a separate executive, legislative, and judicial branch outside of the real elected form of government.  This might even be the way politicians protect themselves from Veteran voters and their family, as if it is not their fault. 

It is entirely their fault, as they have let White House after White House create this VA unconstitutional form of anarchy treatment to only one segment of society. 

 

While I do not condone name-calling, when a Veteran realizes his own government has turned against him or her; the frustration becomes unbearable and the lashing out starts at anyone to blame.  This includes the VSO’s that also seemed to have let this collaboration continue and even grow stronger.  In some cases, this frustration of knowing that our own government is covering up issues they have suffered with for decades becomes debilitating in itself as they slowly lose the will to fight an enemy federal agency that will not answer questions and cowardly will not address the real issues.  Even our congressmen and senators tell us there is not much they can do with this runaway federal agency.

It is very doubtful our founding fathers envisioned this move by our own government to cover up their own mistakes made by the "Feres Doctrine protected DOD" and the supplemental follow on "unconstitutional form of government budget control" within the Department of Veterans Affairs that is more in tune to White House mandated budgets.  Rather than any form of truth and justice for the Veterans, widows, and their families. 

While it is true, individual DAV VSO's such as you and others have helped some Veterans, it must be pointed out that this system is more of a “Veteran's Lottery” versus any kind of “Veteran's Justice” for government/DOD mistakes.

While you stated as individuals those in the DAV, VFW, and AL are not going to support this march.  What is more important to Veterans is: do or will the National Organizations support such a march.  I think you will find your National Organizations with few exceptions “will not stand with Veterans.”  They now have too much to lose in government benefits given at the behest of the Department of Veterans Affairs, not law, to even protest in a whisper.  The government non-political pacts they sign to get these "benefits," guarantee a "lack of performance" at the National levels.

The only VSO that seems to not be afraid of the VA is the VVA in taking even those in the VA that have participated in scientific misconduct to task in the courts system.  The difference is this VSO is final and not perpetual.  When the last Vietnam Veteran dies, so does the VSO.

As you may or may not know the head of the Congressional VAC, Congressman Buyer, has now said that the main VSO's will not be allowed to address a joint session of congress and any presentations will be made only in the Veteran Affairs Committee.

Your own DAV commander's statements regarding this issue were as follows:

"Chairman Buyer is not interested in a meaningful dialogue with the veterans community," said DAV National Commander Paul W. Jackson. 

"How could the Chairman expect us to analyze and comment on the President's budget request before it is even made public?  On the other hand, is it his intent to blunt criticism and suppress diverse points of view regarding funding levels and policy initiatives in the President's budget?"  Commander Jackson said.

"The revised schedule for hearings and the change in format amount to a slap in the face of individual veterans as well as the groups that represent them in the public policy arena.  Chairman Buyer has slammed the door in the face of America's s veterans," Commander Jackson said.”

It seems that National VSO's are becoming victims of their own greed and the lack of really supporting Veterans.  Every year they are less and less relevant to the political partisanship in our nation to the real pandering public who expect the government to support them "in all areas" for doing nothing for the nation.

House and Senate members no longer care that the DAV or any other VSO has over one million members.  They know because of the ineptness of the DAV, as well as other VSO's; in mounting, any challenge to a political issue all threats or even concerns are now meaningless. 

Moreover, they will get a 60/40-split vote no matter what they do to the Veterans and their families. 

Including killing or maiming them because of lack of medical data given out, they knew existed in 1984.  Yet, they remained silent because the White House clearly chose not to take responsibility for the national disasters they caused within the Veteran community.

I agree with Veteran XXX XXXXXX the name of the march is illogical, and has some "give me" connotations that are associated with it and not "earned and then denied benefits"; and should be called something such as a "Veterans March for Constitutional Rights" or similar.  If that one issue was resolved then most of the other issues would go away and some federal employees, including VA cover-up scientists, would be in the federal prisons.

Just in one issue of one example: How can any VSO that says they support Veterans condone the following?

U.S.C 38 Paragraph 511

(a) The Secretary shall decide all questions of law and fact necessary to a decision by the Secretary under a law that affects the provision of benefits by the Secretary to veterans or the dependents or survivors of veterans.  Subject to subsection (b), the decision of the Secretary as to any such question shall be "final and conclusive" and may not be reviewed by any other official or by any court, whether by an action in the nature of mandamus or otherwise.

This is not the constitutional justice Veterans fought and died for.  That is nothing but government anarchy.

Including any action that involves a mandamus act!  What that "otherwise" in U.S.C 38 paragraph 511 actually means is certainly ambiguous and legally arguable for decades, I would conclude.

"Mandamus act" - an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail.

So even a direct court legal written command "to perform," no longer applies to the Secretary of the VA when it comes to Veterans Issues.

This becomes more obvious when you consider the courts review in Nehmer v. U.S. Veterans Admin., 712 F. Supp. 1404, 1408. (N.D. Cal. (1989) wherein the court found after reviewing the legislative history of the Act that Congress intended service connection to be granted on the basis of "increased risk of incidence" or a "significant correlation" between the dioxin TCDD and various diseases."

While the VA did not challenge the courts rulings or the courts ruling to force the VACEH to revisit and review all the previous findings and rulings and what I deem "biased processed decisions" under the "new court mandated protocols of evidence required" and not "cause in effect," which according to the courts ruling was too stringent and was not the intent of congress. 

The VA instead just ignored the courts findings and the VACEH was replaced by the totally biased NAS/IOM. 

The legal issue here, as far as I am concerned, is no different than the Feres Doctrine which violates the separation of powers regarding the DOD demanded by the constitution, not a mere suggestion; but a mandate.  Yet, the Veterans putting their faith and money into VSO's who by their own doings are totally helpless to stop such issues.

Take the above USC 38 511 and change that from Veterans issues to "illegal alien issues" with no (zero) rights to the order of precedence in law including the Supreme Court.  The public, national media, lawyer groups, civil rights groups, and congressional pandering outcry would be beyond a simple protest.  It would be reported for months on end on the front pages of national outlets and news analyst shows would go on ceaselessly, including historical perspectives at every turn of the next 20 national elections.  

Yet, with very few exceptions the national media will not cover or report our Veterans' plight in the very same issues of being unconstitutional.

Even the VA quality audits by the VSO's that uncover Veteran's claims being set aside for over five years and not worked because the local VA shops get no (zero) credit for working that category of claims is not reported by the national media as just a "despicable government disgrace."  This is not a one VA shop issue but a National Issue even by the AL's own admitted statements.  Yet, it goes unreported in the national press. 

Had this been anything but a "Veterans Issue" it would be all over the press that a federal agency was sitting on claims for over "half a decade" because they got no (zero) middle management credit.  Congress is also aware of these findings and yet still cannot take the VA in tow and demand some form of integrity. 

While the VSO's crow about budgets, Veterans issues are much more than just budgets.  It is about the lawlessness in our government and our own federal agency.  They do however, seemed to be a very willing back drop for presidential and congressional BS as they spew their government rhetoric of how they support the warriors of the nation.  BUNK!

In fact, Veterans are now starting to ask the question as to why Veterans face a mounting challenge each and every year rather than a VSO forced mandated budget with deltas from that budget in time of war.  We see no such issues for assisting illegals with billions of dollars of medical care 24 hours a day and seven days a week.  Unlike Veterans who must wait 12 months to get in the system and then an appointment request is months of waiting.

Here again it seems the VSO's will not unite and make these non-sensible approach budget issues, which is the real cost of war, a political venue.  Again, they are helpless in these issues by their own doings and have become nothing but as one of my gunfighter Marines called them, "nothing but an extension of the VA itself."

Veterans have learned the VA and its appointed secretary are not our allies and are more interested in White House budgets than issues of cover-up, thievery, out and out stalling when a Veteran is dying of an AO cancer in hopes the Veteran will die first before his claim is approved (conflict of interest), scientific misconduct, and not changing the old rules that reflect a war wound versus a toxic chemical or Gulf War cancer wound.

I was at the Disability Commission and presented at the meeting in Silver Springs, MD and saw first hand the lack of performance by the VSO's as they made their presentations.  They came in just in time to speak and then left right after.  What they said, or more to the point what was not said, was even more reflective of their total ineptness to fight for Veterans.

One of the issues being discussed; should the VA continue to give the Veteran the "Benefit of the Doubt."  Now I have studied this issue for four long years and wrote a book on this issue at:

 http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/book/bookorders.htm
with book reviews.

My question to the Committee since none of the VSO's would ask:  Where is the benefit of the doubt given and what kind of level are we talking?  Since I have found BVA claims where everyone stated there was a 50/50 chance it was toxic chemicals and "my Marines claims" were still denied by the anarchy and totalitarian philosophy at the VA.   Moreover, how can anyone ascertain what the ramifications are of not doing something when we have no idea where in the process it is given or even what the VA's process actually is? 

I gave about eight examples of where it was not located and the very astute VA liaison Rep that was there said in his VA like answer.  “They, the VA, will just tell you they give the Veteran the Veterans' the Benefit of the Doubt mandated by congress.”  BUNK! 

So just trust us, the VA, we are doing it somewhere!!!!!!!!  I think we seen too much of that "trust me," I am your Government Agency stuff the last 40 years.

So lets see in a simplistic analogy:  How does this new blue color compare with the "other color" and no one knows what the "other color" is or was! And what are the impacts?  Just classic VA rhetoric.

So yes, I agree there should be no name calling.  Although, I certainly understand the anger of the Veteran.

However, if one Veteran calling you names or calling for the shutting down of the VSO's will stop you from supporting Veterans then I would suggest your heart was not in it to begin with.

The VSO's themselves are making themselves irrelevant and there is nothing you can do as a member to stop it.

Beer, Bingo, Barbecues, and bottom line Bank Accounts seemed to be the VSO's answer to the Veterans and their families in fighting what has to be called Government/White House/VA corruption and collaboration.

Rest assured this is fast becoming a National Security Issue as more and more data gets out.

America's sons and daughters must be given the "right to know" that after they serve our government all rights to the protection of the constitution afforded to even enemy combatants are now forfeited by them, as they become yesterday's obsolete government assets.

They should be able to make the choices based on facts; not the White House and Congressional rhetoric that comes out of inside 495.

Men and women going into our Armed Forces today must ask themselves these questions:

If they ever bring back the draft, you, as well as the nation, will have your answer!

I will close my response with a statement by Congressman Shays from the 2000 Government Oversight Review of the Ranch Hand Study: 

"At what level do you think Government should consider compensation?  Should we have a no shadow of a doubt?  The reason why I am asking the question is I have concluded, based on our work that we have done on Gulf War illnesses, based on our review of Agent Orange, that I have to be honest with our veterans.  By the time we will know the scientific data, you are dead.  You will either have died early or you will have died in your old age in pain, but you will not get help from the Federal Government."

Veterans of this nation, in all reality, stand alone in these issues regardless of how many VSO's are making money off of the Veteran's pain and suffering.

Charles Kelley
SP5Kelley2nd94th@aol.com

DMZ 67-68