Post-traumatic stress disorder, (PTSD) more than doubles a veterans risk of death from any cause and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2010.

The study states that doctors should offer as much preventive treatment for heart disease for clients with PTSD. The researchers, are Naser Ahmadi, MD, and Ramin Ebrahimi, MD.

The research studied the electronic medicals records of 286, 194 veterans, with an average age of 63, who are being treated at hospitals in Southern California and Nevada. The cohort group includes veterans of the Korean War.

The conclusion of the study indicated that veterans diagnosed with PTSD had 2.41 times the rate of death from all causes compared to veterans who have not experienced PTSD. Or at least not diagnosed with the symptoms. They then surmise that PTSD alone is an independent predictor of death from all causes.

Now, let Veteran Veritas  enter the picture. I cannot use the the adjective that first comes to mind for this study. So let your veteran imaginations take you there.

What I will say is that I first distrust this study because it smells of the subterranean influence of the Insurance industry that does not want to provide life insurance for the young soldiers returning from war, as a result of their pre-existing conditions —which is War!   A soldier who is diagnosed with PTSD cannot currently get life insurance. Truth.

Man is this a hard pill to swallow.

So, the citizen soldier who just defended the United States of America and our system of capitalism, the insurance industry being the very DNA of that system, can in turn not be defended by the very system they just defended.  There will  be an outcry beyond belief when this becomes known nationwide. Johnny can come marching home with ribbons of valor galore, but he cannot get life insurance if he seeks a little help for his nightmares of horific events, because he  is normal. All of the literature on PTSD indicates that, “it is a normal reaction to aberrant events.”  So, where am I going here? I believe studies like this should be scrutinized way beyond their practical value, for the core intent. I suspect that some of that intent is to have on record, medical data, to support the decline for life insurance.  Not unlike the bogus studies of a Psychiatrist named Sally Satel, who was on the payroll of the American Enterprise institute to conduct their dirty work in attempting to alter the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Psychiatry, DSM, so as to not have to award do many disability claims for PTSD, this study is akin to that effort that was suspended as a result of the incredible feedback from veterans, like this writer, who are up at night combing the net.  I will have more to say about this in future postings.

I would like to see what our readers have to say about this study and why from its initial reading it is laced with errors of science.  I will be revisiting this subject frequently over the next several months.

Next week I will be visiting with some high command at Camp Pendleton, and this topic is on the agenda.

As a footnote, many seasoned journalists have a bit of disdain for medical journalism as so much of it has hidden agendas of promotion of self and product, or is bent toward the pharmaceutical industry, meaning stockholders.

How timely for this organization to just be coming out of the shoot.  The fueling of partisan polarities by pugnacious pundits who are plugging books or promoting their positional pomposity would do well to be portioned away from poisonous political piss and focus on E Pluribus Unum. That is what our soldiers are defending. If the Congress can take a break from their agenda, so can the Main Stream Media and 24/7 Cable news that feeds at the trough of  triviality and  travail. Maybe  the nations Poet Laureate can team up with the nations Psychiatrist and speak to us about the concept of maturity. That is what our soldiers are defending. Dear No Labeler– We will have a No Labels Citizen Leaders’ call with Senator Joe Lieberman this morning.  Please click here for the call-in details. There will be an organizing call at 11:15 a.m. EST for those who are interested in discussing the No Labels organizing strategy before the 11:30 a.m. conversation with Senator Lieberman about the 112th Congress. Also, we would like to share a statement with you regarding the recent tragedy in Arizona, please read the full statement below. We encourage you to share your personal thoughts and feelings surrounding the events by clicking here. Thank you, Nancy Jacobson & Mark McKinnon Co-Founders of No Labels Statement from No Labels The horrific act of violence that occurred Saturday in Arizona has shocked us all to our core and spurred many Americans to ask some hard questions, both about this specific incident and the larger political forces that may have contributed to it. We at No Labels believe this kind of conversation, as painful as the circumstances surrounding it are, is in the best interests and traditions of our country. At times of crisis, when our fundamental democratic values are threatened, we come together as Americans and directly confront our challenges. But for our country to move forward from this tragedy, we have to talk carefully as well as candidly. We do not yet know all the facts behind this senseless act, and it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to rush to judgment or point fingers of blame at the moment, as some sadly have already done. This is no time for self-aggrandizement or partisan point-scoring — that’s part of the problem, not the solution. It is clearly, though, a time for self-reflection, as Sheriff Dupnik eloquently put it. Based on the immediate and intuitive reactions of so many Americans, we know enough to say that something is deeply wrong with our political discourse — and that with this incident, a dangerous line has been crossed. As we grieve for those who died and pray for the recovery of those who were injured, we hope this moment of mourning will lead us to engage each other with more civility and respect and see each other not as opponents or enemies but as Americans. ###

ress Release	September 23, 2010	No. RI-002 Contact: Mokie Porter 301-585-4000, Ext. 146
Beware the Senator Who Speaks With Forked Tongue
By John Weiss, Vietnam Veterans of America Rhode Island State Council North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the leading Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said yesterday, as reported by the Associated Press, that he has “concerns about a proposal to spend billions of dollars on disability compensation for Vietnam veterans who get heart disease and wants to make sure that science supports the expansion of benefits.” The “proposal” Burr is referring to is a decision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, based on the recent National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine committee report, “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008.” A little history is in order: From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military used Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam and elsewhere to defoliate the jungle canopy, to destroy crops, and to clear the perimeters of U.S. bases. These herbicides were sprayed from fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, trucks, and backpack sprayers. The drums that stored these chemicals were often recycled and put to various other uses, sometimes to collect rain water, to serve as barbecue grill, etc. Nearly three million veterans served in Southeast Asia. Contained in these herbicides was dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-paradioxin—one of the most dangerous chemicals known to man. On August 31, 2010, in the Federal Register, the Department of Veterans Affairs published the final rules amending the adjudication regulations concerning presumptive service connection, concluding that there was a positive association between exposure in Vietnam to certain herbicides and the subsequent development of three diseases: hairy cell leukemia & B-cell leukemias; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease. And for the first time in history, on September 23, Burr and his colleagues will call into question the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as outlined in the Agent Orange Act of 1991. Recognizing that Burr was voted into the House of Representatives in 1994, it is obvious that he was not involved with the passage of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-4), which passed the House and the Senate without a single nay vote. In fact, today, 19 years later, there are only 36 members of Congress still serving who voted for passage of this act in 1991. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 acknowledges the culpability of toxic exposures in health conditions that manifested years after a veteran’s service. Included in the law is the authority for the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to, on a biannual basis, provide a review of all scientific studies and research on the association between dioxin and specific diseases; and include recommendations for future research. The act further grants the Secretary of the VA the authority to determine if a presumption of service connection is warranted for any of the health conditions addressed in the report. If Sen. Burr is uncomfortable with the Secretary’s determinations based on the National Academy of Sciences recommendations, perhaps he would be more comfortable with the finding of the U.S. Air Force Ranch Hand Study, conducted by the U.S. Air Force on those who participated in the aerial spraying program, as sited in the 1992 testimony of Dr. Barry L. Johnson, Assistant Surgeon General, before the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations: A recent study on the health status of Vietnam veterans who participated in Operation Ranch Hand did not find any signs of liver disease, but did report increased levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood (a second report does not support these increases). In addition, an increase in body fat, diabetes, and blood pressure were also noted. These effects were strongly associated with TCDD levels in the serum. Ranch Hand veterans also had changes in blood (increased white blood cells, platelet, IgA, and sedimentation rates) which suggest a chronic inflammatory response, although no immunologic system diseases were identified. These immune system changes were also strongly associated with serum TCDD levels. These results differ from those reported in previous analyses of the Ranch Hand group in 1982 and 1985. The earlier analyses did not include an assessment of serum TCDD levels. A physical examination of Ranch Hand veterans is currently under way. There is no doubt, that Burr, though too young to have faced conscription during the Vietnam Conflict, views himself as a supporter of those who served. In fact, seven months ago, it was Sen. Burr who introduced a resolution recognizing March 30 as “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day.” Proclaimed Burr, “There’s no question that our troops served our country bravely and faithfully during the Vietnam War, and these veterans deserve our recognition and gratitude.  Unfortunately, when these service members returned home, they were caught in the crossfire of public debate about our nation’s involvement in the war.” Today, Vietnam veterans are again caught in the “crossfire of public debate,” as Burr and others balk at the price of providing for the continuing cost of care for those whom he and others recognize “served our country bravely and faithfully during the Vietnam War.” Words of praise and gratitude do not cost anything. Veterans’ compensation for service-related health conditions do. Sen. Burr, which is it?
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation’s only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families.  VVA’s founding principle is “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
Past National Commander
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

DENVER (Sept. 2) — A chaplain killed in Afghanistan this week was the first Army clergyman killed in action since the Vietnam War, the military said Thursday. Capt. Dale Goetz of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., was among five soldiers killed by an improvised bomb on Monday.

Before Goetz, the last Army chaplain to die in action was Phillip Nichols, who was killed by a concealed enemy explosive in Vietnam in October of 1970, said Chaplain Carleton Birch, a spokesman for the Army chief of chaplains. The Air Force said none of its chaplains were killed later than 1970. A spokesman for the Navy Chaplain Corps, which also provides clergy to the Marines, didn’t immediately return a phone call. Goetz, 43, listed his hometown as White, S.D. He once served there as pastor of First Baptist Church, the Argus-Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., reported. Goetz, his wife and their three sons recently joined High Country Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, where Fort Carson is located, the newspaper reported. A church spokeswoman referred questions to the Army on Thursday, and Army officials declined to comment, citing the family’s wishes. Officials said Goetz had hitched a ride on a resupply convoy when he was killed. Birch said chaplains are considered noncombatants and don’t carry weapons, but they are accompanied by a chaplain’s assistant, a soldier who is armed. A chaplain’s assistant, Staff Sgt. Christopher Stout of Worthville, Ky., was killed in Afghanistan in July, Birch said. Chaplains don’t go on combat patrols but do go onto battlefields to conduct services and counsel soldiers, Birch said. “Many of those places where they travel are very dangerous,” he said. The Army has more than 2,800 chaplains, including those in the Guard and Reserve. More than 400 are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suicides in the Armed Forces and the National Guard  and Reserves are still alarmingly on the rise. With all the due diligence and immense outreach that is ongoing in all 50 States, we cannot seem to abate the savage spirit that invades and intrudes the soul of our young veterans of war.

Sixty-five members of the Guard and Reserve have taken their lives in the first six months of 2010. This figure does not include veterans or the Navy and Marines. Even more alarming.

We have an epidemic of mental health issues in the military that all best efforts are not touching. Or, they are, and the numbers could be larger were it not for the ubiquitous prevention programs both in and out of the Armed Forces.  Everyone in the veteran advocacy business is on the look out for the signs of depression and deep despair.

I am trained in crisis and suicide prevention work and remain constantly vigilant through my contacts and network of associates. We man 24  hour hot-lines and spend endless hours on the phone assuring our comrades, who have weathered the horrors of war, that there is light on the other side of those nightmares.  Yet so much is related to place and timing. So few ever seem to be around when that dreaded moment and savage god enters the picture.

Just this week a Wisconsin National Guard Soldier, Matthew Magdzas, a 23 year old married man took the life of his pregnant wife and his dogs and then ended his own mortal life.  Impulse or plan? Flashbacks or internal rage? Who in God’s name knows.  It is when the antecedent conditions are not apparent that we remain impotent in the realm of prevention.  And of course the victim and victims are generally unaware moments before the act. How is that to be prevented?

I have the experience of  7 suicides in my life. Four of them Vietnam Veterans. One of them was my roommate Joe Herman, who had the world on his side, talent, looks, money. And the demons of war intruded one night and put a bullet in his head.  Could I have prevented it? I say yes. But again, we are never there, right there, when needed. How can you be there before those one car accidents when the vet elects to just run off the road, as was the case in the years from 1975-90.

58,000 died in Vietnam. It has been reported by Pointman Ministries and other Veteran Outreach programs, that another 110,000 committed suicide during those years; twice the fatalities in the war.

32 soldiers including 11 in the Guard and Reserves took their own lives in the month of June. That is a rate of  one a day and at level only matched by the period after the Vietnam War.   How do we address this as a citizenry not a military? And mind you, those are figures for active duty, not veterans who have been discharged.

Are we, are we, our brothers keeper?  Are we able to even address in polite company such a taboo subject? Are the figures simply so daunting that we are just left in a numbness of mind that has no direction of home.  When it was reported back in 2008 that a full 50% of the suicides amongst veterans were in the ranks of the Reserve and the Guard, did they slow down the deployment of these young men and women until we got a grip on the nuances of the Guard traninng? No, we needed numbers, big numbers for the General’s, “Surges”, all of them.  And now they are surging home, and the ghosts of war are at our doorstep. In the last two articles I asked our readers if we are ready for a reception that may not be as rosy as we wish.

Is it possible to have every neighborhood trained and armed with a compassionate platoon of listeners and go-to people for times of distress? We cannot just live behind the bumper stickers of support. we have to have some feet…or cliche as it sounds, some boots on the ground. We need a “surge” of  families and friends who will be at the vets side in a heartbeat. The now running national TV advertisement with all the Medal of Honor recipients, beseeching the young soldiers to get help, as many of them acknowledge they wish they had done, is a laudable move in the right direction.

The trail into the woods of suicide is dark and booby trapped. No single hypothesis has ever touched the ambiguous and complex motives that lead to suicide. Literature is strewn with attempts to grapple with the under-belly of this human particular. From Judas Iscariot, to the writings of,  T.S. Elliot’s Wasteland, the Myth of Sisphus,  Sartre’s  “No Exit,” Soren  Kierkegaard’s concept of despair that surpasses all clinical definitions of depression, to the endless tomes of poetry from the Greek tragedies to the modern Sylvia Plath, no one has captured the monster in a cage for lengthy study. It is time to come out of the closet and dance with the demons of war. so as to escort them off the floor.

“The passion for destruction is also a creative passion.”  Michael Bakunin

The massive amount of material from sociologists and clinical psychiatrists only adds  to a pile of  documentation for professional journals and epidemiologists and not one iota of helpfulness for the layman. And most all of the research is ipso post facto. Prevention is vacant.

It may well be that no one wants to enter the shabby, chaotic, tortured and agonizing world of suicide.  With all of our revered Research Foundations and think tanks- the Heritages the Cato’s the Enterprise Institutes the Rand’s, et al, is there not a one of them that could  side-step long enough to research what is killing the souls of  our  young warriors?

Is this the arena for the Jeff Bazos and Bill Gates clan to direct their foundation monies?

Is the business of life and death to subconsciously abhorrent for study?

Life and death is the reason for war. One side must win. Suicide apparently elects to not take sides.

Only the dead know the end of war.

48 States and the District of Columbia have filed legal complaints to the Supreme Court in support of the Father of a young Marine  who died in Iraq. The father sued anti-gay protesters affiliated with the Westboro Church Baptist Church in Kansas, who believe that the death of Cpl Matthew Snyder is a result of God’s punishment for the Untied States Armed Forces tolerance of  gays in the military.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case to determine whether or not the protesters are protected by the First Amendment. The brief that was filed on June 1st, 2010, indicates a compelling interest in protecting the sanctity of funerals.

Are not the Westboro Baptists mocking God? How can they prop themselves up into the throne of judgment and declare the source of killing? Is there not some queer form of idolatry of belief here?

If they are intractable in their belief and need to protest, I would be happy to raise the money to purchase some tickets to Iraq, so they could go to the source of  the war- and meet their creator at the source of the action.

The Arizona Immigration Legislation has cast a long shadow over the working of our State. It’s merit will most likely find its own level. Since its enactment, I detect nothing in the MSM about the passing of the following very fine piece of legislation that is only being spoken of in small group conversations. Very few Veterans know of its passing.  I guess it is just not sensational enough to garner attention.

The journalistic cliche marches on, “you cannot tell a story about- there was no plane wreck today.”  Veterans affairs frequently fall into that column. Lip service on Holidays and then 360 days of  dreary news.

I want to say thanks one last time for the effort and the assertiveness it took to get this bill passed. These college educated veterans are the ones who will be leading us out of the morass created by decades of political narcissism and phony polarities. They did not fight for that!

The following is the presentation made by David Alegria to the Arizona House of Representatives.

Arizona House Bill 2350 Purple Heart; Tuition Waiver Becomes Law
April 23, 2010
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed historic legislation granting tuition waivers to Veterans who
were awarded the Purple Heart Medal, are 50% or more disabled, were residents of Arizona or
stationed in Arizona when they were wounded, and are otherwise qualified to attend a State
Community College or University.
The passage of House bill 2350 is historic because this is the first bill that has been passed by the
Arizona State Legislature that provides a State benefit specific to Combat Wounded Veterans.
While every politician finds it politically correct to proclaim support for the military soldier and for
veterans’ issues, the Governor and the Arizona State Legislature bellied up to the table and showed
their support in a concrete manner. The law now requires all State Community Colleges and
Universities to waive the tuition for all veterans meeting the criteria of this law.
In the forefront of this historic event was State Senator Frank Antenori. Senator Antenori introduced
the legislation as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives prior to his appointment to the
Arizona State Senate. Senator Antenori is a Gulf War Veteran and the leading advocate in the
Arizona Legislature for issues affecting members of the military and veterans. Military Order of the
Purple Heart Commander of the Tucson Chapter, David Alegria was the lone member of veterans
organization providing testimony before the House Education Committee and the Senate Committee
on Veterans and Military Affairs. There was not one vote cast by any legislator against this bill
during the committee hearings and roll call votes in both Chambers of the Arizona State Legislature.
Governor Jan Brewer, a staunch supporter of veterans issues, signed the bill into law without
reservation.
The passage of House Bill 2350 is important for a number of reasons:
• Combat Wounded Veterans are having a difficult time collecting on the much promised
education benefits of the NEW G.!. Bill. The Veterans Administration says it is doing
the best it can, but processing problems still remain. Some of these veterans have
mobility issues due to their injuries and find it difficult to chase after the VA. Others,
just don’t want to take up another fight. Most of these veterans are part-time patients,
spending most of their free time at the veterans administration hospital clinics.
• Combat Wounded Veterans having difficult financial hardships will use the proceeds of
the NEW G.1. Bill to help house and feed their families. They then pay for their
education by taking out student loans.
• The NEW G.1. Bill permits veterans to transfer their education benefit to one of their
dependents. So far, 100,000 veterans have transferred their G.I Bill education benefits
to dependents. These wounded warriors are still looking out for others before
themselves.
Our student veterans deserve this benefit and the State of Arizona has stepped up and provided the
necessary assistance. All of these veterans already paid for this benefit with their blood in some far
off land.
House Bill 2350: Purple Heart; Tuition Waiver
Tucson Citizen Article by Blogger/Writer Mike Brewer

Foreword

An Open Letter to America’s Veterans

America sends the flower of its youth abroad to fight its

wars. Because of that, America’s military is always staffed

with the stoutest, finest, most courageous people in the

country. If as soldiers we are not that way when we enter the

military, the military makes us that way by the time we get

out. In the end, the military is still made up of everyday

people like you and me. As such, most of us have no special

skills to cope with the challenges wartime military service

presents. Regular life simply cannot prepare a person for the

brutish sensory overload of combat.

Coming back from military service in a time of war, we may be

wounded in ways that don’t show to the world at large. Some of

the deepest wounds we suffer may be inflicted without leaving

so much as a scratch. No matter what you are feeling when you

come home, no matter how crazy you feel inside, know that you

are not mentally ill. As combat veterans, we have been through

some of the most traumatic life experiences possible. War is

as close to hell on earth as anything ever could be. That does

make us different from our loved ones back home. War marks us

all, some more deeply than others.

AS veterans, we have paid a price to serve our country. We

have suffered. And we may suffer for a lifetime. The soldier

never gets to choose his or her war. The wars choose us, and

not all are just. I believe the emotional casualties of the

misguided wars may be the hardest of all to bear.

The soldier’s lot is to be exposed to traumatic, lifethreatening

events – happenings that take us to places no

bodies, minds, or souls should ever visit. It is a journey to

the dark places of life – terror, fear, pain, death, wounding,

loss, grief, despair, and hopelessness. We have been

traumatized physically, mentally, emotionally, and

spiritually. Some of us cope with exposure to hell better than

others. Some are able to think of their combat experiences as

but unpleasant vignettes in a long and wonderful life. It is

not to those veterans I am speaking. I love them, but I am not

afraid for them.

I am speaking to the rest of my brothers and sisters, those

who find themselves trapped in the misery of memories as I was

for so long.

Many of us have been overwhelmed by war. Many of us have been

unable to cope on our own with what has happened to us or with

what we have done. Many of us have been left hopeless, lost,

and confused about ourselves and our lives in ways we never

thought possible.

As veterans of war, we are vulnerable to the memories of those

experiences for the rest of our lives. Movies, the nightly

news, the death of a loved one, even simple stress can serve

as a trigger that reminds us of the hell we were once in. Just

that remembrance can sometimes be enough to undo all the

buckles we used to put ourselves back together when we got

home.

Our bodies, minds, and spirits react automatically to these

memory triggers. They feel the hurts and fear and horror anew

each time. The curse of the soldier is that he never forgets.

Having once felt mortal danger and pure terror, our bodies

prepare for it again. That helped us survive on the

battlefield. However, what saved us on the battlefield doesn’t

work very well back here at home. It is impossible to forget

our experiences in the military. But it is possible to deal

with them positively. It is possible to take control of them.

I’ve found in my own life that I had to exude positive energy

into the world in order not to be overwhelmed with sadness and

grief over what I have lost. My body, my soul, my spirit, and

my belief in life itself were stolen from me by the disaster

of the Vietnam War. I found solace in attempting to “turn my

pain into somebody else’s gain” by immersing myself in

politics and public service. In particular, I devoted myself

to helping my fellow veterans and ‘disabled friends heal. This

was a great help to me in my life. But when I lost my

reelection bid for the U.S. Senate in 2002, my life fell

apart. The staff that had helped me politically and physically

so I could keep on running with no legs was gone. ~ne pleasure

of having a job worth doing and the money to keep me afloat

were gone.

My relationships began to crumble, especially the one with my

fiancee.

I went down in my life in every way it is possible to go down.

Massive depression took over. I went down with a grief over my

losses that I had never known before. I went down thinking

that God was not for me anYmore. I no longer wanted to live.

With the start of the Iraq War, my own post-traumatic stress

disorder came roaring back nearly 40 years after I was in

combat. I never saw it coming. Thoughts of war and death

simply consumed me. I thought I was past that.

It taught me that none of us are ever past it. But all of us

can get past it enough to be happy.

When I went down, my sense of safety, organization, structure,

and stability collapsed. My anxiety went sky-high. My brain

chemicals, which had helped me stay hopeful and optimistic,

dropped through the floor. My brain stopped working. My mind,

which I had counted on all my life to pull me through and help

clarify challenges, fell into despair. My spirit dropped like

a rock as all hope I had for a good life went away. I was

totally wounded and wiped out – hopeless and overwhelmed. Just

like I had been on that April day in 1968 when the grenade

ripped off my legs and my right arm. Emotionally, spiritually,

physically, and mentally, I was bleeding and dying. I wound up

~+-

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been treated there the first time. This time around, I was in

search of being put back together again in my mind, heart, and

soul. When I was there the first time, the doctors didn’t

really treat our hearts and minds

Post-traumatic stress disorder didn’t officially exist.

Neither did counseling for it. What a world of difference

several decades make!

Through weekly counseling, medication for anxiety and

depression, and weekly attendance at a spiritual Twelve Step

recovery group, I began to heal. My personal recovery and

renewal have taken years. I still talk to my PTSD counselor at

Walter Reed occasionally when I need to do so. I still take a

low dose of antianxiety and antidepression medication. I still

stay in touch with my brothers in my Tuesday night Twelve Step

group at the “last house on the block.” As a brother in that

group, I lean on my fellow attendees, especially my fellow

veterans, and feed off their experience, strength, and hope.

Which is why I am writing this open letter especially to those

who have suffered what Shakespeare referred to as “the slings

and arrows of outrageous fortune” by getting blown up, shot

up, or otherwise wounded in the service of our country. For

me, the physical wounds were the first to heal and the easiest

to deal with. It is not easy to r~n for political office or

try to run forward in life with no legs. But live been able to

do it. The mental and emotional wounds – and a whole suite of

spiritual wounds – have been far more difficult to overcome.

They are the most subtle of all, and the hardest to heal. From

time to time, I am overwhelmed by the sense of meaninglessness

I feel regarding the Vietnam War, in which I was a young

participant, and the Iraq War Resolution, which I voted for as

a U.S. senator. To keep my sanity, I must not dwell on my part

in those disastrous episodes in American history. I try not to

blame myself too much. I work on my own recovery and renewal

knowing that I can’t help anyone else unless I get, as

Hemingway put it after his war, “strong at the broken places.”

I try to get enough sleep so my mind can regenerate. I

exercise. I still walk with no legs, putting my stumps on

pillows and sliding across the floor to get my aerobic

workouts. Occasionally I do sit-ups and push-ups and curls

with weights. I stay in touch with the members of my group and

read literature like the Bible, which guides my prayer and

meditation and helps me remember that God is with me! not

against me. I work on my physical, spiritual, and mental

recovery and renewal every day.

Recovery is possible from even th~ most grievous wounds of

war, politics, and life. But we veterans remain painfully

aware of our experiences. As my trauma counselor tells me, it

is fine to look in the rearview mirror from time to time to

see where you’ve been, but it is much more important to look

through the windshield to see where you want to go. We can’t

let where we’ve been dominate and control where we are headed.

Otherwise, we live an upside-down life.

In addition to trying to muster the courage and the faith to

move forward each day, I try to remember that I am blessed to

have the grace of God and the help of friends to point the way

and help me along my path.

Max Cleland

Atlanta, Georgia

j just our broken bodies.

2009

Copyright 2009 by Max Cleland

For starters, I sure hope this adolescent poppycock does not get milked for the balance of the summer. And by adolescent, I do mean the content of the question, which will be settled soon, but the way it plays out in the media, and the cottage industry and frenzy it creates in the minds of already marginally sane ideologues.
With that as a preface, I say that if Obama is not a citizen of the USA, then we have to be gravely concerned about the skill set of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and INS, as all of these agencies are mandated to vet a United States Senator prior to their taking the Oath of Office. If he ain’t the real McCoy than he is bringing down four agencies in the process. Fat chance.
The indolence of the major media in not knowing or addressing this fact of process and protocol is a story in itself.
Media indolence, however, is abound. In the 2000 Presidential election there was story flying across America about how overseas ballots were not “postmarked,” and therefore invalid. Americans bought this poppycock too. As a one time contributor to the Stars and Stripes I can tell you with certainty that correspondence from men and women at war is not postmarked and never has been since WWl, It comes by way of the Armed Forces Postal System and is frequently not dated. No media outlet reported this simple truth and milked the story and lathered the people of this fine land for months.
If you take this country of origin issue to its extreme than George Washington’s Presidency should be annulled as we was not a citizen of the United States. He was born in a British Colony. Mitt Romney’ father was born in Mexico, John McCain in Panama, and Barry Goldwaters birth place was questioned. So what’s for breakfast?
And why in the world anyone thinks a Birth Certificate is sacrosanct is beyond reason. Have you ever been in to an OB.GYN ward when a child is born? They will write in the name of the parents you tell them to write. No one asks for ID! Doctors will pre-sign the Birth Certificate leaving the fathers name blank. And someone thinks that these un-notarized documents are some form of Divine Edict?
The newspaper announcements of a child’s birth are equally valid as they name time,and place. There are three announcements of Obama’s birth in local papers in Hawaii. I suppose those news outlets were part of some grand conspiracy that is tied into the predictions of Nostradamus! My word, lets bring back the Lacey Petersen Trial for the summer.
Get some professional genealogists on the evening news and close the case. Hard to do when you have to fill 24/ 7 cable news for Mr. Murdoch. I think I will hang with the Tucson Citizen bloggers myself. No one here is taking any “527″ money.