Illinois' disabled veterans are at "rock bottom" -- "dead last" -- in benefits and claims processing of applications for disability. But Illinois' veterans take a back seat because their junior senator is running for president.  And that senator, Barack Obama, has missed an astonishing number of hearings and meetings of the Senate Veterans committee.

Obama is nothing if not audacious in touting his veterans committee membership as contributing to his "foreign policy" experience for the presidency, while his own state's veterans suffer.  The Chicago Sun-Times ran a devastating investigative series in 2004-2005 (see Truthout) that showed that Illinois' veterans rank last, or near-last (depends on the graph) in disability awards of the 50 states and Puerto Rico (Illinois average:  $6,961; New Mexico average: $12,004). The New York Times's 2007 article shows Illinois' disabled soldiers are still waiting over two years later: "Illinois, which has deployed the sixth-highest number of soldiers of any state, has the second-largest backlog."

Sen. Obama admitted he didn't know anything about problems at Walter Reed before the WaPo's shattering series. And Sen. Obama has missed KEY votes for disabled veterans -- including a measure that would create "common disability ratings."

Crossposted on Beltway Progressive, RaisingKaine, and DailyKos.

The Army has a new ad aimed at parents of young men, telling them to listen to their kids rather than discourage them from enlisting to go to the Middle East. In this diary I challenge them - and you - to listen to Mike's story in honor of vets on Independence Day.

You'd think living between Walter Reed, Fort Belvoir and Fort Meade, I'd have met more returned vets. I have met only a few. Mike has a compelling story to tell, if only the right people would only listen to him.

Mike was seated on a stool in my favorite Irish pub. A pint of Harp and a shotglass of Rumplemintz were in front of him, and the only two other empty barstools were on his right. As soon as we pulled up to the chairs, and he leaned over to introduce himself, smile, and shake our hands.

VFA's Bobby Mulller will be guest-posting here on MyDD, every Thursday, for a month or so, Jerome

Over the past few weeks, my colleagues and I at Veterans for America have been busy on the blogosphere.    

On March 1, I posted a diary at Daily Kos and Huffington Post entitled, "What does America owe to those who serve?"  

I talked about my outrage, as well as my lack of surprise, over the situation at Walter Reed.  

I wrote that, sadly, this is the way we have always treated injured service members and veterans in this country -- like disposable commodities.

From todays Equal Time Radio:

Some of todays topics:

Katie Morisette from Operation Golden Soldier talks about how the Medical Hold system works and the difference between active duty, National Guard and reserve soldiers. How they help them and YOU can too.

Rape in Iraq a national disgrace.

Listen to the archive here at todays date 3/23/07:
http://equaltimeradio.org/?page_id=56

I think you all will find Katie's story interesting. If you check the most recent previous weeks, you will find some very interesting conversations, with Katie Morisette's husband and others, concerning soldiers and what is really going on.

This show is based very near Fort Lewis and McChord AFB.

Do you think you know all of what is going on at Walter Reed and other military hospitals? Then you haven't heard these stories.

The talk radio show is only an hour long with commercials, so they usually get to the meat of the subject fairly quickly.

Update: Frank from Equal Time Radio posted this at the Pierce County Democrats site.

On this weeks Equal Time, we have the honor of interviewing Katie Morisette who with her husband Major Bill Morisette formed an organization to help returning,wounded soldiers weave their way through our government’s attempt to use them and then throw them away. Last week we interviewed Major Morisette about the shoddy way his unit was equipped and (NOT) trained in the run up to bushcorp’s war for profit and oil. By the way, Major Morisette has been on medical hold for ….THREE YEARS.

Operation Golden Soldier is dedicated to helping our brave soldiers sort through the process of Medical hold and discharge or re-activation. They need your help. Katie and Bill Morisette aren’t just sitting around complaining, they are DOING something, and they deserve your support.

Operation Golden Soldier:
http://operationgoldensoldier.com

PCD site: http://www.piercecountydemocrats.org/

Kevin
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http://washingtonwoman.blogspot.com/

http://equaltimeradio.org

One great thing about living in the Washington, DC area is that anytime you want, you can simply hop on the Metro and ride up to Capitol Hill.  Which is exactly what I did on this beautiful spring day. Specifically, I trekked up to the Cannon House Office Building, Room 334, to hear testimony by veterans and veterans' experts before the House Subcommittee on
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.  In stark contrast to the 70-degree, sunny weather outside, the testimony I heard today was not beautiful in any way.  

When I got involved in the '06 election campaigns to help elect Democratic candidates to Congress, no one could have convinced me that once in power a Democratic Party majority would take positions that serve to buttress the Bush administration war policy. Democratic candidates were vigorously voicing opposition to Bush's war and promising to force a change in policy, if only the voters would make ours' the majority party. My own incumbent Democratic Congressman put it something like this: I want to get us out of this national fiasco too, but to effect change in the war policy requires a showing of the peoples' will.

We succeeded in gaining the majority, and we made known our will by winning some elections against tremendous odds. For example, in the primaries, Connecticut Democrats showed that pro Bush war Democratic Senators were not wanted as party candidates, even if they were entrenched incumbents. And in the general election, Virginia voters showed that an incumbent Republican Senator being touted as heir to the Bush legacy would be voted out of office.

Efforts expended by Democrats in party politics were successful in showing that the people wanted out of Bush's calamity. But once in power, my elected party representatives began to orient themselves into positions that reinforce Bush's power and policies.

Earlier this afternoon, Senator Jim Webb appeared on the RK/NLS Virginia Politics Blog Talk Radio show.  The main topics of discussion were Iraq, Iran, the Walter Reed, Webb's GI Bill, and contracting abuses.  

On Iran, Webb noted that in trying to define the "perimeter" of what the Bush Administration can do in that situation, his bill requiring the Bush Administration to seek Congressional authorization for any use of force against Iran also would "define the perimeter" with respect to the Iraq issue.   The problem on the Senate side is that with Sen. Johnson ill and Sen. Lieberman "always on the other side" on Iraq, it's "difficult to get sweeping change through."

Bumped--Chris

The Scooter Libby trial and verdict confirmed what most of us already knew - instead of focusing on a strategy to win the war in Iraq, the Bush administration was busy focusing on a strategy to discredit their critics.

Yesterday, as the news broke, Governor Dean did several interviews on TV and radio where he discussed the verdict, its implications and the parallels to another developing story, that of the firing of U.S. Attorneys without cause.  Then, this morning, the Governor recorded a video message that I wanted to make sure you had a chance to watch.

Click here to watch the video!

Click here to watch the video!