"showdown"

[Berta]

As Larry Scott calls it this "showdown" hearing on the new presumptives can be seen live from the Senate tomorrow at 9:30 AM through the Senate link in the VA Watchdog article:

http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfsep10/nf092210-1.htm

[Pete53]

Probably on CSPAN 3 also if you get it

[Berta]

It just started -it is today-and at the Senate hearing room----

http://veterans.senate.gov/hearings.cfm?action=release.display&release_id=a57f0b14-d9af-43e8-b9c5-8ff1e85a5fe2

sorry if I got the date wrong- a lot going on here with company-

Click on the video icon to the right and if you miss it they will archive it-I am unable to watch it live.

[Deceasedvethusband]

Saw this post too late, must be over.....? The Pres is on CSPAN at the moment, 11:12 a.m. EST.

Anyone see it?

[Lorraine]

Just watched the Senate hearings on AO/IHD and trying to digest all that was said. I was very frustrated with the statistics offered about 80% of the male population having IHD(with or without symptoms!)in the 60-70yr age group. My husband was 39yrs old with his first quadruple by-pass surgery after a massive MI and all one has to do is read the various Viet Nam Vet's sites to learn that age group being affected was not unusual with these Vets. And, what about all of the Vets who are already deceased from IHD and didn't make it to 60 yrs of age???? But, for that age group to have severe IHD is certainly unusual for the general population of males in the U.S.

My head is swimming and I'm ticked off, so better quit my rambling.

Lorraine

[john999]

Here you have all these senators swearing that cost is not the issue with AO claims when, in fact, that is all they are concerned about by their other statements. Sure, after 40 years it is hard to tease out how big a factor AO has in IHD. Why did they wait for two decades after the war to even begin the presumptive awards for certain conditions? The VA does not do independent studies funded by VA money regarding agent orange. They use studies done by others. I think this hearing just shows that as far as the senate is concerned the only good Vietnam vet is a dead one. They did not mention the number of Vietnam vets who are alive today or who will be alive in 10 years. Clearly, cost is always the factor and if congress could get their hands back on the AO issue to make it harder to get SC'ed they would do it. Senator Webb is the worst of the bunch. I am surprised he survived his tour in Vietnam. I wonder if he was as big an xxxxxxx in Vietnam as a junior offier? He now lives the most privilged life and stabbs in the back his "brothers" in Vietnam who are mostly just surviving. Semper Fi, until you get to be a senator. Bernie Sanders is our only friend. He asked the most obvious questions about studies done on the Vietnamese population. Nobody knows anything about that and I think they lied.

[Dak To II ATC]

Saw this post too late, must be over.....? The Pres is on CSPAN at the moment, 11:12 a.m. EST.

Anyone see it?

Apart from the crew cut and the Marine it wasn't too unbearable. Wonder how tight their own standards are?

The scariest part was the expressions of ignorance about extra-national studies of AO. Just a few days ago there was news of a study that showed residents of DaNang had dioxin levels 600 times ours. That was just the latest I have read of since a friend's chloracne in '72 reminded me of taking the waters for most of my tour near the parrot's beak.

We've seen pictures and read blurbs for years about birth defects and rampant disabilities in-country VN. The rest of the world was studying it but as one of the Solons said..." We've didn't want to know".

I think they knew.

It's good to be the king.

The only result of this hearing is that we have paid with good and well earned angst waiting for this small part of election year follies to end. I know its a bitch to find all these hidden charges for our troops coming due but it is tough being an adult and frankly I am a little pissed that I can't sneak off to the hills or the river without my wife wanting a babysitter for me. People in my family waited until their late eighties to start breaking down.

Final comment....it was nice to listen to inside voices for a while.