Jonah Goldberg Compares VA Pamphlet to Nazi Eugenics

Because when they were running the show, they were all on board to make sure it was published and passed out to all those returning disabled vets hoping they would get the hint they served their purpose and were no longer necessary. Also explains the dilapidated condition of Walter Reed too. They went into the war thinking only about a war victory and all the political gains that could be had. Causalities were expected, but who could have imagined people surviving with such debilitating injuries and then becoming a burden to society for the rest of their natural lives? The repuglicans have only room in their ranks for the victors.

I didn't read the cbs link; but I did read the one on suicides in the service you posted.
I also read the pamphlet.

First of all, your posting of an article about suicides in the military shows a callous disregard for these soldiers, as you are taking this subject to buttress an essentially political choice you are making to read into that pamphlet exactly what YOU are displaying. I'm not sure that's clear. So I will spell it out for you. The thing that is missing from all these reports we see about the suicide rate is that the defense dept has people there that could have predicted this back in 2004. The rate directly correlates with time in the theater. This was studied back in the late 1940's when it was known as combat fatigue. And that name evolved because the doctors were able to define a period of time that a soldier was kept in battle to the rate of "fatigue" after the war. In Viet Nam, they found that it was not just battle. It was being in the danger zone. Thus short periods of "leave" in Saigon did nothing. One other thing. It is cumulative. 9 months in the zone and 6 months off and then back to battle does not reset the clock. You start at 9 months. The limit for the average soldier I don't remember exactly, but I think it was about 15 months. 15 months. Try to let that sink in.
So. We now have you telling us that a pamphlet that probably is not immediately handed to a returning vet, that advises him of the utility of having a living will, which is very likely necessary given the circumstances, is going to cause this soldier to swoon and just want to kill himself. I am right now trying to think of an insult that is appropriate to you. The lack of respect, the dumbed down view of the soldier, the patronizing tone of it all. You know NOTHING of why they want to die, but that does not concern you. YOU have a point to make, and witty as you are, this seemed to be just the right jab.

A little history on the disregard vets have suffered, oh, since 2000. One of the first directives the Bush admin. made concerning the VA was with six months of being elected. It forbade directors to advise vets as to options for coverage they didn’t ask for themselves. Kind of a new slant on don’t ask, don’t tell. “We fight a war with what we have”. You remember that one don’t you. Families mailing armor to the kids because Bush had efficiencies to take care of. And then the VA hospitals themselves after too many years of Bush. And finally. Ignoring the well known limits of service time for a huge number of soldiers simply because, well why don’t YOU tell me.

I’m sorry. My opinion of the pamphlet is that it finally sows some care and compassion for these soldiers.

exactly. what is it with the right's obsessive disdain for dems who've lost limbs in combat?