What the hell is wrong in our country, that our government - from the top guy at the White House down to the the intake clerk at the local VA hospital - that allows such a travesty to happen to the young heroes we sent to the Bush War Zones? How can this be happening and where is the outrage?
Each and every person who had any contact with Joe Dwyer is to blame, whether that contact was face-to-face in real life or someone who only saw his name in paperwork. Especially to blame are the many bureaucrats who, with the power of a deadly pencil, drew a line through this man's name on a list of people known to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving on the front line, as if eliminating his diagnosis was the cure. But most to blame is the man who drew that front line, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan. Since Bush brags that he ignores the media, the odds are pretty strong that Dwyer's Commander-in-Chief never saw or knew his name.
And we should also be filled with fear and loathing for the Republican presidential candidate wanting to continue the Bush legacy, threatening new front lines in Iran and other countries this administration wants us to fear as enemies. McCain has already proved his disdain for the men and women who wear military uniforms, opposing the increase of benefits to veterans. Then this disingenuous scoundrel has the nerve to take credit for supporting the passage of the new G-I Bill, after not even having the nerve to show up and cast the "No" vote he promised. We dare not forget, he supports the Bush dogma to force military doctors to reduce the number of cases they confirm to be P.T.S.D. - not by treatment, but by intentional mis-diagnosis! And THIS is what eventually killed PFC Joe Dwyer.
Full size Army Times/AP Photo
Amid a myriad of vote rigging irregularities over the past eight years that are still coming to public attention, a new disturbing case is just now coming to light in Connecticut. It sounds clearly like an effort to reduce the chances for the election of the candidate who stands against McCain and his horrible policies to cheat veterans and active duty service people out of the benefits they earned, deserve, and need. Just before we celebrated Independence Day, news broke that federal workers at long term care facilities for veterans are blocking state election officers from registering voters confined to Veterans Health Administration facilities. The VHA is also preventing efforts to teach residents how to use the new voting machines. Full story from NorwalkPlus.com At last report, the feds are standing their ground, despite opposition from the Connecticut Secretary of State and Attorney General, and outcries by veterans groups. Like the Bill of Rights and other parts of the U.S. Constitution, The Hatch Act is apparently just one more victim of the Bush White House. It is a downright criminal act, if not simply treasonous, to also victimize the veterans. Yet, that is exactly what's happening... and Joe Dwyer is not just one of the latest to suffer the fatal consequences. But with his bespectacled face (carrying a young war casualty) as one of the most memorable symbols of Americans doing good things in the war zone, Joe Dwyer now becomes a symbol of how our country is turning its back on its heroes. Sadly, it's taken more than a week for the country to learn of his passing. He left us on June 28th, after one final effort to free his mind of the enemies he brought home from Iraq. The medical examiner says he died of an accidental overdose, from inhaling a computer cleaner aerosol. Why did no one intervene to help him deal with demons that haunted him? Those who tried to kill him in Iraq still pursued him when he slept, invading his nightmares with terror. Only he could see those who tried tried to kill him in the war zone, appearing in front of him when he was awake in broad daylight, after he returned home. He moved frequently to new towns, and they followed. He fired real guns at the illusions and police documented his delusions. Traffic reports documented frequent wrecks, when Joe Dwyer swerved to avoid, or destroy these phantoms who pursued him. But he could not qualify for the treatment he obviously needed. The military version of Joe's passing wants us to believe he got help. But don't believe it. The proof he failed to get the help he needed is his flag draped coffin.... like so many that we've seen since Bush declared war. A more honest version by Marty Evans of Newsday documents how the "system" failed Joe Dwyer. Please read it and weep with me. I ache for this young man and so understand the anguish he carried to his grave. Like me, he was an Army field medic. Like me, he earned that 91b20 MOS (military occupation code) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Like me, he saw horrible wounds, broken bodies, and dead people, such as the private and his sergeant - both of whom I scraped from the walls of a foxhole when one dropped a live grenade during a training exercise. Unlike me, he served where real people were trying to kill him and other members of his unit. And damn our government for not helping him leave those villains in the war zone. THIS is what Barack Obama wants to end and bring our heroes home, stop the sacrifice of more American lives in a war that should have never been fought, and helping our soldiers leave the enemy overseas when they return home. Unlike McCain, Obama will not turn our collective backs on those who served. Unlike McCain, Obama will honor the promise our founding fathers made to all Americans who wear a uniform to protect our lives, our way of life, and our Constitutional protections - for which millions have fought and died. All those and more are at risk if we don't stop the extension of the Bush legacy on Election Day. Thanks for your time... Work for a better America and stay well.... Duffey
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