http://thewesternword.com/2008/01/24/the-feud/ Independent Commentary about Politics, Sports, the Media, and Current Events Wed, 16 May 2012 15:04:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://thewesternword.com/2008/01/24/the-feud/#comment-170 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:17:00 +0000 http://thewesternword.com/2008/01/24/the-feud#comment-170 I couldn’t agree with you more when you say:“many vets are homeless BECAUSE they served”. Statistically it’s true too.O’reilly was blaming them for mental illness and addiction without admitting that combat PTSD is a mental illness and addictions are often the results of self-medication to treat the symptoms of PTSD. Certainly in the early 70′s with the Vietnam veterans coming home,the VA didn’t recognize PTSD and veterans suffered incredibly. Many would start their eventually lead to the streets by the early 80′s. Life on the streets had to compund PTSD. A soldier back in survival mode.And today – with the waiting time to get a decision on a PTSD claim for an Iraq / Afghanistan vet now at 188 days – and 1,500 ( a VA statistic) homeless Iraq or Afghanistan veterans, O’reilly blames them. How do we expect these soldiers to walk away unchanged? There are those who will not be able to work, and if we fail to provide benefits, and they have no family resources – how do they NOT become homeless?Check out this ocumentary about homeless vets (WHEN I CAME HOME):http://www.whenicamehome.com

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