First some Holiday Greetings...
Two Open Letters To President Elect Obama
An Open Letter To Our President Elect: As We Approach Veterans Day 2008...
Dear President Elect Obama:
As a veteran who has health issues as a result of my service in Vietnam, I am all too aware of the difficulties facing veterans who attempt to obtain answers to even the simplest of health and benefit related questions. As a veteran service officer my own experiences help provide those missing answers to others.
If your choice for the Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary had their own experiences as a veteran service officer, perhaps at the 'county' level where one personally deals with veterans, these personal experiences could help them better understand the many issues they will be facing, in a way most of the recent past secretaries have not understood.
As to one thing your choice should avoid, any direct or indirect 'personal' involvement with QTC Management, Inc., something most of the recent past secretaries have not avoided.
Sincerely,
Walter C. Schmidt, VSO CPA
Another Open Letter To Our President Elect: DVA, VSOs, And The Internet
Dear President Elect Obama:
Now, even your Saturday weekly address is on the internet; a first. Considering your obvious understanding of the internet's potential, I am suggesting another internet based first -- the creation of a DVA's VSOs internet based Advisory Council or DVAC.
Let me briefly explain my idea.
Nation-wide there is a cadre of DVA (Department of Veteran Affairs) approved service organization representatives (VSOs, Veteran Service Officers, or SOs, Service Officers) that are authorized to present claims before (and process claims for) the DVA.
We are both book-learned and street-smart; to a lesser or greater extent we understand the USC/CFR Title 38 (Veterans' Benefits United States Code/Code of Federal Regulations), and, we assist veterans on a one-on-one basis. As such, we are a fountain of information both theoretical and applied.
DVAC could be an online resource (closed network, forums, webinars) of the DVA to which they could turn for immediate responses, nationally to locally, from vetted VSOs, on veteran issues.
Have I mentioned that we VSOs as a group will usually have experienced and have opinions on the pros and cons dealing with most veteran issues. You ask us for, and we can 'immediately' provide you with, experienced based input.
Further, this kind of internet advisory council should be feasible for many other disciplines.
Sincerely,
Walter C. Schmidt, VSO CPA
This Month's Almost Not Commented on Story -- Shredding Our Confidence in the VA... Ya Think - Part II.
VA AUDIT FINDS OVER 50% OF CLAIMS AT NEW YORK OFFICE HAD DATES CHANGED -- Employees told VA investigators that their supervisor had instructed them to enter incorrect dates, and that the practice was widely known. Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse! It appears that Newsday got an advance copy of the VA's Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) report about wrongdoing at the New York Regional Office (VARO) of the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA). We have been reporting on this for some time -- about All VA shredder and mishandled documents. What we don't know is how the date changing was done. But, it appears to be "backdating," or electronic tampering, something mentioned in a previous article about problems at the New York VARO. This story is just the tip of the iceberg. If the VAOIG had the manpower to pounce on all 57 VAROs at the same time, I'm sure they would find dating irregularities at all of them. "Culture of Corruption" is the only way to describe the workings of the VBA.
This Month's 'Life's View:' I've started a new monthly section thanks to Google. Google together with Life magazine has published a photo archive of 2 million photos with 8 million more to be released in the future. Many of these photos have never before been published. The actual search behind this is a regular Google image but with the parameter source:life in the query. You can also access this collection from (http://images.google.com/
That said...
War And Conflict -- Vietnam War: Young American lieutenant, his leg burned by exploding Viet Cong white phosphorus booby trap, lying on ground while being treated by medic, during Vietnam War, 1966.
My Hicksville Trivia: Press Wireless... Voice of America in Hicksville. Press Wireless International constructed a Hicksville radio station for the purpose of increasing the flow of intentional news reports. Work on the station commenced in 1932. The 500 acre property was developed as a massive shortwave communication radio station with, at its height of activity, 47 shortwave transmitters and 70 antennas. This lasted for over 30 years. In 1965, Press Wireless was acquired and a few years later the station was dismantled. The multitude of tall towers no longer hovered over the landscape. And what landscape might have that been? The same area that we who were growing up in the north-west area of Hicksville in the '50s played regularly with our sling-shots, BB-guns, and bicycles, and which to this day is known as Cantiague Park. By the way, "Cantiague" is Algonquin for "where trees are being blazed," with "blazed" meaning marked or cut. Since 1745 a 4-foot square Cantiague Rock, originally at West John Street and Cantiague Road, marked the boundary between the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay. In 1964, the rock was moved to the entrance of the then newly-constructed Cantiague Park.
Lest We Forget: Currently there are (at least) 5,215 (19 more since last month) Veterans of Modern Warfare who no longer will be "asking" our government for a dime . . .
Till next month be well... and remember, "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
--- --- Walt Schmidt Veteran Services Officer
- - --- TOBay's Veteran Services Division
- - - - "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
--- --- WorkDayTime: 516.797.7875 & 24/7 Voice Mail
- - --- Anytime: 24/7 Voice Mail 516.799.8300
- - - - Website: http://www.waltsdorsai.net/
Ken Sun - Weekly Column: http://experts.longisland.com/
"To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."
- Lao-Tzu 71:1
