I would like to take this opportunity to thank Congressman Mike Thompson D- CA and Denny Rehberg R, MT for introducing this new bill to help the veterans used in chemical weapons and other toxic exposures from 1963 thru 1973 in Operation SHAD/112.

This was one of the most classified programs the government was involved in, they did not even admit that it took place until the late 1990s, unlike the chemical weapons experiments and drug tests conducted at Edgewood Arsenal from 1955 thru 1975 and the biological weapons experiments conducted at Fort Detrick known as Operation Whitecoat from 1955 thru 1973.

This week was Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It also was the fifth aniversary of Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech. This aniversary was unique in that for the first time the Bush administration has admitted that the banner was a huge mistake...though John McCain blamed it on the military, excusing Bush for the fiasco. The Republicans are finally acknowledgig the dismal failure of "Mission Accomplished" but refuse to take the blame. Typical. Absolutely typical. Republicans wouldn't know responsibility if it bit them in the ass.

Last week I discussed the economic mess we are in. Someone commented that I am making things up and that job growth has been fine under Bush. She claimed I gave no evidence that job growth has been nearly flat during the Bush administration. Well, let me quote Paul Krugman, with an illustration:

In the past few days our surly Vice President who is normally in an "undisclosed location" surfaced to be interviewed by ABC's Martha Radditz in a now famous exchange, something to the effect that two thirds of Americans want us out of Iraq and his one word reply was "SO".

Then in this interview Cheney on ABC, on milestone of 4,000 dead

"The president carries the biggest burden, obviously," Cheney said. "He's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of us."

If President Bush has the biggest burden, I wonder how the families of the 4,000 dead "volunteers" feel and the over 30,000 severely wounded, I am sure it bothers them that the President has this huge "burden" on him.

Two weeks ago I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos , new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. After much pressure from readers, this email newsletter is now going the blog route. I update the blog once a week focusing on both national issues and issues of interest to particular regions or states. In general, NYC, California, New Jersey, Virginia and the Midwest get special attention simply because those are the areas where I seem to have the most readers.

This week I discuss the Democratic presidential candidates, another right wing nutcase spewing hate speech, and how Veterans are targeting John McCain for his lockstep, blind support of Bush. If you visit my blog, don't forget to click on an advertiser or two since that helps me keep the blog going. As usual I also highlight local events and organizations for several states. And, if you want more political and social discussions, please check out our offerings on Culture Kitchen.

Twice a week I have a physical therapy session at the Dayton VA Hospital. I had a heart attack last March 15, (beware the ides?) in October they referred me to cardio pulmonary therapy to build me up for whatever years may lie ahead. They have done an excellent job and I am pleased with my future prospects.

I have been treated at the Dayton VA several times over the years, have volunteered there performing Veteran's memorial services as part of an honor guard, and three years ago said good bye to my father who died in the VA hospice at the age of 80.

My experiences with VA medical care have been almost entirely positive. The medical staff has been competent caring and willing to communicate with me. My physical therapist (Kinesiologist) whom I refer to as Ms Torquemada has enabled me to return to a relatively normal life and I love her for it. The hospice ward is amazing, they treated my Dad with the dignity and respect he deserved in his final days on this planet and were equally wonderful with my family. The people in the ER and Cardiac Intensive Care wards saved my life which fact may leave me with some bias on the issue at hand.

I have personally witnessed the operations of this facility during the current federal administration as well as during the Clinton years and I have seen a noticeable decline in the state of the physical plant and the attitudes of some employees during the Cheney/Bush era.

What once was a well funded and squeaky clean facility has deteriorated noticeably and budget cutting has caused serious staffing problems. I believe that this decline is due to the penny pinching policies of the knuckle heads who are passing themselves off as our government.

The news just keeps on coming.

This time, Newsweek reported that between 500 and 1,000 OEF/OIF veterans are homeless and that "[military] families [are] sliding into debt as VA case managers study disability claims over many months, and the seriously wounded [require] help from outside experts just to understand the VA's arcane system..."

Last week it was the Washington Post. In December it was NPR. And at various times last year it was the Hartford Courant, the San Diego Union Tribune, The Oregonian or the Colorado Springs Independent.

Each delivered exceptional news coverage. Here's some of their best, along with an invitation to be the first to read the opening installment of a new series on combat PTSD appearing this morning on General Wesley Clark's Clark Community Network blog, Society and the Soldier.

As most of you know I am one of the 7120 enlisted men of the Army and Air Force that was used at Edgewood Arsenal in the chemical weapons and drug experiments that this nation conducted in violation of the Nuremberg Codes of 1947, the tests took place from 1955 thru 1975.

This diary prepared by TxSharon tells my story and this article by E Pluribus Media tell the facts behind the program.

From 1952 thru 1975  the United States used 7120 men in chemical weapons experiments using stuff like mustard agents, Sarin, other nerve agents, they also used some of the same veterans in drug tests at Edgewood Arsenal using LSD, PCP, etc  in all 254 substances.  Pages 20-23 show the Cold War tests  http://www1.va.gov//vhi/doc s/CBR_www.pdf

This report published in March 2003 shows that 2098 of the men were dead in FY 2000   40%, and of the survivors 54% of them were disabled another 2200 men, for a total death and disability rate of 74.43%. The VA has failed to find these men and claim they can't "find" us until 2009, why? http://www.iom.edu//CMS/379 5/4913/5842.aspx

I know this is a hot political issue, but bottom line the policy is adversely affecting approximately 10,000 veterans and or their widows from Cold War tests that used Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons and illicit drugs such as PCP, LSD etc. The story has been told a few times but no one has ever seen the story thru, the veterans and their families are still suffering without veterans benefits, and I feel it is due to political influence.

Here is the theory and the facts. If this were again to become public, it would prove embarrassing to the current administration due to the fact the two main characters at the heart of the problem in 1974 and 1975 are now more powerful than they were in 1974 and 1975. It also would discredit the reason that we went to war with Iraq, because Saddam used chemical weapons on the Kurds.  

These two men in 1974 and 1975 while part of the Ford Administration approved of and funded the human experimentation on enlisted army soldiers with Chemical Weapons at Edgewood Arsenal Maryland. This shows they were violating the Nuremberg Codes of 1947.

In 1972 the United States became signatories to the Biological Weapons Treaty it states that we will not create, build, posess and we will destory all stockpiles of already held weapons.

We are behind on that point, due to lack of funding but that is not the issue today, we are looking at how much they are proposing to spend in FY 2007 for this program that was stopped in 1972. By President Nixon no less. I just knew the numbers had to be wrong more for an illegal weapons program than on veterans healthcare, couldn't be could it?

My coverage of the 2006 YearlyKos Convention will arrive in four parts, each highlighting the words and experiences of the four panelists expertly representing the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). Part I offers a general introduction to The View from the Ground: Iraq Veterans on the War and Returning Home discussion, then moves into presenting the story of Iraq veteran Abbie Pickett - whose continued desire to educate the American public about Iraq and PTSD have caught the attention of many news organizations. Check out her Newsweek profile and interview on NPR's Day to Day program. I consider myself lucky to have had a few moments to chat with her this past weekend.

Watching Mr Rumsfeld on Larry King live, just made my blood boil, after being disabled by actions he approved of as Chief of Staff and as the Secretary of Defense in 1974 and 1975. I admit I do not have much use for him or his right hand man, Dick Cheney, for those of you who are not aware of it, they became a team in the Office of Economic Opportunity in the Nixon Administration and it was a Cabinet level post. Cheney was so good at doing what he did, that when Rumsfeld was named Secretary of Defense in 1975, Cheney became the White House Chief of Staff for President Ford, gaining his own seat on the National Security Council due to the promotion.

It is important to remember that soldiers operate in an environment beyond our comprehension. Our current mission in Iraq is ill defined and the enemy unseen. Daily existence under such circumstances can't help but grind away at one's humanity. Furthermore, immoral leadership from the top condoning torture (Bush's so-called "regrets" notwithstanding) has filtered down to the ranks.

The recent allegations of cold-blooded murder perpetrated upon Iraqi civilians by American soldiers are the direct result of the Bush Administration's moral bankruptcy. Atrocities happen in all wars on all sides but this may be the tip of the iceberg and only what has been exposed to date. Yet while their actions should not be excused the real blame for their crimes truly resides with the political leadership that launched an illegitimate war. Both Iraqi civilians and American soldiers are victims of George Bush's foolish imperialism.