ThinkFast: May 16, 2008

post from Think Progress on 16 May 2008 09:01:00 AM. © Think Progress

Yesterday, VoteVets and CREW released an email showing attempts by the VA employees to refrain from diagnosing veterans with PTSD. VA Secretary James Peake responded by claiming that the ?e-mail did come from a VA facility, but said it’s not official policy.? Iraq war vet Brandon Friedman writes, ?You’ll have to forgive me for not giving Secretary Peake the benefit of the doubt on this one.?

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan, Lawrence Korb, writes, ?By now, Mr. Reagan would most likely have redeployed our forces from Iraq as he did from Lebanon. But if he stayed, he would have implemented a draft.?

Yesterday, House Democrats, along with some Republicans, “approved an expansive new veterans education benefit that would be paid for by a tax on affluent Americans.” According to the tax plan, “individuals earning $500,000 or more would pay a surtax of 0.47 percent on income above $500,000 and the tax would apply to couples on incomes above $1 million.”

The United Service Organizations (USO) has announced that it has joined with Blackwater to help provide amenities to U.S. troops. The controversial contracting company has pledged $2 million over the next four years “to support USO programs and services for the troops, including homecoming celebrations and logistical support for USO entertainment tours.”

?Senator McCain?s current fiscal proposals would increase the federal deficit to its highest level in 25 years and raise the national debt to heights not seen since World War II,? according to a new study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

Read The Full Article:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/16/thinkfast-may-16-2008/