From Daily KOS.

This was written by one of my cyberfriends in TX; she ghostwrote it for TestVet6778. I always have a problem with the veracity of such items, especially on KOS- little gets filtered there. However, I know one person who was involved in some of the 'vet testing' for nukes in the early '50's and he died in his early 40's of virtually every type of cancer you can get. I also remember firsthand all the Agent Orange controversy and, more recently, Uranium poisoning, so this story is not out of the realm of possibility.

I would also note that the author's attempt to blame the whole thing on Rummy and Cheney seems a bit manufactured- as much as I detest the two bastards, and as much as I would love to pin this on them, they are not responsible for everything evil in the military since 1950.

That being said, I am interested especially in what Doc, Marine, IH, and Tom have to say- along with anyone else willing to comment.

Life is very cheap when it's someone else's life. It's always been this way and still is. I don't know if there is a hell, or it's nature. I just don't understand the seeming callusness of many people who rise to positions of authority. Something is wrong when Socio-Pathic individuals are not only NOT weeded out but encouraged. The Nazis had a similar "interest in human experiments". All the stranger since they didn't believe Jews were human.

There is no excuse for this. Just a Dark, Cold Heart, and an Iron Hand.

Site note: The US/Allies did not fully prosecute the Japanese involved in the medial experiments
carried out during the Asian Holocaust in Manchuria. Why ? Because we wanted and got the results of toxins such as Lewisite & tularemia on humans. This info was entered into the Congressional Record in 1999 by Diane Feinstein, following a book written by Sheldon H. Harris entitled "Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-1945."

To be honest methinks, once the hyperbole is discounted, this seems relatively plausible. 'Twould seem 'twas one of the Army experimental programs, and they had quite a few. Friggin' Army seemed capable of almost anything, eh? My oldest brother was involved in experiments where soldiers were exposed to the effects of nuclear tests in 1954, but ain't shown any effects yet.

For context methinks their were programs like this from Truman's time until the Reagan administration put a stop to 'em. If I ain't mistaken they was all run by civilians, but the Army provided human guinea pigs.

Also, tho they've still got many problems to work out, IMHO if you put political rhetoric aside and look at the real facts of the matter, the VA health care system has made more improvements in the last six years than in the previous 20, increased fundin' by a higher level methinks than any administration since the end of Eisenhower's time and brought millions more veterans into the system. Budgetary restrictions will probably preclude it from ever bein' completely satisfactory, but at least 'tis gettin' better rather than worse like in the 90s, eh?

I was a guinea pig for a test of a hepatitus vaccine.

Did I have a choice? Sure, me doing squat thrusts until the sergeant got tired or volunteering for this test vaccine.

I have no idea of if this stuff did me any good or harm, to my knowledge no one ever followed up to see if it had ill effects or made me immune to hepatitus.

I'm glad your brother has not shown any ill effects- he's lucky.


Agreed,

... and it was (as I'm sure you remember) Democrats who pushed that agenda; the VA had to come hat in hand to Congress for more money. Republicans wanted to cut the VA budget in spite of nearly 20,000 severly wounded from Iraq, and another half million or so who will become part of the VA system over the next 40 to 50 years.

Our Veterans Administration is one of the best and most efficient post-military health care systems in the world, in spite of elected officials...

... but look what it did to your charming personality...