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McNally posted:Welp, fingers crossed. I got accepted to grad school, now I'm gonna try to get voc rehab to pay for it. Let me know if you need some intel on that poo poo. Get ready for a firefight with Voc Rehab though, just incase
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Feb 23, 2021 06:34
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:It’s not 100% effective but it’s pretty good. Did not work for me. I just keep Acyclovir and Gabapentin on hand. As soon as I feel the tingle of a coming outbreak I take the acyclovir. 90% of the time that keeps the outbreak in check. If it’s a painful outbreak I take the gabapentin because it seems to help with the shingles nerve pain. I don’t take it until I have pain from an outbreak, and it may or may not be a placebo affect, who knows. https://youtu.be/rJ9pZjbh5Uc Hey shim, is the commercial true? Do you suddenly start riding horses and kayaking simply by adding meds?
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Oct 4, 2021 13:05
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McNally posted:Please don't poo poo up the resource threads. But look at that commercial McNally. It’s loving peak “my life is better than yours WITH ONE SIMPLE PILL”
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Oct 4, 2021 13:48
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McNally posted:I got a response from the VA today. Keep fighting McNally, this is just the Voc rehab bullshit.
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Nov 15, 2021 18:20
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Following the steps listed in the Voc Rehab Survival Guide (https://www.disabledveterans.org/vre-survival-guide) I have FOIA'd my counselor, both via letter and via VA Form 28-10212. ITT I will catalogue my journey in getting my records from these motherfuckers and getting them to pay for me to get a PhD so I can become a Political Scientist, as per DOT code 051.067-010 and ONet (https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3094.00). Stay tuned for learning how hard they try to gently caress me and how I'm gonna make em squirm to get my benefits over the next year or next couple of years. IDK how long I'll be in the fight for but I will loving win. I'd bet money on that.
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May 24, 2023 17:57
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TheWeedNumber posted:Following the steps listed in the Voc Rehab Survival Guide (https://www.disabledveterans.org/vre-survival-guide) I have FOIA'd my counselor, both via letter and via VA Form 28-10212. ITT I will catalogue my journey in getting my records from these motherfuckers and getting them to pay for me to get a PhD so I can become a Political Scientist, as per DOT code 051.067-010 and ONet (https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3094.00). Stay tuned for learning how hard they try to gently caress me and how I'm gonna make em squirm to get my benefits over the next year or next couple of years. IDK how long I'll be in the fight for but I will loving win. I'd bet money on that. My counselor is loving spinning out rn. I have never seen passive aggressive emails and demands made of me in such a short time. Just an hour after the FOIA she got some poo poo to say. Lmfao.
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May 24, 2023 20:27
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TheWeedNumber posted:My counselor is loving spinning out rn. I have never seen passive aggressive emails and demands made of me in such a short time. Just an hour after the FOIA she got some poo poo to say. Lmfao. Does anyone know what it takes to qualify as a paralegal? Because I feel like I am earning hours to that sorta qual loving with these motherfuckers rn.
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Jun 7, 2023 00:25
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US Berder Patrol posted:Thanks for the advice. Yes, I applied for Ch 31 VRE benefits and the appointment I mentioned was with a VBA VRC for VR&E. He told me to go through my mental health provider to get referred to CWT and that they (the local VRE folks) would only really help me with an education plan after I had done a deal with CWT. I actually started my community college night school and job hopping saga the past couple of years bc I didn't like my job... in environmental on a hospital campus. I'm a bit hesitant to sign myself up for the same job at a poorer institution for way less money and also have shrinks ask me about it every week. I am struggling to find work I can stick with (a psychosocial barrier to employment stemming from persistent and severe mental illness, if you will), but ultimately this program doesn't seem like a good fit for me. ayo i got something for that rear end, check the dms. tl;dr they're probably lying to you. VR&E's unofficial motto is dead vets don't need benefits and helping live ones is counterproductive to making point 1 happen
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Jun 17, 2023 16:38
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US Berder Patrol posted:Thanks for the advice. Yes, I applied for Ch 31 VRE benefits and the appointment I mentioned was with a VBA VRC for VR&E. He told me to go through my mental health provider to get referred to CWT and that they (the local VRE folks) would only really help me with an education plan after I had done a deal with CWT. I actually started my community college night school and job hopping saga the past couple of years bc I didn't like my job... in environmental on a hospital campus. I'm a bit hesitant to sign myself up for the same job at a poorer institution for way less money and also have shrinks ask me about it every week. I am struggling to find work I can stick with (a psychosocial barrier to employment stemming from persistent and severe mental illness, if you will), but ultimately this program doesn't seem like a good fit for me. also everyone who deals with Ch 31 should drop the 20 on this poo poo https://www.disabledveterans.org/vre-survival-guide but if you can't spare the 20 i might know someone who knows someone, just saying
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Jun 17, 2023 16:40
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US Berder Patrol posted:Thank you both for the advice and resources on VRE. they WANT YOU to be tired of their poo poo. They can and will pay up retroactively. The problem with VR&E is its a dice roll with corruption and bureaucratic bullshit thrown in on top. Maybe you get a counselor who is true blue with it and supports you. They will tell you their version of the straight dope but its also kinda a lie. The counselor who flat out lied to me about getting a Master's tried to bounce me back from the ivy league to my public school I just transferred back from. The one who was true blue with it was like "sure we'll pay for it if its a 4+1." But the one who was true blue with it ALSO tried to tell me "let's get you your BA first and then we'll put the master's on the IWRP (the contract you and VR&E have as far as services and job training goes)." And, while well meaning, that poo poo was a lie. It was just the company line but it bore no resemblance to the poo poo 38 USC 3100-3120 or the relevant parts of 38 CFR talked about. Read that poo poo I sent you, take a moment to chill. But honestly you can get loving medical school out of VR&E if you can justify it. Don't be deceived. Will you have to fight them along the way? Definitely to various degrees. But it's worth it. TheWeedNumber fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jun 21, 2023 |
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Jun 18, 2023 03:59
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Booger Presley posted:What is the 20? I may drop it but I don't know what it is. the 20 dollars for that guide. good work on undergrad btw
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Jun 18, 2023 15:09
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lite_sleepr posted:Is TheWeedNumber the ol' Lt Col J Krusinski guy im Mandozer
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Jun 18, 2023 21:22
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maffew buildings posted:Reading this makes me think I should start planning now for 18 months out when I'm applying for voc rehab for medical school, tia email me at mandozerthegreat@goatse.cx to receive a wonderful and exciting gift!
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Jun 18, 2023 21:23
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lite_sleepr posted:lol really? you were in? ayy lmao
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Jun 18, 2023 22:57
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Punished Ape posted:Just wanted to rant about the VA Caregiver program (PCAFC) a little. I applied for it a while ago, did a few online interviews which seemed to go well, then received a rejection letter last week. The packet they sent out was an illegible photocopy and was missing several pages. Honestly I'm more angry about the quality of the packet than the rejection itself, but some of the evidence they cited for their decision (the evidence I can read, at least) is literally the opposite of what was presented during those interviews. Oh well, I'm gonna fight it. I heard there was poo poo up with that program too. Keep fighting it and holy poo poo does that sound like ammo worthy of fighting that decision. They are idiots and they might have helped hand you the win with that level of incompetence.
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Jun 20, 2023 23:34
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It's really interesting what VR&E says is needed and suddenly determines isn't necessary once you start putting them on the spot and asking them, politely, why they are hosed up. Like can you please justify why you were an absolutely colossal idiot in professional communications with the relevant 38 USC and 38 CFR citations? I got the email congratulating me on passing the spring semester and moving onto an IWRP (the long term document you need for an education plan). No more informational interview requirement now that I asked my counselor the following repeatedly and cc'd her supervisor and the VREO on it. Especially when I hit them with the callout "Hey Supervisor, why is your employee ignoring the content of my emails? Do you support their position?"quote:
I think they gave me the IWRP in the hopes that I would go away. Thankfully, they also denied my request to change my vocational goal so hopefully Ben Krause will take this one. Let's analyze one of these letters and talk about this poo poo.   Notice what is being said in the first picture. Notice the laws and CFR being cited. Apparently their decision is based on those cited laws and regs. According to VR&E, to change a goal I have to prove the current goal is no longer attainable or that my circumstances have changed and made the current goal infeasible. Notice in the quoted email I asked them to tell me what policy says I have to prove I'm unable to do a job in order to change the goal. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-21/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR5195d07f3c988a1/section-21.94  Notice the difference between infeasible (one of the possibilities) and "The veteran's circumstances have changed or new information has been developed which makes rehabilitation more likely if a different long-range goal is established." They missed that and this citation entirely in their letter. Another thing that's important are definitions. I looked up every USC and CFR citation, none of the poo poo they cited says anything close to what they purported in the letter. I'm the one who found the cite that says anything remotely close to the poo poo they are saying. And it doesn't say what they said either. There's wiggle room here champ. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml...Cfalse%7Cprelim  https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml...&edition=prelim  Please keep track of the highlighted terms and now let's look at the overall intent of the VR&E program under 38 USC and 38 CFR https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml...Cfalse%7Cprelim https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-21/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFRb756c9e3aa60c6e/section-21.1   What do you think all that means? Does that mean they get to send us to the cheapest goals, do the bare minimum to take care of us, and bounce us when we aren't meeting some perfect loving timeline? I'm not lawyer but maybe Mr. Nice! can read this one for me and tell me what he thinks. I think what it means is that everything I've dealt with from these NY voc rehab fucks might just be illegal! It sure the gently caress wasn't adhering to USC or CFR! And finally, you might recall that I'm trying to change my vocational goal to one that requires a doctorate. For the finisher I present 38 CFR 21.53 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-21/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR1baf1ab6655ba99/section-21.53  In conclusion: their basis for denying my change in goal is weak, it ignores my request to be evaluated for a serious employment handicap (you think being in the workplace as an autist is easy? Go ask the GIP discord people if they think I might qualify, knowing the history I have with those folks and my demonstrable issues with interpersonal communications and "lack of chill"), and BECAUSE im autistic and BECAUSE I can hyperfocus on poo poo I care about, rehabilitating me to be a goddamn professor who researches till he dies is more likely to see to it that I'm rehabilitated. When I entered VR&E, I was not diagnosed with autism. This is new information that affects my determination. gently caress you, pay me. TheWeedNumber fucked around with this message at 00:17 on Jun 21, 2023 |
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Jun 20, 2023 23:57
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also gently caress voc rehab for making me turn into a baby paralegal on this poo poo. I got books to read, scholarly articles to write, PhD applications to put in, summer classes to pass. I ain't got time for this dumb poo poo. Nevertheless, if you want your Chapter 31 benefits, it might be simple for you or it might be tooth and nail like it has been for me. It's worth the fight though.
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Jun 21, 2023 00:01
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rifles posted:I submitted my BDD claim! Can't wait to fight the battle when it all gets denied! go get your poo poo homie
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Jun 21, 2023 00:02
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US Berder Patrol posted:Update: I'm at the end of a program of engaging with some CBT type stuff, and on the agenda for my last appointment this morning was time to ask my counselor for any other referrals I may want to pursue. It seemed like perfect timing to ask about CWT but unfortunately not only did they not know how to refer me for it, they're pretty sure it's on the Benefits side of the VA. Lol how did i miss this? They do not have you outfoxed. Go gently caress these nerds up the rear end and get what you deserve. These motherfuckers are the dumbest people to ever hold a degree I have ever met. ChatGPT is more useful than they are fam. I'm gonna look into this Compensated Work Therapy thing at some point this week. I'm working on grad school apps however I will make time for you. Its not a VR&E program so I'm not 100% on it but I'm sure there has to be some publicly available info about it. At this point I would be talking to a VSO. I recommend Disabled American Veterans but go talk to someone about this. And don't cut VR&E the pass neither. gently caress them glorified data-entry specialists. They don't know poo poo but eat chip and gently caress vets out of benefits.
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Jun 26, 2023 01:24
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if you ever think of VR&E remember this picture this is who is telling you to go gently caress yourself  this is who they are sending to deliver the message its a game till you show them you know the law and their manual. once equipped with the requisite knowledge to routinely call bullshit on them, you can and will win. Unless you absolutely do not have the mental bandwidth to engage with them, fight and play for keeps. And bring friends (VSOs, your elected officials).
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Jun 26, 2023 01:31
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US Berder Patrol posted:I sent my Primary Care doc a message to ask about the CWT, and I think 3 different providers is enough asking from my end. If the doctor doesn't know, then I'm done pulling on the CWT string. Based on what I heard from the last guy I asked, CWT is something you get set up with on the way out of a rehab or hospitalization or homelessness intervention type of situation, and not something an intermittently depressed guy asks his doctor for. are you asking me to stand down on the CWT front or the VR&E front homie? I respect your decision either way but I will always encourage you to fight VR&E. The other program, ehhh idk enough about it to feel one way or the other about it.
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Jun 29, 2023 14:25
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US Berder Patrol posted:Well, you can stand down on the CWT thing. You need a VA doctor's note to get you in. The Occupational Health guy found out and got back to me and in fact got in touch with my PC doc for me. Our VA has the following flavors of CWT: Transitional work experience, supported employment, and homeless veterans supported employment. They sent me a screening questionnaire (are you homeless, are you on drugs) and I guess I'll hear back from the CWT people soon. I don't know what to think about the program just yet in the absence of actual evidence, but my gut feeling is still that this isn't for me. I can update if it actually interests you or anyone else. Discontinue means they closed your case. I assume its a letter of denial that looks like the one I posted up thread. That means you can appeal their decision a number of ways. I would need to see the letter or at least have you copy and paste the cited laws and regulations to see if they are full of poo poo. There's a fair chance that whatever they cited has little to nothing to do with what the letter actually says. The thing that's nice about VR&E is if you have some GI Bill left, you get the GI Bill stipend while you are in school, not the voc rehab stipend. Like yeah maybe the tuition isn't poo poo to you at the community college level, but you gotta understand, they will pay for advanced training. They will pay for ivy leagues. And uhh, bro, you're a veteran and your story is competitive for ivy league apps. VR&E NEVER wants to help. It is entirely luck of the draw if you get a useful counselor or not. You basically need to treat these dudes like you're Tony Soprano whenever they say some poo poo you don't wanna hear. only instead of having furio slap a motherfuckers cap off their head, you slap them with laws, regulations, and excerpts of their own manual. You hit them with past precedent in veteran board of appeal cases in an extreme case. You get VSOs and congress shitters involved. That's if you are doing it on your own. on my end, i'm tapping ben krause because I got better poo poo to do than be a paralegal while also trying to get published as an undergrad for these academic journals. PhD apps are due this december for next year, I just don't have time to waste. Otherwise I would be slowplaying them and loving with them via email, calling the white house hotline, all that poo poo to handle it on the self help front for free. And there's also veterans education success (https://vetsedsuccess.org/). These guys helped me in summer 2020 to get them to pay for columbia. They will put a lawyer on your case to correspond with VR&E for you. You can sitback if they take you pro bono. I don't know what you are trying to do as far as education or work stuff goes so I don't know whether to be obstinate here and tell you "fight them for the bennies" or to be like "yeah let it rock." If there's some big pie in the sky thing you wanna do, I promise you they'll deepthroat your whole dick before this ordeal is over and you will get that goal in writing, funded, paid for. With a laptop if you need one paid for (I got one that was like 1.5k easy), books covered, extra money in your pocket (between a few hundred to E-5 tier BAH if you got GI bill days left), and whatever other supplies you can justify as needing paid for. I got a big rear end super stapler on my desk paid for by them. I'm certain I can make them eat the cost of printer ink, reams of paper, and the paperjogging machine I got off eBay too. All retroactive. You have to break them on your knee at first but once they realize they cannot gently caress with and that you are backed up by some folks, they get cooperative real quick. It all depends on what you wanna do with your life. For me, I need a doctoral degree out of their asses because I'm dedicating myself to research and government service. That's why I'm fighting them. If your aims are lower, dodging the headache might be the thing that's right for your peace of mind. Won't lie to you brother, its a pain. But it pays out in the end. That's what I don't want you to forget. I'm here if you need me. Do what's right for your situation. TheWeedNumber fucked around with this message at 20:02 on Jun 29, 2023 |
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Jun 29, 2023 19:57
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US Berder Patrol posted:Yeah, it's the same letter format, and it has a bunch of appeal options listed at the bottom. I looked up what they cited and basically they don't expect that I will comply with their plans (38 U.S.C. p 3111 and 38 CFR p 21.364). I have a bachelor's in geology from a top name school in the field so I'm good on the ivy league, and I'm trying to add a vocational type paper (either a certificate or an associate's degree) in electronics. I think my undergrad + vocational degree will get me a better job than either could get me alone. I can finish a "Basic Electronics" certificate with literally just one more class from here, but I thought it would be worth it to chase the full associate's if VRE would help me live while I go to school fulltime for two more semesters. Obv my BA put me in good position for that by clearing the physics and calculus reqs. Going in I thought this was probably a pretty reasonable ask from the VR&E folks, and I'm not really sure I have the patience or the temper to wrestle with them over it. those are the regs for people who have been shitbags in the program. You have literally done nothing wrong. As I thought, it was a chickenshit denial reason and goes against this poo poo. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-21/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR1baf1ab6655ba99/section-21.53 quote:(c) Expeditious determination. The determination of reasonable feasibility shall be made as expeditiously as possible when necessary information has been developed in the course of initial evaluation. If an extended evaluation is necessary as provided in § 21.57 a decision of feasibility shall be made by the end of the extended evaluation. Any reasonable doubt shall be resolved in favor of a finding of feasibility. So the "I don't think the veteran is gonna comply with our plans poo poo" doesn't really make sense on many levels. This addresses the "can they get through the pipeline" doubt poo poo. As in reasonable doubts go in your favor. That said based on what you've said I don't think its worth the bullshit unless you need to come to them for a master's or above, or a BA in a field. There's a discussion to be had there if/when you need to have it. For now, pop smoke and let your hair down bro, this one's done unless you really wanna fight em. Sorry this happened to you.
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Jun 29, 2023 21:06
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US Berder Patrol posted:Yeah, I figure the basic electronics vocational certificate will do what I need for my resume, really. There's I think 4 more electronics courses beyond that and a couple of other for like technical drawings and a freshman intro to engineering to finish the associates, but I can just grind on those onesie twosie for an extra year if I really have to. If I have time I'll drop a new VRE claim later in the year just to break their balls, but in all honesty I imagine I'll be back to work well before they could help me at this point if they actually wanted to. I'm gonna keep my remaining one month of GI Bill banked for a rainy day. I'll keep you posted on what happens with the CWT thing. Thanks for the support amigo whatever you need partner, that's what I'm here for. same goes for anyone else on these forums. Definitely save that GI bill just incase you wake up one day and decide to be a neurosurgeon via VR&E or something; that's BAH money right there. Take care of yourself and keep it pushing brother. Be well.
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Jun 30, 2023 18:33
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FYI if you are autistic and attempt to get your therapy and psychiatric care paid for with VA Community Care, consider just giving the gently caress up preemptively instead. My case just got closed, after having been opened up thanks to the support of AOC’s office. 20 providers, multiple orgs. There is nothing out there for you that isn’t paywalled for adults with autism. Anyway here’s your life tax, based on NYC prices at one of the best clinics there is for this poo poo. If I couldn’t get it done in NYC, I doubt you can do it elsewhere. 320 a hour (45m session) for a therapist, 600 for the psychiatrist. Depending on your luck with the VA, you may not need the latter. 1,880 a month, 1,280 on the weekly therapy visits alone. Also don’t go crazy because you can’t afford anything but grippy sock jail courtesy of a VA referral (that they’ll pay for). Make sure the next autistic vet knows this. Oh and one more thing: don’t quote me or say poo poo about this post to me. I don’t even wanna hear a “that sucks bro.” No well wishes, no thoughts and prayers. Nothing. This is info on what the VA can do for autistic vets and my findings are “dick.” Dickbuttkiss. TheWeedNumber fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Nov 7, 2023 |
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Nov 7, 2023 20:54
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