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The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Please help spread the word

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  • #16
    Re: Please help spread the word

    I'm very sorry for not keeping people up to date, but I honestly forgot I had posted this here.

    Unfortunately, I'm here to ask for prayers once again for Matt. Here's an email I received today from treewoman:

    Dear Family & Friends,

    It’s been a long time since I was in touch with many of you and I am sorry to have to do so with some sad news. Bob's son Matthew has suffered a relapse of his leukemia and is currently undergoing chemo therapy at Fort Sutter Hospital in Sacramento.

    A year and a half ago when he was first diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) you were kind enough to help Matt and his family – I can not tell you how incredible and inspiring the help we received at that time was. We were overwhelmed and deeply touched. I would like to ask for you to help again, if you can, with your prayers, by donating blood, joining the bone marrow registry (if you haven't already) and possibly volunteering to help with a Blood/Bone Marrow Drive that we are hoping to hold the week of May 12th (date and location yet to be determined) probably in Roseville.

    Matt is currently at Fort Sutter Hospital in Sacramento and will probably be there for a month or so. AML is a very aggressive and particularly nasty form of leukemia so his doctors are hitting him hard with chemo already and he will be needing blood transfusions throughout his treatment. Looking ahead we are hoping for a Bone Marrow match and then a transplant that would take place most likely at Stanford Hospital. Our hope is that he will be strong and well enough for the transplant as soon as possible.

    A little update on Matt and the family: when we last were battling ALS he & his wife were expecting their second child. Aaron was born that October and is now a healthy, happy one and a half year old ball of fire and fun. Their oldest child Nate is now 10 and doing very, very well in school and with his Karate.

    We still suspect that because Matt was in heavy combat zones in Iraq during his eight years of military service he was at some time exposed to something that caused the chromosome damage that led to his leukemia. Matt is not the only veteran suffering from chromosome damage and ensuing cancer/leukemia. One of our goals is to get the word out about this and the importance of returning vets to have the Gulf War Exam.

    At this time we are asking friends and family to consider making a donation of blood and /or platlets in his name, as he has had and will continue to have transfusions. We have set up an account in his name with Blood Source - if you donate you can use his number P560 or his name "Matthew Bumpus" to find the nearest Blood Source go to http://www.smfbc.org/ The process takes about one hour of your time.

    And, if you have not already, please consider signing up for the Bone Marrow Registry. It requires a quick and easy swab to your cheek and a little paperwork.

    Thank you on behalf of Matt and the family for all your prayers and support. If you’d like to leave a message for Matt he is signed up with “Care Pages” – a program offered by Sutter that is a support/message system for patients and their families. Go to http://www.carepages.com and he is listed under “Matt Bumpus”. Please feel free to forward this to anyone I may have missed or who may be interested and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions or would like to volunteer for the Blood/Bone Marrow Drive in May.

    Thank you!
    Please add Matt and his family to your prayers. If you have questions for treewoman and this condition, I'm sure she'll try and find time to answer them.

    Thanks again.
    NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Please help spread the word

      A bit more news about how quickly this flared up:

      Once again this hit hard and heavy - this stuff is just so darn fast - two weeks ago he was fine! My poor husband - not only was he dealing with this but his father and I both ended up w/severe cases of pneumonia (it was getting passed around the family - but thank God Matt didn't get it) and Bob was looking like the walking wounded last week. Fortunately both hid Dad and I are better - so now we can focus all our attention on Matt.
      NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Please help spread the word

        Matt has been receiving blood transfusions and platlets along with his chemotherapy and is getting stronger. His family wants to make sure everyone knows how much they appreciate the thoughts and prayers and are truly thankful for the number of people who have been able to donate blood in Matt's name.

        Keep the prayers going, if you will please.

        Thank you all.
        NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Please help spread the word

          Thanks for the update, VF21.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Please help spread the word

            And if you can donate platelets. It takes longer but it is high rewarding.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Please help spread the word

              Update: I'm sad to report that Matt died this morning at Sutter Hospital in Roseville. Over the past few weeks, his condition had drastically deteriorated and the chromosome damage apparently made it impossible for them to do a bone marrow transplant as his blood and chromosomes were altered and a match simply could not be found. (I may not have all the specifics correct...I don't understand any of it.)

              I know treewoman was touched by the kind words, thoughts and prayers from you here at PD.

              In the email she sent me, she had one request which I'm sharing in the hopes that maybe someone else will be spared this kind of pain:

              Please remember to tell your friends about the importance of becoming a bone marrow registrant, blood donor and for all service personnel to take the Gulf War Exam - and ask them to tell their friends too.
              Thanks again. I'm sure treewoman's family can use your thoughts and prayers for a little longer as they try and find a way to go on without Matt.
              NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Please help spread the word

                I am very sad to hear about this. I checked up on this thread every now and again to see if anything new was posted.

                My thoughts are with his family.

                Sad day.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Please help spread the word

                  Sorry to hear it.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Please help spread the word

                    RIP.

                    Sorry to hear that. Thanks for the update.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Please help spread the word

                      noupsell registered to PM me this:

                      Originally posted by noupsell
                      Hey I thought you might want to post this link in your Matt Bumpus VF21 memorial thread... he will not be forgotten... I'm spreading the word around the net in the hope to give life to those that still suffer by letting then know they are not alone

                      thanks,
                      noupsell

                      http://digg.com/world_news/Matthew_B..._abandoned_him

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Please help spread the word

                        May he rest in peace. The service he performed for this country will never be forgotten.


                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Please help spread the word

                          I've received an update from Laura:

                          First, I want to thank all of you for your tremendous support, prayers and caring throughout Matt's illness and especially since his death. Your caring and support has made a tremendous difference to the family.

                          I also would like to remind you about our upcoming Silent Auction to be held at the Auburn Valley Country
                          Club with entertainment by the very talented Halie O'Ryan Band on Friday, Sept 12th. Tickets are $20 and we expect to sell out. Right now we are in the process of gathering some fabulous prizes. If you would like more information please don't hesitate to contact me.

                          We have very good news regarding Matt's appeal with the Veterans Administration. I have been charged by Lisa to do the V.A. appeal (due Sept 11th) and have spent the majority of my time in doing research on it. In looking up the V.A. documents and reading the ruling of the actual denial (38CFR3.309) it appears that the denial was based on non-service related leukemia when in fact they should have used 38CFR3.311 "Claims Based on Exposure to Ionizing Radiation". Therefore, they have not only denied Matt under the wrong ruling but of all the other veterans I have been working with as well. Furthermore, in the correct ruling my task is to produce evidence that Matt's "disease was at least as likely as not" resulting from exposure. Under the correct ruling leukemia may become manifest at any time after exposure.
                          The string of chromosomes that identified Matt's particular branch of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia is identified with therapy-related radiation. Meaning that generally patients who present with this have incurred their AML after being treated with chemotherapy or radiation/chemical exposure. I have multiple medical reports substantiating this.

                          We have strong evidence that Matt and his unit had a mission to secure chemical weapons at the Summara Chemical Weapons Facility. We also have evidence of their findings at this site. I have a CIA report and a report from the United Nations detailing the Summara Chemical Weapons Facility and the many toxins located there and the hazards of being exposed to those chemicals. We have reports of other incidents and ways in which Matt may have been exposed but this particular incident really stands out.

                          With the help of many good people - men Matt served with, doctors, lawyers, politicians and many others I believe we can prove not only Matt's case but others.

                          Well, time to get back to writing the appeal to the V.A. Thank you so much for your interest in this and we hope to see you on the 12th.
                          Again, if any of you know any servicemen/veterans who may have been exposed, PLEASE tell them about the test. Laura is pretty much dedicating her life to see that no other soldier goes through what Matt endured before his death.

                          Thanks again, on behalf of Laura and all the family, for the prayers and support. It is profoundly appreciated.
                          NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Please help spread the word

                            Originally posted by VF21 View Post
                            Again, if any of you know any servicemen/veterans who may have been exposed, PLEASE tell them about the test. Laura is pretty much dedicating her life to see that no other soldier goes through what Matt endured before his death.
                            VF,

                            She may have already tried this but has she tried Facebook? If not she should because it's a VERY fast way to get in touch with old friends and coworkers. When I signed up I heard from friends I hadn't talked to since my high school graduation. She could start a page in his honor and see what shakes out of the tree. Maybe someone will recognize his symptoms in themselves or someone they know. Just an idea.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Please help spread the word

                              The family finally got someone from the Sacramento Bee to bring this to the public's attention. It was published on page 1 of the Saturday, Sept. 6 edition:

                              http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1214622.html

                              Vet's family still seeks compensation for illness that killed him
                              By Sam Stanton - sstanton@sacbee.com

                              Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, September 6, 2008
                              Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1


                              They'll hold a fundraiser in Auburn next Friday to help pay Matt Bumpus' medical bills.

                              The Roseville man and his family worked on the event for months in hopes of raising money to treat his leukemia.

                              But Bumpus won't be there. The 31-year-old father of two died a month ago after a series of battles with his disease.

                              He believed – and his family still does – that he became ill because he was exposed to depleted uranium at a chemical weapons site while serving with the Army in Iraq.

                              "All of them were very concerned about what they were exposed to, very concerned," said his stepmother, Laura Bumpus.

                              The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rejected one claim Bumpus filed seeking compensation for his illness. But on Friday, a VA official told The Bee the agency will revisit the case and see whether Bumpus' widow, Lisa, and their two sons are eligible for assistance.

                              "Lisa and Matt's parents all have the right to come in and file a claim, and I would really welcome that," said Lynn Flint, the VA's regional director in Oakland.

                              The family plans to file another claim but has seen firsthand the difficulty of proving that an illness diagnosed post-service may have stemmed from wartime conditions.

                              Veterans from the 1990-91 Gulf War worked years to convince officials that Gulf War syndrome illnesses were real.

                              And just last month, researchers at UC Davis Cancer Center said veterans exposed to Agent Orange are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as are other veterans – a finding that comes decades after the herbicide was used in Vietnam.

                              Bumpus, a staff sergeant in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, was sent Dec. 23, 2003, to guard the Al Muthanna Chemical Weapons complex in Iraq and spent two nights there, his family said.

                              When they arrived, Bumpus and his comrades encountered a sign that read "Welcome to Mustardville," and eventually were moved because of radiation readings emanating from the site, according to his family.

                              Bumpus, a 1995 Roseville High School graduate and defensive lineman for the school's football team, was a strapping young man who never had been seriously ill, family members said. He joined the Army in August 1996.

                              He returned from Iraq in late 2004 and left the Army the following year, coming home to Roseville to be with Lisa, his wife and high school sweetheart, and their son, Nathaniel.

                              Soon, Lisa was pregnant with their second son, Aaron, and Bumpus was working as a technician for Comcast.

                              "In July of 2006, I was home, had a job with a bright future, we were expecting our second child, we had just moved into a house, and life was good!" Bumpus wrote this year on www.iraqradiation.com, a Web site his family set up to alert veterans of potential health risks from service in Iraq.

                              After returning from Iraq, Bumpus worried he might have been exposed to something at the weapons site that could have long-term effects, his family said, but was assured by the Army there was no reason for concern.

                              Everything seemed fine until one July night in 2006, when he was having trouble sleeping.

                              "We thought he had the flu, and he got up to use the bathroom," his wife said. "I heard a bang and went to check, and he had hit the floor."

                              Bumpus was rushed to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed appendicitis. Tests done there also found he suffered from a rare form of leukemia – acute myeloid leukemia. According to his medical records, his doctor told him the illness "was related to radiation exposure."

                              He began a regimen of chemotherapy and other treatments and eventually racked up $1 million in medical bills, most of which were covered by his health insurance. His illness was in remission by late 2006.

                              "I returned to work and an almost normal life," he wrote on the Web site. "I was alive, in remission, and very thankful."

                              When his leukemia returned in 2008, he filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs saying the illness was related to his service. The VA denied the claim, noting in the rejection letter that his diagnosis had come more than a year after his separation from the Army.

                              The VA's Flint said the original claim did not specifically indicate that Bumpus was claiming he had been exposed to radiation. She said the agency indicated at the time it would consider new information if Bumpus provided it.

                              Bumpus' stepmother, Laura, said he told the family he had not mentioned the exposure in the claim because he believed that information was classified. He assumed VA officials would ask him about it, she said.

                              Earlier this year, Bumpus wrote to Congress seeking help, and he and his family set up the Web site detailing his case and others they had heard of. He was hoping for a bone-marrow transplant, and from his hospital bed helped plan Friday's silent auction and dinner.

                              Bumpus died Aug. 3. Two weeks later, his widow received notice from the VA that his case had been the subject of an inquiry from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and that Bumpus could pursue benefits.

                              The VA asked Bumpus to schedule a new examination at a VA hospital. His widow is drafting a reply noting that "obviously as he is now deceased he cannot comply with this request." Today, his family waits to see whether the VA will provide compensation to Lisa and their sons, 11-year-old Nathaniel and Aaron, who turns 2 in October.

                              Nathaniel, who started sixth grade earlier this week, is old enough to understand his father is gone.

                              "The youngest, I don't think he really understands. He just thinks (his dad) hasn't come home from the hospital," Lisa Bumpus said this week. She sat crying on the deck of Laura Bumpus' Foresthill home. Around her neck hung a chain that holds her husband's wedding ring.

                              The VA's regional director said the Bumpus family is eligible for benefits if the leukemia can be tied to Bumpus' service. His widow could receive $1,091 in tax-free benefits monthly, and her children $271 a month.

                              "I'm so sorry this happened," Flint said, adding that she hopes Bumpus can be recognized as having sacrificed much for his country.

                              About the writer: * Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.

                              -------------------------------------------------------------

                              Keep the family in your prayers. As long as they keep on fighting, perhaps someone else won't have to suffer the same fate.
                              NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Please help spread the word

                                First, my heartfelt thanks to Hicks for keeping this thread around. If even one person has looked into the problem after reading it, it's a tribute to Matt and his family.

                                Now onto the new stuff. treewoman - Laura Bumpus, Matt's stepmom - sent me the following message:

                                As some of you know, I went back to school in August 2009 and have been learning web design as a new career and in support of the veterans work I do. At last, I have learned enough to be able to update Gulf War Chemicals (although a lot of work is yet to be done). Additionally, I have started a new veteran’s project with Veterans Portfolio and am working towards starting my own web design business with Tree Song World. I invite you to take a look at all three:
                                >>
                                www.gulfwarchemicals.com
                                www.veteransportfolios.org
                                www.treesongworld.com



                                I am incredibly proud to count this lady as a friend. She has dedicated her life to making sure the word gets out about the chemical exposure some of our troops experienced and the difficulties they've encountered since then.


                                If you are or know a veteran of any of the gulf war campaigns, please take a minute and check out her websites. It might just save your life.


                                Thanks to all and again, thanks to Hicks for allowing me to help get the word out by posting this here.

                                NBA basketball - taking my breath away since 1963.

                                Comment

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