Michael Stephen Bowden

Son Of Elderly Man Charged With Threatening President Blames The VA

Rachel Slajda | November 26, 2010, 3:27PM

The son of an elderly South Carolina man who told a Veterans Affairs nurse that he wanted to kill the President says the VA failed his father.

Michael Stephen Bowden, 78, was arrested last week after a VA nurse asked him if he has suicidal thoughts and he responded, "Yes, I would like to shoot the President, then myself." He repeated the threat to law enforcement when they showed up at his house.

His son, Kerry Bowden, tells TPM that his father was crying out for help, and that he was never a real threat.

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Topics: Barack Obama, Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael Stephen Bowden, Secret Service, South Carolina

Insurance

Life Insurers Profit By Withholding Cash From Military Families: Bloomberg

Rachel Slajda | July 29, 2010, 9:31AM

Life insurers -- including Prudential, which provides life insurance for the Department of Veterans Affairs -- keep payouts to families in their own corporate accounts, earning more interest on the money than they give to the beneficiaries.

Bloomberg reports that many life insurance companies send beneficiaries a "checkbook" when they opt to get their money in a lump sum. The companies assure families that the money is safe with them until they need it.

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Topics: Department of Veterans Affairs, Insurance, Miltiary families , U.S. Military