mooncakes

I'm the wife of a disabled veteran too, and yes, there is an extensive process. They look into what the veteran was like before the service, his work ethic during serving, and how he's been affected afterwards. A lot of veterans, sadly, have massive personality changes after they go to combat, maybe have some brain damage, etc. That's actually part of the whole disabling process. If Nathan had gone in with a shining personality, had a great work ethic during service, and then something happened to make him the way he is now, that would be taken into consideration, that he can't function in society like he used to be able to. If I was a betting woman, though, I'd say that Nathan is just being Nathan, and he was like this all along (manipulative, slimy, etc.). No amount of IED's could make someone attracted to Jenelle unless they were already predisposed to it. The other thing is, unless he was rated at 100% Unemployable, which is darn near impossible to get for most people, he's expected to be working in addition to this. He was working before he got together with Jenelle, right? Some sort of timeshare salesman or something? So let's say for the sake of argument that he's rated at 70%. With two children (if they were considered full dependents, which his daughter might not be) that's a little less than 1500 a month. That's 18K a year. Compare that to how much Jenelle is pulling in. Maybe he gets Teen Mom money too, but that's really not the point, as Candace was specifically "exposing" that he used them to pay for the ring and vacation. He either had to save up for quite a few months to be able to do that, or that rumor isn't even true, or there was a lump sum back payment involved, meaning he wasn't getting paid for many months or even years before. Jenelle is clearly the main breadwinner in that couple dynamic (at least until MTV dries up). There's no evidence that any of the three kids in their life are hurting for money. They're hurting for a LOT of other things (guidance, love, nurturing, sane adults, etc.) but I don't think I've ever heard that there's no money spent on them. Heck, they have a massive room remodel every few months (whenever Jenelle up and moves). But even if that money should have been spent on them (and Lord only knows how many college tuitions Jenelle could have paid for if she hadn't spent money on Kieffer, drugs, alcohol, lawyers, etc.), HOW they spend the money is one thing - the source of it is another.

Not for nothing, but what does using veteran's benefits have to do with anything? Nathan has shown himself to be a douche in a lot of respects, and he's definitely not doing any favors for the veteran community's reputation. Heck, he may or may not have lied to get his disability. (Just from what I've seen on this show, there's a lot that doesn't add up with his behavior and someone truly limited by trauma - and those limitations are what the disability is supposed to make up for.) If that's the case, then the next time he has his ratings evaluations, they will see the TV footage most likely, and probably cut off his benefits entirely. However, I'll play the devil's advocate and say that he has come by his benefits honestly, that he was upfront about his issues, and the doctors decided to give him a disability rating. Fine. At that point, he can use those benefits however he wants. It's not like they're just given out, like welfare or something - he signed a contract with the government that if he served in the military, and he got injured, he would receive these benefits to make up for potential income lost. He can use it to pay for life's necessities like a responsible human being. Or he can get himself a reality star sugar mama and then use his own benefits for TV's and engagement rings. Nathan still is a huge douchecanoe, though. I can't believe I sound like I'm defending him. I'm not. I just don't think using veteran's benefits is something that needs to be looked on as a source of shame. If and when it comes out that he frauded the VA, *then* that's snark-worthy... JMO.

Nope. With VA disability, you get about $50 extra per month per dependent. It all gets added onto the same check, and I believe everyone has to live together. If he was getting Social Security, the child would get a check, but typically it's a pretty small amount - and in that case, I think they get it whether or not they live together. I don't think Nathan is getting S.S. though. The only thing mentioned was VA disability.

On a lighter note... anyone notice that the cameraman zoomed in on Kail's... kaleidoscope pants in one part of the episode? I think she was in her driveway. First the scarves, now the pants... what's next?

Oh - and him being in jail is a much bigger burden on the taxpayers than his disability payments are, even if he WAS 100%. And the legal fees of the prosecution and whatever. Him not messing up and going to jail would shave bucks off the burden he is on the taxpayers.

For the person who asked about VA PTSD disability and working - if a person is rated at any number other than 100%, they can work, and are encouraged to do so. Heck, you're expected to work - the disability doesn't support you. If he's rated at 70% for example (which is a common PTSD rating), they expect that you're held back in some way by your disability, but you're not 100% unable to work. If he's 100% temporary, then he doesn't necessarily HAVE to work, but if he improves enough over time that he CAN work, they want him to. I doubt there's any way he could be 100% total, which is the only way he can't work. That usually takes 10 years of re-evaluations to get for PTSD. They re-eval every 3-5 years, and see what work, if any, the person has been able to do in the past year, what their daily habits are like, if they've had trouble with the law, if they're compliant with therapy, etc. Even volunteering, studying, community work, etc. count. They don't want to give young guys/girls who have the chance to improve (i.e. aren't amputees or blind or anything) 100% total. The counselors encourage rehabilitation first and foremost. I'm not sure how they would factor in Nathan working while in jail when it comes up for his re-evaluation. I mean, he's already IN jail, so it's basically like him choosing an activity - he doesn't actually have to go out of his way to interview, show up to work day after day, interact with people professionally, etc. Honestly, I don't know anything about how vets are treated in corrections facilities. Thankfully that's nothing we've had to deal with.

I'm pretty sure the whole dyes in babies' heads comment referred to the dyes the doctors have to give via IV's when kids get diagnostic MRI's. The thought wasn't quite coherent but I have a feeling Leah was talking about that whole process. Sometimes the dyes can cause side effects, too, and too much can affect their vital organs. I don't know what that all had to do with anything, though. I was more worried the PT would think she was drunk and/or on illegal drugs. It definitely sounded like the PT was unimpressed at the end of their conversation, as she hung up with that displeased "mmm." I was worried she'd call the authorities on Leah on suspicion of child endangerment. (Though, I was also worried that Leah was driving and/or caring for the kids, especially the baby, under the influence, even if it was legally prescribed. What if she dropped the baby, or nodded out while the kids were bathing or something? But anyway.) I too thought Kail looked really pretty in some scenes. The editing was more obvious than usual. With Chelsea, the sky through the window was going dark very rapidly, Kail's dinner scene was all rushed - no food, then food, baby nursing, all the food off the table... Leah's conversation with Jeremy had them jumping from one background scene to another very rapidly... it's like they make whole new conversations happen from cutting bits of convo from here, others from there. Or do they just replay the same conversation bits over and over again until they get a perfect take? Speaking of things being staged, I don't for a second think that Adam is in any way, shape, or form genuine, and I also don't think anyone's buying his schtick. His girlfriend totally looks like she can't stand Aubree. And I was genuinely worried when Adam took Aubree outside for his fake parenting thing. Aubree kept looking over his shoulder at the camera crew (I assumed) and it seemed almost like she was paying more attention to what they were saying than Adam. Maybe I read too much into it, but that's what I got. I don't see any bond between the two of them. Honestly, I think Adam is still hung up on Chelsea - not that he CARES about her, but he sees her as a person he can bully. (And/or get laid by when he's in the mood to cheat on his current gf. Added bonus!) I think she's more or less over him.... Speaking of which, does anyone know the guy that she was seeing IRL, if she's still seeing him, or whatever happened with that?

I don't know how to quote here yet... so I'll just paste instead. :) "Also, the look Javi gave to Jo when Jo told Isaac "you want me to take mommy with us?" I think Javi knows there's still some feelings from Kail toward Jo or he's just very insecure in his marriage." I saw that differently. Jo said that he wanted to take Kail along *in the trunk*. I got the impression he was referencing knocking her out and throwing her in the trunk, and talking trash while intending it to go over Isaac's head. Kind of like in that Eminem song from way back. Jo does strike me as the kind of smug person to make little comments like that - just like the "hope your water breaks tonight" comment from last season. I'm pretty sure Javi took that as a veiled threat (or joking about it) to his wife. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I thought it was a little messed up too. I don't know if Kail took it the same way, but if she did she did a good job controlling her temper. Or maybe she was flattered because it went over her head too, and she thought it was an innocent comment about Jo wanting her to go with him. Again, I'm not sure how JO meant it, but I'm pretty sure that JAVI took it like that, so I understood his "wtf" look towards Jo. But he was a pretty big jerk the rest of the episode. And I'm usually a Javi fan... mostly. Also... more on the Javi thing... I love my husband but it wasn't until baby #3 came along that he was a "good" dad to a newborn. He loved the older two as well, but he just didn't *get* that he actually had to step up and take care of them, and how hard that was. He did one or two things, and in his mind he was done. In Javi's mind, it probably seemed fair. "Well, both of us had long days 'working', and now there's two kids to take care of, so it wouldn't be fair to Kail if she got to go alone and I had to take care of both her child and the new baby. It'll be more fair, and easier for both of us, if we each do one on one." When really... it doesn't work like that at all. If for NO OTHER REASON, it makes no sense to take an infant out in public during cold/flu season. If you have to, you have to, but why do that unnecessarily? And while working at a job is stressful, studies show that stay-at-home parents are MORE stressed and have LESS free time through the day than working parents. There is no mandated lunch break at home, and kids even follow you to the bathroom. I can't think of one "outside" job where you can't even use the facilities by yourself. Sometimes you just need that half hour break to refresh. Now my husband is great with sharing duties, but even he needed experience. This is Javi's first baby, and he's young, and he's probably honestly not mature enough to fully get it. I totally side with Kail, obviously, but Javi can still redeem himself. (Unless Kail kicks him to the curb like the previews hint at.)