It is an irony that a nation that makes such a show of celebrating its war dead does such a crappy job of taking care of our war living. The real scandal is not that the Veterans Administration has failed to do better with the limited resources it has, but that we spent so lavishly sending armed forces to fight wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with so little thought to how we would take care of these veterans upon their return.
Remember all those hundreds of billions of dollars in additional appropriations that were routinely passed during the Iraq war with very little congressional debate (because to question it would have appeared unpatriotic and anti-troops)? That’s the sort of attitude our lawmakers need toward VA funding if we’re going to adequately take care of our veterans over the next several decades.
There’s a grim joke among Veterans: The politicians all say , “nothing to good for our Veterans,” that’s way they give them just a little less than nothing.
There’s more I would say, but why bother? The right sees Veterans the same way the see the erst of the working class, as a disposable commodity, and the left sees Veterans as a cause, never as people.
Taking it a little further, the leftists claim they care yet all it is is lip service. Obummer railed on Bush and then under Obummer the VA situation gets worse, way worse. Obummer was briefed about VA problems during the whitey house transition between Bush’s departure and his grand entrance. Then last week Obummer lies and tells all it’s the first he’s heard of VA problems. http://www.washingtontimes.com.....medium=RSS
So another bald face lie Obummer told. It’s all political with Obummer… He feels he can ride this out since the libtard msm gave Obummer a pass on Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, etc. Just let this one blow over too. Change the subject and make it about immigration!
If Obummer really cared, he would guarantee whistleblowers would have full immunity from retribution.
If Obummer really cared, the time for studying the problem would be over. Everyone knows what the issues are.
If Obummer really cared, changes would already be enacted!
If Obummer really cared, the appropriations screamed about above would be thoroughly scrutinized and people would be asking why all this money being spent frivolously?
Nuff said suckas!
@2: Moron, the republicans blocked VA appropriations year in ans year out, in the end the left has done more for Veterans than the right. , but good job using Veterans to advance a political agenda.
Typical right winger, use people to advance a lie, then treat them as disposable.
Fast and Furious Moron@3,
If you are referring to that Daily Kooks or PoliticsUSA articles… let’s remember something… Obummer promised to work on balancing the budget. Obummer promised cuts. They haven’t happened yet. Obummer has yet to offer and balancing cuts to spending increases. Did Obummer take that 5% pay cut?
Your idiot loony leftist blogs forget these pertinent facts!
What’s this? This idiot wants to pursue the balanced budget fetish that he strokes himself to watching Faked News Channel on the backs of our veterans????
What a DISGUSTING SCUMBAG!
Simply put, Republicans are a bunch of Putin Loving commies. They don’t care about veterans after leaving the womb, let them die to their tombs, fighting for oil, so that we can put more carbon into the air. They are a bunch of hypocrites. Being patriotic would mean doing something about global warming, but fuck no. They just love the manly Putin.
Well, I’m glad everyone is remembering what this day is all about and pursuing their usual vitriolic comments.
Well done, guys!
Oh Jack, don’t get your panties in a bunch. When fighting with Republicans you must stay dirty, fight fire with fire. A lot of issues in this world, and republicans can only concentrate on Benghazi and abortions. How about thinking about the living for once!
7 gay guys have probably been murdered or beat up in the Great Country of the United States, where freedom rings, within the last year. But heck lets try to figure out why 4 Americans have died in probably what is the most tumultuous country in the world, where Americans are most hated, and guarded by less security because we are too stingy to spend the money to protect them.
I wonder if a fetus wanted to be gay, whether Republicans would let it be. Hmmmmm. A new slogan – Freedom for Feti. Then Imagine if that fetus wanted to be married to the same sex.
I like Obama’s VA better than Bush’s VA.
Goldy, this was perfect for Memorial Day; it’s being shared by everyone I know to everyone they know.
Watching Obama glorify the dead today — as Presidents always do — made me sick. And then to watch countless families spending the day at gravesites, because that’s what they think they can do. Yes, remember your dead and then work for the living, some of whom probably wish they were dead, and some of whom may be dead by their own hands in the future.
I voted twice for Obama; he’s been a good President, generally. But he’s just too damned slow to recognize that some things — this one in particular — need action NOW, when he learns about them. Shinseki should have been fired, not because this is his fault (the VA’s been in trouble for years) but because he’s not the person for this particular job: he’s as cool and calm as the President and that isn’t what’s called for now. The Republicans will use this for political mileage and at the same time they will do NOTHING to boost the VA’s capacity. Obama’s just not using his bully pulpit and his response time is way off.
Veterans Groups Rip GOP Senator
Veterans groups are tearing into Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) for trying to turn the VA’s troubles into a political attack on the Obama administration. Burr is the top Republican on the Senate’s Veterans Affairs Committee.
VFW accused Burr of a “monumental cheap-shot” and Paralyzed Veterans of America said Burr should be “ashamed of himself.” Disabled American Veterans said Burr “shows no interest in pursuing serious policy solutions, preferring instead to launch cheap political attacks.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....d%3D480686
@2
Funny about those briefings when new presidents come in…
Obama briefed on problems at the VA…yeah, that’s bad…20-30 people died and I 100% agree that’s a tragedy. Obama’s fault.
Bush briefed on the danger of Bin Laden…3000 people died…CLINTON’s FAULT.
(ask YLB to find how many times you have blamed 9-11 on Clinton.)
@12 Sally, I have to disagree with you on several levels. What Obama and other presidents do on Memorial Day is not “glorify” the dead but pay the respect that is due for their sacrifices. To honor our warriors is not to glorify war, any more than disagreeing with our government’s policies is to dishonor them.
Forty-some years ago, our country made a terrible mistake by failing to separate warriors from war, a mistake we must not make again. Ten years ago, Republicans made a similar mistake by accusing those who disagreed with policy decisions that turned out to be egregiously wrong of disrespecting our troops.
Respect the warrior, hate war.
Most veterans groups disagree with you that VA secretary Shinseki should be replaced. They represent the veterans who depend on VA benefits and services, and are better placed than you to judge whether such a move would be helpful or harmful to our veterans.
Finally, if the implication of your comment is that Obama should replace Shinseki with a political street fighter who will punch back at Republicans who try to politicize the VA’s problems, I couldn’t disagree with you more, because that would be the worst thing that could happen to our veterans and the veterans community would be extremely ill-served by such a move. The groups representing veterans are perfectly capable of defending the VA and themselves against such political attacks (see my post above). The person in charge of the VA should be a capable administrator who is also an effective advocate for the VA’s funding needs, and most veterans groups feel General Shinseki is the right person for that job.
@2 “Obummer railed on Bush and then under Obummer the VA situation gets worse, way worse.”
You don’t know shit from shinola about anything having to do with veterans.
So, uh, as long as we’re on the subject of the VA, this is a good time to bring this up. This Guy is in my family tree and one of the reasons when I hear someone say Obama/Bush/Reagan is the most corrupt in history I know they know diddly squat about history.
Also a solid reason not to take Wikipedia as fact. Charles Forbes’ daughter married Fred Barry of Seattle Washington who moved to Hatboro Pennsylvania well after the birth of their second child. Marcia was born on Vashon Island but spent her childhood in Hawaii. Want to read her diary? I have boxes of stuff cleared out of Charles Forbes’ Vashon house.
Roger, I shouldn’t have used the word “glorify”. But you shouldn’t have assumed that in using that word, I didn’t know anything you specified above. That’s a little patronizing. Some of it I agree with; however, I definitely DO believe that Obama should appoint a street-fighter (and I didn’t imply that, I basically said that). A street fighter is the only person would could possibly get Congress to let loose with money, because that person would make noise. Shinseki is incapable of that, as is the President The veterans’ groups won’t have any effect here; if Congress hasn’t been shamed by them yet, it’s not going to happen. The VA problems have been known for a long time.
Remember back when the Walter Reed scandal hit? Here’s Senator McCain back then:
“I will take responsibility for being a member of the Armed Services Committee and not knowing about it and not doing anything about it,” the Republican 2008 contender told a group of county officials from across the country today. “I apologize for my failure” to act, the Arizona Republican added. “I should be held accountable.”
Just days ago when the latest news hit, McCain called Obama’s statements “wholly insufficient in addressing the fundamental, systemic problems plaguing our veterans’ health care system.”
Notice anything different? Yep, this time McCain isn’t running for president, so it’s not really his fault, it’s someone else’s.
A look at McCain’s voting record dealing with veterans shows he’s more apt to tow the party line than support veterans. Just 4 months ago, he voted with his party to deny veterans a cost of living increase.
@18 Realistically, the only thing thing that can possibly get Congress to let loose with money for veterans is replacing enough Republicans with Democrats to give the latter working majorities in both houses of Congress.
The VA’s problems stretch back past living memory. Not too many people still alive remember how a young Douglas MacArthur used troops to break up a veterans’ march on Washington and Congress in the 1920s, for example.
The root cause of the VA’s problems is lack of sufficient money. Congress pays lip service to veterans but doesn’t pay for what they actually need. It’s always been that way, and probably always will be.
Is there some reason not to trust this report? http://www.thedailybeast.com/a.....pital.html
If this is true, it’s damning.