Thank you, Rob. I was shocked a few weeks ago when I read in the (back pages of) the newspaper that last March, there occured over 700 suicides of combat veterans in the U.S.! You are the first ‘toonist I’ve read on GOCOMICS to bring some attention to this.
I can only repeat myself from an earlier posting on this subject,“I’ve relied on the VA as a primary care provider for forty two years. The services delivered have been very good to excellent depending on location and veteran number fluctuations. Wait times do indeed get longer when there’s an influx of returning veterans after major military engagements. In those forty two years there seems to be a correlation between calls for vouchers and privatization schemes in response to discovery of this or that problem within the system. If memory serves, during the “good years” when major issues are not discovered and brought to light it seems the same privatization and voucher folks are the ones who also vote no on budget appropriations for the VA."
msowards: Thanks for posting that link. I was equally impressed by the commentary about Rachael Maddox’s report. I think everyone should read it, and paste it below. -—————————————————————————————
Is Eric Shinseki to be blamed or lip service without action and funding by Congress?
Rachel Maddow’s well researched piece goes way back to pre-Iraq War. She highlights what seems to have been a continuous undermining of General Eric Shinseki for speaking truth to power. He correctly estimated the number of troops that would be necessary to occupy Iraq to the dismay of his bosses. Soon after, Eric Shinseki was no longer President Bush’s Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
President Obama picked Eric Shinseki to lead the VA because of his stature and his fearlessness to buck prevailing thought in order to do what is right for the troops. It was evident then as many pointed out that the VA was antiquated and underfunded. In other words, political resolve was necessary, not only by a president, but by a Congress willing to institute changes and increased funding.
The VA budget has increased by more than 50% since the president came into office. It went from $100 billion to $154 billion. Does that mean that throwing money at the problem is not what is required? Not so fast; the number of people eligible for VA benefits went from 400,000 to 918,000. That is more than a 125% increase in eligible recipients and counting. We sent thousands into unnecessary wars. Thousands were maimed. We are a lot better at keeping our soldiers alive but not very good about caring for them humanely when they leave the battle field.
The VA was given an impossible task given its structure, funding levels, and most importantly the number of bodies needing its services because our leaders fighting wars in a vacuum. They choose to forget that the fighters of those wars will need substantial care. To solve the impossible task, administrators likely fraudulently cooked the books to give a semblance of success. Of course the veterans ultimately pay the price with their health and their lives.
Rachel went on to point out that Congress cut $13 billion from VA healthcare as soldiers were invading Iraq in 2003. Even as the war became bloodier and it was evident that it would be long lasting, the claim in Washington was that no more additional resources would be required for the VA.
Ultimately the VA problem is a lack of resources. They will study it to death to avoid their ultimate responsibility. Conservatives will talk about privatization. Liberals in Congress will cower as they seek someone’s head on a platter. All will ask for the head of Eric Shinseki. But no one will tell Americans the truth. We love to send our citizens to war. We have no interest in paying the taxes necessary to take care of all the ills that come with war and veteran that has experienced real war.
Some years ago I read a book about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. English “admiral” Francis Drake received a knighthood and a very handsome reward from Queen Elizabeth I, but the several thousand sailors who worked the guns got stiffed. The fleet, now sitting and rotting at anchor in Portsmouth, was a most unhealthy environment to live. Disease was rampant, food was almost inedible, and NO medical care. Knowing this, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (I forget his name) deliberately stalled, for almost THREE YEARS to get around to paying these men. Thousands died from disease and malnutrition. He & his queen save quite a few pounds!
Rad-ish said, about 4 hours ago“If you want your life controlled by the government, join the military”. -—————————————————————————————————Or for wimps like you, just become a Democrat!
ConserveGov almost 10 years ago
Didn’t somebody recently say “The buck stops with me”?
babka Premium Member almost 10 years ago
Bingo!
moosemin almost 10 years ago
Thank you, Rob. I was shocked a few weeks ago when I read in the (back pages of) the newspaper that last March, there occured over 700 suicides of combat veterans in the U.S.! You are the first ‘toonist I’ve read on GOCOMICS to bring some attention to this.
progressivetexasdemocrat almost 10 years ago
I can only repeat myself from an earlier posting on this subject,“I’ve relied on the VA as a primary care provider for forty two years. The services delivered have been very good to excellent depending on location and veteran number fluctuations. Wait times do indeed get longer when there’s an influx of returning veterans after major military engagements. In those forty two years there seems to be a correlation between calls for vouchers and privatization schemes in response to discovery of this or that problem within the system. If memory serves, during the “good years” when major issues are not discovered and brought to light it seems the same privatization and voucher folks are the ones who also vote no on budget appropriations for the VA."
moosemin almost 10 years ago
msowards: Thanks for posting that link. I was equally impressed by the commentary about Rachael Maddox’s report. I think everyone should read it, and paste it below. -—————————————————————————————
Is Eric Shinseki to be blamed or lip service without action and funding by Congress?
Rachel Maddow’s well researched piece goes way back to pre-Iraq War. She highlights what seems to have been a continuous undermining of General Eric Shinseki for speaking truth to power. He correctly estimated the number of troops that would be necessary to occupy Iraq to the dismay of his bosses. Soon after, Eric Shinseki was no longer President Bush’s Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
President Obama picked Eric Shinseki to lead the VA because of his stature and his fearlessness to buck prevailing thought in order to do what is right for the troops. It was evident then as many pointed out that the VA was antiquated and underfunded. In other words, political resolve was necessary, not only by a president, but by a Congress willing to institute changes and increased funding.
The VA budget has increased by more than 50% since the president came into office. It went from $100 billion to $154 billion. Does that mean that throwing money at the problem is not what is required? Not so fast; the number of people eligible for VA benefits went from 400,000 to 918,000. That is more than a 125% increase in eligible recipients and counting. We sent thousands into unnecessary wars. Thousands were maimed. We are a lot better at keeping our soldiers alive but not very good about caring for them humanely when they leave the battle field.
The VA was given an impossible task given its structure, funding levels, and most importantly the number of bodies needing its services because our leaders fighting wars in a vacuum. They choose to forget that the fighters of those wars will need substantial care. To solve the impossible task, administrators likely fraudulently cooked the books to give a semblance of success. Of course the veterans ultimately pay the price with their health and their lives.
Rachel went on to point out that Congress cut $13 billion from VA healthcare as soldiers were invading Iraq in 2003. Even as the war became bloodier and it was evident that it would be long lasting, the claim in Washington was that no more additional resources would be required for the VA.
Ultimately the VA problem is a lack of resources. They will study it to death to avoid their ultimate responsibility. Conservatives will talk about privatization. Liberals in Congress will cower as they seek someone’s head on a platter. All will ask for the head of Eric Shinseki. But no one will tell Americans the truth. We love to send our citizens to war. We have no interest in paying the taxes necessary to take care of all the ills that come with war and veteran that has experienced real war.
moosemin almost 10 years ago
Some years ago I read a book about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. English “admiral” Francis Drake received a knighthood and a very handsome reward from Queen Elizabeth I, but the several thousand sailors who worked the guns got stiffed. The fleet, now sitting and rotting at anchor in Portsmouth, was a most unhealthy environment to live. Disease was rampant, food was almost inedible, and NO medical care. Knowing this, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (I forget his name) deliberately stalled, for almost THREE YEARS to get around to paying these men. Thousands died from disease and malnutrition. He & his queen save quite a few pounds!
ConserveGov almost 10 years ago
Rad-ish said, about 4 hours ago“If you want your life controlled by the government, join the military”. -—————————————————————————————————Or for wimps like you, just become a Democrat!
Dtroutma almost 10 years ago
A major element in those suicides is not just “stress”, but survivor guilt.