The VA and Government

We always have known.  Of course we have.

Jon Stewart, a comedian and political satirist,  has attacked several administrations for their pathetic progress in reforming the Veterans Administration health care mess.

I still remember the movie "Born on the Fourth of July", showing a  VA Hospital, ill serving Vietnam veterans, in a cesspool of poor care and despair.

It wasn't bad enough that the young men who pulled the short straw and got sent to Vietnam were accused of losing an unjust war, when they were wounded the care was too often  inadequate and  pitiful.

And today, we learn they are still getting the short end  of the stick, enduring months of wait time to see a physician if they make the mistake of using the VA health care.

Of course, Vietnam Vets now also have Medicare and Medical in many cases, so its isn't like they don't have choices.

But, the promises were still made, that the VA was there to serve them.

I can remember when I was in the service, they always  talked  about Veterans benefits; to a 23 years old that sounded like something from Back to the Future, years even decades away.  Right now it is here and embarrassing.

But even then, there always was a pinch of sarcasm to the promise, since the VA Hospitals were rumored to be very poor.   Guys would say, "Yeah, you get VA benefits...ha ha".

Look.... we promise too much and are willing to pay for too little.  We created wars, the last two we even "charged" by starting conflicts and amazingly cutting taxes at the same time.

What cynicism!   To start two wars and cut taxes is a crime.

Bush successfully got away with it, being re-elected in 2004, while stiffing us all with promises of any easy victory an no cost.  Finally Iraq was stabilized with a "surge" that of course created more cost, and created many  more veterans.

Afghanistan has ground on to become America's longest war, churning out more wounded warriors, that combined with a flood of Vietnam veterans has swamped the VA.

And what has the VA done?  Well like any bureaucracy that is getting neglected, they have survived  by cooking the books.  Nobody has looked for years, so self-serving avarice has taken over, leaving a mess of under served Veterans amidst bureaucrats getting pay raises.

And this is not Obama's fault!    Republicans currently are making hay of the recent scandal, while cutting funding to the VA several times in the past, starting wars on a credit card, and mostly ignoring veterans as their needs have not been met.

It is the ultimate con:  be patriotic and pro-military, but cut funding and create  an underfunded and understaffed VA.

All of this of course serves to once again destroy what little credibility the Government has with those who served us best.

And it plays right into the  hands of fascists who have taken over the Republican Party; who work full time to destroy democratic institutions.

Look, we fought two wars in the past twenty years; fairly good sized ones at that.  We need to pay for them with higher taxes, both to pay for the current military efforts and pay for the crippled and maimed veterans.

We ignore this at our peril.

No government can long endure half slave and half free.  No government can long endure with no credibility.