darkhorse85 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Why would anyone listen to Rush? Because Neil Peart is an awesome drummer. 1 Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Gawker, FWIW. NSFW language. "Shinseki Wasn't the Problem: "Taxpayers Get What They @#% Pay For" The entire program has had major problems for a long time. The influx of new veterans has exacerbated the problems. Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 The White House is said to be considering Dr. Delos (Toby) Cosgrove, a Vietnam veteran who heads the Cleveland Clinic, for the next Veterans Affairs secretary. Cosgrove, 73, is reportedly "seriously considering" the position after he was contacted by Obama administration officials about the post, The Wall Street Journal reported. But Cosgrove, a heart surgeon, has not necessarily been a cheerleader for his potential boss. He limply supported Obama's health care reform. Plus, he donated $1,000 to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid, as did his wife, Carolyn. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-mulls-cleveland-clinic-ceo-head-veterans-affairs-article-1.1816789 Sure hope this works out. This story needs to stay in the news. Link to comment
Junior Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Sure hope this works out. This story needs to stay in the news. The problem is, people (politicians in particular) love to trumpet how they support the troops, so they wear a flag pin or a camo baseball jersey, put a yellow ribbon on their car, or send out tweets on Memorial Day. But when it is time to do something that will actually support the troops, they don't do a damned thing. So I suspect this will fall by the wayside and we'll focus on important things like Benghazi, repealing Obamacare, and the stupid Bergdahl exchange. /end cynical rant Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 The problem is, people (politicians in particular) love to trumpet how they support the troops, so they wear a flag pin or a camo baseball jersey, put a yellow ribbon on their car, or send out tweets on Memorial Day. But when it is time to do something that will actually support the troops, they don't do a damned thing. So I suspect this will fall by the wayside and we'll focus on important things like Benghazi, repealing Obamacare, and the stupid Bergdahl exchange. /end cynical rant It's not cynical . . . it's correct. Improving the VA will not involve dramatic phony Congressional hearings. It won't be flashy and politically easy. In fact, it will be a endless and potentially expensive process. Therefore, let's talk about that Ben Gozzi guy and tell everyone that bringing an American soldier home shows how much Obama hates America/how incompetent Obama is. (Obamacare, as an issue . . . is basically dead. Hence the resumption of the benghazi, Benghazi, BENGHAZI! smokescreen. They have to cover their retreat without acknowledging how wrong they were, right?) Link to comment
Junior Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 The problem is, people (politicians in particular) love to trumpet how they support the troops, so they wear a flag pin or a camo baseball jersey, put a yellow ribbon on their car, or send out tweets on Memorial Day. But when it is time to do something that will actually support the troops, they don't do a damned thing. So I suspect this will fall by the wayside and we'll focus on important things like Benghazi, repealing Obamacare, and the stupid Bergdahl exchange. /end cynical rant It's not cynical . . . it's correct. Improving the VA will not involve dramatic phony Congressional hearings. It won't be flashy and politically easy. In fact, it will be a endless and potentially expensive process. Therefore, let's talk about that Ben Gozzi guy and tell everyone that bringing an American soldier home shows how much Obama hates America/how incompetent Obama is. (Obamacare, as an issue . . . is basically dead. Hence the resumption of the benghazi, Benghazi, BENGHAZI! smokescreen. They have to cover their retreat without acknowledging how wrong they were, right?) Thing is, I'm not even talking about Republicans for once. This is my "both sides do it" moment. (Note: I'm trying really hard not to include just an epic string of curse words here and get banned) Obama has this big mother f-ing ceremony in the Rose Garden and Democrats go on all the shows trumpeting how they "never leave a man behind" like they were ever in the military and actually understand the meaning of that statement (note: nether was I, but I digress). At the same time, Republicans seize on the Bergdahl thing and how THEY support the troops, because they wouldn't let the Taliban fighters go and "endanger our service men and women". In the meantime, the current administration has known about the VA problem since the transition team got the info from Bush's administration. So both Republicans and Democrats have known about the extent of the problem since at least 2008. And what exactly has been done? Nothing. Not. A. Damned. Thing. So who *really* cares about the troops? Democrats? Republicans? Neither. Like everything else, they are just pawns in the political process. They say they support the troops for the same reasons they put the flag pin on their lapels for every single appearance. Because they have to. 3 Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Thing is, I'm not even talking about Republicans for once. This is my "both sides do it" moment. (Note: I'm trying really hard not to include just an epic string of curse words here and get banned) Obama has this big mother f-ing ceremony in the Rose Garden and Democrats go on all the shows trumpeting how they "never leave a man behind" like they were ever in the military and actually understand the meaning of that statement (note: nether was I, but I digress). In the meantime, the administration has known about the VA problem since the transition team got the info from Bush's administration. And what exactly has been done? Nothing. Not. A. Damned. Thing. So who *really* cares about the troops? Democrats? Republicans? Neither. Like everything else, they are just pawns in the political process. They say they support the troops for the same reasons they put the flag pin on their lapels for every single appearance. Because they have to. +1 Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Bi-partisan VA bill emerges. (Benen at Maddow Blog) Hopefully this one won't be filibustered like the last one . . . http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/bipartisan-va-bill-emerges-the-senate#break Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 I +1 you Junior. Problem is, I have absolutely ZERO confidence that it will ever get fixed when it has to go through political process to get solved. Heck, even if the bill was passed unanimously, I don't think it will be fixed because then you are stuck with a HUGE bureaucracy to try to change a complete culture of. The chances of that being successful are somewhere around the same as when I was trying to get a date with a hot chick in high school. It's not going to happen. Some bill will pass. Everyone on both sides will puff out their chests saying they support the troops. Some people will buy into it and actually vote for these schmucks because of it. Meanwhile, a couple years down the road a new administration will go into office. The VA bureaucracy will have done a dang good job of covering their tracks from their ineptitude. 5 years from now, some huge scandal will break about how horrible the VA is and what ever party is not in the white house will scream and holler claiming THEY support the troops and the administration doesn't. Ahhhh...the circle of life. PS.....We really need a puke emoticon.. Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Problem is, I have absolutely ZERO confidence that it will ever get fixed when it has to go through political process to get solved. Heck, even if the bill was passed unanimously, I don't think it will be fixed because then you are stuck with a HUGE bureaucracy to try to change a complete culture of. The chances of that being successful are somewhere around the same as when I was trying to get a date with a hot chick in high school. It's not going to happen. So . . . what do you think that we should do? Nothing? Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 Problem is, I have absolutely ZERO confidence that it will ever get fixed when it has to go through political process to get solved. Heck, even if the bill was passed unanimously, I don't think it will be fixed because then you are stuck with a HUGE bureaucracy to try to change a complete culture of. The chances of that being successful are somewhere around the same as when I was trying to get a date with a hot chick in high school. It's not going to happen. So . . . what do you think that we should do? Nothing? Well, post #5 (not mambo #5) is a good start. If this were to be done, the VA would be actually down sized quite a bit. It would specialize in specific issues that only veterans have and the normal health care system would take care of the rest. The veterans would still have their health care paid for. The normal health care system in the US can absorb the influx of this many patients MUCH better than one organization with a finite budget they must keep and one set of bureaucracy everything has to go through. But, if that ever gets suggested someone will scream claiming the other side doesn't care about veterans because it's suggested they are just thrown out on their own in this horrible world we live in. 1 Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Well, post #5 (not mambo #5) is a good start. If this were to be done, the VA would be actually down sized quite a bit. It would specialize in specific issues that only veterans have and the normal health care system would take care of the rest. The veterans would still have their health care paid for. The normal health care system in the US can absorb the influx of this many patients MUCH better than one organization with a finite budget they must keep and one set of bureaucracy everything has to go through. But, if that ever gets suggested someone will scream claiming the other side doesn't care about veterans because it's suggested they are just thrown out on their own in this horrible world we live in. OK. How do you think that we should pay for that? And do we just give coupons or what? And what is covered? (Not asking for specifics . . . but if you're concerned about the political process and bureaucracy getting in the way of fixing the existing system . . . this would be exponentially worse with the same bureaucratic issues combined with hundreds/thousands of special interests looking to get in on the feeding frenzy.) Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 Well, post #5 (not mambo #5) is a good start. If this were to be done, the VA would be actually down sized quite a bit. It would specialize in specific issues that only veterans have and the normal health care system would take care of the rest. The veterans would still have their health care paid for. The normal health care system in the US can absorb the influx of this many patients MUCH better than one organization with a finite budget they must keep and one set of bureaucracy everything has to go through. But, if that ever gets suggested someone will scream claiming the other side doesn't care about veterans because it's suggested they are just thrown out on their own in this horrible world we live in. OK. How do you think that we should pay for that? And do we just give coupons or what? And what is covered? (Not asking for specifics . . . but if you're concerned about the political process and bureaucracy getting in the way of fixing the existing system . . . this would be exponentially worse with the same bureaucratic issues combined with hundreds/thousands of special interests looking to get in on the feeding frenzy.) People think Medicare and Medicaid are fantastic. People want our health care to go to a single payer system. What is the difference? Link to comment
carlfense Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 People think Medicare and Medicaid are fantastic. People want our health care to go to a single payer system. What is the difference? Let's do it all the way then. (They already have single payer . . . FWIW) Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share Posted June 5, 2014 People think Medicare and Medicaid are fantastic. People want our health care to go to a single payer system. What is the difference? Let's do it all the way then. (They already have single payer . . . FWIW) Wait....when I use the term...."single payer system" then you are all in? What changed? What about the bureaucracy and the problems you were asking about? Link to comment
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