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Don't Kid Yourself, Washington Screws Over the Troops
by James Glaser
I have been dealing with the Veterans Administration for over thirty years. I feel that I am fairly intelligent; I know how to fill out forms; I can read English; I know how to be assertive without using foul language; but I have not been able to figure out how the VA works. Thirty years in the system, and still I have to wait over a year for some appointments. It isn't all about a lack of funding, and it isn't all about bad facilities or poor workers, in fact, over the years I have found many people working at the VA who go above and beyond what anyone would expect of them. I think it is the fact that we have had way too many wars, and there are just way too many veterans needing help. If you want to read up on how Washington screws the wounded coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, Google up the following article. Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility
When President Bush or some Senator or Representative talks about supporting the troops, they are just bullshitting you. They don't care a bit for returning veterans, and they never have in their political careers. Disabled Veterans are supposed to get top priority with the VA, but that rating really means nothing when it comes to getting help. 100% disabled veterans can wait over a year for an appointment, just like the guy who never went to combat and was never injured. It is about time that the American people realize that after the corporations make their money in a war, and they give the kickbacks to politicians in the form of campaign donations, and who knows what under the table, well they don't really need those veterans any more. So they only make a half hearted attempt to help the vet, and that is usually only during an election year or during a new war, when they want parents to send more kids off to fight. The truth is the veteran is a cost that the White House and Congress never talk about going into a war. Do you remember anyone talking about the potential cost of taking care of the veterans from George Bush's War on Terror before we went into Afghanistan or Iraq? Did any Congressmen talk about hospital care for the next fifty or so years for some of the brain damaged vets? Or did anyone talk about what it costs to care for a triple amputee? Nobody talks about amputees before a war starts. They screwed over many vets after WWII, after Korea, after Vietnam, and after Desert Storm, and they will screw over the vets after Bush's wars. You ever hear of Atomic Vets? Well they didn't compensate them until after about 90% of them were dead. How about all the vets that they tested chemical weapons on with out telling them? You want to talk about supporting the troops after that one? How about Agent Orange? We sprayed chemicals on our troops. Chemicals we knew could and would hurt them. How about all the vets that got sick after Desert Storm? Now the VA says it is all in their heads. Tell me that doesn't save a bundle. In this war it is depleted uranium that may prove to harm the troops. Washington says it is safe, but then you have to remember that they decontaminated Atomic vets in the 50's by brushing the fall-out off their clothes with a broom. Wars are a big money maker for American corporations, and in a round about way, they keep politicians in power. Veterans are a cost of making that war. Keep your costs down, and you make more money. Every dollar spent out of the Defense Budget that helps veterans, is a dollar that American defense contractors can't get their hands on. |
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