Our beloved veterans....

Note: this post was originally published on May 21, 2014

Forty veterans died while awaiting VA Hospital care?

The POTUS has spoken, today referring to the above 40 deceased Vets as "alleged deaths."

Admittedly, I don't know the details of the forty Veterans that news sources (both CNN and FOX so far) have reported, and I concede that there may be fewer than the reported forty, but also acknowledge that there may be more.  But, the number is meaningless.  It's wrapping the mind around the reality that even one brave American soldier could die here at home because we ignored his medical needs.

I'm disgusted by the thought, but I'm not sure where I should direct my anger.  Then, that dilemma was solved when I heard the voice of the POTUS, or for short, the FOTH (Fool On The Hill).  Remember, even the Beatles knew about him?

Q.  Mr. FOTH, you said you didn't know anything about the VA mistreating our Vets and putting them on secret waiting lists and cooking the books regarding appointments and "slow-walking" treatments, etc.  You said last week that you only learned about the furor over VA mistreatment that very morning "in the news."  Would you care to comment?

A.  I was just funnin' ya', trying to keep ya' a little off balance with that "in the news" thing.  I've actually been on top of this thing for more than five years.  And, under my Administration we've cut VA appointment backlogs by more than 50%.  We've reduced Veteran homelessness significantly.  There are more than two million more Vets who now have access to care than they previously did.  Veteran unemployment, thanks to Michelle and Joe Biden, is way down, and more and more Vets now have jobs.  And we've spent an unprecedented amount of money on our Veterans Care.  We've done great!

Q.  But, Mr. FOTH, what about the forty veterans who died while awaiting medical care from the VA?

A.  I'll look into those "allegations," and we'll send some people out to investigate, and they'll be reporting back to me in a month or so.  Thanks, see you in about  four to six weeks.

Well, I hope you feel as comforted as I do after that hard-hitting presser.  In the opinion of the FOTH: All questions were answered.  Action is being taken,.  The FOTH is personally looking into it.  Allegations will be investigated.  We'll "up our game" (whatever that sports-related jargon is supposed to mean in this context).  Congress is going to have to step up.  Everybody relax.  I've got this.

Sorry.  I'm even more disgusted now than before the FOTH spoke on TV.  There was no anger or emotion from the FOTH.  Instead, there was a sort of impatient arrogance about his delivery of a speech that was an odd mix of platitudes, excuses, and self-congratulations.  Overall, he seemed pissed off that he even had to address this VA issue.  Why were we questioning his grasp of such trivial matters?

Wake up Veterans!

This is a Veterans Administration that isn't just damaged.  It's completely broken.  In insurance adjuster lingo, "IT'S TOTALED!" 

And, this isn't a Democrat or Republican problem.  If ever there was anything that's bi-partisan, that cuts across party lines, this is it.  Veterans are from all political, religious, and ethnic stripes.  And regardless of your rank at discharge or retirement, you are entitled to the medical services and attention promised by the US Government.  This is one vital area where Dems and Repubs should be able agree, to "pull out all the stops," and to attack and resolve this massive problem together.

And, not to appear too soft of the FOTH, but the fact is, he didn't create the problems now so glaringly apparent at VA medical facilities nationwide. 

It's the lying that's so infuriating!  NO MORE LYING!!  FIX IT!!  FIRE SOMEBODY!!  BE BOLD!!  TAKE ACTION!!

OK, people will bitch and carry on when the FOTH alibis and says something like Hey!  Lighten up!  I didn't invent these problems, they were here when I arrived!  And lots of people will roll their eyes, but that fact is, that'd be a true statement.  But it's also true that the FOTH campaigned partly on the promise of improving the delivery of VA services.  Not just the campaign for his first term, but for his second as well.  And guess what?  Correct!  He ignored the VA. 

So, NO MORE LYING!!  FIX IT!!  FIRE SOMEBODY!!  BE BOLD!!  TAKE ACTION!!

This guy, the head of the VA, Shinseki?  He. himself, is a wounded veteran, right?  If anyone should appreciate the medical needs of returning Vets it's him, right?  Well....not necessarily.  See, he was a General, not a Hospital Administrator.  He was an infantry officer concerned with rapid troop deployment; nobody was breathlessly awaiting his innovative thinking on hospital treatment policy.  He developed cutting edge tactics for urban warfare; not IT systems for shared hospital medical records; not procedural improvements for dispensing specialized medical services.

General Shinseki served on the Boards of a few Defense Contractors, but those were largely ceremonial type appointments.  He wasn't asked to make business decisions. 

Being a military man - of any rank - doesn't qualify one to do anything other than military stuff.  Don't believe that?  Look around.  Does being a military officer and POW qualify John McCain to be a US Senator?  NO!!  We thank him for, and applaud, his military service and sacrifice, but that's where it ends.

Better yet, name a couple of retired Generals or Admirals who've impressed you with their razor-sharp business acumen. 

This is no slur on our military, it simply stating the obvious.  Military guys don't ask their Wall Street Analyst for guidance on tactical maneuvers, just like the neurosurgeon doesn't ask the combat engineer for advice on where to make the incision. 

So why the attitude?  The FOTH is a disinterested Third Party, intellectually above the common people, who, to him, are involved in, and absorbed by, the trivial pursuits (hey, a good name for a game, huh?) that both befuddle and amuse the little people.

Some advice: Want to fix the Veterans Administration?  Take the massive VA medical facilities program and privatize it.  Remove the bureaucracy, and let the private sector bid on the right to deliver those services. 

Allow the private sector  to propose and implement an incentive program that is based on services delivered.  And give the patients - the Veterans themselves - a voice in the quality and professionalism of the services rendered.  And if even one Veteran, other than an emergency room case, should die while awaiting treatment, the penalty is cancellation of the contract.  To use a FOTHism, "PERIOD!"