George Bush has purposefully under-funded the VA, leaving many veterans to suffer from injuries received during war. Bush would rather cut taxes that care for the VETS. The quotes written below are from Colonel David Hackworth. Hackworth is currently the most decorated living soldier.

Below are some quotes from David Hackworth’s story, which can be found on Hackworth.com. To find the complete article go to his article archive. www.Hackworth.com


Soldiers Beware
By David H. Hackworth
In his State of the Union address, President Bush gave yet another strong warning to Iraq,

Barely a month before Bush's Missiles of March will more than likely thump Iraq, thousands of World War II and Korean War vets - all more than 70 years of age - will travel by train, bus, plane, car, horseback, wheelchair and shoe leather to stand tall together in front of the U.S. Supreme Court while they tell the nation how the capital gang has hung them out to die on promised lifetime health benefits for retired vets.

Their skipper - leading the class-action lawsuit - is Medal of Honor recipient turned Florida lawyer Col. George Day, now flying with a briefcase full of hard facts instead of the Air Force jet fighter he piloted over Vietnam. Although the feisty three-war vet has been battling this case for years, only now, after much shameful government double-talk, backpedaling and welshing, is the case finally going before the highest court of our land.

Bush clearly stated during his campaign for the presidency and again after his boots hit the Oval Office that the nation must keep faith with our vets and that vows made by our government must be honored. But despite all the polished political words, the promised medical support is still AWOL.
Navy vet Jerry Bell says: "This is our last chance to show how we feel about being betrayed. When warriors are treated in such a shameful manner, both the fabric of our country and its military institution are in question."

Most recently, more than 161,000 Desert Storm vets have been disabled, and almost 10,000 have died from Gulf War Illness. During the near-decade they spent pleading for help, in pain and dying, their ingrate government kept insisting that their wounds - now proven to be caused by U.S.-destroyed Iraqi chemical munitions and an assortment of other killer cocktails such as oil-fire fumes, untested inoculations and local bugs that they weren't protected against - were "all in their heads."

Now Bush and his war hawks - who almost to a man dodged service in the Vietnam War, just like the majority of our members of Congress - are again sending warriors to employ the military solution in the Gulf at even greater risk, since the Pentagon has just admitted the bio/chem suits our attacking troops will wear are good only for bunker duty.

End quote

George Bush lack of combat service puts our veterans in danger. He does not appreciate, nor understand the sacrifices they have made for this country.
3

At least some Ann Coulter fans see the light, in issues Bush has.

Oh and welcome! If you think anything like Ms. Coulter…you’ll hate me. :flowers:

I think health care should be a right for ALL Americans but while it still isn't available for everbody, there is NO excuse for not taking care of those who served. It's one think to *say* you support the troops. Actually taking care of them is another. There are a lot of thinks I dislike about John Kerry but I know he will never leave veterans behind! I suppose tax cuts for Ke n Lay are more important though.

The sad thing is that Bush says he takes care of the vets, and all of his supporters believe him. There use of propaganda is scarry

He's not fooling anyone. The military and the vets know what he's done to the VA.

Dop

Originally posted by AnnCoultersSon
The sad thing is that Bush says he takes care of the vets, and all of his supporters believe him. There use of propaganda is scarry

If I've learned one thing in the last four years, it's this: Just because Bush says something, doesn't make it true.

if theres one thing I have learned in the last few months its this: if the crazed leftists on the board say something its more then likely not true. hearing them complain of propaganda is like micheal moore calling someone fat, or overdose and his 2 guys kissing avatar saying he isnt gay

I didn't think he was gay? I thought he was bi... but I guess we'll have to see what overdose says about it. Anyways, both ends of the political spectrum, not to mention the middle, spout propaganda constantly. And then complain about the other side doing so. (Yes, I know that's a sentence fragment; leave me alone.)

bi, gay, whatever. he's still slurpin the sausage.

Originally posted by Travh20
bi, gay, whatever. he's still slurpin the sausage.

Just out of curiosity Trav, why are you so interested in OD's sexuality? You do seem to be rather hung-up on the subject...

BTW...gays find the "slurpin the sausage" remark highly offensive...acceptable terms would be... "smoking the pole", "slobbing the knob", or "polishing the lance"...:D

It would seem that Bush didn't cut VA benefits as much as the DNC would like us to believe.

In the Feb. 15 Democratic debate, Kerry suggested that Bush was being unpatriotic: “He’s cut the VA (Veterans Administration) budget and not kept faith with veterans across this country. And one of the first definitions of patriotism is keeping faith with those who wore the uniform of our country.”

It is true that Bush is not seeking as big an increase for next year as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs wanted. It is also true that the administration has tried to slow the growth of spending for veterans by not giving new benefits to some middle-income vets.

Yet even so, funding for veterans is going up twice as fast under Bush as it did under Clinton. And the number of veterans getting health benefits is going up 25% under Bush's budgets. That's hardly a cut.

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=144

Apparently some people haven't been in a VA medical center lately.

What part of a 'line out the door' and 8-months wait to see a primary physician' don't you get?

Dop

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
Apparently some people haven't been in a VA medical center lately.

What part of a 'line out the door' and 8-months wait to see a primary physician' don't you get?

Dop

Don't get me wrong Dop, I think the Government could do way more then they are doing to care for veterans, I just think both sides in this election are skewing the facts.

I have seen the inside of VA hospitals in many parts of this country. My father spent some time in the VA hospital here in Milwaukee, which incidentally is one of the oldest in the country. I've been in VA hospitals in Chicago, Minneapolis, Murfreesboro TN, Amarillo TX, and probably a few I don't remember at the moment.

I used to work for a company that installed security systems in hospitals and we did many VA hospitals. The area we would work in was the long-term care section, or the section where the vetrerans who had mental problems were housed. The security systems were designed to monitor the whereabouts of patients who were at risk of wandering out of the facility.

You don't have to tell me how nasty some of these places are, or how the VA is mired in bureaucracy. The VA, being a federal organization, is exempt from many of the same safety regulations that govern private hospitals. In the hospital in Amarillo, the patient's rooms are located on hallways that radiate like spokes on a wheel from a central hub, where the nurse's station is located. At the outlying ends of the hallways were emergency exits that led outside. We were called in to install our security system on these outside doors. We did so and in the process discovered that these doors are kept locked at all times to keep people from leaving. In the event of a fire there would be no way for the patients to escape.

As I said my father spent time in the VA hospital here in Milwaukee, and after a few stays he left and refused to go back. When he needed hospitalization after that he went to a private hospital and used Medicare and payed the rest of the bill himself.

So Dop, I am aware of the conditions in VA hospitals, but that doesn't change the fact that the DNC has been skewing the facts regarding Bush and his funding of VA programs.

Veterens benefits have been cut by every administration since 1976. You can't blame the past on one side or the other.

Who you can blame is the guy who is curently in charge for not making any changes to the problem in the last three years. And when Kerry gets elected if he doesn't make changes we can then blame him.

Originally posted by Echo2
Veterens benefits have been cut by every administration since 1976. You can't blame the past on one side or the other.

I'm not sure that this is a correct statement. How do you define a "cut"?

Who you can blame is the guy who is curently in charge for not making any changes to the problem in the last three years. And when Kerry gets elected if he doesn't make changes we can then blame him.

Again, I believe that the government can do a lot more than they are to care for our veterans.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
Just out of curiosity Trav, why are you so interested in OD's sexuality? You do seem to be rather hung-up on the subject...
He's hoping OD will turn out gay so he can go have hot, interpartisan sex with him. At least, that's my theory. :D

Originally posted by Travh20
if theres one thing I have learned in the last few months its this: if the crazed leftists on the board say something its more then likely not true. hearing them complain of propaganda is like micheal moore calling someone fat, or overdose and his 2 guys kissing avatar saying he isnt gay

wow, way to stay on topic...well I think this is my personal business, so Trav, shove it. You can make your assumptions, but I don’t think people on this board really care what you think about my sexuality.

People who waste their time worrying about others sexuality ussually do so because they are insecure in their own.

As I stated earlier. Every administration since 1976 has cut the military budget in some way. Whether it was benefits or equipment or not raising saleries to meet inflation. They are ALL guilty. So lets stop pointing fingers at the past and work with the present. What has the current sitting pres done for veterins and miliarty personel (besides sending them to die for a lie).

And now that he is making promises to do something for them we can ask why he waited untill the campaign. Why was it a low priority for him untill he needed to get re-appointed.....I meen elected.

man the cliches keep rolling. Somehow the homosexuals have convinced people that anyone who speaks out agasint them is somehow scared of them or secretly gay themselves. it is a clever stratagy, i will give them that.

Vile

Excuse the tone of my last post -- VA issues get to me sometimes.

It appears that across the board, everyone wants to agree that both sides have done some damage to the VA over the years and that's probably true in a general sense ... but ...

Only one side spent 200 billion on a war, 87 billion at a clip, and then did not fully the fund our own troops VA care at the same time. These same people are promising to build new hospitals in Iraq and provide a national health care system for every Iraqui citizen. Isn't that nice of the american taxpayer? I'm sure the Iraquis will love us for paying for their health care.

That's the rub -- how about these same people paying that much attention to our own troops and vets? It would be nice if next time they find 87 billion laying around that they throw it to the VA. Crissakes, even the unluckiest dog in the world gets a bone thrown it's way sooner or later.

Dop

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
Apparently some people haven't been in a VA medical center lately.

What part of a 'line out the door' and 8-months wait to see a primary physician' don't you get?

Dop Do you personally have any experience with a VA medical center Dop? Or are you making wild ass guesses like it sounds?

My grandfather recently spent the last months of his life in McGuire's VA Hospital here in Richmond Virginia. They took care of his every medical need and cost. Granted, my family had someone there with him almost every moment he was in the hospital, but we had no problems whatsover having his every medical need taken care of. The day his medical condition deteriorated to where he could not take care of himself, they admitted him into a semi-outpatient care wing of the hospital. In my opinion, and the opinion of my family, he was well taken care of up until the day he passed.

Havok

Uh ... we ran a military service thread a few months back -- you can find my credentials there - fully spelled out.

Yes, I've been in many VA medical centers -- the first one I ever spend time in was in 1960 -- most recently about a month ago while I was visiting over in Phoenix. That's a span of 44 years. Is that enough experience for ya?

Dop

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
Havok

Uh ... we ran a military service thread a few months back -- you can find my credentials there - fully spelled out.

Yes, I've been in many VA medical centers -- the first one I ever spend time in was in 1960 -- most recently about a month ago while I was visiting over in Phoenix. That's a span of 44 years. Is that enough experience for ya?

Dop A simple answer to the question would have been good enough. I know you served this country, and i respect you for it. So i meant no offense. BUt just because you served doesnt neccessarily mean you have been to a VA. I gave you an example of personal experience i had recently with the VA in my state. It was in no way comparable to the circumstances you described in your post. I honestly do not understand how there can be such vast differences dealing with the VA. Im not saying they dont exist. Just telling you that I've never seen it.

When my paternal grandfather got sick at the end of his life. We also had to go to the VA for him. Never had problems with long waits or anything like you say in your posts. My family is not rich by any means so i dont believe we recieved preferential treatment. I can only assume by what i myself have witnessed that the medical treatment both my grandfathers received was the norm. Is the VA here in Richmond considered an extraordinary VA hospital?

OK Havok -- I'm not saying the VA is letting people die in the streets and in the case of your grandfather, I'm happy that he got taken care of -- he deserved it.

Up until a couple of years ago I could go the the VA, get an appointment and have my sinus infection (arbitrary) treated and on my way in a matter of a couple hours or half-day. Now, It's take a number, maybe we can get you in today, maybe not, maybe you will need to come back tomorrow, you want a physical??? BWAhahahahahaha pal we're way too busy to be doing physicals anymore yadda yadda yadda ... What was that? You need to see a specialist? BWAhahahahah OK, we can get you in sometime next year -- hey Joe, did you hear that? That dude wants to see a specialist?? BWAhahahahahaha ....

Not only are troops returning from Iraq/A-stan but the new, big strain is coming from vets that could have been using their benefits for years but never did because their company supplied health care. Well, today, thousand upon thousand of those people no longer have a job or the job doesn't offer health care. So -- off to the VA for some of that free stuff.

And guess what? The VA is trying to handle all these new people with less funding. It appears the government had to make a decision on whether to treat Iraquis or vets and we all know who won that one. Geeesh .... I wouldn't blame anyone for not serving today.

Granted, I go to VA facilities in some of the largest cities so they figure to be busy -- but if properly funded, they would be able to handle the workload instead of collapsing like they are.

Dop

People who waste their time worrying about others sexuality ussually do so because they are insecure in their own.


Statements like this are cop outs made by people who can't think of anything better to say.

Do people that do studies about monkies secretly want to be monkies?

Do people that ask what drugs feel like automatically want to do drugs?

etc
etc
etc

Statements like this are cop outs made by people who can't think of anything better to say.
So, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are still closet gays. :D I usually see it as one of the most comments that hit home very hard. And in my personal experience can cause quite a painful stir...

Your examples are outrageously far-fetched and are so very far off even the principle. What does worrying and vehemently opposing have to do with studies? People who ask about what drugs feel like, that sounds like they are wondering if they should try some, does it mean that they "automatically" want to? No, there you go taking this to the extreme again. Every time you post something, we get to see how stupid you are, and each post you keep getting worse.

I've had limited experience with the VA and it was positive. Certainly no worse than any Army or Air Force hospital I've ever seen. I have heard plenty of stories about various VA hospitals.

Originally posted by HaVoK
I honestly do not understand how there can be such vast differences dealing with the VA. Im not saying they dont exist. Just telling you that I've never seen it.


Well HaVok, the only experience I have with VA care is when my father was in the VA hospital in Milwaukee, and that was not alltogether a positive one. As I said in my post I have visited many VA hospitals in various parts of the country, and I can tell you that there is a vast difference in the quality of the hospitals themselves.

all people deserve medical care