Veterans note Awareness of NSA and VA Scandals losing Traction
“NSA and VA awareness is losing traction. Well played, Mr. President,” said disabled Iraq War veteran Matt James, yesterday. Many other veterans have also noticed awareness of the VA scandals are slipping from the public consciousness. They too are taking similar note as to just how fickle our news cycle is and of the apparent 8-second attention span held by the viewing public when it comes to VA accountability for veterans.
Headlines have even started coming in about the lack of headlines related to the very real scandals that have impacted veterans across the country. “Dr. Manny: Don’t let Bergdahl’s rescue distract from the VA scandal.”
Facebook commentaries are also popping up from ordinary Americans who have noticed the decisive shift now that Secretary Shinseki has stepped down:
(In my best Obi wan Kenobi voice) These aren’t the scandals you’re looking for!
Not to be overly cynical, but it feels a bit like the Bread & Circuses, tailored nicely for a lot of folks that live here in my country.
The memory span of an average American… Where was I?
It seemed inevitable over the weekend that the steam would run down on the scandal coverage. With Shinseki gone, there was no one figurehead left to really focus on. Instead, we were left with a 300,000-employee agency and a bunch of new leaders no one had heard of – Acting Deputy Director of This – Acting Secretary of That.
And, in line with what I predicted on Monday, in MMQB: With Shinseki gone, VA evades ‘Feet to Fire” Treatment, the VA behemoth looks like it may evade yet another opportunity for truth and accountability for the benefit of the veterans it is supposed to serve.
Let us be honest though and getting back to the quote from Mr. James. In an election cycle, the best thing President Obama could do is offer up a little red meat to the hostiles in an effort to help his fellow Democrats save some face. The negative press about VA facilities across the country was causing his allies to lose ground with their respective electorate after 8 weeks of the Wait List Scandal. In an election year, you just cannot have that kind of press across the board.
Take a look at Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME). He is a senior Representative and long time participant in the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. This election cycle, he was receiving a ton of heat from challengers on the issue. According to one article, After Veterans Affairs Secretary Resigns, Opponents Say Mike Michaud Should Have Known, Republican challengers were certainly itching to move Rep. Michaud closer to retirement so long as the headlines kept pouring in.
Rep. Michaud was not alone. Democrats across the country were feeling the heat. That is, until the national spotlight moved from a real scandal to one that was completely manufactured by the White House. Now, one can look at most major news websites across the country and struggle to find even one mention of further investigations into the Wait List Scandal on the front page.
In response to the reality before us, I repeat the insightful observation of Mr. James above, “NSA and VA awareness is losing traction. Well played, Mr. President.”
Well played indeed [sic].
When ever progress for the “common man” is beginning totake a foothold a diversion is created using the media services to fan those flamesand help cool the fire affecting the issue at hand. Don’t just remember and support veterans on special days and forget us the rest of the year.
I said this would happen a few blogs ago. Something else would come up and we would be forgot about again. Soon it will be back to the same old “cooking the books” or “Gaming the system” whatever you want to call it. And remember the OIG investigation is supposed to report in August about what they found. Remember this because you will most likely never hear anything about it (remember they were going to “look” into the $5/gal gas when the war started and they said the stations were gouging the consumer. I don’t remember the findings and I don’t think they ever did report on that because something else came up). We are dinosaurs and the Gov. is just waiting for us to die off. We will never win. We can only make them pay by continuing to try and make appointments for some little thing that we might get travel pay for (which will be the next thing they will try to discontinue after they take our organs that we never authorized them to have after we die). That just made me think that if we put this into our medical records that we do not want the VA to “in any way to permanently remove our organs from our bodies without our consent directly before harvesting (give them like a 2 hour window) them”. Then get that record and keep it in a safe place to have so your other people who find out they took your organs can then sue them. Anyway, we are the scum of the Gov. and we will never be more than that. They will always do damage control and then something else will come along and we get put in someone’s back pocket to then be put in the trashcan. We have a huge bunch of sorry officials in out Gov. and we need to clean house and get some new people who will care about us and put us higher on the list and not at or below the bottom. This is my view of the VA and I have been fighting them for almost 30 years now and I have just about seen it all with them. I now have private insurance and will be leaving the VA’s scandalous system.
Obama has upped his vicious game against us veterans.
He’s now insulting us veterans now for having served with honor and distinction.
His White House mouthpiece, Brandon Friedman, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at Department of Housing and Urban Development, stated on Twitter that Bergdahl’s battle buddies that are calling him a deserter should not be critical of Obama or his Taliban Dream Team Trade.
Friedman stated, “What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?”
What a seriously sick thing to say about true veteran heroes.
But are you surprised that a statement like this would come from Obama’s White House?
I mean, c’mon, Friedman is Obama’s mouth-by-proxy.
Meaning that if Friedman has the audacity to insult these veterans, then Obama is behind this strategy to silence these veterans from condemning him for trading terrorists for a deserter by ridiculing them because they know what Bergdahl really did that night when he decided to abandon his post.
So much for Bergdahl’s General Order #1:
I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.
Because in Obama’s world, Bergdahl did not have to guard his post. All Obama really wanted to do was improperly relieve him with 5 American-killing terrorists.
PROOF THAT OBAMA WILL SAY OR DO ANYTHING TO STOP OUR VETERANS’ PRIVILEGE!
I contacted a local news agency last week, he is getting an overwhelming amount of complaints on services from the Dallas, TX VA ( Bush & Parry Scandal land anyway)
So, I called the Directors Office, the games people play, “for shame.” I guess I will just call everyday now! These idiots elected all need to go, but, problem, somehow it seems there is a movement behind the scenes that is taking place. It’s on Facebook as they disguise themselves as an attractive group, they are the right wing “Christian Groups.” I wish I could say its a joke? But I will say, “careful where you tread.” Maybe time to all use TOR connections-just stating the “facts” I do know. Remember folks, “OBAMA DIDNT REPEAL THE PATRIOT ACT, ( anything but “patriotic) INSTEAD IT IS BEING ENFORCED LIKE YOU WOULD NEVER BELIEVE.” REGRETS WORKING ON HIS CAMPAIGN? HELL YES!” Good Luck, cover your tracks, not joking, and know, these psychos on Facebook go after anyone who they feel justified to kill or torment. “GOOD THING MY DOG ISNT PICKY ABOUT MEAT, SHE WILL BITE, AND LET YOU KNOW SHE MEANS BUSINESS!”
EVERY TIME WE CHANGE “PEOPLE”, WE GET “NEW PROBLEMS/MORE GRAFT”. POLITICS, BY IT’S VERY NATURE, HAS ILL-EFFCTS ON “GOOD” PEOPLE. TO EXPECT AN “HONEST” PERSON TO REMAIN SO WHILE PLAYING A “DISHONEST” GAME IS A BIT NAIVE. UNTIL THE “GAME” IS REDEFINED, THE RESULTS WILL ALWAYS BE THE SAME.
SERVICE IS AN OUTWARD ACTIVITY NOT A SELF-CENTERED PROCESS. WE ELECT GOVT OFFICIALS TO “SERVE” US AND NOT THEIR OWN SPECIAL “INTERESTS”, BUT THAT IS WHAT SEEMS TO HAPPEN EVERY TIME. IT IS NOT A “DEMOCRATIC” OR “REPUBLICAN” OR EVEN AN “INDEPENDENT” ETC PROBLEM, IT IS A “POLITICAL PROCESS” PROBLEM.
PRAY FOR OUR LEADSERS, THAT THEY MIGHT MAKE CORRECT DECISIONS, AND GOVERN AT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND NOT THE “SELECT FEW”.
I would rather not use prayers-at least any that belong to the whack jobs in Texas. I believe when you “decide” bible study is needed in Public Schools who receive Federal Dollars, then ask a child who isn’t a “Christian” and what is your faith?, then tell me, what message is sent to those of other beliefs besides a chopped up many times over, proof that parts weren’t written by the so called author of those scriptures. What’s next? Hey, I know! We shall get are designated beliefs put on our clothes so we can be condemned by those who pray in their “prayer closets.” ( trust me, they do this, believe Jesus not his real name, he was Jewish, nor do they realize that the Islamic Faith mentions Jesus, again not his real name). And since the pope is allowing some of the artifacts to be reviewed and talked about, now he too can be a target for the dedicated followers who believe he will show up in our time, oh, and women are to be seen and not heard from groups) Challenge Question, “IF” he was crucified, does anyone know what Aramaic letters on the “If” cross were? I am glad a parent stated, “learn other beliefs, it is best to know than not. Read the Bible like a book, don’t go for these versions of connecting verses, and if you wish to believe another way?, GO FOR IT!” ( raised Catholic, my parents were in Rome in 1978, when the pope died then, yes they did see his body displayed as the faith does allow.) BUT, because of an Irish priest way ahead of his time and beliefs, he is the one who passed that wisdom to my mom. “I guess it’s time to put up I SUPPORT LGBT TEENS WHO PARENTS KICKED OUT OF THEIR HOMES ( gee, did they even love these kids when born?) and I BELIEVE I DON’T HAVE IMAGINARY FRIENDS, AND THE PASTARFARIAN BELIEF IS MY FLAG TO WAVE!”
THINK, JUDGE ROBERTS STATED “WE DONT NEED THIS LAW ANYMORE?” AND WHO APPOINTED ANOTHER WHITE SUPREMACISTS TO THE COURT? FITTING DONT YOU THINK THAT TEXAS WAS READY AND IN TWO HOURS JIM CROW LAWS, EARLY VOTING, ONE WEEK, AND THE NEW BORDERS TO ENSURE REPUBLICANS GET ELECTED.” I CALL IT LIKE I SEE IT. BUT BECAUSE IN UNIFORM HAVE SEEN THE KKK MARCH IN MISSISSPPI, DID THE NOLA RUN AND A PARTNER QUICKLY GOT BETWEEN ME AND DAVID DUKE WHO WANTED ANY WOMAN GETTING ASSISTANCE STERILIZED. ( short guy, would have been super easy to take down and scream for help that he took me down!) keep your prayers, but, realize, you get locked into the same mentality quickly. And yes, “Churches DO SUPPORT ELECTING OFFICIALS-I KNOW, CANT STATE IT. BUT DID HELP HIM GETTING A CELL! GOOD LUCK!
“Don`t mind the noise in the market, mind the price of the fish” and the price of accountability will be expensive this election year.
I agree. A lot of ordinary people are concerned and pissed off. I still follow comment on talk radio. They didn’t forget about it.