White River Junction VA

Veterans Affairs Puts Transgender Awareness Ahead Of Other Issues?

White River Junction VA
White River Junction VA

Veterans Affairs in at White Junction VA Medical Center is holding a transgender awareness event at its facility instead of one addressing PTSD or MST.

Curious that despite massive budgetary shortfalls nationwide where VA is still failing to hire enough doctors or provide services necessary for sick veterans that the agency spends limited resources and time to address the intricacies of transgender issues for transgender veterans – – a condition impacting only a small fraction of veterans.

RELATED: Report – Bad VA Mental Health Care Linked To Veteran Suicide By Fire

I wrote this post while reviewing the sad case of Charles Ingram, a 51-year-old veteran who lit himself on fire outside a VA in New Jersey. The newly released IG report highlighted not less than 11 mental health failures including failing to provide the veteran with an appointment for over 1 year and failing to schedule the veteran’s non-VA mental health appointment. To save money, the facility moved to one that uses telehealth systems vs live mental health professionals. It lauded that change to save money. And then Charlie burned himself alive in the front lawn of the Atlantic County CBOC.

Death By Suicide Charles Ingram Northfield VA

The agency has a ton of problems providing services to veterans for treatment of their service-connected disabilities. My position is that once VA manages to properly fund the basic services it is required to provide, only then should it venture into other areas rather than being a Jack-of-all-Master-of-none.

Instead, would the agency be better suited to focus on addressing issues particular to military service like post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, or combat mental health issues?

It is National Diabetes Month and Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, both conditions veterans battle with as a result of combat exposures to poisonous dioxins. Where is the celebration or awareness training?

RELATED: VA Changes Plan On Sex Change Surgeries

There is no question that transgender veterans exist and that they need care, but there seems to be a disproportionate uptick in services to this group of veterans while the agency fails to address even the basic medical needs of all veterans.

And given VA’s problem of hiring surgeons who cut off the wrong leg, do you really want VA to conduct your gender reassignment surgery or maintain your gender reassignment with drugs?

These clinicians cannot even accurately medicate veterans using commonly accepted pharmacological techniques.

White River Junction VA Medical Center holding transgender awareness event – VTDigger

November is Transgender Awareness Month, a time to raise the visibility of transgender and gender non-conforming people, and address the issues the community faces. The VA provides health care for transgender patients, including those who present at various points on their transition from one gender to the next. November provides an opportunity for all to build awareness, understanding, education, acceptance and inclusion for individuals identifying at all points on the continuum of gender identification & expression. In recognition of the month, the LGBTQ+ Health & Equity group is offering an opportunity for employees, Veterans, and members of the public to learn more about transgender health issues, and how we can all contribute to creating a more inclusive community.

This Friday, November 17th from noon – 2:00 pm, all are invited to participate in an Exploring Gender and Transgender Dynamics of Healthcare presentation in Building 44, Room 103 at the White River Junction VA Medical Center. This presentation will explore gender through a biological and cultural lens, issues that arise during gender transition, and the long-term emotional impacts of transitioning. There will also be an opportunity to discuss issues that arise for transgender individuals when accessing healthcare and an opportunity to ask questions. If there is any attendee who has questions of a personal nature or topics they don’t wish to bring up in open forum, the presenter will be available to have one-on-one chats afterward.

The event is being held this month because November is apparently Transgender Awareness Month. But transgender issues are not the only issues needing awareness that are also “awareness” issues for the month of November.

Here are a few that affect more veterans than transgender reassignment and treatment:

  • National COPD Month
  • National Diabetes Month
  • National Alzheimer’s Disease Month
  • Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Again, nothing against transgender veterans. I know a fair amount of veterans working through this condition. It just seems the use of VA resources for events like this fail to prove themselves as the best use of resources during a time of shortage and veteran deaths from wait times and backlogs.

Update: The main photo of this post was changed to the White River Junction VA located in Vermont to avoid division within the veteran community already present over this issue of rationed health care, veteran suicide, and transgender issues.

I also commentary about the tragic suicide of Charles Ingram, a post I wrote right after this post. Due to massive budgetary shortfalls, his CBOC made use of mental telehealth services instead of using a live doctor to provide care. It also failed to provide the veteran with an appointment after 1 year of waiting, and it failed to schedule non-VA care in the community. The veteran then self-immolation (poured gas over his body and lit himself on fire).

It is important that the public have a discourse over how VA will ration health care services because VA officials are having those real conversations right now regardless of our feelings on the subject.

Source: https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/15/white-river-junction-va-medical-center-holding-transgender-awareness-event/

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79 Comments

  1. Sooo, this conversation took a turn in a direction I do not condone (name calling), so I am shutting off the comments. It’s important to have a discussion about how VA will ration health care given its finite budget each year, which is different than how the private sector handles health care funded by insurance companies. I hope we can have a collective conversation on this vital topic at some point in the future.

    As an aside, I know if my son or daughter came out as transgender, I would fully support them to do whatever they like. It would hurt my heart if I knew of others calling them disparaging terms, and I saw a few jump up on this page from commenters directed at other commenters, so I am shutting off comments before it gets out of hand.

    I appreciate all the feedback and am taking it under advisement on this subject moving forward. Thanks to all for commenting on this sensitive subject…

  2. To ALL you “tranny lovers” on here. Think on this for awhile.
    The U.S. Army just allowed the first transgender reassignment surgery! They couldn’t do it themselves, stating no one has the “credentials!” Meaning, not one surgeon was qualified!
    That said, and with the abysmal failure to veterans healthcare. Do y’all really want to have someone NOT qualified to get near your “privates”?
    HELL, few vets receive quality healthcare at any VHA, clinic or hospital! The majority of vets are DYING due to VHA employees!

    If your wondering, this issue came out on “ABC” yesterday!
    Titled;

    “Transgender service member receives gender reassignment surgery”

    By Louis Martinez and Elizabeth McLaughlin!
    Nov 15, 2017 10:29 AM ETC.

    It even has a short video for ALL you fuckin f–s!
    And by the way, IF you had the “condition” prior to military service, you can forget about receiving disabilities and compensation for it after your “ETS”!
    Lastly, BE ADVISED and WARNED. ——-
    If one lies about it, prior to, OR upon enlistment, felony charges can be expected IF one applies for it AFTER military service!

  3. “[Peppermint is a transgender drag queen…]”, kind of like a Snicker’s Bar, “Two Treats In One”.

    1. Don’t know Namnibor. Certainly the snicker’s bar is oblong shaped, gets pretty squishy in the sunlight and has peanuts in it.

      But it don’t smell anything like She-he-it.

      1. My scatology experts assert THAT more likely than not qualifies as “Two Tricks/Treats In One”, and really a Third because once floating in a pool like that classic ‘Caddyshack’ scene, although a ‘Baby Ruth’ bar, same shape/form-factor as She-he-it with or without the wrapper.

  4. “Nothing against them…” blah blah blah. The trans soldier deserves the same care as any other soldier. But good job pitting one veteran against another. IT ISN’T THE HEALTH CARE that is the VA problem IT IS THE THEFT of resources for ever more administrators and money spent trying to DENY care rather than complaining about those lucky enough to win the VA “priority of the week.”

  5. It’s a reflection of exactly how distorted our post-Desert Storm thinking is about the military that this transgender issue is an issue at all. The military is not a jobs program. It’s not a charity organization. The objective of its members is to kill and die in defense of the US.

    If we are SERIOUS about supporting them, and keeping their deaths to an absolute minimum, then our first and ONLY relevant question for any proposed change will be, “will this make the military stronger or weaker?” If the answer is weaker, then it doesn’t happen. Period.

    Every single person saying, “if they want to lay down their lives for their country let them serve” is making an inaccurate statement. The transgender person is willing to lay down SOMEONE ELSE’S life.

    War is not an individual sport. A weak individual isn’t necessarily the one that gets shot. The military isn’t protesting women in combat because the woman is going to get killed. They’re protesting it because she will get someone ELSE killed.

    It sickens me, as a combat veteran, to hear civilians and pundits and lawmakers who don’t know the first thing about the military talk about “well they want to serve” as if that’s in any way relevant. If you want to live to fulfill your own desires, the last frigging place you should go is war.

    The military does not exist for GI Jane wish fulfillment. That 120 pound woman can’t haul out a 6’4 man with 100 pounds of gear on his back. AT ALL. It boggles my mind that any woman would put her fantasies above the mission and the welfare of her brothers in arms. And the transgender issue is the same thing all over again.

    First, you’re going to get 99.99999% of female to male transitions washing out because they can’t meet male fitness standards. Are we going to change those standards to let the weak ones stay in? Don’t tell me it won’t happen, it happened when women were let into the military and it’s under discussion again as they try to push women into combat units because, shock of shocks, women can’t meet combat standards.

    Every single woman you’ve seen so far being the “first female Army Ranger” and “first Navy Seal” has had opportunities and help that no man got, it just doesn’t get reported.

    The Marines had to provide alternate tests for women because they couldn’t do pull-ups. Second, under the Obama guidelines, designating yourself transgender requires no hormones and no surgery, you just go to personnel and change the “gender designation” in your file.

    Can’t hack the male physical fitness standards? Go down to personnel, say you’re a woman, and now you only have to meet the female standards, and you get to live in the female barracks and shower in the female showers with the other “girls,” with your twig and berries fully intact.

    The net result being that what would get a heterosexual male arrested for indecent exposure is perfectly legal for any pervert who submits the paperwork, and degrading the general fitness levels of the service because anyone who can’t meet the male standards just has to say they’re a girl. Weaker physical standards mean teams can’t carry as much weight, can’t haul themselves out of the fire when they need to, and can’t haul their squad mates out of the fire.

    In other words, a man somewhere WILL die because someone who had no business being on the battlefield was there. And it’s because of idiot civilians going, “aw, but he’s willing to lay down his life” that those OTHER men and women will die.

    Asthmatics are willing to lay down their lives too, and we still don’t let them in the service. Allowing asthmatics in would be a lot less disruptive than a demographic with a 40% suicide rate that requires costly counseling, hormones, and surgeries that pose a bureaucratic nightmare in terms of living and PFT standards that will also unquestionably degrade the overall physical fitness of the service.

    The Rand study doesn’t even consider that guaranteeing any transgender who gets through boot camp “free” gender reassignment surgery is going to make the number of transgender people in the military sky rocket. All you have to do is serve four years and you get medical care that would cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the civilian world.

    Again, don’t try to tell me it won’t happen. I served with plenty of women who told me to my face they enlisted for childcare or to find a husband.

    Does ANY of that make the military stronger, better, and more capable of completing their mission? No? Then it shouldn’t happen. End of discussion. You say anything else, you are arguing that your social justice goals are more important than the lives of the people protecting this nation.

    We should NOT be WASTING VA dollars on this nonsense.

    Final Thought: How can a Transgender Person reasonably expect me to accept them for who they are, when they could NOT accept themselves for who they were?

    Disgruntled Veteran
    1973 – 1976 USMC
    1978 – 1993 USN
    Wounded Warrior
    Honolulu, Hawaii

    1. Disgruntled Veteran,
      I also remember someone mentioning, women would get men killed, because the men would be, quote: “…worried about the female’s safety on the battlefield!”
      That in itself should give pause allowing, not only women in combat related situations, t ransgenders in a combat situation!
      If course, If transgenders were sent to a combat unit, one receiving “incoming” on a regular basis. The non-Transgender troops might just say “fuck it! Shit happens!”

      US Army (Vietnam Combat Veteran 2 yrs, 5 mo, 2 days) [“173rd Airborne Brigade 2/1/503”]
      US Navy (Beirut, Lebanon “Op. Fluid Drive” [June,1976] evacuation of civilian personnel being held captive by Hezbollah)

  6. It is kind of ironic that you compare the upcoming awareness meeting to PTSD. WRJ VA is the home of the National Center for PTSD. There are actually some fine doctors and care for vets at their facility. I know, it is where I was diagnosed, and also received my rating from the RO which is located on the same campus.

    That being said, they sure lacked in many other areas. I was misdiagnosed on 9 different occasions. The doctor who finally correctly diagnosed me said, “It was a good thing you kept coming back, if you didn’t you would have died.” I also had a surgeon refuse to operate on me because she said, I sounded like I was upset. Yep, I was. It was another case of misdiagnosis and the doctor was over an hour late for the appointment. When I made a formal complaint, of course they covered their butts and said it met normal standards of care, and the surgeon later corrected her stand she would operate. Yea, like I would let her touch me.

    You have to understand WRJ VA is in the middle of the Peoples Republic of Vermont where the number one radio station is NPR. It is also the place of the first civil union (actually held in a town I lived in 10 miles south of the VA). So this transgendered symposium, is, I am sure, fits in with their community narrative. I just thank God, I am out of there.

  7. “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan”. I’ll bet President Lincoln would be ashamed his words are on bronze plaques at VA facilities, seeing what the VA has “ transformed” into.
    Go ahead Congress, let Americas brave sons and daughters suffer while you fucks have this “transgender” discussion. The troops experimented on at Edgewood Arsenal, the wounded Korean War vet, the sprayed and betrayed Vietnam vet, the Desert storm soldiers who were gassed, injected, the burn pit victims of our latest fiasco. I’m sure they give two fucks about transgender awareness.
    Fuck VA, Fuck AFGE and Fuck you if my write-up offends you.

  8. You are spot on with your point Ben about this being a massive waste of VA resources based on the sniveling of such a small population that really, should have nothing whatsoever to do with the VA.

    The ONLY situation where I can see the VA being involved in this area is when a combat injured veteran choose to transition because of that injury.

    You mentioned many instances where awareness and resources should be focussed, yet it is not in favor of this special rights class if veteran.

    Why would the VA not consider this as any other elective surgery for a pre-existing condition?

    Before anyone complains about my comment, be prepared to explain why Ingrams treatment should be delayed in favor of someone transitioning. Or any other veteran dealing with service connected medical conditions.

    The VA has used the excuse for years that care cannot be provided to one set of vets because it might take care away from another group, then they pull this stunt.

    You already show yourself to be incredibly selfish by bitching about a picture used instead of the other points raised by Ben.

  9. The VA I go to has the red team, white team, and the blue teams primary care for the men veterans, and the purple team primary care for women veterans. I have to wonder if it’s going to have a rainbow team primary care for the tg’s now.

  10. @Ben It is also Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Awareness Month as well. Those with RSD/CRPS call this month NERVEMBER.

    I saw many veterans with this condition active-duty while at Walter Reed NNMC recently and know of many more who have been retired due to CRPS. SSA finally on Oct 20, 2003 made it one for their “automatic diseases for SS.”

  11. “Sorry I used a cisgender drag queen photo to pump a transphobic article with a stereotype callout. I replaced it with a transgender drag queen instead because it is too hard to find one of the MILLIONS of non-drag queen photos that don’t play to transphobic stereotypes.”

    You just admitted you DELIBERATELY chose a drag queen photo to “represent” trans people. If you don’t understand how deeply offensive that is…..You didn’t do it for diversity. You did it to push the “man in bad makeup” stereotype.

    “I’m sorry you got upset about my using a blackface photo of a white person in blackface doing a minstrel show to represent black people. So I replaced it with a photo of a black person doing a minstrel show in blackface instead.”

    Or, you know, you could not use bigoted stereotypes, to “sell” your article.

    1. I also note you just appropriated a copyrighted photo from Logo without their permission. I’m sure they will LOVE IT when I mention to them your theft of their intellectual property to defend your transphobic effort to make sure you could find a drag queen to use to represent transgender people in an anti-trans directed article.

      1. Hi Jerilyn, I see you are very upset and making allegations that are false in an attempt to shut down this form of speech because you disagree with my take on how the federal government should spend its money and use of a photo to highlight certain issues within the trans community.

        I suggest that you stop making false allegations, though. Let me explain.

        As a journalist, I used that photo under “fair use” doctrine and cited the source of the photo. Use of such photos is generally allowed in that manner, especially since I created an expressive piece highlighting the article title and subtitle under the photo to illustrate a point addressed by Ru Paul – – that some transgendered people enjoy performing as drag queens, contrary to what others in the transgender community assert. In response to the assertion, I created that new image.

        So, there was no theft of a photo – I did not steal anything. This is a new image inclusive of the photo next to another journalist work to create something new for the purpose of commentary about the federal government in an attempt to appease those within the trans community who have a bias against other trans people who dress in drag. This is not an “anti-transgender” article.

        Your mischaracterization of what I wrote and the purpose of the photo is noted, however.

      2. You will probably able to defend it as fair use. I would have deleted that comment after making it except I couldn’t figure out a way to do it. I withdraw that claim. My apologies.

        But in context it looks more like ‘let me substitute a slightly less objectionable image for one that is utterly impossible to defend’ since it was of someone who ISN’T EVEN TRANSGENDER.

        The context of an article that misrepresents a 2 hour, volunteer run, event using absolutely minimal VA resources as a waste of VA resources makes the “just being diverse” argument extremely thin.

        Particularly since I can’t find any previous incident where you decided to write about similar community outreach events in a similar fashion. In fact – you called out OTHER community outreaches as *BETTER* uses of resources in this article.

        And before you try a claim of ‘it is just numbers’, I note there are a HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND transgender armed forces veterans. Compared with probably about 3 thousand US veterans per year with pancreatic cancer based on demographics and population rates.

        Yet you specifically called out Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month as a better use of VA resources. Given the truly horrific suicide attempt rates among transgender veterans (40% of trans people have AREADY attempted suicide), justifying the claim that Transgender Awareness Month is a waste of resources in comparison is an astounding claim.

        The implication that it was the -transgender- aspect that made it a “waste” worth writing about to you is pretty much impossible to miss.

        Perhaps you should _attend_ the Transgender Awareness reach out. You might learn something.

        I also suggest when writing about transgender veterans, these photos would be more appropriate ones for you to be using:

        www. google. com/search?tbm=isch&q=transgender+soldier&oq=transgender+soldier

      3. I have an idea, and I appreciate your passion Jerilyn.

        Would you like to submit some commentary (under Contact at top menu) in support of VA expanding services to transgender veterans beyond traditional forms of care such veterans are already receiving?

        VA has various classifications 1-8 as to who is entitled to what kind of care and the duration of waiting for that care. VA also rations care meaning some veterans get care at the expense of other veterans. An example in recent headlines was rationing of hepatitis C cures or organ transplants for kidneys. Male survivors of MST do not get certain support group functions while female MST survivors do.

        To keep things fair, I am open to posting your argument supporting expanding care in that manner. Would you be amenable to providing commentary I could use for that purpose in a story I write and publish?

        Answer the following questions while acknowledging VA does ration health care, some people get things at the expense of others:

        1) Should VA pay for gender reassignment?
        2) Assuming a finite budget, from what group of veterans should VA take the money to expand into transgender care?
        3) Given the high instance of malpractice at VA and consistent failure to provide oversight, should VA provide the care or should it be delegated to non-VA care?

        If you, or anyone else interested, would like to provide comment and be quoted with their full name, I am interested in writing an article looking at the pro-expansion into transgender care. You can even post them in this comment chain so others can see your unedited position to ensure fairness? Just a thought.

        I support all veterans and I also support being fair-minded.

      4. I am open to doing so. You should have my email address already since it is required to comment. I note that RAND already _did_ a study on the costs for active duty people. They turn out to be remarkably _low_. www. rand. org/pubs/research_reports/RR1530.html

      5. The Rand study does not take into account sex reassignment surgery. It is also a fact that transgendered individuals require more psychological support as evidenced by the high suicide rate among transgendered individuals.

      6. False.

        It specifically takes it into account – mentioning surgery no less than 84 times. The report is 112 pages long. The detail is quite comprehensive.

        And post-transition, suicide rates drop by a factor of TEN. Transition is incredibly effective in preventing suicides.

      7. No, it is not false. I read the report and the cost of sex reassignment was not included in the figures of costs. Secondly, reducing by a factor of 10 is not big deal when you have a 40% suicide/attempted suicide rate. Lastly, your number of 150,000 active and veterans being transgendered is a number pulled out of someone’s butt. It would mean the military has/had twice the number of TG;s as the general population.

      8. So because your little cause is being rightfully called out for the waste of resources it is, you cite pancreatic cancer as an example, and essentially say since its such a small number, fuck those people?

        Why not calm down from your little tantrum and educate yourself on some demographics of those vets diagnosed with it. You might find the numbers rather shocking, particularly the age at which they are diagnosed.

        That is a disease which strongly relates to burn pit exposure. It is not something these vets chose during their service or are confused about. It is a horrible fucking disease which kills quickly and at a young age. The VA has delayed or denied service connection for those vets or other burn pit vets with other diseases citing a lack of research resources. The VA, like they do with many service related conditions except sexual confusion it seems, demands absolute proof a medical condition is service connected before they allow it. More vets are dead by that time.

        Yet you deride those vets as less deserving than this show and tell event because you think the numbers affected are less than the biased numbers you pulled out of your ass.

      9. I cited pancreatic cancer *BECAUSE THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE, BENJAMIN KRAUSE, DID*. He is the one who dismissed transgender awareness for a hundred and fifty thousand transgender veterans as being a waste of money compared to awareness of pancreatic cancer for about 3000 veterans.

        He is the one who set up the ‘numbers affected’ dichotomy (and has continued to do so) as a basis for who should receive not even care but even *AWARENESS* of their condition.

        And no – the numbers aren’t pulled out of my ass. They are based on large studies with solid bases. As I documented.

      10. I can just imagine the fucking hissy fit you would be throwing on a long deployment somewhere.

  12. Confirmed: Within diversity exists even more projected stereotypes and GOD FORBID a Transgender Vet should also happen to dress-up in Drag or choose to express themselves in a way that’s not stereotypical? Liberals have dain bramage.

  13. Distraction, that’s all it is. The VA is trying to take the real issues out of the lime light. Senator Warren said something in her town hall and that was that the people who care about something like veterans care.

    These people should do something everyday to let you cause be heard. Via phone call, e-mails, letters to our elected officials.

    She also said that we the people are going to have a hard time, because many of our elected officials don’t want to listen to people with empty Pocket’s.

    Special Interest or lobbyist control your elected officials. So our country has become as I said before, The Flem , Flam man or shyster. Our elected officials are being Bribed and those Bribes are being excepted by our elected officials.

    veterans like us need to do as advised and continue to speak up, to whom will ever listen. She stated that we may not get answers to our concerns, because we are not sending or spending millions to get our elected officials to listen.

    Did any of you veterans see in the news where the Army was using service members to test chemical’s on veterans and giving veterans Acid as test subjects.

    Those pictures showed Big Blisters and such, they were taken to court and the Army is telling veterans that if they write a letter stating they Volunteered for these studies, they MAY receive compensation !

    In my opinion, this admission by veterans Stating they Volunteered the Army or the VA will DENY any claim and state you knew you were being a test subject and since you volunteered, your claim has been denied.

    What the Hell is going on with this country !

    These people that are paying Bribes to our elected officials needs to be called for what it is, Bribes and these elected officials need to be held accountable and impeached or Arrested.

    America should not be for sale to the Highest Bidder.

    1. James I have been watching that case for sometime now and here are a few additional articles on the subject and a couple of links to prior statements I made several days ago.

      “US Army fails to provide medical care to experiment subject soldiers”
      Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Published time: 15 Nov, 2017 00:25

      “https://www.rt.com/usa/409883-army-medical-care-veterans-experiments/”
      ______________

      “Army To Provide Medical Care For Thousands Of Veterans Who Were Test Subjects” Bill Chappell NPR, November 14, 2017·2:51 PM
      “https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/14/563095946/army-to-provide-medical-care-for-thousands-of-veterans-who-were-test-subjects”

      recent comments on the subject:

      “https://www.disabledveterans.org/2017/11/14/veterans-choice-va-overbilled-tens-millions-grand-jury-investigates/#comment-93734”

      “https://www.disabledveterans.org/2017/11/14/veterans-choice-va-overbilled-tens-millions-grand-jury-investigates/#comment-93740”

  14. Whether you like it or not, transgender people have served and continue to serve alongside the rest of us. Why shouldn’t VA devote 2 whole hours to them in one medical center for one day ever? You support veterans unless they are different than you? You support veterans unless they have a medical condition you don’t approve of? Not impressed: you do a disservice to the rest of the veterans community here.

    1. “Why shouldn’t?” Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, Kristen Gilbert …

      Personally, I support all Veterans with the exceptions of dishonorable discharged pedophiles and those that think they are special because they are gender confused.

      1. Sorry to sound self-serving but UNTIL the VA can get Veteran Suicide and Veteran healthcare right, why should we just remain tight-lipped for political correctness sake while the VA continues to kill Veterans? No disrespect intended, but a Veteran is NOT transgender BECAUSE of their service to USA, meaning “service-connected” so no, I will not stand-down while the VA ignore 22 Vets dying every day to suicide yet wants to cut a ribbon and balloons and feathers for a couple hours? (meanwhile ignore Veteran healthcare while getting great public affairs shots)? Nope. Self-serving, yep you can accuse me of that, because as long as the VA continues to deny Agent Orange presumptives, for instance WHY should I stand down while the VA places emphasis on other areas? I smell rotten cabbage or just bad hair.

      2. Makes you wonder how many veterans had their appointments rescheduled so other VA employees could attend this event.

      3. Transgender veterans have a suicide rate more than TWENTY TIMES higher than the average veteran. www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780758/

        Trying to frame treatment for transgender veterans as “political correctness” vs “addressing veteran suicides” is about as wrong headed as you can get.

      4. “VA to Provide Mental Health Care to Vets with ‘Bad Paper’ Discharges”
        Stars and Stripes | 8 Mar 2017 | by Nikki Wentling
        “https://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/03/08/va-to-provide-mental-health-care-to-vets-bad-paper-discharges.html”

      5. Oh, and for those folks out there that are easily confused with minor things like reality or gender. The post above means that Charles Miles was also confused about reality.

  15. First, let me say that the photo you’ve attached to the article has nothing to do with transgenderism. That’s a DRAG QUEEN, which is comedic performance art. So, you resent that on 11/17 this VA is holding a 2 hour “event” of recognition? Get OVER yourselves.

    1. Here I thought it either was an out to lunch Patient Advocate or any VA Regional Directors with their hair down.

    2. Yes, Jane, I absolutely do fucking resent it when the VA refuses to schedule a mental health appointment for over a year, so the veteran says fuck it and decides to self-immolate.

      Yet you only bitch about a picture used?

      Try get over yourself.

      1. The veteran who self-immolated was in New Jersey. The VA that wanted to devote 2 hours on Transgender Vets is in Vermont. Different VA’s. Different departments within those VA’s. As for the picture used, (and the newer one that replaced it) they were used to purposely disparage the transgender community by portraying them as clowns. I’m lucky. I probably have the best VAMC in this country. The New Orleans VAMC conscientiously serves ALL of their clientele. They also have programs for LGBTQ veterans. So are you now going to rag my VA for being LGBTQ friendly because some Jersey VAMC is corruptly run? Your anger is misdirected.

      2. Location does not matter Jane, the VA is one systemic mess wherever you may go. A Veteran Suicide, no matter where it takes place, affects every one of us. Again, no matter where it occurs because it usually reflects the VA’s wasting of resources, like this Transgender event.

  16. My Medicare phlebotomist I regularly try to get is a Vet and a daughter of a retired Navy man. Years back the VA needed to amputate one of his big toes and one of his buddies talked him into using a Sharpie marker to draw a large arrow and words, “THIS TOE”…her father has not used the VA since in-spite of the Sharpie directions the dumb fucks amputated the wrong toe on wrong fucking foot. Now, place a penis, vagina, breasts, what have you as other sensitive body parts and place the VA hacks into the equation. I’d question a person’s stability in wanting to even allow the VA to mess about with the meat & potatoes.

  17. In Delaware schools allowing all kids to identify their gender, race and sex. Parents have no say in the process.
    America, a country gone mad

  18. Hey Namnibor,

    You remember that old love connection the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Northampton, Massachusetts helped to set up for Manson disciple Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme? Her soulmate’s name is Kristen Gilbert one of the VA’s former transgender nurses.

    Although she was only convicted of murdering 4 Veterans the hospital staff say that during the 6 years she was there she murdered more than 80 Veterans and was responsible for more than 300 medical emergencies to keep Veterans alive.

    From after the first months on the job at the VAMC they started caller the Angel of Death and joked around about her. That was until 6 years latter when she started threating staff members then she had to go.

  19. RE : “And given VA’s problem of hiring surgeons who cut off the wrong leg, do you really want VA to conduct your gender reassignment surgery or maintain your gender reassignment with drugs?

    These clinicians cannot even accurately medicate veterans using commonly accepted pharmacological techniques.”

    Who are we kidding…The VA can’t even accomplish that most basic of business activities, ANSWERING THE PHONE…

    I’ve often spent 30-40 minutes listening to the asinine MUZAC only to be cut off and having to dial again and be cut off again…And when you DO get someone on the phone they can’t answer your question or don’t know what they’re doing so they have to transfer you to someone else so you have to wait again and get cut of again…The VA is riddled with massive incompetence from top to bottom…

  20. Ben, nice “Bad VA Art’ today. You know you have essentially seeded the clouds with transgender troll bait and it will not be pretty. Veteran Suicide is also not very pretty and someone PLEASE explain to me how being ‘Transgender’ is “Military Service-Related’ as in…SERVICE-CONNECTED? Likely, a person was leaning that way prior to service…

    1. Commander Doubtfire’s titty exploded in the field causing a condition called tittius -minimus.
      VA is currently working on a pairof two toned titanium tip titties with a pocket pool modulator.

  21. No worries: The VA has cloned several copies of John and Lorena Bobbitt, of the 1993 fame when Lorena cut-off John’s penis while he slept, and the penis was subsequently reattached: The VA seeks to provide the exact conditions with Vets of that fateful night at the Bobbitt House. Other body parts will follow once the VA consistently can reattach a penis in same place at least 2 out of 20 times. For those wishing to acquire a vagina, the VA is partnering with various chainsaw companies for the contract.

  22. Oh my God! How dare the VA spend ONE DAY at ONE facility on awareness of the 150000 transgender veterans during National Transgender Awareness Week!

    The horror!

    When people say “spending too much time on transgender people” what is they generally mean is “spending ANY time”.

    This article is just a dog whistle for transphobia.And sure enough, the transphobes have already popped their heads out in the comments. What an amazing coincidence.

    1. And before you try to defend the article as “not a transphobic dog whistle”, please explain why a two hour event, hosted by a VA veteran volunteer, with the VA’s participation limited to “you can use a room and we’ll send out your press release” requires a 600 word article complaining about the waste of resources, while things like “White River Junction VA Medical Center to Host Blessing of the Bikes” does not.

      Oh. Right. Because *it’s about transgender people*.

      1. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/military-related/us-transgender-military-service/

        Transgender Military Service in the United States

        By Gary J. Gates, Jody L. Herman
        May 2014

        An estimated 150,000 transgender individuals have served in the U.S. armed forces, or are currently on active duty. In addition, an estimated 134,000 transgender individuals are veterans or are retired from Guard or Reserve service, 8,800 transgender adults are currently on active duty in the U.S. armed forces, and an estimated 6,700 transgender individuals are serving in the Guard or Reserve forces. Transgender individuals assigned female at birth are nearly three times more likely than all adult women, and those assigned male at birth are 1.6 times more likely than all adult men, to serve.

        The estimates are derived using data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, which was conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

      2. Sure, unbiased sources. The stats are still bullshit designed to push an agenda. Now do the stats on transgender mental health issues or suicide rates. You know, issues that are pre-existing when you hid them from the recruiter.

        When you get those stats, do stats on the examples Ben mentioned and find out how prevalent those health conditions are.

        Regardless of your excuses to minimize the resources used, they are still VA resources used. Any other group that is not a protected class would get laughed out of the VA if they requested the same.

        You claim it was only a volunteer, a room and a press release sent out. If the numbers were truly 150000, why does the VA not take this issue more seriously and devote more resources to it?

      3. To be fair all stats are bs on some level. We ALL NOW the number is probably higher than whatever the govt reports.

      4. WTF Ben!!

        You delete my comments stating the truth about the bogus research paper this fruit fly cites and you let its comment remain here citing the bogus research as if it is credible.

        The paper is not even credible and contains inflated numbers that would not stand up against any peer review. It is nothing more then a self posted paper that has never been published in any credible journals.

      5. The Williams Institute funded to support LGBT academic program in any discipline. Totally biased numbers from a hack who gets paid to inflate numbers for the LGBT community.

        I hear Merck has hundreds of research studies showing Vioxx is a safe alternative to regular paid meds. Of course those studies where done by hacks who got paid to make Vioxx look good.

      6. Citing numbers from a self published paper. The numbers are so bogus they cannot even stand a peer review that would be needed to be published in a creditable journal.

        What a fucking joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      7. That 150,000 number, if true, would have me leaning towards all the radiation fallout from the 1000+ nukes above and below ground we blew-up in middle of USA to float across…meaning some genetic damage…but again, HOW is this SERVICE CONNECTED? It’s NOT unless Sadaam also had in his WMD’s weaponized genetic ephemerons that cause rapid onset of not wanting a penis or vagina any longer…then…then, I could see some service connection. This is more like Liberal Mission Creep, emphasis on the creep part.

      8. Better chill Seymore – Gerald Leon might track ya down and kick yer arse…

        Funny how we used to consider transgender as gender confused. Now, the rest of us are friggin confused. I can’t tell which bits get bobbed and which get curled.

    2. Oh, give me a fucking break. Unless you can provide a credible source for the 150000 figure, your comment is nothing more than whining and a lie.

  23. We should have a National “Fuck The VA” month. This affects every veteran on a daily basis. So bring your fake titties, dicks, tuna tacos, because everybody is getting fucked by the VA! VA bullshit applies to all with a valid dd-214.

    1. I celebrate daily and it generally starts first thing in morning after reading Ben’s blog on daily VA fraud, which seems to have the beneficial effect of an exorcism of a blast from my intestinal past, once you get past the cramping and consequential ozone destruction.

  24. She-he-it, Total waste of time money and resources due to more concern over AFGE new Hires then over providing care to Veterans. Certainly says a lot about Shulkin.

    1. Shulkin is smelling like a ripe pile of She-he-it right now!!!

      Trump needs to finish the paperwork and Flush this pile of She-he-it down the toilet.

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