We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2007 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:56:40 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2008 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. You're advertising here, we should get an ad at your place... ********************************* Interesting story about the VA in the AP. WASHINGTON - The Veterans Affairs' vast network of 1,400 health clinics and hospitals is beset by maintenance problems such as mold, leaking roofs and even a colony of bats, an internal review says. The investigation, ordered two weeks ago by VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, is the first... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:41:20 -0600 KCSteve - I am constantly embarassed that my fellow Washingtonians sent Murray back to the Senate, especially after her goofy statement about OBL years ago. This one just demonstrates her complete cluelessness. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58170 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58170 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:22:12 -0600 "Who's been minding the store?" said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Kind of sad how much that says, isn't it? ]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58165 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58165 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:12:42 -0600 I had already read some of Cathy's stuff, in particular about different people driving her to treatments. I remember being so grateful that I have my sisters and the rest of my family. Everyone should have a support network. We have one out here and I am grateful for that too. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58159 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58159 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:29:47 -0600 Bloodspite - you aren't taking money from someone who needs it regarding the disability payments, it's not like there's a fixed pool. And if your disability affects your life, or life expectancy, then you *earned* it. Not quite the same thing as a handout. Regarding VA medical care - it is spotty, and there are places where great things are done. Eisenhower Medical Center in Leavenworth is considered a pretty good (if limited) hospital. Truman Medical Center down in KC, has in the past been a roach-infested cesspool. Guess which one the VA periodically wants to close? That said - the logic is that Truman is closer to a larger number of veterans, which certainly is a supportive argument - if we believed they would fix the problems at Truman. As for VA medical care, even though I am a priority 1, "must see" client of the VA, because I have other options available to me, I choose to not use the VA, so there are that many more appointments available to the space available veterans with no other good options. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58157 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58157 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:08:43 -0600 Thanks. I wish I could say I knew her well, or personally, but I didn't. Passed a few E-mails with her, new of her work with NRO, and watched/read a lot of her confrontation with the LAT, but beyond that I knew her less than I know folks here. Still, good people however. On the VA thing. I've never even bothered to be checked for a disability rating. For one thing I can work, so I see no reason to take money from someone who actually needs it. That being said I was never examined during my discharge process by the VA, even though it was a Involuntary/Medical discharge Would I get it? I don't know. But what I do know is it's probably not worth the fight. I will say that my local VA Hospital has been outstanding. I've heard rumors that they are ranked highly, but I've never seen anything conclusive for me to tout them. However both the quality of care, (Hell my Doctor actually has called me at home several times to see how I'm doing, remind me to take my med's and see if there was anything else I needed for him to do or follow up care) and for the most part they do things pretty fast (I was examined by Ortho on this past Monday. I already have an MRI appointment today.) That being said we used to refer to the VA Hospital outside of Atlanta on the 285 perimeter as "The Butcher Shop" so I guess it really is variable on where you are.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58156 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58156 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:45:11 -0600 BS - I'm sorry for your loss. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58155 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58155 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:34:49 -0600 If I may pontificate, just a bit: In my experience with the VA as both a client and a school certifying official I have come to several conclusions I would like to express: 1. The VA is staffed by government civilians, most, but not all are veterans themselves, but all are in the civil service system. This means that personal performance is a personal choice. We all know that it is far easier to discharge a military member than to fire a government employee. In dealing with veteran-students seeking vocational rehabilitation (which is conditional on a disability rating), I found the system to be arbitrary and precocious. Whether or not a veteran received voc-rehab benefits for his/her chosen field of study depended entirely on which counselor they saw. There were 2 responsible for the region I was working in and they had totally opposite attitudes: One thought the money was coming out of her own pocket; the other seemed to wake up every morning looking for something good to do for a veteran. Guess which one I told all of my students to make their appointments with. 2. I ended up not pursuing any kind of disability since I was going to school and having trouble getting the VA to respond to both my Education needs and my disability claim, I chose to pursue straightening out my education situation (since the college insisted on being paid for their efforts). By the time I had finished my Masters degree, I had contacted my congressman so many time that his aide eventually told me to not even bother calling the VA 800 number, but to contact his office first with any future problems. The first problem I had was being a Viet Nam era veteran who chose to stay on active duty for 24 years. By the time I had retired, most of the VA staff had forgotten how to process our claims as the Montgomery GI bill omitted dependant stipends, which all previous GI bills contained. Anyway, the regional office in Atlanta lost my dependant certification 4 times. Actually, they didn’t lose it, they just kept throwing it away since they thought it only applied to voc-rehab students. Of course, when the 5th one showed up under the congressman’s cover letter, money instantly materialized in my checking account. Now I know the discussion was about health care, but my point is the problem is VA wide and systemic. The funding issue, I think goes back to competing constituencies and giving money to the entitlement class fits a lot of people’s agenda better than keeping promises to those who have honorably served. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58154 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2007/03/hi_fires_22_mar.html#comment-58154 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:27:04 -0600