I guess you could say it is a soapbox moment, but this issue is a mainstream quandary. WALTER REED HOSPITAL!!! Have you noticed when we (the left) criticize the war in Iraq, we are called "unpatriotic" and "we don't support the troops." But the powers that be (Bush and clan) have allowed our troops to suffer at what was once the most prestigious of medical facilities. Ultimately since this medical facility is operated by the military, the government has to take responsibility. I have been watching the recently resigned, commander of Walter Reed testifying before an investigative Congressional committee. It was and is a farce. This officer (excuse me I did not get his name) was making such lame excuses for the squalor that our recuperating soldiers have had to live (and heal) in - I just wanted to jump thru the TV and throttle him.
This whole debacle reminded me of an under-rated movie from 1992 "Article 99." It is a terrific movie if you can get locate a copy. Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland and Lea Thompson all play doctors in a VA hospital, and the movie accurately depicts the conditions and terms that our vets have to incur. My daughters friend comes by regularly and tells me what he is currently going thru with them - he was in a helicopter crash in Iraq and has major vertebral damage in his back requiring surgery. For almost three years he has had to drive the 100 miles for the tests, which may be cancelled and schedules the surgery, which is ALWAYS postponed. Never mind the pain and agony he suffers, our government has let these vets down.
This is NOT a new problem, just one that is increasingly getting worse, as Congress has continually cut funding to VA facilities on a yearly basis. Consider this, if the money isn't there, what quality of medical care are they getting. I am sure the physicians are not the best - and why would they work for peanuts if they can make more in the public sector, reaping windfalls from the HMO's???
When are we going to hold our representative government accountable for their lack of compassion and fairness??
So, no one better call me UNPATRIOTIC or non-supportive of our troops in the future. I think we, on the left may just care MORE than anyone else!!
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2 comments:
i can see your point, definitely, but you were watching C-SPAN. come on. ick.
as i said earlier, i hope i'm never old enough that that channel is interesting.
I try not to stay in the middle politically, but when it comes to the care given to returning soldiers (too many of whom return because of terrible injuries), I'm firmly on the left. The right attempts to make people think that supporting the troops and supporting the war is the same thing. But if the right supported the troops, they wouldn't be so willing to send them off to be slaughtered.
The left cares about the troops. We care about them so much that we don't want to send them off to die thousands of miles away from home for a worthless cause.
How is that not supportive?
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