Oh frabjous day!. The Senate finally got around to approving Marge Bartley and Carol Pietsch yesterday. Bartley is going to be solid and in our corner. She came up through the ranks of NOVA and will have a heart where Vets are concerned.

As for Carol, she came up through the JAG in the Army reserve. She hit the glass ceiling at Brig. General as most in the JAG corps do. There just isn’t any area of advancement  up to O-8  through O-10 in that field. I believe the AF tops out at O-8 (Major General). From that standpoint, she did well. How that will translate into a friendly ear to Veterans at the Court remains to be  seen. Her biography is here.

Most will remember our initial joy at the prospect of having an Army General in charge of the vA. That died in short order when we realized we’d been had and the backlog began to resemble the  toilets during halftime at the Superbowl. We secretly pray Carol won’t be a rubber stamp for VASEC’s roughshod justice.

Marge is a different piece of work. She’s been in this up to her eyeballs on our side of the fence for a score of years. That will be very beneficial for any number of reasons too numerous to mention here. I would ask Veterans to conceive of the President nominating, and the Senate confirming, a VLJ from the BVA. Perish the thought. It might would be anathema to the impartiality of  any future claims there. Margaret will be a breath of fresh air at Indiana Ave. NW.  Having three women on the Court also means they’ll have to remodel the bathrooms, too. You know how women have a propensity to go powder their noses together en masse. To get a grasp of Marge, see this.

Now, we still have one position left to fill. Congress authorized 9 judges a while back but the President has been notably remiss in his duty to Veterans. Filling this last position will speed up justice at the highest level for all of us who appeal. We at asknod find it unconscionable that anyone in a position of authority would lollygag around about something as important to Vets as this. It speaks volumes about where our priority is in the scheme of reelection rhetoric. If the Commander in Chief is serious about his commitment to us, he might take five minutes out of his busy schedule and ask a subordinate to come up with some potential nominees.  Remember, this is a long process akin to mating elephants. Results at the Senate after a nomination, judging from the latest round, are running 10 -12 months. That’s par for the course there. They are embroiled in much more earnest endeavors than paltry Veterans issues.

Congratulations Margaret and Carol. Finally we have an en banc Court without having to resort to recalling past members. This could be Heaven or this could be Hell.