Chew on this article. Boot 1.3 million Vets out of VAMCs and save enough money to fight for 12.9 more days in Afland. What are they smoking down in Foggy Bottom? We should be building more VAMCs everywhere because — Newsflash!– we’re getting ready to have a shitpile of damaged Vets on our hands soon. Why is it than when faced with monetary shortcomings, they go through gyrations of “What if we transferred the $ from here to there and short-funded these guys this year? Then when the dust settles, we could commit to this again when we have the dough.” The problem is new priorities arise and the Vet gets the back seat a la Rosa Parks.

I strive not to have any political leanings here and don’t cotton to others doing so. Nevertheless, this is grossly short-sighted regardless who authors it. Priority 7 and 8’s are tomorrow’s priority 3s. Twenty five years hence they’ll be Priority 1s. When America sent us to war, we didn’t say we’d be available most days but weekends were right out. We sure didn’t discuss salary either. I find it distasteful to see either party become an author to this perfidy. What’s the schedule for doing away with Priority 6?

Member Bob who is an introvert and does not post  had this contribution when he sent it to me:

If I recall,  the invention of the categories can be attributed to Principi.

 What happens when you deny these vets access to VA health care?    They are still sick and broke.

 They move over to the federally funded Family Health Center (where they crowd out low income families and children).

 Or, they end up at the emergency room needing $ 5,000.00 in care which could have been avoided by a visit to the VA outpatient nurse a week before.

 This is a false economy and is a version of the old used car salesmen’s trick.  Mark the car up $ 500.00 and then give the first sucker to look at it a $ 200.00 discount so he feels like he won.

 Snake Oil for sale, cheap.

 If this is ever done our homeless vet population in this town (Motor City) will jump.  A lot.   Once denied health care the “walking wounded” will become too sick to keep working and will be on the streets.

 But, what do I know?

I hate to think of the consequences. Vets of all stripes are stretched pretty thin right now. Their tenuous grip on life and medical care is borderline. The repair order to me is obvious. Time to turn out the lights in Kabul. Who wants to be the last one to die for this? They’re sand ranchers and can’t even agree on how to run their own country but want our money to keep the system airborne. We’re losing more troops to green on blue assassinations than to purely combat now. Helloooooooooo? So let’s cut off the guys who defended them. I guess I don’t get it. There’s less here than meets the eye.