Here we are on the dawn of Day 4 in the New World and Veterans everywhere are growing anxious. Six months ago, Presidential hopeful Trump announced a special place on the White House switch board for a real operator to answer calls in real time. In addition, our new illustrious leader-to-be went on to say that if the problem could not be resolved in short order, or if there was no one with the requisite intelligence at VA to fix it, that he, The Donald, would see to it personally.
Now granted, Roberto Shulkin has not yet been graced with a confirmation hearing before Congress. Apparently, some on the other side of the aisle feel each and every Agency head has to be inspected, detected and face their wrath now that they are in the minority. This is why I so dislike politics-sore losers. Unfortunately, we, as Veterans, are the pawns in this game. It’s time for Congressfolks to put America and its interests to the forefront of any personal squabbles or discussion and squelch our own misgivings for the betterment of Veterans benefits both medical and compensatory. We’re unwilling to go another decade or two while they try to “iron out” the complexities. Both sides are at fault so there is no distinct political miscreant.
Here’s the Vet Tube of it all. If it’s true, we’re in high cotton. This would be better than having Secretary Bob’s number. July 11th, 2016 at my favorite surfing spot on the east coast- a few miles from the AFEES in Hampton where I began my military career.
Donald Trump vows to ‘pick up the phone’ on VA …
Either this is going to a showdown at the OK corral or a Dog and Pony Show for the ages. I hope they publish the telephone number soon. We’re waxing down our surfboards. We won’t wait ’til June. What’s the phone number, Don?
P.S. The good news from the DC deep throat is that our incipient VASEC in waiting “gets it”. We won’t have to spend a year studying the fustercluck and proposing insane ways to fire the dead wood if he’s already abreast of the problems. I wonder how the VSO crowd is going to respond when they discover they no longer have the ear of the inner council or any influence on the levers of power as in centuries past.
P.P.S. And a word from the Secretary of Defense Jimbo Mattis:
Gen. Mattis’ Inauguration gifts to Daesh.
asknod
brewerkelli
cspencer02
jamesaurora
kcraveiro
Laura
Veterans Claims Help 
Roberto McDonald lol
The old established VSO’s are not going to be able to attract new younger members unless they give up their unhealthy attachment to those silly caps! I cringe when I see VSOs testify before committees, in their caps, as if they can command respect while wearing them.
Hard to see many of the young vet readership of ” This ain’t hell but you can see it from here” ever playing along with that game. http://thisainthell.us/blog/
Great Blog.
What comes to mind here? An Orwellian World…an alternative universe with “alternative facts”.
I read this little gem a day or two ago:
http://andrewgelman.com/2017/01/22/george-orwell-alternative-facts/
How lovely the doublethink and truthspeak spouted in the video above might be, it doesn’t reconcile with actions already taken:
• An executive order issued on Monday, January 23rd, implements a hiring freeze across the federal government, with exceptions only for military, national security or public safety personnel.
Fire the “dead wood” at will over at the VA…but be mindful of the vacuum that could be created with no mechanism available to be able to infuse new (and necessary) replacements into the ranks.
Trump has said vets will have right to choose to be treated at the VA or outside the VA if they desire it. Am I missing something because I sure do want to be treated outside my VA that loses my scripts and then blames me. It is a 40 mile round trip to get to my VAMC and can take up to an hour when traffic is bad. I want to opt out of this system ASAP. When do I get the chance? The VA system for me is totally broken and cannot be fixed since I don’t plan on dying there or using one of their substandard nursing homes in which to rot. I understand why some very sick vets want to stay in the VA system since they practically live there already. I just want out with better care from private doctors. I think if Trump turns out to be just another lying politician vets should take matters into their own hands before they don’t have any hands left. We Vietnam Era vets are the last best hope for the VA.
the last best disenfranchised voice anyway.
The last best disenfranchised voice of a disenfranchised generation that has already been put on the shelf of history as “losers”. I look at our mostly baby boomer leadership now and think most were draft dodgers. It really warms my heart to know the generations that come after us will be even worse off, and will end as shoe shin boys for the Chinese. If Trump can turn that trend around without starting an atomic war then he will have achieved something. I am doubting it. Obama was such a “weak in the knees” Prez, but he did dump off half of the middle east in the hands of Russia, Turkey and Iran so they can fight over as they divide up the spoils. Maybe that was his plan or maybe he was just not wanting to be blamed for the lives of more Americans lost in hopeless battles.
Hold on Grasshopper, there is a Ton of Shit to Shovel out of the Va, lets give him some time to fix it right
There you go again, NOD, reading MUCH too much into what POTUS Trump “announced.”
Kellyanne’s the go-to gal, and if you go here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kellyanne-conway-trump-comments_us_58738edae4b043ad97e475d5?3l4yztxhbs9ejyvi
you can read what SHE says, about what he SAYS.
As filtered through the Huffington Post? Arianna’s Liberal fishwrap? She’s a shill for Mr. Soros, Frank. Surely someone erudite like yourself knows that. Let’s see what develops. We’re on day 4 of 1,460 and everyone seems to be prescient. How’d that Hillary for president thing pan out? Granted, the popular vote was there. Kinda like the spirit was willing but not the flesh.
The VSO’s are sending out their high praise for recent legislation asking members to get behind it. It’s only day 4 so I am not in a panic mode as of yet but the high-fives I have seen by VA employees at the local hospital gives me pause. We are currently in the middle of a huge rain storm my question is why is the rain turning yellow on me.
Count yourself lucky that it isn’t brown.