Each day, 18 more Vets killed on “Highway 1”

Posted on July 8, 2012 by joeaveragevet

In 1999, a group of private companies, such as Kodak, Cisco,  IBM, and  Microsoft got together and developed a system for the VA to use to convert the VA paper claim system to electronic processing called “Highway 1” at no cost to the government.

Today, and every day, about 17,000 Veterans will be so frustrated they will call The VA’s national veterans suicide crisis line (800-273-8255).   And, every day, 18 of these Vets will  (or about 500 per month)  “fall through the cracks” and take their own life  according to the VA’s estimates.  That is, 18 more Vets get killed on the VA’s “Highway One” of benefits claims frustration”.

After more than 13 years of bad contracts, delays, and a million Veterans on a claims waiting list, the VA now promises to have the claims process online by 2015.  Its too late for guys like this, however.

By using “non VA math”, I estimate that another  19,000 Veterans will lose their life to their own hand while the VA takes ANOTHER 3 years to try to fix the broken system.

For those of you who like math, thats 365 days per year, times 3 years, times 18 Veterans per day, which is a little more than 19,000 Veterans to be killed on VA’s “Highway One” of benefit frustration while we are waiting to see if Shinseki’s  contractors, can, indeed, reduce the backlog, and achieve a 2% error rate.

We cant afford to give the VA another 3 years, and 19,000 more Vets lives to fix what should have been done in 1999.  Call your senator and tell him to “fix the VA now”, not in 2015.

Posted in Guest authors, Uncategorized, VA BACKLOG, vA news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why is the VA so broken?

Posted on July 8, 2012 by joeaveragevet

Bob Filner talks to Rachel Maddow on why the VA is so broken, here.

So, why is the VA so “broken”?

There is a “culture of denial”  at the VA that is “anti Veteran”, and often overlooks fellow employees violating regulations, but then nails Veterans.   For example, a blogger who purports to be a retired VA employee rating specialist and trainer for VA employees said this, here  noting that a goniometer is required by regulations:

(Author’s note:  The link, above, appears to be broken, because that website’s moderators apparently have not yet decided whether or not to allow this to be published.    We apologize if this link does not work, however, we have no control over whether or not VBN moderators choose to keep this up or not)

With regard to the use of a goniometer, let me say this about that; I think that many folks make far too big of deal about this. I say this for two reasons. First is the fact that just about any doc who has been doing these exams for any length of time can be quite accurate just using their eyeballs. Granted, they are supposed to use one, but in reality many do not.

Second, my experience with VA C&P exams (and I’ve seen several thousand of them) is that more often than not the C&P examiners are quite liberal in their estimates when they don’t use the goniometer.

Huh?   This senior VA employee suggests that people make too big a deal about employees following regulations?  This same poster, who goes by “Cruiser” at VBN also stated:

As a DRO (Note:  A DRO is an experienced VA claims decision maker who often “reviews” less experienced claims representatives decisions, and, in this case, this DRO claims to train others at the VA! ) I saw this all too often myself. It was extremely disheartening to see veterans come into my hearing room for a personal hearing looking for all the world like a damned invalid after I had already observed them moving about freely in the parking lot or building cafeteria. In other cases after I had my doubts as to what they were telling me I would go to a 3rd story window overlooking the parking lot and watch them walk to their cars after the hearing. I’ve actually seen veterans get out of the wheelchairs that they were in when they appeared in front of me and carry the darned things to their cars after they left the building or tuck their crutches up under their arm as they walked away.

Assuming the trustworthiness of this ex VA supervisory employee, why did he not report this Veteran who was committing fraud, by “faking” an injury?  Maybe there was a reason this employee did not want investigators “sniffing around”?

In response, another poster stated it this way:

You (Cruiser) have categorized Veterans seeking help from the VA as liars and manipulators. That should be a wake up call to all Veterans that is how the majority of VA employees think of us. Veterans or not, when they are manipulating the system, like giving bonuses to those who deny claims AND training them how not to use the instructions they are given, those people are destroying Veterans lives.
Sounds familiar where the VA employees are always spot on when picking out a Veteran faking it, but when the docs or VARO employees do not follow the regulations it is not much ado about nothing, perfectly acceptable behavior. 

Another poster stated:

What a shame there was no disabled veteran taping the shredding of records that has taken place in the past.

Clearly, there is a “war” going on between VA employees and Veterans.  Sadly, the Veterans seem to be getting the short end of the stick.

Asknod notes: Apparently (as JAVet mentions) the link above has been shut down by VBN. The moderators there frequently do this censorship of their readers if the subject becomes too critical of the vA . They also ban members who have the audacity to stand up and be heard from what I’m told. I suppose this “head in the sand” technique has its proponents. It worked well for the likes of Hitler, Mussolini, Qaddafi, and other tin pot dictators. Perhaps the vA could take a page from their playbook?  

Posted in All about Veterans, Guest authors, VA BACKLOG, vA news | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shinseki’s backlog reduction by 2015 wont be met.

Posted on July 8, 2012 by joeaveragevet

I hope, for Veterans sake, that I am wrong about  VASEC’s promise .  Maybe he will keep his promise, but the numbers don’t add up.    The VA’s promise to fix the backlog by 2015 is largely based on  the VA’s “fuzzy math”.  

You see, the VA would have to hire 4000 more employees just to “scan in” the billions of pieces of Veterans C files and data.       Even if the VA did have  the budget to hire 4000 MORE employees (and I doubt that, as it was not budgeted in), hiring and training that many people does not happen overnight!

As an example, the VA promised to hire just 1600 mental health workers, and they said it will take until spring 2013 to hire about a third as many.   If it takes a year to hire 1600 workers, then it would follow that it would take about 3 years to hire 4000, and there is certainly no guarantee that they will even start hiring or training  these 4000 employees tomorrow.

Even if they did quickly hire and train these 4000 new workers, it will obviously take months or years for these new workers  to scan in these billions of documents.

The bottom line is that the VA’s “fuzzy math” does not go in the real world, and we can expect 2015 to come and go without the promised backlog reduction…just like 2010 came and went without the fulfillment of the  promise to “break the backlog this year“.

Posted in Guest authors, VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

DEFINITION OF INSANITY

Posted on July 7, 2012 by asknod

Some noted author or famous person who escapes my brain-fogged memory once said that the definition of insanity was repetitively doing something over and over again in hopes of attaining a different (and better?) result. Ah, Google. >>>author Rita Mae Brown in her book Sudden Death on Pg. 68 from 1983. 

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_first_said_the_definition_of_insanity_          is_to_do_the_same_thing_over_and_over_and_expect_different_results#ixzz1zxRRdWBB

Gotta love the machine, huh? so, let’s proceed to the subject of today’s diatribe.

IDIOT’S DELIGHT

A PLAY BY ASKNOD

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Will A. Gunn,  General Counsel   DVA

R. Randall Campbell,  Asst. Gen. Counsel  DVA

Richard Mayerick, Leslie C. Rogall, Carolyn F. Washington, David L. Quinn,Joan E. Moriarty, Deputy Asst. General Counsels

After twenty three years in this business of trying to prevent veterans from receiving their benefits as prescibed by law, the DVA, or vA if you will, is no closer to kicking ass and taking names. This is evident by reading many decisions by the Court and the occasional appeal to the higher venues.

vA over the years has had two phenomena. The VJRA with it’s attendant power transfer, and the enucleation of the old boy network of 3-member triumvirate Boards who dispensed what passed for jurisprudence for thirty years.  vA still hasn’t gotten over this. Witness one of the first tête a têtes here with Manio. It was ugly and bloody and the VASEC at the time, Mr. Derwinski, came away with teeth marks all over his ass. While he doesn’t actually dirty his hands, his minions listed above are the ones who do. Will Gunn et al are the men in the trenches. They move and shake. They decide which cases they will fight to the death. They are also the ones who go up to Indiana Ave. NW with a straight face, argue their side of the BVA decision and defend it in the appeal.

Now, we know from testimony at the Supreme Court that the vA admits their RO and BVA decisions (and actions) are substantially unjustified over sixty percent of the time. With that said, why do they continue to perpetuate the same errors decade after decade?

Why no pow wow? What, exactly, is preventing the hierarchy of the VA, the cast of characters above, from sitting down with their “people” and having a production meeting. Were we flies on the wall, what would we hear?

Gunn:  “Okay. Everyone got their Starbucks®? Good. Let’s get to the point here. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Campbell and I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time relitigating issues I thought were decided a score or more years ago. Why can’t we all get on the same page here? If a Vet has a good case and we have no grounds to deny, why are you guys over at the Board shooting them down? This is not cost effective.  We’re getting our teeth kicked in up at the Court and I don’t mind telling you that I find it embarrassing. Chief Justice Roberts caught that bozo out last fall and he admitted as much. What we need to do is revamp this thing and make it more efficient. Christ! Carolyn and Leslie might as well get hotel rooms closer to 625 Indiana Ave NW if you keep this crap up. It’s cutting into my spare time and my handicap is going up. Questions?

It’s more likely that this will never occur. If any production meetings should occur. I’m sure they will entail crafting new acronyms for reducing the backlog and better excuses for why the new protocols haven’t been given a chance to work.

 From all outward appearances, the vA appears to be in the business of preventing Veterans from attaining benefits. That’s the impression I get. I’m sure the vA doesn’t share my sentiments though. Let us venture further and look at some sobering statistics.

Roughly 85% of claims for compensation are denied the first time out. Ignore compensation for pensions, dependency issues, and the grave marker allowances and you are stuck with 85%. Does that imply 85% of this claimant pool are liars and cheats? Not exactly. It seems we are all maladroit and do not present our claims “in the best light”. According to the vA, we neglect to send in the exculpatory evidence that would go a long way towards remedying the process. Huh? If this were Geico®, wouldn’t they call us back and say “Gee, Mr. Nod. Looks like you failed to give us three estimates for the right front quarter repair. We can’t complete this without it. You know that, right?” vA tells us we inhabit a unique, Veteran friendly environment and then proceeds to give us plenty of rope to clothesline ourselves with. The denial comes as a complete surprise in most cases as we all well know.

Representative Filner D-Ca. has an excellent solution to all this. Trust the Vet. Does anyone believe 85% of us are ne’er do wells? Liars and cheats? Money grubbers? No, of course not. If I were to venture a guess I suspect that five percent might fall into that category. If that’s so, why can’t we do what the IRS did? Grant the claim subject to an audit. Look at how much money they throw away every hour down in Foggy Botttom. Would another billion ever be noticed? According to vA-yes.

If one knew he was subject to a fine and possible prison time, I’m sure this would be a deterrent to the majority of miscreants out in the world. Obviously there are some for whom this will never bother and they will press on regardless. Why should ninety five percent of us have to suffer for the failings of five? In truth, we shouldn’t. Nevertheless we are corralled with them and made to endure an unrealistic wait of years and sometimes decades.

Anecdotal evidence says this:

2011 claims —– 1 million (approx.)

85% denial = 850,000

 # of NODs= 250,000

# of Appeals to BVA = 50,000

# of claims to CAVC = 5,000

Remand rate= 60%

Conclusion? Pursuing your claim has a higher rate of success if you appeal. Duh. I didn’t have to explain that but it is evident that many of these claims are never pursued. My attorney pointed out something I am guilty of too. When someone like the vA calls you a liar and denies you, it can be a personal insult. I took it that way after I realized it wasn’t just some garden variety error. vA counts on this. It’s formulated into the system that way. If every Vet appealed all the way to DC they’d have to come up with a better mousetrap. Instead, they shotgun denials and wait to see who fails to stand up afterward. They repeat the process at the BVA in most cases and wait again to see who falls out of formation.

When the few, the proud, the last Vets standing march up to Indiana Avenue to appeal, vA is there like the attorneys for any large corporation waiting on the steps to strike a last minute accord with you. When they know they are wrong and are exposed in their lies, they beg for the do over. This is what we call a JMR (Joint Motion for Remand). Since few if any of these Vets show back up at the Court again, we can assume that promises were made and gifts were exchanged.

You can now see the enormity of the problem. If you remove the impediment to granting the claim subject to proof of fraud, the system will move forward and the backlog will become a distant memory. Auditing claims with no timetable to adjudicate them takes the inexorable  pressure off the raters to crank these out. We’d all be happy campers. Unfortunately this does not sit well down at 810 Vermont Ave. NW. Until we change the vA mindset that we are all trailer trash and Walmartians, we are doomed to repeat this insanity. They are perfectly fine with that and see no reason to revamp their thinking. Why is that? Roseanne Rosannadanna summed it up in seven words: “It always goes to show it’s somethin’.” Filner sees it. We see it. Hell, everyone sees the forest except the vA.

As some sage once said “They’ll see it only when they believe it themselves and not one moment sooner.” God help us.

Posted in VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

CAMP LEJEUNE UPDATE 7/2012

Posted on July 6, 2012 by asknod

This just in from member Shawn who knows where all the bodies are buried back east. It seems Congress is going to finally do something about this horrible mess. I figure they’ll rob Peter to pay Paul in order to get it done. Either that or they’ll rob Peter to pay Paul’s interest on it. Being innovative, I’m sure they’ll find a way to disenfranchise someone or a group so as not to disturb any of their pet bridges to nowhere.

As usual, this closely parallels the Love Canal housing development and the Agent Orange debacle almost to a T. Deny, deny, deny. Then -“Well, we weren’t sure so we didn’t drop the dime on anyone for fear that it would just cause undue stress. Now that we know, well, we’re telling everyone.” That would be fifteen years of not being sure in case anyone’s counting. I’m sure Jerry Ensminger is glad to see some resolution to this. Imagine losing your child to government stupidity. Then multiply it by scores of children.

We children who grew up to be soldiers and ate, inhaled and drank AO in SEA are no different. We went into it just as blindly and were misinformed, lied to and ultimately given the “We didn’t know” treatment, too. The only difference was that Dow and their ilk knew about the deleterious nature of 2,4,5 T for years before they deployed it and sold the military on it.

Posted in Camp Lejeune poisoning | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

VA Employees Meet quotas by denying Vets

Posted on July 5, 2012 by joeaveragevet

According to the New York Times, the employees at the Columbia, South Carolina’s VA Regional Office deny Veterans claims because it is faster and helps them meet quotas.

The Times article says it this way:

“They’ve implemented so much stuff, no human can keep up with it all,” said Cindy Indof, a decision review officer who has been with the department for 20 years.

Further, the times said,

“The workers (VA Employees) said those quotas encourage processors to take shortcuts that often lead to mistakes, or to focus on easier cases over complex ones. And when in doubt, processors tend to deny claims, the workers said, because denials are generally faster.”

Even more troubling is the VA Workers’ belief  that Shinseki will never be able to reduce the backlog, in spite of his promises to do so:

Mr. Robinson said about 8,300 cases were ready to be processed in the Columbia office, which has about 100 claims raters, many of whom already have more than 140 cases on their desks.

“Do the math,” he said. “There is nothing we can do to catch up.”

Posted in Guest authors, VA BACKLOG, vA news | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

VA BACKLOG IN PERSPECTIVE.

Posted on July 5, 2012 by asknod

I have received numerous queries over that last several months as the news of the vA backlog increasingly dominates the airwaves. I googled backlog and a number of sites pop up including my ruminations on this one. Jim Strickland’s VA Watchdog also has an informative article that goes into it in depth.

What I fail to see in all of them is a true retrospective of how bad it was from 1989 and the inception of the VJRA. I am limited in what information I can excavate but feel my own is as good an example as any.

I filed for my back and tinnitus claims July 1989. All was well and fine and a denial promptly popped up in the mail in October with no C&P for my back. I filed for a RO hearing and that occurred in July of 1990. A new denial was mailed in October of that year. I filed with new and material evidence and received a SSOC in February of 1991. I immediately file my Form 1-9 and my BVA decision was announced on March 5th, 1992.

Focusing entirely on the time from the initial filing to first denial was approximately 100 days which is remarkable unless you consider how a major insurance company might have handled it.

The next foray in March of 1994 for the big apple (HCV and PCT) was a bit more prolonged. Eight months and seven days (247 days) later on November 7th, 1994 I received my denial. I had no C&P and vA did nothing but view my evidence and ignore it as nearly as I can tell. I filed the NOD with new and material evidence on December 7th, 1994 and the SOC arrived on January 5th, 1995. A promised new decision base on the N&M evidence never materialized and hasn’t to this day.

My last filing in February 2007 to clean up this mess was granted in stages. The tinnitus was granted rapidly (120 days) because they had done the decision in 1995 but neglected to send it to me. The hepatitis claim was granted July 1, 2008. That was a whopping sixteen months and seven days.  When they accomplished the tinnitus claim they dropped the hepatitis and PCT claims which were ostensibly being developed. I discovered this on October 17th, 2007. When they finished the hep claim in July 2008, they promptly dropped the PCT claim. I discovered this on September 29th, 2008. Amazingly, they had a decision (and a win) in my hands on October 3rd, 2008 thanks to Sen. “Sneakers” Murray, the head of the Senate VA committee. In summary 120 days, 492 days, and 554 days respectively for tinnitus, HCV and PCT.

Mind you, this was in 2007-2008. Things are infinitely worse in terms of the number of claims filed. To assume that vA can magically turn this around in the space of the the next two years and arrive at decisions in 125 days with a negligible error rate is the height of hypocrisy. I wish them all the luck in the world but I honestly believe the Humpty Dumpty project had a higher success probability that what the vA is promising.

The burning question on everyone’s (Veterans and some congressmen) lips is what will happen when Uncle Eric is off in his continuing prognostications? Undersecretary Allison Hickey swears up and down that this will all be an unpleasant memory soon. Congressman Filner feels otherwise and was willing to put his money where his mouth is. Can it be done? Can vA reinvent the wheel and come up with a streamlined system that actually does what they promise? We certainly hope so. Some Veterans’ sites advocate we all settle down and allow this to happen. I would point out that it took us twenty three years to go from a ninety day denial (1989)to a 554 day win in 2008.

What probably concerns most of us is the creative math vA so frequently employs in claims remuneration to show us it (the backlog)really isn’t nearly as bad as is painted. I would say that when 60 percent  is added to 80 percent and vA determines  that equals 92 percent, we need a new math teacher.  vA continues to maintain that most claims are resolved in less than 240 days. Helloooooooo?  With the claims process becoming mired ever-deeper in new filings, we can resort to prayer and little else to speed up the process.

Our Mentor, who art in 810 Vermont Ave. NW

Hallowed be thy Administration

Give us this year our filed claims

at the VARO or in DC.

Lead us not into Backlogs but deliver us from delays

for Thee hath the BVA, the M-21 and the ROs

Forever and Ever

Amen

Posted in VA BACKLOG | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

FREE LUGGAGE FROM vA

Posted on July 4, 2012 by asknod

In an exciting development for homeless Vets, I discovered these in my travels at the recent jobs expo vA put on in Tacoma last week. Feast your eyes on this!

That’s right. Be the envy of your friends under the bridge with this ruggedly handsome luggage that will stand the test of time. Fits into any social circle and is timeless so it won’t go out of style. Notice the faux green snakeskin motif that is all the rage in Compton now. All these are equipped with the patented “ezi-grip” handles as seen on TV.

The smaller white tote is perfect for a carry on bag and fits comfortably above you on the bridge girder. The smallest white plastic bag is ideal for those gadabout neighborhood forays to the WINCO® trash dumpster for dinner and is washable and won’t stain-even with the most obstinate fruit stains.

How much would you expect to pay for all this? $2.00? $2.50? Well, as a special for Vets only, this is available for free. And if you order it now it will be sent to you in this durable, matching sea chest.

Imagine how impressed your friends will be when they see you roll up with the shopping cart sporting this ensemble. This and other exciting gifts from vA are yours for the asking View them all online at the library on the homelessvet@va.gov site. Click on the Chicago 60609 luggage line offer (from the Spiegle catalogue).

vA wants you to be stylin’ in the hood and what better way to show off your pride of ownership?  Yes, you’ll sleep better knowing if you get rousted that you have all your worldly possessions safely ensconced and ready to grab when you have to beat feet. You served your country and now its time you earned your reward.

You’ve done your stint at Being All You Can Be.  Now America and the vA want to salute you with this small token of their appreciation. If you have no permanent address, simply take a bus to the vARO and ask for the Homeless Coordinator. He or she will be happy to outfit you with these items and many, many more. Free claim forms for those pesky IED/PTSD problems  are available too. Mention the special “Hickeygram” promo code and get a free analog communications tool (ball point pen) absolutely free. vA wants you to live as independently as possible and this is right down your back alley.

P.S. Some of you may see this as being in poor taste but it sums up what I feel is the way vA treats us and the homeless Veterans. I apologize in advance if I have touched a raw nerve. For entertainment purposes only. Does not necessarily reflect the views of management. No dogs or cats were harmed in the shooting of this commercial. Edited for content to fit into the time slot.

Posted in HOMELESS VETERANS, Humor | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How to find VA’s errors in your claim?

Posted on July 4, 2012 by joeaveragevet

Recently, I published an article explaining that more than 76% of BVA decisions are in error, based on Bart Stichman’s Testimony to Congress.  Regional Office Decisions would actually be worse than that, because, remember, to get your claim to the BVA, it has to go through the RO and often the ” experienced decision maker”, the DRO first.

The question is, how do we find these errors, so that we can successfully appeal?

Well, yes, you can take your claim to your VSO, but how many of them have gotten this training  on how to detect errors in your claim?

If your VSO is unaware of these recent cases and this training to spot VA errors, then maybe you should ask him, “Why not”?

Posted in Guest authors, Tips and Tricks, vARO Decisions, Veterans Law | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

WARM, FUZZY vA GOODWILL

Posted on July 4, 2012 by asknod

Member Kel sent this in to me this morning. I read a small blurb about it in the fishwrap yesterday morning but ignored it as more bloviating on vA’s part in an effort to take our consciousness off their myriad shortcomings vis a vis the backlog. After reading the whole article in its entirety, I was awestruck by the condescension of the participants to this dog and pony show.

First let me say that I am heartened by any effort to help homeless people and more so where it involves Veterans. Please don’t take this for a diatribe about all things vA. What disturbs me is the cavalier attitude of the article and what this bike ride is supposed to accomplish:

 The funds raised by the trek will go towards purchasing “home starter kits” for Veterans that include dishes, bathroom necessities, cleaning supplies, air mattresses and passes for public transportation so that the Veterans can travel to medical appointments and job interviews.

Stay with me on this but where are these homeless Veterans expected to park all these amenities if they are homeless? This seems to be putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Absent purloined shopping carts from Kroeger’s, they are going to have a hard time packing it up in suitcases and toting it to job interviews. Sometimes the most well-intentioned acts have less than perfect outcomes.  Remember the Mars spacecraft whose altimeter was set for meters but the computer was programmed in feet? SPLAT!

When fashioning cures for homelessness, the focus needs to be on hard, concrete solutions to the root cause and a path back to normalcy. High-flying panaceas like bike rides and Meet and Greets at the Wall are fine for a photo op. They could better save the planet, curb global warming, conserve gas, and husband their resources by staying in Huntington and have cookie bake sales with a side helping of car washes. It’s called being pro-active.

Now for the subject of Dog and Pony shows (with no disrespect intended for my dogs and pony).

>Riders aging (sic) from their late 30s to early 70s departed Saturday at 7:45 a.m. from the starting line of the West Virginia 5k in Huntington where Huntington RO Homeless Program Coordinator LeeAnn Bills addressed a crowd of approximately 1,000 people. At a stop on their first day, riders attended a ceremony hosted by the office West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. (D&P Shows #1 & #2)

>The Ride will end on Thursday at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Janice Jacobs, Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Undersecretary for Disability Assistance, plan to meet the cyclists at the finish line of their 85-mile final day ride. (#3)

>The riders will also meet with West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall the following day.  “No veteran should be without a roof over their head. In this nation of plenty, where we sleep at night comforted by the sense of safety our Armed Forces provide, homelessness among veterans is a travesty,” said Congressman Rahall, who is a senior member of the House Military Veterans Caucus.(#4)

> A strong (vA) employee contingent also saw the riders off on their ride on Saturday.  (#5)

Talk about a full dance card. And perhaps that’s part of the problem. If these vA employees devoted this time as a donation at work to some of the more intractable claims from homeless Vets seeking benefits, perhaps those individuals wouldn’t be homeless. Idle conjecture on my part, granted.

My point is simple. Americans are more than willing to open their wallets to these endeavours. They may be poor themselves but they are legendary givers. What we have here is a situation where some altruistic individuals have a desire to help others but are caught up in the spirit of the moment. Bike rides are fun so let’s combine a four day jaunt to DC with a homeless theme. Gee, did they invite any homeless folks to ride with them to symbolize hope? Negatory, pilgrims.

The VA Employees Association held two catered lunches this spring and raised over $500 for fuel for the support vehicle which is carrying food, changes of clothes and other supplies as (sic) for the cyclists.

I’m going out on a limb here but I’m betting the vA contingent of cyclists will not be sleeping under the stars on this foray. If fact, I’d go so far as to say they’ll be tucked in at a Motel 6® with air conditioning to keep them fresh and rested for the rigors of the days ahead.  I won’t be rude and ask who’s paying for the rooms. I suspect it will come from the fund solicited to help the ones they are cycling for. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

I commend Mr. Hill and the vA Employees Association for their desire to help homeless Vets. I only feel that his (and their) efforts could be better spent on pastimes closer to home. As most homeless folks have no TV, they will miss out on the primetime coverage that West Virginia newsies will devote to the arrival and glad handing at the Wall. Money spent on motels, food and gasoline to and fro could be better spent on actual housing for  Vets and their assimilation into normal society. I realize that might not capture the imaginations of the “News and film at six!” crowd or have the same cachet as a vA dispatch about how much concern they feel.

vA has developed a public relations program the likes of which rival the best Madison Ave. ad agency. They are becoming the past master of the sound bite. All well and fine. While this garners a lot of headline space, it is empty of the one ingredient sorely needed to accomplish what it is aimed at. Actions speak louder than words. But actions have to be shaped to the circumstances. Hence, collecting money and assembling home starter kits for the homeless is pointless. That is what Goodwill stores are for. Remember the $600 Air Force toilet seats for C-5 cargo aircraft? The sixty dollar screwdriver that looked and felt like the $2.49 offering at Tru-Value®? The parallel is obvious.

Habitat for Humanity, while a dog and pony show in its own right, is an example of  Hillary Clinton’s admonition that it takes a village. Nevertheless, results ensue even if it takes that many. A sixpack of cyclists riding their $2000.00 custom bikes to DC followed by two Ford Excursions full of Gatorade and clean clothes and jerseys bearing military logos is cheap and degrades the men and women it is purported to assist. Imagine Bill Gates and Warren Buffet inviting the Koch brothers and half of Hollywood to a big 30 course dinner with a surf and turf theme- all in the name of helping the homeless Vets. I’m sure some serious money could be amassed but they wouldn’t invite any of the great unwashed who selflessly served to ensure their right to lobster.

Enjoy your freedom today and remember who brought it to you. If you see a homeless person, Vet or not, perhaps the meaningful thing to do would be to give them a small down payment on a future or a meal. Let’s worry about the home starter kits for Vets a little further down the road after their claims are adjudicated and their financial picture is a little more settled.

And that’s my Dog and Pony show for today… courtesy of Molly and Dude.

P.S. No offense but the author of the vA article, Richard Allen Smith, described as a “Web Communications Specialist” should read his own copy before pushing print. “Aging” used in any context means the riders are aging as they cycle to DC. Let’s hope arthritis doesn’t set in en route! Perhaps he meant to say “ranging in age from…” Gosh. I wonder if I could get a job as a WCS, too? Do you get to sign all your correspondence with a WCS afterward? All these queshuns.

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