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Republicans Seek To End Healthcare For 1.3 Million Disabled Vets
Republicans Seek To End Healthcare For 1.3 Million Disabled Vets was written by Ray for PoliticusUSA.
© PoliticusUSA, Jun. 6th, 2011. All Rights Reserved
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138 Responses to Republicans Seek To End Healthcare For 1.3 Million Disabled Vets
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michael
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
When will they actually start kicking disabled vets and low-income pregnant women. I mean, how much lower can these soulless bastards go?
Tammy Kincaid
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 7:20 pm
They have hallow souls.
Jessica
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Surely, you mean hollow souls?
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
And please dont call me shirley
Macklerfish
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
“These veterans are the least disabled veterans using the system, usually with disability ratings of 0 percent or no service-connected disability.”
Did anyone actually read the whole thing? Veterans who are in the range of slightly disabled to absolutely 100% not disabled due to their service are the ones losing Healthcare. What, you wanna cry ’cause you have ex-servicemen and women taking advantage of their situation? Hello?! We don’t have the money to waste anymore.
Voice of Reason
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Well, you just said it. To conservatives, protecting the health of Americans is “wasteful.” What a sickening idea.
Were these people not promised health care when they signed up? What about the ones who were drafted? You don’t have an argument.
Your tired “we don’t have the money” canard rings hollow. The wealthy DO have the money — money that the middle class used to have. They’ve stolen it. It is time to take it back.
Tamara Calkins
Jun. 11th, 2011 at 1:55 am
Stolen from whom? FYI the majority of “wealthy” people are politicians and actors. They don’t really work for their money, do they? And the politicians exempt themselves from the laws the rest of us have to follow. What happens when all the “wealthy” people leave America and it is just a bunch of people on the dole who don’t work or want something for nothing. You have 0% disability but you expect free healthcare, you must be one of the Reservist who wanted a free education and then got pissed off when the people of this country actually expected you to keep your end of the bargain. Yeah, it is just the mean old rich people, who worked their butts off to get ahead, that are screwing everybody over.
sott
Jun. 11th, 2011 at 8:19 am
Vetrans were never “promised” health care enlisted or drafted. This plan does not eliminate health care for vetrans it would only eliminate those who are not disabled or their disabilities are not related to the service. It will eliminate those who are sponging off of the government. Idont understand why people think it has to be one or the other. Why cant we eliminate people (vetrans or not) from getting undeserved benefits and eliminate tax loopholes and make a more fiar tax structure for everyone. It has to start somewhere.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
If you served you deserve our support no matter WHAT your disability situation. It is the fact that the GOP is focused on cutting human services in favor of supporting the agenda of the uber-wealthy and continuing unsustainable tax cuts that is wrong. They are holding the world economy hostage to further the fascist agenda of the right. When did greed, avarice, shortsightedness and stupidity become American values? Why do we allow our Representatives in Washington to be bought and paid for by the slimiest group of people in the world? Money buys access and those with access get attention. Corruption has become institutionalized and K street runs the government. Until we take the $$$ out of politics we are at the mercy of the wealthy and the wealthy have no mercy. We can fix this mess and return our government to one of reasonable discourse and compromise. It takes 38 states to call a constitutional convention. When do we start?
Diane Lyon
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Unfortunately, those supporting this action have not risked their lives for the freedom of our nation. Back in the Viet Nam war days, college students were exempt from the draft – only the poor, unfortunate men who could not afford college were drafted. Many lost their lives for our freedom, and those who made it home were messed up. Those lost souls who were exempt, are now our representatives in Washington. Hence, I say no more.
lynn barry
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
This country made a contract with our servicemen…they stayed in the service, fulfilled their end of the deal…they deserve the benefit whether they are zero or 100% disabled.The greed of the Republican party leaders is becoming more and more apparent. Let’s hope that the traditional conservative middle class voters will finally see that this party is NOT for them, only for the elite wealthy.
Marine0861
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Taking advantage of the situation? So because our country thanks us for our service by providing us with a form of healthcare that is affordable after we leave active service is a waste of money? So we should cut that funding out first before we think about taxing millionaires and billionaires? Either you have never worn the uniform and served your country with pride or you just don’t care about the sacrifices vets have made for this country.
Beachguy
Jun. 10th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Why is it that just voting for sweetheart government contracts for their local businesses counts as patriotic service? Why does the Military keep voting for the most fake and pretentious douchebags that only talk about how much they appreciate Veterans. They say that “Talk is cheap”, well I propose that it’s always been this way, but the service members keep voting for conservatives like they have a lock on Patriotism and the Flag. I say they’re nothing but a bunch of low down dirty, lying, cheating, corrupt, scumbags who will say anything to get elected…and the stupid servicemen eat it up like it’s gospel candy. Do you want to guess who really cares for our servicemen? Nobody!!! Unless it’s election time, and the same old tired assholes will trumpet their military voting record, which is just a ruse because the only reason they voted for military spending is because they were paid to do so. Yes, in case you didn’t know, our military contractors and their teams of Lobbyists are really bribing our politicians in order to get more money, not to save lives or because they care, but just pure greed. How stupid!
donald crews
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
i am 100% dav, if you don’t think i will rise up to protect what i earned from battle in viet nam,i will with my last breath protect my family. these republicans got us into this mess to begin with. beginning with the savings and loan banks in who BUSH was part owner, how we soon forget things……..
dwain
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
and how soon we forget that it was the Democrats that got us into Vietnem and it was a democratic controlled congress that got us into the bank crisis led by YOUR barney frank and Chris Dodd.. REMEMBER????
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
It was the wealthy corporate sponsors that profited from Vietnam that got us in that mess…LYING ALL THE WAY! Your reply is only an exercise in name calling. The mess we are in now goes back to Reagan and supply-side/trickle-down economics. Reagan said “Deficits didn’t matter” and Cheney quoted him when Bush’s own Treasury Secretary warned that two wars and tax cuts at the same time would be disastrous. He was fired for doing his job. Now the GOP is holding the world economy hostage, crying DEFICIT!DEFICIT!DEFICIT! to further the agenda of the fascists that REALLY run this country. It is time to stop the blame game, pointing fingers, and crying foul on the other side. It is time to fix the mess we are in NOW.
Ray
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
In my world and its history books, it was Eisenhower who was CIC when the first Advisors(troops in my book),lol, were sent there.Although the Dems escalated it, it was Repubs that put us there in the first place, HELPING Ho Chi Minh defeat the French.
dwain
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
oh BTW..a sincere thanks for your service
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
pretty hollow thanks dwain. Being politically correct or is your conscienceless reply really bothering you? Conservatives are such hypocrites.
Tamara Calkins
Jun. 11th, 2011 at 2:01 am
You need to read the new book out by the New York times writer, it was actually the Dems and their cronyism that cause this current debacle. In particular, their greed, their willingness to take bribes and their inability to accept that you don’t lend money to people who can’t pay it back. DUH! Bless the dems for wanting everyone to have a house, now so many don’t and the ones that do lost all their equity so their house is worth less then they paid for it. Good job.
Ronnie
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
I am a 100% disabled combat veteran and I would be willing to take a cut in healthcare and compensation if the Congress, President and the rest of our government take the same cut in pay perportional to their own.
I think all of the government should consider taking a cut in pay for all the miss management they have done with our tax dollors, after all it is miss management that has caused these problem of the world and the United States, it is not a lack of money we suffer from, it is a lack of good management by our elected official from the President on down.
Ronnie
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Maybe I did not think through all of what I was saying in my last post.
Maybe we should remove the healthcare from all the non disabled congresspersons and for that matter the President of the United States, while we are at it since we can not afford to take care of our disabled veterans or the less than 10% disabled regardless of their ability to pay, lets get rid of all health care for all public officials that are not disabled to include the judges and all other elected officials that are not disabled, if we can not afford to pay for veterans that are in need we surely should not be paying for people that have good jobs and can afford to pay. Lets start with the man that has made this proposal, lets let him volunteer to give up his health care for him and his family since he has a good job, ability to pay and does not have a disability. Let him show where his heart is for real.
Gayle
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
First, Ronnie – Some people are either too ignorant, or too mean spirited to care about your sacrifice. I want to thank you so very much for taking care of us. I know I speak for others who feel the same gratitude. I find it hard to understand what is going on in our country now. I just can’t believe that ANY OF US are allowing this situation to continue. I wonder when, WHO and how anyone will put an end to it and GET THESE SELFISH, GREEDY, COWARDLY PEOPLE ONE AND ALL O – U – T of our government, once and for all. SOMEONE P L E A S E DO SOMETHING!!!
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
2012. Drag your friends from their homes and fooking VOTE
lynn barry
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Ronnie…I’m with you all the way on public officials paying for their health insurance, and ALSO forfeiting that LIFETIME benefit they have of insurance (and just HOW large is their pension???)I don’t intend to hold my breath for this to happen,though…can you imagine a legislature that actually worked for the public interest, rather than their own? Unfortunately, I cannot.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I dont know what their pension is, but I do know John McCain takes in 39,000 a year in SS benefits.
BRADCOLORADO
Jun. 11th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
as a air force vet i have advocated for years on behalf of the va medical system and benefits for veterans. however, some vets seem dumb to the idea that most repubs dont give a hoot for vets programs and have tried to decimate them for years. ignorant vets keep voting against their interest in the belief that the repubs who wrap themselves in the flag will do more for them than the dems. it is the dems who have helped the vamc get more and more budget increases. republicans are dogs who should consider leaving the planet, in my ltd opin.
Ray Medeiros
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Ideology trumps everything…even common sense
ginny
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
This makes me sick. My friend, a veteran, will be directly affected by this. He hasn’t had a job that provided health benefits for years, and the VA healthcare coverage is all he has got. It saved his life when he found out he had cancer last year, and he continues to need follow-up care. He was drafted back during vietnam, he didn’t even volunteer for any of this! Yet, the Repubs just want to let him die with no health care. ASSHOLES!!!!
AFM
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 8:34 am
Where in the world did Vet’s get the idea republicans supported them with health care? They never cared.
drsolo
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:20 am
All they care about is the big money that goes to big business donors.
drsolo
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:22 am
al queda is shivering with delight.
Milo
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
The enemy of my enemy is my friend…You are so right.
kris_de
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
while we were in the military! we were told they supported the military and would always take care of us. this new brand of repub’s are not what that idea/belief/trust was based on.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
I went for my physical in July of 1968. I was denied service because of my eyesight and the fact that I was in college. However, I think that anyone that takes two or more years out of their life to work in an occupation that could mean death should have insurance. And quite frankly I feel the same way about the cops and the firemen.
Robyn Ryan
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I retired, assured that I would receive reasonable cost of living increases in my retirement pension. Wrong! The COLA for retirees is set at 1% below what everyone else gets. So that loss compounds every year. My current retirement pay is $10 more than when I retired in 1994.
Their explanation: most military are still healthy enough to work, and will not rely on their pension, anyway.
Those of us whom the VA have deemed ‘damaged, but not sufficiently damaged, and besides it wasn’t our fault’ just fall through the cracks.
All privatization does is steal the assets we’ve built up with our taxes. It makes us prisoners of the contractor.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
I totally agree. Healthcare providers have proven that they are not reliable nor practical. They are trying to force you to use private companys saying the government gives you no choice while they give you no choice
Pat
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Shiva… As both an Army vet (’89-’93) and a full time fireman.. Your comments are appreciated..
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
ty
MS
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
I hate to say a Vet is lying but Robyn you are. IF you did in fact retire in 1994 then you must have retired as an E1. There is NO way your only getting $10 more. I retired in 1993 and my pay has gone up a couple hundred dollars since then and I was not an Officer.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
I am totally in agreement that the GOP is turning away every drop of revenue that it can to force the Fed to not have any social programs. That creates a very ugly world. They do not intend on crating jobs as that would be income. Which puzzles me beucase that effects the major corporations bottom line. This is a horribly sad time in our history.
Contractions will build and build as our people become more repressed. Think of the illegals in the country. There will be nothing for them and for some it will be impossible for them to go any place else. Our standing in the world will be shot, we will be nothing but a country with 310 million people and large military
Acey49
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:58 pm
These Republicans better wake up and realize what they are doing. The veterans are the ones who decided to fight for America and kill its enemies.
Remember, we swore to defend America from all enemies, both domestic or foreign.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
They dont care. They will oppress everyone they can. Today in a state congress a bill was introduced to stop circumcision on men. With jail time and penalties
They want us poor and unable to fight back. Get ready to join the military
Eric
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
We still can…we have a domestic enemy in our midst…this veteran has had enough.
Harvey
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:11 am
That is true, however if we band together to fight domestic enemies we’ll end up in prison. So much for our oath.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
It takes 38 states to call a Constitutional Convention and rewrite the laws, amendments and SCOUS decisions. We get organized and committed and we can make America great again. We can return this country to a government of reasonable discourse and political compromise. The power of the people united is grater than the people in power!
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
tell me, what are you going to change?
CO
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
This is their ‘plunder’.
www.huffingtonpost.com/br...
Palin’s Movement Urges ‘Godly’ To ‘Plunder’ Wealth of The ‘Godless’
Reynardine
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Once he (or she) is no longer capable of fighting, a veteran is just a useless eater and therefore a liability to be gotten off the books. True, veterans were promised these benefits in consideration for giving the nation permission to have them killed at any time during their service, but once they have served and not been killed, that is past consideration and no longer binding. Or at least that is the legal/economic reasoning of the Dissocialists, and I bet you won’t have long to wait before you see it argued in our courts.
John Bakalik
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
I’m a WW2 veteran , my records were lost in the ST.Louis. Fire 1976, was hospitalized three times while in service, once in coma. Now am handicapped with many ailments and on low income will have to fend for myself because these republicans have gone wild in trying to hurt the poor and our veterans. Medicare helped me when in need, and they want to destroy it also.
Andrew
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 12:22 am
Thank you for you service and I’m sorry to hear that our “representatives” are treating you this way…
- Andrew
Tony Kessler
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:26 am
Let me follow a bit of logic here. You teach every generation from the start of this country to the present high tech secret weapons, you teach them to kill, boobytrap, burn and main, then you take away all incentives to even behave in a civil manner, then you PISS them off?
Reynardine
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:33 am
I followed that link, and an additional link I found there. These people are guilty of far worse things than the darkest deeds ever attributed to “witches”. They are all about cursing, blighting, destroying, and tyrannizing, and the powers they think they possess, the “Gahd” they think they can summon, are all directed towards such ends. They even worship at the feet of a golden bovine, which the Bible they claim to follow clearly condemns. They brag that their curses killed Mother Theresa and Princess Diana both, and if this were true, it would make them the most culpable of murderers. I had thought them someone’s “useful idiots”. If they themselves ARE the driving force, we are in trouble. They all need to be locked in the Soft Hotel for the rest of their lives, where they won’t even be allowed to run their stockings, much less the world.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Well said!
Silvergoat
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 8:26 am
As a physician who worked at several VAMC facilities, I hope I have a clearer vision of how the VA works. 90+% (this is pre Iraq btw) of the VA patients were nonservice related medical problems. IE, many served in the military, but never had a medical problem. Years or decades later, when they developed (as an example), lung related diseases from smoking, or digestive tract related diseases-especially alcohol related, they would get VA healthcare.
I had always thought that the VA health benefits should be centered around veterans who had medical problems directly related to service related injuries, be they physical or mental. However, VA mission creep now covers completely unrelated problems, bloating the clientele and diluting the care for those who truly need it.
Trimming off those people with non service related or 0% disability conditions will only improve the service for veterans for whom the VA system was originally designed.
Ishtar
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I wouldn’t be personally affected by this, as I am service-connected at 50%, but. . ..
Vets without service connection or with 0% are already the last ones to get care; they are the lowest priority for getting appointments. Also, they have to copay and provide insurance and financial information.
Also, not all conditions that are developed later in life are a result of bad behavior (like your smoking example). My step-father developed diabetes in his early 50s. He was not ever fat; he ate fairly well and was pretty active. The VA eventually decided that his condition could be traced to Agent Orange exposure 30 years earlier. So, he wasn’t service-connected at first, but this made him service-connected.
marine0861
Jun. 17th, 2011 at 10:01 am
FINALLY someone that knows 0% service connected vets DO NOT get free healthcare. They are lowest priority and have a copay based on their income and are also required to bring any other documentation of any insurance they have outside of the va. It’s an affordable way for vets to receive quality healthcare.
Eric
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Excuse me…but veterans are not bloat. With physicians like you, who needs monsters? People should get care just by virtue of being a veteran, regardless if they are disabled vets or not. You are a disgusting human being and a disgrace to the medical profession.
al
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Right…
Sovani Meksvanh
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Dear physician,
I am one of those vets you are speaking of… who according to you sir had had non service related and 0% disability – bloating the clientele and diluting the care for those who truly need it.
This couldn’t be furthest from the truth. Facts of my particular case is that I was exposed to ionizing radiation during active federal service while serving on nuclear duty. The Department of Veterans Affairs fought me tooth and nail for 10 years before I was awarded 100% service connected disability with special monthly compensation because I have stage 4 cancer and am slowly but surely dying from 8 tumors greater than 5 cm in my chest.
It took the State Governor, the Lt Governor, both of my senators, and my representative in the House, three class action suits, as well as two Federal Court rulings to pry the benefits I earned with my body from the VA. So no sir, whether a physician or not, you have not earned the right to pass judgement on my fellow veterans. While you were earning your degree in medical school, I was on the front lines proudly and faithfully protecting you and others like you. While you slept peacefully next to your sweetheart, I was on point in a far away land, wearing nothing more than my rifle, a flak vest, and full combat load.
Sir, stick to medicine, you’ve earned that. Leave the debate to those who have a stake in it. That would be us, the veterans who have earned the right, and the politicians who would take it away to score cheap political points. Thank you.
matt
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
This is not “mission creep”. Here are the requirements for VA eligibility straight from their site:
“Eligibility for most veterans’ health care benefits is based solely on active military service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard (or Merchant Marines during WW II), and discharged under other than dishonorable conditions.”
Rob
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
If our commander-in-chief(s) can draw a salary for the rest of their lives (and HEALTH CARE); how come a veteran cannot get their well-deserved benefits for the remainder of their lives. I mean they only protect and serve our country while we enjoy the freedoms. I expect more from a physician who has treated these brave men and women.
patricia
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
Doctor,
Whatever happened to, “First, do no harm”?
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
An how long did the VA fight to exclude as “non-service related disability” things like agent orange and PTSD? ANY service should qualify for some VA benefits. BTW…I’m NOT a vet but I sure do support them for everything they have done for this country…even when I don’t agree with the theater of service.
Teresa
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 8:26 am
I feel our veterans deserve these benefits…they defended us…and we need to allow this benefits!
Diane
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 8:39 am
Why are ‘We the People’ not up in arms?
Why do we allow this?
al
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Great question. Where are the protests? Why has the media given up on exposing this nonsense? I heard nothing about this repugnican proposal on the news today; tv or newspaper.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
I heard about it on NPR this morning. When the media is owned and controlled by wealthy fascists we get the news THEY want us to hear. Reporters, commentators, and editors DO NOT decide what gets published…the owners do. This forms public opinion and consequently how people vote. The only way to control a population is through force or propaganda. If you think we are not victims of propaganda and dis-information you are misguided at best and stupid at worst. Google “The myth of the liberal media”. There are 3,870,000 hits. The best ones are about studies done by non-partisan research groups. We don’t know about them because the owners of the media don’t want us to. It serves the wealthy fascist owners to keep us ignorant. An example…There were exactly 704 stories in the 2000 campaign about this flap of Gore inventing the Internet. There were only 13 stories about Bush failing to show up for his National Guard duty for a year. There were well over 1,000 stories — Nexus stopped at 1,000 — about Gore and the Buddhist temple. Only 12 about Bush being accused of insider trading at Harken Energy. There were 347 about Al Gore wearing earth tones, but only 10 about the fact that Dick Cheney did business with Iran and Iraq and Libya…
Check it out and decide for yourself. As for me…I don’t EVER listen to network news. I don’t even have my TV connected. I use it to watch DVDs.
Anne
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 9:55 am
This all goes to show that the GOP support for veterans is nothing more than empty bumper sticker slogans paying lip service. While it’s important to support veterans while they fight wars, it’s just as important to support measures that ease their transition back to civilian life and to provide assistance to those physically and mentally traumatized by all they had to deal with. The Republicans sicken me with all their macho, cowboy posturing which probably does appeal to some veterans. However, back in 2008, 2 veterans’ organizations, one of disabled veterans and the other of veterans from Iraqi & Afghanistan wars, who graded McCain and Obama on their issues. McCain got a D from one group and a 20% favorable rating from the other, while Obama got a B+ and an
80% favorable rating from the other. That fact alone speaks volumes about who really cares about veterans.
Joe
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:01 am
I’m a 100% disabled vet suffering from combat wounds incurred during the Vietnam war. When seeking VA care for my problems, I often have to wait weeks due to the mass of non-wounded vets using the system. I don’t ever remember being promised health care for life when I enlisted. There are way too many vets without service connected conditions using the VA system. It should be for wounded and service connected disabled vets and not a free insurance system for every veteran that ever served.
Anne
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:12 am
How do you feel about the folks in Congress who have the best health insurance this country offers, who would deny it to others? These are the same folks talking about cutting Medicare for the elderly, but who have no problem with endless wars, the outsourcing of jobs, or defunding Planned Parenthood which provides non-abortion services for women who couldn’t afford them otherwise. As a Republican said long ago in the 1980′s, they take from the truly needy and give to the truly greedy.
Vickie Castro
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Joe, thank-you for your service. There is a major problem with your reasoning. The government and military are VERY slow to acknowledge service related conditions. How many decades did it take before they accepted the effects of agent orange on our military personnel? Recently, it has been documented that the services have released tens of thousands citing ” pre existing” conditions, some of these were troops that had served for 15+ years. I’m not saying that I don’t agree with you about the VA being for service related conditions, I just don’t want to make it easier for them to turn their backs on our service men and women.
Reynardine
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
You have adduced no evidence at all, only engaged in an irrelevant rant full of conclusory statements. I will therefore request that you take your meds.
Reynardine
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
The foregoing was an answer to a raving lunatic who has since been taken down. Pardon me if any of you thought I meant you.
Alex
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
How bout we first get rid of healthcare benefits for retired congressmen? I think that would save a lot more money.
Aaron
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Totally agree with that.
al
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Agreed. Let’s see of the repugnican put forth this proposal to save money…
jon jonzz
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
GOP is on its way out, believe it, you have a vote, get rid of them
Mark
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
As a veteran myself, and knowing that Mr. Ryan hasn’t served a day of his life actually defending this country, I assure you that he’s just like Dick Cheney.
If he’s a Republican and has been elected to any office whatsoever, he’s most likely never served this country, yet is a huge proponent of sending anyone off to war at the drop of a hat.
mark
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
About time we cut off those freeloaders. I mean really we gave them the opportunity to serve Exxon and other big oil companies and now they want healthcare, where do they think they live Sweden.
mel in oregon
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
all veterans but especially disabled veterans deserve medical help & any other help we can give them. republicans always try to take away everything that benefits in any way ordinary citizens & give the benefit to the wealthiest people. that this is so is beyond dispute. however just because conservatives are inheritantly evil doesn’t make democrats good. carter, clinton & now obama have shown they could care less about ordinary people. the depression america is now in for the foreseeable future was caused by the repeal of glass-steagall under clinton. with no regulation of wallstreet, it was the nature of traders & hedgefund managers to speculate the country into near bankruptcy. after all in quite a few cases they were making $2 billion a year, & they knew taxpayers would be forced to pick up the tab if they over extended. obama could easily have totally changed the course of the feeble minded bush had he chose to do so. but look at his record. he continues with ben bernanke at the fed. his entire cabinet are former wallstreet executives. he gives away the store to republicans in the name of compromise. bush never compromised on anything regardless of the composition of congress. obama is too gutless & yes he’s too stupid to do the right things for america.
Jean
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Anyone who finds it surprising that the GOP doesn’t really have our military personnel’s and former military personnel’s best interest at heart either hasn’t been paying attention for the last 30 years or so or has a severe case of “selective memory”. This is the same political party that, when they had the power of the presidency behind them, were sending our soldiers off to Iraq to wage war without the simplest, most basic safety equipment — like bullet-proof vests and armor plating on the Hummers…
SH
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
I agree w/ the physician and Vietnam vet who previously posted that non-service-connected vets are gumming up the V.A. medical system. I’m a service-connected USMC vet. We have decent private insurance, so I only use the VAMC if I must – which has amounted to a handful of times over the years.
WHY are vets who have no combat or service-connected disabilities using the system anyway??? Frankly, IMO it’s unethical! You think you’re owed lifelong care just because you served . . . REALLY? It’s absolutely embarrassing and disgusting if even ONE disabled vet has a hard time getting the care he or she requires because some fat, Type-2 diabetic, COPD-riddled 2-pack-a-day smoker vet who did 4 years duty without even a paper cut 20 YEARS AGO is standing in line complaining about his lousy health AND how long he’s been waiting!
I’m a liberal and vote Independent. Listen, there’s no love lost between me and conservatives/Republicans. But maybe the V.A. healthcare eligibi;ity does need to be looked at – not for fiscal reasons but to better take care of those vets who truly EARNED it.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
while I don’t agree with you, I find it interesting that you say all diabetics are fat. you could’ve made your point much better without making a fool of yourself. There are far more reasons a person would use the service healthcare than just diabetes and COPD.
Karen
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 8:49 am
The vets who get VA care did earn it. By serving in the military during times of war. I think the least this country can do is provide health care to ALL who risked their lives to defend it.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
If there is a problem getting access then it is time to INCREASE funding for the VA. Let’s take some of our bloated military budget and give it to the VA so they can take proper care of ALL the vets that need care. I’m sure if they had an alternative (the ones you complain about) they would use them. The real problem in this country is the lousy way health care is delivered and managed. If you think we are just fine look up “Sick in America”, and “Sick Around The World”…Frontline documentaries addressing health care issues, health care reform, and government supported health care. It is an eye opener.
marine0861
Jun. 17th, 2011 at 10:09 am
Way to represent the corps. Not everyone in the military gets the opportunity to see combat. I was a Forward Observer and had combat tours in Iraq but to say that our fellow brothers that were fortunate enough not to get hurt shouldn’t have access to affordable va healthcare is just plain wrong. Just because you were recon ricky hey good on you but lots of support ppl keep us in the fight just because they may not have seen actual combat doesn’t mean that when they leave active service they shouldn’t have affordable healthcare. Once again 0% disabled vets have a copay and are LOWEST PRIORITY. The copay is based on their income. Semper Fidelis brother I know you haven’t forgotten that just remember that to keep ppl like you in the fight took lots of hard work from our support brethren remember we fight they keep us in the fight not their fault they didn’t see combat.
jillyjolly
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
No doubt Hannity is irate and screaming and yelling at the repubs who want to throw the disabled vets on the garbage heap – Rush, O’Reilly, and all the rest of the Stepfords who work at lying, spinning the truth, ignoring the truth are all jumping up and down at what the repubs want to do to the disabled vets. I’d love to see a video that actually showed such disgust and anger by them – that won’t happen – they’ll just blame the dems and liberals.
Corpsman1
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Time to F-bomb the rethugliKKKLANs at the polls, be it for school board, city council, congressperson, or president of these United States… I didn’t enlist to protect the kind of government these thugs have turned our country in to.
Charles T. Ware
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I served 24yrs in the military. I’m retired now and thank God
not any too soon. The men(i guess they are) in washington do not
i repeat do not give adamn about the Vets. If the did they would do more for them. Tey haven’t served in the military or they would care more for our Vets. All of those in washington make me sick
to be a part of not caring.
Charlie
Reynardine
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
It’s difficult to say what isn’t service connected. The fumes from ordnance and explosives; exposure to spent uranium (which indeed was used in the bombardment of Fellujah); proximity to ammo dumps; chemicals like Agent Orange; apparently mild concussions and repeated physical stress on bones, muscles, joints- all may show their effects only after decades. The SEALS who took down Osama bin Ladin are splendid physical specimins now, but the unnatural rigors of their training may well show themselves anywhere down the line. We haven’t even begun to discuss psychiatric injury.
There’s an old saying: It isn’t the hurdles that hurt a horse’s hooves; it’s the hammer, hammer, hammer on the hard, high road. We don’t know when or how that hammer, hammer, hammer will show up, only that it’s likely to one day. Better to treat eight malingerers than have a good horse go to slaughter for want of care; these people have put themselves on the line for us to have them killed whenever the nation needs it, after all.
Dvrdannavvet
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
I got hooked on ciggarettes when the NAVY sold them to me for 25 CENTS a pack. In bootcamp breaks werte known as “smoke & cokes” ’cause all there was to do was drink sodas and smoke. Almost everyone was smoking around me. There were even ashtrays (buttkits) attached to the bulkheads in the passageways aboard ship.
Heavy drinking was also encouraged by the military culture of the time. Every division or ships party ashore pushed huge consumption of beer. This was in the late 1970′s/early 80′s.
Dvrdannavvet
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
My recruiters told me that I “would have healthcare for life” as long as I got an honorable discharge. They didn’t say that I had to be wounded in action to get healthcare. I didn’t quite realize, at the age of 19, that unless it was in writing it didn’t count. The Navy’s Representatives in the form of Chief Petty Officer recruiters were apparently free to lie through there teeth to impressionable young men who idolized them in order to get us to sign on the bottom line and meet their quotas. Gotta wonder if this is still the case.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
My dad, a USMC WWII and Korea vet, once told me…”If you join the service there are two people you will hate for the rest of your life…your recruiter and your drill Sargent. One because he lied and one because he told you the truth.”
ptnyc
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
The Republicans only strategy is to win back total control in 2012. To get that, they’re happy to prolong and deepen the recession so Obama continues to look ineffectual. Disabled vets are just another casualty. In the future, disabled vets won’t exist, because they’ll all be disabled contractors from Dyncorp, Blackwater, etc., and they won’t be getting any benefits because they signed their rights away when they joined their contractor.
Anne
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 9:45 am
That’s exactly right. As backward and regressive as they are they are single-minded in this endeavor, and we Democrats need to be just as single-minded in putting a stop to their toxic nonsense. All the folks who complain that President Obama has done nothing and either voted Republican or not at all in 2010 have fallen into the trap of thinking that one perso, the president, can wave a wand and instantly solve all problems. It takes a team of as many Congressional members, governors, mayors, etc., as possible who have the same objectives in mind to optimize fulfillment of the objectives. I have read and heard that Americans like divided governnment for balance. Well, with these Republicans who are bent on disenfranching everyday Americans in favor of the corporate class, that balance is non-existent. They have succeeded in convincing some Americans that critical programs have to be cut due to the financial crisis, and yet they continue approving the outsourcing of jobs, unreasonable tax cuts for folks who don’t need them, and the endless wars that are draining us. Anyone who can’t see that and continues to support their dangerous policies is carrying water for the very people who would gleefully drown them without a second thought.
Gayle
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
When, WHO and how will we ever put an end to this horrible, outrageous, unbelievable situation and GET THESE SELFISH, GREEDY, COWARDLY PEOPLE ONE AND ALL O – U – T of our government, once and for all. SOMEONE P L E A S E DO SOMETHING – and let the rest of us know what to do to help accomplish it. If not, we will wind up with a two class society: Rich and poverty. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started to serve “republican Kool-Aid” in homeless shelters, and herding the seniors, disabled, vets and students into republican run “neighborhoods” with special “showers”!
Eric
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
They like to take away benefits from Veterans but they trip over each other to hand out corporate welfare and welfare to the rich. These people need to be removed from office and charged with treason. They have betrayed their oath and they have betrayed their country.
wolfyp
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
It Is Treasonous to Violate the Contract the American People have counted on, when they gave so much to loyally support our Government.If you Betray the Veterans, or take money from the Human Bondage Industry, you will not receive my vote.
Chris D
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I think it is important to understand that what underlies the ideological stance blamed for Republican policy is the financial backing of that select 2%, the corporate power structure. No doubt there is cynicism and callousness at play here among the politicians, but also there is ignorance and greed. They are caught up in a system that rewards irresponsible behavior, and I suspect many actually persuade themselves that they are doing good, a feat made possible by their dim grasp of things. We need to (1) reform campaign finance and (2) stop electing the ignorant.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
How about outlawing lobbyists? K Street runs Washington…not one party or the people. Money equals access; access gets results; the results have been devastating. When there are 4 INSURANCE lobbyists for every congressman and senator the system is broken and “we the people” don’t stand a chance.
J Albers
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Unlike most here, I don’t believe that veterans or current service men and women are serving to protect me or the ‘homeland’. Many enlisted because there’s an economic draft and they had few alternatives. I suspect some did so after 9/11 out of ‘patriotism’. I’m certain that all believe their service was patriotic.
I believe they were used to project US military power for the gain of a relatively small constituency, largely the energy and mineral extraction industries and to bolster the military-industrial-security complex.
Regardless, it the worst form of hypocrisy to put these men and women in harms way and then allow those who have been injured to suffer further at the hands of their government. They deserve the best care possible and anything less is an injustice.
Juan Jimenez, former Marine
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
Which one of you repukeblicans or teabaggers are going to dare wear a patriot flag pin on your lapel after this? Your party disgusts me. Two-faced morons running at the mouth about how you support the troops and now you want to throw our disabled vets into the train tracks with grandma!?!?!?!
lawrence hoilien
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
I can’t believe any American would try and deny benefits to veterans
who served their country.
No one would ever enlist or serve if this is allowed to happen.
We must always support our veterans…Or accept the option..
This would destroy America..
lawrence hoilien ssg us army 5th special forces vietnam
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Thank you Lawrence. I didn’t support the war but I ALWAYS supported the troops. You took an oath and did your duty and for that you are a hero in my eyes…always have been.
Bizziebill
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
There might be a couple of the Repub. that have servered our great country. But most haven’t & I bet there faher never did either.
Just as long as we keep them safe , out of harms way, they don’t care what happens to the Vet’s afterwards….
Mike
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
It is quite discouraging to read the comments from this article. We have a problem in this country that has to be addressed. We have been promised way more than the government can deliver. We are leaving our children an unacceptable burden of unimaginable debt. If we don’t try to fix this our country will go bankrupt. How much care will everyone get when that happens? To even come close to solving it every American is going to have to come together and take less than they have been promised. This article is purely political with the goal of getting you to hate those people that are trying to start the conversation of coming up with a solution. It looks like they have succeeded. Will we be able to talk about possible solutions or will we degenerate into ” cut someone else, but make sure I get mine” mentality? Wake up America before it is too late.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
I strongly suggest you write to Speaker Boehner and tell him to stop dropping all forms of revenue to the Fed that he can get his hands on. You are assuming that these Cuts are the way to go. Ask yourself why the GOP is not working on any job plans. with 20% more employment our deficit would be gone. With a balanced income structure through out all the class’s our deficit would be gone. That means as many people working as possible. Giving the upper rich tax cuts has not brought about any job creation, just lessened the income.
Dont fall for the we are going to sink theme you are being given.
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Reagan said…”The deficit doesn’t matter”. Cheney quoted this when GW’s Treasury Secretary warned that two wars and tax cuts at the same time would tank the economy. He was fired for doing his job. Now the GOP is screaming DEFICIT!!!DEFICIT!!!DEFICIT!!! You people have a selective memory, are stupid, or just plain EVIL!
mauricio conerly
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 7:42 am
Mike I hear what you got to say, and I’ve got another viewpoint. I am 100%disabled due to combat wounds and PTSD. I have lived most of the last 30 years outside the United States. In the last 10 years or so when I visited or lived in the United States I received excellent care. I believe that all veterans are in the same boat and I don’t begrudge veterans with 0% disability being treated. As for you saying about making sacrifice. I agree. The people asking to make sacrifice know little about making sacrifice and when you don’t ask the wealthiest to make sacrifices, then you are not serious. The Republicans and their supporters are not serious. I’m all for making sacrifice. Let’s all make sacrifice. The reality sacrifice is just a word for the majority of people.
Mike
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 9:12 am
The best sacrifice we could make them take is to not lower the tax rates but eliminate the loopholes. A fair tax rate with no exceptions. Look at GE, $14 billion in earnings but paid no taxes. Raising tax rates will not make them pay their share.
Heather
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 10:31 am
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,[74] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
we have the right to bear arms. it looks like we might need another declaration of independence here soon. someone, grab a pen.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 10:51 am
we had a gentleman in yesterday who was convinced that God gave us the right to bear arms.
Imagine ( sorry John Lennon) a God of love and peace giving Americans the right to bear arms. It looks to me like God and the devil switched places
Ed Wright
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
This was then codified in The Constitution of The United States…the law of the land. The Constitution provides a means to do what you propose…a constitutional convention. It takes 2/3 of the states (38) to call for one. It is time we started. Until we return to a government of the people, by the people, for the people, (no mention of corporations here…although corporations have been declared “persons” by the courts) we will continue to wallow in this mess.
Chris
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 10:38 am
As a combat Vet who receives care from the VA and work for the VA, I have no problem with the VA’s budget being cut. There is no incentive for VA workers to operate efficiently. If a contracting officer in the VA doesn’t spend their entire budget it is a ding on their end of year review. I can’t even begin to tell you how many items or contracts have been initiated at the end of the fiscal year for no other reason than to spend the entire budget. Politicians from both parties place hospitals in areas that have no need for clinics for no other reason than to create tax payer funded jobs and buy votes. A private company would be bankrupt in a second if they operated this way.
Sarah Jones
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Well, you wouldn’t have a private VA. A private VA wouldn’t exist. See? The private sector would not insure veterans, who are obviously a high risk group. Some things exist purely for care, not for profit. The VA is supposed to give care to veterans that they couldn’t afford without it. It’s a government program meant to offer a measure of security to those who can’t afford care. Without it, there would be no care for veterans other than what charity they could muster up unless they could afford it. Some people (liberals) believe that veterans shouldn’t have to beg for help, that their service buys them some measure of care. Others, like modern GOP, do not think the veterans should get anything from the government and instead should go ask neighbors and family to support their medical care.
But veterans weren’t serving neighbors and family, they were serving their country, so for some of us, it makes sense that the country should try to take care of injuries sustained during service.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Funny how that “country = all of us” thing works isnt it
EDUARDO H
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 10:59 am
hope you socalled gop veterans who got suckerewd into voting for the righteous rwingers who believe in god country and wall street banksters and fascism will come to america carrying abible wrapped inthe flag boner has peod ya enough to vote theses crooks out innov 2012 if the double dip dont destroy whats left of americ and the oilo companies who wnat tax cuts whilew taking our precious dollars to buy over priced gasoline theyare talking baout the veterans who arent service connected or have zero va ratings va care is for disbaled vetarns not rich folks who served state side vietnam era verterans like texas awol air guard gop war hero dubya the wure preznit
EDUARDO H
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:03 am
c.comp[any 2/60th infbattalion 3rd brigade 9t inf div dav 66-67 we went over as abrigade on the uss weigel 21 days atsea served with air mobile and trained with the riverine force brown water navy actua;ly we did do combat duty with the bw navy we were housed on the uss winfield county and benewah 11 bravo
Davd
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
I am a Nam Vet who in the past has had treatment for PTSD, I am currently in line at the rating board, I am on SS disability due to PTSD, I have received treatment in VA homeless shelters and would without a doubt be in the grave without these services ,, I have seen first had the men and women who suffer every day from combat wounds and mental wounds that you cannot see ,, they rush you off to war, use up your youth and then act as if it is your fault that you need help, I have been a member of the GOP for as long as I could vote, why oh why do they use us like pawns in the budget war?? it’s because they believe we will not stand together and fight ,,, I advise them to have a look at Rolling Thunder ,, we will never forget our POW/MIA’s and we will never stand down ,, politicians need to remember that it is the military that stands between them and the evil forces that would destroy our country, we served with honor ,, now it is time you show us that you will honor our country’s VETS ,,, A VET NEVER FORGETS !!!!
Annie Murphy
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:37 pm
As Edward Abbey famously said: “True patriots must always be ready to defend their country against their government.” It’s true that a vet never forgets and I don’t understand how any vet could possibly conceive that the GOP has ever truly been their supporters. It is lip service, that’s all. Just long enough to get you enlisted as their cannon fodder and then toss you aside once you’re no longer needed. When is this country going to turn from sheep back into eagles” I’m also a vet, use the VA exclusively and am in the very categories that they are seeking to cut. Fixed income, physically disabled and done for if this passes.
I think it’s time to lock and load, my fellow veterans.
Mike
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 10:06 am
With the attitude and self-interested views the GOP has always held, I’m amazed that anyone is even remotely surprised about this.
People can be stupid, but the smartest thing anyone can do is to permanently stop supporting the GOP, simply call your representatives to have this action stopped.
Use your brains and follow your instincts and still letting the GOP brainwash you!!
Mike
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 10:08 am
…..my last sentence, I meant “stop” letting the GOP brainwash you!!
Daniel Barrett
Jun. 10th, 2011 at 9:06 am
If you want to cut the budget have the GOP and all other Politians look in the MIRROR! The wasteful spending by our Gov. does not show us leadership it only shows abuse of the power the people give them!
Our Veterans deserve our Countries Support not another slap in the face!!!!!!!!!
chillipepper
Jun. 10th, 2011 at 11:33 am
Shame on you – you republicans- these veterans deserve the health care- even if they are not disabled or afflicted – they fought or served this country and should have the health care. How about cutting your big fat republcan salary and your big fat benefits instead? And can any of you politicians keep your pants on anymore?
chillipepper
Jun. 10th, 2011 at 11:42 am
cut off ALL aid to illegal immigrants that have nothing to do with OUR country- that is where 90% of our tax dollars go- to anchor babies- free housing- section 8, food stamp, free medical care, free education- ( while our veterans are homeless, indigent, living in poverty) then the good ole govmt could afford to pay health care to ou deservinging veterans – while the illegals are living a most carefree life- drive large gas guzzling SUVs -pay no taxes- and still get all the assitance they can get from good ole uncle sam. How disgraceful – Our government system us a big fat joke!
KarenJ
Jun. 12th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
I was listening to a Thom Hartmann radio broadcast about a week ago about this very subject, and a Iraq-era disabled vet called in. When Hartmann asked him about his service, how he came to be disabled, and his injuries, the guy said he lost one leg at the hip including part of his buttock, lost one arm, and was blinded by the explosion.
He was quite angry at what the Republicans have been doing to government funding of health care for veterans.
Me? His story brought me to tears for what he’s lost in service of his country.
All this “patriotic” talking the talk by Republicans for “our troops” is BS. Considering how many of them are chickenhawks, they’re sure not walking the walk.
Andy
Jun. 12th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
In Vietnam we could hear a bird that seemed to be saying Re-up, Re-up. We also had a lizard that had a cry too. Guys remember what it said? Paul Ryan is that lizard and the other republicans doing this are lizards of the same kind when they cry to vets. But then of course they’re just saying the words their puppet masters put in their mouths.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 12th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Ever read Red Storm by Tom Clancy? Russia starts a war over energy and the first thing it does it does is beat the Patriot drum. Heavily. If your not a patriot your not a Russian. Patriotism on TV, radio and the news. They even killed a group of school kids(9/11?) and blamed it on the “enemy”. This has been going on since Herr Bush was pretending to be in office. Tea patriots. People calling themselves Patriots because they want to make the Federal Gov too weak to resist the wealthy
We are in trouble. The “enemy” is among us
Don Alexander
Jun. 12th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Well we sure wouldn’t want Jane Fonda or her ex-husband to be hurt financially now would we? That lizzard in Viet Nam had the right call for any Republican Represenitive that has’nt got the @*&$%#@ to stand up for the people that stand up for this country.
George Catt
Jun. 12th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Ya know, I’m a “vet” (4 years USAF during the Vietnam conflict.) I was offered a chance to get VA coverage when things were slow for them several years ago. Didn’t see it as my right as I was (and am) 100% healthy, AND didn’t have any service related problems. IMO, folks with 0% service related disablility do not deserve VA benefits. The story is, at best, misleading, and at worst is stirring the pot which is already churning.
[email protected]
Jun. 14th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
People don’t read past the headline. Vets are not disabled if they have no disability.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 14th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
You have a problem with reading? It talks about disability not caused by war. Good grief, you must have come from a palin group to be that silly
[email protected]
Jun. 14th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
“0 percent”. Maybe you should explain what that means.
marine0861
Jun. 17th, 2011 at 9:49 am
VA benefits for 0% disabled vets are NOT FREE. There is a copay involved based on your current income. It’s an affordable way for vets to have access to quality healthcare. I don’t see what the big problem is offering vets affordable healthcare when they depart the service honorably. Especially with all the pork barrel spending and useless crap the government spends money on. Giving vets access to quality healthcare at an affordable price is good to go in my book.