Saturday, June 07, 2014

THIS JUST IN! RICE SHARES MORE WISDOM!

BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

DIRTY RICE IS BACK!


AND DIRTY RICE HAS YET AGAIN SPOKEN WRONGLY.

POOR DIRTY RICE, A HORSE FACE AND A MOUTH THAT CAN'T STOP LYING.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS TODAY, DIRTY RICE SWORE SHE WOULD REFRAIN FROM FUTURE MISTAKES BUT THAT SHE WAS LATE FOR A CEREMONY WHERE SHE WOULD BE PRAISING LT. GEN. THOMAS GAGE.

"HE WAS THE BRITISH COMMANDER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR!"  RICE EXCLAIMED WITH A BIG SMILE.  "I CAN'T WAIT TO PRAISE HIS SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY!"



Moving over to conspiracy theories, nut job MJ Rosenberg (MWD) froths:

The Bergdahl frenzy is the phoniest pretense for Obama bashing since Benghazi. But that does not mean it won't succeed.
In fact, I think it is possible that a Republican Congress will impeach Obama over one or both of those issues (ike President Clinton, he would not be convicted because even a GOP Senate could not muster 67 votes for conviction.)


Is that what you think, you raving nut job conspiracy theorist?

MJ Rosenberg is a graduate of Media Matters which means he majored in sexism and minored in delusion.  He lets the crazy run free because that's what Professor David Brock taught -- carrier monkey that he is.  Excuse me, diseased carrier monkey that he is bringing all of his unethical methods over to the left from the right after he'd burned his bridges there.

Taught by the master teacher in deception and lies, David Brock, a student can learn to make up any lie in the world and pimp it.  That's what the disgraced David Brock did to Anita Hill, after all.  A cheap little liar who has never made amends.

MJ Rosenberg studied under a quack and a liar so he is what he was taught.

But in the real world, there are many reasons to be upset with Barack surrendering 5 prisoners from Guantanamo for one US soldier.

1) The Congress wasn't informed.  First and foremost -- though a 'graduate' from Media Matters would never understand this, those who train under David Brock don't learn the Constitution -- this is a  democracy, this is not a monarchy.  Senator Dianne Feinstein is offended by the lack of notification to Congress.  I've known Dianne for years.  I'll say about 20% of her being offended is personal as a member of Congress who should have been notified.  But the other 80%?  That's Dianne being offended -- rightly -- because of her role.  It's not about her.  It's about America's representatives.  That's what Dianne is, she's in the Senate to represent the people of California -- so is Senator Barbara Boxer.  And whatever other faults I have with them, both women do grasp the importance of their roles.  I would argue that's true of other senators as well.  Senator Al Franken takes it so seriously it's almost an obsession.  (And that's a great obsession to have, trying to represent the people of your state.)  Those are just Democrats but there are Republicans -- many -- in the Senate who take this role and this obligation seriously.  We have a system of checks and balances.  We do not have a king in the US.


But as even stalwart Obama defenders such as Jeffery Toobin admit, Obama “clearly broke the         law” by releasing those detainees without providing Congress the 30-day notice required by the 2014 defense authorization statute (law professor Jonathan Turley similarly observed that Obama’s lawbreaking here was clear and virtually undebatable).


2) Glenn Greenwald has made this very clear: By ignoring Congress to release the 5 from Guantanamo, Barack has made it clear that he thinks he could have released everyone there and closed it.  So why hasn't he?  He swore he'd do it if elected.  Then he got sworn in (January 2009) and broke his promise.  As Glenn has noted, this is a rather big point of the story.  Mike weighed in on that point earlier this week.

3) Any soldier rescued would raise questions.  Jessica Lynch never lied about what happened to her.  I'm really tired of the dicks -- including Rachel Maddow and her phantom penis -- who try to lie about Jessica Lynch or use her name as a punchline.  When she spoke, she spoke the truth.   She was not responsible for the lies and the spin created by an administration trying to rally support for their illegal war.  My point here is that even when the spin was that she was being tortured or harmed, there were still some who wondered why a rescue mission was being carried out for her?  (There was no rescue mission.  She was being cared for -- as she herself notes -- in an Iraqi hospital.  She was not a prisoner.) Even at the height of the administration propaganda, there were people who questioned whether Jessica was 'worth' a rescue.  And, guess what, in a democracy that's allowed.  In a democracy, people discuss issues and find the point where everyone can agree.  That's what self-rule is. So the US soldier who was released in exchange for the five prisoners Barack surrendered, he was always going to be a question mark.

4) Find a better family spokesperson.  I saw that crap this morning.  Good talking points.  Some of them cribbed from here.  But  he should have stuck to what the White House told him.  I picked up the phone while that nonsense was airing and asked, "You didn't tell him to talk about the mom did you?"  Don't talk about the mom.  She may be wonderful, she may be awful.  But she's married to the father and the father has been a bad image on this story since Saturday.  He needs to shave his beard immediately and appear in public and if anyone doesn't like that, my response is, "Grow up, this isn't about him.  This is about his son." You better believe if one of my children were in trouble, I would change anything -- hair, clothes, whatever -- to lessen any hostility towards one of my children.  This isn't about your right to grow a beard.  No one questions that right.  This is about you getting off your ass and helping your son.  Shave the damn beard.

(FYI, when I saw the photos Saturday, I called an administration friend to ask why the hell the father didn't shave before appearing with Barack.  That bushy crap -- not shaped, not styled -- was disrespectful to the office of the president. Worse than that, it fed into the image of 'these are strange people.'  Shave the damn beard.)

5) The White House has offered an ever changing storyline.  That doesn't help.  Each day is a new day for the novelist.  At this point, this late in the game, stop changing the story.  It makes the White House  look dishonest.  Bite the bullet and own the decision or continue to have this dominate the news cycle.  See Frank James' "Explaining The Bergdahl Swap Hasn't Been Obama's Finest Hour" (NPR).

6) The terms of the deal have been criticized.  The US got one person, the Taliban got five.  Elise Labott (CNN) noted earlier this week:

While secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was skeptical of early plans to trade Taliban prisoners for American captive Bowe Bergdahl, former officials involved in the process told CNN on Tuesday.

Clinton pushed for a much tougher deal than the one with Qatar that secured the Army sergeant's release in exchange for five terror detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, they said.


Despite that the White House’s claim this week that the United States did not negotiate “directly” with the Taliban to secure the Bergdahl swap, the State Department, Defense Department, and White House officials did meet several times with Taliban leaders in 2011 and 2012 to discuss the deal. The negotiations, held in in Munich and Doha, fell apart in early 2012. But before they did, Clinton had a framework deal drawn up that was much tougher on the Taliban than what ultimately got done two years later.
Three former administration officials who were involved in the process told The Daily Beast that Clinton was worried about the ability to enforce the deal and disinclined to trust the Taliban or the Haqqani network in Pakistan, which held Bergdahl until this weekend. Clinton was so concerned, the former officials added, that she may not have even signed off if the negotiations had succeeded.

In Barack's administration, Leon Panetta headed the CIA and later was Secretary of Defense. David Conti (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) reported Wednesday:


 “I don't fault the administration for wanting to get him back. I do question whether the conditions are in place to make sure these terrorists don't go back into battle,” former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told a gas industry gathering in Pittsburgh.
Panetta, who was in the Cabinet for four of the five years Bergdahl spent in Taliban custody, said he opposed a swap for the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when he was Defense secretary.
“I said, ‘Wait, I have an obligation under the law,'” Panetta said during a lunchtime address at the Hart Energy Developing Unconventionals DUG East conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. “If I send prisoners from Guantanamo, they have to guarantee they don't go back to the battlefield. I had serious concerns.”



That's two people who were in the administration and they're not rushing to dance in the streets.  If members of the administration were skeptical are you really surprised that there are Americans who would be as well?


7) CBS News reports Hillary writes in her book (which is officially released Tuesday) on negotiating with the Talbian:

I acknowledged, as I had many times before, that opening the door to negotiations with the Taliban would be hard to swallow for many Americans after so many years of war,

Wow, is Hillary a psychic?

No, she's just got more common sense than MJ Rosenberg.

8) The soldier is a 'deserter' in the eyes of many.  If he self-checked out and had he gone public, we would have covered him here.  We cover war resisters.  I find MJ Rosenberg's sudden concern for war resisters to be suspect.  First off, he only applies it to one person.

We cover war resisters.  We used to cover them all the time, for years and years.  There's just not enough information to cover them as much as we used to.  But we covered them and I know the hate mail that came in for that.  I personally support war resisters.  You don't have to agree with me on that.  But to be so outraged that they were even mentioned?  They are part of history.  They are news.

This is from the April 17, 2007 snapshot:

Starting with war resister news, Ehren Watada's father, Bob Watada, shared Saturday of how his son's struggle has inspired him.  Ehren Watada, in June 2006, became the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq.  In February 2006, his court-martial ended a mistrial and his next court-martial is scheduled for July 16th.  Brian Charlton (AP) reports that Bob Watada spoke Saturday at a Honolulu meeting of the Society of Professional Journalists where he explained, "It was because of him that I've gone out and educated myself."  Charlton notes the stroke Rosa Sakanishi (Ehren's step-mother) suffered.  That was in January at the rally in DC, shortly after Bob Watada spoke.  Ann Wright managed to catch Sakanishi as she was falling.
There are many lessons to be learned from Watada and other war resisters.  Ehren Watada  is part of a movement of war resistance within the military that also includes Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Justin Colby, Camilo Mejia, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson,  Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Joshua Key, Ricky Clousing, Mark Wilkerson, Agustin Aguayo, Camilo Mejia,  Patrick Hart, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, thirty-eight US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum. 

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

That second paragraph?  It appeared daily in every snapshot for about two years.  Maybe longer.

When a non-war resister in Canada attacked me online, we continued to cover war resisters.  When a name mentioned in the list had a freak-fest in the e-mail, we continued to cover war resisters.  (And I continued to cover him.)  We covered them because their stands are important.  We also covered them because of the hate mail from people who were outraged that we would cover war resisters.  There were tons of e-mails every week expressing hate and threats.  I don't back down in the face of threats, I never have.  Threats usually make me determined to continue to do something.

The Iraq War is illegal (it's also ongoing though people in this country don't want to admit that either).  I do not slam anyone for deploying to Iraq.  I also do not slam anyone for refusing to deploy to Iraq (or redeploy).  My non-slam policy does not extend to those who planned and started the illegal war.  But I don't condemn  those who served or those who resisted -- I do condemn those who gave the orders for war and those who continued the war -- that includes liars in the press, cowards and liars in the Congress, it's a long, long list which includes President Barack Obama and former Oval Office Occupant Bully Boy Bush.

Jim Acosta (CNN -- link is text and video) reports on National Security Advisor Susan Rice:

Susan Rice, who on Sunday said Bergdahl served the United States with "honor and distinction," told CNN in an interview that she was speaking about the fact the Idaho native enlisted and went to Afghanistan in the service of his country.
"I realize there has been lots of discussion and controversy around this," Rice said. "But what I was referring to was the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. That, in and of itself, is a very honorable thing."

Great, Susan.  So you'll now praise Joshua Key for doing "a very honorable thing" since he enlisted and deployed to Iraq?  He self-checked out as the press insists Bergdahl did.  Will you take the time to say he served with "honor and distinction"?  What about Camilo Mejia or Kyle Snyder -- both of whom served in Iraq and then self-checked out?

No, you wouldn't, Susan.  You're a hypocrite just like the goons of MSNBC or, for that matter, Media Matters.

I defend war resisters.  I am very aware that many others do not.  So MJ Rosenberg needs to stop his whoring and his hypocrisy.  There is no real caring on his part for war resisters.  He's whoring to protect Barack.

9) This is not the first time Barack has released killers in US custody.  That was the whole point of "Now you're outraged by negotiations with terrorists."  Barack entered into negotiations with the terrorist group the League of Righteous.  That group killed and kidnapped many foreigners in Iraq -- including US service members.  Barack released their leaders -- who had been in US military custody -- to Nouri.  And did so over vocal opposition in the Senate.  He insisted that they would be held in prisons by Iraqis but instead they walked -- on all the charges, they walked.  Nouri set them free.  Now he arms them and gives them uniforms so they can terrorize Sunnis in Iraq.

MJ Rosenberg is an unethical hypocrite.  Those are only nine things about the deal which might trouble Americans.  If it does trouble them, they need to address it, the media needs to address it, it needs to be part of a national conversation.  That's what happens in a democracy.

I can be mature enough to know that as much as I support war resisters, there are Americans who never will.  That's their right.  They need to be true to their beliefs just as I need to be true to mine.  The expression of their beliefs and their objections does not mean they hate Barack, they want to impeach him or any thing else.  But conspiracy theorists like MJ Rosenberg have to see hate everywhere.





RECOMMENDED:  "Iraq snapshot"

Posted by at

Friday, June 06, 2014

THIS JUST IN! HE'S GOT AN OPINION ON EVERY THING!

BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

IN ENGLAND YESTERDAY, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O FELT THE NEED TO WEIGH IN ON THE ISSUE OF INDEPENDENCE FOR SCOTLAND.

BARRY O CAME OUT FIRMLY AGAINST IT.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, BARRY O ADMITTED, "I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SCOTLAND OR EVEN INDEPENDENCE, YOU KNOW?  BUT LIKE I WAS TOTALLY FEELING BITCHY AND JUST WANTED TO BLOW OFF SOME STEAM."

WITH A "TOODLES," BARRY O QUICKLY SCAMPERED OFF.


FROM THE TCI WIRE:



Starting in the US, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued the following statement today:

CONTACT: Gretchen Andersen (212) 982-9699 or press@iava.org

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IAVA Applauds Bipartisan Senate Compromise to Begin Reforming the VA 
As Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson admits 18 vets died while waiting for appointments in Phoenix, IAVA calls for presidential leadership and urges Congress to move forward with legislation

 Washington DC (June 5, 2014) – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation’s largest non-profit, non-partisan organization representing post-9/11 veterans and their families, today praised Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle for their bipartisan work on addressing critical access issues at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Earlier, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), one of two combat veterans in the Senate, announced a bipartisan deal that would address access and care issues for veterans within the VA system. 

 The compromise was announced the same day Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson addressed the ongoing VA scandal, saying that 18 veterans died while waiting for appointments with the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

 On Monday, IAVA CEO & Founder Paul Rieckhoff, joined by IAVA veterans from across the country, unveiled eight steps the Obama Administration and Congress can take now to restore confidence in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among the steps are recommendations from IAVA’s 2014 Policy Agenda. IAVA urged Congress and the President to enact all of the recommendations from the plan.

 “Reforming the VA requires a bipartisan effort on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. We are very encouraged by the compromise forged by Senators Sanders and McCain,” Rieckhoff said. “Today’s progress shows veterans issues is the one thing that parties can come together on. We hope the Senate and House can move forward to enact legislation that will ensure veterans get the care and benefits they have earned.  However, we still need the President to step up and take a more active role in restoring confidence within the VA and lay out a strategy for the way forward.” 

 Rieckhoff added: “Many of the provisions announced in today’s compromise are part of IAVA’s eight-part ‘Marshall Plan’ for veterans. The VA scandal is far from over. We urge Congress and the Administration to embrace all our recommendations. As the VA confirmed how severe mismanagement was in Phoenix, it is imperative that the men and women who served our country never have to wait for care.”

 The legislation directly addresses accountability issues at the VA by allowing poorly performing SES employees to be immediately dismissed without pay while also establishing an expedited appeals process to discourage fraudulent dismissals. This legislation will also allow veterans to see providers outside the VA system if the wait times for appointments are too long or if the veteran lives more than 40 miles from a VA hospital or clinic. The need to address the VA's technological capabilities, particularly with scheduling, will also be evaluated through the establishment of a Tech Task Force. In addition to these access and accountability measures, this legislation also includes several other major provisions supported by IAVA’s 2014 Policy Agenda, including much needed major medical facility lease authorizations, in-state tuition for veterans using GI Bill benefits, and increased access to health care for survivors of MST. 

 NOTE TO THE MEDIA: IAVA leadership is available for interview. Press can email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699.

 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the nation's first and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 270,000 Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, IAVA recently received the highest rating - four-stars - from Charity Navigator, America's largest charity evaluator. 

# # #

Jake Lefferman and John Parkinson (ABC News) quote Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Bernie Sanders stating, "We have a crisis on our hands.  It is imperative that we deal with that crisis." Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and, prior to that, she was Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (she still serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee).  Her office issued the following:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             CONTACT: Murray Press Office
Thursday, June 05, 2014                                                                            (202) 224-2834
VETERANS: Murray Statement on Deal to Address VA Accountability, Transparency
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released the following statement after Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John McCain (R-AZ) announced a path forward for a legislative compromise to address the serious accountability and transparency deficit at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Today’s announcement is an excellent example of what Congress can do when we work together to put veterans first and work toward substantive solutions to the challenges they face. Finalizing this legislation is a critical step toward addressing some of the immediate accountability and transparency concerns plaguing the VA and fixing its deep-seated structural and cultural challenges.
“I will be working closely with my colleagues to build on this bipartisan momentum. These are not new problems and Congress must continue to take action on them, while addressing the inevitable issues that will be uncovered as ongoing investigations and reviews are completed.
“As we all know, there are serious problems at the VA that will not be solved through legislation alone or by simply replacing the Secretary. However, I am hopeful these steps will spark long-overdue change from the top down in order to ensure our veterans are getting the care and support they expect and deserve.
“I want to commend Chairman Sanders and Senator McCain for working in good faith to put veterans’ needs ahead of political differences.”
###
---
Meghan Roh
Press Secretary | New Media Director
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Mobile: (202) 365-1235
Office: (202) 224-2834





Senator Patty Murray's office
 
Senator Murray's YouTube Channel
 
Senator Murray's Press Office Twitter Account
 
RSS Feed for Senator Murray's office




Ed O'Keefe (Washington Post) points out that this bipartisan deal was unveiled less than a week after VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned and he writes:
Since Shinseki's departure, the department has reached out to all of the approximately 1,700 veterans that a Phoenix VA hospital placed on unofficial wait lists that hid treatment delays. Acting Secretary Sloan D. Gibson visited the Phoenix facility Thursday. The department is also facing a Office of Special Counsel investigation into allegations that officials retaliated against 37 whistleblowers, including some who tried to report actions related to the recent scheduling scandal.

Richard Simon (Los Angeles Times) adds that Senator Richard Burr, Ranking Member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, has announced his support for the bipartisan deal and that:

 As Congress ratcheted up its response to the VA scandal, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday provided funding for the Justice Department to play a bigger role in the investigation of VA employees falsifying records to cover up long waits for medical care.
And the House Veterans Affairs Committee called a Monday night hearing that could shed new light on the scope of the VA mess. The panel asked for an update from the VA inspector general, who has been investigating 42 sites and issued an interim report last week that found a systemic problem nationwide in scheduling veterans for healthcare in a timely manner.





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"THIS JUST IN! BARRY THE SASSY SENIOR!"



Posted by at

Thursday, June 05, 2014

THIS JUST IN! BARRY THE SASSY SENIOR!

BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O TOOK HIS WORKOUT OVERSEAS AND RECEIVED CRITICISM FOR IT -- IT'S APPARENTLY 2 STEPS BELOW DEBBIE REYNOLDS WORKOUT TAPE FOR SENIORS.

VIDEO AND PHOTOS SUGGEST HE COULD WIN THE CONTEST FOR 'SASSIEST SENIOR' AT THE BOCA RATON SINAI RESIDENCES -- PROVIDED THEY OPENED THE 'SASSIEST SENIOR' CONTEST UP TO MEN.



A veteran said to me today, he was at the April 30th Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing (we covered that hearing in the May 1st snapshot), that he couldn't believe that the Chair of the Committee (Senator Bernie Sanders) had stated in that hearing that his Committee would be up in arms if the accusations about Phoenix turned out to be true.

They are true.  The report the Office of the Inspector General released last week confirmed that the books were cooked and two sets of wait lists were kept.  Senator Dianne Feinstein does not serve on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, she does Chair the Senate Intelligence Committee.  She issued a statement Monday and we'll note this from it (I'll post the statement in full tomorrow morning -- there is not room for it to be included in full in this snapshot):

Senator Feinstein expressed frustration that a December 2012 GAO report identified a history of record tampering at VA health care facilities. In March 2013, GAO Health Care Director Debra Draper testified about the report before the House Oversight Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs, saying “staff at some clinics told us they change medical appointment desired dates to show clinic wait times within VHA’s performance goals.”
“The 2012 GAO report tells me one thing: that VA knew about this problem many months ago but instead of taking action to fix it, employees created schemes to cover up the problem,” Feinstein said. “This is inexcusable and speaks to deeper problems within the VA.”

On April 30, 2014, Feinstein wrote a letter to VA Acting Inspector General Richard Griffincalling for an expansion of the investigation into the Phoenix VA Health Care System to determine if similar problems were prevalent at other VA health care facilities.


There are senators calling out the scandal and making suggestions for reform.  But the reality is that the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has failed to seriously address the issue as a Committee.  I'm not talking historical, I'm talking about since the scandal broke.  CNN was covering this story -- breaking it -- in April. It's now June.

Where's the hearing addressing the scandal?

The House can hold a hearing (and did, last week) but the Senate can't get it together to hold a hearing?

A number of veterans lost trust with Sanders over that April 30th hearing.  Instead of focusing on the news of the day, he wanted to cover acupuncture, yoga and other issues which, quite frankly, were not issues in need of dire attention.  That was the first wrong step by Sanders.  He then became seen as an apologist of the VA -- Chris Cuomo was the first to make that observation and did so in a live interview with Sanders.

I don't know what you do after you weaken or break the bond of trust.  I don't know how you come back from one stumble after another.  But veterans in DC are not very pleased with the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee or with the Committee itself right now.

Announcing this morning that a planned hearing (for tomorrow) was cancelled did not help.

So let's turn to the House of Representatives.  Beto O'Rourke is a Texas Democrat serving in the House.





And he issued this on the survey:


I recently sent an email to all veterans in our database, asking them to participate in a survey to determine the quality and access to care for primary and mental health at the El Paso VA.

Hundreds took the time to respond, and from their responses we’ve compiled a report with important information about access to care for El Paso veterans, including the significant discrepancy between what the VA is telling me and what you are telling me.

For example, for each month between March 2013 and March 2014, the El Paso VHA has reported to me that between 85% and 100% of veterans new to the system seeking mental health appointments saw a provider within 14 days of their appointment request. Our survey shows that on average it takes a veteran 71 days to see a mental health provider and more than 36% of veterans attempting to make an appointment were unable to see a mental health provider at all.

For those who do get an appointment, these sessions are routinely cancelled before they can take place. The survey also found that wait times for primary health were unacceptably long, with over 71.8% reporting that they could not schedule a primary care visit within 14 days of their request.

The recent scandal in Phoenix, where administrators kept secret wait lists and denied care to those they were entrusted to help, proves that we cannot depend on the VA to hold itself accountable. The best way to determine how the VA is doing is to ask the veterans themselves. In doing just that, this report can provide the basis for real accountability and improved service at the El Paso VHA clinic and perhaps serve as the model for allowing our country’s veterans to do the same for the national VA system.

Below are our full findings and steps we will take based on what we’ve learned.

For the full report, click here http://goo.gl/8BOi1g.

Thank you for your service in uniform and your service today on behalf of your fellow veteran. It is an honor to serve you.

It is no longer just Phoenix that the administration admits was using two sets of wait lists -- a public one filled with lies and the real one hidden from the public.  Jim Salter (AP) reports, "VA officials first acknowledged the Midwestern lists in letters last week to U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, both of Kansas. The letters included information about conditions in the VA's Heartland Network, with unauthorized lists maintained at facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana."  Hannah Davis and Angela Smith (KWCH -- link is text and video) report on the use of a "secret wait list" at Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas.  Hanqing Chen (Pro Publica) offers a round up of reporting on the various VA scandals.

CNN notes, "Nearly six in ten Americans give President Barack Obama a thumbs-down on how he is handling the Veterans Affairs controversy, according to a new national poll."




RECOMMENDED:  "Iraq snapshot"

Posted by at

Wednesday, June 04, 2014

THIS JUST IN! BARRY'S GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!

BULLY BOY PRESS &   CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

IN THE SPIRIT OF HIS NEW LEAN SOMEWHERE THINKING, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O ANNOUNCED TODAY NEW STEPS HE WILL BE TAKING.

"I'LL BE EXPLORING BRIGHT AND NEW VISTAS," HE GUSHED TO THESE REPORTERS.  "SUCH AS PARDONS.  WHY DON'T WE PARDON BENEDICT ARNOLD?  HE'S DEAD BUT HE MADE SUCH IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS."



 FROM THE TCI WIRE:


US House Rep Jeff Miller is the Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.  His office issued the following today:


Miller Demands VA Comply with HVAC-Issued Subpoena, Threatens Additional Legal Action

For more information, contact: Curt Cashour, (202) 225-3527
Jun 3, 2014



WASHINGTON, D.C.— After writing Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson regarding VA’s repeated failure to comply fully with an HVAC-issued subpoena, Chairman Jeff Miller released the following statement.  

 “Today’s VA is a case study in how to stonewall the press, the public and Congress. And as we found out last week, often times officials from across the department have routinely sought to hide information about some of VA’s most pressing problems from the department’s own senior leaders. I am hoping Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson will put an immediate stop these disturbing trends. To that end, I have asked Sec. Gibson to provide our committee with any and all remaining documents responsive to our May 8 subpoena no later than June 9, 2014. Right now, Sec. Gibson has a chance to begin to repair the reputation of a department that has gained notoriety for its secrecy and duplicity with the public and indifference to the constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities of Congress. I am hoping he makes the most of this chance.” Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

 Related
Chairman Miller Letter to Sec. Gibson Regarding VA’s Noncompliance with Committee-Issued Subpoena
June 2, 2014




This isn't a minor issue that Miller is raising.  This is a major one.  As we noted in Friday's snapshot, a culture of secrecy has taken hold at the VA.  Congress has been rebuffed on requests, has had to resort to subpoenas and those get rebuffed as well.  The people are represented by the Congress, the legislative branch is a co-equal branch of government to the executive branch (and to the judicial branch).  Congress is tasked with laws and oversight and it can't do its job if the executive branch is not providing accurate information.

In Friday's snapshot, I made a number of people angry when I stated (yes, "stated," the snapshot are dictated, I don't type them up) the following:

 It was about Congressional requests that are not being honored.  Congress is supposed to provide oversight. But since 2009, the VA has stonewalled Congress and outright ignored requests for information.
You can blame the White House for that since it's over the VA.  I don't know that I would or wouldn't.  But it is a problem and everyone should be aware of it now and the White House should order the VA to start complying with all Congressional requests as, in fact, they're legally supposed to.

"You can blame the White House for that since it's over the VA.  I don't know that I would or wouldn't."  That's what made people angry.

I had no problem calling for Eric Shinseki's resignation.  When he revealed to Congress October 14, 2009 that he'd known since January that the rollout on the Post-9/11 GI Bill would not go smoothly, that he'd been told of that when he became VA Secretary, that he hired an outside consultant to review the situation and the consultant said the same thing, that's when I called for Shinseki's resignation.  He knew there would be a problem.  He did not give veterans a heads up.  He did not give Congress a heads up.  When the problems started with checks not being received, he allowed VA officials to publicly blame education institutions and to blame veterans.  He should never have allowed that.  I have no problem calling him out and veterans suffered because of him.

Barack?

I've got six years demonstrating I have no problem calling out Barack as president.  And I may end up calling him out on the VA issues.  I have no problem stating that he's ultimately responsible.  But Shinseki making one mistake did not turn me against Shinseki.  It was finding out that he knew veterans were going to suffer and he not only didn't inform veterans or Congress but he also allowed his Department to lie to the public.  That's a crossed line.

I can call Barack out for Iraq (and have and will) and I can call out for The Drone War, for the illegal spying, for any number of things.  And I'm fine with that.  But I have no idea what information he received.  I thought he was willfully ignorant of some VA issues.  The big one was the seamless transition -- an electronic medical record created for a service member which would follow them from the Pentagon to VA when they left the service and became a veteran.

Congress poured billions into that.  It is still not up and running.

We have called out the 'progress' on that repeatedly.  The press has ignored it, we haven't.  The VA Secretary and the Secretary of Defense had to first agree on which computer system to use -- they currently use two different systems.  Once that's decided, things move forward.

I knew for a fact that Leon Panetta had listened to Shinseki's argument for which system to use (Shinseki wanted to use VA's system) and Leon told him, "Fine.  Use it.  Let's move on to the next step."  When I wrote about that here, a friend wanted me to know that this was basically Robert Gates' response as well.  (Robert Gates was Barack's first Secretary of Defense.  Leon Panetta became his second.  Chuck Hagel is currently the third.)

So I began noting that Gates had also agreed so that the program could move forward.

But it never did.  And I would call Barack out for that here.  Especially when, less than two months after Hagel became Secretary of Defense, Ranking Member Mike Michuad asks Shinseki about the progress on this issue and Shinseki, who's been working on it for five years now, blames Hagel.  He says Hagel's adjusting to his job and so nothing's been done.

I blamed Barack -- here and in loud conversations with friends in the administration.  Fortunately, Hagel was offended (who wouldn't be?) by Shinseki using him as a scapegoat and Hagel insisted on a meeting with Barack -- Hagel, Shinseki and Barack.  At that meeting, a system was decided on and things were supposed to move forward.  Did Barack not know about the foot dragging before that meet-up was scheduled?  Possibly he didn't.  I don't know.  I do know when he finally got involved, the issue was resolved.

I don't know at present how much honesty on the VA reached Barack.  So I'm not comfortable making him the focus of my VA critiques.  If others are, they should do so.  I'm not saying he's off-limits.  I am saying that, for me, I'm not there yet.  If others are, more power to them.

My focus in calling for Shinseki's resignation was because Shinseki was clearly and repeatedly failing.  Veterans deserved better than they were getting.

Barack hasn't lived up to his promise to veterans.  That's a fact as far as I'm concerned.  But, barring a revelation from a friend in the administration (I don't see one coming -- I know Leon Panetta, if Barack was intentionally failing veterans, Leon wouldn't have stood for it and would have been publicly critical of Barack), I can see this as Barack not getting the needed information to know what was going on.  By that, I mean Shinseki gave happy talk presentations that were not rooted in fact.

And we can all be fooled and tricked.  (I'm not trying to bring anyone over to my way of thinking, I'm merely explaining where I stand on the issue.)

There is a culture of secrecy at the VA.  They have not been transparent.  They have quibbled over word choice with the Office of the Inspector General (an "error" is an error, the VA needs to stop splitting hairs).  They have flat out lied and they're running about three shell games right now.

All of the problems with the VA go to the culture of secrecy.


Melinda Henneberger (Washington Post) had  a strong article on the VA which noted:

When he put new guidelines in place requiring that veterans be seen quickly, the response was to fake the paperwork to make it look as though wait times had disappeared.
But with nothing less than the lives of our veterans at stake, how could employees do that, and why would they lie?
Nickolaus’s answer to that question is that after years of being “told to shut up or retire,” most people eventually do one or the other. “You see the dead wood and get exasperated.”Overwhelmed, she said, you despair of actually changing anything, in other words, and give up.

That's the culture and it needs to end.

Barack should now be aware of it.  He should be calling for the VA to be transparent, to use the same terms with the same definitions as the Office of Inspector General and for the VA to comply will all Congressional information requests.

If Barack doesn't do that after the failures of the Shinseki period, I will have no problem calling him out.  And I will do it loudly and mockingly and any way I feel at that moment.

But for me this primary issue was Shinseki was too quick to believe anything he was told and provided too little oversight and, most of all, his actions were harming veterans.  I wanted him gone and now he's gone. The problems aren't going to disappear.  They're going to have to be addressed and I hope Barack addresses them.  If someone who is as critical of Barack as I am can hope that he will demand real accountability at the VA and end the culture of secrecy, this could be a big win for him with others because I'm not a Barack fan.  I didn't vote for him either time.  (In 2008, I voted for a candidate not with the duopoly and in 2012 I didn't vote for the office of president.)   But I will be the first to applaud him if he can end the culture of secrecy.  Hell, I'd applaud if he could even just make a strong dent in it.

Because the secrecy is what is harming the veterans.  It's what caused the problems with the tuition checks, it's what causes people with Post-Traumatic Stress being stripped of their diagnosis.  It's behind every scandal under Shinseki and all the ones to come if this is not addressed.  If the secrecy is removed, then Congress and the American people can know the truth and work on solutions.  If the culture of secrecy continues, expect more press exposes.

The VA is not going to meet a number of goals they set for FY 2015.  It would be really smart for them to stop lying and admit it's not happening so they and the Congress could work together to figure out how to improve.

That's where I am on the issues and why I'm there.  Here's where Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America are via a statement they issued yesterday:


This is a defining moment in American history. After decades of neglect, years of failure and weeks of controversy, all of America is focused on our nation’s veterans. As a result of the scandal that began in Phoenix, the sacred trust at the VA has been broken. But it can be rebuilt. With leadership, creativity and tenacity, the VA can be stronger in the broken places. 
Now can be the time when America can finally turn the corner on decades of failures at the VA—and for our veterans of all generations more broadly. 
The national membership of IAVA calls on President Obama to move quickly to create and execute a bold, comprehensive plan to support all generations of American veterans. It must be a top priority for the President for the duration of his term and involve the entire federal government, Congress, the private sector, philanthropy, veterans groups, the medical community and every resource our great nation can muster. It’s time for a Marshall Plan for veterans. 
America’s veterans are depending on strong leadership from the President and are standing by to support in any way needed. 
The plan should include the following 8 steps as recommended by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA):  
1. Appoint a Post-9/11 veteran, or someone very familiar with our community, who is a proven, dynamic leader capable of making dramatic changes and inspiring the turnaround VA needs. The VA needs a proven reformer at the top who can end the crisis and drive the VA to become the 21st Century organization our veterans deserve. America needs a unique brand of hybrid leader--a proactive change-agent who understands Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, technology, healthcare and Congress. The new Secretary must also be an effective communicator who can level with the public, operate effectively in the midst of a growing scandal that may span dozens of cities and continue for months, and inspire the best talent in America to answer the call to serve at VA.
2. Initiative a full criminal investigation and punish all violators to the full extent of the law. The IG has revealed a full system failure. An unknown number of bad actors have ruined the reputation of the VA. Those who have violated America’s sacred trust with our veterans must be rooted out nationwide and held accountable. Only if these people are cleansed from the system will the VA workforce, IAVA members and the rest of America ever have faith and trust in the system again. 
3. Implement the recommendations of interim IG report for Phoenix. The interim IG report recommended that the VA: (1) do a nationwide review of all facilities, (2) audit new requests for appointments across the system to ensure all veterans are on the list to be seen, and (3) reach out to veterans affected in Phoenix to get them into care. The VA must now to implement these recommendations immediately.
4. Pass the VA Management Accountability Act. The Senate must act now to pass the VA Management Accountability Act. The bill (endorsed by Secretary Shinseki in his final public remarks) gives the Secretary of the VA the authority to remove under-performing Senior Executive Service employees from their jobs. Without the ability to fire poor-performing managers, the next VA Secretary will struggle to restore a culture of accountability throughout the VA. 
5. Support the recommendations in IAVA’s 2014 Policy Agenda that focus on building a 21st Century VA. For years, IAVA has demanded a 21st Century VA, an organization able to find problems, respond decisively, and provide the quality of care veterans of all generations deserve. This is especially urgent for IAVA veterans who present new healthcare needs, more gender diversity, and significant geographic shifts. To move towards a 21st Century VA, Congress and the VA must: 




A. Mandate best practices for managing VA medical facilities. There is a saying that when you’ve seen one VA hospital, you’ve seen one VA hospital. But there are best management practices that can improve care at the VA if implemented across the entire system.
B. Overhaul the training and technology of the VA’s scheduling system. The nationwide audit of VA facilities exposed many problems in the training of VA scheduling employees. The VA must re-establish scheduling guidelines, improve training for staff, and invest in new scheduling technology.
C. Change performance metrics to focus on quality of care. The VA scandal has exposed what many veteran organizations have talked about for years: accountability is lacking at the VA. The VA must realign its performance metrics and performance incentives to encourage and deliver quality care.
D. Smooth the Transition between the Department of Defense and the VA. Too much is lost between the DoD and VA. Despite significant investment, there is still no interoperable health record and many veterans never enroll in VA care. The DoD and VA must improve collaboration to adequately care for today’s veterans. 
E. Invest in Technology to Transform the VA. The technology underpinning all of the VA’s work, including the disability claims process and appointment scheduling, is woefully outdated. Without 21st Century technology, the VA can never be a 21st Century organization. 

6. Fully Fund the VA to the levels recommended by the Independent Budget. Despite consistently claiming otherwise, it is clear that the VA does not have the resources it needs to meet the demand for care. The VA currently relies on outdated and inadequate formulas to project their needs. Congress should fully fund the VA to the levels recommended by the Independent Budget, a budget written by leading veteran service organizations including IAVA. In FY2014, the IB recommended $4 billion more for discretionary medical services funds than the President requested or Congress appropriated. 

7. Support best-in-class non-profit organizations that the fill gaps. The VA can not meet all of the needs of America’s veterans alone. And some vets will never go to the VA. Non-profits fill the gaps and are often there for vets when VA can’t be. The VA is also often most effective when it partners with non-profits, as demonstrated by the tremendous progress made toward ending veteran homelessness. Innovative programs like IAVA’s Rapid Response Referral Program (RRRP) assist veterans in reaching private, local and VA resources in times of crisis. They also serve veterans who are not eligible for VA services--like those with “other than honorable” discharge status.
The public must donate their time, money and talent to trusted, effective, best-in-class non-profit organizations who continue to face growing demand with extremely limited resources. Philanthropy, corporate leaders, and all Americans must donate as generously as possible now to support these essential groups supporting veterans. The Iraq and Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF), the Schultz Foundation, the recent First Lady's donor initiative, and Robin Hood have all created effective blueprints for national support that must be replicated, expanded and scaled. 
8. Combat suicide by passing the bi-partisan Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans (SAV) Act, enacting an Executive Order, and connecting 1 million veterans with resources by the end of 2014. According to VA data, 22 veterans die by suicide each day. Many of these men and women never reached the VA. Only bold, comprehensive action will prevent suicide and ensure that veterans have access to quality mental health care. Congress must act by passing the Suicide Prevention for America’s Veterans Act (SAV Act). The President must issue an Executive Order as outlined by IAVA. And all American can help by promoting suicide prevention resources in their local communities. 


Mike Prysner is an astute person.  We'll provide a link to his piece at Global Research (Mike is also an Iraq War veteran.)  But I can't quote from it because it's premise is Congress isn't funding the VA adequately.

I'm sorry, Mike's too intelligent to make that assertion.

The VA, like every other Department in Barack's Cabinet, creates their own budget request.

So stop this generic underfunding claims garbage.

Show me where the VA requested X and wasn't given it by Congress, show me that or stop this nonsense.

Beto O'Roarke is a Democrat from Texas in the US House of Representatives. Last Wednesday night, he did what members of the House and Senate Veterans Comittees do over and over: Ask VA officials present for the hearing if they needed more funding, if they needed more anything.

As happens over and over and over at these hearings, VA begged off requesting more funds.




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