Military Veterans will get one chance to vote for the new Commander-in-Chief on November 4th. One chance to have their say in how their benefits will be for the next four years and maybe long beyond that. One voice to give Washington direction as to what YOU want out of the Veterans Administration in the form of health care and support, benefits, compensation for service connected injuries and illnesses, rehabilitation, prosthetics, hearing, vision and dental and family benefits. Those things you and fellow military fought, suffered and died for the right to have!
Only one man in the running has the slightest clue what the military is all about and his name is John McCain. For want of a better description, and for brevity, John McCain has "been there and done that." He has been a warrior, a POW, a Senator and a proponent of veterans' rights. His opponent in this election, Senator Obama, has never served this country's armed forces, never been in combat, is a fledgling politician and doesn't know a damned thing about being a veteran or our health care system. That in itself should scare veterans to death!
It shouldn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, folks, that should scare the hell out of you. Mr. Obama knows nothing about the military or the VA or veterans!
Anyone who says they'll have great advisers, and those are the ones they will count on for advice, is full of crap when it comes to us veterans. Remember what happened in Vietnam when we had all those armchair advisers directing the war from Washington? And how about those advisers sitting in plush chairs in Washington and Virginia while troops are taking incoming in Iraq and Afghanistan? And all the blue suited advisers while you're laying in a VA or military hospital, trying to recover from injury or illness, while some senate or congressional committee argues over whether they should fund enough so you can get a decent prosthesis this year?
VA health care is going downhill fast once again. For example, I used to get to see my neurologist every three months, then every four, then it was bumped to every six months. Now they don't make appointments and you have to call and try to get in and they're overbooked. My November appointment was never scheduled and the earliest I can be seen is March. That will be over ten months between neurologist visits! And, they never refilled my medications, twice! So I had to call in twice about that too. If you're not on top of them, frankly, you're going to fall through the cracks and you're screwed!
Plus, they have all new doctors every few years, using residents from the local university medical schools, which means we're getting trainees essentially. By the time you get comfortable with a physician, they're gone and you get a new one; I've had three and onto number four in March, the last at my request as docs who forget to refill prescriptions, tell you they don't believe in meds that have helped you in the past, and have to have a med student present to grandstand with at every visit somehow don't seem all that positive for me. So you walk out with a feeling that you haven't been helped at all. Kind of like facing the enemy and the only good thing is their Kalashnikov was empty.
I can't get to see a cardiologist even though I have a stent implant, since there aren't enough cardiologists in the system to go around. Bet those fat cat politicians in Washington have plenty of cardiologists lined up waiting for their butts when needed!
Care used to be excellent, but it is failing. The in-patient room I was in a few months ago was dirty; your feet stuck to the floors. The bathroom was nasty. You could write your name in the film on the windows. You couldn't understand the nurses on the night shift; none of them spoke fluent English. But they did swab your nose daily to test for MRSA. What about cleaning the damned room? Maybe that would help reduce infection potentials?
They tout the suicide prevention programs, and how they want to help all the troops with PTSD before it ends up like 'Nam? If they handle it with the same bureaucratic bull crap and bungling as everything else, it won't help a whole lot. They'll tell a great story to Congress and the Senate about the wonders they're accomplishing, while military personnel are coming home and offing themselves in a distant field or side road, because they never had anyone who really understood what the hell they went through. And it's been reported the VA under reported many suicides. Why? Probably because they didn't or couldn't do the job they were supposed to do. Funding or flat out F**k-up? It doesn't matter, but there are many families grieving that shouldn't be. And until the funding and people are in place to recognize those who need help and then help them and their families as needed in a timely manner, things won't change.
Truth is, the VA has some wonderful programs, people and facilities, but the system is busted and needs to be fixed before it falls apart. It's fragile, and if it's not fixed, it will crumble fast. I'm seeing that first hand, and I sure don't want to be a service casualty a second time, this time due to lack of medical care funding and follow through.
Fund it, fix it and hold it accountable. Simple enough even for a bunch of stupid politicians!
The VA states the problem is the influx of troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. But wait, they didn't expect this? Once again, no leadership at the VA and no foresight. That's something I'm sure John McCain will provide, leadership and someone to kick butt and get this house in order!
Regardless, if you don't get out and vote and make the right choice, you'll see this get worse and worse. Add to that the increased taxes you'll be seeing, and the problems will compound. The taxes won't hit us older people nearly as hard as they will our children and grandchildren, as they're the ones working and coming up in the world.
I can look them in the eye and say I voted for the man who could do the job for the veterans who gave so much for this country...will you be able to do the same?
Showing posts with label Senator John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senator John McCain. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
John McCain and Sarah Palin
Last night's speech by Sarah Palin was compelling and anything but what one would expect from what many called a "novice' politician. In my mind she didn't sound like a politician, which makes me feel even better. Sarah Palin sounded like an American who is raising a family, serving her State and Country and doing it all darned well, by all accounts. And that's not only from her lips, but also from what many others say about her.
Sure, there are detractors, those who say she's not ready for the Vice-Presidency. Not enough experience. Amazing that she has more experience than the Democratic nominee for President, B. Hussein Obama! Sarah Palin tells it like it is and from all accounts always has. She speaks from the center of her mouth and not out of both sides, like Mr. Obama has. She's pro-gun and an avid hunter and NRA member. She knows where the need for energy independence lies and where the energy can come from and believes in drilling now, not kissing off to a bunch of environmental nambie-pambies who don't give a rat's ass if we all freeze to death in the dark, while they forge ahead on their save the planet agenda at all costs.
We all agree we don't want to destroy the environment. But there has been drilling in Alaska for many years with a sound environmental record, same as there has been offshore of California and the rest of the West Coast. But the environmentalists use the big "what if" bat to effectively block exploration and drilling, so we continue to be highly reliant on foreign energy sources. I received a copy of letter to a friend from Senator Diane Feinstein who dared state that drilling now is senseless, since we would see no benefit in reducing price nor dependence for many years. That's the same exact idiocy we heard ten years ago, when if we did the exploration and drilling we'd be ten years ahead now! That's the type thinking we need to abolish in Washington and in all government agencies, and having people like Sarah Palin on our side is a great plus in opening the doors to an energy independent America.
Speaking of which, Sarah Palin is the perfect partner for John McCain. They both are mavericks who know what's needed for America and won't flinch in going after it, and won't be swayed by political influence that tries to stand in their way. I hear people saying John McCain is too old. Too old for what? Too old to run the country the right way? Seems the younger guys have been trying to do it and not doing very well, so I think it's time we let age not be a factor and let someone who has used his years wisely take the helm and get us out of this quagmire we're in.
There may be no perfect candidate, much as there is no perfect person in this world. But when the chips are down, you really have to ask whether you want a one-term grandstander at the helm of the ship, or one who has been there and done that for most of his life, one who knows how to fight and survive under the most difficult conditions, and who has the tenacity and ability to lead us when we're in trouble, as we are today.
When the going is easy, it's easy to be a leader, because all you need to do is look good and sound good and everyone thinks you know what's going on and can lead them out of harms' way. But when the detritus hits the fans and the going gets really bad, the real leaders emerge, and I want to be behind a team that can lead through the bad times as well as the good.
For my money, John McCain and Sarah Palin are that team.
Sure, there are detractors, those who say she's not ready for the Vice-Presidency. Not enough experience. Amazing that she has more experience than the Democratic nominee for President, B. Hussein Obama! Sarah Palin tells it like it is and from all accounts always has. She speaks from the center of her mouth and not out of both sides, like Mr. Obama has. She's pro-gun and an avid hunter and NRA member. She knows where the need for energy independence lies and where the energy can come from and believes in drilling now, not kissing off to a bunch of environmental nambie-pambies who don't give a rat's ass if we all freeze to death in the dark, while they forge ahead on their save the planet agenda at all costs.
We all agree we don't want to destroy the environment. But there has been drilling in Alaska for many years with a sound environmental record, same as there has been offshore of California and the rest of the West Coast. But the environmentalists use the big "what if" bat to effectively block exploration and drilling, so we continue to be highly reliant on foreign energy sources. I received a copy of letter to a friend from Senator Diane Feinstein who dared state that drilling now is senseless, since we would see no benefit in reducing price nor dependence for many years. That's the same exact idiocy we heard ten years ago, when if we did the exploration and drilling we'd be ten years ahead now! That's the type thinking we need to abolish in Washington and in all government agencies, and having people like Sarah Palin on our side is a great plus in opening the doors to an energy independent America.
Speaking of which, Sarah Palin is the perfect partner for John McCain. They both are mavericks who know what's needed for America and won't flinch in going after it, and won't be swayed by political influence that tries to stand in their way. I hear people saying John McCain is too old. Too old for what? Too old to run the country the right way? Seems the younger guys have been trying to do it and not doing very well, so I think it's time we let age not be a factor and let someone who has used his years wisely take the helm and get us out of this quagmire we're in.
There may be no perfect candidate, much as there is no perfect person in this world. But when the chips are down, you really have to ask whether you want a one-term grandstander at the helm of the ship, or one who has been there and done that for most of his life, one who knows how to fight and survive under the most difficult conditions, and who has the tenacity and ability to lead us when we're in trouble, as we are today.
When the going is easy, it's easy to be a leader, because all you need to do is look good and sound good and everyone thinks you know what's going on and can lead them out of harms' way. But when the detritus hits the fans and the going gets really bad, the real leaders emerge, and I want to be behind a team that can lead through the bad times as well as the good.
For my money, John McCain and Sarah Palin are that team.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
General Wesley Clark lacks credibility
I'd like to quote the following in full, including the writers' name, from the Orange County (CA) Register regarding General Clark's statements about Senator John Mc Cain's leadership potentials. It is a superbly written piece:
Sunday, July 6, 2008
July 6: Gen. Clark's tainted record
Letters to the editor for Sunday, July 6, 2008
The Orange County Register
Resolve is an important quality in a president, a quality that John McCain possesses from his service to our country as a POW. Maybe, as Gen. Wesley Clark points out, riding in a jet and getting shot down does not qualify a person to be president. But the inner resolve to deal with the incredible torturous experience, and maintain one's composure for the five years after the "jet ride" sure does! That experience, resolve, inner calm and ability to meditate over issues is exactly what I want in the person taking the 3 a.m. call at the White House.
As for Clark's opinion, remember that under Clark the United States attacked the Balkans to deflect attention from the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Under Clark's NATO "leadership" the United States bombed the Chinese embassy by mistake, killing three Chinese journalists. Other air strikes he directed mistakenly damaged the Swiss, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and Hungarian ambassadors' residences. Then Clark's forces bombed a civilian convoy by mistake, killing more than 70 ethnic Albanians, which Clark lied about. Ultimately, Bill Clinton fired him.
Because of his abject inexperience, Sen. Barack Obama surrounds himself with such ineptitude, making the choice for McCain a "no brainer."
Paul Carter
Long Beach
Sunday, July 6, 2008
July 6: Gen. Clark's tainted record
Letters to the editor for Sunday, July 6, 2008
The Orange County Register
Resolve is an important quality in a president, a quality that John McCain possesses from his service to our country as a POW. Maybe, as Gen. Wesley Clark points out, riding in a jet and getting shot down does not qualify a person to be president. But the inner resolve to deal with the incredible torturous experience, and maintain one's composure for the five years after the "jet ride" sure does! That experience, resolve, inner calm and ability to meditate over issues is exactly what I want in the person taking the 3 a.m. call at the White House.
As for Clark's opinion, remember that under Clark the United States attacked the Balkans to deflect attention from the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Under Clark's NATO "leadership" the United States bombed the Chinese embassy by mistake, killing three Chinese journalists. Other air strikes he directed mistakenly damaged the Swiss, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian and Hungarian ambassadors' residences. Then Clark's forces bombed a civilian convoy by mistake, killing more than 70 ethnic Albanians, which Clark lied about. Ultimately, Bill Clinton fired him.
Because of his abject inexperience, Sen. Barack Obama surrounds himself with such ineptitude, making the choice for McCain a "no brainer."
Paul Carter
Long Beach
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