Thursday, March 01, 2007

R. JAMES NICHOLSON! Go to the corner, it's time out for you. NOW

If you didn't watch the Bob Woodruff special, 'To Iraq and Back' I highly recommend it. First you begin rapidly blinkng, so nobody notices the dampness and your throat thickens, then you're on to silently, (or if you are like me) outwardly cheering not only Mr. Woodruff but all the other injured. Quickly though the emotional range will swing to anger and disgust. Then the ride will end with shame and impotence.

Not at Bob, I feel that a first name relationship is appropriate now, but at the incompetence and arrogance of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

For example: When questioned why the discrepancies in numbers, and we're talking over one hundred thousand, between the number of wounded reported by the Dept of Defense and the numbers given by the Dept of Veteran Affairs Nicholson did a bureaucratic shuffle you wouldn't believe. He was definitely the typical politician. Instead of being adult enough to say, "We are in really deep s**t here and don't have a clue how to fix it" The man actually had the gall to say he felt the VA was doing a good job.

From the things I've been told by various vets a majority of the employees at VA Hospitals are doing the best they can with what they have and the constraints placed on them. All it takes though is one incompetent and/or uncaring doctor, nurse, pharmacist etc.... for results that range from inconvenient to devastating.

A book was recommended to me the other day titled, 'Waiting for an army to die'. My good friend said it would uncover a lot about the VA so I could understand things better. I intend to get it this weekend, I'll let you know about it and just maybe in the process of reading this, and more research into the inner workings of the system I'll find out something that can be done to jump start a change for the better or at the very least come up with some really great dreams of b#*ch slapping some bureaucratic folks around.