Support Our Troops!!!!

Finally! Finally! Finally! The news is coming out about this administration's treatment of its beloved war heroes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/06/washington/06medical.html?ref=us

TIMES

Today the commander-in-chief named a high-level panel to look into the shortcomings of the military health system and the way that health care is delivered to veterans through the Veteran's Administration.

HOO HAH! What a joke! Those who have been in the system know how this administration has short changed our soldiers, sailors and aviators who have been in harm’s way. It is typical of this administration to do the stupid thing: Hey, let's start a war AND cut funds for military medical care!

The facts are undeniable, I quote from Paul Krugman's 3/5 column in the NYTIMES (buy the Times!):

"... since 2001, federal outlays for veteran's medical care have actually lagged behind overall national health spending.”

To save money, the administration has been charging veterans for many formerly free services. For example, in 2005 Salon reported that some Walter Reed patients were forced to pay hundreds of dollars each month for their own meals.

More important, the administration has broken longstanding promises of lifetime health care to those who defend our nation. Two months before the invasion of Iraq, the VHA, which previously offered care to all veterans, introduced severe new restrictions on who is entitled to enroll in the health care system. As the agency's Web site helpfully explains, veterans whose incomes exceeds as little as $27,790 and year, and who lack 'special eligibilities’ such as a compensable service connected condition or recent combat service, “will be turned away.”

If Paul Krugman is a bit too "left" for you, how about a retired Army general? On the Op-Ed page of today's (3/6) NYTIMES, Major General Paul D. Eaton lays out the problems and some solutions for military health care. He says, "The train for this wreak left the station a long time ago.” Other points:

1. The Congress needs to spend more to research brain injuries.
2. The military needs to better track its soldiers and their needs.
3. Privatization is a failure.


So you have to admit that the evidence is pretty clear that this administration is great for waving the flag, but when it comes to taking care of the true defenders of this country, the Bush administration is playing a game of three card Monte.