As for socialized health care, look at the complacency in our active military system/VA. i’ve been seen at the VA as a patient and the docs and other health care professionals are TOP NOTCH. Now, apply that to the entire country. There’s your health care system. Is it any wonder why young smart people are becoming lawyers, MBAs, plumbers, etc and not doctors?

I weep for our future.

Bush came out and admitted to mistakes in Iraq, and accepted responsibility. Also, I don’t recall him blaming those beneath him for much of anything. If anything, he defended them long after he should have dropped them like a bad habit.

This guy is a completely different type altogether.

I’d still like to hold out some hope that some heads will roll this time. After all, Congress is no longer led by Dennis Bastert and Bile Frist. Moreover, let’s face it: many Americans, who might not feel so disturbed by the mistreatment of brown-skinned Arabs who speak a different language and practice a dfferent religion, will be appalled in cases involving one of their fellow citizens.

He was in Vietnam 35 or 40 years ago, too.

The same is true of hospital beds. In 1980 DOD indicated to a resource management call at the Naval Post Graduate School that we would need 55,000 hospital beds if the Russians came westward. What would happen if Iran came west? How many hospital beds would we need for our military?

There is shortsided thinking in Congress. When the Senator from New York indicated that Walter Reed for the jewel of the Army’s Hospitals–how come he did not stop BRAC 2005’s decision on hospital beds? The same is true of Hillary Clinton. Why7 Because they all dislike the military and want the money for other purposes.

If this country goes for universal medical care thru the Government–how many will die because of it? Medicare does not provide a system that is great. I was happy under Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Federal Employee insurance) and unhappy under Medicare. Many doctors are not seeing patients under Medicare and use lame excuses on why not. If you had commercial insurance you would get better care.

Keep Government out of Universal Medical Care.

Back to Walter Reed and other Military Hospitals. They are trying to make it a long stay for the badly wounded coming back to get them to take severance pay and go to the VA for benefits. Doing this they lose TRI-CARE coverage for their family, use of PX, Commissary, Base Facilities, Military Air on Space Available, use of military clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals. They can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of benefits over a life time by not stick it out for a disability retirement from the military under the Career Compensation Act of 1949. For more information E-Mail gtnickolas@juno.com and put in subject: “info on Career Compensation Act of 1949″

If the ship runs aground because the junior ensign misread his charts, the captain is responsible. He pays the price by not getting his flag. He picked, trained and assigned the ensign and every intermediate commander. He put in place the checks and balances to make sure mistakes were caught and fixed, whether they be people. training, systems, equipment. Whatever.

General Kiley was in direct command of Walter Reed for two years. He lives on post. He continues to oversee Walter Reed and other bases as overall medical commander for the Army. He had and has the power and budget to correct the worst problems. He has the responsibility to advocate for resources he does not already have to fix any others. He is where the buck stops.

General Kiley today forgot command lesson one. He blamed chronic systems failures at Walter Reed on junior officers. Mr. Gates knows better. He knows how to act with dispatch. Mr. Gates should do so now.

Bush and Cheney and their toadies belong in prison. It can’t come soon enough.

Thanks Marie…

…how they’re slowly resurfacing after all these years…