SOTU: Veterans Health Care Has Gotten Worse Under Bush
SOTU: Veterans Health Care Has Gotten Worse Under Bush
Bush said: “Over the past 7 years, we have increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. As we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.”
FACT — 1.8 MILLION VETERANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: “The new study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, estimated that in 2004 nearly 1.8 million veterans were uninsured and unable to get care in veterans’ facilities.” [New York Times, 11/9/07]
FACT — NUMBER OF UNINSURED VETERANS INCREASED BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004: “Just under two million veterans (12.7 percent of non-elderly veterans) were uninsured in 2004, up 290,000 since 2000, the study published in the December, 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health found.” [Harvard Science, 10/30/07]
FACT — NEARLY 20 PERCENT OF VETERANS RETURNING FROM IRAQ HAVE MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES: “Screening efforts show 10% to 20% of Marines and soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq may have suffered this wound, according to the Army. The task force last May found that ‘major gaps’ in identifying and treating the injury ‘were created by a lack of coordination and policy-driven approaches.’” [USA Today, 1/18/08]
FACT — NUMBER OF PTSD CASES INCREASING DRAMATICALLY: “The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 — almost 70% — in the 12 months ending June 30, VA records show.” [USA Today, 10/18/07]
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22 Responses to “SOTU: Veterans Health Care Has Gotten Worse Under Bush”
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The 3 words I want the next Prez to say as his/her first words after being sowrn in…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pmARREST THESE MEN.
Bush doesn’t care for the returning injured troops. To him they are just another group wanting an entitlement system.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pmCan someone pull the trigger on the turkey tonight? That would be wonderful!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:07 pmARREST THESE MEN.
Comment by 99Luf Balloons — January 28, 2008 @ 10:02 pm
Ohhh, I’m all tingly…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:08 pmWhitehouse IS TAKING CALLS NOW.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:09 pm1-202-456-1111
have CBS on… katie has said several times, “he seemed GIDDY”…
so glad i wasn’t watching - that would’ve pissed me off to see…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:12 pmugh.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pmLook, Bu$h deciderated what’s best for the troops. Now, are you with him or are you a tarrist?
January 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pmAs we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.â€
Wow, these guys really rejoice at the thought of another war.
This is incredible, I have never ever understood the American psyche and logic when it comes to the soldiers.
American governments and American population seems to go along with this idea:
It feels so good to see the ads about the brothers in arms, my fellow Marines, the Rangers, etc. So it is ok to empoverish certain population (more and more after neoliberal economy structures) to use them in our needless wars. We prefer to honor their deaths, with a flag over the coffins, than give these people the chance of some future away from harm’s way.
You will think that by now, American citizens would have figured out that there is no military superpower other than the US, so there are no need to make wars, therefore no need to have too many soldiers or weaponry manufactured. But after WWII, it happened exactly the opposite, there was a menace everywhere: Russia, Cuba, Granada, NIcaragua, Vietnam, Korea, etc. I mean, Granada might strike back!
The war machine has perfected itself. It has convinced everybody that is it so much better to honor their fallen servicemen, with fancy and disciplined funerals, than question why the hell those kids have to die? Why the hell a kid without options in life had to choose the money from the military instead of looking after other choices? Why recreuiters go to the worst neighborhood?
And this point is never discussed…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:25 pmJuan C, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. Yes, the military industrial complex reigns supreme now, but if you’re afraid of a full scale military takeover of the civilian population, be it from any army, its not gonna happen. Thanks to the 2nd amendment, most Americans are armed and won’t give an inch without a fight. Don’t tread on me. It’s not only our right; it’s our duty, as stated by the Declaration of Independance.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:38 pm“The war machine has perfected itself. It has convinced everybody that is it so much better to honor their fallen servicemen, with fancy and disciplined funerals, than question why the hell those kids have to die?”
Juan, I, for one, appreciate your cynicism, but there ARE no fancy funerals. At least none that any of the rest of us Americans ever see. They are no-nos for the MSM. The fact is people (even most Republicans) are sick of this horrible war and want it ended. The media and the neo-cons are the only ones pushing this war and I am confident it will be over within a year of the new president, Democrat or Republican.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:54 pmVA Links Poor Care to 19 Deaths in Ill.
AP___By JIM SUHR – 1 hour ago
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years, a VA official said Monday as he apologized to affected families and pledged reform.
The hospital in Marion, Ill., initially drew scrutiny over deaths connected to a single surgeon, but two federal reports found fault with five other doctors.
http://ap.google.com/ article/ ALeqM5gO11S0HaVzRfgSX_DalmQkFjDznAD8UFA9781
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BTW, 18,000 Americans die every year because we do not have universal healthcare. The other top 35 countries in the world do have universal healthcare and none spend more than one half per capita what we spend.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:03 amhttp://www.militarytimes.com/ news/ 2008/ 01/ ap_homelessveterans_080120/
A new generation of homeless veterans emerges
Afghanistan and Iraq veteran Peter Mohan cries while speaking about a friend of his who was killed in Iraq during an interview at a veterans homeless shelter in Leeds, Mass., on Dec. 4, 2007.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:45 amAnd in the news today the friggin’ Army has ordered offices to stop helping troops fill out disability paper work!
Here’s an article on how the government is screwing our vets:
http://www.opednews.com/ articles/ genera_aaron_gl_080125_investigative_report.htm
January 29th, 2008 at 7:11 am“Thanks to the 2nd amendment, most Americans are armed and won’t give an inch without a fight. Don’t tread on me. It’s not only our right; it’s our duty, as stated by the Declaration of Independance.
Comment by citizen_pain”
Hee, hee, Like you think your shotgun is going to stop a military takeover.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:05 amBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
citizen p:
The second amendment is in the Constitution anyway, not the Declaration of Independence.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:25 amWouldn’t the obvious reason for spending so much more on Veteran Funding be that the Iraq war has created so many casualties?
January 29th, 2008 at 8:42 amI probably dislike Bush as much as anyone but if you’re advertising a fact check, then I expect a fact check, not counter-arguments as your opening response.
So what of Bush’s claim to have upped VA money 95%? True or not?
Then you can proceed with clarifying facts if you want to argue. Your approach makes me suspicious of you.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:02 am16: Not just a shotgun son, lots of other weapons. And just an FYI asshole, look what’s going on in Iraq. They stopped our standing army with a bunch of shotguns, now didn’t they? Guerilla warfare, insurgency. See Afghanistan in the 80’s, Iraq today? Huh? Get my point??
17: yes, the right to bear arms is in the Constitution, BUT, in the Declaration of Independance, it states we have the obligation:
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
January 29th, 2008 at 9:15 amI can understand how much funding HAD to increase and how it still might be worse (simply by adding in the human costs of Afghanistan and Iraq and the increasing need to “sweeten the pot” for retaining & recruiting soldiers, but Mango is right … you haven’t presented any relevant info to support the title of your post.
It’s not helping your cause, or our cause. It’s just lazy blogging.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:24 pm@o.bigfoot’s fantasy:
I call you on the so-called 80% approval rating of the SOTUS and raise you: a NATIONAL poll on what Americans think of Bush and the country: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/. It’s title? “State of the Union Rated Poorly by 4 out of 5 Americans”
In case you didn’t do the math: that’s 80 percent of Americans, nationally, who think the state of the union is doing poorly under bush.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pmConservatives don’t seem to understand that in every other developed country in the world: everyone, everyone, EVERYONE has complete healthcare. They don’t have a separate department for veterans because it is not needed. Everyone has good healthcare. And they spend 50% or less per capita compared to the US which has 47,000,000 with NOTHING. This would save us $250 billion every year.
Where I live about 200 miles south of San Jose and 200 miles north of Los Angeles, you have to go to one of those two for veterans care—-even though there are plenty of good hospitals, doctors, and specialists here. In the rest of the civilized world there is no need for such travel—-you go anywhere you like. I have lived twelve years in Britain so I speak from experience.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:21 am