I am sorry if the conduct of the reporter offended anyones sensibilities, but the real story is the miserable conditions offered to our veterans, and the staff at the hospital fully aware of said conditions and trying to control the reporting of those conditions. What in the hell has happened to our government. Have we lost any common sense or decency!

This is what 8 years of a government put into the hands of elitists gets you.

Nor does it extend to Justice Department reform (Stevens-Seigleman, refusal to prosecute war crimes, Bush hacks still hacking).

Let’s see how about unfair, anti-labor, trade agendas that exploit slave labor overseas and steal living-wage jobs from Americans? Not much there either. We just need more education, right? We need green jobs that baby boomers would never get a chance at right? You know, those 50 year olds that have a while to survive to 65,that no longer have guaranteed pensions or 401K’s that are worth anything, that have chronic medical conditons that employers desire so much when for-profit healthcare companies have no regulation over out of control for-profit premiums. Let’s educate those boomers. We can teach some old dogs a few tricks noone will ever let them use.

Which leads me to change on healthcare? Does anyone think Medicare costs would be so expensive that even multi-national, investment-class millionaires in the legislature would whine about them, if they didn’t allow anything “for-profit” to come near Medicare in the first place? Maybe if they hadn’t made it illegal to negotiate down drug prices, it might not cost so much. No good change coming on healthcare either. Obama’s plan will mandate that you contribute to a continued for-profit healthcare system. At least you have the option not to currently,unless you need to. You say Medicare is not for-profit? Medicare itself may not be, but all the vultures around it are.

So maybe, possibly, we can see some form of real change to honor those Americans that have sacrificed so much, and the sacrifice of the current Obama vets, so the governmental-industrial complex can test out their toys, and the defense industry a reason to exist, and so Exxon and the guys would have a lot of extra money laying around for next season’s politicians to lick their chops at.

I won’t even begin about campaign finance reform and REAL lobbyist reform.

I am not saying Obama hasn’t done anything to change the presidency. I am saying he is doing the wrong things on the things that matter. I thought it took a moron like “W” to lack the conscience it takes to steal a democracy from a nation.

Nothing worse then lazy reporters looking for 15 minutes of fame.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Sure there is. Ignorant, brainwashed punkass trolls like YOU are much worse.

dbarney Says:

I would like to know why the reporter would even have to have a signed consent form from a legal aged adult. He is not a prisoner there so he can talk to and about anything he wants and if the V.A. does not like it then all they have to do is cross the street and conduct the interview there.

Good question. And as your logic deduced, he did not.

The “consent form” was merely an excuse to try and squash honest criticism about how this Vet felt he was being treated.

And we know this because of three important facts from this story.

1. It was a PUBLIC FORUM, hence you cannot restrict the freedom of the press in a public forum.

2. IF the consent form WAS the issue, then Ms Hairston simply would have provided one. Instead of surrounding Mr Schultz with armed guards.

3. IF the consent form WAS the issue, then Mr Schultz’s equipment and flash card would not have been returned without first making a big deal about getting the consent form signed. We have heard nothing about that however.

The consent form was simply Ms Hairston’s excuse for restricting the freedom of the press in a public forum, and it was a poor excuse as we see the VA lawyers made no mention of it when returning Mr Schultz’s flash card containing the interview. If the consent form WAS the issue, then you can rest assured that VA lawyers would have made a big pomp and show over getting it signed first, prior to releasing the flash card containing the interview.

This was exactly what it looked like, and what ThinkProgress is reporting. A case of unconstitutional infringement upon the freedom of the press. And I advise people here to take note of those who are shilling against the free press on this one, and siding with the totalitarian mentality of Ms Hairston and her squad of armed guards.

Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
.

I have no problem criticizing the VA when criticism is due. But in this place I think it was the reporter who was at fault by not following proper procedures.

Well if you’d read the story, then you’d realize what you “think” isn’t worth a bag of beans.

Try going back like I told you yesterday, and READING the story. Then you’ll discover that the interview was held in a PUBLIC FORUM, and thus the VA had no right to restrict the freedom of the press.

So say’s our constitution.

Try reading next time before shilling for the silencing of our free press.

Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:

Once again everything is based on the reporters word.

And once again, like yesterday you base your nonsense on your inability to read the story.

And in this case, LISTEN to the story.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the recording of the interview and the patients distress over it are RECORDED.

Try listening and reading the story next time, before shilling for the opposition.

Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:

So TP, why are you continuing to vilify the VA and extending this so-called “reporter” his 15 minutes of fame?

So I see Mr Concern is back once again attack ThinkProgress for reporting an important story. Whenever the Freedom of the Press is infringed upon, its important, and this one is important because our Veterans deserve the best care and the right to be heard.

But for some reason, “Bilbo” feels it’s important for him to lie to try to confuse the facts of this story.

You want to bet the patient wasn’t begging for a reporter to hear his story?

Thanks for the support. It seems like you and I are the only two people on this blog who think that way.

I have no problem criticizing the VA when criticism is due. But in this place I think it was the reporter who was at fault by not following proper procedures.

You want to bet that at the beginning of the interview they didn’t say “Do we have your permission to conduct this interview”?

I am not sure it is a legal requirement, but it is a commonly held belief that you should get a subject’s consent before conducting an interview.

Part of the consent with the VA has to do with the fact that the patients in the hospital are under the care of the VA. That puts HIPPA into place and there are many requirements for patient confidentiality under HIPPA.

I really do wish that we would get a statement from the VA on this issue. All we have at this time is the rantings of the “reporter” who created this situation in the first place.

Also, I really do want those of you who are so quick to vilify the VA to go read the article at:

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfapr09/nf041109-3.htm

VA Watchdog IS NOT a fan of the VA, but they recognize the fact that the reporter did not follow protocol and the VA was not the villain in this one.

So you are saying that the VA didn’t know the name of the person the reporter was talking to?

It is standard practice in the journalism world to get a subjects permission for an interview. I was interviewed once by a local TV station and they asked me to sign a consent form so they could use my interview.

Do an internet search for “interview consent form” and come back and tell me that it is not common practice to get a consent form signed when you conduct an interview.

Yes, all of this might have been avoided had the reported obtained the release form. But, with a signed release form, the VA would have the name of the person blowing the whistle, and from what I could tell, the person in question didn’t trust the VA as far as could throw them.

Why are you ragging on the reporter? There’s any number of reasons he didn’t have one. There is no evidence that the incident wouldn’t have taken place if he did have one.

Just think of all the stories that wouldn’t make the news if everyone had to have a signed consent form.

I’ve signed stuff in the past, and depending on which party has the most money depends on who wins. Simple. Signatures don’t mean shi*, especially when some VA ahole can just take it away along with the rest of the equipment.