Free Republic

The Obama administration said Saturday it will allow more veterans to obtain health care at private hospitals and clinics in an effort to improve their treatment. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki also said VA facilities are enhancing capacity of their clinics so veterans can get care sooner. In cases where officials cannot expand capacity at VA centers, the Department of Veterans Affairs is "increasing the care we acquire in the community through non-VA care," Shinseki said. Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for this policy change as the VA confronts allegations about treatment delays and falsified records at VA centers...

You may know about his two combat tours in Vietnam, and that he blew off the front part of one of his feet when he stepped on a land mine. Here are three things I bet you don’t know (courtesy of some insiders at the VA): 1. His limo is cleaned up to three times per day...

... In 2010 -- four years ago! -- the deputy undersecretary of the VA wrote a nine-page memo saying that in order to cover up their continued delays, various parts of the VA system were engaged in "gaming strategies" -- in effect, lying. The General Accounting Office and VA inspector generals wrote reports saying the practice was widespread. One would have thought that would have set off alarm bells at both the VA and the White House. Where was the anger then? There were some internal investigations, but they never went anywhere and there was little apparent sense of urgency....

The VA problem is not Shinseki; it's socialism. The Veterans Affairs health care system is completely government run. It is a pure single-payer program. National Review Editor Rich Lowry calls it "an island of socialism in American health care." He is right. I've been arguing this all week. For years, President Obama has been talking about fixing the VA. But he never stayed with it. And now he says he's angry and wants accountability. But he will never understand that the single-payer government-run system is the real problem. This VA scandal is a reminder that government-run single-payer health care does...

The Operative: You know, in certain older civilized cultures, when men failed as entirely as you have, they would throw themselves on their swords. Dr. Mathias: Well, unfortunately, I forgot to bring a sword. The Operative (producing a sword): Would you be killed in your sleep, like an ailing pet? — Serenity, 2005 Christian civilization recoils from suicide, but a sneaking admiration for it creeps in for the Romans, the virtuous deaths of Cato and Seneca, and for the ancient Japanese practice, not because the act itself is necessarily admirable, but because the motive is. There are worse maxims than...

Could Eric Shinseki be out at the VA as early as today, perhaps in time for a Friday-afternoon news dump on a long weekend meant to honor those who died in military service? A CNN panel hosted by John King certainly thinks it’s a possibility. King wonders how this “fight in the family” will impact Democratic turnout in the midterms, exemplified from calls by Democrats running in November for his ouster — now including Charlie Crist in Florida:(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Noah Rothman noted the exchange as well: CNN anchor John King began by noting that both Republicans and Democrats are coming out and...

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki cannot get a handle on the recent scandalous treatment of veterans in VA hospitals, where more than 40 sick men were allowed to die without proper follow-up treatment. A cover-up allegedly followed. When the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal broke under the George W. Bush administration, heads rolled. So far, Shinseki seems immune from similar accountability. Almost nothing that former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius promised before, during or after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act came true. She was also cited by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for...

Karl Rove is now attacking Barack Obama’s record — as a senator. Appearing Thursday night on Fox News, the Republican strategist said he doesn’t know whether Obama “was paying much attention” while he served on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “President Obama was a member of the Senate veterans committee. He very rarely showed up at those meetings,” Rove told “On The Record” host Greta Van Susteren. “It would be interesting for your staff to go take a look at that but he — these issues about scheduling and the backlog, these were discussed at Senate veterans committee meetings and...

President Obama finally addressed the nation Wednesday about the growing scandal at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After meeting with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki he pledged to hold folks accountable. Thanks, Mr. President. By now most American have heard about the VA’s infamous patient “secret wait lists” which reportedly contributed to the deaths of up to 40 veterans in the Phoenix area alone. Those patriots were American heroes who served our country proudly. Yet they were left to die waiting to see a doctor. < snip > Despite the fact that Al Qaeda terrorists carried out the Sept. 11...

Several Democrats are joining the call for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to go. Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn on Friday became the latest Democrat to break with President Barack Obama and call for Mr. Shinseki to go in the wake of the scandal that has engulfed the agency and become a major distraction for the White House. “It has become increasingly clear that we need new leadership to build confidence, focus and accountability at the VA to fix what is wrong with the agency,” Ms. Nunn said in a statement released by her campaign Friday. “I hope that General...

It's "just the tip of the iceberg." That's what a congressional committee chairman investigating allegations of delayed care and cooked books at Veterans Affairs health care facilities told CNN. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican who heads the House Veterans Affairs panel, on Thursday forecast more serious developments in the national program serving nearly 9 million veterans. "We've received some information and some tips that will make what has already come look like kindergarten stuff," he told CNN's New Day. The controversy has broadened since CNN first reported six months ago on allegations of alarming shortcomings within the VA medical...

Scandal: While his clueless Veterans Affairs secretary stays, the president issues his response: If reports are true, people will be held accountable — that is, as soon as he gets the inspector general's report in August. 'If these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it, period," the president said, drawing a red line in his first public comments in weeks on the issue after a meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki at the White House. His faux outrage and emotionless tap-dancing differed little from his comments when the IRS...

Gannett owned property so article is headline and link only.

A blast from the past that puts this VA mess in perspective. It sheds light on why Shinseki's and Zero's underwhelming "outrage" rang so hollow. Not to be too conspiratorial, but one almost has to wonder if the worsening dysfunction of the VA was all part of a bigger scheme and many deaths that have so "enraged" Shinseki and Zero were simply collateral damage.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)President Obama addressed the press on Wednesday after meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki about the recent scandal swirling around the Veterans Affairs Department. Addressing the reports of misconduct by VA officials, Obama vowed that he would get to the bottom of the alleged behavior. “If these allegations prove to be true it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it. Period,” he said. “Taking care of veterans and their families has been one of the causes of my presidency and it is something that all of us have to be involved with and have to...

Two Democratic congressmen became the first members of their party to call for Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation shortly after President Obama’s meeting with the embattled department head. While speaking on the House floor about a bill he co-sponsored to make it easier to fire VA officials, Representative David Scott of Georgia offered a passionate plea to address the problem and called for Shinseki’s ouster. SNIP Meanwhile, Scott’s fellow Georgian John Barrow also said Shinseki should no longer hold his position since he and the rest of the administration have “fallen short in providing the kind of care our...

"I will not stand for it — not as commander in chief but also not as an American," Obama said following an Oval Office meeting with embattled VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

President Obama makes a statement following his meeting with head the Department of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. (Live feed at source link.)

I may have mentioned this last week, butt Big Guy’s PR firm has gone into all-out “phony scandal” mode regarding the, uh, issues at the Veterans Administration. Since even the Lady M Hashtag Resolutions™ was not sufficient to reverse public sentiment,Scandal Obfuscating Strategy (SOS™) we’ve been forced into all out phony scandal defense mode: SOS™ Rapid Response Team. This strategy always begins with a denial of having any knowledge of the scandal prior to hearing about it on Fox (which we never watch):Mary Katherine Ham has the complete breakdown of the Big Brains’ (BeeBees) one-size-fits-all damage control PR process: Step...

Last week Department of Veteran's Affairs Undersecretary for Healthcare Robert Petzel resigned as the fallout over multiple scandals within the bureaucracy continue. Petzel served directly under VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who has been asked to resign by multiple veterans groups including the American Legion and Concerned Veterans for America. snip The problem with Petzel's "resignation?" He was already scheduled for retirement and simply left early. Meanwhile, Shinseki is still refusing to resign.