Veteran's Day

[Obiwan]

A tribute to those who put their lives on the line to keep us safe...

 

[Kondor3]

Wishing a good Veterans Day, to all Brothers and Sisters of The Oath...

 

[strollingbones]

o yea lets all get all patriotic on the 11th then do what for the rest of the year...ignore the vets...cause that is what this country does....sorry i am not impressed by memes for this one day.... neither party has done anything for the current vets....our treatment of vets is one of the biggest shames in this country....under both parties

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed(Officially acknowledged) In U.S. War And Occupation Of Iraq 4,801

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

 

[Obiwan]

 

[Kondor3]

o yea lets all get all patriotic on the 11th then do what for the rest of the year...ignore the vets...cause that is what this country does....sorry i am not impressed by memes for this one day.... neither party has done anything for the current vets....our treatment of vets is one of the biggest shames in this country....under both parties

Peace-out... let 'em "get all patriotic on the 11th"... it's better than nothing, which is what 'Nam-era vets faced... and, of course, vet-benefits and assistance is better now by an order of magnitude, vs. what it was even twenty years ago. We're getting there, even if we've been damned slow about the journey. Meanwhile, this keeps it in the public eye, yes?

 

[Obiwan]

I agree that the country does too little for our troops and vets...

But that doesn't lessen their sacrifices... As a matter of fact, it should give us an even greater appreciation for them.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

o yea lets all get all patriotic on the 11th then do what for the rest of the year...ignore the vets...cause that is what this country does....sorry i am not impressed by memes for this one day.... neither party has done anything for the current vets....our treatment of vets is one of the biggest shames in this country....under both parties

White House announces in-state tuition for U.S. veterans, families
Source: Reuters

All recent U.S. military veterans and their families will now be offered in-state tuition rates to public colleges and universities throughout the country, the White House said on Wednesday.

Announced in honor of the U.S. federal holiday Veterans Day, which fell on Wednesday, the change is part of President Barack Obama's "steadfast commitment" to military families and aims to make sure veterans can both access and get the most out of higher education, administration officials said.

Officials also announced the launch of a revamped comparison tool to offer veteran-specific admissions statistics, which aims to help applicants better evaluate programs, and a new effort to curb deceptive enrollment tactics used by schools aiming to recruit veterans.

Cecilia Munoz, a top domestic policy adviser to the president, said while Obama is pressing his administration to push these changes forward quickly, he is also calling on Congress to move forward on three pieces of legislation to help improve veterans' education.


Read more: White House announces in-state tuition for U.S. veterans, families

 

[Kondor3]

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed(Officially acknowledged) In U.S. War And Occupation Of Iraq 4,801

Yep. Stupid, unnecessary war. Brave boys and girls who answered their nation's call.

 

[strollingbones]

giving vets who need medical treatment....jobs and homes...a free education without dealing with the rest is just a smoke and mirrors show

 

[Kondor3]

giving vets who need medical treatment....jobs and homes...a free education without dealing with the rest is just a smoke and mirrors show

Yep... traditionally, the VA has been a harsh gatekeeper of healthcare... deciding who gets it, and who doesn't... and sub-standard care, in many cases.

The VA has been hamstrumg by Congress, an inadequate budget, and, of course, some genuine mismanagement on the part of VA leadership. up and down the food chain.

They are in the process of re-aligning with best practices in the Department of Defense and beginning to flush some of the worst bureaucrats... time will tell if that's going to help.

 

[pwjohn]

o yea lets all get all patriotic on the 11th then do what for the rest of the year...ignore the vets...cause that is what this country does....sorry i am not impressed by memes for this one day.... neither party has done anything for the current vets....our treatment of vets is one of the biggest shames in this country....under both parties

White House announces in-state tuition for U.S. veterans, families
Source: Reuters

All recent U.S. military veterans and their families will now be offered in-state tuition rates to public colleges and universities throughout the country, the White House said on Wednesday.

Announced in honor of the U.S. federal holiday Veterans Day, which fell on Wednesday, the change is part of President Barack Obama's "steadfast commitment" to military families and aims to make sure veterans can both access and get the most out of higher education, administration officials said.

Officials also announced the launch of a revamped comparison tool to offer veteran-specific admissions statistics, which aims to help applicants better evaluate programs, and a new effort to curb deceptive enrollment tactics used by schools aiming to recruit veterans.

Cecilia Munoz, a top domestic policy adviser to the president, said while Obama is pressing his administration to push these changes forward quickly, he is also calling on Congress to move forward on three pieces of legislation to help improve veterans' education.


Read more: White House announces in-state tuition for U.S. veterans, families

This is nothing more than window dressing. The president can do far better by "making good" those benefits that are currently being denied.

 

[pwjohn]

giving vets who need medical treatment....jobs and homes...a free education without dealing with the rest is just a smoke and mirrors show

Yep... traditionally, the VA has been a harsh gatekeeper of healthcare... deciding who gets it, and who doesn't... and sub-standard care, in many cases.

The VA has been hamstrumg by Congress, an inadequate budget, and, of course, some genuine mismanagement on the part of VA leadership. up and down the food chain.

They are in the process of re-aligning with best practices in the Department of Defense and beginning to flush some of the worst bureaucrats... time will tell if that's going to help.

The near outright failure by the VA to deliver on promised benefits to our vets has a lot to do with the lousy pay they offer for healthcare providers. And that's a real shame seeings how the government is often times overpaying the hired help in other departments.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

This is nothing more than window dressing. The president can do far better by "making good" those benefits that are currently being denied.

U.S. Senate Republicans block veterans' health bill

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

The near outright failure by the VA to deliver on promised benefits to our vets has a lot to do with the lousy pay they offer for healthcare providers. And that's a real shame seeings how the government is often times overpaying the hired help in other departments.

Guess Who Tried to Prevent the VA Crisis
Republicans beat back a Democratic attempt to provide almost $2 billion in additional health care funding for veterans,

 

[pwjohn]

The near outright failure by the VA to deliver on promised benefits to our vets has a lot to do with the lousy pay they offer for healthcare providers. And that's a real shame seeings how the government is often times overpaying the hired help in other departments.

Guess Who Tried to Prevent the VA Crisis
Republicans beat back a Democratic attempt to provide almost $2 billion in additional health care funding for veterans,

We already know you're a partisan hack so there's no need for you to offer up anymore proof of that.

President Obama was well aware of the ongoing disaster at the va when he took office. His failure to act during that time, a time when democrats owned both houses of congress and the whitehouse speaks volumes. And it's all bad. Especially in light of the fact we were a nation at war producing wounded vets numbering in the tens of thousands. Clearly a failure on the part of this administration to act in a timely manner to solve an ongoing problem that could only get worse over time.

 

[Kondor3]

There is plenty of BIPARTISAN blame to go around, for the failures at the VA in recent decades.

BIPARTISAN blame.

A number of extraordinary fixes are already underway within the agency but there is still a great deal of room for improvement and new thinking and best practices.

The solution, also, will have to be BIPARTISAN.

I, for one, will vote against anyone, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, who proposes reducing veteran benefits, new barriers to obtaining assistance, or privatizing such benefits.

The VA is the right place to coordinate and provide veterans benefits and assistance.

It's just that The Nation needs to begin demanding Best Practices and High Accountability and Streamlining from the agency, as it moves forward - and maintain a vigilant scrutiny.

 

[ThoughtCrimes]

To all the Nam vets out there:

Welcome Home My Brothers!

 

[Michelle420]

 

[ThoughtCrimes]

There is plenty of BIPARTISAN blame to go around, for the failures at the VA in recent decades.

BIPARTISAN blame.

A number of extraordinary fixes are already underway within the agency but there is still a great deal of room for improvement and new thinking and best practices.

The solution, also, will have to be BIPARTISAN.

I, for one, will vote against anyone, Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, who proposes reducing veteran benefits, new barriers to obtaining assistance, or privatizing such benefits.

The VA is the right place to coordinate and provide veterans benefits and assistance.

It's just that The Nation needs to begin demanding Best Practices and High Accountability and Streamlining from the agency, as it moves forward.

The ONLY way to START to repair the damage the VA has wrought is to completely overhaul the VA CULTURE. If you've never been enrolled in the VA fiefdoms you really have no basis for an opinion. And no, media coverage doesn't scratch the surface of depth of the longstanding problems within the VA! Further, it's not simply on the VHA side of the VA with the problems. The VBA is every bit as bad with delivering compensation and pension benefits with their hidebound and arbitrary practices!