Who is Walter Reed?
 

Nevermind. I just wanted folks to know that we're not ALL ignoring the elephant in the corner. There has been a stampede, or at least a parade, of elephants through the room lately. "Elephant" here is a euphamism for the various catastrophies, tragedies, embarrassments and examples of mis-management under the Bush "administration," and I use that term losely here. Obviously.

You guys aren't talking about it, but the "administration" doesn't give a rat's ass about military people or their families. They had to be FORCED to equip our Iraq personnel with reasonably effective armor, after the deficiency was exposed by the media, and long after the military had been begging for months and years. Now we have.......Walter Reed Hospital as a poster child for the disdain this "administration" has for the pawns on its comfortable little chessboard.

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Go back to your other discussions. Nothin to see here. But.......some of us are paying attention.

The only reason we see any movement by this administration on this issue is that it could be made into an election issue.

This much wider than the Administration. The Dems and Reps ALL fell asleep on this one. Congress has oversight duty on this.

I have been to Walter Reed to visit friends. I missed Building 18. Wish I had not.

There is no political hay here, folks. Wait until the whole VA systems gets exposed.

We are talking decades of abuse.

You can hang this on W, rightly, but don't lose sight of the fact that it is the most bipartisan issue known to man.

Where have they ALL been?

Preening, voting on non binding resolutions.

The Vets I talk to have been telling me the same thing. You can see both parties motivated to move on this now. Wonder of wonders, the press still has a function in our society.

Perfect. The Washington Post deserves the credit. This is not about our political divide, it is about the young men and women, regardless of which side of the debate we fall.

I get pissed when I ruminate about this. For the grace of god go I...and I have the means to survive. I care about the young enlisted kids who do not.

I have not done enough.

I agree with you, Seahawk. It's truly bipartisan.

But I also think that someone should discuss the real cost of what we're doing in Iraq. What's an arm worth? How important is the ability to sleep at night without waking up screaming? Will we just thank these people for their sacrifices and move on, or will we take responsibility for their treatment and recovery. And perhaps recompense.

If we add this cost to the one Congress votes on, then how much will the Iraq Gambit really cost America? In America, both politics and commerce are games of shifting cost burdens to someone else.

The real cost of bush's Iraq Gamble is horrendous. All the estimates you have seen are colossally understated.

I know more than you about this because I'm active duty, and you are right. The cost of failure, however, is worse. But that is another debate.

Thanks for posting this thread. Let us all focus on a solution to the injured. How about we take local kids for a drive, ala Gogar?

Edit for context. A ride in a Porsche won't heal the wound, but you may meet some incredible people.

Here is where you can count on me to be the liberal I am. I will take a position right beside you in support of all we can do for these injured people. Not because they are military, though I do appreciate their efforts and sacrifices. I'm with you in support of them because they are Americans. Ignoring for a moment they are military, I still think it's unconscionable that they are not getting the treatments they need. They have my sympathy as Americans.

Plus, as I've said, their sacrifices were made for our freedom. As soldiers, they also earn my respect.

I'm just as crazy as people here think I am. Last time I was at a mall waiting for some shoppers I had accompanied, I saw an ancient man, a fossil, emptying garbage cans in the Food Court. I thought to myself "Imagine the things I would hear about if I chatted with that old fart for an hour or two." That guy fought a war, recovered from a depression, watched television and telephone and radio enter the scene. Saw the introduction of the steel-framed automobile. Electric lights. Rode a steam ship. Whatever. I wish our children were talking more with our parents.

nobody cares unless pictures come out and it's in the news....

One Vet to another, its not just in DC either. The VA system overall has been going down the last 30 years and needs to be overhauled. You should see the hospital system out here in the West, its in terrible shape in some areas.

Sup,

Crazy, no: You haven't met my Dad.
How about this: The next, "Drive to the Coolest Place Near Where I Live" includes some local Vets.
You are all going to be amazed how great these young people are.

This is a problem that needs addressing, but not within the current system. The VA is like the second or third biggest government agency, is it any surprise it's poorly run and has poor results?

Bush has almost doubled funds to the VA in his first 6 years, and what good did it do? Probably created an additional layer of government employees in the process, yes!!!

When will we learn?

Yeah, I see your point. I happen to know the pharmaceutical companies are standing by to help. Just waiting for the word.

Re: Who is Walter Reed?
 

Wasn't Gary Trudeau on this for some time now?

Can someone explain why we have separate hospitals for our servicemen and veterans? Why don't they go to the same hospitals as we do but have the government foot the bill? I don't see how a government run hospital system would achieve better results than passing out vouchers for private health care, and it certainly can't be cheaper!

Sec Def Gates certainly seems to have taken the matter seriously. That is good to see, especially given the military's (meaning those in charge of Walter Reed) initial reaction was to deny and blame the media (sounds familiar).

I can't remember when I've seen better 'real leadership' in action as of late. The VA system is a disgrace imo (although I have no first hand info), and our veterans deserve better. I was recently talking to a high school buddy (who retired from the Navy a few years ago), and health care came up. I brought it up that he had the med stuff covered, and he stated that there was no way in hell that he would use the VA...he pays for his own health care instead. We Americans deserve better...

Could not agree more.