John McCain was tortured on a daily basis for over six years.

How can he possibly be sane? I just worry that he will if pushed with major stress, flashback to those long steamy nights in the Vietnam prison camp when they use to come into his cell to rip his arms out of the sockets and flip out and start a war. A nuclear war not a limited war where we pick on a country with no way to hit us back. Like the Chinese or

Russians. Do you really think he trusts the Asian communist nations? Hell no! would you after what he has lived through?

And by the way the VA is not anywhere near perfect and is staffed with jerks and lazy assholes as well as good hard working folks. Do not insult my intelligence and say that they are all professionals working there. I have been a disabled Vet since 1984 and have experienced and seen it all in those clinics and hospitals. Denials, lies, apathy, lazyness, manipulation, death, pain and sufferning, greed, overburdeness, ect ect...

At least with McCain he will take care of his own kind as he is a disabled vet. Not my choice for president but then neither is Hillary Clinton or any of those other corporate bootlicking scum.

and to the military veterans, too.

Jesus. I was sitting here preparing class notes to teach the Illiad, and I read this.

Three thousand years later, same damn war. Much thanks to Owen for articulating it so terribly well.

You must have been a scout. right on.

anyway, I was just saying..I like my VA hospital, and all the people I've met there are really great, just wanted to give them a little shout out.

I was raised as a pacifist, and I remain one today. In 1969, I refused to serve when drafted, but I was denied CO status because my pacifism was not based on religion - I was also raised as an atheist. I spent 10 months in maximum security prison until the Supremem Court ruled that CO status could not be dependent upon religion. I have no idea what real combat is like, but I do know that waiting in the dark knowing that the enemy is coming (Aryan Brotherhood in my case)can be monumentally terrifying. I have 7 knife wound scars and 37 cigarette burn scars - my private combat.

All of that said, I was also taught that war is not a military problem in terms of deciding to go to war but, rather, a civilian leadership problem. The average soldier simply is not consulted in the decision to go to war. So, I volunteer at the Portland VA Medical Center. There are many very dedicated people working there, but we are creating injured soldiers at too rapid a pace to keep up. The lack of money is appalling. Simple things like latex/synthetic gloves, saline flushes, even Tylenol are in very short supply. How can we send our people to fight and then not take care of them when they are injured? I do not understand this.

I respect your service even though I cannot and will not serve myself. I'm not sure why I even posted here, except that many of us, even far lefties like me, respect and honor the soldiers who have accepted the call even when the call was criminal.

Best regards

DZ

I'm happy for you that the East Orange VA Medical Center is meeting your needs. I hope you appreciate how lucky you are to live near a facility with good docs and good management. Not many VARCs live up to your description.

But as for "free," nothing is free. As I look out over the crowded atrium waiting area of my VA facility I see men and women who have paid a terrible price for what some might call "free" health care. And it's not "free" to the American taxpayers either.

If you're interested in reading the "unseen" cost of waging America's military adventures, take a look at President Bush's 2008 VA budget he is sending to Congress:

http://www.va.gov/budget/summary/VolumeIVSummaryVolume.pdf

I'll save you time. It's almost $200 Billion.

Poor choice of words by me. I meant no offense. When I said, "You have no idea," it was meant to convey how bad the situation was, and not imply ignorance on your part.

Same with suggestion "marching" on Washington in outrage. Again, those words were meant to convey how bad it all is.

only got about 35% of the vote in SC, and the GOP establishment despises him. Read George Will's column in today's Post - the money boys in the GOP are starting a full-blown campaign to destroy McCain as the nominee. Then, if Hickyboy is still around, they'll get rid of him too. The GOP establishment wants Romney or Thompson. Follow what the Faux Nooz and the fuckwad Limbaugh's have to say about McCain and Hickyboy - they have already started campaigns to damage them.

Sorry, just had to throw my 2 cents in.

I go the VA hospital in East Orange,NJ. It is great, I get FREE health care that is fast and the quality is great. The staff there is professional and extremely helpful. In fact, it is heads above most private hospitals I've been to in the past.

So three cheers for the East Orange VA!

I am at my local Veterans Affairs (it's Affairs now, not "Administration.") Regional Facility (hospital) frequently. I know damned well, as other vets do, how fucked up the VA system is. March on Washington? What for? To stand around on the Capital Mall with a pathetic little protest sign that means nothing to anybody? What a waste of time and money we don't have.

"You have no idea how false all those accolades and pledges of concern for veterans really are."

Really? I have "no idea"?

Thanks for your input, I'm sure we're on the same page, but I'm acutely aware of veterans' issues from the inside looking out. I have more of an "idea" than any civilian.