The National Disgrace that is the Neglect of our Veterans.

In 2003, George W. Bush and his neocon cronies took us into a war in Iraq that is at the top of conflicts that should never have happened.

Of course years later, we know that there were no WMDs, they were no roses thrown at the feet of our soldiers and none of the other pie in the sky nonsense that we were fed back then.

What we have are 1,000s of dead Americans, 100,000s of dead Iraqis, a country in shambles and ISIS created, alive and well.

And of course we have the war criminals walking around free, earning 1000s of dollars in speaking fees.

We also have to our shame as a nation, another group who have suffered and continue to suffer, not only because of the Iraq debacle but also the Afghanistan War, our veterans.

11/11/15 was Veterans Day. It is one of those holidays when it is PC to say Happy Blank (smirk). But if you are veteran in the US, it was not a “Happy Holiday”

Back in the day, a long, long time ago, when our veterans returned from WW1, they were promised bonuses, which would be paid in 1945.  However, the depression came before that and the veterans needed the bonuses went to Washington, DC to lobby for early payment  and as a result the Bonus Army was formed.

After a confrontation with the police and then the army, MacArthur following Hoover's orders  attacked them, much to a national disgrace that lives on today. 4 years later the bonuses were paid and in 1944 the GI bill was passed. The same GI bill that paid for the education of many of the small government conservatives walking around today wanting to get rid of government programs.

Fast forward to 2015, and we have the good the bad and the ugly.

The good:

There are groups and civilians who are trying to help our Veterans. They have stepped up to try the fill the void left by our government.

One such civilian is Tim McGraw. While McGraw and other groups try to provide homes for vets, the number of homeless continues to grow.

The Senate passed a 2 billion dollar spending bill on 11/10/15. That is good. Hopefully it will help the VA provide needed services to those who are desperately in need of medical care and homes.

The bad:  A report issued by the VA and HUD said that even though veterans are only 10% of the American population, they are 16% of all homeless adults.

The Veterans Administration, the agency tasked with providing for our veterans is a mess. And the mess continues to grow.

For example, they just redefined the word bonus as it applies to the workforce by paying out $140 million to its employees.

18 months after the last scandal, the waiting lists for care remains and very little has changed. 

The ugly: There are 300 veterans on death row, many of them with PTSD. Where was the treatment these vets earned and needed? Why are they on death row? How can this be happening in America?

The neocons and the hawks such as Rubio and his ilk are all pushing for boots on the ground in Syria. It never fails to amaze and pain me to realize how willing the GOP is to send our men and women to the battlefields and how easily they ignore those men, women and their families when they return home.  Sounds familiar? They have the same attitude about children. They care when the child is in the womb and once it is born, they do not give a damn.

Let us add care of our Veterans to the growing list of failures of the Do Nothing Congress.