Why does the National Review pretend to care about troops now?

Why does the National Review pretend to care about troops now?
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
March 1, 2013

Once again the disinformation sucks the truth out of our country like the sinkholes in Florida.

This is yet one more load of political BS! First, Congress is responsible for funding and coming up with Bills for the troops and veterans among everything else. Obama as with all Presidents, sets out what he wants done but in the end, it falls under the control of Congress. Much like when President Bush sent troops into two wars but there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were during the Gulf War. Amazing isn't it? It was not Bush's fault no one planned for the wounded two wars would create but it was in fact Congress that dropped the ball. Of course no one talked about it because that would have looked bad especially when it was Republicans doing the damage much like no one wanted to talk about how every defense of this nation failed on the one day they were all needed, or talked about the failure of sending troops into combat in Iraq.

What happened was a massive backlog of claims they were also not talking about.

I wrote this when Congressman Miller decided to finally talk about all of this.

In 2007 we had to deal with this. Neglect? The VA's current backlog is 800,000 cases And then by December of 2007, there were these reports.

The agency’s new plan to hire at least 150 new appeals judges to whittle down the backlog, which has soared to 755,000 from 311,000 in 2000, will require $100 million more than the president requested this year and still more in the future. The plan has been delayed by the standoff between Congress and the White House over domestic appropriations.

148,000 Vietnam Vets sought help in last 18 months

Followed by this one.

VBA's pending compensation and claims backlog stood at 816,211 as of January 2008

Followed by this one

VA reported 879,291 claims were in backlog

And ending 2008 with this one.

806,000 Veterans backlog claims listed

And then this

VA Claim backlog hit 915,000 on May 4, 2009

As you can see, none of this is new. While it would have been easy to just deal with the backlog of cases and ignore the veterans left behind from Vietnam, the rules were changed to try to do the right thing even though it meant the challenge would be greater especially when Congress did not do their job and make sure the funding and staffing were all in place. The backlog has been exacerbated by the administration’s 2010 decision to accept 260,000 previously denied and new claims associated with Agent Orange exposure.

Did the Republican "trusted" sources report on any of this? Hell no. This was and is horrible for the troops and veterans because at the same time sites like National Review were pretending to be patriotic, they were playing politics when wounded veterans were suffering from neglect. Telling the truth and paying attention is our responsibility so the general public knows what is going on. They will not take a stand for the troops or veterans if they believe lies like this one.

The rest of us know how much Michelle Obama cares about the troops, veterans and their families. If Republicans feel like idiots, they have their own media to blame.

Just Props: The Obama Administration Fails Veterans
National Review
By Pete Hegseth
February 28, 2013

What are we to make of Michelle Obama’s satellite appearance at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, in which she announced the “Best Picture” Oscar while surrounded by a phalanx of uniformed military personnel?

Almost immediately, questions were raised as to the appropriateness of using service members as “props” in a commercial entertainment broadcast. I tend to agree it was inappropriate, especially since the first lady made no mention of the troops decorating her appearance. Even so, it was a relatively minor offense.

But perhaps we should be grateful to the White House for making it crystal clear otherwise that, when it comes to our military personnel and veterans, this administration’s priorities are definitely “just for show.” The fact is, the Obama administration’s support for post-9/11 veterans has been anything but awards-worthy.

Just look at the dismal situation at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where a persistent backlog of benefits claims has left hundreds of thousands of veterans in limbo.

According to a report published in the military newspapere Stars and Stripes just this week, the claims backlog has actually grown by 7 percent from a year ago, in spite of VA secretary Eric Shinseki’s promises of speedier service.
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