Inside the Koch brothers campaign to privatize the VA.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

THE best piece I've seen on this. A realistic assessment of the VA, exposing the Fake News behind the Repubs' plan to dismantle it. It's in-depth & worth the read.

http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/maraprmay-2016/the-va-isnt-broken-yet/

[A-Schwarzenegger]

1. And a follow-up from today (12-30-16)

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/12/30/more-fake-news-about-va-hospitals/

[Hortensis]

17. Excellent first article, will read this too. Thanks!

The VA's operating costs are about 3% of its budget, the rest going to patient care. And in the process, many billions of dollars in profits from exploiting veterans problems are being denied the hyenas.

Charles Koch: "The only legitimate role of government is protection of person and property."

OF COURSE, they intend to destroy the VA.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

19. Thanks for reading, Hortensis.

They are irredeemable.

[mountain grammy]

29. Thank you for both..

just read the first one to my vet husband who gets his health care through the VA and loves it (the VA that is.)

I'll wait a bit to show him the second one.. he needs to calm down.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

30. Youre welcome, mountain.

When i read it I thought, man, everybody's got to read this.

[moondust]

2. manufacturing or vastly exaggerating scandals

at the VA as part of a larger campaign to delegitimize publicly provided health care.

Exactly. My own VA care including three outpatient surgeries has been excellent.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

4. Mine, too. Couldn't be happier or more grateful for the VA.

And the piece does address the VA's actual problems honestly.

[moondust]

6. Very good comprehensive article.

Thanks for posting it.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

13. Thanks for reading, moondust.

[LisaM]

3. This is one reason I absolutely don't understand why the military votes GOP

It makes no sense.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

5. May that change if the Repubs do try to privatize.

"But we didn't think they really meant what they said!"

[pinboy3niner]

18. I was pleased to find that some staunch Republican VN vet friends voted for Hillary

That was a pretty BFD for them.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

20. I think we'll see more vets turn from the Repubs

if they do fuck with the VA.

[KamaAina]

27. I thought only the officers voted repuke.

Kind of like in the civilian world.

[Ace Rothstein]

28. My buddy is an Army officer.

From what he's told me it is the opposite. A lot of officers vote Democrat and most of the enlisted vote Republican.

[lunasun]

7. Very good read thanks

I likened it to the public education breakdown to privatization ... another Koch dream
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028409390

[A-Schwarzenegger]

9. Yes. One good thing is that the VA groups are unified in opposing this.

If Trump tries this I think/hope it would wake up a lot of vets who vote Repub. It's interesting that the VA post is the last Cabinet position to be filled. They don't know how bad they should try to fuck the VA.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Thanks for posting this Story.

Everyone one of those Vets who voted for Trump needs to read and digest this . Koch's have been working on this for more that a decade. It was to be used the next time we had a VA Scandal,forturenatly the Dems were able to stop it from happening.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

10. Youre welcome, I agree about vets seeing the reality of this.

[Wellstone ruled]

11. If one had been paying attention,

they would know that the Koch Brothers have established at least one P.R. office in every state. These so called Offices are for the express purpose of Promoting the Interests of the Koch Family Values and their Ideals. Kid you not,that was the Statement used last January when their office opened in Carson City Nevada.

And one of their targets of their Ideals is the new VA Center in North Las Vegas. If one has read some of the Campaign Literature that came from the Tea Baggers,this is one of their go to wants.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

12. They are absolutely without a single human scruple

They utterly worship money and power for its own sake.

[Cha]

14. Speaking of that.. I just saw this blast from the kochs' past..

Inside the Koch brothers campaign to privatize the VA.

THE best piece I've seen on this. A realistic assessment of the VA, exposing the Fake News behind the Repubs' plan to dismantle it. It's in-depth & worth the read.

http://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/maraprmay-2016/the-va-isnt-broken-yet/

Thank you for the link on the VA, A

[A-Schwarzenegger]

21. Fucking lizards.

Sorry to lizards.

[Achilleaze]

15. One must assume the Koch boys are also Republican chickenhawks

Since, like Comrade Casino - The Republican Draft (and tax) Dodger in Chief - almost all Republicans out to shitcan our American veterans and crap on our troops are notorious Republican Chickenhawks.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

22. Yep.

[pinboy3niner]

16. IAVA's Paul Rieckhoff pointed out Trump's special insult to vets

While Trump met personally with health care CEOs about the future of the VA, the highest transition official the major veterans' orgs got a meeting with was...Omarosa.

I posted the story in DU's Veterans Group:

Trump won votes promising to protect veterans, but major veterans groups are rattled by his plans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11796873

[A-Schwarzenegger]

23. If only everybody would have listened to what Trump was saying BEFORE they voted.

I guess EVERYBODY thought he was a liar, even his supporters.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

40. It seems like they did

Post-election interviews with his supporters seem to bear out this idea- that Trump really didn't mean what he said about much of anything during the campaign, at least insofar as it negatively applies directly to specific individual Trump voters.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

42. "All i know is he promised me a great job doing something for a lot of money!

And I know he wouldnt lie to me about that!"

[Proud Liberal Dem]

43. LOL

Is that a movie/tv quote BTW? Sounds familiar.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

44. It does, doesnt it?

but it's not, not as far as i know, but movie lines can burrow into our depths unbeknownst...

[hunter]

24. I wonder if we could turn Trump against the Koch brothers...

... let Trump know the Koch brothers will sacrifice him in an instant when things get ugly.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

25. and things will get ugly for Trump as well

i'm imagining Russia and the VA will be two of Trump's many Achilles' heels

[Rollo]

26. But not before Trump does his best to turn us into a nation of serfs...

nt

[suffragette]

31. When they say "fix" they mean privatize. When they say "choice" they mean profits funneled

To them.


K&R

[A-Schwarzenegger]

32. 1984 is here at last.

[suffragette]

33. Yes, with a twist of Shock Doctrine.

I shudder to think what they are planning to shove through in the first 100 days.

[mountain grammy]

35. I've been thinking of the Shock Doctrine as well,

Americans are in shock and bad stuff will happen. We better remain vigilant.

[suffragette]

36. Entirely agree..

[McCamy Taylor]

34. Excelent article.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

41. Thanks for reading it, McCamy.

[Generic Brad]

37. They won't get their way on this

They made Trump mad on New Years Day. He will go out of his way to make sure they do not get what they want and that they are embarrassed somehow - repeatedly. He may humor them on this, but he will ultimately see they do not get anything they want.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

38. The Kochs made him mad?

on my way to google

edit: the golf course ouster of Hurt?

[Generic Brad]

39. The one and the same

He will get even with them on his terms.