Category: Opinion

The Department of Veterans Affairs is a Failed Institution

How they want the American People to finance the relocation of Afghan nationals while an average of 40,000 American veterans are homeless

While this is happening in the United States, the VA wants us to finance the relocation of Afghan Refugees. Photo courtesy of themreport.com

I’ll start by saying, I am a service-connected disabled veteran who, for decades, fought the Department of Veterans Affairs to get the rating I earned due to injuries received while serving in the United States Army. 

I have no respect or lost love for VA, and I would never allow them to touch me.  They are a failed bureaucracy and no better than a bad socialized medicine experiment.

On September 8th, 2021, I received an email from VA asking if I wanted to support the resettlement of so-called Afghan allies and other “vulnerable” Afghan refugees.  They got my attention.

I read the blog entry written by an individual name Andy Martinez.  This individual identifies him or herself, as the Partnerships and Agreements advisor for VA’s Veterans Experience Office.  Never heard of it.

After reading their Mission Statement, this is nothing more than federalized community organizing and has nothing to do with veteran’s care. I was actually surprised to see the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization, among others, listed as a resource.

I am a Life Member of the DAV, and while I was fighting the VA, they never helped me during my appeal process, but here they are offering their services to Afghans.

The VA is completely disconnected from reality.  We have a daily average of 40,000 homeless veterans in the United States, but they are concerned about unvetted Afghan refugees.  You can’t not make this stuff up because they are putting in out in writing.

The VA, instead of helping our own homeless veterans, they want you and me to finance the relocation of Afghan citizens.  These people are insane.

I am thankful to the Afghan people who helped our troops defend “their” country.  After all, it is their country, not ours.  It was their responsibility to build their own nation while it was our responsibility to take out the perpetrators and masterminds of September 11th.

We don’t owe them a thing.  It is up to them to rebuild their country and to establish a viable government.  Unfortunately, the Biden Administration botched our withdrawal and the orderly transfer of power. 

The Afghan president left the country with millions of dollars, the ones he could hand carry, and the terrorist organization known as the Taliban took over the country, again.

Still, and despite the ugly realities of war, we don’t need to bring to the United States people we don’t know anything about while our own are sleeping on the streets.   It is impossible for the United States government to know all these individuals and anything to the contrary is just a flat out lie.

I will like to ask the VA Secretary the following. Why other Muslim countries in the region are not stepping in to take these refugees?   They share the same cultural and religious values, so it would be a much easier transition.

For the VA to be asking me to assist in the relocation of Afghans while an estimated 40,000 American veterans go homeless on daily basis, it is an insult to those of us who served this country.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is a disgraced and they should be ashamed for even suggesting such nonsense.

Sources:

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/homeless-veterans-statistics/

Afghanistan response: How you can help

PGA Tour: Heckling is Here to Stay

“Please, stop yelling Brooksy” Photo courtesy of Skysports.com

The PGA Tour has enjoyed very much privilege since the Covid-19 pandemic started.  As people were mandated to stay at home, the PGA Tour was busy running tournaments while padding themselves in the back.  They bragged about been the first sport to come back while American families were suffering.

The PGA Tour didn’t care, and they had individuals at PGA Tour Radio and The Golf Channel carry their dirty water.  As a golf fan, and a player, I have pretty much written out Jay Monahan and the Tour for their hypocritical stance on many issues, from race to the state of the game.

Watching golf has been painful in the last two years. I didn’t miss much the fan experience, not having to hear “Mash Potatoes” or “Get in the Hole” was refreshing.  Once the fans returned, I knew exactly what to expect. 

I always thought the Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau rivalry was cool and interesting.  I don’t know what the Tour thought it was going to happen once the fans were allowed back in.  You have fans who love Koepka, like me, and you have those who love DeChambeau.  It was only natural that fan heckling was going to be part of the rivalry.

It is obvious Koepka has managed this drama much better while DeChambeau has melted down on national television and stormed press conferences. 

Some commentators, like Michael Collins of ESPN.com, are going as far as blaming the fans for DeChambeau state of mind.  Is he serious?  If DeChambeau can’t handle a few fans yelling “Brooksy” perhaps he needs to find another line of work.

Heckling has been part of sports, and golf, for a long time, dating back to WW2.  Sam Snead was heckled at the 1942 PGA Championship while playing against Jim Turnesa.  The reason behind it was the fact that Turnesa had enlisted in the United States Army and fans didn’t know Snead had enlisted with the United States Navy. 

Tournament marshals could not control it and Snead ended up telling the marshals to ignore it and allow the fans to say whatever they wanted to say.  Many of the hecklers were soldiers stationed at Ft. Dix and they were cheering for the Army guy, Jim Turnesa.

At the end of the day, the PGA Tour has brought this upon themselves.  This is the price of growing the game and now Jay Monahan wants to put the genie back inside the bottle by telling fans they will be ejected from events if the yell “Brooksy”.

I’m all about decorum on the golf course but yelling someone’s name is not heckling and I think is ridiculous to suggest a player can get rattle by such a thing.  Or maybe they are that fragile, who knows. I guess DeChambeau is too mentally fragile to handle it and needs Monahan to justify and Monday morning quarterback his behavior.

Excuse me PGA Tour, we have young men and women dying in Afghanistan, so forgive me if I can’t feel sorry for a professional golfer who can’t handle a little bit of heat.

On Tuesday’s press conference, before the Tour Championship, Monahan was even more ridiculous.  He goes on to suggest that fans were acting that way because of Covid-19.  He says fans are “frustrated” and have “brought extra and unwelcomed energy to tournaments”.

No way!  Fans are acting the same way they did before Covid.  The problem with Monahan is this time is affecting the PGA Tour’s bottom line, meaning revenues.  DeChambeau is a star and when your star doesn’t want to talk to the press, well, it becomes a problem.

Heckling is part of the game, and it will be part of the game for years to come.  Thankfully the PGA Tour has nothing to do with the Ryder Cup because the heckling is going to be loud and clear at Whistling Straits.

I agree, fans who are disrespectful need to be dealt with immediately.  That type of behavior should not be tolerated at any level, but who determines that is another thing.

Finally, I do have several questions for the Commissioner.  Who’s going to enforce this policy?  The eighty-year-old volunteer?  Are they willing to kick out every fan who says something stupid?  Good luck with that. 

As long as they keep selling alcohol at these events, and not some suggested Covid induced rage, they will always have alcohol induced behavior, is inevitable. 

I don’t dislike DeChambeau, but it appears he needs to book a couple of sessions with Dr. Rotella.

Clown of the Week: Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner

Clown of the Week: Golf Channel’s Commentator Rich Lerner

Rich Lerner has earned the Clown of the Week award for questioning professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s stance on the Covid-19 vaccines.

Mr. Lerner was absolutely wrong in suggesting fans were against DeChambeau because of his thoughts about the Covid-19 vaccines and his decision not to take it until further testing were conducted. Mr. Lerner alluded to this during the broadcast of the BMW Championship final round.

As a matter of fact, DeChambeau is not the only American who feels this way. Many Americans have decided not to indulge on a vaccine which has not been properly tested. Perhaps Mr. Lerner should hangout a bit more with real Americans instead of elite athletes and Hollywood types.

You can read more on DeChambeau’s position and his statement on this article by Townhall.

https://townhall.com/columnists/douglasmackinnon/2021/08/29/in-defense-of-bryson-dechambeau-and-his-choice-regarding-the-covid-vaccine-n2594935

Are Americans that Stupid? The CDC Seems to Think So

This is what the CDC seems to think America……

Leave it to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to come up with the most outlandish, ridiculous, and nonsensical, solutions to non-existing problems.

As reported by One America News Network, the CDC has released a new set of “language” guidelines under the excuse of more “inclusive language”.  Whatever that means in the fantasy world of the CDC, only God knows.

Of course, they are claiming these are “preferred terms” and in no way, shape, or form mandatory.  This is the same agency who took it upon itself to cancel rent and evictions under the cloud of Covid-19 without congressional approval.

These are some of the few “preferred terms” as suggested by the CDC.  Instead of:

  • Inmates- Persons who are detained
  • Alcoholics- Persons with alcohol use disorder
  • Drug User- Person who inject drugs

Are these people serious?  These people sound like morons!  But this is not all, let’s continue.

The CDC is suggesting that “language in communication products should reflect and speak to the needs of people in the audience of focus”.  Exactly, utter nonsense and a mix salad of useless words.

This is one of my favorite suggestions.  They argue those who identify as genetically male or female, should be assigned or designated as male or female “at birth”.  Excuse me, there’s no other designations.  One is either born as a male or a female, not and “it” or something in between.

Folks, this is insanity.  Basically, the CDC thinks you are too stupid to understand what an inmate, and alcoholic, or a drug user means, or better yet, you don’t know the difference between a male and a female.

This is what the Biden Administration worries about folks, absolute stupidity.

Meanwhile U.S. Servicemembers have been slaughtered in Afghanistan, thousands of unvetted Afghans are been relocated to the United States, and American citizens have been left behind enemy lines.

Reading this at face value you would think our government is just a big joke.  Perhaps it is a joke, a bad joke.

The Failure in Afghanistan Under Joe Biden’s Watch

An American Embarrassment!

Listening to Joe Biden weasel his way through, on national television, talking about the United States exit from Afghanistan was laughable.

This man is the Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces and immediately he wanted to justify his incompetent handling of the Afghan mission by blaming former President Trump.  President Trump negotiated a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan because that’s what he promised the American people.

It was up to Joe Biden, the newly elected president, to implement such policy.  He failed because he didn’t care. 

Just a few months ago, he was bragging about how the Afghan military was such a well trained and equipped fighting force.  Well, because Biden’s lack of planning and foolishness, the Taliban has taken over the country and the Afghan Army is nowhere to be found.

Biden couldn’t even take responsibility and kept referring to the “troops”.  Since when the Democrats have ever cared about the troops?  Nancy Pelosi called our military “Storm Troopers”. 

For 20 years our military did their job in Afghanistan, including 8 of those years under the Obama administration, and the Democrats never cared one bit. For the Democrats and the career politicians it was a forgotten war.

To use the troops as the reason for leaving Afghanistan is an insult to the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives in this conflict.  We are hastily leaving Afghanistan because the Biden administration underestimated the Taliban and wasn’t prepared for such take over and collapsed of the Afghan government.

The Biden administration was more concerned about flying the LGBTQ flag in a Muslim country and they lost complete control of the reality on the ground. 

While our military leaders were worried about which soldier voted for President Trump, which soldiers were wearing MAGA hats, or teaching Critical Race Theory to our fighting force, the Taliban was taking over the country province by province, right under Joe Biden’s nose.

The failure in Afghanistan is under Joe Biden’s watch, and he’s right, the buck stops with him.  It is time to stop blaming President Trump for his administration’s failures.

I am pleased our troops are leaving this western attempt at nation building and American assimilation, but under the Biden administration our troops are leaving in disgrace.  Not only we are leaving behind a failed state, but we have equipped the Taliban with our own military equipment and installations.

If you think Russia and China are not watching, think again.  They will fill the vacuum left behind by the Biden administration and no amount of tough talk by Biden will change that fact.  The United States is a weak country and President’s Putin and Xi know it.

Watching the Taliban taking over Kabul was not only embarrassing but it will be a forever reminder of the American failure in Afghanistan. 

All Over Again!