Reply #47: I get angry

[H2O Man]

when I hear a lying piece of shit like him blame the problems relating to veteran's care as being "bureaucracy." He knows better.

Bureaucracy is a system that takes a cookie-cutter approach: it provides for the main types of "services" that the vast majority of people that come through the doors deal with. Sociologists find that this type of system has its roots in China, for the obvious reason that there was a large population there for a long time.

We've probably all had the experience of waiting in line at some place such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, or on the phone with something like Direct TV, where we have had a situation/problem that is different than the general type the institution deals with. It creates a bureaucratic reaction -- the system isn't geared to deal with your problem smoothly.

The VA problems are not bureaucracy. I used to work with a number of veterans at the mental health clinic (both co-workers and clients). The range of quality in the services/care provided was, at times, stunning. It ranged from very good to terrible. Many of the veterans had special needs, and my ability to help them was based largely upon finding the person at the VA who was willing and able to help provide the services they needed. It can be done, and I think the majority of the VA workers I dealt with over the years were dedicated, capable workers.

But this business that Imus is discussing is an outrage. I've heard people in Washington say they were not prepared for the number of injured veterans requiring care. How in the hell can anyone say in 2007 that they were caught by surprise, considering that the US has been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq for so many years? It is a systems failure -- not bureaucracy, where a few individuals with special needs are falling through the cracks. That system is supposed to deal with injured veterans. There is no other greater service that VA hospitals provide; hence, those who say it is a problem with bureaucracy are full of shit.