Vetwife's letter to Senator Frist

[vetwife]

Dear Senator Frist,
I want you to know that you are a disgrace to the medical profession. Let us talk Veterans Benefits. When you took your hypocratic oath was their a clause that said , DOES NOT APPLY when for the concern of men and women who have worn the uniform?

You have never heard the veteran scream out in pain or terror from a nightmare or flashback, have you? If you had, then you would not be so quick to play politics with a veterans needs. You have never spent time giving a cup of soup to a veteran who has lost his way to drugs or alcohol because he couldn't hold a job, family and little sanity and finds little comfort on the cold cement as the rain pours. Have you? You have not seen the wife, mother or father of a veteran hold their heads in sheer agony rocking back and forth begging someone to please see their loved one who fought under that flag you wear and act like you are so proud of ..have you?

You have not spent hours on the phone talking to some veteran who is crying as they hold a 357 Magnum to their head as they are reminded of wars past as this useless war rages, as they tell you, The VA has no beds available. Have you? You have not taken every dime you could rake and scrape to get gas money up so a few veterans could be seen on a much awaited nine month long veteran appointment, knowing it is 90 miles one way and there is no gas to get there..Have you? If they miss the appointment they will wait another 6 to 9 months to be seen again.

Sen. Frist, you have not seen the pain and suffering that comes from injuries seen and unseen from those who proudly put on the uniform and said, "I Love America" but who this administration has thrown away like a used up newspaper after they have served their purpose in far away lands. Have you?

You have not seen the 80 year old blind veteran stumble around looking for his cane and wait for two years hoping that the VA will give him a little pension to go with that 900.00 a month social security check. He has no portfolio and no stock options. He is just a man of the greatest generation. He just received his eviction notice.

You have not smelled the stinch from cancer raging a Vietnam vet's body as his poverty stricken mother tries to keep the sores cool in a rickety old house with no air conditioning nor washing machine, have you? Then he dies and you have not been the one begging the VA to send a flag to drape the coffin, have you.

Well Senator Frist, I have done all of these things and got no pay for it. I stood and begged for veterans and I don't even ask for my consultation or help to be compensated. See, Sen. Frist, I love America and I love those who have borne the battle.

I am not a pretend want a be patriot. I am a patriot.
I will carry the banner for those who cannot and Who are helpless, and hopeless and cannot speak for themselves., because that is what patriotism is about. It is not oohing ans awing over a flag made in China run up a pole in India and then turn my back on the veterans and their healthcare and benefits.

You stood on the floor of the senate and you made snide remarks about Senator Kerry parachuting in to vote for Veterans Benefits, then postponed the vote. You Sen. Frist are a disgrace to the medical profession and a poor excuse for a person who claims patriotism.

In the meanime, Senator Frist, you go put your 300 dollar suit on, pour you a nice cool drink , sit by your pool and look up at your flag and call some of us unpatriotic as we do for our veterans, with not much help from the Faith Based Initiatives you all think so much of.
You do that Sen. Frist and those who have borne the battle and worn the uniform will remember come November who cared and who did not about their sacrafices. In the meantime we will keep our eyes on the ones who have left our veterans out in the cold, discarded and thrown away and we will remember ! Count on it.

Sincerely,
Amanda L. Kato
United Veterans of America, Inc.
Founder




Please give as much as you can in this time of need to Please help a Veteran Today

http://groups.msn.com/UnitedVeteransofAmerica/whatsnew

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[vetwife]

1. Kick for a veteran !

[vetwife]

51. Well I emailed that letter to every senator and Helen Thomas

Somebody should read it !

[vetwife]

56. Out of all the seantors ya wanna know who contacted me? Frist Letter

Joe Biden...Suprising isn't it. And it was not a form letter. Asked me to call and gave his number there in Washington and Delaware. Mentioned some of the things I said. It go to some of em. That I do know. I get automated responses..This was not one.

[LTR]

2. BRAVO!!!

Nice letter!

Keep us posted on his response.

[Career Prole]

3. I'm speechless!

Pardon m'French, Amanda...but you kicked ass!

:yourock:

[indepat]

13. And has there ever been a more deserving, hypocritical ass to be kicked?

[fdr_hst_fan]

4. You Go, Sister!

Assholes like Frist and DeLay have NO BUSINESS being in Congress; they're just Shrub's rubber-stamps! I'd be willing to bet that Frist is a PROCTOLOGIST!

[Sequoia]

5. That was very powerful

and all the more reason to get those demons out of OUR White House.

[vetwife]

11. Thanks and I have only just begun to fight !

I am one squeaky wheel who ain't gonna shut up !

[Beaverhausen]

6. VETWIFE ROCKS!!!

:yourock:

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

10. Good on ya, Vetwife,

about time that hypocrite from Tennessee heard something like that. Keep us posted if you hear anything back from the POS.

[wellstone_democrat]

7. Once again

I find another reason to admire you. Fabulous job.

When I get paid again next week, you can be sure I'll be visiting the pay pal link at your site. I hope others do as well.

Thank you.

[NMDemDist2]

8. take your name off the letter VW or you'll get hate mail

from trolls here on DU, (not off the actual letter of course :)

[vetwife]

14. Thank you AZ...but ask me if I care. I .fight bigger jerks than them !

If they write me hate mail..I just delete. I could care less about a chickenhawk ! They didn't fight for my freedom of expression or speech. I am constantly fighting the Big Boys at the VA !

[NMDemDist2]

15. works for me then VW

keep up the good fight!

[vetwife]

16. Thank you AZ..that was sweet.. That CD made me an enemy to them

But I do appreciate it Hon...

[sendero]

9. There's a mistake!

Trust me, this guy does not wear 300 dollar suits, more like 1000.

Great letter, I hope he reads it and feels like the piece of poop he is.

[coloradodem2005]

12. Awesome.

:thumbsup:

[vetwife]

17. Dang..I am thinking Pennys instead of Neiman Marcus.1000 more like it

[vetwife]

18. He'll see it..I faxed it ! No email ! Plus snail mail copy !

[never cry wolf]

19. Great Letter!!! however......

Not only does frist not see, hear or smell real life problems, he don't give a shit. Honestly, I'd be surprised if you got a response other than a form letter. Your excellent points will probably never even get to frist's eyes and even if they did I can guarantee it won't change his course nor even barely make a small dent in his cold heart.

No offense intended on ya, VW, you done good. Send your letter in as an open letter to frist in LTTE sections of every newspaper you can. frist won't change, so we have to change who's in control.

Thanks!!

on edit: typo

[vetwife]

20. This is true...I think I shall send it to Helen Thomas and Kerry Camp

and to John McCain ! The org has to remain non partisian so McCain gets a copy !

[NMDemDist2]

21. yes, at least Kerry gives a shit about the vets

and for all the times i scream about my senior senator he does too

and Helen Thomas is a good idea, send one to Amy Goodman too at www.democracynow.org

[vetwife]

23. Good idea..I need to resend it all..clean up my typos..mad when I wrote it

I may send one everyday till I know he sees it. Ya'll feel free to copy and post where ever ! I know folks on here are patriots !

[Rebellious Republican]

35. Yes, please do, I believe he still cares about Vets!

Some bash him for towing the party line, he has to somewhat. I think he is just a tenacious old GOP'er that believes he can change the party from within. He is rare, most have given up and left the party, like Jim Jeffords and myself included. The Neocons have a firm death grip on the party, people like McCain simply can not be intimidated, and they know it.

[vetwife]

36. I know he cares

He is a rare one for sure ! Maverick ! I don't know how he can stand by Bush after what was done to him ! It escapes my reasoning.

[faithnotgreed]

22. hello vetwife - how can i contribute w/o paypal....

i want to tithe to help those who are suffering but is there a way i can do that which doesnt involve paypal....
thank you for all your hard work and i hope you and your husband and family are doing ok

[vetwife]

24. Will PM you..there is an addy on the site but willPM you ..thank you.

[faithnotgreed]

26. great! i have no idea what "pm" is. i looked on the du dictionary

but it wasnt there.. im so ignorant about all the shorthand here but whatever it means i look forward to it!. thank you

[vetwife]

28. I sent it to your private email..Hope you get it....or you can email me

at [email protected]

[vetwife]

29. I know I could not prive email you on here and that is what pm is

private memo I think !

[vetwife]

30. Thank you for the well wishes...I did send to email you had listed.

[ShaneGR]

25. Staffer probably didn't read past "disgrace"

Since I've interned in a Senate office, I'll tell you thousands of those letters come in via email and snailmail. They are each opened but I'll guarantee you the staff member got to the end of the first sentence and clicked next. The way to ensure they are read is to refrain from insults. State that you disagree with the Senator. Explain the reasons you are against what he did. If you are going to say stuff like that you should put something like "it's disgraceful for a medical professional such as yourself to harm veterans like this." Oh, and put it at the end of the letter. Let them find out you disagree with them by reading the whole thing. Don't give yourself away as an opponent in the first sentence.

[vetwife]

27. Good advice..Seems strange ...they only see what they want to see

and we pay them to do that. I used to help out at Cleland's office and his staff read everything.

[ShaneGR]

37. Keep in mind the volume Frist's office receives...

First is the current Senate Majority leader. So realistically I'd expect his office to receive 10 times as much mail as Cleland was receiving when he was still in office. You have to think of it as a timeframe issue. Certainly Frist has more staffers, but you have to think of these things as soliciting a response. The only way to solicit a response is to be clever in your writing.

So be clever. :-)

[vetwife]

38. Thanks...I do appreciate it ..

I appreciate your expertise...and that is true about majority leader.
Do you think he even cares? I mean say he got the letter saving the punch for the last..does this person who claims to be a doctor..even care?
Thanks again !

[vetwife]

31. It is truly sad that we can't even get them to read. We are paying them

AND QUITE WELL I MIGHT ADD !

[mcar]

32. Thank you, vetwife

Frist and co should be inundated with letters and calls over this stunt.

[vetwife]

33. Every vet I know and I know a lot Thanks YOU ! You are the real

lovers of America ! YOU who I speak for. YOU...The We the People Patriots !

[Rebellious Republican]

34. Beautiful letter Vetwife, but these guys have no moral conscience!

After seeing what they have done to John McCain, Max Cleland and tried to do to Kerry (until that backfired), leaves me to believe they just could care less. I have witnessed first hand their arrogance and total disregard for everyday Americans like us. Thats why I left the republican party two years ago. You will always have the support of veterans like me. You motivated me to write to Frist as well. I hope others follow your excellent example, God bless you!

[hatrack]

39. Damn, Vetwife! DAMN!!!

For this letter, and (more importantly) for what you've done for our vets, thank you! THANK YOU!!!!!!! :loveya:

[Kanary]

40. I've been following your posts for quite a while, and have mixed feelings

You are such an inspiration! Everytime I think I've really seen what you are about, you turn around and post more, above and beyond the previous. You are one heck of a woman!

So, on the one hand, I appreciate that you have had a situation in life that has helped you to find your strength, and has helped you to learn how to develop such awesome (and I mean that word in the largest sense!) skills. You are truly a wonder!

On the other hand, I'm angry and disgusted that you have been put into that situation in the first place. It's deplorable and shameful that a citizen, with an ill husband, has *had* to fight like this..... you deserve peace, support, and the comfort you need in order to provide the life that you and your husband deserve. Words don't exist to express my disgust at my country for creating the mess that you are in -- along with the other vets you are fighting for.

Shame, indeed!, on Frist and the rest of the low-lifes who are responsible for this disgusting situation.

And a :hug: for you, dear lady.

You are indeed a hero.

In the largest sense of the word!

Kanary

[Kanary]

41. A bump and boost for a woman who deserves to be heard!

:kick:

[lpbk2713]

42. Thank you so very much.

Navy vet 65 - 69.

[vetwife]

52. Welcome Home !

[burrowowl]

43. Vetwife

you:yourock:

and:kick: ass!

Way to go!

[nostamj]

44. bravo again and again Amanda!

but, Frist's response will be, in the republican way:

SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[HootieMcBoob]

45. Fuckin' A!!

Way to kick some Frist Butt! I bet his suits cost more than $300. You're doing God's work Vetwife. Keep on speaking the truth.

[vetwife]

46. I think when we speak as one...And I spoke for all of you then

it should be powerful. If a person had one ounce of compassion, they would have to rea examine themselves but its like Nostamji said, They want me to shut up. They are going to wait a long long time.

[doni_georgia]

47. Great letter!

Awesome job as usual!!

[myrna minx]

48. What an amazing letter.

:bounce:

[PopSixSquish]

49. Dear Lady, You are a True Patriot

and a fine, compassionate human being. I am in awe.

:hug:

[Bozita]

50. Frist is a devotee of war on the cheap -- Great job, Amanda!

Standing and applauding.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

53. powerful letter......you go girl!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

54. OK. Who else read "wetwife" at first glance?

:evilgrin:

[vetwife]

55. I don't think anyone did ..LOL

Guess there was some disappointment when you just found a Vet wife
was bashing Frist. Thats what I do. Day in and Day out...I bash Bush, and chickenhawks. I use that screenname for everything. google that or my real name. It is not a wetwife..Its a squeaky wheel ...

[vetwife]

57. On this letter only one senator contacted me you will never guess?

It was Joe Biden and not a form letter. Not an automated response. Mentioned some things in the letter and gave me the numbers in Washington and Delaware. I have gotten a zillion automated responses..This was not one of them. Mentioned too much.

[Bozita]

58. Joe Biden, stealth candidate for VP

[vetwife]

59. Hope he reads it on the Floor !

I didn't care which one...The truth needed to be told about Frist.

[Bozita]

61. under everyone's radar but overexposed on the tube of late

OK, overexposed may be a bit strong, but in the last 3 months, he's been on the newschannels more than Cheney.

Lots more!

[JI7]

60. his suits are probably 3 thousand, not 3 hundred

but it's a great letter. thanks for writing it.