Obama Skips Golf To Visit Overseas Contingency Operation For Photo-Op

On the eve of Memorial Day, The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer, who is down in the polls, decided to head over to Bagram Air Base to thank the troops there.

This was Obama's fourth visit to Afghanistan as president, but his first since winning re-election in 2012.

Good on him for going but…

Call me cynical. This is about the Veterans Administration scandal and crisis management on Memorial Day weekend.

One of the five rules of crisis management for leftists is to use the media and politics.  So what we have here, in a nutshell, is a photo-op to prove he cares about our troops followed by a visit to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns followed by a commencement speech at West Point later this week.  No sir, there’s no political strategy at work here.

I noticed one curious thing while reading the reports of this “secret visit”.  Ben Rhodes, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting, said in a CBS report that “the administration had been trying to plan a trip to thank the troops for some time, and the timing was good. The president did not meet with Karzai or candidates in order to avoid injecting America's presence into the ongoing election.” [Emphasis mine]

I say curious because, as we all know, the 2014 mid-terms are a mere five months off and the VA scandal stories keep coming.

Meanwhile CNN's John King, host of Inside Politics, sheepishly conceded:

"Forget for a moment that Republican outrage.  More and more Democrats in key 2014 races are calling for the president to get a spine, they say, and fire his Veterans Affairs secretary. And what more and more Democrats are saying privately is scathing, calling the president and his team detached, flat footed, even incompetent.”

Noted media lapdog, Maggie Haberman further expounded, "That’s what strikes me, what Democrats are saying privately in the wake of the healthcare (dot) gov problems, they see a president who doesn't want to take command, doesn't want to act fast. Raising the competence question. Some Democrats, who believe in government, [are saying] this White House doesn't appear to have its hand on the lever.  All of this adds up to somebody who just doesn't seem at all involved."

Egads Mags, ya think?  Somebody call Captain Obvious.

Didn’t we recently learn “that the world seems to disappoint him?”

All I Know Is What I Read In The Papers

His coal mine canaries are ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and MSNBC.  When they start covering a scandal then he’s compelled to come forward. 

Every damned time The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer is confronted with a scandal his modus operandi is to feign outrage, blame George Bush and/or the Republicans.

For good measure he tosses in a milquetoast threat implying he will not tolerate it and will make sure that “we find out exactly what happened on this” and then…buries it.

TWMDCO addressed the issue of long wait times and secret waiting lists at VA hospital facilities for the first time in three weeks Wednesday, but did so insufficiently given the scope of the problem.

According to the latest reports, 26 VA facilities nationwide are now being investigated for preventable deaths due to delays in treatment.

In 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri TWMDCO, vowed to tackle the issue of insufficient care for veterans at a campaign event during his first run for the presidency in a speech entitled “A Sacred Trust”.

“When a veteran is denied care, we are all dishonored.  It’s not enough to lay a wreath on Memorial Day, or to pay tribute to our veterans in speeches.”

A CNN report says that three senior VA officials identified as Dr. Thomas Lynch, Assistant Undersecretary for Health and Clinical Operations; Joan Mooney, Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs and Michael Huff, a Congressional Relations Officer failed to appear before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee citing that the committee did not provide enough notice.

Rep. Jeff Miller, committee chairman said, “My intent is to go ahead and subpoena them for a hearing” before his on committee on May 30th.

It is unquestionably Socratic irony that we observe Memorial Day this weekend.

As our attention is directed to those 624 fenced acres of Arlington National Cemetery where more than 320,000 heroes are interred we are called upon to remember that the soil there is watered by the silent tears of the mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters they left behind and a triangular folded American flag that is all that remains for them to hold.

How Many Dead Veterans Do You Need?

I am proud to announce the addition of Duffel Blog to our Right Jabs Blogroll.

Thus far, President Obama and his team have regarded the scandalous treatment of veterans seeking care from the government over which they preside as a political hiccup rather than an indefensible breakdown in competent management that has led to the deaths of at least 40 veterans.

Dick Scuttlebutt has a searing satire that I am shamelessly appropriating:

We appreciate you holding. The VA is experiencing a higher-than-average volume of calls this week. Calls are answered in the order they are received. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes. 

From the lakes of Minnesota … to the hills of Tennessee … 

Did you know that you can check the status of your claim by going online? Point your browser to w-w-w dot claims dot veterans dot medical dot va dot gov, forward-slash medical, forward-slash veterans, forward-slash claims, forward-slash 404 dot vagov dot current, forward-slash aspx dot com, forward-slash va.gov, forward-slash 404.html##. 

Across the plains of Texas! From sea to shining sea … 

Your call is important to us. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes with your call about [INVALID MENU ENTRY]. 

From Detroit down to Houston … from New York to L.A. … 

A claims representative should be with you [SHORTLY]. Your call is important to us. Just hang up and kill yourself. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes. 

Well there’s pride in every American heart, and it’s time we stand and saaaaaay… 

You selected menu option [INVALID MENU ENTRY]. Please have your claim number and social security number on hand when you speak with the claims representative. You should just hang up and watch cat videos and leave us alone. Your call is very important to us. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes. 

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free … 

We appreciate you holding. Did you know you can check the status of your claim by presenting yourself in person to your local VA claims center? Just hang up, go to your local VA claims center, and sit in our waiting room. Current in-person wait time is approximately [DEATH] hours. 

And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me … 

Your call is extremely important to us. If this is an emergency or if you are having suicidal thoughts, please hang up and dial 911. Make sure you have your claim number, your social security number, and a sharp paring knife on hand while you wait for a suicide prevention specialist. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes. 

And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today … 

We appreciate you holding off killing yourself. The VA is experiencing a higher-than-average it’s hopeless, just end it all this week. Calls are answered in the order they are sweet release of death. Someone should be able to assist you in [ONE] minutes. 

Cause they’re ain’t no doubt I love this land…God bless the U.S.A…

From Eric Shinseki To Susan Rice: Dead Americans Do Not Live Long In The Conscience Of This Administration

On Tuesday, May 13, 2014, The Insufferable Airhorn uttered these words at the Medal of Honor ceremony for Army Sgt. Kyle White:

“Kyle, members of Chosen Company, you did your duty, and now it's time for America to do ours:  After more than a decade of war, to welcome you home with the support and the benefits and opportunities that you've earned. You make us proud, and you motivate all of us to be the best we can be as Americans, as a nation; to uphold our sacred obligations to your generation and all who have faced that ‘measure of danger’ and ‘the willingness to incur it.’"

Today, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Ret. Gen. Eric Shinseki testified before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee about our veterans languishing and dying on secret waiting lists.

Last month, the shocking story of the secret waiting lists came to light that centered on the Phoenix VA.  Once Dr. Sam Foote, a physician at the Phoenix VA for 24 years blew the whistle of the VA’s problems other whistleblowers came forward across the country.

During today’s testimony, Shinseki rather bloodlessly said, "Any allegation, any adverse incident like this makes me mad as hell," urging the legislators to wait for the investigation's finding before trying to resolve a complex set of problems.

His assurance that "we will act" on any substantiated allegation angered senators from both parties who insisted the problems are real and need immediate action.

Some pointed to a policy implemented by Shinseki that set a 14-day limit to provide care for veterans applying for the first time, saying a deadline they labeled as unworkable resulted in VA administrators devising ways to cover up months-long delays.  Months-long delays that resulted in the unconscionable deaths of 40 Americans who served their country with honor.

CNN’s Jake Tapper took White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to task as he showed him a letter from Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller who warned over a year ago that there existed “serious and significant patient care issues.” [emphasis mine]

The pull quote from the video:

“How many stories like this, how many letters like this, how many dead veterans do you need before somebody asks the question within the White House: Maybe this guy isn’t the best steward of these veterans?”

Dead Americans do not live long in the conscience of this Administration.  Case in point:

On Wednesday, May 14, 2014, National Security Advisor Susan Rice appeared Wednesday morning at the Women’s Foreign Policy Group in Washington, D.C. 

According to reports, Rice had earlier made a joke alluding to the harm the Benghazi scandal caused to her career, prompting PBS journalist Judy Woodruff to ask about Republicans’ new allegations.

“You’re too smart for that!” Rice laughed. “Come on!”

But Woodruff pressed on, asking her what the American people can expect to be revealed as part of the House select committee on Benghazi. “What more is there that the administration has done or said that we’re not aware of?” she asked.

“Dang if I know,” Rice boldly declared.