I have been watching this VA controversy very closely and I have taken one undeniable fact away from the entire proceeding – the government of the United States does not care one bit about the people. While that may not be any kind of revelation, I present it as a concrete fact in light of the way that this country is allowing the VA to treat our military veterans.

President Barack Obama should be completely ashamed of himself and so should the entire United States government. The bureaucracy has gotten so thick that every subject is treated with a high level of disrespect. When a senator wants to show how tough he is getting on the oil companies, he calls a hearing and tells oil executives to be there. The result is a dog and pony show that the senator hopes will get him a few more votes in the next election. As for the oil executives, they just get back on their private planes and go home to swim in their pools full of our money.

That is how a bureaucracy works. The people demand action, the government puts on a dog and pony show, and then the topic is forgotten. Our government has gotten so good at bureaucracy that it has forgotten how to govern. President Obama has gotten so good at hiding behind bureaucracy that he has forgotten how to care about the American people.

The way that the federal government treats veterans is disgraceful. If any private company was to do something as disgraceful, the government would throw its bureaucracy at it and maybe even levy a few fines. What has been done in the wake of the VA scandal? Not one damn thing. No firings, no fines, and no action. The president promised action after the “investigation was complete.” If that is his honest answer, then he is a president that represents American big business and not the people.

Let me explain what happened here so that you can be as offended as I am. It was revealed that the bureaucracy at the Veteran’s Administration has become so bad that veterans are dying while waiting for medical attention. Let me just put that another way for emphasis: Our piece of crap government is killing our veterans by not paying any attention to them. It isn’t bad enough that the enemy wants our veterans dead. Now the government wants them dead as well.

When the scandal blew up, the media played it off like it was something new. Veterans have been dying at the hands of the VA for years. This is nothing new, which is even more shameful.

So the congress and the president put on their dog and pony show and promised swift action. What is that swift action? The Secretary of the VA got to keep his job and the president said that something will be done when the investigation is complete. Apparently, years of veterans dying due to government negligence requires further investigation.

Here is what you really need to know: Our government is an embarrassing joke that cares less and less about representing the people and more about the profits involved in representing big business. It isn’t just the VA that is a national disgrace – it is the entire government that stands as an example of how embarrassing it is to be an American right now.

The men and women who bravely stood up and fought for our country should be given the best medical care available, and affordable housing as well. Why is there even a network of VA hospitals? Why is that necessary? All that does is contain the bureaucracy in a place where it can get worse.

Give vets a card and a program that allows them to get the best care possible from any doctor and any hospital. Then give vets the opportunity to pick out one home to live in, and put it on our tab. It is the least we can do. It is the least the scumbag government can do. But apparently, the government prefers bureaucracy over doing the right thing and now we have vets who are dying and homeless. It should make every American ashamed.

Barack Obama is not a leader. He is a corporate puppet that does and says exactly what the lobbyists tell him to. He is the furthest thing from change that we could have had. He is actually an enhanced version of what a thieving and immoral politician looks like.

To our vets, all I can say is that the people are sorry that you suffer. To the government I say, stop going to war if you are not prepared to take care of those who make the sacrifice. I read that the secretary of the VA said that the demand on the VA system has been too much since we started messing around in the Middle East. If the federal government cannot support its military, then it should not be going to war.

God bless the people of the United States. God bless our active military and veterans. Now it is time for the people to take control. We haven’t gone over the cliff yet, but we are close. For God’s sake people – wake up and see what is going on. We cannot rely on our government to clean things up. We have to do it and we have to do it now.

Nick Oliver is a proud American and supporter of our military. His column appears every Wednesday. Wake up people! It is now or never!

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