Puterbac News Network and Political Discussion Thread

[bluetick]

Antartica Losing 160 Billion Tons of Ice a Year; Twice as Much as When Last Surveyed - BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27465050

"I wore a sweater in the middle of May!" - reports toe

[Johnette's Daddy]

40 vets died because the VA failed to treat them. Then the VA cooked the books to cover it up. There's probably more of this going on.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/14/us/va-sca ... -reaction/

Circle all that apply

a. It was caused by an Anti-Islamic video.
b. It has been over a week since this scandal broke, and it was still caused by an Anti-Islamic video.
c. This is a phony scandal.
d. It's the Koch brothers' fault
e. It's the result of climate change
f. If the dead vets liked their health plan, they got to keep it
g. This was a "red line." If it ever happens again, there will be serious consequences.
h. Visit #treatourvets and show your support

As a vet - and as someone who visits patients at the VA on a weekly basis - I can attest to two things:

1) It's been this way at least since the late 80s
2) The current problem in Bush/Cheney's fault, as their war-planning didn't include ramping up capacity for the VA. They literally didn't believe there would be any appreciable wounded and there is still no accurate measure to track injuries. The official count of war wounded is 32,000 but US Vets and other groups put it at over 150,000 (the official count doesn't include PTSD, post-concussion syndrome and other stuff that manifests later).

The biggest shame of the political grandstanding in Washington is the budgetary screwing the VA gets. The VA has been underfunded for 15 years and the chicken hawks who sent our kids to war didn't have the common decency to at least make sure the kids who returned got get comprehensive, red-tape free healthcare.

[AlabamAlum]

Obama is in second term. While Bush was a horrible president, he left the White House more than 5 years ago. This is happening on Obama's watch. Inaction now, no matter who you believe initially caused it, puts this on the current admin's hit list, too.

[Owlman]

you mean it's continuing on Obama's watch. It's actually improved over what it was 5 years ago. But not enough. Truthfully, the VA health system has been underfunded since at least the early 80's when I spent time taking care of patients as a young Aide (and it could have been before that, I just don't know).

[10ac]

fuckin' Bush. Praise be to Obama!

[AlabamAlum]

you mean it's continuing on Obama's watch

Of course. And I suppose it could be argued that it continued under Bush from an earlier time (but was made worse due to "Bush's War"). My point is that blaming Bush about funding after Obama has been on office for more than 5 years seems silly to me.

That said, funding is one thing. Cooking the books to make the numbers look better is horrible. It disguises the problems -that if brought to light- could have potentially helped with funding.

[Johnette's Daddy]

Obama is in second term. While Bush was a horrible president, he left the White House more than 5 years ago. This is happening on Obama's watch. Inaction now, no matter who you believe initially caused it, puts this on the current admin's hit list, too.

Agreed - Obama bears the responsibility now, especially since one of his platform points was assisting Vets. The people he appointed fouled up and that is on him.

[Toemeesleather]

[10ac]

Medical care administered by bureaucrats and political appointees.

Is it true that he aforementioned's bonuses are determined by the number of people they get off the waiting lists? And the easiest way to get them off the waiting lists is to let them die? Death panels?

America, welcome to the VA.

[10ac]

Secretary of State John Kerry did not shy away from pejorative language when addressing "climate change" in his commencement speech at Boston College on Monday. Kerry referred to those skeptical of the Obama administration's climate claims as "members of the Flat Earth Society" who are "risking nothing less than the future of the entire planet" by resisting implementation of the administration's policies. At the very least, Kerry argued, what have we got to lose by taking the steps he and the president are advocating?

[aTm]

What are we gonna do about 'climate change' anyway? As far as I can tell best way to do anything is make sure a few billion people in Asia don't industrialize at the point of a bayonet with the possible added benefit of destroying our own industrial capacity by doing it.

Most of what I hear is how we're gonna hold our breath in the sunken ship to save oxygen while two guys in the corner are smoking cigarettes.

[10ac]

It's my understanding, from a couple of years of so ago, that the US uses 25% of the worlds energy and produces about 4% of the worlds carbon emissions (CO + CO2).
ATM's analogy is spot on.

[Toemeesleather]

Well.....the Koch Bros are HUMONGOUS polluters......and....and....the 1% DON'T pay their fair share.....and......and......women make 2/3 of what men make for the SAME work........so there.

[sardis]

It's not fair that some kids get better grade than others.

[urlhttp://eastgreenwich.patch.com/groups/schools/p/cole-middle-school-cancels-honors-night][/url]

[bluetick]

Speaking of unhappy teabaggers...appears the Tea Party candidates are going to lose out in their three big primary contests tonight.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Mitch McConnell already declared the winner in Kentucky. One Tea Bagger candidate down...how many more will lose tonight?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Teabagger posterboy Dinesh D'Souza pleads guilty to making illegal campaign contributions. For the better part of a year I believe conservative have been arguing that there was nothing to the govt's case and that this was just persecution of an innocent man who dared to speak out against this tyrannical govt. Oops, Dinesh issued a statement admitting that he knew he was breaking the law.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/d ... html?hp=l1

[Professor Tiger]

I thought the liberal conventional wisdom said that the Tea Party held the GOP in its vice grip.

[10ac]

The definition of arrogance: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-mo ... tch-2014-5

[10ac]

The religion of peace: http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/05/18/pr ... in-prison/