Daily Archives: June 13, 2014

VA, IG warn against rush of veterans into private care

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Republican Representative Jeff Miller of Florida.

A report by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ inspector general and a separate “access audit” of appointment scheduling practices across VA healthcare facilities confirm system-wide abuses to distort wait times for care, which have put patients at risk and shaken confidence in how VA hospitals and clinics are staffed, managed and resourced.

Yet even as the acting IG and another senior VA official confirmed the depth of the patient wait-time scandal at a hearing Monday of the House veterans affairs committee, as well as possible criminal activity by some administrators, they cautioned irate lawmakers against sending thousands more VA patients into the private sector for healthcare needs.

The caution flags haven’t slowed Congress. On Tuesday, the House unanimously passed the Veterans Access to Care Act (HR 4810/PDF) from Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), VA committee chairman. It would require VA to offer non-VA care to enrolled veterans who cannot get an appointment within VA wait time goals or who live more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility.

Read more at Stars And Stripes

Some Church Members Tried To Get This Pastor Fired For Packing Heat.

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church-640A pastor in Birmingham, Alabama regularly carries a .45 pistol around with him as is his right under the law. Some trustees and deacons of the Friendly Baptist Church were so upset with his decision to carry the gun that they fired him.

However, the pastor, Cedric Stringer, responded that “nobody can fire him but God” and fired the trustees and deacons who opposed him and replaced them with ones who were willing to support the pistol carrying pastor.

Birmingham, where the church is located, is one of Alabama’s largest cities, not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

Read more at Western Journalism

Marine Vet Held by Iran to Kerry: Don’t Set Bad Precedent by Trading for My Release

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From Free Amir Facebook Page.

From Free Amir Facebook Page.

The news cycle is currently focused on the swap to release Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — five Taliban commanders for the Idaho native — but many Americans still remain held abroad by nefarious regimes or terrorists.

One of those, a Marine veteran who served with distinction in Iraq, specifically said last fall that, even though his unlawful imprisonment in Iran was taking a horrible toll, he would not want his release to come from any sort of swap with Iran.

From our Yellow Ribbon Project story on Flagstaff, Ariz., native Sgt. Amir Hekmati:

Amir took his case directly to Kerry in a letter smuggled out of prison and obtained by the Guardian in September. After thanking Kerry for lobbying on his behalf, Amir stressed that the confessions on false charges were “obtained by force, threats, miserable prison conditions, and prolonged periods of solitary confinement.”

“This is part of a propaganda and hostage taking effort by Iranian intelligence to secure the release of Iranians abroad being held on security-related charges. Iranian intelligence has suggested through my court-appointed lawyer Mr. Hussein Yazdi Samadi that I be released in exchange for 2 Iranians being held abroad,” Amir wrote in the letter confirmed authentic by his family. “I had nothing to do with their arrest, committed no crime, and see no reason why the U.S. Government should entertain such a ridiculous proposition. I do not wish to set a precedent for others that may be unlawfully (obtained) for political gain in the future.”

Read more at PJ Media

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