Comments on: Random Quotes, Appropos of Nothing

By: Ryland

Ryland — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:06:29 +0000

Sorry, I forgot to add that the VA disability thing is a very unpleasant process. Then you add in a few hack doctors, one that diagnosed rotator cuff tears as a shoulder strain comes to mind, in the end it’s difficult to get what you should. It’s almost impossible to get more than you should.

The bad part is that they reduce your retirement check dollar for dollar for what they give you in disability.

By: Ryland

Ryland — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:02:04 +0000

I dealt with TRICARE and whatever the one before it was called for several years. I have decent insurance where I work, so I really don’t use the retirees version. While I was active duty, there was a significant number of us who opted for the copays and went outside the system. It was better care and less headaches that way.

By: UCrawford

UCrawford — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:09:35 +0000

Nando,

Most of us learn from that when we leave the military and don’t want to deal with it again, LOL.

I had the privilege of receiving socialized medical care from both the military and the British NHS (when I was stationed there)…and neither were particularly great.

Politicians who even hint at getting the government more involved in our medical care send me off on a rant…and it’s the primary reason why I wouldn’t vote for Obama.

By: UCrawford

UCrawford — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:06:14 +0000

Amy Poehler’s character (a local government empployee) in the new TV series Parks and Recreation:

“This is where the rubber of government meets the road of actual human beings.”

I don’t know if anyone here watched “Parks & Recreations” last night, but I thought the show had some promise…particularly the character of Ron Swanson, Poehler’s boss who says around the office, openly, that doesn’t want the Parks department to build or do anything because “everything the government does is a waste of taxpayer money” and who has a bootlegger’s shotgun and a Claymore mine on his desk that’s pointed at the seats of anyone who comes in asking for money on the government’s part.

Every character in that show who works for the government is portrayed as either corrupt, apathetic, or incompetent, the public town hall meetings that the Parks department is forced to go to is populated largely by crazy people or idiots who don’t really care about parks, and the boss on the show said that his dream is to have the entire park system privatized, taken over by corporations and run for profit by Chuck E. Cheese because they have an “impeccable business model” and he’d rather work for them than the government anyway.

The show was a little uneven in the pilot, but they had some pretty funny stuff in it so hopefully they’ll get in a groove in the next couple of episodes (assuming they don’t get cancelled).

By: KBCraig

KBCraig — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:42:02 +0000

Brian wrote:

When my dad joined up back in the 60s he was told that he’d get free medical care for the rest of his life…

A lot of people thought the same thing when they voted Democrat.

By: CharlesWT

CharlesWT — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:25:04 +0000

VA medical is, on average, better than nothing. Which is to say, in all too many cases, it’s a lot worse than nothing.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:57:33 +0000

The veterans deserve the medical treatment they were promised when they signed up. They thought it was part of the deal. When my dad joined up back in the 60s he was told that he’d get free medical care for the rest of his life…

By: Boyd Durkin

Boyd Durkin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:24:56 +0000

To Radley’s point, I’m really pist that America is embracing socialized everything. But, I console myself that the folks who are responsible will be punished with socialized everything.

More posts on God and abortion! They generate 100+ posts each with 1,000 word comments.

By: Cappy

Cappy — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:02:02 +0000

I can honestly say that military medicine is decent. They fixed me up no problems. I have the scars to prove it.

By: Nando

Nando — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:29:45 +0000

Military folk receive socialized medicine while on Active Duty. Most of us learn from that when we leave the military and don’t want to deal with it again, LOL.

By: David W

David W — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:16:39 +0000

I wish the problem were just confined to the VA – one agency might be fixable. But those of us who have to suffer through Tricare while on active duty can tell you why the program’s nickname is “Try to Get Care.”

By: Radley Balko

Radley Balko — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:56:42 +0000

Yeah, I was just having a little fun at the VA’s expense.

I know what you meant.

By: James D

James D — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:53:54 +0000

For the record, I’m not saying the crappy care they sometimes receive is what they deserve, but rather quality care. Obviously your original story was pointing out a journalist getting ‘hushed’ for trying to expose someone who had a complaint.