The VA, Trust, And Kittens

In a previous post I questioned some admittedly unverified VA practices. Then I came across this story which alleges cronyism and corruption in the VA hierarchy.

I'm shocked - shocked, I tell you - to hear about government officials behaving badly.

American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett repeated his organization’s call for Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey to resign amid new allegations of more wrongdoing by senior VA executives.

“In 2014, then-National Commander Dan Dellinger called on the VA secretary, the under secretary for Health and under secretary for Benefits to all step down due to widespread scandals that infected the entire department,” Barnett said “While the VA secretary and under secretary for Health did step down, Under Secretary Hickey ignored the wishes of veterans and stayed on. Now, we have VA’s own Inspector General’s office determining that two senior executives under Hickey inappropriately used their positions to benefit from an overly-generous relocation policy. It’s disturbing to read terms like ‘criminal referrals’ and ‘coerced’ in an official report about an agency that was created to serve veterans. It is time for Under Secretary Hickey to finally do the right thing and resign.”

Gee, to think that a federal agency supposedly dedicated to taking care of those who sacrificed so much to take care of us could be riddled with inefficiency, ineptitude, and corruption comes as a huge surprise... [/sarc]

No wonder that so many Americans view their government as corrupt and a threat to their freedom.

The American people’s trust in government is the lowest it has been in the last 10 years, according to three Gallup polls released recently.

The polls measured the population’s opinions on government corruption, government regulation of business, and whether the government poses an immediate threat to personal liberties.

In a poll that was released on Saturday, 75 percent of respondents said they believe corruption is widespread in the government...

Not surprisingly, the American public distrusts the mainstrewam media as well.

Americans' trust in the national news media remains at an all-time low.

A new Gallup poll shows that just 40% of Americans have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust and confidence in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.

That figure, which ties Gallup statistics for 2012 and 2014, represents a steep decline from the 55% high in the late 1990s when Gallup began polling.

As has long been the case, trust remains higher among Democrats than Republicans.

Reminds me of the old joke about kittens.

A pretty little girl named Suzy was standing on the sidewalk in front of her home. Next to her was a basket containing a number of tiny creatures; in her hand was a sign announcing FREE KITTENS.

Suddenly a line of big black cars pulled up beside her. Out of the lead car stepped a tall, grinning man.

“Hi there little girl, I’m President Obama. What do you have in the basket?” he asked.

“Kittens,” little Suzy said.

“How old are they?” asked Obama.

Suzy replied, “They’re so young, their eyes aren’t even open yet.”

“And what kind of kittens are they?”

“Democrats,” answered Suzy with a smile.

Obama was delighted. As soon as he returned to his car, he called his PR chief and told him about the little girl and the kittens.

Recognizing the perfect photo op, the two men agreed that the president should return the next day; and in front of the assembled media, have the girl talk about her discerning kittens.

So the next day, Suzy was again standing on the sidewalk with her basket of “FREE KITTENS,” when another motorcade pulled up, this time followed by vans from ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN.

Cameras and audio equipment were quickly set up, then Obama got out of his limo and walked over to little Suzy.

“Hello, again,” he said, “I’d love it if you would tell all my friends out there what kind of kittens you’re giving away.”

“Yes sir,” Suzy said. “They’re Republicans.”

Taken by surprise, the president stammered, “But…but…yesterday, you told me they were DEMOCRATS.”

Little Suzy smiled and said, “I know.

But today, they have their eyes open.”