>http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/us/politics/pressure-builds-to-oust-veterans-affairs-chief-shinseki-and-make-changes.html?hp&_r=0
>
>Someone has finally asked why tens thousands of vets have to wait months for health care.
>Obviously, Charles Schumer has never been to a real life Vet's medical facility. I've seen long lines at the facility where I go. Many of those vets are disabled and can't stand very long. It's a horrible sight.
>I have a service-connected disability and am eligible for care at a Vet's facility at US expense. Fortunately, I have my own insurance and only use the VA when I need specialized treatment that one facility offers.
>The people at the facility where I go are topnotch, dedicated people but there could be three times their number and there wouldn't be enough. Their computing equipment and systems are ridiculously out of date.
>Typically, I have to schedule appointments 8 - 9 months in advance. Fortunately the things I go there for aren't critical so that's not an issue for me, but it is for many of the vets who go there.
>
>As Schumer says, faking a list is one thing, but systematically underfunding the VA medical care system, as the government has done- with Schumer's blessing - is something else again.

I've found a strange (to me) acceptance and I struggle to organize my thoughts as more information continues to flow. In the past I would've started with an initial feeling of frustration which would simmer and likely build to anger as I looked into the facts. With this I find a calm resignation. As if my mind has fully come to terms with the disintegration of not just our elected leaders but the country as a whole.

For most of my life I've accepted that people who seek power over others will abuse that power and will defend it like a cornered raccoon when challenged. I've also accepted that humans are of nature, not separate as can be seen in the barbaric ways they treat not just other humans but anything they can exert power over.

In this story I see corruption, greed, power, barbarism and now that they've been cornered, I'm seeing the all-too-familliar refrain of deflection and "it's not my fault it's (insert stock bogeyman here)".

I supposed the only thing that truly surprises me here is that a head has actually rolled.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/shinseki-apologizes-for-va-health-care-scandal/2014/05/30/e605885a-e7f0-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html