PREPARE TO BE ENRAGED
Mockarena COTRAugust 1, 2016 08:26pm
I was listening to the radio on my way home yesterday and heard about this story, but had to check the source to be sure that I’d heard right, and unfortunately, I heard right.
Open The Books is a non-profit, non-partisan "project of American Transparency- a 501(c)3 charitable organization" which makes a mission out of providing American taxpayers with transparent information about how their tax dollars are being spent. And what they recently uncovered will make you seethe.
You know how President Obama has been going around bragging about how much money his administration has spent on veteran care during his time in office? I mean, he
JUST SPOKE about this. But the reality is that while 1000 veterans died waiting for healthcare, and while their suicide prevention hotline sent callers to voicemail, and while the VA hired 40,000 new people but only 3600 new doctors between 2012 and 2015, the VA spent $20 million on…
Are you ready for this?
No seriously, grab a drink before you read this, you guys.
ARTWORK.
Just look at this.
And according to
this, $6.3 million of those dollars were allocated just to the Palo Alto facility. Apparently, the funding was approved by Congress "years earlier." Amazingly, a VA spokeswoman tried to excuse this by saying:
"While we must be stewards of taxpayer dollars, we also know that providing comprehensive health care for patients goes beyond just offering the most advanced medical treatments."
OMG IS SHE FREAKING SERIOUS? PEOPLE ARE DYING. Veteran healthcare should be priority number one. You know when it’s appropriate for the VA to spend money on art? NEVER. And especially not when our vets are struggling with their physical or mental health. This is just an absolute outrage.
One Air Force Master Sergeant, Eddie Ramirez, says art has a healing effect. I’m not kidding. He said, for REAL, "If you look at a hospital that has art it’s a welcoming environment, as opposed to some of these military hospitals that don’t have any art — it’s cold."
OMG. No one is arguing that art isn’t nice. It’s just not AS nice as getting to see an Actual Doctor without waiting for months and months. It’s not AS nice as getting a live person to talk to when you’re suffering so much you’re considering suicide.
One of the art pieces is a giant rock in the mental health courtyard which cost taxpayers $400,000. Four hundred grand for a FREAKING ROCK.
There’s also a colorful, lighted Morse code display which supposedly "honors blind vets for their service and sacrifice" and which those same vets CANNOT FREAKING SEE. It was nearly $300,000.
And the VA facility in Chillicothe, Ohio got $21,500 in taxpayer dollars for a 27 foot tall fake Christmas tree. I’m sure all the vets who can’t see a doctor really appreciate that.
SEETHING.