November 11, 2009 - And then there are today's veterans. Collins says that former President George W. Bush decimated an already weak and under-funded Veterans Administration, and contends that the tenure of former VA secretary Jim Nicholson was a "reign of terror." "He believed that most veterans seeking VA services were malingerers," he wrote in his commentary. Today, Collins continues, the VA tells Iraq and Afghanistan vets, some returning from multiple combat tours, others suffering from traumatic brain injury, PTSD, depleted uranium exposure and/or plain-old amputations and spinal injuries to "wait their turn," one that is a long time in coming for nearly all and too late for too many.
"So, from where I sit," he continues, "this nation can take its Veterans Day banners, parades (from which veterans wishing to express the sentiments embodied in Armistice Day are routinely excluded) and red-banner sales of goods manufactured in China and shove it all where the sun don't shine." FULL STORY
