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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 02/07/2017 10:57:19

Good Morning.

It's been a little difficult to bookmark stories for our little corner of the internets these days. Unlike previously, it seems that if I see something interesting, by the time our timeslot rolls around, it's often stale or irrelevant. That used to not happen a lot.


But nevertheless, this story from just two weeks ago has managed to hold it's value. While Mr. Trump has focused on destroying other things, the V.A. is still hanging on, but is waiting for the hammer to fall.

It's something I said a year into the Affordable Care Act - it's something the Republicans have never spoken about, inasmuch as it was an enormous boom to the healthcare industry, a boom which is only just starting to peter out. Repealing the ACA at this time is a dual-edged sword. Not only will millions of people likely lose their insurance, many more like the TriSecs will be locked into jobs and geography, as Mrs. TriSec can never change jobs now because of all our pre-existing conditions. We'll never get insurance again without the ACA protections. But Veterans do have some protection - the story referenced notes that perhaps 3 million Vets get their insurance through the provisions of the ACA, so once that is repealed, the only recourse is for that 3 million to return to the overwhelmed V.A. medical system. Nobody knows what will happen then.


As promised, President Trump has moved to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. It's a concern for those who might be left without health insurance — and especially for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which may have to pick up some of the slack.

Carrie Farmer, a health policy researcher at the Rand Corp., says 3 million vets who are enrolled in the VA usually get their health care elsewhere — from their employer, or maybe from Obamacare exchanges. If those options go away, she has no idea just how many of those 3 million veterans will move over to the VA.

"I would expect that the number of veterans using VA health care will increase, which will only provide a further challenge for VA to provide timely and accessible care," Farmer says.

The VA has already seen a surge in usage in the past year, straining what has long been an overtaxed system.

That could get worse if the agency can't fill vacancies. Trump signed a federal hiring freeze this week, and while national security is supposed to be exempt, the VA is not. White House spokesman Sean Spicer called it a "broken" system.

"The VA in particular, if you look at the problems that have plagued people, hiring more people isn't the answer. It's hiring the right people," Spicer told reporters on Tuesday.

Just hours after the White House emphasized that there would be no exemption for the VA from the hiring freeze, the acting secretary of the agency, Robert Snyder, seemed to issue a contradiction.


"The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to exempt anyone it deems necessary for public safety, including front-line caregivers," he said in a statement.

David Shulkin, Trump's nominee to lead the VA, in the past has stressed an urgent need to hire more caregivers. Shulkin has run the VA's health administration for the past two years, and he told NPR this past fall that negative attention to VA caused a 78 percent drop in applications there.

"We have 45,000 job openings. That's too many," Shulkin said. "I need to fill every one of those openings in order to make sure that we're doing the very best for our veterans."


But it's not just healthcare that's about to be a crisis facing our Veterans. Despite years of effort, the hiring front is still not looking good. Despite a slow and grudging recovery from the Great Recession, Veteran's hiring figures have always lagged behind the national average. The figures in the next story are for the month of January, which did not happen on Mr. Trump's watch, but unfortunately the previous gentlemen had limited success on that front as well. (Church Lady - "Could it be......CONGRESS??") It's likely to stay the same or get worse over time now, as the current administration is somewhat indiffirent to the plight of our veterans these days.


WASHINGTON -- The unemployment rate for the youngest generation of veterans jumped to 6.3 percent in January, the fourth time in the last seven months that group’s figure has been substantially higher than the overall veteran rate.

The figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reflect the last month of President Barack Obama’s time in office, represent about 211,000 Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans looking for work. That’s almost 46 percent of the total of all U.S. veterans filing for unemployment benefits in January.

But employment experts have cautioned that employment estimates for the subset of younger veterans can be prone to more fluctuation than other calculations by BLS analysts, because of smaller sample sizes.

In December, the Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans rate was 5.7 percent. In September, it was even lower, at 4.4 percent.

Still, the higher number of unemployed younger veterans does raise concerns of new struggles for that group, because most monthly estimates for the last two years have been at or below the national unemployment rate.

For all veterans, the January unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, up slightly from the month before but under 5 percent for the 20th consecutive month.

The national unemployment rate was 4.8 percent, up from 4.7 percent in December.


Finally today, something unusual for us here at ask a vet. While we try to focus primarily on actual veterans, I've run across a story that illustrates the brutality of war for our fellow-creatures. Animals die in war, too. Some of it is not pleasant to read.


Even by the Islamic State’s brutal standards, the mess its fighters made of Kaldo Shoman’s farm had to be seen to be believed.

Over more than two decades, Shoman and his two brothers had labored to turn their land into an ad-hoc animal sanctuary. By planting trees, they hoped to attract migrating birds—and eventually tourists—to this largely barren swath of northwestern Iraq. In an area with scarce water, they carved out an artificial pond—and then watched as wild pigs and the occasional gazelle came calling.

But in one fell swoop, the Islamic State wiped their refuge off the map.

Blasting through the front gate in the summer of 2014, the men penned the Iraqi farmer's horses into a paddock and used them for target practice, Shoman says. After shooting Shoman's pet vulture and hogtying his favorite dog to a moving tractor, they carted off his extensive collection of songbirds. (See "Here Are the Ancient Sites ISIS Has Damaged and Destroyed.")

Keen to deprive would-be attackers of potential cover, the fighters then torched dozens of forested areas, including the Shomans’ roadside plantation. They laced the soil with mile after mile of landmines. When, in late 2015, Iraqi Kurdish troops closed in on their last holdings in northern Nineveh Province, the retreating jihadists deployed one last ecosystem-killing tactic: Dumping oil.

“Look what they did!” Kaldo Shoman says, pointing at the jet-black trails of diesel that still coat his pond 18 months later. “They are the animals!”


One wonders where it will ever end.
 

54 comments (Latest Comment: 02/07/2017 21:34:27 by wickedpam)
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Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 13:23:17
Mornin' all!

Whoa I just heard Claude got canned.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 13:57:14
Morning

Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/07/2017 14:07:16
Good morning, bloggers!!!

I am worried that Betsy DeVos will be confirmed. I called the D.C. office of Democratic Indiana Senator Joe Donelly, thanking him for publicly opposing DeVos. I left a message with the office of Republican Senator Todd Young, but I have no hope. (He does not have an office in Northwest Indiana. The nearest one is two hours away. Maybe Northwest Indiana should secede and join Illinois - we are already considered to be Illinois by most of the state.)

Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/07/2017 14:08:26
Some good news. I am going to an interview for a temporary teaching position this morning.

Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 14:24:35
Dear Senator Graham,

I wanted to write to you specifically because I know that you care deeply about this country and have proven that you are willing to do things to stand up for it, and for all of us whether we're in your constituency or not. Your actions in regard to the Russian hacking of our election process and your desire to find out what to fix and get it done are highly respectable.

I wanted to speak with you on other matters though - the confirmation votes for some of these nominees. There are several nominees that I feel are unfit or outright destructive for the office they have been nominated for - specifically Price, Mnuchin, Sessions, and DeVos. I know that as a legislator you have a deep friendship with Sen. Sessions, and out of respect for that I can understand if you would want to confirm him for his position on that alone. So I will be okay with letting that one pass, with the understanding that if he abuses his duties that you will be the first to tell him so.

The other three however are unacceptable, especially DeVos. Her desire to turn education in this country into nothing but homeschooling and single-room red houses is LOGISTICALLY untenable outside of small towns. She advocates strongly for physically abusive 'treatments' including electroshock therapy to force people to be someone other than themselves. And she has no respect for the work that teachers. administrators, general staff, or even parents do to educate our country's children, whether it's in the home or the one-room schoolhouse or PS149 with hundreds of students in Queens, NY.

Please, Senator Graham. Lindsay. Do not vote to confirm Betsy DeVos. The majority of country is with you. All you have to do is stand up to Mitch and Pence and Trump and do the right thing, and we will support you.
Thank you for your time. If you ever come to Rhode Island, contact me. I'll show you around Providence.


Comment by TriSec on 02/07/2017 14:30:02
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all!

Whoa I just heard Claude got canned.


Julien? That's major...



Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 14:30:50
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all!

Whoa I just heard Claude got canned.

Claude?

good morning!

Comment by TriSec on 02/07/2017 14:32:14
Aaaand BC isn't going to win the Beanpot this year!!


Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 14:35:09
Quote by TriSec:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all!

Whoa I just heard Claude got canned.


Julien? That's major...

Oh, I see now.


Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 14:35:29
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Scoopster:
Mornin' all!
Whoa I just heard Claude got canned.

Claude?

good morning!

Bruins head coach Claude Julien - he's been there since before they won the Stanley Cup in '11.

Comment by TriSec on 02/07/2017 14:47:00
My hardcore Bruins friends on the book of face are up in arms. Not over the firing, but the dirtbag move burying it in the feeding frenzy over that football thing today.



Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/07/2017 14:58:07
I have to go to my interview. However, let me leave the blog with an article. Neil Postman may have predicted Trump but there are things that we can do about our era.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 15:05:34
Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 15:08:06
Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 15:13:45



I think Uncle Joe will be ok Kind of like the way they are also trolling Trashhole with their coolness XD

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 15:14:35
Quote by wickedpam:



I think Uncle Joe will be ok Kind of like the way they are also trolling Trashhole with their coolness XD
Totally!


Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 15:36:49
Holy Moly. Two callers on The SMShow have brought this up and I have been watching it in between Show breaks.


Comment by Mondobubba on 02/07/2017 15:53:55
Quote by Raine:
Holy Moly. Two callers on The SMShow have brought this up and I have been watching it in between Show breaks.


I saw something on FB in passing that said something about Trump being illiterate. Didn't think too much of it. But I am going to give this watch as well. I don't think he's illiterate, he might have some sort of learning disability. Or as I will call in in honor of "The IT Crowd" episode, "The Work Outing," Trump is word disabled. I think that W is as well.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 16:13:31
Mala. WE are going to be in MAnassass pretty much all day Earle has a special appointment at 8 in the morning and we won't be able to pick him up until 330 == any suggestions for spending a day there?

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 16:17:32
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Holy Moly. Two callers on The SMShow have brought this up and I have been watching it in between Show breaks.


I saw something on FB in passing that said something about Trump being illiterate. Didn't think too much of it. But I am going to give this watch as well. I don't think he's illiterate, he might have some sort of learning disability. Or as I will call in in honor of "The IT Crowd" episode, "The Work Outing," Trump is word disabled. I think that W is as well.


HEre is the first one of these videos in case you want it:



Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 16:31:56
Quote by Raine:
Mala. WE are going to be in MAnassass pretty much all day Earle has a special appointment at 8 in the morning and we won't be able to pick him up until 330 == any suggestions for spending a day there?



hmmm, our old town isn't very large but its still cute. CJ Finz is supposed to be a good place to eat. Okra's is good too. Ummmm that museum is small but if I remember right Bull Run focused. Those are all in the "old town" area.

oh yeah, and people like to walk the trails at the battlefield a lot.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/07/2017 16:34:47



Oh I want to see Rosie as the disheveled homeless man Cheetolini calls his chief strategest.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 16:38:08
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Mala. WE are going to be in MAnassass pretty much all day Earle has a special appointment at 8 in the morning and we won't be able to pick him up until 330 == any suggestions for spending a day there?



hmmm, our old town isn't very large but its still cute. CJ Finz is supposed to be a good place to eat. Okra's is good too. Ummmm that museum is small but if I remember right Bull Run focused. Those are all in the "old town" area.

oh yeah, and people like to walk the trails at the battlefield a lot.

Thanks. I know we'll be hitting a brewery or two, but I wanted to try something different.

Maybe you could kick out of work early and see earle!

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 16:40:41
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Mala. WE are going to be in MAnassass pretty much all day Earle has a special appointment at 8 in the morning and we won't be able to pick him up until 330 == any suggestions for spending a day there?



hmmm, our old town isn't very large but its still cute. CJ Finz is supposed to be a good place to eat. Okra's is good too. Ummmm that museum is small but if I remember right Bull Run focused. Those are all in the "old town" area.

oh yeah, and people like to walk the trails at the battlefield a lot.

Thanks. I know we'll be hitting a brewery or two, but I wanted to try something different.

Maybe you could kick out of work early and see earle!



Oh yeah, Bad Wolf is a big one out by us. Think Heritage is run by Tea Party idiots, just fyi on that one.

I would love too but Mom can't leave until 5:30. Its one of those perils of having 1 car and working in the same place sadly.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 16:43:26
wow - I actually want to punch a caller in the face.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 16:57:25
Quote by wickedpam:
wow - I actually want to punch a caller in the face.

She was totally mean.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 17:00:03
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
wow - I actually want to punch a caller in the face.

She was totally mean.



Those are the kind of people I have had to deal with the most. They piss me off to no end.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 17:00:43
Iam 95% sure this is not a fake account now:


Comment by Mondobubba on 02/07/2017 17:05:54
Quote by Raine:
Iam 95% sure this is not a fake account now:



I did a whois on POTUSstaff.com. They have perfect privacy on the domain. But, the hosting is with :C/O InMotion Hosting, Inc. Which is in L.A.


Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 17:13:50
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Iam 95% sure this is not a fake account now:



I did a whois on POTUSstaff.com. They have perfect privacy on the domain. But, the hosting is with :C/O InMotion Hosting, Inc. Which is in L.A.


you think it's legit?


Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 17:14:50
Just got done watching one of the videos -- I think packman is onto to something.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/07/2017 17:24:49
Quote by Raine:
Iam 95% sure this is not a fake account now:


My question is this: Why hasn't this brief alreay been filed with the court if the hearing is today?

Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 17:26:41
Senate is voting on DeVos now. What a bunch of fucking cowards.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/07/2017 17:27:13
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
Iam 95% sure this is not a fake account now:



I did a whois on POTUSstaff.com. They have perfect privacy on the domain. But, the hosting is with :C/O InMotion Hosting, Inc. Which is in L.A.


you think it's legit?


I think it is, but I have some reservations. Namely the brief they linked to.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 17:28:40



Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 17:31:02
I'm gonna be fucking sick guys.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 18:23:56
Quote by Raine:



Wow - so incredibly petty, as per usual.


Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 18:28:26
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Comment by Scoopster on 02/07/2017 18:32:58
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 18:37:24
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 18:44:25
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

This is really bad news for people like my sister -- Nephew is autistic.

Comment by wickedpam on 02/07/2017 18:53:00
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

This is really bad news for people like my sister -- Nephew is autistic.


I hope at the county and city levels they can help.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/07/2017 19:10:01
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

This is really bad news for people like my sister -- Nephew is autistic.


I hope at the county and city levels they can help.


I have a friend who has a special needs child. I have worked with special needs students. This is not good news.

I am doing more checking outside of teaching. I fear for the future of education in our nation.



Comment by livingonli on 02/07/2017 19:29:59
I posted in the Kenny Pick group the David Pakman video. I first heard it when Samantha Bee mentioned it last year. The possibility that he might only be able to read at a 4th grade level which was the intellectual level of many of his campaign speeches. With everything we know about Trump, but the Trump cult doesn't want to know suggests he's deep down, a very insecure man who has had life handed to him on a silver platter that he has gotten away with a lot of things

Comment by livingonli on 02/07/2017 19:35:45
Had an early session at Partners International today. Heading home now, although I have to hit a few stores on the way home.

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 19:49:22
Quote by livingonli:
I posted in the Kenny Pick group the David Pakman video. I first heard it when Samantha Bee mentioned it last year. The possibility that he might only be able to read at a 4th grade level which was the intellectual level of many of his campaign speeches. With everything we know about Trump, but the Trump cult doesn't want to know suggests he's deep down, a very insecure man who has had life handed to him on a silver platter that he has gotten away with a lot of things

All of this and a bag of chips, Liv.

Sounds like things are going well for you, Glad to see it!

Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 20:06:34
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

This is really bad news for people like my sister -- Nephew is autistic.


I hope at the county and city levels they can help.

Thank god she lives in NYS.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/07/2017 20:09:27
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by wickedpam:
Quote by Scoopster:
Quote by wickedpam:
Did Pence break the tie or did someone get back in line?

Yep he did.


Siding with private religious schools that are now gonna rake in public money. Great..... just great. Hope people like their kids good and dumb now.

This is really bad news for people like my sister -- Nephew is autistic.


I hope at the county and city levels they can help.

Thank god she lives in NYS.



A lot of what will happen to students will depend on the states. I feel very worried about students in the red states.


Comment by Raine on 02/07/2017 20:13:19
Question:

Who will represent the Trump Admin if when the Muslim goes to SCOTUS?

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