Bush spins scandalous neglect of vets

[struggle4progress]

By Jason Leopold
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Jan 13, 2009, 00:38

... Last month, trying to change the emerging historical consensus about a failed presidency, the White House published two lengthy reports, “Highlights of Accomplishments and Results of the Administration of George W. Bush,” and “100 Things Americans May Not Know About the Bush Administration Record.”

One of the surprising claims that stood out among the combined 90 pages of so-called accomplishments was the White House’s glowing assessment of Bush’s record on veterans’ issues. Bush claims he “provided unprecedented resources for veterans” over the past eight years and provided “the highest level of support for veterans in American history” ...

The White House made these claims in the face of what former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld might have called a “known known” -- that the treatment of veterans returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan has been a national disgrace, highlighted most dramatically by the neglect and substandard care given wounded troops at Walter Reed and other military hospitals ...

“What kind of president pats himself on the back with 200,000 veterans sleeping homeless on the street every night?” <That statement rankled Aaron Glantz, a journalist, author and the Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism at the Carter Center.> said in an interview. “What kind of administration puts out self-congratulatory press releases while over 6,000 veterans commit suicide every year? ...

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_4227.shtml

read it

[aquart]

1. Veterans housing sounds like a worthy infrastructure project.

Lotta abandoned condo projects that might be picked up for a song, for instance.