Thursday, May 22, 2014
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STUNNING: This Obama Scheme Is Shutting Down Legal Gun Stores
STUNNING: This Obama Scheme Is Shutting Down Legal Gun Stores
"Under Obama, the United States are becoming a banana republic."
“(T)he Justice Department has launched Operation Choke Point, a credit card fraud probe focusing on banks and payment processors. The threat of enforcement has prompted some banks to cut ties with online gun retailers, even if those companies have valid licenses and good credit histories,” The Washington Times reported Monday morning.
“Under Obama’s ‘Operation Choke Point,’ banks are complaining that government agents are threatening them because they service legal businesses engaged in legal commerce. Often, the customer is a gun retailer or other businesses that poses no risk, but differs with Obama’s political agenda,” said Stockman.
Thousands of gun retailers have had their bank accounts forcibly closed, despite engaging in no illegal activity whatsoever.
“This is just the latest example of the Obama administration exploiting executive power to target political opponents. It would appear the only purpose of Operation Choke Point is to choke the life out of businesspeople with political views that may differ from the President,” said Stockman.
“Unable to pass gun control in Congress, Obama is seeking to stamp out gun ownership through the kind of threats and harassment you’d expect from Third World dictators or Mafia bosses,” said Stockman.
“Targeting the bank account of gun retailers engaged in peaceful and legal commerce is a blatant violation of civil liberties. Under Obama, the United States are becoming a banana republic. The Obama administration must suspend Operation Choke Point and instead focus its resources on criminal enterprises,” said Stockman.
Did Obama Assassinate Clinton Delegates?
Did Obama Assassinate Clinton Delegates?
I’m going to take you on a little journey that – even I’m not sure I believe. But it is newsworthy, in my opinion. One of my key True The Vote heroes was asked to be on the blogtalkradio station Red Right & Blue this past Saturday. And a Hollywood Producer was also on who claimed:
- She heard out of Bill Clinton’s own mouth that they KNEW Obama was not eligible, and,
- Bill Clinton shut up after his long time friend was murdered as he was about to go public.
- She was told by Democrat Operatives, that George Soros met with both Obama and Hillary to see if either would be willing to destroy the US economy.
What is shocking to me is that I had never heard the grassroots media source on blogtalkradio.com until last week when it was referenced by The Ulsterman Report (UR) and the “Washington and Wall Street Insider” conspiracies it has been covering for some time. (I believe one of the hosts on Freedomizer Radio which UR referenced in their article was on this show, but strange to me I had only just TRIED blogtalkradio a week before.)
If you are already familiar with the ULSTERMAN REPORT please scroll down to HILLARY CLINTON SUPERDELEGATE MURDERED.
BACKGROUND ON FIRST POLITICAL “Assassination”
For those who have not been following this, UR’s Washington Insider described how long time Democratic Operative Kam Kuwata (who set up the 2008 Denver Democratic convention and ran Hillary’s West Coast campaign) was found inexplicably murdered after he informed some other Democrats of Obama being carried into a room, weird chanting and suddenly emerging as if he was a new man only moments later. (I know – it sounds preposterous but read the COMMENTS in the above linked article and trace the evidence yourself.) Kuwata was Diane Feinstein’s aide and longtime friend. The timeline is much stranger and happens this way:
- Tony West – an attorney at the law firm defending Barack Obama’s birth certificate matters raises $65 Million for Barack Obama’s election. His sister-in-law Kamala Harris is the District Attorney for San Francisco.
- Kam Kuwata tells others (likely Sen. Feinstein) of weird Obama stuff he saw at the convention.
- Obama elected with huge illegal campaign (25% of what he raises) coming through a SINGLE California bank) much from Tony West. Rumors swirl of up to $300 Million in undeclared campaign contributions are not reported or those donors.
- Feinstein’s aide and Kuwata’s business partner BOTH indicted and sent to prison by soon to be Dem Governor Cuomo of NY.
- Kuwata works against CA Attorney General Kamala Harris to put in a CA AG who can investigate Obama campaign donations.
- A few months later highly active Kuwata found 2 weeks dead in his apartment.
- The same month Tony West is appointed as Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division reporting to Eric Holder at the Department of (so called) Justice.
- At Kuwata’s memorial, Feinstein very strangely “scooped” the President with the news of Osama Bin Laden death by 1 hour. Feinstein and intelligence knew of OBL location since January. Some wonder if this was a warning to Obama.
- DOJ does not investigate Kuwata’s death.
- A month later, former CA Obama Committee chairwoman embezzles millions in funds from Feinstein’s campaign and others including Obama’s CA funds. This CRITICALLY impairs Feinstein’s reelection hopes.
- Feinstein charged with ethics violations.
- Kamala Harris found to be in pocket of public sector unions scuttling initiative on their behalf.
- Kamala Harris named Co-Chairwoman of the Obama Campaign.
- CA AG Kamala Harris and the NY AG replacing
Gov Cuomo refuse to follow the law on failed mortgages, threatening the
FDIC and creating a $25 Billion Mortgage settlement that:
- Gives 70% of the money to government programs
- Penalizes stockholders, brokers who never admitted guilt in due process
- Allows the REAL perpetrators of the mortgage crisis (both public and private) to skate without ANY prosecution.
(Very good explanation here.) - It also gives her a slush fund of over $1 Billion to preside over.
- Tony West is appointed ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL of the United States under Eric Holder.
- American Bar Association Journal reports Kamala Harris be considered as next Supreme Court Justice replacing Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
HILLARY CLINTON SUPERDELEGATE MURDERED
I don’t have much patience for non-professional, well sourced media whether it be ABC, Allahpundit or a All My Chitlin. (All of which have been sorely lacking in getting stories correct I might add.) Red, Right & Blue (RRB) blogtalkradio show seems to be made of completely
non-professionals. I heard claims made by different parties on the show that I KNOW to be factually untrue, so this all has to be taken with caution. [For instance, Bettina claims the only Legislation which Obama sponsored in Illinois was a “National Islam Day.” Obama sponsored 35 bills including a recognition of South Side Islamic center that seems to have died in committee. She is also wildly misinformed on Newt Gingrich’s positions including having been a major player in fighting HillaryCare, ObamaCare, TARP and Cap & Trade. She also claims Santorum voted “almost exclusively” with Pelosi and Reed which is ridiculous even WITH Santorum’s big government votes.]
The only reason PolitiJim is proceeding with this story is because it is FIRST HAND TESTIMONY by Hollywood Agent/Producer Bettina Sofia Viviano on matters she would likely have direct knowledge of, or association with Democratic officials who would. Ms. Viviano was a non-political liberal Democrat who was approached to make the documentary about the irregularities of voter fraud by Barack Obama against Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominating race. (Forty minutes of WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED can be viewed here. The entire Red, Right & Blue interview at bottom of post with time codes referencing her quotes.)
In the RRB interview, Viviano said her film documented massive systemic corruption by the Obama campaign via:
- Precinct chairpersons and workers misreporting (or holding) results
- Voter intimidation and violence
- Vote destruction and fabrication
In her documentary WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED, there are first hand accounts of voter intimidation, vote manipulation, vandalism and violence not just on behalf of Obama, but AGAINST even elderly Clinton voters. The film has direct testimony of a lady who witnessed two young thugs threatening older people coming to a community center if they voted for Hillary. This sounds oddly familiar of the New Black Panther intimidation case which we now know was not an isolated event.
In the documentary, another Hillary supporter who was a SuperDelegate describes a call from a Senator who told her since she voted for Hillary if she ran for political office they would strip all of her position with the Democrat party.
There were over 2,000 complaints (including criminal) in Texas alone. In her RRB interview, Viviano describes footage of a young African American delegate who was threatened with murder if he did not change his allegiance to Obama from Hillary. (As far as we know, Rick Santorum’s similar antics against Newt Gingrich did not involve criminal violence, although we were told he did a similar thing in Pennsylvania in 2006.)
Pelosi bribed 28 MULTIPLE super delegates to support Barack Obama with cash gifts up to $250,000. Sixteen (16) of 28 endorsed Obama although their state and district selected Hillary Clinton. Other Obama supporters like James Clyburn followed suit giving money to all but 2 of these 28.
Bettina also reported that the interviews done with women from Obama’s home church Trinity United Church of Christ and had to be conducted with anonymity due to their fear of Obama. An interview in the film (from Chicago) admits many tactics are well known to those who live in the Obama Machine areas. You never heard it on ABCBSNBC but past voting fraud by Obama was vicious. Michael Walsh at Breitbart wrote:
For a Chicago pol, whose path to prominence came not via intellectual brilliance or personal charisma but through behind-the-scenes machinations to get opponents thrown off the ballot or have their sealed divorce records made public, “by any means necessary” is not only a tactic, it’s a categorical imperative.
OBAMA ORDERS ASSASINATION OF BILL CLINTON FRIEND?
With this as a backdrop, Bettina Viviano mentioned two different things in her RRB interview. In three completely different places in the interview she said:
- She heard DIRECTLY out of Bill and Hillary’s mouth that they knew he was not eligible.
- She was told by the Hillary camp that Bill was going to “out Obama” but he was threatened and backed off.
- She said that Bill Clinton’s best friend was murdered as a threat.
A short compilation of various clips from the show.
(entire show at bottom)
(entire show at bottom)
Indeed, Bill Gwaltney who was a very close friend of Hillary and Bill, Chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party and SuperDelegate for Hillary was killed by a lone gunman in Little Rock.Are these events connected? Hold onto your feathers, for they are about to fly when you see it in the chronology and order I do.
Hillary’s campaign became public with the fraud during the Texas primary and caucus on March 4th of 2008. Even California delegates FOR OBAMA noticed irregularities such as an incident where 900 delegate prospects were hacked to 17 party insiders. Clearly the delegate vote was close and it’s clear the Clinton camp was crusin’ for a fight at the convention, August 25-27th in Denver.
ON BARACK OBAMA’s alleged birthday of August 4th, 2008, Bill Clinton gave an interview FROM AFRICA and was asked if he was angry. BILL CLINTON BROUGHT UP OBAMA AND ELEGIBILITY:
I think everybody’s got a right to run for president if he qualifies under the Constitution, and I would be the last person to ever begrudge anybody their ambition, and he was a superbly gifted candidate in this election, and had a great operation. They thought this thing through, and it’s a contact sport…The only thing I ever got mad about was people in your kind of work pretending that she started this stuff. (PoliticsUSA)In case you missed it, at the 0:38 mark in talking about why he loves coming to Africa, Clinton talks of how he loves the beauty and people of Africa and :
I like seeing people whose lives are SAVED and CHANGED.
I think it proves that CHANGE is possible
The smirk that he says on the word “change,” the second word in Obama’s
campaign theme, is UNDENIABLE. Remember, this is the word parsers of
all word parsers. IS isn’t always IS to him. Is it possible that
Clinton arranged for the African interview on Obama’s birthday when
rumors of his Kenyan birth were swirling, to actually make a THREAT to
Obama that Barack’s political life could be SAVED and CHANGED if he offered Hillary the Veep slot? Or even step aside?After asking Clinton about the “racist” remarks he made during the campaign, ABC reporter Kate Snow asks AGAIN about eligibility (6:30 mark), which is quite odd since most professional broadcasters wouldn’t repeat the SAME topic after discussing so many others with such a short time of video available. Snow asks, “Do you think he is completely qualified to be President? Because in the campaign there were some things you said…” Clinton:
No, I never said he wasn’t qualified. The constitution sets the qualifications to be President. Then the people decide who they think would be the better President. I think we have two choices. I think he should win and I think he will win.Notice, the Slickster NEVER COMES OUT AND SAYS HE IS QUALIFIED. If the Clintons had already made some threat to Obama about getting out or offering the V.P. position to Hillary, is it possible that he is saying, “Obama you have two choices. I hope you (win) make the right one?”
Eight Days later a Target store employee studying computer science at a nearby college, inexplicably became irritable and spray painted a hallway at work being let go. Timothy Dale Johnson went to the offices of Hillary friend and Super Delegate Bill Gwalenty at the Arkansas Democratic Headquarters and asked some questions about volunteering. He poked his head into Gwalenty’s office shooting him fatally. He then walked into the Southern Baptist Convention building waved his gun and left without harming anyone. He was chased by police and shot 6 times dying instantly as he attempted to open a rifle case that seemed locked. Police closed the investigation finding no motive, no connection to Gwalenty and the police were cleared for shooting Timothy Johnson. The family is baffled.
The following Monday Bill Clinton gave an energy summit speech widely covered because he EQUALLY PRAISED Obama and McCain.
One Day later Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland,
another super delegate, and one of Hillary Clinton’s most prominent
black supporters, was found in her car unconscious, and died of a brain
hemorrhage after her car went out of control. Police have no
explanation why. Tubbs had been extremely vocal about the pressure put upon her to support Barack Obama and fiercely resisted even calling out the practice.This certainly lends credence to the two camps “yelling and screaming” at each other during the convention according to her insiders. Politico mentioned the tension, though none of these specific items.
As most conservatives know Bill Clinton is no stranger to “coincidental deaths” including Vince Foster, Ron Brown, and scores more. No other President had this many people he was connected to die, especially those that had Chinese contribution secrets (Huang) or past financial scandals (McDougal). But it WOULD explain why Hillary “gave up” when it shocked most of us.
Especially if they knew Barack Obama had his own “body count.”
OTHER ASSASSINATIONS AND STRANGE DEATHS
Buried by the mainstream media are the stories from Obama’s murdered gay lovers at Jeremiah Wright’s church within WEEKS of each other – execution style. (If you still don’t know or believe Obama is bi-sexual you might want to watch the video testimony of Larry Sinclair) Also inexplicable are the deaths of Seal Team Six who NEVER would fly an entire company in one helicopter alone.
Don’t get me started on Fast & Furious and the death of his Grandmother FROM CANCER 2 days before the general election who was, according to Barack Obama “sharp as a tack,” except for osteoporosis only 2 months earlier. (Anyone want to guess why he traveled all the way back to Hawaii in the middle of a campaign because she was “suddenly ill” but only did so FOR ONE HOUR and without Michelle and the kids?)
Maybe SOME legislators will begin to understand why we patriots are more than a little nervous with Obama and his administration being given questionable power in any form.
OTHER NOTEABLE BETTINA VIVIANO INTERVIEW ITEMS
The WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED film was rushed into production and Bettina’s film partners printed copies to show at the Democrat National Convention in Denver at local theaters. She says only later did she realize it was Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and the Democratic Party that were the perpetrators. Just as she described on the RRB interview, I found news stories that the DNC PROHIBITED the Hillary delegates from being counted as they had in every previous election. California was completely PASSED OVER and not even called on during the convention following a SECRET VOTE that reporters would not inquire upon.
Among other Viviano bombshells:
- She claims she has obtained a memo from Donna Brazile from 2004 saying they had predetermined Barack Obama to be the candidate for 2008.
- She says Democrats are planning in 2012 (and have in the past) to drive through skid row and pay the homeless to vote with liquor and booze bribes, as well as getting Alzheimer's patients to vote.
- Alice Palmer, (the lady who through Obama’s first political fund raiser at Bill Ayers house) was disqualified with all other challengers from running for her old Senate seat by Barack Obama’s lawyers when he decided he wanted the seat. She became a Hillary supporter. (Links in 2012 Section below.)
- She claims it was widely known at the time that John McCain was not qualified as a natural born citizen either. Theory Link
- Claims
her Democrat sources told her it was a “fact” that George Soros met
with Hillary and Obama. Soros said his agenda was to tear this economy
down to the ground. Obama said, “no problem.” Hillary said, “no way.”
PolitiJim Note: Chelsea was married on a George Soros estate with Barack and Michelle present. - At IOWA caucus she attended - Ron Paul had 99% of the votes BUT ALL PARTICIPANTS WERE DEMOCRATS.
2012 Will be WORSE
Bettina mentions that she has seen the Black Panther offices they set up in Houston to prepare for 2012. Bob Cooley, who wrote about many of these techniques in his book WHEN CORRUPTION WAS KING, has said the “$1 Billion” in campaign funds isn’t going to be used for TV ads, it will be to buy off precinct chairmen, pay volunteers to overwhelm the voting systems with fraud (like we saw in the Wisconsin recall where “Mickey Mouse” was allowed), and to pay HACKERS TO change the electronic voting machine systems.
As we wrote in “IS THIS THE OBAMA CRIME PLAN?,” it made absolutely no sense that Obama would doing NOTHING to move himself closer to the “center” (as all good unprincipled Democrats do) before an election. What possible advantage is there in killing 100,000 jobs with the Keystone Pipeline? If Obama thinks he can get away with this nationally, against the “Body Count” Clintons – you can believe that this election season will be worse than one overseen by Hugo Chavez as Secretary of State.
And it explains WHY he feels no need to do REAL things that create jobs and make him popular. He simply doesn’t think he’ll need it.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
As Alan Vera of TrueTheVote said in his stirring speech at the Texas Straw Poll, we need bodies. Bodies who simply give a little time to observe voting and keep the cockroaches from operating in the dark.
CLICK ON TRUE THE VOTE to learn more.
Red, Right and Blue Radio Show (full audio below)
with Rick Bulow and Harriet Baldwin
| Minute Mark | Conversation Subject |
| 17:00 | 1st Portion with Bettina Viviano. How she came to become involved, overview of all complaints. |
| 20:39 | Accuses Pelosi, Dean, Reid of committing the fraud |
| 21:00 | California withheld vote because they were going to stand for Hillary despite railroading |
| 22:00 | Claims Democrats would drive through skid row and pay them to vote with liquor and booze as well as getting Alzheimer's patients to vote. |
| 23:30 | Has seen the New Black Panther party HQ in Houston to plan to steal election. |
| 53:00 | Women from Trinity United Church who knows Obama well, witnessed intimidation similar to Philadelphia Black Panther incident. |
| 55:30 | Bettina’s partner may be intimidated by threats. |
| 56:45 | 21 year old Black Delegated Threatened With Murder |
| 57:15 | Obama campaigns for Islamist, Terrorist Cousin in Kenya (Odinga) |
| 1:00:15 | The ORIGINAL BIRTHERS were Bill & Hillary Clinton. Bettina heard it DIRECTLY out of their mouths. |
| 1:01:42 | She has personal knowledge Hillary made a deal the night before she stepped down. Her friends said the Obama and Clinton camps were yelling and screaming at each other for 3 days in the ugliest exhibition of politics they’d ever seen. |
| 1:02:00 | She claims it was widely known at the time that John McCain was not qualified as a natural born citizen either. Link |
| 1:04:00 | From a top Democrat Party leader: George Soros had meetings with both Barack and Hillary telling them his agenda was to tear this country to the ground. Obama reportedly said “no problem.” |
| 1:12:24 | She was at the caucus for Rick Perry in Iowa and at one, 99% of the votes were for Ron Paul and they were all Democrats. |
| 1:43:15 | She “knows for a fact” they threatened to kill Bill Clinton and did kill his friend, Bill Gwaltney. |
| 1:44:30 | I heard it out of Bill Clinton’s mouth that Obama wasn’t legitimate. |
x
Veterans dying because of health care delays
Veterans dying because of health care delays
updated 9:34 PM EST, Thu January 30, 2014
VA hospital delays costing lives
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- CNN has learned 19 veterans died because of delays in basic screenings
- The delays occurred at VA hospitals and clinics
- It took a year for veteran Barry Coates to get a colonoscopy
- He is now undergoing chemotherapy for rectal cancer
At least 19 veterans have
died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies
or endoscopies, at various VA hospitals or clinics, CNN has learned.
That's according to an internal document from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, obtained exclusively by CNN, that deals with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011.
The veterans were part of
82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as
a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or
endoscopies.
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Ayotte: Budget deal unfair to vets
Barry Coates is one of
the veterans who has suffered from a delay in care. Coates was having
excruciating pain and rectal bleeding in 2011. For a year the Army
veteran went to several VA clinics and hospitals in South Carolina,
trying to get help. But the VA's diagnosis was hemorrhoids, and aside
from simple pain medication he was told he might need a colonoscopy.
"The problem was getting
worse and I was having more pain," Coates said, talking about one
specific VA doctor who he saw every few months. "She again examined me
and gave me some prescriptions for other things as far as pain and stuff
like that and I noticed again she made another comment -- 'may need
colonoscopy.'
"I told her that something needed to be done," said Coates. "But nothing was ever set up ... a consult was never set up."
"I had already been in
pain and suffering from this problem for over six months and it wasn't
getting better," Coates said. "I told her that if you were in as much
pain as I was and had been going through you wouldn't wait another two
months to see what's going on. You would probably do it this week."
Coates waited months,
even begging for an appointment to have his colonoscopy. But he only
found himself on a growing list of veterans also waiting for
appointments and procedures. He was finally told he could have a
colonoscopy, many months later.
"I took it upon my own
self to call the department that scheduled that and ask them about it.
And they said this was the earliest appointment that I could get. And I
explained to the lady what I had already been through and how much pain I
had, and I said if I wait this long there might not be ... (anything)
we can do about it then. I could be even dead by then. And the only
thing she could tell me was 'I understand that, sir, but I don't have
any control over that.' "
Finally about a year
after first complaining to his doctors of the pain, Coates got a
colonoscopy and doctors discovered a cancerous tumor the size of a
baseball.
The now 44-year-old veteran is undergoing chemotherapy in an effort to save his life.
It is unclear whether
anyone responsible at the VA has been fired, demoted or even admonished
for the delays in care and treatment. Some of the people responsible may
have even received bonuses in recent years for their work, despite the
delays in care or treatment for the veterans.
According to the
document obtained by CNN, 10 veterans are confirmed to have died in the
South Carolina and Georgia region alone. And the document shows 29 vets
or their families were sent the disclosures, notifying them they had
serious "adverse events" because of delayed care. And according to the
document the problems go far beyond Georgia or South Carolina.
In the Florida region,
five veterans are dead, and 14 vets or their families were sent the
disclosures, notified that they suffered "adverse events" because of
delayed or denied care or diagnosis, according to the exclusive
document.
In the Rocky Mountain
region, two veterans died, and four families were sent the disclosures
or notified. In the Texas region, seven vets or their families were sent
disclosures about adverse events and serious injuries suffered because
of delayed care.
WWII veteran receives special gift
Budget ax looming over veterans
Life after the military
Coates filed a legal
claim, citing the "failure of the Columbia (South Carolina) VA Medical
Center to timely diagnose his rectal cancer." The VA settled, but
admitted no wrong-doing.
"I don't know what my outcome is going to be," said Coates.
"I just try to live every day like it's my last day."
The new document obtained by CNN shows a worse problem than has previously been made public by the VA.
As CNN has previously reported,
as many as 7,000 veterans were on a backlog list -- waiting too long
for colonscopies or endoscopies -- at VA facilities in Columbia, South
Carolina and Augusta, Georgia.
After CNN's detailed
accounting of dela-related deaths at the Columbia and Augusta VA
hospitals, a bi-partisan group of Congressmen visited the hospitals,
demanding answers.
"We have a duty to make
sure that the veterans who serve get the best health care possible,"
said Rep. John Barrow, D-Georgia. "And it is very obvious that for too
long and for too many folks that hasn't happened."
The VA said the backlog
at those two hospitals has been solved, but that is not a good enough
explanation for Rep. Jeff Miller, the chair of the House Veterans
Affairs Committee.
"The fact that we've had
veterans who have died in the very facilities that are supposed to be
taking care of them, and not by natural means, by means that could have
been prevented is egregious," said Miller, R-Florida. "And it's not
acceptable."
Miller said the VA, from
the top down, has consistently ignored his committee's requests to find
out who is responsible. Even with the delays in care which have led to
deaths and serious injuries, the congressman said not a single person
has been fired or even demoted, and in fact some of those responsible
may have even gotten bonuses.
"I grieve for the
families who lost loved ones that could have been with them this
Christmas that would be celebrating 2014 today had the backlog not
existed," said Miller. "That's not what anybody in this country wants
for our veterans."
He said the lack of accountability is what angers him most.
"That's why we asked the
question again today, with members of the South Carolina delegation and
Georgia delegation, tell us exactly who was disciplined and how. I
don't want to hear the excuse anymore that 'It was multi-faceted.
...There were many people involved' " said Miller.
"Well if there were many
people involved then they all need to go. We are not asking for one
particular person, we want to know exactly why things happened and who
was held responsible, At this point publicly, we haven't seen anybody
held responsible."
CNN has made repeated
requests for interviews with top officials at the VA, including
President Obama's appointed head of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
Secretary Eric Shinseki. The requests have all been denied, or ignored.
The VA did issue a
written statement from Dr. Robert Petzel, the Under Secretary for Health
at the department of Veterans Affairs. In the statement, Petzel wrote
that "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) cares deeply for every
Veteran we are privileged to serve. Our goal is to provide the best
quality, safe and effective health care our Veterans have earned and
deserve. We take seriously any issue that occurs at any one of the more
than 1,700 VA health care facilities across the country."
He also stated: "As a
result of the consult delay issue VA discovered at two of our medical
centers, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) conducted a national
review of consults across the system. We have redesigned the consult
process to better monitor consult timeliness. We continue to take action
to strengthen oversight mechanisms and prevent a similar delay at
another VA medical center. We take any issue of this nature extremely
seriously and offer our sincerest condolences to families and
individuals who have been affected and lost a loved one."
In August 2007,
presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a campaign speech to veterans
specifically addressing wait lists, denied care and poor treatment of
vets. He promised his administration would be different.
"No veteran should have
to fill out a 23-page claim to get care, or wait months -- even years --
to get an appointment at the VA," said then-candidate Obama.
"When we fail to keep
faith with our veterans, the bond between our nation and our nation's
heroes becomes frayed. When a veteran is denied care, we are all
dishonored."
But Coates said for him the speech is an empty promise.
"Someone needs to stand
and face the person who suffered and the veterans who have died and say,
'Hey it was me, I let the ball drop,' " he said.
"How many lives are we going to lose from this?"
"When is it going to be corrected?"
A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list
A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list
May 1, 2014 -- Updated 0219 GMT (1019 HKT)
VA Chief responds to secret list claims
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- CNN has been reporting on delays in appointments and veterans' deaths
- New revelations of 40 deaths involving Phoenix VA are perhaps the most disturbing yet
- Retired VA doctor says there's an official wait list that he calls a sham
- He says the real list is kept secret and has wait times that stretch into the months
The secret list was part
of an elaborate scheme designed by Veterans Affairs managers in Phoenix
who were trying to hide that 1,400 to 1,600 sick veterans were forced to
wait months to see a doctor, according to a recently retired top VA
doctor and several high-level sources.
For six months, CNN has been reporting on extended delays in health care appointments
suffered by veterans across the country and who died while waiting for
appointments and care. But the new revelations about the Phoenix VA are
perhaps the most disturbing and striking to come to light thus far.
Internal e-mails obtained
by CNN show that top management at the VA hospital in Arizona knew
about the practice and even defended it.
Dr. Sam Foote just
retired after spending 24 years with the VA system in Phoenix. The
veteran doctor told CNN in an exclusive interview that the Phoenix VA
works off two lists for patient appointments:
There's an "official"
list that's shared with officials in Washington and shows the VA has
been providing timely appointments, which Foote calls a sham list. And
then there's the real list that's hidden from outsiders, where wait
times can last more than a year.
Deaths tied to VA hospital's secret list
Veterans dying waiting for healthcare
Are we fulfilling our promise to veterans?
Deliberate scheme, shredded evidence
"The scheme was
deliberately put in place to avoid the VA's own internal rules," said
Foote in Phoenix. "They developed the secret waiting list," said Foote, a
respected local physician.
The VA requires its hospitals to provide care to patients in a timely manner, typically within 14 to 30 days, Foote said.
According to Foote, the
elaborate scheme in Phoenix involved shredding evidence to hide the long
list of veterans waiting for appointments and care. Officials at the
VA, Foote says, instructed their staff to not actually make doctor's
appointments for veterans within the computer system.
Instead, Foote says,
when a veteran comes in seeking an appointment, "they enter information
into the computer and do a screen capture hard copy printout. They then
do not save what was put into the computer so there's no record that you
were ever here," he said.
According to Foote, the
information was gathered on the secret electronic list and then the
information that would show when veterans first began waiting for an
appointment was actually destroyed.
"That hard copy, if you
will, that has the patient demographic information is then taken and
placed onto a secret electronic waiting list, and then the data that is
on that paper is shredded," Foote said.
"So the only record that
you have ever been there requesting care was on that secret list," he
said. "And they wouldn't take you off that secret list until you had an
appointment time that was less than 14 days so it would give the
appearance that they were improving greatly the waiting times, when in
fact they were not."
I feel very sorry for the people who work at the Phoenix VA. They
all wish they could leave 'cause they know what they're doing is wrong.
Dr. Sam Foote
Dr. Sam Foote
Foote estimates right
now the number of veterans waiting on the "secret list" to see a primary
care physician is somewhere between 1,400 and 1,600.
Doctor: It's a 'frustrated' staff
"I feel very sorry for
the people who work at the Phoenix VA," said Foote. "They're all
frustrated. They're all upset. They all wish they could leave 'cause
they know what they're doing is wrong.
"But they have families,
they have mortgages and if they speak out or say anything to anybody
about it, they will be fired and they know that."
Several other high-level
VA staff confirmed Foote's description to CNN and confirmed this is
exactly how the secret list works in Phoenix.
Foote says the Phoenix
wait times reported back to Washington were entirely fictitious. "So
then when they did that, they would report to Washington, 'Oh yeah.
We're makin' our appointments within -- within 10 days, within the
14-day frame,' when in reality it had been six, nine, in some cases 21
months," he said.
Thomas Breen was so proud of his time in the Navy that he wanted to be treated only at a VA facility, his family says.
In the case of 71-year-old Navy veteran Thomas Breen, the wait on the secret list ended much sooner.
"We had noticed that he
started to have bleeding in his urine," said Teddy Barnes-Breen, his
son. "So I was like, 'Listen, we gotta get you to the doctor.' "
Teddy says his
Brooklyn-raised father was so proud of his military service that he
would go nowhere but the VA for treatment. On September 28, 2013, with
blood in his urine and a history of cancer, Teddy and his wife, Sally,
rushed his father to the Phoenix VA emergency room, where he was
examined and sent home to wait.
"They wrote on his chart
that it was urgent," said Sally, her father-in-law's main caretaker.
The family has obtained the chart from the VA that clearly states the
"urgency" as "one week" for Breen to see a primary care doctor or at
least a urologist, for the concerns about the blood in the urine.
"And they sent him home," says Teddy, incredulously.
Sally and Teddy say
Thomas Breen was given an appointment with a rheumatologist to look at
his prosthetic leg but was given no appointment for the main reason he
went in.
The Breens wait ... and wait ... and wait ...
No one called from the
VA with a primary care appointment. Sally says she and her father-in-law
called "numerous times" in an effort to try to get an urgent
appointment for him. She says the response they got was less than
helpful.
"Well, you know, we have
other patients that are critical as well," Sally says she was told.
"It's a seven-month waiting list. And you're gonna have to have
patience."
Sally says she kept
calling, day after day, from late September to October. She kept up the
calls through November. But then she no longer had reason to call.
Thomas Breen died on
November 30. The death certificate shows that he died from Stage 4
bladder cancer. Months after the initial visit, Sally says she finally
did get a call.
"They called me December 6. He's dead already."
Sally says the VA
official told her, "We finally have that appointment. We have a primary
for him.' I said, 'Really, you're a little too late, sweetheart.' "
At the end is when he suffered. He screamed. He cried.
Sally Brenn on the death of her father-in-law
Sally Brenn on the death of her father-in-law
Sally says her father-in-law realized toward the end he was not getting the care he needed.
"At the end is when he
suffered. He screamed. He cried. And that's somethin' I'd never seen him
do before, was cry. Never. Never. He cried in the kitchen right here.
'Don't let me die.' "
Teddy added his father said: "Why is this happening to me? Why won't anybody help me?"
Teddy added: "They didn't do the right thing." Sally said: "No. They neglected Pop."
First hidden -- and then removed
Foote says Breen is a
perfect example of a veteran who needed an urgent appointment with a
primary doctor and who was instead put on the secret waiting list --
where he remained hidden.
Foote adds that when veterans waiting on the secret list die, they are simply removed.
"They could just remove
you from that list, and there's no record that you ever came to the VA
and presented for care. ... It's pretty sad."
Foote said that the number of dead veterans who died waiting for care is at least 40.
"That's correct. The
number's actually higher. ... I would say that 40, there's more than
that that I know of, but 40's probably a good number."
CNN has obtained e-mails
from July 2013 showing that top management, including Phoenix VA
Director Sharon Helman, was well-aware about the actual wait times, knew
about the electronic off-the-books list and even defended its use to
her staff.
I think it's unfair to call any of this a success when Veterans are waiting 6 weeks on an electronic waiting list
From 2013 Phoenix VA e-mail obtained by CNN
From 2013 Phoenix VA e-mail obtained by CNN
In one internal Phoenix
VA e-mail dated July 3, 2013, one staffer raised concerns about the
secret electronic list and raised alarms that Phoenix VA officials were
praising its use.
"I have to say, I think
it's unfair to call any of this a success when Veterans are waiting 6
weeks on an electronic waiting list before they're called to schedule
their first PCP (primary care physician) appointment," the e-mail
states. "Sure, when their appointment is created, it can be 14 days out,
but we're making them wait 6-20 weeks to create that appointment."
The e-mail adds pointedly: "That is unethical and a disservice to our Veterans."
Last year and earlier
this year, Foote also sent letters to officials at the VA Office of the
Inspector General with details about the secret electronic waiting list
and about the large number of veterans who died waiting for care, many
hidden on the secret list. Foote and several other sources inside the
Phoenix VA confirmed to CNN that IG inspectors have interviewed them
about the allegations.
VA: 'It is disheartening to hear allegations'
CNN has made numerous
requests to Helman and her staff for an interview about the secret list,
the e-mails showing she was aware of it and the allegations of the 40
veterans who died waiting on the list, to no avail.
But CNN was sent a statement from VA officials in Texas, quoting Helman.
"It is disheartening to
hear allegations about Veterans care being compromised," the statement
from Helman reads, "and we are open to any collaborative discussion that
assists in our goal to continually improve patient care."
Just before deadline Wednesday, the VA sent an additional comment to CNN.
It stated, in part: "We
have conducted robust internal reviews since these allegations surfaced
and welcome the results from the Office of Inspector General's review.
We take these allegations seriously."
The VA statement to CNN
added: "To ensure new Veterans waiting for appointments are managed
appropriately, we maintain an Electronic Wait List (EWL) in accordance
with the national VHA Scheduling Directive. The ability of new and
established patients to get more timely care has showed significant
improvement in the last two years which is attributable to increased
budget, staffing, efficiency and infrastructure."
Foote says Helman's
response in the first statement is stunning, explaining the entire
secret list and the reason for its existence was planned and created by
top management at the Phoenix VA, specifically to avoid detection of the
long wait times by veterans there.
"This was a plan that
involved the Pentad, which includes the director, the associate
director, the assistant director, the chief of nursing, along with the
medical chief of staff -- in collaboration with the chief of H.A.S."
Washington is paying attention
The Phoenix VA's "off
the books" waiting list has now gotten the attention of the U.S. House
Veterans Affairs Committee in Washington, whose chairman has been
investigating delays in care at veterans hospitals across the country.
According to Rep. Jeff
Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, what was
happening in Phoenix is even worse than veterans dying while waiting for
care.
Even as CNN was working
to report this story, the Florida Republican demanded the VA preserve
all records in anticipation of a congressional investigation.
In a hearing on April 9,
Miller learned even the undersecretary of health for the VA wasn't
being told the truth about the secret list:
"It appears as though
there could be as many as 40 veterans whose deaths could be related to
delays in care. Were you made aware of these unofficial lists in any
part of your look back?" asked Miller.
"Mr. Chairman, I was not," replied Dr. Thomas Lynch, assistant deputy undersecretary, Veterans Health Administration.
Congress has now ordered all records in Phoenix, secret or not, be preserved.
That would include the record of a 71-year-old Navy veteran named Thomas Breen.
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