Does the nation need to do more to help returning veterans?

by L.A. Times Posted 2012/11/09 18:54:00

821 votes
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	Yes	739 votes	90%
	No	82 votes	10%

Thousands of veterans in Los Angeles County are falling into poverty and unemployment, according to research commissioned by United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which issued a call to action Friday to better address the needs of returning service members.

+22

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Silas Jones 2012/11/09 20:34:29

Yes

+19
As a Marine Corps vet it makes me sick to my stomach to see how our vets get treated when they come home. It takes a certain kind of person to put themselves in harms way to protect our country while trying to make a living for themselves and their families. It's time for people in government to stop voting against things that would help vets and make it so that our VA medical centers run just as good as any hospital in the nation. I recently made an appointment to see my doc at the VA and they gave me an appointment for may 13th of next year so what the hell do I do until then? We are not expendable, we are human beings that served our country, nuff said.
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John Galt jr or Ron/jon 2012/11/22 05:09:17

Yes

lets try not sending them off to war in the first place...

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frank 2012/11/14 18:16:58

No

ALL THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO DO IS TO HONOR WHAT THEY PROMISED THEY WOULD DO FOR ALL OUR VETS!

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BigFig#9 2012/11/13 23:10:14

No

Wish there was a different answer - Vets have lots of programs and help available BUT the problem is encouraging many vets to access those programs - It's the old adage - You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Many harbor animosity towards the country and the military making accessing assistance intrinsically difficult. Unlike the '60s we do as a society generally 'admire' vets these days. In fact at times society imbues vets with a halo that may not be deserved. Many vets joined the forces out of a sense of public duty, etc... which is admirable but don't forget others who join because their alternatives are few and others who imagine the military as some place they can live out Call of Duty or other video games. Not every guy in the military is a hero. Some are wife beaters and gay bashers and would have been the same with or without their service.

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Michaelene 2012/11/13 22:49:49

Yes

The very first thing our nation should do is to OVERTURN Obama's EO that denies journalists, family members and watchdog groups to have access to VA Center annual inspection reports.
During the first 6 months of Obama's presidency he was thrust into the headlines when facilities reports were so damaging; blood smeared walls and floors, maggot infested wounds, new injuries on patients and hundreds of patients were diagnosed with HIV and HEPC due to contaniminated endoscopy equipment. The worst reporta came out of the states of PA and VA.
In rapid response, all of those files and all veterans medical centers were classified by Obama in August 2009.
When Obots responded they praised Obama for being so smart to avoid the controversy that plagued Bush during the Walter Reed investigation. Instead of helping to end this horrible treatment, they HID it. Sound familiar?
In other words, they praised the censorship of the health and treatment of our military. SHAME!!!

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moiraregis 2012/11/13 19:38:41

Yes

all conservative who answered "yes": why do you support a party that opposes the veterans jobs bill? put your vote where your mouth is, that is, unless you don't like your tax dollar going to help our oft-bedraggled veterans. the VFW doesn't just put them in mothballs after Memorial Day; these are real people who risked their lives, health and sanity on our behalf.

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Michaelene to moiraregis 2012/11/13 22:53:07

Who decided that it would be better to censor and classify all VA medical center inspection reports instead of helping those veterans get better threatment?
Hint: It wasn't Bush, he dealt with the tragedies happening at Walter Reed, apologized and made it into a much better place for treatment.

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scottcleaves 2012/11/13 16:33:36

Yes

+1
Absolutely yes. Spend far more on vets and far less on new weapons.
Democrat

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sglmom 2012/11/13 09:01:29

Yes

+2
YES ..
and I've posted a poll myself ..
on something that would be a GOOD START ..
there's so many who are LEFT BEHIND .. FORGOTTEN .
the words of politicians .. RING HOLLOW INDEED ..
when they DISRESPECT our Wounded warriors ..
http://www.sodahead.com/unite...

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FanOreilly 2012/11/13 04:21:16

Yes

+2
Go OUT AND HELP THEM!

What's stopping you?

You want to vote to give other people's money instead of getting off your lazy asses.

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moiraregis to FanOreilly 2012/11/13 19:42:34

i can see why you're an oreilly fan; i do vote to give other people's money and my money in taxes to help the veterans. i'm happy to chip in; if you're not, catch mr. burns on the simpsons sometime. you might like him even better than o'reilly--

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FanOreilly to moiraregis 2012/11/14 06:23:20

You don't chip in...you sit on your fat ass doing nothing.

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Michaelene to FanOreilly 2012/11/13 22:57:09

Some of us do, we organize assistance for our current troops, we help our homeless vets and to assist our veterans. I'm thankful to O'Reilly for opening my eyes to Wounded Warrior foundation.
In my volunteer organizing capacity I see that most of our volunteers are either vets themselves or families of vets that give the most.

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KayTuckus 2012/11/13 01:06:48

Yes

+1
Yes. What soldiers really need is UNDERSTANDING. Because if you UNDERSTAND then you'll naturally do the things that soldiers and vets truly need. If you understood that a soldier had friends die, developed sleep disorders from IRAMS and rocket attacks, you'd want him to have proper medical and mental health treatment. If you understood that he's done complex jobs that a civilian contractor would've done for an extra 50k you would know that he doesn't need to spend 4 years in college after the military but is ready for a decent career right now. Do Vets need to be babied? No. Do they need someone to meet them halfway? Hell yes.

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kathy 2012/11/12 23:59:01

Yes

+1
some of the horrible,despitable things I have seen-and I'm only the wife,mom,daughter, etc! of vets. My Dad had a brain tumor, sent to the Newington VA (Ct)-they dishcharged my dad as "depression)-my husband was suppose to get a anti-depressiive med in the mail-and got lanoxin (heart drug) good thing I'm a nurse-did my clinicals at a Veterans hospital-cleveland----guess I'm off track with the question asked-I just don't see how our Veterans can even trust the government----they should be doing a hell of a lot more for them

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rcardon 2012/11/12 19:54:39

Yes

+1
You bet we do! They put their lives and families in jeopardy for us and the freedoms of others, we better be for doing all we can to help them successfully return to civilian life.

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El Prez 2012/11/12 19:11:42
harley oldman 2012/11/12 18:58:37

Yes

+1
HELL YES...!

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cents-less 2012/11/12 18:53:40

Yes

+1
That's all that need said

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Just me ∞ijm♥G☮F♀U∞ 2012/11/12 18:28:17

Yes

+3
They are our finest and they deserve the best.

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Jimbo 2012/11/12 18:23:40

Yes

+1
yes

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Flowers 2012/11/12 17:01:19

No

+1
I DIDN'T MEAN TO CLICK NO!!! I think we should be helping them most certainly

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Flamingolady 2012/11/12 16:44:19

Yes

Yes, we do.

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mac9 2012/11/12 16:07:56

Yes

+1
Cut the entitlements for the leeches.....help the veterans. They have extreme worth.

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Bibliophilic 2012/11/12 15:52:55

Yes

+1
Yes, education, mental health care and financial assistance. Veterans should not be homeless or ignored.

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Hawk 2012/11/12 15:04:06

Yes

+1
The vereran`s of this country should be well taken care of. Take the money we give countries that hate us and take care of our own,especially the veteran`s that kept our country safe. Honor them today and every day.

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Eric C. 2012/11/12 14:16:46

No

+1
I want to say yes, but unfortunately a lot of us are unwilling to pay more for our veterans. Let's bring back and perpetuate the GI Bill.

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Chief to Eric C. 2012/11/12 17:53:00

I've always felt that there should be an automatic tax enacted when we go to war. To pay for the entire cost of the war and until the last veteran is taken care of after the war. If people knew the entire cost of going to war there would be a lot of second thoughts. You're right about the GI Bill as well.

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Bulbasaurus Rex. 2012/11/12 13:45:59

Yes

+1
This can go for Canada too.
They fought for our country, defended and protected us, and we don't even show our appreciation when they return. We let them fall into poverty and sickness. We should be showing these heroes how grateful we are, by taking care of them, even after they've come home. They deserve it.

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Dugard 2012/11/12 13:34:55

Yes

Yes we should help them cope with a normal civilian life again and help them with insurance and such. But they also need to help themselves. I'm tired of those vets that come back completely healthy (not amputee vets or anything) and expect this country to just take care of them the rest of their lives. I know someone who went to Iraq as an air traffic controller for one year. When he came home he expected everyone to pay for everything! He didn't work for a year and a half. He was just living off the money he made. Now he cuts grass, weighs about 100 pounds more from being an alcoholic, and goes to the bar and tells everyone he was a helicopter door gunman who survived a horrible crash when their helicopter was hit by an RPG. In an attempt to pick up non attractive woman who need a baby daddy. My point is, he is by far not the only one. (End Of Rant)

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knothead 2012/11/12 13:03:30

Yes

They deserve the very best we can give them. They should be able to return to their former jobs without any crap. Time was a vet could come home and resume his or her former job. What the hell happened to that?

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T. James H 2012/11/12 07:58:07
whimsycrat to T. James H 2012/11/12 09:49:31

That's a semantic dance, and a meaningless one. Really, by just about every definition of the word "nation," the United States is "a nation." Neither term, "nation" or "federation" really has any absolute definition that is accepted by everyone so it's kind of a pointless distinction.

The definitions of either are not so clear that anyone can simply make a definitive statement that the U.S. "is a federation, not at nation.
"

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knothead to T. James H 2012/11/12 12:47:04

+2
By the Constitution of this country it was founded as a republic. Plain and simple. As for helping the vets HELL yes. They should get the red carpet treatment for everything.As an Air Force vet I feel there is more done for illegals and welfare bums than the people who put their lives on the line for our country.

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El Prez to T. James H 2012/11/12 19:15:27

You have missed the boat on so many levels. Your dumb assed ideas could not even exist if the nation took your point of view seriously. Dream on!!!

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T. James H to El Prez 2012/11/12 21:30:08
El Prez to T. James H 2012/11/14 01:27:20

Are you saying stateism or satanism? Both are figmets of the imagination. It is only the freedom of thought and speach that exsists in this country that allows marginal views, like your own, to exist. Your "federation" ideas were settled many years ago, as it did not work, and the earth is not flat.

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T. James H to El Prez 2012/11/14 21:28:48
El Prez to T. James H 2012/11/16 01:09:55

My point is made. I have no further point.

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Palmer to T. James H 2012/11/12 20:14:25

+1
"Veterans do need help" yet you voted no? You let personal feeling on other issues get in the way of your vote despite the fact that you agree that they should be helped. That, my friend, is definition bias.

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T. James H to Palmer 2012/11/12 21:28:57