[HARDCORE]

?Mass Shakeup? are the only two words that I can put together to describe this particular changing of the guard! Nine (so far) resignations (?) out of fifteen Presidential Cabinet Members have, as we say out west, bitten the dust!!

Of course, some would have us believe that this is a matter of natural attrition, and well it might be, but the last time that this many swollen heads rolled this quickly, it was at the business end of Madam Guillotine!

Some of the names on this ?Cabinet Hit List? have come as real shockers - others not so shocking! The latest, however, Secretary Tony Principi (Numero Nuevo), left many of us with questions unanswered?

The operations of the Veterans Administration, through many administrations, has left eyebrows raised for decades! ?COUNTLESS BILLION$? have been spent attempting to improve health care and other benefits for this nation?s finest (Her military and her veterans), but alas, there never seems to be enough to go around! Of course, with the VA?s lofty Administrative expenses, including an army of lawyers that would over satiate even the largest of corporations, is it any wonder that service to the veteran has become an also ran in the minds and hearts of management? ?Hell, and as a matter of fact, the VA spends more money attempting to deny veterans than in treating them (opinion)!!?

As a matter of fact, over the years, many have complained about the quality and availability of services at the many VA facilities nationwide! And stories about unnecessary deaths, poor services, and even an infestations of maggot flies in at least one facility, hardly gives one cause for joy!!

Hell, years ago (Central San Joaquin Valley), I raised no end of questions myself, over an aged trooper who was suffering a heart attack while waiting hours to be seen. And when I called this the attention of staff personnel ( a nurse), I was promptly told to mind my own business.

After complaining about the incident to (then) Secretary of the VA, Max Clelland, a medico at said facility advised me that if I were ever to spend the night at that hospital, I would end up in the basement. After inquiring about the basement accommodations, I was advised by a VA volunteer that therein lies the morgue - ?SWEET & CARING PEOPLE THESE!??

So here we go again (and again, and again)! Yet another eager go-getter will soon be at the helm of the Veterans Administration Empire! Bright hopes, shinny promises, great expectations and all! ?WILL, HOWEVER, ANYTHING REALLY BE DIFFERENT - WE SHALL SEE WHAT WE SHALL SEE?!?

VERITAS