Smirk of the Union: "Tiger Team"

One more quick thought on the SotU. The most Orwellian moment in the speech was surely this:

America is a force for hope in the world because we are a compassionate people, and some of the most compassionate Americans are those who have stepped forward to protect us. We must keep faith with all who have risked life and limb so that we might live in freedom and peace.

Here at Campaign for America's Future, we've prepared a whole set of texts for this here new web site breaking down conservative failure to its constituent elements and incidences. Check out our rundown [1]of the horrors conservative ideology has made of the jewel of veterans health care, Walter Reed Hospital.

Then, just in time for themorning reports on George Bush's speech, listen to this horrifying NPR story [2] from this morning about what it feels like for an Iraq veteran "to be tossed aside like a worn-out pair of boots."

Turns out the Army has began an active program of sabotaging the Department of Veterans Affairs in its attempts to make sure Army vets get the full disability benefits coming to them:

According to Army spokesman George Wright, the Tiger Team thought the VA should not be helping soldiers with their medical documents. The Army delivered that message to VA officials in Buffalo, N.Y., who went along with the request, even though the VA's assistance complied with Army policy.

Yes. The Army calls its dedicated band of heroes whose job it is to make sure the VA spends as little funds as possible a "Tiger Team." Because we must keep faith with all who have risked life and limb so that we might live in freedom and peace.

There's more. The NPR piece concludes:

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who co-chaired President Bush's recent commission on veterans' care, says stories like this one show how the whole disability rating system is broken and needs to change.

The system is "fundamentally unfair," according to Shalala, "and that's the point about the need for reform in the system. It has to be reformed for everyone."

And guess what? Donna Shalala was one of Bush's special guests last night, called out from the podium. God forbid he should actually, you know, listen to her.