THE VA POLICE "ACTED STUPIDLY"

THE VA POLICE ACTED STUPIDLY

By Robert L. Rosebrock, Staff Writer

An Open Letter to General Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary, Department of Veterans Affairs

Dear Mr. Secretary:

If President Obama thought that the Cambridge police "acted stupidly" in the treatment of the elderly Henry Gates at his own home, what will he think when he learns how his Administration’s VA police treated elderly Veterans at their own National Home in Los Angeles?   

Since you were appointed Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs more than six months ago, I have repeatedly and respectfully pleaded with you on behalf of our fellow Veterans to do the right thing and rescind the long-term, rent-free "sharing agreement" that the VA has with a special-interest homeowner group to build a public park on Veterans sacred land.

     And over the past six months, you have repeatedly and disrespectfully ignored this plea.

The VA entered into this privileged agreement with Veterans Park Conservancy, which is not a Veterans organization but a wealthy, non-profit homeowners group, and they want to turn our Veterans property into their own community amusement park and entertainment center.

Mr. Secretary, it’s become quite obvious that you, like your predecessors, are answering to the "wants" of this pushy and self-serving homeowners group and not to the "needs" of America’s Veterans whom you were appointed to serve.

You have completely ignored our respectful requests that your Department honor the 1887 Act of Congress that directed the construction and permanent maintenance of a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

Section 2) of the Congressional Act specifically states: "That all honorably discharged soldiers and sailors who served in the regular and volunteer forces of the United States, and who are disabled by disease, wounds, or otherwise, and who have no adequate means of support, and by reason of such disability are incapable of earning their living, shall be entitled to be admitted to said home for disabled volunteer soldiers …"

On March 3, 1888, John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker patriotically responded to this Congressional directive and benevolently deeded more than 300 acres of desirable and advantageous land in accordance with the Congressional Act.

Moreover, the Deed of 1888 states no less than six times that this sacred land is being entrusted to the United States Government on behalf of America’s Veterans "to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers."

For over a century, every generation of grateful Americans honored this Deed and it’s moral promise to provide America’s Veterans with a National Home of quietude to heal from war.

However, over recent years this sacred land has been pillaged, plundered and given away at the painful expense of America’s Veterans.

As a result of the VA’s negligence and refusal to honor the 1887 Congressional Act and the Deed of 1888, there are more than 20,000 "homeless" Veterans living on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles, even though this is their rightful "Home."

For the past 73 consecutive Sundays, loyal Veterans in their 80s, 70s, and 60s (some in wheelchairs) from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars, have held peaceful and non-violent demonstrations opposing the public park and other leases that blatantly abuse and misuse Veterans property.

In absolute defiance and opposition to this responsible protest, your Department has shamelessly stalked us, spied upon us, lied to us, intimidated, challenged, threatened, insulted and persecuted us, and we have done absolutely nothing wrong.

To the contrary, we have been legally exercising our First Amendment Right to peacefully assemble and protest against our government for violating the Congressional Act of 1887 and the Deed of 1888.

Because you have refused to acknowledge our requests to rescind the public park agreement, we hung the American Flag upside down in a "Distress" mode, in accordance with the U.S. Flag Code, Title 36, U.S.C., Chapter 10, as amended by P. L. 344, 94th Congress, approved July 7, 1976, and under 176, (a) "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

Make no mistake Mr. Secretary; our Veterans property is in extreme danger and the lives of Veteran patients are in extreme danger because this property and their healthcare facilities have been diminished and seriously deteriorated because of the abuse and misuse by the very people who are entrusted to protect it.

In addition, our fellow Veterans at the Sunday Rallies now have their own lives endangered because of the ill-advised thugs who have verbally assaulted us and challenged us to physically fight. We have refused to lower ourselves to this despicable and violent conduct and remain non-violent demonstrators.

As fellow Veterans and American Citizens, we are simply exercising our First Amendment Right to assemble and protest, and to hang the American Flag upside down in accordance with the U.S. Flag Code. Lest the Department of Veterans Affairs has forgotten, it is the Veterans who have defended the United States Constitution and the American Flag.

Mr. Secretary, your Department’s bureaucratic attack dogs and VA police have denied America’s Veterans the Constitutional Rights that they have defended for all others. This is reprehensible!

You have been informed repeatedly of these despicable violations against these elderly and honorable Veterans. Instead of rectifying these intrusive and flagrant violations by the West Los Angeles VA, it has dramatically increased and expanded during your brief watch as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

If all of these transgressions were not disgusting enough, I recently received a "United States District Court Notice" via U.S. Certified Mail from the Department of Veterans Affairs in West Los Angeles.

The notice contained a citation issued by VA police "officer Dougherty," badge #2576.

This federal citation states that the "The Offense" was for the "unauthorized demonstration or service in a national cemetery or on other VA property."  It further states that the "Place of Offense" supposedly occurred at "11301 Wilshire Blvd (Fence)"

The fine is $15 and the processing fee is $25. The cost of the Certified letter was $5.40, yet the VA police could have cited me at the purported "Place of Offense."

I do not need to expound upon the absurdity of all this, but the VA police acting under the orders of your Departmental bureaucrats have taken "stupidly" to a whole new level. The real tragedy is that they are getting paid by American citizens to intimidate and violate the rights of elderly Veterans who served to defend our nation’s freedom and safety.

These buffoonish bureaucrats squandered Veterans healthcare money by ordering a U.S. Government surveillance van to spy on innocent Veterans who are simply trying to protect their own land.

And these same buffoons gave $1 million of Veterans sorely needed healthcare money to the self-serving homeowner group so they could build a pretentious wrought iron fence to "beautify" the entryway into Brentwood.

Here is the link to the youtube video about why we faithfully demonstrate against your own Department’s buffoonish bureaucrats: www.veteranslandgrab.us

When you scroll down to DO NOT DISPLAY YOUR FLAG (Correspondence with the VA), you will see the proper response to Ms. Lynn Carrie, associate director of the West LA VA and her wrongful challenge to our hanging our Flags and Banners on the VA fence.

Within that correspondence is a photo of the 200 foot long green banner (the color of Islamic – Muslim religion) that hung on the fence of the Los Angeles National Veterans Cemetery. Mr. Secretary, you and your VA bureaucrats didn’t do squat, even though VA bureaucrat Ralph Tillman purported in an e-mail that the surveillance van within 100 feet of where we Rally was actually hired to monitor these Iranian protesters a half-mile away.

Even worse, attached is a photo of the crime that I’ve been charged with by the VA police and your Department of Veterans Affairs, which is:  a) hanging the American Flag in a "Distress" mode, b) hanging the POW / MIA Flag, and c) hanging the Purple Heart banner, on the VA fence.   

Here is also the link to an article that outlines the abuse toward Veteran protesters and the special privileges granted to the Iranian protesters. "Veteran Protesters Treated Like Criminals While Iranian Protesters Treated With Privilege!"
https://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7980

It is simply disgraceful (and stupid) for the Department of Veterans Affairs to cite me for hanging the American Flag, POW / MIA Flag and the Purple Heart banner in defense of our sacred property, yet you allow non-Veterans to irreverently hang a religious symbol where 85,000 American heroes are buried, including 14 recipients of the Medal of Honor.

In addition to respectfully requesting that you rescind the public park agreement on behalf of America’s Veterans, I have also respectfully requested the resignation of the following VA bureaucrats or for you to terminate their employment at the VA Greater West Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA GWLAHS):

•      Ronald Norby, Director of the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network (Long Beach) 
•      Donna Beiter, Executive Director, VA GWLAHS
•      Lynn Carrier, Associate Director, VA GWLAHS
•      Ralph Tillman, Director of Asset Management and the Chief of Public Affairs, VA GWLAHS
•      Jenelle Happy, Freedom of Information Officer, VA GWLAHS
•      Captain Ronald Mathis, Chief of Police and Security, VA GWLAHS

Instead of doing the right thing and terminating at least one of these incompetent government employees, you have actually given all of them more bureaucratic power and authority to work against us and to violate our Constitutional Rights.

Mr. Secretary, maybe it’s time for you to resign.

IT IS LEGAL for Iranian protesters to hang a 200 foot green banner (the color of Islamic – Muslim religion) on the fence of the Los Angeles National Cemetery where 85,000 American Veterans are buried.

IT IS ILLEGAL for America’s Veterans to hang the American Flag in a "Distress" mode on the VA fence when their property is endangered, along with the POW / MIA Flag and the Purple Heart banner.

IT IS ILLEGAL for America’s Veterans to hang a banner on the VA fence that says "We Support Our Troops." Steve Palmer, an 86-year old World War II Veteran in his mobile wheelchair is interrogated and harassed by two armed federal VA police officers outside the largest VA in the nation during a Sunday Rally to "Save Our Veterans Home."  The banner seen between the two police officers is hanging on the Veterans fence and it says "We Support Our Troops" along with the five seals of the branches of our Armed Forces.  Veterans were told to remove the banner and I was threatened with arrest for taking this photo. 

About the Author: Rosebrock is a U.S. Army Veteran, Vietnam War-era, HQ USARHAW, Schofield Barracks. He is Director of The Veterans Revolution and Co-Director of We the Veterans, and a Member of the American Legion Press Association. [email protected]

Robert Rosebrock

U.S. Army, 1965-67, Schofield Barracks, Hqs., U.S Army, Hawaii. Director, The Veterans Revolution, Captain, the Old Veterans Guard, and Director, We the Veterans.