– Untold Casualties in the VA’s Drug War in Los Angeles County—site of more homeless Veterans than any other county in the nation –
By Robert L. Rosebrock, Staff Writer
War is Hell! Whether America’s military men and women are fighting a war or trying to heal from fighting a war, it’s always hell because the war never ends.
When our military Troops go to war, they serve under the Department of Defense as highly trained professional warriors who are equipped with the finest defense weapons in the world to defeat the toughest enemies in the world.
After returning from war, they are to be served by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) with the finest healthcare facilities in the world. But instead of healing from war, America’s military Veterans are fighting some of life’s toughest battles, day-by-day, just to survive in the country they defended.
Unfortunately, these battles are not fought as a collective and supportive military unit, but as a lonely Veteran against the fatted bureaucrats of the DVA, the largest bureaucracy in federal government.
To make matters worse, Veterans are not trained to fight personal “David vs. Goliath” wars with our own government, and they have no weapons of defense in these endless and tiring battles.
As time goes on, their warrior and survivor skills diminsh and their outlook becomes bleak as their opponent just gets bigger and more powerful. Tragically, every year more than 6,500 Veterans voluntarily surrender their lives; victims of bureaucratic battle fatigue.
Their solace is found in Plato’s prophetic assertion more than 2,500 years ago: “Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
Hell is in the Mind of the Beholder
For those Veterans who battle on, many are homeless and Disabled, either physically or mentally, including both.
The mentally wounded are diagnosed by the DVA as suffering from military “Post Trauma Stress Disorder” (PTSD), which is psychological trauma from experiencing the horrendous carnage and devastation of war.
The DVA refers to PTSD as an “invisible” wound.
Invisible? Would anyone who has been spared the bloodshed of a war zone care to journey inside the innocent minds of these brave men and women and “see” for one second the torturous and painful hell they see 24/7 from defending our freedom? Didn’t think so!
Whereabouts Unknown
The acronym MIA stands for “Missing In Action.” It is a status assigned to United States military personnel who are reported missing during active duty service.
While it’s a terrifying thought that any of our men and women in the military would remain missing while faithfully serving our country, there’s another classification of MIA’s that is equally terrifying and it’s respectfully called Veterans “Missing In Action.” They represent more than 200,000 Veterans whose whereabouts are unknown as they are “Missing In America,” and remain on inactive duty as productive citizens within our society.
Evil Empire
Veterans who have become homeless in their lonely battles of survival are essentially missing within the very nation they pledged their lives to defend on behalf of all others. Unfortunately, the “all others,” are not stepping forward to defend America’s Disabled and homeless Veterans against the against the DVA’s evil empire, a Totalitarian regime that is hell-bent on systematically eliminating them from society.
Day-after-day, an average of 18 Veterans commit suicide and many more mysteriously die from an “accidental” drug overdose from medications prescribed the DVA.
Fellow Americans, this is a call to action to join the Veterans Revolution and become Citizen Soldiers. The time has come to unify and step forward to defend our nations’ Disabled and homeless Veterans from genocide.
We have found the enemy … and it is the DVA.
The Old Way
During the 20thCentury, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VA GLAHS) had “mood disorder units” to treat the mentally wounded. These units were in Building 209 that has been vacant for more than 20 years.
Mood disorder units were used for sheltering and treating combat Veterans with “shell shock” and other psychological trauma that resulted from battlefield fatigue while fighting in devistating war zones.
The standard prescription for war Veterans at Building 209 with presumed mood disorder was isolated imprisonment in very small empty rooms with mattress-padded walls.
This so-called “medical treatment” took place on American soil by our own government. It was not much different from enemy POW camps under the authoratarian governments we were at war with on foreign soil.
Out With The Old … In With The New!
Today, the VA GLAHS is more contemporary and compassionate. Instead of providing isolated mattress-padded shelter for war Veterans who suffer from military PTSD, the VA simply prescribes a multitude of “mood-altering” drugs and sends our Disabled Veterans back into another battlefield to engage an ungrateful society.
In brief, the VA bureaucrats have modernized the VA GLAHS with a 21st Century style of National Veterans Homes.
As a result, the DVA now saves billions of dollars with a modern version of “mood disorder units” by treating tens of thousands of Disabled Military Veterans simultaneously all across America.
The VA’s “New” National Home for Disabled Veterans
George Billingslea [at left] is a Disabled Marine Combat Veteran of the Vietnam War who lives in the VA’s “new” National Home for Disabled Veterans, which is an open-air residence situated in a depressing back alley in upscale West Los Angeles. George lives in this privileged opulence “rent free.”
To help George battle his Disabilities from the Vietnam War, the VA GLAHS has given him nearly 20 different prescribed drugs to treat PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety, depression, nightmares, sleep-deprivation, pain, heart condition, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, allergy, etc.
George lives alone, homeless and hungry, in this back alley less than one block from the National Veterans Home that was deeded 122 years ago “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.”
George belongs safely sheltered and properly cared for at the Veterans Home, instead of trying to survive alone in a depressing back alley with an over-abundance of mood altering drugs.
The VA’s new alternative to a mattress-padded “mood disorder room”
These are only a few of the VA-prescribed “mood disorder” drugs for George.
And we wonder why 6,500 Veterans commit suicide each year and why so many others mysteriously die from an “accidental” overdose of drugs.
Stop the Insanity!
We know how inhumane our government was toward Veterans in the 20thcentury in treating so-called mood disorder, yet today the endless distribution of mood-altering drugs causes mental and bodily harm, including accidental overdose and suicide.
What person in their “right mind” would allow George to roam the streets of Los Angeles … homeless and hungry … living in back-alley squalor … with a diet of nearly 20 different prescribed medications that include mood-altering drugs?
Among the multitude of these mood-altering drugs that the VA has prescribed for George is “Ziprasidone” to treat schizophrenia, and the instructions direct him to take this medication on a “full stomach.” The man is homeless and hungry, how can he possibly take this medication in a timely fashion along with all the others and not have serious side effects, if not fatal results?
On his medication sheet, there’s an 800 number for a “National Suicide Hot-Line,” just in case George considers ending his misery. George has no cell phone, and phone booths are virtually nonexistent in West Los Angeles!
By comparison, George is the only person of sound mind in this abhorrent chronicle.
On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5 declares: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Henry Waxman’s Misdirected Power
George’s “home” is in the 30th Congressional District, which is Henry Waxman’s West Los Angeles District.
Congressman Waxman is a very powerful and busy politician investigating all sorts of things and people across America, including various nations around the world. He has also investigated Major League Baseball players about using steroids to enhance their athletic performance.
Yet with all his Congressional power, few people actually know that Mr. Waxman is also the elected public servant to oversee the VA GLAHS, which is the largest VA in the nation with more than one million Veterans living within 50 miles. In the September-2010 issue of the “Strawberry Gazette,” which has a thorough and comprehensive coverage about homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County, Congressman Waxman declared:
“The 30th Congressional District includes the West L.A. VA, which is the largest VA facility in the nation, and it is located in Los Angeles County, which has more homeless Veterans than any other county in the nation.”
So there you have it, the most powerful man in Congress confirms that the largest VA / National Veterans Home in the nation is under his stewardship, and Los Angeles County has the largest homeless Veteran population in the nation.
The foregoing facts notwithstanding, Congressman Waxman has never seriously investigated the blatant lack of temporary shelter and permanent resident halls at the National Veterans Home, or the abuse and mistreatment of America’s Veterans who are homeless, over-drugged, and on the verge of accidental drug overdose or suicide.
Equally concerning, Congressman Waxman has never seriously investigated the drug-overdose and suicides of several Veterans who were patients at the VA GLAHS.
“The WBI — the Waxman Bureau of Investigation, a.k.a. the self-appointed Inspector General of the World.”
Oh sure, he’s sent the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a letter here and there saying he is “concerned” about the aforementioned. But, he’s never held a full-blown investigation, even though it is his fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the largest Veterans Home in the nation provides shelter and healthcare for Veterans who are in need. There is an 1887 Act of Congress and a Grant Deed of 1888 that mandates it, but Henry is too busy with more important matters than to abide by a Congressional law and honor a legal deed that protects and serves our Veterans.
Inspector General of the World
On July 17, 2006, The Los Angeles Times featured an article about Congressman Waxman titled, “For Better or Worse, He’s on It.”
In her article, Faye Fiore proclaimed, “He’s the general of an army of investigators who churn out unsparing reports.” She then refers to this unparalleled investigative staff as:
If Congressman Waxman has that much investigative power, then why hasn’t he held major investigations into his own admission that there are more homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County than any other county in the nation, even though Los Angeles has the largest Veterans Home facility in the nation?
Why hasn’t Congressman Waxman held major investigations into the fact there are at least 11 “vacant” buildings at the largest Veterans Home in the nation? Moreover, why are 42 buildings designated as “historic” and essentially ineffectual for their real purpose, i.e., to shelter and care for Disabled and homeless Veterans?
Why does the Congressman endorse a rent-free public park on 16 acres of Veterans sacred land, along with another 12 acres leased to the City of Los Angeles for $1 a year for a public recreation and dog park while thousands of homeless Veterans fend for their safety on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles?
On March 3, 1888, John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker donated 300 acres “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.” Clearly, there should never be a homeless Veteran in Los Angeles County because they already have a “Home,” yet this is now the nation’s capital for homeless Veteran.
As the elected public servant who is responsible for protecting America’s Veterans in Los Angeles County, how could Congressman Waxman possibly allow this to happen on his entrusted watch over the past 36 years?
Investigate the Investigator
The principal questions within the Veterans community are; why has Congressman Waxman not been investigated on his failure to responsibly oversee the largest VA facility in the nation and, why are there more homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County than any other county in the nation under his watch.
Regardless of the nebulous and feeble excuses that will be forthcoming, it is time to investigate the investigator.
Mr. Waxman, who is not a Veteran, has never openly investigated the abuse and misappropriation of Veterans land and facilities at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home, and the subsequent abuse and neglect of homeless Veterans.
It is axiomatic that when there’s a combination of less land, temporary shelter and permanent resident halls at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home, there will be more homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County.
It is also axiomatic that over prescribing mood-altering drugs to homeless Veterans will lead to drug overdoses and suicide, which systematically reduces the Veteran population.
This is not cruel, torturous, degrading and inhuman treatment … this is Veteran genocide!
Fuzzy Math or Veteran Genocide?
On November 9, 2006, Congressman Waxman sent a letter to the former “Citizens For Veterans Rights” organization commending them for holding a celebration at the Los Angeles VA in honor of Veterans Day. The Congressman declared, “We have 18,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles County alone.”
In the September-2010 issue of the “Strawberry Gazette,” Congressman Waxman has declared, “There are more than 6,500 homeless veterans in Los Angeles County.”
This is simply amazing! In less than four years, Congressman Waxman is declaring that the homeless Veteran population in Los Angeles County has been reduced by two-thirds, or nearly 12,000.
Does anybody really believe that 12,000 homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County were miraculously rehabilitated and became renters or homeowners in just four years?
Of course not, but what really happened to 12,000 of our fellow Veterans?
By allowing this phenomenal and inexplicable mystery to continue, Congressman Waxman is essentially aiding and abetting with the VA in this systematic reduction of Disabled and homeless Veterans.
As defenders of America’s freedom and independence, our military Veterans are a national minority group representing less than 10% of the U.S. population. Could there be a secretive and systematic movement afoot to destroy those Veterans who are Disabled and homeless?
Article 2 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, defines genocide as, “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;”
Mean Spirited, Inhuman Treatment, or Veteran Genocide?
On August 11, Congressman Waxman held a Town Hall meeting and was asked what he thought about Arizona’s immigration law SB 1070. He responded that it was “mean spirited,” and the audience booed.
Mr. Congressman, if you think it is mean spirited for a State government to pass a law that protects its citizens and their property from individuals who are not in the United States legally, what would you call a Federal government that takes a billion-dollar parcel of land belonging to Disabled Veterans and gives it to a wealthy homeowner group to build a public park … rent free?
Well, mean spirited would be a compliment. However, when those Disabled Veterans are homeless and hungry, and trying to survive in back-alley squalor on a diet of mood-altering drugs because sacred land at their National Veterans Home was given away instead of building temporary shelter, it would be called cruel, torturous, degrading and inhuman treatment.
Even worse, when those same drug-induced Disabled and homeless Veterans mysteriously disappear in Los Angeles at the rate of 3,000 per year … it is called Veteran genocide.
Let The Investigation Begin
It‘s imperative that the United Nations begins an immediate investigation of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA GLAHS and Congressman Waxman about the following:
- What are the absolute and unconditional facts as to how there was a reduction of 12,000 homeless Veterans in four years in Los Angeles County?
- Why does the VA GLAHS continue to violate the Human Rights of America’s homeless Veterans by inflicting conditions of life that causes serious bodily or mental harm, including suicide?
- Why does the VA GLAHS prescribe multiple mood-altering drugs to Disabled homeless Veterans as treatment, which is cruel, torturous, degrading and inhuman, and often leads to drug overdose and suicide?
- Why does Los Angeles County have more homeless Veterans than any other county in the nation, even though the largest Veterans Home facility in the nation is in Los Angeles County?
- Why does the VA GLAHS have 11 “vacant” buildings and 42 buildings designated as “historic” at the largest National Veterans Home in the nation?
- Why did the VA GLAHS donate $1 million of Veterans healthcare money to help a local homeowner group “beautify” the entryway into their community with a “majestic wrought iron fence,” and homeless Veterans now sleep on the sidewalk along side it … outside the Veterans Home?
- Why does Congressman Waxman endorse a public community park, a public recreation park, a public dog park, a playground for a private school, etc., on Veterans sacred property at the National Veterans Home when thousands of Veterans are homeless?
- What is Congressman Waxman’s immediate plan to shelter the 6,500 homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County before they also meet a mysterious and inexplicable fate?
Join the Veterans Revolution and stop the VA Drug War and Veteran Genocide
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