Veteran Victims of Ron Johnson

By Jeff Simpson


Ron Johnson has more than earned his reputation of "Our Dumb Senator".   He is at it again.

Ron Johnson spends most of his time  trying to find "victims of Government", to prove that the Government does not work.   RoJo can take the rest of the day off, because I found some victims of Government - our military.   The problem though is they are victims of Ron Johnson especially.  

We all know what a mess that the VA health care has been in our country.   With things finally coming to a head, Congress stepped up in a rare bit of bipartisanship to try and fix the problem.    Senator McCain and Senator Sanders worked together(talk about two sides of the aisle) and came up with a compromise that appealed to 97 Senators, which is almost unheard of these days.  

A fabulous no-prize if you can guess who was one of the "NO" votes!

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was one of only three senators who voted against a bill that would make it easier for veterans to receive government-subsidized medical care outside the Veterans Affairs medical system if the VA cannot provide timely service.

The bill, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,would allow veterans who live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA medical center or who cannot get an appointment quickly at their local VA facility to use a Veterans Choice Card to receive care from the Medicare provider of their choice.

The bill also grants the VA expedited authority to spend $500 million to hire more doctors and nurses to meet the growing demand for services. It also gives the Veterans Affairs secretary the power to immediately fire poor-performing employees.

“What our veterans deserve is to be able to get into the system in a timely manner and get quality care,” Sanders said. “What this legislation does is move us forward strongly in that direction.”

McCain said the bill empowers veterans with more flexibility to choose their health care while bringing more accountability to the scandal-plagued VA

None of that appealed to Senator Ron Johnson (R- marry rich), and he voted NO!  He however loves our veterans, at least an intern who updates his facebook page thinks he does:

Senator Ron Johnson

May 26

As most of us take a day off from our workday routines, may we all pause to remember that the ordinary, peaceful life of our country is a gift bought by the men and women of America’s armed forces who laid down their lives in defense of the nation. We can never fully repay our debt to the more than 1 million service members who died to defend this incredible experiment in liberty that is America. But on Memorial Day, we can remember their sacrifice and commit ourselves to understanding and supporting the freedom they gave us. -rj

"We can never full repay our debt" so why even try.   He loves our veterans as long as they do not need a doctor

How soon can we vote this guy out of office again? And who the hell voted for him in the first place?  

You should be ashamed!  




  

Meet the Real John Scocos

As is his wont, every Friday Scott Walker sends out an electronic newsletter with that week's propaganda. And is the wont of a good friend of mine, they send it to me each week since I apparently on their blocked list. And as is my wont, I correct Walker on his misleading statements.

This past Friday was no different.

During the last few weeks, Walker has been "introducing" his cabinet members, even though he and they have been there for two years already. Nothing like that old Walker efficiency, eh?

Anyway, this week's cabinet member was John Scocos, Walker's appointee as Secretary of Veterans Affairs:

As Governor, one of the most important tasks I have is to appoint and communicate with leaders in each state agency. These leaders, called secretaries, ensure agencies run smoothly and efficiently as they operate state government and implement government reforms. For a few weeks, in lieu of the “Just Ask the Governor” section, I will be highlighting a cabinet secretary and providing a brief overview of the department he or she oversees. I hope these updates will provide you with practical information about state government operations, especially as we head into the next budget cycle.

Last year, I appointed John Scocos as the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA). As the Secretary, he is the chief advocate for the more than 407,000 veterans who call Wisconsin home. He is responsible for the leadership and management of the department, which includes overseeing the Veterans Trust Fund, administering a number of important veterans’ programs, and providing resources to veterans returning home.

John has a long and distinguished record of service to his state and country. He served in a number of capacities at WDVA in the past and as the Chief Clerk and Sergeant at Arms of the Wisconsin State Assembly. John began his 31 years of military service as an Armor Officer. He was on active duty from 1981 to 1990, after which he joined the United States Army Reserve. He was mobilized in both 2007 and 2008 for service in Iraq.

What Walker doesn't inform the people is that his appointee had this job once before and was so poor that he actually got fired by his own board.

Now that he was forced back upon them, several board members, distinguished officers of our military, has resigned rather than be part of Scocos' corruption and incompetence.

And yes, as blue cheddar reports, Scocos is still not good for our veterans, who deserve so much more than the poor treatment they are getting.

And to get a full flavor of what the veterans think of Scocos, as well as Walker, Becky Kleefisch and the rest of Walker's administration, you need to check out Radio Free Wisconsin.  They don't hold back any punches there.

Walker Again Uses Veterans As Political Props

It was recently reported that Scott Walker was kicking off something that he dubbed "Year of the Veteran":

"To me it is absolutely unacceptable to think that any man or woman who serves our country, who is deployed in places like Iraq or Afghanistan in particular as of late, would come back to our state and our communities and not be able to find work," Walker said as he greeted dozens of local veterans at the American Legion Post 449 in Brookfield.

As part of the "Year of the Veteran," which falls on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, state agencies like the Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs will organize job fairs and recognition events. The Year of the Veteran website provides resources for education, training, licensing and job searching.

"Not only is it a moral imperative for employers to consider our veterans; we think it’s an economic benefit," Walker said. "We’re trying to make the connection to our employers in the state, these are exactly the kind of men and women you want working for your company."

A Walker apologist or a person who doesn't follow the news very closely might see this story and think that it shows Walker is such a nice man and a good leader.

A skeptic or cynic might think he is trying to curry favor with the veterans as he is facing a losing battle in his inevitable recall.

The rest of us know better. With Walker, there is always more to the story.

Sure enough, read down to the bottom of the article, and you catch the "something else" (emphasis mine):

As the first official step for the Year of the Veteran initiative, Walker signed into law Senate Bill 413 Wednesday, which he said codifies parts of the federal HEART Act into law.

Walker wasn't doing this because he's such a nice guy. He did it because it was federal law.

Oh, don't be surprised. It's not like this is the first time he's tried taking credit for following directives from the federal government.

It's also not the first time that he's used veterans as political props. He did that for years with "Operation Freedom" while he was Milwaukee County Executive. "Operation Freedom" was a front for Walker to use taxpayer dollars and private donations to supposedly honor veterans. But in reality, it was just another self-serving political stunt. And to make things even worse, Walker was the one who personally transferred control of the event's funding to his BFF and top political crony, Tim Russell. Russell, as you well know, is the slug who stole money from the event to help Walker's campaign as well as for personal use, such as vacations.

If you really want to know the level of disregard that Walker holds for veterans, look at what he's done to the Veterans Affair Board. Even after the guy got fired for his secretiveness, wasting money and ripping off veterans, Walker re-appointed crony John Scocos back as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Since then, no less than three honorable men, all of them distinguished veterans, have resigned in protest of Walker appointing Scocos to a job he clearly shouldn't be in.

The fact that Walker would so cynically use veterans in such a political matter shows that he will stoop to any level to try to keep control.  Well, almost any level.  The one thing that he won't do is the right thing, at least without being forced into it.

Scott Walker Disrespects Veterans, Tax Payers Alike

Two years ago, the state Veterans Affair Board unanimously voted to fire then Secretary John Scocos.  Among the violations listed was his poor communication skills, misspending money without board approval (he bought a $850,000 fire truck for the King Veterans Center which couldn't even handle a fire in all of the center's buildings), and arbitrarily raising rates for the veterans without notifying the board.

Scocos immediately cried foul and said his job was protected because he came back a few months before.  The problem with his argument is that he had his job back as soon as he returned.  The problem is that as soon he resumed his position, Scocos continued to act inappropriately despite warnings from the board.

So he got fired.

Two years later, along comes the corrupt Scott Walker who first had the Fitzgerald boys take the board's autonomy away and gave control of it to Walker.  Walker then reappointed Scocos, who was already a state employee, to the secretary position, despite the fact that Scocos still had a $500,000 lawsuit against the state and the Board and despite the fact that Scocos already proved himself incapable of effectively filling that slot.

Predictably, this is having ramifications and the Veterans Affair Board is losing good members who were diligent in their service to their fellow veterans and to the tax payers.

A week after the appointment, the board's vice-chairman, Peter Moran, resigned from his position out of protest of the Scocos appointment.

Today, we learn another member of the board, Anthony Hardie, who was a long-time executive assistant to Scocos, has resigned in protest to Scocos' appointment.

Hardie's reasons, in his own words, are very telling:

Given my deep belief in the need for open, transparent, accountable, and responsive government perhaps demonstrated by these few examples, it should therefore come as no surprise that I find highly concerning the recent behind the scenes actions of Mr. Scocos and his surrogates in cajoling, then harassing, then threatening state leaders of the nation’s largest disabled veterans service organization, all related to his intense ambition to be restored to the WDVA Secretary position -- at least some of which appears to have included the use of government employees, time, travel, and resources. A tip-off of these troubling non-public issues was touched on in a recent press account. Furthermore, the use of precious public resources in the personal pursuit of perceived opponents, opposition, and so-called “troublemakers,” should also be of public concern to those of us who still believe in basic American principles -- and that in a democracy, the process of getting to an outcome matters just as much as the outcome itself. The coercion and threats didn’t end after his nomination, but have continued through as late as a few days ago.

I do not currently have the strength to fight against all of this, nor do I wish to pull my beloved Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization into Mr. Scocos’ very sad personal vendetta. All of us have better things to do with our lives, which I know all too well having serious health issues.

Well, at least we now know that Walker did not reappoint Scocos because of his leadership skills, his morals or diligence to duty, because he has none.

Instead, Walker appointed him because he found his soul brother in Scocos, sharing the traits of corruption, bullying and ineptitude.

The veterans and the tax payers deserve so much better than either of these buffoons.