Trump cuts Homeless Vets Funding!!! Where are the "real" Americans?

Well, this is a not-so-new wrinkle for Republicans; the abandonment of veteran support for the sacrifice they made to their country, in particular, vet homelessness. 

The car magnet myth pushed by Republicans for military families votes has now been exposed as a complete and cruel lie...but will they notice? Probably not:

WISN: A letter from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs released Friday announced that federal funding for Cottage 16, which houses 28 homeless veterans in Union Grove, has been eliminated and that it will close in 2018.

"As part of an ongoing evolution of federal housing programs, federal funding has been eliminated for our Veteran Housing and Recovery Programs (VHRPs) at King and Union Grove," the letter reads. "

Veteran Kelly Manderfield completed three tours Iraq with the Wisconsin Army National Guard. He's coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and has been living at Cottage 16 for the past three months. He said he's working to get back on his feet and Cottage 16 is helping him do just that. 

"It’s kind of devastating because there is talk about ending homelessness for vets and now they are closing down these programs. I don't know beyond Wisconsin how far the cuts are going but it's not good."

President Obama desperately tried to support new housing and health alternatives for homeless veterans, but now it looks like Trump cut that too:

Prevent and End Chronic Homelessness in 2017: President Obama’s 2016 Budget demonstrates his deep commitment to ending homelessness. The Budget makes investments needed to end chronic homelessness in 2017, make significant progress toward ending homelessness among families, children and youth in 2020,

The Budget calls for the investments needed to end chronic homelessness in 2017. As part of an overall investment of $2.5 billion in HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Programs, the Budget calls for the resources to create 25,500 new units of permanent supportive housing—the proven, cost-effective solution to chronic homelessness. Shortfalls in the most recent budget passed by Congress have forced us to move the national goal to end chronic homelessness from 2015 to 2017.

Veterans Home in King quality Rating Drops Again, thank you Scott Walker.

Remember my look at Scott Walker's miserable record on veterans in a Dec. 1st blog post:

The military voted 2 to 1 for Trump. Odder still is the support Trump and Republicans get from veterans ... And don't forget Scott Walker’s deplorable history of screwing veterans. It’s mind boggling.

 The list of horror stories is a long one, as you can see here.

As I was clearing out a whole bunch of unedited video clips, I ran across this story from WKOW, November 29 on the veterans home in King, Wisconsin:



Now, apparently again, King received another downgrade. But don't worry, this is all just a political hit job, according to the once fired Veterans Secretary John Scocos:

WSJ: Federal quality ratings of the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and the Veterans Home at Union Grove have dropped again, prompting one Republican state lawmaker to call for the veterans agency to “totally clean house.” 

The ratings changes come after annual inspections and complaint investigations were conducted there in September. The agency uses a five-star ratings system to score nursing homes and rank health care, staffing and quality of life for its residents. 

Olson Hall, one of four nursing home halls on King's campus, is now rated two stars out of five overall … MacArthur Hall, also on King's campus, was previously given five stars both overall and for its health care ratings, dropped to four stars in both categories; residents being given the wrong medication, incorrect dosages or never receiving needed medicine … Boland Hall, the residence hall at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove, dropped from four stars to three stars in its overall rating, and from three stars to two stars for a "below average" rating for health quality.  

As I mentioned, Sec. Scocose denies everything, as is typical in our now "post-fact" world. First a little Scocos history:

Nearly two years after John Scocos, a Republican and U.S. Army Reserve colonel was

fired as state veterans secretary, Gov. Scott Walker has reappointed him to his old job. He demonstrated no ability to administer, manage or lead. DAV received reports that he did not coordinate the activities of his department managers in a positive manner, but instead his poor management style pitted them against one another. Scocos wasted valuable time attacking perceived enemies. Some DAV officials, when making suggestions to better the lives of veterans, felt his wrath instead of his gratitude.

Nothing to see here, in our Post-Fact World: Today's news isn't good. But who are you going to believe....

WDVA Sec. John Scocos, who announced his resignation last month, has dismissed concerns about the home's quality and staffing levels. He has said that news reports about issues there are politically motivated and inaccurate. 

Scocos has maintained that the home offers the highest quality of care available for the state's aging and sick veterans. 

"We are still the very best in the country ... we are pretty solid on what we believe is the care for our veterans.”

Nothing to see here, in our Post-Fact World Part 2: Walker's failure...isn't a failure at all: 

Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates the nursing homes, have consistently touted the King home's CMS ratings, which have historically been above average. Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said in an email.

"Governor Walker's top concern is the care of our veterans. The governor has made significant investments to help the department improve staffing and operations of the homes," 

Ryan rescues Walker's VA mismanaged with Big Government Bureaucracy out of Washington.

Thanks to Scott Walker's decision to rehire the former FIRED State VA Secretary John Scocos, the veterans system statewide has suffered immeasurably. See my story here:

Nearly two years after John Scocos, a Republican and U.S. Army Reserve colonel was fired as state veterans secretary, Gov. Scott Walker has reappointed him to his old job. Scocos took an organization that performed admirably under his predecessor, Secretary Ray Boland, and planted the seeds of dysfunction and acrimony. He demonstrated no ability to administer, manage or lead.  DAV received reports that he did not coordinate the activities of his department managers in a positive manner, but instead his poor management style pitted them against one another. Scocos wasted valuable time attacking perceived enemies.  Some DAV officials, when making suggestions to better the lives of veterans, felt his wrath instead of his gratitude.

Paul Ryan to Scott Walker's Rescue: Unlike Walker's mismanagement of the states juvenile detention system and our crumbling highways, Paul Ryan can rescue Walker from his horrific treatment of veterans, with burdensome big government one size fits all Washington bureaucracy.

Suddenly, Walker no longer has to be accountable locally for managing his own states veterans secretary, who was so bad he was fired the first time. From WPR's Central Time (audio):

  

Ryan: "They cannot have the kind of discipline and management restructuring that is necessary to get this place whipped into shape. That is why we think we need to have more wholesale reform at the Veterans Administration so they can really actually hold people accountable...changing the law so we can fire people who need to be fired." 

Oh, like the once fired State Veteran's Secretary John Scocos who just resigned?

Walker's record on Veterans Deplorable, but still gets their vote.

The military voted 2 to 1 for Trump. Odder still is the support Trump and Republicans get from veterans, despite Trump's consideration of a guy who’s trying to abolish the VA. And don't forget Scott Walker’s deplorable history of screwing veterans. It’s mind boggling.

As County Executive, Scott Walker created “Operation Freedom,” to exploit veterans so fellow Republicans/media talk show hosts could speak and look patriotic. Anti-war veterans were not invited. In a shocking revelation by County Board member John Weishan, it got so bad vendors were being shaken down during Walker's 2006 bid for governor. That led to this...

Tim Russell, a longtime Walker campaign and county staffer, was charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement … tied to Operation Freedom, an annual military appreciation day held at the zoo. Kevin Kavanaugh, Walker's appointee to the Milwaukee County Veteran Service Commission, was charged with five felonies for theft and fraudulent writings by a corporate officer. He was the treasurer of the Milwaukee Purple Heart chapter at the time of the dispute over the (missing) $11,000 for Operation Freedom.

Veteran support of Republicans continued, even after Walker (like George W. Bush) decided not to promote veteran services to save money.  

More than 25 current and former King employees, residents and family members say residents are not receiving adequate care at King, even as the state brings in millions more each year, transferring the surplus money elsewhere.

And Walker continues to mismanaged the state VA, with this unexplained rehire:

Nearly two years after John Scocos, a Republican and U.S. Army Reserve colonel was fired as state veterans secretary, Gov. Scott Walker has reappointed him to his old job.

Yes, Scocos was fired, but Walker didn’t care about that, or how his record:

Scocos took an organization that performed admirably under his predecessor, Secretary Ray Boland, and planted the seeds of dysfunction and acrimony. He demonstrated no ability to administer, manage or lead.  DAV received reports that he did not coordinate the activities of his department managers in a positive manner, but instead his poor management style pitted them against one another. Scocos wasted valuable time attacking perceived enemies.  Some DAV officials, when making suggestions to better the lives of veterans, felt his wrath instead of his gratitude.

Outrageous stories about substandard VA care and neglected veterans homes isn't enough to change the minds of military families and veterans who love Walker the Republican politicians using them. 

According to one vet, “someone in the audience asked Scocos who talked to a reporter about concerns at King, he said the agency would “eventually find out who did it. They are going to find excuses and innocent people are going to get hurt or fired.” Secretary John Scocos, announced his resignation earlier this month.

(July 12, 2016) Wisconsin continues partnership with Veterans Assistance Foundation, ranked one of worst in nation (Oct 26, 2016) The federal VA Medical Center in Tomah has terminated its lease agreement with the nonprofit that runs a homeless shelter there after a veteran was found dead in one of its dorms.

State human resources manager files federal discrimination complaint against Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs she was potentially discriminated against because of her Native American race, her gender, her age and her efforts to oppose alleged discrimination at the agency against others. She said she was told by a manager that the candidate who got the job “because he was a veteran and expressed in the job interview that he had a ‘passion for veterans.’" She had received a work review in April saying she “exceeds expectations” in both the HR director and manager roles.

Veteran's at King fooled again...when WDVA's Scocos got his job back, thanks to Scott Walker.

Scott Walker isn't about to come to the rescue, or be rightly critical of the veterans home in King, since he intentionally hired the guy who mismanaged the department the first time around out of political spite.

In a shocking display of outright denial, missed irony, and out of control projection, Republican Sec. of Veterans Affairs John Scocos defended his mismanagement of the Veterans Home at King. Let's count the excuses down:

King water okay for Vets, safe to drink.

1. “Cherry picked photographs from a small number of disgruntled individuals and politicians do not tell an accurate story,” wrote Scocos. “WDVA's accomplishments are incontrovertible.”

2. “Over the past several months the Veterans Home at King has been the target of increasing political attacks,”

3. “It is a terrible shame and a reflection of the state of our state politics that some individuals are using our cherished Heroes as political weapons,”

4. Scocos visited the King home, holding a meeting with employees, veterans service groups and some residents … Jim Partridge, 82, a Marine Corps veteran (said) “The people who should have been there didn’t know about it … said that when someone in the audience asked Scocos who talked to a reporter about concerns at King, he said the agency would “eventually find out who did it.” “They are going to find excuses and innocent people are going to get hurt or fired,” he said. Partridge said many residents at King are scared to come forward and voice concerns about their lives there.

The fact that Scocos is high on retribution and playing the blame game, because nothing is ever his fault, Scott Walker saw Scocos as a kindred spirit. So Walker hired Scocos back after he got tossed out in 2009:

Click to enlarge violation of Lead law

Nearly two years after John Scocos, a Republican and U.S. Army Reserve colonel was fired as state veterans secretary, Gov. Scott Walker has reappointed him to his old job.

Let's look at why Scocos was fired back in November of 2009, and why hiring him back was an in your face political decision by Walker; Scocos' management style is amazingly similar to Walker's according to Disabled American Veterans, who laid it out in a press release: 

1. “former Secretary Scocos is an extremely polarizing figure who raises extreme passion in the veterans community.  He is not a unifying force, but a disruptive one with a profound number of enemies.

2. Former Secretary Scocos had 11 years to organize WDVA into a smoothly running professional agency.  Instead he went the other way. He took an organization that performed admirably under his predecessor, Secretary Ray Boland, and planted the seeds of dysfunction and acrimony.

3. He demonstrated no ability to administer, manage or lead.  DAV received reports that he did not coordinate the activities of his department managers in a positive manner, but instead his poor management style pitted them against one another.

4. Scocos wasted valuable time attacking perceived enemies.  Some DAV officials, when making suggestions to better the lives of veterans, felt his wrath instead of his gratitude.