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Misappropriation of veterans’ property in LA County: Nine separate illegal real estate dealings

VA: From Wax Museum to Muppet Show



Misappropriation of veterans’ property in LA County: Nine separate illegal real estate dealings
During the reign of Henry Waxman, Los Angeles County was given a well deserved, although unenviable title of the veteran homeless capital of the nation. Hundreds of acres of land deeded to veterans in 1888 were to serve as their sanctuary, but instead, some definitely not angelic officials turned the place into a cradle of both the greatest paradox and the most smothered land grabbing scandal in VA’s history.
Eric Shinseki must have been in a hurry to resign from his role as Veteran Affairs Secretary… He apologized for the VA scandal over the no longer secret waiting list, but totally forgot to say “sorry” to homeless veterans deprived of their land, not only on his watch, but with his complicity. A veteran himself, general Shinseki could have at least saluted the memory of elderly and disabled heroes whose last battlefield was back alley squalor in the country they fought for till the end. It must have slipped his mind… “We now know that VA has a systemic, totally unacceptable lack of integrity within some of our veteran’s health facilities” Shinseki discovered, only after the wrongdoing became public knowledge. The soon to be ex- VA Secretary expressed regret that he had been “too trusting of some” but again, did not mention that reports from whistleblowers were falling on VA’s deaf ears. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles County the cat is still in the bag and some oversized rodents are helping themselves to a slice of veterans’ land. If public officials in a town, started leasing property of the town dwellers, and operate bulldozers in their gardens, we would be talking about a very brazen theft, cronyism and organized crime. Are our homeless veterans a special category of citizens, the one for whom “suffered a lot, can suffer more” rule is being applied?

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Or is the land of veterans in LA County bringing deals so lucrative, that they overshadow even the obligation to respect human rights?

Or is the land of veterans in LA County bringing deals so lucrative, that they overshadow even the obligation to respect human rights? On August 29, 2013, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero entered a Federal Judgment against (ex) VA Secretary , Eric K. Shinseki, and his Los Angeles VA executive director (still here!), Donna M. Beiter, for engaging in nine separate illegal real estate dealings. In his ruling, Judge Otero said the VA had abused its discretion by leasing land for purposes "totally divorced from the provision of healthcare." At present ACLU had to file a Temporary Restraining Order, asking for an order to stop the construction of Hollywood amphitheatre on VA property… The newly nominated VA Secretary Robert McDonald echoed Barack Hussain Obama’s avowal, when he promised disciplinary action against the untrustworthy employees; he also stated that retaliation against the whistleblowers wouldn’t be tolerated. Mr. McDonald could find out the hard way that VA just can’t stop its true colors from shining through –whenever he finally finds a moment to punch the clock in LA County. After all, it’s the veteran homeless capital of the country… Or should local VA-ristocrats wait for changes to be forced upon them by the pressure of yet another public scandal? VA desk-jockeys have displayed deeply rooted disdain towards our heroes by depicting them as the cranky “Oscar the Grouch” in a training guide for employees. Since VA’s job is to humbly serve “the muppets”, how should we refer to the department’s leader: Count de Sesame Street or Secretary Miss Piggy? Nowadays the Orwellian VA brings to mind both the Wax museum and a pathetic muppet show for the carefully preserved figures of disgraced officials and their ventriloquist dummies of yes-men. If VA keeps flaunting malevolent creativity on a national scale, in Los Angeles County it has some bonuses to offer: misappropriation of veterans’ property, violation of veteran’s freedom of speech, smear campaigns against the most honorable and the most determined…By the local standards Mr.Secretary, VA would have already labelled you an “abusive sender”: you are a veteran, and you did say that unethical workers should be fired; regionally it is enough. There is, however, one reason that should make LA County proud: proportionally to high rates of cronyism, you’ll find there some of the most outstanding veteran human rights advocates, tenacious whistleblowers and fearless warriors. If you do visit, please start by paying a tribute to veterans who died homeless while VA was leasing their land to the local elite members. You could also thank the “abusive” whistleblowers; it’s them not VA that made sure that fellow veterans have never stood alone. General Shinseki regretted that he listened to “some” you could listen to the others. Will you retreat Mr. Secretary? Or will you advance in another direction?


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Joanna Rosamond -- Bio and Archives

Joanna Rosamond is a Coach for high stress jobs, a consultant on PTSD and burnout. Joanna has 16 years of professional experience. Unconditional support for our soldiers and veterans.


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