We've been constantly traveling, with interviews, trips to the Hill Country,including private meetings, and a San Antonio Labor Mass followed by an AFL-CIO Labor Brunch, with my keynote speech
available as a release in the news section. The San Antonio trip was number 495, followed by Bar-B-Ques and rallies in Sugarland, League City and Clear Lake City this Labor Day weekend. We prepare to leave for for Corpus Christi Tuesday, and then look forward to our 500th campaign trip, which we'll celebrate on Houston
television on Thursday.
As the Labor Day speech explained,
we must institute health care reform, fair treatment of our military personnel and veterans, pay as you go, and other sound measures for economic well being. Our national security is threatened by foolish waste and spending proposals by my opponent, who seeks to "stimulate" the economy by asking people to shop, and increasing our dependence on foreign investment and our debt to countries who hold great potential to harm us. She sees no value in middle class tax relief from the alternate minimum tax, preferring only her friends who have estates valued at ten million or more be given tax cuts. Those people's money, she thinks, would be someone more "stimulating" when spent, than Americans who work spending their minimum wage and middle class dollars.
In the Labor Day speech, I also analyze her dangerous proposals to abandon all hope for American leadership in terroristic breeding grounds where genocidal warfare will haunt us for the rest of recorded history: she turns her back on Sudan.
And, she even turns her back on Iran. Instead she calls for perpetual war in Iraq, and increasing Americans troops in a country we are destabilizng by our presence.
She also threatens the all-volunteer army by deserting our military and veterans, ignoring their basic needs for protection and services.
Here's a letter from a Vietnam Veteran very familiar with the loss of services at the Kerrvile VA facility:
1. The VA hospital in Kerrville, Texas was a 480 bed hospital when I went to work there in 1993, with full medical services. Since that time almost all
of the services have been moved to Audie Murphy VA hospital in San Antonio, Texas. All that is left here is the following;
a.) a 43 bed nursing home (it holds 60-but due to low staffing they can only handle 43)
b.) A laboratory, a dental clinic, the x-ray dept. (well most of it-but understaffed), a podiatry clinic (that violates HIPPA regulations), a mental health clinic, a alzheimers unit, 7 teams that serve 1200 patients and 25 beds.
2. We are in need of the return of almost all of the speciality clinics as this hospital serves almost 20,000 veterans from 30 miles east of Kerrville to 250 miles west of Kerrville/ 40 miles north of Kerrville to 60 miles south of Kerrville, thats a 14 county cachement basin. We have veterans who are elderly and live 3-4 hours drive west of here that if something goes wrong they must first come here to see their team doctor. If it requires them to recieve further or speciality work, the team doctor must call and get approval to send that patient on to Audie (if it is an emergency-if not they must wait for an appoinment, which can be up to six months.). They already have had a 4-6 hour day, now if they must go to Audie they will have another hours drive, must then find a parking space. They then will wait for 2-5 hours to be seen. Now if you are 80 years old is this the way you want to spend a day of your life, that almost 14 hours and if you must stay (and they are not on diversion) you will get to your bed about 1-2 more hours. If not and they feel you can go home, well that's another 5-6 hours (they must eat) so now you have had a 15-20 hour day. Great huh???
3. If we had all they services back here that would not happen. They would be seen sooner and treated sooner.
I am a Vietnam Veterean (I am the chapter president) and a board member of the Hill Country Veterans Council, we are know in Washington and at Audie. We are for the full restoration of services to this hospital.
A. Alan Hill