This page was last updated on September 4, 2012.
Reagan hurt veterans; Jewel Robertson; Beaver County Times; September 2, 2012.
Until January 2007, Ms. Robertson’s letters (here, here, here, and here) focused on bashing President Bush. In her first letter, Ms. Robertson opined that President Bush could be listening to Satan. That tells us much of what we need to know about Ms. Robertson. Since January 2007, race has been a regular feature of her letters, though Ms. Robertson reverted to Bush bashing in “‘No one can be as bad as Bush was’.” As I wrote about another serial Bush-basher, I guess some addictions are too tough to overcome. More recent Robertson letters I critiqued were “Boils down to hate” and “Attacks on president disrespectful.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Perhaps letter writer Paul Dici doesn’t know other things that happened under Reagan.
“I will tell him that Reagan also passed a bill where veterans could no longer remain in the veteran homes unless they were covered under an insurance. Before his bill the veterans were allowed to stay as long as needed but afterward they were literally put out, not discharged. I know of an incident where the veteran was sent home without a proper discharge with only a gown on his back. The family was told that they could call the fire department to get him into the house.”
[RWC] Though oversimplified, as I understand it veteran healthcare benefits apply only to injuries, disabilities, etc. tied to active-duty service. For example, if a soldier suffers a disability due to a broken leg he received while on active duty, all future healthcare related to that injury is covered. If the soldier breaks his leg after he’s discharged, it’s not covered by the VA. According to the VA, “Since 1986, Veterans’ health care services have been supplemented by funds collected from private health insurance companies. This supplement has allowed VA to provide services to numerous additional Veterans.”
Beyond the above, all I found were mentions of proposals of spending cuts, like the following mentioned in the LA Times: “Reagan’s proposed cuts in veterans’ medical benefits will apply to those who earn $15,000 or more a year and do not suffer from serious medical problems related to their military service, Miller said.
“‘Even some veterans above the $15,000 or $20,000 limit, when it’s a married couple, will be covered,’ Miller said. ‘The only question is how much space available will there be.
“‘Some of the space available can be very expensive. We’ve got to be realistic about how much we can spend on that area.’”
Based on what I could find and her letter-writing body of work, I have no reason to believe Ms. Robertson’s anecdote.
“Reagan may have doubled the tax revenues, but he hurt a lot of veterans while doing it and things have never been the same. One of those tax cuts was done to hurt the veterans.”
[RWC] In case you missed it, Ms. Robertson claims Mr. Reagan did something intended “to hurt the veterans.” That’s probably why Mr. Reagan signed a bill that elevated the VA to a cabinet-level department.
Based on her letter-writing body of work, Ms. Robertson is one mean-spirited woman, at least when it comes to her ideological opposition. You can find more examples in “Boils down to hate.”
“Under the Obama administration, much has been done to clean up the mess at Walter Reed Hospital where the veterans and service men and women can receive better care. Sometimes we need to get the facts.”
[RWC] As for “get[ting] the facts,” “Walter Reed Hospital” closed just over a year ago on August 27, 2011. As part of a process that began during the Bush administration, Walter Reed Army Medical Center responsibilities were moved to the Bethesda Naval Hospital (renamed Walter Reed National Military Medical Center).
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