The Incompetence of the Government-Run, Government-Controlled Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospitals

It always befuddles me when the collectivistic limousine Left think that the Veterans Affairs hospitals are "privately run" and are a part of the "private sector." Yet this latest AP report, in which the hospital's five HIV patients and 33 hepatitis patients have contracted these diseases from unsanitary medical equipment, showcases the incompetence and idiocy of the government-run, government-controlled VA hospitals.

Here's an excerpt of the piece:

MIAMI (AP) — A fifth patient has tested positive for HIV, and seven more tested positive for hepatitis after being exposed to contaminated medical equipment at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, the agency said Friday.

That brings the total who have tested positive for hepatitis to 33.

They are among thousands tested because they were treated with endoscopic equipment that wasn't properly sterilized between patients and exposed them to the body fluids of others. The equipment is often used in colonoscopies and ear, nose and throat procedures.

Nearly 11,000 former sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines could have been exposed at the hospitals in Miami, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Augusta, Ga. The agency said 6,687 patients have been notified of their test results so far.

VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said the new HIV case was found in the Miami hospital. The agency said in a news release the positive tests were "not necessarily linked to any endoscopy issues."

"It's very disturbing that anybody would contract it, of course. I am pleased that the VA has agreed to treat all the veterans regardless of where they may have contracted it," said Alexander Kovac, a veterans' advocate who was stationed in Korea in the 1960s.

The "VA has agreed to treat all the veterans regardless of where they may have contracted [HIV]"? Doesn't it matter where they "may have contracted" it? This attitude is proof that the government does not seem to care where and how these patients contracted the HIV virus. The mindset, of course, is deafening and pathetic to the Nth degree.

While it is unclear as to how these patients contracted these diseases, it is obviously confirmed that they were treated at these seedy facilities where unsterilized equipment has been commonly used.

Here's another disturbing revelation from the article:

The VA has said the problems with the endoscopic equipment had gone on for years, but were discovered in December when officials learned the Murfreesboro facility wasn't following cleaning procedures the manufacturer recommended. It issued an internal alert for hospitals to check procedures, and the problem at Augusta was discovered in January.

These issues were noticed in December in one facility when it wasn't following its sanitary procedures? Another one hadn't bothered to notice the problems until January? Did these "government medical centers" lack flashlights? Did they fail to pay the electric bills and notice that the quality of care in the facilities was third-rate? Or did the typical VA bureaucracy stand in the way of progress at these centers?

Imagine the private sector handling these hospitals. Could you see these abuses occuring at these government-run facilities? If they were to occur, rest assured that restitution would be in effect, as the victimizers would be targeted for accountability. That is not the case with the VA. After all, who will be held liable for the VA screw-ups? Look at the alleged accountability of prison guards and torturers, especially considering the state has its "extraordinary rendition" policy in effect. Who will hold these vile, diabolical government thugs responsible for how they treat their victims in time of war?

As for the VA, who will pay for these disgusting practices if lawsuits are filed? Will the victims be remunerated for their suffering? The answers to the last two questions are no one and no.

At least the VA victims can rest comfortably, knowing that their infections will be "treated."

[Cross-posted at Peace, Freedom, and Prosperity and The Freeman Chronicles.]

The Vile Incarceration and Civil Rights Violations of Sam Dodson

Free Stater Sam Dodson, who is the founder of the Obscured Truth Network and OTN Productions, is a board member for CD Evolution, and originally hails from Texas, has been languishing in a jail cell for videotaping in the lobby of the Keene, New New Hampshire District Court. He was arrested on April 13, 2009 in the same court where Free Stater Dave Ridley of the Ridley Report was being arraigned for committing the politically blasphemous act of civil disobedience in the same court room -- refusing to stop videotaping civil disobedience on March 3, 2009. Since April 13, he's been incarcerated without having a court trial date set for him. Although initially he didn't have a defense attorney, he's now retaining the services of an attorney and Free Stater named Ivy Walker at no cost. (Walker is accepting PayPal donations at ivy@ivysspiceoflife.com from Free Staters and pro-freedom activists who are not Free Staters in order to offset her legal expenses.)

Sam has been slapped with the following litany of charges: disorderly conduct, resisting arrest or detention, possession of personal property without a serial number*, and refusing to be processed. Currently, he's being officially detained in the Cheshire County Department of Corrections in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. The long and short of it is that the court has trumped up these charges because Dodson refuses to participate in the judicial process that involves eliminating his freedom and surrendering his alleged right to remain silent. Judge Burke, the same one who had Ian Freeman of Free Talk Live jailed for not sitting down fast enough in his court room (especially when he yelled "Have a seat!" at him), has ordered the jail to keep Sam behind bars until he bows down to him and the state and gives his legal name.

Shortly after Dodson's arrest, six other peaceful pro-liberty activists were arrested and thrown into the county jail for not leaving the public "government" property after the court's prosecutor (also a cop) demanded that they do so. According to JailedActivist.Info's account of the incident:

In the audio clip made available by Ian Bernard he can be heard saying that Sgt. Rivera had called for backup only seconds after instructing them to leave. Some decide to leave while a few stand around in disobedience and/or considering what to do next. Richard T. Onley, Nicholas Ryder, Patrick S. Shields, Nicholas D. Krouse, Kurt W. Hoffman, and Timothy Danforth stayed around long enough for Rivera to decide to have them arrested. Onley and Ryder gave the officers their names resulting in them only receive a summons. Shields went limp and was carried to a squad car by three officers. The others did not comply completely and therefore were arrested and brought to other squad cars and taken to be booked.

(More information on Sam's incarceration can be found at JailedActivist.Info, including a timeline of the events and latest updates as well.)

Dodson has been engaging in a very long and dangerous hunger strike since he was jailed on April 13, which has been affecting his health. The only liquid he has been drinking is milk. However, he has been bartering food for stamps and has been refusing food. Lately, the guards have told him that he will not be given food, considering he's been indicating to the statist establishment that he has no intention of eating their meals.

The state's vile incarceration of Dodson is unforgivable and unconscionable. The courts, as paid by our tax dollars, are supposed to be open and transparent, yet the courts, as epitomized in this case, are violating their rules in order to "prove" that they are "right" and want to be "right." Courts that prohibit videotaping on their property are essentially creating closed, tyrannical court systems where, if the American people are kept in the dark about the abuses and practices by judges, prosecutors, and police officers on the government property, then the court's PR appearance would be viewed very much positive. Considering the courts are mechanisms for public relations, if the American people see through their PR nonsense, and see them for what they really are (I prefer to call them "prison processing centers"), then the American public could revolt against these statist judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement "government" officers and fight the system at all turns.

Dodson has asked activists to contact state senator Molly Kelly and ask her the following questions:

• Do you know there are district courts writing their own rules?
  
• Do you know many of these rules are unconstitutional and against several Supreme Court rulings?
  
• Did you know Keene District Court is arresting political prisoners? You may remember Sam, you’ve met him a few times. He is one of these political prisoners currently incarcerated.
  
• Do you support the taking of these political prisoners?
  

The civil rights violations of this man are unbecoming of the system. The state refuses to fingerprint him and photo I.D. him after Sam refused to give his legal name. Don't they know that they can get his identity from his fingerprints, his Social Security number, and all other pertinent legal information that are on file? They know who he is, even though they have dubbed him "John Sam Doe." On April 20, although he had requested to use the law library to do research for his defense, he was denied permission to gain access to the jail's computers. Fortunately, a couple of days later, he was granted access to those computers.

Other civil rights violations were dragging him to the county jail while he was screaming in pain, considering that it was subsequently discovered that the reason he was in pain because, according to JailedActivist.Info, "a large metal bracelet on his right wrist which got caught under the hand cuffs and was digging into his skin and bone. The cuffs had not been locked so they continued to ratchet tighter causing the bracelet to further dig and bruise his wrist."

Moreover, the toilet in his jail cell had been backing up and overflowing three times, resulting in feces-laced water coming out of it. Even the guards, who were aware of that incident, refuse to sanitize the toilet or provide the prisoners with chemicals to sanitize it.

If this isn't indicative of a vile incarceration and civil rights violation, I don't know what it is.

[Cross-posted at the Freeman Chronicles.]

*This charge against Dodson was subsequently dropped.

Naked Neo-Hippie Gets Tased by the Police

A naked neo-hippie, dubbed as the "Naked Wizard" online and in the online mainstream media, was tased by three overweight law enforcement officers at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Fields in Indigo, California on April 17. The man, identified as 23-year-old Johnathan Fredrick Felch of San Luis Obispo, was asked repeatedly by the cops to put his clothes back on but refused to comply.

In a video that's currently being widely circulated on the Internet, the three cops attempt to talk Felch into putting back on his clothes. When the officers throw a robe to Felch, he tosses it away from him, indicating his unwillingness to get dressed.

Here's the video for those who want to see it on here. WARNING: Those who are offended by nudity and strong language should not watch this video, as it does contain those things:

Naked Wizard Tased By Reality from Tracy Anderson on Vimeo.

After Felch refuses to obey the officers, the ugliness of the situation begins to rear its head. The officers, dismayed that he wouldn't abide by their requests, pin him to the ground. One of them is shown pushing his knee into the man's stomach, resulting in him to break free of their grasp and get away from them.

Then one of the cops (who happens to be from Banning) pulls out his taser gun and accosts the man with the weapon. Felch continues to struggle to get away from the cops, but they proceed to keep tasing him several times (one in the chest, another on the back of the neck, and the other in the throat) before they arrest him and place him into custody. Obviously, Felch was under duress just as the statist thugs were cuffing him in broad daylight.

The onlookers who were concertgoers observing the assault were booing the entire time. In fact, one of them can be heard as saying, "This is fucking ridiculous."

It's been said that the man was inebriated and yet deserved to be taken down by the police. One commenter of the video on Vimeo, who claims to be from Portugal, says:

[R]ight on. I'm from Portugal and actually watched this live on TV when it happened. justice was served.

but in this case I think the crowd would have been shot at, americans are too easy on the trigger. and the guy had it coming...police brutality was wrong, but he was warned several times.

How can anyone support this vile paradigm -- the idea that the cops "ought to be" revered and looked upon as heros -- when the police state can come knocking on their door? If the police demand that you obey them and you refuse to cooperate and they tase you, will you stick to your story that the life of the cops are important and not the life of a non-violent criminal like Johnathan Felch?

[Hat tip to Karen DeCoster for first mentioning this on her blog.]

[Cross-posted at the Freeman Chronicles.]