Second of two parts
Re “VA’s ‘Done Deal Dictatorship’ Replaces American Democracy
Let the record reflect that when it comes to Veterans, American democracy is done, finished, kaput … while the VA’s “Done-Deal Dictatorship” ruthlessly rules with an iron fist as they expand the fraud and misappropriation of Veterans’ property and facilities.
This kind of vile dictatorship and anti-democracy activity are the very kinds of governments that our military has heretofore gone to war over. Now it rules the very Veterans who fought against it.
The VA’s behind-the-scene arrangement with the “limited liability partnership” is with New Directions and A Community of Friends, and they will be spending upward of $60 million in HUD (taxpayer) money to convert Medical Buildings 4 and 5 into 147 housing apartments, 250 sq. ft. each, for purportedly Veteran transitional housing, “subject to federal, state and local laws.”
For What (Veteran) Purpose?
This will not remove one homeless Veteran from the dangerous streets of Los Angeles. Residents at this apartment complex must pay rent subject to a credit check. If homeless Veterans had rent money and good credit, they wouldn’t be homeless.
Moreover, if government money is used for a housing project, it is against the law to discriminate. Consequently, these apartments never will be exclusively for Veterans.
Thus, this cabal will obey the law and open the apartments to anyone as they begin the systematic takeover of this once-revered Veterans Hospital and move forward to convert all medical buildings into a public housing project, with the VA’s blessing and compliance. Moreover, corporate attorneys, bankers, CPAs, and real estate executives, on New Directions’ board of directors have arranged for the New Directions/Community partnership to provide special tax credits that will benefit Bank of America and Exxon oil.
Now, Big Banking and Big Oil have entered into benefiting from converting Veterans Hospital property and facilities into public housing, while the healthcare services for San Fernando Valley Veterans will continue to go under-funded. Meanwhile, disabled and sick Veterans will be forced to go to the West Los Angeles VA, Long Beach VA, or other VA hospitals in outlying areas for medical treatment. It doesn’t stop there as the Big Hollywood movie industry has special filming rights to use the Sepulveda VA hospital facilities, particularly Buildings 4 and 5, and $5 million in annual film revenue will go to the New Directions-Community public housing partnership, not to Veteran healthcare services.
Be prepared for the Sepulveda VA to face the ultimate fate of the VA’s Los Angeles Veterans Home where Veterans’ sacred land has been illegally leased for a public dog park, a public recreation park, a public golf course, a public botanical garden, a public farmers market, public entertainment theaters, an athletic field and playground for a wealthy private school, a private soccer field for a wealthy youth soccer organization, a state-of-the-art collegiate baseball diamond, private storage for a commercial car rental agency and bus company, laundry facilities for a major hotel chain, parking for a museum and professional golf tournaments, among other enterprises.
They Remain Unhelped
Meanwhile, 20,000 disabled and disadvantaged Veterans are exiled and live homeless and hungry in back-alley squalor.
Instead of providing needy Veterans with permanent shelter and housing at the Los Angeles Veterans Home, as required in the legal Deed and Charitable Trust of 1888, Los Angeles County has become the capital for homeless Veterans while the Sepulveda VA is being converted from a hospital into a public housing project, and not shelter for homeless Veterans as falsely purported.
It’s time to say “no more.”
Public trust no longer can be trusted. It’s time to end political cronyism and back-room-wheeling-and-dealing with Veterans property while Veterans housing and healthcare services get put on the back burner.
This is a call to action to restore American democracy with the unconditional demand of the immediate resignations of the following elected public officials, including a Congressional Investigation into the land fraud at both West Los Angeles and Sepulveda VA’s.
If the following two members of Congress do not resign, posthaste, we must demand an immediate recall for their removal including impeachment hearings:
Brad Sherman, U.S. Congressman for the 27th District, where the Sepulveda VA Hospital is. Under his elected and entrusted stewardship, he is responsible for preventing this type of land fraud and corruption from ever happening with Veterans property. He no longer can be trusted.
Henry Waxman, U.S. Congressman for the 30th District where the Los Angeles National Veterans Home is. Under his elected and entrusted stewardship, he is responsible for preventing the type of land fraud and corruption that has taken place for decades from ever happening with Veterans property in his District. He no longer can be trusted.
In November, a New York Times poll found that Congress’s approval rating fell to an all-time low of 9 percent. That means Congress has a 91 percent disapproval rating.
The crime and corruption in our government must cease, posthaste. Disabled, disadvantaged and homeless Veterans cannot wait any longer for trusted public trust to take care of their housing and healthcare needs.
Veterans need new leadership in Congress. We need it now.
In addition to the aforementioned Congressional resignations, this is a call to action to demand that VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki immediately terminate the following public officials employed under his authority, and for him to immediately rescind both fraudulent leases to Buildings 4 and 5:
Donna Beiter, executive director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Ralph Tillman, asset manager of chief of external affairs, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Veterans have put great trust in Gen. Shinseki to turn the Los Angeles and Sepulveda VA’s around. However, if he fails to take prompt action and clean house and cancel all the fraudulent land-use arrangements, we must demand that President Obama remove him as Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and replace him with a trusted public official who will take immediate action to and return Veterans property for Veterans use only.
Fellow Citizens: Stand up and demand the return to American democracy.
Fellow Veterans, we pledged our lives to defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
It’s now time to eradicate the domestic enemy.
“The world is a dangerous place to live –not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” — Albert Einstein
Mr. Rosebrock, Director, Old Veterans Guard, and Director, Veterans Revolution, may be contacted at www.VeteransRevolution.com