Another VA scandal. The VA's administration has one job and that's to protect their jobs in the face of malfeasance..the face of single payer healthcare.

VA retaliation against whistleblower: doctor kept in empty room

By  Malia Zimmerman, Will Carr

 Published March 30, 2017 

 FoxNews.com

Dr. Dale Klein may be the highest-paid U.S. government employee who literally does nothing while he’s on the clock. A highly rated pain management specialist at the Southeast Missouri John J. Pershing V.A., Klein is paid $250,000 a year to work with veterans, but instead of helping those who served their country, he sits in a small office and does nothing. All day. Every day.

“I sit in a chair and I look at the walls,” the doctor said of his typical workday. “It feels like solitary confinement.”

A double board certified physician and Yale University fellow, Klein said the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) took away his patients and privileges almost a year ago after, he alleges, he blew the whistle on secret wait-lists and wait-time manipulation at the V.A. in Poplar Bluff, Mo., as well as his suspicion that some veterans were reselling their prescriptions on the black market.

When his superiors did nothing, Klein went to the inspector general.

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The office of Dr. Dale Klein

“Immediately after the V.A. found out I made these disclosures, I started to get retaliated against,” Klein said.

Klein was initially placed on administrative leave. The Missouri-V.A. closed his pain management clinic and tried to terminate him. According to court documents, the V.A. tried to fire Klein “not based on substandard care or lack of clinical competence” but instead for “consistent acceleration of trivial matters through his chain of command.”

“I do not consider secret wait-lists and manipulations of wait times to be trivial matters,” Klein said.

The Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency in Washington, D.C., made it clear that since the doctor was a whistleblower, he could not be fired. But Klein said the retaliation continued and believes his superiors stripped him of his duties to silence him.

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Dr. Dale Klein

“It could set a bad precedent for other whistleblowers because they're going to say, ‘I don't want to risk my livelihood, my career, my security because I see what happened to Dr. Klein and I don't want that to happen to me or my family’,” said Natalie Khawam, president and founder of the Whistleblower Law Firm, which represents Klein.

The situation grew so dire that Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chair Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., chose to step in, writing a letter in January to the acting V.A. secretary requesting the V.A. “cease all retaliatory actions” against Klein.

“I'm concerned about a doctor who could be utilizing his skills to help veterans, but who is not able to utilize those skills,” Johnson said.

Remarkably, Klein isn’t the only V.A. employee who allegedly has been retaliated against. In fact, his story sounds eerily similar to that of Brian Smothers, who worked at the Denver V.A. from 2015 until last November when he says conditions grew so hostile he quit.

Smothers served in the Colorado Army National Guard and Reserves from 1999 to 2007, and later joined the Denver V.A. to help veterans engage with their own healthcare and assisted the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder clinical team.

“I come from a family of veterans who really highly values service to others and helping veterans and that's what I wanted to dedicate my life to doing… helping veterans who may be struggling,” he said.

Smothers was working as a peer support specialist when he alleges he found more than 3,500 veterans on what he believes were “secret” wait-lists at V.A. facilities in Denver, Golden and Colorado Springs.

"It looked like some kind of game they were playing with veteran’s mental healthcare, and I was very upset," Smothers said. “It became clear to me very quickly that many of the veterans that were on the PTSD clinical team’s wait-list had been waiting for care for three, four, five, six months,” Smothers said.

The reason, Smothers alleges, is profit: “People who run the V.A. and the mental health division hid these wait-lists so they could meet performance goals, and as a consequence of meeting these goals, got bonuses. They defrauded the federal government because it benefited them."

Smothers is haunted by one veteran’s death in particular, an Army Ranger in Colorado Springs who told the V.A. that he had been waiting for care and was suicidal. Instead of helping him, the V.A. allegedly placed him on a wait-list and he committed suicide a short time later, Smothers said.

"I wish I could have done more to change the system from within because as far as I understand nothing is being done to change any of this," Smothers said.

After Smothers reported the allegations to the inspector general, he said his superiors retaliated by forcing him to sit in his office, without any work assignments or authority to see patients. Human Resources also tried to get him to destroy the wait-lists, he alleges, and sign a piece of paper saying he had “compromised the integrity of the healthcare system," Smothers said.

The V.A. declined to address the allegations on camera and instead referred us to the inspector general, who confirmed it "identified wait-time and other issues in recent published reports and testimony before Congress regarding Colorado V.A. facilities." 

Sen. Johnson intervened on Smothers’ behalf and got the inspector general to launch an investigation.

“It has quite honestly been shocking to somebody like me who comes from the private sector, the pervasiveness of retaliation even though we have 100 years of laws against retaliating against whistleblowers in government,” Johnson said.

Johnson is now trying to pass a whistleblower protection bill to help V.A. employees like Smothers and Klein.

A spokesperson from the V.A. said due to on-going investigations, the V.A. cannot comment on specific cases but added the department recognizes the importance of all employees, to include whistleblowers, who identify problems that impede the optimal delivery of care and services to Veterans.

Klein said he hopes the V.A., under the Trump administration, will make substantial changes so veterans can get quality care they need and so those who uncover problems or wrongdoing – and report it – are protected.

“This is a heart-stopping moment for the V.A. and the transformation can start in Poplar Bluff, Mo.”

Malia Zimmerman is an award-winning investigative reporter focusing on crime, homeland security, illegal immigration crime, terrorism and political corruption. Follow her on twitter at @MaliaMZimmerman

Will Carr joined Fox News Channel (FNC) as a Los Angeles-based correspondent in June 2013.

Here another example of leftist thuggery. They are goons, self righteous, self absorbed and fascist.

Liberals harass GOP congressman at rowdy town hall meeting — then he fights back

Justin Haskins  Apr 1, 2017 3:03 pm

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) at a rowdy town hall meeting on March 31, 2017. (Image source: YouTube) 

Hundreds of liberals swarmed to a town hall meeting held by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) on Friday. The crowd yelled, jeered, and booed Harris at the event, which took place in the congressman’s reliably conservative district.

According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, members of the crowd held signs that read, “Dr. Harris, do no harm” and “Impeach Trump.”

Harris, a physician who earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during Operation Desert Storm, is one of the most conservative members in the House of Representatives and a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which made headlines recently for its opposition to the American Health Care Act. The AHCA was backed by House GOP leadership and by President Donald Trump, but it failed to garner adequate support before being pulled from consideration by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on March 24.

At the town hall meeting, which the Baltimore Sun reported was attended by about 900 people, Harris sparred with liberals and fought continuously to keep control of the event.

During one contentious moment, Harris threatened to remove a woman who abruptly yelled out during his presentation on improving treatment for Alzheimer’s patients. Someone in the crowd then yelled to Harris the individual didn’t care to hear about Alzheimer’s disease, to which Harris fiercely responded, “You may not want to hear about Alzheimer’s now, but you will at some point in your life. You will.”

Meanwhile, Harris was met with a cascade of boos from the audience.

At another point during the hour-long presentation, Harris faced harsh criticism from the crowd for his support of restructuring Medicaid so that states have greater control over the entitlement program, a proposal called “block-granting.” Harris called it an “inconvenient truth,” a reference to Al Gore’s infamous film about global warming, that Medicaid doesn’t provide high-quality care. Unsurprisingly, the crowd yelled and booed in response.

Harris also defended the proposition of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Most Americans actually want a secure border,” Harris said, which was followed by chants from the crowd of “no wall.”
In one particularly raucous moment, Harris said, “It was up to the voters of America to decide if that was important,” referring to whether Trump should release his tax returns. Harris reportedly shrugged his shoulders and smiled, causing the crowd to scream and boo.

Harris isn’t the only Republican to face large, mostly hostile town hall crowds in recent months. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) faced a similarly angry crowd one week ago at a town hall meeting, and Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) endured shouting matches at a town hall meeting he held in his deep-red state on Friday.

If his only option had been 911?

Armed 65-year-old Florida man fights off intruder in terrifying home invasion

Justin Haskins  Apr 1, 2017 5:12 pm

Juan Delgado, a resident of Orlando, Florida, defends himself against a home invader. (Image source: WFTV-TV) 

A man in Orlando, Florida, fought back against a violent home intruder on Tuesday morning.

Juan Delgado, 65, told WFTV-TV he heard his dogs continuously barking, so he put on his pants, which had a pistol in the pocket, eventually making his way to the front of his home. There, he found a man waiting for him in his entryway.

According to Delgado, an Army veteran, the man told him he was “looking for a landscaping job” and refused to leave after Delgado told the stranger he wasn’t interested in his services.

“He pushed me to the side, and I’m kind of scared now,” said Delgado, according to WFTV. “He ran inside my house.”

Delgado said he warned the man to leave again, but the man refused and then attacked Delgado.

“He started coming at me, running at me, so I pulled out my gun and I shot him in his legs,” Delgado said. “I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted to stop him. I called the cops.”

Delgado held the intruder at gunpoint until the police arrived.

According to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, “Under Florida law, there is no ‘duty to retreat’ if you are attacked in any place you have a lawful right to be. Instead, you may stand your ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to yourself or others.”

Florida also provides special legal protections to people protecting themselves in their own home, a provision known as the “Castle Doctrine.”

Who knew the Democrats could provoke the Russians to humor.

Russia trolls Democratic Party in epic April Fools’ Day prank

Justin Haskins  Apr 1, 2017 7:13 pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual press conference in Moscow on December 23, 2016. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP/Getty Images) 

Russia is known for many things—communism, vodka and bizarre dancing, for starters—but one thing Russia is not well-known for is its sense of humor. Perhaps that’s about to change.

In what could go down as one of the most interesting April Fools’ Day pranks of all time, the Russian Foreign Ministry posted on its Facebook page an audio file that supposedly showed the agency’s new switchboard message.

The message begins with, “You have reached the Russian Embassy. Your call is very important to us.”

“To arrange a call from a Russian diplomat to your political opponent, press 1,” the recording continues (in both English and Russian). Users are then instructed to “press 2” in order “to use the services of Russian hackers.” For “election interference” requests, “press 3.”

The Associated Press reports—because, apparently, AP felt the need to check—it was able to confirm the recording was meant as a “joke.”

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized those in the United States who continue to play the “Russian card” to score political points, alluding to the Democratic Party. He also called the accusations of election interference made against his government “endless and groundless,” according to a report by CBS News.

NARAL absurdity!. Why does some version of the Hammer and sickle show up at all these liberal events?

Pro-abortion org tries to bash Neil Gorsuch — they immediately get lesson in irony & self-awareness

Chris Enloe  1 hour

Pro-abortion organization gets lesson in irony after tweeting picture of woman advocating for abortion while holding a baby. (Thomas Cain/Getty Images) 

The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, a pro-abortion organization, got a stiff lesson in irony and self-awareness on Saturday.

NARAL hosted protests across the country Saturday to voice their opposition to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s choice to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

Presumably, their reasoning is because Gorsuch is not a liberal judge. However, Gorsuch did say last month during Senate hearings that the controversial Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade is law. Still, if abortion was once again litigated to the Supreme Court level, abortion activists fear that a conservative bend on the court will reverse the 1973 court decision.

But one picture NARAL posted to their Twitter account quickly garnered attention on Twitter. That’s because it was a women speaking at a pro-abortion event while holding her baby.

“This is baby Dean’s 1st protest. His mom doesn’t know what his future holds—but she DOES know that this Court won’t protect him,” NARAL wrote, adding the hashtag “#WeObject.”

The irony, of course, is that NARAL — a pro-abortion organization that operates under the guise of “pro-choice” — advocates the right to murder unborn babies.

And Twitter was quick to point out NARAL’s lack of self-awareness:

See tweets

A dangerous economic situation?

‘Deep Subprime’ Auto Loans are Becoming the New Normal

By Matt Posky on March 29, 2017 

 

A third of all subprime car loans are now being categorized into the ominous-sounding “deep subprime” group. The designation has become progressively more inclusive since America clawed its way out of the recession and now accounts for 32.5 percent of all high-risk loans — up from just 5.1 percent in 2010.
While consumers have fallen behind on most subprime auto loans, the deep classification is responsible for the most serious cases of nonpayment. Delinquencies surpassing 60-day periods have tripled since 2012 and indicate little sign of stabilizing. 
“The securitization market has become more heavily weighted towards issuers that we would consider deep subprime,” Morgan Stanley financial strategists wrote in a recent report. “Auto loan fundamental performance, especially within ABS pools, continues to deteriorate.”
Morgan Stanley defines deep subprime borrowers as lenders with FICO scores below 550. The Fair Isaac Corporation doesn’t have a strict categorization for the group, but the general consensus is that anyone with a score below 600 is considered a high risk. That’s a problem as younger buyers typically have lower scores and are less interested in making the kind of financial decisions that might raise their ratings. They’re also less likely to have a steady income or cash reserves, but they’re flooding into the market as comparatively well-off boomers leave it. Someone has to drive the new cars being produced every year, and used vehicles still remain at a premium.
The $3 billion cash-for-clunkers program from 2009 obliterated the cheaper end of the used vehicle market to the detriment of America’s lowest income earners as used vehicles they could have afforded were largely removed from the market. This forced those buyers to scrounge enough money together to buy something more expensive or risk going deeper into debt by taking out a loan they might never be able to afford.
Banks have also become more willing to underwrite riskier auto-loan asset-backed security sales. According to Bloomberg, that translates to investors taking a huge hit, with about $8 trillion of debt globally carrying negative yields, further facilitating higher levels of risk in the securities market. It’s a bad time to be unprofitable. Used car prices are expected to come down soon and new car sales seem to have plateaued.
Subprime consumers won’t care if lenders get screwed. All they want is a used Nissan Altima that won’t require them to take on a massive loan, because the alternative isn’t pretty.

The VW diesel problem repair is no bargain.

The Numbers Are In: Volkswagen Butchered its ‘Fixed’ Diesel Engines

By Matt Posky on March 29, 2017

 Earlier this week, we reported on an influx of complaints from diesel owners who were required by law to permit Volkswagen to rectify their emission rigged engines. The consensus was that the company has not done a great job. If a veterinarian fixed a pet in the same manner that VW “fixed” these cars, you would probably put it out of its misery and then throttle the vet for butchering your now-ruined family companion.

Owners of the vehicles have complained of units lacking their former oomph, shuddering, stalling, and even being difficult to restart. While not every driver reported identical problems, the majority agreed Volkswagen had ravaged the engines’ ability to make power. At the time, nobody knew exactly how extensive the losses were. But, as the powerband-sapping solution closes in on North America, those numbers have come in. 
Swedish researchers from the country’s preeminent motoring magazine, Teknikens Värld, conducted back-to-back testing of 10 cars from Skoda, VW, and Audi before and after the fix. The findings, at the very least, indicate Volkswagen Group may have broken its promise to returning the corrected cars in the same state as before. While some of the vehicles became thirstier and made more power, most became significantly less impressive. Engines saw up to a 10-percent decrease in performance with a new torque curve biased toward higher engine speeds.
Volkswagen assured customers that their cars’ performance would remain unaffected, but Erik Lehfeldt, the owner of Passat Alltrack tested by Teknikens Värld, said that’s not been his experience.
“I’m disappointed in Volkswagen. First, they cheat on the emissions purification and then they lie to the customers. They promised that the car would be exactly as before the fix, but that’s not true. My car is considerably weaker,” Lehfeldt explained.
Of the diesel motors that took part in the Swedish tests, the 1.6 liter TDI mills performed best after the fix. Researchers actually saw those vehicles produce extra power and torque. However, the curve in Lehfeldt’s Passat had shifted enough to make the vehicles feel lethargic at normal engine speeds. A pre-fix rating of 125 lb-ft of torque at 1,800 rpm transformed to a post-fix 118 ft-lb at the same engine speed.
Things were even worse in the 2.0-liter TDI cars. While a couple saw additions to peak horsepower, they were all down on torque and pulling-power tapered off far too early. A tested 2.0-liter Audi Q5 went from 266 lb-ft at 2,345 rpm to 247 ft-lb at 2,590 rpm. Interestingly, Audi announced it would be replacing the old Q5 powerplant with a new 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo unit just earlier today, showing its continued desire to distance itself from diesel-powered platforms. That’s likely a wise move as the company clearly doesn’t know what the hell it’s doing with them.
Here is your warning. If you were one of the precious few Volkswagen owners who opted out of the company’s diesel buyback program, now might be a good time to reconsider.

PETA Says Milk is a ‘Symbol of White Supremacy’

By Ian Miles Cheong| 5:19 pm, March 31, 2017

PETA’s shenanigans vary from the absurd to the downright offensive. From likening rape survivors to pigs and cows, to calling Pokémon a form of animal cruelty, PETA’s efforts to “save the animals” always make the headlines—and with good reason: they’re completely absurd.

The animal rights group today released a new video to cry over milk, equating the nutritious drink with Nazism. Following the rise in Trump Derangement Syndrome and the progressive left’s hysteria over white supremacism, PETA states:

“Did you know that milk has long been a symbol used by white supremacists?”

It’s an alternative fact accompanied by an equally ludicrous video, which they published on social media. They call milk the neo-Nazi drink of choice, stating that it has “long been” a symbol used by white supremacist groups as a “thinly veiled allegory for racial purity.”

To back up the statement, they even say it played a “prominent role” in the Jordan Peele race comedy, Get Out, with quotes from the director.

It’s followed by some secretly-captured (and horrifying) footage of cows being manhandled and abused by factory farm workers, so viewer discretion is advised. Watch it at your own risk.

So how did the association of white supremacism to milk even come about? Perhaps the answer lies in Inglourious Basterds’ Hans Landa’s love of delicious milk.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.

The Left has no problem with money in politics when it's theirs: Soros-Tied Networks, Foundations Joined Forces to Create Trump ‘Resistance’ Fund. How do these groups maintain tax exempt status?

Soros-Tied Networks, Foundations Joined Forces to Create Trump ‘Resistance’ Fund

Three liberal donor networks and foundations with ties to billionaire George Soros have joined forces to form a new fund to "resist" President Donald Trump.

The Emergent Fund, which carries a goal of fighting "immediate threats" to "immigrants, women, Muslim and Arab-American communities, black people, LGBTQ communities, and all people of color," was established late last year to quickly fund groups to take direct, immediate action against Republicans.

Since the fund's formation, it has received little public attention. It has raised over half a million dollars to give to groups opposing Republicans, such as the Black Lives Matter Network. The fund has extensive ties to significant liberal networks and groups.

"These communities need increased capacity so that they can respond, act nimbly, and develop new strategies in this new period," the fund's website states. "The fund will focus on grassroots organizations in communities of color who are facing injustice based on racial, ethnic, religious and other forms of discrimination. We will provide resources to defend against what's coming, and to develop innovative strategies to transform our country."

The Solidaire Network, the Threshold Foundation, and the Women Donors Network, all San Francisco-based groups, mobilized to form the Emergent Fund.

The Solidaire Network brings together wealthy progressive donors to foster protest and direct action movements. The donor network is comprised of individuals who can move $50,000 or more personally or through a family foundation.

The group props up other donor communities on its website such as the EDGE Funder Alliance, a New York-based community of donors engaged in domestic and international grant-making, and the secretive George Soros-tied Democracy Alliance donor network, the largest liberal dark money group.

The Solidaire Network recently appeared at the Democracy Alliance's spring investment summit in Washington, D.C to map out a path of resistance against Trump and Republicans.

"Solidaire and the Democracy Alliance have been in close partnership since Solidaire's origin," the DA's itinerary for the summit states.

The Threshold Foundation has seeded hundreds of organizations and supported the creation of multiple donor networks around the world. The group is closely linked to the Tides Foundation, a donor-advised fund with a war chest of nearly $200 million that gives generously to numerous liberal groups and causes each year. Soros' Open Society Foundations has donated at least $1.75 million to the Tides Foundation.

The most recently available Form 990 from the Threshold Foundation shows the group's books are in the care of Tides.

The Threshold Foundation paid Tides $311,000 for management and operational services in 2015, the form shows. Threshold has paid Tides at least $2.5 million since 2001, according to a review of its documents. The Threshold Foundation is also located at the same address as the Tides Foundation.

The Women Donors Network, a community of liberal female philanthropists, completes the Emergent Fund. The Women Donors Network also appeared at the Democracy Alliance's D.C. summit alongside Solidaire.

The Emergent Fund's advisory council, which decides who receives grants, features individuals from a number of active liberal groups on the front lines of organizing and attending Trump protests in addition to representation from the three groups that form the fund.

Christina Jimenez, the co-founder and managing director of the United We Dream Network, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, sits on the Emergent Fund's advisory board.

United We Dream organized protests against Trump immediately following his victory last November. The group was behind "sanctuary campus" anti-Trump protests across the country to protect undocumented students. Jimenez herself attended high school and college in the United States as an undocumented immigrant.

United We Dream has received tens of thousands in donations from Soros.

Charlene Sinclair, the director of reinvestment at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Community Change, a progressive community organizing group, is also a member of the fund's board.

The Center for Community Change joined United We Dream for nationwide immigration protests leading up to Trump's inauguration.

The Emergent Fund raised $500,000 after its formation. Its activist-led advisory council quickly approved $205,000 in rapid response grants ranging from $20,000 to $50,000.

The fund has provided money to the Black Lives Matter Network, United We Dream, the Center for Media Justice, a group created to "organize the most under-represented communities into a national movement for media rights," and the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, among other groups.

Solidaire, the Threshold Foundation, and the Women Donors Network did not return requests for comment by press time.

WaPo Caught Red Handed In Big Lie, Tries To Quietly Overhaul Entire Piece

The Washington Post quietly rewrote a story about a Congressman using the Bible to bash poor people Friday, after a writer at the Federalist published a systematic break down of the piece that exposed major holes and mistakes in the story.

Caitlin Dewey’s initial write-up in the paper (which recently adopted the slogan “Democracy Dies In Darkness”) did not include a single quote from the Texas representative she basically accused of using the Bible to justify taking food from starving people. The story also incorrectly referred to “2 Thessalonians 3-10,” and wildly mischaracterized Rep. Jody Arrington’s statements on the verse.

While Arrington did reference 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat) in a discussion of food stamps, he did not, as The WaPo article suggested, use it to argue unemployed people should not be allowed to eat.

After Sean Davis pointed out these mistakes and others in a piece for the Federalist Friday, someone at The Washington Post went through and majorly reworked the story. In fact, it appears the stealth edits are a direct answer to his piece. The story now includes the full quote from Arrington and other adjustments, although the incorrect verse reference remains.

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Davis wrote: “There are a few problems … with that story from Washington Post reporter Caitlin Dewey: the lawmaker never said that, the Bible never says that, and the Washington Post article never even quotes the Texas Republican as saying that. In fact, the article doesn’t quote Arrington a single time. Not one word. Because democracy dies in darkness, or something.”

Here’s what Arrington did say:

“I did hear, Mr. Protas, your opening remarks where you quoted Leviticus, I believe, and I think that’s a great reflection on the character of God and the compassion of God’s heart and how we ought to reflect that compassion in our lives.

But, there’s also, the scripture tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “For even when we were with you we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’” And then he goes on to say, “We hear that some among you are idle.”

I think that every American, Republican or Democrat, wants to help the neediest among us. And I think it’s a reasonable expectation that we have work requirements. I think that gives more credibility quite frankly, to SNAP. Tell me what is a reasonable and responsible work requirement as part of the SNAP program?”

Following the stealth edits, Davis tweeted: “WaPo was forced to rewrite its garbage hit job, still left errors uncorrected, and refused to admit error. Boy is there egg on my face.”