Let's hear it for the whistle blowers!!

[Votto]

Sam Foote



+ Katherine Mitchell



=



Let me splain. Both Dr. Sam Foote and Dr. Katherine Mitchell were whistle blowers for the recent VA scandal. Also, both doctors were harassed, forced to carry heavier work loads, retire earlier, be transferred, or be completely suspended from practicing because they tried to call attention to Veterans dying unnecessarily. In addition, both tried to contact Senator McCain for help. However, what happened to Katherine Mitchell was that she was suspended within days of writing a letter to Senator McCain. She states that she feels like her confidentiality was violated. Ironically, the reason given for her suspension was that she may have violated patient confidentiality by writing the letter to Senator McCain.

So how did the story break you may ask? It was because Sam Foote continued the fight, despite having to retire 2 years earlier than what he would have liked for being a whistle blower. He contacted Eric Hammel, a staff director for an oversight subcommittee of the House Committee for Veterans Affairs. His complaint then gained traction as congressional investigator Jeff Miller from Florida began digging deeper.

So praise be Congress, aside from Senator McCain, for doing their job, right?

Not so fast. Katherine Mitchell said that the problem is low pay which leads to under staffing as well as slow hiring practices. The translation is that the government is el cheapo. So what does Congress do? They fire Veteran Secretary Eric Shinsiki and then pass a bill that gives the new Secretary increased power to fire and demote people.

WTF? Even Sam Foote acknowledges that Eric Shinsiki was a fall guy and probably a good man. He states that he was duped and overmatched by a monolithic bureaucracy.

So in essence, nothing has been done to correct the problem. It's as if the story had never made it to your computer screens.

Come to think of it, just look how close we came to never hearing about this story. I envision a day when Congress will be full of Senator McCains who simply don't care. But then, even when they do care nothing of substance gets done anyway, so what's the diff?

http://www.azcentral.com/longform/n...1/va-scandal-whistleblower-sam-foote/9830057/

 

[buckeye45_73]

McCain is a fucktard, sadly still more competent than Obama.

but they need to really find out about this and fire a whole bunch of people, even look into jail time.....

And I thought liberals loved whistleblowers?

 

[Votto]

]

McCain is a fucktard, sadly still more competent than Obama.

but they need to really find out about this and fire a whole bunch of people, even look into jail time.....

And I thought liberals loved whistleblowers?

How is he more competent than Obama? At least Obama can win elections.

We have proof that McCan't knew about the scandal and did nothing, but we don't have proof that Obama knew.

Why is the right silent about McCan't? What can be said of Mr. Maverick the isle crosser whom I refer to as a cross dressing democrat?

All I know is that whistle blowers seem to be our only representatives in a monolithic Soviet style government.

 

[Votto]

I get the feeling that Senator McCain would just assume slit the throats of his commrades he served with if it meant furthering his political objectives. I would go so far as to call him a traitor like many on the right accuse Obama.

What a national disgrace he is.

The silence is deafening. No one seems to care. I feel like a dying Vet out here.

 

[Votto]

Why is it that neither Republicans or Democrats want to talk about this thread?

 

[Moonglow]

It is not a violation of patent/doctor confidentiality if said patents life is in jeopardy..

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Memo to Potential Whistleblowers: If You See Something, Say Something | Alternet