Military.com carried a follow up report today, on the CBS News report released on Monday. I was astounded at what the VA attorneys were asserting at the federal court hearing in San Francisco.

To wit...

Lawyers for the government disagreed strongly with the veterans, claiming that the VA runs a "world-class health care system." Multiple times during his opening statement, Justice Department lawyer Richard Lepley portrayed the veterans' groups as "special interests" and argued the changes the groups seek in their lawsuit -- better and faster mental health care, and more rights for veterans appealing denials of benefits -- are beyond the judge's authority.

"You have no standards to judge," Lepley told (judge)Conti. "This court shouldn't be trying to be a substitute for what the medical professionals at the VA decide."

Damn! World class system and the VA knows what's best for the vets... I'm speechless...
Let's look at what the 'Special Interests' are arguing...

"The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Our veterans deserve better."

"The system is in crisis, and unfortunately the VA is in denial," Erspamer told the court, urging U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Conti to appoint a special master to oversee the troubled agency. The veterans groups are also seeking a judge's order forbidding the VA from turning away any veteran who shows up at a facility seeking mental health care.

In a number of high-profile cases, Iraq war veterans have killed themselves after being turned away from the VA.

The 'smoking gun' was the 'Shh' e-mail...

An e-mail made public during the trial revealed that the head of the VA's Mental Health division, Dr. Ira Katz, advised a media representative not to tell reporters that 1,000 veterans receiving care at the VA try to kill themselves every month.

"Shh!" the e-mail begins.

"Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"

Stumbles on it?, Aargh...! WTF? Dr. Katz followed up later with...

In an e-mail late Monday to CBS News, Katz wrote that the reason the numbers were not released was due to questions about the consistency and reliability of the findings - and that there was no public cover up involved.

Sure there was no cover up involved... And there were WMD's in Iraq...! The F*ckers have no remorse!

Update: My Senator and Chair of the Senate Veteran's Affairs Committee is demanding the immediate resignation of Katz...

I am writing to request the resignation of Dr. Ira Katz, Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health.

Dr. Katz's personal conduct and professional judgment have been called into question by his response to the mental health needs of veterans, and in particular to veteran suicides. I believe veterans, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, would be best served by his immediate resignation.