In the wake of an ever-burgeoning “wait for them to die” scandal within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the heavy hitters in the Obama Administration have made their priorities known. Specifically, while accusations swirl that purposeful lack of medical attention to vets has resulted in needless deaths, the head honcho himself for the Department of Defense greased the skids for a convicted turncoat to receive a taxpayer subsidized sex change operation.
As reported by both the Toronto-based Globe and Mail and USA TODAY, convicted renegade soldier Bradley Manning could soon be transferred to a civilian hospital on the orders of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
According to Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, “The Secretary approved a request by Army leadership to evaluate potential treatment options for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria.” If and when approved, Manning will be transferred from the Leavenworth, Kansas, military prison (officially deemed the United States Disciplinary Barracks) to a yet to be identified civilian hospital for Manning’s sexual reassignment surgery. Reportedly, Hagel personally gave the official thumb’s up last month for the Army “to try to work out a transfer plan with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which does provide such treatment.”
Manning, who now demands he be called “Chelsea,” was sentenced to a 35-year stretch in Leavenworth after being found guilty of “six Espionage Act violations and 14 other offences for giving WikiLeaks [founder Julian Assange] more than 700,000 secret military and U.S. State Department documents, along with battlefield video.” Despite still retaining male genitalia, Manning was granted an official name change by a Leavenworth County District Judge last month.
As cited by Health.com, the total cost of sexual reassignment surgery ranges from a total of $40,000 to $50,000 for “mid-range transition, including surgery.” Not ending there, the cost of hormone therapy ranges from $25 to $200 per month, “depending on which hormones are prescribed.”
Meanwhile at the VA…
Eyebrows have been raised in response to a flurry of accusations that the VA was maintaining a “secret waiting list” at their hospital in Phoenix, which may have resulted in unnecessary delays of medical treatment that very possibly could be tied to the deaths of upwards of 40 veterans.
As reported by CNN, since the allegations of the secret list in Phoenix came to light, two Durham (NC) VA Medical Center employees have been placed on paid leave due to “inappropriate scheduling practices,” while the San Antonio VA facility has just seen a scheduler accusing clerks of “cooking the books” at their bosses’ request to “hide the fact some had to wait weeks, if not months, for appointments.”
Not to be outdone, the Ft. Collins, Colo. satellite clinic, which is answerable to the larger Cheyenne, Wyo. clinic, is under investigation for “gaming the system” in order to make “Cheyenne look good.”