People must become more engaged

I am amazed at how disengaged people are with the world around them. For those of you who claim you lack the time or money to become engaged, I call bull. Those who don’t want to talk about politics because it angers people, I say it should rile you up because what happens in Washington does have an effect on us, believe it or not, just like the VA’s delayed wait times that caused dozens of unnecessary deaths.

Ray Apodaca, 69, a Vietnam veteran who appeared on my radio show May 30, is the most recent victim of the ineptitude of the VA system. He visited the ER at Loma Linda VA Hospital in 2012 with intense pain in his left side. An X-ray was ordered and the on-call ER doctor dismissed the mass shown on the X-ray, told Ray the pain was due to inflammation and old age, prescribed ibuprofen and sent Ray home.

Two years later in March, 2014, Ray visited the ER complaining of the same pain, but this time he went to the Victorville satellite facility where the on-call doctor was more diligent. The X-ray she ordered showed the same mass, and a CAT scan was conducted which confirmed the worst – Stage 4 kidney cancer. Inoperable. The big IF here is if the doctor back in 2012 had ordered a CAT scan then, the cancer may have been operable and treatable. Ray passed away Thursday, June 26, and I am very sorry for his family.

Ray was a gentle and kind man who wasn’t angry about his misdiagnosis, but he expressed his anger over the media protecting Obama and hiding the truth. His major concern was that other veterans are not receiving the care that they deserve. Ray’s need not have been a sad story if someone at the VA would’ve shown some concern for him in 2012, but that’s not the case and this government doesn’t give a damn.

I am beyond angry that veterans are so egregiously maltreated when they return home after they selflessly serve this country to protect our freedoms. These incidents are happening here, not somewhere “over there.” If we don’t make an effort to make changes America will no longer be. What kind of country are we leaving to our grandchildren?

The IRS is probably the most powerful agency in this country, with the authority to drain a taxpayer’s bank account and garnish wages. Recently it’s been brought to light that the IRS was maliciously targeting conservative and Tea Party organizations seeking to gain tax-exempt status, and emails that would prove those allegations are now somehow “lost.” If the IRS came knocking on the door to conduct an audit, which one of us would get away with making the similar claim that our receipts are “lost?” We’d go to prison!

The White House decided against sending troops to fight alongside Iraqi soldiers against extremists, posing a real danger of Iraq falling under the reign of terrorists, something the U.S. fought hard to prevent. After 4,477 American troops’ lives were sacrificed for that cause, if it was all for nought it would be a grave shame. We don’t have a choice but to fight terrorists on their soil otherwise the war will be fought over here. We also need to seal our borders, and the only thing we need to borrow from China is their blueprint for the Great Wall.

Switching gears to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that Obama couldn’t utilize recess appointments, and the Senate decides when they’re in recess, not Obama. This is the first time we’ve seen any common sense in the Supreme Court in a long time. My good friend Rich Temme, one of the smarter people I know, was on my radio show last week to offer his insightful perspective on the scope of the decision and its ramifications.

Rich pointed out that Obama used recess appointments to circumvent the lack of cooperation he’s receiving from the House, one of those was the appointment of three liberal-minded individuals to the National Labor Relations Board a few years ago. These individuals are pro-worker, pro-union and hard on industry. Since their appointment they have been involved with many decisions handed down by the NLRB, and with the Supreme Court ruling all of those decisions are effectively undone.

Obama, you have to abide by the rules like everyone else. We all want a prosperous America and for workers to earn a good living. The liberals want it immediately while the conservatives are considering the long term, more permanent and supportable approach. You can’t cut the Golden Goose open and feed off all the eggs, you need to feed the goose and take an egg every day. The economy has to grow and produce jobs so it can serve itself.

Ed Hoffman is the host of the Main Event on AM590 which airs Saturday 9:30AM- 10:30AM and Sunday 4:00PM- 5:00PM.