Wait Times, Schmait Times

A disabled veteran needing to see a VA doctor—or a non-disabled vet who’s “merely” sick, come to that—should blow off his wait times—too often weeks or months—just as he does his half-hour or hour wait times at Disney parks.  That is, if the disabled vet can partake of a Disney park at all.  Or so said Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald:

When you got to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line?  Or what’s important?  What’s important is, what’s your satisfaction with the experience?  And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure.

Indeed, as McDonald would have it, this unimportant wait time shouldn’t even be measured from when the veteran expresses his need by calling for an appointment.  No, not at all.  The proper measure is a “preferred date,” a measure of the VA’s convenience, rather than the veteran’s need.

Never mind, either, that not only is wait time a part of McDonald’s satisfaction with the experience.  For veterans needing to see their doctors, wait time too often is a Critical Item.

This is beyond disgusting or despicable.  The VA’s corporate culture of indifference isn’t going to change.  McDonald should be terminated, promptly and for cause.  And then the VA disbanded.

Veteranos Administratio delende est.

Hillary Clinton Said, “No”

Hillary Clinton is ducking her final debate with Senator Bernard Sanders, brushing off a commitment she made earlier this year to participate in a forum in California ahead of the state’s June 7 primary….

This raises two questions in my pea brain.  One is, of what is she so afraid?  She’s shown herself an effective debater, and this would have been a golden opportunity to put her opponent away and enhance the strength of her supporters at the Democratic Convention regarding such things as the Party Platform, which Sanders wants to drag even farther to the left.

The other question is a larger one: if Clinton won’t keep this commitment, how can we trust her to keep any commitment were she to be elected?  What is the value of her word, exactly?