BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

John Edwards made a brief appearance on Letterman tonight and of course, there was mention of Bill O’Reilly and his failure to recognize the number of homeless veterans in America.

Edwards summed it up succinctly by saying that he (O’Reilly) is full of crap.  Maybe that’s O’Reilly’s claim to fame… lots of hot air and full of crap.  It was wonderfully candid of Edwards to say as much.

But, the real issue isn’t what O’Reilly thinks (I use the concept loosely).  The issue isn’t really whether we have 200,000 homeless veterans in America as Edwards claims or if the number is higher or lower… give or take 199,999.  The point is, no one can dispute that there is at least one homeless veteran in America.  And, ONE is one too many.

I have to wonder how we can sleep at night knowing that somewhere in America, maybe down the street or in the wooded area next to the railroad crossing or under the bridge that crosses the river, there is a man or woman who served our country and now has no place to live… for whatever reason.

Some of these homeless veterans are suffering from mental health issues.  From reports that surfaced last year, we are aware that many of the veterans were ashamed to come forward to discuss their issues.  And, for many who did come forward, the Army declined to take action, dismissing their complaints as an excuse not to fulfill the obligations of a second or third tour.  Not only do many of these veterans need housing, they need quality mental health care.  They have earned it and they deserve it.  And, that’s just one of the issues.

But, to the O’Reilly Fantasy… Bill O’Reilly, like so many of the media elite are more interested in ratings and building their personal egos than tackling real issues.  Unfortunately, too many of our more conservative talking heads love nothing more than to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that all America lives in nice little three bedroom cottages surrounded by white pickett fences. 

I would refer anyone who wishes to question the number of homeless veterans by state to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. 

Of all the candidates, John Edwards is the only candidate who never speaks without bringing up the issue of our veterans.  For that, I applaud him and support his candidacy.