Government Screw-Ups
I've seen a couple of great examples recently of television networks serving as watchdogs when the government acts with complete insensitivity toward some of its most vulnerable citizens. Brian Ross and Vic Walter of ABC News, in conjunction with Audrey Hudson of the Washington Times, describe in "Disposable Heroes" how the Veterans Administration recruited mentally distressed veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war to test drugs that have been linked to violent side effects, including suicide. In some cases, VA doctors waited more than three months to warn the veterans, many of them already suffering from depression, about the potentially lethal side effects, according to Husdson, Walter and Ross. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5180437&page=1 and www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/test-nearly-lethal-veteran-says/
Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost of CNN report that while some people who lost their homes because of Hurricane Katrina still struggle to find basic household supplies, the U.S. government has given away millions of goods that were supposed to help them. "FEMA gives away $85 million of Supplies for Katrina Victims" reveals how "cots, cleansers, first-aid kits, coffee makers, camp stoves and other items" that were bought or donated after the hurricane ended up being sent to other state and federal agencies instead of to the storm's victims in New Orleans. One of the states that took a pass on getting the goods: Louisiana. The story includes this perfect example of a bureaucratic response from a FEMA spokesman:
"Upon review of our assets and our need to continue to store them, we determined that they were excess to FEMA's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA's inventory."
Thank you to Investigative Reporters and Editors for recommending this story. www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/11/fema.giveaway/index.html