I am outraged that our President isn't outraged about the mess at Walter Reed. Building 18 should be shuttered and all vets moved away from there immediately. This is just one more example of the administration's incompetence and lack of care for the citizens of this country.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate, very much, how hard Secretary Nicholson is working and especially honor his willingness to talk candidly about the VA's need for more funding. But, he can't possibly do an adequate job unless his boss gives him the support he needs.

The Bush Administration is completely removed from the real world, the one we live in, and seemingly not interested in changing the situation: Our President picked a fight with a bully who wasn't threatening us, committed other's children to fight him, tried to do it on the cheap, and then had the audacity to neglect their care in the aftermath.

If you presented a work performance like that, what would your boss do? S/he would have long since demanded that you clean up your act or fired you. So, why hasn't that happened? Becuase those we hired to monitor his performance were 'sleeping' with him. We tried to head this train wreck off at the pass last November when we changed management in Congress but a ship the size of this country doesn't turn on a dime. It will take years to clean up this mess and, in the meantime, good men and women are paying a horrible price for the CEO's incompetence.

As I see it, the first priority is to get adequate care for the wounded troops caught in the middle of this mess. Some ideas: 1) close Building 18, 2) move all of the wounded to other facilities - private ones, if necessary, 3) provide them with everything they need to reintegrate into society, 4) don't even consider questioning their right to disability payment. Concurrently determine what is actually needed to put things right at Walter Reed and make it happen.

If all of this sounds expensive it's because it will be, and we simply have to suck it up and find the money. I would suggest a tax increase on the wealthy - you know, the ones who got a nice tax break a few years ago so they would invest capital and create jobs. The kinds of jobs that would, ostensibly, generate sufficient taxes to replace those the rich were excused from. It might have worked - eventually - if the CEO hadn't, concurrently, given his buddies a fire-sale price on government.

I just have a few questions for you, Mr. President. Where's your outrage? Why aren't you demanding accountability? What are you going to do to protect the troops you're so willing to send into harm's way? Oh, and DON'T SEND AND MORE TROOPS INTO HARM'S WAY!!!

Step up to the plate, Mr. President. If you really admire Harry Truman model his favorite saying, "The buck stops here."