To the editor:

When I see television commercials pleading for donations for organizations such as Wounded Warriors, I pause to consider why such donations are necessary.

I have an enduring empathy for our veterans who have selflessly given so much of themselves in service to our country. But I’ve had that empathy transformed to disgust toward our government as I’ve wondered…Why isn’t our government taking care of all of these veterans’ needs? It’s appalling. It’s scandalous. It’s inexplicable! It’s infuriating!

I could lay all of this at 45/47’s doorstep, but this has been happening for decades, even before 45/47 — the fortunate son with the convenient bone spurs, Musk, and the DOGE team ever heard of Wounded Warriors’ motto: “Not a single warrior left behind…ever!” These are seven words in which George Carlin would have liked to rub their noses.

What makes all of those adjectives so perplexing is that many people holding positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate are themselves…get this…veterans. I hear them flaunt this distinguished resume’ enhancement at every opportunity, only to allow this atrocity to continue.

There are 82 in the House and 17 in the Senate. And that begs the question: Why wouldn’t there be a push to get our veterans full coverage to take care of their needs? It’s ridiculous. It’s inane. It’s borderline criminal. It should be bipartisan! Shame on them. Shame on us for not demanding something more be done.

And now the DOGE team is adding insult to insult after injury as it’s been revealed that as many as a third of the DOGE cuts are veterans. You can’t make this stuff up. As I’ve written in an earlier letter about the DOGE cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH), Musk’s cuts say in effect, “To hell with cancer research!” Now cuts to veterans’ benefits scream, “To hell with veterans.”

Who’s next to find themselves victims of chainsaw Elon Musk’s obsessive governmental purge? I’m sure we’ll find out all too soon.

Keith R. Klawitter

Morgan