DALE BARNETT

The performance of a number of Veterans Administrations hospitals and health facilities had been terrible and the some VA official had lied about the VA performance making it seem as though the performance was not as bad as it was in reality. There were some calls for the elimination of the VA hospitals and replacing them with vouchers. This was the official American Legion Response to a Conservative Congressional proposal to replace the Veterans Administration hospitals with vouchers whereby veterans would go to private physicians for their health care instead of VA facilities. Generally, the American Legion was quite conservative politically and in support of most Republican proposals, but this went too far.

He was reacting to the protest of professional football player Colin Kaepernick—Quote 643305. Instead of standing and saluting as professional athletes have done for decades before games, Kaepernick had kneeled and refused to stand as a protest about the large number of unarmed Black young men who had been killed by police. . This caused great public criticism but also some initial support. Athletes who did this were potentially risking their multimillion dollar salary as this technically violated their contract to avoid anything embarrassing to the team. He also donated $1 million to programs in the area that were working to enhance Black/white understanding. Even those who disagreed with his choice of protest defended his right to do so, and after the initial furor, public opinion, while not in agreement about his method, tended to support him for having the courage of his convictions and using his celebrity for a worthy cause. Barnett was critical without appearing to denigrate the cause for which Kaepernick had protested or his right to protest.

He was reacting to the protest of professional football player Colin Kaepernick—Quote 643305. Instead of standing and saluting as professional athletes have done for decades before games, Kaepernick had kneeled and refused to stand as a protest about the large number of unarmed Black young men who had been killed by police. . This caused great public criticism but also some initial support. Athletes who did this were potentially risking their multimillion dollar salary as this technically violated their contract to avoid anything embarrassing to the team. He also donated $1 million to programs in the area that were working to enhance Black/white understanding. Even those who disagreed with his choice of protest defended his right to do so, and after the initial furor, public opinion, while not in agreement about his method, tended to support him for having the courage of his convictions and using his celebrity for a worthy cause. Barnett was critical without appearing to denigrate the cause for which Kaepernick had protested or his right to protest.

The performance of a number of Veterans Administrations hospitals and health facilities had been terrible and the some VA official had lied about the VA performance making it seem as though the performance was not as bad as it was in reality. There were some calls for the elimination of the VA hospitals and replacing them with vouchers. This was the official American Legion Response to a Conservative Congressional proposal to replace the Veterans Administration hospitals with vouchers whereby veterans would go to private physicians for their health care instead of VA facilities. Generally, the American Legion was quite conservative politically and in support of most Republican proposals, but this went too far.