Fellow Veterans and Friends of Veterans,
For the first time in decades, fellow Veterans believed we had won a major victory when U.S. District Judge S. James Otero entered a federal judgment adjudicating nine real estate deals on VA land as “unauthorized by law and therefore void.”
When the VA appealed the judgment, fellow Veterans sent VA Secretary Robert McDonald, co-defendant in the lawsuit, a letter and petition respectfully requesting that he drop the appeal.
Instead, on Jan. 29, the Secretary met with ACLU attorneys behind closed doors and jointly announced the so-called “settlement agreement.”
Steve Mackey, the entrusted spokesman for plaintiffs Vietnam Veterans of America, called it “a good deal.” I called it a Trojan Horse.
“Trust us,” said lawyers for the plaintiffs and defendants.
We trusted them. The settlement is proving to be bad deal for Veterans because the Trojan Horse has taken over. It is a good deal for non-Veteran entities.
Additionally, the defendants are not getting rid of the illegal occupants listed in the federal judgment — but are allowing more non-Veteran entities in — and the plaintiffs are letting them get away with it.
In March, the VA ran the L.A. Marathon through the sacred grounds of the VA with more than 25,000 runners.
On June 6, the anniversary of World War II’s D-Day/invasion of Normandy, the AIDS bicycle event with more than 5,000 will take over the VA grounds with their annual raucous event.
Recently, we thought we were successful in blocking the AIDS Bicycle event. But Randy Quinton, deputy director of VISN 22, went to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca) who intervened on behalf of the bicycle event – not on behalf of Veterans’ best interests.
Nothing is new with the VA, or who the elected public servants put first on their priority lists.
Mr. Quinton is the VA hack who approved the Veterans Park Conservancy’s license agreement to continue building the illegal amphitheater instead of honoring the court order.
I recently met with Mr. Quinton. He expressed no sincerity or interest in the proposed stand down. He kept trying to get me to approve the AIDS bicycle event and to accept the Veterans Park Conservancy group back onto the property. I vehemently rejected both. He needs to be fired or transferred.
The record reflects that while the federal judgment was in place, the PGA was officially notified that they would have to find a new place to park their cars, and they did.
It wasn’t until the judgment was vacated that things would not only remain the same, but would get worse – horrific.
Last week I found nearly 100 brand new Mazda’s parked in a back lot. Nobody knows how they got there. Nobody at the VA can produce an agreement.
We have been pushing for an RV, camper, van, car parking lot for Veterans who live in their vehicles. We have been constantly denied while 100 new Mazdas are sneaked in overnight to the very lot I have been proposing.
Three weeks after the judgment was vacated, Dick Southern, Region 9 Director of Vietnam Veterans of America, filed for a license agreement/ land use permit with the VA to host a stand down on VA grounds. He has yet to receive any formal response.
I have been in conversations with VA officials from Washington D.C. about the stand down. They could easily win “Dancing with the Stars” the way they have dramatically waltzed around an answer.
Instead of listening to Veterans, particularly those of us who clearly understand the problems here and offer a proven successful opportunity with a long-term stand down, Secretary McDonald’s assistant, Vince Kane, is unilaterally rejecting us and “fixing up” Building 257 as a “Welcome or Drop in Center” with 35 “bridge housing beds,” an insulting term to any of the many homeless Veterans who live under a bridge.
Join us on Sunday for our 375th consecutive Sunday Rally, 1 to 4, to “Save Our Veterans Land” and to “Bring Our Homeless Veterans HOME.”
God Bless America and the Veterans Revolution!
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at rrosebrock1@aol.com