On July, 30, 2016 the VA Office of Inspector General announced, "Today is National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.  We as a nation must recognize the important role whistleblowers play in exposing serious problems and deficiencies in government programs and operations."

What does the VA mean by serious problems?  Millions spent on "art" while our homeless veterans dine "chez garbage"?  Are rampant corruption, lies, and despicable treatment of "VA VIP customers" serious and blatant enough?

The wrongdoing is shamelessly self-explanatory, and so is Obama´s endorsement of the VA secretary´s pseudo-transformation of the decaying department.  While performing at a Disabled Veterans Convention in Atlanta (August 1, 2016), Obama gushed: "Thank you, Bob, for the great work you are doing."

As for VA secretary Robert McDonald, he seems perfectly content with the pat on the back and grandiose sound of his own voice: "Excellence is what we´re after. So the right dialogue is about forward-looking leadership and sustainable accountability."

Hey, homeless "folks": if you are hungry, eat a project.  "You should know there are more than 100 legislative proposals for veterans in the president´s 2017 budget."  McDonald seems optimistically hopeful that after elections, he will receive more money to burn and no "sustainable accountability" for loss of human lives and potential.

Obama said, "As commander-in-chief, I'm pretty tired of some folks trash-talking America's military and troops," but it was not about refusing to salute the American flag, sending our soldiers to Leavenworth, or inhuman treatment of homeless veterans – just one more boring attack against Donald Trump.

On the website of the U.S. Department of Defense figures: "Washington, July, 2014 – Leaders at the Veterans Affairs Department are deeply concerned and distressed about allegations that whistleblowers are routinely retaliated against." 

In 2016, VA whistleblowers still claim retaliation for complaints against the "distraught" leaders, and Secretary McDonald still considers that "you can´t fire your way to excellence."

On their website, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs presents the goal of the "VA Honesty Project": "to highlight the Department of Veteran Affairs' lack of transparency with the press and the public about its operations and activities."

What follows is an interminable list of "the VA didn´t respond…" and "the VA Office of Inspector General declined to comment or divulge documents…"

The VA has already been known for $10 million's worth of landscaping schemes and such essentialities as a "zigzag wall to block the sun," and it looks like both the artistic and artful appetites grow by what they feed on – the taxpayers' money and a lack of accountability for neglecting the areas of the greatest concern.

Just three days before the "National Whistleblower Appreciation Day," Senator Mark Kirk stated: "Spending money on decorative art while Veterans wait for care is unacceptable."  As reported by The Daily Caller (July 27, 2016), it is estimated that the VA is not the only government department spending taxpayer money on luxury art, but "they appear to be the spending most."

While the VA is blowing money for bells and whistles, their message is clear: enjoy your Whistleblower Day, but if you want changes, you can whistle for them.