From the Walter Reed hearings this week...

... here is Clinton (formerly known as H. Clinton) from one of yesterday's hearings, following up on a congressional proposal that is so obvious, practical and commonsense that it shouldn't have taken Congress to come up with it. You'd think someone in the Army itself could have suggested it. Of course, they probably did, and were soon abruptly fired for incompetence while the leadership just got shuffled around and continued to act like things were just fine.

Just why is Kiley still there, anyway? Someone in today's House hearing (sorry, I forget who it was -- Hobson seems to ring a bell, but don't quote me on that) suggested it was because he had an "angel" watching out for him, but I'm guessing it's someone with more insider clout.

But I digress...

CLINTON: We've already heard about the disconnect between the Department of Veterans Affairs schedule for rating disabilities that doesn't adequately address the current nature of wounds like TBI and PTSD and amputations and hearing loss and diseases.

In the audience is Steve Robinson. He and I worked together a couple of years ago, in trying to get a pre- and post-deployment physical exam done so that we could actually tell what was the condition of a soldier before being deployed and the condition of that soldier when he returned.

And one of the things we could not get through was a mental exam assessment, before someone was deployed.

We're now hearing that people who are reporting with TBI and PTSD are being told it was a pre-existing condition.

You know, if the proposal that I had made and that others had lobbied for had been accepted, we might have a baseline to figure out what actually happened to these young men and women during their deployments.

Also in the "Go On, Girl" file, earlier in the same hearing, newbie Sen. McCaskill (D-MO) was the first to pointedly ask Kiley if he thought he should resign. (I'm sure you can guess his answer.)

And on a lighter note, this reflection on his own post-WW2 rehabilitation from Senator Inouye (D-HI) in today's Senate hearing:

INOUYE: I had to learn to play a musical instrument. Before the war, I played a saxophone and the clarinet, but that was impossible, so then they tried a trumpet, and they said, no, your lips are too soft for that.

And so they said, how about the piano?

I said, you must be out of your mind, but I passed the test. Some day I'll demonstrate to you.

(LAUGHTER)

They even taught us how to make love. Some day I'll say so in public, not for the record here, but I can assure you it was the best lesson I ever got.

(LAUGHTER)

I've never made a mistake since.