Incredible statements by the First Lady and especially Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who had the audacity to say it in front of active duty soldiers and veterans. Some of the numbers of homeless veterans recited by Michelle Obama are simply unbelievable, and the very idea there are NO homeless veterans in Virginia, are on its face also unbelievable, as are the government’s suspect numbers.

The Obama administration recently said that the number of homeless veterans dropped by 12 percent from 2010 to 2011. But getting accurate counts of the homeless is extremely difficult, and the government changed its counting methods during the year of the reported drop. Is the number of homeless vets really going down, or is the drop an artifact of murky statistics?

In 2010, the actual head count of homeless veterans registered 61,011 people. However, HUD knows that a head count isn’t going to include everyone. For example, homeless vets who stay in beds at VA shelters were not counted. Homeless people on the streets were not asked if they were veterans or not. To reflect the homeless veterans the PIT count missed, HUD “imputed”—that is, they estimated—the number and added 15,318 homeless veterans to the official 2010 statistic. For reference, a 12 percent drop in the nation’s homeless vets equates to 8834 fewer people.

Even to a fawning media….

“Folks, there is a reason why we are the greatest state in America. We are because we take care of our veterans,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said at a ceremony at a Richmond veterans memorial.

Technically according to McAuliffe’s twisted political reasoning, a veteran in a shelter counts as being off the street and thus, no longer “homeless”.

McAuliffe announced Wednesday that Virginia is the first state to meet the federal definition of effectively ending homelessness among military veterans. The federal homelessness designation means Virginia has no homeless veterans with the exception of those who have been offered housing but do not want it. The state must find a home for a veteran within 90 days and have more homes available than the number of veterans who have been identified as having no place to live.

Ask any current homeless veteran for their experience on how “the state” found them a place to live in 90 days….

A little over a month since his declarative Veteran’s Day statement about the Commonwealth of Virginia being the first state in the nation to “functionally end veteran homelessness”, Governor Terry McAuliffe took the opportunity to repeat a political comment that requires the suspension of common sense.

After what we’ve written about the governor’s statements (which was polite in comparison to the many we’ve talked to who responded to McAuliffe’s assertion with much more colorful language), we assume the governor saw B&B Media at the grand opening of the Fredericksburg Veterans Benefits Office and may have directed some of his comments to us….

At the 2016 Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia, McAuliffe continued his shameless lie.

Until veterans are no longer used as opportune political props, there will continue to be homeless veterans, despite his lie being the political template used and repeated by politicians nationwide to this day.

Yesterday evening, the Operation Renewed Hope Foundation presented Governor McAuliffe with the Northwestern Mutual Award for Improving the Lives of Veteran Families during the foundation’s Five Year Anniversary Awards Ceremony. Operation Renewed Hope has helped more than 500 veterans and their family members find housing. The organization, which serves veterans through job referrals, transportation assistance, and financial management, chose Governor McAuliffe due to his administration’s achievement functionally ending veteran homelessness in the Commonwealth.

“I am so proud to receive this award on behalf of the Virginia civil servants who worked their hearts out functionally ending veteran homelessness in our Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe, speaking at yesterday’s announcement. “Since we made the commitment to end veteran homelessness, Virginia had helped 2,640 veterans find a permanent place to call home. Virginia’s historic progress over the past three years sends a clear message of support to our veterans. And while we can never fully repay the sacrifices they’ve made, we can ensure that any veteran’s experience with homelessness either now or in the future will be rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
— Virginia Department of Veteran Services, 1/20/17

Again and again.

Governor McAuliffe announced today that the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) received the Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The award recognizes the innovative partnership between the Commonwealth and federal and local entities that enabled Virginia to be named as the first state to functionally end veteran homelessness in 2015.

“I am proud to announce the Virginia Department of Veterans Services has been honored for their outstanding work making the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to functionally end veteran homelessness,” said Governor McAuliffe. “The public servants at VDVS worked with their federal, state and local colleagues to demonstrate that smart, innovative government can make a different in people’s lives.”
— WVIR NBC29, 3/28/17

Sad and still true.