Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

If you’re not angry about the VA scandal, Jon Stewart will fix that

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testified before Congress last week that he was "mad as hell" about the egregious scandal unfolding at his hospitals, with workers falsifying records to make wait times appear shorter. At least 40 veterans are estimated to have died while waiting for care.

Shinseki might want to take some lessons on what “mad as hell” actually looks like from Jon Stewart.

Stewart unloaded on the VA scandal during his Monday night show, literally screaming over evidence that the falsifying of records wasn’t happening at just one hospital but at numerous hospitals across eight states. The segment ends with a pretty epic rant from Stewart, who adds VA officials to his “Big Book of Assholes.”

Well before this segment, the Daily Show has been a persistent critic of mismanagement at Veteran’s Affairs.

Stewart has been running segments since early 2013 about the massive backlog of paper claims that the agency hasn’t processed. The backlog of 1 million claims, as Stewart aptly joked, looked like something you would discover in your grandfather’s garage.

The segments have continued over the past year and, for anyone just now trying to understand the mismanagement of the VA, are good and infuriating introduction to how dysfunctional the agency can be.

Given its long history, its fair to expect more Daily Show outrage on the VA scandal in the not too distant future.

See More:

More in archives

archives
Ethics and Guidelines at Vox.comEthics and Guidelines at Vox.com
archives
By Vox Staff
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health careThe Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health care
Supreme Court

Given the Court’s Republican supermajority, this case is unlikely to end well for trans people.

By Ian Millhiser
archives
On the MoneyOn the Money
archives

Learn about saving, spending, investing, and more in a monthly personal finance advice column written by Nicole Dieker.

By Vox Staff
archives
Total solar eclipse passes over USTotal solar eclipse passes over US
archives
By Vox Staff
archives
The 2024 Iowa caucusesThe 2024 Iowa caucuses
archives

The latest news, analysis, and explainers coming out of the GOP Iowa caucuses.

By Vox Staff
archives
The Big SqueezeThe Big Squeeze
archives

The economy’s stacked against us.

By Vox Staff