Jon Stewart demands to know why Veterans Affairs is still using 1985 technology


Jon Stewart kicked off Tuesday night's Daily Show by noting that presidents have been promising to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs since at least the Truman administration. That effort has apparently progressed in fits and starts. Congress has been holding late-night hearings on the VA's scandalously long wait times at hospitals, Stewart noted, almost approvingly, but a lot of the hearings devolve into ping-ponging responsibility back and forth between the VA bureaucracy and Congress.
Stewart hit his stride when a zombie-like VA bureaucrat (to be fair, it was an overnight hearing) informed Congress that the department's scheduling software was last significantly updated in 1985. "You're running OS... Tandy 1000?" Stewart gaped. "Your system can't process claims, but it can print an all-text picture of Snoopy." He didn't really have a solution, but he offered this suggestion: "Can't we figure out some way to use that death-drone NSA technology for administrative purposes at the VA?" And that's Stewart's sensible solution. His dream scenario is more entertaining. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
How potatoes became an 'unusual bellwether' in Russia's economy
Under The Radarp Spud shortages are pointing to a wider crisis in the nation's finances
-
7 food trails worth zipping along
The Week Recommends Take a bite out of the United States
-
Libraries are feeling the cost burden of e-book popularity
Under the Radar Certain states are working to change laws around e-book purchasing for libraries
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestone
Speed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two years
Speed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on X
Speed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'
Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellites
Speed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers