What's New
| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Philanthropist Bobby Willis to Build New $3.3 Billion Hospital for VA in Farmington, NM for Rural and Native American Veterans |
Proposed state-of-the-art Kirtland veterans clinic could provide as many as 8,000 jobs March 14, 2010, Farmington, New Mexico (Farmington Daily Times) — A proposed veterans complex in Kirtland centered around a new hospital, backed by a wealthy entrepreneur and costing an estimated $3.3 billion promises to bring state-of-the-art medicine and other benefits to veterans, as well as 8,000 jobs to the local economy. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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| March 9 VCS Weekly Update |
This week’s VCS update keeps you in the loop with news on issues you care about. One good change – our weekly news updates won’t ask you for money. Instead, our news updates point you to news articles at our web site. We hope you will read them and share the important facts with your friends. This week's update includes news about VA and suicides, VCS on CNN, our VCS FOIA campaign, VA automating Agent Orange claims, a waterboarding torture video, and Gulf War veterans' benefits. |
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| Federal Court Keeps Torture Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld Alive |
What's Waterboarding? Watch Video of Torture March 5, 2010, Chicago, Illinois (Associated Press) - A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for the alleged torture by U.S. forces of two Americans who worked for an Iraqi contracting firm. [Rumsfeld served at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush.] |
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Program Trains Veterans to Run for Office
Written by Rick Maze
Friday, 14 August 2009 09:22
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August 13, 2009 - A training program for veterans thinking about running for political office will be held in September at Princeton University.
The nonpartisan, nonideological training program, called the Veterans Campaign, is designed solely to get more former military people - especially younger veterans - interested in serving in state and federal office, said Seth Lynn, executive director of the nonprofit education program and a former Marine Corps officer. The two-day course, which starts on Sept. 12, is free, but those attending will have to cover their own transportation, food and lodging costs, Lynn said. Lynn said the idea of helping veterans run for office came from memories of Marine officers bemoaning the fact that the number of veterans serving in Congress has been declining for some time. Only 26 of 100 senators - down from 54 in 1994 - and 101 members of the 435-member House of Representatives served in the military. In the years after World War II, more than half of lawmakers were veterans. Having more veterans in Congress might be a way to encourage bipartisanship, Lynn said, especially if candidates get basic campaign training together. "It is a huge pool of talent, and we would be better off having more veterans in political office," he said. "I think a lot of veterans, in general, are discouraged by politics and the political process. I think a lot of veterans think about running for office but really don't know what it takes." Lynn said the Princeton program is unique in focusing on veterans in a nonpartisan way. Fundraising, a key element of modern political campaigns, is one of the things alien to many military officers. "Fund raising is one of the toughest things for many of them because there is a feeling that you are being selfish to be asking for money," Lynn said. The course will show veterans how to raise money and think of it as a political necessity, he said. Another challenge is preparing to take for harsh and personal criticism, Lynn said. "In the military, when you get criticized, it usually is for something doing something wrong. Politics is completely different," he said. Anyone who is interested can sign up online. About 40 people are signed up for the September training, with room for a few more, he said. If the course is successful, the Veterans Campaign plans to hold another session in Washington, D.C., in January.
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