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Miller: Begich Voted for Cutting Veterans’ Pay, Twice, Before He Voted Against It

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Photo Credit: SenateDemocratsJoe Miller praised both houses of Congress today for voting to restore the cut to veterans’ pay enacted last month with the passage of the Omnibus spending bill, which implemented part of the Murray-Ryan budget agreement. He also noted Senator Mark Begich’s reversal on the issue, during this election year. Miller previously came out in strong opposition to the Murray-Ryan agreement and called on Senator Begich and the rest of the Alaska delegation to vote against it.

“I am very pleased that Congress has corrected the most egregious part of the Murray-Ryan budget agreement. It was unfathomable to me how Congress could vote to increase spending by $63 billion over ten years, while breaching trust with our veterans and voting to cut their pay by $6 billion,” said Miller. “I am glad Senator Begich finally saw the error in his ways, having voted twice for the cut to veterans’ pay before voting against it.”

Miller was the only candidate for the U.S. Senate in Alaska who came out publicly in opposition to the Murray-Ryan budget.

Disabled US Veteran Denied Entry to Starbucks Over Service Dog

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Photo Credit: Fox News A disabled U.S. Army veteran says he was told he could not enter a Texas Starbucks because of his service dog.

Yancy Baer traveled to Houston from San Antonio on behalf of the national organization Canine Companions for Independence, which helped pair Baer with service dog Verbena after Baer’s left leg was amputated from the knee down due to bone cancer, KHOU reported.

The cancer was discovered after a non-combat injury Baer suffered while serving in Iraq in 2009.

Baer got Verbena about 14 weeks ago, and traveled to San Antonio to share his story on behalf of the nonprofit Canine Companions.

He tried to go into a Starbucks on Memorial Drive when he was stopped by a store employee.

Read more from this story HERE.

Forgetting Gun Was in Glove Box Could Land Veteran in Canadian Prison for 3 Years

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Photo Credit: Reuters Retired Army Sergeant Major Louis DiNatale was on his way to Vermont for vacation in his wife’s car when he took a wrong turn, ended up on a bridge to Canada, and was charged for possession of a firearm after Canadian customs agents found a small-caliber pistol in his wife’s console.

Although DiNatale made it clear he was on the bridge inadvertently and simply wanted to u-turn and return to the United States, he was handcuffed and could face three years in prison.

According to the LA Times, DiNatale had forgotten the gun was in his wife’s console shortly after putting it there so it wouldn’t be in his truck when he drove onto base at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He put the pistol in his wife’s car for safe-keeping then forgot all about it.

When a Canadian custom agent asked DiNatale if he owned guns, the retired Sergeant Major said, “yes.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Push for New National Cemeteries, As Veteran Deaths Bring Sites Near Capacity

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

National cemeteries across the country are starting to reach capacity amid an increase in the number of veterans dying — fueling a push for the government to approve new sites, particularly in states that don’t have any.

“One of the benefits is to be buried with dignity. All veterans are entitled to that,” Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said.

Titus represents one of the 11 states, many of them in the West, that don’t have a national cemetery. She’s introduced a bill that would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to put them in those states.

“I think they should have that opportunity and not be a victim of where they live,” she said of veterans.

Just what does a national cemetery mean to a veteran?

Read more from this story HERE.

Data Shows More Young Veterans Committing Suicide

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Photo Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Photo Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Suicides among young veterans climbed sharply in a recent three-year period, according to a new government analysis focused on Veterans Health Administration clients.

The number of suicides among 18-to-29-year-old men increased from 88 in 2009 to 152 in 2011. That translates into a 44% rise in the suicide rate, which jumped to 57.9 suicides per 100,000 veterans.

Experts were at a loss to explain the increase. It occurred as the Department of Veterans Affairs was bolstering its suicide prevention efforts in response to a sharp rise in military suicides during a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

One possibility is that those efforts have been successful in drawing more suicidal young veterans to the VA for care, but that many still wind up killing themselves.

“If you have more people at risk, the rates are going to change,” said Dr. Timothy Lineberry, a suicide expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who was not involved in the analysis.

Read more from this story HERE.

Report: Postal Service Ordered to Reinstate Purple Heart Recipient Fired for ‘Excessive Military Leave’

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Photo Credit: LA Times

Photo Credit: LA Times

Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson was serving overseas with U.S. special forces when he received a letter from his civilian employer, the U.S. Postal Service.

In the 2000 notice, the agency informed him that he was being fired from his job as a postal clerk in Florida for taking too much time off to serve with the National Guard.

“I thought it was a joke,” Erickson said this week from Ft. Bragg, N.C., where he serves with the Army’s Special Operations Command.

But when he called the Postal Service, he was told that he had been terminated for taking “excessive military leave.”

Last week, after a seven-year legal battle, Erickson was awarded reinstatement and back pay. A federal board denied a Postal Service appeal and ordered the agency to restore his job and give him 14 years of back pay and other benefits that could total about $2 million.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Administration Prohibited Veterans from Hearing Christmas Carols, Receiving Gifts

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

The Obama administration’s Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prohibited veterans from hearing Christmas carols or receiving gifts wrapped in Christmas-themed wrapping paper, prompting outrage from a congressional committee.

VA officials in Iowa City, Iowa told representatives of the American Legion that they could not hand out gifts to veterans wrapped in wrapping paper that featured the term “Merry Christmas.”

Additionally, the VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia — which treats veterans — banned Christmas carolers from singing Christmas songs with religious references in public areas.

Read more from this story HERE.

Union Leader Tweet: Wishes Disabled Vet Would Have Died, Lost All Limbs

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Photo Credit: Free Patriot

Photo Credit: Free Patriot

Janet Vrotos is a hater with vitriol towards one particular group that is particularly nasty, unseemly and inappropriate. Three characteristics of Ms. Vrotos should be pointed out, all of which you may not find to be surprising, given the current administration’s apparent war on veterans and retirees.

She is a Democrat, a Union Leader and she lives in the liberal bastion of Massachusetts. While Democrats are the incessant promoters of tolerance in all things diverse or non-traditional, they sometimes fall short when the same considerations they demand of others are placed upon them.

In the case of Ms. Vrotos, the group that she has a particular disdain for is the same people who protect her right to be disgusting and to air such hateful and hurtful comments. Unfortunately, she also benefits from the sacrifice that disabled the veterans she targeted.

Her twitter comments directed towards Senior Airman Brian Kolfage were:

“You disabled veterans are worthless and all should have died, shame on you for fighting in a Republican war, you deserved to lose all of your limbs and I hope all veterans lose their benefits. I hope you die a miserable death you worthless fake hero. You and your family will be a burden on taxpayers for your entire life.”

Read more from this story HERE.

California Bar Taking On City Hall Over Sign Supporting Veterans

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Photo Credit: Fox News A California bar owner is asking veterans to rally behind him after claiming that the city of Huntington Beach is ordering him to remove a sign on his roof that salutes those who served.

The city says it’s all a big mistake — that the issue really is about permits, not wording. But the bar’s co-owner, in turn, claims the city is not being truthful and says there’s “something fishy” about the whole situation.

The center of the dispute, an illuminated sign on the roof of Johnny’s Saloon, proclaims, “THANK a VETERAN for your FREEDOM” and is popular among the bar’s clientele–a lot of former soldiers.

But an anonymous person reportedly complained to the city and the bar owners now say the city is forcing them to take it down.

According to local reports, the owners of Johnny’s, John Marovic and Johnny Kresimir, say they received a letter in the mail this week from the city ,stating that they were required to remove the sign within two days or face nearly $1,000 in fines.

Read more from this story HERE.

U.N. Disabilities Treaty Would Not Help Veterans; It Would Hurt What They Fought For

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Photo Credit: St Petersburg Times, ZUMAPRESS, NewscomHeritage expert Steve Groves writes in RealClearPolicy today:

Perhaps the American people have come to expect less than straight talk from the White House. But blowing smoke that misleads Americans with disabilities—including U.S. veterans badly wounded in combat—crosses a red line even by today’s standards.

The Obama Administration claims this treaty will help Americans with disabilities, including veterans, when they travel abroad. But having the U.S. sign on to this treaty simply would not do this. As Groves says, the treaty’s supporters “would have us believe that human-rights treaties like the [Disabilities Treaty] act as a sort of magic wand—if a treaty says that all signatories must do something good, then presto-chango, it shall be so. But in the real world, human-rights treaties simply don’t work like that.”

Read more from this story HERE.