Strib: VA needs better tests for PTSD, panel says
The Strib reports on another "surge" in the Iraq War: the number of veterans suffering post-traumatic stress
disorder(PTSD). Tuesday, an advisory group noted that the growing numbers of vets experiencing PTSD requires development of better tests for evaluation and compensation of stricken veterans. The short article notes:
The government's methods for deciding compensation for emotionally disturbed veterans have little basis in science, are applied unevenly and may even create disincentives for veterans to get better, said the critique by a combined committee from the Institute of Medicine, which provides advice to the federal government on medical science issues, and the National Research Council.
The study was undertaken at the request of the Department of Veterans Affairs amid fears that troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will produce a tidal wave of new PTSD cases. Claims increased from 120,265 in 1999 to 215,871 in 2004 and payments jumped from $1.72 billion to $4.28 billion in the same period, the panel said.
Washington Post: GOP House campaign committee wants "their" districts back
While Walz wasn't listed on earlier DC-originating Republican lists, his seat turns up on one in the profile of new NRCC chair Tim Cole. The article notes the Cole is pushing moderates, rather than conservatives, to run against Democratic newbies. Cole says:
that the United States is a "center-right country, not a right-wing country." He wants the GOP to woo swing voters, and he believes they can be coaxed back into the fold with better messaging, better marketing and better performance.
This opinion puts Cole at odds with Boehner and many Minnesota Republicans, who have called for a return to the hard right. The article reports that Cole is enthusiastic about candidates trying to win back seats in New York, Connecticut and Mn-01, but doesn't name which candidate he's raving about forthe First.
There is mention of a GOP congressional candidate school in DC this week:
The memo describes how the panel has already attracted and helped prepare candidates for the 2008 battle: Nearly 30 of them arrived in Washington this week for "candidate school," Boehner and presidential adviser Karl Rove, among others, briefed them on such topics as fundraising and talking to reporters.
Since Senator Dick Day is showing up for roll call at the Minnesota Senate this week, according to Monday's journal, according to the Senate journal, the former minority leader doesn't seem to be part of this round of training. Randy Demmer has been excused from the Minnesota House for Monday and Tuesday, and we're looking into the nature of his absence.
Neither Day nor Demmer is serving on any conference committees this session, so it's not as if either one is doing any heavy lifting. No word on Mark Meyer, other than he's been making his case at county conventions.
More about Cole and his list at the New York Times/CQPolitics.
Community News Co: Bush Administration shames, demeans our nation's honor
The WaPo article discusses the albatross of Bush around the GOP's neck. Publisher Larry Dobson explores one facet of it: the lies about the war, specifically the Jessica Lynch story:
. . .The official U.S. government version of the story was that Lynch was held captive in a hospital and abused by Iraqi insurgents until she was rescued by American soldiers, who drove off captors. She was portrayed as a female "Rambo," who had fought viciously against overwhelming odds before being captured.
According to Lynch in testimony before Congress, it just didn't happen that way.
Like most of what we've been told about Iraq by the government, this story has also turned out to be a lie fashioned to drum up support for the war here at home. . . .
. . . When one of our citizen soldiers is injured and captured by enemy fighters, that is not a photo opportunity for the President of the United States to twist the truth for his personal advantage. It is a time when only one thing should matter and that is rescuing and caring for our citizen soldier.
Those military officers and government officials, including the President of the United States, responsible for this contemptible action bring shame and embarrassment to our nation. By their demonstration that they have none, they demean our nation's honor.
Community News Corporation publishes weekly papers in Byron, Dodge Center and Hayfield.
Albert Lea Tribune: Tim Penny on new role
Former Representative Tim Penny talks to the paper about his job at the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation.
The paper's editorial board also thinks that A nickel gas tax [raise] makes sense.
Mankato Free Press: Senator Coleman sides with the drug industry
One position for which former Rep. Gil Gutknecht received praise from the Free Press and other district papers was his advocacy of allowing perscription drugs to be imported into the USA. The Free Press's front page tease for a web-extra feature notes that "Sen. Coleman sided with the pharmaceutical industry on prescription drug import vote Monday" then goes on to note contributions from the drug industry to Coleman. Tut! Tut!
Rochester Post Bulletin: Austin student C-Span winners
More on the student winners in Austin students' documentary wins C-SPAN award and at KTTC in Austin Teens Take Top Doc Prize.
Winona Daily News: Goodview water plant update
The Winona Daily News reports that Senators Klobuchar and Coleman have been busy addressing Goodview's radium-in-the-water problem in Senate to consider funding for Goodview water plant. Klobuchar's work gains particular attention:
Klobuchar sits on the Senate’s Environment and Public Works committee, which created the waterways bill, and helped usher the legislation through the committee process.
Walz's action in the House is mentioned:
The city began working in March with Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., on a separate appropriations bill for $2.2 million after Walz visited city officials during a district tour. That legislation is still pending, and could serve as an alternate plan if the $3 million legislation doesn’t pass or is stricken from the final bill.
Worthington Globe: Lake Wilson man wins new title
Not only are the student film makers in the First above average, but the men are good looking, mostly. Lake Wilson's Greg Gillette has won Redbook's Hottest Husband contest:
“At first it was kind of embarrassing, but as time went on, it became kind of fun. It was just something I will always remember,” said Greg, who works as a truck driver for UPS.
During the month of February and early March, Jodi worked hard to spread the word about her husband’s selection as a finalist and urged everyone she knew to vote for her husband on the magazine’s Web site. The story of his status as a finalist was written in newspapers, broadcast over the airwaves and was even featured on a Minneapolis television news station.
“It just really spread like wildfire,” Jodi said.
And, as the news spread, Greg was open to some good-natured ribbing from his friends and co-workers and a new nickname: “Hollywood,” according to the feature in Redbook’s June issue.
In the end, Greg won the Hottest Husband title by at least 600 votes — more than double the entire population of their hometown of Lake Wilson. . . .
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