Free Republic

snip... That’s why I am proud to join the majority of my fellow veterans and other Americans who support Congress’s bipartisan work to defund painful and inefficient dog experiments at the VA. This legislation is truly a light among the gloomy partisan clouds surrounding D.C. these days. With all of D.C.’s political gridlock, my dear friend and fellow double amputee and bomb technician Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., and other House members deserve applause for unanimously passing legislation this summer to prohibit taxpayer funding for questionable VA research that causes dogs significant pain and distress. [puppers act...

Internal Department of Veterans Affairs data provided by whistleblowers reveals the agency is only filling about half of its capacity to make medical appointments, even as veterans continue to wait an average of at least 30 days before a medical appointment can be scheduled. The VA documents show that between July and September of 2017, the agency only used 51.44 percent of the appointments available across its healthcare system. VA documents also show there are currently 184,520 veterans across the nation waiting longer than 30 days for an appointment and more than 45,000 new veteran patients waiting more than 90...

Rather than fixing the issue, the hospital retaliated against Klein: “On May 28, 2016, after Klein’s superiors found out he’d blown the whistle on what he saw as serious problems, the VA closed his clinic and tried to fire him. When the agency learned Klein could not be fired because he was a whistleblower, his superiors forced him to sit in a room for a year, with no patients and no duties, all the while paying him his full salary of $250,000 a year,” a Fox New article from June stated.

Last week, the National Rifle Association endorsed the full Republican ticket -- Ed Gillespie, Jill Vogel, and John Adams. The NRA promotes policies that would make our communities, schools, and children less safe -- from allowing guns in schools to opposing universal background checks. But one Virginian is killed every 10 hours by a gun. That’s why Ralph and the Democratic ticket are proud to have an ‘F’ rating from the NRA -- because commonsense gun laws are important for the safety of the commonwealth. Will you chip in today to help us counter the NRA’s support of the GOP...

Report: Charlottesville Racist Leader Was Former Occupy Activist, Obama Supporter by Joel B. Pollak 15 Aug 2017 The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reports that Jason Kessler, the organizer of last Saturday’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, is rumored to be a former Occupy Wall Street activist and supporter of Barack Obama. The left-wing SPLC is often partisan and overzealous in targeting hate groups, lumping legitimate conservative organizations together with actual extremists. Therefore its identification of Kessler’s left-wing roots is significant.

President Trump’s planned infrastructure announcement unraveled into chaos as he all but erased any credit he got on Monday for condemning white supremacists for the deadly confrontation in Charlottesville, Va. Trump said it was “a horrible day” but said several times that counter-protesters were not getting enough scrutiny for their role in the confrontation and emphasized his belief that many of the protesters who joined with white nationalists were innocent. “What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at, as you say, the 'alt-right'? Do they have any semblance of guilt?” Trump said. “They came charging with clubs in their hands,”...

I person dead, 19 injured says hospital.

President Trump unveils the new VA Telehealth system to allow Vets to get help from anywhere at anytime using their phones and computers. Includes portable medical units like what is used by government NP's can take to the vets' homes.

<p>A man was arrested for allegedly holding a woman and her two children captive for at least two years in their Spotsylvania home.</p> <p>Kariem Ali Muhammad Moore, 43, is charged with three felony counts of abduction and felony assault and battery.</p>

The VA Veterans Choice Program is supposedly a benefit that allows eligible Veterans to receive health care from a community provider rather than waiting for a VA appointment or traveling to a VA facility. I am rated at 100 percent totally and permanently disabled due to combat service-connected disability. The nearest VA dental facility is over 40 miles from my residence. I must wait more than 30 days for an appointment. I am therefore eligible for the program but VA tells me that dental care is specifically excluded from this program. Can anybody tell me why it is excluded and...

Washington Post employee Itai Ozderman, 35, was arrested after his Gaithersburg, MD home was raided by Montgomery County Police on February 22nd at around 6 a.m, according to court documents. Ozderman is charged with impersonating an ICE officer on several occasions throughout Falls Church, VA. When the warrant was served on Feb. 22 at Ozderman's home in the 100 block of Elmira Lane, court documents say 10 weapons, including handguns, assault rifles, and a shotgun, were recovered. Sources tell ABC7's Kevin Lewis that Ozderman impersonated an ICE officer throughout Falls Church, Va. on more than one occasion. According to sources,...

President Trump is keeping his promise regarding one of the most bureaucratic agencies in the federal government. Background: The Veterans Affairs has long faced criticism regarding his care and service toward veterans. In the aftermath of the 2014 scandal in which veterans waited extremely long times in order to receive proper care, lawmakers in Washington D.C. have demanded that the agency accelerate firings. Leaders within the Department of Veterans Affairs conquered with the horrific call to dump veterans off the waitlist for care, sending them off to death. Many veterans, as a result, have died waiting for care from the...

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who represents Virginia in the U.S. Senate, will hold an outdoor forum on Saturday, July 22 at 11 am in Luther Plaza outside the Cregger Center. While many of our students, faculty and staff are not on campus at this time, we wanted to inform everyone so those who are interested might attend. As an educational institution, Roanoke College has a long history of presenting events to the Roanoke Valley region with an emphasis on civil discourse. RSVP is encouraged but not required. RSVP directly to Senator Kaine’s office at TimKaine.com/healthcare. Parking will be available in...

Accountability: For decades, political leaders have lamented the scandal-plagued Veterans Health Administration, and did little more than throw more money at the problem. The Trump administration is firing workers who aren't doing their jobs. According the Department of Veterans Affairs, 526 have been fired for misconduct since President Trump took office. Another 200 have been suspended and 33 demoted. Most of them worked at the VHA and included physicians, nurses, pharmacy technicians, food service workers, medical technicians, office workers, even some police officers. VA Secretary David Shulkin said this was part of a broader effort to reform the culture at...

Judicial Watch Sues Veterans Affairs for Violating Protester’s Constitutional Rights Sanders’ Wife Tried Evicting a Disabled Group after Shady College Deal Judicial Watch Sues Veterans Affairs for Violating Protester’s Constitutional Rights The VA is a mess of a government agency and too often abuses the rights and interests of veterans it is supposed to protect. This is highlighted in new our lawsuit against several Veterans Affairs police officers and officials for violations of the constitutional rights of Robert L. Rosebrock, a 75-year-old Vietnam era veteran, who for nearly a decade has protested misuse of a 388-acre parcel of prime...

Department of Veterans Affairs officials have fired more than 500 misbehaving employees since January, according to data posted online Friday. VA Secretary David Shulkin touted his agency's decision to publish its efforts to hold VA employees accountable, unveiling new requirements for updating the public on personnel actions. "Veterans and taxpayers have a right to know what we're doing to hold our employees accountable and make our personnel actions transparent," Shulkin said in a statement. "Posting this information online for all to see, and updating it weekly, will do just that."

HARRISONBURG, Va. — A man paid to register Virginia voters prior to the 2016 Presidential Election will spend at least 100 days in prison for submitting the names of deceased individuals to the Registrar’s Office. James Madison University student Andrew J. Spieles, 21, of Harrisonburg, pled guilty Monday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. As part of the plea agreement, Spieles agreed to a prison sentence of 100 to 120 days. Spieles worked for Harrisonburg Votes when he committed the crime, according to acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle. Harrisonburg Votes is a...

President Trump on Friday signed Veterans Affairs reform legislation meant to protect whistleblowers while making it easier to fire problematic employees at the department. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act passed by Congress earlier this month streamlines the process to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees for poor performance or misconduct. In addition, it authorizes the VA secretary to recoup any bonuses awarded to employees who have acted improperly. “Veterans have fulfilled their duty to this nation and now, we must fulfill our duty to them,” Trump said. “So to every veteran who is here with...

Sorry for the vanity -- but I have not seen an answer to this question in any of the reports I've read or heard on Fox. Does anybody know?

'Multiple shootings' reported near congressional baseball game practice field: Report Live More to follow. Reports that Steve Scalise (R-LA) shot in hip. Security detail members returned fire and killed suspect. Staffer and security personnel also wounded. Breaking Live