Podcasts about veterans affairs

It's Casual Friday and Sam is still hosting solo today as Emma continues to neglect the show for her “honeymoon”. Whatever. On the program today we listen to Sen Kirsten Gilibrand (D-NY) lose her mind and spew a stream of racist sewage out of her mouth towards Zohran Mamdani. Ryan Grim joins for a wrap up of the week's news. Subscribe to Ryan's newsletter here Drop Site News Dr Adam Gaffney joins us to discuss how proposed cuts to Medicaid will ultimately kill people. In the fun half we watch Sen Jon Ossoff (D-GA) expose VA Sec Collins for having no plan to execute the proposed $17-18 billion in cuts to medical services for the Veterans Affairs. Rep Liccardo (D-CA) exposes the Trump adminstration for dropping cases against those who have contributed to his slush fund. We also visit radical Mormon fundamentalist, Glen Beck as he uses tired 9/11 era Islamophobia to attack Zohran. All that and more, folks. Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! Check out today's sponsors: NUTRAFOL: Get $10 off your first month's subscription + free shipping at Nutrafol.com when you use promo code TMR10 SUNSET LAKE: Use the code LEFTISBEST to save 20% at SunsetLakeCBD.com  on all their farm fresh CBD products for people and pets. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/

Nearly two decades ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs came under scrutiny for a massive data breach. The incident involved a stolen laptop and the personal information of more than 26 million veterans. The breach served as a wake up call for the VA and for the rest of the federal government on the importance of information security. Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday wrote about the VA data breach for our 25th anniversary series, and he joins me now to discuss it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Washington Times Commentary Editor Kelly Sadler interviews Robert Wilkie, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, about the U.S. Army's birthday.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins attempted to assuage lawmakers' concerns Tuesday over how the agency plans to deliver critical health tech services amid drastic cuts to its workforce. Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Collins said the VA is full steam ahead on planned deployments of its oft-troubled electronic health record at additional facilities, and is also pushing forward on the rollout of its External Provider Scheduling tool. The VA said in February that it had dismissed 1,000 employees, while the Associated Press reported in March that it planned to cut 80,000 staffers. The Oracle EHR system, meanwhile — plagued by technical problems since its launch during the first Trump administration — is scheduled to be deployed at 13 medical facilities by 2026. A suite of Elastic products will be discounted for agencies by up to 60% under a new deal announced Tuesday by the General Services Administration. The agreement, part of the GSA's OneGov strategy to modernize how the government purchases goods and services, will give agencies access to discounts of Elastic's self-managed solution starting at 27.5%, climbing to higher savings based on governmentwide annual spending. Stephen Ehikian, GSA's acting administrator, said in a press release that the pact “represents a significant step in our efforts to drive cost efficiencies and modernize IT infrastructure across the federal government.” Additionally, discounts start at 15% for FedRAMP Moderate cloud deployments via GovCloud, jumping to 32% at the top volume tier. The pricing options are locked in for orders made prior to Sept. 30, 2027. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

 In this episode of Management Matters, host James-Christian Blockwood talks with Secretary Bob McDonald and Commissioner Martin O'Malley, two seasoned government executives from Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration, to discuss approaches to public service, leadership philosophies, and the transformative changes they implemented in their respective roles. They explore the challenges of modernizing government, the importance of leadership in change management, and the role of data-driven decision-making and technology in improving government services. The conversation also touches on the future of Social Security and veteran services, emphasizing the need for hope and effective leadership in navigating these challenges.Support the Podcast Today at:donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comFollow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT 

This week, we explore the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs’ efforts to end Veteran homelessness, learn how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District is supporting wildfire response in Los Angeles, and get an update from the MN Patriot Guard. Guests include: Derek Holt – Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Col. Eric Swenson […] The post Ending Veteran Homelessness and MN Army Corps of Engineers Wildfire Recovery appeared first on Minnesota Military Radio.

Dr. John Sweetenham and Dr. Erika Hamilton highlight key abstracts that were presented at ASCO25, including advances in breast and pancreatic cancers as well as remarkable data from the use of structured exercise programs in cancer care. Transcript Dr. Sweetenham: Hello, and welcome to the ASCO Daily News Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. John Sweetenham. Today, we'll be discussing some of the key advances and novel approaches in cancer care that were presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. I'm delighted to be joined again by the chair of the Meeting's Scientific Program, Dr. Erika Hamilton. She is a medical oncologist and director of breast cancer and gynecologic cancer research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee.  Our full disclosures are available in the transcript of this episode. Dr. Hamilton, congratulations on a fantastic meeting. From the practice-changing science to the world-renowned speakers at this year's Meeting, ASCO25 really reflected the amazing progress we're seeing in oncology today and the enormous opportunities that lie ahead of us. And thanks for coming back on to the podcast today to discuss some of these advances. Dr. Hamilton: Thanks, Dr. Sweetenham. I'm happy to join you today. It really was an impactful ASCO Annual Meeting. I probably am biased, but some great research was presented this year, and I heard lots of great conversations happening while we were there. Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, absolutely. There was a lot of buzz, as well as a lot of media buzz around the meeting this year, and I think that's probably a good place to start. So I'd like to dive into abstract number LBA3510. This was the CHALLENGE trial, which created a lot of buzz at the meeting and subsequently in the media. This is the study that was led by the NCI Canada Clinical Trials Group, which was the first randomized phase 3 trial in patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer, which demonstrated that a post-treatment structured exercise program is both feasible and effective in improving disease-free survival in this patient group. The study was performed over a long period of time and in many respects is quite remarkable. So, I wonder if you could give us your thoughts about this study and whether you think that this means that our futures are going to be full of structured exercise programs for those patients who may benefit. Dr. Hamilton: It's a fantastic question. I think that this abstract did create a lot of buzz. We were very excited when we read it. It was highlighted in one of the Clinical Science Symposium sessions. But briefly, this was a phase 3 randomized trial. It was conducted at 55 centers, so really a broad experience, and patients that had resected colon cancer who completed adjuvant therapy were allowed to participate. There were essentially 2 groups: a structured exercise program, called ‘the exercise group,' or health education materials alone, so that was called just ‘the health education group.' And this was a 3-year intervention, so very high quality. The primary end point, as you mentioned, was disease-free survival. This actually accrued from 2009 to 2024, so quite a lift, and almost 900 patients underwent randomization to the exercise group or the health education group. And at almost 8 years of follow-up, we saw that the disease-free survival was significantly longer in the exercise group than the health education group. This was essentially 80.3% of patients were disease-free in exercise and 73.9% in the health education group. So a difference of over 6 percentage points, which, you know, at least in the breast cancer world, we make decisions about whether to do chemotherapy or not based on these kind of data. We also looked at overall survival in the exercise group and health education group, and the 8-year overall survival was 90.3% in the exercise group and 83.2% in the health education group. So this was a difference of 7.1%. Still statistically significant. I think this was really a fantastic effort over more than a decade at over 50 institutions with almost 900 patients, really done in a very systematic, high-intervention way that showed a fantastic result. Absolutely generalizable for patients with colon cancer. We have hints in other cancers that this is beneficial, and frankly, for our patients for other comorbidities, such as cardiovascular, etc., I really think that this is an abstract that deserved the press that it received. Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, absolutely, and it is going to be very interesting, I think, over the next 2 or 3 years to see how much impact this particular study might have on programs across the country and across the world actually, in terms of what they do in this kind of adjuvant setting for structured exercise. Dr. Hamilton: Absolutely.  So let's move on to Abstract 3006. This was an NCI-led effort comparing genomic testing using ctDNA and tissue from patients with less common cancers who were enrolled in but not eligible for a treatment arm of the NCI-MATCH trial. Tell us about your takeaways from this study. Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, so I thought this was a really interesting study based, as you said, on NCI-MATCH. And many of the listeners will probably remember that the original NCI-MATCH study screened almost 6,000 patients to assess eligibility for those who had an actionable mutation. And it turned out that about 60% of the patients who went on to the study had less common tumors, which were defined as anything other than colon, rectum, breast, non–small cell lung cancer, or prostate cancer. And most of those patients lacked an eligible mutation of interest and so didn't get onto a trial therapy. But with a great deal of foresight, the study group had actually collected plasma samples from these patients so that they would have the opportunity to look at circulating tumor DNA profiles with the potential being that this might be another way for testing for clinically relevant mutations in some of these less common cancer types. So initially, they tested more than 2,000 patients, and to make a somewhat complicated story short, there was a subset of five histologies with a larger representation in terms of sample size. And these were cholangiocarcinoma, small cell lung cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic, and salivary gland cancer. And in those particular tumors, when they compared the ctDNA sequencing with the original tumor, there was a concordance there of around 84%, 85%. And in the presentation, the investigators go on to list the specific mutated genes that were identified in each of those tumors. But I think that the other compelling part of this study from my perspective was not just that concordance, which suggests that there's an opportunity there for the use of ctDNA instead of tumor biopsies in some of these situations, but what was also interesting was the fact that there were several clinically relevant mutations which were detected only in the circulating tumor DNA. And a couple of examples of those included IDH1 for cholangiocarcinoma, BRAF and p53 in several histologies, and microsatellite instability was most prevalent in small cell lung cancer in the ctDNA. So I think that what this demonstrates is that liquid biopsy is certainly a viable screening option for patients who are being assessed for matching for targeted therapies in clinical trials. The fact that some of these mutations were only seen in the ctDNA and not in the primary tumor specimen certainly suggests that there's some tumor heterogeneity. But I think that for me, the most compelling part of this study was the fact that many of these mutations were only picked up in the plasma. And so, as the authors concluded, they believe that a comprehensive gene profiling with circulating tumor DNA probably should be included as a primary screening modality in future trials of targeted therapy of this type. Dr. Hamilton: Yeah, I think that that's really interesting and mirrors a lot of data that we've been seeing. At least in breast cancer, you know, we still do a biopsy up front to make sure that our markers, we're still treating the right disease that we think we are. But it really speaks to the utility of using ctDNA for serial monitoring and the emergence of mutations. Dr. Sweetenham: Absolutely. And you mentioned breast cancer, and so I'd like to dwell on that for a moment here because obviously, there was a huge amount of exciting breast cancer data presented at the meeting this year. And in particular, I'd like to ask you about LBA1008, the DESTINY-Breast09 clinical trial, which I think has the potential to establish a new first-line standard of care for metastatic HER2+ breast cancer. And that's an area where we haven't seen a whole lot of innovation for around a decade now. So can you give us some of the highlights of this trial and what your thinking is, having seen the results? Dr. Hamilton: Yeah, absolutely. So this was a trial in the first-line metastatic HER2 setting. So this was looking at trastuzumab deruxtecan. We certainly have had no shortage of reports around this drug, initially approved for later lines. DESTINY-Breast03 brought it into our second-line setting for HER2+ disease and we're now looking at DESTINY-Breast09 in first-line. So this actually was a 3-arm trial where patients were randomized 1:1:1 against standard taxane/trastuzumab/pertuzumab in one arm; trastuzumab deruxtecan with pertuzumab in another arm; and then a third arm, trastuzumab deruxtecan alone. And what we did not see reported was that trastuzumab deruxtecan-alone arm. But we did have reports from the trastuzumab deruxtecan plus pertuzumab versus the chemo/trastuzumab/pertuzumab. And what we saw was a statistically significant improvement in median progression-free survival, 26.9 months up to 40.7, so an improvement of 13.8 months, over a year in PFS. Not to mention that we're now in the 40-month range for PFS in first-line disease. Really, across all subgroups, we really weren't able to pick out a subset of patients that did not benefit. We did see about a 12% ILD rate with trastuzumab deruxtecan. That really is on par with what we've seen in other studies, around 10%-15%. I think that this is going to become a new standard of care in the first-line. I think it did leave some unanswered questions. We saw some data from the PATINA trial this past San Antonio Breast, looking at the addition of endocrine therapy with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor, palbociclib, for those patients that also have ER+ disease, after taxane has dropped out in the first-line setting. So how we're going to kind of merge all this together is, I suspect that there are going to be patients that we or they just don't have the appetite to continue 3 to 4 years of trastuzumab deruxtecan. And so we're probably going to be looking at a maintenance-type strategy for them, maybe integrating the PATINA data there. But how we really put this into practice in the first-line setting and if or when we think about de-escalating down from trastuzumab deruxtecan to antibody therapy are some lingering questions. Dr. Sweetenham: Okay, so certainly is going to influence practice, but watch this space for a little bit longer, it sounds as though that's what you're saying. Dr. Hamilton: Absolutely.  So let's move on to GI cancer. Abstract 4006 reported preliminary results from the randomized phase 2 study of elraglusib in combination with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel versus the chemo gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel alone in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Can you tell us more about this study? Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned, elraglusib is actually a first-in-class inhibitor of GSK3-beta, which has multiple potential actions in pancreatic cancer. But the drug itself may be involved in mediating drug resistance as well as in some tumor immune response modulation. Some of that's not clearly understood, I believe, right now. But certainly, preclinical data suggests that the drug may be effective in preclinical models and may also be effective in combination with chemotherapy and potentially with immune-modulating agents as well. So this particular study, as you said, was an open-label, randomized phase 2 study in which patients with pancreatic cancer were randomized 2:1 in favor of the elraglusib plus GMP—gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel—versus the chemotherapy alone. And upon completion of the study, which is not right now, median overall survival was the primary end point, but there are a number of other end points which I'll talk about in just a moment. But the sample size was planned to be around 207 patients. The primary analysis included 155 patients in the combination arm versus 78 patients in the gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel arm. Overall, the 1-year overall survival rate was 44.1% for the patients in the elraglusib-containing arm versus 23.0% in the patients receiving gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel only. When they look at the median overall survival, it was 9.3 months for the experimental arm versus 7.2 months for chemotherapy alone. So put another way, there's around a 37% reduction in the risk of death with the use of this combination arm. The treatment was overall well-tolerated. There were some issues with grade 1 to 2 transient visual impairment in a large proportion of the patients. The most common treatment-related adverse effects with the elraglusib/GMP combination was transient visual impairment, which affected around 60% of the patients. Most of the more serious treatment-related adverse events included neutropenia, anemia, and fatigue in 50%, 25%, and 16% of the patients, respectively. So the early results from this study show a significant benefit for 1-year overall survival and for median overall survival with, as I mentioned above, a significant reduction in the risk of death. The authors went on to mention that the median overall survival for the control arm in this study is somewhat lower than in other comparable trials, but they think that this may be related to a more advanced disease burden in this particular study. Of interest to me was that right now: there is no apparent difference in progression-free survival between the 2 arms of this study. The authors described this as potentially indicating that this may be related in some way to immune modulation and immune effects on the tumor, which, if I'm completely honest, I don't totally understand. And so, the improvement in overall survival, as far as I can see at the moment, is not matched by an improvement in progression-free survival. So I think we probably need to wait for more time to elapse to see what happens with the study. And so, I think it certainly is an interesting study, and the results are intriguing, but I think it's probably a little early for it to actually shift the treatment paradigm in this disease. Dr. Hamilton: Fantastic. I think we've been waiting for advances in pancreatic cancer for a long time, but this, not unlike others, we learn more and then learn more we don't realize, so. Dr. Sweetenham: Right. Let's shift gears at this point and talk about a couple of other abstracts in kind of a very different space. Let's start out with symptom management for older adults with cancer. We know that undertreated symptoms are common among the older patient population, and Abstract 11002 reported on a randomized trial that demonstrated the effects of remote monitoring for older patients with cancer in terms of kind of symptoms and so on. Can you tell us a little bit about this study and whether you think this approach will potentially improve care for older patients? Dr. Hamilton: Yeah, I really liked this abstract. It was conducted through the Veterans Affairs, and it was based in California, which I'm telling you that because it's going to have a little bit of an implication later on. But essentially, adults that were 75 years or older who were Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were eligible to participate. Forty-three clinics in Southern California and Arizona, and patients were randomized either into a control group of usual clinic care alone, or an intervention group, which was usual care plus a lay health worker-led proactive telephone-based weekly symptom assessment, and this was for 12 months using the validated Edmonton Symptom Assessment System. So, there was a planned enrollment of at least 200 patients in each group. They successfully met that. And this lay health worker reviewed assessments with a physician assistant, who conducted follow-up for symptoms that changed by 2 points from a prior assessment or were rated 4 or greater. So almost a triage system to figure out who needed to be reached out to and to kind of work on symptoms. What I thought was fantastic about this was it was very representative of where it enrolled. There were actually about 50% of patients enrolled here that were Hispanic or Latinos. So some of our underserved populations and really across a wide variety of tumor types. They found that the intervention group had 53% lower odds of emergency room use, 68% lower odds of hospital use than the control group. And when they translated this to actual total cost of care, this was a savings of about $12,000 U.S. per participant and 75% lower odds of a death in an acute care facility. So I thought this was really interesting for a variety of reasons. One, certainly health care utilization and cost, but even more so, I think any of our patients would want to prevent hospitalizations and ER visits. Normally, that's not a fantastic experience having to feel poorly enough that you're in the emergency room or the hospital. And really showing in kind of concrete metrics that we were able to decrease this with this intervention. In terms of sustainability and scalability, I think the question is really the workforce to do this. Obviously, you know, this is going to take dedicated employees to have the ability to reach out to these patients, etc., but I think in value-based care, there's definitely a possibility of having reimbursement and having the funds to institute a program like this. So, definitely thought-provoking, and I hope it leads to more interventions. Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, we've seen, over several years now, many of these studies which have looked at remote symptom monitoring and so on in this patient population, and many of them do show benefits for that in kinds of end points, not the least in this study being hospitalization and emergency room avoidance. But I think the scalability and personnel issue is a huge one, and I do wonder at some level whether we may see some AI-based platforms coming along that could actually help with this and provide interactions with these patients outside of actual real people, or at least in combination with real people. Dr. Hamilton: Yeah, that's a fantastic point.  So let's talk a little bit about clinical trials. So eligibility assessment for oncology clinical trials, or prescreening, really relies on manual review of unstructured clinical notes. It's time-consuming, it's prone to errors, and Abstract 1508 reported on the final analysis of a randomized trial that looked at the effect of human-AI teams prescreening for clinical trial eligibility versus human-only or AI-only prescreening. So give us more good news about AI. What did the study find? Dr. Sweetenham: Yeah, this is a really, a really interesting study. And of course, any of us who have ever been involved in clinical trials will know that accrual is always a problem. And I think most centers have attempted, and some quite successfully managed to develop prescreening programs so that patients are screened by a health care provider or health care worker prior to being seen in the clinic, and the clinical investigator will then already know whether they're going to be eligible for a trial or not. But as you've already said, it's a slow process. It's typically somewhat inefficient and requires a lot of time on the part of the health care workers to actually do this in a successful way. And so, this was a study from Emory University where they took three models of ways in which they could assess the accuracy of the prescreening of charts for patients who are going to be considered for clinical trials. One of these was essentially the regular way of having two research coordinators physically abstract the charts. The second one was an AI platform which would extract longitudinal EHR data. And then the third one was a combination of the two. So the AI would be augmented by the research coordinator or the other way around. As a gold standard, they had three independent oncology reviewers who went through all of these charts to provide what they regarded as being the benchmark for accuracy. In a way, it's not a surprise to me because I think that a number of other systems which have used this combination of human verification of AI-based tools, it actually ultimately concluded that the combination of the two in terms of chart accuracy was for the most part better than either one individually, either the research coordinator or the AI alone. So I'll give you just a few examples of where specifically that mattered. The human plus AI platform was more accurate in terms of tumor staging, in terms of identifying biomarker testing and biomarker results, as well as biomarker interpretation, and was also superior in terms of listing medications. There are one or two other areas where either the AI alone was somewhat more accurate, but the significant differences were very much in favor of a combination of human + AI screening of these patient charts. So, in full disclosure, this didn't save time, but what the authors reported was that there were definite efficiency gains, and presumably this would actually become even more improved once the research coordinators were somewhat more comfortable and at home with the AI tool. So, I thought it was an interesting way of trying to enhance clinical trial accrual up front by this combination of humans and technology, and I think it's going to be interesting to see if this gets adopted at other centers in the future. Dr. Hamilton: Yeah, I think it's really fascinating, all the different places that we can be using AI, and I love the takeaway that AI and humans together are better than either individually. Dr. Sweetenham: Absolutely.  Thanks once again, Dr. Hamilton, for sharing your insights with us today and for all of the incredible work you did to build a robust program. And also, congratulations on what was, I think, a really remarkable ASCO this year, one of the most exciting for some time, I think. So thank you again for that. Dr. Hamilton: Thanks so much. It was really a pleasure to work on ASCO 2025 this year. Dr. Sweetenham: And thank you to our listeners for joining us today. You'll find links to all the abstracts we discussed today in the transcript of this episode. Be sure to catch up on all of our coverage from the Annual Meeting. You can catch up on my daily reports that were published each day of the Annual Meeting, featuring the key science and innovations presented. And we'll have wrap-up episodes publishing in June, covering the full spectrum of malignancies from ASCO25. If you value the insights you hear on the ASCO Daily News Podcast, please remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.   More on today's speakers: Dr. John Sweetenham   Dr. Erika Hamilton @erikahamilton9   Follow ASCO on social media:  @ASCO on Twitter  ASCO on Bluesky  ASCO on Facebook   ASCO on LinkedIn     Disclosures:     Dr. John Sweetenham:     No relationships to disclose    Dr. Erika Hamilton: Consulting or Advisory Role (Inst): Pfizer, Genentech/Roche, Lilly, Daiichi Sankyo, Mersana, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Ellipses Pharma, Olema Pharmaceuticals, Stemline Therapeutics, Tubulis, Verascity Science, Theratechnologies, Accutar Biotechnology, Entos, Fosun Pharma, Gilead Sciences, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Medical Pharma Services, Hosun Pharma, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Jefferies, Tempus Labs, Arvinas, Circle Pharma, Janssen, Johnson and Johnson   Research Funding (Inst): AstraZeneca, Hutchison MediPharma, OncoMed, MedImmune, Stem CentRx, Genentech/Roche, Curis, Verastem, Zymeworks, Syndax, Lycera, Rgenix, Novartis, Millenium, TapImmune, Inc., Lilly, Pfizer, Lilly, Pfizer, Tesaro, Boehringer Ingelheim, H3 Biomedicine, Radius Health, Acerta Pharma, Macrogenics, Abbvie, Immunomedics, Fujifilm, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Merus, Nucana, Regeneron, Leap Therapeutics, Taiho Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono, Daiichi Sankyo, ArQule, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Clovis Oncology, CytomX Therapeutics, InventisBio, Deciphera, Sermonix Pharmaceuticals, Zenith Epigentics, Arvinas, Harpoon, Black Diamond, Orinove, Molecular Templates, Seattle Genetics, Compugen, GI Therapeutics, Karyopharm Therapeutics, Dana-Farber Cancer Hospital, Shattuck Labs, PharmaMar, Olema Pharmaceuticals, Immunogen, Plexxikon, Amgen, Akesobio Australia, ADC Therapeutics, AtlasMedx, Aravive, Ellipses Pharma, Incyte, MabSpace Biosciences, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Pionyr, Repetoire Immune Medicines, Treadwell Therapeutics, Accutar Biotech, Artios, Bliss Biopharmaceutical, Cascadian Therapeutics, Dantari, Duality Biologics, Elucida Oncology, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Relay Therapeutics, Tolmar, Torque, BeiGene, Context Therapeutics, K-Group Beta, Kind Pharmaceuticals, Loxo Oncology, Oncothyreon, Orum Therapeutics, Prelude Therapeutics, Profound Bio, Cullinan Oncology, Bristol-Myers Squib, Eisai, Fochon Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Inspirna, Myriad Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Stemline Therapeutics

Leah breaks down everything veterans need to know about Parkinson's disease and VA disability, with a clear focus on ratings, connection, and benefits. She explains how Parkinson's disease can be service-connected through direct, presumptive, or secondary pathways—especially for those exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, or toxic chemicals during military service. Leah covers how the VA rates Parkinson's (starting at 30% but often much higher when all symptoms are considered), what documentation is required to build a strong connection to service, and the wide range of benefits available—from monthly compensation to caregiver support, adaptive housing grants, and priority healthcare. 

Our anonymous guest this week reached out after we had VA whistleblower "Johnny" on back for Episode 282 in March. She's a long time employee of Veterans Affairs, is a doctor, and has evidence of further corruption at the VA that she wanted to expose. She gets into what she sees as a greater effort to privatize more components of veterans healthcare with the Trump administration. We get into all of this, as well as what Kris has been up to being away from the show the past three weeks. Follow us:http://instagram.com/battlelinepodcasthttp://x.com/battlelinepod For 15% off select Fort Scott Munitions products use the promo code Battleline at http://fsm.com   For full video of this episode, head over to our Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@battlelinepodcast     

David Waldman continues to lounge in the Virgin Islands, perhaps a letdown for those of us who had favorited him in local Pedro Pascal look-alike contests, but not for you loyal listeners out there, as David made certain that there wasn't the slightest interruption in our KITM service. Of course, this show was pre-recorded last week, so listening to it you might not be aware that Donald K. Trump is an egomaniacal loser so bent on self-aggrandizement that he's ready and willing to destroy the world to get it. Or that his deplorable followers are so deluded and demented that they've become individual ISIS wannabees, hiding behind every bush. In Not-Weaponizing Government news, the Rurals have become less illegal, while the Urbans have become more illegal than ever before. Pro-Lifers might cut back on their assassinations if only their pro-life government killed more first. VA doctors are finally allowed to euthanize Democrats and unmarried. The Department of Veterans Affairs will be able locate and eliminate Libs much more efficiently due to the efforts of DOGE and its installation of AI into agency systems. Anyone with a Social Security number can now be doxed with a push of a button. That could ruin or even kill most people, but for some it could make them millions, maybe billions! DOGE can do just about anything, other than find federal waste and fraud, because that stuff is really rare.

After anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement rioters shut down two Veterans Affairs offices in Los Angeles, the VA secretary criticized the state's Democrat leaders for prioritizing illegal immigrants over veterans.   “Don't tell me that you're really overly concerned about veterans if you're allowing the riots to get to a point where we can't take care of our veterans,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins told The Daily Signal in an interview.   Because of the riots, more than 600 veteran appointments were canceled, and the Veterans Affairs Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center was closed the entire week. The Los Angeles VA Regional Benefit Office is also closed.   Amid the riots, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have blamed President Donald Trump for the violence, saying his deployment of National Guard and Marines exacerbated tensions. “They should have looked at this much more in depth and not with a political stance of illegals who come into our country, who fly other flags and claim to be a part of something that frankly, there's a privilege to be here in this country as a citizen and to other things,” Collins said. Subscribe to The Tony Kinnett Cast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tony-kinnett-cast/id1714879044⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Keep Up With The Daily Signal Sign up for our email newsletters:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.dailysignal.com/email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠     Subscribe to our other shows:  Problematic Women:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Victor Davis Hanson: https://megaphone.link/THEDAILYSIGNAL9809784327   Follow The Daily Signal:  X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://x.com/intent/user?screen_name=DailySignal Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Facebook:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Truth Social:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1    Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day's top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're joined by the Director of Government Affairs from the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and a Minnesota State Senator to discuss the 2025 legislative session and receive updates from the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. Guests include: Jon Kelly – Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Sen. Aric Putnam – Minnesota Senate Director […] The post 2025 Legislative Session appeared first on Minnesota Military Radio.

In one of his first interviews since becoming the city manager of Springfield, Michigan, Aaron Edlefson talks about what drew him to lead the city - and reflects on his service in the Veterans Affairs department in Calhoun County.Episode ResourcesCity of SpringfieldABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERSFormer WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on community leaders and newsmakers in and around Battle Creek. Community Matters is heard Saturdays at 8:00 AM Eastern on WBCK-FM (95.3) and anytime at battlecreekpodcast.com.Community Matters is sponsored by Lakeview Ford Lincoln and produced by Livemic Communications.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is eliminating a pay bump for thousands of its employees. The VA approved a special salary rate under the Biden administration, giving HR professionals a 15% pay increase. The department approved the pay increase to address persistent underfunding across its HR workforce, and it was about the same time that VA surged healthcare hiring to treat more veterans under the toxic exposure PACT Act. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more on the current situation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today's West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy Podcast for our especially special Daily Special, Metro Shrimp & Grits Thursdays is now available on the Spreaker Player!Starting off in the Bistro Cafe, the rightwing Georgia Supreme Court ruled against MAGA Republicans.Then, on the rest of the menu, the former head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs filed a federal lawsuit accusing Governor Kay Ivey of wrongful termination and defamation; a former worker who leaked information about plans by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' administration to build golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks has filed a whistleblower lawsuit; and, seven Arkansas families filed suit challenging the state law that requires the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms.After the break, we move to the Chef's Table where Polish security services have detained three men who were planning an attack inspired by Neo-Nazi perpetrators of mass killings; and, the European court ruled Italy is not liable for the actions of the Libyan Coast Guard in a fatal 2017 migrant boat sinking.All that and more, on West Coast Cookbook & Speakeasy with Chef de Cuisine Justice Putnam.Bon Appétit!The Netroots Radio Live Player​Keep Your Resistance Radio Beaming 24/7/365!“Everyone in this good city enjoys the full right to pursue his own inclinations in all reasonable and, unreasonable ways.” -- The Daily Picayune, New Orleans, March 5, 1851Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/west-coast-cookbook-speakeasy--2802999/support.

In Episode 58 of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, Kshemendra Paul shared his journey from Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur to senior federal executive, highlighting his leadership roles at the Department of Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. His work focused on improving government performance through data, fraud prevention, and information sharing—most notably with the Recovery Act and the national suspicious activity reporting initiative.The conversation emphasized the role of data as a strategic asset, especially in fraud reduction, internal controls, and improving services for veterans. Kshemendra advocated for better enterprise-level data use, identity verification tools, and integrated platforms to support transparency, efficiency, and trust in government.He also discussed the success of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) project in NYC, which used predictive analytics to identify at-risk youth, and called for stronger federal data leadership, including the establishment of a Federal Chief Data Analytics Officer.Finally, Kshemendra shared his upcoming retirement plans, a renewed focus on advocacy, and personal reflections—including his passion for hiking, skiing, and family. Kshemenda is available on LinkedIn or via email at kshemendra.paul@gmail.comKshemendra Paul is a seasoned leader, recognized for his pioneering results and solutions using data,  architecture, and information sharing and safeguarding to improve government on behalf of the American people. As a widely lauded executive, Kshemendra routinely applied his unique perspective to addressing complex challenges, contributing to reducing risk, and enhancing operational efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity. His insights explore how organizations can leverage data for impactful decision-making, improved outcomes, and greater protection of stakeholders. His focus now is policy advocacy. He also serves on boards, and advises organizations and leaders.Recent Op-Ed:"Moving Federal Enterprise Risk Management Beyond Compliance Theater" – FedScoop, April 2025Thank you for listening to this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast! If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing, rating, and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners! Stay Connected: Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: @DorrisConsultingInternational Twitter: @DorrisConsultng Facebook: @DCInternational Resources Mentioned: Citizen Services Newsletter 2024 Service to the Citizen Awards Nomination Form

Legal immigration shouldn't feel like punishment — but for many, it does.In this episode of Unwritten Chapters, I explore the emotional toll of doing everything “by the book” and still being left in limbo. Inspired by the stories of legal immigrants caught in the shadows of ICE raids — and my own stalled Veterans Affairs claim — this episode sheds light on the silent suffering inside systems that promise fairness but rarely deliver it.

Over half of Americans now live with at least one chronic condition, yet our healthcare system still revolves around episodic, reactionary care instead of continuous, coordinated support.We talk with Dr. Jaewon Ryu—former CEO of Geisinger and now CEO of Risant Health—about how integrated delivery systems are reshaping the way care is paid for and delivered. With decades of experience spanning medicine, law, government, and leadership at some of the most respected healthcare institutions, Dr. Ryu offers a rare inside look at what it takes to scale value-based care in a fragmented system.We cover:

My “Leaving Cancer” reprise road trip has checked every box. After four days with lots to come, I'm just checking in a little bit about the sports weekend….and the delights of the Black Hills, small towns, and life's little moments in this on the road mini-pod. Enjoy

The VA is set to resume its electronic health record modernization program in 2026, nearly three years since it was paused in 2023. During the pause, the agency focused on developing a new strategy for deployment to improve success and boost patient safety. VA now plans to jumpstart the program with a focus on functionality and interoperability of the system, Dr. Neil Evans, VA's acting program executive director of VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office explains. Evans discusses how this shift in thinking is building the foundation of a stronger, more functional EHR program. He said the EHR rollout will be conducted in “waves,” where geographically connected medical centers will deploy at the same time so that patients who maneuver between them will have their record accessible no matter where they seek care.

On today's Midday Report with host Terry Haines:Nome residents gathered to protest proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Graphite mining in Alaska could be one step closer. And the Alaska Board of Education unanimously approved new reading standards for Alaska Native languages.Photo: Nome residents John Bioff, Bob Lewis and Hannah Anderson protesting at Anvil City Square. (Wali Rana photo)

Nicolle Wallace on Kilmar Abrego Garcia being faced with criminal charges upon his return to the U.S., the stakes of Trump and Musk's ugly public breakup, and thousands of veterans rallying in DC today to protest the Trump Administration's proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Joined by: Lisa Rubin, Harry Litman, Tim Miller, Matt Dowd, Tyler Pager, Kyle Lewis, Rev. Al Sharpton, Paul Rieckhoff, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Lee Gelernt, and Mike Schmidt.

Dorsey Hager, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Columbus Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss economic challenges in Central Ohio, ongoing construction projects and a union-busting case impacting Teamsters Local 284. Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss proposed Medicaid cuts, their impact on healthcare access and potential job losses at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

TALK TO ME, TEXT ITThe absurdity of modern drama against the backdrop of historic valor forms the core of this thought-provoking episode. We begin with an unexpected morning excitement involving a fire truck in the parking lot, quickly transitioning to the childish social media feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk that has dominated headlines."We Americans are way bigger and stronger. We have more important things to do than worry about two rich guys having a little titty fight on social media," we observe, highlighting the irony of how women are often criticized for being too emotional while powerful men engage in petty public disputes. The Steve Bannon suggestion that Trump should deport Elon Musk only adds another layer of absurdity to this unnecessary distraction.The episode then pivots to something truly meaningful – commemorating D-Day on its anniversary. We explore the historical significance of June 6, 1944, detailing how 156,000 brave souls stormed five beaches in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the largest land, sea, and air invasion ever attempted. The invasion, originally scheduled for June 5th but postponed due to weather conditions, involved 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft. Most poignantly, we note that only about 66,143 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive today according to Veterans Affairs statistics. Their living memories are disappearing daily, making it all the more crucial that we honor their sacrifice rather than becoming distracted by fleeting billionaire drama.What are your thoughts on the Trump-Musk feud? More importantly, do you have family stories about D-Day or WWII to share? Join the conversation and help ensure these historic sacrifices aren't forgotten while the media focuses on temporary disputes. Tune in Sunday for our Brood Awakening podcast where we'll continue exploring topics that truly matter beyond the headlines.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREE Thanks for listening! Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREESupport the showTip Jar for coffee $ - Thanks Music by Alehandro Vodnik from Pixabay Blog - AnAmericanist.comX - @americanistblog

In this episode, the team from Department of Veterans Affairs discusses their award winning submission to the ASHP Best Practices.  They will share how their utilized a Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner model to improve access to medication for opioid use disorder and provided care to patients where they prefer to be treated.  The information presented during the podcast reflects solely the opinions of the presenter. The information and materials are not, and are not intended as, a comprehensive source of drug information on this topic. The contents of the podcast have not been reviewed by ASHP, and should neither be interpreted as the official policies of ASHP, nor an endorsement of any product(s), nor should they be considered as a substitute for the professional judgment of the pharmacist or physician.

Today we catch up with Allison Gill, Navy veteran, former VA executive, and host of The Daily Beans, to talk about how the Trump administration and the GOP's latest “Billionaire Bailout Bill” are impacting America's military, veterans, and working families.Allison breaks down the real-world consequences of proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, including plans to fire tens of thousands of VA workers and privatize veterans' healthcare. She shares her personal experience as a veteran and VA insider, exposes the hypocrisy of “support the troops” rhetoric, and explains why so many in the military and veteran community still fall for the GOP's propaganda, even as their benefits are threatened. Jojo and Allison also tackle the influence of Fox News and disinformation on military bases, the media's failure to hold power accountable, and the dangerous rise of propaganda in American politics. Plus: a candid look at why knowledge is the antidote to anxiety, how community can break the gaslighting cycle, and what keeps both of them Sane(ish) in a world gone mad.Subscribe, rate, and share Sane(ish)—and follow Jojo from Jerz on YouTube for video episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wednesday, June 4th, 2025Today, a federal judge rules that prisons must continue to provide gender affirming care to transgender inmates; FEMA staff was left confused after the director said he was unaware that there's a hurricane season; the Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered scientists NOT to publish in medical journals without permission from the administration; Jonathan Joss from  King of the Hill and Parks and Rec was murdered in his neighborhood in what his husband describes as a hate crime; Poland narrowly elects the Trumpian candidate in a global reversal of recent elections; Mayor Ras Baraka is suing Alina Habba and ICE for false arrest and vindictive prosecution; DOGE is actually making government less efficient and more expensive; Trump is weighing new names for Navy ships; Musk blasts the Billionaire Bailout Bill on social media; and Allison delivers your Good News.Thank You, Native PathGet up to 66% Off, free shipping, and a 365-Day Money Back Guarantee at nativekrill.com/dailybeansSat June 14 10am – 12pm PDT AG is hosting NO KINGS Waterfront Park, San Diego— If you can't make it to San Diego, head to fiftyfifty.one or indivisible.org or mobilize.us to find your local rally, or organize one yourself! Donation link - secure.actblue.com/donate/fuelthemovementMSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueCheck out Dana's social media campaign highlighting LGBTQ+ heroes every day during Pride Month -  Dana Goldberg (@dgcomedy.bsky.social)Guest: Guest: Daniel Knowles - Midwest correspondent at The EconomistElon Musk's failure in governmentDaniel Knowles - Economist, @dlknowles - BlueSky, @dlknowles) - Twitter Stories:Nawrocki's win turns Poland toward nationalism and casts doubt on Tusk's centrist government | AP NewsJonathan Joss, 'King of the Hill' voice actor, killed in San Antonio shooting | NBC NewsMusk blasts Trump's agenda bill as a ‘disgusting abomination,' catching White House officials off guard | CNN PoliticsFEMA staff baffled after head said he was unaware of US hurricane season, sources say | ReutersExclusive: US veterans agency orders scientists not to publish in journals without clearance | Trump administration | The GuardianNavy set to rename USNS Harvey Milk, mulls new names for other ships named for civil rights leaders | CBS NewsNewark mayor sues New Jersey's top federal prosecutor after arrest at immigration detention site | AP NewsJudge orders Trump admin to maintain gender-affirming care for transgender inmates | POLITICOMissoula, MT Adopts Pride Flag As "Official Flag," Legally Defying Ban On Flying It | Erin In The MorningDOGE vowed to make government more ‘efficient' — but it's doing the opposite | The Washington PostGood Trouble: Trump Burger has locations in Bellville, TX(979-270-5062)Flatonia, TX (361-865-3893)Kemah, TX (281-532-6305)Houston, TX (346-718-2850)THEY HAVE REQUESTED THAT PEOPLE STOP CALLING AND ASKING IF THEY SERVE CHICKEN TACOS!Proton Mail: free email account with privacy and encryptionFind Upcoming Demonstrations And Actions:250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and CelebrationSchedule F comments deadline extended to June 7th Federal Register :: Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service50501 MovementJune 14th Nationwide Demonstrations - NoKings.orgIndivisible.orgShare your Good News or Good Trouble:dailybeanspod.com/goodFrom The Good NewsIndivisibleNOENEMIES - FacebookFlobotsWho is Jeanette Vizguerra, immigrant rights activist fighting deportation in Denver? - CBS ColoradoJ-Rex - SpotifyCancer Care | Southeast PA | Tower HealthReminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! patreon.com/muellershewrote Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote , Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote,Dana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

In the next installment of the Big Ideas for Smaller Government series, host David From welcomes back Jeremiah Mosteller, Policy Director at Americans for Prosperity, to take a hard look at spending within the Department of Veterans Affairs—and what reforms are needed to better serve those who served us. Mosteller breaks down how the VA's budget has quadrupled since 2004 even though the veteran population has declined by 30%. From bloated staffing levels to $4 million contracts for services that now cost just $5,000, this episode exposes how wasteful spending is draining resources from veterans and taxpayers alike. The conversation also focuses on one reform with huge potential impact: site-neutral payments. Right now, hospitals owned by large systems can charge the federal government far more than local, independent clinics for providing the exact same services to veterans. This creates perverse incentives, drives up costs, and limits care options. Adopting site-neutral payments would save taxpayers an estimated $14 billion—and give veterans more access to timely, local care. Mosteller also exposes how top VA officials actively discourage use of the Community Care Program, forcing veterans to wait months or drive hours for treatment—while simultaneously helping process healthcare claims for unauthorized migrants. This episode makes one thing clear: reforming the VA isn't about spending less on veterans—it's about spending smarter so veterans get the care they've earned.

Show SummaryOn today's episode, we're featuring a conversation with Navy Veteran Trinidad Aguirre, CEO and Co-Founder of VetsForever, a VA Accredited Law Group that supports veterans in obtaining disability ratings and discharge upgrades. We talk about the importance of finding support in accessing the benefits applications for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Provide FeedbackAs a dedicated member of the audience, we would like to hear from you about the show. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about the show in this short feedback survey. By doing so, you will be entered to receive a signed copy of one of our host's three books on military and veteran mental health. About Today's GuestTrinidad Aguirre, a 100% disabled U.S. Navy Gulf War veteran, has excelled in both military and civilian careers. He is known for his hands-on leadership style and emotional intelligence, which he uses to build high-performing, collaborative teams. Integrity and innovation are the cornerstones of his leadership philosophy, which prioritizes mentorship, continuous improvement, and community impact. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to providing top-tier legal services to the veteran community.He has held several executive board positions, including with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as National President of Verizon's ERG Hispanic Support Organization, and as President of the American Marketing Association DFW. In addition, he has been at the forefront of change in the marketing industry, pushing for a greater emphasis on integrating awareness and advanced data analysis to effectively engage the desired target audience.A transformational leader driven by a passion for veteran advocacy, Trinidad has built a distinguished career dedicated to enhancing veterans' lives through financial security, mental health awareness, and strategic business excellence. He co-founded VetsForever (VF LLC), a 100% disabled veteran-owned organization. He leverages his two decades of dynamic experience in sales, marketing, and operational leadership to empower veterans to navigate the complexities of the VA claims process.Trinidad has implemented a proven, viable process for how VA-accredited organizations should approach the VA disability system. His primary mission focuses on delivering results within months rather than years, helping to meet veterans' urgent need for validation and economic support. The expedited process creates a safe space for veterans to improve and maintain their mental wellness. Financial security, in turn, provides the stability needed to sustain mental health, reinforcing his mission to integrate economic support with holistic veteran care.Trinidad is deeply committed to serving the community through his extensive involvement with nonprofit organizations such as OneTribe, Carry The Load, and the Stephen A Cohen Family Clinic. These organizations all concentrate on veterans' mental health, and Trinidad tirelessly supports through various initiatives that advocate for veterans and provide them with essential resources.Links Mentioned During the EpisodeVetsForever Web SitePsychArmor Resource of the WeekThis week's resource of the week is PsychArmor course, 15 Things Veteran Service Officers Want You to Know. This course aims to provide education about the role of Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) to make it easier for Veterans and their loved ones to navigate the benefits and claims process. We hope this course will encourage Veterans to work with a VSO to file claims for benefits, prevent continued misinformation about Veteran benefits and VSOs, and help Veterans recognize the importance of accessing the benefits they earned. You can find the resource here:  https://learn.psycharmor.org/courses/15-things-veterans-service-officers-want-you-to-know Episode Partner: This week's episode is brought to you by Humana, a leading health and well-being company that has joined forces with PsychArmor to develop campaigns and courses that support veterans and their families in achieving their best health. To learn more about how Humana honors and serves veterans visit healthequity.humana.com/veterans Contact Us and Join Us on Social Media Email PsychArmorPsychArmor on TwitterPsychArmor on FacebookPsychArmor on YouTubePsychArmor on LinkedInPsychArmor on InstagramTheme MusicOur theme music Don't Kill the Messenger was written and performed by Navy Veteran Jerry Maniscalco, in cooperation with Operation Encore, a non profit committed to supporting singer/songwriter and musicians across the military and Veteran communities.Producer and Host Duane France is a retired Army Noncommissioned Officer, combat veteran, and clinical mental health counselor for service members, veterans, and their families.  You can find more about the work that he is doing at www.veteranmentalhealth.com  

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Patrick McGuire, Nashville Chapter Coordinator with Guitars for Vets, who highlights the nonprofit organization focused on sharing the healing power of music with our Veterans. Guitars for Vets (G4V) serves at-risk United States Veterans impacted by PTSD and other service-related trauma. Through their unique, 10-week structured guitar instruction program, G4V puts the healing power of music in the hands of our nation's heroes, helping to foster renewal, connection and community.During the interview, Patrick shares how the organization was founded in 2007 by guitar instructor, Patrick Nettesheim, and his student, Vietnam era Marine, Dan Van Buskirk, after realizing the guitar and lessons were a catalyst for positive human interaction and joy where it had once been lost. Patrick discusses the model and how guitars and lessons are provided at no cost to US Military Veterans who are referred by their doctor or a case/social worker at The Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Ten private lessons are taught using practice guitars donated by the local community. Upon completion, the Veteran/student is awarded a new acoustic guitar and accessories. Patrick emphasizes the therapeutic benefits of learning guitar, citing its ability to help Veterans rewire their brains and find joy, while also highlighting the importance of volunteer instructors who possess patience, acceptance, gratitude, and empathy. The organization, which has about 170 chapters nationwide, relies on word-of-mouth and volunteer efforts to expand its reach and impact.Patrick wraps up explaining the need for financial contributions, donated guitars, and volunteer instructors to support the mission and continued growth of the organization. He emphasizes the importance of financial transparency and encourages listeners to visit the website for more information and to contact local chapter coordinators to get involved.Visit https://guitars4vets.org to learn more and to get involved with Guitars for Vets.https://www.facebook.com/GuitarsForVets/https://www.tiktok.com/@guitars_for_vetshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1zjBS5JiYhOeVLprWb8q_A

Join us on this inspiring episode of The Devil Doc Talk Show as we welcome Jimmie T. Smith, a true champion for veterans' rights and a dedicated leader in policy reform. With a distinguished military career spanning over two decades, Jimmie enlisted in the United States Army at just 17, serving with honor in the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. His combat deployment during the Gulf War in 1991 showcased his leadership and resilience, shaping his lifelong commitment to service.Transitioning to civilian life, Jimmie continued his mission by entering politics, serving three terms in the Florida House of Representatives starting in 2010. As chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Sub-Committee, he championed key initiatives to support veterans, leaving a lasting impact on their lives. In 2020, he joined Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) as Coalitions Director, where he now drives transformative policy reforms within the Veterans Affairs system, focusing on enhanced healthcare access and greater choice for veterans.On this episode, Jimmie shares his remarkable journey—from the battlefields to the halls of government and now to the forefront of veteran advocacy. Tune in as he discusses his military experiences, political achievements, and his vision for empowering veterans across the nation. Don't miss this powerful conversation, airing live, as we explore how Jimmie T. Smith continues to fight for those who served.https://cv4a.org/

OTD - In 1965 astronaut Edward Higgins White II became the first American to walk in space THE INTERVIEW Providing guidance to veterans navigating their VA services and benefits has turned Army National Guard veteran Joshua Parish into an entrepreneur. He has created Battle Buddy, a mobile app built to streamline access to services, support mental health through its AI-powered Talk to Sam feature, and strengthen the overall transition experience for veterans and their families. SCUTTLEBUTT Trump signs executive order for more homeless veteran housing at West LA VA campus "Mysterious poop chucker" might be targeting Colorado woman for not picking up dog's waste Special Guest: Joshua Parish.

Empowering Men's Mental Health: A Conversation with Justin GarberIn this episode of the Beacon Way podcast, we are joined by Justin Garber, a clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience in various settings, including the Department of Veteran Affairs. Justin, who specializes in the relationship between psychological stress and the body's response system, shares his personal journey into the field of psychology and the founding of Restorative Psychological Services. The discussion delves into the unique challenges and strategies for engaging men in psychotherapy, as well as the importance of mental health awareness across different generations. Justin also shares insights into managing work-life balance as an entrepreneur and highlights the importance of focusing on core values and mission in business. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on mental health and entrepreneurship.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:44 Justin's Journey into Psychology04:20 Veterans Affairs and Personal Connection06:54 Starting Restorative Psychological Services08:37 Challenges and Rewards of Entrepreneurship12:54 Focus on Men's Mental Health17:56 Balancing Work and Personal Life24:47 Empowering Employees and Final ThoughtsBooks referenced in today's podcast: https://www.aileadership.com/bookhttps://www.amazon.com/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork-ebook/dp/B0867ZJ151https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses-About/dp/0887307280https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776Learn more about Justin and Restorative Psychological Services:https://restorativepsychservices.com/justin-garber-psyd/_____________________________________________________________________Beacon Media + Marketing is an Alaska-based digital marketing agency with a proven track record of success, harnessing the power of data and award-winning creative to deliver outstanding results for our clients. It all starts with data, because data drives results! We are a data-driven agency because we know that in the business world, success is measured by the numbers. We pride ourselves in award-winning work that marries the best of data analytics with stunning creative to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right demographic. Our power lies in the clicks, leads, engagement, and conversions we produce for our clients!Learn more about us at BeaconMM.com

Many rural veterans join the Hot Dish for this special Memorial Day episode. Marine Corps Infantryman and North Dakota Army National Guard First Sergeant Bradley Aune discusses issues veterans face when rejoining civilian life. North Dakota Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Jessica Petrick offers her perspective on what Memorial Day means to her. And One Country Project board member and former Senator and Member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, Joe Donnelly, leads a discussion with Brigadier General Art Austin, Master General Frank Morales, and Staff Sergeant Sean Coulter about their experience with VA services. On this Memorial Day week, gain a deeper understanding of what it means to transition from military to civilian life and how vital public programs and support systems are for veterans. Hosts Heidi and Joel Heitkamp emphasize the need for collective action and listening to veterans' voices to improve systems meant to serve them. This episode will remind us all of the ongoing cost of service, the importance of advocating for continued funding, and the strength found in rural communities as they support their own.Join us on The Hot Dish every other week, where we serve up hearty conversations that resonate with every corner of the country.The Hot Dish is brought to you by the One Country Project, making sure the voices of the rest of us are heard in Washington. To learn more, visit https://onecountryproject.org or find us at https://onecountryproject.substack.com/.

More and more, veterans who seek behavioral health care have been referred by the Department of Veterans Affairs to community providers outside the VA. A new GAO report finds that many of these providers are not meeting basic process and training requirements. Here with more on these new findings is Director for health care issues at GAO, Sharon Silas.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tuesday, May 27th, 2025Today, documents reveal disarray at the Department of Veterans Affairs imperiling patient care; veterans balk at Trump's plans to end protections from Afghans deportations; a new Texas bill forces schools to display the ten commandments; Trump's image of dead 'white farmers' came from Reuters footage in Congo and not South Africa; leader Schumer has announced Democrats will unanimously vote against the Billionaire Bailout Bill; more on the Supreme Court decision in Trump v Wilcox; how to rain on Trump's June 14th military parade; and Allison delivers your Good News.Thank You, Fast Growing TreesGet 15% off your first purchase.  FastGrowingTrees.com/dailybeansAG is hosting - NO KINGS Waterfront Park, San Diego - Sat June 14 10am – 12pm PDTDonation link - secure.actblue.com/donate/fuelthemovementMSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueStories:Veterans recoil at Trump plan to end Afghans' deportation protection | The Washington PostDisarray at Department of Veterans Affairs imperils patient care, internal documents reveal | US military | The GuardianTrump's image of dead 'white farmers' came from Reuters footage in Congo, not South Africa | ReutersTexas bill requiring Ten Commandments in public schools moves closer to governor's desk | NBC NewsLaw for lawlessness - by Leah Litman | Public NoticeGood Trouble: How to Rain on Trump's Military Parade - by Adam KlasfeldThere is a link to a shareable Host Toolkit to help everyone get involved. It will not take care of itself. If you can't find one local to you - create and host one yourself.Sure Would be a shame if nobody showed up to Donald's fascist birthday parade250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Grand Military Parade and CelebrationFind Upcoming Demonstrations And Actions:Schedule F comments deadline extended to June 7th Federal Register :: Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service50501 MovementJune 14th Nationwide Demonstrations - NoKings.orgIndivisible.orgShare your Good News or Good Trouble:dailybeanspod.com/goodFrom The Good NewsPACK Gives38. How The West Was Stolen: The Oregon Land Fraud King with Allison GillMorgan St. Jean | YouTubeReminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! patreon.com/muellershewrote Mega Happy Hour Zoom Call - you can interact with not just me and Harry Dunn, Andy McCabe, and Dana Goldberg. They'll all be there this Friday 5/23/2025 at 7 PM ET 4 PM PT. Plus, you'll get these episodes ad free and early, and get pre-sale tickets and VIP access to our live events. You can join at patreon.com/muellershewrote for as little as $3 a month. Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote , Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote,Dana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts

This Memorial Day, we're live with the Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Minneapolis VA, and more: Hour 1 Chaplain Lt. Col. Tim Usset, Minnesota National Guard Butch Whitehead, Minnesota Disabled American Veterans Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, National Guard Hour 2 Commissioner Brad Lindsay, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Director Patrick Kelly, Minneapolis […] The post Memorial Day Live 2025 appeared first on Minnesota Military Radio.

In this episode of Spinal Cast, we shine the spotlight on the 44th Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games, coming to Minneapolis from July 17-22, 2025. Hosted by the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs, this event is the largest adaptive sports and rehabilitation competition for U.S. military veterans with disabilities. Our guest is Seth Thomas, President of the Minnesota Chapter of the PVA and a U.S. Navy veteran. Seth shares his powerful story – from his service and injury to his leadership role – and gives us an inside look at what makes these games so special. Over 700 athletes will compete across 20+ events, supported by thousands of volunteers. Participants include veterans with spinal cord injuries, amputations, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological conditions requiring the use of a wheelchair. The Minnesota PVA plays a vital role in veteran advocacy, employment connections, legislation, and community engagement and, of course, providing a network of support and opportunity through sport. If you're in the Minneapolis area, don't miss this inspiring six-day celebration of resilience, camaraderie, and athletic excellence. It's like a mini-Paralympics, complete with Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals – a true showcase of American heroes from every military branch and era. For more information, check out the links below: National Veterans Wheelchair Games - https://wheelchairgames.org/ 2025 Game Schedule - https://wheelchairgames.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/44th-NVWG-Sch-Wkbk-V2.xlsx03.10.pdf 2025 Venues - https://wheelchairgames.org/about/event-venues/ Paralyzed Veterans of American – Minnesota Chapter - https://mnpva.org/ Special thanks to Seth for being our guest! This production is a collaborative effort of volunteers working to create a quality audio and visual experience around the subject of spinal cord injury. A special shout out of appreciation to Clientek for providing studio space and top-notch recording equipment. Most importantly, thank YOU for being part of the Spinal Cast audience!Interested in watching these episodes?! Check out our YouTube playlist! - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL40rLlxGS4VzgAjW8P6Pz1mVWiN0Jou3v If you'd like to learn more about the Morton Cure Paralysis Fund you can visit our website at - https://mcpf.org/ Donations are always appreciated - https://mcpf.org/you-can-help/

This Day in Legal History:  Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in IrelandOn May 23, 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote, marking a historic shift in both national and global legal landscapes. The referendum asked voters whether the Constitution should be amended to allow marriage regardless of sex, and the result was a resounding “Yes,” with 62% in favor and 38% opposed. The voter turnout was unusually high at over 60%, signaling widespread public engagement with the issue. This legal development followed years of advocacy and social change in Ireland, a country long associated with conservative Catholic values.The result amended Ireland's Constitution to state that “marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” This provision was later codified in the Marriage Act 2015, which came into effect in November of that year. The outcome of the vote represented not only a victory for LGBTQ+ rights but also a transformation in how Irish law and society conceptualize equality and family. It also had ripple effects internationally, inspiring similar movements in countries where same-sex marriage remained a contentious issue.Ireland's use of a constitutional referendum to secure marriage equality was unique and drew attention to the power of democratic processes to drive progressive legal change. It stood in contrast to other jurisdictions where marriage equality had been achieved through legislative action or court rulings. The campaign leading up to the vote featured stories of Irish citizens returning home from abroad just to cast their ballots, illustrating the emotional and civic weight of the moment. Major political parties and civic institutions publicly supported the amendment, a notable shift from past positions. Religious groups, while not uniformly opposed, largely cautioned against the change, yet the vote revealed a generational and cultural divide within Irish society.Ireland's decision on May 23, 2015, not only redefined marriage in its legal code but also signaled to the world a powerful statement about inclusivity, human rights, and democratic voice.The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a case involving President Trump's firing of two federal labor board members, offering reassurance that the decision does not extend to the Federal Reserve's leadership. The Court allowed Trump to keep the dismissed board members—Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board—off the job while they challenge their terminations. However, the justices emphasized that the Federal Reserve is a "uniquely structured" entity, distinct from other federal agencies, and rooted in a special historical context.This distinction has calmed concerns that Trump might use these cases to justify firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has criticized for not cutting interest rates. Powell, appointed by Trump and later renominated by President Joe Biden, is legally protected from dismissal except for cause, as stated in the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Analysts welcomed the Court's reassurance, interpreting it as a safeguard for the Fed's independence.Nevertheless, some experts cautioned that the ruling isn't a definitive protection for the Fed but does limit broader implications from the labor board cases. Powell's term expires in May 2026, and Trump is expected to name a successor.US Supreme Court says Fed is unique, easing worries over Trump's ability to fire Powell | ReutersU.S. District Judge Susan Illston extended a block on mass layoffs planned by the Trump administration, ruling that significant restructuring of federal agencies requires congressional approval. This decision hampers President Trump's efforts to downsize or eliminate parts of the federal workforce, a central component of his broader government overhaul strategy.The ruling continues a temporary restraining order from earlier this month, which prevented around 20 agencies from carrying out large-scale layoffs and required reinstatement of those already dismissed. Illston's updated order refines the earlier ruling but maintains its core restrictions. The Trump administration had sought Supreme Court intervention, arguing the judge overstepped constitutional boundaries related to executive authority, but that effort may now be moot.Government attorney Andrew Bernie contended that Trump's executive order only asked agencies to explore potential cuts, without mandating immediate layoffs. However, plaintiffs argued that the administration's directives clearly pressured agencies to prepare for deep personnel cuts. These include proposed reductions of 80,000 jobs at Veterans Affairs and 10,000 at Health and Human Services.More than 260,000 federal employees are expected to leave their roles by September, many through buyouts. Lawsuits challenging these cuts are pending, making this ruling the most comprehensive legal obstacle so far to Trump's plans.US judge blocks Trump's mass layoffs in blow to government overhaul | ReutersEarlier this month, Ukraine's parliament ratified a landmark agreement with the United States: a legal, financial, and strategic framework that gives America preferential access to Ukraine's critical minerals and hydrocarbons — all while laying the foundation for a Reconstruction Investment Fund designed to rebuild Ukraine's decimated infrastructure. Sounds noble, sure, but let's not mistake realism for altruism.This deal is as much about strategic leverage as it is about digging rocks out of the ground.The agreement covers 55 minerals — everything from lithium and cobalt to uranium, titanium, and rare earths — plus oil and gas. The U.S. gains front-of-the-line privileges via a new limited partnership co-managed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Ukraine's PPP Agency.Ukraine contributes its share in the form of rights to 50% of future revenues from new or dormant (but not-yet-exploited) resource licenses. Meanwhile, the U.S. counts military aid as its capital input.But it's not just about extraction. This partnership comes with first rights to co-invest, first rights to offtake agreements, and most-favored-nation status for investment terms — all locked into Ukrainian law.And if those terms change, the agreement explicitly overrides Ukrainian legislation. That's not just economic partnership; that's policy primacy.If you're an American investor, welcome to your new favorite offshore zone. The fund's income is entirely exempt from Ukrainian taxation: no duties, no levies, no withholdings. The U.S., in return, “expects” not to slap tariffs under Section 232 or IEEPA. Taken as a whole, it's a foreign investment platform with the tax treatment of a charity and the legal immunities of a diplomatic mission.The deal even covers currency risk. Ukraine must guarantee free convertibility of hryvnia into dollars and indemnify U.S. partners if transfers are delayed or blocked. Even during martial law, capital flows to the fund are protected by contract.Any new licensee in Ukraine's resource sector is required — not asked — to make investment information available to the fund when raising capital. The fund then gets the right to participate on equal or better terms. On top of that, Ukraine is barred from offering more favorable terms to anyone else. And yes, this includes offtake agreements — the U.S. or its designees get the first crack.In short, Ukraine can't sign a better minerals deal with the EU, China, or any other party unless the U.S. gets offered those same terms. Call it diplomacy with a non-compete clause.The framework focuses on new or idle licenses — but existing ones remain a grey zone. Ukraine would need new legislation to bring those under the fund's umbrella, and many current PSA holders have legislative stability guarantees that would make retroactive changes nearly impossible. Unless these assets are re-tendered or voluntarily integrated, they risk becoming an unaligned economic orbit, limiting the fund's reach.Here's the mineral-sized asterisk: this won't generate revenue tomorrow. Rare earth mines can take 10 to 20 years and $2 billion each to become operational. Many Ukrainian deposits remain unmapped, some are under occupation, and wartime damage to infrastructure makes transport and processing a logistical fantasy.While the agreement doesn't spell out a formal role for U.S. companies, it's not hard to guess the playbook: preferential licensing, co-investment with the fund, and possibly DFC-backed bonds aimed at U.S. institutional investors. Ukraine has openly stated its expectation that the fund will “look for investors” — and you can bet the Pentagon-adjacent venture funds are already circling like vultures.The Reconstruction Investment Fund is less about rebuilding Ukraine and more about anchoring it economically to the West. It creates a structured, American-led investment regime that rewards alignment, punishes deviation, and ensures U.S. interests are literally embedded in Ukraine's subsoil.Is this a win-win? Potentially. Ukraine gets capital, infrastructure, and a postwar economic vision. The U.S. gets mineral security, geopolitical leverage, and a new model for development diplomacy in conflict zones.But don't mistake this for benevolence. This is not a Marshall Plan — it's a minerals plan with a spreadsheet and a strategy memo. And the terms are clear: the rocks are Ukrainian, but the steering wheel? American.Breaking ground: U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal ratified in Ukraine, paving the way for reconstruction | ReutersGustav Holst, born in 1874 in England, was a composer whose music bridged the Romantic and modern eras with a uniquely English voice. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, Holst also made lasting contributions to wind band literature, a genre he approached with both seriousness and innovation. Among his most celebrated works in this realm is the Second Suite in F for Military Band, Op. 28, No. 2, composed in 1911. Unlike many composers of the time who treated band music as secondary, Holst infused his suite with depth, structure, and folkloric authenticity.The first movement of the suite, March: Allegro, opens with a vibrant and engaging theme based on the Somerset folk tune “Morris Dance.” Holst immediately establishes a sense of forward momentum and bright sonority that captures the distinct color of a military band. This is soon followed by a more lyrical trio section, featuring the melody “Swansea Town,” which provides a warm contrast before the return of the energetic march. The entire movement showcases Holst's gift for counterpoint, clever orchestration, and thematic development, all while remaining accessible and rhythmically compelling.As this week's closing theme, Holst's March: Allegro from the Second Suite offers a rousing, optimistic send-off. It's a reminder of the power of wind ensembles to convey both complexity and joy—and of Holst's enduring legacy in shaping modern band repertoire. The movement reflects not only his compositional brilliance but also his respect for English folk traditions, seamlessly translated into a format meant for public performance and communal appreciation.Without further ado, Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F for Military Band, Op. 28, No.2 – enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Many families may not realize there is support available to older veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs. These Veterans Assistance (VA) benefits are not just helpful in easing the caregiving burden—they are well-earned by the men and women who have dedicated themselves to defending our country. Unfortunately, navigating the VA system and accessing these resources can be overwhelming. In this podcast, you'll learn more about the four main VA programs that support older veterans and their caregivers and the process of applying for benefits.  

Nick Lavery, an active-duty Green Beret in the US Army Special Forces, a combat-wounded warrior, an author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur joins me on this episode. Nick's awards include the Silver Star, three Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, the OSS Society Peter Ortiz Award, the Bruce Price Leadership Award, and the Special Operations Command Excalibur Award. Nick's list of clients includes the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Tool, Sherwin Williams, The FBI, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Habitat for Humanity, and many others.

Veterans Affairs is giving organizations more resources to prevent veteran suicide. VA is issuing more than $50 million in grants to community-based organizations that provide suicide prevention or emergency clinical services to veterans at risk of suicide. Groups have until the end of September to apply for these grants. Veterans who are experiencing suicidal thoughts can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and then pressing 1. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leah explains the crucial concept of favorable findings in VA disability claims. These are positive acknowledgments by the VA, such as confirmed diagnoses, in-service injuries, or credible lay statements, that remain on record even if a claim is denied. Leah walks viewers through how to find and interpret these favorable findings in their rating decision letters, why they're valuable in appeals, and how they can guide future claims. With clear examples and practical advice, she empowers veterans to better navigate the often-confusing VA disability process and encourages working with accredited legal professionals to strengthen their case.

In a milestone episode of The Daily Herold, Jon Herold welcomes special guest VA Secretary Doug Collins, marking the show's first sit-down with a Trump cabinet official. Collins offers a candid look at the challenges of reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs, including widespread bureaucratic waste, contractor overreach, and union-protected inefficiencies. He addresses the media's misleading claims about budget “cuts,” emphasizing that Trump's proposed VA budget actually increases funding while slashing misused resources to prioritize real patient care. The conversation dives deep into broader constitutional dysfunction, as Collins critiques Congress's failure to legislate, the judiciary's national injunction abuse, and the difficulty of governing when the executive branch is isolated by coordinated opposition from other institutions and the media. Collins also confirms the VA is actively exploring alternative treatments like cannabis and psychedelics for PTSD and brain injury, offering cautious optimism for innovation in veteran care. Herold rounds out the show with segments on Trump's “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative, Senator Rubio's surprising reformist stance, the Biden administration's mounting narrative collapse, and the DOJ's investigation into Cuomo. It's an unfiltered, insight-packed episode for anyone interested in real reform, from the VA to the Constitution itself.

THE INTERVIEW Native Americans serve at a higher percentage than the general population. Still, there are misunderstandings about their culture and spiritual beliefs even among their brothers and sisters in the armed forces. In this week's episode, Army veteran Mitchelene BigMan talks about her military service as a Native American, importance of culture, creation of a Native American women veterans nonprofit and more. SCUTTLEBUTT Down the Reddit Rabbit Hole: Native Americans and the U.S. Military Tribal flags removed from Phoenix VA hospital under new federal policy Memorial Honoring Native American U.S. Veterans proposed for Minnesota Capitol grounds Special Guest: Mitchelene BigMan.

Today's first caller used a Veterans Affairs loan to house hack. What's the best way for him to grow a strong real estate portfolio? On today's show, I'm answering this great question, and more! This encore Q&A episode features three of your questions on investing with a VA loan, vacancy rates in our rental markets, and my take on the possibility of a global banking crash. As always, I appreciate your thoughtful questions, and I hope you enjoy this episode of Investing in Real Estate!

A conversation with Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. The former Army National Guard helicopter pilot and disabled veteran talks about President Trump's plan to accept a $400 million luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar, serious questions about the safety of American aviation, and plans for mass layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast, we spoke with Marcy Jacobs, the first Chief Digital Experience Officer for the State of Maryland. Marcy goes into the significance of user-centered design and the holistic approach needed to improve digital experiences, particularly in government and consulting sectors. She discusses her journey in digital government, from starting out as a graphic and web designer to leading digital transformation efforts at USDS and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Marcy explores challenges, solutions, and strategies for integrating digital services, enhancing user research, and leveraging AI for better customer experiences.Key Takeaways:Insights on prioritizing user needs over technology and shifting from an inside-out to an outside-in approach.Importance of understanding the full user journey.How project management and product leadership require technical depth, leadership buy-in, and measurable outcomes to avoid reinforcing ineffective processes.Breaking down silos between digital services and CX teams to ensure data-driven, actionable solutions rather than just measurement.The role of user research in improving services and the potential of AI when applied strategically. Join us as we uncover how digital services can transform government experiences and why a human-first approach is critical to success!Thank you for listening to this episode of The CX Tipping Point Podcast! If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing, rating, and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your support helps us reach more listeners! Stay Connected: Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: @DorrisConsultingInternational Twitter: @DorrisConsultng Facebook: @DCInternational Resources Mentioned: Citizen Services Newsletter 2024 Service to the Citizen Awards Nomination Form

Following the first 100 days of Trump's second presidential term, MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle hosts a town hall to discuss the administration's continued dismantling of the federal government. Live from Washington D.C., former federal workers forced out by the Trump administration's share how they've been affected by DOGE cuts on federal agencies. Political Correspondent Jacob Soboroff reports on the impact to these agencies and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) joins to discuss how Congress is responding. Visit msnbc.com for more coverage.

Tuesday, April 16th, 2024Jury selection is underway in the first criminal trial of a former president and current candidate in history; expelled Congressman George Santos talks about his fundraising efforts for his bid to run again; Justice Clarence Thomas is absent from the bench for arguments this week; Trump Media shares plunge again on the announcement to file additional shares; transgender veterans are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs; Trump files his response to Jack Smith with the Supreme Court in the immunity case; plus Allison and Dana deliver your good news. Our Guest:US House Rep. Dan Goldmanhttps://twitter.com/danielsgoldmanJustice Clarence Thomas misses Supreme Court arguments (NBC News)Trump stock tanks after announcing massive share sale (CNN)George Santos Explains Why He's Raised $0 for Return Congressional Bid (Daily Beast)Transgender veterans file 2nd lawsuit against VA for gender-affirming surgery coverage (NBC NEWS) Federal workers - feel free to email me at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.Share your Good News or Good Trouble:https://www.dailybeanspod.com/good/ Check out other MSW Media podcastshttps://mswmedia.com/shows/Subscribe for free to MuellerSheWrote on Substackhttps://muellershewrote.substack.comFollow AG and Dana on Social MediaDr. Allison Gill Substack|Muellershewrote, BlueSky|@muellershewrote , Threads|@muellershewrote, TikTok|@muellershewrote, IG|muellershewrote, Twitter|@MuellerSheWrote,Dana GoldbergTwitter|@DGComedy, IG|dgcomedy, facebook|dgcomedy, IG|dgcomedy, danagoldberg.com, BlueSky|@dgcomedyHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?Supercasthttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/Patreon https://patreon.com/thedailybeansOr subscribe on Apple Podcasts with our affiliate linkThe Daily Beans on Apple Podcasts