Tennessean: Bill to offer lottery scholarships to veterans advances in Senate

Honorably discharged veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could use lottery funds to attend school under legislation advancing in the Senate.

The measure sponsored by Democrats Jim Kyle of Memphis and Joe Haynes of Goodlettsville was among the bills that passed the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

This isn't getting enough press. As seen at KnoxViews, the military doesn't really Support the Troops.

The military is desperate for new troops, so desperate they are promising larger and larger signing bonuses. They send the troops to fight. The troops get hurt and cannot finish their service. The troops lose the remainder of the signing bonus.

Do they tell the troops when signing them up they could lose the bonus if they are injured in combat? Do they tell the troops the odds of getting hurt in combat?

"If the name Bill Hobbs is attached to it, you'd better check the facts." - Me.

So seems to be the case in the battle over who loves veterans more, the Democrats or the Republicans. This stems from the Veterans day announcement by the State House and Senate Democratic Caucuses, that they would be introducing legislation, Helping Heroes Act of 2008, to create a new grant for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan battles, to supplement their GI Bill. Bill Hobbs, who recently took a job as Communications Director for the TNGOP, was quick to respond that the Republicans offered a bill to do this earlier this year, and their bill was better.

Now, I realize I'm a little late to the game on this, but considering that the debate still rages on (at least in the comments over at VV), I figured I'd do the best I could in tackling the subject and trying figure out who is right and who is wrong.

Today we pause to honor Veterans who have served and those currently deployed around the world.

Here is one veteran's story. There are millions like it, but this one gets better every time I read it. Thanks Dad, I hope you don't mind.

A WWII Veteran's Story

This has been cross-posted on KnoxViews.com

No matter how you feel about the war, keeping the troops in our hearts and minds daily is the least we can do for them. I know every time one of the TV programs gives a profile of a soldier killed in action, tells their story, and reveals their family's agony, their grief and loss, I choke up. I cry quietly. I offer my gratitude.

The sacrifice a person makes to join the service with the noblest intentions is worthy of our awe and respect. With so many restrictions on media coverage, we don't get much of a chance to realize just exactly what our troops are facing on a day to day level, what they are thinking, how perplexing it is to face the realities of conflict, all the small noble acts each of them bears witness to every day, the horrors they see. War is not pretty. It should only be commenced when no other choice presents itself. The cost in human lives is always enormous. The cost to individuals is also enormous.

Veterans too often find themselves alone once the comraderie and adreniline rush of survival is over. I know because I spent time at the VA center on Magnolia. I saw first-hand how hard it is for veterans to get a job, to get medical services. I saw how many were homeless or suffering from war-related traumas. That's why it's important that we demand better services for our returning veterans. That's why each one of us should listen to the loving Spirit within ourselves, should earnestly believe in and pray for peace on earth.

On this one day, we are given an opportunity to salute our veterans, but it's also important to remember them after the parade passes and the political speeches drift away. They were willing to die for a cause they believed in. They were willing to die for us. It doesn't get much rawer than that. It doesn't get more noble.

Democrats in the Tennessee General Assembly are proposing a lottery funded scholarship program that will provide up to $8,000 in financial aid to Tennessee veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. More details here.