Senator Sanders 

Veterans Day “On this Veterans Day I want to express a special thanks to Vermont veterans. In war after war, from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Vermont service members have been there when their country called. We are proud of their service,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, wrote in a column published Monday in the Rutland Herald, Times Argus, Bennington Banner, Brattleboro Reformer and Eagle Times. LINK, LINK,

Veterans Day Sen. Sanders will be busy making the rounds today showing his gratitude. He wants to make sure veterans are taken care of and receive the benefits they and receive the taken care of and receive the benefits they deserve. “I am talking about the men and women who came home from war hurt in one way or another. Sometimes it’s losing an arm or a leg or eyesight or hearing. But other times the wounds are invisible,” Sanders said last week at a news conference in Washington with leaders of veterans’ service organizations. He will participate in events in St. Albans and Burlington, WVNY-TV and WFFF-TV reported. VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO 

Veterans Day When visiting the grave of family member Maxine Loomis in Westminster, Barbara Titus was shocked to discover that a brass plaque that was affixed to the gravestone had been stolen. On Sunday a news plaque was delivered and almost 100 people filled the Putney Community Center to hear speakers talk about Veterans Day and listen to the American Legion Band. Sam Haskins, veteran policy advisor to Sen. Sanders, read a letter from the senator, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. LINK

Make VA Shutdown Proof Congress is considering legislation to make the Department of Veterans Affairs shutdown-proof because lawmakers want to insulate veterans benefits from the next budget deadlock. Sen. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, told Gannett News Service that by the end of last month’s 16-day shutdown, the country was about a week away from being unable to send checks to disabled veterans and veterans on pensions. “We were worried that within the cemetery division, we were looking at the horrible situation where some burials would have to be delayed,” Sanders said. “And that’s clearly not acceptable.”  LINK

Community Health Centers Federal funds have been designated for three new Federally Qualified Health Centers in Arlington, Bristol and Randolph. There are eight more facilities like this currently in Vermont. Sen. Sanders is credited for getting this extra money. “That means about 160,000 people are getting good quality health care at an affordable cost, dental care, mental health counseling and access to the lowest cost prescription drugs in America,” Sanders told WCAX-TV in a report broadcast on Monday. VIDEO

Save Social Security The budget conference committee that reconvenes this week may consider asking high-income seniors to pay more for Social Security and Medicare. Proposed Social Security changes have triggered alarm on the left. Led by Sen. Sanders, activists plan to deliver a petition with more than 400,000 signatures to Capitol Hill defending Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid when the budget conference committee resumes talks, Congressional Quarterly reported. LINK

World

Vast Challenges for Philippines After Typhoon Three days after one of the most powerful storms ever to buffet the Philippines, the scale of the devastation was slowly coming into view. As Monday dawned, it became increasingly clear that Typhoon Haiyan had ravaged cities, towns and fishing villages. By some estimates, at least 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone and with communications disrupted it was difficult to know if the storm was as deadly in more remote areas, The New York Times reported. LINK 

Climate Change Haiyan is the third Category 5 "super typhoon" to hit the Philippines since 2010. According to the Philippine government, the area's typhoons have been getting stronger. The steady warming of the oceans is likely to lead to fewer but stronger tropical typhoons, said scientists from the intergovernmental panel on climate change in a special report on climate extremes this year, The Guardian reported. LINK

Global Warming The recently-released IPCC report on climate change highlighted the risks of global climate change. It has long been recognized that the increases seen in global average temperatures are likely to drive changes in the patterns and frequency of extreme weather events. While individual storms such as Haiyan cannot be directly attributed to such changes, the statistics on size and frequency of such storms help us to build a picture of how changes in climate are affecting the planet, according to The Mirror. LINK

National

Veterans Unemployment The unemployment rate for veterans who served after 9/11 remains stubbornly high despite public and private programs aimed at easing their transition to the civilian job market. Figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan vets was 10 percent in October, down slightly from the 10.1 percent rate in September, but the same as the 10 percent recorded on Veterans Day 2012. A Defense Department panel on employment last week noted that the culture shock of separating from the military and immediately jumping into a demanding job market can be frustrating for a vet, Military Times reported. LINK

Vermont

VA Research on PTSD The Veterans Administration Medical Center in Vermont is leading a national study to compare two methods of treating post-traumatic stress disorder, The Associated Press reported. LINK

Broadband A half-century after the isolated town of Victory became one of the last in Vermont to get electricity, many of its 64 residents hoped to have broadband Internet access by now — but it turns out the state isn’t going to make its much-heralded goal of blanketing the state with high-speed service by the end of the year. With two months left in the year, state and private telecommunications officials acknowledge they’re not going to reach their aim of 100 percent broadband access, a goal first set for 2010. They are close — officials estimate that 99 percent of Vermonters have access to broadband services, AP reported. LINK