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VETERANS FOR WHAT? VETERANS AGAINST WHO? --
Larry Scott: "Many claiming to be veterans'
organizations
are actually political groups looking to sway
your opinion."
The following article was prompted by your emails
asking: Who are these people? Are they veterans? What is
their agenda?
Story below:
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JOIN THE DEBATE
Comment on this story and interact
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September 4, 2008
Veterans For What? Veterans Against Who?
Many claiming to be veterans’ organizations are actually political groups
looking to sway your opinion.
by Larry Scott
With just two months left until the presidential election of 2008, we find
ourselves overwhelmed by an all-out media blitz telling us to vote “For”
or “Against” a particular candidate. The messages come from mass-mailings,
telephone robo-calls, radio, TV, e-mailings, Internet ads and web sites.
And, many of these messages claim to come from veterans’ groups. But, just
putting the word “Veteran” in the name of the organization means nothing.
So…..
I often ask myself: Who are these people? Are they who they claim to be?
Where do they get their funding? What is their agenda?
 Agenda?
You bet! No person or organization takes the time and money to woo the
vote or sway the opinion of veterans unless they have an agenda. And many
of these groups have records of long-term activity, not just a
pre-election push for their agenda.
Finding the answers to the above questions can be difficult, but it can be
done. Here are a few tips to help you sort through the “For” and “Against”
groups that claim to represent veterans.
But first, we should discuss the issue of what constitutes a veterans’
group. When we think of veterans’ groups, our veterans’ service
organizations (VSOs) come to mind: The American Legion, Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America,
etc. These are groups made up of veterans, funded by veterans and working
for the common good of their members. But, not all groups with the word
“Veteran” in their title fit the above description.
| Group #1
One group that has caught my attention in the last couple of
years is a “Veterans For” group that does not endorse political
candidates but has an obvious left-leaning political persuasion.
They claim to be working on behalf of veterans and have gained much
media attention as their director, a veteran, has inserted himself
into the middle of a number of veterans’ issues. But, are they a
veterans’ group?
Here’s how we find the answer to that question. First, go to the
group’s web site and read the fine print. This is usually found on
the “About Us” or a similar page. In this case we find out that the
group has no membership. There is no way to join. However, they do
accept donations. We also find valuable information about their
funding. The group is funded by grants from an organization working
for world peace. Then we use a “Who Is” search to find out who owns
the web site (
http://whois.domaintools.com/ ) and find, using Google searches
( http://www.google.com/ ),
that the owner is a well-known peace activist.
Now we know most everything we need to know about this “Veterans
For” group. What we have found is: This is not a veterans’ group in
the traditional sense of being composed of veterans. It is a
left-leaning group that works for world peace. These are not bad
things, in and of themselves. There are many who share the views
espoused by this group. But, the group has positioned itself as a
“Veterans” group and it is not. It is a “Peace” group who has
inserted itself into veterans’ issues to forward a particular
political agenda. NOTE:
Since this article was written, I discovered that this group does
have a page where you can "join." But, you don't have to be a
veteran and all you get for your "membership" is an e-mail
newsletter. Larry Scott |
| Group #2
Let’s look at a “Veterans Against” group. This one happens to be
“Against” a particular presidential candidate. On the “About Us”
page we find that the group is a “…527 Non-political PAC [Political
Action Committee]. We are restricted by Federal Election Law from
supporting any presidential candidate; however, there is no
restriction which prevents us from revealing factual information
which might serve to undermine support for any candidate.” So, we
have an immediate picture of their political affiliation.
Using a “Who Is” search we find the web site’s owner. Then, Googling
this person shows that they are a veteran with a long history of
“Veterans Against” activity. And, again, we find that there is no
membership at all, just a way to make donations, accepted gladly
from those who share the same dislike of the candidate. So, this is
not a veterans’ group as we know them, but a person (with some help
from friends) who has a real case against a particular candidate and
makes some very startling and unsupported claims. |
In the above cases, the groups are headed by veterans. Does this make them
a veterans’ group? Hardly. That would be like saying that since the head
of the American Red Cross is a woman, then they are a womans’ group.
And, you will find that a goodly-number of these
so-called “Veterans’” groups have been founded and funded by political
organizations who then go out and hire veterans and put them in top
positions to “front” for the group, thus lending an air of credibility to
the “Veteran” name. They are not made up of veterans, not funded by
veterans and have a political agenda (left or right) that they want you to
buy into. Buyer beware!
When you see “Veterans For” or “Veterans Against,” be sure you know what
you are reading, who is funding the group, whether they are really a
“Group” or not and their political agenda. You might agree with that
agenda and you might not.
Bottom line: Not all “Veterans’” groups are really veterans’ groups, and a
little research can help you sort out fact from fiction.
-------------------------
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posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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