Veterans launch ads to rebuff oil industry - As the November mid-term elections near, a veterans' group is launching a national cable TV ad campaign that rebuffs ads funded by oil companies. The campaign, which begins this week, features Dante Zappala, whose brother Army Sgt. Sherwood Baker was killed in Iraq in 2004. "America lost another hero," Zappala says in the ad. "Big Oil wants to talk about costs? Don't let Big Oil lie to you about what our dependence really costs." VoteVets.org, a self-described "pro-military" group that's funding the $100,000 ad campaign, says it has a million dollars ready to buy more ads. It says the American Petroleum Institute has spent nearly $30 million this year on TV ads. BP told U.S. lawmakers this month that it had spent more than $93 million on advertising from April to July - more than three times the amount it spent on ads during the same period in 2009.
Holes for Heroes is coming - The 2010 Holes for Heroes Fundraiser event will be held on October 1, 2010 at Admiral Baker Golf Course, Last year, Holes for Heroes grossed more than $82,000 and netting some $55,000 to benefit our "Wounded Heroes" through a variety of different organizations. Every sponsor and golfer will help us ease the pain of our 'Hurting Heroes' recovering at Balboa and other military hospitals from injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan and to those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), supporting families and children of local deployed military warriors, providing housing, substance abuse recovery, mental health counseling, job training and placement to some of San Diego's current 2,000 homeless veterans and their families, and supporting the children and families of our fallen heroes. For further information contact Dave Ferguson at dave@holesforheroes.org or 619.787.6280. Website helping thousands of brain-injured veterans - The main website has been around for five years. The focus is "therapeutic resources for veterans with combat-based PTSD, focusing on integrative medicine" (meaning, the best of East and West); and they are building a program to treat vets accordingly. We've also been asked to write chapters in several upcoming books, be in several documentary films, etc. Our website can be found here. We have a cause on Facebook, too with over 5,100 members, and our facebook page has 2,700+ fans. Veterans criticize Whitman for poor voting record - A group of veterans is asking GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to explain why she failed to vote for most of her adult life. A half dozen veterans delivered a letter to Whitman's East Los Angeles campaign office Tuesday. The letter says they fought to protect Americans' right to vote, and asks for an explanation of her spotty voting record. Service Employees International Union, the largest labor group in state government, helped organize the event. It supports Whitman's Democratic opponent Jerry Brown. Roberto De La Cruz, who served in the Navy during Vietnam, says that many veterans are offended by Whitman's apathy toward voting. Whitman has apologized for not voting "as often as I should."Luis Alvarado, a senior adviser to Whitman's campaign, says he respects the veterans' position and will deliver the letter to the candidate.