Twenty -Two year Edward Dycus from Greenville, Mississippi was killed in Afghanistan. Dycus was on his first tour of duty and had only been in the nation for a couple of months. His death is under investigation since he was killed by an Afghan solider who was guarding a joint operating base with Dycus. In high school the young soldier was somewhat of a loner but always described as always cheerful. He enlisted in the army in 2010.
Forget Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" blaring from the speakers at Republican victory night parties! From now on, it will be old hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers..." as the official Republican anthem. Rick Santorum's victory last night can't be simply labeled by the media as an embarrassing moment for good ole Mitt. It was a decisive and powerful rejection of the supposed 'frontrunner'. From a substantive viewpoint it forces the Republican Party one step closer to being the party for an "American Theocracy".
First, sad old Mitt found out that the Republican grassroots really dislike him. Given the opportunity they will turn to the most fringe of candidates to prove their point. His feeble attempt last night to spin that he hadn't really campaigned in Missouri and Minnesota was just plain pitiful. Mitt has been campaigning for six years for President and he is not an unknown to the people of those states.
In Minnesota in 2008, Romney carried the state with 41% in 2008 and won every single delegate. This year he was barely able to muster third place and lost every single county in the state. In Missouri, in 2008 Romney captured 29% of the vote and carried a number of counties. Last night he lost every single county in the state. On Monday, Nate Silver said that the betting market had given Romney a 97% chance of winning Colorado especially since he took 61% of the vote in 2008 and won every single delegate. Santorum slammed him in the Rocky Mountain State.
Second, the right wing religious political force is finally coalescing around a candidate. They are starting to reject Newt's three wives, his desire for an open relationship and colonies on the moon. Rick Santorum gives them their Sunday School teacher with the lovely wife and a passel of kids! Although he lacks smooth oratory skills, he is genuine and real to the voters. Watching Romney attempting to pass himself off as the son of a working man last night was embarrassing and painful.
Santorum is just plain weird and if he wasn't in politics he would be in Roswell, New Mexico waiting for space ships to land. He hates freely and judges others quickly. He insists that every American must adhere to his values and religious beliefs. If they don't then they are the enemy of America and maybe even all of civilizations.
Invoking Rick's best friend, "God help us if he becomes President!".
For months, it has been looking bleak for President Obama with a slew of issues that seem to be working against his re-election. However in the last months, despite one of the worse House of Representatives ever, the President is slowly but surely getting the job done. The President has endured endless rounds of attacks, attempts to derail any progress by the Republicans who don't want him to be a success and skeptics within the Democratic Party. The time has come for us to celebrate his accomplishments and there are many of them.
Polls clearly show that many Democrats, including myself, have began to understand the depth of the President's record. In the last months there has been some major accomplishments and they bear repeating, Sometimes it has been hard to hear the Presidents story of success because of all the noise made by the Republicans. More than any other President I have known, he has been slowly (more slowly that is comfortable for some of us) keeping his promises of the campaign. Among the major promises are:
1. Economy: The good news is that January's unemployment rate is now 8.3% which is the lowest in three years. He is creating jobs. In addition, he is fighting for benefits for the unemployed, the poor and those without homes.
2. Iraq: He kept his promise and the 'war started on lies' has come to an end. What happens now in Iraq is up to the people of Iraq.
3. Afghanistan: After the disappointment of a troop increase he has announced that we will begin bringing the troops home from the ten year war. Hopefully it will all be done within a little over a year and the people of Afghanistan can take responsibility for their own nation.
4. LGBT Rights: With the passage of hate crimes, the repeal of DADT, the refusal to fight for DOMA, the commitment to link American foreign policy to LGBT rights and a host of other appointments and executive orders, he has an extraordinary record on LGBT rights. He must soon make the final and important step of supporting marriage equality.
Space limits the endless lists of accomplishments by this remarkable President but they do indeed exist. In all the hoopla of the Republican nomination battle, people should not be distracted and get to work and re-elect our President.
Captain Nathan R. McHone was twenty-nine years old when he was killed engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan. The captain was a graduate of Crystal Lake South High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois where he was a student athlete and ran cross country and track. This was McHone's second deployment to Afghanistan and he died during operations in Helmand Province. The Captain was single.
President Obama's State of the Union speech was not one of his best however it defined the differences between the two Parties. America will have a clear choice this coming November. The President's theme of fairness and shared burdens was right on target. Playing off the President's message from last night, here are ten "Is It Fair" questions.
1. Is it fair that Romney can attack President Obama for being a "European type leader's while he hides his money in European banks to avoid paying American taxes?
2. Is it fair that corporate executives who get fired get severance packages in the tens of millions for their failed policies while laid off American workers get none?
3. Is it fair that, according to Elizabeth Warren, thirty of America's top corporations spend more on lobbying than in paying taxes?
4. Is it fair that most of American students are raking up student loans that will hinder them for getting a fresh start in life while Romney put $100 million tax free dollars away for his children?
5. Is it fair that Republicans are oppose to any increase in corporate taxes when most Middle Class Americans are paying a higher rate of taxation than many corporations.
6. Is it fair for the Republican candidates to oppose any legislation to stop climate change while many corporations are making plans for just such an event?
7. Is it fair to cut food stamps for the poor while many corporate executives are making well over $50 million dollars a year?
8. Is it fair for 14% of American children to go hungry while we spend billions in the war in Afghanistan?
9. Is it fair to speak of family values and against marriage equality when one of the Republican leading nominees, Newt Gingrich, has had three wives and one of them was his mistress for six years?
10. Is it fair to oppose all governmental regulations on corporations but support regulations on individuals private lives?
Master Sgt. Travis W. Riddick died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on January 19th. He had served three tours of duty in Iraq and this was his second one in Afghanistan. He was due to come home and end his military career in just four or five weeks. The Centerville, Iowa native was married and the father of six children.
Travis comes from a family of Marines. His grandfather, dad, uncle and cousins were Marines. His cousin 2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd III was killed in 2004. His twin brother just retired after 21 years in the Navy.
Riddick was a crew chief on a CH-53D helicopter. At one time he was assigned to 'Copter One' at the White House and flew with both President Clinton and President Bush. Riddick was forty years old
Dr. Jean and Mary Wise of Hope, Arkansas lost their second son to the war in Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Brian Wise was killed in action at the age of thirty-four. He received multiple gunshot wounds and was evacuated to Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany. He died of complications from his wounds. Wise was survived by a wife and two sons and a daughter.
Benjamin's older brother, Jeremy Wise, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 at the age of 35. He was a Navy Seal.
Benjamin Wise was on his fourth deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan. He was a member of the Special Forces
At the young age of twenty, Pfc. Dustin P. Napier of London, Kentucky was killed in Zabul Province from the wounds resulting from an attack by small arms. Pfc. Napier had just been married three months before his untimely death. He joined the Army in July, 2010 and was due to return from Afghanistan in just three months. The young man attended Laurel High School and graduated the same year he enlisted.
Twenty-nine year old Lake Elsinore, California Sgt. Noah M. Korte was killed in Afghanistan when attacked by an improvised explosive device. A member of the Army's 89th Military Police Brigade, this was his fourth deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan. The young soldier was married to Kristi Korte and had two very young children. In his last entry in his Facebook Page he wrote:
“To my beautiful wife and kids, daddy loves you very much, so be good and take care of mommy while I’m away.”
He attended California Lutheran High School where he played football and was a proud member of "Surfriders."
Spc. Mikayla A. Bragg was only twenty-one years old when she died in combat in Khowst Province in Afghanistan. Mikayla was shot and killed in a guard tower while on duty. She was a native of Longview, Washington and graduated from Mark Morris High School. The young woman was a star of her high school track team. She enlisted in order to earn money to further her education. She had a deep love of animals and wanted to focus on helping them upon her return. Her deployment was scheduled to end on January 6 and she died on December 23rd.
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