The war in Iraq has taken some ominous turns this week.

Over one hundred handcuffed, bullet-riddled bodies have been found throughout Iraq just today.

Al Qaeda’s replacement for the Terrorist Fomerly Known As Zarqawi –Abu Ayyub al Masri– vowed on television to take the fight to the White House and is taunting President Bush. He also once gain confirmed the shortsightedness of the Democrats who flatly stated that Iraq is not part of the war on terror. Memo to al Masri: The White House belongs to the American people, not the President. We’re not going to allow it to be blown up that easy.

Sunnis and Shiites are now exchanging mortar barrages in what can only be described as a shift to conventional warfare, while we stand on the sidelines. This is in addition to the kidnappings and the weekly discovery of dozens of headless corpses and bodies found bound and shot execution style on both sides. Anyone who still doubts that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war would be wise to check the dictionary, because this war fits the definition.

President Bush, in the midst of the lowest poll numbers of his presidency at a thirty-one percent job approval rating, continues to show –in dramatic fashion– how far over his head he truly is in Iraq and how hopelessly myopic his vision. He stated after the midterm Republican drubbing, that he was seeking a new direction in Iraq; a new direction to win. The truth is, despite what he says, he isn’t setting a strategy for victory in Iraq. He isn’t seeking the best and brightest from the nation’s military academies. He isn’t discussing how to exploit our enemy’s weaknesses. He isn’t getting the best, veteran, battle-hardened generals to advise him how to crush the terrorists.

What he is doing is retreating further into his comfort zone with people from his father’s administration, such as SecDef nominee Robert Gates and retired Secretary of State James Baker, who heads the Iraq Study Group - a group of ten retired officials and their advisors; a smattering of PhDs, CEOs, intellectuals and Clinton throwbacks, who are supposedly going to assist Bush plot the course correction in Iraq. Not one, single active duty member of the military to speak of. No Generals; no officers; no tacticians. As I see it, this is a sure sign that President Bush is definitely NOT seeking a victory in Iraq, but rather some sort of face-saving retreat mislabeled as an “exit strategy”. You don’t need a bunch of retired politicians and diplomats to tell you that you should have stuck to centuries-old, established war fighting doctrine with clear, demonstrable, obtainable objectives.

Good men continue to die every day, along with scores of Iraqis in a ritualistic bloodbath that is spiraling further out of control, while President Bush –much like an intemperate teenager– looks to his father to bail him out. Despite what President Bush says, there is no change in course. There aren’t even any new options or opinions on how to proceed. In terms of coming up with a viable solution to the problem of Iraq which rests squarely on his shoulders, I guess you might say that Bush is constantly coming up a few shy of a “Baker’s dozen”.

Just in the last 2 weeks the war on terror has claimed 30 more American dead, including a fellow Washingtonian. As we reflect on the sacrifice of our nations veterans, these men as well as their families should be foremost in our thoughts.

11/7/2006 USMC Lcpl. Ryan T. McCaugn, 19 - Manchester, NH
11/6/2006 US Army Sgt. Lucas T. White, 28 - Moses Lake, WA (KIA)
11/6/2006 US Army CWO John R. Priestner, 42 - ??, Pennsylvania *
11/6/2006 US Army CWO Miles P. Henderson, 24 - Amarillo, TX *
11/6/2006 US Army SFC William R. Brown, 30 - Fort Worth, TX (IED) **
11/5/2006 US Army Spc. Douglas C. Desjardins, 24 - Mesa, AZ (IED)
11/5/2006 USMC Cpl. Jose A. Galvan, 22 - San Antonio, TX (KIA)
11/4/2006 USMC 2nd Lt. Mark C.Gelina, 33 - Moberly, Mo (KIA)
11/4/2006 USMC Cpl.Kyle W. Powell, 21 - Colorado Springs, CO (KIA)
11/4/2006 US Army Spc. James L. Bridges, 22 - Buhl, ID (KIA)
11/2/2006 USMC Lcpl. James E. Brown, 20 - Owensville, IN (KIA)
11/2/2006 USMC Ssgt. Jason D. Whitehouse, 27 - Phoenix, AZ (KIA)
11/2/2006 US Army Lt. Col. Paul J. Finken, 40 - Earling, IA (IED)
11/2/2006 US Army Lt. Col. Eric J. Kruger, 40 - Garland, TX (IED)
11/2/2006 US Army Ssgt. Joseph A. Gage, 28 - Modesto, CA (IED)
11/2/2006 USMC Lcpl. Luke B. Holler, 21 - Bulverde, TX (KIA)
11/2/2006 USMC Cpl. Michael H. Lasky, 22 - Sterling, AK (KIA)
11/2/2006 US Army Pvt. Michael P. Bridges, 23 - Placentia, CA ***
11/1/2006 US Army PFC Kevin J. Ellenburg, 20 - Middleburg, FL (IED)
11/1/2006 USMC Lcpl. Minhee Kim, 20 - Ann Arbor, MI (KIA)
11/1/2006 USMC Cpl. Gary A. Koehler, 21 - Ypsilanti, MI (KIA)
10/31/2006 US Army Maj. Douglas E. Sloan, 40 - Evans Mills, NY (IED) **
10/31/2006 US Army Sgt. Charles J.McClain, 26 - Fort Riley, KS (IED) **
10/31/2006 US Army PFC Alex Oceguera, 19 - San Bernardino, CA (IED) **
10/31/2006 US Army Sgt. Michael R. Weidemann, 23 - Newport, RI (IED)
10/31/2006 USMC PFC Jason Franco, 18 - Corona, CA***
10/30/2006 US Army Cpl. Isaiah Calloway, 23 - Jacksonville, FL (KIA)**
10/30/2006 US Army Sgt. Kenneth E. Bostic, 21 - Hawthorne, NV (KIA)
10/30/2006 US Army Sgt. Kraig D. Foyteck, 26 Skokie, IL - (KIA)
10/30/2006 US Army Sgt. Michael T. Seeley, 27 - Fredericton, New Brunswick, CN (IED)

*     Classified as a crash of their AH-64 Apache
**  Occurred in Afghanistan in Support of Operation Enduring Freedom
*** Non-combat related

The polls have closed and the votes have been tallied. In a decision that can only be described as sweeping, the House and Senate have both ceded control to the Democrats. Our eyes and ears have stopped bleeding from months of assault by gutter politics, false accusations and deceptive advertising. The country has finally spoken.

Every election since my conversion to political independence -the event that I refer to as “the quickening” - I am always interested in analyzing the single message the country sends to our leadership as a whole. What did we convey by the totality of the votes that we all cast? Was it a referendum on President Bush, on the House or on Iraq? Was it a vote of confidence in Democratic values and national security priorities?

Prior to the election, Bush was confident that America would choose to continue down the road to ruin. He said this election was about which party could keep America safer when it comes to the war on terror. Until today, he insisted that Donald Rumsfeld would remain at his post for the duration of Bush’s term. Bush publicly lauded coach Rumsfeld for the fine job he was doing directing the exercise of Iraqi democracy by his continual running in place on the Bush League field of dreams.

Now today comes the announcement of Rumsfeld’s resignation and the nomination of Robert Gates as the new Secretary of Defense, which is evidence of two things;

First, that Bush was –as I said before– playing politics with soldiers lives; seeing which way the wind blew. And when that wind stiffened and finally turned on him, Bush decided the time had finally come to find a new Secretary of Defense. And second, that Bush didn’t learn a thing. He nominated a career Intelligence official. A member of his father’s administration and a friend of the Bush family. This is in no way intended to impugn the character or career credentials of Mr. Gates, but the truth is, the fighting men of this country deserve to be led by one of their own; a fellow soldier; someone who understands the daily sacrifices made by our veterans; not someone who has spent the last 4 years in a cushy office at Texas A & M University. Despite Bush’s denials, the change of leadership was under discussion for weeks. The choice of Gates to lead the military is no different than hiring Michael Brown to head FEMA or Harriet Meyers to sit on the Supreme Court.

On the other side of the aisle, Nancy Pelosi believes this election was a clear choice between stay the course and cut and run. And she thinks we chose that latter. She believes that just because America spoke pretty vociferously that we are unhappy with the current state of affairs in Iraq that we want immediate retreat. So once again, the two-party system staked out positions that were at both extremes.

The 2006 mid-term election was not a statement about the job that either party has done representing the will of the people. It wasn’t about who will keep us safer or which party’s strategy is the key to solving the problem of Iraq. It wasn’t an expression of hope and it wasn’t the order to retreat. It was an exercise in futility by the American electorate and a clear indication that they ended up –once again– choosing a candidate based on the belief that they couldn’t possibly do any worse than the incumbent.

The leadership of our country is politicizing the Iraq war in general and the lives of US soldiers in particular. Every last one of them; from the President, to the Congress, to the Senate.

When the Iraq war started, there was hope that perhaps a knockout blow could be delivered even before we engaged the enemy. But the road the Bush Administration chose to get from that audacious beginning to where we are today has been fraught with more miscalculations than IEDs buried in the streets of al Anbar province.

In a series of politicized speeches, Bush hinted that there may be a change of tactics in the works. His next move was to have Tony Snow articulate that they would cease using the term “stay the course” to describe the current strategy of waiting until Iraq stands up before America stands down. This decision was based on the ability of Democrats to score political points by highlighting the painfully obvious; that staying the course isn’t working.

After a few more days of the Bush Administration attempting to find a plausible way to explain to Americans how we’re winning in Iraq, it became clear that Bush’s intention was to hunker down and do absolutely nothing; at least until after the election. His decision to politicize the war is staining the desert sands with more American blood every day. Bush floated then retracted the idea of timetables and “milestones” this week. There was no actual timetable set; only admonitions that our patience was not infinite. At the same time, in order to appease critics at home as well as abroad, Bush made it clear that we won’t just leave.

Therefore, we’re not going to leave, but there is no change in tactics. There are no timetables. Nothing but increasing losses while we do what is now the Iraqi military’s dirty work; quelling an open-ended civil war while hoping that Iraqi divisions will be battle ready some day. There have been no troop increases. There has been no shift from a reactive to a proactive posture in Baghdad or the Sunni triangle. There is no hard evidence of success whatsoever; Only rhetoric. American, British and Iraqi deaths are on the rise but there is nothing from your President except semantics. Words like “milestones” and “benchmarks” are being replaced by words such as goals, lest we infuriate the Iraqi P.M. with any concrete demands.

The Bush Administration has been articulating for years that as time goes on more and more Iraqi divisions would be combat ready and taking control from coalition forces. Obviously that isn’t true. Did Bush intentionally lie? Was he misled by one of his advisors or is he just ignorant of the situation on the ground?

In addition to a stubborn, myopic administration fighting an equally myopic war, we now have numerous polls showing that Iraqi youth overwhelmingly want us to leave. We have on our hands an Iraqi Prime Minister who rejected the notion that American political opinion would have anything to do with when our troops left Iraq. We’re losing patriotic, brave Americans every day; yet no one from the President to the junior congressional representative can be bothered until after they face the voters. I keep wondering when people will wake up and stop sending these spinmeisters; these incumbent do-nothings to Washington.

As a veteran myself, I get no pleasure from taking the position that our government is bungling this war. I know it’s not what our fighting men and women want to hear. I’m sure it’s not what Republicans or many fellow conservatives will ever admit. The truth is, we were promised shock and awe. After untold billions of dollars spent and thousands of American lives lost, all we got was smoke and mirrors.

In the previous 9 days, the names of 35 more combat dead have been released by DOD. These men died because your Congress and your President are too busy trying to cement their hold on power to do anything to stop it.

10/26/2006 US Army 1st Sgt. Ricky L. McGinnis, 42 - Hamilton, OH (IED)
10/25/2006 USMC PFC Donald S. Brown, 19 - Succasunna, NJ (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert, 24 - Downer’s Grove, IL (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC PFC Daniel B. Chaires, 20 - Tallahassee, FL (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC Lcpl. Johnathan B. Thornberry, 22 - McDowell, KY (KIA)
10/25/2006 USN PO2 Charles V. Komppa, 35 - Belgrade, MT (KIA)
10/23/2006 US Army 1st LT Amos C. R. Bock, 24 - New Madrid, MO (IED)
10/23/2006 US Army Spc. Carl A. Eason, 29 - Lovelady, TX (IED)
10/23/2006 USMC Lcpl. Richard A. Buerstetta, 20 - Franklin, TN (KIA)
10/23/2006 USMC Lcpl. Tyler R. Overstreet, 22 - Gallatin, TN (KIA)
10/23/2006 USN HNSN Charles O. Sare, 23 - Hemet, CA (KIA)
10/22/2006 US Army Spc. Nicholas K. Rogers, 26 - Deltona, FL (KIA)
10/22/2006 US Army Sgt. Willsun M. Mock, 23 - Harper, KS (IED)
10/22/2006 US Army Maj. David G. Taylor, 37 - ??, NC (IED)
10/22/2006 US Army Spc. Nathaniel A. Aguirre, 21 - Carrollton, TX (KIA)
10/22/2005 US Army Spc. Matthew W. Creed, 23 - Covina, CA (KIA)
10/21/2006 US Army SFC Tony L. Knier, 31 - Sabinsville, PA (IED)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Eric W. Herzberg, 20 - Severna Park, MD (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, 20 - Chelsea, MI (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Nathan R. Elrod, 20 - Salisbury, NC (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian, 22 - Lathrup Village, MI (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Cpl. Joshua C.Watkins, 25 Jacksonville, FL
10/20/2006 US Army Ssgt. Kevin M. White, 27 - Beardsley, MN (IED)
10/19/2006 USMC Pvt. Edwardo J. Lopez, 21 - Aurora, IL (KIA)
10/18/2006 US Army Ssgt. Patrick O. Barlow, 42 - Greensboro, NC (NCR)*
10/18/2006 US Army Ssgt. Jesus M. Montalvo, 46 - Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (KIA)
10/18/2006 US Army 2nd Lt. Christopher E. Loudon, 23 - Brockport, PA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Cpl. David M. Unger, 21 - Leavenworth, KS (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Cpl. Russel G. Culbertson III, 22- Amity, PA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Spc. Joseph C. Dumas Jr., 25 - New Orleans, LA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army S1C Daniel A. Brozovich, 42 - Greenville, PA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Ssgt. Ronald L. Paulsen, 53 - Vancouver, WA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Ssgt. Ryan E. Haupt, 24- Phoenix, AZ(IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Sgt. Norman R. Taylor III, 21 - Blythe, CA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army PFC Nathan J. Frigo, 23 - Kokomo, IN (IED)

* NCR - Non-combat related

Money is the root of all evil. But don’t take my word for it, simply consider the following: The only reference to Jesus getting ticked-off in the Bible was when He drove the moneychangers from the temple. To Him, having money change hands for anything in His Father’s house -much less trivial, earthly possessions- was a grave transgression; serious enough for Him to get truly angry.

When the desire for money is too strong, it causes some to sell their bodies, some to sell their souls. With others, it completely devours the soul; much like it is already consuming the very soul of this nation.

Obscene sums of money is the lifeblood that courses through the veins of the two-party political system. Without the evil influence of money, we would have an even playing field for all political candidates; something the two-party system just can’t allow. The Democrat/Republican machine shuts the other candidates out of debates claiming they wouldn’t mount a serious challenge. How can a third-party candidate convince the public of their viability if they aren’t allowed to debate the issues?

For politicians, money is the drug of choice. It is absolute power. They can use it to smear their opponent by hiring a private investigator to dig up 30 year-old, long dead skeletons in their closets.

They can use it to silence someone who is about to reveal their own ethical and moral lapses.

They can use it to perpetuate their reign by throwing it around to their constituents in the form of pork.

During an election year, for enough money, I could buy a lobster dinner and at the same time lobby John Kerry, Carl Levin, Charles Schumer and other members of the Cult Of Personality on the issue of my choice; or play a round of golf with Republican Saxby Chambliss while enjoying the same unfettered, private access.

Globalization, a weak economy, failed IPOs and pressure from shareholders meant that untold thousands of Americans -including some of our best and brightest technical talent- have lost their jobs to Mexico, India, China, South America and elsewhere since the dawn of the millennium. Jobs that are gone forever. Jobs that left with the full knowledge and blessing of our leadership.

Even international politics and diplomacy aren’t immune from the detrimental influence of money.

Chinese, French, and Russian failure to fully support tough measures against Saddam Hussein or even now against Iran and North Korea are a result of economic concerns among others. These countries would rather maintain economic ties with the Communist North than prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The two-party political system is no longer about which candidate would best represent the values of their constituents. It isn’t even about which political party has the best vision for the country’s future. These days, it’s only about which machine can churn out the most cash so they can blanket the airwaves with deceptive advertising, mudslinging, fear-mongering and false promises of deliverance. These days, every election is an internal struggle for the average American. They are torn; they try to fulfill their civic duty by voting, but at the same time they are unable to come to grips with the lack of choices they have when selecting a representative government. We’re between a rock and a hard place. We must constantly choose between bad or worse; the lesser of two evils.

Call it what you will, but it’s time for a change.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13

October has not been kind to the US military. This month has brought over 70 American dead in Iraq in the first three weeks alone.

When I take a good hard look at the deeds of the brave men who are currently engaging our enemy and then consider the words, deeds and morality of the men who are charged with dispatching them there, it provides a very stark contrast; a juxtaposition of sorts.

On September 29th, 2006 Petty Officer Michael Monsoor - a Navy SeAL and his team were providing protection for Iraqi units when the enemy tossed a grenade at their rooftop position, hitting him in the chest. With only a second to react, he did what some brave American hero always steps up to do. He jumped on the grenade and took one for the team. He died, so that his teammates could live. When I think about the selfless sacrifice of this man and the rest of our soldiers who continue to give their lives, I get goosebumps. It makes me proud to be an American. But when I think about the greed, scandal and deviance; the selfishness, and lust; the dysfunction of our political leadership, I get mad.

Our leadership continues to show contempt and utter disdain for those who sent them to Washington through their failure to reign in Bush’s astronomical spending and his bumbling of Iraq; through their failure to stand up and show their conservative base that they represent conservative values; through the growing list of corruption, influence peddling and abuse of power scandals. They seem to take for granted that we gave them the privilege to represent us. Instead of doing what’s best for the country, they troll for young pages, take bribes, dismantle the border, sell their influence, ignore the will of their constituents and generally abuse the public trust.

Every time I see this juxtaposition of honor next to greed, I am reminded how far we’ve really disintegrated as a society and how corrupt and dishonest our political leadership has become. They have completely turned their back on all of us, including our military men and women.

It matters not how tough-talking Republicans are on the war, or how much anyone says they care about our troops. Continuing to let them get blown to pieces by roadside bombs because they drive around in humvees with inadequate or even no armor says otherwise.

Iraq has now degenerated into all-out civil war. Tit-for-tat reprisal killings are now slaughtering untold thousands and our soldiers are now in the middle. The Bush Administration made far too many fatal assumptions and put its faith in an Iraqi government incapable of bringing order to chaos. With an election looming, Bush is more concerned than ever about throwing his enemies red meat by admitting a course correction is needed. In addition, he now has to contend with the inability or unwillingness of the Iraqi government to act as a government capable of exerting control.

Finally, Maj. General William Caldwell; The same Caldwell that says nary a peep in regards to seven imprisoned Marines, now has something to say about the strategy in Iraq, namely it’s not working.

This is the price of this war, paid in blood since October 1st. They aren’t statistics. They are your fathers, sons and brothers and the list continues to grow. They come from middle America. They come from Florida to the Pacific Northwest; From New York to California. This mess is affecting families and making orphans all across this nation. The most disgusting thing is the number of men killed in their vehicles by IED.

US Army Spc. Joseph R. Perez, 21- Ontario, CA (KIA)
US Army Sgt.Lester D. Baroncini Jr., 33 - Bakersfield, CA
US Army PFC. Stephen D. Bicknell, 19 - Prattville, AL (IED)
US Army Spc. Daniel W. Winegart, 23, - Kountze, TX(Vehicle crash)
US Army Ssgt. Garth D. Sizemore, 31 - Mount Sterling, KY (KIA)
USMC 2nd Lt. Joshua L. Booth, 23 - Fiskdale, MA (KIA)
US Army Cpt. Mark C. Paine, 32 - Rancho Cucamonga, CA (IED)
US Army Spc. Timothy J. Lauer, 25 - Saegertown, PA (IED)
US Army Ssgt. Joseph M.Kane, 35 - Darby, PA (IED)
US Army Sgt. Charles M. King, - Mobile, AL. (IED)
US Army PFC Keith J. Moore, 28 - San Francisco, CA (non-combat related)
US Army Sgt. Johnathan E. Lootens, 25 - Lyons, NY (IED)
1st Lt. Joshua Deese, 25 - North Carolina (no city provided) (IED)
US Army 2nd Lt. Johnny K. Craver, 37 - McKinney, TX (IED)
USMC Sgt. Johnathan J. Simpson, 25 - Rockport, TX (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Joshua M. Hines, 26 - Olney, IL (KIA)
USMC Sgt. Brock A. Babb, 40 - Evansville, IN (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Luis E. Tejeda, 20 - Huntington Park, CA (IED)
USAF A1C Leebernard E. Chavis, 21 - Hampton, VA(KIA)
US Army PFC. Kenny F. Stanton, Jr., 20 - Hemet, CA (IED)
US Army Sgt. Nicholas R. Sowinski, 25 - Tempe, AZ (IED)
US Army Sgt. Gene A. Hawkins, 24 - Orlando, FL (IED)
US Army PFC. Thomas J. Hewitt, 22 - Temple, TX (IED)
USMC Sgt. Justin T. Walsh, 24 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH (KIA)
US Army Cpt. Shane T. Adcock, 27 - Mechanicsville, VA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl Derek W. Jones, 21 - Salem, OR (KIA)
USMC Lcpl Jeremy S. Sandvick Monroe, 20 Chinook, MT (KIA)
USMC Cpt. Robert M. Secher, 33 - Germantown, TN (KIA)
USMC Sgt. Julian M. Archeaga, 23 - Oceanside, NY (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Jon E. Bowman, 21 - Dubach, LA (KIA)
USMC PFC. Shelby Feniello, 25 - Connellsville, PA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. John E. Hale, 20 - Shreveport, LA
USMC Lcpl Stephen F. Johnson, 20 - Marietta, GA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Bradford H. Payne, 24 - Montgomery, AL (KIA)
US Army PFC Phillip B. Williams, 21 - Gardnerville, NV
US Army Sgt. Brandon S. Asbury, 21 - Tazewell, VA (KIA)
US Army Spc. Timothy A. Fulkerson, 20 - Utica, KY (IED)
US Army Ssgt. Lawrence L. Parrish, 36 - Lebanon, MO (IED)
US Army Spc. John E.Wood, 37 - Humboldt, KS (IED)
US Army PFC Shane R. Austin, 19 - Edgerton, KS (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Nicholas A. Arvantis, 22 - Salem, NH (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Carl W. Johnson II, 20 - Philadelphia, PA (IED)
US Army PFC. Dean R. Bright, 32 - Roseburg, OR (KIA)
US Army Spc. Timothy R. Burke, 24 - Hollywood, FL (KIA)
US Army Ssgt.Christopher O. Moudry, 21 - Baltimore, MD (KIA)
US Army Spc. George R. Obourn Jr., 20 - Creve Coeur, IL (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. James D. Ellis, 25 - Valdosta, GA (IED)
US Army Spc. Raymond S. Armijo, 22 - Phoenix, AZ (IED)
US Army Spc. Justin R. Jarrett, 21 - Jonesboro, GA (IED)
US Army Spc. Kristofer C. Walker, 20 - Creve Coeur, IL(IED)
USMC Lcpl. Edward M. Garvin, 19 - Malden, MA (KIA)
USMC Cpl. Benjamin S. Rosales, 20 - Houston, TX (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. Daniel Isshak, 25 - Alta Loma, CA (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. Johnathan Rojas, 27 - Hammond, IN (KIA)
US Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, 23 - Alpine, CA (KIA)
USMC Cpt. Justin D. Peterson, 32 - Davidsburg, MI (Non-combat related)
US Army Cpl. Michael K. Oremus, 21 - Highland, NY (KIA)
US Army PFC. Satieon V. Greenlee, 24 - Pendleton, SC
US Army Sgt. Mario Nelson, 26 - Brooklyn, NY (RPG)
US Army Ssgt. Joe A. Narvaez, 25 - San Antonio, TX (KIA)
US Army Sgt. Chase A. Haag, 22 - Portland, OR (IED)
USMC Lcpl. Christopher B. Cosgrove III, 23 - Cedar Knolls, NJ (KIA)
USMC Cpl. Aaron L. Seal, 23 - Elkhart, IN(KIA)

* KIA - USMC described all deaths as “during combat operations”, while the army attributed them to small arms fire.

** IED - In most cases the deaths were attributed to actual IEDs, but there were several incidents of soldiers killed when landmines planted in the roadway detonated near vehicles. For simplicity’s sake, they were also classified as IED.

*** compiled from DoD’s website as of 8:00 PM PST 10/19/2006. While the official, reported, overall US military death toll for October is reported as 74 as of today, this list omits several US soldiers KIA in Afghanistan, as well as a couple of military deaths that occurred outside Iraq.

The recent spate of school shootings -like the many that preceded it- is not so much a statement of the mental health of our children, as it is a statement of the moral health of our nation.

There used to be a time when problems were solved differently. If the schoolyard bully stole your lunch; or some jerk wolf-whistled at your wife or stole your parking space, you went out back and the two of you pummeled each other until somebody won. Black eyes were a right of passage. When it was over, the winner said his piece, picked the loser up off the ground and the two went their separate ways. This way of resolving conflict was imprinted on me in my childhood. It is how my brothers and I solved our problems, often times with each other. It is how my father solved his problems, indeed how society solved its problems, once reason and civility failed.

In today’s world, the loser of the fight files assault charges or sues you for all you’re worth; Or he goes home, grabs his gun or steals his father’s and takes care of his problem by putting a bullet in the winner’s head.

In today’s world, people act more enlightened. They look at the use of violence of any sort to solve problems - whether it be a schoolyard brawl or outright war- with upturned noses, as if only subhumans defended themselves. Think zero-tolerance. They reality is, the world doesn’t work that way. You can’t outlaw conflict. The world is replete with conflict. And contrasts. Rich vs. Poor. Strong vs. Weak. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong.

As human beings, we must constantly seek to achieve some sort of equilibrium; some sense of balance with these contrasts and understand that sometimes it’s necessary to engage in violence in order to achieve peace or to confront evil.

What political correctness does is seek to upset that sense of balance. Its proponents believe that it would create a more polite society, but the reality is the exact opposite. In today’s PC society, if someone would call out that bully or parking space thief to settle the score, they would either be expelled from school, shot, sued or put in jail. Therefore, they swallow their pride like 50 pounds of concrete and try to forget about it.