A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
The Waxman Democrats - John Dingell's fall from power yesterday is an important inflection point in the history of the modern Democratic Party. The House purge marks the final triumph of the Congressional generation that came of political age during the 1970s over the last lion of New Deal liberalism, and it is symbolic of the party's change in culture and policy priorities in the Barack Obama era. (READ MORE)
Al Franken's Minnesota - Al Franken's campaign takes exception to our recent description of the curious goings-on in Minnesota's Senate vote count. We're delighted to hear his growing vote total is all routine. But who needs to worry about votes discovered in a car when the Franken campaign is now suing in court to steal the election? (READ MORE)
America the Popular - In the media telling, America during the Bush years has been an unpopular and insular country. But one group would seem to differ: young people. The U.S. remains the top destination for students from around the world, while Americans are studying abroad in record numbers too. (READ MORE)
Report Sees Nuclear Arms, Scarce Resources as Seeds of Global Instability - The drive for dwindling resources, including energy and water, combined with the spread of nuclear weapons technology could make large swaths of the globe ripe for regional conflicts, some of them potentially devastating, according to a report released by the National Intelligence Council yesterday. (READ MORE)
Across the Spectrum, Praise for Napolitano - President-elect Barack Obama's pending selection of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) as secretary of homeland security was greeted yesterday as a sign that the new Democratic administration will fundamentally change the tone of the nation's post-Sept. 11 approach to domestic security. (READ MORE)
Juror Defies Russian Court's Attempts to Close Trial - MOSCOW, Nov. 20 -- The trial of three men accused of helping to organize the murder of one of Russia's most prominent investigative reporters, Anna Politkovskaya, took a surprise turn Thursday as a juror publicly challenged the court's decision to hold the proceedings behind closed doors. (READ MORE)
5 at Guantanamo Ordered Released - For the first time, a federal judge ordered the release yesterday of detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay after evaluating and rejecting government allegations that five men were dangerous enemy combatants. (READ MORE)
Mukasey Collapses During Address in Washington; Hospitalized Overnight - Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey collapsed last evening while delivering a speech to a prominent legal group and was rushed to George Washington University Hospital. Mukasey remained at the hospital overnight for observation but a Justice Department spokesman said Mukasey had strong vital signs and was "in good spirits" after the incident. (READ MORE)
On the Web:
William Snyder: What Do We Really Know About the Uninsured? - Next year, when Barack Obama becomes president, he will almost certainly move quickly toward some form of government-provided -- and possibly government-mandated -- health insurance. A principal reason for this is the oft-cited figure of 46 million uninsured Americans. But what does this number mean? And do we really need to remake our entire health-care system to protect the uninsured? Most people have an incomplete understanding of the uninsured population, which can lead to bad policy choices. Many Americans believe that the uninsured are too poor to purchase coverage and that government programs aren't available to them. But a study published in Health Affairs in November 2006 estimated that 25% of the uninsured were in fact eligible for public coverage, and another 20% probably could afford coverage on their own. (READ MORE)
Paul Ingrassia: The Auto Makers Are Already Bankrupt - The moment of truth in the nation's automotive bailout debate might have come this week. As the CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler begged Congress for federal aid, a Detroit radio talk-show host asked whether Michigan, as well as the car companies, should get assistance. The state is being hit by an economic hurricane, he said, just as New Orleans was hit by a natural hurricane. From left, UAW president Ron Gettelfinger, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Huh? Will the victimology myth never end? Hurricane Katrina was an act of God. The car crisis is an act of man. For the difference, consult the Bible. Any version will do. Yesterday, congressional leaders gave the car companies until Dec. 2 to come up with viable business plans and renew their request for aid. Meanwhile, it's worth examining the myths that are shaping this debate. One is GM's assertion that "bankruptcy is not an option." (READ MORE)
Peggy Noonan: Keep Gates But Mrs. Clinton at Foggy Bottom? Can they be serious? - Rumors, leaks, gossip, backbiting, an air of mounting mistrust. Looks like Lulu's back in town. The smooth Obama transition has been disrupted by the great disrupter, and one wonders: Does he really want to go there? Hasn't he been there? How'd that go? On the face of it, the apparent offering of the secretary of state job to Hillary Clinton is a clever, interesting choice: An experienced and sophisticated workhorse with her own standing in the country, and bearing a name that is popular in the world, will be the public face of U.S. diplomacy. Mr. Obama gets to put her in a subordinate position while appearing to be magnanimous, and her seat in the U.S. Senate will likely be filled by a more malleable Democrat who won't be plotting from day one to get to the White House. A threefer. But the downside is equally obvious: (READ MORE)
Kimberly A. Strassel: Obama's Senate Play - If the president wants 60 Senate votes, he'll have to fight for them one by one. In the press event before Barack Obama's summit with John McCain this week, a reporter asked if the meeting was anything more than "symbolic." You, and Mitch McConnell, can bet it was. Contrary to most reporting, Mr. Obama's meeting with his rival wasn't aimed at a cabinet post, or even at a show of national healing. It was directed, pure and simple, at co-opting Mr. McCain's help against what Mr. Obama understands is now his biggest obstacle: Senate Minority Leader McConnell. Cynical? Nah. If Mr. Obama has demonstrated anything, it is that he always has a smart eye on the future. He knows his big agenda is headed straight for the bitter trenches of the Senate. Democrats aren't likely to get the 60 seats they need to automatically cut off a filibuster. They will have to pick off Republicans. (READ MORE)
Michael B. Mukasey: Al Qaeda Detainees and Congress's Duty - Last June in Boumediene v. Bush, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time in our history that aliens captured and held as enemy combatants abroad (in this case, at the Guantanamo Bay military base) had a constitutional right to challenge their detentions by filing petitions for habeas corpus in federal court. The Court recognized that its holding was unprecedented. Yet it said that it was not deciding how such proceedings should be conducted, or even what the government must show to prevail. David KleinYesterday, the federal district court in Washington concluded the first such habeas proceeding for six detainees. It held that the government had established a basis for holding only one of them as an enemy combatant. The court acknowledged that the evidence the detainees were planning to travel to Afghanistan to join the fight was perfectly appropriate for use as intelligence ... (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: In Defense of "The Oogedy-Boogedy Branch of the GOP" - Every time the GOP takes a beating at the ballot box there are calls to get rid of those doggone social conservatives -- or as Kathleen Parker refers to them, the "oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP." This is a fascinating argument -- well, fascinating if you like watching people who don't even realize that they're doing little more than projecting their own personal biases onto the Republican Party and calling it political strategy. Atheists, agnostics, Elvis worshippers, Jedis, Satanists -- it doesn't matter; they're all welcome in the Republican Party (Ok, not the Satanists so much. They're creepy losers). However, we live in an overwhelmingly Christian nation founded on Christian principles -- and reaching out to people who have Christian values makes so much sense that even the Democrats hold their nose and do it -- a little. (READ MORE)
Rachel Marsden: Obama Upsets French, Arabs - Up until Barack Obama’s victory, much of America – and the rest of the world – was deeply in love with the idea of being in love. The problem with any such relationship is always that, one day, the spell wears off, and you start getting annoyed at little things like your soul mate (in this case, Barack Obama – America’s soul mate) leaving the toilet seat up. Some media people won’t care – they’ll blame George Bush for having used the same bathroom months earlier. Others, like the mainstream media, will fall into Obama’s toilet and splash around like it’s holy water. Last week, French philosopher Andre Glucksmann lamented in France’s Le Figaro newspaper that Barack Obama’s election victory was already a big letdown, if only because he’s not leftist enough – and with center-right leaders now in France, Germany, Italy and likely soon in the UK, Eurolibs were desperate for a victory, anywhere. (READ MORE)
Mike Gallagher: Hard-working, decent, honest people right? - It was just an ordinary Wednesday evening for me. Run to the bank, grab some groceries, and head home. As I approached a busy intersection, I watched as a pick-up truck made a crazy, unexpected left turn directly into the path of an oncoming car. The crash sent pieces of metal flying in all directions. Smoke poured from the front of the sedan occupied by a young woman. The pick-up driver backed up a few feet -- and then, unbelievably, he sped off. It took my brain a few seconds to comprehend what was happening: in broad daylight, during rush hour traffic with people everywhere, this guy was actually peeling off and trying to escape the accident scene. I decided to do something of which my wife would have definitely disapproved. I didn't want this jerk to get away with what he did and he obviously was running away for a reason. (READ MORE)
Brent Bozell III: Hollywood's Ridiculous Lawyers - Both Time and Newsweek magazines are giggling at the Supreme Court oral arguments on the fleeting-TV-profanity case of FCC vs. Fox Television Stations. The court is considering if it has the authority to regulate obscene language on the public airwaves. Time noticed Justice Antonin Scalia joking that "Bawdy jokes are OK, if they are really good." Newsweek reported that Justice John Paul Stevens wanted to know if "dung" was a dirty word. The magazines that aspire to define history saw this Supreme Court argument as only good for a laugh. Maybe it was. After all, Barack Obama will soon be president, and Hollywood's heavy investment in his presidential campaign will surely pay great dividends in moral laxity at the FCC and silence in Obama's liberal bully pulpit. But in the search for cute quotes to illustrate their dismissive tones, both magazines skipped the defining cultural exchange of that hour. (READ MORE)
Michael Gerson: Iraq's Costly Success - WASHINGTON -- A war that once seemed likely to end in a panic of helicopters fleeing the American embassy now seems destined to conclude as the result of a parliamentary process. A landmark status of forces agreement (SOFA) -- requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June, and from Iraq itself by the end of 2011 -- is headed for a final reading in the Iraqi parliament next week. The approval of the SOFA would leave a chapter of history decorated with paradoxes. President George W. Bush -- who once called withdrawal timelines "arbitrary" and "unacceptable" -- ends his term by accepting them. President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a more peaceful Iraq because of policies he strongly opposed. And the Iraqi government -- so often criticized by Americans as weak and ineffectual -- is now asserting its sovereignty in a decisive manner, for good or ill. (READ MORE)
Mona Charen: Thoughtful Warriors - Unlike some who shall, in the interests of comity, remain nameless -- conservatives do not cry foul when they lose elections. They do not whine that the election was stolen, or secured through dirty campaign tricks, or otherwise illegitimately won. Instead, they ask themselves where they went wrong. The National Review Institute, a think tank founded by the late William F. Buckley and now headed by the dynamic and perspicacious Kate O'Beirne, hosted a daylong conference in Washington, D.C., to examine where conservatives need to go from here. It was a very clarifying day. Yes, the Democrats got a big win on Nov. 4 and there is no gainsaying that Republicans and conservatives were rejected. Then again, it would have defied 200 years of American history if the party holding the White House for two terms and presiding over a huge financial panic should have been successful. Add to that the essentially content-free McCain campaign and you have yourself a drubbing. (READ MORE)
Dan Kennedy: Politicians, Journalists Have Eyes On The Wrong Ball - The news media have, for two weeks, endlessly expressed outrage at AIG’s spending - several hundred thousand dollars on a sales conference held at a Phoenix resort – after getting federal bailout billions. The impression conveyed has been that AIG executives took money from us taxpayers and immediately turned around and blew it on wine, women and song, hanging out at a hoity-toity resort, wallowing in caviar on our dime. As usual, the reporting is grossly inaccurate. And the posturing politicians demanding tighter government watchdogging and control over how the bailout dollars invested in AIG and countless other companies is spent is outrage misdirected. The facts about these big AIG meetings are that sponsors, predominately financial product providers and other vendors, subsidize large portions of the budgets for these meetings. (READ MORE)
Michael Reagan: Quo Vadis, GOP? - Before the Republican Party even begins to think about curing what ails it, members have to recognize the fact that the party is Balkanized. We are never going to win elections if we remain broken up into separate factions, sometimes barely speaking to one another. Bizarre as it seems, each group within this Balkanization of the GOP is united in the belief that Ronald Reagan is its standard bearer. This, they tell us, is the man they want to follow. Ronald Reagan was not someone who found ways to disagree with you, but spent most of his life trying to find ways to agree with you. He always sought to find a common ground -- to move the party and the country forward. A lot of Republicans quote his statement that we must not let the bad be the enemy of the good. But today's Republican Party is wedded to allowing the bad to be the enemy of the good. (READ MORE)
Cliff May: Obama's War - American troops in Afghanistan are fighting what will soon become Barack Obama's war - not just because he will inherit it, but also because he has claimed it. This is "the right battlefield," Obama has said. The war in Afghanistan "has to be won." How can that mission be accomplished? Extensive interviews with American military commanders, European diplomats, and Afghan officials lead to this conclusion: Although we are not currently defeating the Taliban and other belligerent groups in Afghanistan, we can prevail - if the incoming administration is prepared to fully resource a sophisticated counter-insurgency strategy similar to that implemented by General David Petraeus in Iraq. A subtle and often misunderstood point: The war in Iraq was not turned around by "surging" more troops into the country to do more of the same. Rather, the key was transitioning to counterinsurgency - COIN - a form of warfare that requires many boots on the ground. (READ MORE)
Donald Douglas: Gay Marriage Activists Undermine Their Own Cause - There's a lot of interesting commentary tonight on the gay marriage debate. Andrew Sullivan has new, windblown essay that is positively infuriating, frankly: "Modernity, Faith, And Marriage": “If conservatism is to recover as a force in the modern world, the theocons and Christianists have to understand that their concept of a unified polis with a telos guiding all of us to a theologically-understood social good is a non-starter. Modernity has smashed it into a million little pieces. Women will never return in their consciousness to the child-bearing subservience of the not-so-distant past. Gay people will never again internalize a sense of their own ‘objective disorder’ to acquiesce to a civil regime where they are willingly second-class citizens. Straight men and women are never again going to avoid divorce to the degree our parents did. Nor are they going to have kids because contraception is illicit. The only way to force all these genies back into the bottle would require the kind of oppressive police state Rod would not want to live under.” (READ MORE)
Atlas Shrugs: AMERICA'S MOST WANTED:AMINA & SARAH SAID - For weeks Gail Gatrell had been calling me to tell me with some measure of relief that America's Most Wanted was working on her nieces' murder. Today, Jenna Naranjo over at America's Most Wanted called to tell me that this Saturday, America’s Most Wanted will feature the story of the honor killings of Sarah and Amina Said. America's Most Wanted traveled to Texas just after learning about the girls’ murders, close to a year later .... it makes it to the air. Finally. Atlas readers know this terrible story intimately. Law enforcement has dragged their feet hoping time would dim their memory and the abject horror of this "controversial" case. Irving law enforcement has been a hindrance to the investigation fearful of offending the large Muslim population int that part of Texas. The FBI finally designated the terrorist father, Yaser Said, one of America's most wanted only to pull the "honor killing" description for fear of offending Muslims by "labeling". (READ MORE)
Big Dog: Who Is Congress To Question? - I was not in favor of the Wall Street bailout and I am definitely not in favor of bailing out the Big Three auto makers. Having said that, I find it interesting that certain members of Congress are skeptical about the auto industry bailout. They have every right to be skeptical but they keep expressing their apprehension about lending money to companies that have not managed their finances very well. You see, members of Congress complain that the auto makers were foolish with their money, did not have adequate business plans, produced a product that was inferior to their competitors and now they want more money to do more of the same. But the Congress is no different than the auto makers. Congress is foolish with our money, has a terrible plan for using it, produces an inferior product and when it needs more money it gets it from us. (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Obama-Care Looks Like Hillary Care - For those who wondered, it seems that Obama Care will look much like HillaryCare. though not as many details will come out, so as to keep us from bitching this time around. Considering Barack ran his entire campaign by not releasing much info other than he "hoped for change" that shouldn't be a surprise. The Wall St. Journal has a nice piece on what Obama Care will probably look like. They base it on what Obama has said, who he's probably picking to run Health and Human Services (Tom Daschle) and the policy blueprint making it's way around the staffers of the House Finance Committee. Basically, the plan that appears to be coming together will be three pronged. The first, govenment regulation of the insurance industry to require all companies that sell health insurance to do it at a group rate. (READ MORE)
Confederate Yankee: Only Supply is Dampening The Run On Guns - "I could sell a hundred ARs an hour, if I had them." That was the word from the man behind the counter at my local gun shop yesterday afternoon when I stopped in. As if to put an exclaimation point on his claim, two men added their names to an ever-growing waiting list to purchase AR-15 carbines within minutes of my entering the store. Two months ago, the first two racks of rifles to great you as you entered Fuquay Gun & Gold would be bristling with AR15 carbines, AK-pattern rifles, and a smattering of SKS carbines. Today, those same worn racks are almost bare except for misfits from the Island of Misfit Martial Toys—a pair of Saiga Ak-pattern shotguns, a .22 caliber AR-clone, and a nearly $900 VZ-58 with the ugliest stock I've ever seen. (READ MORE)
DannoJYD: The NY Times In Its Death Throes - With the advent of America selecting a liberal to be POTUS it remains unclear whether we are demonstrating a more liberal preference, or lean more to the conservative side. If the future of the liberal New York Times is any indication one would conclude that America is more conservative. The New York Times stock again plunged, this time by 9.92%. This drop gives the shares a value of 5 dollars and 72 cents per share. Five years ago it was valued at close to 50 bucks per share. Over the past 5 years the Times has cut jobs in an effort to remain profitable. They also reduced the size of the paper. Neither had any positive effect on their stock price. The 5 year fall is most notable over the past 3 month period as it had a high of just over $15.00 a share last September. (READ MORE)
Don Surber: Your tax dollars at play - The National Science Foundation subsidizes George Lucas. I get regular email from Republican Sen. Dr. Tom Coburn’s office on the various ways your federal government wastes your money. They always upset me. Maybe they should upset readers as well. Today’s collection, based on news reports. Pork Wars: National Science Foundation spends $2,738,060 on a touring exhibition about Star Wars, a movie franchise that has earned over $20 billion. The more things change…: Spendthrift politicians who have funneled billions of dollars in earmarks to their own special interests are leaving the Senate. …the more they stay the same: Congressional Republicans reject earmark moratorium. (READ MORE)
Gribbit's Word: Waiting for ‘Change’? Well Don’t Hold Your Breath - As Barry O continues to slowly select his inner circle, one thing is standing out more than any other - these people look awful familiar. During his campaign we heard nothing resembling substance but rather a lot of undefined rhetoric about ‘Hope’ and ‘Change’. We assumed that he meant that he was going to ‘Change’ the face of Washington and how it does business. At least that is the assumption that those of us on the right have about those who fell for that steady load of male bovine excrement that he was dishing out in his protracted 21 months of speeches masquerading as a political campaign. Instead of reaching into a pool of previously unknown individuals, Mr. Obama is resurrecting Clintonian Infestation zombies. From his Chief of Staff to his pick for Attorney General, the Obama Infestation is resembling the Clintonian era more by the day. (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Owning a gun a disqualification in Obama administration - If a job application included a question about religion, especially for a government position, First Amendment advocates would rightly go ballistic. The ire of Second Amendment activists is easily understood, then, arising from the questionnaire prospective Obama administration employees must complete. The 59th question demands to know whether the applicant or anyone in his/her family owns a firearm, a sign of the hostility we expected to see towards gun owners from Barack Obama: “But even some Democrats and transition experts are baffled by the inclusion of the question. Tucked in at the end of the questionnaire and listed under ‘Miscellaneous,’ it reads: ‘Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage….’” (READ MORE)
Jihad Watch: UK Sharia judge calls for legal recognition of polygamous marriages - Here is a prime example of the stealth jihad in action: a "Sharia judge" in Britain uses the laws and customs of a Western pluralistic society in order to advance acceptance of an Islamic legal principle that has not hitherto been considered acceptable in that Western society. Rosa Freedman makes some good points against this in this article, and one additional point is that once the principle is accepted that English law must be adapted to accommodate Islamic law, soon the principles regardinging Islamic rule of the nation's political structures will also be advocated -- and then what will those who are pushing accommodation do? "Dangerous liaisons," by Rosa Freedman in The Guardian, November 19 (thanks to Weasel Zippers): “The bodies of the Knights Templar were surely spinning under their effigies last night, as someone they would have regarded as an infidel delivered a lecture within the walls of Temple Church entitled ‘Family Law, Minorities and legal Pluralism: Should English Law give more Recognition to Islamic Law?.’” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Pay As We Say - Not as we don’t. Toll-hiking, gas-taxing Massachusetts hacks don’t pay the tolls, taxes, insurance or car payment. They charge it all to the campaign, then collect the generous state per diems they vote for themselves. Boston Herald, Free Rides For Pols: “Top lawmakers poised to slam motorists with toll hikes and a gas tax won’t feel the pain themselves thanks to all-expenses-paid campaign-funded cars - and in some cases, taxpayer-subsidized travel allowances to boot, a Herald review found. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi pilots an $845-a-month Lincoln Navigator, paid for out of his campaign war chest, and even takes a taxpayer-financed $10-a-day stipend under the controversial ‘per diem’ system. He also paid $2,563 in gas, $261 in tolls and even $83 for car washes out of his campaign account this year, records show.” (READ MORE)
neo-neocon: Back to the future: choosing the Obama team - So far Obama’s choices for Cabinet and other advisers seem to be shaping up as Clinton redux. This is somewhat ironic, considering that Obama ran on a “change” platform and his closest rival was Hillary (Clinton, in case there’s anyone who needs reminding). So even before he’s been officially inaugurated, he’s faced a lot of criticism about this, from both friends and opponents. Well folks, hold onto your hats, because I’m about to defend Obama. Sorta, anyway. A new president has a limited number of ways to go in making appointments. He/she (and I will henceforth dispense with this awkward PC pronoun arrangement and just go with the masculine) can either: (a) hark back to earlier administrations’ picks and choose people with federal government experience; (b) select those with no role in previous governments but who (we can hope) are qualified because of jobs they have held in other sectors; or (c) deal in cronyism: (READ MORE)
A Soldier's Perspective: Touching The Face of Grace - I found this essay, written by the father of a deployed Soldier, on the American Legion website. It was introduced into the Congressional Record by Frank R. Wolf, R-Va, on September 16th. It's a very touching and inspirational story should be required reading by the defeatists in Congress. Here it is: “Whatever your political take on the war in Iraq, nothing can alter it more than having a loved one in the midst of it. Nor is anyone’s current perspective balanced until they hear at least some things from a soldier’s point of view. My wife and I learned these truths when our son, a 2004 Handley graduate, decided to join the Army in 2006. His reasoning was simple: he wasn’t comfortable knowing that thousands of others his age were sacrificing their own freedoms to protect his. When he signed up to join those thousands, it changed our perspective as well.” (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: Speeding Through the Dark - AGW has always been about belief. People who can not add two and two blithely inform us that by devoting some billions of dollars to alternative energy sources we will almost overnight be able to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions without a significant hit to the economy; in fact, our economy will thrive with all the new green energy jobs that will b e created. This ignores all sorts of problems, not least of scale, and is a sure fire prescription to causing immense damage to our infrastructure. We do indeed need to find our way to more efficient and sustainable energy resources, but in the meantime, ie the next 20-30 years, carbon based fuels is the only game in town that can support an expanding global economy. To the true believer, no facts can have an impact. To the true believer, no price is too high to pay to save the planet. (READ MORE)
David Kopel: Eric Holder on firearms policy - Earlier this year, Eric Holder--along with Janet Reno and several other former officials from the Clinton Department of Justice--co-signed an amicus brief in District of Columbia v. Heller. The brief was filed in support of DC's ban on all handguns, and ban on the use of any firearm for self-defense in the home. The brief argued that the Second Amendment is a "collective" right, not an individual one, and asserted that belief in the collective right had been the consistent policy of the U.S. Department of Justice since the FDR administration. A brief filed by some other former DOJ officials (including several Attorneys General, and Stuart Gerson, who was Acting Attorney General until Janet Reno was confirmed)took issue with the Reno-Holder brief's characterization of DOJ's viewpoint. (READ MORE)
Major Pain: You have to honor them! - Below you will read of a Marine who served his country honorably, did his combat tour and began the trek home when tragedy struck. The article focuses on if the Marines names should be added to the Virginia War Memorial. The currently regulations state that memorial additions have to have died in "Hostile Combat." Perhaps the state officials should review the memorials of the Civil War. These names on the several hundred memorials throughout Gettysburg hold names of all that died including disease and old age during the civil war. Perhaps the state officials should review the federal stipulations of being awarded the Iraqi Campaign Medal for the armed forces as it only requires servicemembers to be in Iraq to receive the award. I think the Mr Schumann could have a valid argument if his son or his sons unit received the combat action ribbon during the deployment that would validate the current memorial stipulations. (READ MORE)
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