Muntather Zaidi, the Iraqi television correspondent who became (in)famous when he hurled his shoes at then-President Bush yelling, “This is a gift from the Iraqis! This is the farewell kiss, you dog!” was released from an Iraqi prison yesterday. Zaidi was sentenced to three years in prison, but his sentence was later shortened to one year and then the judiciary ordered him released this month. According to the LA Times, at a news conference In Baghdad upon his release, Zaidi told reporters...

In April of this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended several military budgetary cuts, including for the production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet to stop at 187 aircraft, which means that only four more F-22s will be produced. It was a move that drew a firestorm of criticism from Congress, the military, the military aerospace industry and the military aerospace community. The move, however, wasn’t unexpected. Secretary Gates had already tipped his hand as, for years, he has been forcefully...

I am and have been in favor of publicly honoring our fallen heroes when they touch American soil for the last time at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. My personal motto is “Nothing to hide here. Everything to Honor.” A lot of controversy and apprehension had surrounded this issue. Finally, on February 26, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a policy consistent with what we presently have at Arlington National Cemetery which allows the family to decide whether to allow media coverage. On...

In an official White House announcement yesterday, the President of the United States proclaimed September 11, 2009, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, and invited the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. He called upon the...

Five years after that horrific day in September 2001, the following letter appeared in TIME: Five years after 9/11, our nation ought to be as united as it was on that tragic day. We should have held on to the outpouring of global goodwill and support we received then. We should have remained laser-focused on rooting out and bringing to justice those responsible for the attacks. We should have remained committed to making our homeland more secure. After 9/11 our nation should have rededicated itself...

, , We have been so absorbed by issues such as what health care reform will do to our national character and what the President of the United States will say to our kids (and I am not minimizing the importance of these concerns), that other issues and stories have tended to go completely off the public’s radar screen. One such story is the never-ending personal tragedy of David Goldman, the New Jersey father whose son, Sean, was abducted to Brazil five years ago, when Sean was only 4-years...

As the fighting in Afghanistan intensifies; as that war claims more and more casualties; and as critical decisions loom on national objectives, strategy and corresponding troop levels and deployments there, the debate also intensifies. I have stated my views on the Afghanistan war here and here, and so have other TMV contributors. I am probably oversimplifying things, but I see the major debate settling around four or five options: Withdraw immediately from Afghanistan; withdraw gradually from...

The White House has just released the text of a controversial back-to-school speech that President Barack Obama will be making to our children tomorrow. The speech will be broadcast directly into the schools, mainlining into the minds of our vulnerable children in a brazen attempt to, in the guise of civics education, indoctrinate our young ones and to fill their little heads with communist propaganda. No wonder parents were concerned and are planning to keep their children home tomorrow or at...

Part of the spirit and the culture of the U.S. military is the creed that you don’t leave anyone behind—whether injured, captured, or dead. For example, the U.S. Army Ranger Creed, the oath Army Rangers take, includes these words: “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy …” Several books and numerous articles have been devoted to this honorable subject. The risks that fellow soldiers, sailors and airmen expose themselves to and the heroism displayed...

It may be due to my Dutch heritage; it may be because it is just good beer, but I just love Heineken beer. Back in February of this year, when our economy and the Dutch economy were going to hell in a hand basket, I wrote an article taking some comfort in the fact that Heineken sales in 2008 had risen 27 percent, boosted mainly by the company’s acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle. Six months later, as both the U.S. and Dutch economies have improved, so has Heineken—its taste and...

In a satire piece, “Obama’s Health Care Reform Will Decimate Our Population,” I posted a compilation of quotes by GOP and anti-healthcare reform officials, personalities and organizations. It started out as follows: No wonder Americans are increasingly opposed to Obama’s socialist, radical vision of a nationalized health care system. Just look at what Obama will do to you, to me and to our loved ones if we allow him to succeed with his downright evil plan. Needless to say, it got...

While many Americans were accused of not supporting our troops, of being unpatriotic, and worse, for criticizing our involvement in Iraq and the way that war was being managed, I will not accuse Conservative George Will of anything. In ‘Why are we still in Afghanistan?”, (replace “Afghanistan with “Iraq” and see how familiar that sounds), George Will is having second thoughts about America’s nearly eight-year involvement in Afghanistan (”The war already...

No wonder Americans are increasingly opposed to Obama’s socialist, radical vision of a nationalized health care system. Just look at what Obama will do to you, to me and to our loved ones if we allow him to succeed with his downright evil plan. In the first place, Obama’s diabolical health care plan would kill many of our children even before they are born, because Obama will force pro-life doctors, nurses, and other professionals to perform abortions using our federal tax dollars. Should...

An article in the Washington Times this morning, titled “EXCLUSIVE: Lack of translators hurts U.S. war on terror,” caught my attention. Not because it is a surprise that our nation is woefully short of linguists and translators. Not because such shortage does indeed hobble our ability to effectively fight the war on terrorism, especially in the Pakistan-Afghanistan regions. It caught my attention because the otherwise timely and factual article, in my opinion, left one critical factor...

As I am writing this, Senator Edward M. Kennedy is being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He joins his two slain brothers, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. In fact, Senator Kennedy is being buried only a short distance from where his brothers are buried, and where an eternal flame lights the graves not only of the former president and the former First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, but also the graves of their baby son, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy—who...

When bringing to the attention of our readers articles written by others, I normally try to add some of my views, my own perspective—my two cents’ worth. In the wake of Senator Kennedy’s death, three giants at the Washington Post have written opinion pieces on the Senator’s passing. Yesterday, David S. Broder and George F. Will wrote “A Man Unbowed and Unchanged,” and “The Most Consequential Kennedy?”, respectively. Today, Eugene Robinson published...

Only a few hours after the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, there is a flood of stories on the life and the accomplishments of the Lion of the Senate. The vast majority of the stories are complimentary of the Senator. There are some exceptions. As all humans, Ted Kennedy had his flaws and made his share of mistakes. I understand that the Senator will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Perhaps, “the rest of the story,” the recounting of Ted Kennedy’s faults and mistakes...

Many have compared the Iraq war to the Vietnam War, especially as in “quagmire.” Recently, some are beginning to compare the war in Afghanistan to the Vietnam War. Some are even beginning to refer to the Afghanistan war as “Obama’s Vietnam.” I don’t have a problem with the Iraq-Vietnam comparison. There are indeed some similarities and historical analogies, both in how and why the two wars were started and in how the two wars were executed. Just consider “containing communism,”...

I always make a practice of buying and reading the local newspaper(s) when traveling. Today’s Los Angeles Times had an interesting, timely and probably controversial Op-Ed, titled “Just the ‘facts’ fails us all.” Naturally, it deals with the current healthcare debate, but it also discusses a broader, more complex issue: The media, journalism and “the truth.” I am not a journalist—I did take Journalism 101 and I do have a copy of the AP Style Manual. But I do admire journalists...

Polimom wrote an excellent post just a few hours ago titled “Health Care and Insurance: A Lost (and Crucial) Distinction.” It is generating some great, instructive, civil discussion on a subject that I had not given much thought to. I highly recommend you go there and partake in the discussion. I have been there and learned a lot. But I also learned something new when reading the New York Times today. At first, I thought about posting it as a comment on Polimom’s thread, but I...

I have frequently written about, quoted from, or published letters to the editors of our newspapers. I have often said that one can find unbelievably good common sense and wisdom in such letters from ordinary Americans. Once in a while, a politician’s letter to the editor finds its way onto the editorial pages. Alarm bells should ring when this occurs. I am not saying that politicians don’t have the right to express their opinions in such a manner. I am not saying that politicians’...

A question asked by a member of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) got my attention. The question was: “I think most members of Congress don’t understand what it’s like to serve in the armed services. How many members of Congress have served in the military?” The MOAA’s answer was: The numbers of veterans in Congress has significantly diminished over the years. From the 70’s to today the number of veterans in Congress has dropped by 75 percent....

A new NBC News poll reflects that Americans remain skeptical about the Democrats’ health care reform plans. For example, “a plurality” believes that the Democrats’ health plan would worsen the quality of health care; a result that, according to MSNBC.com, “is virtually unchanged from last month’s NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.” Fair enough. The president and the Democrats certainly need to do a better job of either selling their plan to the American people, or...

ABC News announced today: “Indicted Former Republican Congressman Cast on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” and, referring to Tom DeLay, asks, “Does He Know the ‘Perp Walk?” ABC News continues: To the amazement of many in Washington, Tom DeLay, the former Republican Congressional leader who became a poster boy for cronyism and ethical lapses, was named one of the 16 celebrity contestants today by the producers of the ABC program “Dancing with the Stars.” The Note says: Beyond...

After a couple of weeks of “interesting” town hall meetings on health care reform, during some of which Senator Arlen Specter faced some very tough, loud and rowdy questioning, the Senator from Pennsylvania held a town hall meeting this morning that was quite different. Joined by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, retired four-star General Eric Shinseki, Specter spoke to and fielded questions for about an hour from an audience of about 200 veterans at Drexel University. There was...