Why Are Military Families in Holiday Need?

Today, alongside the country’s meekest and poorest, thousands of children and wives of deployed soldiers are lining up for charity in order to make their holidays as full of cheer as the rest of ours. How easily we accept that military children – in part because of low pay and the crushing financial burdens of … Continue reading “Why Are Military Families in Holiday Need?”

Be Thankful 2008 Was Not Hillary’s Year

Another Thanksgiving for which to count our blessings – though a new president and administration will be pardoning one turkey and cutting up another on White House china this year. We also have another year of war, and for that, no one in this readership could possibly be thankful. But perhaps, looking back on foreign … Continue reading “Be Thankful 2008 Was Not Hillary’s Year”

90,000 Casualties, but Who’s Counting?

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect new data on total casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans Day arrives tomorrow, and with it, the anticipated harvest of heartbreaking anecdotes driving the press coverage and our ever wandering attention back to less desirable realities: the disfigured but persevering hero, the homeless warrior, the unemployable … Continue reading “90,000 Casualties, but Who’s Counting?”

Polls Give False Impressions About War

Polling results have tracked so closely with the politicization of the Afghan war that it’s difficult to discern the public’s actual views in such a polarized environment. The polls tell us less about what the public is really feeling than about how well the two parties – in concert with the military – are spinning … Continue reading “Polls Give False Impressions About War”