This past week the White House began in earnest to expunge the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell, but in another demonstration that no president is as powerful as either he or the electorate believes, it won't be repealed right away.
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Inevitably, the White House has decided that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, will not be tried in New York City.
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The special election of Scott Brown to occupy Ted Kennedy's Senate seat has been widely analyzed to be a referendum on Barack Obama's first year in office, and even the president has suggested so.
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The United States is properly obligated to help the devastated Haitian people in their time of great need, as are other nations, but it is interesting to note that the body that should be in the lead in organizing and delivering aid is conspicuous by its flaccid contribution: th …
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Information is emerging about the seven Americans who were killed in last week's suicide bombing at FOB Chapman, near Khost, Afghanistan.
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By now, the sequence is sadly familiar: 1) There is a terrorist act; 2) There is outrage; 3) A panel is commissioned to study the problem, the panel recommends that a new bureaucracy be created to deal with it, and the Congress and the president hail its creation; 4) And then th …
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The second decade of the new millennium is already upon us, and many would argue that we don't have much progress to show for the ten years of effort. A few points to ponder:
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Just when our interests in the region have begun to rely more heavily on it, Pakistan is becoming less cooperative.
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This week the CIA reported that it had terminated a contract with Blackwater, the physical security company now known as Xe Services.
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Last night I was at Eisenhower Hall for President Obama's speech at West Point, and it was a odd juxtaposition: the media milling behind decorative cloth fences, while the cadets streamed purposefully into the giant auditorium.
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The Senate Foreign Relations Committe, chaired by John Kerry, has just released a special report on our failure to kill or capture Osama bin Laden eight years ago.
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Russia's chief of domestic intelligence has reported to President Medvedev that a bomb was the cause of the deadly train wreck that left 25 people dead and more than 100 injured.
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In the waning weeks of the his first year in office, news outlets have been reporting that President Obama's poll numbers have been sliding, and evidently less than half of the country now approves of the job he is doing.
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The original decision to house terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay was something of a default selection.
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Moments after the shooting began at Fort Hood, the media began analyzing the thin and often contradictory data that streamed into the newsrooms: there were two or perhaps even three assailants; one was cornered near the post exchange or commissary; one was shot dead.
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The relationship among media outlets is simple: competition. While the audience is potentially very large---there are more than 300 million of us---the number of Americans who routinely watch, listen and read the traditional media is much smaller.
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As the number of casualties from deadly bombings increases, the news from Pakistan seems pretty grim. A day doesn't go by without civilians being killed and maimed by Pakistani Taliban explosives.
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Before the excitement inevitably ebbs, it would be amusing and instructive to examine the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama, and of the granting of such recognition generally.
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At the risk of being more superficial than usual, with so much happening this week a brief review may be in order.
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Although it had its share of leaks, the last administration expended a lot of effort to keep its decision-making machinery operating quietly and, more or less, in secret.
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For some time, it has been clear that there has not been progress against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and there was widespread speculation that General Stanley McChrystal, who runs the operation, needs more troops than the 68,000 already allocated.
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If one were looking for examples that our elected officials' intellectual development is arrested, one would find one no better than Representative Addison Graves ("Joe") Wilson, Sr., (R-SC).
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By virtue of the First Amendment, the media is the only business protected by the Constitution, and of its provisions the First Amendment is the most important because it guarantees all the others.
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In The New York Times of Sunday, August 23, 2009, in the first section of the paper but inconspicuously buried below the fold on page 24, was a brief Associated Press story about William Calley.
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This week we witnessed a massive increase in violence in Iraq. In what appeared to be a coordinated series of bombings, more than 90 people were killed and hundreds maimed on Wednesday alone. What is the United Sates going to do about it? In a word: nothing.
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This past week the White House began in earnest to expunge the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell, but in another demonstration that no president is as powerful as either he or the electorate believes, it won't be repealed right away.
Inevitably, the White House has decided that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, will not be tried in New York City.
The special election of Scott Brown to occupy Ted Kennedy's Senate seat has been widely analyzed to be a referendum on Barack Obama's first year in office, and even the president has suggested so.
The United States is properly obligated to help the devastated Haitian people in their time of great need, as are other nations, but it is interesting to note that the body that should be in the lead in organizing and delivering aid is conspicuous by its flaccid contribution: th …
Information is emerging about the seven Americans who were killed in last week's suicide bombing at FOB Chapman, near Khost, Afghanistan.
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Jack...
Thought I'd drop you a line and see if you recall our short time as friends in Fords.
We used to bus together and would watch American Bandstand; also enjoyed some trips upstate on summer trips to Frontier Town, etc. Sorry, to see you have to suffer every year as Navy trounces Army, but I know you can handle it!! :)
Bernie
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COL. JACOBS:
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU ON THE AIR. YOUR EXPERTISE IS MUCH APPRECIATED.I TOO WAS IN SERVICE (USN) DURING VIETNAM AND DESPITE IT'S POLITICAL
MESSINESS, I WAS PROUD TO SERVE THE COUNTRY.I WROTE TO ANDY ROONEY AFTER READING HIS BOOK,"MY WAR", AND HIS RETURN NOTE TO ME RE: BRAVERY WAS "THE GUYS IN THE 8TH AF WERE SCARED BUT THEY KEPT AT IT BECAUSE THE GUY IN THE NEXT BUNK WAS DOING IT AS WELL". I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.
I AM GLAD TO HAVE SHARED THIS TIME IN HISTORY WITH YOU.
BEST OF LUCK AND GOOD HEALTH,
RICK BLUMENTHAL
LOS ANGELES
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Your courage is evident in your willingness to engage on Newsvine as well as in your military career. I applaud you for being one of the very few who are brave enough to wander through the Vine with bold strides. Thanks for being here.
— oldfogey
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COL Jacobs:
I am writing on behalf of a wounded Navy reservist buddy of mine. He was injured in Kuwait while on deployment with OIF, but cannot draw his retirement pay until he reaches 60 - despite being retired from the Navy due to his injuries. He has a 100% disability rating from the VA, and 80% from the Navy. Bottom line, he is a proud veteran who gave his best for his country, but now needs financial assistance as he cannot do much work due to disabilities.My friend saw you on the news, and admired the work you are doing on behalf of the wounded veterans returning from Iraq. He seeks your guidance. He will make an entry to this site, separately. Meanwhile, I would appreciate learning how he can contact you directly.
Thanks ever so much, for your service, and for your sincerity. V/r, - S. Davis
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Dear Colonel Jacobs:
On behalf of my family and myself, we would like to thank you for your heroic service to our great country. You are a great inspiration to the youth of our country who wish to have the privilege to serve in the armed forces of the United States. Furthermore, I have recently completed reading your latest book and must say that I was unable to put the book down. My tears were beginning to obscure the print. Colonel, as a former U.S. Marine along with seven cousins who have served in the Corps., we would all have wished we could've had the honor to have served under you, regardless of the fact that we are in different services. In your book, you mention how you had spent your early youth. This is somewhat ironic that in my early youth we were raised in the poorest section of Chicago and could not wait to join the service. As a former juvenile delinquent, high school drop out - if it had not been for the inspiration that the officers I served under, I would've not been able to complete my education and obtain a master degree. In addition, I have had the good fortune to meet a former Marine who was awarded the same medal that you were awarded, that was Major General Joe Foss. As a former enlisted man, I would have never believed that I would write a letter to a Colonel! I hope that you find the time to look over the literature I have included which explains the organization that I am involved with - "Operation legacy" I truly believe that at age 67 i would relish the opportunity to serve once again.
Colonel, may god bless both you and your family with good health and good fortune. Respectfully, Jay Adelman
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Col. Jacobs,
I've been trying to get someone at nbc news to answer a question for me. Was a clip done on the death of Col. James Elms Swett? He passed on 1-18-09.
Medal Of Honor WWII. I've tried to find something and can't and maybe I missed it on the Nightly News. I don't think I need to explain to you why his story and all MOH recipients need to be told.
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Dear Col. Jacobs:
I am not sure you will remember me, or my family, Nathan and Thelma Davidson. We lived on Jonquil Circle in Fords, and perhaps your first instincts as a leader came from herding us, younger school children to P.S. 14. Your sister Elissa often babysat for my brother and me, and occasionally so did you. Your parents doted on us because my brother and I were-Dave and Marsha. Barry and I were classmates. I can recall holidays at your home on Marie Road-so different because of the Greek influence. I recall your Mom's distress when you announced you were heading for the Army, but she contacted my Mom when you won the Congressional Medal of Honor and we were all very excited. We are now reading your memoir and enjoying it. It has brought back a lot of memories. My family stopped by to visit your parents several years ago when we drove up to Fords, but they were not home, so they called and I had a chance to talk to them; and again two years ago, I spoke with your Dad when my Mom died. We wish all the best for you and the family.
Marsha Davidson-Goldstein
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There is a large group that is wanted this election done correctly, Oboma should show the real birth certificate, which will you will find that he will be registered as a white male, that isthe way it is done , they always use the mothers race on it, he himself said his mother was white.
also we need to know where he was born, you see he has come this far with so many falsehoods,, we all need to know the truth...
and with all here we can not find it in our hearts to call him president until we know the truth, we are sending these letters to to all of the news medias, and our TV and radio stations..
Thank you & God Bless.
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I am a disabled vet. Two years ago I had a bi-level spinal fusion at the Mpls VA. When I awoke from surgery, I had a new pain in my right leg. For ten days I tried to convince the residents that something was wrong and I was told to deal with the pain. After the ten days they were going to discharge me, I started to cry hysterically and spoke to the social worker. The residents came into my room and said, "Fine we'll do an MRI to show you nothing's wrong." After the MRI was done it was found that I had a ruptured disc at the surgery site. Four days later I was back in surgery where they only removed a part of the ruptured disc. Since then I have had to start walking with a cane for short distances and a wheelchair for long ones. I have filed a Tort claim for negligence and was denied because an independent contractor (which is paid by the VA) was there at the time of the surgeries. It is a disgrace for the VA to find a loophole to not take responsibilities for injuring the vets. I am in much more pain now than I was before surgery. I was given my pre-op by the residents, I was seen by the residents before surgery, and I was only seen by the residents in the 17 days in the hospital. What was supposed to be a 3-5 day stay ended up being 17. I did not see this "independent contractor" until my three week follow up surgery. Also at the follow up I was seen by the VA' chief of staff and the head of the department and was apologized to by them for the horrible treatment I received. They said they received many reports from my nurses on the care I was given (which have now magically disappeared.) I am sure I will be denied again by the VA for the same reason because they pass the liability on to anyone else but them. I want to change something so this can no longer happen to any other vets further injured by the VA. I will not be compensated by the VA because they have found a way to get out of it. Can anybody help me help other vets?
— ajklebs
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