As Christmas 2012 approached and the holiday season began to build in earnest, one man wasn't thinking of the holidays. He was planning an armed robbery.

The man walked to his local convenience store, told the clerk that he had a gun and he was robbing the place. Receiving...

My first gun fired a projectile and was a lever action, cork gun, a Christmas present. My father and uncles promptly indoctrinated me in gun safety and marksmanship. The targets were the ornaments on our Christmas tree. Through the fog of long ago youth, I still recall the men's whoops...

With President Reagan's election, the majority of the American people embraced an economic and political philosophy enshrining the private sector as the driver of US life and values. The results are in. Look around. US physical and social infrastructure is crumbling and falling behind other industrialized nations.

1. Honesty

That winter in Washington, DC was cold and damp. Yet, approximately a thousand military veterans marched in the street toward the White House and Congress. Marching against the government is not an action most veterans take lightly. Their purpose was to voice opposition to the looming invasion of...

On an early September morning in 1776, Captain Nathan Hale was hung in an apple orchard. The 21 year old officer's last reported words were:

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country

The many faces of Romney captivate an astonished nation. Since the Republican primaries, Romney morphs and shape-shifts his positions. The presidential debates clearly exposed Romney's shifting positions on virtually every issue with the exception of tax cuts for the very wealthy. More is at stake here than a mere candidate...

U.S. corporations transformed our world. The cost of products collapsed. Productivity soared. Lean and mean supply chains, combined with employee cost management, benefited the entire globe.

The challenge confronting the world now is that neither the gains nor the pain were shared by all. A Robert Casey...

The Maine heat was stifling. Accompanied by parents, boys and girls bursting with excitement filled every available space in this kids' tourist train. Across from me in the antique rail car sat an extended Maine family. Even in these challenging economic times, the group seemed satisfied with their...

The title is not hyperbole. Two fallacies cripple the Republican Party just as the nation sought better. A political party denying reality is dangerous. Republican Party economic and national defense policies failed catastrophically elsewhere in the recent past. Yet, through some combination of almost religious certitude and moral rectitude, the...

"War can take a serious toll, both physical and emotional, and it is shameful when our wounded warriors return home and are left to live on our streets," said former Adjutant General of the California National Guard, Maj. General Paul Monroe. "California has an incredible campus that was given to...

Apparently missing the key role played by social media like Facebook and Twitter in the continuing Arab Spring, Republican Congressmen Barletta and Marino are adopting the tactics of former Egyptian President Mubarak. In an edict imposed by...

At a roundtable discussion on Friday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) unveiled a new JEC report; "The Republican Medicare Plan: Health Care Expenditures Would Double for Elderly in Every State". According to this joint economic committee report, Medicare...

An Army hospital in Thailand provided my first encounter with military medicine and surgery. Air Force flight surgeons treated my family and me. I saw Navy medicine firsthand in Lebanon. Military medicine remains my primary source of health care. If anyone can combine two major medical centers in the national...

Last week, I viewed Walter Reed Army Medical Center from the inpatient perspective. The amazing dedication and commitment of all the staff reaffirms my belief in military health care. Even as this medical center is being resurrected at a new facility, the current staff concentrate on patient care. Apprehensions and...

As Congresswoman Gabby Giffords lay bleeding, with what was a fatal wound not long ago, she was about to benefit from the interaction of civilian and military medicine. Her survival to this day is vivid testimony to the effectiveness of our Department of Defense and civilian medical communities not just...

As the Department of Defense squanders over 1.5 Billion dollars on the less than average New Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommends more costly privatization. In a 16 November memorandum to the Undersecretary for...

"...Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001. Civilian and military casualties are at record levels despite the presence of about 150,000 foreign troops...." Reuters By Ian Simpson, KABUL | Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:58am EST

Escalating Violence

No circular firing squads please; it is too late to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Let's prepare for the future.

1. Repair Our Base

Where do we go from here? First, let's reopen the Democratic Party and this administration. We should realize after this election that...

Listening to certain segments of American society from the rapidly becoming notorious US Chamber of Commerce to the most local political advertising, one could be excused for the mistaken belief that this nation was built by "capitalists" rather than patriots. This myth is harming the nation.

This week, Senate Republicans held the US Military and their families hostage to appease their extremist, reactionary fringe. Yet, on Thursday in DC, all the buzz was about Conservative Republicans standing in front of a Virginia hardware store. Many of these congress members sported new flannel shirts pretending to be...