Well, folks, I’ve just been invited to join the fight. My National Guard unit activated me this week to train troops for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Most likely, I’ll take a trip the sandbox myself this time next year. It’s been a long time coming and I’m anxious to shoulder my fair share of [...]

This just in from the Big Apple…
The New York Police Department Honor Legion apparently has no qualms about honoring one presidential hopeful on another candidate’s home turf. Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain of Arizona was slated to receive the Man of the Year award last night at the group’s 97th annual award dinner [...]

It was a stellar evening for the Maverick Senator… He set the tempo and tenor for the discourse, humanity intact and without missing a beat. Even the most rancorous pundits were impressed with John McCain tonight….
National Review’s John Podhoretz: “McCain At His Best.” (John Podhoretz, National Review’s “The Corner” Blog, “McCain At [...]

Neapolitans are knee-deep in refuse this week./AP photo

Naples is buried in garbage. Never mind that this ancient city has survived war, conquest, disease and natural disasters for millenium. Nowadays, Italy’s most populous city is overcome by an increasingly familiar phenomena: political indecision. Today, a New York Times article describes the situation:
As trash dumps [...]

…so observes New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks, when cross-referencing the Founding Father’s reverence for virtue and civic duty with the bill’s portal to good citizenship. He writes:
Aspiring immigrants would learn, from an early age, what sort of person the U.S. is looking for. In a break from the current system, this bill awards [...]

John McCain didn’t earn the nickname “Maverick” for playing nice at patty cake. Instead, he earned his firebrad reputation by taking on the status-quo (aka: political safety zone) to do what’s right for America. This time, McCain is facing down the contentious issue of immigration reform. He’s moving forward now, despite the risks [...]

As part of an interview for US News and World Report, Thomas J. O’Halloran photographed Lt. Comdr. John S. McCain on April 24, 1973. The photo was taken one month after McCain’s release from a five-year stay at the “Hanoi Hilton.” Note how little his intensity has changed in the thirtysome years since.

Photo Credit: O’Halloran/Library [...]

John McCain alone took the high ground during tonight’s debate.
Not because he’s nearly cracked-the-nut of immigration reform by working with the otherwise rancorous Democrats.
Not because he views fiscal responsibility as equal parts a tax and spending issue.
And, not because he’d rather lose this election than give in to national white-knuckledness and surrender in Iraq.
No. [...]

Though advertised as serious news, all too often Meet the Press transmigrates into the “Tim Russert Show.” Not this time. Today, John McCain’s depth of experience, intellect and integrity took center stage.
During the interview, the Maverick senator embodied a novel idea: a political leader who learns from his mistakes, who can adjust fire [...]

Today, we stand a divided nation, without confidence in government nor vision for the future. The polarizing anxieties of war, illegal immigration, climate change, energy independence, etc. have taken a toll on our collective sense-of-self and those who lead us. According to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll, only 35% of Americans are satisfied [...]