I want to buy whoever made this video a beer.

I wrote a previous diary about McCain deliberately twisting Obama's words on Pakistan. But now I'm seriously wondering if he even understood what Obama was saying.

So 19 year old Mehdi Kazemi is an Iranian seeking asylum since his country systematically executes homosexual. His ex-boyfriend was a victim of this very practice.

Please get the word out on this. More attention could potentially save his life, and set precedence for future asylum seekers.

All together now... READY?

Edit: A little background. That really is President Bush singing at a black tie event, no cameras allowed. They didn't count on cell phones that can record. Or the internets.

In another diary it was discussed whether, "once a Republican, always a Republican" is a fair statement. Two points to make.

1. I do think most of us agree this is simply not true.

2. There is nothing wrong with being a Republican. I wholeheartedly disagree with almost the entire Republican platform, but there ARE many intelligent, thoughtful people who are Republicans. People of sound mind and the best intentions can simply disagree on important issues.

So McCain is going after Obama, the sitting President! is going after Obama. And it looks to me like the Republicans are worried.

I figured I'd dive in with some thoughts to share and also collect some of yours. Nothing new or breaking here, just a small vent on my part.

There was a time, not long ago, that I had deep respect and admiration for a man who's political opinions I merely disagreed with. That man is Senator McCain.

IMO it's the winning combination. Has this been discussed before? All of our strengths, none our our weaknesses.

I would like to expand on Vanceone's Diaries here and here.

They discuss Berkeley's city counsel's insane and unprecedented stance against the military. Not against the war... against the military.

This was so eloquently put words cannot even describe it. This was forwarded to me from a friend. If it has been previously posted my apologies. I'll let the video speak for itself.

A little background. There is a program in the military, common referred to as MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation). The basic principle is that it provides those three things, in various forms, for military personnel and their families... and it's (supposed) to be profit free. Such examples would be modern, nautilus style gyms, movie theaters, recreational activities, discounted vacation spots and hotels, etc.

Overall it's a great program and works well.

I've never been stationed overseas, and I've never even HEARD of this. military slot machines? That's just an obviously bad idea from the start. Here's the story.

Today is a day of remembrance. To think about those who have served in wars past. To think about those who are overseas right now. And of course to think about their families.

Pictures will be added to this diary as soon as they're uploaded. Along with the story when it's released (probably tomorrow).

On occasion we will receive emails regarding Operational Security. This article was sent out to us as a bulk email submission.

It's a very interesting article and in my opinion it's very insightful. It also goes to show how important it is to have a greater understanding of cultures outside our borders. We can never have successful foreign policy if we don't understand the world around us.

This was provided by defenselink.mil, and thus, I'm going to provide the entire text. It's public domain and not subject to private copyright laws.

First I'm going to put it right out there. I can't stand Rush Limbaugh. I'm also a liberal Democrat, with the one exception of having completely different views about the military from the far left.

I always fact check, and in particular I always try to put comments in their context to determine their intended meaning. Both sides tend to take things out of context to change, or exaggerate their meaning. But in my opinion the right is by far the most egregious offender.

So I'm going to put Rush's comment into context and give my personal take on it.

The MSNBC story clarified a few things. There's some editorial comments from myself that I originally tried to include in the Intro. But it was too many characters so I included them in the body.

Yes, that was sarcasm. First let me begin by saying this website has been a pleasure. I became a member as a result of the "Cobert Bump". Occasionally I'll throw in a post asking people to back off of Hillary, or giving Obama the "ataboy!" (he's my choice for President).

But I primarily post in military related forums for a couple of reasons. First, it's an area of great interest to me for obvious reasons. Second, because I think a select few members of my party have a negative view of the armed forces. Unfortunately, it's those few who conservative news networks focus on. For that reason, I believe they hurt the Democratic party overall. The vast majority of Americans respect and are appreciative of our men and women who serve.

I'm a liberal democrat who happens to be actively serving in the US Army. For that reason I have to be careful about how I word things, and always remember that my opinions are mine alone.

I'm afraid I'm not very internet savvy, and I'm brand new with diaries. So forgive me if It's rather plain.

I'm sorry if this has already been posted, and I don't have any of my own editorial comments to add. I'm on Barack Obama's mailing list, and he sent this out in an email. I thought I would share his plans, since it is directly from the horse's mouth.