I wanted to make sure this bit of comment (#3586 here) from BlueStarMom, whom I'm truly honored to count as a regular guest on this blog, wouldn't go unnoticed:

Just to let you know- my son just re-enlisted.  He has deployed to Iraq 3 times. 

I am very proud of him and all of our military.

(and NO John Kerry- he didn’t re-up because he couldn’t do anything else!)

Indeed, and furthermore, the notion that one would sign up (three times!) to fight a fierce, difficult and crucial conflict just because one cannot find a job looks totally stupid an argument to anybody but a self-infatuated, clueless Vietcong hack like John Kerry—particularly considering the thriving U.S. economy at the time this slipped through one of his orifices, which gives even less weight to this "pearl" among Kerry's many elitist remarks, and his disparaging several generations of America's warrior class.

You don't enlist three times in wartime out of desperation, boredom or sheer stupidity. It takes fortitude, spirit and an amount of courage beyond that of most of us—and I hope BlueStarMom will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm quite sure this cannot be anything else than the result of a conscious and educated choice by a smart and determined man.

Moreover, and since we're speaking about the pompous Defeatists & Democrats of the age, it looks like BlueStarMom isn't "bitter" and doesn't "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like [her]" either.

Hey Hussein-Barack Obama, you listening?

Blue Star Mom and proud of it!!!

Without a doubt pride is your prerogative here, and I hope you will accept my respect and gratitude. Indeed, lest we forget—and despite all the smugness and scorn coming out of those parts of the Free World that manage to be as arrogant as they're irrelevant (Yeah, I'm looking at you, La Douce France)—just like they checked and defeated Communist expansionism over the world (and Western Europe particularly) during the Cold War, Americans are once again pulling a large part of the hard work, paying the bill and protecting all of us against the very same Islamic absolutism we Europeans hardly managed to keep at bay for centuries.

So my deepest gratitude goes to you BlueStarMom, and to all those who, like your son, renew their commitment to the defense of Civilization, knowing perfectly (quote: "These servicemembers know the cost of war and they are still re-enlisting, Hill said"—John Kerry, call your office) that they put themselves into "the most austere conditions". This may sound like a cliché, but it is not: you are, literally and effectively, making this world a better place for us all.

Bless your son's spirit, bless your mother heart.