Col. Pat Lang (USA, Ret.) wrote this brilliant piece a few years ago. It appeared initially in The National Interest, and featured on Pat's blog, Sic Semper Tyrannis. And is as relevant then (Dec. 2006) as it is now. Please, if you haven't done so, take the time to read it.  

I can not deny the joy I feel. I am thrilled - Sen Levin and his brother, Sander (who is my congressman) won handily here in Michigan, our state stem cell initiative passed - despite well financed opposition, my friend was reelected to his County Commissioner seat. Gary Peters ( A vet ) knocked out Joe Knollenberg and we got a Dem on the MI Supreme Court. I'm really hoping for Eric to pull it off.

A subject that has been written, sung and spoken of about since our beginnings. It has toppled empires, launched ten thousand ships, inspired countless poets and artists. I sincerely hope it can always move us. Cynics may say it is an abstract - based only upon the survival of the species. Who among us has not been moved by it?  While I'm sure while we have all had a heartache (or two) we have all experienced the profound, what love brings.

[..] "Torture is illegal, ineffective and morally wrong. The United States has signed numerous treaties condemning torture and abjuring its practice. Those treaties are the law of the land. And yes, waterboarding is torture: in the past we convicted and punished foreign nationals for torture by waterboarding. There are no legal loopholes permitting torture in "exceptional cases."  After all, those were the same excuses used by the torturers we once condemned." [..] 

In 1947, a petition was being passed by some of the Brooklyn Dodgers stating they would not play with

Hugh Thompson, Lawrence Colburn and Glenn Andreotta. Remember their names? Of the three soldiers, one lives today - Lawrence Colburn. They exemplify the very best of moral courage, duty and honor. And during a time of war. I’ve tried writing about them before, but I felt woefully unable to honor them appropriately.

I didn’t and don’t want my words to cheapen their heroism. In 1998, Sen. Max Cleland said the three represented “true examples of American patriotism at its finest.”

At different times, I tried on the Edwards hat and the Obama hat.

I found them both sadly lacking. And of course I wanted our guy, General Wesley K. Clark

as the Democratic nominee and President of the United States. If it is possible,

I now respect him even more. Like Wes, and many of you I now support Hillary Clinton.

I spend a decent amount of time at No Quarter - to say the least - but I always check in with

my fellow Clarkies here. SusanUnPc and Larry Johnson have been posting some absolutely terrific

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours. Andrew Horne (Lt.Col, USMC, Ret) is ready to take on the GOP.

It's an uphill fight, to be sure. Horne has already received key endorsements and hopefully will get

the nod from Kentucky Dems in the primaries and then take on the beast of the GOP

machine, epitomized by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has a war chest of ten million dollars.

This is in response to the announcement of Fred Thompson to explore the possibility of running for president. Mr Thompson sits on the board of Scooter Libby's defense fund. Apparently, he thinks it was ok to divulge the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA officer who was covert, undercover and whose employment was classified...