Honoring Sgt. James Skalberg

Army Sgt. James Skalberg, a 25-year-old soldier from Red Oak, Iowa was killed in Afghanistan on June 27 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Following are the thoughts of my niece Angie about the day that Red Oak remembered this courageous American man.



I experienced a moment unlike any other in my life, today. It began by explaining to my children that we were going to stand along side the street to wave our flag and show our love for our country and a special man that died serving it. We weren't going to a parade and getting candy and we weren't celebrating. The young man that we were there to honor has a family, a young wife, a baby boy and friends that will never see him again because he loved our country so much that he would die for it.

My young son asked if there are other soldiers protecting us and I told him that there are and that we pray they come home safely to their families. My preschooler daughter proudly told everyone around that when this "nice man's car goes by, I will put my hand over my heart and hold my flag up."

When the procession passed by, everyone around went silent. Patriot guard riders drove by and I could feel the rumble of their motorcycles in my heart. My family and I watched a hero and his mourning family make their way down the street lined with American flags and proud but somber supporters. I will never forget the sight of the flag-draped coffin in the back of the hearse and for a moment wished the car had gone a little slower as it passed by - joining the many who wish for more time with this hero.

Tonight I go to bed sad, but filled with pride - pride in my children (whom I hope will remember today), pride in my town for showing so much support, and pride for the United States of America and for men and women like Sgt. James Skalberg who die defending our country and all of the people in it.

My children got extra kisses at bedtime tonight as I thought of Jamie's parents who used to kiss him goodnight when he was a child - never knowing what a hero their son would grow up to be. I also go to bed hoping that neither I, nor anyone else, has to have a day like today again.

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Fear, Islam, 9/11 and a Reason to Believe

Irshad Manji made an interesting observation on Morning Joe this week when asked about how the perceptions of Islam have changed since that tragic day ten years ago.

I think there is still far more confusion than there is clarity. I’ll say something else, and to me it’s the most dangerous F-word in the entire English language…but that word is ‘fear.’ I see among broad-hearted Americans -- who are non-Muslim – fear about asking questions of Muslims and Islam because they’re afraid of being judged as bigots for doing so. And I see among liberal Muslims, such as myself, fear of going on the record about our views because we fear either being called traitors by Islam supremacists or terrorists-in-waiting by Islam bashers."

It is interesting how fear plays such an integral part of the way that we have responded to the terrorism of September 11, 2001. Many of the email messages I receive about Islam are based in fear. So, in light of that, I thought that I would share a song in video, titled "Reason to Believe", that was written, and sung here, by Joe Scarborough, the host of Morning Joe.


I pray for our nation that we will move forward out of fear and suspicion to faith and love.

We are NATO

Interesting how the American eagle and Lady Liberty's torch are featured in this old NATO postcard image. This morning the New York Post published a brief online piece titled
US cost of war $550M for 10 days. Here is the article in full:

The war in Libya has cost US taxpayers more than half a billion dollars so far, mainly for bombs, cruise missiles, and a crashed fighter jet, the Pentagon said yesterday. But the price tag should drop once NATO takes over leadership of Operation Odyssey Dawn as expected today. After that, officials expect to spend about $40 million a month, Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said yesterday. The first 10 days of the campaign cost the Pentagon $550 million. A big chunk of that came from firing more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost between $1 million and $1.5 million a pop. The loss of an Air Force F-15E fighter jet added another $60 million.

It will be interesting to see if our involvement will be limited to the $1 million plus per day that the Pentagon officials are predicting. It will also be interesting to see if any other country will match or exceed that prediction. I doubt that they will because, after all, the USA is NATO.