"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."-José Narosky

Since April 9, the news media's continual obsession with all things Clinton and Obama has not waned. The all-important Pennsylvania primary, which is part of the great year long distraction that is the 2008 presidential campaign, finally took place last week. What did it settle? Nothing, Senator Clinton gained a mere 10 delegates. The developments in the Jeremiah Wright saga are captivating the minds of everyone. So much so, that we cannot possibly talk about anything or anybody else. Also, since April 9, 17 Americans have died in the only story, if it were a story, that is more frustrating than the presidential election, the Iraq War. Another bit of news that might shock those who think that Afghanistan is a desert oasis of democracy, two Americans have died in that war during this same period. To date, 4,528 Americans have perished in these wars with no objective and no end in sight. If the media cannot spare a mere moment of the latest thing Jeremiah Wright said to talk about those that die in this senseless war, I will continue to do it here:

1. Spec. William E. Allmon of Ardmore, Oklahoma was 25 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 12.
2. Lance Cpl. Dean D. Opicka of Waukesha, Wisconsin was 29 years old when he was killed in combat in Anbar province on April 14.
3. Cpl. Richard J. Nelson of Racine, Wisconsin was 23 years old when he was killed in combat in Anbar province on April 14.
4. Sgt. Joseph A. Richard, III of Lafayette, Louisiana was 27 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 14.
5. Spec. Arturo Huerta-Cruz of Clearwater, Florida was 23 years old when he died in an IED attack in Tuz on April 14.
6. Cpl. Kyle W. Wilks of Rogers, Arkansas was 24 years old when he died in combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on April 15.
7. 1st Sgt. Luke J. Mercardante of Athens, Georgia was 35 years old when he died in combat operations in Kandahar province, Afghanistan on April 15.
8. Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown of Mangolia, Texas was 29 years old when he died after his unit was attacked in Sama Village on April 17.
9. Spec. Benjamin K. Brosh of Colorado Springs, Colorado was 22 years old when he died on April 18 from wounds suffered in an IED attack in Paliwoda.
10. Spec. Lance O. Eaks of Apex, North Carolina was 25 years old when he died in an IED attack in Baghdad on April 18.
11. Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton of Bakersfield, California was 40 years old when she died in Iraq on April 20. The cause of her death is currently under investigation.
12. Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas of Perryville, Missouri was 26 years old when he died in an IED attack in Bayji on April 21.
13. Spec. Steven J. Christofferson of Cudahy, Wisconsin was 20 years old he died in an IED attack in Bayji on April 21.
14. 1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandergrift of Littleton, Colorado was 28 years old when he died in combat operations in Basra on April 21.
15. Airman Apprentice Adrian Compos of El Paso, Texas was 22 years old when he was found dead in Dubai due to a non-combat related incident on APril 21.
16. Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale of Burkeville, Virginia was 21 years old when he died in combat operation in Anbar province on April 22.
17. Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter of Sag Harbor, New York was only 19 years old when he died in combat operations in Anbar province on April 22.
18. Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison of Morris Plains, New Jersey was 25 years old when he died of a non-combat related injury on April 22.
19. Pfc. John T. Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan was 22 years old when he died in a vehicle incident in Golden Hills on April 23.
    

"We hold these truths to be self-evident..."

Barack Obama has given the speech. Like how Mitt Romney was dogged by the media about his Mormonism and eventually had to speak about the state of his religion (a very good speech at that), Senator Obama, the first truly viable black candidate in the history of the United States, has been forced to deliver a speech about race. This is something the media has wanted him to do from the outset, especially since President Clinton's relatively tame statements on race before the South Carolina primary and Geraldine Ferraro's even tamer comments last week. The satutaration coverage of Jeremiah Wright this week provided the media with the means to force the senator into giving this speech. My views on the speech are simple, I would rather Barack Obama give a speech like this and lose than win and capitulate to what people wanted him to say. We need to get to a point where we can discuss race without Rush Limbaugh providing a sermon of his own on how we need to merely move on and forget about the past or Al Sharpton boycotting anyone who says something that the reverend himself deems inapprporiate. The scrubbing of America's checkered past prevents those growing up today to learn about those mistakes and make a better future. Does it mean that I hate America or am racist against white people if I merely acknowledge the existence of racial strife in American history? This is not the distant past. Are there not people alive today who knew Jim Crow personally? It was only 54 years ago (the year after before my mother was born) that the Supreme Court declared that school's should be integrated and it took decades for this to be put into practice. It was only 44 and 45 years ago respectively that blacks were granted full protection under law and ensured the right to vote. On the historical timeline, 50 years is the blink of an eye. And this country has made sizable gains with regard to race in that single blink, this is what makes this country great. While social change is always slow, this country has always responded to social injustice in time. But to say that there are not residual effects on society from the old structure today is ignorant. I cannot do the speech justice by describing it here, it is best to read it (here) or watch it in its entirety before media outlets dice it up into five second sound bytes to meet their respective agendas.