Good Morning.

Today is our 4,195th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 2,184
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,081

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 438, 886, 325, 000 .00

Let's talk about health today. Even before the ACA, I was blessed with a state that had vast coverage. Things you have to fight for in other places, I took for granted here in this Commonwealth. Fortunately, until last year the only truly "expensive" or "unusual" treatment we had was our fertility troubles in the late '90s. But it's different for returning veterans. If they can't get a job in the civilian sector (and many still can't), then there is no job-provided commercial insurance. This leaves our veterans relying on an already overburdened VA system for routine healthcare, as well as the more severe war-related injuries.
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62 comments (Latest Comment: 04/02/2013 21:12:56 by Mondobubba)

Some people in this country have the savvy and courage to come up with great ideas that are easy to pass into law. And often we wonder, "what did we do before this law"? The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is obviously one of them but there are others.

For example, lets say you're in a fine dining establishment with your husband and you need to use the restroom, don't you often find yourself worrying about the possibility that a transgender person might be inside? Does the fear keep you hovering at the restroom door trying to avert a panic attack? I know this happens to me every day.I could walk in and be greeted by a person who looks and sounds in every respect like a woman, but must pee standing up. The thought of it makes me nauseous.
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11 comments (Latest Comment: 04/01/2013 12:26:50 by Raine)

An acquaintance told me last year that Rachel Maddow spends too much time talking about abortion rights and social issues (lady parts and gay stuff) - he told me that it would behoove those on the left to talk more about economic issues and the broader burdens of our nation. Longtime readers of this blog, and people who know me probably know that the conversation turned rather heated. It ended with a filibuster from this acquaintance and the proverbial 'we'll have to agree to disagree'.
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92 comments (Latest Comment: 03/30/2013 04:45:57 by Will in Chicago)

This matters. It matters in ways that I, as a straight women can only try to understand.

Read Bill's story. HE one of millions who have a story, and a debt that should never have been placed upon them.

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110 comments (Latest Comment: 03/28/2013 01:10:29 by Will in Chicago)

Several years ago, there was a push among hate groups, driven by misplaced religious belief, to add admendments to their states' constitutions prohibiting gay marriage. This was supposed to be a hedge against any laws the legislatures might create doing the opposite. One of those measures was Proposition 8 in California. On a national level, a Republican-led legislature created the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage at the national level as one man / one woman.

In a very short period of time, however, we have seen Americans understanding of, respect for, and - in some cases, simply tolerance of - LGBT realities and rights. DADT fell. Numerous states have legalized gay marriage.
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49 comments (Latest Comment: 03/26/2013 01:41:05 by Will in Chicago)