Jane Chastain : Politically Direct

Last week, Jessica Lynch, America’s media sweetheart in 2003, testified before Henry Waxman’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform beside Kevin Tillman, whose brother, Pat, was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan. This is the first time the former POW has made a major public appearance in three and a half years, and the media yawned.Why did the press give the West Virginia beauty the cold shoulder this time around? Read the rest of this entry »

The long awaited hour-long debate between Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and his Democrat challenger, Jim Webb, on “Meet the Press” was down right embarrassing. Both men want to be known as strong military eaders. However, when host Tim Russert pressed them on the issue of women in combat, both men were swept overboard in a sea of political correctness and grabbed for a lifeboat of feminist ideology.For the uninitiated, feminists don’t see a need for the military, but, if we must have one, they want to run it. It is difficult to climb up the chain of command without combat experience. That’s why it is necessary to perpetuate the myth that men and women are interchangeable fungibles. Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled  “Will the Military Cut and Run on the Homosexual Issue.”  It concerned flack over language in a 1996 policy document (reauthorized in 2003) that outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members. The document, which was unearthed by a gay advocacy group, the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, listed homosexuality along with a group of mental disorders as reasons for discharge.The Center used this discovery to orchestrate a media campaign designed to browbeat those in charge of our military to reword the document in order to perpetuate the myth that homosexual activity is normal healthy behavior. Read the rest of this entry »

Is the military about to “cut and run” over the issue of allowing open homosexuals to serve in our Armed Forces? The answer is “yes.”More correctly, military leaders and those charged with the oversight of the military are about to cut and run.

When it comes to dealing with controversial issues, the men behind the military’s Oz-like “curtain” are not men at all but scared little boys and girls when it comes to standing up to narrow, vocal special-interest groups – especially those that are the darlings of the mainstream media. Read the rest of this entry »

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Tis the season to be jolly!Where is the most joyful place on earth these days?

It is Iraq, where, last week, millions of its citizens turned out to vote for the first truly democratic government in the history of the Arab Middle East.

The Kurds and Shiites weren’t the only ones dancing in the streets. The Sunnis joined the party after deciding that ballots are better than bullets when it comes to settling differences with your neighbors.

Perhaps the biggest smiles in Iraq are on the faces of American GIs who have been on the front lines of the struggle to defeat terrorists in that country. Despite all the naysayers here at home, they are re-enlisting in record numbers. Yes, the members of the U.S. military know the meaning of a job well done and want to stay in Iraq until the task is completed. Read the rest of this entry »