It’s Veteran’s Day and everybody is finding their own way to honor the men and women who have and are currently serving in the armed forces. This morning, Bon Jovi performed at Rockefeller Center in NYC and invited all local military personnel, their families and civilian volunteers to come be a part of the festivities.

While we aren’t all Bon Jovi and can’t show our support through a rock concert (unless they want to watch me play RockBand), there are plenty of things we can do to show our appreciation for the troops.

1. Have a veteran in your family? Call or sit down with them and ask them about their service. Chances are they’ll have a lot of stories to share, and your interest in their life is probably the greatest gift you could give them on this day.

And then take them for a meal at Applebee’s. Veterans and active duty military eat free today! I’m sure if you ask nicely they will share their Triple Chocolate Meltdown with you. Read More »

Sometimes, I have to admit, I feel defective. People I hardly know forward me e-mails about supporting U.S. troops and flying American flags proudly, and I quietly delete them. It’s not that I hate my country. It’s just that I’ve never really felt any affection for it . . . until now.

I’m not about to get up on a soapbox and give some grand speech about how Barack Obama is The Chosen One or how a liberal president makes everything better. But even when I set aside my political views and think about where our country is now, I still feel kind of inspired. For the first time in my life, I feel as if things could be steady and reasonable. I feel we have a leader who is working toward security and happiness and who is competent in the best way possible. In short, I feel we have a leader who cares. Read More »

I don’t know if it’s just me, but it really seems like a day doesn’t go by without seeing some story about torture in Guantanamo Bay or a new revelation into CIA secret prisons. At first I was stunned, then I was disgusted. Now I’m just plain mad.

Mad that hundreds of men and women are being held and tortured without legal recourse;

Mad that such actions only make the rest of the world angrier at America and therefore more likely to attack us in the future;

Mad that a handful of powerful men are destroying our chances to bring about resolution in the Middle East.

And mad that at one point I dreamed of being a part of it all. Seriously.

I was a junior in high school when 9/11 happened. I waved the flags, prayed for our troops, and supported the Patriot Act. I even went a step further—I decided that I wanted to join the CIA. Already fascinated by international affairs and politics, I was enchanted by the thought of accessing/gathering raw data, traveling, and serving my country.

It wasn’t until spring semester of my sophomore year that I changed my mind. I was meeting with a ret. Marine Captain to plan my course into the agency, via military intelligence. Near the end, I told him how excited I was at the prospect of developing my analytical skills in combination with physical ability. He paused.

“Um… actually you probably won’t be analyzing much, per say. Why don’t we focus on getting you physically prepared?” Read More »

According to an article on ParentDish, a nine-year-old Girl Scout was recently selling cookies in a supermarket when two teenagers snatched her money (a little over $150) and ran. The teens were later caught, providing a few classic quotes, such as “We went through all that effort…and we had to give the money back.” Yeah, that sucks, doesn’t it?

I think we can all agree that this is a “WTF” moment. You don’t steal money from a Girl Scout, no matter how stupid you are! Girl Scouts, in the eye of the American public, are on approximately the same level as troops in Iraq or bald eagle chicks.

Plus, how traumatizing would it be for the Girl Scout to watch her hard-earned money be plucked away like that? True, I can think of worse things, but not many.

I was a Girl Scout once. Not for long, because I hated wearing the uniform and I wasn’t girly-girl enough to hit it off with all the other girls, but I know what it’s like to shoulder the doom and responsibility of big-ticket cookie profits. Read More »