Wiretap: Afghanistan War vets struggle to save themselves

A Marine with 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, touches the helmet of Sgt. Frank R. Zaehringer, an anti-tank missile-man with Weapons Company, 2/9, Oct. 19, during a memorial service at Forward Operating Base Camp Hanson, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Zaehringer’s life was tragically ended Oct. 11, while conducting combat operations in Northern Marjah.

Shell shock

The war still isn’t over for those in the 2/7 Marine Battalion, which was at the center of the fighting in Afghanistan. In 2008, during eight months of combat, the Second Battalion, Seventh Marine Regiment suffered higher casualties than any Marine battalion that year.  Of the 1,200 Marines deployed with the 2/7 that year, at least 13 have committed suicide since. The New York Times looks at how the vets, frustrated by the V.A., have tried to save themselves.

Pope politics

It’s no easy matter to be heard if you want to criticize “the most popular man in the world” as the pope comes to America. Via Politico.

Birthers return

And so we’re back to the birther question — via the Donald – and the Muslim question — via the Ben. To get a full dose of both, all you had to do was watch the Sunday morning news shows. Via CNN.

Brother’s keeper

Was Jeb! right that his brother “kept us safe”? The liberal group Americans United for Change has an ad up making the case that he wasn’t. Via Vox.

“Anchor babies”

The truth about so-called “anchor babies”: It’s more complicated than Donald Trump would have you believe. Via The Washington Post.

Holy embrace

Ross Douthat: The evangelical embrace of Ben Carson makes even less sense than Trumpmania. Via The New York Times.

$10 bill

Choosing your mother or daughter to put on the $10 bill shows only one thing: You can’t come up with a woman who actually belongs there. Via The New Republic.

TV marathon

The Emmys prove the point: There really is too much TV these days. Via The Washington Post.

 

Photo credit: DVIDSHUB, Creative Commons, Flickr.

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