Obama fleece

By Jennifer J. Foster

I have seen something in Wal-Mart that I want to share with you.

Did you know that you can buy Barack Obama fleece?

And did you know that you can use said fleece to make crafty wall hangings, such as this one currently displayed above the arts & crafts department in my local store?

I am a frequent Wal-Mart shopper, and I like to think that I would have noticed if any previous presidents were so honored in the arts & crafts department.

I can report no such previous sighting.

So, I just want to point this out as evidence of the cultural phenomenon that is Barack Obama: He’s more than the president. He’s also on fleece.

RIP, Phillip Myers

By Jennifer J. Foster

Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va., won the Bronze Star for his actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On Saturday, he was killed in an IED attack in Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.

Myers was a brave warrior in life, setting an example of bravery and excellence for his fellow fighters and building a legacy of which his family can be proud.

On Sunday and in death, Myers remained a leader, becoming the first servicemember whose return to Dover, Del., was covered by the media since the Pentagon instituted a ban on such coverage in 1991.

From FoxNews.com:

An eight-member military team wearing white gloves and camouflage battle fatigues carried the remains of a soldier killed overseas off a U.S. jet in a ceremony witnessed Sunday by the media and family members .

It marked the first time media members were allowed at such a Dover Air Force Base ceremony since an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead was lifted.

The remains of 30-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Virginia, were solemnly taken off the plane on a clear, cool night in Delaware.

The ceremony under the yellowish haze of airport floodlights took about 20 minutes with Myers’ wife and other family members in attendance.

I have struggled with my position on media coverage of returning war dead. I understand the point of those who say a blanket ban serves to simply cover up the true cost of war. There is no substitute for the impact of visual images, especially in a situation like this. (If you doubt it, watch the video coverage of Myers’s return—and the reaction of one particular servicewoman (at 1:36), who stood stock-still in the cold with tears streaming down her face.)

But that power is precisely why I have hesitated to cheer the opening of these ceremonies to the media. Just as easily as the images can and do illustrate the enormity of our soldiers’ sacrifice, so can they also be used for inappropriate and untoward purposes—manipulating public opinion, stoking political fires and reducing the ultimate cost to a mere symbol.

I guess that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has done the best he could in trying to find a middle ground between these extremes. By leaving the decisions to the families, the Department takes itself out of the position of control.

I just hope that the rest of the country receives these images with the same honor and solemnity they documented.

It is a debt we owe to Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers—and all the rest of the men and women who have given and will give their lives for this country.