It is with both sadness and a growing degree of anger at my national government that I must break away from my series on international borders to address the issue of the way our government is wasting the lives and blood of our military personnel.  Earlier this week, as a law enforcement chaplain, I had the somber duty of responding to the apparent suicide of a Marine who lived in my neighborhood.  By all accounts, he was an amazing man: motivated, highly intelligent (he spoke at least five languages) and brimming with common sense.  He had also in his relatively young life already done seven tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Continue reading →