19-Year-Old Pvt. Charles Barnett of Bel Air Killed In Iraq

According to the U.S. Department of Defense:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pvt. Charles Yi Barnett, 19, of Bel Air, Maryland, died on Nov. 20 of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Tallil, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

The incident is under investigation.

In it’s latest casualty update, the Department of Defense indicates there have been more than 4,800 deaths in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom combined.

Silver Star And A Touchdown Or Two…

When Sam Sheetz was wounded pulling fellow infantrymen out of hostile fire in Vietnam he didn’t think of the homeruns he’d hit playing baseball as a youngster….or the touchdowns he scored playing halfback for Bel Air High School in the early ‘60’s….all the thoughts of homeruns or touchdowns were just as much a dream as the nightmare he was in right at that moment…. Continue reading Silver Star And A Touchdown Or Two…

Never Discuss Politics Or Religion

My daddy always told me just that…and to ‘never, ever lie, cheat or steal’. With that thought in mind and the upcoming Presidential election looming in November it brought to mind my take on the whole deal.

First of all, I do not watch television in the morning or before noon or after noon…unless it’s the U.S. Open or weather. That’s a fact Jack. Continue reading Never Discuss Politics Or Religion

The Dagger Debate 2008: Now We Know The Candidates - Tell Us What You Think

McCain/Palin vs. Obama/Biden

While the announcement by Senator John McCain introducing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate puts to rest the speculation of the selection, it sure opens up a new battleground full of interesting scenarios. We are asking readers of The Dagger to share their opinions, in a civil manner of course, on the following questions, as well as on all the other issues facing the candidates. Continue reading The Dagger Debate 2008: Now We Know The Candidates - Tell Us What You Think

Seemed So Much Simpler Then…

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn’t seem to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw sometimes too, but I can’t remember getting E-coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), the term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system. Continue reading Seemed So Much Simpler Then…

A Memorial To My Dad

May 2004, just a week before the WW II Memorial in Washington D.C. was to be dedicated, I took my Dad down to see it. At 85, he was a little unsure on his feet so I borrowed a wheelchair so I could push him around the Mall. My Dad was excited to be going and was even looking forward to the ride in on the D.C. Metro.

It was one of those perfect May days; bright sun, warm and not a cloud in the sky. On top of the perfect day we had a perfect tour guide with us. My friend Tom knew the Washington D.C. landmarks well, and ever the teacher, would regale us with bits of history and trivia that we weren’t aware of.

A little about my Dad: Born in St Louis, Missouri on November 7, 1918, he was drafted into the Army soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The buildup to D-Day was in full gear, although as my Dad would say many years later, that no one knew the extent of the Normandy invasion because it was kept so secret, for obvious reasons. From APG, my Dad was transferred to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina for further training and then to Ft. Dix for processing before being shipped out to Iceland from the Port of New York. His MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), that he was assigned to, was ordnance supply and specifically ammunition. He thought that he was placed there because he had worked in a car repair garage prior to being drafted and the Army thought that he had some mechanical ability. That the Army recognized this in my Dad was a benefit to both him and the Army. Continue reading A Memorial To My Dad

Where There’s Water, There’s Life

Bob Pappalardo’s drive to work used to take about 20 minutes, and ran along the quiet, winding North Foothills Highway from Boulder, Colorado to the small town of Lyons and the sandstone buildings of the University of Colorado. It was a fine commute, except when it snowed. Today, Pappalardo, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, monitors the Los Angeles traffic - “quite a sport,” he says - before heading out from his home near Santa Monica for the trek up to Pasadena; there are days, Pappalardo says, when the 25-mile drive lasts an hour and fifteen minutes.

So what got Pappalardo, a planetary geologist, and his girlfriend to leave the rambling serenity of the Eastern Rockies for the bustle of L.A.? It was a no-brainer: the search for life beyond Earth.

As study scientist for NASA’s burgeoning Europa orbiter mission, Pappalardo is working with a group of Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers to deliver a plan for return to the icy moon of Jupiter, where the Galileo spacecraft, working in the late 1990s and early 2000s, recorded evidence of a vast, subsurface, saltwater ocean. Such an ocean, many scientists believe, could support the type of single-cell organisms that emerged as the first life forms on Earth. Continue reading Where There’s Water, There’s Life

1,000 Words About a Picture: Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie and Sen. Hillary Clinton White Marsh Photo-Op

Perhaps as a last-ditch effort to help drum up support for the sinking presidential candidate, or maybe just to show it off before it became completely irrelevant, Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie unveiled a photograph last week showing him and Sen. Hillary Clinton meeting, shaking hands and evidently discussing the state of the Union while she was campaigning in Baltimore County.

Guthrie, a Democrat representing the Edgewood and Joppatowne area, passed the picture along to a small group of associates and, upon further inquiry, explained the photo opportunity came in mid-February when Sen. Clinton made a stop at the General Motors Allison Transmission Plant in White Marsh. Continue reading 1,000 Words About a Picture: Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie and Sen. Hillary Clinton White Marsh Photo-Op

For Sale: One Kidney, Used But Not Abused

Does anybody out there need a kidney? Sure, it’s not a question you hear everyday, but apparently Iran has a few we could order up if you answered “yes” . What do you say?

Iran is not usually a country we look to in order to draw ideas from, especially fiscally driven ones. But it seems that they have an incredibly successful organ vendor program.

Transplant nephrologist Benjamin E. Hippen out of North Carolina recently published a paper called “Organ Sales and Moral Travails: Lessons From the Living Kidney Vendor Program in Iran.”

If you are shaking your head at this point asking if I am serious, indeed I am. Here are some excerpts from Dr. Hippen’s paper… Continue reading For Sale: One Kidney, Used But Not Abused

Cancer Fears Me: Putting A Positive Spin On A Negative Diagnosis

“Cancer Fears Me.” These three words strung together have the audacity to put the “C” word in its place. It’s original and pretty simple really: Cancer Fears Me.

Powerful words for a mother of three to come up with as she shuffles her children to and from various activities. This is not just any mother though. This is Sharon Perfetti, Executive Director and co-founder of the Cool Kids Campaign. Her mission and that of the Cool Kids Campaign is about helping and giving. It’s about working with kids who’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer. It’s about always thinking and doing, even if and when that light bulb moment hits her in the car.

“It just came to me. I spend so much time seeing these families and fear is an over-riding emotion,” Perfetti said, lamenting the many concerns and issues that are suddenly thrust upon the families she deals with day in and day out. “What’s going to happen, how quickly is it going to spread?” It’s hard to even imagine, let alone happen to a child. Continue reading Cancer Fears Me: Putting A Positive Spin On A Negative Diagnosis

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