Why did I go to Vietnam, my sons go to Iraq, my uncles to the Philippines in WWII and the Korean War, if we cannot simply express freedom of speech? What has become of our nation?

A sheriff at a political rally in Florida made a comment about McCain beating "Barack Hussein Obama," and he was investigated by the feds and crucified by the news media! Newspapers and TV media will not use Obama's middle name period. Gee, here is a suggestion, Senator Barack Hussein Obama: Change your middle name if you are ashamed of it. Why did you start going by Barack instead of Barry anyway, since Barry was the name you grew up with? I would understand that if you had converted to Islam.

Congressman John Lewis compared John McCain with George Wallace?

And last but not least, I am going to scream if I hear one more white voter say, "I am not prejudice, but I am not going to vote for Barack Obama."

This is 2008. How about this? "I am not voting for Barack Obama because he is a liar with no experience who has hung out with shady characters, including an unrepentant terrorist, and he has the most liberal record in the Senate but people are dumb enough to buy his line that he will not raise taxes."

Anybody in this day and age who is still racially-prejudice is an airhead, so why walk on egg shells and justify yourself if you do not like one candidate? Why is John McCain apologizing for things the Townhall crowd is saying? People can say what they want. This is America, and we are not supposed to be controlled in our speech by the news media or the democratic campaign, but most are wimping out in this war of intimidation.

Since 1976, no national poll has ever picked a Republican to win or showed one ahead prior to the Presidential election.  Much of the national news media especially NBC is acting like a political PAC helping to get Barack Obama elected. Barney Frank,  an openly-gay congressman who chairs the congressional banking committee and has rebuffed any and all attempts to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by republicans, has had an affair with a key executive of Fannie Mae, but none of the media calls for his resignation they are so scared of being called "homophobic."

If he was a republican, this would be the lead story on every news show and in every paper. If you question anything about anyone other than the media's Golden Child, you are pounced upon. Some papers will not run this editorial simply because of the subject matter. Race and gender, and even sexual orientation, is not the issue in this election, unless you are a republican and heterosexual. If you are, you are to sit in the back of the bus and shut up. If not, you will be attacked by the news media, which have proven that they themselves are weapons of mass detraction.

Don Bendell, 61, is an author of 26 books including a number of military thrillers and westerns with over 1,500,000 copies of his books in print worldwide and is a popular editorialist who has appeared on FOX NEWS LIVE, many national radio shows, and his editorials have been published all over the world. A 1995 inductee into the International Karate Hall of Fame and a Grandmaster in 4 martial arts, he and his black belt master wife, Shirley, also own karate schools in southern Colorado. A 60% disabled vet, Don served as an officer in 4 Special Forces (Green Beret) Groups, including a 1968-1969 tour on an A-team in Vietnam, as well as in the Top Secret Phoenix Program and has sons serving in Special Forces now. His newest novel, DETACHMENT DELTA, about modern day Delta Force, will be released worldwide in the winter of 2008-2009 by Berkley Books (Penguin-USA). Don lives in Florence, Colorado. Write him at don@donbendell.com .