America marked 10 years at war Oct. 7, 2011. Some 6,279 soldiers have died since the war was declared in 2001. Another 46,162 soldiers have been wounded.

Why are we still fighting?

On Sept. 11, 2001, a series of terrorist attacks destroyed the Twin Towers in New York, attempted to destroy the Pentagon, and led to a group of courageous airline passengers’ deaths when they brought down their plane rather than allow terrorists to fly it to its target, which is still unknown.

President George W. Bush responded by declaring war on Afghanistan.

That bears repeating: In retaliation for a terrorist attack, the president declared war on a sovereign nation that he suspected to be harboring terrorists.

Some of the most vocal and frightening fringe elements currently in the public eye are now presenting themselves in the form of ultra-conservative portions of the Republican Party and its offshoot cousin the Tea Party.

In small yet increasing numbers this niche element has made it blatantly apparent how they feel about a section of their fellow human beings, and the most damning examples have come while the debate season enters full swing with a handful of GOP hopefuls vying for the Republican Presidential nomination.

While the candidates themselves have seldom deviated from their politically spun double-talk, certain supporters have decided to speak for them — and the utterances have been nothing short of frightening.

The first example came during the NBC News/Politico GOP Debate.

I would like to add my voice to the many others in support of higher education.

Recent editorials in The Oklahoman, by Carl Edwards, President of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Dave Lopez, Secretary of Commerce, and Phyllis Hudecki, Secretary of Education, have all emphasized the need to increase the number of Oklahomans who hold college degrees and certifications to meet the number of new jobs being created in our state.

Secretaries Lopez and Hudecki quote a new study by the Center on Education and the Workforce which concluded that “most of the new jobs being created, or to be created in the future, require a college education.”

As a student attending a community college, you will be particularly interested that this study also stated, “Almost all of the fastest-growing job categories require at least a one-year certificate or an associate degree.”

A new study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics has indicated a link between an increase in child abuse and economic recessions.

The recent study has mirrored the suspicions that pediatricians have had for awhile, and now the numbers are in.

More than 420 children were diagnosed with abusive head trauma during the study, from across a region of 74 different counties.

The number of children diagnosed with abusive head trauma, or shaken baby syndrome, rose by 65 percent compared to pre-recession years.

The average age of children: only 9 months old.

Children from lower-income families have been known to be at greater risks for being abused, and economic recessions do not help these figures.

On Sept. 8, President Barack Obama announced before a joint session of Congress the American Jobs Act. He has been touring states notorious for their positions as swing states in elections, pushing the bill since its announcement.

This gives me pause on two big points. The first, why did this bill take so long to germinate? It’s obvious to people with a basic understanding of economics that if you have no wage earners you have no economy.

What was perhaps the largest factor in our economic downturn after the housing fiasco? Unemployment. So then when the president announced the first round of stimulus I thought that this was in the pipe behind it and not two years later.

I understand that it takes time to formulate these things, draw up research, and check the law, but my first thought when faced with even a minor recession would be to look at the New Deal and see what the proven solution to economic trauma is.

Fast food restaurants have recently expressed their desire to have a part in the federal food stamps program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in May 1939 because low-income people needed a way to buy food.

Food stamps are paid for by the federal funds, but states and even local governments have the last say in how they are used.

Until recently, food stamps were used only for groceries at food stores, at gas stations, dollar stores and pharmacies.

Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan have seized state governing options by the reins and are allowing citizens to use food stamps at fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.

House Speaker John Boehner has dissed the President of the United States again.

For those who are unaware, President Barack Obama wanted to make a speech before the joint session of Congress to unveil his new economic plan in regards to creating more jobs.

Obama sent a message to House Speaker Boehner in regards to a speech Obama wanted to originally make Sept. 7, but was rescheduled for Sept. 8.

Boehner and his office were noted as saying the denial of the president’s request to speak on Sept. 7 was because he did not want the speech to interfere with the GOP debate, which was scheduled for the same day.

This type of “political dissing” is leading many to ponder a number of questions in regards to these types of issues.

Would Boehner have done this to any other president?

Over the past several months, the world has watched with growing excitement and respect as the citizens of several Middle Eastern and African dictatorships have risen up and thrown off their oppressors in the name of freedom and equality.

Collectively known as the ‘Arab Spring’ by various media sources, this new wave of democracy and those struggling to obtain democracy, heralds the possibility of a major shift in world power.

If this change holds, and there’s little reason to believe it won’t, the Middle East will be stable and self-governed for the first time in centuries. And they have a major economic hold on the rest of the world. For decades, the United States, the European Union, Russia, every country that springs to the average American’s mind when one says “western culture” have been steadily declining.

After decades of living under oppressive dictatorships, the Middle East has recently experienced a revolutionary uprising as citizens stake their rightful claim to democracy.

While this writer is hopeful for the futures of Libya and other Arab countries, she is also doubtful.

As of this writing, Libya’s former autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi is in hiding.

Libyan rebels have offered members of the dictator’s entourage a $1.5 million reward for capturing or killing Gadhafi.

The triumphant fall of one of the world’s most reviled leaders — at the hands of his own oppressed people, no less — is a victory for democracy everywhere.

Now, the question is: how long will it last?

If the government wants some advice on how to balance the budget, why not ask the experts?

No, not the usual suspects with their big words and paychecks to match, I am talking about the REAL budget-balancing people of the U.S.

Let’s start with the single parent, not receiving child support, not choosing to go on welfare, working two jobs — or one while going to school.