Iraq vs. Special Needs Children

Danielle is a young mother. Two of her four kids, all under 7, have autism. The third likely has Asperger syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. And the fourth, a 3-month-old baby, needs stomach surgery. Danielle, who out of embarrassment asked that only her middle name be used, isn't working because she takes care of her kids by day, takes nursing classes at night, struggling for the skills she needs to support her family on something better than minimum wage. "If I can just make it 15 months," Danielle says of her registered nursing course, "then I'm OK."

As if that weren't stress enough, here's the topper: The entire family is homeless.

COMMENT: Virginia can't find the money to put a family with four special needs children in a home and off the street. We can't give healthcare to this family. We can't even feed them. Yet, we can spend hundreds of billions of dollars to "rebuild and secure" Iraq.

I'm speechless on both counts. Will our country every get back to helping others? Are these our new priorities, destroy a country in the name of "fighting terrorism" and at the same time, letting special needs children sleep on the streets, homeless? Sadly, the Great Republic is fading away....