from a friend in Iraq

As the American people prepare to choose our national civilian political leadership, we serving in Iraq want to say that we appreciate hearing from the folks back home, Democratic, Republican, Independent, Red State, Blue State, all religions (or none at all), all ethnic groups (including multicultural), etc., whatever. We thank you for caring about us, our mission and our nation.

We support the right of the American people, through the democratic process established in our Constitution, to provide national-level policy guidance by selecting the leaders of our nation. If you really want to support the troops, vote for the candidate(s) of your choice and respect the results of a free and fair election. We'll be here on November 5, 2008, and January 20, 2009, regardless.

The very best thing you can send to the troops is something homemade, like cookies and brownies. Ziploc bags work very well; please send plenty of goodies. Although it's addressed to an individual, everyone shares what they get and they're gone in a few hours.

Store-bought items are nice, but something homemade rally touches the heart. Thank you so much.