When you open my front door, this is the first thing you'll see

When you open my front door, this is the first thing you'll see. It hangs on the wall because this is where my heart is.


When you turn to enter into the hallway, this is what you'll see. It hangs on the wall because this is where my heart is. It is a daily reminder of those who serve.

When you sit at my kitchen table this is what you'll see. These are pictures of my husband's father and his three uncles. Off to the side is a picture of my husband taken in Vietnam. These are on the wall as well because this is where my heart it. Again, constant reminders of those who serve.

My father served in the Korean war and my uncles served in WWII.

I have these in my home, not that I need to be reminded because of what I do everyday, but because they have my heart and just as most Americans hang pictures of their family members all over their homes, the men and women who serve and have served, are part of my family.

I am a Democrat, but I am an American first.

There are religious pictures and books filling my office and most of the rooms in my home. Again, because this is where my heart is.

I am a Chaplain to all of God's children even though I am a Christian and I am an American.

During the campaigning McCain did I heard a lot of things that were lies intended on vilifying Democrats across the nation. Ever since 2000, most of what I heard was pretty disgusting because people didn't know what the truth was. The media let some get away with making all kinds of claims about people like me. For the last eight years, except for months following the attacks of 9-11, this nation has been divided by gossip. Last night President Elect Obama laid the ground rules that those days should end and we should once again be one nation. He proved that most Americans want that when they voted for him in overwhelming numbers.

So, let's get a few things straight.

Democrats are pro-military and that means the men and women who serve this nation, not the contractors making money off sending men and women into war. The talk about cutting military spending is true in a way, but not cutting the military size, just the money we waste. If you paid attention you'd know how much money was wasted in Iraq on the defense contractors. We want accountability from all elected.

Democrats are pro-veteran. We believe that our veterans have earned a hell of a lot more than just our respect in words, but earned them in our deeds. We want to take care of them because they are our obligation and not as some say "a burden" we are forced to provide for. We believe they should be taken care of and as a matter of fact, Obama has been on the Veteran's Affairs Committee and Michelle is taking on the military families as well as veteran families.

There is a lot you heard during the campaigns but too much you didn't hear. To set your minds at ease, try to check what has been real all along and for Heaven's sake, turn off FOX news until they decide to finally report the truth. Most of what I heard has been parroting FOX news from people who are bright but have grown lazy and did not invest the time to know if they were being told the truth or not.

According to the media on the far-right, I do not exist. I am supposed to be anti-military even though I fight for veterans everyday of the week and have done outreach work with them for 26 years. I am not supposed to be Christian, but have dedicated my life to Christ since early in my childhood. There are a lot of people just like me all over the nation and you heard our voices last night when you heard President Elect Obama. Those were not just well chosen words but came from a good heart.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos