By Jeffrey A. McKenzie. "The storm I am describing is the looming war in Iraq and the rumors of other wars around the globe, not to mention the couple dozen of wars already raging around the planet. Too often we only look at war in this abstract way, we ignore the human element, especially when the war is thousands of miles away and our lives remain relatively unchanged."

Many people don't know that Mother's Day was started after the Civil War, as a protest against the carnage of that war, by women who had lost their sons. Here is the original Mother's Day Proclamation from 1870:

By Sharon Santillo. "Memorial Day is for remembering. I am wearing the number 1,401 this Memorial Day to remember my cousin's son, Karl, the 1,401st American killed in Iraq. Over 1,500 Americans have now been killed, and over 100,000 Iraqi men, women, and children. I remember them all this Memorial Day."

By Ashby. "Today is Mother's Day and traditionally mothers are served breakfast in bed amid flowers and Mother's Day cards proclaiming love from their children. I am an immensely proud mother. My four children are grown, some with children of their own. Yet this Mother's Day is extra special for me because a year ago I was not so fortunate. Back then, all day long, I fought back tears while praying that my third son, Lance Corporal Patrick Ashby, U.S. Marine Corps, would return safely from Iraq."

By Fernando Suarez del Solar. "Another year ends today, a year full of important events in the lives of the American people and especially many Latino families like mine."