Markos the veteran

I met Markos at the California state democratic convention in 2004 when Dean woke up the crowd with his rousing stump speech about being from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. It was a thrilling moment. Shortly thereafter I forced Instapundit to acknowledge that Markos and Jerome were the first credentialed bloggers at a political convention. His blogging since that time has made an important contribution to American democracy. I wanted to take a moment on this Veterans' Day to acknowledge Markos's "other" service to our country for his time in the military:

Immediately after high school, at the age of 17, I enrolled in the US Army, and served in Lawton, Oklahoma and Bamberg, Germany. I was a 13P -- an MLRS/Lance Fire Direction Specialist (artillery), and served between 1989-92.--from the About Us section of DailyKos.com

Markos takes his share of slings and arrows with reasonable grace, but those who attack him for being a traitor don't understand the patriotism and strength of this fine man. I hope he has fun celebrating a third birthday today and that he can take a moment to accept that Kossacks know that he's a hero to the country, just like every veteran, living or dead, who has served. Thank you for your service Markos.