There has been plenty of news coverage about the Iraq War. Most of it, of course has been negative. Yesterday on Capitol Hill several people testified about post traumatic stress disorder and the difficulties thousands of soldiers face when returning for war. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs has reported that out of the 750,000 soldiers who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, 100,000 of them have sought treatment for mental problems. That is just a startling number. To top it all off, the Veteran’s suicide hot line has received over 9,000 calls from recent and current soldiers. If that is not enough for you… 120 veterans commit suicide every week.

Michael Bowman testified yesterday in front of Congress. His son, Timothy served in Iraq with the Illinois National Guard. He returned home and had a very difficult time adjusting. Timothy ended up killing himself eight months after coming home from Iraq. Michael told Congress this was how his son had to end the war. “His demons were gone,” he said. Why aren’t we taking care of our Veteran’s? We ask much of them and it doesn’t seem like they get much in return. One out of four homeless in the USA is a Veteran. Enough is enough. It’s time to raise hell.

Speaking of raising hell, there is no doubt there are organizations out to get Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sheriff Joe is being sued again. This time over an immigration stop. The suit says aims to stop the Sheriff’s Department from making immigration stops and accused the department of violating their agreement with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Sheriff Joe tells Ankarlo the lawsuit is baseless.

On Red V. Blue Thursday, it’s Round 3 of the Ankarlo Political Death Match. Last week’s defending champion, Joe aka Mitt Romney calls in from Hawaii to defend his title. But, he is beaten by Chris (Ron Paul.) Congressman Paul then battles it out with Fred Thompson (Paul) and ultimately loses. A big win for the former Senator from Tennessee.

Fritz Wenzel from Zogby International brings Ankarlo the latest out of Iowa and New Hampshire. Wenzel says Sen. Barack Obama has all the momentum nationwide right now. He is neck and neck with Sen. Hillary Clinton in both Iowa and New Hampshire. There is no doubt the Hillary campaign is worried. The biggest number out of Iowa though is the large number of undecided voters. Wenzel says it in in the “double digits.” So who will show up on caucus night on January 3rd? On the Republican side, the momentum is all in Gov. Mike Huckabee’s side. Wenzel attributes this to the Iowa and New Hampshire voters. They don’t like negative campaigns and tend to punish the attacker. Gov. Romney better be careful.

One other interesting note Wenzel brought up. Zogby International did some polling about the much anticipated “Mitchell Report.” 84% of respondents said they were disgusted with steroids in baseball. Some big names are on the list too…Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield (just to name a few).

Today’s holiday hero embodies the word. Marine Corporal Brent Phillips. He is an Iraq war Veteran and was injured after his HumVee was struck by four rocket propelled grenades. Corp. Phillips was almost killed in the attack, but managed to escape with his team. He suffered an eye injury, a leg injury and was shot in the arm at close range. His eyesight in his right eye was saved due to some great doctoral work at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. You must listen to this on today’s podcast.

In the final half hour of today’s show, State Senator Karen Johnson joins Ankarlo to tell us why she is fighting the Real ID, 3 in 1 licenses. These new licences will be voluntary and will serve as a driver’s license, a valid ID for crossing the Mexican and Canadian borders and a way for employer to identify your immigration status. These IDs store all kinds of your personal information and use radio frequency identification (RFIDs). Scary stuff. Check out today’s podcast.