State of the Union

The Monk missed the State of the Union address (I tend to avoid them, too much laundry listing), but the wrapups are all over the place. Text of the speech itself is at the link in the title.

This link will take you to a picture of the one moment that the press is discussing -- the moment when an Iraqi woman, who voted Sunday, hugs a mother whose son died battling terrorists in Fallujah. Here's the snipet of the speech discussing Byron Norwood:

One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, who was killed during the assault on Fallujah. His mom, Janet, sent me a letter and told me how much Byron loved being a Marine, and how proud he was to be on the front line against terror. She wrote, “When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said: ‘You've done your job, mom. Now it’s my turn to protect you.’” Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom’s defenders, and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood’s mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.