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Outraged responses to Mark Kirk's racist jab at Tammy Duckworth are pouring in.

In the Illinois senatorial debate Oct. 27, 2016, incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk responded to a challenge about foreign policy with a shocking joke that mocked opponent Tammy Duckworth's mixed-race heritage.

Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images.

Duckworth, who was born in Thailand and lost both legs while serving in Iraq, was touting her qualifications in evaluating the need for future military action, citing her family's long history of service:


"My family has served this nation in uniform going back to the Revolution. I'm a daughter of the American Revolution. I've bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound because people are quick to sound the drums of war. And I want to be there to say, 'This is what it costs, this is what you're asking us to do, and if that's the case, I'll go.' Families like mine are the ones that bleed first. But let's make sure the American people understand what we are engaging in, and let's hold our allies accountable because we can't do it all."

To which Kirk responded:

"I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington."

After the debate, Duckworth responded on Twitter with a family photo:

The rest of Twitter was ... not so gentle to Kirk.

The comments elicited strong reactions from voters, many of whom were outraged and upset.

Others noted the irony of Kirk having previously been caught of inflating his own military record, including making a false claim that he served in the Gulf War.

Some vowed to take their outrage with them the ballot box.

"Looking white" isn't a prerequisite for having a long, distinguished family history of military service.

Neither is being born in the United States. (Lots of foreigners — Frenchmen, Germans, and Poles in particular — served in the Revolutionary War, FWIW.)

Asian-American soldiers have fought in every major American war since the Civil War, and their representation in uniform is increasing.

Disagreeing over the proper role of the military shouldn't mean disagreeing on who looks like they have the right to join the conversation.

Kirk issued a statement shortly after the debate, affirming his respect for Duckworth's family's service but refusing to walk back his comments.

He tweeted an apology the next day:

The debate about how America should deploy its men and women in uniform is complex and critically important. That debate is not just for white people and hasn't been for decades. One's share of whiteness doesn't track with the amount one is allowed to contribute.

Roughly 7% of Americans — like Duckworth — are multiracial.

Duckworth with another multiracial American you might have heard of. Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images.

That's about 22 million Americans.

And just like many of them serve their country in times of war, they also serve their country by voting.

A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Representative Image from Canva

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Kudos to the heroes who had 90 seconds to save lives in the Key Bridge collapse

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Representative image by Gustavo Fring/Pexels

The workers who responded to the Dali's mayday call saved lives with their quick response.

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Just minutes before 1:30am on March 26, shortly after leaving port in Baltimore Harbor, a cargo ship named Dali lost power and control of its steering, sending it careening into a structural pillar on Key Bridge. The crew of the Dali issued a mayday call at 1:26am to alert authorities of the power failure, giving responders crucial moments to prepare for a potential collision. Just 90 seconds later, the ship hit a pylon, triggering a total collapse of the 1.6-mile bridge into the Patapsco River.

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Courtesy of University of Idaho

The Idaho Vandals answered the call when Yale needed a pep band.

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When Yale made it to the March Madness tournament, members of the school's pep band had already committed to other travel plans during spring break. They couldn't gather enough members to make the trek across the country to Spokane, Washington, so the Yale Bulldogs were left without their fight song unless other arrangements could be made.

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