Again, that time of the month, the fourth Saturday, when I remind readers that war kills not only through bombs, bullets, accidents and illness; but also through despair and depression and PTSD. Give a thought to those suffering darkness of mind and spirit!

The Army released suicide data for the month of January. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as suicide, and 11 remain under investigation. For December, the Army reported ten potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, three have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.

During January 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides. For December, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those, five were confirmed as suicides and two are pending determination of the manner of death.

It seems our former Vice President has had a mild heart attack. He is feeling better. Damn it all.

Yeah….proof good health care works; so many have died with fewer heart attacks and he lives on and on and on.
Light a candle! There are lists kept by candle light here….

(Hat-tip to Alternate Brain for this one.) There have been a few lawsuits I have seen about the dangerous burn pits, usually run by contractors like KBR or Blackwater. The toxins being spewed are killing American servicemen (and of course, Gods know how many Iraqis and Afghanis) in new and horribly agonizing ways.

And as with all things contractor-ish, they blow off inquiries of Congress, the military, and the families of the dead. As Fixer, over at Alternate Brain, said—this will be this war’s “Agent Orange” debacle. They will deny and ignore the problem until most of the affected vets are dead and then announce an enlightened and apologetic new policy of treating the pitiful remnant of survivors.

Light a candle, call a Congress Critter, curse a contractor! And seriously, pray or magic for the veterans affected and their families—they are dying!

A hat-tip to Earthbound Misfit again! I was so busy I haven’t seen “60 Minutes” for weeks and weeks. There is a lawsuit against Blackwater for the crash of “Blackwater 61″ in Afghanistan back in 2004. The plane, carrying US military folks, crashed because the pilots were dumbshits playing “Starwars” in their heads. And a survivor of the crash died because Blackwater didn’t even know the plane was missing—no flight plan; and they didn’t even launch a search. That man died of being left on a snowy mountain! Well, a pissed off Army officer and widow is suing them. Blackwater wanted the suit dropped or, get this shit….tried under Sharia Law cause the crash (of a bunch of American Christians) happened in Afghanistan!

Please go read or watch the video. These careless, heartless, money-grubbing mercenary assholes deserve whatever the universe…and all of us, can throw at them!
And may the universe bless the brave widow who is taking them to legal task! Even years of obfuscation have not dimmed her enthusiasm and determination. Five years of fight, and Jeannette McMahon isn’t finished.
Lend fire to her fight, please…light a candle!

Another week, the moon is a sweet crescent in the clear winter sky. It is the sort of shape ancient cultures interpreted as the boat that carried the souls of the dead away to an afterlife. I hope all the families and friends of the fallen troops on this list can find some comfort in a belief of a welcoming better place. Soon, it will be warm enough to put the 6200 counting beads back on the monument. And sadly, soon, it will be time to add another strand of 220 more.

Kingsman Sean Dawson, 19, of Manchester, England, died in Afghanistan when he was shot to death during an ambush on February 14.

Rifleman Mark Marshall, 29, of Exeter, England, was killed in Afghanistan by an IED detonation on February 14.

Sapper Guy Mellors, 20, of Coventry, England, was in killed in Afghanistan on February 15 when an IED exploded as he worked in explosive ordinance removal in Afghanistan.

US Marine PFC Jason H. Estopinal, 21, of Dallas, Ga., died Feb. 15 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Noah M. Pier, 25, of Charlotte, N.C., died Feb. 16 while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan.

The following three US Army men died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device Feb. 13 in Afghanistan:

Staff Sgt. John A. Reiners, 24, of Lakeland, Fla.;
Sgt. Jeremiah T. Wittman, 26, of Darby, Mont.; and
Spc. Bobby J. Pagan, 23, of Austin, Texas.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie, 23, of Rock Point, Ariz., died Feb. 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Sean L. Caughman, 43, of Fort Worth, Texas, died Feb. 16, while supporting operations in Kuwait in support of the war in Afghanistan.

US Marine PFC. Eric D. Currier, 21, of Londonderry, N.H., died Feb. 17 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Army Pfc. Charles A. Williams, 29, of Fair Oaks, Calif., died Feb. 7 in Afghanistan, of injuries sustained while supporting combat operations. (No idea of why there was such a delay on the release of the name.)

US Marine Pfc. Kyle J. Coutu, 20, of Providence, R.I., died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson, 19, of Scranton, Pa., died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Kielin T. Dunn, 19, of Chesapeake, Va., died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary, 27, of Columbus, Ind., died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan

US Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield, 24, of Westville, Ind., died Feb. 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Cpl. Gregory S. Stultz, 22, of Brazil, Ind., died Feb. 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Eckard, 30, of Hickory, N.C., died Feb. 20 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Adam D. Peak, 25, of Florence, Ky., died Feb. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Matthias N. Hanson, 20, of Buffalo, Ky., died Feb. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Marine Lance Cpl. Eric L. Ward, 19, of Redmond, Wash., died Feb. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

US Army PFC. JR Salvacion, 27, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, died Feb. 21 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

The following US Army pilots died when their helicopter crashed in Iraq on February 21:
Capt. Marcus R. Alford, 28, of Knoxville, Tenn.

Chief Warrant Officer Billie J. Grinder, 25, of Gallatin, Tenn.

US Army Sgt. Marcos Gorra, 22, of North Bergen, N.J., died Feb. 21 in Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations.

Seriously, this is not a case of a car not selling because the foreign name sounds like English for “Fart Away” or some such. But someone has sold Obama on the idea that the war in Iraq will go better if the name is changed next fall—to Operation “New Dawn” so everyone will know change is coming. Seriously? Changing the name is what it takes?

Call me old fashioned, I have just been of the opinion that if you can’t kick enough ass to get the job done, calling it DONE and getting the hell OUT is the next best option.

A change of name is NOT the change I voted for at all!

Considering the views on women and their shapes, I have been on a rantage mode for a while now about defining women only by their body mass index and no other criteria. This bit, stolen from a Princessy friend puts it far better than I could ever do:

Recently, in a large city in Australia ,
a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said, “This summer,
do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

A middle-aged woman,
whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster,
responded publicly to the question
posed by the gym.

To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.)
They have an active sex life,
get pregnant and have adorable baby whales.
They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.
They play and swim in the seas,
seeing wonderful places like Patagonia ,
the Bering Sea
and the coral reefs of Polynesia .
Whales are wonderful singers
and have even recorded CDs.
They are incredible creatures
and virtually have no predators
other than humans.
They are loved, protected and admired
by almost everyone in the world.

Mermaids don’t exist.
If they did exist,
they would be lining up outside the offices
of Argentinean psychoanalysts
due to identity crisis. Fish or human?
They don’t have a sex life
because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex?
Just look at them … where is IT?
Therefore, they don’t have kids either.
Not to mention,
who wants to get close to a girl who smells
like a fish store?

The choice is perfectly clear to me:
I want to be a whale.

There is a lot of talk about “tea” in America of late. There are “Tea Parties” where (at best) folks discuss the validity of the clogged up two-party system and the Constitution. I suspect they would prefer to administer a dose of salts to the system than to brew tea.

Then there are tea-baggers…and they seem to be confusing jingoistic publicity stunts with being the fall guys for late-night humor. And there are profits in those tea bag parties, too, apparently….and plenty of nutcakes. And this brand of tea-partier likes Palin to an unnatural degree!

And then, there is me. I am allergic to tea. And I am sincerely hoping all tea parties and all tea baggers have nothing in common; but knowing that what I most fervently hope for often is nothing like reality; I can’t be sure.

What AM I sure of? That America is not brewing tea. More like what the Bible (yes, even as a pagan, I have read it) calls “the wine of violence”…..because as long as we white wash acts of violence and say that flying an airplane into an IRS office is an act of insanity “and well hidden pain” and not an act of terrorism, we are lying to ourselves. Do the purveyors of such analysis really want us to believe the men who flew airplanes into the World Trade Towers were not likewise nursing pain and anger of long-standing? Or is it just more “understandable” and therefore less criminal when a white American does it than when furiously frustrated Arabic men do it?

A crime is a crime. That Texas pilot meant to terrorize the people in that building. He meant to kill them. He meant to send a message. I don’t really care what the pilot’s writing in his final note “reveals” about him; I care a lot more about what the white wash job on criminal and terrorist acts reveals about America! The people reporting on this might take to heart the words in a report about another domestic terror incident–the shooting at Ft. Hood:

“A separate Pentagon review last month found that the military was too focused on external enemies and not the behavior of its own troops.” Right. See, America—enemies can be right here at home, military OR civilian. Pull your heads out of the mentality that appends the word “Islamic” to the word “terrorist” in some indivisible fashion!

The pilot’s name was not Achmed, but he WAS a terrorist, of the domestic variety. Same standards for ALL…used to be something of an American ideal. Kind of like tea once was—before coffee became king. But hey, this cup of news time “tea” is watered WAY down and still smells funny to me. But wait, one can make “tea” out of manure, too, right?

My inner gardener still thinks it smells like bullshit.

Sometimes I don’t play well with others. I get these bitchy modes from time to time where I just think I should go lock myself in the Honey House and stay away from humans altogether.

A lot of these times happen when people use the internet (as they DO) to bitch about various aspects of life. I mean, hey, that is what I am doing right here, isn’t it? But now and then, I just want an icon of me in dominatrix gear to use in response to some of the bitching. Why?

Well, it is a consideration of effect, in a sense. Bitching and venting is healthy a lot of the time. But not always.
If bitching is ALL one does, if no attempt is made to change a situation or even analyze exactly what is wrong in a situation, bitching is pointless. Especially if the bitcher smiles along as they go in the actual problem setting while spilling venom everywhere else.

It is the bitching people do when they are NOT attempting change that makes me gets me reaching for verbal whips. Someone who complains endlessly about the parental suggestion of jobs, because the parents are footing the bills. While said dependent “revolts” because that is not their “dream” job. I doubt the parents are working their dream job to pay adult child’s bills, either. Or someone complaining over making a wedding cake for a disliked bride. Well, then why the fuck did you consent to do it; don’t you have the balls to say NO, you worm? (See, that leather-clad bitch WILL have her say?)

I am sick of passive-aggressive society. I want to bitch-slap every person in reach when they complain about things they are CONSENTING to by their actions.

Example from my own life now. I have an old 1966 Ranchero. It runs, it is our hobby car—MY hobby car. It needs a new exhaust system and is uninsured presently, and undriven, therefore. My dear hard-working husband got a big overtime check this week. What to spend the bonus upon, right? He announced we should insure and repair the Ranchero.

I immediately got bitchy feeling, but wasn’t sure why. I had a vet bill to pay, my vacuum cleaner died, and my favorite boots need re-heeled, and I needed new shoes for walking and running. But I couldn’t do it all, could I? So I was stressing and getting snappy and bitchy.

Finally, it hit me….this trying to make everyone happy was making me unhappy and when I am unhappy, but Gods, NObody around me is going to be happy for long. I called the husband and reminded him the Ranchero was MINE and I didn’t feel like pouring cash into a hobby (defined as WHEN and WHAT I feel like doing item) vehicle when there were things I NEEDED. And that would be what determined how the money was spent.

Voila. Problem solved. I didn’t bitch online about his wanting to fix a vanity car. I opened my mouth and said “No.” I have a new vacuum cleaner and new shoes. We have money for a two day anniversary getaway and I paid the veterinarian. It requires analyzing the problem and finding the best solution with NEEDS ahead of WANTS. It requires putting up with pouty faces and insisting on what WORKS. It requires more than bitching and not accepting what you yourself do to facilitate bullshit.

Kick your own ass first! And if real change isn’t what you really want? Shut the fuck up.
.

The Earthbound Misfit scoops me again on TSA Bullshit.

But I MUST tell you to go read the story anyhow. Apparently, a disabled boy in leg braces must walk thru the metal detector WITHOUT necessary leg braces to prove he is not a terrorist.

This is why I don’t fly. I’d be arrested, maced, tased, beaten. But some TSA asshat would have one of those removed leg braces up his ass so far his tonsils would protrude through his front teeth.

The so-called “officer” (is that short for officious?) doesn’t need retrained; he needs to be FIRED. Petty little fascist piggery like this should be rewarded with joblessness! A lot of BETTER employees are sure paycheck-less; why should an asshat like this still get paid?

And the stupidest part of all, in my unfucking humble opinion? That the TSA responded that what SHOULD have happened was the parents should have been asked to take the boy to a private place where he could be “swabbed for explosives residue”!? Excuse me? So the presumption of the TSA for disabled folks is that they OBVIOUSLY need swabbed for explosives? Cause, holy crap, they don’t NEED wheelchairs, crutches, and leg braces—-those are most likely just props for terrorists?

Cause yeah, deciding a cop and his wife would wire their kid to explode, yeah….that makes perfect sense to me. In the Bush-Cheney alternate universe of Fear Flagellation, perhaps. Could someone retrain more than just this one dumb ass? Please?